Information processing device, management system, information processing method, and program

Abstract

To provide an information processing device capable of more easily identifying and monitoring a mobile body holding a transmitter to be monitored, a management system, an information processing method, and a program.SOLUTION: A server device (10) comprises a CPU (11) and a storage unit (13). The CPU (11) acquires reception information from a communication device which receives radio waves issued by each of a plurality of transmitters. The CPU (11) determines whether each of the plurality transmitters is located within the set range around the communication device on the basis of the reception information. The storage unit (13) stores identification information of the plurality of transmitters as target information (132). The target information (132) includes first identification information related to the identification of radio waves transmitted by each of the plurality of transmitters, and second identification information used to identify the transmitters. The first identification information and the second identification information are associated with each other. The CPU (11) performs determination processing on the basis of reception information of the radio waves related to the first identification information associated with the acquired second identification information.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to an information processing apparatus, a management system, an information processing method, and a program.

Background Art

[0002] There are cases where the behavior ranges of a plurality of moving bodies, such as groups of nursery children or elderly patients, groups of livestock, or autonomous mobile machine groups, are watched or monitored. If the number of objects to be watched is larger than the number of people watching, it is easy to overlook something. In particular, when dealing with some moving bodies with behaviors that deviate from the assumption, the watching of the remaining objects may become insufficient.

[0003] In Patent Document 1, a patient to be cared for or the like holds a transmitter, and a caregiver receives radio waves emitted by the transmitter using a smartphone or the like to determine whether the subject is within a set range.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] However, when the moving bodies each holding a plurality of transmitters are changed, it is difficult to identify the moving bodies holding the transmitters using the identification information of the transmitters that communicate during radio wave transmission and reception. In addition, the cost increases for improving the functions on the side of the transmitters used in multiple units.

[0006] An object of this invention is to provide an information processing apparatus, a management system, an information processing method, and a program that can more easily identify and monitor the moving bodies holding the transmitters to be monitored.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] To achieve the above object, the present invention provides: a control unit configured to acquire reception information of radio waves transmitted from a plurality of transmitters by a communication device, and based on the reception information, determine whether each of the plurality of transmitters is located within a set range around the communication device; a storage unit configured to store identification information of the plurality of transmitters; and the identification information includes first identification information related to identification of radio waves emitted by each of the plurality of transmitters, and second identification information that is different from the first identification information and that identifies the transmitter, and the first identification information and the second identification information are associated with each other; the control unit acquires the second identification information and performs the determination based on reception information of radio waves related to the first identification information associated with the second identification information. The present invention relates to an information processing device.

Advantages of the Invention

[0008] According to the present invention, there is an effect that it is possible to more easily identify and monitor a moving object that holds a transmitter to be monitored.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0009]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

Figure 10

Figure 11

Figure 12

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0010] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described based on the drawings. FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a monitoring system 100 according to the present embodiment. The monitoring system 100 includes a server device 10, a plurality of communication devices 40, and a plurality of transmitters 50.

[0011] The transmitter 50 is held by a moving object to be monitored, for example, a kindergarten child, a nursery school child, an elderly care recipient, livestock, a mobile machine, etc. In the present embodiment, the case where a kindergarten or nursery school child holds it during off-campus activities will be described. The transmitter 50 has a function as a beacon that transmits minimum information according to the Bluetooth Low Energy standard (BLE. Bluetooth is a registered trademark).

[0012] The communication device 40 is held by a person in charge of watching and monitoring a moving object such as a child, for example, a nursery teacher. The communication device 40 is, for example, a smartphone. Alternatively, the communication device 40 may be a tablet terminal or a dedicated portable device. In the present embodiment, there are a plurality of persons in charge, and accordingly, a plurality of communication devices 40 are also included in the monitoring system 100. The communication device 40 can receive the radio wave of the transmitter 50 by BLE and can communicate with the server device 10 via WiFi, a telephone line, or the like.

[0013] The server device 10 is the information processing device of the present embodiment. The server device 10 acquires the reception information of the radio waves of the transmitter 50 from a plurality of communication devices 40, and further acquires the position information of the plurality of communication devices 40. The server device 10 integrally analyzes the monitoring status of each transmitter 50, that is, the children, and transmits the analysis result to each communication device 40.

[0014] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the functional configurations of the communication device 40 and the transmitter 50. As shown in FIG. 2(a), the communication device 40 includes a CPU 41 (Central Processing Unit), a RAM 42 (Random Access Memory), a storage unit 43, a measurement unit 44, a communication unit 45, a display unit 46, an operation reception unit 47, a notification unit 48, a photographing unit 49, and the like.

[0015] The CPU 41 is a processor that comprehensively controls the operation of the communication device 40. The CPU 41 may be a dedicated microcomputer or a general-purpose CPU. Further, the CPU 41 may have a single processor or may have a plurality of processors. When the CPU 41 has a plurality of processors, the plurality of processors may perform parallel processing or may operate independently for each use.

[0016] The RAM 42 provides a working memory space for the CPU 41 and stores temporary data. The RAM is, for example, a DRAM (Dynamic RAM), but is not limited thereto.

[0017] The storage unit 43 has a non-volatile memory. The non-volatile memory is, for example, a flash memory, but is not limited thereto. The storage unit 43 stores and holds a program 431 for operation control and setting data for operation. The setting data includes a reference value setting 432. The storage unit 43 may include an external memory card or the like. Further, the storage unit 43 may include a storage area in a cloud server or the like on a network. The program 431 includes an application program related to the monitoring (watching over children) control of the transmitter 50 described later.

[0018] The measurement unit 44 measures the position and movement of the own device (communication device 40). The measurement unit 44 has, for example, a positioning operation unit 441. The positioning operation unit 441 receives radio waves from positioning satellites related to GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) and performs arithmetic processing to calculate the position of the own device. In addition, the measurement unit 44 may have an acceleration sensor, a geomagnetic field sensor, etc., and based on the measurement results of these, the CPU 41 may be able to specify the movement and orientation of the own device.

[0019] The communication unit 45 transmits and receives radio waves to and from external devices and controls communication with the external devices. The communication unit 45 can receive radio waves from the transmitter 50 at least by BLE. In addition to this, the communication unit 45 can be connected to the Internet via a mobile phone line or WiFi. Also, the communication unit 45 may be able to read an RFID tag by proximity field communication (NFC) such as RFID (Radio Frequency Identification).

[0020] The display unit 46 performs display on a digital display screen based on the control of the CPU 41. The digital display screen may be, for example, a liquid crystal display screen or an organic EL (Electro-Luminescent) screen, etc. Various characters, signs, graphics, images, etc. may be displayable in full color on the digital display screen.

[0021] The operation reception unit 47 receives input operations from the outside such as users and outputs an operation signal corresponding to the received input operation to the CPU 41. The operation reception unit 47 may include, for example, a touch panel and a push button switch. The touch panel is positioned overlapping the digital display screen. When a touch operation is detected, the touch panel identifies the position on the detected digital display screen and generates an operation signal including the information of the identified position and outputs it to the CPU 41. The push button switch may be located, for example, on the side surface of the communication device 40. When a pressing operation of the push button switch is detected, the operation reception unit 47 outputs an operation signal for identifying the pressed push button switch to the CPU 41.

[0022] The notification unit 48 performs a predetermined notification operation based on the control of the CPU 41. The predetermined notification operation may include, for example, part or all of the lighting or blinking of an LED (Light Emitting Diode), the generation of a beep sound, and the generation of vibration. The notification unit 48 has a well-known configuration corresponding to the executable notification operations.

[0023] The photographing unit 49 has a camera capable of photographing a visible light image and generating a digital image. The photographing unit 49 may be able to recognize that a barcode, a two-dimensional identification code, etc. are within the field of view of the camera and perform a reading operation.

[0024] As shown in FIG. 2(b), the transmitter 50 includes a transmission module 501, a measurement unit 54, a notification unit 58, a second identification information 59, etc.

[0025] The transmission module 501 can transmit the first identification information of its own device by radio waves using BLE. The transmission module 501 includes a CPU 51, a RAM 52, a storage unit 53, a communication unit 55, etc.

[0026] The CPU 51 has a processor that controls the operation of the transmission module 501. The processor may be a microcomputer dedicated to the transmission module 501. The RAM 52 provides a memory space for the CPU 51 to operate and stores temporary data. These are preferably low in power consumption and can operate stably for a long time continuously.

[0027] The storage unit 53 is a non-volatile memory and stores a control program and setting data related to the operation of the communication unit 55. The storage unit 53 has first identification information 531. The first identification information 531 may be, for example, a unique identification number of the transmission module 501.

[0028] The transmission module 501 may operate continuously for a specified time, for example, 1 hour, triggered by the detection of acceleration by an acceleration sensor. That is, the transmitter 50 may be automatically started without the need for a switch operation or the like.

[0029] The communication unit 55 includes an antenna and a transmission / reception circuit for transmitting and receiving radio waves. The communication unit 55 broadcasts its own information to the outside at a defined time interval. The operation of the communication unit 55 can be stopped under the control of the CPU 51.

[0030] The measurement unit 54 includes, for example, an acceleration sensor. The measurement data of the acceleration sensor is input to the transmission module 501. The acceleration sensor may output only information on whether acceleration equal to or greater than a threshold value has been measured.

[0031] The notification unit 58 notifies that the transmission module 501 is operating or that the supply power of a battery (not shown) is insufficient. The notification unit 58 has, for example, an LED, and the emission color or emission pattern may be different according to the notification content. The emission color may be switched between, for example, green and red. The emission pattern may be switched between, for example, a blinking pattern.

[0032] The second identification information 59 is information different from the first identification information 531, and is, for example, identification information of the transmitter 50 that can be acquired by a method other than reception of the radio wave. The second identification information 59 is not automatically transmitted by the operation of the transmission module 501 that automatically operates as described above, but is read by a separate reading operation from the outside. For example, the second identification information 59 may be visible to the user from the outside, that is, optically recognizable. For example, the second identification information 59 may be identification information represented by a barcode that is a one-dimensional identification code, a two-dimensional identification code, or the like. These may be printed on the outer surface of the transmitter 50 by unevenness or the like, or a seal or the like on which these are printed may be attached to the outer surface. The seal or the like here includes a sheet or plate having no adhesive member and those adhered using a separate adhesive member. The seal or the like may be one to which the owner of the transmitter 50 has set and attached the second identification information 59 by himself / herself. Alternatively, the second identification information 59 may be located on the outer surface or inside along the outer wall as an RFID tag or the like that can be read from the outside using near-field communication. Further, the number, symbol, name, or the like that is the content of the identification code may also be described on the surface of the transmitter 50 as characters visible to the user together. In many cases, it is difficult to easily distinguish between a plurality of transmitters 50 of the same model from the appearance. Therefore, when it is not determined which of the plurality of transmitters 50 each mobile object holds, the second identification information 59 can be used to associate the transmitter 50 held by the mobile object with its transmitted and received radio wave (radio wave including the first identification information). Further, even when the monitoring target holding a plurality of transmitters 50 is determined, when the plurality of transmitters 50 are collectively stored by the administrator and distributed to the mobile object of the monitoring target at the time of use, the second identification information 59 can be used to identify the transmitter 50.

[0033] FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the server device 10. The server device 10 may be, for example, a general-purpose PC (Personal Computer) or the like. The server device 10 includes a CPU 11 (control unit), a RAM 12, a storage unit 13, a communication unit 15, a display unit 16, an operation reception unit 17, and the like.

[0034] The CPU 11 is a processor that comprehensively controls the operation of the server device 10. The CPU 11 may be a dedicated microcomputer or a general-purpose CPU. Also, the CPU 11 may have a single processor or a plurality of processors. When the CPU 11 has a plurality of processors, the plurality of processors may perform parallel processing or may operate independently for each application.

[0035] The RAM 12 provides a working memory space for the CPU 11 and stores temporary data. The RAM is, for example, a DRAM, but is not limited thereto.

[0036] The storage unit 13 has a non-volatile memory. The non-volatile memory is, for example, a flash memory or an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), but is not limited thereto. The storage unit 13 stores and holds a program 131 for operation control, operation setting data, and map data 134. The setting data includes target information 132 and range setting 133. The target information 132 includes the identification information of the present embodiment and is list information of the transmitters 50 to be detected. The range setting 133 is information that defines up to which radio wave intensity is to be set as the monitoring range based on the radio wave intensity of the transmitter 50 received by the communication device 40. The range setting 133 includes a first setting range Du and a second setting range Du2, which will be described later. The range setting 133 may also include information such as the range setting of the area Pa. The range setting 133 and the map data 134 are included in the area information of the present embodiment. The storage unit 13 may be an auxiliary storage device externally attached to the main body of a computer including at least the CPU 11, the RAM 12, and the communication unit 15. Alternatively, the storage unit 13 may include a storage area for the user of the server device 10 in a cloud server or the like on the network.

[0037] The communication unit 15 controls communication with external devices. The communication unit 15 controls the transmission and reception of data in accordance with, for example, the protocols of a LAN (Local Area Network) or a wireless LAN.

[0038] The display unit 16 performs display on a digital screen based on the control of the CPU 11. The digital display screen may be, for example, a liquid crystal display screen or an organic EL screen. The display unit 16 may be a peripheral device externally attached to the main body (computer) of the server device 10 such as a PC. The external attachment may be made by a video signal transmission cable such as an HDMI (registered trademark) cable.

[0039] The operation reception unit 17 receives an input operation from the outside such as a user and outputs an operation signal corresponding to the received content to the CPU 11. The operation reception unit 17 may include a pointing device such as a mouse or a pointer, a keyboard, or the like. In addition to or instead of this, the operation reception unit 17 may include a touch panel. The touch panel is located overlapping the digital display screen. The pointing device, the keyboard, or the like may be a peripheral device externally attached to the main body (computer) of the server device 10 such as a PC. The external attachment may be performed by a wired cable, BLE, or wireless communication at a specific frequency.

[0040] Next, the monitoring operation will be described. In the present embodiment, a plurality of communication devices 40 receive the BLE radio waves transmitted by a plurality of transmitters 50, and determine whether or not the children who are the holders of the respective transmitters 50 are within the set range. BLE communication is short-range wireless communication, and the radio wave reception intensity decreases as the distance increases. Therefore, as an approximate value, the distance between the communication device 40 and the transmitter 50 can be obtained by converting the radio wave reception intensity into distance. As the transmissible distance of BLE, about 50 m is assumed here as the range of stable transmission and reception. Also, in a place with good visibility, etc., radio wave transmission and reception may be possible even at a longer distance.

[0041] The identification information of the transmitter 50 to be monitored is stored and held in advance in the server device 10 as target information 132. The identification information includes the combination of the above-mentioned first identification information 531 and second identification information 59. In addition to this, identification information of the nursery child who is the holder, such as name or number, may be further stored in association with the second identification information 59. The registration process of the identification information is first performed in a batch, and in addition, registration by the addition of the transmitter 50 and deletion due to failure can be appropriately performed.

[0042] FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the control procedure of the pre-registration control process executed by the CPU 11 of the server device 10. This pre-registration control process is started, for example, when the CPU 11 detects the reception of a predetermined input operation to the operation reception unit 17 or acquires a registration or deletion request from the communication device 40. The pre-registration control process may be performed once at the time of purchase or before the first use of the transmitter 50 and once at the time of disposal.

[0043] The CPU 11 determines whether there is a transmitter 50 to be newly registered (S1). If it is determined that there is no transmitter 50 to be newly registered (S1; N), the process of the CPU 11 proceeds to process S6. When it is determined that there is a transmitter 50 to be newly registered (S1; Y), the CPU 11 acquires the first identification information 531 of the transmitter 50 to be registered from the communication device 40 (S2). At this time, the communication device 40 automatically establishes a communication connection related to BLE with the unregistered transmitter 50 to be registered by, for example, the communication unit 45 and acquires the first identification information 531. The CPU 41 of the communication device 40 causes the communication device 40 to transmit the first identification information 531 to the server device 10. When a plurality of unregistered transmitters 50 are automatically activated simultaneously with the detection of acceleration as described above, the communication unit 45 receives a plurality of unregistered first identification information 531 at once. As a result, the CPU 41 and the CPU 11 cannot distinguish which transmitter 50 the acquired first identification information 531 corresponds to. Therefore, when there are a plurality of unregistered transmitters 50, the registration operator operates them one by one or inserts a battery so that only one of the unregistered transmitters 50 to be registered operates. The registered transmitter 50 will not cause problems even if it operates simultaneously with the unregistered transmitter 50. The CPU 11 acquires the second identification information 59 of the transmitter 50 to be registered from the communication device 40 (S3). The communication device 40 may optically acquire the second identification information 59 of the transmitter 50 for which the first identification information 531 has been acquired by the monitoring person or the like based on manual operation by the imaging unit 49, or may acquire it by the RFID reading mechanism of the communication unit 45 or the like. For example, the monitoring person causes the CPU 41 to execute the camera function and the barcode reading function (such as an app) of the communication device 40, captures the second identification information 59 of the transmitter 50, and reads the content. Alternatively, the monitoring person causes the CPU 41 to execute the RFID reading function of the communication device 40 and reads the second identification information 59 of the transmitter 50. Thereby, the first identification information 531 and the second identification information 59 are associated with each other. The communication device 40 transmits these pieces of information to the server device 10 in order or collectively.

[0044] The CPU 11 adds and stores the acquired first identification information 531 and second identification information 59 in association with each other in the target information 132 (S4). At this time, the second identification information 59 may be associated with a specific child or the like. In this case, for example, the operation reception unit 17 may receive an input operation of personal information such as a child's name. The CPU 11 may store the received personal information as third identification information in association with the second identification information 59 in the target information 132. When a large number of children each hold the transmitter 50, it is often difficult for the caregiver to identify specifically whose location information it is based only on the combination of the first identification information 531 and the second identification information 59. By associating the third identification information with the second identification information 59 and providing the location information based on the third identification information, the caregiver can easily and promptly obtain the situation of a specific child.

[0045] The CPU 11 determines whether all the transmitters 50 to be registered have been registered (S5). For example, in the communication device 40, the CPU 41 may cause the display unit 46 to display a button for selecting whether to end the registration each time one piece of the first identification information 531 and the second identification information 59 is transmitted to the server device 10. The operation reception unit 47 detects which button has been selected, and the detection result is transmitted to the server device 10. The CPU 11 may perform the determination process of process S5 according to this information on whether the registration has ended. If it is determined that not all the registrations have been completed, that is, if there is a transmitter 50 to be registered that has not been completed (S5; N), the process of the CPU 11 returns to process S2.

[0046] If it is determined that all the transmitters 50 to be registered have been registered (S5; Y), the CPU 11 determines whether there is a transmitter 50 to be deleted from the registration (S6). If it is determined that there is no transmitter 50 to be deleted from the registration (S6; N), the CPU 11 ends the pre-registration control process.

[0047] When it is determined that there is a transmitter 50 to be deleted from the registration (S6; Y), the CPU 11 causes the display unit 16 to display, for example, a list of the transmitters 50 registered therein (S7). The CPU 11 receives a selection operation of the transmitter 50 to be deleted by the operation reception unit 17 (S8). Note that the CPU 11 may simply receive and acquire the second identification information 59 of the transmitter 50 to be deleted from the communication device 40.

[0048] The CPU 11 deletes the registration of the selected transmitter 50 (S9). The CPU 11 determines whether or not all deletions of the transmitters 50 to be deleted have been completed (S10). If it is determined that not all deletions have been completed, that is, there is a transmitter 50 to be deleted that has not been deleted (S10; N), the process of the CPU 11 returns to process S7. If it is determined that all the transmitters 50 to be deleted have been deleted (S10; Y), the CPU 11 ends the pre-registration control process.

[0049] Next, the content of the operation of monitoring the transmitter 50 will be described. In the following description, it is assumed that a plurality of guardians (monitors) such as nursery teachers lead a plurality of nursery children from a nursery school to a nearby park (destination of movement) and let them play in an area (monitoring area of a plurality of transmitters) set in the park, and then return to the nursery school. Each guardian holds a communication device 40, and each nursery child holds a transmitter 50. The server device 10 may be located at an arbitrary position on a network capable of communicating with the communication device 40.

[0050] FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the positional relationship between a guardian and a nursery child during movement. As shown in Fig. 5(a), the guardians and the communication device 40 are located at least at the head and the tail on the way from the nursery school to the park and on the way back from the park to the nursery school. That is, these guardians and the communication device 40 move with the children in a line and the transmitters 50 sandwiched in between. The distance between the communication device 40(F) (the first communication device) of the leading guardian F and the communication device 40(E) (the second communication device) of the trailing guardian E is the distance Dfe (the first distance). Here, the head and the tail refer to the positions when the children are in a normal positional relationship. That is, even if a child holding the transmitter 50 jumps out in front of the leading communication device 40 or stands still beside the trailing communication device 40 and protrudes backward, they are defined as the "head" and the "tail" by definition.

[0051] As described above, in BLE, there is a limit to the reception distance of the radio waves from the transmitter 50. The distance Dfe may be set to be equal to or less than the first set range Du. The first set range Du is determined according to the range within which the radio waves transmitted by the transmitter 50 held by the child can be received by the communication device 40 of the guardian at a reference intensity or higher. At the same time, the distance Dfe is set to an appropriate value that is equal to or less than the upper limit value (the first upper limit value) of the range within which the guardian can appropriately lead the child. In particular, the distance Dfe may be set to an interval that allows for sufficient reception of radio waves even when crossing a road at an intersection or being blocked by a building at a corner. Also, the human body blocks radio waves. Therefore, depending on the holding mode of the communication device 40(F) of the leading guardian, the communication device 40 of the leading guardian may have a lower radio wave reception sensitivity from the transmitter 50 compared to the communication device 40(E) of the trailing guardian. An appropriate distance Dfe may be determined in consideration of such sensitivity anisotropy. For example, the first set range Du may be a circular range having a radius shorter than the above-described BLE transmission distance and longer than the width of the arterial road, and may be, for example, about 30 to 60% of the transmission distance. Therefore, the reference intensity is higher than the lower limit value at which the communication device 40 can actually detect. The allowable first upper limit value of the distance Dfe is smaller than twice the radius of the first set range Du.

[0052] The distance Dfn (second distance) from the communication device 40(F) of the leading caregiver F to each of the transmitters 50(n) held by the child n and the distance Dne (third distance) from the communication device 40(E) of the trailing caregiver E to each of the transmitters 50(n) are obtained. The sum Dfn + Dne of these distances is compared with the distance Dfe. If Dfn + Dne is significantly larger than the distance Dfn, it is determined that the child n is in a deviated state of protruding greatly from the line. In the example of Fig. 5(a), the boxed "F" and "E" are the positions of the leading and trailing communication devices 40, respectively, and the circled numbers "1" to "10" are the positions of the transmitters 50. Among the transmitters 50, the distance Df4 + D4e related to the position of the transmitter 50(4) is the largest. Here, (Df4 + D4e - Dfe) is smaller than the second upper limit value dth and is within the allowable range.

[0053] In the example shown in Fig. 5(b), at the corner, the transmitter 50(4) is about to protrude toward the road side. When (Df4 + D4e - Dfe) at this time exceeds the second upper limit value dth, the server device 10 detects a value equal to or greater than the second upper limit value dth and outputs warning information to the communication device 40.

[0054] Fig. 6 is a diagram for explaining the positional relationship between the caregiver and the child during park activities. In FIG. 6(a), the children 1 to 10 holding the transmitters 50 are instructed to move within the designated area Pa in the park P. The supervisors A to C line up at appropriate intervals on the periphery of the area Pa and are positioned to monitor the area Pa. The communication devices 40(A) to 40(C) of the respective supervisors A to C are positioned such that at least one of the second set ranges Du2, which are circles centered on the respective communication devices 40, always covers the area Pa. In the area Pa, there may be a portion where two or more second set ranges Du2 overlap, and outside the area Pa, there may be no portion where two or more second set ranges Du2 overlap. In addition, if there is an area within the set area Pa that cannot be entered, such as a pond or a flower bed, the area does not have to be covered by the second set range Du2. Also, when the play equipment is dispersed in multiple locations, the area between them needs to be included in the second set range Du2, but the overlapping portion of the second set range Du2 by the multiple communication devices 40 in this area may be narrow. When the range setting 133 that defines the position range of the area Pa is held in advance by the server device 10 or the like, the second set range Du2 may be automatically adjusted based on the range setting 133.

[0055] When the server device 10 does not hold the range setting 133 for the area Pa, for example, the area Pa can be about 50 m square at most, but can be adjusted as appropriate according to subsequent situations. For example, when there is no range setting 133 for the area Pa but there is map data 134, information on the shape and area of the park at the destination may be obtained based on the position of the destination. When the size of the park is smaller than the above 50 m square, the second set range Du2 may be reduced. The second set range Du2 may be different from the above first set range Du. Also, a park or the like including the current positions of the supervisors A to C may be specified as the destination from the map data 134, and the area Pa and the second set range Du2 corresponding to the size and shape of the park may be set. More specifically, the positions (monitoring positions) of the communication devices 40(A) to 40(C) of each of the monitors A to C, the area Pa, and / or the second setting range Du2 may be determined so as to satisfy the following two conditions. (1) All positions within the range of the area Pa are included in at least one of the second setting ranges Du2 for the plurality of communication devices 40(A) to 40(C) respectively. (2) The area Pa is located within the range of the park that is the destination specified from the map data 134. Alternatively, the positions of the communication devices 40(A) to 40(C) of each of the monitors A to C, the area Pa, and / or the second setting range Du2 may be determined so as to satisfy the following condition (3). (3) A predetermined ratio of the range of the second setting range Du2 is located within the range of the park that is the destination. The predetermined ratio may be, for example, 50% or more, or 67% or more, or 80% or more or 90% or more. When the predetermined ratio is high, it becomes possible to quickly identify a child who has deviated from the area Pa, but since the monitor himself / herself will be inside the area Pa, it is likely that he / she will need to monitor the entire area around him / herself. When the predetermined ratio is lower, the monitor can mainly narrow the viewing direction inward from near the periphery of the area Pa, but there may be a time difference between when the monitored moving body (child) deviates from the area Pa and when it exits the second setting range Du2.

[0056] If the server device 10 does not hold the range setting 133 for the area Pa and does not have the map data 134 either, that is, does not have area information or it is difficult to infer the area Pa from the map data 134, the area Pa may be changed, mainly reduced, based on the position distribution of the children and the guardians. For example, if the children are continuously biased and located in a range narrower than the second setting range Du2, it is inferred that the area Pa is estimated to be wide. Also, if the guardian is located in a biased manner compared to the area Pa where the guardian is set, it is inferred that the area Pa is set unnecessarily wide. In such a case, the estimated range of the area Pa may be reduced. In response to the reduction of the area Pa, the second setting range Du2 may also be reduced. However, the children may gather in a partial range temporarily. Therefore, the reduction does not have to be large at one time. The area Pa may be reduced little by little in multiple stages. Also, if the children or the guardian stay in the reduced range for a specified time or more after the reduction, the reduction of the area Pa may be canceled promptly.

[0057] In Fig. 6(a), the children 1, 5, and 6 are in the overlapping part of the second setting range Du2 by the two communication devices 40. The children 2 - 4 and 7 - 10 are in the second setting range Du2 by only one communication device 40. Note that a part of the second setting range Du2 may be located outside the area Pa. As described above, when a plurality of guardians A to C are positioned so as to look from the periphery to the inside of the area Pa, the part that is within the second setting range Du2 and outside the area Pa hits the backs of the guardians A to C. Regarding such a part, the guardians A to C may each sometimes or as needed turn around and visually confirm that each of the children 1 to 10 is within the area Pa. That is, the children 1 to 10 are more likely to be confirmed by the guardians A to C as long as they are in the range surrounded by the guardians A to C. The children located overlappingly in the range of the second setting range Du2 for the plurality of communication devices 40 can be regarded as safe.

[0058] In one embodiment, for example, for each child (transmitter 50), the number of communication devices 40 within the second setting range Du2 may be quantitatively determined as a safety level indicating the degree to which it can be regarded as safe. That is, it may be determined that the higher the number of communication devices 40 that detect the radio waves transmitted by a certain transmitter 50, the higher the safety level. For a child located only within the second setting range Du2 of a certain communication device 40, that is, when the safety level is "1", it may be determined that the caregiver holding the communication device 40 focuses on watching over the child. In particular, when the child with a low safety level and the transmitter 50 are moving away from the caregiver, that is, when the radio wave reception intensity is decreasing, the safety level may be defined to be lower so as to watch over them more carefully. Information regarding children with a low safety level (at least a part of the plurality of transmitters 50) may be notified only to a part of the plurality of communication devices 40, for example, only to the only communication device 40 within the second setting range Du2 of the transmitter 50. Alternatively, this information about the child may be notified to all the communication devices 40. Information about children and transmitters 50 with a high safety level may not be notified to the communication devices 40, but the information may be output so that the safety levels of all children can be confirmed.

[0059] When the number of communication devices 40 is larger compared to the area Pa, even if the second setting range Du2 is narrowed, the entire area Pa can be included within the second setting range Du2. Therefore, it is easy to reduce the range covered by the second setting range Du2 outside the area Pa. Also, the caregiver can limit the field of view for watching over by being closer to the outer edge of the area Pa. On the other hand, when the caregiver is closer to the center of the area Pa, it is less likely for the second setting range Du2 to protrude significantly outside the area Pa. The arrangement of the caregivers may be appropriately determined according to the number of caregivers, the direction in which the children are likely to go outside the area Pa, for example, the presence or absence of a fence, and the degree of danger outside the area Pa, for example, a roadway where it is easy to jump out.

[0060] At this time, the server device 10 acquires and integrates the reception status of the radio waves of the transmitter 50 from the three communication devices 40, and outputs the integrated result to each communication device 40. For example, the server device 10 receives the first identification information of one or more transmitters 50 detected within the second setting range Du2 from each of the three communication devices 40. At this time, the server device 10 may also receive the reception intensity or the distance information converted from the reception intensity. The server device 10 lists how many communication devices 40 each transmitter 50 is detected by and with what intensity. The server device 10 determines whether the radio waves from all the transmitters 50 are received by at least any one of the communication devices 40, and transmits the result to each communication device 40. In addition, the server device 10 specifies and stores the third identification information corresponding to the first identification information of the transmitter 50 that has not been detected by any of the communication devices 40 or has been detected by only one communication device. The server device 10 transmits the specified third identification information and its related information, focusing on each communication device 40, particularly the last detected or the currently detected communication device 40. Therefore, even if children 1 to 10 move across the second setting range Du2 of each communication device 40, the detection determination can be continuously and normally made. When the children deviate outside all the second setting ranges Du2, the last detected communication device 40 is specified, so the deviation direction can be estimated.

[0061] In Fig. 6(b), when the transmitter 50(4) (the first transmitter) of child 4 goes out of the area Pa where it is set, it is specified that child 4 has gone outside the second setting range Du2 of all the communication devices 40. When the transmitter 50(4) of child 4 deviates from the second setting range Du2, the server device 10 detects this deviation and outputs a warning notification as the shortage information of the transmitter 50. The warning notification may be output to all the communication devices 40. While a certain caregiver is tracking and searching for child 4, the other caregivers can pay more attention to the caregiver's watching range than usual.

[0062] Figs. 7 and 8 are diagrams showing examples of the notification screens of the detection status displayed on the communication device 40. FIG. 7(a) is a display example when all children are normally detected within the second set range Du2. The number of transmitters 50 to be detected is 10 (second number), and it is shown that 10 children corresponding to the same number of 10 transmitters 50 (first number) are normally detected. Also, in this example, only one of the three communication devices 40 detects, and the identification information of the transmitter 50 held by the child with a safety level of "1" is listed. Also, children 9 and 10 are detected only by the communication device 40(C) of the caregiver C. Therefore, on the display screen of the communication device 40(C), children 9 and 10 who should be particularly noted are highlighted. The highlighting of the identification information of the transmitter 50 detected only by the own device may be, for example, bold, colored, framed, blinking, etc. Alternatively, as described above, only the identification information of the transmitter 50 detected only by the own device may be listed. In FIG. 7(a), only the identification information of the transmitter 50 held by the child with a safety level of "1" is listed, but it may not be limited to this. The identification information of the transmitter 50 held by the child with a safety level of "2" or higher may be listed together with the identification information of the transmitter 50 held by the child with a safety level of "1". For example, a list such as "Safety level 2: 1, 5, 6" may be displayed below the display column of the safety level "1".

[0063] FIG. 7(b) is a display example when child 4 deviates from the second set range Du2. Since child 4, who is one of the 10 children, deviates from the second set range Du2 of the caregiver B, the caregiver B is regarded as a searcher. The elapsed time is the elapsed time since deviating from the second set range Du2.

[0064] As described above, the second setting range Du2 is narrower than the range in which the communication device 40 can actually receive radio waves according to the BLE standard. Therefore, at least immediately after the transmitter 50(4) deviates from the second setting range Du2, in many cases, the communication device 40(B) can receive the transmission radio wave of the transmitter 50(4). Also, it is possible that the transmission radio wave of the transmitter 50(4) can be received by a plurality of communication devices 40. Therefore, the estimated distance may be obtained based on the radio wave intensity of the transmitter 50(4) currently being received. Further, the transmitter 50 may include information on the most recent acceleration obtained by the acceleration sensor of the measurement unit 54 in the transmission radio wave. When this information is received and acquired by the communication device 40, it can be determined whether the child holding the deviating transmitter 50(4) is walking or running and moving, or standing still.

[0065] When the transmission radio wave of the transmitter 50(4) is not received from any of the communication devices 40, the estimated distance may be calculated based on the elapsed time from the timing when the transmission radio wave was last received and the moving speed at that timing. The moving speed can be obtained, for example, from the time difference between the timing when the transmission radio wave was last received and the previous timing and the difference in distance at these two timings. That is, the moving speed may be assumed not to have changed since the timing when the transmission radio wave was last received. Also, when the communication device 40 has received acceleration information as described above, the estimated distance may be calculated by multiplying the moving speed by the elapsed time excluding the time that can be regarded as having stopped midway. Further, based on the periodic variation of the acceleration sensor detected during walking, the time interval per step may be specified, and the above moving speed may be sequentially obtained as changing at a ratio corresponding to the time interval. In this case, the communication device 40 may transfer all of the received acceleration data as it is to the server device 10, or may specify the characteristic timing per step by itself and transmit the timing information or the interval information thereof to the server device 10.

[0066] FIG. 8 is an example of a display shown on the communication device 40(B) of the caregiver B who conducts the search. On the communication device 40(B) of the watcher B who is the searcher, more detailed information about the child 4 who is the search target is displayed. As described above, if the change history of the estimated distance from a plurality of communication devices 40 is actually obtained, the direction of the transmitter 50(4), that is, the relative position with respect to the communication device 40(B) can also be estimated. When there are two communication devices 40 that have received the radio wave of the transmitter 50(4), there are two corresponding points on the plane. That is, these two points are represented as the intersection points of circles corresponding to the estimated distances from the respective communication devices 40 centered on the positions of the communication devices 40. However, in many cases, it can be estimated that it is either based on the reception status within the latest second setting range Du2 or information such as not being able to be received by other communication devices 40. For example, if the communication device 40(C) cannot receive the radio wave of the transmitter 50(4) or the reception intensity is significantly weaker than the reception intensities of the communication devices 40(A) and 40(B), it can be estimated that it is a point on the side away from the communication device 40(C). Since the position of the communication device 40(B) is obtained by positioning, the estimated position of the transmitter 50(4) may be shown superimposed on the map image based on the map data 134. In a situation where the radio wave from the transmitter 50(4) is received only by one of the communication devices 40, for example, the communication device 40(B), the distance from the communication device 40(B) is known, but the direction from the communication device 40(B) cannot be specified. Therefore, the direction of the transmitter 50(4) from the communication device 40(B) may be extended as it is based on the position and the moving direction when the radio wave from the transmitter 50(4) was last received by two communication devices 40(B). Alternatively, when the watcher B who holds the communication device 40(B) moves for searching, distances from substantially multiple locations will be obtained. Therefore, for example, by assuming that the moving speed and velocity of the transmitter 50(4) before the start of the movement of the watcher B are constant, it becomes possible to approximately obtain the current position of the transmitter 50(4) in consideration of the moving distance during the moving time of the watcher B. In addition, after the transmitter 50(4) moves outside the second setting range Du2 of the communication device 40(B), it may be estimated that the movement has stopped based on the acceleration information received from the transmitter 50(4).At this time, due to the movement of the communication device 40(B), the current position of the transmitter 50(4) can be obtained without the above assumption only from the reception result by the communication device 40(B).

[0067] When the searcher gets sufficiently close to the target child 4 to be tracked / search, for example, within 10 m, a push button switch for "Discovery Protection" may be displayed on the screen of the communication device 40(B). When the supervisor B protects the child 4, the supervisor B selects and operates this push button switch. The communication device 40(B) transmits information on the selection operation of "Discovery Protection" to the server device 10, and the server device 10 ends the processing related to the tracking / search.

[0068] FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a control procedure of monitoring control processing executed by the CPU 11 of the server device 10. This monitoring control processing is included in the program 131 and includes the information processing method of the present embodiment. The monitoring control processing is started for each park activity that requires monitoring before the start of each activity. The CPU 11 sets and registers the transmitter 50 to be monitored (S21). For example, when a caregiver stores a plurality of transmitters 50 together, the caregiver executes the camera function or the RFID function of the communication device 40 to photograph and read the second identification information 59 of each transmitter 50 to be monitored in this movement one by one, and then hands them to the children respectively. When the caregiver takes out a plurality of transmitters 50 together to hand them to the children, the communication modules 501 of the plurality of transmitters 50 are automatically activated triggered by the detection of acceleration by the acceleration sensor, and the communication unit 45 receives a plurality of first identification information 531 at once. In such a case, it is difficult to determine which transmitter 50 is handed to which child only from the first identification information. Therefore, when the caregiver hands the transmitter 50 to the child, the communication device 40 causes the second identification information 59 to be read. The CPU 41 of the communication device 40 transmits the read second identification information to the server device 10. The CPU 11 acquires the received second identification information 59, extracts it from the target information 132 as the current monitoring target, and temporarily stores it in the RAM 12. Thereby, the transmitters 50 not used due to the absence of children etc. are excluded from the monitoring target, and the number (registered number) of the transmitters 50 that actually become the monitoring target is determined. When the child and the transmitter 50 used by the child are not fixedly associated, at this time, the third identification information corresponding to the second identification information 59 may be set respectively by the input operation of the caregiver.

[0069] The CPU 11 calls and executes the movement monitoring control process (S22). The movement monitoring control process is a process related to the monitoring control during the movement to the destination shown in FIG. 6 etc. above.

[0070] The CPU 11 calls and executes the destination monitoring control process (S23). The destination monitoring control process is a process related to the monitoring control in the park etc. of the destination shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 etc.

[0071] The CPU 11 calls and executes the movement monitoring control process (S24). Here, the process related to the monitoring control during the movement on the way back from the destination is performed.

[0072] The CPU 11 outputs monitoring history information (S25). The output can be made to the storage unit 13 as history data. Also, the monitoring history information may be displayed on the digital display screen by the display unit 16. Further, the above history data may be automatically sent to a responsible person or the like by e-mail or the like. Then, the CPU 11 ends the monitoring control process.

[0073] FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the control procedure by the CPU 11 of the movement monitoring control process. When the movement monitoring control process is started, the CPU 11 requests each communication device 40 for its current position and acquires the current position (S41). The CPU 11 determines whether the current position, at least the current position of the leading communication device 40 (F), is located on the path connecting the preset nursery and the destination park (S42). Whether it is located on the path may be determined by whether the current position is within a range of a predetermined width with respect to the linear path, for example, within a range of about the width of the road.

[0074] When it is determined that the communication device 40 is not on the path (S42; N), the CPU 11 outputs a warning message indicating that it has deviated from the path to the communication device 40 (S52). Then, the process of the CPU 11 proceeds to process S43. When it is determined that the communication device 40 is on the path (S42; Y), the process of the CPU 11 proceeds to process S43.

[0075] In process S43, the CPU 11 determines whether the distance Dfe between the leading communication device 40 (F) and the trailing communication device 40 (E) is equal to or less than the first upper limit value (S43). When there are three or more communication devices 40, the CPU 11 may automatically determine the leading communication device 40 (F) and the trailing communication device 40 (E) based on the positions along the path. Alternatively, when the communication device 40 (F) of the leading caregiver (F) and the communication device 40 (E) of the trailing caregiver (E) are determined in advance, the communication device 40 (F) and the communication device 40 (E) may be fixed.

[0076] If it is determined that the distance Dfe is not less than the first upper limit value, that is, the distance Dfe is greater than the first upper limit value (S43; N), the CPU 11 outputs a warning indicating that the distance between the head and the tail of the communication device 40 is excessive to the communication device 40 (S53). Then, the process of the CPU 11 proceeds to process S44. If it is determined that the distance Dfe is less than or equal to the first upper limit value (S43; Y), the process of the CPU 11 proceeds to process S44.

[0077] In process S44, the CPU 11 acquires reception information of radio waves from the transmitter 50 held by the monitored child from each communication device 40 (S44; acquisition means). The CPU 11 determines whether all the transmitters 50 are within the first set range Du of any communication device 40 (S45; determination means). If it is determined that there is a transmitter 50 that is not within the first set range Du of any communication device 40 (S45; N), the CPU 11 outputs a warning to the communication device 40 indicating that there is a transmitter 50 located outside the monitored range (S55; output means). As described above for the monitoring in the park, in the communication device 40, it is often the case that the transmission radio waves of the transmitter 50 are received even outside the first set range Du. The CPU 11 outputs the tracking, search direction, and distance of the child holding the transmitter 50 based on the received transmission radio waves to the communication device 40 estimated to be the closest to the child. Then, the process of the CPU 11 proceeds to process S46. If it is determined that all the transmitters 50 are within the first set range Du of any communication device 40 (S45; Y), the process of the CPU 11 proceeds to process S46.

[0078] In process S46, the CPU 11 specifies the distances Dfn and Dne from the head communication device 40 (F) and the tail communication device 40 (E) to each transmitter 50 (n), respectively (S46). The CPU 11 determines whether there is a transmitter 50 (n) for which the sum of the distances Dfn and Dne exceeds the second upper limit value dth more than the distance Dfe (S47). As described above, the CPU 11 may determine whether Dfn + Dne - Dfe is greater than the second upper limit value dth.

[0079] When it is determined that there is a transmitter 50(n) for which Dfn + Dne - Dfe is greater than the second upper limit value dth (S47; Y), the CPU 11 performs a notification output to alert the caregiver n who holds the transmitter 50(n) (S57). Then, the processing of the CPU 11 proceeds to process S48. When it is determined that there is no transmitter 50(n) for which Dfn + Dne - Dfe is greater than the second upper limit value dth (S47; N), the processing of the CPU 11 proceeds to process S48.

[0080] In process S48, the CPU 11 determines whether the destination has been reached (S48). The determination of whether the destination has been reached may be made, for example, based on whether the current position of the communication device 40 is within the preset destination area Pa. Alternatively, the CPU 11 may determine that the destination has been reached when an input operation indicating arrival at the destination is received by the operation reception unit 17. The input operation indicating arrival at the destination may always be possible during the movement monitoring control process by calling the caregiver. Alternatively, when a representative point of the destination is set, when the communication device 40 approaches within a reference distance from the representative point, the display by the display unit 46 may be switched so that the input operation becomes possible. Such an input operation may be possible only by the communication device 40(F), or a specific caregiver may be preset in advance and the input operation may be possible only by the communication device 40 of the supervisor. Alternatively, the input operation may be possible from any communication device 40. When it is determined that the destination has not been reached (S48; N), the processing of the CPU 11 returns to process S41. When it is determined that the destination has been reached (S48; Y), the CPU 11 ends the movement monitoring control process and returns the processing to the monitoring control process.

[0081] FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the control procedure by the CPU 11 for the destination monitoring control process. When the destination monitoring control process is started, the CPU 11 acquires the current position from each communication device 40 (S61). The CPU 11 sets an initial monitoring range based on the map data 134 and the information of the preset area Pa (S62). The CPU 11 identifies, as a destination, a park or the like that includes the current position of each communication device 40 based on the map data 134. The CPU 11 identifies the range of the park or the like specified from the map data 134. When the area Pa is not preset, the initial monitoring range may be, for example, a predetermined range centered on the centroid position of the positions of a plurality of communication devices 40 as the maximum range of the area Pa, for example, a range of 50 m square. At this time, the CPU 11 may adjust so that the area Pa does not exceed the range of the park or the like specified above. The position of each communication device 40 and the second setting range Du2 are appropriately determined so that the set or set entire area Pa is covered. Further, the CPU 11 may determine the area Pa, the position of each communication device 40, the second setting range Du2, etc. so that a range of a predetermined ratio within the second setting range Du2 is located within the range of the park P that is the destination.

[0082] The CPU 11 acquires the reception information of the radio wave from the transmitter 50 to be monitored (S63; acquisition means). The CPU 11 determines whether all the transmitters 50 are located within the second setting range Du2 of any one of the communication devices 40 (S64; determination means). When it is determined that any one of the transmitters 50 is not located within the second setting range Du2 of any communication device 40 (S64; N), the CPU 11 outputs a warning indicating that there is a transmitter 50 located outside the setting range to each communication device 40 (S74; output means). The content of the warning output may be the content shown in FIG. 7(b) above. The CPU 11 calls and executes the tracking control process (S75). Then, the process of the CPU 11 proceeds to process S66.

[0083] When it is determined that all the transmitters 50 are located within the second setting range Du2 of any one of the communication devices 40 (S64; Y), the CPU 11 outputs to each communication device 40 an output indicating that all the transmitters 50 have been detected normally (S65). Then, the processing of the CPU 11 proceeds to processing S66.

[0084] In processing S66, the CPU 11 determines whether the arrangement of the plurality of communication devices 40 is appropriate (S66). As described above, when the second setting range Du2 of the communication device 40 does not cover the area Pa, the arrangement is not appropriate. On the contrary, when the information of the area Pa is not held in advance, etc., there is a possibility that the temporarily set area Pa or the second setting range Du2 is too wide. In this case, compared with the second setting range Du2 or the area Pa, the positional distribution of the actual communication devices 40 and transmitters 50 may be more biased. Also, when the second setting ranges Du2 of the plurality of communication devices 40 overlap outside the area Pa, it may be determined that the arrangement is not appropriate.

[0085] When it is determined that the arrangement of the communication devices 40 is not appropriate (S66; N), the CPU 11 determines whether the arrangement of the communication devices 40 is biased with respect to the area Pa (S67). This bias means that all the communication devices 40 are located in a partial range within the area Pa. When it is determined that the arrangement of the communication devices 40 is biased with respect to the area Pa (S67; Y), the CPU 11 changes (shrinks) the area Pa and adjusts the second setting range Du2 accordingly (S68; range changing means). Then, the processing of the CPU 11 proceeds to processing S69.

[0086] When it is determined that the arrangement of the communication device 40 is not biased with respect to the area Pa (S67; N), the CPU 11 outputs an instruction to adjust the arrangement to the communication device 40 (S77). That is, although the communication devices 40 are dispersed within the area Pa, it means that the intervals between the communication devices 40 are not uniform. The CPU 11 may cause the display unit 46 of the communication device 40 to display a map and specifically show the moving direction, moving distance, etc. of each communication device 40. If each communication device 40 has map data, the CPU 11 may cause the communication device 40 to draw the map. If each communication device 40 does not have map data, the CPU 11 may read a map image of the range corresponding to the position of the communication device 40 from the map data 134 and transmit it to the communication device 40. Then, the process of the CPU 11 proceeds to process S69. When it is determined that the arrangement of the communication device 40 is appropriate (S66; Y), the process of the CPU 11 proceeds to process S69.

[0087] In process S69, the CPU 11 determines whether or not it has departed from the destination (S69). Whether or not it has departed from the destination may be automatically determined, for example, by whether or not the communication device 40 has gone outside the area Pa other than the tracking process described later. Alternatively, whether or not the departure from the destination may be determined by whether or not the operation reception unit 47 of the communication device 40 has received an input operation indicating departure from the destination. This input operation may be executable at any time during the execution of the destination monitoring control process. Alternatively, when the communication device 40 has gone outside the area Pa other than the tracking process as described above, a reception button may be displayed on the display unit 46 so that a selection operation is possible.

[0088] When it is determined that it has not departed from the destination (S69; N), the process of the CPU 11 returns to process S61. When it is determined that it has departed from the destination (S69; Y), the CPU 11 ends the destination monitoring control process and returns the process to the monitoring control process.

[0089] FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the control procedure by the CPU 11 of the tracking control process. When the tracking control process starts, the CPU 11 identifies the tracking target (S81). The CPU 11 identifies the first identification information and the second identification information of the tracking target that has gone outside the second setting range Du2. The CPU 11 identifies the communication device 40(L) that last detected the tracking target within the second setting range Du2 (S82).

[0090] The CPU 11 determines whether the transmission radio wave from the transmitter 50 of the tracking target is detected outside the second setting range Du2 (S83). When it is determined that the transmission radio wave from the transmitter 50 of the tracking target is detected (S83; Y), the CPU 11 obtains the movement status of the transmitter 50 of the tracking target based on the time-series change of the received signal strength of the radio wave from the transmitter 50, acceleration information, etc. (S84). When the transmitter 50 is detected by two or more communication devices 40, the CPU 11 can obtain the current position of the transmitter 50 with higher accuracy. That is, as described above, the CPU 11 can select either one of two points that satisfy all the distance conditions from the two communication devices 40 according to the received signal strength of the radio wave by the two communication devices 40 as the current position of the transmitter 50. When the transmitter 50 is detected by only one communication device 40, the CPU 11 may estimate the position of the transmitter 50 assuming that it is moving in the moving direction based on the position and moving direction when the transmitter 50 was detected by the two communication devices 40. Alternatively, the CPU 11 may approximately calculate the position of the transmitter 50 based on the change in the received signal strength accompanying the movement of the communication device 40 that detected the transmitter 50, that is, the change in distance, and the positions of the respective communication devices 40. When the position of the transmitter 50 cannot be obtained with reliable accuracy even by the above method, the entire position range where the transmitter 50 may exist may be obtained. The CPU 11 obtains the distance and direction of the transmitter 50 from the communication device 40(L) based on the current position of the communication device 40(L) obtained by satellite positioning or the like and the current position of the transmitter 50 obtained above (S85). As described above, when the current position of the transmitter 50 is not specified and is obtained as a position range, the distance and direction including the entire position range are obtained. Then, the process of the CPU 11 proceeds to process S86.

[0091] When it is determined that the transmitted radio wave by the transmitter 50 to be tracked has not been detected (S83; N), the CPU 11 estimates the current position based on the position where the transmitter 50 was last identified and the movement in the vicinity of the position. The CPU 11 calculates the estimated relative position and direction of the transmitter 50 with respect to the communication device 40(L) (S94). Then, the process of the CPU 11 proceeds to process S86.

[0092] In process S86, the CPU 11 outputs information on the object to be tracked to the communication device 40(L) (S86). The information on the object to be tracked includes the second identification information, the relative distance and direction from the communication device 40(L). The information on the object to be tracked may include the geographical coordinates of the estimated position of the object to be tracked. Also, when the transmitted radio wave from the transmitter 50 of the object to be tracked has not actually been detected, information indicating that may also be included in the information on the object to be tracked. The fact that the transmitted radio wave has not been detected suggests that the transmitter 50 is outside the communicable range or may be inside a building, in the shadow, underground, or in a tunnel.

[0093] The CPU 11 determines whether the communication device 40(L) is located within the reference range from the transmitter 50 to be tracked (S87). The reference range is, in many cases, a distance range within which the object to be tracked can be protected immediately upon visual recognition, for example, 10 m. When it is determined that the communication device 40(L) is not located within the reference range (S87; N), the process of the CPU 11 returns to process S83.

[0094] When it is determined that the communication device 40(L) is located within the reference range (S87; Y), the CPU 11 determines whether information indicating that a child who holds the transmitter 50 to be tracked has been protected is received from the communication device 40(L) (S88). In the communication device 40(L), when it is located within the reference range, the CPU 41 causes the display unit 46 to display a push button switch on the digital display screen for receiving the operation of the guardian L when the protection of the child is completed. When the guardian L protects the child, the guardian L selects and operates the push button switch, and the CPU 41 transmits information indicating that this selection operation has been received to the server device 10 through the communication unit 45. The CPU 11 determines, based on this information, whether the protection of the child and the securing of the transmitter 50 have been completed.

[0095] When it is determined that the securing of the transmitter 50 has not been completed (S88; N), the process of the CPU 11 returns to process S83. When it is determined that the securing of the transmitter 50 has been completed (S88; Y), the CPU 11 stores and holds the current tracking information in the storage unit 13 (S89). The tracking information may include the start date and time of the tracking control process, location information, the second identification information of the tracking target, the maximum distance from the communication device 40(L), the time required for securing, and the like. Then, the CPU 11 ends the tracking control process and returns the process to the destination monitoring control process.

[0096] As described above, the server device 10 of the present embodiment includes a CPU 11 and a storage unit 13. The CPU 11 acquires reception information of radio waves transmitted from a plurality of transmitters 50 by the communication device 40 respectively. The CPU 11 determines whether or not the plurality of transmitters 50 are located within a set range (first set range Du, second set range Du2) around the communication device 40 based on the acquired reception information. The storage unit 13 stores the identification information of the plurality of transmitters 50 as target information 132. The target information 132 includes first identification information 531 related to the identification of radio waves emitted by the plurality of transmitters 50 respectively, and second identification information 59 which is different from the first identification information 531 and identifies the transmitter 50. The first identification information 531 and the second identification information 59 are associated with each other. The CPU 11 acquires the second identification information 59 and performs the above determination based on the reception information of the radio wave related to the first identification information 531 associated with the second identification information 59. When the transmitter 50 to be monitored is not fixed, or when the holder of the transmitter 50 can be different each time, it is difficult to identify the holder with the first identification information 531 used for communication during radio wave transmission and reception. In the present embodiment, the transmitter 50 separately has second identification information 59 that can be used to identify the holder, and also in the server device 10, the second identification information 59 is associated with the first identification information 531. Thereby, when the transmitter 50 deviates from the set range, the second identification information 59 associated with the first identification information 531 of the transmitter 50 can be output. Therefore, the server device 10 can easily and clearly provide information for identifying the holder of the transmitter 50 in which a problem has occurred to the holder of the communication device 40 or the like. Thus, according to the communication device 10, it is possible to easily identify and monitor the holder of the transmitter 50 that is the target of monitoring. Also, it is possible to avoid the trouble and hassle of trying to detect unnecessary transmitters 50 that are not originally the monitoring targets.

[0097] Further, the second identification information 59 may be set for each of the plurality of transmitters 50 as identification information such as an optically readable barcode or a two-dimensional identification code. Thereby, the server device 10 can easily obtain the second identification information as digital data using the imaging unit 49 of the communication device 40 or the like.

[0098] Alternatively, the second identification information 59 may be set to be readable from the plurality of transmitters 50 by near field communication (NFC). Thereby, the server device 10 can easily acquire the data of the second identification information 59.

[0099] Further, the CPU 11 may acquire the second identification information of the transmitter 50 to be deleted from the target information 132, and delete the identification information including the acquired second identification information from the target information 132 in the storage unit 13. Even when it is difficult to perform deletion based on the first identification information due to a failure of the transmitter 50 or the like, by using the second identification information, the server device 10 can easily update the target information 132 of the transmitter 50 that can be a detection target.

[0100] Further, before starting the determination operation related to monitoring the location of the transmitter 50 to be monitored, the CPU 11 may acquire the second identification information 59 of the transmitter 50 to be the target of the determination, and extract the first identification information of the transmitter 50 to be the target of the determination from the storage unit 13. When it is uncertain which of the many transmitters 50 is to be used, by reading the target second identification information 59, the server device 10 does not need to perform processing related to detecting unnecessary transmitters 50. In particular, it is useful for a beacon device in which the transmitter 50 simply continues to emit radio waves under a predetermined condition and the holder does not switch the power supply or the presence or absence of transmission one by one. That is, when the radio waves of the transmitter 50 that are not used before starting the determination operation can also be temporarily received, the registration of the transmitter 50 to be monitored can be easily performed, and the transmitter 50 that needs to be monitored can be detected.

[0101] Further, the second identification information may be associated with third identification information such as the name identifying the holder of the transmitter 50. Thereby, when the transmitter 50 deviates from the set range, the server device 10 can directly indicate the deviating holder by the third identification information. Therefore, by the server device 10 performing a notification operation or the like using this third identification information, it becomes easier to take measures based on the holder of the transmitter 50.

[0102] Also, a monitoring system 100 which is the management system of the present embodiment includes the above-described server device 10, a plurality of transmitters 50, and a plurality of communication devices 40 that receive radio waves respectively transmitted from the plurality of transmitters 50 and transmit reception information of the radio waves to the server device 10. According to such a monitoring system 100, when the transmitter 50 deviates from the set range, it is possible to output the second identification information 59 associated with the first identification information 531 of the transmitter 50. Therefore, the server device 10 can easily and clearly provide information for identifying the holder of the transmitter 50 in which a problem has occurred to the holder of the communication device 40 or the like.

[0103] Also, the information processing method of the present embodiment includes the following processing. Storing identification information of a plurality of transmitters 50. Obtaining reception information by the communication device 40 of radio waves respectively transmitted from the plurality of transmitters 50. Based on the reception information, determining whether each of the plurality of transmitters 50 is located within a set range around the communication device 40. The identification information includes first identification information 531 related to the identification of radio waves respectively emitted by the plurality of transmitters 50, and second identification information 59 which is information different from the first identification information 531 and identifies the transmitter 50. The first identification information and the second identification information are stored in association with each other. The above determination is made based on the reception information of the radio waves related to the first identification information associated with the second identification information after obtaining the second identification information. In this way, in the information processing method, the transmitter 50 to be monitored can be registered and set in advance using the second identification information. Therefore, according to this information processing method, it is possible to easily and clearly provide information for identifying the holder of the transmitter 50 in which a problem has occurred to the holder of the communication device 40 or the like.

[0104] Also, by installing the program 131 according to the above information processing method in a computer and causing the CPU 11 to execute it, the mechanical processing based on the first identification information and the user processing based on the second identification information can be easily paralleled.

[0105] Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications are possible. For example, in the above description, it has been described that the second identification information 59 is optically readable or readable by near-field communication, but it is not limited thereto. For example, the second identification information 59 may be readable by infrared rays or may be expressed by unevenness.

[0106] Also, the first identification information and the second identification information do not necessarily have to be sequentially acquired and associated by the server device 10. The server device 10 may receive and acquire data that has already been associated by the communication device 40.

[0107] Also, in the above description, as the optically readable second identification information 59, barcodes, two-dimensional identification codes, etc. have been cited, but it is not limited thereto. A simple arrangement of numbers and symbols may be displayed and read by an OCR (Optical Character Reader) or a character recognition function of a photographed image or the like.

[0108] Also, in the above description, an example has been given in which the registration of the transmitter 50 to be deleted is deleted based on the second identification information, but the deletion may be performed by any method.

[0109] Also, the correspondence relationship between the second identification information and the third identification information does not have to be fixed. In this case, before departure from the nursery school, the correspondence relationship may be defined each time by separately and continuously reading the second identification information and the third identification information. The third identification information in this case may or may not be held by the child. When the child does not hold the third identification information, for example, a list of the third identification information may be stored in advance in the server device 10 and selected from the list in association with the second identification information set by the person in charge. Alternatively, the third identification information does not have to be stored in the target information 132.

[0110] On the other hand, when the transmitter 50 to be used does not change each time, or when the relationship between the transmitter 50 and the holder does not change each time, the previous setting may be reused. Alternatively, it may be possible to input only the second identification information 59 of the transmitter 50 to be excluded or added from the previous setting.

[0111] Also, in the above description, BLE has been described as an example of short-range wireless communication, but it is not limited to this. Other radio waves in frequency bands and modulation methods that can be used as beacons may also be used. It is preferable that this radio wave can be received by a communication device 40 such as a general-purpose smartphone.

[0112] Also, the server device 10 of the present embodiment does not have to be the output target of the communication device 40 that monitors the transmitter 50 held by a nursery school child or the like. The transmitter 50 may be held by an elderly person, a hospital patient, etc., or the transmitter 50 may be attached to a vehicle or mobile equipment such as a wheeled play equipment or a kick scooter. Also, the transmitter 50 may be attached to an autonomous mobile machine or other organism.

[0113] Also, there may not be a plurality of communication devices 40. A single communication device 40 may receive the radio waves of a plurality of transmitters 50 to monitor the transmitters 50 and watch over children or the like who hold the transmitters 50. Further, accordingly, the position of the communication device 40 (the person watching) in the area Pa may be a position assuming a single person when watching over children. Also, in this case, the watching assuming the columnar arrangement of children in the outbound and return trips is not performed. The program 131 may be able to control by omitting processes S46, S47, and S58 according to the number of communication devices 40.

[0114] Further, the server device 10 may be a dedicated server device related to monitoring control and may be a device automatically set and connected from a program 431 related to a monitoring application installed in the communication device 40. Also, the above processing by the server device 10 may be executed in a distributed manner by a plurality of information processing devices. Alternatively, the server device 10 may be shared by any one of the plurality of communication devices 40. A general-purpose PC as the server device 10 may be a tablet terminal or the like carried together with any one of the communication devices 40.

[0115] Also, the program 131 of the server device 10 and the program 431 of the communication device 40 related to the above watching (monitoring) may include processing related to off-campus activities other than watching. For example, the programs 131 and 431 may also execute schedule management of off-campus activities and assistance in creating a report on off-campus activities.

[0116] Also, in the above description, the storage unit 13 composed of a non-volatile memory such as an HDD or a flash memory is exemplified as a computer-readable medium storing the program 131 related to the monitoring control of the present invention, but it is not limited thereto. As other computer-readable media, other non-volatile memories such as MRAM and portable recording media such as CD-ROMs and DVD disks can be applied. Also, a carrier wave is also applied to the present invention as a medium for providing the data of the program according to the present invention via a communication line. In addition, the specific configurations, details of processing operations, procedures, etc. shown in the above embodiments can be appropriately changed without departing from the spirit of the present invention. The scope of the present invention includes the scope of the invention described in the claims and its equivalent scope.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0117] 10 Server device 11 CPU 12 RAM 13 Storage unit 131 Program 132 Target information 133 Range setting 134 Map data 15 Communication unit 16 Display unit 17 Operation reception unit 40 Communication device 41 CPU 42 RAM 43 Storage unit 431 Program 432 Reference value setting 44 Measurement unit 441 Positioning operation unit 45 Communication unit 46 Display unit 47 Operation reception unit 48 Notification unit 49 Imaging unit 50 Transmitter 501 Transmission module 51 CPU 52 RAM 53 Storage unit 531 First identification information 54 Measurement unit 55 Communication unit 58 Notification unit 59 Second identification information 100 Monitoring system A to C, E, F, L Guardians Du First setting range Du2 Second setting range Pa Area

Claims

1. A control unit that acquires reception information by a communication device of radio waves respectively transmitted from a plurality of transmitters, and determines whether or not each of the plurality of transmitters is located within a set range around the communication device based on the reception information; A storage unit that stores identification information of the plurality of transmitters; Comprising: The identification information includes first identification information related to identification of radio waves respectively emitted by the plurality of transmitters, and second identification information that is different from the first identification information and that identifies the transmitter, and the first identification information and the second identification information are associated with each other; The control unit acquires the second identification information, and performs the determination based on reception information of radio waves related to the first identification information associated with the second identification information. An information processing apparatus.

2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second identification information is set for each of the plurality of transmitters as optically readable identification information.

3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second identification information is set to be readable from the plurality of transmitters by near field communication.

4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit acquires the second identification information of the transmitter to be deleted from the identification information, and deletes the identification information including the acquired second identification information from the storage unit.

5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein before starting the determination operation, the control unit acquires the second identification information of the transmitter that is the target of the determination, and extracts the first identification information of the transmitter that is the target of the determination from the storage unit.

6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second identification information is associated with third identification information that identifies the holder of the transmitter.

7. An information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6; A plurality of transmitters; A plurality of communication devices that receive radio waves respectively transmitted from the plurality of transmitters and transmit reception information of the radio waves to the information processing apparatus; A management system including the same.

8. Storing identification information of a plurality of transmitters; Acquiring reception information by a communication device of radio waves respectively emitted by the plurality of transmitters; Determining whether or not each of the plurality of transmitters is located within a set range around the communication device based on the reception information; An information processing method, comprising: The identification information includes first identification information related to the identification of radio waves respectively emitted by the plurality of transmitters, and second identification information that is different from the first identification information and that identifies the transmitter, and the first identification information and the second identification information are stored in association with each other. The determination is made by acquiring the second identification information and based on reception information of radio waves related to the first identification information associated with the second identification information. An information processing method.

9. A computer including a storage unit that stores identification information of a plurality of transmitters An acquisition unit that acquires reception information by a communication device of radio waves respectively emitted by the plurality of transmitters, A determination unit that determines, based on the reception information, whether or not the plurality of transmitters are respectively located within a set range around the communication device, functioning as The identification information includes first identification information related to the identification of radio waves respectively emitted by the plurality of transmitters, and second identification information that is different from the first identification information and that identifies the transmitter, and the first identification information and the second identification information are associated with each other. The determination unit acquires the second identification information and makes the determination based on reception information of radio waves related to the first identification information associated with the second identification information. A program.

Images