JP6909583B2 - Monitoring system and information providing equipment and programs used in this monitoring system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention, and information providing apparatus that is used in the monitoring system and the monitoring system for monitoring a subject such as a human monitors whether present in the monitoring area, and to a program.

In sightseeing bus tours, etc., it is confirmed by a tour conductor or a staff member such as a bus driver whether or not all the tour participants are present by visual inspection or roll call.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2016-143379 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2016-122891

According to the above-mentioned conventional technique, the burden on the confirmation work of the staff is very large.
In addition, Patent Document 1 discloses a wireless communication system in which a master station collects information on a motion sensor provided in a slave station at predetermined time intervals. Further, Patent Document 2 describes a relay communication buoy that enables bidirectional communication between a water communication device and an underwater communication device by performing bidirectional communication with each of a water communication device and an underwater communication device. It is disclosed.
These techniques are used in the present invention described later in that the information transmitted from the slave station is collected by the master station or the information transmitted from one communication device is relayed to the other communication device. At first glance, the policy may seem similar. However, Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 do not disclose a technique for monitoring whether or not a human being or the like exists within a limited monitoring range.

The present invention has been made by paying attention to the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is a monitoring system that can reduce the burden on the staff involved in the work of monitoring whether or not a monitoring target such as a human being exists within the monitoring range. and the information providing apparatus that is used in the monitoring system, and to provide a program.

In order to achieve the above object, the first aspect of the present invention is capable of directly communicating wirelessly with a plurality of wireless communication devices and each of the plurality of wireless communication devices, and monitoring the plurality of wireless communication devices. A monitoring system is configured with a monitoring device and an information providing device. Each of the plurality of wireless communication devices includes a transmission means for wirelessly transmitting identification information for identifying the wireless communication device. Each of the plurality of monitoring devices includes a storage means for storing the identification information of each of the plurality of wireless communication devices, a receiving means for receiving the identification information transmitted by the transmitting means, and an identification information stored by the storage means. When the identification information that is not received by the receiving means is included, the notification means that performs the notification processing for notifying that the owner of the wireless communication device identified by the identification information is too far from the monitoring device is provided. .. The information providing device stores the identification information of the wireless communication device in association with the determination means for determining the monitoring device and the plurality of monitoring devices, respectively, in response to the provision request from the wireless communication device. The provision means for providing the provision information associated with the monitoring device determined by the determination means among the provision information stored in the device to the wireless communication device that has made the provision request is provided.

In the second aspect of the present invention, the monitoring device according to the first aspect further defines in advance a measuring means for measuring the receiving intensity when the receiving means receives the identification information and a receiving intensity measured by the measuring means. Alarm processing for causing at least one of the wireless communication device and the monitoring device to give an alarm that the wireless communication device identified by the received identification information is too far from the monitoring device when the threshold value is less than the specified threshold. It is provided with an alarm processing means for performing the above.

A third aspect of the present invention comprises the monitoring system according to the first or second aspect described above, including a plurality of monitoring devices and further including an information providing device. Then, the information providing device is associated with the determination means for determining the monitoring device that stores the identification information of the wireless communication device in the storage means and the plurality of monitoring devices in response to the provision request from the wireless communication device. The provision means for providing the provision information associated with the monitoring device determined by the determination means among the provision information stored in the storage device to the wireless communication device that has made the provision request is provided.

According to the first aspect, in the monitoring device, the identification information transmitted by the transmitting means of the wireless communication device is received by the receiving means. Then, when the identification information of each of the plurality of wireless communication devices stored by the storage means includes the identification information that is not received by the receiving means, the owner of the wireless communication device identified by the identification information is sent from the monitoring device. Notification processing is performed to notify that the user is too far away. Therefore, the notification process makes it easy for the person in charge of monitoring to recognize whether or not the monitoring target such as a person moving with the wireless communication device is within the monitoring range defined as the communication range of the monitoring device. be able to. Therefore, for example, it is not necessary for the staff to visually confirm the number of people or confirm the location by roll call.

According to the second aspect, when the receiving means can receive the identification information, but the reception strength is less than a predetermined threshold value, the wireless communication device identified by the received identification information is transmitted from the monitoring device. An alarm to the effect that the distance is too far is given at least one of the wireless communication device and the monitoring device. Therefore, regarding a wireless communication device that exists within the monitoring range and is not subject to the notification in the first aspect, but may go out of the monitoring range, the owner of the wireless communication device and the wireless communication device may go out of the monitoring range. An alarm is given to the person in charge of monitoring by the monitoring device. This makes it possible for the staff to take measures to prevent the owner of the identified wireless communication device from going out of the monitoring area, and the burden of monitoring is caused by the owner going out of the monitoring area. Can be prevented from increasing.

According to the third aspect, in the information providing device, the monitoring device that stores the identification information of the wireless communication device in the storage means is determined in response to the provision request from the wireless communication device, and the information providing device is associated with the monitoring device. The provided information for provision is provided to the wireless communication device that requested the provision. Therefore, the providing information associated with the monitoring device that monitors the wireless communication device is provided to the wireless communication device. Therefore, for example, the owner of the wireless communication device can easily browse the information for provision related to the monitoring device that monitors the wireless communication device without being aware of it. be.

The figure which shows the schematic structure of the monitoring system which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. The block diagram which shows the main part composition of the master station shown in FIG. The figure which shows typically the structure of the slave station management table shown in FIG. The block diagram which shows the main part composition of the slave station shown in FIG. The block diagram which shows the main part structure of the information server shown in FIG. The figure which shows typically the structure of the master station management table shown in FIG. The flowchart of the information processing based on the master station application by the processor shown in FIG. The flowchart of the information processing based on the master station application by the processor shown in FIG. The flowchart of the information processing based on the slave station application by the processor shown in FIG. The figure which shows the selection screen as an example. The figure which shows the menu screen. The figure which shows the input screen. The figure which shows the notification screen as an example. The figure which shows the alarm screen as an example. The figure which shows the notification / alarm screen as an example. The figure which shows the present state screen as an example. The flowchart of the information processing based on the server application by the processor shown in FIG. The figure which shows the information browsing screen as an example. The figure which shows the information browsing screen as an example. The figure which shows the information browsing screen as an example. The figure which shows typically the structure in the 2nd Embodiment of the slave station management table shown in FIG. Flowchart of information processing based on the master station application by the processor. The figure which shows an example of a base image. The figure which shows the attendance situation screen as an example.

Hereinafter, embodiments according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
(First Embodiment)
(Constitution)
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a monitoring system 100 according to the first embodiment.
The monitoring system 100 includes a master station 101, a slave station 102-1-12-7, and an information server 103. When it is not necessary to distinguish between slave stations 102-1 to 102-7, the slave stations 102-1 to 102-7 will be referred to as "slave station 102" below.

In FIG. 1, one master station 101 and seven slave stations 102-1 to 102-7 to be monitored by the one master station 101 are shown. However, the number of slave stations 102 to be monitored by one master station 101 may be arbitrary. Further, the monitoring system 100 may include a plurality of master stations 101. When the monitoring system 100 includes a plurality of master stations 101, the monitoring system 100 includes an arbitrary number of slave stations 102 to be monitored by the plurality of master stations 101.

The master station 101 is, for example, a portable device. When the master station 101 is portable, it is possessed by a staff member such as a tour conductor. The master station 101 monitors whether or not slave stations 102-1 to 102-7 exist in its own communication area CA. Then, the master station 101 notifies the staff of the result of the monitoring. Although the communication area CA is conceptually shown as a circle, the actual communication area CA is not always circular. Further, the shape and size of the communication area CA may change with the movement of the master station 101.

The slave station 102 is a portable device, and is possessed by, for example, a participant of a sightseeing bus tour. However, the slave station 102 may be owned by the participant, or may be lent to the participant by the operator of the sightseeing bus tour. When the slave station 102 is located in the communication area CA, the slave station 102 can directly communicate with the master station 101 wirelessly. In the state shown in FIG. 1, direct wireless communication with the master station 101 is possible for the slave stations 102-1 to 102-6, but not for the slave stations 102-7. That is, the slave station 102 is an example of a wireless communication device. Further, the master station 101 is an example of a monitoring device that can directly communicate with each of a plurality of slave stations 102 as a plurality of wireless communication devices and monitors the slave station 102.

The information server 103 can communicate with the master station 101 and the slave station 102 via the mobile communication network 200 and the Internet 300. The information server 103 manages the configuration of the monitoring system 100 by communicating with the master station 101, and provides information to the slave station 102 of the request source in response to a request from the slave station 102. Thus, the information server 103 is an example of an information providing device. The configuration for enabling communication between the master station 101 and the slave station 102 and the information server 103 can be arbitrarily changed, such as using another communication network such as a corporate network instead of the Internet 300. ..

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a main configuration of the master station 101.
As the hardware of the master station 101, for example, an existing portable information processing device such as a smartphone, a mobile phone, or a tablet terminal can be used. Of course, the master station 101 can be realized as a dedicated device without using these existing information processing devices.

The master station 101 includes a processor 11, a main memory 12, an auxiliary storage device 13, a touch panel 14, a GPS (global positioning system) positioning unit 15, a mobile communication unit 16, a wireless LAN (local area network) communication unit 17, and a transmission system 18. include. The processor 11 and the main memory 12, the auxiliary storage device 13, the touch panel 14, the GPS positioning unit 15, the mobile communication unit 16, and the wireless LAN communication unit 17 can communicate with each other via the transmission system 18. The transmission system 18 may be a well-known system including a transmission line such as an address bus, a data bus, and a control signal line, an interface circuit, and the like.

In the master station 101, a computer is composed of a processor 11, a main memory 12, an auxiliary storage device 13, and a transmission system 18 connecting them.
The processor 11 corresponds to the central part of the computer. The processor 11 controls each unit in order to realize various functions as the master station 101 according to the operating system and the application program.

The main memory 12 corresponds to the main memory portion of the computer. The main memory 12 includes a non-volatile memory area and a volatile memory area. The main memory 12 stores an operating system and an application program in a non-volatile memory area. Further, the main memory 12 may store data necessary for the processor 11 to execute a process for controlling each part in a non-volatile or volatile memory area. The main memory 12 uses a volatile memory area as a work area in which data is appropriately rewritten by the processor 11.

The auxiliary storage device 13 corresponds to the auxiliary storage portion of the computer. The auxiliary storage device 13 is, for example, an EEPROM (electric erasable programmable read-only memory). An HDD (hard disk drive), an SSD (solid state drive), or the like may be used as the auxiliary storage device 13. The auxiliary storage device 13 stores data used by the processor 11 for performing various processes and data generated by the processes of the processor 11. The auxiliary storage device 13 stores the application program.

The application program stored in the auxiliary storage device 13 includes an application program 13a that describes information processing described later as the master station 101. This application program 13a is hereinafter referred to as a master station application 13a. However, typically, the master station application 13a is downloaded, for example, via the Internet and written to the auxiliary storage device 13 in response to an operation by the owner of the master station 101, for example. That is, the transfer of the master station 101 to the owner is performed in a state where the master station application 13a is not stored in the auxiliary storage device 13. However, the master station 101 in the state where the master station application 13a is stored in the auxiliary storage device 13 may be transferred to the owner.

The data stored in the auxiliary storage device 13 includes the slave station management table 13b.
FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing the structure of the slave station management table 13b.
The slave station management table 13b is a set of records of information about each of the slave stations 102 monitored by the master station 101. One record describes information about the participant such as name and address, reception date and time, and reception intensity in association with identification information for identifying each slave station 102. In this embodiment, SSID (service set identifier) is used as the identification information of the slave station 102. The reception date and time is the date and time when the associated identification information was most recently received. The reception strength is the reception strength when the associated identification information is received most recently. Thus, the auxiliary storage device 13 functions as a storage means for storing the identification information of each of the plurality of slave stations 102.

The touch panel 14 functions as an input device and a display device of the master station 101.
The GPS positioning unit 15 receives GPS signals transmitted from a plurality of GPS satellites and obtains the coordinates of the current position based on these GPS signals. As the GPS positioning unit 15, for example, an existing device can be used as it is.

The mobile communication unit 16 is an interface for data communication via the mobile communication network 200. As the mobile communication unit 16, a well-known communication device can be used.
The wireless LAN communication unit 17 is an interface for data communication using wireless communication. In the present embodiment, the wireless LAN communication unit 17 uses a well-known communication device compliant with Wi-Fi. The wireless LAN communication unit 17 has a function of measuring the reception strength when receiving the information transmitted from the slave station 102. Thus, the wireless LAN communication unit 17 has a function as a measuring means.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a main configuration of the slave station 102.
As the hardware of the slave station 102, a portable information processing device such as a smartphone, a mobile phone, or a tablet terminal can be used. Of course, the slave station 102 can be realized as a dedicated device without using these existing information processing devices.

The slave station 102 includes a processor 21, a main memory 22, an auxiliary storage device 23, a touch panel 24, a mobile communication unit 25, a wireless LAN communication unit 26, and a transmission system 27. The processor 21, the main memory 22, the auxiliary storage device 23, the touch panel 24, the mobile communication unit 25, and the wireless LAN communication unit 26 can communicate with each other via the transmission system 27. The transmission system 27 may be a well-known one including a transmission line such as an address bus, a data bus, and a control signal line, an interface circuit, and the like.

In the slave station 102, a computer is composed of a processor 21, a main memory 22, an auxiliary storage device 23, and a transmission system 27 connecting them.
The processor 21 corresponds to the central part of the computer. The processor 21 controls each unit in order to realize various functions as the slave station 102 according to the operating system and the application program.

The main memory 22 corresponds to the main memory portion of the computer. The main memory 22 includes a non-volatile memory area and a volatile memory area. The main memory 22 stores an operating system and an application program in a non-volatile memory area. Further, the main memory 22 may store data necessary for the processor 21 to execute a process for controlling each part in a non-volatile or volatile memory area. The main memory 22 uses a volatile memory area as a work area in which data is appropriately rewritten by the processor 21.

The auxiliary storage device 23 corresponds to the auxiliary storage portion of the computer. The auxiliary storage device 23 is, for example, EEPROM. An HDD, SSD, or the like may be used as the auxiliary storage device 23. The auxiliary storage device 23 stores data used by the processor 21 for performing various processes and data generated by the processes of the processor 21. The auxiliary storage device 23 stores the application program.

The application program stored in the auxiliary storage device 23 includes an application program 23a that describes information processing described later as a slave station 102. This application program 23a is hereinafter referred to as a slave station application 23a. However, typically, the slave station application 23a is downloaded to the auxiliary storage device 23, for example, in response to an operation by the owner of the slave station 102, for example, via the Internet. That is, the transfer of the slave station 102 to the owner is performed in a state where the slave station application 23a is not stored in the auxiliary storage device 23. However, the slave station 102 in the state where the slave station application 23a is stored in the auxiliary storage device 23 may be transferred to the owner.

The touch panel 24 functions as an input device and a display device of the slave station 102.
The mobile communication unit 25 is an interface for data communication via the mobile communication network 200. As the mobile communication unit 25, a well-known communication device can be used.
The wireless LAN communication unit 26 is an interface for data communication using wireless communication. In the present embodiment, the wireless LAN communication unit 26 uses a well-known communication device compliant with Wi-Fi.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a main configuration of the information server 103.
The information server 103 includes a processor 31, a main memory 32, an auxiliary storage device 33, an Internet communication unit 34, a transmission system 35, and the like. The processor 31, the main memory 32, the auxiliary storage device 33, and the Internet communication unit 34 are connected by the transmission system 35. The transmission system 35 may be a well-known system including a transmission line such as an address bus, a data bus, and a control signal line, an interface circuit, and the like.

In the information server 103, a computer is composed of a processor 31, a main memory 32, an auxiliary storage device 33, and a transmission system 35 connecting them.
The processor 31 corresponds to the central part of the computer. The processor 31 controls each part in order to realize various functions as the information server 103 according to the operating system and the application program.

The main memory 32 corresponds to the main memory portion of the computer. The main memory 32 includes a non-volatile memory area and a volatile memory area. The main memory 32 stores an operating system and an application program in a non-volatile memory area. Further, the main memory 32 may store data necessary for the processor 31 to execute a process for controlling each part in a non-volatile or volatile memory area. The main memory 32 uses a volatile memory area as a work area in which data is appropriately rewritten by the processor 31.

The auxiliary storage device 33 corresponds to the auxiliary storage portion of the computer. The auxiliary storage device 33 is, for example, EEPROM, HDD, SSD, or the like. The auxiliary storage device 33 stores data used by the processor 31 for performing various processes and data generated by the processes of the processor 31. The auxiliary storage device 33 stores the application program. The application program stored in the auxiliary storage device 33 includes an application program 33a that describes information processing described later as the information server 103. This application program 33a is hereinafter referred to as a server application 33a.

The data stored in the auxiliary storage device 33 includes the master station management table 33b.
FIG. 6 is a diagram schematically showing the structure of the master station management table 33b.
The master station management table 33b is a set of records of information about each of the master stations 101 that are monitoring the slave station 102. One record includes the current position, the monitoring slave station, and a plurality of information addresses in association with the identification information for identifying each of the master stations 101. As the current position, the coordinates most recently notified from the master station 101 identified by the associated identification information are described. As the monitoring central slave station, the identification information of the slave station 102 monitored by the master station 101 identified by the associated identification information is described. As the plurality of information addresses, for example, a file path or a URL (uniform resource locator) for specifying the information for providing the information type is described in association with a plurality of information codes for classifying the information types.

The Internet communication unit 34 is an interface for data communication via the Internet 300. As the Internet communication unit 34, a well-known communication device can be used.

For the information server 103, for example, a general-purpose server device or computer device can be used as basic hardware. In the information server 103, the server device or computer device in which the server application 33a is not stored in the auxiliary storage device 33 and the server application 33a may be individually transferred to the user. At this time, the transfer of the server application 33a can be realized by recording on a removable recording medium such as a magnetic disk, a magneto-optical disk, an optical disk, or a semiconductor memory, or by downloading via a network. In this case, the server application 33a is written to the auxiliary storage device 33 in response to an operation by the administrator of the information server 103 or the installation worker of the information server 103.

(motion)
Next, the operation of the monitoring system 100 configured as described above will be described. Here, a case where the tour operator of the sightseeing bus tour uses the master station 101 and the monitoring system 100 is used to manage the participants who have the slave station 102 will be described.

The tour operator who possesses the master station 101 instructs the master station 101 to activate the operation as the master station 101 prior to holding the sightseeing bus tour in charge. Then, the processor 11 starts information processing based on the master station application 13a.
7 and 8 are flowcharts of information processing based on the master station application 13a by the processor 11.

In step Sa1, the processor 11 displays the tour setting screen. Specifically, for example, the processor 11 generates a tour setting screen as a screen showing a list information of a sightseeing bus tour downloaded in advance to the auxiliary storage device 13, and displays the tour setting screen on the touch panel 14. The tour operator uses the touch panel 24 to perform an operation for setting the sightseeing bus tour he / she is in charge of at the master station 101 based on the tour setting screen.

In step Sa2, the processor 11 waits for the sightseeing bus tour setting operation according to the tour setting screen to be performed. Then, the processor 11 determines Yes if the tour operator performs the operation as described above, and proceeds to step Sa3.
In step Sa3, the processor 11 sets one of the sightseeing bus tours as a monitoring target according to the above operation. Specifically, the processor 11 stores, for example, an identification number and a name of a sightseeing bus tour to be monitored in the main memory 22 or the auxiliary storage device 23.

In step Sa4, the processor 11 requests the information server 103 to register the master station. Specifically, the processor 11 sends a master station registration request including at least the identification information of its own station and the information for identifying the sightseeing bus tour set as the monitoring target as described above from the mobile communication unit 16 to the information server 103. Is transmitted to the mobile communication network 200. The processor 11 may include the latest coordinates of the current position measured by the GPS positioning unit 15 in the master station registration request.

In step Sa5, the processor 11 confirms whether or not slave station registration is requested. Then, the processor 11 determines No if the request is not made, and proceeds to step Sa6.
In step Sa6, the processor 11 confirms whether or not participant registration is requested. Then, the processor 11 determines No if the request is not made, and proceeds to step Sa7.
In step Sa7, the processor 11 confirms whether or not the notification timing has come. Then, the processor 11 determines No if it is not the notification timing, and proceeds to step Sa8.
In step Sa8, the processor 11 confirms whether or not the confirmation timing has come. Then, the processor 11 determines No if it is not the confirmation timing, and returns to step Sa5.
Thus, in steps Sa5 to Sa8, the processor 11 waits for the slave station registration or participant registration to be requested, or for the notification timing or confirmation timing.

The tour operator goes to the meeting place of the sightseeing bus tour with the master station 101 in such a standby state. Then, the tour operator lends the slave station 102 to the gathering participants. Alternatively, the tour operator causes the slave station application 23a to be installed on an information processing device such as a smartphone owned by the participant. The tour conductor or the participant instructs the slave station 102 to start the operation as the slave station 102. Then, the processor 21 starts information processing based on the slave station application 23a.
FIG. 9 is a flowchart of information processing based on the slave station application 23a by the processor 21.

In step Sb1, the processor 21 searches for a master station 101 that can communicate with the wireless LAN communication unit 26. Specifically, for example, the master station 101 periodically transmits notification information including at least the SSID of its own station and the tour name when the tour setting is completed as described above. Therefore, the processor 21 extracts this notification information from the notification information received by the wireless LAN communication unit 26 for a certain period of time.

In step Sb2, the processor 21 displays a selection screen. Specifically, the processor 21 generates an image representing a button for selecting each tour name included in all the notification information extracted in step Sb1, and displays the image on the touch panel 24.
FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a selection screen SC21 as an example.
The selection screen SC21 is a slave station in the communication area CA of the two master stations 101 in which two sightseeing bus tours whose tour names are "Kinshu no XX Road Tour" and "XXX Gourmet Tour" are set respectively. This is an example when 102 is located. Therefore, the selection screen SC21 represents the buttons B11 and B12 indicated as "Kinshu XX Road Tour" and "XXX Gourmet Tour", respectively.

In step Sb3, the processor 21 waits for the selection operation on the selection screen to be performed. Then, the processor 21 determines Yes if the operation of touching any of the buttons displayed on the selection screen SC21 is input on the touch panel 24, and proceeds to step Sb4.
The master station 101 may transmit a beacon as an access point, and the processor 21 may search for the master station 101 by receiving the beacon in step Sb1. However, in this case, the processor 21 cannot acquire the above tour name. Therefore, the processor 21 displays the selection screen showing the list of SSIDs included in the beacon in step Sb2. In this case, the tour operator verbally informs the participants of the SSID of the master station 101 that he / she owns. Then, the participant selects the SSID on the selection screen.

In step Sb4, the processor 21 requests the master station 101 designated by the above button touch to register as a slave station. Specifically, the processor 21 wirelessly transmits a slave station registration request including the SSID of its own station to the SSID included in the notification information together with the tour name indicated by the touched button above. It controls the LAN communication unit 26. When the slave station registration request reaches the master station 101 of the SSID, the wireless LAN communication unit 17 of the master station 101 receives the slave station registration request. Then, in response to this, the processor 11 of the master station 101 determines Yes in step Sa5 in FIG. 7, and proceeds to step Sa9.

In step Sa9, the processor 11 adds a new record to the slave station management table 13b. The processor 11 repeatedly executes step Sa9 every time a slave station registration request is received, but when the slave station registration request is first executed, the slave station management table 13b is initialized and does not include any record. .. The processor 11 describes the SSID included in the slave station registration request as identification information in the record added here. In addition, the processor describes the current date and time as the reception date and time in the above record. Further, the processor 11 describes the reception strength measured by the wireless LAN communication unit 17 when receiving the slave station registration request in the above record. The processor 11 describes, for example, a null value as other information of the above record.

In step Sa10, the processor 11 notifies the information server 103 of the addition of the slave station. Specifically, the processor 11 sends a slave station addition notification including the identification information of its own station and the SSID included in the above-mentioned slave station registration request from the mobile communication unit 16 to the information server 103 in the mobile communication network 200. To send to. Then, the processor 11 returns to the standby state of steps Sa5 to Sa10.

Now, at the slave station 102, the processor 21 makes a slave station registration request in step Sb4 of FIG. 9, and then proceeds to step Sb5.
In step Sb5, the processor 21 displays a predetermined menu screen.
FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the menu screen SC22.
The menu screen SC22 represents the buttons B21, B22, B23, and B24. Button B21 is for the participant to declare that he / she will start registering information about the participant such as name and address. Button B22 is for the participant to instruct the display of the coupon. Button B23 is for the participant to instruct the display of the tour schedule. Button B24 is for the participant to instruct the display of the surrounding tourist information.

In step Sb6, the processor 21 confirms whether or not the registration start operation has been performed. Then, the processor 21 determines No if the button B21 is not touched, and proceeds to step Sb7.
In step Sb7, the processor 21 confirms whether or not the information browsing operation has been performed. Then, the processor 21 determines No if the information browsing operation by touching any of the buttons B22, B23, and B24 is not performed, and returns to step Sb6.
Thus, in steps Sb6 and Sb7, the processor 21 waits for the registration start operation or the information browsing operation to be performed. The participant touches the button B21 in order to register the participant's own information. Then, the processor 21 determines Yes in step Sb6, and proceeds to step Sb8.

In step Sb8, the processor 21 displays a predetermined input screen on the touch panel 14.
FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an input screen SC23.
The input screen SC23 represents the text boxes TB11, TB12 and the button B31. The text boxes TB11 and TB12 are input fields for inputting character strings representing the names and addresses of the participants, respectively. Button B31 is for the participant to declare that he / she has entered the information to be registered. The input screen SC23 may be replaced with another one including a text box for inputting a character string representing other information such as gender and age. Participants touch the button B31 after performing an operation of appropriately inputting a character string in the text boxes TB11 and TB12.

In step Sb9, the processor 21 confirms whether or not the operation of inputting the character string has been performed. Then, the processor 21 determines No if the operation is not performed, and proceeds to step Sb10.
In step Sb10, the processor 21 confirms whether or not the completion operation has been performed. Then, the processor 21 determines No if the button B31 is not touched, and returns to step Sb9.
Thus, in steps Sb9 and Sb10, the processor 21 waits for an input operation or a completion operation to be performed. Then, if an operation of appropriately inputting a character string is performed in the text boxes TB11 and TB12, it is determined as Yes in step Sb9, and the process proceeds to step Sb11.

In step Sb11, the processor 21 performs a process for inputting name or address information in response to the above operation. Then, when the processor 21 finishes inputting one piece of information, the processor 21 returns to the standby state of step Sb9 and step Sb10. If the button B31 is touched, the processor 21 determines Yes in step Sb10, and proceeds to step Sb12.

In step Sb12, the processor 21 requests the master station 101 to register as a participant. Specifically, the processor 21 controls the wireless LAN communication unit 26 so as to transmit a participant registration request including the information input in step Sb11 and the SSID of the own station to the SSID of the master station 101 as a destination. As a result, when the participant registration request transmitted from the wireless LAN communication unit 26 reaches the master station 101 of the SSID, the wireless LAN communication unit 17 of the master station 101 receives the participant registration request. Then, in response to this, the processor 11 of the master station 101 determines Yes in step Sa6 in FIG. 7, and proceeds to step Sa11.

In step Sa11, the processor 11 updates the slave station management table 13b based on the received participant registration request. Specifically, the processor 11 updates the record including the SSID included in the participant registration request so as to include information such as the name included in the participant registration request. At this time, the processor 11 updates the reception date and time and the reception strength of the record to the reception strength measured by the wireless LAN communication unit 17 when the current date and time and the participant registration request are received. Then, the processor 11 then returns to the standby state of steps Sa5 to Sa10.

The work of registering the names of participants described above is not essential and can be omitted. In addition, the operation of the slave station 102 related to the registration of the name, etc. of the participant is described above before lending the slave station 102 to the participant when the slave station 102 is lent to the participant from the tour bus tour operator. It may be done by the person in charge of the operator.

During the sightseeing bus tour, as a general rule, the master station 101 is owned by the tour operator, and the plurality of slave stations 102 are possessed by each of the plurality of participants. Therefore, the positions of the master station 101 and the slave station 102 change at any time. Further, when walking around a tourist attraction, the positional relationship between the master station 101 and the slave station 102 changes at any time. In such a situation, the processor 11 is usually in the standby state of steps Sa5 to Sa10. Then, when the predetermined notification timing arrives, the processor 11 determines Yes in step Sa7, and proceeds to step Sa12. The timing of the notification is arbitrary, and is determined by, for example, the creator of the master station application 13a. It is assumed that the notification timing is set as, for example, the timing at regular time intervals. Alternatively, the notification timing is, for example, the timing at which the distance between the latest current position measured by the GPS positioning unit 15 and the position notified to the information server 103 in the previous notification timing becomes equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value. It may be determined.

In step Sa12, the processor 11 notifies the information server 103 of the current position. Specifically, the processor 11 transmits the current position notification including the identification information of the own station and the coordinates of the latest current position measured by the GPS positioning unit 15 from the mobile communication unit 16 to the information server 103 for mobile communication. It is transmitted to the network 200. Then, the processor 11 returns to the standby state of steps Sa5 to Sa10.

When the processor 11 is in the standby state of steps Sa5 to Sa10 and a predetermined confirmation timing arrives, the processor 11 proceeds to step Sa13 shown in FIG. The timing of the confirmation is arbitrary, and is determined by, for example, the creator of the master station application 13a. It is assumed that the confirmation timing is determined, for example, as the timing at regular time intervals.

In step Sa13, the processor 11 searches for the SSIDs of all the wireless LAN devices existing in the communication area CA. For this search, the wireless LAN communication unit 17 of the slave station 102 transmits the SSID of its own station at regular time intervals. Alternatively, the wireless LAN communication unit 26 of the slave station 102 transmits the SSID of its own station in response to the signal transmitted by the master station 101 at the time of searching. Thus, the wireless LAN communication unit 26 has a function as a transmission means for wirelessly transmitting the SSID for identifying the slave station 102. Further, in the above search, the SSID transmitted from the slave station 102 as described above is received by the wireless LAN communication unit 17 of the master station 101. Thus, the wireless LAN communication unit 17 has a function as a receiving means for receiving the SSID transmitted from the slave station 102.

In step Sa14, the processor 11 updates the slave station management table 13b to reflect the result of the above search. Specifically, the processor 11 confirms whether or not each of the SSIDs described as the identification information of the slave station 102 being monitored in the slave station management table 13b matches any of the SSIDs found in step Sa13. .. Then, the processor 11 updates the reception date and time and the reception intensity of the record including the matching SSID to the current date and time and the reception intensity measured by the wireless LAN communication unit 17 when the SSID is received. Further, the processor 11 does not update the reception date and time for the record including the SSID that does not match, and updates the reception strength to "0".

In step Sa15, the processor 11 confirms whether or not there is a slave station 102 to be monitored and there is a slave station 102 (hereinafter, referred to as an out-of-area slave station 102) that is outside the communication area CA. Specifically, the processor 11 confirms whether or not there is a record in which "0" is described as the reception strength in the slave station management table 13b. Then, the processor 11 determines Yes if there is a corresponding record, and proceeds to step Sa16.

In step Sa16, the processor 11 confirms whether or not there is a slave station 102 (hereinafter, a slave station 102 requiring attention) that is located in the communication area CA and may go out of the communication area CA. Specifically, the processor 11 compares each of the reception intensities other than "0" described in the slave station management table 13b with a predetermined threshold value. Then, the processor 11 determines No if all of the reception intensities other than "0" are equal to or higher than the threshold value, and proceeds to step Sa17.

In step Sa17, the processor 11 displays the notification screen on the touch panel 14. The notification screen is a screen for notifying the tour conductor that there is a participant who is so far away that he / she may go out of the communication area CA.
FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a notification screen SC31 as an example.
Image data including the character strings "out of service area notification" and "the next customer is out of the control area" shown on the notification screen SC31 is prepared in advance in the auxiliary storage device 13 as the base image of the notification screen. The processor 11 adds the character string "A-like" to the base image to generate the notification screen SC31, and displays this on the touch panel 14. "A" in the character string "A-sama" is the name described in the record in which "0" is described as the reception strength.
When there are a plurality of records in which "0" is described as the reception strength, the processor 11 generates a notification screen in which a character string in which "sama" is added to the name described in those records is listed.

On the other hand, if there is no record in which "0" is described as the reception strength, the processor 11 determines No in step Sa15 and proceeds to step Sa18.
In step Sa18, the processor 11 confirms whether or not there is a slave station 102 requiring attention in the same manner as in step Sa16. Then, if even one of the reception intensities other than "0" is less than the threshold value, the processor 11 determines Yes and proceeds to step Sa19.

In step Sa19, the processor 11 displays an alarm screen on the touch panel 14. The warning screen is a screen that warns the tour conductor that there is a participant who may go out of the communication area CA.
FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an alarm screen SC32 as an example.
Image data including the character strings "out-of-service alarm" and "the next customer will be out of the control area if they are further away" displayed on the alarm screen SC32 are preliminarily stored in the auxiliary storage device 13 as the base image of the alarm screen. Be prepared. The processor 11 adds the character string "B-like" to the base image to generate an alarm screen SC32, and displays this on the touch panel 14. "B" in the character string "B-like" is a name described in a record in which a value that is not "0" and is less than the threshold value is described as the reception strength.
If there are a plurality of records in which a value that is not "0" and is less than the threshold value is described as the reception strength, the processor 11 adds "like" to the name described in those records. Generate the enumerated alarm screens.

If the processor 11 has a record in which "0" is described as the reception strength, and further, if there is a record in which a value that is not "0" and is less than the threshold value is described as the reception strength, step Sa16 is performed. It is determined as Yes, and the process proceeds to step Sa20.

In step Sa20, the processor 11 displays the notification / alarm screen on the touch panel 14. The notification / warning screen notifies the tour conductor that there are participants who are far enough to go outside the communication area CA, and also participates that may go out of the communication area CA. This is a screen that warns that there is a person.
FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a notification / alarm screen SC33 as an example.
The character strings shown on the notification / alarm screen SC33 "Out of service area notification / alarm""The next customer is out of the control area." And "The next customer will be out of the control area if they are further away." Image data including the above is prepared in advance in the auxiliary storage device 13 as a base image of the notification / alarm screen. The processor 11 adds the character strings "A-like" and "B-like" to the base image to generate the notification / alarm screen SC33, and displays this on the touch panel 14. The character strings "A-like" and "B-like" are the same as those of the notification screen SC31 and the alarm screen SC32.

The display of the notification screen and the display of the notification / alarm screen are performed when the SSID included in the slave station management table 13b includes the SSID that is not received by the wireless LAN communication unit 17 in the above search. Then, it can be said that the notification screen and the notification / alarm screen notify that the owner of the slave station 102 identified by the corresponding SSID is too far from the master station 101. That is, the processing of the processor 11 for displaying the notification screen and displaying the notification / alarm screen corresponds to the notification processing. Thus, when the processor 11 executes information processing based on the master station application 13a, the computer having the processor 11 as a central portion functions as a notification means.

Further, the display of the alarm screen and the display of the notification / alarm screen are performed when the reception strength measured by the wireless LAN communication unit 17 is less than a predetermined threshold value. Then, it can be said that the alarm screen and the notification / alarm screen are alarms indicating that the slave station 102 identified by the SSID received at the corresponding reception strength is too far from the master station 101. That is, the processing of the processor 11 for displaying the alarm screen and displaying the notification / alarm screen is an alarm processing for causing the master station 101 to give an alarm that the slave station 102 requiring attention is too far from the master station 101. Corresponds to. Thus, when the processor 11 executes information processing based on the master station application 13a, the computer having the processor 11 as a central portion functions as an alarm processing means.

Note that the processor 11 may issue an alarm notification to the caution slave station 102 before and after step Sa19 and step Sa20. Specifically, the processor 11 transmits predetermined information for alarm notification from the wireless LAN communication unit 17 to the SSID of the caution slave station 102. Then, in this case, in the slave station 102, when the above-mentioned alarm notification is received by the wireless LAN communication unit 26, the processor 21 warns the participants that they are too far from the tour conductor. Is displayed on the touch panel 24. At this time, the alarm notification to the caution slave station 102 corresponds to an alarm process for causing the caution slave station 102 to give an alarm that the caution slave station 102 is too far from the master station 101.

After displaying the screen in any one of step Sa17, step Sa19, and step Sa20, the processor 11 returns to the standby state of steps Sa5 to Sa8 in FIG. The displayed screen will continue to be displayed until a new screen is displayed in any of step Sa17, step Sa19, and step Sa20. However, when it becomes necessary for the processor 11 to display another screen due to processing based on another application program, the processor 11 temporarily stops displaying the notification screen, the alarm screen, or the notification / alarm screen, and the other above. Display the screen. Then, when it is no longer necessary to display the other screen, the processor 11 resumes the display of the notification screen, the alarm screen, or the notification / alarm screen.

If there is no record in which "0" is described as the reception strength, and there is no record in which the value that is not "0" and is less than the threshold value is described as the reception strength, the processor 11 is No. Is determined, and the process proceeds to step Sa21.
In step Sa21, if the notification screen, the alarm screen, or the notification / alarm screen is being displayed on the touch panel 14, the processor 11 ends the display of the screen. Then, the processor 11 then returns to the standby state of steps Sa5 to Sa8 in FIG. 7.

The processor 11 adds a button to the notification screen, the alarm screen, and the notification / alarm screen, respectively, and when this button is touch-operated, the display of the notification screen, the alarm screen, and the notification / alarm screen is terminated. It may be that. At this time, if the confirmation timing is set as a timing of a relatively short time interval such as a 1-minute interval, the notification screen, the alarm screen, or the notification / alarm screen display condition is not resolved during that time. , The alarm screen or the notification / alarm screen is immediately redisplayed.

However, the above-mentioned redisplay may be troublesome for the tour operator who has confirmed the notification screen, the warning screen, or the notification / warning screen. Therefore, the processor 11 stores the SSIDs of the out-of-area slave station 102 and the caution slave station 102 in the main memory 12 or the auxiliary storage device 13. Then, when the SSIDs of the out-of-area slave station 102 and the caution slave station 102 at the new confirmation timing match the stored ones, the processor 11 redisplays the notification screen, the alarm screen, or the notification / alarm screen. It may not be displayed.
In this case, the state in which the notification screen, the alarm screen, or the notification / alarm screen is not displayed continues for a long time, and the current state cannot be confirmed during this period. In addition, when the confirmation timing is set as a timing of a relatively long time interval such as a 5-minute interval, when the display of the notification screen, the alarm screen or the notification / alarm screen is finished as described above, the next confirmation timing is obtained. It will not be possible to check the current situation until the arrival of. Therefore, the processor 11 represents a button in the screen to be displayed on the touch panel 14 when the notification screen, the alarm screen, or the notification / alarm screen is not displayed, and when the button is touched, the notification screen once finished displaying, The alarm screen or the notification / alarm screen may be displayed again. Alternatively, when the button is touched, the processor 11 may display a current status screen different from the notification screen, the alarm screen, or the notification / alarm screen on the touch panel 14.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a current screen SC34 as an example.
Image data including the character strings "current status", "out of control area", "need attention", and "no problem" shown on the current status screen SC34 is prepared in advance in the auxiliary storage device 13 as a base image of the current status screen. The processor 11 adds a character string representing the participant's name so as to correspond to each of the character strings "out of control area", "caution required", and "no problem" of the base image, and generates the current status screen SC34. Is displayed on the touch panel 14. Specifically, the processor 11 expresses a list of character strings in which "sama" is added to the name described in the record in which "0" is described as the reception strength in association with the character string "out of control range". do. Further, the processor 11 displays a list of character strings in which "sama" is added to the name described in the record in which the value that is not "0" and is less than the threshold value is described as the reception strength, and the character string "Caution required". To be associated with. Further, the processor 11 makes a list of character strings in which "like" is added to the name described in the record in which the value equal to or more than the threshold value is described as the reception strength is represented in association with the character string "no problem". ..

By displaying a screen such as the current status screen SC34, the tour operator can confirm the current status regarding the position of each participant at an arbitrary timing, and the burden for the confirmation is reduced.
The processor 11 may generate such a current status screen based on the slave station management table 13b updated at the previous confirmation timing. Alternatively, the processor 11 may generate the current status screen based on the newly updated slave station management table 13b by performing the same processing as in step Sa13 and step Sa14.

On the other hand, in the slave station 102, as a standard state during the tour, the menu screen SC22 shown in FIG. 11 is displayed on the touch panel 24. Participants touch button B22 if they want to use or confirm the coupon. Participants touch button B23 when they want to check the tour schedule. Participants touch the button B24 when they want to know the tourist information around the current location.

Now, in the slave station 102, if any of the buttons B22, B23, and B24 is touched, the processor 21 determines Yes in step Sb7 in FIG. 9, and proceeds to step Sb13.
In step Sb13, the processor 21 performs a process for requesting the information server 103 to provide information according to the touched button. Specifically, the processor 21 sends an information provision request including at least an information code for distinguishing coupons, tour schedules, and tourist information and the SSID of its own station from the mobile communication unit 25 to the information server 103 on the mobile communication network. Send to 200.

By the way, in the information server 103, the processor 31 executes information processing based on the server application 33a.
FIG. 17 is a flowchart of information processing based on the server application 33a by the processor 31.

In step Sc1, the processor 31 confirms whether or not the master station registration is requested. Then, the processor 31 determines No if the request is not made, and proceeds to step Sc2.
In step Sc2, the processor 31 confirms whether or not the notification of adding the slave station has been made. Then, the processor 31 determines No if the notification has not been made, and proceeds to step Sc3.
In step Sc3, the processor 31 confirms whether or not the notification of the current position has been made. Then, the processor 31 determines No if the notification has not been made, and proceeds to step Sc4.
In step Sc4, the processor 31 confirms whether or not the information provision is requested. Then, the processor 31 determines No if the request is not made, and returns to step Sc1.
Thus, in steps Sc1 to Sc4, the processor 31 waits for a master station registration request, a slave station addition notification, a current position notification, or an information provision request.

As described above, the master station registration information transmitted from the mobile communication unit 16 to the mobile communication network 200 by the processor 11 executing step Sa4 in FIG. 7 is an information server via the mobile communication network 200 and the Internet 300. It is transmitted to 103. Then, the Internet communication unit 34 receives the master station registration information. Then, in response to this, the processor 31 determines Yes in step Sc1 of FIG. 17, and proceeds to step Sc5.

In step Sc5, the processor 31 adds a new record to the master station management table 33b. The processor 31 repeatedly executes step Sc5 each time a master station registration request is received, but when the master station registration request is first executed, the master station management table 33b is initialized and does not include any record. .. In the record added here, the processor 31 includes the identification information of the master station 101 included in the master station registration request in the above record. Further, the processor 31 puts a file path or URL for accessing information prepared in advance for the participants regarding the sightseeing bus tour specified by the information included in the master station registration request in the above record. include. If the master station registration request includes the coordinates of the current position, the processor 31 includes the coordinates of the current position in the above record. The processor 31 describes, for example, a null value as the information of the monitoring CPU slave station. Then, the processor 31 returns to the standby state of steps Sc1 to Sc4.

On the other hand, as described above, the slave station addition notification transmitted from the mobile communication unit 16 to the mobile communication network 200 by the processor 11 executing step Sa10 in FIG. 7 is transmitted via the mobile communication network 200 and the Internet 300. It is transmitted to the information server 103. Then, the Internet communication unit 34 receives this slave station addition notification. Then, in response to this, the processor 31 determines Yes in step Sc2 of FIG. 17, and proceeds to step Sc6.

In step Sc6, the processor 31 updates the master station management table 33b based on the received slave station addition notification. Specifically, the processor 11 includes the record including the identification information of the master station 101 included in the slave station addition notification as the monitoring CPU slave station with the SSID of the slave station 102 included in the slave station addition notification. Update. Then, the processor 11 then returns to the standby state of steps Sc1 to Step Sc4.

On the other hand, as described above, the current position notification transmitted from the mobile communication unit 16 to the mobile communication network 200 by the processor 11 executing step Sa12 in FIG. 7 is information via the mobile communication network 200 and the Internet 300. It is transmitted to the server 103. Then, the Internet communication unit 34 receives this current position notification. Then, in response to this, the processor 31 determines Yes in step Sc3 of FIG. 17, and proceeds to step Sc7.

In step Sc7, the processor 31 updates the master station management table 33b based on the received current position notification. Specifically, the processor 11 rewrites the current position included in the record including the identification information of the master station 101 included in the current position notification to the coordinates included in the current position notification. Then, the processor 11 then returns to the standby state of steps Sc1 to Step Sc4.

On the other hand, as described above, the information provision request transmitted from the mobile communication unit 25 to the mobile communication network 200 by the processor 21 executing step Sb13 in FIG. 9 is information via the mobile communication network 200 and the Internet 300. It is transmitted to the server 103. Then, the Internet communication unit 34 receives this information provision request. Then, in response to this, the processor 31 determines Yes in step Sc4 of FIG. 17, and proceeds to step Sc8.

In step Sc8, the processor 31 confirms whether or not the information distinguished by the information code included in the information provision request is position-dependent information. Which information code distinguishes the information as the position-dependent information is arbitrary and predetermined. As an example, tourist information among coupons, tour schedules, and tourist information is regarded as location-dependent information. Then, the processor 31 determines No if the corresponding information is not position-dependent information, and proceeds to step Sc9.

In step Sc9, the processor 31 acquires the information distinguished by the information code included in the information provision request. Specifically, the processor 31 puts the provision information specified by the information address included in association with the information code included in the information provision request in the record including the SSID included in the information provision request as the monitoring CPU slave station. get.

On the other hand, if the information distinguished by the information code included in the information provision request is position-dependent information, the processor 31 determines Yes in step Sc8 and proceeds to step Sc10.
In step Sc10, the processor 31 acquires information that is distinguished by the information code included in the information provision request, according to the position of the master station 101 that is monitoring the slave station 102 that has requested the information provision. Specifically, the processor 31 is included in the record including the SSID included in the information provision request as the monitoring central processing unit, the information address included in association with the information code included in the information provision request, and the record. Acquire the provision information specified by the coordinates of the current position. More specifically, the processor 31 acquires the providing information specified by the information address obtained by inserting a character string corresponding to the above coordinates into a predetermined position in the above information address, for example. ..

The record of the master station management table 33b includes the SSID included in the slave station management table 13b of the associated master station 101 as the information of the monitoring middle slave station. Therefore, the fact that the processor 31 selects the record in step Sc9 or step Sc10 determines the master station 101 that stores the SSID of the slave station 102 that requested information provision in the slave station management table 13b. Equivalent to. Thus, when the processor 31 executes information processing based on the server application 33a, the computer having the processor 31 as a central portion functions as a determination means for performing the above determination.

In step Sc11, the processor 31 transmits the provision information acquired in step Sc9 or step Sc10 as a response to the information provision request. Specifically, the processor 31 transmits the provision information to the transmission source of the information provision request from the Internet communication unit 34 to the Internet 300. Then, the processor 31 returns to the standby state of steps Sc1 to Sc4.

The providing information acquired by the processor 31 in step Sc9 or step Sc10 is the providing information associated with the master station 101 determined in step Sc9 or step Sc10. Thus, when the processor 31 executes information processing based on the server application 33a, the computer having the processor 31 as a central portion functions as a providing means.
The provision information transmitted from the Internet communication unit 34 to the Internet 300 is transmitted to the slave station 102 that has made the information provision request via the Internet 300 and the mobile communication network 200. Then, the mobile communication unit 25 receives this information for provision.

By the way, in the slave station 102, the processor 21 makes an information provision request in step Sb13 in FIG. 9, and then proceeds to step Sb14.
In step Sb14, the processor 21 waits for the information to be provided to be received. Then, if the provision information is received by the mobile communication unit 25 as described above, the processor 21 determines Yes and proceeds to step Sb15.

In step Sb15, the processor 21 displays an information browsing screen for browsing the provided information. The information for provision is information representing screen contents such as an HTML (hypertext markup language) file. Therefore, specifically, the processor 21 reproduces the screen represented by the providing information by a well-known process, and displays this on the touch panel 24.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an information viewing screen SC24 as an example.
The information viewing screen SC24 is displayed as a result of the participant touching the button B22 on the menu screen SC22. The information browsing screen SC24 is a screen certifying the right to receive a discount service as a privilege of the tour participant.

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing an information viewing screen SC25 as an example.
The information viewing screen SC25 is displayed as a result of the participant touching the button B23 on the menu screen SC22. The information browsing screen SC25 is a screen for notifying participants of the tour schedule.

FIG. 20 is a diagram showing an information viewing screen SC26 as an example.
The information viewing screen SC26 is displayed as a result of the participant touching the button B24 on the menu screen SC22. The information viewing screen SC26 is displayed when the tour operator of the sightseeing bus tour in which the participants are participating is located in the parking lot of the "○○ observatory". The information browsing screen SC26 is a screen for notifying participants of information around the place of stay.

In step Sb16, the processor 21 waits for an operation to end the display of the information viewing screen. Then, the processor 21 determines Yes if a predetermined button included in the information browsing screen is touched, and repeats the processes after step Sb5 in the same manner as described above. That is, the processor 21 returns to the state of waiting for the registration start operation or the information browsing operation to be performed while the menu screen is displayed. In each of the information viewing screens SC24 to SC26 shown in FIGS. 18 to 20, the above-mentioned button for the operation of ending the display is not shown, and is displayed by scrolling, for example.

(effect)
As described above, in the monitoring system 100, among the SSIDs included in the slave station management table 13b, the participant who possesses the slave station 102 identified by the SSID that cannot be received by the master station 101 monitors. The tour operator is notified that he / she has gone out of service. Therefore, the burden on the tour operator for monitoring, confirming, rolling call, etc. whether or not the participant is within the monitoring range is reduced.

Further, in the monitoring system 100, the names of the participants who possess the slave station 102 are registered in the slave station management table 13b, and the names of the participants who possess the slave station 102 that has gone out of the monitoring area are displayed. Therefore, the tour operator can easily know which of the plurality of participants has gone out of the surveillance area.

Further, in the monitoring system 100, although the master station 101 can receive the signal, the participant who possesses the slave station 102 identified by the SSID whose reception intensity is lower than the threshold value may go out of the monitoring area. The tour operator is warned that there is something. Therefore, it is possible for the tour operator to take measures to prevent the participant from going out of the monitoring area, and it is possible to prevent the burden of monitoring from increasing due to the participant going out of the monitoring area.

Further, in the monitoring system 100, the participant who possesses the slave station 102 identified by the SSID whose reception intensity is lowered to less than the threshold value, although it can be received by the master station 101, goes out of the monitoring range. You will be warned that you may end up. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the risk that the participant goes out of the monitoring area, and it is possible to prevent the burden of monitoring from increasing due to the participant going out of the monitoring area.

Further, in the monitoring system 100, the information server 103 provides the slave station 102 with information for provision associated with the master station 101 that is monitoring the slave station 102 in response to a request from the slave station 102. Therefore, the participant who possesses the slave station 102 can easily browse the information for provision related to the master station 101 that monitors the slave station 102 without being aware of it. ..

(Second embodiment)
(Constitution)
Since the hardware configuration of the monitoring system 100 of the second embodiment is substantially the same as that of the monitoring system 100 of the first embodiment, the illustration thereof will be omitted.
However, in the second embodiment, the master station 101 is not carried by the tour conductor, but is installed inside the sightseeing bus. Then, the master station 101 is adjusted in its installation position and the size of the communication area CA so that all the seats used by the participants in the sightseeing bus are included in the communication area CA. By attaching an antenna or the like using an LCX (leaky coaxial) cable to the master station 101, a rectangular communication area CA that matches the shape of the inside of the sightseeing bus may be formed. Further, in the second embodiment, as the hardware of the master station 101, a portable information processing device can be diverted as in the first embodiment, but it is dedicated to being fixed to a sightseeing bus. It may be realized as a device.
The difference between the monitoring system 100 of the second embodiment and the first embodiment is a part of the contents of the master station application 13a and the slave station management table 13b stored in the auxiliary storage device 13 of the master station 101. be.

FIG. 21 is a diagram schematically showing the structure of the slave station management table 13b in the second embodiment.
In the second embodiment, the record of the slave station management table 13b includes seat information in addition to each information included in the first embodiment. As the seat information, the seat number on the sightseeing bus is described.

(motion)
The operation of the monitoring system 100 of the second embodiment is substantially the same as that of the first embodiment, and the flow shown in the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 7, 9 and 14 does not change.
However, a part of the processing contents shown in FIGS. 7 and 9 and the processing shown in FIG. 8 are changed as described below.

In the second embodiment, the processor 21 of the slave station 102 displays an input screen including a text box for inputting a seat number in place of the input screen SC23 shown in FIG. 12 in step Sb8 in FIG. do. The operator who operates the slave station 102 for the slave station registration inputs the seat number assigned to the participant who owns the slave station 102 in the text box for inputting the seat number. As a result, the participant registration request transmitted by the processor 21 in step Sb12 in FIG. 9 includes the seat number.
In step Sa11 in FIG. 7, the processor 11 of the master station 101 updates the slave station management table 13b so as to include the seat number included in the participant registration request as described above.

FIG. 22 is a part of a flowchart of information processing based on the master station application 13a by the processor 11.
In the second embodiment, the processor 11 of the master station 101 executes step Sa13 and step Sa14 in FIG. 8 in the same manner as in the first embodiment, and then proceeds to step Sd1 in FIG.

In step Sd1, the processor 11 confirms whether or not there is a slave station 102 to be monitored and there is a slave station 102 (hereinafter, referred to as an area slave station 102) existing in the communication area CA. Specifically, the processor 11 confirms whether or not there is a record in the slave station management table 13b in which a value other than "0" is described as the reception strength. Then, the processor 11 determines Yes if there is a corresponding record, and proceeds to step Sd2.
In step Sd2, the processor 11 synthesizes the present image with the base image previously stored in the auxiliary storage device 13.

FIG. 23 is a diagram showing an example of the base image IM1.
The base image IM1 shows a sketch of the seats of the sightseeing bus where the master station 101 is installed.
The presence image shows that, among the seats shown in the base image IM1, the seat corresponding to the seat number associated with the SSID of the slave station in the area in the slave station management table 13b is marked as being present. It is an image to be added.

After the end of step Sd2, the processor 11 proceeds to step Sd3. If there is no slave station in the area, the processor 11 determines No in step Sd1, passes step Sd2, and proceeds to step Sd3.
In step Sd3, the processor 11 confirms whether or not there is an out-of-area slave station in the same manner as in step Sa15 in FIG. Then, if the processor 11 determines Yes because there is an out-of-area slave station, the processor 11 proceeds to step Sd4.

In step Sd4, the processor 11 synthesizes the absentee image with the image formed by synthesizing the present image with the base image when step Sd2 is performed, and with the base image when step Sd2 is not performed. ..
The absent seat image has a mark indicating that the seat corresponding to the seat number associated with the SSID of the out-of-area slave station in the slave station management table 13b among the seats shown in the base image IM1 is absent. It is an image to be added.

After the end of step Sd4, the processor 11 proceeds to step Sd5. If there is no out-of-area slave station, the processor 11 determines No in step Sd3, passes step Sd4, and proceeds to step Sd5.
In step Sd5, the processor 11 displays the attendance status screen. Specifically, the processor 11 displays the image generated through the above processing on the touch panel 14. The processor 11 transmits the image generated through the above processing from the wireless LAN communication unit 17 to the mobile information terminal owned by the tour operator, so that the presence status screen is displayed on the display device included in the mobile information terminal. May be displayed.

FIG. 24 is a diagram showing an attendance status screen SC 27 as an example.
In the attendance status screen SC27, the solid line circle mark is the presence image, and the broken line circle mark is the absence image. However, the attended image and the absent image are not limited to those in which the circle mark can be distinguished by the line type, for example, the mark type, the mark color, the seat color shown in the base image, or the seat number. It may be different in color and the like.

After displaying the attendance status screen, the processor 11 returns to the standby state of steps Sa5 to Sa8 in FIG. 7.

(effect)
As described above, in the monitoring system 100 of the second embodiment, a screen such as the attendance status screen SC27 is displayed. Therefore, the tour operator can know at a glance which seat the participant is assigned to does not exist on the tour bus. Therefore, the tour operator can easily determine whether or not there is a participant who is absent and which seat is assigned to the participant who is absent, for example, in a roll call before departure. That is, the burden on the tour conductor involved in the roll call work can be reduced.

In addition, by comparing the seating status screen displayed by the monitoring system 100 of the second embodiment with the actual seating status, the tour conductor has a participant who has moved from the assigned seat to an empty seat. You can easily know that. Therefore, it is possible to suppress an increase in the burden on the tour conductor related to the roll call work when such an act is performed.

[Other Embodiments]
For direct wireless communication between the master station 101 and the slave station 102, another communication standard such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) may be used.

In the first embodiment, the processor 11 is provided in the master station 101 so as to generate at least one of the output of the notification sound and the vibration when displaying the notification screen, the alarm screen, or the notification / alarm screen (not shown). You may control the device.

In a first embodiment, the processor 21 causes at least one of a notification sound output and vibration when displaying a predetermined screen for alerting a participant that he / she is too far from the tour conductor. In addition, a device (not shown) provided in the slave station 102 may be controlled.

In the first embodiment, the processor 11 does not have to display at least one of the alarm screen and the notification / alarm screen.

In the second embodiment, the processor 11 may display the attendance status screen by an image obtained by synthesizing only the absentee image with the base image IM1. Of particular importance in roll calls before the departure of a tour bus is to confirm the presence or absence of absent participants, and if a participant is absent, which participant it is. The tour conductor can also perform the confirmation on the above-mentioned attendance status screen.

The first and second embodiments have described the use of a tour conductor monitoring participants in a tour bus tour. However, the monitoring system 100 of the first and second embodiments can also be used to monitor humans other than the participants of the tour bus tour and to monitor mobile objects other than humans. The monitoring side may also be any person other than the tour conductor.

In short, the present invention is not limited to each of the above-described embodiments as it is, and at the implementation stage, the components can be modified and embodied within a range that does not deviate from the gist thereof. In addition, various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of components disclosed in each of the above embodiments. For example, some components may be removed from all the components shown in each embodiment. In addition, components from different embodiments may be combined as appropriate.

100 ... Monitoring system, 101 ... Master station, 102 (102-1-102-7) ... Slave station, 103 ... Information server, 11,21,31 ... Processor, 12,22,32 ... Main memory, 13,23, 33 ... Auxiliary storage device, 13a ... Master station application, 13b ... Slave station management table, 14, 24 ... Touch panel, 15 ... GPS positioning unit, 16, 25 ... Mobile communication unit, 17, 26 ... Wireless LAN communication unit, 23a ... Slave station application, 33a ... Server application, 33b ... Master station management table, 34 ... Internet communication department.

Claims (4)

With multiple wireless communication devices,
A plurality of monitoring devices capable of directly communicating with each of the plurality of wireless communication devices and monitoring the plurality of wireless communication devices, and a plurality of monitoring devices.
Equipped with an information providing device
Each of the plurality of wireless communication devices
A transmission means that wirelessly transmits identification information for identifying the wireless communication device,
With
Each of the plurality of monitoring devices
A storage means for storing the identification information of each of the plurality of wireless communication devices, and
A receiving means for receiving the identification information transmitted by the transmitting means, and a receiving means for receiving the identification information.
When the identification information stored by the storage means includes the identification information that is not received by the receiving means, the owner of the wireless communication device identified by the identification information is notified that the monitoring device is too far away. Notification means to perform notification processing and
Equipped with
The information providing device is
A determination means for determining a monitoring device that stores identification information of the wireless communication device in the storage means in response to a request from the wireless communication device.
The wireless communication device that has made the provision request for the provision information associated with the monitoring device determined by the determination means among the provision information stored in the storage device in association with each of the plurality of monitoring devices. Providing means to provide to
Surveillance system equipped with. The monitoring device further
A measuring means for measuring the reception strength when the receiving means receives the identification information, and a measuring means.
When the reception intensity measured by the measuring means is less than a predetermined threshold value, an alarm indicating that the wireless communication device identified by the received identification information is too far from the monitoring device is issued by the wireless communication. An alarm processing means for performing alarm processing for at least one of the device and the monitoring device, and
The monitoring system according to claim 1. With multiple wireless communication devices,
It is possible to directly communicate wirelessly with each of the plurality of wireless communication devices, and includes a plurality of monitoring devices for monitoring the plurality of wireless communication devices.
Each of the plurality of wireless communication devices
A transmission means that wirelessly transmits identification information for identifying the wireless communication device,
With
Each of the plurality of monitoring devices
A storage means for storing the identification information of each of the plurality of wireless communication devices, and
A receiving means for receiving the identification information transmitted by the transmitting means, and a receiving means for receiving the identification information.
When the identification information stored by the storage means includes the identification information that is not received by the receiving means, the owner of the wireless communication device identified by the identification information is notified that the monitoring device is too far away. Notification means to perform notification processing and
It is an information providing device applied to a monitoring system equipped with
A determination means for determining a monitoring device that stores identification information of the wireless communication device in the storage means in response to a request from the wireless communication device.
The wireless communication device that has made the provision request for the provision information associated with the monitoring device determined by the determination means among the provision information stored in the storage device in association with each of the plurality of monitoring devices. Providing means to provide to
An information providing device provided with. With multiple wireless communication devices,
It is possible to directly communicate wirelessly with each of the plurality of wireless communication devices, and includes a plurality of monitoring devices for monitoring the plurality of wireless communication devices.
Each of the plurality of wireless communication devices
A transmission means that wirelessly transmits identification information for identifying the wireless communication device,
With
Each of the plurality of monitoring devices
A storage means for storing the identification information of each of the plurality of wireless communication devices, and
A receiving means for receiving the identification information transmitted by the transmitting means, and a receiving means for receiving the identification information.
When the identification information stored by the storage means includes the identification information that is not received by the receiving means, the owner of the wireless communication device identified by the identification information is notified that the monitoring device is too far away. Notification means to perform notification processing and
A computer that controls an information providing device applied to a monitoring system equipped with
A determination means for determining a monitoring device that stores identification information of the wireless communication device in the storage means in response to a request from the wireless communication device.
The wireless communication device that has made the provision request for the provision information associated with the monitoring device determined by the determination means among the provision information stored in the storage device in association with each of the plurality of monitoring devices. Providing means to provide to
A program to make it work.

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