JP6564715B2 - Maintenance support device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a maintenance support device in a positioning system that specifies a position based on a signal transmitted from a transmitter.

  In recent years, it has been proposed to perform positioning using short-range wireless communication technology in indoors where reception of GPS (Global Positioning System) radio waves is difficult (for example, see Patent Document 1). As such a technique, for example, a transmitter capable of transmitting a wireless signal such as a BLE signal is installed, and the wireless signal is received in a terminal device such as a smartphone in which a position associated with each transmitter is stored in advance. Thus, there is a positioning system that can identify the position of the terminal device.

  In such a positioning system, for example, when a plurality of transmitters are arranged relatively close to each other, radio signals are received alternately and continuously from each transmitter (hereinafter referred to as “repetitive transition”). Called "phenomenon"). In this case, even if the terminal device stays at the same position, it is specified that the terminal device is moving (moving) between the respective positions associated with the transmitter that transmits the signal to be alternately received. As a result, the positional accuracy decreases. Therefore, in such a positioning system, maintenance is necessary to adjust the installation position of the transmitter or reset the signal strength, which is one of the elements that determine the transmitter for position identification in the terminal device. Become. Moreover, in such a positioning system, the signal strength in the case of receiving a signal in a terminal device changes depending on the arrangement state of an obstacle (for example, a shelf or a partition). Therefore, it is desirable to carry out the maintenance continuously.

JP 2012-88237 A

  In order to perform the maintenance of the positioning system as described above, an operator with a lot of expertise and experience conducts a test (site survey) that repeatedly walks around the target environment with dedicated equipment, and repeats the above It is necessary to extract a transmitter that causes a transition phenomenon. However, these tests require enormous time and cost.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a maintenance support device that can continuously perform maintenance for maintaining position accuracy in a positioning system that specifies a position based on a signal transmitted from a transmitter. There is to do.

  A maintenance support device according to the present invention is provided in a predetermined area, and stores node information for storing information on a plurality of transmitters that transmit signals and nodes that indicate positions set in association with the plurality of transmitters. A maintenance support device in a positioning system comprising: means and a position specifying means for specifying a node where the terminal device is located based on a signal received by the terminal device, the maintenance support device of the terminal device specified in the terminal device Acquisition means for acquiring the position from the terminal device, history information storage means for storing the position of the terminal device acquired by the acquisition means as history information, and the position of the terminal device when the history information is rearranged in time series Extract features that continuously and alternately transition between specific nodes, and generate repeated transition phenomena based on the presence or absence of the features. If it is determined by the determination means that determines the presence or absence of a repetitive transition phenomenon by the determination means, a transmitter corresponding to a specific node is regarded as a transmitter that may cause a repetitive transition phenomenon. Specifying means for specifying.

  The “repetitive transition phenomenon” as used herein means that in the positioning system, the terminal device is located at the same position by continuously receiving signals transmitted from each of a plurality of transmitters (a signal having a predetermined threshold intensity) alternately. This is a phenomenon in which the position of the terminal device is specified as if it is repeatedly moving even if it remains.

In the maintenance support device of this configuration, the position of the terminal device specified by the positioning system is stored as history information, and based on the presence or absence of extraction of the feature portion when the stored history information is rearranged in time series, Whether or not a repetitive transition phenomenon has occurred is determined, and a transmitter that may cause a repetitive transition phenomenon is identified.
This makes it possible to perform simple analysis on the history information stored in the history information storage means, without having to perform a test that repeatedly walks around the target environment with dedicated equipment by an operator with a wealth of specialized knowledge and experience. Thus, it is possible to easily identify the presence or absence of occurrence of a repetitive transition phenomenon and a transmitter that may cause the repetitive transition phenomenon. Accordingly, it is possible to continuously monitor the occurrence of the repetitive transition phenomenon. As a result, in the positioning system, maintenance for maintaining the position accuracy can be continuously performed.

  Based on the history information stored in the history information storage means, the determination means of the maintenance support device of the present invention is based on “the total number of transitions between a specific node and one or more nodes adjacent to one of the specific nodes. "Occurrence probability" that is a ratio of "the total number of transitions in the feature part" to "and the occurrence probability of the repetitive transition phenomenon may be determined based on the occurrence probability.

  When the repetitive transition phenomenon occurs, the total number of transitions between specific nodes tends to be overwhelmingly larger than the total number of transitions due to actual movement of the terminal device. Therefore, in the maintenance support device with this configuration, when the transition probability calculated as described above is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, it is determined that the transition is due to the occurrence of a repetitive transition phenomenon, and the repetitive transition probability is less than the predetermined threshold. In this case, it is determined that the transition is caused by the actual movement of the terminal device. Thereby, the determination precision in a determination means can be improved.

  The maintenance support device of the present invention may further include first display means for displaying the position of the transmitter specified by the specifying means in association with the map information.

  In the maintenance support device having this configuration, the position of the transmitter that may cause a repetitive transition phenomenon is displayed superimposed on the map information. Thereby, the position of the specified transmitter can be presented in an easy-to-understand manner to a person who performs maintenance.

  The specifying means of the specifying means of the maintenance support device of the present invention is at least one element of a distance between specific nodes, a distance on a link between specific nodes, and the number of relay nodes between transmitters corresponding to the specific node The transmitter corresponding to the specific node may be specified as a transmitter that may cause a repetitive transition phenomenon.

  In the maintenance support device with this configuration, for example, there may be a repetitive transition phenomenon such as nodes that cannot physically come and go due to a state in which a product shelf or a partition is arranged between the specified nodes. It is possible to eliminate such a problem that it is determined that the nodes that are not present are transmitters causing the repetitive transition phenomenon. This makes it possible to increase the accuracy with which a transmitter that may cause a repetitive transition phenomenon is identified.

  The specifying means of the maintenance support device of the present invention corresponds to a specific node by hierarchically clustering a plurality of transmitters based on position information when the determining means determines that a repetitive transition phenomenon has occurred. When the transmitters are classified into the same class, the transmitter corresponding to the specific node may be specified as a transmitter that may cause a repetitive transition phenomenon.

  In the maintenance support device with this configuration, for example, there may be a repetitive transition phenomenon such as nodes that cannot physically come and go due to a state in which a product shelf or a partition is arranged between the specified nodes. It is possible to eliminate such a problem that it is determined that the nodes that are not present are transmitters causing the repetitive transition phenomenon. As a result, it is possible to increase the accuracy of identifying the transmitter that causes the repetitive transition phenomenon.

  In the maintenance support device of the present invention, the position of the transmitter specified by the specifying means is displayed in association with the map information, and is displayed in a color-coded manner for each transmitter classified into the same class by the specifying means. Display means may be further provided.

  In the maintenance support device having this configuration, the position of the transmitter that may cause a repetitive transition phenomenon is displayed superimposed on the map information. Thereby, the position of the specified transmitter can be presented in an easy-to-understand manner to a person who performs maintenance. Further, in the maintenance support device having this configuration, the nodes clustered in the same class are displayed on the map while being color-divided. Thereby, the person who performs maintenance can intuitively grasp nodes that are close to each other.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, in the positioning system which pinpoints a position based on the signal transmitted from a transmitter, it becomes possible to carry out the maintenance of the transmitter for maintaining position accuracy continuously.

It is a block diagram which shows the function structure of the positioning system containing the maintenance assistance apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the hardware constitutions of the maintenance assistance apparatus shown in FIG. It is the figure which showed the position of the transmitter arrange | positioned in a building. It is a figure for demonstrating the relationship between the transmitter shown in FIG. 3, and a node link structure. FIG. 5A is an example of node data among the information stored in the node link data storage unit, and FIG. 5B is an example of link data. It is an example of the movement history data which a history information storage part memorizes. It is the figure which showed an example of the data of the characteristic part which a determination part extracts. It is a table | surface which shows the list of the generation | occurrence | production probability which a determination part derives.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. When possible, the same reference numerals are given to the same parts, and redundant descriptions are omitted. The dimensional ratios in the drawings do not necessarily match those described.

  The maintenance support device 20 according to an embodiment is a part of the positioning system 1 that can specify the position of the terminal device in a predetermined area such as indoors where GPS radio waves cannot be received. It is a device that supports maintenance for maintaining accuracy. As shown in FIG. 1, the positioning system 1 includes a plurality of transmitters 60, one or more terminal devices 50, a maintenance support device 20, and a display device 40.

  The transmitter 60 transmits a radio signal that can be received by the terminal device 50. Examples of the wireless signal include a BLE (Bluetooth (registered trademark) Low Energy) signal, an optical BLE signal, a WiFi (Wireless Fidelity) (registered trademark) signal, and an optical wireless signal. In the following description, it is assumed that the transmitter 60 transmits a BLE signal.

  The transmitter 60 is installed in advance in a range where the terminal device 50 can receive a BLE signal. As shown in FIG. 3, for example, in the case of a supermarket or the like, the transmitter 60 is set on the product display shelf 2 facing the passage a through which the user having the terminal device 50 passes, the ceiling, or the like. . In FIG. 3, the transmitters 60 are given different reference numerals “60A to 60J” so that the respective transmitters can be distinguished.

  The BLE signal transmitted by the transmitter 60 includes information for uniquely identifying the transmitter 60 and information indicating the signal reception strength. As information for uniquely specifying the transmitter 60, a BSSID (Basic Service Set Identifier) preset for each transmitter 60 can be used. BSSID is also generally called a MAC address. Also, as information indicating the signal reception strength, RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indication Indicator) can be used.

  As described above, the transmitter 60 transmits a BLE signal. Therefore, the RSSI indicating the reception intensity of the BLE signal from each transmitter 60 is measured in advance at each position in the building B, and set together with the reception intensity as a node N that abstractly indicates the measurement location. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, one node N is, for example, a position corresponding to the position of one transmitter 60. In order to distinguish the nodes N, the nodes N are given different symbols N1 to N10. Nodes N1 to N10 correspond to the transmitters 60A to 60J, respectively.

  The link L is set between adjacent nodes N. The link L is a path that can transition between adjacent nodes N. The link L can correspond to, for example, only a route that can be moved by the user of the terminal device 50 among all the routes connecting the node N. In this case, the link L corresponds to the passage a. Note that the node-link structure shown in FIG. 4 may be represented by a directed graph. In that case, the property of the link L (for example, movement cost) differs between the route from one node N to the other node N and the route from the other node N to one node N, or one-way traffic Such a one-way link may be used.

  As described above, the floor map of the building B is abstracted as a node / link structure (graph structure). Positioning can be performed in the building B by using such a node / link structure. For example, if the RSSI of the BLE signal from each transmitter T is acquired at a certain position of the building B, and the acquired RSSI is compared (checked) with the previously measured RSSI, the position is The node N (N1 to N10) in the node / link structure is specified. Since the node / link structure is an abstraction of the floor map of the building B, if the position in the node / link structure is specified, the position in the building B is also specified therefrom. Further, based on information indicating which link (route) L the terminal device 50 has moved along, the moving route of the terminal device 50 in the building B can be specified.

  The terminal device 50 is a device that acquires position information of the terminal device 50 based on radio waves from the transmitter 60. The terminal device 50 is used (carried) by the user. The terminal device 50 is, for example, a mobile phone such as a smartphone or a tablet terminal. The terminal device 50 acquires position information repeatedly (continuously). Specifically, the terminal device 50 receives the BLE signal from the transmitter 60 to acquire the position information of the terminal itself. Specifically, the terminal device 50 acquires the BSSID included in the BLE signal as position information (information indicating the position) of the terminal itself. That is, the terminal device 50 can acquire the position of the transmitter 60 specified by the BSSID as the position information of the terminal itself by acquiring the BSSID.

  Note that the terminal device 50 may receive BLE signals from a plurality of transmitters 60 simultaneously (or continuously in a short time interval). In this case, the terminal device 50 may use, for example, the BSSID related to the BLE signal having the largest RSSI as the position information of the terminal itself.

  The terminal device 50 transmits the acquired position information (that is, BSSID) to the maintenance support device 20 together with information indicating the date and time when the position information was acquired and a terminal ID that uniquely identifies the terminal device 50. The transmission may be performed every time position information is acquired, or may be performed collectively at a predetermined time interval.

  Next, details of the functions of the maintenance support device 20 will be described with reference to FIG. In the maintenance support device 20 of the present embodiment, a position specifying function that is a central function in the positioning system 1 and a maintenance support function that supports maintenance for maintaining the position accuracy in the positioning system 1 are integrally realized. Has been. As shown in FIG. 1, the maintenance support device 20 includes a node link data storage unit 21, a user information acquisition unit (acquisition unit) 22, a position estimation unit (position estimation unit) 23, and a history information storage unit (history). An information storage unit) 24, a determination unit (determination unit) 25, a specification unit (specification unit) 26, and a display unit (first display unit, second display unit) 27 are provided.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the maintenance support device 20 physically includes one or a plurality of CPUs (Central Processing Units) 101, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 102 as a main storage device, and a ROM (Read Only Memory). 103, an input device 104 such as a keyboard and mouse as input devices, an output device 105 such as a display, a communication module 106 as a data transmission / reception device such as a network card, an auxiliary storage device 107 such as a semiconductor memory, and the like. ing.

  Each function of the maintenance support device 20 is configured to read one or a plurality of predetermined computer software on hardware such as the CPU 101 and the RAM 102 shown in FIG. 2, thereby controlling the input device 104 and the output device 105 under the control of the CPU 101. This is realized by operating the communication module 106 and reading and writing data in the RAM 102 and the auxiliary storage device 107.

  The node link data storage unit 21 shown in FIG. 1 includes a plurality of pieces of position information (node data T1) of the node N indicating the abstracted position and information (link data T2) about the link L connecting the nodes N. It is a database to memorize.

  As shown in FIG. 5A, in the node data T1, for each node N, a node ID, a central latitude / longitude, a radius (m), and a BSSID are associated. The node ID is a number for uniquely identifying the node N. The center latitude / longitude is information (node position information) indicating the latitude and longitude of the center position of the node N. The radius (m) is information indicating a radius from the center of the node N indicating the range of the node N. BSSID is the BSSID of the transmitter 60 associated with the node N. The numbers in the reference numerals of the nodes shown in the node / link structure shown in FIG. 4 and the numbers of the node IDs shown in FIG. That is, the node with the node ID “1” indicates the node N1.

  As shown in FIG. 5B, in the link data T2, for each link L, a link ID, a node ID, an adjacent node ID, and an Euclidean distance (m) are associated. The link ID is a number for uniquely identifying the link. The node ID is a number for uniquely identifying one node N related to the link L. The adjacent node ID is an ID number for uniquely specifying the other node related to the link L, which is the node N adjacent to the node N indicated by the node ID. The Euclidean distance (m) is information indicating the distance of the link indicated by the link ID, that is, the distance (m) between the central latitude and longitude of the two nodes indicated by the node ID and the adjacent node ID.

  The user information acquisition unit 22 continuously acquires the position information (that is, BSSID) of the terminal device 50 acquired in the terminal device 50 from the terminal device 50. More specifically, the user information acquisition unit 22 continuously acquires the position information, information indicating the date and time when the position information was acquired, and a user ID. The user information acquisition unit 22 outputs the user information to the position estimation unit 23.

  The position estimation unit 23 is based on the user information of the terminal device 50 continuously acquired by the user information acquisition unit 22 and the node data T1 and link data T2 stored in the node link data storage unit 21. The node where 50 is located (exists) is continuously estimated. The position estimation unit 23 may perform node estimation every time user information is input from the user information acquisition unit 22, or may collectively estimate a plurality of nodes at predetermined time intervals. In the following description, it is assumed that the position estimation unit 23 estimates a node every time user information is input.

  When receiving the input of user information from the user information acquisition unit 22, the position estimation unit 23 refers to the node data T1 (see FIG. 5A) in the node link data storage unit 21. Then, the position estimation unit 23 identifies the node ID associated with the BSSID that matches the BSSID included in the user information in the node data T1 as the node where the terminal device 50 is located (exists). The position estimation unit 23 transmits a position history in which the user ID included in the user information, the identified node ID, and information indicating the date and time are associated with each other to the movement history data T3 of the history information storage unit 24.

  The history information storage unit 24 stores (accumulates) the movement history of the terminal device 50 for each user. The history information storage unit 24 stores the information about the node where the terminal device 50 exists, sent by the position estimation unit 23, as movement history data T3 as shown in FIG. The movement history data T3 is associated with a user ID, a node ID, and a date and time. The user ID is an ID number for uniquely identifying the user. The node ID is an ID number for uniquely identifying a node (details will be described later) estimated by the position estimation unit 23 as a node in which the terminal device 50 exists. The date and time is the date and time when the position information of the terminal device 50 used for node estimation by the position estimation unit 23 is acquired. Therefore, by analyzing the data stored in the history information storage unit 24, it is possible to grasp events such as which user is located at which node and when or which user has passed which link.

  When the history information stored in the history information storage unit 24 is rearranged in time series, the determination unit 25 extracts a feature unit in which the position of the terminal device 50 continuously and repeatedly transitions between specific nodes. The presence / absence of the repetitive transition phenomenon is determined based on the presence / absence of the feature portion. Normally, history information for a plurality of users (terminal devices 50) is stored in the history information storage unit 24. Therefore, the determination unit 25 performs sorting using the user ID and date / time in the movement history data T3 as keys. Thereby, the movement history of the node N for every user is extracted, and the determination part 25 rearranges the historical information for every user, and extracts a characteristic part.

  Here, the characteristic part which the determination part 25 extracts is demonstrated, referring FIG. FIG. 7 shows excerpts of movement history data for each user (for example, users 1 to 3). For example, the user 1 indicates that the position is specified by the position estimation unit 23 in the order of N1, N2, N3, N2, N3, N2, N3, N2, and N6. Here, the portion where the position of the terminal device 50 continuously and alternately transitions between specific nodes, that is, N3, N2, N3, N2, N3, and N2 (underlined portion shown in FIG. 7) is the above feature. Corresponds to the division. Note that the number of repeated transitions of the user 1 in the above example is six. The determination unit 25 extracts such a feature from the history information storage unit 24.

  Similarly, the user 2 indicates that the position is specified by the position estimation unit 23 in the order of N6, N2, N3, N2, N3, N2, and N1. The above-mentioned characteristic part is a part of N3 and N2 (underlined part shown in FIG. 7), and the number of repetitive transitions is two. For example, the user 3 indicates that the position is specified by the position estimation unit 23 in the order of N1, N2, N3, and N7. Note that the feature part is not extracted from the user 3.

  Here, a method for deriving the probability of occurrence of the repetitive transition phenomenon in the node N2 (node ID: 2) that can move between the node N1, the node N3, and the node N6 will be described in detail. The determination unit 25 derives a transition probability for each link. Specifically, the determination unit 25 determines the total transition number T21 between the node N2 and the node N1, the total transition number T23 between the node N2 and the node N3, and the total transition between the node N2 and the node N6. The number T26 is extracted from the movement history data stored in the history information storage unit 24. For example, the number of transitions (T23) between the node N2 and the node N3 is calculated from the movement history data stored in the history information storage unit 24, the number of movements from the node N2 to the node N3, and from the node N3 to the node N2. It is derived by extracting the number of movements and calculating the sum thereof.

  Next, the determination unit 25 determines the total number of repeated transitions TT21 between the node N2 and the node N1, the total number of repeated transitions TT23 between the node N2 and the node N3, and the total number of repeated times between the node N2 and the node N6. The number of transitions TT26 is extracted from the history information storage unit 24. For example, the number of repetitive transitions (TT23) between the node N2 and the node N3 is the sum of the number of repetitive transitions for each user described above, that is, the number of repetitive transitions of the user 1 (six times) and the user 2 It is derived by calculating the sum of the number of repeated transitions (2 times) and the number of repeated transitions of user 3 (0 times).

Next, the determination unit 25 determines the occurrence probability P21 of the repetitive transition phenomenon between the node N2 and the node N1, the occurrence probability P23 of the repetitive transition phenomenon between the node N2 and the node N3, and the node N2 and the node N6. The occurrence probability P26 of the repetitive transition phenomenon is derived respectively. Each derivation formula is as follows.
P21 = TT21 / (T21 + T23 + T26)
P23 = TT23 / (T21 + T23 + T26)
P26 = TT26 / (T21 + T23 + T26)

  The table shown in FIG. 8 summarizes the occurrence probability of the repetitive transition phenomenon between nodes derived in this way. For example, in FIG. 8, the occurrence probability P21 of the repetitive transition between the node N2 and the node N1 is “0”, and the occurrence probability P23 of the repetitive transition between the node N2 and the node N3 is “0.9”. In addition, “0” is derived as the occurrence probability P26 of the repetitive transition phenomenon between the node N2 and the node N6. As described above, the total number of transitions between nodes when the repetitive transition phenomenon occurs tends to be overwhelmingly larger than the total number of transitions due to actual movement of the user (terminal device 50). Therefore, when the transition probability derived as described above is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold (for example, 0.8 or more), the determination unit 25 determines that the transition is caused by the occurrence of a repetitive transition phenomenon, and the repetitive transition probability. Is less than a predetermined threshold (for example, less than 0.8), it is determined that the transition is not caused by a repetitive transition phenomenon but is actually caused by a user moving.

  When the determination unit 25 determines that the repetitive transition phenomenon has occurred, the specifying unit 26 specifies the transmitter 60 corresponding to the node as a transmitter that may cause the repetitive transition phenomenon. In the above example, the transmitters 60B and 60C corresponding to the node N2 and the node N3 are specified as transmitters that may cause a repetitive transition phenomenon.

  The display unit 27 causes the display device 40 to display the position of the transmitter 60 specified by the specifying unit 26 in association with the map information. Specifically, for example, the display unit 27 acquires a map of each product corner in the store from a map DB (not shown), associates the position of the node and the link with the map, and identifies the map by the identifying unit 26. The displayed position of the transmitter 60 (60B and 60C) is displayed on the display device 40.

  Next, a specifying method for increasing the accuracy in specifying the transmitter 60 that may cause the repetitive transition phenomenon in the specifying unit 26 will be described. Examples of the specifying method for improving the accuracy include a specifying method based on the number of relay nodes and a specifying method based on clustering, as shown below.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 8, the occurrence probability P67 of the repetitive transition phenomenon between the node N6 and the node N7 is relatively high, and as long as it is judged from the numerical value, it repeats between the node N6 and the node N7. It is considered that a transition phenomenon has occurred. However, as shown in FIG. 4, the merchandise display shelf 2 is arranged between the node N6 and the node N7, and the node N6 and the node N7 cannot physically go back and forth (no link exists). Therefore, it is considered that the nodes N6 and N7 may be excluded from the target as links in which the repetitive transition phenomenon occurs.

  In view of such a situation, the specifying unit 26 transmits the call corresponding to the specific node only when the number of relay nodes between the transmitters 60 corresponding to the specific node is equal to or less than a predetermined number (for example, 1 or less). The device 60 may be identified as a transmitter that may be causing a repetitive transition phenomenon. In other words, when the number of relay nodes between the transmitters 60 corresponding to a specific node is larger than a predetermined number (for example, greater than 1), the specifying unit 26 makes a transition to the transmitter 60 corresponding to the specific node repeatedly. It is not necessary to identify the transmitter that may cause the phenomenon.

  Although the node N6 and the node N7 are adjacent to each other, as described above, the merchandise display shelf 2 is arranged between them, and as shown in FIG. 4, the number of relay links is also “3” (link L5, 3 links of link L2 and link L7). Therefore, the specifying unit 26 is not specified as a transmitter that may cause a repetitive transition phenomenon.

  In addition, when the determination unit 25 determines that the repetitive transition phenomenon has occurred, the specifying unit 26 hierarchically clusters a plurality of transmitters 60 based on the position information, and the transmitters corresponding to specific nodes When the 60s are classified into the same class, the transmitter 60 corresponding to the specific node may be specified as a transmitter that may cause a repetitive transition phenomenon. In other words, when the transmitter 60 corresponding to a specific node is not classified into the same class as a result of the clustering, the specifying unit 26 causes the transmitter 60 corresponding to the specific node to cause a repetitive transition phenomenon. It is not necessary to specify as a transmitter that may be present.

  For the clustering, a known Ward method or the like can be used. Further, as variables used for clustering, for example, position information (coordinate information) of the transmitters 60, a distance on the actual route between the transmitters 60 (distance on the link), and the number of relay nodes between the transmitters 60 are used. be able to. A clustering result is generated by expressing such a variable as a tree diagram with nodes as leaves. Then, the transmitter 60 corresponding to the node belonging to the cluster that remains when cut at a predetermined hierarchical level may be specified as a transmitter that may cause a repetitive transition phenomenon.

  According to the method as described above, they are located at close distances in the XY coordinate space, but the product display shelf 2 is arranged between the nodes N6 and N7, so that it cannot physically come and go. It is possible to eliminate such a problem that it is determined that the transmitters 60F and 60G corresponding to the nodes N6 and N7 are transmitters causing a repetitive transition phenomenon. Thereby, it becomes possible to improve the specific accuracy of the transmitter 60 that may cause a repetitive transition phenomenon.

  When clustering is performed, the display unit 27 displays the position of the transmitter 60 specified by the specifying unit 26 in association with the above-described map information, and the outgoing calls classified into the same class by the specifying unit 26. Each device 60 may be displayed in different colors. In the maintenance support device 20, the position of the specified transmitter 60 can be presented in an easy-to-understand manner to a person who performs maintenance. Further, in the maintenance support device 20, the nodes clustered in the same class are displayed on the map while being color-divided. As a result, it is possible for the person who performs maintenance to intuitively grasp nodes that are close to each other.

  In the maintenance support device 20 of the above-described embodiment, the position of the terminal device 50 specified by the positioning system 1 is stored as the movement history data T3, and the feature portion is extracted when the stored movement history is rearranged in time series. Based on the presence or absence, the presence or absence of the repetitive transition phenomenon is determined and the transmitter 60 that may cause the repetitive transition phenomenon is specified. As a result, a simple analysis is performed on the movement history data T3 stored in the history information storage unit 24 by a worker who has abundant expertise and experience, without performing a test of repeatedly walking around the target environment together with dedicated equipment. Thus, it is possible to easily identify the presence or absence of the repetitive transition phenomenon and the transmitter 60 that may cause the repetitive transition phenomenon. Accordingly, it is possible to continuously monitor the occurrence of the repetitive transition phenomenon. As a result, in the positioning system 1, it is possible to continuously perform maintenance for maintaining the positional accuracy.

  In the above, it demonstrated in detail based on one Embodiment. However, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. The present invention can be modified in various ways as described below without departing from the scope of the invention.

  In the above-described embodiment, the continuous transition phenomenon that alternately and repeatedly transitions between two nodes has been described as an example. However, in the case of a continuous transition phenomenon that alternately and repeatedly transitions between three or more nodes, Even if it exists, it becomes possible to identify the transmitter which may cause the repetitive transition phenomenon by the same method.

  In the above-described embodiment or modification, an example in which the presence or absence of a repetitive transition phenomenon is determined based on the occurrence probability after extracting a feature portion that continuously and alternately transitions between specific nodes has been described. The invention is not limited to this. For example, when the characteristic part is extracted from the history information storage unit 24, it may be determined that a repetitive transition phenomenon has occurred without being based on the occurrence probability. Furthermore, among the transmitters extracted by this configuration, at least one element of the distance between specific nodes, the distance on the link between specific nodes, and the number of relay nodes between transmitters corresponding to the specific node Based on this, candidates may be narrowed down to identify transmitters that may cause a repetitive transition phenomenon.

  In the maintenance support device 20 of the above embodiment or the modification, the position specifying function that is a central function in the positioning system 1 and the maintenance support function that supports maintenance for maintaining and managing the position accuracy in the positioning system 1 are integrated. However, these may be configured separately. Further, these separately configured devices may be connected by a network or the like, for example, one is provided in an office that manages the positioning system, and the other is provided as a server that can be connected by a network or the like. It may be a simple configuration.

  In the said embodiment or modification, it mentioned and mentioned as the example applied to the positioning system 1 constructed | assembled indoors, However, You may apply to the positioning system provided outdoors.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Positioning system, 2 ... Product display shelf, 20 ... Maintenance support apparatus, 21 ... Node link data storage part, 22 ... User information acquisition part (acquisition means), 23 ... Position estimation part (position estimation means), 24 ... History Information storage unit (history information storage unit), 25 ... determination unit (determination unit), 26 ... identification unit (specification unit), 27 ... display unit (first display unit, second display unit), 40 ... display device, 50 ... Terminal device, 60 (60A-60J) ... Transmitter, N (N1 to N10) ... Node, L (L1 to L10) ... Link, T1 ... Node data, T2 ... Link data, T3 ... Movement history data (history information) ).

Claims (7)

A plurality of transmitters that are provided in a predetermined area and that transmit signals; node information storage means that stores information about nodes indicating positions set in association with the plurality of transmitters; A location support means for specifying the node on which the terminal device is located based on the signal, and a maintenance support device in a positioning system comprising:
Obtaining means for obtaining the position of the terminal device identified in the terminal device from the terminal device;
History information storage means for storing the position of the terminal device acquired by the acquisition means as history information;
When the history information is rearranged in chronological order, a feature part in which the position of the terminal device continuously and alternately transitions between specific nodes is extracted, and repetitive transition phenomenon based on the presence or absence of the feature part is extracted. A determination means for determining presence or absence of occurrence;
Specifying means for specifying a transmitter corresponding to the specific node as a transmitter that may cause the repeated transition phenomenon when the determination means determines that the repeated transition phenomenon has occurred; A maintenance support device.   The determination unit is configured to determine the total number of transitions between a specific node and one or a plurality of nodes adjacent to one of the specific nodes based on the history information stored in the history information storage unit. The maintenance support apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an occurrence probability that is a ratio of the total number of transitions in the computer is calculated, and whether or not the repetitive transition phenomenon has occurred is determined based on the occurrence probability.   The maintenance support apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising first display means for displaying the position of the transmitter specified by the specifying means in association with map information. The particular means, prior Symbol distance on the link between a particular node, and based on at least one element of number of relay nodes of the transmitter each other corresponding to said particular node, transmitter corresponding to the particular node The maintenance support device according to claim 1, wherein the transmitter is specified as a transmitter that may cause the repetitive transition phenomenon.   When the determination unit determines that the repetitive transition phenomenon has occurred, the specifying unit hierarchically clusters the plurality of transmitters based on position information, and the transmitter corresponding to the specific node When each other is classified into the same class, a transmitter corresponding to the specific node is specified as a transmitter that may cause the repetitive transition phenomenon. The maintenance support device described. The identification means includes, as variables when the clustering is performed , coordinate information of the specific node, a distance on the link between the specific nodes, and the number of relay nodes between transmitters corresponding to the specific node. The maintenance support apparatus according to claim 5, wherein at least one element is adopted.   A second display means for displaying the position of the transmitter specified by the specifying means in association with map information and displaying the position of each transmitter classified into the same class by the specifying means; The maintenance support apparatus according to claim 5 or 6, further comprising:

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