Search system

Abstract

This configuration provides a way to easily search for targets without requiring communication via a wireless communication base station. [Solution] In the receiving terminal 20, the terminal ID wirelessly transmitted from the transmitting terminal is received by the short-range wireless communication unit 28. The terminal ID, the date and time of reception, and the location information acquired as received location information by the location information acquisition unit 27 are associated and stored in the storage unit 22 as ID reception information. The ID reception information stored in the storage unit 22 is transmitted and received with other receiving terminals 20 via the long-range wireless communication unit 29, thereby sharing the ID reception information between receiving terminals. When a search start operation is performed, search information for searching for the target is generated based on the multiple ID reception information stored in the storage unit 22 for the search ID, and this search information is displayed on the display screen to notify the user.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a search system for searching for search targets such as missing persons.

Background Art

[0002] In an environment where many people come and go in a large area such as a music event, etc., missing persons are likely to occur, and it is extremely difficult to search for missing persons on one's own. For this reason, for example, parents or the like searching for a missing person can call the missing person's name through broadcasts at the missing person center they find, but they have to simply wait for the missing person to be found.

[0003] Regarding such missing person searches, a missing person prevention system disclosed in Patent Document 1 below is known. In this missing person prevention system, a transmitter carried by a protected person and a mobile communication terminal device held by a protector are wirelessly connected to each other. When the mobile communication terminal device of the protector cannot receive a signal from the transmitter of the protected person because it is at a predetermined distance from the transmitter of the protected person, an alarm automatically sounds to prevent the occurrence of a missing person. Furthermore, when the protector cannot find the protected person when the alarm sounds, the protector uses the mobile communication terminal device to send a search request to a search request server. In the mobile communication terminal device of a rescue support person such as a staff member, when ID information is received from the transmitter, the search request server searches for the received ID information. When the received ID information matches the ID information for which the search request is registered, contact information phone numbers, etc. of the protector and face photos, etc. of the protected person are automatically displayed by being acquired via the Internet communication network. As a result, the rescue support person can contact the protector of the protected person for whom the search request has been issued because the identity of the protected person can be immediately determined, enabling emergency responses such as the rescue and protection of the protected person.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

[0005] However, the system described above assumes that both the guardian's mobile communication device and the rescuer's mobile communication device can connect to the search request server via the internet. Therefore, if, for example, communication with the search request server becomes impossible due to a temporary surge in communication to wireless communication base stations, rescuers will not be able to provide assistance during that period of communication failure, and the search for the lost child will become impossible.

[0006] The present invention was made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and its objective is to provide a configuration that allows for easy searching of a target without requiring communication via a wireless communication base station. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] To achieve the above objective, the present invention A transmitting terminal (10) that wirelessly transmits a terminal ID attached to the target of the search that can identify the target of the search, Multiple receiving terminals (20) capable of receiving the aforementioned terminal ID, A search system (1) comprising, The aforementioned receiving terminal is A first communication unit (28) for receiving the terminal ID wirelessly transmitted from the transmitting terminal, A location information acquisition unit (27) that acquires the current location information of the receiving terminal, When the terminal ID is received by the first communication unit, the terminal ID, the date and time of reception, and the location information acquired as received location information by the location information acquisition unit are associated and stored as ID reception information in a storage unit (22), A second communication unit (29) for wirelessly communicating with other receiving terminals over a communication distance longer than the communication distance of the terminal ID of the transmitting terminal, A sharing processing unit (21) performs the sharing of the ID reception information between receiving terminals by sending and receiving the ID reception information stored in the storage unit to other receiving terminals via the second communication unit, An operation unit (25) is used to initiate a search for the target identified from the terminal ID designated for search, A search information generation unit (21) generates search information for searching the target based on a plurality of ID reception information stored in the storage unit for the terminal ID designated for search when the search commencement operation is performed, A search information notification unit (21, 23, 26) for notifying the search information generated by the search information generation unit, It is characterized by being equipped with [the following features]. The symbols within the parentheses above indicate the correspondence with the specific means described in the embodiments described later. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] In the receiving terminal of the present invention, a terminal ID wirelessly transmitted from a transmitting terminal is received by a first communication unit. The terminal ID, the date and time of reception, and the location information acquired as reception location information by the location information acquisition unit are associated and stored in the storage unit as ID reception information. The ID reception information stored in the storage unit is transmitted and received with other receiving terminals via a second communication unit, and the sharing processing of ID reception information between receiving terminals is performed by the sharing processing unit. When a search start operation is performed, search information for searching for a target is generated by the search information generation unit based on the multiple ID reception information stored in the storage unit for the terminal ID designated for search, and this search information is then announced by the search information notification unit.

[0009] In this way, the ID reception information stored in the memory of each receiving terminal to generate search information is shared among receiving terminals without going through a wireless communication base station, etc., by directly communicating with receiving terminals within the communication range of the second communication unit, or by indirectly communicating through other receiving terminals within the communication range of the second communication unit, even if the receiving terminal is outside the communication range of the second communication unit and cannot communicate directly. When a search start operation is performed on a receiving terminal, the ID reception information for the terminal ID designated for search is stored in the memory unit because the terminal ID has been received by other receiving terminals. Therefore, the search information notification unit can notify the search information generated based on the multiple ID reception information stored for that terminal ID. As a result, the searcher who performed the search start operation can understand the time change in the position of the receiving terminal that received the terminal ID designated for search, that is, the approximate movement path of the target of search, by receiving the above notification. Thus, the target of search can be easily searched without requiring communication via a wireless communication base station.

[0010] The search information generation unit generates search information each time it receives ID reception information, including the terminal ID designated for search, via the second communication unit, and the search information notification unit may have a display screen on which the search information is displayed, and update the display on the display screen each time the search information is generated by the search information generation unit.

[0011] Immediately after initiating a search, the ID reception information stored for the designated terminal ID may be outdated, potentially preventing the generation of effective search information. However, even in such cases, if the designated terminal ID is subsequently received by another receiving terminal, and the searcher's receiving terminal receives the ID reception information directly or indirectly via another receiving terminal in response to the sharing process, the display screen will be updated to show search information reflecting that ID reception information. Furthermore, even if the receiving terminal that receives the designated terminal ID is unable to communicate with other receiving terminals at the time of reception, the searcher's receiving terminal will receive the ID reception information directly or indirectly via another receiving terminal in response to the sharing process from the aforementioned receiving terminal once communication becomes possible, updating the display screen to show search information reflecting that ID reception information. In this way, the display of search information is updated at the time of receiving the ID reception information in response to the sharing process for the designated terminal ID, allowing for continuous searching of the target.

[0012] Through the sharing process, a list of search targets, in which terminal IDs designated for search are registered, is shared among receiving terminals. When a terminal ID registered in the search target list is received by the first communication unit, the search information notification unit may issue a first notification indicating that a search target is nearby.

[0013] This allows the owner of the receiving terminal that has received the first notification to understand that there is a person to be searched for nearby. Therefore, if the owner is the searcher who initiated the search, they can effectively conduct the search by limiting the search area, and if they are not the searcher, they can cooperate in the search for the person to be searched for as a search collaborator.

[0014] When the searcher who has performed the search start operation performs a search end operation on the operation unit by discovering the search target, the terminal ID corresponding to the discovered search target is deleted from the search target list. When the terminal ID received at the first notification is deleted from the search target list, the search information notification unit may perform a second notification indicating that the search target has been discovered.

[0015] As a result, the search cooperator who has received the second notification can grasp that the search target has been safely discovered.

[0016] The search target list includes the characteristic information of the search target. When the terminal ID registered in the search target list is received by the first communication unit, the search information notification unit may perform the first notification so as to include the characteristic information of the search target.

[0017] As a result, if the search target to be searched for is a lost child or the like, the search cooperator can not only grasp that there is a lost child or the like to be searched for nearby, but also accurately grasp the characteristic information (for example, name, clothing, etc.) of the lost child or the like, so that the search cooperator can cooperate more appropriately in the search for the search target.

[0018] The search target list may include the contact information of the searcher who specified the terminal ID for the search.

[0019] As a result, when the search cooperator discovers the search target, the search cooperator can easily contact the searcher to that effect, and the searcher can quickly receive the notification of the discovery of the search target.

[0020] The search information generation unit may generate the search information as a map in which the reception position information whose reception date and time is included within a predetermined period is plotted. As a result, the searcher can visually grasp the approximate position of the search target.

[0021] The search information generation unit may generate the search information so that the display color of the plot becomes darker as the reception date and time approaches the current time. As a result, the searcher can visually grasp the time change of the approximate position of the search target, that is, the approximate movement route of the search target.

[0022] When one of a plurality of plots displayed as search information on the display screen is selected, the search information notification unit may display at least one of the terminal ID and the reception date and time corresponding to the selected plot on the screen. Thereby, the searcher can grasp more detailed information regarding the search target.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0023] [Figure 1] It is an explanatory diagram for explaining a search system according to the first embodiment. [Figure 2] It is a block diagram schematically illustrating the electrical configuration of the receiving terminal. [Figure 3] It is a flowchart illustrating the flow of search data generation processing performed by the control unit of the receiving terminal in the first embodiment. [Figure 4] It is an explanatory diagram for exemplifying an information sharing state in which each of the receiving terminals can perform wireless communication with at least one other receiving terminal. [Figure 5] It is a flowchart illustrating the flow of search information notification processing performed by the control unit of the receiving terminal in the first embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 6(A) is an explanatory diagram for exemplifying ID reception information of a search ID extracted immediately after a search start operation, and FIG. 6(B) is an explanatory diagram for exemplifying a state in which ID reception information of a newly received search ID is added. [Figure 7] FIG. 7(A) is an explanatory diagram for explaining an example of a screen display of search information generated from the ID reception information of FIG. 6(A), and FIG. 7(B) is an explanatory diagram for explaining an example of a screen display of search information generated from the ID reception information of FIG. 6(B). [Figure 8] FIG. 8(A) is an explanatory diagram for explaining a state in which the receiving terminal 20d in which ID reception information of a search ID is accumulated cannot communicate with any of a plurality of receiving terminals in an information sharing state, and FIG. 8(B) is an explanatory diagram for explaining a state in which the receiving terminal 20d of FIG. 8(A) can communicate with one of a plurality of receiving terminals in an information sharing state. [Figure 9]This is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of the screen display of search information in a first modified example of the first embodiment. [Figure 10] This is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of the screen display of search information in a second modified example of the first embodiment. [Figure 11] This is a flowchart illustrating the characteristic configuration of the receiving terminal in the search system according to the second embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0024] [First Embodiment] A first embodiment of the search system according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The search system 1 according to this embodiment is a system that notifies search information for searching for a target by sharing the reception results, such as terminal IDs, that are wirelessly transmitted from a transmitting terminal attached to each target of search, among multiple receiving terminals. As illustrated in Figure 1, the search system 1 comprises a transmitting terminal 10 attached to each target of search, and a plurality of receiving terminals 20 that can receive terminal IDs wirelessly transmitted from each transmitting terminal 10. For convenience, in Figure 1, only pairs of transmitting terminals 10a and receiving terminal 20a, and pairs of transmitting terminals 10b and receiving terminal 20b are shown among the plurality of transmitting terminals 10 and receiving terminals 20.

[0025] In this embodiment, children who are likely to get lost are the targets of the search, and each child is equipped with a transmitting terminal 10. Mobile devices and the like held by parents or other searchers who are searching for a lost child, or by search collaborators who are assisting in the search, function as receiving terminals 20.

[0026] Therefore, the transmitting terminal 10 is configured to store a terminal ID in advance, which is a unique identifier that can identify the child to whom it is attached, and to transmit the terminal ID wirelessly over a predetermined distance. Specifically, for example, the transmitting terminal 10 is a keychain-type beacon transmitter that can be attached to a child's clothing or bag, and is configured to transmit the above terminal ID using a BLE (Bluetooth® Low Energy) beacon at intervals of several seconds to several minutes over a communication distance L1 of about 10m (see Figure 1).

[0027] The receiving terminal 20 is a mobile terminal such as a smartphone, and as shown in Figure 2, it is mainly configured to include a control unit 21 that is in charge of overall control and a storage unit 22 consisting of semiconductor memory, as well as a touch panel 23, an imaging unit 24, an operation unit 25, a notification unit 26, a location information acquisition unit 27, a short-range wireless communication unit 28, and a long-range wireless communication unit 29.

[0028] The touch panel 23 is configured as a known touch panel type display device and comprises a display unit configured as a known display device such as a liquid crystal display, and a transparent operation panel superimposed on the display screen 23a of the display unit, which can detect the area being pressed (contacted) with respect to the display screen 23a as an operation surface. The display content of the display unit of the touch panel 23 is controlled by the control unit 21.

[0029] The imaging unit 24 is configured as a camera equipped with a light-receiving sensor (for example, a C-MOS area sensor, a CCD area sensor, etc.) and is controlled by the control unit 21, and is configured to output the captured image data to the control unit 21. When an information code such as a QR code (registered trademark) is captured by this imaging unit 24, the control unit 21 performs a reading process to read the information recorded in the QR code, etc.

[0030] The operation unit 25 is configured to include the operation panel and one or more keys provided on the side of the housing, and is configured to output signals to the control unit 21 in response to touch operations on the operation surface of the touch panel 23 or key operations.

[0031] The notification unit 26 is equipped with light-emitting parts such as LEDs, a speaker, a buzzer, a vibrator, etc., and is configured to provide various notifications by controlling the illumination state of the light-emitting parts, the voice guidance from the speaker, the sounding state of the buzzer, the vibration of the vibrator, etc., via the control unit 21.

[0032] The location information acquisition unit 27 is a GPS receiving unit that detects and acquires the current location information of the receiving terminal 20 based on GPS signals received from, for example, well-known GPS satellites, and is configured to output the acquired location information to the control unit 21.

[0033] The short-range wireless communication unit 28 is a communication unit for receiving the terminal ID wirelessly transmitted from the transmitting terminal 10 by the BLE beacon. The short-range wireless communication unit 28 may be an example of a "first communication unit" for receiving the terminal ID wirelessly transmitted from the transmitting terminal 10.

[0034] The long-range wireless communication unit 29 has a wider communication range than the short-range wireless communication unit 28 and is a communication unit for wirelessly transmitting and receiving data with other receiving terminals 20. In this embodiment, the long-range wireless communication unit 29 is configured to communicate with other receiving terminals 20 within a communication distance L2 of several hundred meters using LTE D2D (device-to-device) or Wi-Fi Direct, etc. The long-range wireless communication unit 29 may correspond to an example of a "second communication unit" for wirelessly communicating with other receiving terminals 20 over a communication distance L2 (see Figure 1) that is longer than the communication distance L1 of the terminal ID transmitted by the transmitting terminal 10.

[0035] Therefore, in the receiving terminal 20a illustrated in Figure 1, it becomes possible to receive a terminal ID from a nearby transmitting terminal 10a within the communication range of the short-range wireless communication unit 28, and to communicate wirelessly with other distant receiving terminals 20b within the communication range of the long-range wireless communication unit 29. On the other hand, the receiving terminal 20a cannot receive a terminal ID from a distant transmitting terminal 10b outside the communication range of the short-range wireless communication unit 28.

[0036] In each receiving terminal 20 configured in this way, the search data generation process performed by the control unit 21 while the owner is moving shares the reception history of the terminal ID received by each receiving terminal 20 in order to search for the target, and stores it in a database constructed in the storage unit 22.

[0037] Specifically, as illustrated in Figure 3, first, in the determination process of step S101, it is determined whether or not a terminal ID is in a state where it can be received via the short-range wireless communication unit 28. If a terminal ID is received via the short-range wireless communication unit 28 (Yes in S101), the location information acquisition unit 27 acquires the location information of the receiving terminal 20 as received location information (S102). Then, the terminal ID, the date and time of reception and the received location information, and the receiving terminal ID that identifies the receiving terminal 20 that received the terminal ID are associated and stored in the storage unit 22 as ID reception information (S103). In other words, each time a terminal ID is received, the terminal ID, the date and time of reception of the terminal ID, the received location information of the sending terminal ID, and the receiving terminal ID are associated and stored in the database as ID reception information.

[0038] As described above, once the ID reception information is accumulated, the ID reception information transmission process shown in step S104 is performed. In this process, the above ID reception information and all other ID reception information already stored in the storage unit 22 are transmitted to other receiving terminals 20 within the communication range of the long-range wireless communication unit 29 for sharing. In this ID reception information transmission process, only the ID reception information that needs to be shared may be transmitted to the other receiving terminals 20.

[0039] When ID reception information is transmitted in this manner, or when no terminal ID is received (No in S101), if ID reception information transmitted for sharing from another receiving terminal 20 as described above is received via the long-range wireless communication unit 29 (Yes in S105), the ID reception information addition and storage process shown in step S106 is performed. In this process, any portion of the received ID reception information that has not yet been stored is added to the database. Through this transmission and reception of ID reception information, the ID reception information is shared between receiving terminals.

[0040] Therefore, for example, as illustrated in Figure 4, when each receiving terminal 20 is in a state where it can communicate wirelessly with at least one other receiving terminal 20 (hereinafter also referred to as the information sharing state), the ID reception information is shared among the receiving terminals 20 so that the storage state of the ID reception information in the above database is the same.

[0041] The shared ID reception information, as described later, can be used as a rough outline of the target's movement when searching for a lost person or other missing person, thus making it easier to find the target. The control unit 21, which performs the above-mentioned ID reception information transmission process and ID reception information storage process for the purpose of sharing ID reception information between receiving terminals, can be considered an example of a "sharing processing unit".

[0042] As described above, if the received ID information is stored in the database, or if no ID information is received (No in S105), the process from the determination process in step S101 is repeated until a predetermined termination operation is performed (No in S107).

[0043] Next, we will explain the search information notification process performed by the control unit 21 of the receiving terminal 20 when a search for a missing person is required, specifically when a child who was traveling with a parent or guardian gets lost. We will also explain the case where the lost child and the parent / guardian are both carrying the transmitting terminal 10 and the receiving terminal 20, respectively, and where the terminal ID identifying the transmitting terminal 10 is pre-stored in the storage unit 22 of the corresponding receiving terminal 20 as the terminal ID to be designated for the search.

[0044] When a child carrying the transmitting terminal 10 goes missing, a parent or other searcher initiates a search by operating the receiving terminal 20's control unit 25. The control unit 21 then performs a search information notification process, generating and notifying search information for the child (the person being searched for) identified from the terminal ID to be designated for the search (hereinafter also referred to as the search ID) pre-stored in the memory unit 22.

[0045] Specifically, as illustrated in Figure 5, first, the ID reception information extraction process shown in step S201 is performed to extract multiple ID reception information stored in the database of the storage unit 22 for the search ID.

[0046] Next, the search information generation process shown in step S202 is performed. In this process, a process is performed to generate search information for searching for the target based on the ID reception information extracted as described above. Specifically, the search information is generated to form a map plotting the reception location information, where the reception date and time falls within a predetermined period (for example, within one hour from the current time), and the current location information acquired by the location information acquisition unit 27. The control unit 21 that performs the search information generation process in step S202 may correspond to an example of a "search information generation unit".

[0047] Next, the search information display process shown in step S203 is performed, and the search information generated as described above is displayed on the display screen 23a of the touch panel 23 to provide notification.

[0048] For example, if ID reception information is extracted as illustrated in Figure 6(A), search information is generated and displayed on the display screen 23a of the touch panel 23, as illustrated in Figure 7(A). In Figure 6(A), an example is shown in which, for terminal ID "1001" which will be the search ID, two ID reception pieces from receiving terminal 20 of receiving terminal ID "2001" where the search start operation was performed, two ID reception pieces from another receiving terminal 20 of receiving terminal ID "2002", and one ID reception piece from another receiving terminal 20 of receiving terminal ID "2003" are extracted. In Figure 7(A), icons C1 to C5 are displayed on the map at the locations corresponding to the received location information "x1,y1", "x2,y2", "x3,y3", "x4,y4", and "x5,y5" in Figure 6(A), and icon Co is displayed at the location on the map corresponding to the current location information. Furthermore, the control unit 21 and touch panel 23, etc., which perform the above-mentioned search information display processing, may be considered an example of a "search information notification unit" for notifying search information.

[0049] With the search information generated as described above displayed on the screen, the determination process in step S204 determines whether or not the ID reception information for the search ID has been received from another receiving terminal 20 via the long-range wireless communication unit 29 through the sharing process described above. If no new ID reception information for the search ID has been received (No in S204), the process from the determination process in step S204 is repeated until the lost child is found (No in S207).

[0050] Then, while the above search information is displayed on the screen, if a new terminal ID to be searched (search ID) is received by another receiving terminal 20 in an information sharing state, and new ID reception information for the search ID is received from the other receiving terminal 20 via the long-range wireless communication unit 29 (Yes in S204), the search information generation process shown in step S205 is performed. In this process, new search information is generated so that the reception location information included in the received ID reception information is additionally plotted on the above map. The control unit 21 that performs the search information generation process in step S205 may correspond to an example of a "search information generation unit".

[0051] Next, the search information display update process shown in step S206 is performed, and the notification content is updated by displaying the newly generated search information on the display screen 23a of the touch panel 23 as described above. For example, as illustrated in Figure 6(B), if the search ID is received by another receiving terminal 20 with receiving terminal ID "2004", and new ID reception information is received, the notification content displayed on the screen of the search information is updated so that, as illustrated in Figure 7(B), an icon C6 is added to the map at the location corresponding to the reception location information "x6,y6" of the newly received ID reception information.

[0052] The notification content is updated not only when a new search ID is received by another receiving terminal 20 in an information-sharing state after the search initiation operation has been performed, but also when another receiving terminal 20 that enters an information-sharing state after the search initiation operation has been performed had received a search ID before the search initiation operation, by displaying the newly generated search information on the display screen 23a of the touch panel 23 as described above.

[0053] Specifically, for example, as illustrated in Figure 8(A), a receiving terminal 20d that is not in an information-sharing state before the search start operation is performed on receiving terminal 20a may enter an information-sharing state after the search start operation is performed, as illustrated in Figure 8(B), due to the movement of the person carrying each receiving terminal 20, etc., and become able to communicate with receiving terminal 20c that is in an information-sharing state. In such a case, the ID reception information of the search ID already stored in receiving terminal 20d is received by receiving terminal 20a via receiving terminal 20c through the sharing process described above, and the notification content on receiving terminal 20a is updated as described above. When one of the multiple receiving terminals 20 in an information-sharing state, including receiving terminal 20d, and one of the multiple receiving terminals 20 in an information-sharing state, including receiving terminal 20a, become able to communicate with each other, the notification content on receiving terminal 20a is also updated as described above through the sharing process described above.

[0054] Furthermore, in the search information display update process described above, each time an update occurs, information indicating that the information has been updated may be displayed on the display screen 23a, or notified by the illumination status of the light-emitting part of the notification unit 26, voice guidance from the speaker, the sounding status of the buzzer, the vibration of the vibrator, etc. This allows the searcher to quickly become aware that the search information has been updated.

[0055] Then, until the lost child is found (No in S207), the process from the determination process in step S204 above is repeated, and each time the ID reception information of the search ID is received, the notification content displayed on the screen of the search information is updated. When a searcher, such as a parent, who has found the lost child using the updated search information performs a search termination operation on the operation unit 25 of the receiving terminal 20 (Yes in S207), this search information notification process ends.

[0056] As described above, in the receiving terminal 20 of the search system 1 according to this embodiment, the terminal ID wirelessly transmitted from the transmitting terminal 10 is received by the short-range wireless communication unit 28. The terminal ID, the date and time of reception, and the location information acquired as received location information by the location information acquisition unit 27 are associated and stored in the storage unit 22 as ID reception information. The ID reception information stored in the storage unit 22 is transmitted and received with other receiving terminals 20 via the long-range wireless communication unit 29, thereby sharing the ID reception information among receiving terminals. When a search start operation is performed, search information for searching for the target is generated based on the multiple ID reception information stored in the storage unit 22 for the search ID (the terminal ID designated for the search). This search information is then displayed on the display screen 23a to notify the user.

[0057] In this way, the ID reception information stored in the storage unit 22 of each receiving terminal 20 to generate search information is shared among receiving terminals without going through a wireless communication base station, etc., by directly communicating with receiving terminals 20 within the communication range of the long-range wireless communication unit 29, or by indirectly communicating with receiving terminals 20 that are outside the communication range of the long-range wireless communication unit 29 and cannot communicate directly, via other receiving terminals 20 within the communication range of the long-range wireless communication unit 29. When a search start operation is performed on a receiving terminal 20, the search ID (the terminal ID designated for the search) has been received by other receiving terminals 20, and the ID reception information for that search ID is stored in the storage unit 22, so the search information generated based on the multiple ID reception information stored for that search ID can be notified. For this reason, the searcher who performed the search start operation can understand the time change in the position of the receiving terminal 20 that received the search ID, that is, the approximate movement path of the target of search, by receiving the notification. Thus, the target of search can be easily searched without requiring communication via a wireless communication base station.

[0058] Furthermore, in the search information generation process described in steps S202 and S205 above, the search information is generated as a map plotting reception location information where the reception date and time fall within a predetermined period. This allows the searcher to visually grasp the approximate location of the search target.

[0059] In particular, in the search information generation process of step S205 above, each time ID reception information including a search ID is received via the long-range radio communication unit 29 (Yes in S204), search information is generated, and in the search information display update process of step S206 above, the display screen 23a is updated so that the search information generated as described above is displayed on the screen.

[0060] Immediately after the search initiation operation, the ID reception information stored for the search ID may be outdated, which may prevent the generation of effective search information. Even in such cases, if the search ID is subsequently received by one of the receiving terminals 20, and the searcher's receiving terminal 20 receives the ID reception information directly or indirectly via another receiving terminal 20 in response to the sharing process, the display on screen 23a is updated to show search information reflecting that ID reception information. Furthermore, as illustrated in Figure 8, even if the receiving terminal 20 that received the search ID cannot communicate with another receiving terminal 20 at the time of reception, the searcher's receiving terminal 20 receives the ID reception information directly or indirectly via another receiving terminal 20 in response to the sharing process from the receiving terminal 20 that subsequently becomes able to communicate, the display on screen 23a is updated to show search information reflecting that ID reception information. In this way, the display of search information is updated at the time of reception of the ID reception information in response to the sharing process for the search ID, allowing the search target to be continuously searched.

[0061] Furthermore, in the above search information notification process, the search information generated in the search information generation process of step S202 is not limited to being displayed on the display screen 23a in the search information display process of step S203. In addition, the search information may also be notified using the illumination status of the light-emitting part by the notification unit 26, the voice guidance of the speaker, the buzzer's sounding status, the vibration of the vibrator, etc. Similarly, the search information generated in the search information generation process of step S205 is not limited to being displayed on the display screen 23a in the search information display update process of step S206. In addition, the search information may also be notified using the illumination status of the light-emitting part by the notification unit 26, the voice guidance of the speaker, the buzzer's sounding status, the vibration of the vibrator, etc. For example, as the received signal strength (RSSI) from the search ID transmitting terminal 10 increases, that is, as the distance to the search target decreases, the flashing interval of the light-emitting part and the buzzer sounding interval are shortened, and the vibration of the vibrator is strengthened, allowing the searcher who receives the notification to easily grasp the approximate location of the search target. The notification unit 26 may correspond to an example of a "search information notification unit" for notifying search information.

[0062] As a first modification of this embodiment, in the search information generation process of steps S202 and S205 described above, the search information may be generated such that the display color of the plot becomes darker as the reception date and time approaches the current time. Specifically, for example, the display state in Figure 7(B) can be displayed by changing the intensity of the display color of the plot, as illustrated in Figure 9. In Figure 9, the hatching pitch becomes finer as the reception date and time approaches the current time (as the display color of the plot becomes darker). This allows the searcher to visually grasp the time change of the approximate position of the search target, that is, the approximate movement path of the search target.

[0063] As a second modification of this embodiment, in the search information display processing of step S203 or the search information display update processing of step S206, one of the multiple plots displayed as search information on the display screen 23a may be selected, and at least one of the search ID and reception date and time corresponding to the selected plot may be displayed on the screen. Specifically, for example, by selecting icon C6 in the display state of Figure 7(B) with a touch operation, the terminal ID (search ID) and reception date and time corresponding to the selected icon (plot) will be displayed on the display screen 23a, as illustrated in Figure 10. This allows the searcher to grasp more detailed information regarding the search for the target of the search.

[0064] [Second Embodiment] Next, the search system according to this second embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. In this second embodiment, the main difference from the first embodiment is that the other receiving terminal functions in such a way that a person holding a receiving terminal different from the one of the searcher who initiated the search can easily cooperate in the search for the target as a search collaborator. Therefore, components that are substantially the same as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and their descriptions are omitted.

[0065] In this embodiment, when a searcher initiates a search using their receiving terminal 20, a list of search targets, which includes the terminal ID designated for the search (search ID), is shared among the receiving terminals. Specifically, the search ID, the receiving terminal ID of the searcher's receiving terminal 20, the registration date and time (the date and time the search initiation operation was performed), and the searcher's location information at the time of registration (location information detected by the location information acquisition unit 27 at the time of the search initiation operation) are registered to be added to the search target list that has been shared among the receiving terminals in advance through the sharing process described above. Subsequently, as described above, when the searcher who initiated the search initiates a search and then initiates a search termination operation (Yes in S207), the search ID and related information corresponding to the discovered search target are deleted from the search target list. Note that the search ID, etc., are not limited to being deleted from the search target list upon the completion of the search operation; for example, they may be deleted from the search target list after a predetermined period of time has elapsed.

[0066] Meanwhile, in the receiving terminal 20 of a search collaborator who has not initiated the search, the control unit 21 performs search data generation processing, as illustrated in Figure 11. During this search data generation processing, when the search collaborator approaches the target of the search, the search ID registered in the shared target list is received via the short-range wireless communication unit 28 (Yes in S108). In this case, as a first notification, information indicating that the target of the search is nearby is displayed on the display screen 23a of the touch panel 23 (S109).

[0067] This allows the owner of the receiving terminal that has received the first notification to understand that there is a person to be searched for nearby. Therefore, the owner can cooperate in the search for the person to be searched for as a search collaborator.

[0068] Furthermore, even if the receiving terminal 20 of the searcher who initiated the search operation receives the search ID that they registered in the search target list via the short-range wireless communication unit 28, it may also issue the first notification indicating that the search target is nearby. In this case, the searcher can limit the search area and thus conduct the search more effectively.

[0069] As a first modification of this embodiment, when the search ID received during the first notification is removed from the list of search targets, a second notification may be given by displaying information indicating that the search target has been found on the display screen 23a of the touch panel 23.

[0070] This allows the search collaborator who receives the second notification to understand that the person being searched for has been found safely. The second notification may also be made using the notification unit 26, which functions as a "search information notification unit."

[0071] As a second modification of this embodiment, the search target list may include characteristic information of the search target. Therefore, when a search ID to be registered in the search target list is received via the short-range wireless communication unit 28 (Yes in S108), the first notification can be made to include the characteristic information of the search target (S109). If the search target is a lost child, the owner of the receiving terminal 20 who may be a searcher can register the relevant characteristic information along with the search ID in the search target list by acquiring the person's name or given name, a photograph of their clothing, etc., in advance and storing it in the storage unit 22.

[0072] This allows those assisting in the search to not only know that there is a lost child nearby, but also to accurately understand the child's characteristics, enabling them to cooperate in the search more effectively.

[0073] As a third modification of this embodiment, the search target list may include contact information such as the telephone number or email address of the person who designated the search ID.

[0074] This allows the aforementioned search collaborators to easily inform the searcher when the target of the search is found, and the searcher can receive notification of the target's discovery quickly.

[0075] The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and may be further embodied as follows, for example. (1) ID reception information shared among each receiving terminal may be deleted from each receiving terminal 20 after a predetermined period of time has elapsed.

[0076] (2) The present invention is not limited to being used in a search system for finding lost children, but may also be used in a search system for finding pets, for example, or in a search system for finding equipment, etc., that is moved and used in various locations within a management area.

[0077] (3) The search system 1 according to the present invention is not limited to being operated in such a way that the transmitting terminal 10 and the receiving terminal 20 are paired with the person being searched and the person searching. It may also be operated in such a way that a person who agrees to be an investigator possesses the receiving terminal 20 described above. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0078] 1. Search System 10. Sending terminal 20 Receiving terminal 21 Control Unit (Shared Processing Unit, Search Information Generation Unit, Search Information Notification Unit) 22 Memory section 23. Touch panel (Search and Information Dissemination Department) 23a Display screen 25 Control section 26. News Department (Search and Information News Department) 27 Location information acquisition section 28. Short-range radio communication section (1st communications section) 29. Long-distance radio communication department (Second communications department)

Claims

1. A transmitting terminal that wirelessly transmits a terminal ID attached to the target of the search that can identify the target of the search, Multiple receiving terminals capable of receiving the aforementioned terminal ID, A search system comprising, The aforementioned receiving terminal is A first communication unit for receiving the terminal ID wirelessly transmitted from the transmitting terminal, A location information acquisition unit that acquires the current location information of the receiving terminal, When the terminal ID is received by the first communication unit, the terminal ID and the date and time of reception are associated with the location information acquired by the location information acquisition unit as received location information and stored as ID reception information in the storage unit, A second communication unit for wirelessly communicating with other receiving terminals over a communication distance longer than the communication distance of the terminal ID of the transmitting terminal, A sharing processing unit performs a sharing process of the ID reception information between receiving terminals by sending and receiving the ID reception information stored in the storage unit to other receiving terminals via the second communication unit, An operation unit is used to initiate a search for the target identified from the terminal ID designated for search, A search information generation unit generates search information for searching for the target based on a plurality of ID reception information stored in the storage unit for the terminal ID designated for search when the search commencement operation is performed, A search information notification unit for notifying the search information generated by the search information generation unit, A search system characterized by being equipped with [a certain feature].

2. The search information generation unit generates the search information each time the ID reception information, including the terminal ID designated for search, is received via the second communication unit. The search information notification unit is equipped with a display screen on which the search information is displayed, and the display on the display screen is updated each time the search information is generated by the search information generation unit, characterized in that the search system is as described in claim 1.

3. Through the aforementioned sharing process, the list of search targets, in which the terminal ID designated for search is registered, is shared among the receiving terminals. The search system according to claim 1, characterized in that the search information notification unit makes a first notification indicating that the search target is nearby when the terminal ID registered in the search target list is received by the first communication unit.

4. When the searcher who initiated the search operation performs a search termination operation on the control unit upon finding the search target, the terminal ID corresponding to the found search target is deleted from the search target list. The search system according to claim 3, characterized in that the search information notification unit makes a second notification indicating that the search target has been found when the terminal ID received at the time of the first notification is removed from the list of search targets.

5. The search target list includes characteristic information of the search target, The search system according to claim 3, characterized in that the search information notification unit makes the first notification including characteristic information of the search target when the terminal ID registered in the search target list is received by the first communication unit.

6. The search system according to claim 5, characterized in that the search target list includes the contact information of the searcher who designated the terminal ID to be searched.

7. The search information generation unit generates the search information as a map plotting reception location information in which the reception date and time falls within a predetermined period, as described in claim 2.

8. The search system according to claim 7, characterized in that the search information generation unit generates the search information such that the display color of the plot becomes darker as the reception date and time approaches the current time.

9. The search information notification unit is characterized in that, when one of a plurality of plots displayed as search information on the display screen is selected, it displays on the screen at least one of the terminal ID and the reception date and time corresponding to the selected plot.

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