JP5113566B2 - Communication control method, guide cane, portable electronic device, and control program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a communication control method or the like when a tag reader provided at the distal end portion of a guide cane reads tag data from an IC tag having any one of a plurality of communication methods.

A configuration using an IC tag embedded in a guidance block or the like is known as a guidance guide system for the visually impaired. Such a system includes a guide staff equipped with a tag reader at the tip of a user who is visually impaired, a portable terminal device mounted in a user's pocket, etc., and location information stored in the ground or in a station premises. It is composed of IC tags embedded in such facilities. The guide wand transmits position information read by the tag reader from the IC tag to the portable terminal device. And a portable terminal device estimates a user's local action based on the position information received from the guidance stick, and performs guidance based on the prediction (for example, refer to Patent Document 1).
Japanese Patent No. 3553373

  By the way, for example, there are a plurality of communication systems with different carrier frequencies for IC tags. Therefore, tag data cannot be read from the IC tag unless the communication method of the tag reader of the guide stick matches the communication method of the IC tag. In the guidance and guidance system, guidance is provided for a user who walks while following the guidance block with the tip of the guide cane, so the tip of the guide cane and the IC tag are close to each other in a short time of about 1 second. The tag data must be read from the IC tag. That is, when a plurality of types of IC tags having different communication methods are embedded, it is necessary to reliably read tag data from the IC tag within a limited time by matching the tag reader communication method to the IC tag communication method. . The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and a tag reader for a guiding cane used in a guidance guidance system can read tag data more reliably regardless of any of a plurality of types of IC tag communication methods. The purpose is to be.

The first invention for solving the above-described problems is
A tag reader (for example, the tag reader 310 in FIG. 5) provided at the tip of the guiding cane (for example, the guiding cane 30 in FIGS. 1 and 5) is embedded in the guiding blocks in various places and is determined in advance. A communication control method for reading tag data (for example, tag data 210A in FIG. 5) from an IC tag (for example, the IC tag 20 in FIGS.
The tag data includes identification information for identifying a self-IC tag or a guidance block in which the self-IC tag is embedded (hereinafter collectively referred to as “tag spot”), and self-tag along the self-tag spot and the guidance block. Direction information capable of determining the relative direction of the tag spot next to the tag spot (hereinafter referred to as “next tag spot”), and communication method information indicating the communication method of the IC tag of the next tag spot,
A traveling direction determination step (for example, step A15 in FIG. 10) for determining the traveling direction of the user when reaching the tag spot of the tag data read this time and the past based on the tag data read this time and in the past;
A traveling direction prediction step (for example, step A17 in FIG. 10) for predicting the direction in which the user intends to proceed next from the tag spot of the tag data read this time based on the determined traveling direction;
A communication control step for controlling communication of the tag reader when attempting to read the tag data, with the communication method of the next tag spot corresponding to the predicted traveling direction included in the tag data read this time as a priority communication method ( For example, step A23) in FIG.
Is a communication control method.

  According to the first aspect of the invention, when the tag reader provided at the distal end portion of the guide cane reads the tag data from the IC tag embedded in the guide block, it is used based on the tag data read this time and in the past. The direction in which the user is traveling is determined, the direction in which the user is going to proceed next is predicted based on the determined traveling direction, and the communication method of the next tag spot corresponding to the predicted traveling direction is tagged as the priority communication method. Data is read. If the communication method of the tag reader is different from the communication method of the IC tag to be read, tag data cannot be read from this IC tag. Further, when a walking user has a guide cane, tag data must be read from the IC tag for a short time (about several seconds at most) when the tag reader of the guide cane is close to the IC tag. For this reason, as in the present invention, the next tag spot corresponding to the predicted traveling direction of the user, that is, reading the tag data from the IC tag with the communication method of the IC tag predicted to be read next as the priority communication method. As a result, the tag data can be read more reliably.

The second invention is the communication control method of the first invention,
The communication control step is a communication control method which is a step of performing control to switch the priority communication method and another communication method in a time division manner with the priority communication method as the longest execution time.

  According to the second invention, the priority communication method and other communication methods can be switched to time division with the priority communication method as the longest execution time. That is, by making the execution time of the priority communication method the longest, the tag data can be read more reliably by this priority communication method.

The third invention is the communication control method of the second invention,
The communication control step is a communication control method including a time division time variable step for changing an execution time of each communication method executed in a time division manner.

  According to the third aspect of the invention, the execution time of each communication method executed in time division is variable.

The fourth invention is the communication control method of the third invention,
A time elapse detection step (for example, step A7 in FIG. 10) for detecting that a predetermined time has elapsed since the tag data was successfully read at last;
The time division time variable step is a step of varying the execution time of the priority communication method and another communication method in accordance with the detection by the time passage detection step.
This is a communication control method.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, it is detected that a predetermined time has passed since the tag data was successfully read last, and the execution time between the priority communication method and the other communication method is varied according to this detection. The If the tag data of the IC tag is not read even after the predetermined time has passed, there is a high possibility that the communication method of this IC tag does not match the communication method set as the priority communication method. In such a case, for example, the tag data can be read more reliably by shortening the execution time of the priority communication method and changing the execution time of the other communication method to be longer.

A fifth invention is the communication control method of any one of the first to third inventions,
A time elapse detection step (for example, step A7 in FIG. 10) for detecting that a predetermined time has elapsed since the tag data was successfully read at the end,
In accordance with detection by the time lapse detection step, a priority communication method change step for changing a communication method that is currently a priority communication method;
The communication control method further includes:

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, it is detected that a predetermined time has passed since the tag data was last read successfully, and the communication method that is currently set as the highest priority communication method is changed according to this detection. . If the tag data of the IC tag is not read even after the predetermined time has elapsed, there is a high possibility that the communication method of the IC tag does not match the communication method set as the priority communication method. In such a case, the tag data can be read more reliably by changing the communication method as the priority communication method.

A sixth invention is the communication control method of any one of the first to fifth inventions,
A direction guidance step (for example, step A19 in FIG. 10) for guiding the user in the direction of movement to the destination based on the predetermined destination and the tag data read this time;
The traveling direction predicting step is a step of predicting the moving direction guided in the direction guiding step as a direction in which the user is going to travel.
This is a communication control method.

  According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the user is guided in the direction of movement to the destination based on the tag data read this time, and the guided direction of movement is predicted as the direction in which the user is going to proceed. When a user is guided to a destination, the user usually proceeds in the guided direction. Therefore, the tag data can be read more reliably by setting the communication method of the next tag spot corresponding to the guidance direction to the user as the priority communication method.

The seventh invention
A guide cane is provided with a tag reader that communicates with an IC tag embedded in a guidance block at various locations at the tip, and a control unit that executes the communication control method according to any one of the first to fifth inventions.

  According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, it is possible to realize a guide cane that exhibits the same effects as any of the first to fifth aspects of the invention.

The eighth invention
A portable electronic device that is carried by a user of a guide cane having a tag reader that communicates with an IC tag embedded in a guide block at various locations and can communicate with the guide cane,
The guide wand includes a transmitter that transmits the tag data read from the IC tag by the tag reader to the portable electronic device, and the tag data according to a communication mode switching control signal received from the portable electronic device. A switching control unit for switching the communication method of
It is a portable electronic device provided with the control part which performs the communication control method of any one of the 1st-6th invention.

In addition, the ninth invention,
A control program for a portable electronic device that is carried by a user of a guide cane having a tag reader that communicates with an IC tag embedded in a guidance block at various locations and can communicate with the guide cane,
The guide wand includes a transmitter that transmits the tag data read from the IC tag by the tag reader to the portable electronic device, and the tag data according to a communication mode switching control signal received from the portable electronic device. A switching control unit for switching the communication method of
A control program for causing a computer built in the portable electronic device to execute the communication control method according to any one of the first to sixth inventions.

  According to the eighth or ninth invention, the same effects as those of any of the first to sixth inventions can be obtained by controlling the guide cane with the portable electronic device.

  According to the present invention, when the tag reader provided at the tip of the guide cane reads the tag data from the IC tag embedded in the guide block, the direction in which the user intends to proceed next is predicted, and the prediction The tag data is read more reliably by reading the tag data from the IC tag with the communication method of the next tag spot corresponding to the travel direction, that is, the IC tag communication method predicted to be read next, as the priority communication method. Is possible.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the following, the case where the present invention is applied to a guidance guidance system that guides a user who is visually impaired to a destination will be described. However, applicable embodiments of the present invention are not limited to this. .

[System configuration]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a guidance and guidance system 1 in the present embodiment. According to the figure, the guidance and guidance system 1 includes an IC tag 20 embedded in a guidance block for a visually impaired person (hereinafter simply referred to as “guidance block”) 10 installed in a passage or the like, and a user who is a visually impaired person. Y is composed of a guide cane 30 that is a white cane in hand, and a small portable terminal 40 that the user carries in a pocket or the like.

  The IC tag 20 is a tag used for RFID (Radio Frequency IDentification) in which data is written / read without contact using short-range wireless communication. The IC tag 20 stores data (tag data) including identification information of the IC tag 20 or the guiding block 10 installed. Here, the IC tag 20 or the guide block 10 in which the IC tag 20 is embedded corresponds to a “tag spot”.

  The guide cane 30 is provided with a reader (tag reader) of the IC tag 20 near the tip thereof, and has a built-in wireless communication device for performing wireless communication with the portable terminal 40, and an IC approaching the tip portion. Data stored in the tag 20 (tag data) is read by a tag reader, and the read tag data is transmitted to the portable terminal 40.

  The portable terminal 40 incorporates a wireless communication device for performing wireless communication with the guidance cane 30, and based on the tag data of the IC tag 20 received from the guidance cane 30, the direction to travel and the distance to the destination Etc. by voice output, the user is guided to the set destination. Wireless communication between the guide cane 30 and the portable terminal 40 is realized by, for example, Bluetooth (registered trademark). The communication standard is not limited to the Bluetooth standard.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of guidance guidance by the guidance guidance system 1. As shown in the figure, a plurality of guide blocks are laid in a row in a station yard or underground mall passage, and a guide path 12 that is a series of these guide blocks is formed. For ease of explanation, it is assumed that the taxiway 12 is formed in a straight line along two directions orthogonal to each other such as the north-south direction and the east-west direction, with the upper direction in the figure being “north”. And IC tag 20 is installed on guideway 12 at intervals of several to dozens of meters, for example. Further, an IC tag 20 is always installed at a bent portion or a branched portion of the guide path 12.

  When the user wants to receive guidance to the destination, the destination is first set on the portable terminal 40. The destination is set by inputting the name of the destination by voice, such as “ticket gate”. Here, the setting of the destination is not limited to voice input, and may be another method. For example, the mobile terminal 40 is provided with operation keys similar to those of a numeric keypad of a mobile phone, and character input is performed by the same operation input as the numeric keypad operation input of the mobile phone, and the input character string is output by the voice reading function. It is good also as confirming by doing. Alternatively, a number and a candidate place may be set in advance in association with each other, and a destination may be set by inputting a number by a numeric keypad operation by voice guidance of the mobile terminal 40.

  When the destination is set, walking along the taxiway 12 is started. Then, at an appropriate timing (specifically, when the IC tag 20 is detected by the guide cane 30), the direction to travel and the distance to the destination are guided by voice. The direction (guidance direction) to be guided here is a direction along the guide path 12 and is expressed by a direction based on the user such as a front-rear and left-right direction.

  For example, when going to the destination at the upper right in the figure, guidance is provided as follows. That is, when the user who has proceeded in the east direction reaches the IC tag 20b, the user is guided to proceed “forward” as it is. Following the guidance, the vehicle proceeds forward as it is, and when it reaches the IC tag 20c, it is guided to proceed to the "left" next time. Here, when the user goes straight without turning left and reaches the IC tag 20d, the user is guided to go “backward”, that is, to go back. Then, the vehicle proceeds backward (ie, goes back) according to the guidance, and when it reaches the IC tag 20c again, it is guided to proceed to “right” this time. Thus, by proceeding in the guided direction, the user can pass through the positions of the IC tags 20f, 20g, and 20h in order and reach the destination.

By the way, there may be a plurality of communication methods of the IC tag 20, and here, there are two types of communication methods A and B for the sake of simplicity of explanation. That is, in the installed IC tag 20, communication system A and communication system B are mixed. The communication methods A and B are communication methods having different carrier frequencies, for example, and one example of the carrier frequency is 125 kHz and the other is 134.2 kHz. For this reason, in the walking stick 30, reading with the communication method A and reading with the communication method B are alternately performed so that the stored tag data can be read regardless of the communication method of the IC tag 20. Do. Specifically, the time t for performing reading in each communication method is varied, and reading is performed with priority given to one communication method over the other communication method . More specifically, three types of communication modes X, Y, and Z having different communication methods to be prioritized are defined, and communication modes X, Y, and Z corresponding to the communication method to be prioritized are set.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the communication mode. In the figure, the upper side shows the communication mode X, the middle side shows the communication mode Y, and the lower side shows the communication mode Z. As shown in the figure, a time T (about 50 ms to 1 s) required for the user to pass one guidance block is a time ta for reading in communication method A and a time tb for reading in communication method B. The ratio of the execution times ta and tb differs depending on the communication mode. That is, the communication mode X is a mode in which the communication method A is prioritized, and the execution time ta is set longer than the execution time tb. Specifically, for example, the execution time ta is three times as long as the execution time tb. The communication mode Y is a mode in which the communication method B is prioritized, and the execution time tb is set longer than the execution time ta. Specifically, for example, the execution time tb is three times as long as the execution time ta. Of course, the length of the execution times ta and tb is arbitrary. The communication mode Z is a case where the execution times ta and tb are equal.

  The communication modes X, Y, and Z are switched according to the communication method of the IC tag 20 predicted to be detected next. That is, when the IC tag 20 is detected, the next direction (direction to reach the destination) is guided, but the mode is switched to the communication mode according to the communication method of the IC tag 20 in this guidance direction. That is, if the next IC tag 20 is the communication method A, the communication mode X is switched, and if the next IC tag 20 is the communication method B, the communication mode Y is switched.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining switching of communication modes. In the figure, the user is moving along the guide path 12 toward the IC tag 20a. At this time, since the IC tag 20a is the communication method A, it is assumed that the communication mode X is set. When the user reaches the position of the IC tag 20a, the user is guided to proceed “forward”. At this time, since the IC tag 20b in the guidance direction is the communication method A, the setting of the communication mode remains the communication mode X. Subsequently, when the user goes straight and the IC tag 20b is detected, next, the user is guided to move “to the left”, and since the IC tag 20d in this guidance direction is the communication system B, the communication mode X To communication mode Y.

  Further, when the IC tag 20 is not detected for a predetermined detection standby time (for example, about several seconds), the current communication mode is switched to another communication mode. For example, when the user proceeds in a direction different from the guide direction, if the communication method of the IC tag 20 in the actual traveling direction of the user is different from the communication method of the IC tag 20 in the guide direction, there is a probability that the IC tag 20 is not detected. Get higher. In order to cope with such a case, the IC tag 20 can be detected more reliably by switching the communication mode according to the passage of the detection standby time.

  Three specific examples of such a guidance system 1 will be described.

[First embodiment]
First, the first embodiment will be described. FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of the guidance system 1A in the first embodiment. According to the figure, the guidance system 1A is composed of an IC tag 20, a guide wand 30 and a portable terminal 40A.

  The IC tag 20 stores tag data 210A. FIG. 6 shows the data structure of the tag data 210A. According to the figure, the tag data 210A includes a tag ID 211 that is an identification number of the IC tag 20, data (adjacent tag data) 212A for an adjacent tag of the IC tag 20, and data (candidate site) for a candidate site. Data) 213A.

  The “adjacent tag” is the next IC tag 20 along the taxiway from the IC tag 20, and corresponds to the “next tag spot” of the IC tag 20 that is the “own tag spot”. For example, in FIG. 2, there are four adjacent tags of IC tag 20c, IC tags 20a, 20b, 20d, and 20f. Further, there are two adjacent tags of the IC tag 20f, namely the IC tags 20c and 20g. The adjacent tag data 212A stores a tag ID, a direction, and a communication method in association with each adjacent tag of the IC tag. The direction of the adjacent tag is the direction of the adjacent tag along the taxiway from the IC tag 20, and is expressed by an absolute direction such as east, west, south, and north.

  The “candidate site” is a place that can be a destination, and in the case of a railway station, an exit, a ticket gate, a ticket machine, a toilet, a home, a station office, and the like. The candidate site data 213A stores a candidate site ID, a direction, and a distance in association with each candidate site. The direction of the candidate site is the direction of the adjacent tag along the taxiway from the position of the IC tag 20 to the candidate site, and is expressed by an absolute direction such as east, west, south, and north. The distance to the candidate site is a distance along the guide path from the position of the IC tag 20 to the candidate site. If the installation position of the IC tag 20 is the candidate site, this distance is set to zero.

  The guide cane 30 includes a tag reader 310 and a wireless communication device 320. The tag reader 310 reads data (tag reader) stored in the IC tag 20. The tag reader 310 can read data by two types of communication methods A and B, and the communication method for reading is switched according to the switching signal received from the mobile terminal 40. The wireless communication device 320 is a wireless communication module compliant with the Bluetooth standard, and controls wireless communication with an external device such as the mobile terminal 40. In the present embodiment, the tag data of the IC tag 20 read by the tag reader 310 is mainly transmitted to the mobile terminal 40, and the communication system switching signal transmitted from the mobile terminal 40 is received.

  The portable terminal 40A includes a processing unit 410A, an operation input unit 420, a voice input unit 430, a display unit 440, a voice output unit 450, a wireless communication unit 460, and a storage unit 470A.

  The processing unit 410A is realized by a CPU or the like, and performs overall control of the mobile terminal 40A based on programs and data stored in the storage unit 470A, input data from the operation input unit 420 and the voice input unit 430, and the like. In the present embodiment, the processing unit 410A performs the guidance guidance process (1) according to the guidance guidance program 471A.

  In this guidance processing (1), the processing unit 410A first sets a destination. Specifically, the user's input voice from the voice input unit 430 is subjected to voice recognition processing, and any one of a plurality of candidate locations defined in the candidate location table 481 is set as the destination. The set destination is stored in the destination data 483. The candidate location table 481 is a data table that defines candidate locations, and stores candidate location IDs and candidate location names in association with each other for a plurality of candidate locations. These candidate sites are common to the candidate sites stored in the tag data 210A.

  Next, when the IC tag 20 is detected by the guide cane 30, it is determined whether the destination has arrived. Here, “the IC tag 20 has been detected” means “the tag data 210A of the IC tag 20 has been received from the guide cane 30”. That is, in the received tag data 210A, if the distance to the candidate location corresponding to the destination is zero, it is determined that the destination has been reached. Then, the user is informed of the arrival at the destination by causing the audio output unit 450 to output a predetermined sound such as “arrived at the destination”, for example.

  If the destination has not arrived, the processing unit 410A determines the traveling direction of the user from the positional relationship between the IC tag 20 detected this time (current tag) and the IC tag 20 detected last time (previous tag). The tag data 210 </ b> A includes an ID tag and a direction for each adjacent tag of the IC tag 20. That is, referring to the tag data 210 of the IC tag 20 (hereinafter referred to as “current tag”) detected this time and the tag data 210 of the IC tag 20 (hereinafter referred to as “previous tag”) detected last time, It is determined whether the tag is adjacent to the previous tag. If the current tag is a tag adjacent to the previous tag, the user is assumed to have advanced from the previous tag position to the current tag position, and the current tag direction viewed from the previous tag is determined as the user's traveling direction.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining determination of the traveling direction of the user. In the figure, the adjacent tag of the IC tag 20a which is the previous tag is the IC tag 20b, and the direction thereof is “east”. Further, the adjacent tag of the IC tag 20b which is the current tag is the IC tag 20a, and the direction thereof is “west”. That is, it is determined that the direction of the IC tag 20b viewed from the IC tag 20a is “east”, and therefore the traveling direction of the user is “east”.

  Next, the processing unit 410A determines whether or not the user is next based on the relationship between the determined current travel direction of the user (current travel direction) and the direction of the destination based on the current tag (the direction from the current tag to the destination). The direction to be guided (guide direction) is determined as the direction to go to. FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining determination of the guidance direction of the user. In the figure, the user's current traveling direction (current traveling direction) is “east”, and the destination direction is “south”. Accordingly, the guide direction is determined to be “right”. Then, the processing unit 410A guides the user by causing the audio output unit 450 to output the determined guidance direction and the distance to the destination.

  The processing unit 410A determines that the adjacent tag from the current tag to the destination is the IC tag 20 to be detected next, and switches the communication mode according to the communication method of the adjacent tag. That is, if the adjacent tag is the communication method A, the communication mode X is set, and if the adjacent tag is the communication method B, the communication mode Y is set. In addition, when the next IC tag 20 is not detected even after a predetermined time has elapsed since the detection of the IC tag 20, the processing unit 410A switches from the current communication mode to another communication mode. Thereafter, the communication mode is switched every time a predetermined time elapses until the next IC tag 20 is detected. The current communication mode is stored in communication mode data 484.

  Further, the processing unit 410A controls the communication method of the tag reader 310 of the guide cane 30 according to the set communication mode. Specifically, according to the communication mode table 482, each time the reading times ta and tb of the communication methods A and B corresponding to the current communication mode elapse, the switching signal for the communication methods A and B is sent to the guide cane 30. FIG. 9 shows an example of the data configuration of the communication mode table 482 to be transmitted. According to the figure, the communication mode table 482 stores the communication mode 482a and the execution time 482b of each communication method in association with each other.

  The operation input unit 420 is realized by a keyboard, a touch panel, various switches, and the like, and outputs an input signal corresponding to the operation input to the processing unit 410A. The voice input unit 430 is realized by a microphone or the like, and outputs the input voice to the processing unit 410A. The display unit 440 is realized by an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), an ELD (Electronic Luminescent Display), or the like, and displays various screens based on a display signal input from the processing unit 410A. The audio output unit 450 is realized by a speaker or the like, and outputs various sounds based on the sound signal input from the processing unit 410A. The wireless communication unit 460 is realized by a wireless communication module compliant with the BlueTooth standard, and mainly performs data communication with the guide cane 30.

  The storage unit 470A is realized by a ROM, a RAM, a hard disk, and the like, and a system program for realizing various functions for the processing unit 410A to integrally control the portable terminal 40A, a program for realizing various processes, In addition to storing data and the like, it is used as a work area of the processing unit 410A and temporarily stores calculation results executed by the processing unit 410A according to various programs, input signals from the operation input unit 420, and the like. In the present embodiment, the guidance section program 471A is stored as a program in the storage unit 470A, and the candidate location table 481, the communication mode table 482, the destination data 483, the communication mode data 484, Previous detection tag data 485 and current detection tag data 486 are stored.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart for explaining the flow of the guidance guidance process (1) in the first embodiment. According to the figure, the processing unit 410A first sets a destination (step A1). Further, the communication mode is initially set (for example, communication mode Z) (step A3). Next, if the IC tag 20 is not detected (step A5: NO), an elapsed time from the previous detection of the IC tag 20 or the switching of the communication mode due to the elapse of the previous detection waiting time is determined. If the elapsed time has reached the detection standby time (step A7: YES), the current communication mode is switched to another communication mode (step A9), and the process returns to step A5.

  If the IC tag 20 is detected (step A5: YES), it is determined whether the destination has been reached based on the tag data 210A read from the IC tag 20. If the destination has been reached (step A11: YES), the arrival at the destination is guided by voice output (step A31). And guidance guidance processing (1) is ended.

  On the other hand, if the user has not arrived at the destination (step A11: NO), the traveling direction of the user is determined. That is, it is determined whether or not the current detection tag is an adjacent tag of the previous detection tag, and if it is an adjacent tag (step A13: YES), the direction of the current detection tag viewed from the previous detection tag is set to the user's current position. (Step A15). Next, the guide direction to the user is determined from the relative relationship between the determined traveling direction and the destination direction (step A17). Then, the determined guidance direction and the distance to the destination are guided by voice output (step A19).

  On the other hand, if the current detection tag is not adjacent to the previous detection tag (step A13: NO), it is determined that the user's traveling direction is unknown (step A23). Subsequently, the processing unit 410A determines the communication method of all the adjacent tags of the detection tag. If all the communication methods are the same (step A25: YES), the processing unit 410A switches to the communication mode according to the communication method (step A27). ). Specifically, if the communication method of all adjacent tags is method A, the communication mode is switched to X, and if the communication method is method B, the communication mode is switched to Y. On the other hand, if the communication methods of all adjacent tags are not the same (step A25: NO), the communication mode is switched according to the ratio of the communication methods of each adjacent tag (step A29). For example, among all adjacent tags, if method A is greater than method B, switch to communication mode X, conversely, if method B is greater than method A, switch to communication mode Y, and if methods A and B are the same number Switch to communication mode Z. Then, it returns to step A5.

[Second Embodiment]
Next, a second embodiment will be described. The same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted or simplified. The second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in the structure of data (tag data) stored in the IC tag 20.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a data configuration of the tag data 210B in the second embodiment. According to the figure, the tag data 210B is composed of a tag ID 211 of the IC tag and candidate site data 213B. The candidate site data 213B stores the candidate site ID, the tag ID of the adjacent tag reaching the candidate site, the direction and the communication method, and the distance to the candidate site in association with each other.

  FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an internal configuration of the mobile terminal 40B in the second embodiment. According to the figure, the portable terminal 40B includes a processing unit 410B, an operation input unit 420, a voice input unit 430, a display unit 440, a voice output unit 450, a wireless communication unit 460, and a storage unit 470B. It is prepared for.

  The processing unit 410B performs guidance guidance processing (2) according to the guidance guidance program 471B. In the guidance guidance process (2), first, a destination is set. Next, when the IC tag 20 is detected, it is determined whether it has arrived at the destination. If it has not arrived at the destination, the IC tag 20 detected this time (current tag) and the IC tag 20 detected last time ( The current traveling direction of the user is determined from the positional relationship with the previous tag.

  The tag data 210B includes the IDs and directions of adjacent tags extending from the IC tag 20 to the candidate sites. For this reason, referring to the tag data 210 of each of the current tag and the previous tag, it is determined whether the current tag is an adjacent tag that reaches any candidate site when viewed from the previous tag. It is determined that the direction of the current tag as viewed from the user's traveling direction.

  Next, from the relationship between the determined traveling direction of the user and the adjacent tag direction from the current tag to the destination, the guidance direction that is the direction in which the user should proceed is determined, and the determined guidance direction and the distance to the destination are determined. To guide you. The processing unit 410B switches the communication mode according to the communication method of the adjacent tag from the current tag to the destination.

  In the storage unit 470B, a guidance guide program 471B is stored as a program, and as data, a candidate location table 481, a communication mode table 482, destination data 483, communication mode data 484, previous detection tag data 485, This time, detection tag data 486 is stored.

  FIG. 13 is a flowchart for explaining the guidance guidance process (2) in the second embodiment. According to the figure, the processing unit 410B first sets a destination (step A1), and initializes a communication mode (for example, communication mode Z) (step A3). Next, it is determined whether or not the IC tag 20 has been detected. If not detected (step A5: NO), the elapsed time from the previous tag detection or the switching of the communication mode due to the elapse of the previous detection waiting time is determined. to decide. If the elapsed time has reached the detection standby time (step A7: YES), the current communication mode is switched to another communication mode (step A9), and the process returns to step A5. If the IC tag 20 is detected (step A5: YES), it is determined whether the destination has been reached. If the destination is reached (step A11: YES), the arrival at the destination is guided (step A31), and the guidance guidance process (2) is terminated.

  If the destination has not been reached (step A11: NO), the traveling direction of the user is determined. That is, it is determined whether the current detection tag is an adjacent tag that reaches any destination of the previous detection tag, and if it is an adjacent tag (step B13: YES), the detection tag of the current detection tag is changed from the previous detection tag. The direction is determined as the traveling direction of the user (step B15). Subsequently, based on the positional relationship between the determined traveling direction of the user and the adjacent direction to the destination, the direction in which the user should proceed (guide direction) is determined (step A17), and the determined guidance direction and the destination are determined. The distance is guided (step A19). Subsequently, the communication mode is switched according to the communication method of the adjacent tag reaching the destination (step B21), and then the process returns to step A5.

  On the other hand, if the current detection tag is not an adjacent tag of the previous detection tag (step B13: NO), it is determined that the traveling direction of the user is unknown (step B23). Next, based on the tag data 210B read from the detection tag, the communication method of each adjacent tag for which the communication method is determined is determined. If all the communication methods are the same (step B25: YES), the communication is performed. The communication mode is switched according to the method (step B27). On the other hand, if the communication methods of the adjacent tags are not the same (step B25: NO), the communication mode is switched according to the ratio of the communication methods of each adjacent tag (step B29). For example, among these adjacent tags, if the communication method A is greater than the communication method B, the communication mode X is switched. Conversely, if the communication method B is greater than the communication method A, the communication mode Y is switched. , B are the same number, switch to communication mode Z. Then, it returns to step A5.

[Third embodiment]
Next, a third embodiment will be described. The same components as those in the first or second embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted or simplified. The third embodiment is characterized in that the tag ID of the IC tag 20 is numbered according to a predetermined regularity.

  FIG. 14 is a diagram for explaining the regularity of the tag ID of the IC tag 20. As shown in the figure, in this embodiment, an IC tag 20 is installed on a taxiway 12 formed along the east-west direction and the north-south direction. However, the upper direction in the figure is “north”.

  The tag ID of the IC tag 20 is expressed by 4 digits, “north-south direction” is assigned to the upper 2 digits, and “east-west direction” is assigned to the lower 2 digits. The upper two digits of the tag ID are set to be larger as the position of the corresponding IC tag 20 is in the south direction, and the lower two digits are set as the position of the corresponding IC tag 20 is in the east direction. It is set to a large value. Therefore, the user's moving direction can be determined from the change from the tag ID of the previous detection tag to the tag ID of the current detection tag. Note that the tag ID is not limited to four digits, and may be any number of digits. Here, it is assumed that the tag ID is four digits for ease of explanation.

  That is, when attention is paid to the upper two digits of the tag ID, it is possible to determine movement in the north-south direction. That is, if the upper two digits of the tag ID are increasing, it moves in the south direction, if it is decreasing, it moves in the north direction, and if it is not changing, it is not moving in the north-south direction. I can judge. Similarly, when attention is paid to the lower two digits of the tag ID, movement in the east-west direction can be determined. That is, if the lower two digits of the tag ID are increasing, it moves in the east direction, if it is decreasing, it moves in the west direction, and if it is not changing, it is not moving in the east-west direction. I can judge. Then, by combining the movements in the north-south direction and the east-west direction, the movement direction in the absolute direction of the east-west-north-north can be determined.

  For example, when the previous tag is the IC tag 20c with the tag ID “0603” and the current tag is the IC tag 20d with the tag ID “0604”, the upper two digits of the tag ID change between the previous tag and the current tag. However, since the lower two digits are increasing, it is determined that the user's traveling direction is “east”. If the previous tag is the IC tag 20f with the tag ID “0503” and the current tag is the IC tag 20c with the tag ID “0603”, the upper two digits of the tag ID increase in the previous tag and the current tag. Since the lower 2 digits have not changed, the traveling direction of the user is determined to be “south”.

  FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a data configuration of the tag data 210C in the third embodiment. According to the figure, the tag data 210C is composed of a tag ID 211 of the IC tag and candidate site data 213C. The candidate site data 213C stores, for each candidate site, the candidate site ID, the direction and communication method of the adjacent tag reaching the candidate site, and the distance to the candidate site in association with each other.

  FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an internal configuration of the mobile terminal 40C in the third embodiment. According to the figure, the portable terminal 40C includes a processing unit 410C, an operation input unit 420, a voice input unit 430, a display unit 440, a voice output unit 450, and a storage unit 470C.

  The processing unit 410C performs guidance guidance processing (3) according to the guidance guidance program 471C. In the guide guidance process (3), first, a destination is set. Next, when the IC tag 20 is detected, it is determined whether it has arrived at the destination. If it has not arrived at the destination, the tag ID of the IC tag 20 (current tag) detected this time and the IC detected last time are detected. Based on the tag ID of the tag 20 (previous tag), the current traveling direction of the user is determined. That is, referring to the numbering rule table 487, the movement in the north-south direction is determined from the change in increase / decrease of the upper two digits of the tag ID, and the movement in the east-west direction is determined from the change in increase / decrease in the lower two digits.

  The numbering rule table 487 is a data table that defines the regularity of the numbering of tag IDs. FIG. 17 shows an example of the data configuration of the numbering rule table 487. According to the figure, the numbering rule table 487 stores a direction 487b in which the value increases and a direction 487c in which the value increases in association with each digit 487a of the tag ID. In this embodiment, the upper two digits of the tag ID are the north-south direction and the lower two digits are the east-west direction. However, it is needless to say that the direction corresponding to each digit may be appropriately determined in the direction along the taxiway. is there.

  Next, from the relationship between the determined traveling direction of the user and the adjacent tag direction from the current tag to the destination, the guidance direction that is the direction in which the user should proceed is determined, and the determined guidance direction and the distance to the destination are determined. To guide you. The processing unit 410C switches the communication mode according to the communication method of the adjacent tag from the current tag to the destination.

  The storage unit 470C stores a guidance guide program 471C as a program and, as data, a candidate location table 481, a communication mode table 482, a numbering rule table 487, destination data 483, and communication mode data 484. The previous detection tag data 485 and the current detection tag data 486 are stored.

  FIG. 18 is a flowchart for explaining the guidance guidance process (3) in the third embodiment. According to the figure, the processing unit 410C first sets a destination (step A1) and initializes a communication mode (for example, communication mode Z) (step A3). Next, it is determined whether the IC tag 20 has been detected. If the IC tag 20 has not been detected (step A5: NO), the communication mode is determined after the last detection of the IC tag 20 or when the detection standby time has elapsed. Judge the elapsed time since switching. If the elapsed time has reached the predetermined detection standby time (step A7: YES), the current communication mode is switched to another communication mode (step A9), and the process returns to step A5. If the IC tag 20 is detected (step A5: YES), it is determined whether the destination has been reached. If the destination has been reached (step A11: YES), the arrival at the destination is guided (step A31), and the guidance and guidance process (3) is terminated.

  On the other hand, if the destination has not been reached (step A11: NO), the user's traveling direction is determined based on the change from the tag ID of the previous detection tag to the tag ID of the current detection tag (step A11). C13). If the traveling direction of the user can be determined (step C15: YES), the direction in which the user should proceed next (guide direction) is then determined from the determined traveling direction of the user and the direction of the adjacent tag reaching the destination. Judgment is made (step A17). Subsequently, the determined guidance direction and the distance to the destination are guided (step A19). Then, the communication mode is switched according to the communication method of the adjacent tag reaching the destination (step C21), and then the process returns to step A5.

  On the other hand, if the traveling direction of the user cannot be determined (step C15: NO), each communication method of each adjacent tag for which the communication method is determined based on the tag data 210C read from the detection tag. If they are all the same communication method (step C23: YES), the communication mode is switched according to the communication method (step C25). On the other hand, if the communication methods of the adjacent tags are not the same (step C23: NO), the communication mode is switched according to the communication method ratio of each adjacent tag (step C27). For example, among these adjacent tags, if the communication method A is greater than the communication method B, the communication mode X is switched. Conversely, if the communication method B is greater than the communication method A, the communication mode Y is switched. , B are the same number, switch to communication mode Z. Then, it returns to step A5.

[Modification]
It should be noted that embodiments to which the present invention can be applied are not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be appropriately changed without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

(A) Switching of communication mode For example, in the above-described embodiment, the switching of the communication mode is switched according to the communication method of the adjacent tag in the route direction to the destination, but the destination is not set. To do so, do the following: That is, the next direction of the user is predicted, and the communication mode is switched according to the communication method of the adjacent tag in the predicted direction (predicted direction).

  Specifically, if there is one candidate direction as a candidate for the next walking, the candidate direction is set as the prediction direction, and the communication mode is switched according to the communication mode of the adjacent tag in the prediction direction. In addition, when there are a plurality of candidate directions such as a branching portion of the taxiway, switching is performed according to the communication method of adjacent tags in each of the plurality of candidate directions. That is, if the communication methods of adjacent tags in each of the plurality of candidate directions are all the same, the communication mode is switched to the communication method. In addition, if the communication method of the adjacent tag in each candidate direction is different, the communication mode may be switched to the communication method corresponding to the most communication method. Alternatively, priorities are assigned to candidate sites in advance, and a plurality of candidate directions may be switched. Of these, the direction of the route to the candidate site with the highest priority may be set as the prediction direction, and the communication mode may be switched according to the communication method of the adjacent tag in the prediction direction.

  Furthermore, in this case, the execution times ta and tb in the communication methods A and B may be variable according to the number of communication methods of adjacent tags. Specifically, the communication method of each adjacent tag is determined, and the ratio of the execution time t in each communication method is changed so as to be proportional to the determined ratio of each communication method. For example, if the communication methods of all adjacent tags are the same, the execution time t in the other communication methods becomes zero, and only reading in the same communication method is performed.

(B) Communication method In the above-described embodiment, the communication method of the IC tag 20 is two types of methods A and B. However, the present invention is also applicable to the case of three or more types. That is, the number of communication modes corresponding to the number of types of communication schemes is determined by giving priority to each of the three or more types of communication schemes over other communication schemes. In each communication mode, the time T required for the user to pass one guidance block is time-divided by the time for reading in each of the three or more communication methods, and the time for reading in the priority communication method is set. The time is set longer than the time for reading in another communication method.

  Further, when the communication method of the IC tag 20 is one type, the function of this communication mode may be turned off. For example, when it is known in advance that the communication method of the installed IC tag 20 is one kind, such as in a predetermined facility, the communication mode function for alternately reading in a plurality of communication methods is turned off. The IC tag 20 is detected only by the corresponding communication method.

(C) Built-in map data The mobile terminal 40 may incorporate map data and guide the user to the destination based on the detected IC tag 20. In this case, in the portable terminal 40, data in which the installation position of the IC tag 20 and the position on the map are associated in advance is built in. Note that the IC tag 20 may store the installation position of the IC tag 20 (for example, 100 m north from the entrance of the building).

  Then, the mobile terminal 40 determines the current position of the user on the map from the tag ID of the IC tag 20 stored in the IC tag 20 detected by the guidance cane 30. Further, the moving direction of the user (absolute direction in the east, west, north and south directions) is determined from the change in the installation position of the IC tag 20 detected most recently. Then, based on the relationship between the determined direction of movement of the user and the direction from the current position to the destination along the taxiway, the direction of guidance to the user (front / rear / right / left relative directions) is determined, and the determined direction of guidance is spoken. The user is guided by output or the like. At the same time, the communication mode is switched according to the communication method of the next IC tag 20 that reaches the destination.

  Further, when the destination is not set, the current position of the determined user or a candidate place ahead of the user in the traveling direction along the taxiway may be guided. In this case, it is assumed that the user has proceeded as it is in the determined traveling direction, and the communication mode is switched according to the communication method of the next IC tag 20 at that time.

Explanatory drawing of schematic structure of a guidance guidance system. An example of guidance guidance. Explanatory drawing of a communication mode. Explanatory drawing of switching of a communication mode. The lineblock diagram of the guidance guidance system in the 1st example. The data structural example of the tag data in 1st Example. Explanatory drawing of judgment of a user's advancing direction. Explanatory drawing of judgment of a guidance direction. The data structural example of a communication mode table. The flowchart of the guidance guidance process (1) in 1st Example. The data structural example of the tag data in 2nd Example. The block diagram of the portable terminal in 2nd Example. The flowchart of the guidance guidance process (2) in 2nd Example. Explanatory drawing of the regularity of tag ID of an IC tag. The data structural example of the tag data in 3rd Example. The block diagram of the portable terminal in 3rd Example. The data structural example of a numbering rule table. The flowchart of the guidance guidance process (3) in 3rd Example.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Guide guidance system 10 Guide block 20 IC tag 210A, 210B, 210C Tag data 30 Guide stick 310 Tag reader, 320 Wireless communication apparatus 40 (40A, 40B, 40C) Portable terminal 410A, 410B, 410C Processing part 470A, 470B, 470C Storage unit 471A, 471B, 471C Guide guidance program 481 Candidate location table, 482 Communication mode table 483 Destination data, 484 Communication mode data 485 Previous detection tag data, 486 Current detection tag data 487 Numbering rule table

Claims (9)

A tag reader provided at the tip of a guide cane is a communication control method for reading tag data from an IC tag embedded in a guidance block at various locations and configured in any of a plurality of predetermined communication methods. ,
The tag data includes identification information for identifying a self IC tag or a guidance block (hereinafter collectively referred to as a “tag spot”) in which the self IC tag is embedded, and a self tag along the tag spot arrangement direction. spot and next tag spot of the own tag spot (hereinafter referred to as "next tag spots".) and the direction information relative directions can be discriminated in a communication method information indicating a communication scheme of the IC tag of the next tag spot Contains
A traveling direction determination step for determining the traveling direction of the user of the guide cane when the tag spot of the tag data read this time and the tag data read this time is based on the tag data read this time and in the past,
A traveling direction prediction step for predicting a direction in which the user intends to proceed next from a tag spot of the tag data read this time based on the determined traveling direction;
A communication control step for controlling communication of the tag reader when attempting to read the tag data, with the communication method of the next tag spot corresponding to the predicted traveling direction included in the tag data read this time as a priority communication method; ,
Including a communication control method.   The communication control method according to claim 1, wherein the communication control step is a step of performing control to switch between a priority communication method and another communication method in a time-sharing manner with the priority communication method being the longest execution time.   The communication control method according to claim 2, wherein the communication control step includes a time division time variable step of changing an execution time of each communication method executed in time division. A time elapse detection step for detecting that a predetermined time has elapsed since the tag data was successfully read at the end,
The time division time variable step is a step of varying the execution time of the priority communication method and another communication method in accordance with the detection by the time passage detection step.
The communication control method according to claim 3. A time elapse detection step for detecting that a predetermined time has elapsed since the tag data was successfully read at the end,
In accordance with detection by the time lapse detection step, a priority communication method change step for changing a communication method that is currently a priority communication method;
The communication control method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising: A direction guide step for guiding the user to the direction of movement to the destination based on the predetermined destination and the tag data read this time;
The traveling direction predicting step is a step of predicting the moving direction guided in the direction guiding step as a direction in which the user is going to travel.
The communication control method according to any one of claims 1 to 5.   A guide cane provided with a tag reader that communicates with an IC tag embedded in a guidance block at each location at the tip, and a controller that executes the communication control method according to any one of claims 1 to 5. A portable electronic device that is carried by a user of a guide cane having a tag reader that communicates with an IC tag embedded in a guide block at various locations and can communicate with the guide cane,
The guide wand includes a transmitter that transmits the tag data read from the IC tag by the tag reader to the portable electronic device, and the tag data according to a communication mode switching control signal received from the portable electronic device. A switching control unit for switching the communication method of
The portable electronic device provided with the control part which performs the communication control method as described in any one of Claims 1-6. A control program for a portable electronic device that is carried by a user of a guide cane having a tag reader that communicates with an IC tag embedded in a guidance block at various locations and can communicate with the guide cane,
The guide wand includes a transmitter that transmits the tag data read from the IC tag by the tag reader to the portable electronic device, and the tag data according to a communication mode switching control signal received from the portable electronic device. A switching control unit for switching the communication method of
The control program for making the computer built in the said portable electronic device perform the communication control method as described in any one of Claims 1-6.

Images