JP7793319B2 - Lock control system, program, terminal device, and lock control method - Google Patents

Description

This disclosure relates to a lock control system, a program, a terminal device, and a lock control method.

Lock control systems are known that control the locking or unlocking of an electronic lock based on the distance between the electronic lock and the terminal device that controls the electronic lock (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 to 3).

JP 2010-159698 A JP 2016-174370 A Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-148017

In conventional technologies such as those disclosed in Patent Documents 1 to 3, the distance between the electronic lock and the terminal device is determined based on the results of positioning information obtained using, for example, the Global Positioning System (GPS), and the unlocking of the electronic lock is controlled based on the determined distance.

However, with this method, there is a risk that the location information obtained using GPS or other methods will contain errors, resulting in the electronic lock being mistakenly unlocked due to incorrect detection of the location information.

This disclosure reduces malfunctions caused by erroneous detection of location information in a lock control system that controls the unlocking of electronic locks.

A lock control system according to one aspect of the present disclosure is a lock control system including an electronic lock and a program executed by a terminal device that controls the electronic lock, wherein the program causes the terminal device to execute a distance detection process that detects the distance between the electronic lock and the terminal device, an unlocking control process that controls the unlocking of the electronic lock based on the distance, and an abort process that aborts the unlocking control process if the terminal device returns to within a predetermined second distance from the electronic lock that is shorter than the first distance after moving away from the electronic lock by more than a predetermined first distance before a predetermined time has elapsed, wherein the predetermined time is shorter than the time required for a person who has moved away from the electronic lock by more than the first distance to return to within the second distance from the electronic lock.

According to one aspect of the present disclosure, in a lock control system that controls the unlocking of an electronic lock, it is possible to reduce malfunctions caused by erroneous detection of location information.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a lock control system according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a terminal device according to an embodiment. 1 is a flowchart (1) illustrating an overview of processing of a terminal device according to an embodiment. 10 is a flowchart (2) illustrating an overview of processing by a terminal device according to an embodiment. 10 is a flowchart (1) illustrating an example of processing of a terminal device according to the first embodiment. 10 is a flowchart (2) illustrating an example of processing of the terminal device according to the first embodiment. 10 is a flowchart (1) illustrating an example of processing of a terminal device according to the second embodiment. 10 is a flowchart (2) illustrating an example of processing of the terminal device according to the second embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining a first distance and a second distance according to an embodiment.

Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the drawings.

<Example of lock control system configuration>
1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a lock control system according to one embodiment. The lock control system 1 includes an electronic lock 20 and a terminal device 10 that controls the electronic lock 20. The lock control system 1 is a system that uses the terminal device 10 to unlock and lock the electronic lock 20.

The electronic lock 20 is a lock that can be used to lock and unlock doors and other items using the terminal device 10, and is also called a smart lock. Note that the electronic lock 20 is not limited to doors, and may also be used to lock and unlock drawers, lockers, cars, motorcycles, bicycles, electronic devices, etc.

As shown in FIG. 1, the electronic lock 20 has functional components such as a short-range communication unit 21, a locking/unlocking unit 22, and a memory unit 23. The short-range communication unit 21 executes communication processing to communicate with the terminal device 10 using short-range wireless communication such as Bluetooth (registered trademark). Note that the short-range communication unit 21 may also perform short-range communication using other short-range wireless communication methods such as ZigBee (registered trademark), or sonic communication, infrared communication, etc. Here, as an example, the following explanation will be given assuming that the short-range communication unit 21 performs short-range communication in accordance with the Bluetooth standard.

The locking/unlocking unit 22 executes locking/unlocking processing to unlock or lock the electronic lock 20 in accordance with control signals such as unlock commands or lock commands received by the short-range communication unit 21 from the terminal device 10. The memory unit 23 stores various information, data, or programs required for the operation of the electronic lock 20, such as information on the terminal device 10 that has been paired with the electronic lock 20 and information on the electronic lock 20. Note that each of the above functional configurations may be realized by a program executed by a computer provided in the electronic lock 20, or may be realized by hardware.

The terminal device 10 is a general-purpose information terminal such as a smartphone, tablet device, or wearable device. By executing an application program (hereinafter referred to as an app) corresponding to the electronic lock 20, the terminal device 10 realizes functional components such as a location information acquisition unit 11, a distance detection unit 12, a judgment unit 13, a short-range communication unit 14, a lock control unit 15, and a memory unit 16. Note that at least some of the above functional components may be realized by hardware.

However, the terminal device 10 is not limited to a general-purpose information terminal, and may also be a dedicated terminal for the lock control system 1. In this case, the terminal device 10 realizes the functional configuration of the terminal device 10 as shown in FIG. 1, for example, by executing firmware that has been pre-installed in the terminal device 10. Here, as an example, the following explanation will be given assuming that the terminal device 10 is a smartphone that executes an app (program) for the lock control system 1.

The location information acquisition unit 11 executes a location information acquisition process to acquire location information (coordinate information, etc.) indicating the location of the terminal device 10, for example, using a GPS (Global Positioning System) function provided in the terminal device 10. Note that in addition to (or instead of) the GPS function, the location information acquisition unit 11 may also acquire the location information of the terminal device 10 based on, for example, identification information of a wireless LAN (Local Area Network) access point or radio waves from a wireless WAN (Wide Area Network) base station. Here, as an example, the following description will be given assuming that the location information acquisition unit 11 acquires the location information of the terminal device 10 using the GPS function of the terminal device 10.

The distance detection unit 12 executes a distance detection process to detect the distance between the electronic lock 20 and the terminal device 10 based on the position information acquired by the position information acquisition unit 11. For example, the distance detection unit 12 calculates the distance between the electronic lock 20 and the terminal device 10 using the position information (coordinate information) of the electronic lock 20 pre-stored in the memory unit 16 and the position information (coordinate information) of the terminal device 10 acquired by the position information acquisition unit 11.

The short-range communication unit 14 executes short-range communication processing to communicate with the electronic lock 20 using the same short-range communication method as the electronic lock 20. As an example, the following explanation assumes that the short-range communication unit 14 performs short-range communication with the electronic lock 20 using the Bluetooth function provided in the terminal device 10. Note that the terminal device 10 is assumed to have been paired in advance with the electronic lock 20 corresponding to the terminal device 10 so that Bluetooth communication can be performed.

The lock control unit 15 uses the short-range communication unit 14 to execute lock control processing that controls the electronic lock 20. As shown in FIG. 1, the lock control unit 15 includes, for example, an unlock processing unit 101, a cancellation processing unit 102, and a lock processing unit 103.

The unlocking processing unit 101 executes an unlocking control process that controls the unlocking of the electronic lock 20 based on the distance between the terminal device 10 and the electronic lock 20 detected by the distance detection unit 12. For example, when the short-range communication unit 14 pairs with the electronic lock 20, the unlocking processing unit 101 acquires the location information of the terminal device 10 using the location information acquisition unit 11 and stores the acquired location information in the memory unit 16 as the location information of the electronic lock 20. This allows the distance detection unit 12 to calculate the distance between the electronic lock 20 and the terminal device 10 using the location information of the electronic lock 20 stored in the memory unit 16 and the location information of the terminal device 10 acquired by the location information acquisition unit 11.

The unlocking processing unit 101 also enables the hands-free function (unlocking control processing) of the terminal device 10 based on the distance detected by the distance detection unit 12. For example, the unlocking processing unit 101 enables the hands-free function of the terminal device 10 when the distance detection unit 12 detects that the terminal device 10 has moved away from the electronic lock 20 by a predetermined first distance or more.

Here, the hands-free function refers to a function that allows the user of the terminal device 10 to unlock the electronic lock 20 without operating the terminal device 10 when the user approaches the electronic lock 20, and is an example of an unlocking control process that controls the unlocking of the electronic lock based on the distance detected by the distance detection unit 12. The first distance is a preset distance (e.g., approximately 100 m to 200 m, such as 150 m) for detecting that the terminal device 10 has moved away from the electronic lock 20.

When the hands-free function is enabled, the unlocking processing unit 101 unlocks the electronic lock 20 based on the distance detected by the distance detection unit 12. For example, when the distance detection unit 12 detects that the terminal device 10 has approached within a predetermined second distance, which is shorter than the first distance, from the electronic lock 20, the unlocking processing unit 101 uses the short-range communication unit 21 to send an unlock command to the electronic lock 20 via short-range communication, thereby unlocking the electronic lock 20. Here, the second distance is assumed to be a preset distance shorter than the first distance (for example, approximately 30 m to 70 m, such as 50 m) in order to detect that the terminal device 10 has approached the electronic lock 20.

The unlocking processing unit 101 disables the hands-free function after unlocking the electronic lock 20. This prevents the electronic lock 20 from being unlocked unintentionally, for example, when the user using the terminal device 10 approaches the electronic lock 20 while at home.

However, with this method alone, there is a risk that the electronic lock will be erroneously unlocked due to an erroneous detection of the location information, as the results of positioning information obtained using GPS or other methods contain errors. For example, if a user using the terminal device 10 is at home and the user is detected as having moved away from the electronic lock 20 due to an erroneous detection of the location information, and then the user is detected as having approached the electronic lock 20 due to correct location information, the electronic lock 20 may be erroneously unlocked. Therefore, the terminal device 10 according to this embodiment has a determination unit 13 and an abort processing unit 102.

The determination unit 13 executes a determination process to determine whether the distance detected by the distance detection unit 12 is an erroneous detection based on a predetermined signal transmitted by the electronic lock 20 via short-range communication. For example, when the distance detection unit 12 detects that the terminal device 10 is a first distance or more away from the electronic lock 20, if the determination unit 13 can receive the predetermined signal transmitted by the electronic lock 20 via short-range communication, the determination unit 13 determines that the detection result by the distance detection unit 12 is an erroneous detection. Alternatively, if the distance detection unit 12 detects that the terminal device 10 is a first distance or more away from the electronic lock 20, and then the terminal device 10 approaches to within a second distance before a predetermined time has elapsed, the determination unit 13 determines that the detection result by the distance detection unit 12 is an erroneous detection.

If the distance detection result by the distance detection unit 12 is determined to be an erroneous detection, the cancellation processing unit 102 cancels the unlocking control process by the unlocking processing unit 101. Note that the specific processing content of the judgment unit 13 and cancellation processing unit 102 will be described later in the first and second embodiments.

The locking processing unit 103 executes a locking process to lock the electronic lock 20 by, for example, using the short-range communication unit 14 to send a locking command to the electronic lock 20 in response to a user's operation on the app's operation screen displayed on the display or the like of the terminal device 10. In addition to the unlocking control process described above, the unlocking processing unit 101 also executes an unlocking process to unlock the electronic lock 20 by using the short-range communication unit 14 to send an unlocking command to the electronic lock 20 in response to a user's operation on the app's operation screen.

The memory unit 16 stores various information, data, programs, etc. necessary for the operation of the terminal device 10, such as information about the electronic lock 20 that has been paired with the terminal device 10, and information about the terminal device 10.

<Hardware configuration>
2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the hardware configuration of a terminal device according to an embodiment. The terminal device 10 has a computer configuration, and includes, for example, a processor 201, a memory 202, a storage device 203, a communication device 204, a short-range communication device 205, a GPS receiver 206, an input device 207, an output device 208, and a bus 209.

The processor 201 is, for example, a computing device such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) that executes a predetermined program stored in a storage medium such as the memory 202 or the storage device 203, thereby realizing the functional configuration of the terminal device 10 as shown in FIG. 1. The memory 202 is a computer-readable storage medium, and includes, for example, RAM (Random Access Memory) and ROM (Read Only Memory). The storage device 203 is a computer-readable storage medium, and includes, for example, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) and an SSD (Solid State Drive).

The communication device 204 includes one or more communication devices that connect the terminal device 10 to a communication network via wireless communication such as a wireless LAN or wireless WAN. The short-range communication device 205 includes one or more communication devices that communicate with the electronic lock 20 via short-range wireless communication such as Bluetooth or Zigbee. The GPS receiver device 206 includes a positioning device that receives positioning signals from GPS satellites and outputs position information (coordinate information).

The input device 207 includes input devices (e.g., keyboard, mouse, microphone, switch, sensor, etc.) that accept external input. The output device 208 includes output devices (e.g., display, speaker, etc.) that output to the outside. The input device 207 and output device 208 may be input/output devices such as touch panel displays. The bus 209 is commonly connected to each of the above components and transmits, for example, address signals, data signals, and various control signals. The processor 201 may also include a processor other than a CPU, such as a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) or a DSP (Digital Signal Processor).

<Processing Overview>
3 and 4 are flowcharts showing an outline of processing of a terminal device according to one embodiment. This processing shows an outline of processing related to the hands-free function executed by the terminal device 10. At the start of the processing shown in FIG. 3, it is assumed that the pairing process between the electronic lock 20 and the terminal device 10 is completed and that they are set to be able to communicate with each other via short-range communication. It is also assumed that the hands-free function (unlocking control process) of the terminal device 10 is set to be disabled.

In step S301, when the distance detection unit 12 detects that the terminal device 10 has moved away from the electronic lock 20, for example, based on the location information acquired by the location information acquisition unit 11, the terminal device 10 executes the processing from step S302 onwards.

When the process proceeds to step S302, the distance detection unit 12 stores the time at which the terminal device 10 moved away from the electronic lock 20 in the memory unit 16. Note that this process may be performed by, for example, the lock control unit 15. Also, this process is optional and not required.

In step S303, the short-range communication unit 14 receives a predetermined signal (e.g., a beacon signal containing information identifying the electronic lock 20) transmitted by the electronic lock 20 via short-range communication.

In step S304, the judgment unit 13 determines whether the short-range communication unit 14 has received a predetermined signal transmitted by the electronic lock 20 via short-range communication. If the predetermined signal has not been received, the judgment unit 13 transitions the processing to step S305. On the other hand, if the predetermined signal has been received, the judgment unit 13 transitions the processing to step S306.

When the process proceeds to step S305, the determination unit 13 determines that the distance detected by the distance detection unit 12 was not an erroneous detection and that the terminal device 10 has moved away from the electronic lock 20, and activates the hands-free function. In this case, the terminal device 10 executes, for example, an unlocking control process such as that shown in Figure 4.

On the other hand, when the process proceeds to step S306, the judgment unit 13 determines that the distance detected by the distance detection unit 12 is an erroneous detection. In this case, the cancellation processing unit 102 cancels the execution of the unlocking control process by the terminal device 10.

Next, referring to Figure 4, we will explain the unlocking control process executed by the terminal device 10 when the hands-free function is enabled. When the hands-free function is enabled, the distance detection unit 12 repeatedly detects the distance between the terminal device 10 and the electronic lock 20 based on the position information acquired by the position information acquisition unit 11.

Also, in step S401, when the distance detection unit 12 detects that the terminal device 10 has approached the electronic lock 20, the terminal device 10 executes the processing from step S402 onwards.

When the process proceeds to step S402, the judgment unit 13 determines whether a predetermined time has passed since the terminal device 10 moved away from the electronic lock 20. If the predetermined time has not passed, the judgment unit 13 proceeds to step S403. On the other hand, if the predetermined time has passed, the judgment unit 13 proceeds to step S404. Here, the predetermined time is set in advance to a time shorter than the time required for a person who has moved away from the electronic lock 20 by more than a first distance to return to within a second distance from the electronic lock 20.

When the process proceeds to step S403, the judgment unit 13 determines that the distance detected by the distance detection unit 12 is an erroneous detection. In this case, the cancellation processing unit 102 cancels the unlocking control process and proceeds to step S406. Note that the processes of steps S402 and S403 are optional and not required.

When proceeding to step S404, the unlocking processing unit 101 determines whether the short-range communication unit 14 has received a predetermined signal (beacon signal) transmitted by the electronic lock 20 via short-range communication. If the predetermined signal transmitted by the electronic lock 20 cannot be received within the specified time, the unlocking processing unit 101 returns the processing to step S401, for example. On the other hand, if the predetermined signal transmitted by the electronic lock 20 is received within the specified time, the unlocking processing unit 101 proceeds to step S405.

When proceeding to step S405, the unlocking processing unit 101 unlocks the electronic lock 20, for example, by sending an unlocking command to the electronic lock 20 using the short-range communication unit 14, requesting that the electronic lock 20 be unlocked.

In step S405, the unlocking processing unit 101 disables the hands-free function. This prevents the user of the terminal device 10 from accidentally unlocking the electronic lock 20 by approaching the electronic lock 20 while at home, for example.

<Processing flow>
Next, a specific processing flow of the lock control method according to this embodiment will be described by exemplifying a number of embodiments.

[First embodiment]
5 and 6 are flowcharts showing an example of processing by the terminal device according to the first embodiment. This processing shows a specific example of the processing described with reference to FIGS.

In step S501, the distance detection unit 12 uses the position information acquisition unit 11 to acquire the position information of the terminal device 10 and detects (calculates) the distance between the terminal device 10 and the electronic lock 20.

In step S502, the distance detection unit 12 determines whether the distance between the terminal device 10 and the electronic lock 20 is equal to or greater than a predetermined first distance. Here, as described above, the first distance is a distance that is set in advance to detect that the terminal device 10 has moved away from the electronic lock 20.

If the distance between the terminal device 10 and the electronic lock 20 is not greater than the first distance, the distance detection unit 12 returns the process to step S501. On the other hand, if the distance is greater than the first distance, the distance detection unit 12 transitions the process to step S503. Note that steps S501 and S501 are a specific example of the process for detecting that the terminal device 10 has moved away from the electronic lock 20.

In step S503, the short-range communication unit 14 receives a Bluetooth signal transmitted by the electronic lock 20. For example, the short-range communication unit 14 receives a beacon signal such as an advertisement packet that the electronic lock 20 repeatedly broadcasts at a predetermined transmission interval. Note that the Bluetooth signal transmitted by the electronic lock 20 contains identification information, such as a UUID (Universally Unique Identifier), that identifies the electronic lock 20. Therefore, the short-range communication unit 14 can identify a Bluetooth signal transmitted by an electronic lock 20 that has already been paired with the terminal device 10.

In step S504, the judgment unit 13 branches the process depending on whether the short-range communication unit 14 can receive the Bluetooth signal transmitted by the electronic lock 20. If the Bluetooth signal transmitted by the electronic lock 20 can be received, the judgment unit 13 transitions the process to step S507. On the other hand, if the Bluetooth signal transmitted by the electronic lock 20 cannot be received, the judgment unit 13 transitions the process to step S505.

When the process proceeds to step S505, the determination unit 13 determines that the terminal device 10 has moved away from the electronic lock 20. Furthermore, in step S506, the unlocking processing unit 101 executes the unlocking control process as shown in FIG. 6.

On the other hand, when the process moves from step S504 to step S507, the judgment unit 13 determines that the distance detected by the distance detection unit 12 is an erroneous detection. In this embodiment, the reachable distance of the Bluetooth signal transmitted by the electronic lock 20 is set to, for example, approximately 15 m. On the other hand, the first distance is set to, for example, 100 m or more. Therefore, if the short-range communication unit 14 can receive the Bluetooth signal transmitted by the electronic lock 20, the judgment unit 13 can determine that the detection result of the distance detection unit 12, that the electronic lock 20 is further than the first distance, is an erroneous detection.

In step S508, if the cancellation processing unit 102 determines that the distance detected by the distance detection unit 12 is an erroneous detection, it cancels the execution of the unlocking control process as shown in Figure 6.

Next, with reference to Figure 6, the unlocking control process executed by the terminal device 10 will be described. In step S601, the distance detection unit 12 acquires the location information of the terminal device 10 using the location information acquisition unit 11, and detects (calculates) the distance between the terminal device 10 and the electronic lock 20.

In step S602, the distance detection unit 12 determines whether the distance between the terminal device 10 and the electronic lock 20 has approached within a predetermined second distance. Here, as described above, the second distance is a distance that is set in advance to detect that the terminal device 10 has approached the electronic lock 20.

If the distance between the terminal device 10 and the electronic lock 20 has not come within the second distance, the distance detection unit 12 returns the process to step S601. On the other hand, if the distance between the terminal device 10 and the electronic lock 20 has come within the second distance, the distance detection unit 12 transitions the process to step S603.

When proceeding to step S603, the unlocking processing unit 101 causes the short-range communication unit 14 to begin receiving Bluetooth signals transmitted by the electronic lock 20.

In step S604, the unlocking processing unit 101 determines whether the short-range communication unit 14 has received a Bluetooth signal transmitted by the electronic lock 20. If the short-range communication unit 14 has not received a Bluetooth signal, the unlocking processing unit 101 transitions the process to step S605. On the other hand, if the short-range communication unit 14 has received a Bluetooth signal, the unlocking processing unit 101 transitions the process to step S607.

When the process proceeds to step S605, the unlocking processing unit 101 determines whether a specified time has elapsed since the short-range communication unit 14 started receiving a Bluetooth signal. Here, the specified time is assumed to be a preset time (for example, several minutes to several dozen minutes) that will result in a timeout if the short-range communication unit 14 is unable to receive a Bluetooth signal. If the specified time has not elapsed, the unlocking processing unit 101 returns the process to step S604. On the other hand, if the specified time has elapsed, the unlocking processing unit 101 proceeds to step S606.

When proceeding to step S606, the unlocking processing unit 101 stops receiving Bluetooth signals via the short-range communication unit 14 and returns processing to step S601.

On the other hand, when the process moves from step S604 to step S607, the unlocking processing unit 101 establishes Bluetooth communication with the electronic lock 20 using the short-range communication unit 14.

In step S605, the unlocking processing unit 101 sends an unlocking command to the electronic lock 20 via the short-range communication unit 14, requesting unlocking.

In step S606, the unlocking processing unit 101 determines whether the electronic lock 20 has been successfully unlocked. For example, if the unlocking processing unit 101 receives an unlocking completion notification from the electronic lock 20 via the short-range communication unit 14, it determines that the electronic lock 20 has been successfully unlocked. If the electronic lock 20 has been successfully unlocked, the unlocking processing unit 101 transitions the process to step S611. On the other hand, if the electronic lock 20 has not been successfully unlocked, the unlocking processing unit 101 transitions the process to step S610.

When the process proceeds to step S610, the unlocking processing unit 101 determines whether the unlocking command has been retried a specified number of times. If the specified number of retries has not been reached, the unlocking processing unit 101 returns the process to step S608. On the other hand, if the specified number of retries has been reached, the process proceeds to step S612.

On the other hand, when the process moves from step S609 to step S611, the unlocking processing unit 101 disconnects Bluetooth communication with the electronic lock 20 via the short-range communication unit 14. Also, in step S612, the unlocking processing unit 101 ends the unlocking control process.

According to the first embodiment, the processing shown in Figures 5 and 6 can reduce malfunctions caused by erroneous detection of position information in the lock control system 1 that controls the unlocking of the electronic lock 20. For example, if the distance detection unit 12 erroneously detects that the terminal device 10 is further than a first distance from the electronic lock 20 due to an error in the position information, the terminal device 10 can determine that the distance detected by the distance detection unit 12 is an erroneous detection and cancel the unlocking control process.

Second Embodiment
7 and 8 are flowcharts showing an example of processing by a terminal device according to the second embodiment. This processing shows another example of the specific processing described in FIGS. 3 and 4. Of the processing shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the processing of steps S501 to S508, S601 to S606, and S612 is the same as the processing by the terminal device according to the first embodiment described in FIGS. 5 and 6, so the following description will focus on the differences from the first embodiment.

In step S701 of FIG. 5, the distance detection unit 12 stores in the memory unit 16 the time at which it determines that the distance between the terminal device 10 and the electronic lock 20 is equal to or greater than the first distance.

Furthermore, in step S602 of FIG. 8, when the distance detection unit 12 determines that the distance between the terminal device 10 and the electronic lock 20 has approached within the second distance, the determination unit 13 executes the processing of step S801.

In step S801, the judgment unit 13 obtains from the memory unit 16 the time at which the distance between the terminal device 10 and the electronic lock 20 becomes equal to or greater than the first distance. In step S802, the judgment unit 13 determines whether a predetermined time or more has elapsed since the terminal device 10 became equal to or greater than the first distance from the electronic lock 20 until it returned to within the second distance from the electronic lock 20.

Figure 9 is a diagram illustrating the first distance and second distance according to one embodiment. In this embodiment, the reach distance 901 of the Bluetooth signal (an example of a predetermined signal transmitted by short-range communication) transmitted by the electronic lock 20 is set to, for example, approximately 5 m to 20 m. Furthermore, the first distance d1 used to determine whether the terminal device 10 has moved away from the electronic lock 20 is set to, for example, approximately 100 m to 200 m.

Furthermore, the second distance d2 used to determine whether the terminal device 10 has approached the electronic lock 20 is set to be shorter than the first distance d1, for example, approximately 30 to 70 meters. The predetermined time is set to be shorter than the time it takes for a person who is the first distance d1 or more from the electronic lock 20 to return to within the second distance d2 from the electronic lock 20, for example, approximately 10 to 50 seconds. Therefore, if the predetermined time does not elapse between the time the terminal device 10 moves the first distance or more from the electronic lock 20 and the time it returns to within the second distance from the electronic lock 20, the determination unit 13 can determine that the distance detected by the distance detection unit 12 is an erroneous detection.

In step S802 of FIG. 8, if the predetermined time has not elapsed, the judgment unit 13 determines that the distance detected by the distance detection unit 12 is an erroneous detection, and transitions the process to step S612, thereby terminating the unlocking control process.

On the other hand, if the predetermined time has elapsed in step S802 of FIG. 8, the terminal device 10 determines that it has returned within the predetermined distance from the electronic lock 20, and executes the processing from step S603 onwards. Note that in step S811 of FIG. 8, the unlocking processing unit 101 executes the unlocking processing shown in steps S607 to S611 of FIG. 6.

According to the second embodiment, the processing shown in Figures 7 and 8 can further reduce malfunctions caused by erroneous detection of position information in the lock control system 1 that controls the unlocking of the electronic lock 20.

As described above, according to each embodiment of the present disclosure, it is possible to reduce malfunctions caused by erroneous detection of location information in a lock control system that controls the unlocking of an electronic lock.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications and applications are possible within the scope of the gist of the present invention as set forth in the claims.

For example, in the above embodiment, short-range communication was described as being Bluetooth communication, but short-range communication may be another communication method in which the reach of a specified signal is approximately 5 m to 20 m, as described in Figure 9, for example.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Lock control system 10 Terminal device 12 Distance detection unit 13 Determination unit 20 Electronic lock 101 Unlock processing unit 102 Cancel processing unit d1 First distance d2 Second distance

Claims (7)

A lock control system including an electronic lock and a program executed by a terminal device that controls the electronic lock,
The program
a distance detection process for detecting the distance between the electronic lock and the terminal device;
an unlocking control process for controlling unlocking of the electronic lock based on the distance;
a canceling process for canceling the unlocking control process when the terminal device returns to within a predetermined second distance from the electronic lock, which is shorter than the first distance, before a predetermined time has elapsed after the terminal device has moved away from the electronic lock by a predetermined first distance or more ;
causing the terminal device to execute the
A lock control system , wherein the predetermined time is shorter than the time required for a person who has moved away from the electronic lock by more than the first distance to return to within the second distance from the electronic lock . The unlocking control process includes:
When the terminal device is away from the electronic lock by the first distance or more, the terminal device starts the unlocking control process.
The lock control system according to claim 1 , wherein when the terminal device approaches within the second distance from the electronic lock, the terminal device starts a process of receiving a predetermined signal transmitted by the electronic lock via short-range communication . The lock control system according to claim 2 , wherein the unlocking control process includes a process of transmitting a control signal to the electronic lock requesting unlocking when the predetermined signal is received via the short-range communication. The lock control system according to claim 1 , wherein the first distance is a distance that is preset to detect that the terminal device has moved away from the electronic lock. A terminal device for controlling an electronic lock,
a distance detection unit that detects the distance between the electronic lock and the terminal device;
an unlocking processing unit that executes an unlocking control process to control unlocking of the electronic lock based on the distance;
a cancel processing unit that cancels the unlocking control process when the terminal device returns to within a predetermined second distance from the electronic lock, the second distance being shorter than the first distance, before a predetermined time has elapsed after the terminal device has moved away from the electronic lock by a predetermined first distance or more;
and
A terminal device in which the specified time is shorter than the time required for a person who is more than the first distance from the electronic lock to return to within the second distance from the electronic lock . The terminal device that controls the electronic lock
A process of detecting a distance between the electronic lock and the terminal device;
an unlocking control process for controlling unlocking of the electronic lock based on the distance;
a process of terminating the unlocking control process when the terminal device returns to within a predetermined second distance from the electronic lock, the second distance being shorter than the first distance, before a predetermined time has elapsed after the terminal device has moved away from the electronic lock by a predetermined first distance or more;
Execute
The program , wherein the predetermined time is shorter than the time required for a person who has moved away from the electronic lock by more than the first distance to return to within the second distance from the electronic lock . The terminal device that controls the electronic lock is
A process of detecting a distance between the electronic lock and the terminal device;
an unlocking control process for controlling unlocking of the electronic lock based on the distance;
a process of terminating the unlocking control process when the terminal device returns to within a predetermined second distance from the electronic lock, the second distance being shorter than the first distance, before a predetermined time has elapsed after the terminal device has moved away from the electronic lock by a predetermined first distance or more;
Run
A lock control method , wherein the specified time is shorter than the time required for a person who has moved away from the electronic lock by more than the first distance to return to within the second distance from the electronic lock .