JP6459362B2 - Method for estimating position of wireless communication terminal and terminal position estimation system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a method and a terminal position estimation system for estimating the position of a wireless communication terminal with respect to a relative positional relationship between a wireless communication terminal and a terminal holder holding the wireless terminal.

  In recent years, services provided by specifying a position where a person is present are increasing. The mobile terminal itself uses a large-scale system operated by a public institution or corporation, such as the Global Positioning System (GPS) or mobile phone communication network, in order to specify the location of people and provide services. In some cases, the location is specified and the service is provided by an application in the mobile terminal. In some cases, an information center that collects information from a plurality of base stations that communicate with a mobile terminal provides a service by specifying the position of the mobile terminal.

  In the latter case, for example, as described in Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-128222), a position detection method and a position detection apparatus for estimating a position using the radio field intensity of a transmission terminal received at a base station are known. It has been. Such a position detection method or position detection apparatus that estimates a position using radio wave intensity can be used to specify the position of a mobile terminal in a relatively narrow area such as a commercial facility.

  By the way, in the case of providing a service by specifying a position in a relatively narrow area such as a commercial facility by the position detection method or position detection apparatus of Patent Document 1, not only the position of the mobile terminal but also the orientation of the user of the mobile terminal There is a demand for more detailed information such as behavior. In order to provide detailed information such as the orientation and behavior of the user of the mobile terminal, other devices such as a photographing device (for example, a camera) are added to collect information about the user of the mobile terminal. And analysis. For example, when collecting information by adding an infrared camera, it is difficult to identify an individual with the infrared camera, and a psychological burden on the user of the mobile terminal photographed by the camera can be considered. In addition, when trying to analyze the orientation and behavior of the user of the mobile terminal from the image taken by the camera, the calculation cost for image analysis becomes high.

  The subject of this invention is providing the information about the relative positional relationship of a terminal holder and a wireless communication terminal using the radio field intensity of the wireless communication which a wireless communication terminal performs.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, a method for estimating a position of a wireless communication terminal performs wireless communication between a wireless communication terminal held by a terminal holder and a plurality of wireless communication devices, and each of the plurality of wireless communication devices. Transmits the reception time, terminal ID, and radio wave intensity of the received radio wave, together with its own communication device ID held inside, to a management computer that manages the plurality of wireless communication devices. The management computer estimates the relative positional relationship between the terminal holder and the wireless communication terminal based on the radio wave intensity in the wireless communication between the wireless communication terminal and the wireless communication terminal and the arrangement positions of the plurality of wireless communication devices .

In the method of estimating the position of the wireless communication terminal according to the first aspect, since the management computer estimates the positional relationship between the terminal holder and the wireless communication terminal, for example, a camera that detects the positional relationship between the terminal holder and the wireless communication terminal Without adding a device such as the terminal holder and the wireless communication terminal can estimate the positional relationship, using the radio field strength of wireless communication and the location of multiple wireless communication devices Information on the relative positional relationship with the wireless communication terminal can be obtained.

The method for estimating the position of the wireless communication terminal according to the second aspect of the present invention is a method for estimating the position of the wireless communication terminal according to the first aspect, wherein a plurality of wireless communication devices are arranged in order. Radio power intensity of the first wireless communication device and third wireless communication when the management computer includes a wireless communication terminal near the second wireless communication device, including the wireless communication device, the second wireless communication device, and the third wireless communication device. The relative positional relationship between the terminal holder and the wireless communication terminal is estimated by comparing the radio field intensity of the device.

  In the method of estimating the position of the wireless communication terminal according to the second aspect, the radio field intensity of the first radio communication apparatus and the radio field intensity of the third radio communication apparatus when the radio communication terminal exists in the vicinity immediately below the second radio communication apparatus. Therefore, the positional relationship between the terminal holder and the wireless communication terminal can be estimated only by the radio field intensity of the three wireless communication devices.

The method of estimating the position of the wireless communication terminal according to the third aspect of the present invention is a method of estimating the position of the wireless communication terminal of the second aspect, wherein the management computer determines the moving direction of the terminal holder, The related state between the moving direction and the relative positional relationship is estimated based on the moving direction of the terminal holder and the relative positional relationship between the terminal holder and the wireless communication terminal.

In the method of estimating the position of the wireless communication terminal according to the third aspect, the management computer uses a movement direction such as whether the wireless communication terminal is on the front side or the back side with respect to the latest movement direction of the terminal holder. Since it is comprised so that the related state with relative positional relationship can be estimated, the content of the relative positional relationship between a terminal holder and a radio | wireless communication terminal can be estimated in detail.

The method for estimating the position of the wireless communication terminal according to the fourth aspect of the present invention is a method for estimating the position of the wireless communication terminal according to the third aspect, and the management computer can refer to a map of a predetermined indoor space. The terminal holder detects a flow line that has moved on the map, and generates information related to the orientation of the terminal holder on the detected flow line based on the related state.

In the method of estimating the position of the wireless communication terminal according to the fourth aspect, the management computer generates information on the orientation of the terminal holder as to which terminal holder is facing on the detected flow line. It is possible to increase information on the behavior of the terminal holder easily and inexpensively without adding a device.

A method for estimating the position of a wireless communication terminal according to a fifth aspect of the present invention is a method for estimating the position of a wireless communication terminal according to the third aspect or the fourth aspect, wherein the management computer It generates information related to a change in the relative position between the holder and the wireless communication terminal.

In the method of estimating the position of the wireless communication terminal according to the fifth aspect, the management computer generates information related to the change of the relative position between the terminal holder and the wireless communication terminal. For example, the terminal holder picks up the wireless communication terminal. It is possible to provide information for estimating the behavior of the terminal holder such as

A method for estimating a position of a wireless communication terminal according to a sixth aspect of the present invention is a method for estimating the position of a wireless communication terminal according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, wherein the management computer estimates the terminal Report data including information related to the relative positional relationship between the holder and the wireless communication terminal is created.

In the method for estimating the position of the wireless communication terminal according to the sixth aspect, since the management computer creates report data including information related to the relative positional relationship between the terminal holder and the wireless communication terminal, the report data is transmitted to the store owner, for example. It becomes easy to process information about terminal holders such as customers into report documents.

  A terminal location estimation system according to a seventh aspect of the present invention includes a plurality of wireless communication devices that perform wireless communication with a wireless communication terminal held by a terminal holder, each of the plurality of wireless communication devices, and a wireless communication terminal. A terminal position estimation unit that estimates a relative positional relationship between the terminal holder and the wireless communication terminal based on the radio wave intensity in wireless communication between the terminal and the wireless communication terminal.

  The terminal position estimation system according to the seventh aspect includes a terminal position estimation unit that estimates the positional relationship between the terminal holder and the wireless communication terminal. For example, a camera that detects the positional relationship between the terminal holder and the wireless communication terminal The relative position between the terminal holder and the wireless communication terminal can be obtained using the radio field strength of the wireless communication without adding a device such as Relationship information can be obtained.

A terminal position estimation system according to an eighth aspect of the present invention is the terminal position estimation system according to the seventh aspect, wherein a plurality of wireless communication devices are arranged in order, a first wireless communication device, a second wireless communication device, and a third wireless communication device. The terminal position estimation unit includes the radio communication device, and the terminal position estimation unit compares the radio field strength of the first radio communication device and the radio signal strength of the third radio communication device when the radio communication terminal exists in the vicinity immediately below the second radio communication device. Thus, the relative positional relationship between the terminal holder and the wireless communication terminal is estimated.

In the method for estimating the position of the wireless communication terminal according to the first aspect of the present invention or the terminal position estimation system according to the seventh aspect or the eighth aspect , information on the relative positional relationship between the terminal holder and the wireless communication terminal Can be provided.

  In the method for estimating the position of the wireless communication terminal according to the second aspect of the present invention, information on the positional relationship between the terminal holder and the wireless communication terminal can be obtained easily and inexpensively.

  In the method for estimating the position of the wireless communication terminal according to the third aspect of the present invention, it is possible to add detailed contents to the information regarding the positional relationship between the terminal holder and the wireless communication terminal.

  In the method for estimating the position of the wireless communication terminal according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to increase information regarding the behavior of the terminal holder having the wireless communication terminal.

  In the method for estimating the position of the wireless communication terminal according to the fifth aspect of the present invention, information for estimating the behavior of the terminal holder is provided, and the use scene of the method for estimating the position of the wireless communication terminal is increased. Can do.

  In the method of estimating the position of the wireless communication terminal according to the sixth aspect of the present invention, it becomes easy to provide a report document relating to information on the relative positional relationship between the terminal holder and the wireless communication terminal.

The block diagram for demonstrating the outline | summary of a structure of the terminal position estimation system which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. The block diagram for demonstrating the outline | summary of a structure of a terminal position estimation system. The layout figure for demonstrating an example of indoor space. (A) A graph for explaining the radio field intensity of a radio wave received by the wireless communication device, (b) a graph for explaining a decrease in radio field intensity by the terminal holder, and (c) a radio field intensity accompanying the movement of the terminal holder. The graph for explaining the change of. (A) Schematic diagram illustrating an example of a positional relationship among a terminal holder, a wireless communication terminal, and a wireless communication device, (b) a diagram for explaining data transmitted by the wireless communication device, and (c) a description of communication-related data. Figure to do. (A) The schematic diagram for demonstrating the relative positional relationship of a terminal holder and a radio | wireless communication terminal, (b) The figure for demonstrating the estimation information memorize | stored in the estimation information storage area. (A) The figure for demonstrating the estimation method of the relative positional relationship of a terminal holder and a radio | wireless communication terminal, (b) For explaining the estimation method of the relative positional relationship of a terminal holder | requirement and a radio | wireless communication terminal The figure which shows an example of the estimation result of a figure and (c) relative positional relationship. The figure for demonstrating the estimation information memorize | stored in the estimation information storage area. The layout diagram for demonstrating a movement of a radio | wireless communication terminal. (A) The figure for demonstrating the data which a motion determination part uses for determination, (b) The conceptual diagram explaining how to obtain | require a flow line, (c) The conceptual diagram explaining how to obtain | require a moving direction. (A) The conceptual diagram for demonstrating an example of the calculation method of an association degree, (b) The figure for demonstrating the data to which the moving direction and the association degree were added. The flowchart for demonstrating an example of an algorithm when a terminal position estimation part estimates direction. (A) The figure which shows an example of the relationship between a moving direction, relative positional relationship, and an association degree, (b) The figure which shows an example of the relationship between a relative positional relationship, an association degree, and direction, (c) Estimation information The figure for demonstrating the estimation information memorize | stored in a memory area. The layout figure which shows an example of the report data using a flow line display. The layout figure which shows an example of the report data using an icon. The graph which shows an example of report data. The graph which shows the other example of report data. The figure for demonstrating an example of the data for estimating the change of a holding position. The layout figure which added the change of the holding position.

  Hereinafter, a terminal position estimation system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram for explaining an outline of a configuration of a terminal position estimation system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The terminal position estimation system 10 shown in FIG. 1 has a high performance even though the cost is low, by including a portion that is also used as the air conditioner 50. Therefore, in the following description of the embodiment, the terminal position estimation system 10 will be described after briefly describing the air conditioner 50.

(1) Overall Configuration The terminal position estimation system 10 shown in FIG. 1 is installed in a commercial facility containing a large number of stores, such as a shopping mall, an outlet mall, a department store in a high-rise building, or an underground mall. The harmony device 50 is used. A plurality of indoor units 30 are connected to each of the plurality of outdoor units 40 to configure an air conditioner 50 for performing air conditioning in a commercial facility. All the indoor units 30 and all the outdoor units 40 in FIG. 1 are controlled by an air conditioning control device 51. The indoor unit 30 and the outdoor unit 40 are connected by a data transmission line 52. The air conditioning control device 51 and the outdoor unit 40 and the indoor unit 30 are connected by a data transmission line 52, a gateway 53, and a network transmission line 54. Each air conditioning indoor unit 20 including the indoor unit 30 is connected to an air conditioning power line 90. The air conditioner 50 is a multi-type air conditioner in which a plurality of indoor units 30 are connected to each outdoor unit 40 in parallel.

(2) Configuration of Terminal Position Estimation System 10 As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the terminal position estimation system 10 includes a management computer 60 and a plurality of wireless communication devices 70 connected by a data transmission line 52. It consists of and. The data transmission line 52 that connects the management computer 60 and the plurality of wireless communication devices 70 is shared with the data transmission line 52 of the air conditioner 50. Each wireless communication device 70 is disposed in each air conditioning indoor unit 20 provided on the ceiling of a commercial facility. One air conditioning indoor unit 20 is provided with one indoor unit 30 together with one wireless communication device 70. These air conditioning indoor units 20 are connected to an air conditioning power line 90 and are supplied with electric power from the air conditioning power line 90. The air conditioning power line 90 also supplies power to the wireless communication device 70 and is shared by the terminal position estimation system 10 and the air conditioner 50.

(2-1) Wireless communication device 70
Each wireless communication device 70 is used in a wireless PAN (Personal Area Network) compliant with a standard such as a wireless LAN (Local Area Network) or Bluetooth (registered trademark) compliant with a standard such as Wi-Fi. Can communicate with the wireless communication terminal 100.

  Each wireless communication device 70 can detect the reception time when the reception data is received, the terminal ID (identification data) for identifying the wireless communication terminal 100, and the radio wave intensity of wireless communication related to the reception data. Each wireless communication device 70 can transmit the received data, the reception time, the terminal ID, and the radio wave intensity together with its own communication device ID held inside through the data transmission line 52. In the following description, the communication device ID, the reception time, the terminal ID, and the radio wave intensity are referred to as communication-related data.

(2-2) Management computer 60
The management computer 60 manages a communication unit 61 that transmits and receives data to and from each wireless communication device 70 through the data transmission line 52 and an input signal that can be processed inside the management computer 60 such as a character signal of a keyboard. An input unit 62 for inputting information from the outside to the inside of the computer 60, an output unit 63 for outputting information to the outside of the management computer 60, and the data transmission line 52 and the input unit 62 for the management computer 60, for example. And a processing unit 65 for processing the data supplied from the data transmission line 52 and the input unit 62 and the data stored in the storage unit 64, for example.

(2-2-1) Storage unit 64
The storage unit 64 includes a communication-related data storage area 64a for storing communication-related data transmitted from each wireless communication device 70, a position data storage region 64b for storing position data, and a plurality of wireless communication devices. 70 has a map data storage area 64c for storing map data of the indoor space in which 70 is arranged, and an estimated information storage area 64d for storing information estimated by a terminal position estimation unit 65c described later.

(2-2-2) Processing unit 65
The processing unit 65 includes a CPU. The CPU of the processing unit 65 functions as a position calculation unit 65a, a flow line detection unit 65b, a terminal position estimation unit 65c, and a report data creation unit 65d by reading and executing a program stored in the storage unit 64. .

  The position calculation unit 65 a calculates the position of each wireless communication terminal 100 using the radio wave intensity of the wireless communication of each wireless communication terminal 100 received by the plurality of wireless communication devices 70. At the same time, the radio field intensity of radio communication received by each radio communication device 70 from one radio communication terminal 100 has a property of becoming smaller as the distance between each radio communication device 70 and the radio communication terminal 100 becomes longer. The position calculation unit 65a calculates the position of each wireless communication terminal 100 by a conventional method using such properties. The position calculation unit 65 a stores, for example, the position coordinates (position data) of each wireless communication terminal 100 in the position data storage area 64 b of the storage unit 64 together with the reception time and the terminal ID of each wireless communication terminal 100.

  The flow line detection unit 65b detects a flow line in which each wireless communication terminal 100 has moved from the position coordinates and reception time of each wireless communication terminal 100 stored in the position data storage area 64b.

  The terminal position estimation unit 65c is configured to be relative to each wireless communication terminal 100 and the terminal holder of the wireless communication terminal 100 based on the radio wave intensity in wireless communication between each of the plurality of wireless communication devices 70 and each wireless communication terminal 100. The relative position is estimated.

(3) Map Data Here, the indoor space will be described by taking a space in a bookstore as shown in FIG. 3 as an example. The bookstore 200 shown in FIG. 3 has two entrances 201 and 202. A plurality of book shelves 203 and a passage 204 are provided inside the bookstore 200, and books of various genres are displayed. The bookstore 200 is provided with a counter 205 for payment. Then, 20 wireless communication devices 70 are arranged on the ceiling above the passage 204 at the arrangement positions P1 to P20. In this case, a book is an example of a product, and a book shelf 203 is an example of a product shelf.

  For example, the position of the plurality of book shelves 203, the plurality of passages 204, the counters 205, and the plurality of wireless communication devices 70 of the bookstore 200 are coordinated with the entrance / exit 201 as a base point, such as X meters to the north and Y meters to the east. The map data is stored in the map data storage area 64c.

(4) Outline of Terminal Position Estimation in Terminal Position Estimation Unit 65c Terminal position estimation of the wireless communication terminal 100 performed by the terminal position estimation unit 65c will be described with reference to FIG. The terminal position estimation performed by the terminal position estimation unit 65c is an estimation of relative positional relationship in which the terminal holder holding the wireless communication terminal 100 is estimated with respect to the wireless communication terminal 100. It is.

An example of a terminal position estimation method will be described with reference to an example of a terminal holder who enters the bookstore 200 from the entrance 201 of FIG. When entering from the entrance / exit 201, four wireless communication devices 70 are arranged in a straight line at equal intervals at the arrangement positions P1, P2, P3 , P4 toward the north. When the reception data is transmitted from the wireless communication terminal 100 in the situation immediately below the wireless communication device 70 at the arrangement position P2, if there is no terminal holder, as shown in the graph of FIG. The radio wave intensity of the radio waves received by the two wireless communication devices 70 at the arrangement positions P1 and P3 that are equidistant from the arrangement position P2 is attenuated to the same extent from the radio wave intensity of the radio waves received at the arrangement position P2. It becomes.

  However, in the situation where the terminal holder 300 stands between the arrangement positions P1 and P2 as shown in FIG. 4B and the wireless communication terminal 100 is placed in, for example, a breast pocket, Even when radio waves are received from the radio communication terminal 100 as in the case, the radio field intensity of the radio communication device 70 at the arrangement position P1 is smaller than the radio field intensity of the radio communication device 70 at the arrangement position P3. The reason that the radio wave intensity detected at the arrangement position P1 is smaller than the radio wave intensity detected at the arrangement position P3 is that the radio wave attenuation is increased by passing through the terminal holder 300. Because of such a phenomenon, when the wireless communication terminal 100 is located at the placement position P2, the terminal holder 300 is closer to the placement position P1 by comparing the radio wave intensity detected at the placement positions P1 and P3. It can be estimated whether it is present or closer to the arrangement position P3.

Here, for the sake of easy understanding, an example in which four wireless communication devices 70 are arranged in a straight line at equal intervals at the arrangement positions P1, P2, P3 , and P4 is shown. They may be arranged in a row, and may not be equally spaced. In such a case, more accurate estimation can be performed by correcting the error of the radio wave intensity caused by the arrangement position. The arrangement of the plurality of wireless communication devices 70 is preferably close to a straight line. For example, when the passage is curved, the plurality of wireless communication devices 70 may be arranged on the curve along the passage. In addition, more accurate estimation can be performed by correcting an error in radio wave intensity caused by the arrangement position.

  Further, consider a case where a little time has elapsed after the state of FIG. 4B is detected and the state of FIG. 4C is detected. Then, it is assumed that the radio wave intensity at the arrangement position P4 increases as time elapses. From such a situation, it is presumed that the terminal holder 300 is entering the entrance 201 and walking straight north. In such a case, the terminal position estimation unit 65c can determine that the radio field intensity on the south side of the wireless communication terminal 100, that is, the rear side with respect to the walking direction is small. From this, the terminal position estimation part 65c can estimate that the radio | wireless communication terminal 100 is hold | maintained in front of the body of the terminal holder | retainer 300, such as accommodated in a breast pocket. It is also possible to estimate the relative positional relationship of the terminal holder 300 with respect to the wireless communication terminal 100 taking into account the orientation of the terminal holder 300.

(5) Terminal position estimation (5-1) Storage of communication-related data As shown in FIG. 5 (a), for example, communication apparatus IDs are arranged at arrangement positions P1, P2, P3 , P4. It is assumed that a plurality of wireless communication devices 70 A, B, C, D. Under the plurality of wireless communication devices 70, the terminal holder 301 holding the wireless communication terminal 101 with the terminal ID α goes around the bookstore 200 in order to consider purchasing a book. A terminal holder 302 holding the wireless communication terminal 102 whose terminal ID is β goes around the bookstore 200 in order to consider purchasing a book.

  In such a situation, for example, when the wireless communication device 70 at the arrangement position P2 receives reception data from the wireless communication terminal 101 at time T1, the wireless communication device 70 detects the radio wave intensity of the received radio wave. The wireless communication device 70 at the arrangement position P2 has data indicating that the reception time is T1, the terminal ID of the wireless communication terminal 101 is α, and the radio wave intensity is −40 dBm, and the communication device ID is B. Is transmitted to the storage unit 64 of the management computer 60 through the data transmission line 52 (see FIG. 5B).

  When the wireless communication device 70 at the arrangement position P1 is received from the wireless communication terminal 102 held by the terminal holder 302 at time T2 when a little time has passed, the wireless communication device 70 at the arrangement position P2 is, for example, shown in FIG. The data indicating that the reception time shown is T2, the terminal ID is β, and the radio wave intensity is −60 dBm, together with the data indicating that the communication device ID is B, is transmitted to the management computer 60 through the data transmission line 52. The data is transmitted to the storage unit 64.

  In addition, when the wireless communication device 70 at the placement position P3 receives at the time T2 from the wireless communication terminal 101 of the terminal holder 301 that has moved to the lower vicinity of the placement position P3 between the time T1 and the time T2, the wireless communication device 70 at the placement position P3 For example, the wireless communication device 70 has data indicating that the reception time shown in FIG. 5B is T2, the terminal ID is α, and the radio wave intensity is −42 dBm, and the communication device ID is C. Is transmitted to the storage unit 64 together with the data indicating.

  The communication related data storage area 64a of the storage unit 64 of the management computer 60 includes a plurality of wireless communication devices 70 whose communication device IDs are A and B as the time elapses as T1, T2, T3, T4. The communication-related data shown in FIG. 5C sent from the wireless communication device 70 is stored.

(5-2) Calculation of Terminal Position In the bookstore 200 in FIG. 3, a plurality of wireless communication devices 70 are arranged in a matrix. Using a plurality of wireless communication devices 70 arranged in a matrix in this way, as shown in FIG. 6A, the east E, west W, south S, and north N with respect to the wireless communication terminal 100 In which direction the terminal holder 300 is located by using the data stored in the communication-related data storage area 64a, the position data storage area 64b, and the map data storage area 64c.

  From the data shown in FIG. 5C, for example, the position calculation unit 65a assumes that the wireless communication terminals 100, 101, 102,... The positions of the plurality of wireless communication terminals 100, 101, 102... At each time are calculated. However, the position calculating unit 65a also calculates the case where the wireless communication terminals 100, 101, 102,... For example, when the wireless communication terminal 101 with the terminal ID α is present at the position P7 at time T4 shown in FIG. 6B, the terminal position estimation unit 65c determines whether the radio field intensity is equal to or higher than a predetermined value. It is calculated by judging. This predetermined value is set, for example, by subtracting a predetermined threshold value from the maximum value of all the radio field strengths of the wireless communication terminal 101 obtained in the bookstore 200. Specifically, when the maximum value of all the radio field intensities of the wireless communication terminal 101 obtained in the bookstore 200 is −40 dBm and the threshold value is 3 dBm, the position calculation unit 65a calculates −40 dBm. -43 dBm obtained by subtracting 3 dBm from the value is set as a predetermined value, and if it is -43 dBm or more, it is determined that the wireless communication terminal 101 is in the lower vicinity of the wireless communication device 70. In the case of the data shown in FIG. 5B, the wireless communication terminal 101 whose terminal ID is α is determined to be immediately below B (ie, position P2) at time T1, and the time At T2, it is determined that the communication device ID is in the lower vicinity of C (ie, position P3).

(5-3) Estimation of relative positional relationship Next, the terminal position estimation unit 65c calculates the relative positional relationship between the terminal holder 300 and the wireless communication terminal 100 as shown in FIG. The estimation is performed using the position data of the wireless communication terminal 100, the map data shown in FIG. 3, and the communication related data. Then, the terminal position estimation unit 65c associates the relative positional relationship with the time, the terminal ID, and the position of the terminal ID as shown in FIG. 2). In FIG. 6B, “U” in the reference numerals representing the relative positional relationship represents a case where the relative positional relationship is unknown.

  The outline of how to determine the relative positional relationship performed by the terminal position estimation unit 65c has been described with reference to FIGS. 4 (a) to 4 (c). Here, how to obtain the planar relative position relationship as shown in FIG. 6A will be described with reference to FIGS. 7A to 7C. 7 is located in the bookstore 200 of FIG. 3, and each of the communication devices IDs C, E, F, G, H, K, and O is P3, P5, P6, respectively. Assume that P7, P8, P11, and P15. 7 (a) and 7 (b), since the communication device ID with the maximum radio wave intensity at time T5 is G, the position just below the arrangement position P7 of the wireless communication device 70 with the communication device ID G is seen. It can be seen that the wireless communication terminal 100 exists. It is assumed that the calculation of “being directly below” when the radio field intensity is “−40 dBm” is already set by the position calculation unit 65a.

  As shown in FIG. 7A, the radio field intensity of the communication device ID H is -20 dBm less than the radio field intensity of the communication device ID G. On the other hand, in FIG. 7A, the radio field intensity of the communication device ID F is only -5 dBm less than the radio field intensity of the communication device ID G. From these two facts, the terminal position estimation unit 65c determines that the terminal holder 300 is located between the arrangement position P8 of the wireless communication device 70 with the communication device ID H and the arrangement position P7 of the wireless communication device 70 with the communication device ID G. It is estimated that there is.

  On the other hand, referring to FIG. 7B, the radio field intensity of the communication device ID C and the radio field intensity of the communication device ID K are decreased by only −5 dBm from the radio field strength of the communication device ID G. From these two facts, the terminal position estimation unit 65c is located between the arrangement positions PP3 and P11 of the wireless communication devices 70 with the communication device IDs C and K and the arrangement position P7 of the wireless communication device 70 with the communication device ID G. It is estimated that there is no terminal holder 300.

  From these two estimations, as shown in FIG. 7C, the terminal position estimation unit 65c determines that the wireless communication terminal 100 is at the position P7 and the terminal holder 300 is the wireless communication terminal at time T5. Estimated to be in North N with respect to 100.

(5-4) Direction Estimation As shown in FIG. 7C, the usefulness of the data is improved by adding data of relative positional relationship to the communication related data. The usefulness of the estimation information shown in (2) is further improved by adding data relating to the movement and orientation of each wireless communication terminal 100, 101, 102. The information regarding movement is obtained by detecting the flow line of each of the wireless communication terminals 100, 101, 102... By the flow line detection unit 65b. Since a conventionally known method can be applied to the detection of the flow line performed in the flow line detection unit 65b, a detailed description thereof will be omitted. For example, data of the same terminal ID are arranged in time series, and a plurality of continuous lines are detected. This can be done by observing the change in position at the time.

  If the wireless communication terminal 100 moves along the flow line Ln1 indicated by the arrow on the map of the bookstore 200 shown in FIG. 9, the motion determination unit 65ca of the terminal position estimation unit 65c has a terminal ID of α. By arranging the data in time series, the data shown in FIG. 10A is obtained. At this time, the motion determination unit 65ca omits the data whose position does not change even if the time changes from the data of FIG. 10A, and determines the position of the wireless communication terminal 100 as shown in FIG. A flow line Ln1 is obtained in time series. Next, by calculating the direction of the flow line Ln1 as illustrated in FIG. 10C, the motion determination unit 65ca can determine the moving direction of the wireless communication terminal 100.

  Next, the degree of association between the movement direction and the relative positional relationship is calculated, and the orientation of the terminal holder 300 is estimated from the degree of association and the relative positional relationship. FIG. 11A is a conceptual diagram for explaining an example of a method for calculating the degree of association. In accordance with the diagram of FIG. 11A, a numerical value (+1) is added clockwise to the moving direction based on the relative positional relationship. For example, when the relative positional relationship is “S”, 1 is added if the moving direction is “W”, 2 is added if the moving direction is “N”, and 3 is added if the moving direction is “E”. When the moving direction and the degree of association are added to the data shown in FIG. 10A, the data shown in FIG. 11B is obtained.

  FIG. 12 describes an algorithm when the terminal position estimation unit 65c estimates the direction. First, the terminal position estimation unit 65c determines whether or not the current state is stopped (step ST1). For example, when the wireless communication terminal 100 is in the same position at successive times such as time T5 to time T7 in FIG. 11, the terminal position estimation unit 65c stops except for the start time (in this case, time T5). Judge that it is in a state.

  When it is determined in step ST1 that the wireless communication terminal 100 is moving, the process proceeds to step ST2, and the degree of association is set based on the relationship described in FIG. If it is determined in step ST1 that the wireless communication terminal 100 is stopped, the process proceeds to step ST3, where the same value as the previous relevance is set.

  When the processes of steps ST2 and ST3 are completed, in either case, the process proceeds to step ST4, and the orientation of the terminal holder 300 is estimated using the degree of association. For estimating the orientation of the terminal holder 300 using the relevance, for example, a calculation interval is set, and the mode value of the relevance of the calculation interval is used as the relevance for estimating the orientation of the terminal holder 300. There is. For such a method, for example, a method of determining the direction from the degree of association and the relative positional relationship as shown in FIG. 13B can be used. For example, the direction is estimated using the mode value of the related values of several data before and after the time at which the direction is to be obtained. For example, if the calculation interval is 3, the relevance of the times T0, T1, and T2 before and after the time T1 is 0, 2, and 2 as shown in FIG. The terminal position estimation unit 65c estimates the direction as N from FIG. 13B using S of the relative positional relationship and 2 of the mode of the relevance degree. For example, since the relevance level at times T3, T4, and T5 before and after time T4 in FIG. 13C is 3, 2, 2, the mode 2 of the relevance level is derived and the relative position is calculated. The terminal position estimation unit 65c estimates the direction as E from FIG. 13B using E of the relationship and 2 of the mode of relevance. And the terminal position estimation part 65c memorize | stores the estimated information containing the relative positional relationship as shown in FIG.13 (c) and direction of a terminal holder in the estimated information storage area 64d of the memory | storage part 64. FIG.

(5-5) Creation of Report Data The report data creation unit 65d of the management computer 60 is stored in the estimated information storage area 64d of the storage unit 64. Based on the data shown in FIG. 13C, report data is created and output to the output unit 63. FIG. 14 is an example of a flow line display displayed on the display screen of the output unit 63 or a printed material, for example. In FIG. 14, a thick arrow Ln2 indicates a flow line, and round icons IC1, IC2, and IC3 on the flow line indicate a stop point of the terminal holder. Differences in the sizes of the icons IC1, IC2 and IC3 indicate the difference in stay time, and the longer the stay time, the longer the stay time. Further, the icons IC1, IC2, and IC3 have a front side on which a triangular protrusion is present and a rear side on which a semicircle is filled. When the calculation of the orientation is omitted, as shown in FIG. 15, the report data creation unit 65d uses, for example, the output unit 63 using the time, the terminal ID, the position, and the relative positional relationship. The icon IC can also be plotted on the layout screen displayed on the display screen or printed matter.

  In addition, the report data creation unit 65d can be displayed on the display screen or printed matter of the output unit 63 in a graph as shown in FIG. 16 or 17 instead of the layout diagram. FIG. 16 shows the number of terminal holders who were looking at the shelves of specialized books, and FIG. 17 shows the degree of attention for each shelf for comparing which shelves the terminal holders paid attention to. As described above, examples of data series reports created by the report data creation unit 65d include the number of people and staying time, and examples of time series reports include hourly, daily, monthly, and day-of-week.

(5-6) Behavior of terminal holder The terminal position estimation unit 65c can estimate a change in the holding position of the wireless communication terminal based on the degree of association. FIG. 18 illustrates data extracted by the terminal position estimation unit 65c in order to estimate the change in the holding position, from the estimation information stored in the estimation information storage area 64d. It can be seen from FIG. 18 that the mode value changes when the time T3 changes to the time T4. The terminal position estimation unit 65c can estimate the change in the holding position of the wireless communication terminal from such a change. FIG. 19 shows a layout diagram in which the change of the holding position is added, and shows that the way of holding changes at the position where the icon IC4 is displayed. The change in the holding position can also be used as information for determining the timing of coupon distribution, or auxiliary information for estimating the status of similar frequent search / other store price comparison / coupon search.

(6) Features (6-1)
As described above, the terminal position estimation unit 65c estimates the positional relationship between the terminal holders 300, 301, 302... And the wireless communication terminals 100, 101, 102. ... and the positions of the terminal holders 300, 301, 302 ... and the wireless communication terminals 100, 101, 102 ... without adding a device such as a camera that detects the positional relationship between the ... and the wireless communication terminals 100, 101, 102 ... The relationship estimation result can be obtained, and information on the relative positional relationship between the terminal holders 300, 301, 302... And the wireless communication terminals 100, 101, 102. .

  For example, as described with reference to FIG. 4B, the wireless at the placement position P1 when the wireless communication terminal 100 is present immediately below the wireless communication device 70 (example of the second wireless communication device) at the placement position P2. Since the radio field intensity of the communication device 70 (example of the first wireless communication device) and the radio field strength of the wireless communication device 70 (example of the third wireless communication device) at the arrangement position P3 are compared, the radio waves of the three wireless communication devices 70 are compared. The positional relationship between the terminal holder 300 and the wireless communication terminal 100 can be estimated only by the strength. As a result, information on the relative positional relationship between the terminal holder 300 and the wireless communication terminal 100 can be obtained easily and inexpensively.

(6-2)
The terminal position estimation unit 65c includes a movement determination unit 65ca, so that the wireless communication terminal 100 is relative to the movement direction such as whether the wireless communication terminal 100 is on the front side or the back side with respect to the latest movement direction of the terminal holder 300, for example. It is configured to be able to estimate the state of relation with the correct positional relationship. As a result, the contents of the relative positional relationship between the terminal holder 300 and the wireless communication terminal 100 can be estimated in more detail, and detailed information on the relative positional relationship between the terminal holder 300 and the wireless communication terminal 100 is detailed. Content can be added.

(6-3)
As described using the drawings from FIG. 10A to FIG. 13C, the terminal position estimation unit 65c does not add a device such as a camera, for example, and compares the movement direction with the relative positional relationship. Information regarding the orientation of the terminal holder 300 on the flow line indicated by the flow line detection unit 65b can be generated based on the relevance level that is the related state. As a result, the terminal position estimation unit 65c can increase information regarding the behavior of the terminal holder 300 easily and inexpensively using the information regarding the orientation of the terminal holder 300 on the flow line.

(6-4)
As described with reference to FIGS. 18 and 19, the terminal position estimation unit 65 c generates information related to the change in the position of the wireless communication terminal 100 of the terminal holder 300 based on the degree of association (an example of the association state). Can be configured. As a result, since the terminal position estimation unit 65c generates information related to the relative position change between the terminal holder 300 and the wireless communication terminal 100, the terminal holder 300, for example, like the icon IC in FIG. Information for guessing the behavior of the terminal holder 300, such as picking up 100, can be provided to increase the use scenes of the terminal position estimation system 10.

(6-5)
The terminal location estimation system 10 reports data as described with reference to FIGS. 14 to 17, that is, the relative positional relationship between the terminal holders 300, 301, 302... And the wireless communication terminals 100, 101, 102. Since the report data creating unit 65d that creates report data including related information is provided, it is easy to process information about a terminal holder such as a customer to be communicated to a store owner, for example, into a report document.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Terminal position estimation apparatus 65 Processing part 65b Flow line detection part 65c Terminal position estimation part 65ca Motion determination part 65d Report data creation part 70 Wireless communication apparatus

JP 2001-128222 A

Claims (8)

Wireless communication is performed between the wireless communication terminal held by the terminal holder and the plurality of wireless communication devices (70).
Each of the plurality of wireless communication devices transmits the reception time, the terminal ID, and the radio wave intensity of the received radio wave to the management computer that manages the plurality of wireless communication devices together with its own communication device ID held therein. And
Relative position between the terminal holder and the wireless communication terminal based on radio wave intensity in wireless communication between each of the plurality of wireless communication devices and the wireless communication terminal and an arrangement position of the plurality of wireless communication devices A method for estimating a position of a wireless communication terminal, wherein the management computer estimates a relationship. The plurality of wireless communication devices include a first wireless communication device, a second wireless communication device, and a third wireless communication device arranged in order,
The management computer compares the radio field intensity of the first radio communication apparatus with the radio field intensity of the third radio communication apparatus when the radio communication terminal is present immediately below the second radio communication apparatus. Estimating a relative positional relationship between the terminal holder and the wireless communication terminal;
The method of estimating the position of the radio | wireless communication terminal of Claim 1. The management computer determines the moving direction of the terminal holder, and based on the moving direction of the terminal holder and the relative positional relationship between the terminal holder and the wireless communication terminal, Estimate the state of relationship with the relationship,
The method of estimating the position of the radio | wireless communication terminal of Claim 2. The management computer is configured to be able to refer to a map of a predetermined indoor space, detects a flow line that the terminal holder has moved on the map, and holds the terminal on the detected flow line based on the related state. Generate information about the person ’s orientation,
The method of estimating the position of the radio | wireless communication terminal of Claim 3. The management computer generates information related to a change in the relative position of the terminal holder and the wireless communication terminal based on the related state;
The method of estimating the position of the radio | wireless communication terminal of Claim 3 or Claim 4. The management computer creates report data including information related to the estimated relative position relationship between the terminal holder and the wireless communication terminal;
The method of estimating the position of the radio | wireless communication terminal as described in any one of Claim 1 to 5. A plurality of wireless communications that perform wireless communication with the wireless communication terminal held by the terminal holder and transmit the reception time, the terminal ID, and the received radio wave intensity together with the own communication device ID held inside Machine (70),
Relative position between the terminal holder and the wireless communication terminal based on radio wave intensity in wireless communication between each of the plurality of wireless communication devices and the wireless communication terminal and an arrangement position of the plurality of wireless communication devices A terminal position estimation system comprising a terminal position estimation unit (65c) that estimates a relationship. The plurality of wireless communication devices include a first wireless communication device, a second wireless communication device, and a third wireless communication device arranged in order,
  The terminal position estimation unit compares the radio field intensity of the first radio communication apparatus and the radio field intensity of the third radio communication apparatus when the radio communication terminal exists in the vicinity immediately below the second radio communication apparatus. The relative positional relationship between the terminal holder and the wireless communication terminal is estimated by
The terminal position estimation system according to claim 7.

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