Quantity determination device, quantity determination method, and program

Abstract

[Problem] To provide a quantity determination device capable of determining the quantity of receivers to be arranged at each reception position in a reception system that identifies the position of a terminal device by using radio waves from the terminal device. [Solution] A quantity determination device 1 is for determining, in a reception system for identifying the position of a terminal device 2 by receiving radio waves from the terminal device at four reception positions, the quantity of receivers to be arranged at each of the reception positions. The quantity determination device comprises: four receiver sets 11-14, each of which has four of the receivers and which are arranged at the four reception positions, respectively; an acquisition unit 30 that acquires, for each of the receiver sets 11-14, one or more reception statuses of radio waves from the terminal device 2; a determination unit 40 that determines, by using the reception statuses acquired for each of the receiver sets 11-14, the quantity of receivers to be arranged at each of the four reception positions so that desired reception is performed at each of the four reception positions; and an output unit 50 that outputs the determination result by the determination unit 40.

Description

Number Determination Device, Number Determination Method, and Program

[0001] The present invention relates to a number determination device and the like for determining the number of receivers to be arranged at each reception position in a reception system for specifying the position of a terminal device.

[0002] Conventionally, the position of a terminal device has been specified by receiving radio waves transmitted from the terminal device at two or more reception positions (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Also, by arranging two or more receivers at each reception position, the position of the terminal device can be specified with higher accuracy.

[0003] International Publication No. 2020 / 080314

[0004] Even if a plurality of receivers are arranged at each reception position, it is not always possible for all of the plurality of receivers to surely receive radio waves from the terminal device every time. For example, if some of the plurality of receivers arranged at a certain reception position cannot receive radio waves from the terminal device, the accuracy of the specified position of the terminal device may decrease accordingly. Also, for example, it is conceivable that it may take time to specify the position of the terminal device by repeating reception until all of the plurality of receivers arranged at a certain reception position can receive radio waves from the terminal device.

[0005] In order to avoid such a situation, it is conceivable to arrange extra receivers in advance at each reception position. However, if receivers are arranged in a number more than necessary, there is a problem that the cost increases accordingly.

[0006] The present invention has been made in view of the above situation, and an object thereof is to provide a number determination device and the like that can determine the number of receivers to be arranged at each reception position so that desired reception is performed at each reception position.

[0007] To achieve the above objective, a method for determining the number of receivers to be placed at each receiving position in a receiving system that identifies the position of a terminal device by receiving radio waves from the terminal device at two or more receiving positions, the method comprising: placing one or more receiver sets, each having one or more receivers, at positions corresponding to two or more receiving positions; receiving radio waves from one or more terminal devices using one or more receiver sets and acquiring the radio wave reception status for each of the one or more receiver sets; and using the reception status acquired for each of the one or more receiver sets, determining the number of receivers to be placed at each of the two or more receiving positions so that desired reception is performed at each of the two or more receiving positions.

[0008] With this configuration, the number of receivers to be placed at each receiving location can be determined by using the reception status of radio waves from terminal devices by the receiver set. By placing receivers at each receiving location according to this determination, the desired reception can be achieved at each receiving location.

[0009] Furthermore, in a method for determining the number of receivers according to one aspect of the present invention, in the step of arranging one or more receiver sets, one receiver set may be arranged at each of two or more receiving positions; in the step of acquiring the reception status, the reception status may be acquired for each of the two or more receiving positions; and in the step of determining the number of receivers, the number of receivers may be determined for each of the two or more receiving positions using the reception status.

[0010] This configuration allows for more accurate determination of the number of receivers for each of the two or more receiving locations.

[0011] Furthermore, in a method for determining the number of receivers according to one aspect of the present invention, in the step of arranging one or more receiver sets, one receiver set may be placed at a representative position of two or more receiving positions, and in the step of determining the number of receivers, the number of receivers to be placed at each of the two or more receiving positions may be determined using the reception status obtained using one receiver set.

[0012] This configuration allows for the acquisition of reception status for two or more receiving locations using a single receiver set, making it easier to obtain reception status for two or more receiving locations.

[0013] Furthermore, in the method for determining the number according to one aspect of the present invention, the representative position of the two or more receiving positions may be the centroid of the two or more receiving positions in a plan view.

[0014] This configuration allows the receiver set to be positioned at what is considered the optimal location for two or more receiving positions.

[0015] Furthermore, in a method for determining the number according to one aspect of the present invention, the reception status may be a value obtained by dividing the total number of actual receptions in each of the one or more receivers of a receiver set with respect to radio waves from one or more terminal devices by the total number of ideal receptions in each of the one or more receivers with respect to radio waves from one or more terminal devices.

[0016] This configuration allows us to obtain the reception status, which represents the reception rate.

[0017] Furthermore, in a method for determining the number of receivers according to one aspect of the present invention, in the step of determining the number of receivers, the number of receivers may be determined by rounding up the value obtained by dividing the desired number of receptions by the reception conditions to an integer for each receiving position.

[0018] This configuration allows for determining the number of receivers corresponding to the desired number of receptions.

[0019] Furthermore, a number determination device according to one aspect of the present invention is a determination device for determining the number of receivers to be placed at each receiving position in a receiving system that identifies the position of a terminal device by receiving radio waves from a terminal device at two or more receiving positions, comprising: one or more receiver sets having one or more receivers each, placed at positions corresponding to two or more receiving positions; an acquisition unit that acquires the reception status of radio waves from one or more terminal devices for each of the one or more receiver sets; a determination unit that uses the reception status acquired for each of the one or more receiver sets to determine the number of receivers to be placed at each of the two or more receiving positions so that desired reception is performed at each of the two or more receiving positions; and an output unit that outputs the determination result of the determination unit regarding the number of receivers to be placed at each of the two or more receiving positions.

[0020] According to one aspect of the present invention, a device for determining the number of receivers can be determined to be placed at each receiving position in order to ensure that desired reception occurs at each receiving position.

[0021] Block diagram showing the configuration of the count determination device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Perspective view showing an example of a receiving position in the same embodiment. Plan view showing an example of a receiving position in the same embodiment. Flowchart showing the count determination method according to the same embodiment. Diagram showing an example of the radio wave reception result by multiple receivers in the same embodiment. Diagram showing an example of the configuration of the computer system in the same embodiment.

[0022] The following describes the number determination device and number determination method according to the present invention using embodiments. In the following embodiments, components and steps denoted by the same reference numerals are the same or equivalent and may not be described again. The number determination device according to this embodiment determines the number of receivers to be placed at each receiving position using the radio wave reception status acquired for each of the one or more receiver sets placed at positions corresponding to two or more receiving positions in a receiving system that identifies the position of terminal devices.

[0023] Figure 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the number determination device 1 according to this embodiment, and Figures 2 and 3 are a perspective view and a plan view, respectively, showing an example of a receiving position. The number determination device 1 according to this embodiment comprises one or more receiver sets arranged at positions corresponding to two or more receiving positions, an acquisition unit 30, a determination unit 40, and an output unit 50. In this embodiment, the case in which the one or more receiver sets are the first to fourth receiver sets 11 to 14, as shown in Figure 1, will be mainly described. The number determination device 1 according to this embodiment is for determining the number of receivers to be placed at each receiving position in a receiving system that identifies the position of a terminal device 2 by receiving radio waves from a terminal device 2 carried by a user 5 at two or more receiving positions. The two or more receiving positions are predetermined. The terminal device 2 is preferably a portable device with communication functions, and may be a terminal device with communication functions such as a smartphone, mobile phone, tablet terminal, PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), notebook computer, or transceiver, or other device.

[0024] The receiving system is described below. It is preferable that each of the two or more receiving positions is at a different location. In addition, one or more receivers may be placed at each receiving position. In the receiving system, the position of the terminal device 2 may be determined based on the difference in the strength of the radio waves received from the terminal device 2 at each receiving position. The strength of the radio waves may be, for example, the Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI). If multiple receivers are placed at each receiving position, the position of the terminal device 2 may be determined using a representative value of the strength of the radio waves received by those receivers. The representative value may be, for example, the average value, the median value, etc. From the viewpoint of achieving more accurate position determination, it is preferable to place more receivers at each receiving position. If multiple receivers are placed at each receiving position, it is preferable that the multiple receivers have equivalent performance. For example, it is preferable that the antenna gains of multiple receivers placed at a given receiving position are all the same. For example, if a receiver is placed at each of two receiving positions, the received signal strength of the radio waves received at each of the two receiving positions, along with the two receiving positions themselves, may be used to identify an Apollonius circle or line corresponding to the difference in received signal strength, and the position on, on, or within that Apollonius circle may be identified as the position of the terminal device 2. Alternatively, the position of the terminal device 2 may be identified by other methods.

[0025] Furthermore, in a receiver, if the antenna and the signal processing unit that performs demodulation and other processing on the signal from the antenna are integrated, then "the receiver is placed at a certain receiving position" may mean that the integrated receiver unit is placed at that receiving position. On the other hand, in a receiver, if the antenna and the signal processing unit are not integrated and can be placed independently, then "the receiver is placed at a certain receiving position" may mean that the receiver's antenna is placed at that receiving position.

[0026] Furthermore, the location of the terminal device 2 identified by the receiving system may be, for example, a point, a linear, planar, or three-dimensional location. The identified location may be, for example, a location in a two-dimensional plane or a location in three-dimensional space. Note that the method of identifying the location of a wave source using the difference in received radio wave intensity is already known, and a detailed explanation thereof will be omitted. For an example of such a method of identifying the location of a wave source, please refer to the above-mentioned Patent Document 1.

[0027] The number determination device 1 according to this embodiment receives radio waves transmitted from a terminal device 2 carried by user 5 using one or more receiver sets placed at positions corresponding to two or more receiving positions in the receiving system, acquires the reception status of the radio waves, and uses that reception status to determine the number of receivers to be placed at each receiving position. Ideally, one or more receivers placed at each receiving position should be able to reliably receive the radio waves transmitted from the terminal device 2 at all times, but in reality, this is not always the case. Reasons why some receivers may not be able to receive radio waves from the terminal device 2 include, for example, the presence of obstacles between the terminal device 2 and the receiving position, but also the influence of jamming radio waves transmitted from other devices and the influence of radio wave interference caused by multipath from the terminal device 2 to the receivers. Since it is difficult to predict that radio waves may not be received due to jamming radio waves or interference without receiving the radio waves, it is preferable to use the number determination device 1 to acquire the reception status based on the actual reception results. The device transmitting the jamming radio waves may be, for example, another terminal device 2, another communication device that transmits radio waves of the same frequency as the radio waves transmitted from terminal device 2, or a device other than a communication device that transmits radio waves of the same frequency as the radio waves transmitted from terminal device 2 (for example, a microwave oven).

[0028] The positions corresponding to two or more receiving positions in the receiving system may be, for example, each of the two or more receiving positions in the receiving system, or they may be representative positions of the two or more receiving positions in the receiving system. In the former case, one receiver set will be placed at one receiving position. The representative positions of the two or more receiving positions may be, for example, one representative position, or two or more representative positions. However, the number of representative positions shall be less than the number of two or more receiving positions. In this embodiment, the case in which one receiver set is placed at each of the two or more receiving positions will be mainly described, in particular the case in which the first to fourth receiver sets 11 to 14 are placed at the first to fourth receiving positions, respectively. Thus, in this embodiment, the case in which there are four receiving positions in the receiving system will be mainly described, but the number of receiving positions is not particularly limited as long as it is two or more. That is, the number of receiving positions in the receiving system may be, for example, two or three, or five or more. Also, in this embodiment, as described above, the case in which the number of receiving positions and the number of receiver sets to be placed are equal will be mainly described. The case where one receiver set is placed at a representative location among two or more receiving positions will be described later.

[0029] Each of the first to fourth receiver sets 11 to 14 has one or more receivers. It is preferable that the number of receivers in the first to fourth receiver sets 11 to 14 be the same, but this is not required. It is preferable that the number of receivers in the first to fourth receiver sets 11 to 14 be greater than the number of receivers, but since the cost increases as the number of receivers increases, the number of receivers may be determined as appropriate. In this embodiment, the case in which each of the first to fourth receiver sets 11 to 14 has four receivers will be mainly described. That is, the case in which the first receiver set 11 has four receivers 21a to 21d, the second receiver set 12 has four receivers 22a to 22d, the third receiver set 13 has four receivers 23a to 23d, and the fourth receiver set 14 has four receivers 24a to 24d will be mainly described. When receivers 21a to 21d are not particularly distinguished, they may be referred to as receiver 21. The same applies to other receivers. In this embodiment, the case in which each receiver set 11 to 14 has four receivers 21 to 24 will be mainly described, but the number of receivers in each receiver set 11 to 14 may be, for example, one to three, or five or more. In addition, each receiver 21 to 24 included in the receiver sets 11 to 14 is capable of acquiring the strength of radio waves from the terminal device 2.

[0030] When multiple receivers 21 of the first receiver set 11 are arranged at the first receiving position, for example, the multiple receivers 21 may be arranged such that the center of gravity of the arrangement of the multiple receivers 21 is the first receiving position. The same applies when receivers 22 to 24 of the second to fourth receiver sets 12 to 14 are arranged at the second to fourth receiving positions, respectively.

[0031] Furthermore, the line of sight from terminal device 2 to each receiving location may or may not be clear. In the latter case, user 5 may carry terminal device 2 in, for example, a clothing pocket or a bag.

[0032] Furthermore, the radio waves transmitted from the terminal device 2 for location identification may be, for example, intermittently transmitted pulse waves or continuously transmitted continuous waves. The wireless communication standard used to transmit and receive these location identification radio waves is not limited. The radio waves for location identification of the terminal device 2 may be transmitted, for example, by Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), by Bluetooth Basic Rate (BR) / EDR (Enhanced Data Rate), by wireless LAN (IEEE 802.11), by IEEE 802.15.4 such as ZigBee®, or by other wireless communication standards. Preferably, the radio waves transmitted from the terminal device 2 for location identification are transmitted and received by short-range wireless communication such as BLE, Bluetooth BR / EDR, or wireless LAN. Furthermore, these radio waves may also be used, for example, for authentication of the terminal device 2. The receivers 21 to 24 in the first to fourth receiver sets 11 to 14 are each capable of receiving radio waves corresponding to the wireless communication standard of the terminal device 2.

[0033] The frequency of the radio waves transmitted from terminal device 2 is not particularly limited, but may be, for example, in the range of 300 MHz to 300 GHz. Furthermore, terminal device 2 may transmit a location-determining signal by broadcast or by unicast. Broadcast transmission is preferred because it allows the signal to be transmitted without specifying the communication partner. This embodiment mainly describes the case where terminal device 2 transmits a location-determining signal by broadcast. It is preferable for terminal device 2 to transmit radio waves without receiving a transmission instruction from user 5. Terminal device 2 may transmit radio waves in response to the reception of a predetermined beacon, for example. This beacon may be transmitted, for example, in an area that determines the location of terminal device 2. As an example, a receiving system may transmit a beacon. In this case, the receiving system may include a transmitting unit that transmits the beacon.

[0034] Figures 2 and 3 show a gate 3 through which a user 5 carrying a terminal device 2 passes. This gate 3 may be, for example, an automatic ticket gate, an entrance gate to a building or event venue, or any other type of gate. It is assumed that first to fourth receiving positions P1 to P4 are set at this gate 3. That is, the receiving system determines the location of the terminal device 2 carried by user 5 by receiving radio waves from the terminal device 2 using one or more receivers placed at each of the first to fourth receiving positions P1 to P4. Furthermore, authentication may be performed using the radio waves from the terminal device 2. In other words, the radio waves from the terminal device 2 may be used for both determining the location of the terminal device 2 and for authentication. As an example, the location of the terminal device 2 may be determined using radio waves transmitted from the terminal device 2 carried by user 5 passing through gate 3, and if it is confirmed that the terminal device 2 is passing through gate 3 using the determined location, authentication may be performed using those radio waves, and if it is determined to be legitimate through authentication, user 5 carrying the terminal device 2 may be allowed to pass through gate 3.

[0035] In such cases, the first to fourth receiver sets 11 to 14 may be placed at the first to fourth receiving positions P1 to P4, respectively. For example, when placing the first receiver set 11 at the first receiving position P1, it is ideal to place it so that the center of gravity of the multiple receivers 21 of the first receiver set 11 is at the first receiving position P1. However, in reality, such an ideal placement may not be possible due to the influence of the gate 3 housing, etc. In such cases, for example, the first receiver set 11 may be placed so that the center of gravity of the multiple receivers 21 is near the first receiving position P1. The same applies to the other receiver sets.

[0036] The acquisition unit 30 acquires the reception status of radio waves from one or more terminal devices 2 for each of the one or more receiver sets located at positions corresponding to two or more reception positions. If one receiver set is located at each of the two or more reception positions, the acquisition unit 30 may acquire the reception status for each of the two or more reception positions. In other words, the reception status may be acquired for each receiver set. In this embodiment, the case in which the acquisition unit 30 acquires the reception status of radio waves from terminal devices 2 for each of the four receiver sets 11 to 14 will be mainly described.

[0037] The reception status may be, for example, the value obtained by dividing the total number of actual receptions by each of the one or more receivers in a receiver set for radio waves from one or more terminal devices 2 by the total number of ideal receptions by each of the one or more receivers for radio waves from those one or more terminal devices 2. In other words, the reception status may be, for example, the reception rate by one or more receivers in a receiver set. The reception rate may be represented, for example, by a real number between 0 and 1. Also, whether a radio wave has been received may be determined, for example, by whether or not that radio wave has been demodulated. The acquisition unit 30 may, for example, acquire the reception status in one receiver set according to the reception result of a radio wave transmitted from one terminal device 2 in that receiver set. The signal transmitted from the terminal device 2 used to acquire the reception status may be, for example, a dedicated signal used to acquire the reception status, or it may not be. In the former case, for example, one or more users 5 carrying the terminal device 2 transmitting the dedicated signal may be located within the area where the receiving system identifies their location. The reception status may be obtained using a dedicated signal transmitted from the terminal device 2. For example, the dedicated signal may be transmitted from an application installed on the terminal device 2, such as a smartphone, for the purpose of determining the location of the terminal device 2 and authentication. In this case, for example, the transmission interval of the signal may be predetermined. On the other hand, if the reception status is obtained without using a dedicated signal, the reception status may be obtained using a general-purpose signal transmitted from a terminal device 2 carried by one or more users 5 located within the area where the reception system determines the location. However, it is preferable that the signal used to obtain the reception status is a signal with the same communication standard as the signal used to determine the location of the terminal device 2. For example, if the reception system determines the location using a BLE signal, the acquisition unit 30 may acquire the reception status of that BLE signal.

[0038] The acquisition unit 30 may, for example, acquire the reception result of a signal from the terminal device 2 for each of the four receivers 21a to 21d of the first receiver set 11. For example, if a BLE signal is transmitted from the terminal device 2, since the BLE signal is a 0.4 ms pulse signal, the acquisition unit 30 may acquire a set of the reception time, reception strength, and source terminal identifier of the BLE signal for each of the four receivers 21a to 21d. The reception strength may be, for example, RSSI. The terminal identifier may be, for example, a physical address such as a MAC address included in the header of the received signal or another address, or it may be a terminal identifier included in the payload of the received signal. In the latter case, for example, a user identifier may be used as the terminal identifier. As an example, the acquisition unit 30 may acquire the reception status using the reception result of a signal whose reception strength exceeds a threshold. By doing so, for example, the possibility of acquiring the reception status using reflected waves can be reduced. Furthermore, when acquiring the reception status for the first receiver set 11, the acquisition unit 30 may use only the reception results for the same terminal identifier. In this way, it is possible to identify which receiver 21 received a signal transmitted from one terminal device 2, and the reception status can be acquired using that identification result. When acquiring the reception status using a dedicated signal transmitted from the terminal device 2, the acquisition unit 30 may, for example, use the transmission interval of that dedicated signal to determine whether or not the signal has been received. On the other hand, when acquiring the reception status using a general-purpose signal transmitted from the terminal device 2, the acquisition unit 30 may, for example, assume that signals are transmitted periodically from the terminal device 2 and identify the transmission interval. In this case, for example, the shortest transmission interval of signals having the same terminal identifier in the reception results may be identified as the signal transmission interval. Also, if there is a predetermined rule for the transmission interval of the general-purpose signal, for example, if the transmission interval of that signal has a rule such as TP (ms) × K, the acquisition unit 30 may identify a transmission interval that conforms to that rule. Here, TP is a predetermined time interval, and K may be an integer of 1 or more.Furthermore, since terminal device 2 may change the transmission interval within a predetermined range, in such cases, it is possible to allow an error within the predetermined range and determine whether the transmission intervals match. For example, if, at a specific point in time, all four receivers 21a to 21d have not received a signal at that transmission interval, it is possible to determine that there was no reception for all four receivers 21a to 21d at that point in time. Also, for example, if at least one of the four receivers 21a to 21d has received a signal, but the other receivers 21 have not, only the receiver 21 that received the signal may be considered to have received a signal, and the other receivers 21 may be considered to have not received a signal. The same may be applied when acquiring reception results for the other second to fourth receiver sets 12 to 14. Furthermore, when the acquisition unit 30 acquires reception results for the first to fourth receiver sets 11 to 14, for example, the reception results may be acquired for all receiver sets using radio waves transmitted from the same terminal device 2, or for at least some of the receiver sets, the reception results may be acquired using radio waves transmitted from different terminal devices 2. In the latter case, as an example, the first to fourth receiver sets 11 to 14 may each acquire reception results using radio waves transmitted from the first to fourth terminal devices 2. In this way, the source of the radio waves used to acquire reception results may differ for each receiver set. When the terminal device 2 transmits continuous wave radio waves, the acquisition unit 30 may, for example, acquire whether or not reception has occurred for each receiver at predetermined time intervals.

[0039] For example, if the first receiver set 11 receives radio waves transmitted from a specific terminal device 2 and checks whether it was received 10 times at a predetermined transmission interval, this is equivalent to performing 10 receptions using four receivers 21, so the ideal number of receptions would be "40" (= 4 × 10). On the other hand, if in reality the radio waves transmitted from that specific terminal device 2 were only received 32 times by the four receivers 21, the reception status would be "0.8" (= 32 / 40). The acquisition unit 30 may repeat this process for each receiver set. The transmission interval for radio waves is not particularly limited, but for example, it may be between 20 milliseconds and 10 seconds.

[0040] Furthermore, it is thought that the reception status may change depending on the number of terminal devices 2 located within the area where the receiving system identifies their location. For example, the more terminal devices 2 located within the area where the receiving system identifies their location, the greater the impact of interfering radio waves, and the higher the possibility that radio waves from the terminal devices 2 will not be received. Therefore, it is preferable to acquire the reception status when the reception status is poor, for example, when the reception rate is lower.

[0041] The determination unit 40 uses the reception status acquired for each of the one or more receiver sets to determine the number of receivers to be placed for each of the two or more receiving positions so that desired reception is performed at each of the two or more receiving positions. For example, the determination unit 40 may use the reception status acquired for each of the four receiver sets, i.e., the first to fourth receiver sets 11 to 14, to determine the number of receivers to be placed for each of the four receiving positions so that desired reception is performed at each of the four receiving positions. When determining the number of receivers for a given receiving position, the reception status acquired by the receiver set placed at that receiving position may be used. Desired reception may be, for example, the desired number of receptions in which radio waves transmitted from the terminal device 2 can be received at a single reception time. Multiple receptions at a single reception time can be achieved, for example, by placing multiple receivers at a single receiving position. For example, if it is desired to receive radio waves from the terminal device 2 twice at each receiving position of the receiving system at a single reception time, the desired number of receptions would be "2". For example, in a receiving system, if you want to receive radio waves transmitted from terminal device 2 a predetermined number of times at multiple reception points, the result of dividing that predetermined number by the number of reception points will be the number of receptions at a single reception point. If the resulting number of receptions at a single reception point is not an integer, you may, for example, round up the result to an integer, or use the non-integer number of receptions as is. As an example, if you want to receive radio waves transmitted from terminal device 2 six times at three reception points, the number of receptions at a single reception point will be two. In this case, the desired number of receptions at a single reception point may be "2".

[0042] This desired number of receptions can ideally be achieved by using the same number of receivers as that number of receptions. On the other hand, in reality, as described above, among the plurality of receivers, some receivers may not be able to receive radio waves. Therefore, it is necessary to arrange a number of receivers greater than the desired number of receptions at each reception position. For example, when half of the plurality of receivers cannot receive radio waves, the desired number of receptions can be achieved by arranging a number of receivers that is twice the desired number of receptions. Therefore, the determination unit 40 may, for example, for each reception position, determine the number of receivers as the result of rounding up the value obtained by dividing the desired number of receptions by the reception status acquired by the acquisition unit 30 to an integer. More specifically, the determination unit 40 may determine the number of receivers for each reception position according to the following formula. Note that the desired number of receptions may be determined in advance for each of the plurality of reception positions, for example. As an example, the desired number of receptions may be the same for all reception positions. Also, the reception status may be a reception ratio. Also, the ceiling in the following formula is a ceiling function. Number of receivers = ceiling(desired number of receptions / reception status)

[0043] As an example, when the reception status of a certain reception position is "0.8" and the desired number of receptions is "2", the number of receivers at that reception position may be determined to be "3" using the above formula.

[0044] As described above, it is preferable that the acquisition of the reception status be performed in a situation where the reception status is poor, for example, a situation where the reception ratio is lower. However, it may not be possible to acquire such a reception status. Therefore, the determination unit 4 may, for example, use, as the reception status to be substituted into the above formula, the result of multiplying the reception status acquired by the acquisition unit 30 by a predetermined coefficient smaller than 1. Note that the coefficient is usually preferably a value close to 1, such as 0.8 or 0.9. As an example, the coefficient may be determined according to the temporal change of the reception status.

[0045] The output unit 50 outputs the determination result by the determination unit 40 regarding the number of receivers arranged for each of the four reception positions. That is, the number of receivers arranged for each reception position determined by the determination unit 40 will be output by the output unit 50. Using this output determination result, the receivers at each reception position in the reception system may be arranged.

[0046] Here, this output may be, for example, display on a display device (such as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL display), transmission via a communication line to a predetermined device, printing by a printer, storage in a recording medium, or delivery to other components. Note that the output unit 50 may or may not include a device for output (such as a display device, a communication device, a printer, etc.). Also, the output unit 50 may be realized by hardware or by software such as a driver for driving those devices.

[0047] Next, the number determination method according to the present embodiment will be described using the flowchart of FIG. 4. Here, a case where the reception system has the first to fourth reception positions will be described. Also, it is assumed that a desired number of receptions is set for each of the four reception positions.

[0048] (Step S101) The first to fourth receiver sets 11 to 14 are respectively arranged at the first to fourth reception positions of the reception system.

[0049] (Step S102) The four receivers 21 included in the first receiver set 11 arranged at the first reception position each receive the radio waves transmitted from the terminal device ②. Then, the acquisition unit 30 acquires the reception status in the first receiver set 11 according to the reception result. Similarly, the four receivers 22 to 24 included in the second to fourth receiver sets 12 to 14 arranged at the second to fourth reception positions also receive the radio waves transmitted from the terminal device ②. Also, similarly, the acquisition unit 30 also acquires the reception status in the second to fourth receiver sets 12 to 14.

[0050] (Step S103) The determination unit 40 determines the number of receivers at the first receiving position using the reception status of the first receiver set 11 acquired by the acquisition unit 30 and the desired number of receptions. Similarly, the determination unit 40 also determines the number of receivers at the second to fourth receiving positions.

[0051] (Step S104) The output unit 50 outputs the number of receivers at the first to fourth receiving positions determined by the determination unit 40. The process of determining the number of receivers to be placed at each receiving position is then completed.

[0052] Next, the operation of the quantity determination device 1 according to this embodiment and the quantity determination method will be explained using a specific example. In this example as well, the reception status will be acquired using the first to fourth receiver sets 11 to 14.

[0053] First, the first to fourth receiver sets 11 to 14 are placed at the first to fourth receiving positions P1 to P4 shown in Figures 2 and 3, respectively (step S101). Next, in a situation where multiple users 5 are carrying terminal devices 2 and passing through gate 3, radio waves from the terminal devices 2 are received by each of the multiple receivers 21 to 24 included in the first to fourth receiver sets 11 to 14. Then, the acquisition unit 30 acquires the reception results for each of the receivers 21 to 24 for 10 points in time at a predetermined transmission interval. For example, for the four receivers 21a to 21d of the first receiver set 11, as shown in Figure 5, the acquisition unit acquires reception results indicating whether radio waves from a specific terminal device 2 were received at each of the predetermined transmission interval times T1 to T10, and acquires the reception status based on those reception results. In this case, ideally, radio waves can be received 40 times, but if the acquired reception results show that only 32 times were received, the acquisition unit 30 may acquire 0.8 (=32 / 40) as the reception status for the first reception position P1. The acquisition unit 30 similarly acquires the reception status for each of the second to fourth receiver sets 12 to 14 (step S102). Then, the acquisition unit 30 passes the reception status of the first to fourth receiver sets 11 to 14 to the determination unit 40.

[0054] Upon receiving the reception status of the first to fourth receiver sets 11 to 14, the determination unit 40 determines the number of receivers using the formula for calculating the number of receivers described above and passes it to the output unit 50 (step S103). For example, if the reception status of the first receiver set 11 is 0.8 and the desired number of receptions corresponding to the first reception position where the first receiver set 11 is located is 2, the determination unit 40 may determine the number of receivers at the first reception position P1 to be 3 (= ceiling(2 / 0.8)).

[0055] Upon receiving the number of receivers at the first to fourth receiving positions P1 to P4, the output unit 50 outputs them (step S104). This output allows the administrator of the receiving system to know the number of receivers to be placed at the first to fourth receiving positions P1 to P4, and they can then place the corresponding number of receivers at each receiving position.

[0056] As described above, the number determination device 1 and number determination method according to this embodiment can determine the number of receivers to be placed at each receiving position of the receiving system that identifies the location of the terminal device 2 by using the reception status acquired using multiple receiver sets. Then, by placing the number of receivers corresponding to the determination result at each receiving position, the desired reception can be achieved at each receiving position of the receiving system. Furthermore, by placing multiple receiver sets at multiple receiving positions, the reception status can be acquired for each receiving position, enabling more accurate determination of the number of receivers.

[0057] In this embodiment, the case where a receiver set is placed at each of two or more receiving positions in the receiving system has been mainly described, but this is not required. As described above, the receiver set may be placed at a position corresponding to two or more receiving positions, for example, at a representative position of two or more receiving positions. The number of representative positions of two or more receiving positions may be one or two or more, but it is preferable that the number of representative positions be less than the number of receiving positions. If there is one representative position of two or more receiving positions, for example, that representative position may be the centroid of the two or more receiving positions in a plan view. Alternatively, for example, one representative position may be any of the two or more receiving positions. In this case, the receiving position where the worst reception conditions are expected may be the representative position. For example, a receiving position with a metal wall nearby is expected to have poor radio wave reception conditions. Therefore, such a receiving position with a metal wall nearby may be the representative position. Furthermore, if there are two or more representative positions for two or more receiving positions, for example, the two or more receiving positions in the receiving system may be distributed into the same number of receiving position sets as the representative positions, and one representative position may be set for each receiving position set that contains one or more receiving positions. In this case, the representative position may be, for example, the centroid of one or more receiving positions included in the receiving position set in a plan view. Alternatively, the representative position may be, for example, any of the one or more receiving positions included in the receiving position set.

[0058] For example, if the first to fourth receiving positions P1 to P4 are located at the positions shown in Figures 2 and 3, and the reception status is acquired using one receiver set, then one receiver set may be placed at one representative position P11 shown in Figure 3. Ideally, in real space, it is preferable that the center of gravity of the first to fourth receiving positions P1 to P4 be the representative position P11, but if a receiver set is actually placed at such a position, it may obstruct the passage of the user 5. Therefore, as described above, the representative position P11 may be the center of gravity of the first to fourth receiving positions P1 to P4 in a plan view. In this case, the vertical position of the representative position P11 may be, for example, the height of the floor, the height of the ceiling, or a height in between, which does not obstruct the passage of the user 5. In this case, the quantity determination device 1 may be equipped with only one receiver set. Furthermore, the acquisition unit 30 may acquire the reception status for one receiver set, and the determination unit 40 may use the reception status acquired using that one receiver set to determine the number of receivers to be placed at each of the two or more receiving positions. For example, the determination unit 40 may use the reception status acquired using one receiver set to determine the number of receivers to be placed at each of the first to fourth receiving positions P1 to P4. If the desired number of receptions at each receiving position is the same, the number of receivers to be placed at each of the first to fourth receiving positions P1 to P4 will be determined to be the same. On the other hand, if the desired number of receptions at each receiving position is not the same, the number of receivers to be placed at each of the first to fourth receiving positions P1 to P4 does not have to be determined to be the same. If there are multiple representative positions, the number acquisition device 1 may have the same number of receiver sets as the number of representative positions. Furthermore, the determination unit 40 may, for example, use the reception status acquired using a certain receiver set to determine the number of receivers for one or more receiving positions included in the receiving position set corresponding to the representative position where that receiver set is located. This process may be performed, for example, as many times as there are representative positions.

[0059] In this way, by determining the number of receivers to be placed at each receiving position using fewer receiver sets than the number of two or more receiving positions, it is possible to determine the number of receivers to be placed at each receiving position more easily compared to the case where a receiver set is placed at each of two or more receiving positions.

[0060] Furthermore, although this embodiment mainly describes a case where two or more receiver sets are placed at two or more receiving positions in the receiving system and the reception status is acquired for both of these positions at once, this is not required. For example, the reception status may be acquired sequentially for each of the two or more receiving positions by placing one receiver set sequentially at each of the two or more receiving positions. More specifically, in the step of placing the receiver sets, one receiver set may be placed at one receiving position. Also, in the step of acquiring the radio wave reception status, the radio wave reception status may be acquired for that one receiver set. The steps of placing the receiver sets and acquiring the radio wave reception status described above may be repeated for each of the two or more receiving positions to acquire the radio wave reception status for each of the two or more receiving positions. That is, in the step of placing the receiver sets, one receiver set may be placed sequentially at each of the two or more receiving positions. Also, in the step of acquiring the radio wave reception status, the radio wave reception status may be acquired for each of the two or more receiving positions using one receiver set that has been placed sequentially at the two or more receiving positions in this manner. In this way, the radio wave reception status can be obtained for each of two or more receiving locations using a single receiver set. Alternatively, the same process can be performed using a number of receiver sets less than the number of receiving locations.

[0061] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, each process or function may be implemented by centralized processing by a single device or a single system, or by distributed processing by multiple devices or multiple systems.

[0062] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the exchange of information between each component may, for example, be performed by outputting information from one component and receiving information from the other component if the two components performing the information exchange are physically different, or by moving from the processing phase corresponding to one component to the processing phase corresponding to the other component if the two components performing the information exchange are physically the same.

[0063] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, information related to the processing performed by each component, such as information received, acquired, selected, generated, transmitted, or received by each component, and setting values ​​such as thresholds, formulas, addresses, and desired number of receptions used by each component in processing, may be temporarily or for a long period of time stored in a recording medium (not shown), even if not explicitly stated in the above description. The storage of information in the recording medium (not shown) may be performed by each component or a storage unit (not shown). The reading of information from the recording medium (not shown) may be performed by each component or a reading unit (not shown).

[0064] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, if the information used in each component, such as thresholds, addresses, and setting values ​​such as the desired number of receptions used by each component in processing, can be changed by the user, then, even if not explicitly stated in the above description, the user may be allowed to change such information as appropriate, or not. If the user can change such information, the change may be implemented, for example, by a receiving unit (not shown) that receives change instructions from the user and a changing unit (not shown) that changes the information in response to those change instructions. The receiving unit (not shown) may receive change instructions from an input device, receive information transmitted via a communication line, or receive information read from a predetermined recording medium.

[0065] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, if two or more components included in the count determination device 1 have a communication device, an input device, etc., the two or more components may have a single physical device, or they may have separate devices.

[0066] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, each component may be made up of dedicated hardware, or, in the case of components that can be realized by software, they may be realized by executing a program. For example, each component can be realized by a program execution unit such as a CPU reading and executing a software program recorded on a recording medium such as a hard disk or semiconductor memory. During execution, the program execution unit may execute the program while accessing a storage unit or recording medium. The software that realizes the number determination device 1 in the above embodiment is the following program. In other words, this program is a program for determining the number of receivers to be placed at each receiving position in a receiving system that identifies the position of a terminal device by receiving radio waves from the terminal device at two or more receiving positions, and may be a program that causes a computer to execute the following steps: acquiring the reception status of radio waves from one or more terminal devices for one or more receiver sets having one or more receivers placed at positions corresponding to two or more receiving positions; using the reception status acquired for one or more receiver sets, determining the number of receivers to be placed at each of the two or more receiving positions so that desired reception is performed at each of the two or more receiving positions; and outputting the determination result regarding the number of receivers to be placed at each of the two or more receiving positions.

[0067] Furthermore, in the above program, steps such as acquiring information and outputting information do not include processes that can only be performed by hardware, such as processes performed by communication devices or display devices in the step of outputting information.

[0068] Furthermore, this program may be executed by downloading it from a server or the like, or by reading a program recorded on a predetermined recording medium (for example, an optical disc such as a CD-ROM, a magnetic disc, or a semiconductor memory). This program may also be used as a program that constitutes a program product.

[0069] Furthermore, the computer running this program may be a single computer or multiple computers. That is, it may perform centralized processing or distributed processing.

[0070] Figure 6 shows an example of a computer system 900 that executes the above program to realize the quantity determination device 1 according to the above embodiment. The above embodiment can be realized by computer hardware and a computer program executed thereon.

[0071] In Figure 6, the computer system 900 includes an MPU (Micro Processing Unit) 911, a ROM 912 such as flash memory that stores programs such as boot-up programs, application programs, system programs, and data, a RAM 913 connected to the MPU 911 that temporarily stores instructions for application programs and provides temporary storage space, a touch panel 914, a wired or wireless communication module 915, and a bus 916 that interconnects the MPU 911, ROM 912, etc. The computer system 900 may also include, for example, a plurality of communication modules 915 corresponding to the first to fourth receiver sets 11 to 14, or the communication modules 915 may be connected to the first to fourth receiver sets 11 to 14 via wired or wireless communication lines. The computer system 900 may also include a display and input devices such as a mouse or keyboard instead of the touch panel 914. Furthermore, the computer system 900 may further include other recording media such as a hard disk.

[0072] The program that causes the computer system 900 to execute the functions of the count determination device 1 according to the above embodiment may be stored in the ROM 912 via the communication module 915. The program is loaded into the RAM 913 when executed. The program may also be loaded directly from the network.

[0073] The program does not necessarily include an operating system (OS) or third-party program that causes the computer system 900 to execute the functions of the count determination device 1 according to the above embodiment. The program may include only the instruction portion that calls appropriate functions or modules in a controlled manner to obtain the desired result. How the computer system 900 operates is well known, so a detailed explanation is omitted.

[0074] Furthermore, the embodiments described above are illustrative examples for specifically carrying out the present invention and do not limit the technical scope of the present invention. The technical scope of the present invention is indicated by the claims rather than by the description of the embodiments, and modifications within the literal scope and equivalent meaning of the claims are intended.

Claims

1. A method for determining the number of receivers to be placed at each receiving position in a receiving system that identifies the position of a terminal device by receiving radio waves from the terminal device at two or more receiving positions, comprising:

1. Placing one or more receiver sets, each having one or more receivers, at positions corresponding to the two or more receiving positions; 2. Receiving radio waves from one or more terminal devices using the one or more receiver sets and acquiring the radio wave reception status for each of the one or more receiver sets; and 3. Using the reception status acquired for each of the one or more receiver sets, determining the number of receivers to be placed at each of the two or more receiving positions so that desired reception is performed at each of the two or more receiving positions.

2. The method for determining the number of receivers according to claim 1, wherein in the step of arranging one or more receiver sets, one receiver set is arranged at each of the two or more receiving positions; in the step of acquiring the reception status, the reception status is acquired for each of the two or more receiving positions; and in the step of determining the number of receivers, the number of receivers is determined for each of the two or more receiving positions using the reception status.

3. The method for determining the number of receivers according to claim 1, wherein in the step of arranging one or more receiver sets, one receiver set is arranged at a representative position of the two or more receiving positions, and in the step of determining the number of receivers, the number of receivers to be arranged at each of the two or more receiving positions is determined using the reception status obtained using the one receiver set.

4. The method for determining the number of receiving positions according to claim 3, wherein the representative position of the two or more receiving positions is the centroid of the two or more receiving positions in a plan view.

5. The method for determining the number of items according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the reception status is the value obtained by dividing the total number of actual receptions in each of the one or more receivers of a receiver set with respect to radio waves from one or more terminal devices by the total number of ideal receptions in each of the one or more receivers with respect to radio waves from the one or more terminal devices.

6. The method for determining the number of receivers according to claim 5, wherein in the step of determining the number of receivers, for each receiving position, the number of receivers is determined by rounding up the value obtained by dividing the desired number of receptions by the reception conditions to an integer.

7. A number determination device for determining the number of receivers to be placed at each receiving position in a receiving system that identifies the position of a terminal device by receiving radio waves from the terminal device at two or more receiving positions, comprising: one or more receiver sets having one or more receivers each, placed at positions corresponding to the two or more receiving positions; an acquisition unit for acquiring the reception status of radio waves from one or more terminal devices for each of the one or more receiver sets; a determination unit that uses the reception status acquired for each of the one or more receiver sets to determine the number of receivers to be placed at each of the two or more receiving positions so that desired reception is performed at each of the two or more receiving positions; and an output unit that outputs the determination result by the determination unit regarding the number of receivers to be placed at each of the two or more receiving positions.

8. A program for determining the number of receivers to be placed at each receiving position in a receiving system that identifies the position of a terminal device by receiving radio waves from the terminal device at two or more receiving positions, the program causing a computer to perform the following steps: acquiring the reception status of radio waves from one or more terminal devices for one or more receiver sets having one or more receivers each, which are placed at positions corresponding to the two or more receiving positions; determining the number of receivers to be placed at each of the two or more receiving positions using the reception status acquired for each of the one or more receiver sets, so that desired reception is performed at each of the two or more receiving positions; and outputting the determination result regarding the number of receivers to be placed at each of the two or more receiving positions.

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