Positioning timing selection device, wireless communication system, positioning timing selection method, and program

Abstract

The present invention acquires: channel identification information indicating a channel measured by each of a plurality of measuring devices; and information indicating the measurement time at which the measurement was performed. The measuring devices measure the radio wave strength of a radio wave propagated along a channel used by a wireless terminal device in the transmission of a wireless radio wave. For each channel, a time at which the quantity of measurement devices performing measurement satisfies a predetermined prescribed condition is selected on the basis of the acquired channel identification information of each measurement device and the acquired information indicating the measurement time. A position determination time for each channel is selected from the selected times. Channel identification information indicating a channel to be used by a wireless terminal device subject to position determination is acquired. A response request signal addressed to the wireless terminal device subject to position determination is transmitted at the measurement time selected for the channel of the acquired channel identification information.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a positioning timing selection device, a wireless communication system, a positioning timing selection method, and program Regarding. [Background technology]

[0002] There is a service that measures the position of a wireless terminal device, such as a smartphone owned by a user, based on the radio wave intensity of the wireless terminal device. To measure the radio wave intensity, the wireless terminal device needs to emit radio waves into the air. There are two methods for emitting radio waves. One method is a method in which the wireless terminal device is the trigger. In this method, for example, an application program for positioning is installed in the wireless terminal device, and the wireless terminal device emits radio waves for positioning when the application program runs. The other method is a method in which the network side is the trigger. In this method, an external terminal device connected to the wireless terminal device via a communication network transmits a response request packet to the wireless terminal device at the timing of positioning. When the wireless terminal device receives the response request packet, it transmits a response packet and emits radio waves when transmitting the response packet. This radio wave becomes the radio wave for positioning.

[0003] A common problem of these methods is that if a wireless terminal device excessively radiates radio waves for positioning, the battery of the wireless terminal device will be consumed more, while if the interval between radiating radio waves is reduced, the frequency and accuracy of updating the positioning will decrease. In view of such problems, there are technologies for reducing the battery consumption of wireless terminal devices, such as those disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2006-245930 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2007-053483 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] The invention described in Patent Document 1 is an invention that aims to enable a communication terminal with a location search function to perform a location search operation for a longer period of time with a simple operation by reducing power consumption, and to improve user convenience. In the invention described in Patent Document 1, after the power supply is turned off, the location information acquired by the location information acquisition means is transmitted to another terminal or a monitoring device via a network by the communication means, thereby reducing power consumption.

[0006] However, the invention described in Patent Document 1 aims to reduce power consumption by performing positioning when the power is turned off with the power key. This poses a problem in that a new function must be added to the wireless terminal device, for example, by installing an application program to perform positioning when the power is turned off with the power key.

[0007] The invention described in Patent Document 2 is an invention made for the purpose of providing a method for obtaining location information of a wireless terminal device set in a power saving mode. The invention described in Patent Document 2 is an invention in which the trigger for positioning is not the wireless terminal device side as in Patent Document 1, but the network side. In the invention described in Patent Document 2, an access point (hereinafter also referred to as an AP (Access Point)) transmits a beacon frame including stored data information indicating that there is stored data, regardless of whether there is stored data addressed to a wireless terminal device that has transitioned to a power saving mode. A wireless terminal device that has transitioned to a power saving mode and entered a doze state transitions to an awake state before receiving a beacon frame and refers to the received beacon frame. The beacon frame referred to by the wireless terminal device includes stored data information indicating that there is stored data, regardless of whether there is stored data. Therefore, the wireless terminal device determines that there is stored data, and transmits a stored data request frame to the AP. At that time, the wireless terminal device emits radio waves, so that positioning can be performed based on the radio waves. If there is no stored data, the AP transmits dummy data to the wireless terminal device, and the wireless terminal device that receives the dummy data transitions to the power saving mode again. This allows the wireless terminal device to perform positioning while saving power.

[0008] However, the invention described in Patent Document 2 has a problem in that a special AP is required to transmit a beacon frame including accumulated data information indicating that accumulated data exists, regardless of whether accumulated data exists or not. Also, when the transmission interval of the beacon frame is short, excessive radio waves are emitted from the wireless terminal device, which causes a problem in that the battery of the wireless terminal device is consumed rapidly.

[0009] One example of the object of the present invention is to provide a positioning timing selection device, a wireless communication system, a positioning timing selection method, and program The purpose of this invention is to provide [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] According to a first aspect of the present invention, a positioning timing selection device comprises: a measurement data acquisition means for acquiring channel identification information indicating the channel measured by each of a plurality of measurement devices that measure the radio wave strength of radio waves propagating through a channel used by a wireless terminal device for transmitting radio waves, and information indicating the measurement time at which the measurement was performed; a positioning timing selection means for selecting, for each channel, a time at which the number of measurement devices performing measurement satisfies a predetermined condition determined in advance based on the channel identification information for each measurement device acquired by the measurement data acquisition means and information indicating the measurement time, and selecting a positioning time for each of the channels from each of the selected times; a terminal device data acquisition means for acquiring the channel identification information indicating the channel used by the wireless terminal device to be positioned; and a positioning start instruction means for transmitting a response request signal addressed to the wireless terminal device to be positioned at the positioning time selected by the positioning timing selection means to the channel of the channel identification information acquired by the terminal device data acquisition means.

[0011] According to a second aspect of the present invention, a wireless communication system comprises a wireless terminal device, a plurality of measurement devices which measure the radio wave strength of wireless radio waves propagating through a channel used by the wireless terminal device to transmit wireless radio waves, and a positioning timing selection device, wherein the positioning timing selection device comprises: a measurement data acquisition means which acquires channel identification information indicating the channel measured by each of the plurality of measurement devices and information indicating the measurement time when the measurement was performed; a positioning timing selection means which selects, for each channel, a time at which the number of measurement devices performing measurement satisfies a predetermined condition determined in advance based on the channel identification information for each measurement device acquired by the measurement data acquisition means and information indicating the measurement time, and selects a positioning time for each of the channels from each of the selected times; a terminal device data acquisition means which acquires the channel identification information indicating the channel used by the wireless terminal device to be positioned; and a positioning start instruction means which transmits a response request signal addressed to the wireless terminal device to be positioned at the positioning time selected by the positioning timing selection means to the channel of the channel identification information acquired by the terminal device data acquisition means.

[0012] According to a third aspect of the present invention, a positioning timing selection method includes acquiring channel identification information indicating the channel measured by each of a plurality of measurement devices that measure the radio wave strength of radio waves propagating through a channel used by a wireless terminal device for transmitting radio waves, and information indicating the measurement time when the measurement was performed, selecting, for each channel, a time at which the number of measurement devices performing measurement satisfies a predetermined condition determined in advance based on the acquired channel identification information for each of the measurement devices and the information indicating the measurement time, selecting a positioning time for each of the channels from each of the selected times, acquiring the channel identification information indicating the channel used by the wireless terminal device to be positioned, and transmitting a response request signal addressed to the wireless terminal device to be positioned at the positioning time selected for the channel of the acquired channel identification information.

[0013] According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, a recording medium stores a program for causing a computer to function as: a measurement data acquisition means for acquiring channel identification information indicating the channel measured by each of a plurality of measurement devices that measure the radio wave strength of radio waves propagating through a channel used by a wireless terminal device to transmit radio waves, and information indicating the measurement time when the measurement was performed; a positioning timing selection means for selecting, for each channel, a time at which the number of measurement devices performing measurement satisfies a predetermined condition determined in advance based on the channel identification information for each measurement device acquired by the measurement data acquisition means and information indicating the measurement time, and selecting a positioning time for each of the channels from each of the selected times; a terminal device data acquisition means for acquiring the channel identification information indicating the channel used by the wireless terminal device to be positioned; and a positioning start instruction means for transmitting a response request signal addressed to the wireless terminal device to be positioned at the positioning time selected by the positioning timing selection means to the channel of the channel identification information acquired by the terminal device data acquisition means. Effect of the Invention

[0014] According to an embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to perform positioning while suppressing battery consumption of a wireless terminal device, without adding a new function for positioning to the wireless terminal device and the access point. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0015] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of a server device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 3] 5 is a diagram showing a data configuration of a terminal device data table according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 4] 5 is a diagram showing a data configuration of a measurement device data table according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Diagram 5] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a data configuration of a measurement data table according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] 1 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of a positioning timing selection device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] 5 is a diagram showing a data configuration of a positioning timing table stored in a positioning timing table storage unit according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 8] 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of a positioning timing selection device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 9] 5 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing by a terminal device data acquisition unit, a measurement device data acquisition unit, and a positioning timing table generation unit according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 10] 5 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing by a response request signal transmitting unit according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 11] 10 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing by a response signal receiving unit according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 12] 5 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing by a measurement data acquisition unit, a positioning timing selection unit, and a positioning timing table generation unit according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 13] FIG. 1 is a diagram (part 1) for explaining a process performed by a positioning timing selection unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 14] FIG. 2 is a diagram (part 2) for explaining the process performed by the positioning timing selection unit according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 15] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating another example of the configuration of a positioning timing selection device according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0016] Hereinafter, a wireless communication system 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the wireless communication system 100. The wireless communication system 100 includes a positioning timing selection device 1, wireless terminal devices 2-1 and 2-2, AP devices 3-1, 3-2, and 3-3, measuring devices 4-1, 4-2, 4-3, and 4-4, a base station device 6, a core network 7, an Internet network 8, and a server device 9.

[0017] The base station device 6 is, for example, a device installed on the base station side in a mobile communication network of LTE (Long Term Evolution) type operated by a telecommunications carrier. The core network 7 is a communication network operated by the telecommunications carrier, and connects the base station device 6 to an Internet network 8. The Internet network 8 is a communication network built by a plurality of telecommunications carriers such as ISPs (Internet Service Providers). The server device 9 is, for example, a cloud server, which is connected to the Internet network 8 and performs processes such as storing data in an internal storage area.

[0018] Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the server device 9. The server device 9 includes a transmission / reception unit 91 and a storage unit 92. The transmission / reception unit 91 is, for example, a communication module that performs communication by IP (Internet Protocol), is connected to the Internet network 8, and transmits and receives data with devices connected via the Internet network 8. The storage unit 92 is, for example, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), and stores the tables shown in Figs. 3 to 5.

[0019] 3 is a diagram showing a data configuration of the terminal device data table 93. The terminal device data table 93 has the items of "terminal device identification information" and "channel identification information". In the "terminal device identification information" item, terminal device identification information capable of identifying each of the wireless terminal devices 2-1 and 2-2 is written. The terminal device identification information is, for example, a MAC (Media Access Control) address previously assigned to each of the wireless terminal devices 2-1 and 2-2. In the "channel identification information" item, channel identification information is written that specifies a channel used, for example, in a wireless LAN (Local Area Network), by the wireless terminal devices 2-1 and 2-2 identified by the terminal device identification information written in the corresponding "terminal device identification information" item. The channel identification information is, for example, a number.

[0020] Writing of terminal device data to the terminal device data table 93 is performed, for example, as follows. The wireless terminal devices 2-1 and 2-2 acquire channel identification information indicating a channel when connected to any of the AP devices 3-1, 3-2, and 3-3, and generate a terminal device data write request signal including the acquired channel identification information and their own terminal device identification information. The wireless terminal devices 2-1 and 2-2 transmit the generated terminal device data write request signal to the transceiver 91 of the server device 9 via the connected AP devices 3-1, 3-2, and 3-3 and the Internet network 8. When the transceiver 91 receives the terminal device data write request signal, it writes the terminal device identification information and the channel identification information included in the received terminal device data write request signal to the terminal device data table 93 of the storage unit 92. Note that, if a record of the terminal device identification information to be written already exists in the terminal device data table 93, the transceiver 91 overwrites the channel identification information included in the terminal device data write request signal in the "channel identification information" field of that record. On the other hand, if there is no record of the terminal device identification information to be written in the terminal device data table 93, the transmitting / receiving unit 91 creates a new record and writes the terminal device identification information and the channel identification information in the created record. Also, when the wireless terminal devices 2-1 and 2-2 change the channel to which they are connected, they generate a terminal device data write request signal and transmit it to the transmitting / receiving unit 91 of the server device 9.

[0021] 4 is a diagram showing the data configuration of the measurement device data table 94. The measurement device data table 94 has the following items: "measurement device identification information," "channel identification information," and "measurement period." In the "measurement device identification information" item, measurement device identification information capable of identifying each of the measurement devices 4-1 to 4-4 is written. The measurement device identification information is given in advance to each of the measurement devices 4-1 to 4-4 so that each is different identification information, and is represented by, for example, a symbol or a number.

[0022] In the "channel identification information" field, channel identification information corresponding to the channels measured by the measuring devices 4-1 to 4-4 identified by the measuring device identification information written in the corresponding "measuring device identification information" field is written. In Fig. 4, one measuring device 4-1 to 4-4 is shown measuring two pieces of channel identification information "1" and "6", but one measuring device 4-1 to 4-4 may measure one channel or may measure three or more channels.

[0023] In the "measurement interval" field, a time (measurement interval) indicating the interval for measuring the channel indicated by the channel identification information written in the corresponding "channel identification information" field is written. In the example shown in FIG. 4, all of the measurement intervals are "every 100 seconds." However, the measurement interval may be different for each channel. When each of the measurement devices 4-1 to 4-4 measures the same channel, the measurement interval may be different for each of the measurement devices 4-1 to 4-4.

[0024] The measurement device data is written to the measurement device data table 94, for example, as follows. Before starting operation, the measurement devices 4-1 to 4-4 are operated by an operator to write measurement device identification information, channel identification information indicating the channel to be measured, and the measurement period for each channel in an internal storage area. When started, the measurement devices 4-1 to 4-4 generate a measurement device data write request signal including the measurement device identification information, channel identification information, and measurement period stored in the internal storage area. The measurement devices 4-1 to 4-4 transmit the generated measurement device data write request signal to the transmission / reception unit 91 of the server device 9 via the base station device 6, the core network 7, and the Internet 8. When the transmission / reception unit 91 receives the measurement device data write request signal, it writes the measurement device identification information, channel identification information, and measurement period included in the received measurement device data write request signal to the measurement device data table 94 of the storage unit 92. If a record of the measurement identification information to be written already exists in the measurement device data table 94, the transmitting / receiving unit 91 overwrites the items of "channel identification information" and "measurement period" of that record with the channel identification information and the measurement period included in the measurement device data write request signal. On the other hand, if a record of the measurement identification information to be written does not exist in the measurement device data table 94, the transmitting / receiving unit 91 creates a new record and writes the measurement device identification information, the channel identification information, and the measurement period into the created record. Also, when the channel identification information and the measurement period in the internal storage area are rewritten by the operator's operation after the start of operation, the measuring devices 4-1 to 4-4 generate a measurement device data write request signal and transmit it to the transmitting / receiving unit 91 of the server device 9.

[0025] 5 is a diagram showing the data configuration of the measurement data table 95. The measurement data table 95 has the following items: "measurement device identification information", "channel identification information", "measurement start time", "measurement end time", "terminal device identification information", and "radio field strength". In the "measurement device identification information" item, measurement device identification information corresponding to any one of the measurement devices 4-1 to 4-4 is written. In each of the "channel identification information", "measurement start time", "measurement end time", "terminal device identification information", and "radio field strength" items, the channel identification information indicating the channel measured by the measurement devices 4-1 to 4-4 of the measurement device identification information written in the corresponding "measurement device identification information", the time when the measurement started, the time when the measurement ended, the terminal device identification information of the wireless terminal devices 2-1 and 2-2 to be measured, and the radio field strength of the measured wireless radio wave are written.

[0026] The measurement data is written to the measurement data table 95, for example, as follows. The measurement devices 4-1 to 4-4 each have a clock or other internal timekeeping unit, and obtain the time from the clock when starting and ending measurement. When ending measurement, the measurement devices 4-1 to 4-4 generate a measurement data write request signal including the measurement device identification information of the measurement device itself, the channel identification information of the measured channel, the measurement start time, the measurement end time, the terminal device identification information of the measured wireless terminal devices 2-1 and 2-2, and the radio wave intensity of the measured wireless radio wave. The measurement devices 4-1 to 4-4 transmit the generated measurement data write request signal to the transmission / reception unit 91 of the server device 9 via the base station device 6, the core network 7, and the Internet 8. When the transmission / reception unit 91 receives the measurement data write request signal, it generates a new record in the measurement data table 95 of the storage unit 92. The transmitter / receiver 91 writes the measurement device identification information, channel identification information, measurement start time, measurement end time, terminal device identification information, and radio wave intensity contained in the received measurement data write request signal into the created record. That is, one new record is added to the measurement data table 95 every time the measurement devices 4-1 to 4-2 perform a measurement.

[0027] Returning to Fig. 1, the positioning timing selection device 1, wireless terminal devices 2-1 and 2-2, AP devices 3-1, 3-2 and 3-3, and measuring devices 4-1, 4-2, 4-3 and 4-4 are installed, for example, on one floor 5 in a building. The AP devices 3-1 to 3-3 are, for example, devices such as wireless LAN routers, and are connected to an ISP communication network (not shown) and connected to the Internet network 8 via the ISP communication network. The AP devices 3-1 to 3-3 provide a plurality of wireless LAN channels, and connect to the wireless terminal devices 2-1 and 2-2 and the positioning timing selection device 1 via the provided channels.

[0028] The wireless terminal devices 2-1 and 2-2 are terminal devices to be located, and are, for example, devices equipped with a wireless LAN communication function, such as smartphones. The wireless terminal devices 2-1 and 2-2 are given terminal identification information in advance as described above. The wireless terminal devices 2-1 and 2-2 connect to one of the AP devices 3-1 to 3-3 using one of the wireless LAN channels provided by the AP devices 3-1 to 3-3. In the following description, the wireless terminal devices 2-1 and 2-2 may be shown as having been given "A" and "B" in advance as terminal device identification information, respectively.

[0029] The measuring devices 4-1 to 4-4 are, for example, wireless sensors. When the measuring devices 4-1 to 4-4 are started, they measure the radio wave intensity of the radio wave propagating through the channel indicated by the channel identification information written in advance in the internal storage area for a certain period of time at each measurement period written in advance in the internal storage area. Each of the measuring devices 4-1 to 4-4 starts measurement when started, so that the measurement is performed asynchronously. The measuring devices 4-1 to 4-4 are devices equipped with a communication function on the terminal side of the LTE (registered trademark) system, connect to the base station device 6, and transmit and receive data to and from the base station device 6. The measuring devices 4-1 to 4-4 are given measuring device identification information as described above, and channel identification information indicating the channel to be measured and a measurement period associated with the channel identification information are set in advance. In the following description, it may be described that each of the measuring devices 4-1 to 4-4 is given "α", "β", "γ", and "δ" in advance as measuring device identification information.

[0030] In the example of Fig. 1, two wireless terminal devices 2-1, 2-2 and three AP devices 3-1 to 3-3 are shown. However, the number of installed wireless terminal devices 2-1, 2-2 and the number of installed AP devices 3-1 to 3-3 are not particularly limited. The number of each of the wireless terminal devices 2-1, 2-2 and the AP devices 3-1 to 3-3 may be any number as long as it is 1 or more. In addition, the example of Fig. 1 shows four measuring devices 4-1 to 4-4. However, the number of installed measuring devices 4-1 to 4-4 may be any number as long as it is 2 or more.

[0031] The positioning timing selection device 1 has an internal configuration shown in FIG. 6, for example. That is, the positioning timing selection device 1 has a measurement data acquisition unit 10, a positioning timing selection unit 11, a setting information acquisition unit 12, a positioning start instruction unit 15, a terminal station communication unit 16, a wireless communication unit 17, and a clock unit 18. The terminal station communication unit 16 is a functional unit having a communication function of a terminal station of the LTE (registered trademark) system, and connects to the base station device 6. The wireless communication unit 17 is a functional unit having a communication function of the wireless LAN system, and connects to one of the AP devices 3-1 to 3-3 using one of the channels of the wireless LAN provided by the AP devices 3-1 to 3-3. The wireless communication unit 17 and the wireless terminal devices 2-1 and 2-2 belong to the same wireless LAN subnetwork. The clock unit 18 is, for example, a clock. The clock units provided inside each of the measurement devices 4-1 to 4-4 and the clock unit 18 are set in advance so that their times are synchronized.

[0032] The measurement data acquiring unit 10 periodically generates a measurement data request signal requesting acquisition of measurement data of a time width indicated by an arbitrarily determined acquisition start time and acquisition end time. The measurement data acquiring unit 10 transmits the generated measurement data request signal to the server device 9. The measurement data acquiring unit 10 receives a measurement data transmission signal transmitted by the server device 9 in response to the measurement data request signal. The measurement data transmission signal received by the measurement data acquiring unit 10 includes the measurement data between the acquisition start time and acquisition end time read by the transmitting / receiving unit 91 of the server device 9 from the measurement data table 95.

[0033] In order to suppress the total amount of radio waves emitted by the wireless terminal devices 2-1 and 2-2, the positioning timing selection unit 11 selects, for each channel, a time slot for each measurement period that maximizes the number of measurement devices 4-1 to 4-4 performing measurements, based on the measurement data acquired by the measurement data acquisition unit 10. The positioning timing selection unit 11 selects each selected time slot as the positioning time for each channel for each measurement period. Here, a time slot is a time interval of a fixed length. A measurement period refers to each division of time having a fixed length, consisting of multiple consecutive time slots.

[0034] The setting information acquiring unit 12 includes a terminal device data acquiring unit 13 and a measuring device data acquiring unit 14. The terminal device data acquiring unit 13 generates a terminal device data request signal and transmits the generated terminal device data request signal to the server device 9. The terminal device data acquiring unit 13 receives a terminal device data transmission signal that the server device 9 transmits in response to the terminal device data request signal. The terminal device data transmission signal includes the terminal device data that the transmitting / receiving unit 91 of the server device 9 reads out from the terminal device data table 93.

[0035] The measuring device data acquiring unit 14 generates a measuring device data request signal and transmits the generated measuring device data request signal to the server device 9. The measuring device data acquiring unit 14 receives a measuring device data transmission signal that is transmitted by the server device 9 in response to the measuring device data request signal. The measuring device data transmission signal includes the measuring device data that the transmitting / receiving unit 91 of the server device 9 reads out from the measuring device data table 94.

[0036] The positioning start instruction unit 15 includes a positioning timing table generation unit 151, a positioning timing table storage unit 152, a response request signal transmission unit 153, and a response signal reception unit 154. The positioning timing table generation unit 151 generates a positioning timing table 155 in the positioning timing table storage unit 152 based on the terminal device data acquired by the terminal device data acquisition unit 13 and the measurement device data acquired by the measurement device data acquisition unit 14. The positioning timing table generation unit 151 also updates the positioning timing table 155 based on the positioning time selected by the positioning timing selection unit 11 in each measurement period for each channel. The positioning timing table storage unit 152 stores the positioning timing table 155 generated by the positioning timing table generation unit 151.

[0037] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the data configuration of the positioning timing table 155. The positioning timing table 155 has the items of "Terminal Device Identification Information", "Address Information", "Channel Identification Information", and "Response Request Signal Transmission Time". The "Terminal Device Identification Information" item is written with the terminal identification information of the wireless terminal devices 2-1 and 2-2. The "Address Information" item is written with the address information given to the wireless terminal devices 2-1 and 2-2 of the corresponding terminal device identification information. Here, the address information is, for example, an IP address. The "Channel Identification Information" item is written with the channel identification information of the channel used by the wireless terminal devices 2-1 and 2-2 of the corresponding terminal device identification information. The "Response Request Signal Transmission Time" item includes the items of "Transmission Time 1", "Transmission Time 2", ... as a plurality of sub-items. Each of "Transmission Time 1", "Transmission Time 2", ... is written with information indicating the time to transmit the response request signal.

[0038] The response request signal transmitting unit 153 refers to the positioning timing table 155, and when the time indicated by the clock unit 18 matches the time written in any of the items "transmission time 1", "transmission time 2", ... of the positioning timing table 155, it reads out the terminal device identification information and address information written in the items "terminal device identification information" and "address information" of the matched record. The response request signal transmitting unit 153 generates a response request signal including the read terminal device identification information and address information. The response request signal transmitting unit 153 transmits the generated response request signal to the connection destination AP devices 3-1 to 3-3 via the wireless communication unit 17. When transmitting the response request signal, the response request signal transmitting unit 153 outputs the address information included in the response request signal to the response signal receiving unit 154.

[0039] The response signal receiving unit 154 determines whether or not a response signal corresponding to the address information received from the response request signal transmitting unit 153 has been received via the wireless communication unit 17. When the response signal receiving unit 154 determines that a response signal corresponding to the address information received from the response request signal transmitting unit 153 has not been received, the response signal receiving unit 154 deletes the record corresponding to the address information from the positioning timing table 155.

[0040] 8 is a diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of the positioning timing selection device 1. The positioning timing selection device 1 is a computer including, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 21, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 22, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 23, a HDD 24, and communication modules 25 and 26. The communication module 25 is the terminal station communication unit 16. The communication module 26 is the wireless communication unit 17. The positioning timing table storage unit 152 is a storage area generated in the RAM 23 or the HDD 24. The application program stored in advance in the ROM 22 or the HDD 24 is executed by the CPU 21, whereby the functional units of the measurement data acquisition unit 10, the positioning timing selection unit 11, the setting information acquisition unit 12, the positioning start instruction unit 15, and the clock unit 18 are configured.

[0041] (Processing by positioning timing selection device) Next, the process performed by the positioning timing selection device 1 will be described with reference to Fig. 9 to Fig. 14. Fig. 9 to Fig. 12 are flow charts showing the flow of the process performed by the positioning timing selection device 1.

[0042] (Positioning timing table generation process) Fig. 9 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing by the setting information acquisition unit 12 and the positioning timing table generation unit 151. Before the processing of the flowchart shown in Fig. 9 is started, the wireless terminal devices 2-1 and 2-2, the AP devices 3-1 to 3-3, and the measurement devices 4-1 to 4-4 are already activated, and the wireless terminal devices 2-1 and 2-2 are connected to one of the AP devices 3-1 to 3-3 using one of the channels of the wireless LAN provided by the AP devices 3-1 to 3-3. Therefore, it is assumed that a terminal device data table 93 and a measurement device data table 94 have been generated in the storage unit 92 of the server device 9.

[0043] When the positioning timing selection device 1 is started, the terminal device data acquisition unit 13 generates a terminal device data request signal. The terminal device data acquisition unit 13 transmits the generated terminal device data request signal to the server device 9 via the terminal station communication unit 16, the base station device 6, the core network 7, and the Internet network 8. When the transmission / reception unit 91 of the server device 9 receives the terminal device data request signal, it reads out the terminal device data stored in the terminal device data table 93 of the storage unit 92, that is, all the records stored in the terminal device data table 93. The transmission / reception unit 91 generates a terminal device data transmission signal including the read out terminal device data. The transmission / reception unit 91 transmits the generated terminal device data transmission signal to the positioning timing selection device 1 via the Internet network 8, the core network 7, and the base station device 6. The terminal device data acquisition unit 13 receives the terminal device data transmission signal via the terminal station communication unit 16, and reads out the terminal device data included in the received terminal device data transmission signal. The terminal device data acquisition unit 13 outputs the read out terminal device data to the positioning timing table generation unit 151.

[0044] The measurement device data acquisition unit 14 generates a measurement device data request signal. The measurement device data acquisition unit 14 transmits the generated measurement device data request signal to the server device 9 via the terminal station communication unit 16, the base station device 6, the core network 7, and the Internet network 8. When the transmission / reception unit 91 of the server device 9 receives the measurement device data request signal, it reads out the measurement device data stored in the measurement device data table 94 of the storage unit 92, i.e., all the records stored in the measurement device data table 94. The transmission / reception unit 91 generates a measurement device data transmission signal including the read measurement device data. The transmission / reception unit 91 transmits the generated measurement device data transmission signal to the positioning timing selection device 1 via the Internet network 8, the core network 7, and the base station device 6. The measurement device data acquisition unit 14 receives the measurement device data transmission signal via the terminal station communication unit 16, and reads out the measurement device data included in the received measurement device data transmission signal. The measurement device data acquisition unit 14 outputs the read measurement device data to the positioning timing table generation unit 151 (step Sa1).

[0045] In the processing of step Sa1, as described above, the terminal device data acquisition unit 13 may perform the processing first, and the measurement device data acquisition unit 14 may perform the processing thereafter. Alternatively, the measurement device data acquisition unit 14 may perform the processing first, and the terminal device data acquisition unit 13 may perform the processing thereafter. Alternatively, the processing by the terminal device data acquisition unit 13 and the processing by the measurement device data acquisition unit 14 may be performed in parallel.

[0046] The positioning timing table generating unit 151 takes in the terminal device data output by the terminal device data acquiring unit 13 and the measurement device data output by the measurement device data acquiring unit 14. The positioning timing table generating unit 151 generates a positioning timing table 155 in the positioning timing table storage unit 152 based on the taken-in terminal device data and measurement device data. The positioning timing table generating unit 151 generates a record in the positioning timing table 155 for each terminal device identification information included in the terminal device data, and writes the terminal device identification information and channel identification information included in the terminal device data into the items of "terminal device identification information" and "channel identification information" of the generated record, respectively.

[0047] The positioning timing table generating unit 151, for example, refers to data of an address correspondence list that associates terminal device identification information and address information acquired in advance, and writes address information corresponding to the terminal device identification information in the "terminal device identification information" field in the "address information" field.

[0048] The positioning-timing table generating unit 151 selects, for example, a plurality of transmission times between 0:00 and 24:00 for each channel corresponding to the channel identification information written in the "channel identification information" field of the positioning-timing table 155 based on the measurement period for each channel to be measured by the measurement devices 4-1 to 4-4 included in the measurement device data. The measurement period for the measurement devices 4-1 to 4-4 is known from the measurement period included in the measurement device data, but the time when the measurement devices 4-1 to 4-4 are actually performing the measurement is unknown. Therefore, the positioning-timing table generating unit 151 arbitrarily selects a plurality of transmission times, for example, by the following method.

[0049] The positioning-timing table generating unit 151 randomly selects a time to be written in the "transmission time 1" field of each record from between 0:00:00 and 0:00:59. The positioning-timing table generating unit 151 arbitrarily selects a plurality of transmission times to be written in each of "transmission time 2", "transmission time 3", ..., in each record, from 0:00 to 24:00, so as to correspond to the measurement period of the channel corresponding to each record, based on the time to be written in the "transmission time 1" field. The positioning-timing table generating unit 151 may select a plurality of transmission times at intervals shorter than the measurement period of the channel corresponding to each record, so that the time when the measuring devices 4-1 to 4-4 actually perform the measurement can be detected in detail from the measurement data obtained by the measuring devices 4-1 to 4-4. The positioning-timing table generating unit 151 may select a plurality of transmission times so that all the transmission times are different from each other.

[0050] The positioning timing table generation unit 151 writes the selected multiple transmission times into the items "Transmission time 1", "Transmission time 2", ... in the "Response request signal transmission time" item of the positioning timing table 155 so that the items are in chronological order of "Transmission time 1", "Transmission time 2", ... (step Sa2), and terminates the processing.

[0051] (Response request signal transmission process) 10 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing by the response request signal transmitting unit 153. The response request signal transmitting unit 153 refers to the positioning timing table 155 stored in the positioning timing table storage unit 152, and determines whether or not a record exists in the positioning timing table 155 (step Sb1). When the response request signal transmitting unit 153 determines that a record does not exist in the positioning timing table 155 (step Sb1: No), the response request signal transmitting unit 153 ends the processing.

[0052] On the other hand, if the response request signal transmitting unit 153 determines that a record exists in the positioning timing table 155 (step Sb1: Yes), it continues to refer to the time of the timing unit 18, and when the time of the timing unit 18 matches the time written in any of the items "Transmission time 1", "Transmission time 2", ... of the positioning timing table 155, it reads out the terminal device identification information and address information written in the "Terminal device identification information" item and the "Address information" item of the matching record.

[0053] The response request signal transmitting unit 153 generates a response request signal including the read terminal device identification information and address information. For example, when the terminal device identification information is a MAC address and the address information is an IP address, the response request signal transmitting unit 153 generates, as a response request signal, an ARP (Address Resolution Protocol) request packet for unicast, the packet having the read MAC address as the destination and the IP address included in the header. When there are multiple records whose transmission times match the time of the timer unit 18, the response request signal transmitting unit 153 generates a response request signal for each of the multiple records.

[0054] The response request signal transmitting unit 153 transmits the generated response request signal to the connection destination AP devices 3-1 to 3-3 via the wireless communication unit 17. When transmitting the response request signal, the response request signal transmitting unit 153 outputs address information included in the response request signal to the response signal receiving unit 154 (step Sb2), and then performs the process of step Sb1 again.

[0055] (Response signal reception processing) FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing by the response signal receiving unit 154. When the response request signal generated by the response request signal transmitting unit 153 is a unicast ARP request packet as described above, the response request signal reaches the wireless terminal devices 2-1 and 2-2 corresponding to the destination MAC address of the ARP request packet. The wireless terminal devices 2-1 and 2-2 that receive the ARP request packet generate an ARP response packet including the IP address of the device itself included in the header of the ARP request packet as a response signal. The wireless terminal devices 2-1 and 2-2 transmit the generated response signal to the AP devices 3-1 to 3-3 as the connection destination. When transmitting this response signal, the wireless terminal devices 2-1 and 2-2 radiate radio waves. The measuring devices 4-1 to 4-4, which have a measurement time between the radiation of this radio wave, can measure the radio wave intensity of the radio wave radiated by the wireless terminal devices 2-1 and 2-2. The measurement data obtained by this measurement is accumulated in the measurement data table 95 stored in the storage unit 92 of the server device 9.

[0056] 11. The response signal receiving unit 154 determines whether or not a response signal including address information that matches the received address information has been received via the wireless communication unit 17 (step Sc1). When the response signal is the above-mentioned ARP response packet, the response signal receiving unit 154 determines whether or not a response signal including address information that matches the address information received from the response request signal transmitting unit 153 has been received, depending on whether or not the IP address included in the ARP response packet matches the IP address received from the response request signal transmitting unit 153.

[0057] More specifically, the determination process of step Sc1 is performed, for example, as follows. The response signal receiving unit 154 includes an internal timer, and starts the timer in association with the address information every time it receives address information from the response request signal transmitting unit 153. The time measured by the timer is, for example, the time from when a predetermined ARP request packet is transmitted to when an ARP response packet is received. When the response signal receiving unit 154 receives a response signal including address information that matches the address information received from the response request signal transmitting unit 153 before the timer expires, the response signal receiving unit 154 determines that the response signal has been received for that address information. On the other hand, when the response signal receiving unit 154 does not receive a response signal including address information that matches the address information received from the response request signal transmitting unit 153 before the timer expires, the response signal receiving unit 154 determines that the response signal has not been received.

[0058] When the response signal receiving unit 154 determines that it has received a response signal including address information that matches the address information received from the response request signal transmitting unit 153 (step Sc1: Yes), it ends the process. On the other hand, when the response signal receiving unit 154 determines that it has not received a response signal including address information that matches the address information received from the response request signal transmitting unit 153 (step Sc1: No), it deletes the record corresponding to the address information received from the response request signal transmitting unit 153 from the positioning timing table 155 (step Sc2), and ends the process.

[0059] (Positioning timing selection process) Fig. 12 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing by the measurement data acquisition unit 10, the positioning timing selection unit 11, and the positioning timing table generation unit 151. When the processing of the flowchart shown in Fig. 10 is performed, the measurement devices 4-1 to 4-4 become able to measure the radio waves emitted by the wireless terminal devices 2-1 and 2-2. As a result, the measurement data is accumulated in the measurement data table 95 stored in the storage unit 92 of the server device 9.

[0060] The measurement data acquisition unit 10 periodically refers to the time indicated by the clock unit 18, and arbitrarily determines two points in time that are times before the referenced time. The measurement data acquisition unit 10 determines the later of the two points in time, i.e., the time closer to the referenced time, as the acquisition end point time, and the remaining point in time as the acquisition start point time. The measurement data acquisition unit 10 generates a measurement data request signal that includes the determined acquisition start point time and acquisition end point time. The measurement data acquisition unit 10 transmits the generated measurement data request signal to the server device 9 via the terminal station communication unit 16, the base station device 6, the core network 7, and the Internet network 8 (step Sd1).

[0061] When the transmitting / receiving unit 91 of the server device 9 receives the measurement data request signal, it detects a record from the measurement data stored in the measurement data table 95 of the storage unit 92, in which the time written in the "measurement start time" field is a time after the acquisition start time and the time written in the "measurement end time" field is a time before the acquisition end time. The transmitting / receiving unit 91 reads out the detected record as the measurement data to be acquired, and generates a measurement data transmission signal including the read measurement data. The transmitting / receiving unit 91 may read out data written in all fields of the detected record as measurement data, or may read out the measurement device identification information, channel identification information, measurement start time, and measurement end time written in each of the "measurement device identification information", "channel identification information", "measurement start time", and "measurement end time" fields as measurement data.

[0062] The transmitter / receiver 91 transmits the generated measurement data transmission signal to the positioning timing selection device 1 via the Internet network 8, the core network 7, and the base station device 6. The measurement data acquisition unit 10 receives the measurement data transmission signal via the terminal station communication unit 16.

[0063] The measurement data acquisition unit 10 determines whether the received measurement data transmission signal includes measurement data (step Sd2). If the measurement data acquisition unit 10 determines that the received measurement data transmission signal does not include measurement data (step Sd2: No), the process ends. On the other hand, if the measurement data acquisition unit 10 determines that the received measurement data transmission signal includes measurement data (step Sd2: Yes), the measurement data acquisition unit 10 reads out the measurement data from the measurement data transmission signal. The measurement data acquisition unit 10 outputs the read out measurement data to the positioning timing selection unit 11.

[0064] The positioning timing selection unit 11 takes in the measurement data output by the measurement data acquisition unit 10. The positioning timing selection unit 11 reads out the measurement device identification information, the channel identification information, and information indicating the measurement time, i.e., the measurement start time and the measurement end time, contained in the taken-in measurement data. Based on the read measurement device identification information, the channel identification information, and the information indicating the measurement time, the positioning timing selection unit 11 arranges the measurement times performed by the measurement devices 4-1 to 4-4 in chronological order for each channel, as shown in FIG. 13. In FIG. 13, for example, the measurement device α corresponds to the measurement device 4-1, the measurement device β corresponds to the measurement device 4-2, the measurement device γ corresponds to the measurement device 4-3, and the measurement device δ corresponds to the measurement device 4-4.

[0065] The positioning timing selection unit 11 arbitrarily sets time slots with a fixed time interval, and further arbitrarily sets a measurement period of a fixed time length including a plurality of consecutive time slots. However, the time slot length is at least long enough for the measurement devices 4-1 to 4-4 to measure the radio field intensity of the radio wave. FIG. 13 shows an example in which five time slots are set for each measurement period. The positioning timing selection unit 11 selects the time slot that maximizes the number of measurement devices α to δ for each measurement period.

[0066] For example, in the example shown in FIG. 13, in measurement period 1, there are measurement times for measurement devices α, β, and γ, and only the fifth time slot indicated by reference symbol 31 has the maximum number, so the positioning timing selection unit 11 selects the fifth time slot. In measurement period 2, there are measurement times for measurement devices β, γ, and δ, and the second and third time slots have the maximum number of time slots. When there are multiple candidate time slots, the positioning timing selection unit 11 selects the earliest time slot (the time slot starting at the earliest time). Therefore, for measurement period 2, the positioning timing selection unit 11 selects the second time slot indicated by reference symbol 32.

[0067] 14, there are measurement times for the measurement devices α, β, γ, and δ in the measurement period 1. The time slot with the maximum number is the fifth time slot indicated by reference numeral 33 in which the measurement devices α, β, and δ perform measurements. Therefore, the positioning timing selection unit 11 first selects the fifth time slot. However, the fifth time slot does not include the measurement device γ, whose measurement time exists in the measurement period 1. Therefore, the positioning timing selection unit 11 selects the earliest first time slot indicated by reference numeral 34 from the first and second time slots in which the measurement time of the measurement device γ exists.

[0068] The conditions for selecting a time slot by the positioning timing selection unit 11 described above can be summarized as follows: (1) For each measurement period, a time slot is selected that maximizes the number of measurement devices α to δ that have measurement times in that measurement period. (2) If the measurement devices α to δ that have measurement times in the measurement period are not included in the selected time slot, a time slot that includes the measurement times of the measurement devices α to δ that are not included is selected. (3) If there are multiple candidate time slots in one measurement period, the earliest time slot is selected.

[0069] The positioning timing selection unit 11 determines the time between the start time and the end time of the time slot selected as described above as the positioning time. The positioning timing selection unit 11 assumes that the selected positioning time occurs periodically, expands it from 0:00 to 24:00, and further selects the positioning time for each measurement period (step Sd3).

[0070] The positioning timing selection unit 11 outputs the positioning time selected in each measurement period for each channel to the positioning timing table generation unit 151. The positioning timing table generation unit 151 captures each positioning time in the measurement period for each channel output by the positioning timing selection unit 11. The positioning timing table generation unit 151 rewrites and updates the transmission times written in the items "transmission time 1", "transmission time 2", ... included in the item "response request signal transmission time" of the positioning timing table 155 based on each positioning time in the measurement period for each channel that it has captured (step Sd4), and ends the process.

[0071] For example, assume that the positioning timing selection unit 11 sets the time slot to "10 seconds", the positioning cycle to "50 seconds", and selects the positioning time to be between "0:00:20" and "0:00:30" within the first measurement cycle from "0:00:00" to "0:00:50" for a channel with channel identification information "1". In this case, the positioning timing table generation unit 151 sets the positioning start time, "0:00:20", as the first transmission time, and rewrites the "transmission time 1" item of the record with "channel identification information" of "1" in the positioning timing table 155 to "0:00:20" to update it.

[0072] As time passes, the number of measurement data stored in the measurement data table 95 stored in the storage unit 92 of the server device 9 increases. Therefore, by periodically repeating the flow chart shown in FIG. 12, the accuracy of the transmission time written in the "response request signal transmission time" field of the positioning timing table 155 increases. As a result, the wireless terminal devices 2-1 and 2-2 emit radio waves for positioning during a short period of time separated by a time slot when the number of measurement devices 4-1 to 4-4 performing measurements is as large as possible. As described above, the time length of the time slot is long enough for at least the measurement devices 4-1 to 4-4 to measure the radio wave intensity of the radio waves. Therefore, the transmission time per transmission of the radio waves for positioning can be shortened while maintaining the resolution required for positioning. In addition, since the radio waves for positioning are emitted during a period when the number of measurement devices 4-1 to 4-4 performing measurements is as large as possible, the number of samples of radio wave intensity that can be measured can also be increased. Therefore, the wireless terminal devices 2-1 and 2-2 can improve the frequency and accuracy of updating the positioning by increasing the number of samples of the radio wave intensity while minimizing the emission of radio waves and suppressing battery consumption.

[0073] Moreover, the AP devices 3-1 to 3-3 included in the wireless communication system 100 are, for example, general wireless LAN routers, and are not APs to which a new function for positioning has been added as in the invention described in Patent Document 2. Moreover, the wireless terminal devices 2-1 and 2-2 in the wireless communication system 100 are general wireless terminal devices such as smartphones, and are not wireless communication terminals to which a new function for positioning has been added as in the invention described in Patent Document 1. Therefore, by using the positioning timing selection device 1, it is possible to perform positioning while suppressing battery consumption of the wireless terminal devices without adding a new function for positioning to the wireless terminal devices 2-1 and 2-2 and the AP devices 3-1 to 3-3.

[0074] In the above embodiment, the positioning timing table generating unit 151 refers to the data of the address correspondence list acquired in advance and writes the address information corresponding to the terminal device identification information in the "address information" field of the positioning timing table 155. On the other hand, for example, when an address management server device that stores the terminal identification information and address information of each of the wireless terminal devices 2-1 and 2-2 is provided in any of the AP devices 3-1 to 3-3 or is connected to any of the AP devices 3-1 to 3-3, the positioning timing table generating unit 151 may connect to the address management server device via the wireless communication unit 17 and acquire the terminal identification information and address information of each of the wireless terminal devices 2-1 and 2-2 from the address management server device. Also, when the terminal identification information is a MAC address and the address information is an IP address, the positioning timing table generating unit 151 may perform a network search using the ARP protocol to acquire the terminal identification information and address information of each of the wireless terminal devices 2-1 and 2-2.

[0075] In the above embodiment, the response request signal transmitting unit 153 generates, for example, an ARP request packet for unicast as the response request signal. Alternatively, the response request signal transmitting unit 153 may generate, as the response request signal, an echo request packet of Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) generated by a ping command or the like. When the wireless terminal devices 2-1 and 2-2 receive an ICMP echo request packet, they transmit an ICMP echo response packet to the sender and emit radio waves at that time. The measuring devices 4-1 to 4-4, which have a measurement time between the emissions of the radio waves, can measure the radio wave intensity of the radio waves emitted by the wireless terminal devices 2-1 and 2-2. When the response request signal is an ICMP echo request packet, the response request signal transmitting unit 153 does not need to read out terminal device identification information from the "terminal device identification information" field of the positioning timing table 155, but reads out address information, i.e., an IP address, from the "address information" field and generates an ICMP echo request packet with the read IP address as the destination as the response request signal.

[0076] Also, the response request signal transmitting unit 153 may generate a wireless LAN frame as the response request signal. When the wireless terminal devices 2-1 and 2-2 receive the wireless LAN frame, they transmit an Ack frame as a response signal to the AP devices 3-1 to 3-3 to which they are connected, and radiate radio waves at that time. The measuring devices 4-1 to 4-4, which have a measurement time between the radiation of the radio waves, can measure the radio wave intensity of the radio waves radiated by the wireless terminal devices 2-1 and 2-2. However, the Ack frame does not include the MAC address of the transmission source. Therefore, the measuring devices 4-1 to 4-4 need to include a means for identifying the wireless terminal devices 2-1 and 2-2 that are the radiation sources of the radio waves corresponding to the radio wave intensity measured when the Ack frame is transmitted. As such a means, for example, a means may be used in which the measuring devices 4-1 to 4-4 acquire the frame of the response request signal transmitted by the positioning timing selection device 1 prior to the Ack frame, and acquire the MAC address of the destination of the acquired frame. Furthermore, when a wireless LAN frame is used as the response request signal, the response request signal transmitting unit 153 does not need to read address information from the "address information" field of the positioning timing table 155, but reads terminal device identification information, i.e., the MAC address, from the "terminal device identification information" field to generate a frame. Also, as described above, the Ack frame does not include the MAC address of the sender. Therefore, the response request signal transmitting unit 153 outputs the generated frame in place of the address information to the response signal receiving unit 154. The response signal receiving unit 154 performs the determination process of step Sc1 shown in FIG. 11 based on whether the frame received from the response request signal transmitting unit 153 is an Ack frame corresponding to the frame.

[0077] In the above embodiment, the positioning timing selection device 1 and the wireless terminal devices 2-1 and 2-2 belong to the same wireless LAN subnetwork. However, if the network configuration allows connection to the wireless terminal devices 2-1 and 2-2 from other subnetworks, the positioning timing selection device 1 may belong to other subnetworks.

[0078] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the server device 9 has been described as a cloud server, but the server device 9 may be an on-premises server.

[0079] In the above embodiment, the wireless terminal devices 2-1 and 2-2 using the wireless LAN system are the targets of positioning. However, wireless terminal devices using 5G (Generation), LTE (registered trademark), LPWA (Low Power Wide Area), Bluetooth (registered trademark), and ZigBee (registered trademark) systems may also be the targets of positioning. Furthermore, the measuring devices 4-1 to 4-4 transmit the measured data using a communication means using the LTE (registered trademark). However, the measured data may also be transmitted using a system such as wired and wireless LAN, LPWA, Bluetooth (registered trademark), and ZigBee (registered trademark).

[0080] In the above embodiment, the positioning timing selection unit 11 assumes in step Sd3 that the selected positioning time occurs periodically, extends it from 0:00 to 24:00, and further selects the positioning time for each measurement period. In contrast, the positioning timing selection unit 11 may not assume that the selected positioning time occurs periodically, and may output the positioning time selected for each measurement period for each channel to the positioning timing table generation unit 151 based on the measurement data acquired by the measurement data acquisition unit 10 between the acquisition start time and the acquisition end time. In this case, the positioning timing table generation unit 151 updates a part of the transmission time written in the "response request signal transmission time" field of the positioning timing table 155, i.e., the transmission time included between the acquisition start time and the acquisition end time.

[0081] In the above embodiment, as described with reference to Fig. 14, when a measurement device γ having a measurement time in a measurement period is not included in the selected time slot, the positioning timing selector 17 selects a time slot including the measurement time of the measurement device γ that is not included. On the other hand, when the positioning of the wireless terminal devices 2-1 and 2-2 can be performed based on the radio field intensities measured by the three measurement devices α, β, and δ, the time slot including the measurement time of the measurement device γ that is not included may not be selected as the positioning time.

[0082] In the above embodiment, the positioning timing selection unit 17 predetermines a measurement period without predetermining a time slot. Under this premise, the positioning timing selection unit 17 may select a time in each of the determined measurement periods when the number of the measurement devices 4-1 to 4-4 is the maximum, arbitrarily select a portion of a predetermined time length from each of the selected times, and select the selected portion as the positioning time. Here, the predetermined time length is, for example, a time length sufficient for at least the measurement devices 4-1 to 4-4 to measure the radio field intensity of the radio wave, similar to the time slot.

[0083] In the above embodiment, the positioning timing selection unit 17 does not determine a measurement period but determines a time slot, and for example, predetermines the number of radio wave intensities required for positioning of the wireless terminal devices 2-1 and 2-2. Under this premise, the positioning timing selection unit 17 may select a time slot in which the number of measurement devices 4-1 to 4-4 is equal to or greater than the number of radio wave intensities required for positioning as the positioning time. In addition, if the time slots selected in this way are consecutive and the combination of measurement devices 4-1 to 4-4 in the consecutive time slots is the same, the earliest time slot of the consecutive time slots may be selected as the positioning time.

[0084] In the above embodiment, the positioning timing selection unit 17 does not determine the measurement period and the time slot, but, for example, predetermines the number of radio wave intensities required for positioning of the wireless terminal devices 2-1 and 2-2. Under this premise, the positioning timing selection unit 17 may select a time when the number of the measurement devices 4-1 to 4-4 is equal to or greater than the predetermined number of radio wave intensities required for positioning, arbitrarily select a portion of a predetermined time length from each of the selected times, and select the selected portion as the positioning time. Here, the predetermined time length is, for example, a time length sufficient for at least the measurement devices 4-1 to 4-4 to measure the radio wave intensity of the wireless radio wave, similar to the time slot.

[0085] 15 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of a positioning timing selection device 300 used in place of the positioning timing selection device 1 according to the above embodiment. The positioning timing selection device 300 includes a measurement data acquisition unit 310, a positioning timing selection unit 311, a terminal device data acquisition unit 312, and a positioning start instruction unit 315. The measurement data acquisition unit 310 acquires channel identification information indicating the channel measured by each of a plurality of measurement devices 4-1 to 4-4 that measure the radio wave intensity of the radio wave propagating through the channel used by the wireless terminal devices 2-1 and 2-2 for transmitting the radio wave, and information indicating the measurement time at which the measurement was performed. The positioning timing selection unit 311 selects a time for each channel at which the number of measurement devices 4-1 to 4-4 performing measurement satisfies a predetermined condition that is determined in advance, based on the channel identification information for each of the measurement devices 4-1 to 4-4 acquired by the measurement data acquisition unit 310 and information indicating the measurement time, and selects a positioning time for each channel from each of the selected times. The terminal device data acquisition unit 312 acquires channel identification information indicating a channel used by the wireless terminal devices 2-1 and 2-2 to be positioned. The positioning start instruction unit 315 transmits a response request signal addressed to the wireless terminal devices 2-1 and 2-2 to be positioned at the positioning time selected by the positioning timing selection unit 311 for the channel of the channel identification information acquired by the terminal device data acquisition unit 312.

[0086] The above-mentioned positioning timing selection device 1,300 has a computer system inside. Programs for realizing the functions of the measurement data acquisition unit 10,310, the positioning timing selection unit 11,311, the positioning start instruction unit 15,315, the terminal device data acquisition unit 13,312, and the measurement device data acquisition unit 14 may be recorded in a computer-readable recording medium, and the programs recorded in the recording medium may be read into a computer system and executed to perform the processes described with reference to Figs. 9 to 14. Note that the "computer system" here includes hardware such as an OS and peripheral devices. The "computer system" also includes a WWW system equipped with a homepage providing environment (or display environment). The "computer-readable recording medium" also includes portable media such as a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk, a ROM, a CD-ROM, and a storage device such as a hard disk built into a computer system. Furthermore, the "computer-readable recording medium" also includes a device that holds a program for a certain period of time, such as a volatile memory (RAM) inside a computer system that becomes a server or a client when a program is transmitted via a network such as the Internet or a communication line such as a telephone line.

[0087] The above program may also be transmitted from a computer system in which the program is stored in a storage device or the like to another computer system via a transmission medium, or by transmission waves in the transmission medium. Here, the "transmission medium" that transmits the program refers to a medium that has the function of transmitting information, such as a network (communication network) such as the Internet or a communication line (communication line) such as a telephone line. The above program may also be for realizing part of the above-mentioned functions. Furthermore, the above program may be a so-called difference file (difference program) that can realize the above-mentioned functions in combination with a program already recorded in the computer system.

[0088] Although an embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail above with reference to the drawings, the specific configuration is not limited to this embodiment, and designs that do not deviate from the gist of the present invention are also included.

[0089] A part or all of the above-described embodiments can be described as, but is not limited to, the following supplementary notes.

[0090] (Supplementary Note 1) A positioning timing selection device comprising: a measurement data acquisition means for acquiring channel identification information indicating the channel measured by each of a plurality of measurement devices that measure the radio wave intensity of radio waves propagating through a channel used by a wireless terminal device for transmitting radio waves, and information indicating the measurement time when the measurement was performed; a positioning timing selection means for selecting, for each channel, a time at which a number of the measurement devices performing measurement satisfies a predetermined condition, based on the channel identification information for each of the measurement devices acquired by the measurement data acquisition means and the information indicating the measurement time, and selecting a positioning time for each of the channels from each of the selected times; a terminal device data acquisition means for acquiring the channel identification information indicating the channel used by the wireless terminal device to be positioned; and a positioning start instruction means for transmitting a response request signal addressed to the wireless terminal device to be positioned, at the positioning time selected by the positioning timing selection means, to the channel of the channel identification information acquired by the terminal device data acquisition means.

[0091] (Supplementary Note 2) The positioning timing selection means arbitrarily determines a time interval of a fixed time length and a measurement period of a fixed time length consisting of a plurality of consecutive time intervals, sets the specified condition to a maximum number of the measurement devices performing measurement in each of the measurement periods, selects, for each channel, a time of the time interval in which the number of the measurement devices performing measurement is the maximum based on the channel identification information for each of the measurement devices acquired by the measurement data acquisition means and the measurement time, and selects each of the selected times as the positioning time for each of the measurement periods for each of the channels.

[0092] (Supplementary Note 3) The positioning timing selection device according to Supplementary Note 2, wherein, when there is a measurement device in which the measurement time exists in the measurement period but is not included in the positioning time, the positioning timing selection means further selects as the positioning time a time indicated by the time interval at which the measurement device, within the same measurement period, performs measurement that is not included in the positioning time.

[0093] (Supplementary Note 4) The positioning timing selection device according to Supplementary Note 2 or 3, wherein when selecting the positioning time, if there are multiple time intervals that are candidates for the positioning time, the positioning timing selection means selects the time indicated by the earliest time interval as the positioning time.

[0094] (Supplementary Note 5) The positioning timing selection means of the positioning timing selection device of Supplementary Note 1, wherein the positioning timing selection means arbitrarily determines a measurement period having a fixed time length, defines the specified condition as the maximum number of the measurement devices performing measurement in each of the measurement periods, selects a time in each of the measurement periods at which the number of the measurement devices performing measurement is the maximum for each channel based on the channel identification information for each of the measurement devices acquired by the measurement data acquisition means and the measurement time, arbitrarily selects a portion of a predetermined time length in each of the selected times, and selects each of the selected portions as the positioning time for each of the measurement periods for each of the channels.

[0095] (Supplementary Note 6) The positioning timing selection means of the positioning timing selection device of Supplementary Note 1 arbitrarily determines a time interval of a certain length, sets the specified condition to be equal to or greater than the number of radio wave intensities required for positioning of the wireless terminal device, which is determined according to the accuracy of positioning, and selects, for each channel, based on the channel identification information for each measurement device acquired by the measurement data acquisition means and the measurement time, a time interval for which the number of measurement devices performing measurement is equal to or greater than the number of radio wave intensities required for positioning of the wireless terminal device, which is determined according to the accuracy of positioning, and selects each of the selected times as the positioning time for each measurement period for each of the channels.

[0096] (Supplementary Note 7) The positioning timing selection device described in Supplementary Note 6, wherein when the selected positioning times are consecutive and the combination of the measurement devices in the consecutive positioning times is the same, the positioning timing selection means selects only the earliest positioning time as the positioning time.

[0097] (Appendix 8) The positioning timing selection means sets the specified condition to be equal to or greater than the number of radio wave intensities required for positioning of the wireless terminal device, which is determined according to the positioning accuracy, and selects, for each channel, a time at which the number of the measurement devices performing measurements is equal to or greater than the number of radio wave intensities required for positioning of the wireless terminal device, which is determined according to the positioning accuracy, based on the channel identification information for each of the measurement devices acquired by the measurement data acquisition means and the measurement time, arbitrarily selects a portion of a predetermined time length in each of the selected times, and selects each of the selected portions as the positioning time for each of the measurement periods for each of the channels.

[0098] (Supplementary Note 9) A positioning timing selection device described in any one of Supplementary Note 1 to Supplementary Note 8, wherein the positioning start instruction means excludes the wireless terminal device that is the destination of the response request signal from the positioning target when it does not receive a response signal corresponding to the transmitted response request signal.

[0099] (Supplementary Note 10) A wireless communication system comprising: a wireless terminal device; a plurality of measurement devices that measure radio wave intensities of wireless radio waves propagating through channels used by the wireless terminal device to transmit wireless radio waves; and a positioning timing selection device, wherein the positioning timing selection device comprises: measurement data acquisition means that acquires channel identification information indicating the channel measured by each of the plurality of measurement devices and information indicating the measurement time at which the measurement was performed; positioning timing selection means that selects, for each channel, a time at which a number of the measurement devices performing measurement satisfies a predetermined condition, based on the channel identification information for each of the measurement devices acquired by the measurement data acquisition means and the information indicating the measurement time, and selects a positioning time for each of the channels from each of the selected times; terminal device data acquisition means that acquires the channel identification information indicating the channel used by the wireless terminal device to be positioned; and positioning start instruction means that transmits a response request signal addressed to the wireless terminal device to be positioned, at the positioning time selected by the positioning timing selection means, to the channel of the channel identification information acquired by the terminal device data acquisition means.

[0100] (Supplementary Note 11) A method for selecting positioning timing, comprising: acquiring channel identification information indicating the channel measured by each of a plurality of measurement devices that measure radio wave strength of radio waves propagating through a channel used by a wireless terminal device for transmitting radio waves, and information indicating a measurement time when the measurement was performed; selecting, for each channel, a time at which a number of the measurement devices performing measurement satisfies a predetermined condition in which a predetermined number of the measurement devices is used, based on the acquired channel identification information for each of the measurement devices and information indicating the measurement time; selecting a positioning time for each of the channels from each of the selected times; acquiring the channel identification information indicating the channel used by the wireless terminal device to be positioned; and transmitting a response request signal addressed to the wireless terminal device to be positioned, at the positioning time selected for the channel of the acquired channel identification information.

[0101] (Supplementary Note 12) A recording medium having stored therein a program (positioning timing selection program) for causing a computer to function as: a measurement data acquisition means for acquiring channel identification information indicating the channel measured by each of a plurality of measurement devices that measure the radio wave intensity of radio waves propagating through a channel used by a wireless terminal device for transmitting radio waves, and information indicating the measurement time at which the measurement was performed; a positioning timing selection means for selecting, for each channel, a time at which the number of the measurement devices performing measurement satisfies a predetermined condition that is determined in advance, based on the channel identification information for each of the measurement devices acquired by the measurement data acquisition means and information indicating the measurement time, and selecting a positioning time for each of the channels from each of the selected times; a terminal device data acquisition means for acquiring the channel identification information indicating the channel used by the wireless terminal device to be positioned; and a positioning start instruction means for transmitting a response request signal addressed to the wireless terminal device to be positioned, at the positioning time selected by the positioning timing selection means for the channel of the channel identification information acquired by the terminal device data acquisition means.

[0102] This application claims priority based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2021-042605, filed on March 16, 2021, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety. [Industrial Applicability]

[0103] The present invention can be used in a wireless communication system for determining the position of a wireless terminal device. [Explanation of symbols]

[0104] 1... Positioning timing selection device 10...Measurement data acquisition unit (measurement data acquisition means) 11... Positioning timing selection unit (positioning timing selection means) 12...Settings information acquisition section 13...Terminal device data acquisition unit (terminal device data acquisition means) 14…Measuring device data acquisition section 15... Positioning start instruction unit (positioning start instruction means) 151...positioning timing table generation unit 152...positioning timing table storage unit 153...Response request signal transmission unit 154...Response signal receiving unit 16...Terminal station communication section 17…Radio communication section 18...Timekeeping section

Claims

1. a measurement data acquisition means for acquiring channel identification information indicating the channel measured by each of a plurality of measurement devices that measure the radio wave intensity of a radio wave propagating through a channel used by a wireless terminal device for transmitting a radio wave, and information indicating a measurement time when the measurement was performed; a positioning timing selection means for selecting, for each channel, a time when a number of the measurement devices performing measurement satisfies a predetermined condition based on the channel identification information for each of the measurement devices acquired by the measurement data acquisition means and information indicating the measurement time, and selecting a positioning time for each of the channels from each of the selected times; a terminal device data acquisition means for acquiring the channel identification information indicating the channel used by the wireless terminal device to be positioned; a positioning start instruction means for transmitting a response request signal addressed to the wireless terminal device to be positioned at the positioning time selected by the positioning timing selection means for the channel of the channel identification information acquired by the terminal device data acquisition means; A positioning timing selection device comprising:

2. The positioning timing selection means a time interval of a fixed time length and a measurement period of a fixed time length consisting of a plurality of consecutive time intervals are arbitrarily determined, the predetermined condition is set to a maximum number of the measurement devices performing measurement in each of the measurement periods, and based on the channel identification information for each of the measurement devices acquired by the measurement data acquisition means and the measurement time, a time of the time interval in which the number of the measurement devices performing measurement is the maximum is selected for each of the measurement periods, and each of the selected times is selected as the positioning time for each of the measurement periods for each of the channels.

2. The positioning timing selection device according to claim 1.

3. The positioning timing selection means if there is a measurement device whose measurement time exists in the measurement period but is not included in the positioning time, a time indicated by the time interval in which the measurement device performs a measurement within the same measurement period that is not included in the positioning time is further selected as the positioning time. The positioning timing selection device according to claim 2.

4. The positioning timing selection means when selecting the positioning time, if there are a plurality of time intervals that are candidates for the positioning time, the time indicated by the earliest time interval is selected as the positioning time.

4. The positioning timing selection device according to claim 2 or 3.

5. The positioning timing selection means a measurement period having a fixed time length is arbitrarily determined, the predetermined condition is a maximum number of the measurement devices performing measurement in each of the measurement periods, a time at which the number of the measurement devices performing measurement is maximum is selected for each channel based on the channel identification information for each of the measurement devices acquired by the measurement data acquisition means and the measurement time, a portion of a predetermined time length is arbitrarily selected for each of the selected times, and each of the selected portions is selected as the positioning time for each of the measurement periods for each of the channels; 2. The positioning timing selection device according to claim 1.

6. The positioning timing selection means a time interval of a certain length is arbitrarily determined, the predetermined condition is set to be equal to or greater than the number of radio wave intensities required for positioning of the wireless terminal device, which is determined according to the accuracy of positioning, and based on the channel identification information for each of the measurement devices acquired by the measurement data acquisition means and the measurement time, a time interval is selected for each of the channels such that the number of the measurement devices performing measurement is equal to or greater than the number of radio wave intensities required for positioning of the wireless terminal device, which is determined according to the accuracy of positioning, and each of the selected times is selected as the positioning time for each measurement period for each of the channels.

2. The positioning timing selection device according to claim 1.

7. The positioning timing selection means When the selected positioning times are consecutive, and the combination of the measuring devices in the consecutive positioning times is the same, only the earliest positioning time is set as the positioning time. The positioning timing selection device according to claim 6.

8. A wireless terminal device; a plurality of measuring devices for measuring the radio wave intensity of radio waves propagating through a channel used by the wireless terminal device for transmitting radio waves; A positioning timing selection device, The positioning timing selection device includes: a measurement data acquisition means for acquiring channel identification information indicating the channel measured by each of the plurality of measurement devices and information indicating a measurement time when the measurement was performed; a positioning timing selection means for selecting, for each channel, a time when a number of the measurement devices performing measurement satisfies a predetermined condition based on the channel identification information for each of the measurement devices acquired by the measurement data acquisition means and information indicating the measurement time, and selecting a positioning time for each of the channels from each of the selected times; a terminal device data acquisition means for acquiring the channel identification information indicating the channel used by the wireless terminal device to be positioned; a positioning start instruction means for transmitting a response request signal addressed to the wireless terminal device to be positioned at the positioning time selected by the positioning timing selection means for the channel of the channel identification information acquired by the terminal device data acquisition means; A wireless communication system comprising:

9. acquiring channel identification information indicating the channel measured by each of a plurality of measuring devices that measure the radio wave intensity of the radio wave propagating through a channel used by the radio terminal device for transmitting the radio wave, and information indicating the measurement time when the measurement was performed; selecting, for each channel, a time at which a number of the measurement devices performing measurement satisfies a predetermined condition based on the acquired channel identification information for each of the measurement devices and the information indicating the measurement time; selecting a positioning time for each of said channels from each of the selected times; acquiring the channel identification information indicating the channel used by the wireless terminal device to be positioned; transmitting a response request signal addressed to the wireless terminal device to be positioned during the positioning time selected for the channel of the acquired channel identification information; A positioning timing selection method including the steps of:

10. Computer, a measurement data acquisition means for acquiring channel identification information indicating a channel measured by each of a plurality of measurement devices that measure the radio wave intensity of a radio wave propagating through a channel used by a wireless terminal device for transmitting a radio wave, and information indicating a measurement time when the measurement was performed; a positioning timing selection means for selecting, for each of the channels, a time at which a number of the measurement devices performing measurement satisfies a predetermined condition based on the channel identification information for each of the measurement devices acquired by the measurement data acquisition means and information indicating the measurement time, and selecting a positioning time for each of the channels from each of the selected times; a terminal device data acquisition means for acquiring the channel identification information indicating the channel used by the wireless terminal device to be positioned; a positioning start instruction means for transmitting a response request signal addressed to the wireless terminal device to be positioned at the positioning time selected by the positioning timing selection means for the channel of the channel identification information acquired by the terminal device data acquisition means; A program to function as a

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