Position calculation system and position calculation method

Abstract

To calculate the location of a positioning object utilizing the principle of three point positioning, without the need for installing three fixed communication devices at an individual dwelling unit.SOLUTION: The present invention comprises: a first fixed communication device installed at a predetermined location of a first dwelling unit; a second fixed communication device installed at a predetermined location of a second dwelling unit; a third fixed communication device installed at a predetermined location; and a location calculation unit for calculating the locations of mobile communication devices 13A, 13B. The location calculation unit calculates the locations of the mobile communication devices on the basis of first reception strength that indicates the reception strength of a first reference signal wirelessly communicated between the mobile communication devices and the first fixed communication device, second reception strength that indicates the reception strength of a second reference signal wirelessly communicated between the mobile communication devices and the second fixed communication device, and third reception strength that indicates the reception strength of a third reference signal wirelessly communicated between the mobile communication devices and the third fixed communication device.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The disclosure of this specification relates to a position calculation system and a position calculation method for calculating the position of a mobile communication device within a dwelling unit. [Background technology]

[0002] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2009-238165 discloses a home monitoring system in which a fixed communication device that measures the reception strength of radio waves emitted by a transmitter carried by the resident and a human presence sensor that detects the resident's movements are installed within the dwelling, the position and movements of the resident within the dwelling are estimated based on the reception strength of the radio waves measured by the fixed communication device and the detection signal of the human presence sensor, and the resident is notified of any abnormalities based on the estimation results.

[0003] It has been considered to calculate the position of a target indoors with high accuracy. A three-point positioning method is known as a method for calculating the position of a target indoors such as a dwelling with high accuracy. Calculation of the position of a target indoors using the three-point positioning method is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2017-201240. In the three-point positioning method, the reception strength of a reference signal wirelessly communicated between three fixed communication devices installed indoors and a mobile communication device carried by the target is measured, and the distance between the mobile communication device and each fixed communication device is estimated from the measured reception strength. Since the positions of the fixed communication devices are known, the positions of the mobile communication devices can be calculated based on the estimated distances between the mobile communication device and each fixed communication device. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2009-238165 A [Patent Document 2] JP 2017-201240 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] To calculate the indoor position of a target using the triangulation method, at least three fixed communication devices are required. The installation costs would be high if three fixed communication devices were installed individually in a small private space such as a residence.

[0006] One of the objects of the invention disclosed in this specification is to provide a position calculation system and a position calculation method that can calculate the position of a target object by utilizing the principle of triangular positioning without providing three fixed communication devices in each dwelling unit. Objects of the invention disclosed in this specification other than those described above will become clear by referring to the entire specification. The invention disclosed in this specification may solve the problems grasped from the description of this specification instead of or in addition to the above problems. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] A position calculation system according to one or more aspects of the present invention includes a first fixed communication device installed at a predetermined position in a first dwelling unit, a second fixed communication device installed at a predetermined position in a second dwelling unit, a third fixed communication device arranged at a predetermined position, and a position calculation unit that calculates a position of the mobile communication device. The position calculation unit calculates the position of the mobile communication device based on a first reception strength indicating a reception strength of a first reference signal wirelessly communicated between the mobile communication device and the first fixed communication device, a second reception strength indicating a reception strength of a second reference signal wirelessly communicated between the mobile communication device and the second fixed communication device, and a third reception strength indicating a reception strength of a third reference signal wirelessly communicated between the mobile communication device and the third fixed communication device.

[0008] A position calculation system according to one or more aspects of the present invention includes a selection unit that selects a first user associated with the first dwelling unit as a destination of position information indicating the position of the mobile communications device when the position of the mobile communications device calculated by the position calculation unit is within the first dwelling unit, and selects a second user associated with the second dwelling unit when the position of the mobile communications device is within the second dwelling unit, and a transmission unit that transmits the position information to the first user or the second user depending on the selection by the selection unit.

[0009] In one or more aspects of the present invention, the third fixed communication device is located in a third dwelling unit, and the second fixed communication device is installed at a position away from an imaginary straight line passing through the first fixed communication device and the third fixed communication device.

[0010] A position calculation system according to one or more aspects of the present invention includes a sensor that detects entry from outside to inside the first dwelling unit, and an abnormality notification unit that notifies the first user of the occurrence of an abnormality if the location of the mobile communication device is not detected to be within the first dwelling unit after the sensor detects entry into the first dwelling unit.

[0011] A position calculation method according to one or more aspects of the present invention includes a first collection step of collecting a first reception strength indicating the reception strength of a first reference signal wirelessly communicated between a mobile communication device and a first fixed communication device installed at a predetermined position in a first dwelling unit, a second collection step of collecting a second reception strength indicating the reception strength of a second reference signal wirelessly communicated between the mobile communication device and a second fixed communication device installed at a predetermined position in a second dwelling unit, and a third collection step of collecting a third reception strength indicating the reception strength of a third reference signal wirelessly communicated between the mobile communication device and a third fixed communication device located at a predetermined position. The method includes a position calculation process for calculating a position of the mobile communication device based on the first reception strength, the second reception strength, and the third reception strength; a selection process for selecting a first user associated with the first dwelling unit as a destination of position information indicating the position of the mobile communication device when the position of the mobile communication device calculated by the position calculation unit is within the first dwelling unit, and selecting a second user associated with the second dwelling unit when the position of the mobile communication device is within the second dwelling unit; and a transmission process for transmitting the position information to the first user or the second user depending on the selection in the selection process. Effect of the Invention

[0012] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the position of the object to be located can be calculated by utilizing the principle of triangular positioning without providing three fixed communication devices in each individual dwelling unit. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the arrangement of fixed communication devices in a dwelling unit to which a position calculation system according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied; [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the functions of a position calculation system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 3] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing manager data indicating a manager for each dwelling unit. [Figure 4] 4 is a flowchart showing a process flow of a position calculation method for calculating the position of a mobile communication device. [Diagram 5] 1 is a flowchart showing a process flow of an abnormality notification method for notifying the occurrence of an abnormality using a position calculation system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] 11 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the arrangement of fixed communication devices in a dwelling unit to which a position calculation system according to another embodiment of the present invention is applied; FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0014] Hereinafter, various embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings as appropriate. Note that components common to multiple drawings are given the same reference numerals throughout the multiple drawings. Please note that the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale for the sake of convenience of explanation.

[0015] A position detection system 1 according to one or more embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to Fig. 1 to Fig. 4. The position detection system 1 calculates the position of a mobile communication device based on the reception strength of a reference signal wirelessly communicated between the mobile communication device and three fixed communication devices. Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the arrangement of fixed communication devices in a dwelling to which the position calculation system 1 is applied, Fig. 2 is a diagram explaining the function of the position calculation system 1, Fig. 3 is a diagram showing administrator data used in the position calculation system 1, and Fig. 4 is a flowchart showing the process flow of a position calculation method for calculating the position of a mobile communication device.

[0016] In the illustrated embodiment, it is assumed that a plurality of fixed communication devices are arranged in a building having a plurality of dwelling units. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, the fixed communication devices are arranged in a condominium building including four condominium units A to D. The present invention is also applicable to a condominium building having more or less than four dwelling units. In this specification, for the sake of simplicity, the exclusive portion of a condominium building is called a dwelling unit regardless of its use. The exclusive portion of a condominium building may be used for a store, an office, a warehouse, and other uses in addition to the dwelling unit. In this specification, the term "dwelling unit" refers to the exclusive portion of a condominium building regardless of its use, and includes the exclusive portion used for a dwelling unit, a store, an office, a warehouse, and other uses.

[0017] First, with reference to Fig. 1, a description will be given of a dwelling unit to which the position calculation system 1 is applied and the arrangement of fixed communication devices in the dwelling unit. In the illustrated condominium building, dwelling units A, B, C, and D are lined up in this order along the X-axis direction. Walls are provided between adjacent dwelling units. Specifically, a wall W11 is provided between dwelling units A and B, a wall W12 is provided between dwelling units B and C, and a wall W13 is provided between dwelling units C and D. These walls W11 to W13 provide structural independence for each of the dwelling units A to D.

[0018] In the illustrated embodiment, it is assumed that a resident 10A is present in dwelling unit A, a resident 10B is present in dwelling unit B, and no residents are present in dwelling units C and D. It is also assumed that resident 10A carries a mobile communication device 13A, and resident 10B carries a mobile communication device 13B.

[0019] A fixed communication device is installed in each of the dwelling units A to D. Specifically, the fixed communication device 11A is installed in the dwelling unit A, the fixed communication device 11B is installed in the dwelling unit B, the fixed communication device 11C is installed in the dwelling unit C, and the fixed communication device 11D is installed in the dwelling unit D. The fixed communication devices 11A to 11D can wirelessly communicate reference signals with the mobile communication devices 13A and 13B, respectively. The fixed communication devices 11A to 11D are arranged at predetermined positions in each dwelling unit. In one or more embodiments, the fixed communication devices adjacent to each other in the X-axis direction are arranged at positions different from each other in the Y-axis direction. For example, the fixed communication device 11B adjacent to the fixed communication device 11A in the X-axis direction is arranged at a position different from the fixed communication device 11A in the Y-axis direction. Similarly, the fixed communication device 11C adjacent to the fixed communication device 11B in the X-axis direction is arranged at a position different from the fixed communication device 11B in the Y-axis direction. In this way, the fixed communication device 11B is disposed in a position spaced apart in the Y-axis direction from the imaginary straight line L that passes through the fixed communication device 11A and the fixed communication device 11C. With such an arrangement, it becomes possible to calculate the position of the mobile communication device 13B based on the principle of three-point positioning using the fixed communication devices 11A-11C that are adjacent in the X-axis direction. The positions of the fixed communication devices 11A-11D within each dwelling unit are merely examples, and the fixed communication devices 11A-11D may be disposed in positions different from those shown in the figure.

[0020] Each dwelling unit has an entrance for entering and exiting from the outside. In the illustrated embodiment, the dwelling units A to D have entrances E1 to E4, respectively. Residents and visitors enter the dwelling units A to D through the entrances E1 to E4. Human presence sensors 12A to 12D are installed near the entrances E1 to E4 of the dwelling units A to D, respectively. The human presence sensors 12A to 12D are sensors that detect people and animals present within a detection range. Known human presence sensors can be used as the human presence sensors 12A to 12D. The human presence sensors 12A to 12D may be infrared sensors that detect infrared rays emitted by people and animals. The installation locations of the human presence sensors 12A to 12D are not limited to the vicinity of the entrances E1 to E4. For example, if the dwelling units A to D are provided with windows W1 to W4, respectively, the human presence sensors 12A to 12D may be installed near the windows W1 to W4. The human presence sensors 12A-12D are installed near the entrances E1-E4 and the windows W1-W4 to detect the entry or exit of a person or animal from the outside to the inside of the dwelling units A-D. The human presence sensors 12A-12D are configured to transmit a detection signal to the calculation device 50 when they detect the presence of a person or animal within their detection range.

[0021] Next, the function of the position calculation system 1 will be described with reference to FIG. 2. As shown in the figure, the position calculation system 1 includes a fixed communication device 11, a human presence sensor 12, a mobile communication device 13, a calculation device 50, and a plurality of administrator devices 60. The position calculation system 1 may include components not shown, or may not include some of the components shown. The fixed communication devices 11A to 11D in FIG. 1 are examples of the fixed communication device 11, the human presence sensors 12A to 12D in FIG. 1 are examples of the human presence sensor 12, and the mobile communication devices 13A and 13B in FIG. 1 are examples of the mobile communication device 13. The fixed communication device 11, the human presence sensor 12, the calculation device 50, and the administrator device 60 are connected to each other so as to be able to communicate with each other via, for example, a network 40. The mobile communication device 13 may be connected to the network 40 via the fixed communication device 11 or directly.

[0022] The mobile communication device 13 is a communication device carried by a resident of a residence or another positioning target. The mobile communication device 13 is, for example, a BLE beacon, a Wi-Fi transmitter, or another electronic device. In one or more embodiments, the mobile communication device 13 is configured to wirelessly transmit a reference signal intermittently with a predetermined transmission power. The reference signal wirelessly transmitted from the mobile communication device 13 may include a mobile communication device ID that identifies the mobile communication device 13. The reference signal wirelessly transmitted from the mobile communication device 13 is received by each of the multiple fixed communication devices 11. The radio waves for transmitting the reference signal emitted from the mobile communication device 11 can pass through walls that divide the residence.

[0023] In one or more embodiments of the present invention, each of the fixed communication devices 11 measures the reception strength of a reference signal transmitted from the mobile communication device 13, and generates reception strength information indicating the reception strength of the measured reference signal. The reception strength of the reference signal is, for example, a value obtained by expressing the logarithm of the voltage value of the radio wave transmitting the reference signal received by the antenna in a range of a predetermined integer value. The reception strength of the reference signal is, for example, an LQI value (Link Quality Indicator) or an RSSI value (Received Signal Strength Indication). Each of the fixed communication devices 11 transmits reception strength information indicating the measured reception strength of the reference signal to the calculation device 50. The fixed communication device 11 may transmit to the calculation device 50 a fixed communication device ID for identifying the device itself (the fixed communication device 11) and a mobile communication device ID for identifying the mobile communication device 13 of the communication partner together with reception strength information indicating the reception strength of the reference signal wirelessly transmitted between the fixed communication device 11 and the mobile communication device 13, or in association with the reception strength information.

[0024] In one or more embodiments of the present invention, each of the multiple fixed communication devices 11 may be configured to wirelessly transmit a reference signal intermittently at a predetermined transmission power. Radio waves for transmitting the reference signal transmitted from the fixed communication devices 11 can pass through walls that divide the dwelling units. When the reference signal is wirelessly transmitted by the multiple fixed communication devices 11, the mobile communication device 13 does not need to wirelessly transmit the reference signal. That is, the reference signal is wirelessly transmitted by at least one of the mobile communication device 13 and the multiple fixed communication devices 11. When the reference signal is wirelessly transmitted from the multiple fixed communication devices 11, the mobile communication device 13 measures the reception strength of each of the reference signals transmitted from the multiple fixed communication devices 11 and generates reception strength information indicating the reception strength of the measured reference signal. The mobile communication device 13 transmits reception strength information indicating the measured reception strength of the reference signal to the calculation device 50. The mobile communication device 13 may transmit to the calculation device 50 a mobile communication device ID that identifies the mobile communication device 13 itself and a mobile communication device ID that identifies the fixed communication device 11 with which it communicates, together with or in association with reception strength information indicating the reception strength of a reference signal wirelessly transmitted between the mobile communication device 13 and the fixed communication device 11.

[0025] The human presence sensor 12 is configured to transmit a detection signal to the calculation device 50 when it detects the presence of a person or an animal within its detection range.

[0026] The calculation device 50 includes a processor 51 , a communication I / F 52 , and a storage 53 .

[0027] In one or more embodiments of the present invention, the processor 51 is an arithmetic device that loads an operating system or various programs that realize various functions from the storage 53 or other storage into memory and executes instructions included in the loaded programs. The processor 51 is, for example, a CPU, an MPU, a DSP, a GPU, various other arithmetic devices, or a combination of these. The processor 51 may be realized by an integrated circuit such as an ASIC, a PLD, an FPGA, or an MCU. Although the processor 51 is illustrated as a single component in FIG. 1, the processor 51 may be a collection of multiple physically separate computer processors. In this specification, a program described as being executed by the processor 51 or instructions included in the program may be executed by a single computer processor, or may be executed in a distributed manner by multiple computer processors. In addition, a program executed by the processor 51 or instructions included in the program may be executed by multiple virtual computer processors.

[0028] In one or more embodiments of the present invention, the communication I / F 52 is implemented as hardware, firmware, or communication software such as a TCP / IP driver or a PPP driver, or a combination thereof. The computing device 50 can transmit and receive data to and from other devices (e.g., the fixed communication device 11 and the administrator device 60) via the communication I / F 52.

[0029] In one or more embodiments of the present invention, the storage 53 is a storage device accessed by the processor 51. The storage 53 is, for example, a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a semiconductor memory, or any other storage device capable of storing data. Various programs can be stored in the storage 53. At least a portion of the programs and various data that can be stored in the storage 53 may be stored in a storage device that is physically separate from the computing device 50.

[0030] A description will be given of examples of data stored in the storage 53. In one or more embodiments of the present invention, the storage 53 stores, for example, location data 53a indicating the location of each of the fixed communication devices 11, manager data 53b managing the managers of each of the dwelling units in which the fixed communication devices 11 are installed, and various other data used by the position calculation system 1.

[0031] The location data 53a represents the location of the fixed communication device 11 based on a predetermined location using three-dimensional coordinates. The location of the fixed communication device 11 may be measured by an installer when installing the fixed communication device 11, and the measured location of the fixed communication device 11 may be stored in the storage 53 as the location data 53a.

[0032] In the position calculation system 1 according to one or more embodiments of the present invention, it is assumed that a manager is set for each dwelling unit. The manager for a certain dwelling unit, for example, watches over the residents of the dwelling unit and manages whether any abnormality occurs in the dwelling unit. The manager data 53b is data for managing the manager set for this dwelling unit. FIG. 3 shows an example of the manager data 53b. In the example shown in the figure, the manager data 53b stores a manager identifier for identifying the manager in association with a dwelling unit identifier for identifying the dwelling unit. The dwelling unit identifier is any identifier that can identify the dwelling unit. For example, the dwelling unit number uniquely assigned to each dwelling unit can be used as the dwelling unit identifier. The manager identifier is any identifier that can identify the manager or the manager device 60 used by the manager. When multiple managers are set for one dwelling unit, the manager identifiers of the multiple managers can be stored in association with the dwelling unit identifiers of the dwelling unit. In the following explanation, it is assumed that in the example of Figure 1, Manager A is designated as the manager of dwelling unit A, Manager B is designated as the manager of dwelling unit B, Manager C is designated as the manager of dwelling unit C, and Manager D is designated as the manager of dwelling unit D.

[0033] Next, the functions realized by the processor 51 will be described in more detail. The processor 51 can function as a collection unit 51a, a device selection unit 51b, a position calculation unit 51c, a manager selection unit 51d, a transmission unit 51e, and an abnormality notification unit 51f by executing computer-readable instructions. At least a part of the functions realized by the processor 51 may be realized by a processor other than the processor 51.

[0034] In one or more embodiments of the present invention, the collection unit 51a collects reception strength (e.g., LQI value or RSSI value) of each of a plurality of reference signals wirelessly communicated between a plurality of fixed communication devices 11 and a mobile communication device 13. As described above, reception strength information indicating the reception strength is transmitted from the fixed communication device 11 or the mobile communication device 13 to the calculation device 50. The collection unit 51a collects the reception strength information from the fixed communication device 11 or the mobile communication device 13.

[0035] In one or more embodiments of the present invention, the device selection unit 51b selects three fixed communication devices 11 to be used for positioning the mobile communication device 13 from among the multiple fixed communication devices 11. For example, the device selection unit 51b selects three fixed communication devices 11 in descending order of the reception strength of a reference signal wirelessly transmitted between the mobile communication device 13 and the device selection unit 51b, based on the reception strength information collected by the collection unit 51a.

[0036] In one or more embodiments of the present invention, the position calculation unit 51c reads out the positions of the three fixed communication devices 11 selected by the device selection unit 51b from the storage 53. The position calculation unit 51c also acquires from the collection unit 51a the reception strength information of the three reference signals wirelessly communicated between the three fixed communication devices 11 selected by the device selection unit 51b and the mobile communication device 13. The position calculation unit 51c then calculates the position of the mobile communication device 13 according to the principle of three-point positioning based on the positions of the three selected fixed communication devices 11 and the reception strengths of the three reference signals wirelessly communicated between the three selected fixed communication devices 11 and the mobile communication device 13. The principle and calculation algorithm of three-point positioning are well known, so a detailed description thereof will be omitted. In this specification, the reference signals wirelessly transmitted between the mobile communication device 13 and the three fixed communication devices 11 selected by the device selection unit 51b are referred to as the first reference signal, the second reference signal, and the third reference signal, respectively. Moreover, the reception strengths of the first reference signal, the second reference signal, and the third reference signal are respectively called the first reception strength, the second reception strength, and the third reception strength. According to this usage, the position calculation unit 51c can calculate the position of the mobile communication device 13 based on the first reception strength, the second reception strength, and the third reception strength.

[0037] 1, the collection unit 51a can collect the reception strength of reference signals wirelessly communicated between the mobile communication device 13B and the fixed communication devices 11A to 11D. When the fixed communication devices 11A to 11C are selected by the device selection unit 51b, the position calculation unit 51c can calculate the position of the mobile communication device 13B based on reception strength information indicating the reception strength of each of three reference signals wirelessly communicated between the mobile communication device 13B and each of the fixed communication devices 11A to 11C and the positions of each of the fixed communication devices 11A to 11C.

[0038] In one or more embodiments of the present invention, the manager selection unit 51d determines in which dwelling unit the mobile communication device 13 exists based on, for example, the position of the mobile communication device 13 calculated by the position calculation unit 51c, and selects the manager of the dwelling unit in which the mobile communication device 13 exists as the destination of the location information. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 1, when the position of the mobile communication device 13B is calculated by the position calculation unit 51c, the manager selection unit 51d can determine that the mobile communication device 13B exists in the dwelling unit B. Since the position of the mobile communication device 13B calculated by the position calculation unit 51c can be expressed in three-dimensional coordinates including the XY coordinates of FIG. 1, by measuring in advance the range occupied by the exclusive portion of the dwelling unit B in the XY coordinates, the manager selection unit 51d can determine that the mobile communication device 13B is in the dwelling unit B when the calculated position in the XY coordinates of the mobile communication device 13B is in the exclusive portion of the dwelling unit B. The exclusive portion of the dwelling unit B can also be expressed as a certain area of ​​the XY coordinates. In one or more embodiments of the present invention, the manager selection unit 51d refers to the manager data 53b and selects manager B of dwelling unit B in which mobile communication device 13B exists as the destination of the location information indicating the location of mobile communication device 13B. In the example of Fig. 1, when the location calculation unit 51c calculates the location of mobile communication device 13A, the manager selection unit 51d refers to the manager data 53b and selects manager A of dwelling unit A in which mobile communication device 13A exists as the destination of the location information indicating the location of mobile communication device 13A.

[0039] In one or more embodiments of the present invention, the transmission unit 51e transmits the position information of the mobile communication device 13 calculated by the position calculation unit 51c to the destination of the position information selected by the manager selection unit 51d. For example, when the position of the mobile communication device 13B is calculated by the position calculation unit 51c and the manager B is selected as the destination of the position information by the manager selection unit 51d, the transmission unit 51e transmits the position information of the mobile communication device 13B to the manager B. The position information indicating the position of the mobile communication device 13B is transmitted to, for example, the manager device 60 used by the manager B. The manager device 60 may have a display unit that displays the received position information of the mobile communication device 13B. Based on the position information displayed on the display unit, the manager B can monitor whether any abnormality has occurred in the resident carrying the mobile communication device 13B in the dwelling unit B that he manages. The manager device 60 may have a function of detecting the occurrence of an abnormality based on the position information indicating the position of the mobile communication device 13. For example, when the mobile communication device 13B has not moved for a predetermined period of time or more during a time period when resident B is expected to be active, the administrator device 60 can determine that something is wrong with resident B, and can notify administrator B of the abnormality by sounding or displaying an alarm.

[0040] In one or more embodiments of the present invention, the abnormality notification unit 51f is configured to detect whether an abnormality has occurred in the dwelling unit based on the detection signal from the human presence sensor 12 and the position of the mobile communication device 13 calculated by the position calculation unit 51c, and to notify the manager B of an abnormality detection signal indicating the occurrence of the abnormality when the occurrence of the abnormality is detected. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 1, if the position calculation unit 51c does not detect that the position of the mobile communication device 13B carried by the resident 10B of the dwelling unit B is within the dwelling unit B within a predetermined time (e.g., 5 seconds, 10 seconds, 15 seconds, or other time) after entry into the dwelling unit B is detected based on the detection signal from the human presence sensor 12B, it determines that an abnormality has occurred in the dwelling unit B, and transmits an abnormality detection signal indicating the occurrence of the abnormality to the manager B of the dwelling unit B. When entry into the dwelling unit B is confirmed by the human presence sensor 12B, if the occupant is a resident, the position calculation unit 51c detects that the position of the mobile communication device 13B is within the dwelling unit B after the entry is detected by the human presence sensor 12B. If the location of mobile communication device 13B is not detected to be within dwelling unit B after entry is detected by human presence sensor 12B, this means that a person not carrying mobile communication device 13B has entered the dwelling, and therefore there is a possibility that a suspicious person has entered dwelling unit B. In this case, therefore, abnormality notification unit 51f determines that an abnormality has occurred in dwelling unit B, and transmits an abnormality detection signal indicating the occurrence of the abnormality to manager B of dwelling unit B.

[0041] Next, a method for calculating the position of a positioning target using the position calculation system 1 according to one or more embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to Fig. 4. Here, it is assumed that a resident B carrying a mobile communication device 13B is present in a dwelling unit B as shown in Fig. 1.

[0042] First, in step S11, the reception strength of a reference signal wirelessly communicated between the mobile communication device 13B and a plurality of fixed communication devices including the fixed communication devices 11A to 11D is measured, and reception strength information indicating the measured reception strength is collected. This reception strength information is collected, for example, by the above-mentioned collection unit 51a.

[0043] Next, in step S12, three fixed communication devices 11 are selected from the multiple fixed communication devices 11. The selection of the three fixed communication devices 11 is performed, for example, based on the reception strength information collected by the collection unit 51a. More specifically, the three fixed communication devices 11 are selected in descending order of the reception strength of the reference signal wirelessly transmitted between the mobile communication device 13B and the device 13B. For example, the fixed communication device 11A installed in the dwelling unit A, the fixed communication device 11B installed in the dwelling unit B, and the fixed communication device 11C installed in the dwelling unit C are selected as the three fixed communication devices used for calculating the location. The selection of the three fixed communication devices is performed, for example, by the device selection unit 51b described above.

[0044] Next, in step S13, the position of the mobile communication device 13B is calculated according to the principle of three-point positioning based on the positions of the selected three fixed communication devices 11 and the respective reception strengths of three reference signals wirelessly communicated between the selected three fixed communication devices 11 and the mobile communication device 13. This position calculation is performed, for example, by the above-mentioned position calculation unit 51c.

[0045] Next, in step S14, an administrator is selected as a destination of the location information indicating the location of mobile communication device 13B calculated in step S13. Since mobile communication device 13B is present in dwelling unit B, the location of mobile communication device 13B calculated in step S13 is within dwelling unit B. In this case, with reference to administrator data 53b, administrator B associated with dwelling unit B is selected as a destination of the location information indicating the location of mobile communication device 13B.

[0046] Next, in step S15, location information indicating the location of mobile communication device 13B is transmitted to administrator B selected in step S14.

[0047] In this manner, the position of mobile communication device 13B is calculated using fixed communication device 11B installed in dwelling unit B and fixed communication devices (fixed communication devices 11A and 11C) installed outside dwelling unit B, and position information indicating this calculated position of mobile communication device 13B is transmitted to manager B, who is registered as the manager of dwelling unit B. The positions of mobile communication devices 13 other than mobile communication device 13B can also be calculated using a similar procedure.

[0048] Next, a method for detecting an abnormality occurring in a room using the position calculation system 1 according to one or more embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to Fig. 5. Here, in the example shown in Fig. 1, a method for detecting an intrusion of a suspicious person into dwelling unit B while resident B is absent will be described.

[0049] First, in step S21, it is detected that a person has entered dwelling unit B based on a detection signal from the human presence sensor 12. Next, in step S22, the position of mobile communication device 13B carried by resident B of dwelling unit B is calculated. This position calculation is performed by, for example, position calculation unit 51c.

[0050] Next, based on the position of mobile communication device 13B calculated in step S22, it is determined whether resident B is present in dwelling unit B. The determination of whether resident B is present in dwelling unit B is executed, for example, by abnormality notification unit 51f. Presence may be detected by position detection unit 51c. If it is not detected that the position of mobile communication device 13B is within dwelling unit B (for example, if the position of mobile communication device 13B is not detected at all or if it is detected that mobile communication device 13B is present in a dwelling unit other than dwelling unit B), the process proceeds to step S24. In step S24, it is determined that a suspicious person may have entered dwelling unit B, and an abnormality detection signal indicating the occurrence of an abnormality is transmitted to manager B of dwelling unit B.

[0051] In this manner, an abnormality occurring in the dwelling unit is detected based on the detection signal of the human presence sensor 12 and location information indicating the location of the mobile communication device 13B, and an abnormality detection signal indicating the occurrence of the abnormality is transmitted to manager B of dwelling unit B.

[0052] Next, another example of the arrangement of fixed communication devices will be described with reference to Fig. 6. The example shown in Fig. 6 differs from the example in Fig. 1 in which one fixed communication device is arranged in each dwelling unit in that two fixed communication devices are arranged in each dwelling unit. More specifically, fixed communication devices 11A1 and 11A2 are installed in dwelling unit A, fixed communication devices 11B1 and 11B2 are installed in dwelling unit B, fixed communication devices 11C1 and 11C2 are installed in dwelling unit C, and fixed communication devices 11D1 and 11D2 are installed in dwelling unit D.

[0053] The fixed communication devices 11A1-11D2 arranged in this manner are used to calculate the position of the mobile communication device 13. For example, position information of the mobile communication device 13B of the resident B who is present in the dwelling unit B is calculated according to the principle of three-point positioning based on the reception strength of reference signals wirelessly communicated between the mobile communication device 13B and each of the fixed communication devices 11B1 and 11B2 installed in the dwelling unit B and the fixed communication device 11A arranged in the dwelling unit A.

[0054] According to the example shown in Fig. 6, the fixed communication devices are arranged more densely than in the example shown in Fig. 1, which improves the measurement accuracy of the position of the mobile communication device 13. Even in the case shown in Fig. 6, the number of fixed communication devices arranged in each dwelling unit is less than three.

[0055] Next, the effects of the above-mentioned embodiment will be described. According to one or more of the above-mentioned embodiments of the present invention, the position of the mobile communication device 13 can be calculated using the fixed communication device 11 installed in one dwelling unit as well as the fixed communication device 11 installed in another dwelling unit. For example, the position of the mobile communication device 13B can be calculated using the fixed communication device 11B installed in the dwelling unit B and the fixed communication devices 11A and 11C installed outside the dwelling unit B. Therefore, the position of the mobile communication device 13 can be calculated with high accuracy by the principle of triangular positioning even if three fixed communication devices that wirelessly communicate a reference signal with the mobile communication device 13 are provided in each dwelling unit.

[0056] According to one or more embodiments of the present invention described above, when the mobile communication device 13B is in the dwelling unit B, the location information of the mobile communication device 13B can be transmitted only to the manager B associated with the dwelling unit B, without being transmitted to the manager associated with another dwelling unit (for example, the manager A associated with the dwelling unit A). This makes it possible to protect the privacy of the resident B carrying the mobile communication device B even when the location of the mobile communication device 13B is calculated using the fixed communication devices 11 installed in a plurality of dwelling units. For example, when the resident B of the dwelling unit B carries the mobile communication device 13B, and the manager B registered as the manager of the dwelling unit B is watching over the resident B and monitoring abnormalities in the dwelling unit B, the location information of the resident B is notified only to the manager B, so that it is possible to prevent the notification of the location information to users who are not watching over the resident B or monitoring the dwelling unit B.

[0057] According to one or more of the above-described embodiments of the present invention, the position of the mobile communication device can be calculated based on the principle of three-point positioning by simply installing one fixed communication device 11 in each dwelling unit that wirelessly communicates a reference signal with the mobile communication device 13.

[0058] According to one or more of the above-described embodiments of the present invention, it is possible to detect the occurrence of an abnormality when a suspicious person not carrying a mobile communication device 13 enters a dwelling.

[0059] The dimensions, materials, and arrangements of each component described in the various embodiments above are not limited to those explicitly described in each embodiment, and each component can be modified to have any dimensions, materials, and arrangements that can be included in the scope of the present invention. Also, components not explicitly described in this specification can be added to each of the above-mentioned embodiments, and some of the components described in each embodiment can be omitted. [Explanation of symbols]

[0060] 1 Position calculation system 11 Fixed communication equipment 12 Human Sensor 13 Mobile communication devices 50 Calculation Device 51a Collection Department 51b Device selection section 51c Position calculation section 51d Administrator Selection Division 51e Transmitter 51f Abnormality notification section 60 Administrator device

Claims

1. a first fixed communication device installed at a predetermined location in the first dwelling unit; a second fixed communication device installed at a predetermined location in the second dwelling unit; a third fixed communication device located at a predetermined position; a position calculation unit that calculates a position of the mobile communication device using a three-point positioning method based on a first reception strength indicating a reception strength of a first reference signal wirelessly communicated between the mobile communication device and the first fixed communication device, a second reception strength indicating a reception strength of a second reference signal wirelessly communicated between the mobile communication device and the second fixed communication device, and a third reception strength indicating a reception strength of a third reference signal wirelessly communicated between the mobile communication device and the third fixed communication device; a selection unit that selects, as a transmission destination of location information indicating the location of the mobile communication device, a first user associated with the first dwelling unit when the location of the mobile communication device calculated by the location calculation unit is within the first dwelling unit, and selects a second user associated with the second dwelling unit when the location of the mobile communication device is within the second dwelling unit; a transmission unit that transmits the location information to the first user or the second user in response to a selection by the selection unit; Equipped with determining whether the mobile communication device is present in the first dwelling unit based on a result of the calculation by the position calculation unit; Position calculation system.

2. the third fixed communication device is located in a third dwelling unit; The second fixed communication device is installed at a position away from a virtual straight line passing through the first fixed communication device and the third fixed communication device. The position calculation system according to claim 1 .

3. A sensor that detects entry from the outside to the inside of the first dwelling unit; an abnormality notification unit that notifies the first user of the occurrence of an abnormality when the location of the mobile communication device is not detected to be within the first dwelling unit after the sensor detects entry into the first dwelling unit; The system of claim 1 .

4. a first collection step of collecting first reception strength indicating a reception strength of a first reference signal wirelessly communicated between the mobile communication device and a first fixed communication device installed at a predetermined position in the first dwelling; a second collection step of collecting second reception strength indicating a reception strength of a second reference signal wirelessly communicated between the mobile communication device and a second fixed communication device installed at a predetermined position of the second dwelling; a third collection step of collecting third reception strength indicating a reception strength of a third reference signal wirelessly communicated between the mobile communication device and a third fixed communication device disposed at a predetermined position; a position calculation step of calculating a position of the mobile communication device based on the first reception intensity, the second reception intensity, and the third reception intensity; a selection process for selecting, as a transmission destination of location information indicating the location of the mobile communication device, a first user associated with the first dwelling unit when the location of the mobile communication device calculated in the location calculation process is within the first dwelling unit, and selecting a second user associated with the second dwelling unit when the location of the mobile communication device is within the second dwelling unit; a transmitting step of transmitting the location information to the first user or the second user depending on the selection in the selecting step; A position calculation method comprising:

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