Position estimation device, position estimation method, and program

Abstract

To enable a single position estimation device to use both a technique for estimating the position of a terminal and a technique for estimating the position of a target.SOLUTION: A position estimation device (1000) that estimates a position of a target object by using a first element antenna portion including a plurality of element antennas arranged along a first direction and a second element antenna portion including a plurality of element antennas arranged along a second direction that is non-parallel to the first direction, the position estimation device (1000) being configured to: The device is provided with a signal transmitting / receiving part (20) for changing the transmitting / receiving state of the element antennas of the first element antenna part and the second element antenna part, and a position estimating part (30) for instructing the signal transmitting / receiving part to change the transmitting / receiving state according to each case and executing the distance measuring operation and the angle measuring operation according to each case to output the position of the object.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The disclosed technology relates to a position estimation technology for estimating the position of an object. [Background technology]

[0002] Among position estimation techniques, there is a technique for estimating the position of an object by measuring distance to the object and angle to measure the direction in which the object is likely to be located. For example, distance measurement involves transmitting and receiving radio waves between a target object such as a terminal and a position estimation device that estimates the position of the target object, and calculating the distance from the propagation time. One example of a communication method for distance measurement is UWB (Ultra Wide Band) in the GHz band. One method of angle measurement is to arrange multiple receiving antennas in a position estimation device, receive radio waves emitted from a target object such as a terminal with the multiple receiving antennas arranged in the position estimation device, and determine the direction in which the target object is likely to be located based on the phase difference of the received arriving waves. Non-Patent Document 1 shows various angle measurement algorithms as methods for estimating the direction of arrival of radio waves. In a system in which wireless communication is performed between a position estimation device and a terminal, the above-mentioned distance measurement and angle measurement can be performed to perform positioning that estimates the position of an object, such as a terminal that performs wireless communication.

[0003] However, there is a device with a different configuration from the above-mentioned device, that is, a position estimation device that estimates the position of a target without performing the above-mentioned wireless communication. A target is an object observed by the position estimation device, and is any object that reflects radio waves. The position estimation device estimates the position of the target by transmitting a signal and receiving the signal reflected by the target. Positioning that estimates the position of the target is achieved by performing ranging, which measures the distance from the position estimation device to the target, and angle measurement, which measures the direction of the target as seen from the position estimation device. [Prior art documents] [Non-patent literature]

[0004] [Non-Patent Document 1] Yamada, "Array Calibration Method for High-Resolution Direction-of-Arrival Estimation," IEICE Transactions on Information and Communication Engineers, Vol. J92B, No. 9, pp. 1308-1321. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] Conventional devices for estimating the position of a terminal have different configurations compared to devices for estimating the position of a target, for example, they use different numbers of antennas and use different signal processing. For example, if it is not possible to obtain the phase difference using multiple antennas, it is not possible to estimate the position of a target that does not communicate wirelessly. That is, conventionally, there has been a problem in that a single position estimation device cannot use both a technology for estimating the position of a terminal and a technology for estimating the position of a target.

[0006] The present disclosure is intended to solve the above problem, and aims to enable a single position estimation device to use both a technology for estimating the position of a terminal and a technology for estimating the position of a target. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The position estimation device of the present disclosure includes: A position estimation device that estimates a position of a target object by using a first element antenna unit configured with a plurality of element antennas arranged along a first direction and a second element antenna unit configured with a plurality of element antennas arranged along a second direction non-parallel to the first direction, a signal transmitting / receiving unit that changes a state of transmission and reception at the element antennas of the first element antenna unit and the element antennas of the second element antenna unit depending on whether terminal positioning is performed to estimate a position of a terminal outside the device or target positioning is performed to estimate a position of a target outside the device; a position estimation unit that instructs the signal transmitting / receiving unit to change a state of transmission and reception depending on the case of the terminal positioning that estimates a position of a terminal outside the device or the target positioning that estimates a position of a target outside the device, and executes distance measurement calculation and angle measurement calculation depending on the case to output the position of the target object; It is equipped with the following. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] The present disclosure provides an advantage in that a single position estimation device can use both a technique for estimating the position of a terminal and a technique for estimating the position of a target. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a configuration of a position estimation device 1000 according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] Figure 2 is a time chart showing an example of the timing of transmission / reception switching when terminal positioning is performed by the position estimation device 1000 of the present disclosure, where Figure 2A shows the timing of transmission / reception switching when terminal ranging is performed when terminal positioning is performed, and Figure 2B shows the timing of transmission / reception switching when terminal angle measurement is performed when terminal positioning is performed. [Figure 3] Figure 3 is a time chart showing an example of the timing of transmission / reception switching in the case of target positioning by the position estimation device 1000 of the present disclosure, where Figure 3A shows the timing of transmission / reception switching during terminal ranging in target positioning, Figure 3B shows the timing of transmission / reception switching during terminal angle measurement in terminal positioning, and Figure 3C shows a second example of the timing of transmission / reception switching during target angle measurement in the case of target positioning. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of a process for estimating the position of a terminal by the position estimation device 1000 of the present disclosure. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of a process for estimating the position of a target by the position estimation device 1000 of the present disclosure. [Figure 6]FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of a distance measurement process performed by the position estimation device 1000 of the present disclosure. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of an angle measurement process performed by the position estimation device 1000 of the present disclosure. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating a first example of a detailed configuration of the position estimation device 1000 according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating a second example of the detailed configuration of the position estimation device 1000 according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating a third example of the detailed configuration of the position estimation device 1000 according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of an arrangement of element antennas according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 12] FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of a virtual antenna implemented by the position estimation device 1000 according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of an arrangement of element antennas according to the third embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 14] FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a first example of a hardware configuration for realizing the functions according to the configuration of the present disclosure. [Figure 15] FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating a second example of a hardware configuration for realizing the functions according to the configuration of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] In order to explain the present disclosure in more detail, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0011] Embodiment 1 In the first embodiment, a configuration example will be described in which the operation is switched between estimating the position of a terminal and estimating the position of a target.

[0012] An example of the configuration of the position estimation device 1000 according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure will be described. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a configuration of a position estimation device 1000 according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. The position estimation device 1000 estimates the position of a target object using a first element antenna section 100 consisting of a plurality of element antennas arranged along a first direction, and a second element antenna section 200 consisting of a plurality of element antennas arranged along a second direction non-parallel to the first direction. The position estimation device 1000 has a function of estimating the position of a terminal that may be located outside the device, and a function of estimating the position of a target that may be located outside the device. In other words, the position estimation device 1000 can also be expressed as a terminal position estimation device and a target position estimation device. 1 includes an antenna unit 10, a signal transmitting / receiving unit 20, and a position estimation unit 30. The antenna unit 10 is connected to the signal transmitting / receiving unit 20, and the signal transmitting / receiving unit 20 is connected to the position estimation unit 30.

[0013] The antenna section 10 is composed of a plurality of element antennas arranged along a first direction and a plurality of element antennas arranged along a second direction. The antenna section 10 shown in FIG. 1 includes a first element antenna section 100 and a second element antenna section 200. The first element antenna section 100 is made up of a plurality of element antennas arranged along a first direction, in other words, the first element antenna section 100 includes two or more element antennas. The first element antenna section 100 shown in FIG. 1 includes an element antenna 111 (a first element antenna in the first element antenna section) and an element antenna 121 (a second element antenna in the first element antenna section). The second element antenna section 200 is composed of a plurality of element antennas arranged along a second direction that is a direction non-parallel to the first direction. In other words, the second element antenna section 200 includes two or more element antennas. The second antenna element section 200 shown in FIG. 1 includes an antenna element 211 (a first antenna element in the second antenna element section) and an antenna element 221 (a second antenna element in the second antenna element section). The antenna unit 10 may be configured as an external component of the position estimation device 1000. In other words, if there is an existing antenna unit, the position estimation device 1000 can be configured to connect to the existing antenna unit.

[0014] When performing terminal positioning to estimate the position of a terminal outside the device, or when performing target positioning to estimate the position of a target outside the device, the signal transmitting / receiving unit 20 changes the transmission and reception state of the element antenna of the first element antenna unit 100 and the element antenna of the second element antenna unit 200 according to each case. The signal transmitting / receiving unit 20 shown in FIG. 1 includes a transmitting / receiving switching unit 21 and a transmitting / receiving circuit unit 22. The transmission / reception switching unit 21 is configured to be able to switch between transmission and reception of signals for each element antenna in at least the first element antenna unit 100 out of the first element antenna unit 100 and the second element antenna unit 200. Specifically, the transmission / reception switching unit 21 is configured to include, for example, a switch that switches between transmission and reception. The transmission / reception circuit unit 22 includes a transmission circuit that is a circuit for transmitting and a reception circuit that is a circuit for receiving. Specifically, the transmission / reception circuit unit 22 is composed of a transmission circuit that outputs a transmission signal via the transmission / reception switching unit 21 and a reception circuit that receives a reception signal via the transmission / reception switching unit 21.

[0015] In the case of terminal positioning, which estimates the position of a terminal outside the device, or in the case of target positioning, which estimates the position of a target outside the device, the position estimation unit 30 instructs the signal transmitting / receiving unit 20 to change the state of transmission and reception according to the respective cases, and performs distance measurement calculations and angle measurement calculations according to the respective cases to output the position of the target object. Terminal positioning and target positioning are appropriately switched and executed, for example, by a pre-stored program or the like. Specifically, for example, they may be switched alternately, or switched at regular intervals, etc. Specifically, in the case of terminal positioning to estimate the position of a terminal outside the device, the position estimation unit 30 performs terminal ranging to measure the distance to the terminal based on the round-trip time of the signal to and from the terminal by receiving a signal that would have been output from the terminal after transmitting a signal from at least one of the element antennas in the first element antenna unit 100, and also performs terminal angle measurement to estimate the direction in which the terminal is likely to be located based on each of the signals received by at least two of the element antennas in the first element antenna unit 100 or the signals received by at least two of the element antennas in the second element antenna unit 200, and outputs the position of the terminal using the results of the terminal ranging and the terminal angle measurement. Specifically, in the case of target positioning that estimates the position of a target outside the device, the position estimation unit 30 performs target ranging, which measures the distance to the target based on the round-trip time of the signal by causing at least one element antenna of the element antennas in the first element antenna unit 100 to transmit a signal and at least one element antenna of the element antennas in the second element antenna unit 200 to receive a signal that is likely to have been reflected by the target; causes at least two element antennas of the element antennas in the first element antenna unit 100 to transmit a signal and at least two element antennas of the element antennas in the second element antenna unit 200 to receive the signal; performs target angle measurement, which estimates the direction in which the target is likely to exist, based on each of the signal transmitted by multiple element antennas and received by a single element antenna, or the signal transmitted by a single element antenna and received by multiple element antennas; and outputs the position of the target using the results of the target ranging and the target angle measurement. The position estimation unit 30 shown in FIG. 1 includes a positioning unit 301, a distance measurement unit 302, an angle measurement unit 303, and a transmission / reception switching control unit 304.

[0016] When performing terminal positioning to estimate the position of a terminal outside the device, or when performing target positioning to estimate the position of a target outside the device, the transmission / reception switching control unit 304 instructs the signal transmission / reception unit 20 to change the state of transmission and reception at the element antenna depending on the case. Specifically, when performing terminal ranging to estimate the distance to a terminal in terminal positioning to estimate the position of the terminal outside the device, the transmission / reception switching control unit 304 instructs the signal transmission / reception unit 20 to transmit a signal from at least one of the element antennas in the first element antenna unit 100, and after the transmission, to receive the element antenna signal from at least one of the element antennas in the first element antenna unit 100 and the second element antenna unit 200. Specifically, when performing terminal angle measurement to estimate the direction of the terminal in terminal positioning to estimate the position of the terminal outside the device, the transmission / reception switching control unit 304 instructs the signal transmission / reception unit 20 to receive signals using at least two element antennas of the first element antenna unit 100 or at least two element antennas of the second element antenna unit 200. Specifically, when performing target ranging to estimate the distance to a target in target positioning to estimate the position of a target outside the device, the transmit / receive switching control unit 304 instructs the signal transmit / receive unit 20 to transmit a signal from at least one element antenna of the first element antenna unit 100 and to receive a signal by at least one element antenna of the second element antenna unit 200. Specifically, when performing target angle measurement to estimate the direction of a target in target positioning to estimate the position of a target outside the device, the transmit / receive switching control unit 304 instructs the signal transmit / receive unit 20 to transmit signals from at least two of the element antennas in the first element antenna unit 100, and to receive a signal that may have been reflected by the target by at least one of the element antennas in the second element antenna unit 200.

[0017] When performing terminal positioning to estimate the position of a terminal outside the device, or when performing target positioning to estimate the position of a target outside the device, the distance measurement unit 302 performs distance measurement processing appropriate for each case. Specifically, when performing terminal ranging to estimate the distance to a terminal in terminal positioning to estimate the position of the terminal outside the device, the ranging unit 302 transmits a signal from at least one of the element antennas in the first element antenna unit 100, receives a signal that is likely to have been transmitted from the terminal by at least one of the element antennas in the first element antenna unit 100 or the element antennas in the second element antenna unit 200, and calculates the distance to the terminal from the round-trip time of the signal. Specifically, when performing target ranging to estimate the distance to a target in target positioning to estimate the position of a target outside the device, the ranging unit 302 transmits a signal from at least one of the element antennas in the first element antenna unit 100, receives a signal that may have been reflected by the target by at least one of the element antennas in the second element antenna unit 200, and calculates the distance to the target based on the round-trip time of the signal.

[0018] When performing terminal positioning to estimate the position of a terminal outside the device, or when performing target positioning to estimate the position of a target outside the device, the angle measurement unit 303 performs angle measurement processing appropriate for each case. Specifically, when performing terminal angle measurement to estimate the angle of a direction in which a terminal is likely to be located in terminal positioning that estimates the position of a terminal outside the device, angle measurement unit 303 measures the angle in a first direction based on signals received by multiple element antennas arranged in a first direction, and measures the angle in a second direction based on signals received by multiple element antennas arranged in a second direction. When performing terminal angle measurement to estimate the angle of a direction in which a terminal is likely to be located in terminal positioning that estimates the position of a terminal outside the device, angle measurement unit 303 receives signals from at least two element antennas of the first element antenna unit 100 and at least two element antennas of the second element antenna unit 200, and determines the direction of the terminal in the first direction based on a phase difference or a time difference of the signals received by the first element antenna unit 100, and determines the direction of the terminal in the second direction based on a phase difference or a time difference of the signals received by the second element antenna unit 200. Specifically, when the angle measurement unit 303 performs target angle measurement to estimate the angle of the direction in which the target is likely to be located in target positioning to estimate the position of the target outside the device, the angle measurement unit 303 measures the angle in the first direction from the phase difference between signals transmitted from multiple element antennas arranged in a first direction and signals that are likely to be reflected by the target, received by one or more element antennas arranged in a second direction, and measures the angle in the second direction from the phase difference between signals transmitted from one or more element antennas arranged in the first direction and signals that are likely to be reflected by the target, received by multiple element antennas arranged in the second direction. When performing target angle measurement to estimate the angle of the direction in which the target is likely to be located in target positioning to estimate the position of a target outside the device, the angle measurement unit 303 transmits signals from at least two of the element antennas in the first element antenna unit 100, causes at least one of the element antennas in the second element antenna unit 200 to receive the signal that is likely to be reflected by the target, determines the direction of the target in the first direction from the phase difference or time difference between the signal transmitted from each element antenna in the first element antenna unit 100 and the signal received by the element antenna of the second element antenna unit 200, and determines the direction of the target in the second direction from the phase difference or time difference between the signal transmitted from the element antenna in the first element antenna unit 100 and the signal received by each element antenna of the second element antenna unit 200.

[0019] The positioning unit 301 outputs the position of an object such as a terminal or a target based on the results of distance measurement by the distance measurement unit 302 and the results of angle measurement by the angle measurement unit 303 . When performing terminal positioning to estimate the terminal's position outside the device, the positioning unit 301 estimates the terminal's position using the distance measurement result of the terminal distance measurement by the distance measurement unit and the angle measurement result of the terminal angle measurement by the angle measurement unit. When performing target positioning to estimate the position of a target outside the device, the positioning unit 301 estimates the position of the target using the distance measurement result of the target distance measurement by the distance measurement unit 302 and the angle measurement result of the target angle measurement by the angle measurement unit 303.

[0020] Here, an example of timing for switching between transmission and reception in the case of terminal positioning by the position estimation device 1000 of the present disclosure will be described. Figure 2 is a time chart showing an example of the timing of transmission / reception switching when terminal positioning is performed by the position estimation device 1000 of the present disclosure, where Figure 2A shows the timing of transmission / reception switching when terminal ranging is performed when terminal positioning is performed, and Figure 2B shows the timing of transmission / reception switching when terminal angle measurement is performed when terminal positioning is performed. When the position estimation unit 30 performs terminal positioning, the transmit / receive switching control unit 304 in the position estimation unit 30 of the position estimation device 1000 issues a command to the transmit / receive switching unit 21 in the signal transmitting / receiving unit 20 to switch between transmission and reception, and switches between transmission and reception using multiple element antennas, for example, as follows: When terminal ranging is performed in terminal positioning, the transmission / reception switching control unit 304 first switches the element antenna 111 (the first element antenna in the first element antenna unit 100) to transmission, as shown in Fig. 2A. Then, the element antenna 111 (the first element antenna in the first element antenna unit 100) is switched to reception. This causes the position estimation device 1000 to transmit a signal, and the terminal outputs a signal in response to the transmitted signal, thereby allowing the position estimation device 1000 to receive the signal output from the terminal, and terminal ranging can be performed. In the explanation, only element antenna 111 is used, but it may be configured to switch between element antenna 121 (second element antenna in first element antenna section 100), element antenna 211 (first element antenna in second element antenna section 200), or element antenna 221 (second element antenna in second element antenna section 200). When terminal angle measurement is performed in terminal positioning, the transmission / reception switching control unit 304 first switches the element antenna 111 (the first element antenna in the first element antenna unit 100) to transmission, as shown in FIG. 2B . Next, the transmission / reception switching control unit 304 switches the element antenna 111 (the first element antenna in the first element antenna unit 100), the element antenna 121 (the second element antenna in the first element antenna unit 100), the element antenna 211 (the first element antenna in the second element antenna unit 200), and the element antenna 221 (the second element antenna in the second element antenna unit 200) to reception. However, if the second element antenna unit 200 is fixed to a reception state, the transmission / reception switching control unit 304 does not need to issue a command to the second element antenna unit 200. In this way, the position estimation device 1000 transmits a signal, and the terminal outputs a signal in response to the transmitted signal, so that the position estimation device 1000 can receive the signal output from the terminal by each element antenna, and terminal angle measurement can be performed.

[0021] Next, an example of the timing of switching between transmission and reception when target positioning is performed by the position estimation device 1000 of the present disclosure will be described. Figure 3 is a time chart showing an example of the timing of transmission / reception switching when target positioning is performed by the position estimation device 1000 of the present disclosure, where Figure 3A shows the timing of transmission / reception switching when target distance is measured in target positioning, Figure 3B shows a first example of the timing of transmission / reception switching when target angle is measured in target positioning, and Figure 3C shows a second example of the timing of transmission / reception switching when target angle is measured in target positioning. When the position estimation unit 30 performs target positioning, the transmit / receive switching control unit 304 in the position estimation unit 30 of the position estimation device 1000 issues a command to the transmit / receive switching unit 21 in the signal transmitter / receiver unit 20 to switch between transmission and reception, and switches between transmission and reception using multiple element antennas, for example, as follows: When target ranging is performed in target positioning, the transmit / receive switching control unit 304 sets the element antenna 111 (the first element antenna in the first element antenna unit 100) to a transmitting state and sets the element antenna 211 (the first element antenna in the second element antenna unit 200) to a receiving state, as shown in Fig. 3A. However, if the second element antenna unit 200 is fixed to a receiving state, the transmit / receive switching control unit 304 does not need to issue a command to the second element antenna unit 200. This allows the position estimation device 1000 to transmit a signal from the element antenna 111, and the position estimation device 1000 to receive a signal that is likely to be reflected by the target, by the element antenna 211, thereby enabling target ranging. When target angle measurement is performed in target positioning, the transmit / receive switching control unit 304 sets the element antenna 111 (first element antenna in the first element antenna unit 100) to a transmission state and sets the element antenna 211 (first element antenna in the second element antenna unit) and the element antenna 221 (second element antenna in the second element antenna unit) to a reception state, as shown in FIG. 3B. However, if the second element antenna unit 200 is fixed to the reception state, the transmit / receive switching control unit 304 does not need to issue a command to the second element antenna unit 200. In this way, a signal can be transmitted from the position estimation device 1000 via the element antenna 111, and signals that are likely to be reflected by the target can be received by the element antenna 211 and the element antenna 221 in the position estimation device 1000. Next, the element antenna 121 (the second element antenna in the first element antenna unit) is set to a transmitting state, and the element antenna 211 (the first element antenna in the second element antenna unit) and the element antenna 221 (the second element antenna in the second element antenna unit) are set to a receiving state. However, if the second element antenna unit 200 is fixed to the receiving state, the transmit / receive switching control unit 304 does not need to issue a command to the second element antenna unit 200. This allows the position estimation device 1000 to transmit a signal from the element antenna 121, and the position estimation device 1000 to receive signals that are likely to be reflected by a target by the element antenna 211 and the element antenna 221, respectively. By operating in this manner, the position estimation device 1000 can measure the target angle. When target angle measurement is performed in target positioning, the transmit / receive switching control unit 304 can use signals with different codes in the position estimation device 1000, as shown in Figure 3C, to simultaneously transmit signals from element antenna 111 (first element antenna in the first element antenna unit) and element antenna 121 (second element antenna in the first element antenna unit), and receive the signals that were transmitted and may have been reflected by the target by element antenna 211 (first element antenna in the second element antenna unit) and element antenna 221 (second element antenna in the second element antenna unit).

[0022] In addition to the above components, the position estimation device 1000 also includes a control unit (not shown), a storage unit (not shown), and a communication unit (not shown). A control unit (not shown) controls the entire position estimation device 1000 and each of its components. The control unit (not shown) starts up the position estimation device 1000 in accordance with, for example, an external command. The control unit (not shown) also controls the state of the position estimation device 1000 (operating state = state such as start-up, shutdown, or sleep). A storage unit (not shown) stores each piece of data used in the position estimation device 1000. The storage unit (not shown) stores, for example, output (output data) from each component in the position estimation device 1000, and outputs data requested by each component to the requesting component. The communication unit (not shown) communicates with an external device. For example, communication is performed between the position estimation device 1000 and a peripheral device (e.g., a device mounted on a mobile body). For example, when the position estimation device 1000 and the device mounted on a mobile body are not connected by wire, the communication unit (not shown) has a function of communicating between the position estimation device 1000 and the device mounted on a mobile body. The communication unit (not shown) also has a function of communicating with a server device, which is an external device. The control unit (not shown), the storage unit (not shown), and the communication unit (not shown) are the same in the embodiments described below.

[0023] Next, the processing and operation of the position estimation device 1000 of the present disclosure will be described. When performing terminal positioning to estimate the position of a terminal outside the device, or when performing target positioning to estimate the position of a target outside the device, the signal transmitting / receiving unit 20 of the position estimation device 1000 changes the transmission / reception state of the element antenna of the first element antenna unit 100 and the element antenna of the second element antenna unit 200 depending on the case. In the case of terminal positioning, which estimates the position of a terminal outside the device, or in the case of target positioning, which estimates the position of a target outside the device, the position estimation unit 30 of the position estimation device 1000 instructs the signal transmitting / receiving unit 20 to change the state of transmission and reception depending on the case, and executes processing to estimate the position of the target object depending on the case. This processing and operation will be explained using FIGS. 4, 5, 6 and 7. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of a process for estimating the position of a terminal by the position estimation device 1000 of the present disclosure. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of a process for estimating the position of a target by the position estimation device 1000 of the present disclosure. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of a distance measurement process performed by the position estimation device 1000 of the present disclosure. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of an angle measurement process performed by the position estimation device 1000 of the present disclosure.

[0024] An example of a process for estimating the position of a terminal by the position estimation device 1000 of the present disclosure will be described with reference to FIGS. 4, 6, and 7. FIG. The processing of the position estimation device 1000 is a position estimation method performed by the position estimation device 1000. For example, when a position estimation start condition is satisfied, such as when an external operation or command is received, the position estimation device 1000 shown in FIG. 1 then starts the process shown in FIG. 4 ("start terminal position estimation"). The position estimation device 1000 then executes a terminal ranging process (step ST1100). In the terminal ranging process, the position estimation unit 30 of the position estimation device 1000 performs terminal ranging by causing at least one element antenna of the first element antenna unit 100 to transmit a signal and then receiving a signal that would have been output from the terminal, thereby measuring the distance to the terminal based on the round-trip time of the signal to and from the terminal.

[0025] Here, a detailed example of the terminal ranging process, which is the ranging process in the case of terminal position estimation, will be described with reference to FIG. When estimating the position of the terminal, the position estimation unit 30 of the position estimation device 1000 then starts the process shown in FIG. 6 ("start distance measurement"). The position estimation unit 30 of the position estimation device 1000 then executes a transmission / reception switching control process (step ST3110). In the transmission / reception switching control process, the transmission / reception switching control unit 304 in the position estimation unit 30 instructs the signal transmitting / receiving unit 20 to transmit a signal from at least one element antenna among the element antennas in the first element antenna unit 100, and after the transmission, to receive the element antenna signal from at least one element antenna among the element antennas in the first element antenna unit 100 and the second element antenna unit 200. The position estimation unit 30 of the position estimation device 1000 then executes a ranging calculation process (step ST3120). In the ranging calculation process, the ranging unit 302 of the position estimation unit 30 causes at least one element antenna of the first element antenna unit 100 to transmit a signal via the transmission / reception switching control unit 304, and causes at least one element antenna of the first element antenna unit 100 or the second element antenna unit 200 to receive a signal that is likely to have been transmitted from the terminal, and calculates the distance to the terminal from the round-trip time of the signal. The ranging unit 302 outputs the distance to the terminal to the positioning unit 301. Next, the position estimation unit 30 of the position estimation device 1000 ends the processing shown in FIG. 6 ("end"), and proceeds to the terminal angle measurement processing (step ST1100) shown in FIG.

[0026] Returning to the explanation of Figure 4. The position estimation device 1000 then executes a terminal angle measurement process (step ST1100). In the terminal angle measurement process, the position estimation unit 30 of the position estimation device 1000 performs terminal angle measurement to estimate a direction in which the terminal is likely to be located, based on each of the signals received by at least two element antennas of the first element antenna unit 100 or the signals received by at least two element antennas of the second element antenna unit 200.

[0027] Here, a detailed example of terminal angle measurement processing, which is angle measurement processing in the case of terminal position estimation, will be described with reference to FIG. When performing the terminal angle measurement process, the position estimation unit 30 of the position estimation device 1000 then starts the process shown in FIG. 7 ("start angle measurement"). The position estimation unit 30 of the position estimation device 1000 then executes a transmission / reception switching control process (step ST4110). In the transmission / reception switching control process, the transmission / reception switching control unit 304 in the position estimation unit 30 instructs the signal transmission / reception unit 20 to receive signals by at least two element antennas of the first element antenna unit 100 or at least two element antennas of the second element antenna unit 200. The position estimation unit 30 of the position estimation device 1000 then performs angle measurement calculation processing (step ST4120). In the angle measurement calculation processing, the angle measurement unit 303 of the position estimation unit 30 performs angle measurement in a first direction based on signals received by multiple element antennas arranged in a first direction, and performs angle measurement in a second direction based on signals received by multiple element antennas arranged in a second direction. When performing terminal angle measurement to estimate the angle of a direction in which a terminal is likely to be located in terminal positioning that estimates the position of a terminal outside the device, the angle measurement unit 303 causes at least two element antennas of the first element antenna unit 100 and at least two element antennas of the second element antenna unit 200 to receive signals, determines the direction of the terminal in the first direction based on the phase difference or time difference of the signals received by the first element antenna unit 100, and determines the direction of the terminal in the second direction based on the phase difference or time difference of the signals received by the second element antenna unit 200. The angle measurement unit 303 outputs to the position measurement unit 301 the direction of the terminal, which includes the direction of the terminal with respect to the first direction and the direction of the terminal with respect to the second direction. Next, the position estimation unit 30 of the position estimation device 1000 ends the processing shown in FIG. 7 ("END"), and proceeds to the terminal positioning processing (step ST1300) shown in FIG.

[0028] Returning to the explanation of Figure 4. Next, the position estimation device 1000 executes a terminal positioning process (step ST1300). In the terminal positioning process, the positioning unit 301 in the position estimation unit 30 of the position estimation device 1000 outputs the position of the terminal using the results of the terminal ranging and the terminal angle measurement. Position estimation device 1000 then ends the process shown in FIG. 4 ("END").

[0029] An example of a process for estimating the position of a target by the position estimation device 1000 of the present disclosure will be described with reference to FIGS. 5, 6, and 7. FIG. The processing of the position estimation device 1000 is a position estimation method performed by the position estimation device 1000. For example, when a position estimation start condition is satisfied, such as when an external operation or command is received, the position estimation device 1000 shown in FIG. 1 then starts the process shown in FIG. 5 ("start target position estimation"). When estimating the position of a target, the position estimation device 1000 then performs a target ranging process (step ST2100). In the target ranging process, the position estimation unit 30 of the position estimation device 1000 performs target ranging by causing at least one element antenna of the first element antenna unit 100 to transmit a signal, and causing at least one element antenna of the second element antenna unit 200 to receive a signal that is likely to have been reflected by the target, thereby measuring the distance to the target based on the round-trip time of the signal.

[0030] Here, a detailed example of the target distance measurement process, which is the distance measurement process in the case of target position estimation, will be described with reference to FIG. The position estimation unit 30 of the position estimation device 1000 then starts the process shown in FIG. 6 ("start distance measurement"). The position estimation unit 30 of the position estimation device 1000 then executes a transmission / reception switching control process (step ST3110). In the transmission / reception switching control process, the transmission / reception switching control unit 304 in the position estimation unit 30 instructs the signal transmitting / receiving unit 20 to transmit a signal from at least one element antenna of the first element antenna unit 100 and to receive a signal from at least one element antenna of the second element antenna unit 200. The position estimation unit 30 of the position estimation device 1000 then executes a ranging calculation process (step ST3120). In the ranging calculation process, the ranging unit 302 of the position estimation unit 30 causes at least one element antenna of the first element antenna unit 100 to transmit a signal, causes at least one element antenna of the second element antenna unit 200 to receive the signal that may have been reflected by the target, and calculates the distance to the target based on the round-trip time of the signal. The ranging unit 302 outputs the distance to the target to the positioning unit 301. The position estimation unit 30 of the position estimation device 1000 then ends the processing shown in FIG. 6 ("end"), and proceeds to the target angle measurement processing (step ST1100) shown in FIG.

[0031] Returning to the explanation of Figure 5. The position estimation device 1000 then executes target angle measurement processing (step ST1100). In the target angle measurement processing, the position estimation unit 30 of the position estimation device 1000 causes at least two element antennas of the element antennas in the first element antenna unit 100 to transmit signals, causes at least two element antennas of the element antennas in the second element antenna unit 200 to receive signals, and performs target angle measurement to estimate the direction in which the target is likely to exist based on each of the signals transmitted by the multiple element antennas and received by a single element antenna, or the signals transmitted by a single element antenna and received by the multiple element antennas.

[0032] Here, a detailed example of the target angle measurement process, which is the angle measurement process in the case of target position estimation, will be described with reference to FIG. In the case of target position estimation, the position estimation unit 30 of the position estimation device 1000 then starts the process shown in FIG. 7 ("start angle measurement"). The position estimation unit 30 of the position estimation device 1000 then executes a transmission / reception switching control process (step ST4110). In the transmission / reception switching control process, the transmission / reception switching control unit 304 in the position estimation unit 30 instructs the signal transmission / reception unit 20 to transmit signals from at least two element antennas of the first element antenna unit 100, and to receive a signal that may have been reflected by a target by at least one element antenna of the second element antenna unit 200. The position estimation unit 30 of the position estimation device 1000 then executes an angle measurement calculation process (step ST4120). In the angle measurement calculation process, the angle measurement unit 303 of the position estimation unit 30 measures the angle in the first direction from the phase difference between signals transmitted from multiple element antennas arranged in a first direction and reflected by a target, and received by one or more element antennas arranged in a second direction, and measures the angle in the second direction from the phase difference between signals transmitted from one or more element antennas arranged in the first direction and reflected by a target, and received by multiple element antennas arranged in the second direction. When performing target angle measurement to estimate the angle of the direction in which the target is likely to exist in target positioning to estimate the position of a target outside the device, the angle measurement unit 303 transmits signals from at least two of the element antennas in the first element antenna unit 100, causes at least one of the element antennas in the second element antenna unit 200 to receive signals that are likely reflected by the target, determines the direction of the target in the first direction from the phase difference or time difference between the signals transmitted from each element antenna in the first element antenna unit 100 and received by the element antenna in the second element antenna unit 200, and determines the direction of the target in the second direction from the phase difference or time difference between the signals transmitted from the element antenna in the first element antenna unit 100 and received by each element antenna in the second element antenna unit 200. The angle measurement unit 303 outputs the direction of the target, including the direction of the target in the first direction and the direction of the target in the second direction, to the positioning unit 301. Next, the position estimation unit 30 of the position estimation device 1000 ends the processing shown in FIG. 7 ("end"), and proceeds to the target positioning processing (step ST2300) shown in FIG.

[0033] Returning to the explanation of Figure 5. The position estimation device 1000 then executes a target positioning process (step ST1300). In the target positioning process, the position estimation unit 30 of the position estimation device 1000 outputs the position of the target using the target ranging result and the target angle measuring result. Position estimation device 1000 then ends the process shown in FIG. 5 (“END”).

[0034] Next, a detailed example of the configuration of the position estimation device 1000 according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure will be described. FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating a first example of a detailed configuration of the position estimation device 1000 according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating a second example of the detailed configuration of the position estimation device 1000 according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating a third example of the detailed configuration of the position estimation device 1000 according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0035] The configuration example of FIG. 8 will be described. In FIG. 8, in addition to the position estimation device 1000, a terminal 2000 and a target object 3000 are also arranged. The position estimation device 1000 and the terminal 2000 communicate wirelessly. The position estimation device 1000 also measures the position of the terminal 2000. That is, the position estimation device 1000 measures the distance and angle for positioning the terminal 2000. The position estimation device 1000 measures the position of the target 3000. That is, the position estimation device 1000 measures the distance and angle for positioning the target 3000. The terminal 2000 and the target 3000 may exist simultaneously, or only one of them may exist. If the system disclosed herein is used as a keyless system for a vehicle such as an automobile, the position estimation device 1000 is a communication device installed in the vehicle, the terminal 2000 is a keyless portable device for the keyless system, and the target 3000 is a person or object inside or outside the vehicle. The mobile communication terminal or keyless portable unit of the keyless system as terminal 2000 is generally known, and in the figure it is simply shown as having an antenna 2001 and a transceiver unit 2002, and detailed description thereof will be omitted. The number of antennas 2001 is not limited to one, but may be multiple. The position estimation device 1000 includes element antennas 111, 121, 211, and 221, transmitting circuits 112 and 122, receiving circuits 113, 123, 213, and 223, switches 114 and 124, and a positioning unit 301.

[0036] Here, the signal transmitting / receiving unit 20 of the position estimation device 1000 shown in FIG. The transmission / reception switching unit 21 is configured to be able to switch between transmission and reception of signals for each element antenna (111, 121) in at least the first element antenna unit 100 out of the first element antenna unit 100 and the second element antenna unit 200. The transmission / reception switching unit 21 is configured by a switch. The transmission / reception circuit section 22 is composed of a transmission circuit that outputs a transmission signal via the transmission / reception switching section 21, and a reception circuit that receives a reception signal via the transmission / reception switching section 21. The transmission / reception switching unit 21 includes a switch 114 and a switch 124 . The switch 114 switches the connection of the first element antenna in the first element antenna unit 100 between the first transmission circuit in the transceiver circuit unit 22 and the first reception circuit in the transceiver circuit unit 22. The switch 114 is the first switch in this configuration. The switch 124 switches the connection of the second element antenna in the first element antenna unit 100 between the second transmission circuit in the transmission / reception circuit unit 22 and the second reception circuit in the transmission / reception circuit unit 22. The switch 124 is a second switch in this configuration.

[0037] Note that the transmitting circuit, receiving circuit, and switch in the figure may be integrated into a single IC (integrated circuit) (not shown). Also, some of the transmitting circuits, receiving circuits, and switches in the figure may be integrated into a single IC (not shown). In this specific example, transmitting circuit 112, receiving circuits 113, 213, and switch 114 are implemented in a single IC, and transmitting circuit 122, receiving circuit 123, receiving circuit 223, and switch 124 are implemented in a single IC. The position of each element in Figure 8 is arbitrary. However, the arrangement direction of the element antennas in the first element antenna section 100 and the element antennas in the second element antenna section 200 is clearly indicated. Two or more first element antenna sections 100 are arranged in a first direction. In this embodiment, this corresponds to element antennas 111 and 121. Two or more second element antenna sections 200 are arranged in a second direction. In this embodiment, this corresponds to element antennas 211 and 221. The first direction and the second direction are arbitrary directions that are not parallel. An example of the relationship between the first direction and the second direction is orthogonal. The antenna arranged in the first direction has a transmitting function and a receiving function, and is connected to a transmitting circuit and a receiving circuit. The element antenna 111 is connected to a transmitting circuit 112 and a receiving circuit 113 via a switch 114. The switch 114 switches the circuit connected to the element antenna 111. When the transmitting circuit 112 and the element antenna 111 are connected, a signal output from the transmitting circuit 112 is transmitted from the element antenna 111. When the receiving circuit 113 and the element antenna 111 are connected, a signal received by the element antenna 111 is input to the receiving circuit 113. Since only the transmitting circuit 112 or the receiving circuit 113 connected by the switch operates, the transmitting operation and the receiving operation are time-division. Similarly, element antenna 121 is connected to transmitting circuit 122 and receiving circuit 123 via switch 124. The operation of switch 124 is the same as that of switch 114, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted. The antenna arranged in the second direction has a receiving function and is connected to a receiving circuit. The element antenna 211 is connected to a receiving circuit 213. A signal received by the element antenna 211 is input to the receiving circuit 213. Similarly, the element antenna 221 is connected to a receiving circuit 223. A signal received by the element antenna 221 is input to the receiving circuit 223. The positioning unit 301 determines the positions of the terminal 2000 and the target 3000 based on the results of transmitting and receiving signals.

[0038] Using the configuration shown in FIG. 8 as an example, terminal ranging, terminal angle measuring, terminal positioning, target ranging, target angle measuring, and target positioning will be described. The distance measurement by the terminal 2000 will be described. In distance measurement by the terminal 2000, radio waves are transmitted and received from any of the element antennas in FIG. 8, but here it is assumed that only the element antenna 111 is used. The switch 114 connects the transmission circuit 112 and the element antenna 111. The signal output from the transmission circuit 112 is radiated from the element antenna 111. As soon as the transmission is completed, the switch 114 connects the reception circuit 113 and the element antenna 111. The transmitted signal is received by the antenna 2001 of the terminal 2000 through space and input to the transceiver 2002. After receiving the signal, the transceiver 2002 outputs a reply signal. The output signal is radiated from the antenna 2001. The transmitted signal is received by the element antenna 111 through space and input to the reception circuit 113. The positioning unit 301 measures the time from when the transmission circuit 112 outputs a transmission signal to when the reception circuit 113 receives a return wave from the terminal 2000. The positioning unit 301 obtains the round-trip propagation time by subtracting from the measured time the time required for signal processing by the transmission circuit 112, the time required for signal processing by the transceiver unit 2002 of the terminal 2000, and the time required for signal processing by the reception circuit 113. The one-way propagation time is set to half of the round-trip propagation time, and the one-way propagation time is multiplied by the speed of light to obtain an estimate of the distance from the position estimation device 1000 to the terminal 2000.

[0039] Next, angle measurement by terminal 2000 will be described. When measuring the angle of terminal 2000, radio waves are transmitted from any of the element antennas in Fig. 8. Here, only element antenna 111 is used for transmission. Radio waves are received by two or more element antennas of first element antenna unit 100 arranged in the first direction in Fig. 8, and two or more element antennas of second element antenna unit 200 arranged in the second direction. Here, all element antennas are used for reception. Switch 114 connects transmission circuit 112 and element antenna 111. The signal output from transmission circuit 112 is radiated from element antenna 111. As soon as transmission is completed, switch 114 connects reception circuit 113 and element antenna 111. Similarly, switch 124 connects reception circuit 123 and element antenna 121. The transmitted signal travels through space and is received by antenna 2001 of terminal 2000, and input to transceiver unit 2002. After receiving the signal, transceiver unit 2002 outputs a reply signal. The output signal is radiated from antenna 2001. The transmitted signal travels through space and is received by element antennas 111, 121, 211, and 221, and input to reception circuits 113, 123, 213, and 223, respectively.

[0040] The positioning unit 301 obtains the angle between the first direction and the terminal 2000 from the phase difference between the receiving circuits 113 and 123 . The phase difference P1 between the signal received by the element antenna 111 and the signal received by the element antenna 121 is expressed by equation (1). P1=kd1sinθ1 (1) θ1 is the angle between the first direction and the terminal 2000. The direction perpendicular to the first direction is defined as 0°, and the first direction is defined as 90°. d1 is the element spacing in the first direction. k is the wave number, which is calculated as 2π / λ, and λ is the wavelength of the radio wave. Transforming equation (1) gives equation (2), which allows θ1 to be found from P1. θ1=sin -1 (P1 / kd1) (2) Similarly, positioning section 301 obtains the angle between the second direction and terminal 2000 from the phase difference between receiving circuits 213 and 223 . The phase difference P2 between the signal received by the element antenna 211 and the signal received by the element antenna 221 is expressed by equation (3). P2=kd2sinθ2 (3) θ2 is the angle between the second direction and terminal 2000. The direction perpendicular to the second direction is defined as 0°, and the second direction is defined as 90°. d2 is the element spacing in the second direction. Transforming equation (3) gives equation (4), which allows θ2 to be found from P2. θ2=sin -1 (P2 / kd2) (4)

[0041] Next, the positioning of the terminal 2000 will be described. The direction of terminal 2000 as seen from position estimation device 1000 is determined from the angle measurement result of terminal 2000, i.e., the angle between the first direction and terminal 2000 and the angle between the second direction and terminal 2000. In addition, the distance of terminal 2000 as seen from position estimation device 1000 is determined from the distance measurement result of terminal 2000. From the above, the position of the terminal 2000 as seen from the position estimation device 1000 can be estimated.

[0042] The distance measurement of the target 3000 will be explained. In the ranging of terminal 2000 described above, switch 114 on the position estimation device 1000 side can be switched during the processing time of terminal 2000, and element antenna 111 can be used for transmission and reception. On the other hand, in ranging of target 3000, signals travel back and forth at the speed of light, so the transmission and reception times overlap. For this reason, element antennas 111 and 121 are dedicated to transmission, and element antennas 211 and 221 are dedicated to reception. In measuring the distance to the target 3000, radio waves are transmitted from one of the element antennas in Figure 8. Here, only element antenna 111 is used for transmission. Radio waves are received by one of the element antennas. Here, only element antenna 211 is used for reception. The switch 114 connects the transmission circuit 112 and the element antenna 111. The signal output from the transmission circuit 112 is radiated from the element antenna 111. The transmitted signal travels through space and is reflected by the target 3000. The reflected signal travels through space and is received by the element antenna 211 and input to the reception circuit 213. The positioning unit 301 measures the time from when the transmission circuit 112 outputs a transmission signal to when the reception circuit 113 receives a reflected wave from the target 3000. The positioning unit 301 obtains the round-trip propagation time by subtracting the time required for signal processing by the transmission circuit 112 and the time required for signal processing by the reception circuit 213 from the measured time. The one-way propagation time is set to half of the round-trip propagation time, and the one-way propagation time is multiplied by the speed of light to obtain an estimate of the distance from the position estimation device 1000 to the target 3000.

[0043] The measurement of the angle of the target 3000 will now be described. In measuring the angle of target 3000, radio waves are transmitted from two or more element antennas of first element antenna unit 100 arranged in a first direction in Fig. 8. Here, element antennas 111 and 121 are used for transmission. Radio waves are received by two or more element antennas of second element antenna unit 200 arranged in a second direction in Fig. 8. Here, element antennas 211 and 221 are used for reception. It is assumed that transmission signals do not interfere with each other, and that signals are obtained from each pair of element antennas used for transmission and reception. For example, if (a, b) is expressed as a pair (transmission, reception), it is assumed that received signals are obtained from (element antenna 111, element antenna 211), (element antenna 111, element antenna 221), (element antenna 121, element antenna 211), and (element antenna 121, element antenna 221). Transmission from element antenna 111 and transmission from element antenna 121 may be time-division, or may be transmitted simultaneously using different codes and decoded on the receiving side. Here, the explanation will be given assuming that time division is used. The switch 114 connects the transmission circuit 112 and the element antenna 111. The signal output from the transmission circuit 112 is radiated from the element antenna 111. The transmitted signal travels through space and is reflected by the target 3000. The reflected signal travels through space and is received by the element antennas 211 and 221, and is input to the receiving circuits 213 and 223. Similarly, the switch 124 connects the transmission circuit 122 and the element antenna 121. The signal output from the transmission circuit 122 is radiated from the element antenna 121. The transmitted signal travels through space and is reflected by the target 3000. The reflected signal travels through space and is received by the element antennas 211 and 221, and is input to the receiving circuits 213 and 223. The positioning unit 301 measures the angle from the phase obtained by transmitting and receiving signals. It is self-evident that when element antenna 111 is used for transmission, a signal is output from transmitting circuit 112, when element antenna 121 is used for transmission, a signal is output from transmitting circuit 122, the signal received by element antenna 211 is input to receiving circuit 213, and the signal received by element antenna 221 is input to receiving circuit 223, so in the following explanation, only the element antennas to be used will be shown. The angle between the first direction and the target 3000 is calculated from the phase difference between the signal using element antenna 111-element antenna 211 and the signal using element antenna 121-element antenna 211. At least one pair of element antenna and receiving circuit for reception is sufficient. Here, it is assumed that element antenna 211 and receiving circuit 213 are used. The procedure for measuring the angle is the same as that for measuring the angle of terminal 2000, so a description thereof will be omitted. The angle between the second direction and the target 3000 is calculated from the phase difference between the signal using element antenna 111-element antenna 211 and the signal using element antenna 111-element antenna 221. At least one pair of element antenna and transmission circuit for transmission is required. Here, it is assumed that element antenna 111 and transmission circuit 112 are used. The procedure for measuring the angle is the same as that for measuring the angle of terminal 2000, so a description thereof will be omitted.

[0044] The positioning of the target 3000 will be described. The direction of the target 3000 as seen from the position estimation device 1000 is determined from the angle measurement results of the target 3000, i.e., the angle between the first direction and the target 3000 and the angle between the second direction and the target 3000. In addition, the distance to the target 3000 as seen from the position estimation device 1000 is determined from the distance measurement results of the target 3000. From the above, the position of the target 3000 as seen from the position estimation device 1000 can be estimated.

[0045] As a result, it is possible to obtain a position estimation device that operates as a terminal position estimation device capable of locating the position of a terminal and a target position estimation device.

[0046] In the position estimation device 1000 of the present disclosure, the configuration of the transmission / reception circuit and the switch is not limited to the configuration in Fig. 8. Fig. 9 shows another configuration example of the transmission / reception circuit. All of the components in the figure may be integrated into an IC, or some of the components in the figure may be integrated into an IC. In Fig. 9, switch 115 is added to the configuration shown in Fig. 8. This allows element antennas 111 and 121 to share transmission circuit 112 and reception circuit 113. Similarly, switch 215 is added to the configuration shown in Fig. 8. This allows element antennas 211 and 221 to share reception circuit 213. Compared to Fig. 8, the configuration in Fig. 9 can reduce the number of transmission and reception circuits. However, since only the element antennas and transmission and reception circuits connected by the switch operate, it is necessary to select element antennas that operate in a time-division manner.

[0047] The position estimation device 1000 shown in FIG. 9 includes an antenna unit 10, a signal transmitting / receiving unit 20, and a position estimation unit 30. The signal transmitting / receiving unit 20 includes a transmitting / receiving switching unit 21 and a transmitting / receiving circuit unit 22 . The transmission / reception switching section 21 is configured to be able to switch between transmission and reception of signals for each element antenna in at least the first element antenna section 100 out of the first element antenna section 100 and the second element antenna section 200 . The transmission / reception circuit section 22 is composed of a transmission circuit that outputs a transmission signal via the transmission / reception switching section 21, and a reception circuit that receives a reception signal via the transmission / reception switching section 21. The transmission / reception switching unit 21 includes a switch 114, a switch 115, and a switch 215. The switch 114 switches between connection of the first transmission circuit in the transmission / reception circuit section 22 and connection of the first reception circuit in the transmission / reception circuit section 22. The switch 114 is the first switch in this configuration. Switch 115 is connected to the first switch 114, and switches between connection of the first element antenna in the first element antenna unit 100 and connection of the second element antenna in the first element antenna unit 100. Switch 115 is a second switch in this configuration. The switch 215 switches between connecting the first element antenna in the second element antenna unit 200 and connecting the second element antenna in the second element antenna unit 200 to the second receiving circuit in the transmitting / receiving circuit unit 22. The switch 215 is a third switch in this configuration.

[0048] The position estimation device 1000 of the present disclosure may be configured as shown in FIG. 10 shows another example of the configuration of a transmitter / receiver circuit. All of the components in the diagram may be integrated into an IC, or some of the components in the diagram may be integrated into an IC. A switch 116 has been added to the configuration shown in Fig. 9. This allows all element antennas to share the transmitting circuit 112 and receiving circuit 113. Compared to the configuration shown in Fig. 9, the configuration in Fig. 10 can reduce the number of transmitting and receiving circuits. However, since only the element antennas and transmitting and receiving circuits connected by the switch operate, it is necessary to select element antennas that operate in a time-division manner.

[0049] The position estimation device 1000 shown in FIG. 10 includes an antenna unit 10, a signal transmitting / receiving unit 20, and a position estimation unit 30. The signal transmitting / receiving unit 20 includes a transmitting / receiving switching unit 21 and a transmitting / receiving circuit unit 22 . The transmission / reception switching section 21 is configured to be able to switch between transmission and reception of signals for each element antenna in at least the first element antenna section 100 out of the first element antenna section 100 and the second element antenna section 200 . The transmission / reception circuit section 22 is composed of a transmission circuit that outputs a transmission signal via the transmission / reception switching section 21, and a reception circuit that receives a reception signal via the transmission / reception switching section 21. The transmission / reception switching unit 21 includes a switch 116 , a switch 114 , a switch 115 , and a switch 215 . The switch 116 is connected to the receiving circuit 113 in the transmitting / receiving circuit section 22, and switches between connection with the second switch 114 and connection with the fourth switch. The switch 116 is the first switch in this configuration. The switch 114 switches between connection to the transmission circuit in the transmission / reception circuit section 22 and connection to the first switch 116. The switch 114 is the second switch in this configuration. Switch 115 is connected to the second switch and switches between connection of the first element antenna 111 in the first element antenna unit 100 and connection of the second element antenna 121 in the first element antenna unit 100. Switch 115 is a third switch in this configuration. The switch 215 is connected to the first switch 116, and switches between connecting the first element antenna 211 in the second element antenna section 200 and connecting the second element antenna 221 in the second element antenna section 200. The switch 215 is a fourth switch in this configuration.

[0050] According to the configuration shown in this embodiment, two-dimensional angle measurement is possible for both terminal positioning and target positioning, and the positions of the terminal and target can be determined by performing two-dimensional angle measurement and distance measurement.

[0051] This embodiment shows a configuration including the following configuration. [1] A position estimation device that estimates a position of a target object by using a first element antenna unit configured with a plurality of element antennas arranged along a first direction and a second element antenna unit configured with a plurality of element antennas arranged along a second direction non-parallel to the first direction, a signal transmitting / receiving unit that changes a state of transmission and reception at the element antennas of the first element antenna unit and the element antennas of the second element antenna unit depending on whether terminal positioning is performed to estimate a position of a terminal outside the device or target positioning is performed to estimate a position of a target outside the device; a position estimation unit that instructs the signal transmitting / receiving unit to change a state of transmission and reception depending on whether the terminal positioning is for estimating a position of a terminal outside the device or the target positioning is for estimating a position of a target outside the device, and executes distance measurement calculation and angle measurement calculation depending on whether the terminal positioning is for estimating a position of a target outside the device, and outputs the position of the target; A position estimation device comprising: As a result, the present disclosure has the effect of providing a position estimation device that is configured to enable the combined use of technology for estimating the position of a terminal and technology for estimating the position of a target in a single position estimation device.

[0052] This embodiment shows a configuration including the following configuration.

[13] A position estimation method for a position estimation device that estimates a position of a target object by using a first element antenna unit configured with a plurality of element antennas arranged along a first direction and a second element antenna unit configured with a plurality of element antennas arranged along a second direction non-parallel to the first direction, when a signal transmitting / receiving unit of the position estimation device performs terminal positioning to estimate a position of a terminal outside the device, or when a signal transmitting / receiving unit of the position estimation device performs target positioning to estimate a position of a target outside the device, the signal transmitting / receiving unit changes a state of transmission and reception of an element antenna of the first element antenna unit and an element antenna of the second element antenna unit according to each case; a position estimation unit of the position estimation device instructs the signal transmitting / receiving unit to change a state of transmission and reception depending on the case, in the case of terminal positioning that estimates the position of a terminal outside the device, or in the case of target positioning that estimates the position of a target outside the device, and executes a process of estimating the position of the target depending on the case; A position estimation method comprising: As a result, the present disclosure has the effect of providing a position estimation method that enables a single position estimation device to use both a technology for estimating the position of a terminal and a technology for estimating the position of a target.

[0053] This embodiment shows a configuration including the following configuration.

[14] Computer, A position estimation device that estimates a position of a target object by using a first element antenna unit configured with a plurality of element antennas arranged along a first direction and a second element antenna unit configured with a plurality of element antennas arranged along a second direction non-parallel to the first direction, a signal transmitting / receiving unit that changes a state of transmission and reception at the element antennas of the first element antenna unit and the element antennas of the second element antenna unit depending on whether terminal positioning is performed to estimate a position of a terminal outside the device or target positioning is performed to estimate a position of a target outside the device; a position estimation unit that instructs the signal transmitting / receiving unit to change a state of transmission and reception depending on the case of the terminal positioning that estimates a position of a terminal outside the device or the target positioning that estimates a position of a target outside the device, and executes distance measurement calculation and angle measurement calculation depending on the case to output the position of the target object; a position estimation device comprising: A program characterized by operating as As a result, the present disclosure has the effect of providing a program that enables a single position estimation device to use both a technology for estimating the position of a terminal and a technology for estimating the position of a target.

[0054] This embodiment further shows a form including the configuration expressed below. [2] [1] The position estimation device according to [1], The position estimation unit In the case of the terminal positioning that estimates the position of the terminal outside the device, a signal is transmitted by at least one element antenna of the first element antenna unit, and then a signal that would have been output from the terminal is received, and a terminal ranging is performed to measure the distance to the terminal based on a round-trip time of the signal to the terminal; performing terminal angle measurement to estimate a direction in which the terminal is likely to be present based on signals received by at least two element antennas of the first element antenna unit or signals received by at least two element antennas of the second element antenna unit; outputting the position of the terminal using the results of the terminal ranging and the results of the terminal angle measurement; In the case of the target positioning that estimates the position of a target outside the device, transmitting a signal from at least one element antenna of the first element antenna unit, and receiving a signal that is likely to have been reflected by the target from at least one element antenna of the second element antenna unit, thereby performing target ranging to measure the distance to the target based on a round-trip time of the signal; transmitting signals from at least two element antennas among the element antennas in the first element antenna unit and receiving signals from at least two element antennas among the element antennas in the second element antenna unit, and performing target angle measurement to estimate a direction in which the target is likely to exist based on each of the signals transmitted by the multiple element antennas and received by a single element antenna, or the signals transmitted by the single element antenna and received by the multiple element antennas; outputting the position of the target using the result of the target distance measurement and the result of the target angle measurement; A position estimation device characterized by: As a result, the present disclosure further has the effect of providing a position estimation device that can efficiently perform terminal positioning and target positioning through detailed processing, and that can use both a technology for estimating the position of a terminal and a technology for estimating the position of a target in a single position estimation device. Furthermore, the present disclosure achieves the same effects as those described above by applying the above configuration to a system including a position estimation device, the above position estimation method, or the above program.

[0055] This embodiment further shows a form including the configuration expressed below.

[10] [1] to [6], the position estimation device according to any one of [1] to [6], The signal transmitting / receiving unit a transmission / reception switching unit configured to be able to switch between transmission and reception of signals for each element antenna of at least the first element antenna unit out of the first element antenna unit and the second element antenna unit; a transmission / reception circuit unit including a transmission circuit that outputs a transmission signal via the transmission / reception switching unit, and a reception circuit that receives a reception signal via the transmission / reception switching unit; Equipped with The transmission / reception switching unit a first switch (114) that switches between a connection of the first element antenna in the first element antenna unit to a first transmission circuit in the transmission / reception circuit unit or a connection of the first element antenna in the transmission / reception circuit unit to a first reception circuit in the transmission / reception circuit unit; a second switch (124) that switches between a connection of a second element antenna in the first element antenna unit to a second transmission circuit in the transmission / reception circuit unit or a connection of a second reception circuit in the transmission / reception circuit unit; Equipped with A position estimation device characterized by: As a result, the present disclosure further has the effect of providing a position estimation device that can use both a technology for estimating the position of a terminal and a technology for estimating the position of a target in a single position estimation device while miniaturizing the configuration of the transmission and reception circuitry. Furthermore, the present disclosure achieves the same effects as those described above by applying the above configuration to a system including a position estimation device, the above position estimation method, or the above program.

[0056] This embodiment further shows a form including the configuration expressed below.

[11] [1] to [6], the position estimation device according to any one of [1] to [6], The signal transmitting / receiving unit a transmission / reception switching unit configured to be able to switch between transmission and reception of signals for each element antenna of at least the first element antenna unit out of the first element antenna unit and the second element antenna unit; a transmission / reception circuit unit including a transmission circuit that outputs a transmission signal via the transmission / reception switching unit, and a reception circuit that receives a reception signal via the transmission / reception switching unit; Equipped with The transmission / reception switching unit a first switch (114) for switching between connection of a first transmission circuit in the transmission / reception circuit unit and connection of a first reception circuit in the transmission / reception circuit unit; a second switch (115) connected to the first switch and configured to switch between connection of a first element antenna in the first element antenna unit and connection of a second element antenna in the first element antenna unit; a third switch (215) for switching between connection of the first element antenna in the second element antenna unit and connection of the second element antenna in the second element antenna unit to the second receiving circuit in the transmitting / receiving circuit unit; Equipped with A position estimation device characterized by: As a result, the present disclosure has the advantage of being able to provide a position estimation device that can further miniaturize the configuration of the transmission and reception circuitry while simultaneously using both technology for estimating the position of a terminal and technology for estimating the position of a target in a single position estimation device. Furthermore, the present disclosure achieves the same effects as those described above by applying the above configuration to a system including a position estimation device, the above position estimation method, or the above program.

[0057] This embodiment further shows a form including the configuration expressed below.

[12] [1] to [6], the position estimation device according to any one of [1] to [6], The signal transmitting / receiving unit a transmission / reception switching unit configured to be able to switch between transmission and reception of signals for each element antenna of at least the first element antenna unit out of the first element antenna unit and the second element antenna unit; a transmission / reception circuit unit including a transmission circuit that outputs a transmission signal via the transmission / reception switching unit, and a reception circuit that receives a reception signal via the transmission / reception switching unit; Equipped with The transmission / reception switching unit a first switch connected to a receiving circuit in the transmitting / receiving circuit unit, and configured to switch between a connection with the second switch and a connection with the fourth switch; the second switch for switching between connection to a transmission circuit in the transmission / reception circuit unit and connection to the first switch; a third switch connected to the second switch and configured to switch between connection of a first element antenna in the first element antenna unit and connection of a second element antenna in the first element antenna unit; the fourth switch connected to the first switch and configured to switch between connection of the first antenna element in the second antenna element unit and connection of the second antenna element in the second antenna element unit; Equipped with A position estimation device characterized by: As a result, the present disclosure further achieves the effect of providing a position estimation device that can further miniaturize the configuration of the transmission and reception circuitry while simultaneously using both technology for estimating the position of a terminal and technology for estimating the position of a target in a single position estimation device. Furthermore, the present disclosure achieves the same effects as those described above by applying the above configuration to a system including a position estimation device, the above position estimation method, or the above program.

[0058] Embodiment 2 In the above-described first embodiment, a configuration example has been described in which the operation is switched between estimating the position of a terminal and estimating the position of a target. In the second embodiment, a more detailed arrangement of the element antennas shown in the first embodiment and a configuration example in which processing is performed in accordance with the arrangement of the element antennas will be described. In embodiment 2, among the components of embodiment 2, those components that are similar to the components of embodiment 1 already described will be given the same names and similar symbols, and duplicate explanations will be omitted as appropriate.

[0059] Next, an example of the arrangement of element antennas according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure will be described. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of an arrangement of element antennas according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of a virtual antenna implemented by the position estimation device 1000 according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0060] A position estimation device 1000 that operates as a terminal position estimation device and a target position estimation device according to embodiment 2 will be described. Fig. 11 shows the element antenna portion of this embodiment. The overall configuration of the device is the same as that in Fig. 8 and is not shown in this figure. When the element antenna is used for transmission or reception, the processing described in embodiment 1 and the operation described using Fig. 8 are performed. 11, two or more element antennas are arranged in the first direction, and two or more element antennas are arranged in the second direction, as in embodiment 1. A feature of this embodiment is that a line segment connecting element antennas 111 and 121, which are element antennas arranged in the first direction, intersects with a line segment connecting element antennas 211 and 221, which are element antennas arranged in the second direction. These two line segments are indicated by dashed dotted lines. That is, the position estimation device 1000 according to the second embodiment comprises an antenna section 10 including the first element antenna section 100 consisting of a plurality of element antennas arranged along the first direction, and the second element antenna section 200 consisting of a plurality of element antennas arranged along the second direction that is non-parallel to the first direction, and is configured such that a line segment connecting the element antennas at both ends belonging to the first element antenna section 100 intersects with a line segment connecting the element antennas at both ends belonging to the second element antenna section 200. The operations of the individual units of the position estimation device 1000 are the same as those in the first embodiment. The same operations as those in the first embodiment can be performed for positioning the terminal 2000 and the target 3000.

[0061] In this embodiment, a new operation is added to the operation of measuring the angle of terminal 2000 described in the first embodiment. In the position estimation device 1000 of this embodiment, when performing terminal angle measurement in the case of terminal positioning to estimate the position of a terminal outside the device, the position estimation unit 30 receives signals using at least two element antennas of the element antennas in the first element antenna unit 100 and at least two element antennas of the element antennas in the second element antenna unit 200, and calculates the direction in which the terminal is likely to be located based on the received signals on a plane formed by at least two element antennas of the element antennas in the first element antenna unit 100 and at least two element antennas of the element antennas in the second element antenna unit 200. When performing the target angle measurement in the case of target positioning that estimates the position of a target outside the device, the position estimation unit 30 causes at least two element antennas of the first element antenna unit 100 to transmit signals, causes at least two element antennas of the second element antenna unit 200 to receive signals that may have been reflected by the target, receives signals by the second element antenna unit 200 when transmitted from each element antenna of the first element antenna unit 100, obtains received signals on a plane in a virtual plane, and calculates the direction of the target based on the received signals on the virtual plane. This will be explained.

[0062] 11, a planar array is configured by combining a first element antenna section 100 arranged in a first direction with a second element antenna section 200 arranged in a second direction. The angle measurement shown in the first embodiment is a method of measuring angles in two directions individually, but here, signals from terminal 2000 are received by all element antennas, and two-dimensional angle measurement is performed using a planar array. For ease of description, element antenna 111 will be designated element number 1, element antenna 121 will be designated element number 2, element antenna 211 will be designated element number 3, and element antenna 221 will be designated element number 4. In the coordinate system consisting of the x, y, and z directions defined in Fig. 11, the plane on which the element antenna exists is set to z = 0. If an arbitrary point is set as the origin, the coordinates of each element can be expressed as in equation (5). r n =(x n , y n , 0) ···(5) n is the element number Let Xn be the complex received signal of each element and R be the direction vector to be observed. The signal synthesized by multiplying the complex received signal Xn by the complex amplitude can be expressed as in equation (6). TIFF2026023572000002.tif19166 The symbol "·" denotes an inner product. The above calculation is performed by changing the observed direction vector R, and the direction vector R when the magnitude of the combined signal is at its maximum is taken as the estimated direction of terminal 2000. The two-dimensional angle measurement method described here is an example, and any algorithm for performing two-dimensional angle measurement for a planar array may be used.

[0063] The positioning of the terminal 2000 will be described. The direction of terminal 2000 as seen from position estimation device 1000 is determined from the two-dimensional angle measurement result of terminal 2000. In addition, the distance of terminal 2000 as seen from position estimation device 1000 is determined from the distance measurement result of terminal 2000. From the above, the position of the terminal 2000 as seen from the position estimation device 1000 can be estimated.

[0064] In this embodiment, a new operation is added to the operation described in the first embodiment for measuring the angle of the target 3000. This will be described. In Fig. 11, first element antenna unit 100 arranged in a first direction is used for transmission. The distance between element antenna 111 and element antenna 121 that make up first element antenna unit 100 is set to dy. The distance between element antenna 211 and element antenna 221 that make up second element antenna unit 200 is set to dx. The phase of the pair of element antennas that transmit and receive is equivalent to the virtual elements in Fig. 12. Virtual antenna 501 transmits using element antenna 111 and receives using element antenna 211, virtual antenna 502 transmits using element antenna 111 and receives using element antenna 221, virtual antenna 503 transmits using element antenna 121 and receives using element antenna 211, and virtual antenna 504 transmits using element antenna 121 and receives using element antenna 221. The angle measurement shown in embodiment 1 is a method of measuring angles in two directions separately, but here, a virtual plane array as shown in Figure 12 is configured with the first element antenna unit 100 for transmission and the second element antenna unit 200 for reception, and two-dimensional angle measurement for target 3000 is performed using the virtual plane array. For ease of description, virtual antenna 501 is designated element number 1, virtual antenna 502 is designated element number 2, virtual antenna 503 is designated element number 3, and virtual antenna 504 is designated element number 4. In the coordinate system consisting of the x, y, and z directions defined in Fig. 12, the plane on which the element antenna exists is set to z = 0. If an arbitrary point is set as the origin, the coordinates of each element can be expressed as in equation (7). r n =(x n , y n , 0) ···(7) n is the element number Let Xn be the complex received signal of each element and R be the direction vector to be observed. The signal synthesized by multiplying the complex received signal Xn by the complex amplitude can be expressed as shown in equation (8). TIFF2026023572000003.tif18166 The above calculation is performed by changing the observed direction vector R, and the direction vector R when the magnitude of the synthesized signal is maximum is taken as the estimated direction of the target 3000. The two-dimensional angle measurement method described here is an example, and any algorithm for performing two-dimensional angle measurement for a planar array may be used.

[0065] The positioning of the target 3000 will be described. The direction of the target 3000 as seen from the position estimation device 1000 is determined from the two-dimensional angle measurement result of the target 3000. In addition, the distance of the terminal 2000 as seen from the position estimation device 1000 is determined from the distance measurement result of the target 3000. From the above, the position of the target 3000 as seen from the position estimation device 1000 can be estimated.

[0066] When measuring the angle of terminal 2000, all of the element antennas in Fig. 11 are used for angle measurement. If the element antennas are arranged at the vertices of a square, the element spacing of the planar array is the spacing between adjacent elements, which is the element spacing da in Fig. 11. By setting the element spacing da to half the wavelength or less, the angle measurement value is uniquely determined for the phase difference in half space. When measuring the angle of the target 3000, all of the virtual antennas in Fig. 12 are used for angle measurement. If the virtual antennas are assumed to be arranged at the vertices of a square, the element spacing of the virtual planar array will be the spacing between adjacent elements, which will be the element spacing dx and element spacing dy in Fig. 12. By setting the element spacing dx and element spacing dy to half the wavelength or less, the angle measurement value is uniquely determined for the phase difference in half space. As described above, in the position estimation device 1000 according to this embodiment, the number of element antennas belonging to the first element antenna unit 100 is two, the number of element antennas belonging to the second element antenna unit 200 is two, and the quadrangle having diagonals formed by a line segment connecting the element antennas at both ends belonging to the first element antenna unit 100 and a line segment connecting the element antennas at both ends belonging to the second element antenna unit 200 is a square. This makes it possible to easily determine angle measurement values. Here, narrowing the element spacing to less than half a wavelength has the advantage that the angle measurement value is uniquely determined for the phase difference in half space. On the other hand, narrowing the element spacing has the disadvantage that the angle measurement value changes significantly with changes in phase difference, making it more susceptible to the influence of errors. The element spacing can be determined as needed, and can exceed half a wavelength. In the present disclosure, the element spacing da in the angle measurement of the terminal 2000 does not match the element spacing dx and element spacing dy in the angle measurement of the target 3000. For example, the element spacing dx and element spacing dy may be half a wavelength. In this case, the element spacing da is also less than half a wavelength, and the angle measurement value is uniquely determined for the phase difference in half space, whether positioning the terminal 2000 or the target 3000. Alternatively, the element spacing da may be half a wavelength. In this case, the element spacing dx and element spacing dy exceed half a wavelength, and multiple candidates for the angle measurement value for the phase difference are generated in the positioning of the target 3000. If it is clear that no target exists at an angle other than the true value among the multiple candidate angle measurement values, the angle measurement value can be determined. Furthermore, the element spacing dx, element spacing dy, and element spacing da may all exceed half a wavelength. In this case, the angle measurement value can be determined by preparing multiple position estimation devices 1000 and performing multi-point surveying, for example. That is, in the position estimation device 1000 according to this embodiment, the spacing between the element antennas belonging to the first element antenna unit 100 is less than half a wavelength, and the spacing between the element antennas belonging to the second element antenna unit 200 is less than half a wavelength, thereby making it possible to easily determine the angle measurement value. Furthermore, in the position estimation device 1000 according to this embodiment, the quadrangle having diagonals formed by the line segment connecting the element antennas at both ends belonging to the first element antenna unit 100 and the line segment connecting the element antennas at both ends belonging to the second element antenna unit 200 is a square, and the length of one side of the square is equal to or less than half the wavelength, thereby making it possible to determine the angle measurement value even more easily.

[0067] As a result, it is possible to obtain a terminal position estimation device capable of locating the position of a terminal and a target, and a position estimation device that functions as a target position estimation device.

[0068] This embodiment further shows a form including the configuration expressed below. [3] In the position estimation device according to [1], an antenna unit including: the first element antenna unit configured with a plurality of element antennas arranged along the first direction; and the second element antenna unit configured with a plurality of element antennas arranged along the second direction non-parallel to the first direction; Furthermore, a line segment connecting the element antennas at both ends belonging to the first element antenna unit and a line segment connecting the element antennas at both ends belonging to the second element antenna unit are configured to intersect with each other; A position estimation device characterized by: As a result, the present disclosure has the advantage of being able to provide a position estimation device that enables both a technology for estimating the position of a terminal and a technology for estimating the position of a target to be used in combination in a single position estimation device, and further enables two-dimensional angle measurement to be performed on a planar array. Furthermore, the present disclosure achieves the same effects as those described above by applying the above configuration to a system including a position estimation device, the above position estimation method, or the above program.

[0069] This embodiment further shows a form including the configuration expressed below. [4] [2] The position estimation device according to [2], an antenna unit including: the first element antenna unit configured with a plurality of element antennas arranged along the first direction; and the second element antenna unit configured with a plurality of element antennas arranged along the second direction non-parallel to the first direction; Furthermore, a line segment connecting the element antennas at both ends belonging to the first element antenna unit and a line segment connecting the element antennas at both ends belonging to the second element antenna unit are configured to intersect with each other; A position estimation device characterized by: As a result, the present disclosure has the advantage of being able to provide a position estimation device that enables both a technology for estimating the position of a terminal and a technology for estimating the position of a target to be used in combination in a single position estimation device, and further enables two-dimensional angle measurement to be performed on a planar array. Furthermore, the present disclosure achieves the same effects as those described above by applying the above configuration to a system including a position estimation device, the above position estimation method, or the above program.

[0070] This embodiment further shows a form including the configuration expressed below. [5] [4] The position estimation device according to [4], the number of element antennas belonging to the first element antenna unit is two, the number of element antennas belonging to the second element antenna unit is two, A position estimation device characterized in that a quadrangle having diagonals formed by a line segment connecting both end element antennas belonging to the first element antenna unit and a line segment connecting both end element antennas belonging to the second element antenna unit is a square. As a result, the present disclosure has the effect of providing a position estimation device that enables both a technology for estimating the position of a terminal and a technology for estimating the position of a target to be used in combination in a single position estimation device, and further enables angle measurement values ​​to be easily determined. Furthermore, the present disclosure achieves the same effects as those described above by applying the above configuration to a system including a position estimation device, the above position estimation method, or the above program.

[0071] This embodiment further shows a form including the configuration expressed below. [6] [5] The position estimation device according to [5], the spacing between the antenna elements belonging to the first antenna element unit is equal to or less than half the wavelength; The spacing between the antenna elements belonging to the second antenna element unit is equal to or less than half the wavelength. A position estimation device characterized by: As a result, the present disclosure has the effect of providing a position estimation device that enables both a technology for estimating the position of a terminal and a technology for estimating the position of a target to be used in combination in a single position estimation device, and further enables angle measurement values ​​to be easily determined. Furthermore, the present disclosure achieves the same effects as those described above by applying the above configuration to a system including a position estimation device, the above position estimation method, or the above program.

[0072] This embodiment further shows a form including the configuration expressed below. [7] [5] The position estimation device according to [5], a quadrangle having diagonals formed by a line segment connecting the element antennas at both ends belonging to the first element antenna unit and a line segment connecting the element antennas at both ends belonging to the second element antenna unit is a square, and the length of one side of the square is half a wavelength or less; A position estimation device characterized by: As a result, the present disclosure has the effect of providing a position estimation device that enables both a technology for estimating the position of a terminal and a technology for estimating the position of a target to be used in combination in a single position estimation device, and further enables angle measurement values ​​to be determined more easily. Furthermore, the present disclosure achieves the same effects as those described above by applying the above configuration to a system including a position estimation device, the above position estimation method, or the above program.

[0073] This embodiment further shows a form including the configuration expressed below. [8] [4] to [7], the position estimation device according to any one of [4] to [7], The position estimation unit When performing the terminal angle measurement in the case of the terminal positioning that estimates the position of the terminal outside the device, receive signals using at least two element antennas of the element antennas in the first element antenna unit and at least two element antennas of the element antennas in the second element antenna unit, and calculate a direction in which the terminal is likely to be located based on the received signals on a plane formed by at least two element antennas of the element antennas in the first element antenna unit and at least two element antennas of the element antennas in the second element antenna unit; When performing the target angle measurement in the case of the target positioning that estimates the position of a target outside the device, signals are transmitted from at least two element antennas of the first element antenna unit, signals that are likely to be reflected by the target are received by at least two element antennas of the second element antenna unit, signals transmitted by each element antenna of the first element antenna unit are received by the second element antenna unit to determine received signals on a virtual plane, and the direction of the target is calculated based on the received signals on the virtual plane. A position estimation device characterized by: As a result, the present disclosure makes it possible to use both a technology for estimating the position of a terminal and a technology for estimating the position of a target in a single position estimation device, and further, This brings about an effect of providing a position estimation device. Furthermore, the present disclosure achieves the same effects as those described above by applying the above configuration to a system including a position estimation device, the above position estimation method, or the above program.

[0074] Embodiment 3 In the above-described second embodiment, the antenna elements are arranged so that the lines connecting the positions of the antenna elements form a rectangle. In the third embodiment, a configuration will be described in which the relationship between the arrangement positions of element antennas is different from that in the second embodiment. In embodiment 3, among the components of embodiment 3, those components that are similar to the components of embodiment 1 or embodiment 2 already described will be given the same names and similar symbols, and duplicate explanations will be omitted as appropriate.

[0075] Next, an example of the arrangement of element antennas according to the third embodiment of the present disclosure will be described. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of an arrangement of element antennas according to the third embodiment of the present disclosure. A location estimation device according to embodiment 3 will be described. Fig. 13 shows the element antenna portion of this embodiment. The overall configuration of the device is the same as that in Fig. 8 and is not shown in this figure. When the element antenna is used for transmission or reception, the processing described in embodiment 1 and the operation described using Fig. 8 are performed. 13, two or more element antennas are arranged in the first direction and two or more element antennas are arranged in the second direction, as in embodiment 1. A feature of this embodiment is that the triangle with element antenna 121, which is an element antenna arranged in the first direction, and element antennas 211 and 221, which are element antennas arranged in the second direction, as its vertices is an equilateral triangle. This triangle is indicated by a dashed dotted line. That is, the position estimation device 1000 of this embodiment is equipped with an antenna section 10 including the first element antenna section 100 composed of a plurality of element antennas arranged along the first direction, and the second element antenna section 200 composed of a plurality of element antennas arranged along the second direction non-parallel to the first direction, and is configured so that the triangle formed when one of the element antennas belonging to the first element antenna section 100 and two of the element antennas belonging to the second element antenna section 200 serve as vertices is an equilateral triangle. The operations of the individual units of the position estimation device 1000 are the same as those in the first embodiment. The same operations as those in the first embodiment can be performed for positioning the terminal 2000 and the target 3000.

[0076] In this embodiment, a new operation is added to the operation described in the first embodiment for measuring the angle of terminal 2000. This will be described. As shown in Fig. 13, a planar array is formed by element antennas 121, 211, and 221. Signals from terminal 2000 are received by at least these three elements, and two-dimensional angle measurement is performed using the planar array. The angle measurement method can be the same as in embodiment 2, provided that the number of elements used and the coordinates of the elements are changed to those shown in Fig. 13.

[0077] The positioning of the terminal 2000 will be described. The direction of terminal 2000 as seen from position estimation device 1000 is determined from the two-dimensional angle measurement result of terminal 2000. In addition, the distance of terminal 2000 as seen from position estimation device 1000 is determined from the distance measurement result of terminal 2000. From the above, the position of the terminal 2000 as seen from the position estimation device 1000 can be estimated.

[0078] Measurement of the angle of the target 3000 in this embodiment will be described. If the first element antenna unit 100 in Fig. 13 is for transmission and the second element antenna unit 200 is for reception, the virtual elements in Fig. 12 can be formed, as in the second embodiment. Therefore, the angle of the target 3000 can be measured in the same way as in the second embodiment.

[0079] The positioning of the target 3000 will be described. The direction of the target 3000 as seen from the position estimation device 1000 is determined based on the two-dimensional angle measurement result of the target 3000. Furthermore, the distance of the terminal 2000 as seen from the position estimation device 1000 is determined based on the distance measurement result of the target 3000. From the above, the position of the target 3000 as seen from the position estimation device 1000 can be estimated.

[0080] As a result, a position estimation device capable of locating the terminal and the target can be obtained.

[0081] This embodiment further shows a form including the configuration expressed below. [9] In the position estimation device according to [1] or [2], an antenna unit including: the first element antenna unit configured with a plurality of element antennas arranged along the first direction; and the second element antenna unit configured with a plurality of element antennas arranged along the second direction non-parallel to the first direction; Furthermore, a triangle formed by vertices of one element antenna of the first element antenna unit and two element antennas of the second element antenna unit is an equilateral triangle; A position estimation device characterized by: As a result, the present disclosure has the effect of making it possible to use both a technology for estimating the position of a terminal and a technology for estimating the position of a target in a single position estimation device, and further making it possible to provide a position estimation device with a configuration different from that of the above-described embodiments. Furthermore, the present disclosure achieves the same effects as those described above by applying the above configuration to a system including a position estimation device, the above position estimation method, or the above program.

[0082] Here, configurations not described above among examples of hardware configurations for realizing the functions of the present disclosure will be described. FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a first example of a hardware configuration for realizing the functions according to the configuration of the present disclosure. FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating a second example of a hardware configuration for realizing the functions according to the configuration of the present disclosure. The position estimation unit 30 of the position estimation device 1000 of the present disclosure is realized by hardware such as that shown in FIG. 14 or FIG.

[0083] As shown in FIG. 14, the position estimation unit 30 of the position estimation device 1000 includes, for example, a processor 10001, a memory 10002, an input / output interface 10003, and a communication circuit 10004. The processor 10001 and the memory 10002 are, for example, installed in a computer. Memory 10002 stores programs that cause the computer to function as positioning unit 301, distance measurement unit 302, angle measurement unit 303, transmit / receive switching control unit 304, and a control unit (not shown). When processor 10001 reads and executes the programs stored in memory 10002, the functions of positioning unit 301, distance measurement unit 302, angle measurement unit 303, transmit / receive switching control unit 304, and a control unit (not shown) are realized. Furthermore, a storage unit (not shown) is realized by the memory 10002 or another memory (not shown). Furthermore, the communication circuit 10004 realizes a communication unit (not shown).

[0084] The processor 10001 is, for example, a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), a microprocessor, a microcontroller, or a digital signal processor (DSP). Memory 10002 may be a non-volatile or volatile semiconductor memory such as RAM (Random Access Memory), ROM (Read Only Memory), EPROM (Erasable Programmable ROM), EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory) or flash memory, or a magnetic disk such as a hard disk or flexible disk, or an optical disk such as a CD (Compact Disc) or DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), or a magneto-optical disk. The processor 10001 and the memory 10002 or the communication circuit 10004 are connected in a state where they can transmit data to each other. The processor 10001, the memory 10002, and the communication circuit 10004 are also connected in a state where they can transmit data to other hardware via the input / output interface 10003.

[0085] Alternatively, the functions of the positioning unit 301, the ranging unit 302, the angle measurement unit 303, the transmit / receive switching control unit 304, and the control unit (not shown) in the position estimation unit 30 of the position estimation device 1000 may be realized by a dedicated processing circuit 20001, as shown in FIG. 15.

[0086] The processing circuit 20001 may be, for example, a single circuit, a composite circuit, a programmed processor, a parallel programmed processor, an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), a PLD (Programmable Logic Device), an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), an SoC (System-on-a-Chip), or a system LSI (Large-Scale Integration). Furthermore, the memory 20002 or another memory not shown implements a storage unit not shown. Memory 20002 may be a non-volatile or volatile semiconductor memory such as RAM (Random Access Memory), ROM (Read Only Memory), EPROM (Erasable Programmable ROM), EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory) or flash memory, or a magnetic disk such as a hard disk or flexible disk, or an optical disk such as a CD (Compact Disc) or DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), or a magneto-optical disk. Furthermore, the communication circuit 20004 realizes a communication unit (not shown). The processing circuit 20001 and the memory 20002 or the communication circuit 20004 are connected in a state where they can transmit data to each other. In addition, the processing circuit 20001, the memory 20002, and the communication circuit 20004 are connected in a state where they can transmit data to each other and to other hardware via the input / output interface 20003. In addition, the functions of the positioning unit 301, ranging unit 302, angle measurement unit 303, transmit / receive switching control unit 304, and a control unit not shown in the figure in the position estimation unit 30 of the position estimation device 1000 may be realized by separate processing circuits, or may be realized together by a processing circuit.

[0087] Alternatively, some of the functions of the positioning unit 301, ranging unit 302, angle measurement unit 303, transmit / receive switching control unit 304, and a control unit not shown in the figure in the position estimation unit 30 of the position estimation device 1000 may be realized by the processor 10001 and memory 10002, and the remaining functions may be realized by the processing circuit 20001.

[0088] It should be noted that, within the scope of this disclosure, the embodiments may be freely combined, any component of each embodiment may be modified, or any component of each embodiment may be omitted.

[0089] The present disclosure can be configured to enable a single position estimation device to use both a technology for estimating the position of a terminal and a technology for estimating the position of a target, and is suitable for use in, for example, a position estimation device that estimates the position of a keyless portable unit of a keyless entry system in a mobile body, and the position of a living body or object inside a mobile body. [Explanation of symbols]

[0090] 10 Antenna unit, 20 Signal transmitting / receiving unit, 21 Transmission / receiving switching unit, 22 Transmission / receiving circuit unit, 30 Position estimation unit, 100 First element antenna unit, 111 Element antenna (first element antenna in first element antenna unit), 112 Transmission circuit (first transmission circuit), 113 Reception circuit (first reception circuit), 114 Switch (first switch or second switch), 115 Switch (second switch or third switch), 116 Switch (first switch or third switch), 121 Element antenna (second element antenna in first element antenna unit), 122 Transmission circuit (second transmission circuit), 123 Reception circuit (second reception circuit), 124 Switch (second switch), 200 Second element antenna unit, 211 Element antenna (first element antenna in second element antenna unit), 213 Receiving circuit (second receiving circuit), 215 switch (third switch or fourth switch), 221 element antenna (second element antenna in second element antenna unit), 223 receiving circuit (fourth receiving circuit), 301 positioning unit, 302 ranging unit, 303 angle measurement unit, 304 transmit / receive switching control unit, 501 virtual antenna, 502 virtual antenna, 503 virtual antenna, 504 virtual antenna, 1000 position estimation device, 2000 terminal (target object), 2001 antenna, 2002 transmitting / receiving unit, 3000 target (target object), 10001 processor, 10002 memory, 10003 input / output interface, 10004 communication circuit, 20001 processing circuit, 20002 memory, 20003 input / output interface, 20004 communication circuit.

Claims

1. A position estimation device that estimates a position of a target object by using a first element antenna unit configured with a plurality of element antennas arranged along a first direction and a second element antenna unit configured with a plurality of element antennas arranged along a second direction non-parallel to the first direction, a signal transmitting / receiving unit that changes a state of transmission and reception at the element antennas of the first element antenna unit and the element antennas of the second element antenna unit depending on whether terminal positioning is performed to estimate a position of a terminal outside the device or target positioning is performed to estimate a position of a target outside the device; a position estimation unit that instructs the signal transmitting / receiving unit to change a state of transmission and reception depending on the case of the terminal positioning that estimates a position of a terminal outside the device or the target positioning that estimates a position of a target outside the device, and executes distance measurement calculation and angle measurement calculation depending on the case to output the position of the target object; A position estimation device comprising:

2. 2. The position estimation device according to claim 1, The position estimation unit In the case of the terminal positioning that estimates the position of the terminal outside the device, a signal is transmitted by at least one element antenna of the first element antenna unit, and then a signal that would have been output from the terminal is received, and a terminal ranging is performed to measure the distance to the terminal based on a round-trip time of the signal to the terminal; performing terminal angle measurement to estimate a direction in which the terminal is likely to be present based on signals received by at least two element antennas of the first element antenna unit or signals received by at least two element antennas of the second element antenna unit; outputting the position of the terminal using the results of the terminal ranging and the results of the terminal angle measurement; In the case of the target positioning that estimates the position of a target outside the device, transmitting a signal from at least one element antenna of the first element antenna unit, and receiving a signal that is likely to have been reflected by the target from at least one element antenna of the second element antenna unit, thereby performing target ranging to measure the distance to the target based on a round-trip time of the signal; transmitting signals from at least two element antennas among the element antennas in the first element antenna unit and receiving signals from at least two element antennas among the element antennas in the second element antenna unit, and performing target angle measurement to estimate a direction in which the target is likely to exist based on the signal transmitted by the multiple element antennas and received by a single element antenna, or the signal transmitted by the single element antenna and received by the multiple element antennas; outputting the position of the target using the result of the target distance measurement and the result of the target angle measurement; A position estimation device characterized by:

3. 2. The position estimation device according to claim 1, an antenna unit including the first element antenna unit configured with a plurality of element antennas arranged along the first direction, and the second element antenna unit configured with a plurality of element antennas arranged along the second direction non-parallel to the first direction; Furthermore, a line segment connecting the element antennas at both ends belonging to the first element antenna unit and a line segment connecting the element antennas at both ends belonging to the second element antenna unit are configured to intersect with each other; A position estimation device characterized by:

4. 3. The position estimation device according to claim 2, an antenna unit including the first element antenna unit configured with a plurality of element antennas arranged along the first direction, and the second element antenna unit configured with a plurality of element antennas arranged along the second direction non-parallel to the first direction; Furthermore, a line segment connecting the element antennas at both ends belonging to the first element antenna unit and a line segment connecting the element antennas at both ends belonging to the second element antenna unit are configured to intersect with each other; A position estimation device characterized by:

5. 5. The position estimation device according to claim 4, the number of element antennas belonging to the first element antenna unit is two, the number of element antennas belonging to the second element antenna unit is two, A position estimation device characterized in that a rectangle whose diagonals are a line segment connecting the element antennas at both ends belonging to the first element antenna unit and a line segment connecting the element antennas at both ends belonging to the second element antenna unit is a square.

6. 6. The position estimation device according to claim 5, The spacing between the element antennas belonging to the first element antenna unit is equal to or less than half a wavelength, The spacing between the element antennas belonging to the second element antenna unit is half a wavelength or less. A position estimation device characterized by:

7. 6. The position estimation device according to claim 5, a quadrangle having diagonals formed by a line segment connecting the element antennas at both ends belonging to the first element antenna unit and a line segment connecting the element antennas at both ends belonging to the second element antenna unit is a square, and the length of one side of the square is half a wavelength or less; A position estimation device characterized by:

8. 8. The position estimation device according to claim 4, wherein: The position estimation unit When performing the terminal angle measurement in the case of terminal positioning that estimates the position of the terminal outside the device, signals are received by at least two element antennas of the first element antenna unit and at least two element antennas of the second element antenna unit, and a direction in which the terminal is likely to be located is calculated based on the received signals on a plane formed by at least two element antennas of the first element antenna unit and at least two element antennas of the second element antenna unit; When performing the target angle measurement in the case of the target positioning that estimates the position of a target outside the device, signals are transmitted from at least two element antennas of the first element antenna unit, signals that are likely to be reflected by the target are received by at least two element antennas of the second element antenna unit, signals transmitted by each element antenna of the first element antenna unit are received by the second element antenna unit to determine received signals on a virtual plane, and the direction of the target is calculated based on the received signals on the virtual plane. A position estimation device characterized by:

9. 3. The position estimation device according to claim 1, an antenna unit including the first element antenna unit configured with a plurality of element antennas arranged along the first direction, and the second element antenna unit configured with a plurality of element antennas arranged along the second direction non-parallel to the first direction; Furthermore, a triangle formed by vertices of one element antenna of the first element antenna unit and two element antennas of the second element antenna unit is an equilateral triangle; A position estimation device characterized by:

10. 8. The position estimation device according to claim 1, The signal transmitting / receiving unit a transmission / reception switching unit configured to be able to switch between transmission and reception of signals for each element antenna of at least the first element antenna unit out of the first element antenna unit and the second element antenna unit; a transmission / reception circuit unit including a transmission circuit that outputs a transmission signal via the transmission / reception switching unit, and a reception circuit that receives a reception signal via the transmission / reception switching unit; Equipped with The transmission / reception switching unit a first switch that switches between a connection of a first element antenna in the first element antenna unit to a first transmission circuit in the transmission / reception circuit unit and a connection of a first element antenna in the transmission / reception circuit unit to a first reception circuit in the transmission / reception circuit unit; a second switch that switches between a connection of a second element antenna in the first element antenna unit to a second transmission circuit in the transmission / reception circuit unit or a connection of a second element antenna in the transmission / reception circuit unit to a second reception circuit in the transmission / reception circuit unit; Equipped with A position estimation device characterized by:

11. The position estimation device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, The signal transmitting / receiving unit a transmission / reception switching unit configured to be able to switch between transmission and reception of signals for each element antenna of at least the first element antenna unit out of the first element antenna unit and the second element antenna unit; a transmission / reception circuit unit including a transmission circuit that outputs a transmission signal via the transmission / reception switching unit, and a reception circuit that receives a reception signal via the transmission / reception switching unit; Equipped with The transmission / reception switching unit a first switch for switching between connection of a first transmission circuit in the transmission / reception circuit unit and connection of a first reception circuit in the transmission / reception circuit unit; a second switch connected to the first switch and configured to switch between connection of a first element antenna in the first element antenna unit and connection of a second element antenna in the first element antenna unit; a third switch that switches between connection of the first element antenna in the second element antenna unit and connection of the second element antenna in the second element antenna unit to the second receiving circuit in the transmitting / receiving circuit unit; Equipped with A position estimation device characterized by:

12. 8. The position estimation device according to claim 1, The signal transmitting / receiving unit a transmission / reception switching unit configured to be able to switch between transmission and reception of signals for each element antenna of at least the first element antenna unit out of the first element antenna unit and the second element antenna unit; a transmission / reception circuit unit including a transmission circuit that outputs a transmission signal via the transmission / reception switching unit, and a reception circuit that receives a reception signal via the transmission / reception switching unit; Equipped with The transmission / reception switching unit a first switch connected to a receiving circuit in the transmitting / receiving circuit unit, and configured to switch between a connection with the second switch and a connection with the fourth switch; the second switch for switching between connection to a transmission circuit in the transmission / reception circuit unit and connection to the first switch; a third switch connected to the second switch and configured to switch between connection of a first element antenna in the first element antenna unit and connection of a second element antenna in the first element antenna unit; the fourth switch connected to the first switch and configured to switch between connection of the first element antenna in the second element antenna unit and connection of the second element antenna in the second element antenna unit; Equipped with A position estimation device characterized by:

13. A position estimation method for a position estimation device that estimates a position of an object by using a first element antenna unit configured with a plurality of element antennas arranged along a first direction and a second element antenna unit configured with a plurality of element antennas arranged along a second direction non-parallel to the first direction, when a signal transmitting / receiving unit of the position estimation device performs terminal positioning to estimate a position of a terminal outside the device, or when a signal transmitting / receiving unit of the position estimation device performs target positioning to estimate a position of a target outside the device, the signal transmitting / receiving unit changes a state of transmission and reception at an element antenna of the first element antenna unit and an element antenna of the second element antenna unit according to each case; a position estimation unit of the position estimation device instructs the signal transmitting / receiving unit to change a state of transmission and reception depending on the case, in the case of terminal positioning that estimates the position of a terminal outside the device, or in the case of target positioning that estimates the position of a target outside the device, and executes a process of estimating the position of the target depending on the case; A position estimation method comprising:

14. Computer, A position estimation device that estimates a position of a target object by using a first element antenna unit configured with a plurality of element antennas arranged along a first direction and a second element antenna unit configured with a plurality of element antennas arranged along a second direction non-parallel to the first direction, a signal transmitting / receiving unit that changes a state of transmission and reception at the element antennas of the first element antenna unit and the element antennas of the second element antenna unit depending on whether terminal positioning is performed to estimate a position of a terminal outside the device or target positioning is performed to estimate a position of a target outside the device; a position estimation unit that instructs the signal transmitting / receiving unit to change a state of transmission and reception depending on the case of the terminal positioning that estimates a position of a terminal outside the device or the target positioning that estimates a position of a target outside the device, and executes distance measurement calculation and angle measurement calculation depending on the case to output the position of the target object; a position estimation device comprising: A program characterized by operating as

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