Area determination system, area determination method, and program

Abstract

The present invention improves reliability regarding determination of an area in which a transmitter is located. An area determination system (10) comprises a decision unit, a calculation unit, and a determination unit. The decision unit decides the position of a transmitter (40) on the basis of information about reception intensity of a radio signal (W10) transmitted from the transmitter (40) and received by a receiver (30). The calculation unit calculates, from the result of the decision made by the decision unit during a determination period, a plurality of determination values that each increase or decrease on the basis of an increase or a decrease in the number of times the position of the transmitter (40) is located in each of a plurality of areas of interest. The determination unit determines one of the plurality of areas of interest that has the highest determination value among the plurality of determination values to be an area in which the transmitter (40) is located in the determination period.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure generally relates to an area determination system, an area determination method, and a program for determining an area in which a transmitter is present. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 describes a location information acquisition system. This location information acquisition system is installed in a building or the like. The location information acquisition system includes RFID tags distributed to visitors to the building, multiple tag readers that read ID numbers transmitted from transmitters of the RFID tags, and a radio wave intensity detection unit that detects the intensity of signal radio waves from the transmitters of the RFID tags. The location information acquisition system acquires location information relating to which area of ​​the building a visitor holding an RFID tag is located in, based on the intensity of the radio waves detected by the radio wave intensity detection unit.

[0003] However, the radio signal transmitted from the transmitter (transmitter) of the RFID tag is affected by the surrounding environment and the orientation of the person carrying the transmitter, etc. Therefore, in the location information acquisition system described in Patent Document 1, the radio wave intensity detection unit (receiver) may receive unintended radio signals due to disturbances, and it may not be possible to correctly determine in which area a visitor carrying an RFID tag is located. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2008-309607 A Summary of the Invention

[0005] The present disclosure has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned circumstances, and aims to provide an area determination system, an area determination method, and a program that can improve the reliability of determining the area in which a transmitter exists.

[0006] An area determination system according to an aspect of the present disclosure includes a determination unit, a calculation unit, and a determination unit. A weight calculation unit; The determination unit transmits a wireless signal at a predetermined period. Beacon The location of the transmitter is determined based on information on the reception strength at a receiver of the wireless signal transmitted from the transmitter. The calculation unit calculates a plurality of determination values ​​that increase or decrease based on an increase or decrease in the number of times the location of the transmitter exists in each of a plurality of target areas from the determination results by the determination unit within a determination period. The determination unit determines that the target area with the highest determination value among the plurality of determination values ​​is the area in which the transmitter exists within the determination period. The weight calculation unit calculates weight values ​​for weighting the multiple judgment values ​​for a second judgment period which is the judgment period and follows the first judgment period, based on the multiple judgment values ​​for a first judgment period which is the judgment period. The determination unit is configured to perform a determination regarding an area that the transmitter is present in every predetermined determination period, the determination period being one period of the determination period. The weight calculation unit resets the weight value when the transmitter is absent in all of the plurality of target areas within the determination period.

[0007] An area determination method according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes a determination step, a calculation step, and a determination step. calculating weight values; In the determining step, a wireless signal is transmitted at a predetermined period. Beacon The location of the transmitter is determined based on information on the reception strength at the receiver of the wireless signal transmitted from the transmitter. In the calculation step, a plurality of judgment values ​​that increase or decrease based on the increase or decrease in the number of times the location of the transmitter exists in each of a plurality of target areas are calculated from the determination results by the determination step within a judgment period. In the judgment step, the target area with the highest judgment value among the plurality of target areas is judged to be the area in which the transmitter exists within the judgment period. The step of calculating the weight value calculates, based on the plurality of judgment values ​​for a first judgment period which is the judgment period, the weight value for weighting the plurality of judgment values ​​for a second judgment period which is the judgment period and follows the first judgment period. In the determination step, a determination is made for each predetermined determination period regarding the area in which the transmitter exists, and the determination period is a period corresponding to one cycle of the determination period. In the step of calculating the weight value, the weight value is reset when the transmitter is absent in all of the plurality of target areas within the determination period.

[0008] A program according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is a program for causing one or more processors to execute the above-described area determination method. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an area determination system according to an embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a server in the area determination system. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a target area to be determined in the area determination system. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a flow chart for explaining an example of the operation of the area determination system. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a target area to be determined in the first modified example of the area determination system. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a flow chart for explaining an example of operation in the third modified example of the area determination system. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing another example of the configuration of the server in the third modified example of the area determination system. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] (Embodiment) Hereinafter, an area determination system 10 according to an embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0011] (1) Overview 2, the area determination system 10 according to this embodiment (see FIG. 1) includes a determination unit 22, a calculation unit 23, and a determination unit 24. As an example, it is assumed here that the functions of the determination unit 22, the calculation unit 23, and the determination unit 24 are all provided in a server 20 of the area determination system 10.

[0012] The determination unit 22 determines the position of the transmitter 40 (see FIG. 1) based on information about the reception strength at the receiver 30 (see FIG. 1) of a wireless signal W10 (see FIG. 1) transmitted from the transmitter 40 (see FIG. 1).

[0013] The calculation unit 23 calculates a plurality of judgment values ​​that increase or decrease based on the increase or decrease in the number of times that the position of the transmitter 40 exists in each of a plurality of target areas A1 (see FIG. 3) from the determination result by the determination unit 22 during the judgment period. Specifically, the calculation unit 23 acquires area judgment information indicating which target area A1 the transmitter 40 exists in, with a sampling period shorter than the judgment period, from the determination unit 22. Then, the calculation unit 23 counts the number of times the transmitter 40 exists for each target area A1, and calculates a judgment value that increases or decreases based on the increase or decrease in the number of times. Here, as an example, if the number of times that the transmitter 40 exists in a certain target area A1 during the judgment period is 10, the calculation unit 23 sets the judgment value for that target area A1 to "10". However, the number of times and the judgment value are not necessarily the same numerical value.

[0014] The determination unit 24 determines, among the multiple target areas A1, the target area A1 with the highest determination value among the multiple determination values ​​as the area in which the transmitter 40 is present within the determination period.

[0015] According to this configuration, the determination unit 24 determines that the target area A1 with the highest determination value among the multiple determination values ​​is the area in which the transmitter 40 exists. Therefore, even if the receiver 30 receives an unintended wireless signal due to disturbance and area determination information that does not correctly reflect the actual position of the transmitter 40 is included, the possibility that the determination of the area in which the transmitter 40 exists during the determination period is affected is reduced. As a result, the area determination system 10 has the advantage of being able to improve the reliability of the determination of the area in which the transmitter 40 exists.

[0016] The area determination method according to the present embodiment includes a determination step, a calculation step, and a judgment step. In the determination step, the position of the transmitter 40 is determined based on information on the reception strength of the wireless signal W10 transmitted from the transmitter 40 at the receiver 30. In the calculation step, a plurality of judgment values ​​that increase or decrease based on the increase or decrease in the number of times the position of the transmitter 40 exists in each of the plurality of target areas A1 are calculated from the determination result in the determination step during the judgment period. In the judgment step, the target area A1 with the highest judgment value among the plurality of judgment values ​​is determined to be the area in which the transmitter 40 exists during the judgment period. The area determination method configured in this manner also has the advantage of being able to improve the reliability of the judgment of the area in which the transmitter 40 exists.

[0017] This area determination method is used on a computer system (area determination system 10). That is, this area determination method can also be embodied as a program. The program according to this embodiment is a program for causing one or more processors to execute the area determination method according to this embodiment.

[0018] (2) Details 3, the area determination system 10 of this embodiment is a system for determining whether or not a person 200 carrying a transmitter 40 is present in a target area A1 (spatial region) in a facility 100. In other words, the area determination system 10 has an aspect as a local positioning system (LPS) that identifies the position of the person 200 within the facility 100.

[0019] The area determination system 10 of this embodiment includes a determination unit 24 configured to perform a determination regarding an area in which a transmitter 40 exists for each predetermined determination cycle. In particular, the above-mentioned determination period is a period corresponding to one determination cycle. The determination unit 24 and the determination period will be described in detail later.

[0020] In this embodiment, the facility 100 is an office building as an example. As shown in FIG. 3, the facility 100 includes a plurality of target areas A1. The plurality of target areas A1 include a plurality of (seven in FIG. 3) management regions R1. In other words, the space within the facility 100 is divided into a plurality of management regions R1. For ease of explanation, the seven target areas A1 (management regions R1) may be referred to as areas A10 to A16 below when they are to be distinguished from one another. Here, areas A10 to A15 are conference rooms on a certain floor within the facility 100. Area A16 is a corridor leading to areas A10 to A15.

[0021] The facility 100 is not limited to an office building, and may be a store. The facility 100 is not limited to a non-residential facility, and may be a residential facility such as a detached house or an apartment building (a dwelling unit, common areas), or may be a complex facility in which the lower floors are stores and the middle and upper floors are apartment buildings. The facility 100 may be an entire building, or only one or more specific floors within a building. The facility 100 may include not only a building, but also the building and the site on which the building is located. The facility 100 may be, for example, a factory, a park, a school, a hospital, a hotel, a commercial facility, a nursing home, a movie theater, an art museum, a museum, an amusement facility, a theme park, an airport, a train station, a stadium (e.g., a dome stadium), or an event venue.

[0022] As shown in FIG. 1, the area determination system 10 includes a server 20, a plurality of receivers 30, and a plurality of transmitters 40. The area determination system 10 can communicate with a service providing system 70 through a communication network 60. The communication network 60 may include the Internet. The communication network 60 may be configured not only of a network conforming to a single communication protocol, but also of a plurality of networks conforming to different communication protocols. The communication protocol may be selected from various well-known wired and wireless communication standards. Although simplified in FIG. 1, the communication network 60 may include data communication devices such as a repeater hub, a switching hub, a bridge, a gateway, and a router.

[0023] If necessary, the area determination system 10 can provide the service providing system 70 with the results of the determination as to whether or not a person 200 carrying a transmitter 40 is present in the target area A1 of the facility 100 (presence / absence information of the person 200 in the target area A1 of the facility 100).

[0024] The service providing system 70 (see FIG. 1 ) is a system for providing services to a terminal device 80. The service providing system 70 is capable of communicating with the terminal device 80 via a communication network 60. The service providing system 70 executes a service of presenting various information to the terminal device 80 based on the presence / absence information of a person 200 in the target area A1 of the facility 100 received from the area determination system 10.

[0025] The transmitter 40 (see FIG. 1) is used to identify the position of the person 200. In other words, under the assumption that the person 200 carries the transmitter 40, the position of the transmitter 40 is treated as the position of the person 200. The transmitter 40 has a function of transmitting a wireless signal W10. The transmitter 40 transmits the wireless signal W10 at a predetermined period. The wireless signal W10 may include identification information of the transmitter 40. The identification information is unique information that may be used to distinguish a plurality of transmitters 40 from one another. The identification information is stored, for example, in a memory unit possessed by the transmitter 40. The memory unit is, for example, a non-volatile memory such as an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory).

[0026] In this embodiment, the medium of the wireless signal W10 is radio waves. In particular, the medium of the wireless signal W10 is radio waves suitable for short-distance wireless communication. An example of short-distance wireless communication is Bluetooth (registered trademark) Low Energy. In this case, the identification information is, for example, a Bluetooth (registered trademark) Device Address. The short-distance wireless communication is not limited to Bluetooth (registered trademark) Low Energy, and may be, for example, Wi-Fi (registered trademark). The transmitter 40 has a size and weight that can be carried by the person 200. The transmitter 40 is, for example, a beacon. The beacon wirelessly transmits a wireless signal (beacon signal) called, for example, an advertisement packet at a predetermined time interval and with a predetermined transmission power. The transmitter 40 may be realized by a mobile terminal such as a smartphone, a tablet terminal, or a wearable terminal, or a personal computer.

[0027] The receiver 30 (see FIG. 1) is used to identify the location of the transmitter 40 (i.e., the location of the person 200 carrying the transmitter 40). The receiver 30 has a function of receiving a wireless signal W10 from the transmitter 40. The receiver 30 is also communicably connected to the server 20. That is, the receiver 30 is capable of communicating with the server 20 through a communication network 50. When the receiver 30 receives the wireless signal W10 transmitted from the transmitter 40, the receiver 30 transmits identification information contained in the wireless signal W10 and information on the reception strength of the wireless signal W10 to the server 20 through the communication network 50. The information on the reception strength of the wireless signal W10 is, for example, a received signal strength (RSSI: Received Signal Strength Indicator). The receiver 30 may transmit the RSSI information to the server 20, for example, when the RSSI is equal to or greater than a predetermined value.

[0028] The receiver 30 is installed, for example, in at least one of the multiple target areas A1 (areas A10 to A16) of the facility 100. As in the example of FIG. 3, when the target area A1 is indoors, the receiver 30 may be placed on the ceiling of the target area A1. Multiple receivers 30 may be placed in one target area A1. By placing multiple receivers 30 in one target area A1, it is expected that the accuracy of identifying the position of the transmitter 40 can be improved. The multiple receivers 30 have different identification information from each other. The identification information of the receiver 30 is stored in a non-volatile memory or the like provided in the receiver 30.

[0029] The communication network 50 (see FIG. 1) may include a local area network. The communication network 50 may be configured not only as a network conforming to a single communication protocol, but also as a plurality of networks conforming to different communication protocols. The communication protocol may be, for example, a communication protocol conforming to the Ethernet (registered trademark) standard, or a communication protocol conforming to a standard such as Wi-Fi (registered trademark). Although simplified in FIG. 1, the communication network 50 may include data communication devices such as a repeater hub, a switching hub, a bridge, a gateway, and a router. The communication network 50 may also be a power line communication network using power lines.

[0030] Here, it is assumed that the server 20 is configured from one server device. As shown in Fig. 2, the server 20 includes a first communication unit 201, a second communication unit 202, a storage unit 203, and a processing unit 204. However, the server 20 may be configured from a plurality of server devices, and such a plurality of server devices may form, for example, a cloud (cloud computing).

[0031] The first communication unit 201 is a communication interface. In particular, the first communication unit 201 is a communication interface connectable to the communication network 50, and has a function of performing communication through the communication network 50. This allows the server 20 to communicate with a plurality of receivers 30 (four in FIG. 1) through the communication network 50. The first communication unit 201 receives signals from each receiver 30 via the communication network 50 in the facility 100. The signals received by the first communication unit 201 from each receiver 30 include, for example, the reception strength of the wireless signal W10 received by the receiver 30, the identification information of the receiver 30, the identification information of the transmitter 40 included in the wireless signal W10, and the like.

[0032] The wireless signal W10 transmitted from the transmitter 40 may contain, in addition to the identification information of the transmitter 40, attribute information representing the attributes of the person 200 carrying the transmitter 40. For example, when an employee (person 200) working in an office in the facility 100 carries the transmitter 40, the wireless signal may contain information such as an employee number as attribute information for identifying the employee. In this case, the signal received by the first communication unit 201 from each receiver 30 may contain the attribute information of the person 200.

[0033] The second communication unit 202 is a communication interface. In particular, the second communication unit 202 is a communication interface connectable to the communication network 60 and has a function of communicating through the communication network 60. The second communication unit 202 is capable of communicating with the service providing system 70 through the communication network 60. The communication protocol of the second communication unit 202 may be selected from various well-known wired and wireless communication standards. The second communication unit 202 may be capable of communicating with equipment installed in the facility 100. The equipment is lighting equipment, air conditioning equipment, etc.

[0034] The storage unit 203 is a device for storing information. The storage unit 203 is a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), an EEPROM, or the like. The storage unit 203 has an area for storing determination information used to determine whether the transmitter 40 is present in the target area A1. For example, the determination information includes information on the target area A1, information on the receiver 30, and information on the transmitter 40. The information on the target area A1 is information for identifying the size, shape, and the like of each target area A1. The information on the receiver 30 includes information (identification information) for identifying the receiver 30 and position information of the receiver 30. The position information of the receiver 30 is, for example, coordinates indicating the position of the receiver 30 within the facility 100. The information on the transmitter 40 includes information (identification information) for identifying the transmitter 40.

[0035] The processing unit 204 is configured to control the whole of the server 20, i.e., to control the first communication unit 201, the second communication unit 202, and the storage unit 203. The processing unit 204 can be realized by, for example, a computer system including one or more processors (microprocessors) and one or more memories. That is, the one or more processors execute one or more programs (applications) stored in one or more memories to function as the processing unit 204. Here, the programs are pre-recorded in the memory of the processing unit 204, but may be provided via an electric communication line such as the Internet, or recorded on a non-transitory recording medium such as a memory card.

[0036] The processing unit 204 will now be described in more detail.

[0037] 2, the processing unit 204 includes an acquisition unit 21, a determination unit 22, a calculation unit 23, a judgment unit 24, and a weight calculation unit 25. In other words, the processing unit 204 has a function as the acquisition unit 21, a function as the determination unit 22, a function as the calculation unit 23, a function as the judgment unit 24, and a function as the weight calculation unit 25.

[0038] The acquisition unit 21 is configured to acquire information on the reception strength at the receiver 30 of the wireless signal W10 periodically transmitted from the transmitter 40 at a predetermined cycle. The information on the reception strength is, for example, RSSI, and more specifically, an instantaneous value of RSSI. The predetermined cycle is, for example, 0.1 to 0.5 seconds, and is, for example, 0.3 seconds. Here, the acquisition unit 21 acquires the information on the reception strength received by the server 20 from the receiver 30 at a predetermined sampling cycle. The sampling cycle is set to be longer than the predetermined cycle of the wireless signal W10 transmitted from the transmitter 40. The sampling cycle is, for example, several seconds to several tens of seconds, and is, for example, 6 seconds.

[0039] The determination unit 22 is configured to determine (estimate) the position of the transmitter 40 based on information on the reception strength at the receiver 30 of the wireless signal W10 transmitted from the transmitter 40. Specifically, the determination unit 22 determines the position of the transmitter 40 based on the position information of the receiver 30 and information on the reception strength (RSSI) of the wireless signal W10 acquired at a sampling period. In short, if the sampling period is, for example, six seconds, the determination unit 22 determines the position of the transmitter 40 every six seconds.

[0040] The position information of the receiver 30 is, for example, coordinate information of the receiver 30 within the facility 100. The reception strength at the receiver 30 tends to decrease as the distance between the receiver 30 and the transmitter 40 increases. Therefore, it is possible to estimate the distance from the receiver 30 to the transmitter 40 by the reception strength of the wireless signal W10 at the receiver 30. The determination unit 22 estimates a range in which the transmitter 40 may exist (for example, a circumference centered on the receiver 30) from the position information of the receiver 30 stored in the storage unit 203. That is, the determination unit 22 determines the position (coordinates) of the transmitter 40 within the facility 100 by performing positioning using, for example, the position information of the receiver 30 (for example, coordinate information within the facility 100) and information on the reception strength at the receiver 30 (RSSI).

[0041] In the present embodiment, as an example, the determination unit 22 determines (estimates) the position of the transmitter 40 by three-point positioning. Specifically, the determination unit 22 obtains ranges in which the transmitter 40 may exist from different receivers 30, and determines the position where all the ranges overlap as the position of the transmitter 40. That is, the determination unit 22 determines the position of the transmitter 40 by three-point positioning using, for example, coordinate information of each of the three receivers 30 and information on the reception strength of each of the three receivers 30. In the case of three-point positioning, it is possible to estimate the position (coordinates) of the transmitter 40 with higher accuracy than in the case of one-point positioning. In the case of three-point positioning, it is also possible to estimate the direction in which the transmitter 40 exists relative to the receiver 30. The positioning used to estimate the coordinates of the transmitter 40 is not limited to three-point positioning, and may be, for example, one-point positioning, two-point positioning, or four-point positioning.

[0042] Incidentally, in FIG. 3, each of the multiple "x" marks indicates the position of the transmitter 40 determined by the determination unit 22 based on the position information of the receiver 30 and the information on the reception strength (instantaneous value of RSSI) acquired at a sampling period (here, every 6 seconds). FIG. 3 shows an example including "x" marks where the position of the transmitter 40 may not be correctly determined due to the influence of disturbance. The reception strength of the wireless signal W10 transmitted from the transmitter 40 may vary at the receiver 30 due to the influence of the building environment of the facility 100, the environment around the transmitter 40, and the orientation of the person 200 carrying the transmitter 40. For example, the reception strength may vary due to the presence of walls, ceilings, pillars, doors, etc. of the facility 100 between the transmitter 40 and the receiver 30, the presence of equipment (desks, chairs, office equipment, etc.) in the facility 100, or the presence of the body or clothing of the person 200. Therefore, in FIG. 3, although the person 200 actually entered area A11 and did not leave area A11, and did not enter areas A10 or A12, the positions of some of the transmitters 40 are determined to be at coordinates corresponding to areas A10 and A12.

[0043] The determination unit 22 determines which of the multiple target areas A1 the position (coordinates) of the transmitter 40 determined at the sampling period (here, every 6 seconds) corresponds to, and stores the determination result as area determination information in the storage unit 203. Note that if there is no target area A1 in which the transmitter 40 is located, the determination unit 22 stores area determination information indicating "no corresponding target area" in the storage unit 203.

[0044] The calculation unit 23 is configured to calculate a plurality of judgment values ​​that increase or decrease based on an increase or decrease in the number of times the position of the transmitter 40 exists in each of a plurality of target areas A1 from the determination result (here, area determination information) by the determination unit 22 during the judgment period. That is, the calculation unit 23 acquires area determination information from the determination unit 22 indicating in which target area A1 the transmitter 40 exists during the sampling period.

[0045] Here, the calculation unit 23 has a counter unit 230 (see FIG. 1) that counts the number of times the transmitter 40 exists in each target area A1 during the judgment period. The calculation unit 23 calculates a judgment value based on the number of times counted by the counter unit 230. As an example, the calculation unit 23 sets the number of times the transmitter 40 exists in each target area A1 during the judgment period as the judgment value. In this embodiment, the judgment period is set longer than the sampling period. The judgment period is, for example, in minutes, and is, for example, one minute. Since the sampling period is six seconds here, the calculation unit 23 calculates the judgment value in units of the target area A1 based on ten pieces of area judgment information during one judgment period. The length of the judgment period may be appropriately changed.

[0046] The calculation unit 23 does not necessarily need to use all area determination information (positions of the transmitter 40) within the determination period. For example, if the sampling period is one second, the calculation unit 23 may use area determination information every six seconds (i.e., 10 pieces of area determination information) instead of using 60 pieces of area determination information.

[0047] In FIG. 3, the positions of the transmitter 40 on which the area determination information for ten times used in one determination period, for example, the period from 12:00:00 to 12:00:59, is based are shown as ten "x" marks. Using the example of FIG. 3, the calculation unit 23 sets the determination value to "2" because the transmitter 40 exists in the area A10 two times during the determination period. The calculation unit 23 sets the determination value to "7" because the transmitter 40 exists in the area A11 seven times during the determination period. The calculation unit 23 sets the determination value to "1" because the transmitter 40 exists in the area A12 once during the determination period. The calculation unit 23 sets the determination value to "0" because the transmitter 40 exists in the areas A13 to A16 zero times during the determination period. An example of the result of the determination value calculated by the calculation unit 23 is shown in Table 1 below.

[0048] [Table 1]

[0049] Calculation unit 23 transmits the calculation result (information on judgment values) to judgment unit 24. Processing unit 204 stores information on a plurality of judgment values ​​(seven in the example of Table 1) calculated by calculation unit 23 as history information in storage unit 203 (which may be a memory included in processing unit 204). Processing unit 204 stores information on judgment values ​​corresponding to at least the most recent judgment period in storage unit 203.

[0050] The determination unit 24 determines that the target area A1 with the highest determination value among the multiple (seven in the example of Table 1) determination values ​​is the area in which the transmitter 40 is present during the determination period. Note that, as will be described in detail later, the determination value may include not only the number of times but also a weight value.

[0051] In the example of Table 1, since the judgment value of "7" is the highest, the judgment unit 24 judges that, among areas A10 to A16, area A11 corresponding to the judgment value of "7" is the area in which the transmitter 40 is present during the judgment period. In other words, the judgment unit 24 determines that the person 200 carrying the transmitter 40 is staying in area A11, which is one of the management regions R1, during the period from 12:00:00 to 12:00:59.

[0052] Incidentally, the area determination system 10 of this embodiment has a function of weighting the determination value in the next determination period, thereby further improving the reliability of the area determination. Specifically, the weight calculation unit 25 calculates a "weight value" based on the determination value calculated by the calculation unit 23 for a certain determination period, and adds the "weight value" to the determination value for the determination period following the judgment period. In other words, the weight calculation unit 25 is configured to calculate a weight value for weighting a plurality of determination values ​​for a second determination period, which is the determination period following the first determination period, based on a plurality of determination values ​​for a first determination period, which is the determination period.

[0053] When the area determination system 10 is currently performing area determination for a second determination period, for example, the calculation unit 23 adds the "weight value" calculated by the weight calculation unit 25 for the immediately preceding first determination period to the determination value for the second determination period to calculate a corrected determination value. Hereinafter, the determination value before correction (before weighting) may be referred to as the "first determination value," and the determination value after correction (after weighting) may be referred to as the "second determination value."

[0054] The "weighting" process will be specifically described below with reference to Table 2.

[0055] [Table 2]

[0056] For example, it is assumed that the period from 12:00:00 to 12:00:59 is the first judgment period. As in Table 1, the judgment value for the first judgment period in Table 2 is "2" for area A10, "7" for area A11, "1" for area A12, and all of the judgment values ​​for areas A13 to A16 are "0". "Proportion" in Table 2 is the proportion of the estimated coordinates of the transmitter 40 that exist in that area, and here, as an example, each judgment value is converted into a percentage. "Judgment (result)" in Table 2 is the judgment result of the judgment unit 24, and here, since area A11 is judged to be an area in which the transmitter 40 exists within the first judgment period, the judgment result for area A11 regarding the first judgment period is marked with "◯".

[0057] The weight calculation unit 25 calculates a total value by adding up a plurality of judgment values ​​related to the first judgment period. In this embodiment, the weight calculation unit 25, for example, sums up a plurality of judgment values ​​converted into percentages for the first judgment period. The judgment values ​​of the areas A10 to A16 converted into percentages are "20", "70", "10", "0", "0", "0", and "0", respectively. Furthermore, when summing up a plurality of converted judgment values, the weight calculation unit 25 multiplies the judgment value (here, "70") of the area in which the transmitter 40 is most likely to be present in the first judgment period by an integer (for example, "2") based on the judgment result of the judgment unit 24, and then calculates the total value. In the end, in the example of Table 2, the total value for the first judgment period is 20+70*2+10+0+0+0+0=170.

[0058] The weight calculation unit 25 calculates a plurality of correction values ​​obtained by dividing a plurality of judgment values ​​related to the first judgment period by a total value, as weight values. Specifically, the weight value (correction value) related to the area A10 based on the plurality of judgment values ​​related to the first judgment period is 20 / 170*100 (multiplied by 100 here as an example to show it as a percentage) ≒ 12 (see "next weight value" in Table 2). The weight value (correction value) related to the area A11 based on the plurality of judgment values ​​related to the first judgment period is 140 / 170*100 ≒ 82. The weight value (correction value) related to the area A12 based on the plurality of judgment values ​​related to the first judgment period is 10 / 170*100 ≒ 6. The weight values ​​(correction values) related to the areas A13 to A16 are all 0 (zero). The processing unit 204 stores information on these weight values ​​(correction values) in the storage unit 203 (which may be a memory included in the processing unit 204).

[0059] Then, the calculation unit 23 adds the multiple correction values ​​to the multiple judgment values ​​for the second judgment period. When the area determination system 10 currently performs area determination for a period (second judgment period) from 12:01:00 to 12:01:59, for example, the calculation unit 23 adds the "weight value" stored in the storage unit 203 to the first judgment value for the second judgment period to calculate the second judgment value. In the example of Table 2, the judgment values ​​(first judgment values) of areas A10 to A16 converted into percentages for the period (second judgment period) from 12:01:00 to 12:01:59 are "20", "70", "10", "0", "0", "0", respectively, similar to the first judgment period. The calculation unit 23 adds the weight values ​​"12", "82", "6", "0", "0", "0", and "0", respectively, to these first judgment values. As a result, the weighted judgment values ​​(second judgment values) of areas A10 to A16 are "32", "152", "16", "0", "0", "0", and "0", respectively (see "Correction ratio" in Table 2).

[0060] The determination unit 24 determines that the target area A1 having the highest determination value among the multiple determination values ​​obtained by adding the multiple correction values ​​is the area in which the transmitter 40 exists within the second determination period. In the example of Table 2, the determination unit 24 determines that the area A11 having the highest determination value of "152" among the second determination values ​​is the area in which the transmitter 40 exists within the second determination period. As a result, as with the first determination period, the determination result for area A11 for the second determination period is marked with a "◯" mark.

[0061] In the above example, the weight calculation unit 25 calculates the weight value during the determination process for the first determination period, and the calculated weight value is stored in the storage unit 203 for the next time, but is not limited to this. For example, the weight calculation unit 25 may calculate the weight value from the determination value for the first determination period stored in the storage unit 203 during the determination process for the second determination period.

[0062] The weighting is performed in the same manner for the subsequent judgment periods. To put it simply, the weight calculation unit 25 multiplies the second judgment value (here, "152") of the area in which the transmitter 40 exists during the second judgment period by an integer (for example, "2") based on the judgment result of the judgment unit 24, and then calculates the sum of the second judgment values. In the example of Table 2, the sum=32+304+16+0+0+0+0=352 for the second judgment period. The weighting value for area A10 based on the multiple judgment values ​​for the second judgment period is 32 / 352*100≒9 (see "next weighting value" in Table 2). The weighting value for area A11 based on the multiple judgment values ​​for the second judgment period is 304 / 352*100≒86. The weighting value for area A12 based on the multiple judgment values ​​for the second judgment period is 16 / 352*100≒5. The processing unit 204 stores information on these weight values ​​in the storage unit 203 .

[0063] Then, when judging the area for the next judgment period (the period from 12:02:00 to 12:02:59: referred to as the third judgment period), these weight values ​​are added to the first judgment value to calculate the second judgment value. As a result, for the third judgment period as well, the judgment result for area A11 with the highest judgment value of "156" among the second judgment values ​​is marked with a "◯". Weight calculation unit 25 again calculates the weight value for the next time based on the multiple judgment values ​​for the third judgment period.

[0064] In this embodiment, if the number of times that the location of the transmitter 40 exists in each of the target areas A1 is all 0, the determination unit 24 determines that the transmitter 40 is absent from all of the target areas A1 during the determination period. Here, if all of the area determination information for 10 times during the determination period indicates "no applicable target area," the above-mentioned number of times is all 0.

[0065] Then, the weight calculation unit 25 resets the weight values ​​when the transmitter 40 is absent in all of the target areas A1 during the judgment period. If the above-mentioned number of times during the judgment period is all 0, the weight calculation unit 25 sets all the weight values ​​for the next time related to the areas A10 to A16 in the storage unit 203 to 0 (zero) (resetting the weight values). By resetting the weight values ​​at the timing of absence in this way, it is possible to reduce the possibility that weighting of the judgment value will be unnecessarily repeated.

[0066] (3) Operation An example of the operation of the area determination system 10 will be described below with reference to the flow chart of Fig. 4. Note that the processing order of the operation of the area determination system 10 described below is merely an example and is not particularly limited.

[0067] The transmitter 40 transmits a wireless signal W10 including its own identification information at a predetermined cycle. That is, the transmitter 40 transmits the wireless signal W10 periodically.

[0068] When a person 200 carrying a transmitter 40 approaches a receiver 30 installed in the area to be determined (target area A1), the receiver 30 receives a wireless signal W10 transmitted from the transmitter 40, and if the reception strength is equal to or greater than a predetermined reception strength (e.g., -85 dB), it transmits a signal including identification information of the transmitter 40, identification information of the receiver 30, and information on the reception strength to the server 20.

[0069] The server 20 acquires information on the reception strength at the receiver 30 at a predetermined sampling period by the acquisition unit 21 (step S1).

[0070] The server 20 determines the position (coordinates) of the transmitter 40 based on the reception strength information and the position information (coordinate information) of the receiver 30 in the determination unit 22 (step S2: determination step). Furthermore, the server 20 determines, in the determination unit 22, which of the multiple target areas A1 the area in which the transmitter 40 exists corresponds to, based on the coordinates of the transmitter 40 (step S3). The server 20 stores the determination result as area determination information in the storage unit 203 at each sampling period. The server 20 stores 10 pieces of area determination information in one determination period in the storage unit 203.

[0071] If (the coordinates of) the transmitter 40 are present in any of the target areas A1 during the determination period (step S4: Yes), the server 20 executes a calculation step. That is, the server 20 calculates, in the calculation unit 23, a plurality of first determination values ​​that increase or decrease based on the increase or decrease in the number of times that the position of the transmitter 40 is present in each of the plurality of target areas A1 from the area determination information for 10 times (step S5: calculation step). Here, "the coordinates of the transmitter 40 are present in any of the target areas A1" means that, in FIG. 3, at least one "x" mark is present in any of the target areas A1.

[0072] Furthermore, the server 20 calculates a second judgment value by adding the weight value stored in the storage unit 203 to the first judgment value in the calculation unit 23 (step S6). The server 20 also calculates a weight value to be used in the next judgment period based on the second judgment value in the weight calculation unit 25 (step S7) and stores it in the storage unit 203. The server 20 determines, in the determination unit 24, the target area A1 having the highest second judgment value among the multiple second judgment values ​​as an area in which the transmitter 40 exists within the judgment period (step S8: determination step). Then, the server 20 outputs, for example, presence / absence information of the person 200 including information on the determined area to the service providing system 70 (i.e., outputting "determination area" information: step S9).

[0073] If the coordinates of the transmitter 40 are not in any of the target areas A1 (step S4: No), the server 20 causes the weight calculation unit 25 to reset all weight values ​​stored in the memory unit 203 to zero (step S10). Then, the server 20 outputs presence / absence information of the person 200 indicating, for example, "absent" to the service providing system 70 (step S11). The absence determination may be performed at the timing when the first determination value is calculated. Also, if all the first determination values ​​are "0", all weight values ​​may be reset to zero.

[0074] The server 20 repeats the above-mentioned process, for example, for each determination period.

[0075] [advantage] As described above, in the area determination system 10 of this embodiment, the determination unit 24 determines that the target area A1 with the highest determination value among the multiple determination values ​​is the area in which the transmitter 40 exists. Therefore, even if the receiver 30 receives an unintended wireless signal due to disturbance and the determination result includes area determination information that does not correctly reflect the actual position of the transmitter 40, the possibility of being influenced by the determination of the area in which the transmitter 40 exists is reduced when viewed over the entire determination period. Even if the position (coordinates) of the transmitter 40 is erroneously determined to be within area A10 or area A12 despite the person 200 carrying the transmitter 40 actually staying in area A11, such an erroneous determination is unlikely to be reflected in the final area determination. As a result, there is an advantage in that the reliability of the determination of the area in which the transmitter 40 exists can be improved.

[0076] In particular, in the area determination system 10 of this embodiment, the weight calculation unit 25 calculates weight values ​​for weighting a plurality of determination values ​​for a second determination period following the first determination period, based on a plurality of determination values ​​for the first determination period. Therefore, the reliability of the area determination is further improved with each successive determination period.

[0077] (4) Variations The above embodiment is merely one of various embodiments of the present disclosure. The above embodiment can be modified in various ways depending on the design, etc., as long as the object of the present disclosure can be achieved. In addition, functions similar to those of the area determination system 10 according to the above embodiment may be embodied in an area determination method, a computer program, or a non-transitory recording medium having a computer program recorded thereon.

[0078] Modifications of the above embodiment are listed below. Each modification described below can be applied in appropriate combination with the above embodiment or other modifications. Hereinafter, the above embodiment may be referred to as a "basic example."

[0079] The area determination system 10 in the present disclosure includes a computer system. The computer system is mainly composed of a processor and a memory as hardware. The function of the area determination system 10 in the present disclosure is realized by the processor executing a program recorded in the memory of the computer system. The program may be pre-recorded in the memory of the computer system, may be provided through an electric communication line, or may be provided by recording it in a non-transitory recording medium such as a memory card, an optical disk, or a hard disk drive that can be read by the computer system. The processor of the computer system is composed of one or more electronic circuits including a semiconductor integrated circuit (IC) or a large-scale integrated circuit (LSI). The integrated circuits such as IC or LSI referred to here are called by different names depending on the degree of integration, and include integrated circuits called system LSI, VLSI (Very Large Scale Integration), or ULSI (Ultra Large Scale Integration). Furthermore, a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) that is programmed after the manufacture of the LSI, or a logic device that can reconfigure the connection relationship inside the LSI or the circuit partition inside the LSI, can also be adopted as a processor. The electronic circuits may be integrated in one chip or distributed among multiple chips. The chips may be integrated in one device or distributed among multiple devices. The computer system referred to here includes a microcontroller having one or more processors and one or more memories. Thus, the microcontroller is also composed of one or more electronic circuits including a semiconductor integrated circuit or a large-scale integrated circuit.

[0080] Furthermore, it is not essential that multiple functions in area determination system 10 are concentrated in one housing. The components of area determination system 10 may be distributed across multiple housings. Conversely, multiple functions in area determination system 10 may be concentrated in one housing. Furthermore, at least some of the functions of area determination system 10, for example, some of the functions of area determination system 10, may be realized by the cloud (cloud computing) or the like.

[0081] (4.1) First Modification The area determination system 10 of the first modified example will be described below. However, components that are substantially the same as those in the area determination system 10 of the basic example will be given the same reference numerals, and descriptions thereof may be omitted as appropriate.

[0082] In the basic example, the multiple target areas A1 all included areas A10 to A16 in the management area R1. Here, as shown in Fig. 5, even though a person 200 carrying a transmitter 40 is actually staying in area A11, due to disturbances, the position (coordinates) of the transmitter 40 may be erroneously determined to be not only within area A10 or area A12, but also outside the facility 100, that is, outside the management area R1. In the basic example, areas outside the management area R1 were treated as undefined areas.

[0083] In this modified example, an area that is undefined in the basic example is also considered as one of the target areas A1 and is a non-managed area R2. That is, the multiple target areas A1 include multiple managed areas R1 and a non-managed area R2 (see FIG. 5) that is an area outside the multiple managed areas R1. In the example of FIG. 5, all areas outside the facility 100 are defined as one non-managed area R2 (area A17). There may be multiple non-managed areas R2.

[0084] The non-managed area R2 corresponds to, for example, the space outside the window of a building (facility 100). For example, if the managed area R1 is an area on a high-rise floor, the non-managed area R2 may be an air area where people cannot exist. On the other hand, if the managed area R1 is an area on a low-rise floor such as the first floor, the non-managed area R2 may be a site area extending around the building (facility 100). Also, if the managed area R1 is an area on an underground floor such as the first basement floor, the non-managed area R2 may be an underground area where people cannot exist. Alternatively, the non-managed area R2 may be a space within the building (facility 100), such as a toilet or a staircase. In any case, the non-managed area R2 is an area where the person 200 carrying the transmitter 40 is not expected to be there (or is not managed even if he is there) (depending on the usage form of the transmitter 40), and is a place where the receiver 30 is not installed.

[0085] In this modification, the storage unit 203 also stores information for identifying the size, shape, etc. of the area A17, which is the non-management area R2, as information on the target area A1.

[0086] In this modification, the determining unit 22 determines which of the areas A10 to A17 the position (coordinates) of the transmitter 40 corresponds to, including the area A17, and stores the determination result in the storage unit 203 as area determination information.

[0087] In this modification, the calculation unit 23 counts the number of times that the position (coordinate) of the transmitter 40 exists in the area A17, similarly to the areas A10 to A16 in the basic example, based on the area determination information, and also calculates a determination value for the area A17. In the example of FIG. 5, the determination values ​​for the areas A10 to A17 are "2", "3", "1", "0", "0", "0", "0", and "4", respectively. Therefore, the determination unit 24 determines the area A17, which has the highest determination value "4" among these determination values, as the area in which the transmitter 40 exists within the determination period. Note that since the area A17 is a non-managed area R2, there is a high possibility that the position (coordinate) of the transmitter 40 has been erroneously determined due to the influence of disturbance. The server 20 may output a determination error to the service providing system 70.

[0088] Alternatively, when the judgment value of the non-management area R2 is the highest, the judgment unit 24 may determine the target area A1 having the next highest judgment value as the area in which the transmitter 40 exists within the judgment period. In the example of Fig. 5, the judgment unit 24 may determine the area A11 having the next highest judgment value as the area in which the transmitter 40 exists within the judgment period.

[0089] According to this modification, the reliability of the area determination is further improved by including the non-management area R2 in the target area A1.

[0090] (4.2) Second Modification The following describes a second modified example of the area determination system 10. However, components that are substantially the same as those in the area determination system 10 of the basic example are given the same reference numerals, and descriptions thereof may be omitted as appropriate.

[0091] This modified example differs from the basic example in the process related to weighting, which will be explained below with reference to Table 3.

[0092] [Table 3]

[0093] In this modification, the weight calculation unit 25 calculates a total value by adding up a plurality of judgment values ​​related to the first judgment period, similarly to the basic example. However, in this modification, unlike the basic example, the weight calculation unit 25 calculates a correction value obtained by dividing the highest judgment value among the plurality of judgment values ​​related to the first judgment period by the total value as a weight value. That is, in the example of Table 3, in the period from 12:00:00 to 12:00:59 (first judgment period), a weight value of "82" is calculated only for area A11, which has the highest judgment value. Note that in this modification, the weight calculation unit 25, similarly to the basic example, multiplies the judgment value of area A11 (here, "70") by an integer (e.g., "2") to weight it, and then calculates the total value.

[0094] In this modification, the calculation unit 23 adds a correction value to the judgment value calculated in the second judgment period for the target area A1 that had the highest judgment value in the first judgment period. That is, in the example of Table 3, the calculation unit 23 adds a weight value of "82" to the judgment value of "70" calculated for the period from 12:01:00 to 12:01:59 (second judgment period) for area A11.

[0095] The judgment unit 24 judges that the target area A1 having the highest judgment value among multiple judgment values, including the judgment value to which the correction value has been added, is the area in which the transmitter 40 is located within the second judgment period.

[0096] According to this modification, the weight value is calculated only for the target area A1 with the highest determination value, which reduces the processing load for weighting and further improves the reliability of area determination compared to the basic example.

[0097] (4.3) Third Modification The following describes a third modified example of the area determination system 10. However, components that are substantially the same as those in the area determination system 10 of the basic example are given the same reference numerals, and descriptions thereof may be omitted as appropriate.

[0098] This modified example differs from the basic example in that even if the number of times that the location of the transmitter 40 has been present in each of the multiple target areas A1 is all zero, the area is not immediately treated as being "absent."

[0099] In this modified example, the calculation unit 23 further includes an absence counter. However, here, the counter unit 230 in the basic example also has the function of the absence counter. The absence counter increments an absence value indicating absence when the number of times that the position of the transmitter 40 exists in each of the multiple target areas A1 is all 0. Information on the absence value is stored in the memory unit 203, and the absence counter updates the absence value in the memory unit 203.

[0100] In this modified example, when the absence value becomes equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the determination unit 24 determines that the transmitter 40 is absent in all of the target areas A1 during the determination period. Then, at this timing, the weight calculation unit 25 resets all weight values ​​stored in the storage unit 203 to zero. In short, the determination unit 24 gives a grace period for determining absence, and determines that the person is "absent" when the determination period during which the above-mentioned counts are all 0 occurs a predetermined number of times in succession.

[0101] An operation example of this modified example will be described below with reference to the flow chart of Fig. 6. Note that steps S21 to S29 in Fig. 6 are substantially the same as steps S1 to S9 in Fig. 4 described in the basic example, so the following description will focus mainly on steps S30 to S33.

[0102] If the coordinates of the transmitter 40 are not present in any of the target areas A1 (step S24: No), the server 20 increments the absence value, for example, by "1" in the counter unit 230 of the calculation unit 23 (step S30). The initial value of the absence value is, for example, 0 (zero). Note that the absence value is returned to its initial value when the determination in step S24 is "Yes."

[0103] Here, if the absence value is equal to or greater than a predetermined value (e.g., "3") (step S31: Yes), the server 20 "confirms" that the transmitter 40 is absent at that time, and the weight calculation unit 25 resets all weight values ​​stored in the storage unit 203 to zero (step S32). Then, the server 20 outputs presence / absence information of the person 200 indicating, for example, "absent" to the service providing system 70 (step S33).

[0104] On the other hand, if the absence value is less than the predetermined value (step S31: No), the server 20 calculates the first judgment value and the second judgment value, calculates the weight value for the next time, performs the area judgment for the judgment period, and outputs the "judgment area" information (steps S25 to S29) in the same manner as in the basic example. Note that the absence judgment (step S31) may be performed after the first judgment value is calculated.

[0105] When the process proceeds to step S25 via "step S31: No", the first judgment values ​​are all "0". However, since the previous weight value is carried over to step S26, even if the absence value in the storage unit 203 is 1 or more, the second judgment values ​​do not necessarily become all "0" until the weight value is reset.

[0106] According to this modification, the reliability of the absence determination of the transmitter 40 is further improved compared to the basic example. In this modification, the counter unit 230 also serves as an absence counter, but this is not limited thereto, and the calculation unit 23 may include an absence counter 240 in addition to the counter unit 230 as shown in FIG.

[0107] (4.4) Other Modifications In the basic example, the area determination system 10 includes the weight calculation unit 25, but the weight calculation unit 25 may be omitted in the area determination system 10.

[0108] The area determination system 10 may have a presentation unit that presents at least one of auditory information and visual information of the result of the area determination regarding the transmitter 40. Examples of the presentation unit include a speaker and a display.

[0109] The area determination system 10 may determine two or more of the areas A10-A16 of the facility 100 as the target area A1. That is, the area determination system 10 may determine whether or not a transmitter 40 exists in each of the target areas A1. In the example of FIG. 3, the areas A13-A15 may be collectively determined as one target area A1. That is, the target area A1 may include multiple separate spaces rather than a single separate space. In this manner, the target area A1 may be set appropriately depending on the nature and shape of the facility 100.

[0110] (5) Summary As described above, the area determination system (10) according to the first aspect includes a determination unit (22), a calculation unit (23), and a determination unit (24). The determination unit (22) determines the position of the transmitter (40) based on information on the reception strength of the wireless signal (W10) transmitted from the transmitter (40) at the receiver (30). The calculation unit (23) calculates a plurality of determination values ​​that increase or decrease based on an increase or decrease in the number of times the position of the transmitter (40) exists in each of a plurality of target areas (A1) from the determination result by the determination unit (22) within the determination period. The determination unit (24) determines the target area (A1) with the highest determination value among the plurality of determination values ​​as the area in which the transmitter (40) exists within the determination period.

[0111] According to this aspect, the determination unit (24) determines that the target area (A1) having the highest determination value among the multiple determination values ​​is the area in which the transmitter (40) exists, thereby improving the reliability of the determination of the area in which the transmitter (40) exists.

[0112] In the area determination system (10) according to the second aspect, in the first aspect, the determination unit (24) is configured to perform a determination regarding the area in which the transmitter (40) exists for each predetermined determination period. The determination period is a period corresponding to one determination period.

[0113] According to this embodiment, highly reliable area determination can be easily realized periodically.

[0114] The area determination system (10) according to the third aspect is the second aspect, further comprising a weight calculation unit (25). The weight calculation unit (25) calculates a weight value for weighting a plurality of determination values ​​for a second determination period which is a determination period and follows the first determination period, based on a plurality of determination values ​​for a first determination period which is a determination period.

[0115] According to this aspect, the reliability of the area determination is further improved each time the area determination is repeated within the determination period.

[0116] In the third aspect of the area determination system (10) according to the fourth aspect, the weight calculation unit (25) calculates a total value by adding up a plurality of determination values ​​for a first determination period. The weight calculation unit (25) calculates a plurality of correction values ​​by dividing the plurality of determination values ​​for the first determination period by the total value, as weight values. The calculation unit (23) adds the plurality of correction values ​​to the plurality of determination values ​​for the second determination period, respectively. The determination unit (24) determines, among the plurality of target areas (A1), the target area (A1) having the highest determination value among the plurality of determination values ​​to which the plurality of correction values ​​have been added, as an area in which the transmitter (40) is present within the second determination period.

[0117] According to this aspect, the reliability of the area determination is further improved.

[0118] In the third aspect of the area determination system (10) according to the fifth aspect, the weight calculation unit (25) calculates a total value by adding up a plurality of determination values ​​for the first determination period. The weight calculation unit (25) calculates a correction value by dividing the highest determination value among the plurality of determination values ​​for the first determination period by the total value as the weight value. The calculation unit (23) adds the correction value to the determination value calculated in the second determination period for the target area (A1) having the highest determination value in the first determination period among the plurality of target areas (A1). The determination unit (24) determines that the target area (A1) having the highest determination value among the plurality of determination values ​​including the determination value to which the correction value has been added, among the plurality of target areas (A1), is an area in which the transmitter (40) is present within the second determination period.

[0119] According to this aspect, the processing load for weighting is reduced, and the reliability of the area determination is further improved.

[0120] With respect to the area determination system (10) according to the sixth aspect, in any one of the third to fifth aspects, the weight calculation unit (25) resets the weight value when the transmitter (40) is absent in all of the multiple target areas (A1) within the determination period.

[0121] According to this embodiment, the possibility that weighting will be unnecessarily repeated can be reduced.

[0122] With respect to the area determination system (10) of the seventh aspect, in any one of the first to sixth aspects, the multiple target areas (A1) include multiple management areas (R1) and a non-management area (R2) that is an area outside the multiple management areas (R1).

[0123] According to this aspect, by including the non-management area (R2) in the target area (A1), the reliability of the area determination is further improved.

[0124] With respect to the area determination system (10) according to the eighth aspect, in any one of the first to seventh aspects, if the number of times that the position of the transmitter (40) has been present in each of the multiple target areas (A1) is zero, the determination unit (24) determines that the transmitter (40) is absent from all of the multiple target areas (A1) during the determination period.

[0125] According to this embodiment, the reliability of the absence determination of the transmitter (40) is improved.

[0126] With respect to the area determination system (10) according to the ninth aspect, in any one of the first to seventh aspects, the calculation unit (23) has an absence counter (counter unit 230). The absence counter increments an absence value indicating absence when the number of times the position of the transmitter (40) has been present in each of the multiple target areas (A1) is zero. The determination unit (24) determines that the transmitter (40) is absent from all of the multiple target areas (A1) during the determination period when the absence value becomes equal to or greater than a predetermined value.

[0127] According to this embodiment, the reliability of the absence determination of the transmitter (40) is further improved.

[0128] The area determination method according to the tenth aspect includes a determination step, a calculation step, and a judgment step. In the determination step, the position of the transmitter (40) is determined based on information on the reception strength of a wireless signal (W10) transmitted from the transmitter (40) at the receiver (30). In the calculation step, a plurality of judgment values ​​that increase or decrease based on an increase or decrease in the number of times the position of the transmitter (40) exists in each of a plurality of target areas (A1) are calculated from the determination result in the determination step during the judgment period. In the judgment step, the target area (A1) with the highest judgment value among the plurality of judgment values ​​is determined to be the area in which the transmitter (40) exists during the judgment period.

[0129] According to this aspect, it is possible to provide an area determination method that can improve the reliability of determining the area in which the transmitter (40) exists.

[0130] A program according to an eleventh aspect is a program for causing one or more processors to execute the area determination method according to the tenth aspect.

[0131] According to this embodiment, it is possible to provide a function that can improve the reliability of determining the area in which the transmitter (40) is present.

[0132] The configurations according to the second to ninth aspects are not essential components of the area determination system (10) and may be omitted as appropriate. [Explanation of symbols]

[0133] 10 Area Judgment System 22 Decision Section 23 Calculation section 230 Counter section (absence counter) 24 Judgment section 25 Weight calculation unit 30 Receiver 40 Transmitter A1 Target area R1 management area R2 unmanaged area W10 wireless signal

Claims

1. a determination unit that determines a position of a transmitter based on information on a reception strength of a radio signal transmitted from a transmitter that is a beacon and transmits the radio signal at a predetermined period, at a receiver; a calculation unit that calculates a plurality of judgment values ​​that increase or decrease based on an increase or decrease in the number of times the location of the transmitter is present in each of a plurality of target areas from a determination result by the determination unit within a determination period; a determination unit that determines, among the plurality of target areas, a target area having the highest determination value among the plurality of determination values ​​as an area in which the transmitter is present during the determination period; a weight calculation unit that calculates weight values ​​for weighting the plurality of judgment values ​​for a second judgment period that is the judgment period and is subsequent to the first judgment period, based on the plurality of judgment values ​​for a first judgment period that is the judgment period; Equipped with the determination unit is configured to perform a determination regarding an area in which the transmitter exists at each predetermined determination period, the determination period is a period corresponding to one determination cycle, The weight calculation unit resets the weight value when the transmitter is absent in all of the plurality of target areas during the determination period. Area determination system.

2. The weight calculation unit: calculating a sum of the plurality of determination values ​​for the first determination time period; calculating a plurality of correction values ​​by dividing the plurality of judgment values ​​related to the first judgment period by the sum value, respectively, as the weight values; the calculation unit adds the correction values ​​to the judgment values ​​related to the second judgment period, respectively; the determination unit determines, among the plurality of target areas, a target area having the highest determination value among the plurality of determination values ​​to which the plurality of correction values ​​are added, as an area in which the transmitter is present within the second determination period. The area determination system according to claim 1 .

3. The weight calculation unit: calculating a sum of the plurality of determination values ​​for the first determination period; calculating a correction value obtained by dividing the highest judgment value among the plurality of judgment values ​​related to the first judgment period by the sum value as the weight value; the calculation unit adds the correction value to a judgment value calculated in the second judgment period for a target area having the highest judgment value in the first judgment period among the plurality of target areas; the determination unit determines, among the plurality of target areas, a target area having the highest determination value among the plurality of determination values ​​including the determination value to which the correction value has been added, as an area in which the transmitter is present within the second determination period. The area determination system according to claim 1 .

4. The plurality of target areas include a plurality of management areas and a non-management area that is an area outside the plurality of management areas. The area determination system according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

5. The determination unit determines that the transmitter is absent from all of the plurality of target areas during the determination period when the number of times the transmitter is present in each of the plurality of target areas is zero. The area determination system according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

6. The calculation unit has an absence counter that increases an absence value indicating absence when the number of times that the location of the transmitter is present in each of the plurality of target areas is zero, The determination unit determines that the transmitter is absent in all of the plurality of target areas during the determination period when the absence value becomes equal to or greater than a predetermined value. The area determination system according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

7. A determination step of determining a position of a transmitter, which is a beacon that transmits a radio signal at a predetermined period, based on information on the reception strength of the radio signal at a receiver, the radio signal being transmitted from the transmitter; a calculation step of calculating a plurality of judgment values ​​that increase or decrease based on an increase or decrease in the number of times the location of the transmitter is present in each of a plurality of target areas from the determination result in the determination step within a judgment period; a determination step of determining, among the plurality of target areas, a target area having the highest determination value among the plurality of determination values ​​as an area in which the transmitter is present during the determination period; calculating a weight value for weighting the plurality of judgment values ​​for a second judgment period which is the judgment period and is subsequent to the first judgment period, based on the plurality of judgment values ​​for a first judgment period which is the judgment period; Including, In the determination step, a determination is made regarding an area in which the transmitter is present at each predetermined determination period; the determination period is a period corresponding to one determination cycle, In the step of calculating the weight value, when the transmitter is absent in all of the plurality of target areas within the determination period, the weight value is reset. Area determination method.

8. A program for causing one or more processors to execute the area determination method described in claim 7.

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