System and method for supporting post-shipment product management

Abstract

To provide a product management support system and product management support method which support a manager to accurately estimate a user of the product after shipment on the basis of a collected position data set.SOLUTION: A system includes: products 11; a product management support system 13 which manages these products 11; and a manager terminal 12 which communicates with the product management support system 13. The product management support system 13 includes an interface device 131, a storage device 132, and a processor 133 connected to these devices, performs a process in response to a request from the manager terminal 12, and provides information being the result of the process.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention generally relates to a technology for supporting the management of products after they are shipped. [Background technology]

[0002] It is known that a server system collects operational data from a product for managing the product after it is shipped (for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-121052 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In general, to manage a product after it has been shipped, information (e.g., user name) about the user of the product (e.g., owner, lender, or borrower) is registered in a server system, which allows the user of the product to be identified and appropriate services (e.g., maintenance services) to be provided to the identified user.

[0005] However, information about users of products after they are shipped is not necessarily actively registered.

[0006] Furthermore, the destination of a product is not necessarily the user of the product. For example, an entity may purchase many products from a product shipper and manage them as inventory, and then sell the products to various customers. A product used by a customer may be sold to another party as a second-hand product. In such cases, the user of the product may change after information about the user is registered, and information about the user may not necessarily be registered in the server system by the user to whom the product is ultimately sold.

[0007] For these reasons, some products can be difficult to properly manage.

[0008] One way to solve this problem is for a server system to collect location data representing the location of a product from a product equipped with a positioning function, and then the server system can estimate the user of the product based on the product location represented by the location data set.

[0009] However, the accuracy of the determined position is not necessarily high.

[0010] Specifically, for example, positioning can be divided into stand-alone positioning and base station positioning. Stand-alone positioning is Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) positioning based on signals from satellites (e.g., Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites). Base station positioning is positioning based on wireless communication with a base station. Stand-alone positioning has high accuracy, but is likely to fail (e.g., low accuracy or no positioning possible) in environments where satellite signals (signals from satellites) cannot be received well (e.g., indoors or underground). On the other hand, base station positioning is possible if the product is within the communication area of a base station, but the accuracy of base station positioning is lower than that of stand-alone positioning. Note that the "base station" referred to here refers to a base station in a carrier network, but is not limited to such a base station (e.g., a base station may also be an access point of a wireless local area network (LAN)). Furthermore, "base station positioning" is, for example, Assisted-GPS (A-GPS).

[0011] The accuracy of point positioning also varies depending on the number of satellites that are the basis for the point positioning. This is true not only for point positioning but also for other types of positioning based on signals from satellites. [Means for solving the problem]

[0012] The system receives a first location data set representing a first positioning location of a shipped product at a first frequency, and receives a second location data set representing a second positioning location of the product at a second frequency. The system displays at least one of n first location display objects representing n first locations based on the N first location data sets and m second location display objects representing m second locations based on the M second location data sets on a map. The n first location display objects and the m second location display objects have different display modes. The first positioning location and the second positioning location are either (A) or (B) below. (A) The first positioning position is a position determined by stand-alone positioning, which is GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) positioning based on signals from satellites, and the second positioning position is a position determined by base station positioning, which is positioning based on wireless communication with a base station. (B) Both the first positioning position and the second positioning position are positions determined by positioning based on signals from satellites, but the number of satellites used as the basis for positioning of the first positioning position is different from the number of satellites used as the basis for positioning of the second positioning position. [Effects of the Invention]

[0013] According to the present invention, it is possible to assist a manager in accurately estimating the users of a product after it has been shipped based on the collected location data set. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0014] [Figure 1] 1 shows an example of the overall configuration of a system according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] 1 shows an example of a functional configuration of a product and a product management support system. [Figure 3] 10 shows an example of the configuration of stand-alone positioning data. [Figure 4] 10 shows an example of the configuration of base station positioning data. [Figure 5] 1 shows an example of the configuration of operational data. [Figure 6]1 shows an example of the configuration of product management data. [Figure 7] An example of the overall flow of processing performed on a shipped product 11 is shown below. [Figure 8] 10 shows an example of the flow of a point positioning process. [Figure 9] 10 shows an example of the flow of a base station positioning process. [Figure 10] 10 shows an example of the flow of an operating data set transmission process. [Figure 11] 10 shows an example of the flow of a product management support process. [Figure 12] An example of a product location screen is shown. [Figure 13] 10 shows another example of a product location screen. [Figure 14] 10 shows an example of the flow of an operation optimization process. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0015] In the following description, an "interface apparatus" may refer to one or more interface devices, which may be at least one of the following: One or more I / O (Input / Output) interface devices. The I / O (Input / Output) interface devices are interface devices for at least one of the I / O device and a remote display computer. The I / O interface device for the display computer may be a communications interface device. The at least one I / O device may be a user interface device, for example, either an input device such as a keyboard and a pointing device, or an output device such as a display device. One or more communication interface devices. The one or more communication interface devices may be one or more homogeneous communication interface devices (e.g., one or more NICs (Network Interface Cards)) or two or more heterogeneous communication interface devices (e.g., an NIC and an HBA (Host Bus Adapter)).

[0016] In the following description, "memory" refers to one or more memory devices, which are an example of one or more storage devices, and may typically be a primary storage device. At least one memory device in the memory may be a volatile memory device or a non-volatile memory device.

[0017] In the following description, a "persistent storage device" may refer to one or more persistent storage devices, which are an example of one or more storage devices. A persistent storage device may typically be a non-volatile storage device (e.g., an auxiliary storage device), and more specifically, may be, for example, a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), a non-volatile memory express (NVMe) drive, or a storage class memory (SCM).

[0018] In the following description, the term "storage device" may refer to at least one of memory and persistent storage device.

[0019] Furthermore, in the following description, a "processor" may refer to one or more processor devices. The at least one processor device may typically be a microprocessor device such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), but may also be another type of processor device such as a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit). The at least one processor device may be a single-core or multi-core. The at least one processor device may also be a processor core. The at least one processor device may also be a processor device in a broader sense, such as a circuit that is a collection of gate arrays written in a hardware description language that performs some or all of the processing (for example, an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), a CPLD (Complex Programmable Logic Device), or an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit)).

[0020] Furthermore, in the following description, functions may be described using the expression "yyy unit." However, the functions may be realized by one or more computer programs executed by a processor, by one or more hardware circuits (e.g., FPGAs or ASICs), or by a combination thereof. When a function is realized by a program executed by a processor, the specified processing is performed using a storage device and / or an interface device, etc., as appropriate, and therefore the function may be considered to be at least a part of the processor. Processing described using a function as the subject may be processing performed by a processor or a device having the processor. A program may be installed from a program source. The program source may be, for example, a computer from which the program is distributed or a computer-readable recording medium (e.g., a non-transitory recording medium). The description of each function is merely an example; multiple functions may be combined into one function, or one function may be divided into multiple functions.

[0021] In the following description, when elements of the same type are described without distinction, common reference symbols are used, and when elements of the same type are described with distinction, reference symbols are used.

[0022] In the following description, a "dataset" is a logical block of electronic data as seen from a program such as an application program, and may be, for example, a record, a file, a key-value pair, a tuple, or the like.

[0023] An embodiment of the present invention will be described below. In the following embodiment, a first position is a position determined by point positioning, which is Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) positioning based on signals from satellites, and a second position is a position determined by base station positioning, which is positioning based on wireless communication with a base station. In the following embodiment, GPS satellites are used as satellites, but satellites other than GPS satellites may be used for positioning.

[0024] FIG. 1 shows an example of the overall configuration of a system according to an embodiment.

[0025] There are multiple (or one) products 11 that have been shipped, a product management support system 13 that manages the products 11, and an administrator terminal 12 that communicates with the product management support system 13. In this embodiment, the product 11 may be an industrial machine such as a compressor, but the managed product 11 may be a device other than an industrial machine (for example, a device that requires power to be turned on in order to operate), or may be a product other than a device.

[0026] The product 11 includes a driving object 111, a power supply 112, a GPS module 113, a group of sensors 114, an interface device 115, a storage device 116, and a processor 117 connected to these. The product 11 also includes a UI (User Interface) device 118 connected to the interface device 115. At least some of the elements 112 to 118 other than the driving object 111 may be built into the product 11 or may be externally attached to the product 11. For example, one or more modules including the elements 112 to 118 may be attached to the product 11. Specifically, for example, the product 11 may include a mobile communication terminal, and the mobile communication terminal may include the functions of the GPS module 113 and the UI device 118.

[0027] The operating object 111 is an object (including, for example, various devices such as a motor) that is operated to operate the product 11. The operating object 111 may include at least a part of the processor 117.

[0028] The power supply 112 supplies various types of power to the product 11. The power supply 112 may be a power circuit connected to a commercial power source or may be a battery.

[0029] The GPS module 113 is a module that receives GPS signals from GPS satellites 150 .

[0030] The sensor group 114 is one or more sensors, and each sensor may be any sensor such as a temperature sensor, a rotary encoder, or the like.

[0031] The interface device 115 includes an interface device for wireless communication via the communication network 160 and an interface device for the UI device 118. The storage device 116 stores computer programs to be executed by the processor 117 and data to be referenced or updated by the processor 117. The processor 117 executes the computer programs stored in the storage device 116.

[0032] The UI device 118 is one or more input / output devices (for example, at least one of a touch panel, a button, an LED, a microphone, and a speaker) that accept some input from a user and provide some output to the user.

[0033] The product management support system 13 includes an interface device 131, a storage device 132, and a processor 133 connected thereto. The interface device 131 is a device for communication via a communication network 160. The storage device 132 stores computer programs executed by the processor 133 and data referenced or updated by the processor 133. The processor 133 executes the computer programs stored in the storage device 132. In this embodiment, the product management support system 13 is a physical computer system composed of one or more physical computers. However, instead of a physical computer system, a logical computer system (e.g., a cloud computing service) based on a physical computer system (e.g., a cloud platform) may be used. The product management support system 13 displays information on the administrator terminal 12 (provides information displayed on the administrator terminal 12). In addition, the product management support system 13 (server) performs processing in response to a request from the administrator terminal 12 (client) and provides information resulting from the processing.

[0034] The administrator terminal 12 is an information processing terminal such as a personal computer or a smartphone. The administrator terminal 12 displays information from the product management support system 13 and sends requests to the product management support system 13 in accordance with operations by the administrator 14.

[0035] FIG. 2 shows an example of the functional configuration of the product 11 and the product management support system 13.

[0036] The communication network 160 includes a network (e.g., a mobile phone network or a wireless LAN) that terminates at a base station (e.g., a base station provided by a communication carrier and a wireless LAN access point). The product 11 can communicate with the product management support system 13 bidirectionally (or unidirectionally) through the communication network 160.

[0037] The product 11 includes a stand-alone positioning unit 211, a base station positioning unit 212, an operation status detection unit 213, a product communication unit 214, a UI control unit 215, and an operation control unit 216. At least some of these functions may be built into the product 11, or may be provided in one or more modules externally attached to the product 11. Furthermore, the storage device 116 of the product 11 stores stand-alone positioning data 221, base station positioning data 222, and operation data 223.

[0038] The standalone positioning unit 211 performs standalone positioning. That is, the standalone positioning unit 211 uses a known GPS positioning method to locate the position of the product 11 based on GPS signals from GPS satellites 150. The standalone positioning unit 211 stores a first position data set, which is a position data set representing the determined position (single-positioned position), in the standalone positioning data 221. As illustrated in FIG. 3 , the standalone positioning data 221 has a record for each first position data set, and each record includes information contained in the first position data set. For example, each record includes information such as the time (the time when standalone positioning was performed), value (a value representing the single-positioned position (e.g., latitude, longitude, and altitude)), number of satellites (the number of GPS satellites used as the basis for standalone positioning), and status (whether the single-positioning was successful or unsuccessful). The stand-alone positioning unit 211 may be implemented in the GPS module 113, or the GPS module 113 may be a GPS antenna, and the processor 117 may function as the stand-alone positioning unit 211 that performs stand-alone positioning based on a GPS signal received by the GPS antenna. The stand-alone positioning may be performed in response to a request from the product management support system 13, or may be performed autonomously.

[0039] The base station positioning unit 212 performs base station positioning. That is, the base station positioning unit 212 may measure the position based on wireless communication with a base station. Specifically, for example, the base station positioning unit 212 may measure the position based on satellite orbit data received from, for example, a communication carrier's server via a base station and a time signal from a GPS satellite 150. The position positioning may be based on the reception strength of the signal from the base station. The base station positioning unit 212 stores a second position data set, which is a position data set representing the position measured by such base station positioning (base station-positioned position), in the base station positioning data 222. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the base station positioning data 222 has a record for each second position data set, and each record includes information contained in the second position data set. For example, each record includes information such as the time (the time when base station positioning was performed), a value (a value representing the base station-positioned position), the number of satellites, and a status (whether base station positioning was successful or unsuccessful). The frequency of base station positioning is lower than the frequency of point-to-point positioning (for example, base station positioning is performed at an arbitrary timing, and the average interval between base station positioning is longer than the average interval between point-to-point positioning (for example, the period of point-to-point positioning)). Base station positioning may be performed in response to a request from the product management support system 13, or may be performed voluntarily. Note that base station positioning (at least the transmission of the second position data set representing the base station-positioned position to the product management support system 13) may be performed once approval (permission) for base station positioning has been obtained from the user. Furthermore, when point-to-point positioning is compared with base station positioning, base station positioning generates a larger amount of communication traffic. This is because communication with a communication carrier's server is required for positioning.

[0040] The operational status detection unit 213 stores operational datasets, which are datasets from sensors in the sensor group 114, in the operational data 223. As illustrated in Fig. 5, the operational data 223 has a record for each operational dataset, and each record includes information contained in the operational dataset. For example, each record includes information such as time (the time when measurement was performed by the sensor), value (the value measured by the sensor), and type (the type of value acquired by the sensor).

[0041] The product communication unit 214 transmits, at a first frequency (e.g., at a first cycle), a first position data set from the stand-alone positioning unit 211 (e.g., a first position data set acquired from the stand-alone positioning data 221) to the product management support system 13. Also, the product communication unit 214 transmits, at a second frequency (e.g., at a second cycle), a second position data set from the base station positioning unit 212 (e.g., a second position data set acquired from the base station positioning data 222) to the product management support system 13. The second frequency is smaller than the first frequency.

[0042] The product communication unit 214 transmits packets to the product management support system 13 at a first frequency. The packets may be transmitted in response to a request from the product management support system 13, or may be transmitted spontaneously (without a request from the product management support system 13). The packets may be data including at least one operational data set (e.g., an operational data set acquired from the operational data 223) acquired by the operational status detection unit 213 from the previous packet transmission to the current packet transmission (i.e., acquired in a packet transmission cycle), and may be data collected by the product management support system 13 at a first frequency. A gap in the packet includes at least one first position data set (e.g., a first position data set acquired from the individual positioning data 221) acquired by the individual positioning unit 211 in a packet transmission cycle. The packet transmission cycle and the individual positioning cycle do not have to be the same, but in this embodiment, the packet transmission cycle and the individual positioning cycle are the same.

[0043] Furthermore, the data transmitted from the product communication unit 214 is associated with a product ID (the ID of the product 11 itself, or information equivalent to the identification information of the product 11 (for example, information corresponding one-to-one to the product identification information)). The product management support system 13 can identify the product ID from the data from the product communication unit 214.

[0044] The UI control unit 215 controls the UI device 118. For example, the UI control unit 215 controls the display of a touch panel as at least a part of the UI device 118.

[0045] The operation control unit 216 controls the operation of the operating object 111 .

[0046] The product management support system 13 includes a system communication unit 231, a display control unit 232, and an optimal driving determination unit 233. In addition, product management data 241 and map data 242 are stored in the storage device 132 of the product management support system 13. The map data 242 may be map data provided by a site external to the product management support system 13.

[0047] The system communication unit 231 transmits and receives data to and from the product communication unit 214 of the product 11 via the communication network 160. For example, the system communication unit 231 receives a packet (a packet including a first position data set and an operation data set) and a second position data set from the product communication unit 214, and stores the received data sets in the product management data 241. As illustrated in Fig. 6, the product management data 241 has a record for each packet or each second position data set, and each record includes information contained in the received packet or second position data set. For example, each record includes information such as a product ID (a product ID identified from the packet or the second location data set), time (the time of receipt of the packet or the second location data set, or the time identified from the received packet or the second location data set), stand-alone positioning information (e.g., all or part of the information contained in one or more first location data sets included in a single packet (e.g., stand-alone positioning position, status, and number of satellites)), base station positioning information (e.g., all or part of the information contained in the second location data set (e.g., base station positioning position and status), and operation information (e.g., all or part of the information contained in one or more operation data sets included in a single packet (e.g., measurement values and type)).

[0048] The display control unit 232 displays on the map at least one of n first location display objects, each representing n first locations based on the N first location data sets, and m second location display objects, each representing m second locations based on the M second location data sets. In this embodiment, the map is displayed on the administrator terminal 12, but the display destination may be a device other than the administrator terminal 12. For example, if the product management support system 13 is an information processing terminal (e.g., the product management support system 13 and the administrator terminal 12 are integrated), the display destination may be a display device included in the information processing terminal. The displayed map is based on the map data 242. For example, in an image of the map based on the map data 242, a first location display object is displayed at a position corresponding to the first location, and a second location display object is displayed at a position corresponding to the second location in the image of the map.

[0049] The "first position" may be either a standalone positioning position or a position determined by the display control unit 232 based on one or more standalone positioning positions. The "second position" may be either a base station positioning position or a position determined by the display control unit 232 based on one or more base station positioning positions. In this embodiment, N=n, and the first position may be a standalone positioning position represented by the first position data set, and M=m, and the second position may be a base station positioning position represented by the second position data set.

[0050] N, n, M, and m are each integers equal to or greater than 0. The values of N, n, M, and m vary depending on the conditions related to the display target. For example, if the condition is a period and there is no first position data set or second position data set that represents a position where positioning was successful at a time that belongs to the display target period, N=n=0 and M=m=0. If the condition is the top N first position data sets with the newest individual positioning times among the first position data sets for which individual positioning was successful, N=n≧1, and the M second position data sets are M second position data sets whose times belong to the time range (the display target period) corresponding to the N first position data sets, and N>M≧0. If the display target period is the same for individual positioning positions and base station positioning positions, typically n>m. This is because the period of individual positioning is shorter than that of base station positioning, and therefore there are more individual positioning positions than base station positioning positions.

[0051] The optimal operation determination unit 233 determines control information for optimal operation control of the product 11. The determined control information is transmitted to the product 11 by the system communication unit 231. In the product 11, the operation control unit 216 controls the operation target 111 based on the control information.

[0052] An example of the processing performed in this embodiment will be described below.

[0053] FIG. 7 shows an example of the overall flow of processing carried out on the shipped product 11.

[0054] The power supply 112 of the shipped product 11 is turned on at the location where the product 11 is to be used (S701). As a result, the product 11 starts operating (S702), and communication (e.g., periodic communication) between the product 11 and the product management support system 13 begins.

[0055] The UI control unit 215 of the product 11 outputs (for example, displays or outputs audio) an inquiry as to whether or not to approve base station positioning through the UI device 118 (S703). This inquiry may be sent from the system communication unit 231 of the product management support system 13 through the product communication unit 214 and the UI control unit 215. A response to this inquiry is input by the user.

[0056] If the response to the inquiry in S703 is approval (S703: YES), post-approval processing is performed (S704). The post-approval processing includes base station positioning in a second cycle in addition to standalone positioning in a first cycle. The post-approval processing also includes transmitting a notification of approval (and the product ID of the product) from the product 11 to the product management support system 13. Upon receiving this notification, the system communication unit 231 of the product management support system 13 transmits a base station positioning request to the product 11 in the second cycle. In the product management data 241, a record corresponding to the product 11 may include information indicating the status of the product 11 (whether the product is powered on, and whether base station positioning has been approved), and the product management support system 13 may grasp the status of the shipped product 11 based on this information.

[0057] On the other hand, if the response to the inquiry in S703 is denial (S703: NO), post-denial processing is performed (S705). The post-denial processing does not include base station positioning at least in the second cycle.

[0058] The processing performed in the post-approval processing will be described below. According to S703 to S705, approval or denial of base station positioning is input via the UI device 118, but it may also be input to the product management support system 13 by other methods (for example, a predetermined contract may be made on paper or by other methods, and settings according to the contract may be made in the product management support system 13).

[0059] FIG. 8 shows an example of the flow of the individual positioning process by the product 11.

[0060] If the independent positioning period (predetermined period) has elapsed since the previous independent positioning (S801: YES), the independent positioning unit 211 performs independent positioning (S802) and stores the first position data set in the independent positioning data 221 (S803).

[0061] FIG. 9 shows an example of the flow of base station positioning processing by the product 11.

[0062] While point-of-sale positioning is performed periodically (point-of-sale positioning may be performed at any timing of the product 11), base station positioning is performed at any timing of the product management support system 13 (base station positioning may be performed at a longer period than the point-of-sale positioning period, or may be performed at any timing of the product 11). Specifically, the system communication unit 231 of the product management support system 13 transmits a request for base station positioning at any timing. When the base station positioning unit 212 receives the request via the product communication unit 214 (S901: YES), the base station positioning unit 212 performs base station positioning (S902) and stores a second position data set in the base station positioning data 222 (S903). The product communication unit 214 transmits the second position data set to the product management support system 13. The system communication unit 231 of the product management support system 13 receives the second position data set and stores it in the product management data 241.

[0063] FIG. 10 shows an example of the flow of an operating data set transmission process by the product 11.

[0064] An operational data set is accumulated in the operational data 223 through a processing flow not shown. When the first cycle has elapsed since the product communication unit 214 transmitted a packet to be transmitted in the previous cycle (S1001: YES), the product communication unit 214 generates a packet (S1002) and transmits the packet to the product management support system 13 (S1003). The packet includes the operational data set and the first position data set acquired in the current first cycle (from the generation of the previous packet to the generation of the current packet). The system communication unit 231 receives the packet and stores the operational data set and the first position data set in the packet in the product management data 241.

[0065] As described above, the operational data set is transmitted, for example, periodically to the product management support system 13. The period may be the same as or different from the period of the individual positioning, but in this embodiment, the first position data set is transmitted together with the operational data set.

[0066] FIG. 11 shows an example of the flow of the product management support process by the product management support system 13.

[0067] This process may be performed, for example, when the display control unit 232 receives a request to display a product location screen from the administrator terminal 12, in response to the request. The request may specify display conditions (for example, a period, a region, or a product ID), which are conditions related to the display. For example, the display control unit 232 may receive a request from the administrator terminal 12 specifying the ID (for example, an individual number) of a compressor as an example of a product, and perform the processes from S1101 onwards for the compressor.

[0068] The display control unit 232 identifies N first position data sets that meet the display conditions from the product management data 241, and determines n first positions based on the N first position data sets (S1101).

[0069] The display control unit 232 identifies M second position data sets that meet the display conditions from the product management data 241, and determines m second positions based on the M first position data sets (S1102).

[0070] The display control unit 232 determines the display mode of each of the n first position indication objects corresponding to the n first positions, and determines the display mode of each of the m second position indication objects corresponding to the m second positions (S1103).

[0071] The display control unit 232 arranges n first position display objects and m second position display objects on a map (map image) and displays the map on which the position display objects are arranged on the administrator terminal 12 (S1104).

[0072] FIG. 12 shows an example of a product location screen displayed on the administrator terminal 12 as a result of S1104.

[0073] The product location screen 1200 is typically a GUI (Graphical User Interface). The product location screen 1200 displays a map UI 1210 and an accuracy index UI 1203.

[0074] The map UI 1210 has a map based on the map data 242, and a first location display object 1201 and a second location display object 1202 arranged on the map. Both the location display objects 1201 and 1202 are arranged at positions (first position or second position) on the map corresponding to the location display objects. In this embodiment, both the first location display object 1201 and the second location display object 1202 are graphics.

[0075] The display mode (e.g., shape) of the position indicating object corresponding to the position differs depending on whether the position is a first position or a second position. Furthermore, for each first position, the display mode (e.g., color intensity) of the first position indicating object 1201 differs depending on the accuracy of the first position. An index of the accuracy of the first position is, for example, the number of GPS satellites used as the basis for point positioning.

[0076] The accuracy indicator UI 1203 indicates the relationship between the accuracy of the position and the display mode of the position display object corresponding to that position. In the example shown in Fig. 12, the accuracy indicator UI 1203 is a rectangular bar extending in a predetermined direction (for example, the horizontal direction), and the more satellites there are, the darker the color of the first position display object.

[0077] 12, a first location and a second location are displayed for a target product (e.g., a product designated by the administrator). The administrator 14 can infer that the current user of the target product is "Press A." This is because a relatively large number of first location indication objects 1201 with dark colors are located on the premises of "Press A," and second location indication objects 1202 are also located on the premises of "Press A."

[0078] Note that the position indicating object may be a display object other than a graphic (for example, text) instead of or in addition to a graphic. Also, the display mode of the position indicating object may be a mode other than the color density (for example, the color itself or transparency) instead of or in addition to the color density.

[0079] Furthermore, N and n may each be an integer greater than or equal to 0. For example, if independent positioning of the target product has never been successful within a certain period of time since the administrator 14 requested display of the product location screen, N=n=0 may be set.

[0080] The value of N may be a fixed value or may be a value set arbitrarily by the administrator 14. For example, n first positions based on the top N first position datasets closest to the time when the administrator 14 requests the display of the product location screen may be displayed. Furthermore, all of these first position datasets may be first position datasets for which independent positioning was successful. Furthermore, the value of M may be the number of second position datasets that belong to the time range corresponding to the N first position datasets. If there are no such second position datasets, M=0.

[0081] Furthermore, in this embodiment, N=n, but N≠n may also be true. For example, a plurality of first positions may be determined by the display control unit 232 based on one first position data set, or a single first position may be determined by the display control unit 232 based on a plurality of first position data sets. Similarly, in this embodiment, M=m, but M≠m may also be true. For example, a plurality of second positions may be determined by the display control unit 232 based on one second position data set, or a single second position may be determined by the display control unit 232 based on a plurality of second position data sets.

[0082] Alternatively, the display control unit 232 may determine a range based on at least one of the n first positions and the m second positions, and display a display object 1300 representing the range on a map, as illustrated in FIG. 13 . Specifically, for example, the display control unit 232 may determine a base position based on at least one of the n first positions and the m second positions, and determine a range (e.g., a circle centered on the base position) with the base position as a base point. The determined range may be the maximum range within which the target product can be located, from at least one of the n first positions (and the accuracy of each first position) and the m second positions. Alternatively, the base position may be set as a center of gravity calculated using multiple positioning positions for the same product and accuracy information based on the number of positioning satellites captured during each positioning and whether or not corrections were made through communication with a base station, and the display control unit 232 may set the radius of the circle to the average of the distances from the base position to each of the positioning positions. Although the display object 1300 is a graphic, a display object other than a graphic may be used instead of or in addition to a graphic. According to the example shown in Fig. 13, the administrator 14 can infer that the user of the target product is most likely to be "Press A", although "Press A", "Industry B", or "Manufacturing C" may also be users of the target product.

[0083] The display control unit 232 may temporarily record the center of gravity in the database as the installation position of the product, and the center of gravity may be used as location information of the product.

[0084] FIG. 14 shows an example of the flow of the operation optimization process by the product management support system 13.

[0085] This process is useful for the product 11, which is highly dependent on the content of optimal operation control (control information).

[0086] Specifically, the optimal driving determination unit 233 estimates the accuracy of the altitude of the product 11 based on at least one of the n first positions and m second positions of the product 11 (for example, based on the latitude and longitude of the stand-alone positioning positions represented by the N first position data sets and the accuracy of the stand-alone positioning positions, and / or based on the latitude and longitude of the base station positioning positions represented by the M second position data sets and the accuracy of the base station positioning positions) (S1401). For example, the optimal driving determination unit 233 identifies the altitude from the map data 242 using the latitude and longitude represented by at least one of the n first positions and m second positions of the product 11, and estimates the accuracy of the identified altitude based on the difference between the identified altitude and the altitude represented by the at least one position.

[0087] The optimal operation determination unit 233 determines control information for optimal operation control of the product 11 based on the specified altitude and the estimated accuracy (S1402).

[0088] The system communication unit 231 transmits the determined control information to the product 11 (S1403). The product communication unit 214 of the product 11 receives the control information, and the operation control unit 216 controls the operation object 111 in accordance with the control information.

[0089] The above description can be summarized, for example, as follows: Note that the following summary may include supplementary and modified explanations of the above description.

[0090] The product management support system 13 includes a system communication unit 231 and a display control unit 232. The system communication unit 231 receives a first position data set representing a first position of a shipped product 11 at a first frequency, and receives a second position data set representing a second position of the product 11 at a second frequency. The display control unit 232 displays on a map at least one of n first position display objects representing n first positions based on N first position data sets and m second position display objects representing m second positions based on M second position data sets. The n first position display objects and the m second position display objects have different display modes. The first position and the second position are either (A) or (B) below. (A) The first positioning position is a position determined by stand-alone positioning, which is GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) positioning based on signals from satellites, and the second positioning position is a position determined by base station positioning, which is positioning based on wireless communication with a base station. (B) Both the first positioning position and the second positioning position are positions determined by positioning based on signals from satellites, but the number of satellites used as the basis for positioning of the first positioning position is different from the number of satellites used as the basis for positioning of the second positioning position.

[0091] This allows the administrator 14 to accurately estimate the current location of the product 11 after shipment based on the collected location data set, thereby assisting in accurately estimating the user of the product 11 from the current location on the map. Note that the first location may be either a first determined location or a location determined based on one or more first determined locations. The second location may be either a second determined location or a location determined based on one or more second determined locations.

[0092] When the first and second measured positions are the above-mentioned (B), for example, the following can be said: That is, even if the types of position measurement for the first and second measured positions are the same or different (for example, even if both measured positions are single-point measured positions), the position display object can be displayed so as to relatively emphasize the position with a large number of positioning satellites.

[0093] When the first and second determined positions are as described above in (A), the following can be said, for example: The accuracy of point-based positioning is higher than that of base station positioning, base station positioning requires more communication traffic than point-based positioning, and point-based positioning is more likely to fail than base station positioning, at least in a specific environment (e.g., indoors) where it is difficult or impossible to receive satellite signals. A position determined by point-based positioning, which has relatively high accuracy and low communication traffic, is notified at a first frequency (e.g., relatively high frequency), while a position determined by base station positioning, which has relatively low accuracy and high communication traffic but is more likely to be successful than point-based positioning in a specific environment, is notified at a second frequency (e.g., relatively low frequency). Furthermore, the display manner of a position display object for the first position based on the first position data set representing the point-based position and the display manner of a position display object for the second position based on the second position data set representing the point-based position are different. This allows the position data of the product 11 after shipment to be collected appropriately while reducing communication traffic.

[0094] The N first position data sets may be the top N first position data sets with the most recent independent positioning times among the first position data sets for which independent positioning has been successfully performed (N is a natural number). The M second position data sets may be M second position data sets whose times belong to the time ranges corresponding to the N first position data sets, where M may be an integer less than N and equal to or greater than 0. This allows the administrator 14 to efficiently estimate the current (latest) user of the product 11.

[0095] The display control unit 232 may change the display mode of each of the n first position display objects to a display mode corresponding to the accuracy of the independent positioning position represented by the first position data set associated with the first position display object. The accuracy of the independent positioning position may be the number of satellites used as the basis for determining the independent position. This makes it easy for the administrator 14 to identify the first position that should be prioritized in estimating the current location of the product 11.

[0096] The system communication unit 231 may receive packets from the product 11 at a first frequency (for example, periodically). Each packet may include an operational data set representing the operational status of the product 11 and a first position data set representing the standalone positioning position. In other words, the first position data set of the product 11 may be included in a packet transmitted for collecting the operational data set. This makes it possible to collect the first position data set without increasing the amount of communication.

[0097] The system communication unit 231 may transmit a request for base station positioning to the product 11 at a second frequency (arbitrary timing) and receive a second set of location data in response to the request. This allows the product management support system 13 to adjust the frequency of base station positioning, which requires more communication traffic than standalone positioning.

[0098] The display control unit 232 may determine a range based on the n first locations and the m second locations, and display a display object representing the range on the map. This makes it easier for the administrator 14 to accurately estimate who (e.g., a company or an individual) may be a current user of the product 11.

[0099] The product management support system 13 may include an optimal operation determination unit 233. The optimal operation determination unit 233 may estimate the altitude and its accuracy of the product 11 based on at least one of the n first positions and the m second positions, and determine control information for optimal operation control of the product 11 based on the estimated altitude and its accuracy. The system communication unit 231 may transmit the determined control information to the product 11. This makes it possible to estimate the altitude and its accuracy of the product 11 using at least one of the n first positions and the m second positions, and to optimally operate the product 11 based on the altitude and accuracy.

[0100] Although one embodiment has been described above, this is merely an example for explaining the present invention, and the scope of the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. The present invention can be implemented in various other forms. In one embodiment of the present invention, the product is a product that can be moved due to relocation, and tracking its location can improve the quality of product management and after-sales service, and is usually installed and fixed in one location. Therefore, by utilizing the ability to accumulate data on different positioning conditions at multiple different measurement times, it is possible to accurately estimate the installation location even if the product is installed in a location where it is difficult to confirm its location, such as when it is covered by a roof. [Explanation of symbols]

[0101] 11:Product 13: Product management support system

Claims

1. a system communication unit that receives a first location data set representing a first geolocated location of a shipped product and receives a second location data set representing a second geolocated location of the product; a display control unit that, when there are N first position data sets and M second position data sets measured during the same display period, displays on a map n first position display objects each representing n first positions based on the N first position data sets and m second position display objects each representing m second positions based on the M second position data sets; Equipped with the first measured position is a position measured by stand-alone positioning, which is GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) positioning based on signals from satellites, the second measured position is a position measured by base station positioning, which is positioning based on wireless communication with a base station, the n number of first position indicating objects and the m number of second position indicating objects have different display modes, The system communication unit receiving, at a first frequency, the first position data set representing the first positioning position measured by the stand-alone positioning, which has higher accuracy than the base station positioning and less communication traffic than the base station positioning; receiving, at a second frequency lower than the first frequency, the second position data set representing the second positioning position measured by the base station positioning, which has lower accuracy than the point-only positioning and has a larger communication volume than the point-only positioning but is more likely to succeed in positioning than the point-only positioning at least in an environment where it is difficult or impossible to receive signals from satellites; For each of the n first position indication objects, a display mode of the first position indication object is a display mode corresponding to an accuracy of a standalone positioning position represented by a first position data set associated with the first position indication object. Product management support system.

2. the first location is one of a single location and a location determined based on one or more single location; the second location is one of a base station positioning location and a location determined based on one or more base station positioning locations; The product management support system according to claim 1 .

3. The N first position data sets are the top N first position data sets with the most recent time among the first position data sets for which independent positioning has been successfully performed (N is a natural number), The M second position data sets are M second position data sets whose times belong to a time range corresponding to the N first position data sets, and M is an integer less than N and equal to or greater than 0. The product management support system according to claim 1 .

4. a UI control unit that receives a user response to an inquiry about whether or not to approve the base station positioning; If the response is an approval of the base station positioning, the system communication unit sends a request to the product to receive, at the second frequency, the second location data set representing the second location position determined by the base station positioning; If the response is a denial of the base station positioning, the system communication unit does not send to the product a request to receive the second position data set representing the second positioning position determined by the base station positioning. The product management support system according to claim 1 .

5. the system communication unit receives packets from the product at the first frequency; each packet including an operational data set representing an operational status of the product and a first position data set representing a standalone positioning location; The product management support system according to claim 1 .

6. the system communication unit transmitting base station positioning requests to the product at a second frequency and receiving a second set of location data in response to the requests; The product management support system according to claim 1 .

7. The display control unit determining a range based on at least one of the n first locations and the m second locations; a display object representing the range is displayed on the map; The product management support system according to claim 1 .

8. An optimal operation determination unit is further provided that estimates an altitude and its accuracy of the product based on at least one of the n first positions and the m second positions, and determines control information for optimal operation control of a driving object included in the product based on the estimated altitude and its accuracy, The operation target is an object that is operated for the operation of the product, the system communication unit transmits the determined control information to the product. The product management support system according to claim 1 .

9. The shipped product and A product management support system that manages the product. Equipped with The product management support system includes: receiving a first location data set representing a first geolocated location of the product; receiving a second location data set representing a second geolocated location of the product; When there are N first position data sets and M second position data sets measured during the same display period, n first position display objects each representing the n first positions based on the N first position data sets and m second position display objects each representing m second positions based on the M second position data sets are displayed on a map; the first measured position is a position measured by stand-alone positioning, which is GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) positioning based on signals from satellites, and the second measured position is a position measured by base station positioning, which is positioning based on wireless communication with a base station; the n number of first position indicating objects and the m number of second position indicating objects have different display modes, The product management support system includes: receiving, at a first frequency, the first position data set representing the first positioning position measured by the stand-alone positioning, which has higher accuracy than the base station positioning and less communication traffic than the base station positioning; receiving, at a second frequency lower than the first frequency, the second position data set representing the second positioning position measured by the base station positioning, which has lower accuracy than the point-only positioning and has a larger communication volume than the point-only positioning but is more likely to succeed in positioning than the point-only positioning at least in an environment where it is difficult or impossible to receive signals from satellites; For each of the n first position indication objects, a display mode of the first position indication object is a display mode corresponding to an accuracy of a standalone positioning position represented by a first position data set associated with the first position indication object. system.

10. (A) receiving a first location data set representing a first geographic location of a shipped product; (B) receiving, by the computer, a second location data set representing a second geolocated location of the product; (C) when there are N first position data sets and M second position data sets measured during the same display period, the computer displays, on a map, n first position display objects each representing n first positions based on the N first position data sets and m second position display objects each representing m second positions based on the M second position data sets; the first measured position is a position measured by stand-alone positioning, which is GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) positioning based on signals from satellites, and the second measured position is a position measured by base station positioning, which is positioning based on wireless communication with a base station; the n number of first position indicating objects and the m number of second position indicating objects have different display modes, In (A), the computer receives, at a first frequency, the first position data set representing the first position measured by the stand-alone positioning, which has higher accuracy than the base station positioning and requires less communication traffic than the base station positioning; In (B), the computer receives, at a second frequency lower than the first frequency, the second position data set representing the second positioning position measured by the base station positioning, which has lower accuracy than the point-to-point positioning and more communication traffic than the point-to-point positioning but is more likely to succeed in positioning than the point-to-point positioning at least in an environment where it is difficult or impossible to receive signals from satellites; For each of the n first position indication objects, a display mode of the first position indication object is a display mode corresponding to an accuracy of a standalone positioning position represented by a first position data set associated with the first position indication object. Product management support methods.

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