JP7518877B2 - Terminal device, network positioning system, server, and network positioning method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a terminal device, a network positioning system, a server, and a network positioning method.

In recent years, technologies related to network positioning have been developed (Patent Documents 1 to 3). In network positioning, a terminal device detects cellular base stations and Wi-Fi (registered trademark, also known as wireless LAN) access points in the vicinity, and transmits information about the detected cellular base stations and Wi-Fi access points to a server of a location information service provider. The server of the location information service provider stores the position coordinates of fixed cellular base stations and Wi-Fi access points in advance, and estimates the position coordinates of the terminal device by comparing them with the information received from the terminal device.

Special Publication No. 2008-519495 Special Publication No. 2011-509028 JP 2012-39628 A

However, if a problem occurs in the server (location information providing device) of a location information service provider, all terminal devices using the server will be unable to perform network positioning. In this case, the location information of the user who owns the terminal device cannot be confirmed. For example, a parent or guardian cannot confirm the location information of a child who is being monitored.

A terminal device according to one aspect of the present invention is a terminal device that performs network positioning, and includes a positioning information acquisition unit that acquires positioning information used in network positioning, the positioning information including identification information of a wireless signal source that is within a range where wireless communication with the terminal device is possible, a location information acquisition unit that transmits the positioning information to a location information providing device and acquires location information of the terminal device from the location information providing device, and a transmission unit that operates in either a normal mode or an emergency mode, and in the normal mode, transmits the location information acquired by the location information acquisition unit to the outside, and in the emergency mode, transmits tracking information including the positioning information to the outside.

A network positioning method according to one aspect of the present invention includes a positioning information acquisition step in which a terminal device performing network positioning acquires positioning information used for network positioning, the positioning information including identification information of a wireless signal source present within a range in which wireless communication with the terminal device is possible;
a position information acquiring step of the terminal device transmitting the positioning information to a position information providing device and acquiring position information of the terminal device from the position information providing device;
The method includes a transmission step which is executed by the terminal device in either a normal mode or an emergency mode, in which in the normal mode, the terminal device transmits to the outside the location information acquired in the location information acquisition step, and in the emergency mode, the terminal device transmits to the outside tracking information including the positioning information.

The terminal device and server according to each aspect of the present invention may be realized by a computer. In this case, the control program of the terminal device and the control program of the server that realize the terminal device and the server by operating a computer as each part (software element) of the terminal device and the server, as well as the computer-readable recording medium on which they are recorded, also fall within the scope of the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a system configuration according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of functional blocks of a terminal device and a server according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of a normal operation of the system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of an operation of the system when a failure occurs according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a system configuration according to a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of functional blocks of a terminal device and a server according to a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a computer that can be used as a terminal device and a server according to each embodiment.

[Embodiment 1]
<Configuration example>
An example of the configuration of this embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a system 1 according to this embodiment. The system 1 is a network positioning system, and may be composed of a terminal device 100 and a server 200, for example.

In this embodiment, the wireless signal source is a wireless device that transmits a wireless signal including identification information, and at least a part of the wireless signal source may be fixed to a specific position coordinate. In one aspect, the wireless signal source may be a wireless connection point to which the terminal device 100 can wirelessly connect, such as a cellular base station (hereinafter referred to as a base station) and a Wi-Fi access point. In the following, a case will be described in which a first type of wireless connection point (a base station 2 that provides a cell in which the terminal device 100 is located (a serving cell), and a base station 3 that provides a surrounding cell (an adjacent cell) in which the terminal device 100 is not located) and a second type of wireless connection point (Wi-Fi access points 4 and 5) exist as wireless signal sources present around the terminal device 100, but those skilled in the art will easily understand that the wireless signal sources present around the terminal device 100 are not limited to these. In one aspect, the wireless signal source may be realized by a wireless device capable of transmitting a wireless signal according to a communication standard such as Bluetooth (registered trademark), and may be, for example, a BLE beacon. In one embodiment, being wirelessly connectable may include the terminal device 100 being able to acquire identification information from radio waves arriving from a wireless signal source. In other words, in one embodiment, as long as the terminal device 100 is able to acquire identification information of a wireless signal source, the wireless signal source and the terminal device 100 do not necessarily need to establish a communication connection.

The terminal device 100 may be connected to the server 200 via a base station 2, may be connected to the server 200 via a Wi-Fi access point 4 or 5, or may be connected to the server 200 via another communication path.

The server 200 may be connected to a location information service provider (location information providing device) 10 via a network. The location information service provider 10 may be a server that provides a service of returning information including estimated location information of the terminal device 100 when it receives information about a wireless signal source present around the terminal device 100. In this embodiment, the location information service provider 10 may be a location information providing device that estimates the location of the terminal device 100 based on detection result information indicating the detection result of at least one wireless signal source that is present within a range where wireless communication with the terminal device 100 is possible and transmits identification information. The location information service provider 10 is provided by various companies, including Google Inc. (Mountain View, USA), for example. The server 200 may also be connected to other location information service providers.

Next, referring to another drawing, the configuration of the terminal device 100 and the server 200 according to this embodiment will be described. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the functional blocks of the terminal device 100 and the server 200 according to this embodiment.

<Terminal Device>
The terminal device 100 is a terminal device that performs network positioning, and may include a communication unit 110, a memory 120, a storage unit 130, and a main control unit 140.

The communication unit 110 may receive at least a wireless signal including an identification number from a wireless signal source, and may transmit and receive wireless signals to and from the wireless signal source. The communication unit 110 may also communicate with the server 200 via a network.

The memory 120 may temporarily store various programs executed by the main control unit 140 and various data referenced by those programs.

The memory unit 130 may store various types of information that can be read, written, referenced, etc. by the main control unit 140.

The main control unit 140 may include a positioning information acquisition processing unit (positioning information acquisition unit) 142, a location information acquisition processing unit (location information acquisition unit) 143, a transmission processing unit (transmission unit) 144, a history accumulation processing unit (history accumulation unit) 145, an additional information acquisition processing unit (additional information acquisition unit) 146, a cellular communication processing unit 148, and a Wi-Fi communication processing unit 150.

The positioning information acquisition processing unit 142 may acquire positioning information used for network positioning via the cellular communication processing unit 148 and the Wi-Fi communication processing unit 150, the positioning information including identification information of the base stations 2, 3 and Wi-Fi access points 4, 5 (wireless signal sources) that are within a range where wireless communication with the terminal device 100 is possible.

The positioning information acquisition processing unit 142 may acquire positioning information including the date and time of communication with the base stations 2 and 3 and the Wi-Fi access points 4 and 5, and may add identification information of the terminal device 100 to the positioning information.

The location information acquisition processing unit 143 may transmit the acquired positioning information to the location information service provider 10 and acquire the location information of the terminal device 100 from the location information service provider 10.

The transmission processing unit 144 operates in either a normal mode or an emergency mode. In the normal mode, the transmission processing unit 144 transmits the location information of the terminal device 100 acquired by the location information acquisition processing unit 143 to the server (external) 200. In the emergency mode, the transmission processing unit 144 may transmit tracking information including positioning information to the server (external) 200.

The history accumulation processing unit 145 may accumulate in the storage unit 130 a history of identification information that associates the identification information of the base stations 2, 3 and Wi-Fi access points 4, 5 that are within a range capable of wireless communication with the terminal device 100 acquired by the positioning information acquisition processing unit 142 with the time at which the positioning information acquisition processing unit 142 acquired the identification information. The tracking information may further include the history of the identification information.

The additional information acquisition processing unit 146 may acquire the moving speed of the terminal device 100, the geomagnetism around the terminal device 100, the sound around the terminal device 100, the captured images around the terminal device 100, and the like as additional information. The above-mentioned tracking information may further include these additional information. Note that the additional information may be any information that can be acquired from the terminal device 100, and is not limited to the above examples. Specifically, for example, the additional information acquisition processing unit 146 may acquire the usage history of a contactless IC card function (e.g., a payment method such as Felica (registered trademark) or NFC; not shown) mounted on the terminal device 100, or the operation history of a physical switch (not shown) mounted on the terminal device 100, and use these as additional information.

The cellular communication processing unit 148 may communicate with the base stations 2 and 3 according to a specified protocol. The cellular communication processing unit 148 may also obtain information about the serving cell and adjacent cells according to a specified protocol.

The Wi-Fi communication processing unit 150 may communicate with the Wi-Fi access points 4 and 5 according to a specified protocol. The Wi-Fi communication processing unit 150 may also scan for the surrounding Wi-Fi access points 4 and 5 (Wi-Fi scan) according to a specified protocol.

In this embodiment, the transmission processing unit 144 may operate in emergency mode in response to the fact that the location information acquisition processing unit 143 is unable to acquire location information of the terminal device 100 from the location information service provider 10.

For example, when the execution time of the process (hereinafter, sometimes referred to as positioning process) in which the location information acquisition processing unit 143 acquires the location information of the terminal device 100 from the location information service provider 10 exceeds a predetermined time, the transmission processing unit 144 may determine that the location information has not been acquired and operate in emergency mode. Alternatively, when the location information acquisition processing unit 143 acquires data indicating that positioning is not possible from the location information service provider in place of the location information, the transmission processing unit 144 may determine that the location information has not been acquired and operate in emergency mode.

<Server>
The server 200 may receive the tracking information transmitted in the emergency mode by the transmission processing unit 144 of the terminal device 100. The server 200 may include a communication unit 210, a memory 220, a storage unit 230, and a main control unit 240.

The communication unit 210 may communicate with the terminal device 100 via a network.

The memory 220 may temporarily store various programs executed by the main control unit 240 and various data referenced by those programs.

The memory unit 230 may store various information that is read, written, referenced, etc. by the main control unit 240.

The main control unit 240 may include a receiving processing unit (receiving unit) 242, a memory processing unit 243, a notification processing unit (notification unit) 244, a transmission processing unit 250, and a providing unit 252.

The receiving processing unit 242 may receive tracking information transmitted by the transmitting processing unit 144 of the terminal device 100 in emergency mode.

The storage processing unit 243 may perform a storage process to store the tracking information in the storage unit 230. At this time, the storage unit 230 may store the tracking information in association with the identification information of the terminal device 100 that is the source of the tracking information.

The notification processing unit 244 may notify a notification destination associated with the terminal device 100 of a warning in response to the reception processing unit 242 receiving the tracking information. For example, when a failure occurs in communication with the location information service provider 10, the notification processing unit 244 may send a warning from the server 200 to the parent's terminal device by SMS, email, etc.

The transmission processing unit 250 may perform a transmission process to transmit various information to the terminal device 100.

The providing unit 252 may perform a providing process to provide the tracking information stored in the storage unit 230 to an external party. For example, the providing unit 252 may format the tracking information as a web page so that it can be viewed from a specific destination, or may transmit the tracking information to a specific destination.

<Configuration of tracking information>
The following are examples of tracking information (including positioning information) that the terminal device 100 uploads to the server 200 when the terminal device 100 is unable to receive location information from the location information service provider 10.

(1) Information of base station 2 Identification information of the serving cell and adjacent cells (e.g., cell ID, extended cell ID, country code, network code, area code, etc.), radio wave strength of each cell (e.g., dbm, etc.).

(2) Information on Wi-Fi access points 4 and 5 Identification information of the Wi-Fi access point (e.g., MAC address, BSSID, etc.), radio wave strength of the wireless signal from the Wi-Fi access point (e.g., RSSI, etc.).

(3) Information on the date and time when the terminal device 100 communicated with a wireless signal source A timestamp of when the parameters were collected (for example, a timestamp indicating the start or completion of a Wi-Fi scan).

(4) Information on the terminal device 100 Identification information of the terminal device 100 (e.g., IMEI, serial number of the terminal device, MAC address, telephone number, IMSI, MSN, uuid, etc.).

(5) History of Communicating Base Stations 2 and 3 By tracing the history of communicating base stations 2 and 3, the movement history of the terminal device 100 can be determined.

(6) Information that can be acquired by the terminal device 100 History of the moving speed of the terminal device 100, the geomagnetic field at the location, audio recorded at the location, video captured at the location, and the like.

Note that the information on the base stations 2 and 3 and the Wi-Fi access points 4 and 5 specifically describes the network positioning parameters of Google Inc. It is assumed that the data contained therein is always included.
<https://developers.google.com/maps/documentation/geolocation/overview>
Parameters for the base station include, for example, a unique identifier for the base station, the network location area code, the mobile country code for the base station, the mobile network code for the base station, radio signal strength measured in dBm, etc. Parameters for the Wi-Fi access point include, for example, the MAC address of the Wi-Fi access point, the BSSID, the ESSID, the current signal strength measured in dBm, the number of milliseconds since the Wi-Fi access point was detected, the channel on which the client is communicating with the Wi-Fi access point, the current signal to noise ratio measured in dB, etc.

<Operation>
3 is a sequence diagram for explaining an example of the operation of the system 1 in a normal state according to the first embodiment of the present invention. An example of a specific operation of the system 1 will be explained with reference to the sequence diagram shown in FIG.

First, in step S1, in the terminal device 100, the positioning information acquisition processing unit 142 may acquire positioning information (positioning information acquisition step), and the transmission processing unit 144 may transmit the positioning information to the location information service provider 10. The positioning information may include information on the base station 2 and the Wi-Fi access points 4 and 5. At this time, the location information service provider 10 may receive the positioning information from the terminal device 100, and generate location information of the terminal device 100 from the positioning information. The location information may include the coordinates (latitude, longitude, etc.) of the terminal device 100, and the positioning accuracy.

Next, in step S2, the location information service provider 10 may return the generated location information to the terminal device 100. At this time, the location information acquisition processing unit 143 of the terminal device 100 may acquire the location information of the terminal device 100 from the location information service provider 10 (location information acquisition process).

Then, when the location information of the terminal device 100 is received from the location information service provider 10, in step S3, the transmission processing unit 144 of the terminal device 100 may transmit the location information of the terminal device 100 to the server 200 (transmission process). The location information may include the location information and identification information of the terminal device 100. At this time, the reception processing unit 242 of the server 200 may receive the location information of the terminal device 100 from the terminal device 100.

Furthermore, in step S4, the storage processing unit 243 of the server 200 may store the received location information of the terminal device 100 in the storage unit 230. At this time, the storage unit 230 may store the location information of the terminal device 100 and information on the time when the location information was acquired in association with the identification information of the terminal device 100. This allows the storage processing unit 243 of the server 200 to extract the location information and time information of the terminal device 100 from the storage unit 230 using the identification information of the terminal device 100.

In step S5, the transmission processing unit 250 of the server 200 may return a response to the terminal device 100 indicating whether the process of saving the location information of the terminal device 100 was successful.

Figure 4 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of the operation of the system when a failure occurs according to embodiment 1 of the present invention. An example of a specific operation of system 1 will be described with reference to the sequence diagram shown in Figure 4.

First, in step S11, the transmission processing unit 144 of the terminal device 100 may transmit positioning information to the location information service provider 10.

Next, in step S12, it is assumed that the location information acquisition processing unit 143 of the terminal device 100 is unable to acquire location information of the terminal device 100 from the location information service provider 10. This may be due to a failure in the network between the terminal device 100 and the location information service provider 10, a failure in the server of the location information service provider 10, etc.

If the location information of the terminal device 100 is not obtained from the location information service provider 10, in step S13, the transmission processing unit 144 of the terminal device 100 may transmit tracking information including positioning information to the server 200 (transmission process). At this time, the reception processing unit 242 of the server 200 may receive the tracking information from the terminal device 100.

Furthermore, in step S14, the storage processing unit 243 of the server 200 may store the received tracking information in the storage unit 230. At this time, the storage unit 230 may store the tracking information of the terminal device 100 and information on the time when the tracking information was received in association with the identification information of the terminal device 100.

In step S15, the transmission processing unit 250 of the server 200 may reply to the terminal device 100 regarding the success or failure of the process of saving the tracking information.

Effects of First Embodiment
According to the above, the storage processing unit 243 of the server 200 can extract the tracking information of the terminal device 100 from the storage unit 230 by using the identification information of the terminal device 100. As a result, even if it is necessary to confirm the location of the user of the terminal device 100, in an emergency such as when the location information of the terminal device 100 cannot be received from the location information service provider 10, the tracking information of the terminal device 100 stored in the storage unit 230 of the server 200 can be used to manually locate the terminal device 100 or to locate the terminal device 100 using another location information service provider that is not supported by the terminal device 100. Therefore, even if a failure occurs in communication with the location information service provider 10, the terminal device 100 can be located.

<Modification>
(1) The server to which the terminal device 100 transmits location information of the terminal device 100 when the terminal device 100 receives the location information of the terminal device 100 from the location information service provider 10 and the server to which the tracking information is transmitted when the terminal device 100 does not receive the location information from the location information service provider 10 may be different.

(2) If the terminal device 100 does not receive location information for the terminal device 100 from the location information service provider 10, the terminal device 100 may also transmit to the server 200 data that is not normally transmitted to the location information service provider 10 (e.g., reception history of identification information for base stations 2 and 3 and Wi-Fi access points 4 and 5) in addition to the tracking information.

(3) The data to be transmitted to the server 200 includes location information of the terminal device 100 (i.e., user location information). Therefore, the data may be encrypted, hashed, or the like before being transmitted to the server 200.

[Embodiment 2]
A second embodiment of the present invention will be described below. For ease of explanation, the same reference numerals are given to members having the same functions as those described in the first embodiment, and the description thereof will not be repeated.

<Configuration example>
5 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the system 1a according to the present embodiment. As an example, the system 1a may be configured by a terminal device 100a, a terminal device 101 (external terminal device), and a server 200. For example, the terminal device 100a may be carried by a child, and the terminal device 101 may be carried by the child's guardian or carrier. The transmission processing unit 144 of the terminal device 100a may transmit tracking information to the server 200, not to the location information service provider 10, triggered by an instruction from the terminal device 101. The details will be described below.

Figure 6 is a diagram showing an example of functional blocks of the terminal device 100a and the server 200 according to this embodiment. Compared to the terminal device 100 according to the first embodiment, the terminal device 100a may further include an instruction acquisition processing unit (instruction acquisition unit) 147 that acquires instructions from the terminal device (external) 101.

In this case, the transmission processing unit 144 may operate in the emergency mode in response to the instruction acquisition processing unit 147 acquiring an instruction indicating the emergency mode. Alternatively, the transmission processing unit 144 may operate in the emergency mode in response to the instruction acquisition processing unit 147 acquiring an instruction indicating the emergency mode and the location information acquisition processing unit 143 failing to acquire location information of the terminal device 100a from the location information service provider 10.

<Operation>
The terminal device 101 issues an instruction to switch the mode set in the terminal device 100a. The method of issuing the instruction is not particularly limited. For example, the terminal device 101 may send the instruction to the terminal device 100 by cellular communication such as SMS (Short Message Service), or may send the instruction to the terminal device 100 by short-distance communication such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) or BLE (push type). In addition, the terminal device 101 may register a value indicating the instruction in a predetermined server, and the instruction acquisition processing unit 147 of the terminal device 100a may acquire the instruction from the terminal device 101 by referring to the value registered in the predetermined server (pull type). The instruction acquisition processing unit 147 may periodically or non-periodically refer to the value registered in the predetermined server, or may refer to the value registered in the predetermined server when a failure occurs in the server or network of the location information service provider 10.

The terminal device 100a has a normal mode and an emergency mode. The normal mode is a mode in which the terminal device 100a transmits location information of the terminal device 100a to the server 200. The emergency mode is a mode in which the terminal device 100a transmits tracking information of the terminal device 100 to the server 200.

When the normal mode is set and when the terminal device 100a receives location information from the location information service provider 10, the terminal device 100a transmits the location information to the server 200. When the emergency mode is set or when the terminal device 100a does not receive location information from the location information service provider 10, the terminal device 100a transmits tracking information for the terminal device 100a to the server 200.

<Effects of the Second Embodiment>
In cases where a failure in the location information service provider 10 is suspected rather than after an actual failure in communication with the location information service provider 10 has occurred, the mode of the terminal device 100 can be switched to emergency mode in advance, thereby enabling smooth positioning of the terminal device 100a.

<Modification>
(1) In response to an instruction from the terminal device 101, the terminal device 100a may dynamically change the data to be transmitted to the server 200 in the emergency mode. For example, in response to an instruction from the terminal device 101, the terminal device 100a may select information to be used as additional information from the above-mentioned moving speed of the terminal device 100a, the geomagnetism around the terminal device 100a, the sound around the terminal device 100a, the usage history of the contactless IC card function mounted on the terminal device 100a, and the operation history of the physical switch mounted on the terminal device 100a. In this case, the instruction from the terminal device 101 may include information specifying the additional information.

(2) In addition to receiving a mode switching instruction from the terminal device 101, a condition for the terminal device 100 to switch modes may be added. For example, the mode may be switched when the remaining charge of the battery mounted on the terminal device 100 falls below a predetermined threshold, when a switch provided on the terminal device 100 is operated, or the like.

[Embodiment 3]
A third embodiment of the present invention will be described below. For ease of explanation, the same reference numerals will be given to members having the same functions as those described in the first and second embodiments, and the description thereof will not be repeated.

(1) The providing unit 252 of the server 200 may convert the received tracking information into an output format that is easy for people to view. For example, the providing unit 252 may generate a map, table, or the like from the reception history of the identification information of the communicating base stations 2 and 3. The providing unit 252 may also change the location information of the base stations 2 and 3 into place names.

The providing unit 252 may also provide the tracking information stored in the storage unit 230 to the terminal device 101 (second terminal device) in embodiment 2. The providing unit 252 may format the tracking information as a web page so that it can be viewed from the terminal device 101, or may transmit the tracking information to the terminal device 101 via SMS or e-mail.

(2) A fault in the location information service provider 10 may be determined not only based on a single communication failure, but also based on whether communication has failed a predetermined number of times or for a predetermined period of time or more.

[Hardware configuration and software implementation examples]
The control blocks of the terminal device 100 and the server 200 (particularly the parts included in the main control units 140 and 240) may be realized by a logic circuit (hardware) formed in an integrated circuit (IC chip) or the like, or may be realized by software using a CPU (Central Processing Unit). In the latter case, the terminal device 100 and the server 200 may be configured using a computer (electronic calculator).

7 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of a computer 910 that can be used as the terminal device 100 and the server 200. The computer 910 includes an arithmetic unit 912, a main memory device 913, an auxiliary memory device 914, and an input/output interface 915, which are connected to each other via a bus 911. The arithmetic unit 912, the main memory device 913, and the auxiliary memory device 914 may each be, for example, a CPU, a RAM (random access memory), a solid state drive, or a hard disk drive. The input/output interface 915 is connected to an input device 920 for a user to input various information to the computer 910, and an output device 930 for the computer 910 to output various information to the user. The input device 920 and the output device 930 may be built into the computer 910 or may be connected (externally) to the computer 910. For example, the input device 920 may be a button, a keyboard, a mouse, a touch sensor, or the like, and the output device 930 may be a lamp, a display, a printer, a speaker, or the like. Also, a device having the functions of both the input device 920 and the output device 930, such as a touch panel in which a touch sensor and a display are integrated, may be applied. The communication interface 916 is an interface through which the computer 910 communicates with external devices.

The auxiliary storage device 914 stores an information processing program for operating the computer 910 as the server 200. The arithmetic device 912 deploys the information processing program stored in the auxiliary storage device 914 on the main storage device 913 and executes the instructions contained in the information processing program, thereby causing the computer 910 to function as each part of the server 200. Note that the recording medium used by the auxiliary storage device 914 to record information such as the information processing program may be any computer-readable "non-transient tangible medium," and may be, for example, a tape, disk, card, semiconductor memory, programmable logic circuit, or the like.

In addition, a configuration may be adopted in which computer 910 functions using a program recorded on a recording medium external to computer 910, or a program supplied to computer 910 via any transmission medium (such as a communication network or broadcast waves). The present invention may also be realized in the form of a data signal embedded in a carrier wave, in which the program is embodied by electronic transmission.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the claims. Embodiments obtained by appropriately combining the technical means disclosed in different embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.
<Description of SDGs>
As an embodiment of the present invention, a positioning device may be provided for parents who wish to check the whereabouts of their children. In the above example, the positioning device is used for purposes such as crime prevention or preventing children from getting lost. By applying the present invention to a product, it becomes possible to continuously provide positioning services even when communication with a positioning provider becomes impossible, which leads to reducing parents' anxiety and contributes to preventing crimes and accidents. Therefore, it is possible to contribute to the achievement of Goal 11 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), "Sustainable cities and communities."

1, 1a System 2, 3 Base station (radio signal source)
4, 5 Wi-Fi access point (wireless signal source)
10 Location information service provider (location information providing device)
100, 100a Terminal device 101 Terminal device (external, second terminal device)
142 Positioning information acquisition processing unit (positioning information acquisition unit)
143 Position information acquisition processing unit (position information acquisition unit)
144 Transmission processing unit (transmission unit)
145 History accumulation processing unit (history accumulation unit)
146 Additional information acquisition processing unit (additional information acquisition unit)
147 Instruction acquisition processing unit (instruction acquisition unit)
200 Server (external)
230 Storage unit 242 Reception processing unit (reception unit)
244 Notification processing unit (notification unit)
252 Provision Department

Claims (12)

A terminal device that performs network positioning,
a positioning information acquisition unit that acquires positioning information used for network positioning, the positioning information including identification information of a wireless signal source present within a range where wireless communication with the terminal device is possible;
a location information acquisition unit that transmits the positioning information to a location information providing device and acquires location information of the terminal device from the location information providing device;
a transmitter that operates in either a normal mode or an emergency mode, and in the normal mode, transmits the location information acquired by the location information acquisition unit to an external device, and in the emergency mode, transmits tracking information including the positioning information to an external device.
Terminal device. a history storage unit that stores a history of identification information of a wireless signal source that exists within a range where wireless communication with the terminal device is possible;
The tracking information further includes a history of the identification information.
The terminal device according to claim 1. an additional information acquisition unit that acquires, as additional information, one or more of a moving speed of the terminal device, a geomagnetism around the terminal device, a sound around the terminal device, a captured image around the terminal device, a usage history of a contactless IC card function mounted on the terminal device, and an operation history of a physical switch mounted on the terminal device;
The tracking information further includes the additional information.
The terminal device according to claim 1. An instruction acquisition unit that acquires an instruction from an external device is further provided,
The transmission unit selects the additional information to be included in the tracking information in response to the instruction.
The terminal device according to claim 3 . the transmitting unit operates in the emergency mode in response to a failure of the location information acquiring unit to acquire the location information of the terminal device from the location information providing device.
The terminal device according to claim 1. An instruction acquisition unit that acquires an instruction from an external device is further provided,
The transmission unit operates in the emergency mode in response to the instruction acquisition unit acquiring an instruction indicating the emergency mode.
The terminal device according to claim 1. An instruction acquisition unit that acquires an instruction from an external device is further provided,
the transmission unit operates in the emergency mode in response to the instruction acquisition unit acquiring an instruction indicating the emergency mode and the location information acquisition unit being unable to acquire the location information of the terminal device from the location information providing device.
The terminal device according to claim 1. A terminal device according to any one of claims 1 to 7;
a server that receives the tracking information transmitted by the transmission unit in the emergency mode,
Network positioning system. A receiving unit that receives the tracking information transmitted by the transmitting unit of the terminal device according to any one of claims 1 to 7 in the emergency mode;
A storage unit that stores the tracking information in association with the identification information of the terminal device.
server. The device further includes a notification unit that notifies a notification destination associated with the terminal device of an alert in response to the receiving unit receiving the tracking information.
The server according to claim 9. The method further includes the steps of: providing the tracking information stored in the storage unit to a second terminal device associated with the terminal device;
The server according to claim 9. a positioning information acquisition step in which a terminal device performing network positioning acquires positioning information used in the network positioning, the positioning information including identification information of a wireless signal source present within a range where wireless communication with the terminal device is possible;
a position information acquiring step of the terminal device transmitting the positioning information to a position information providing device and acquiring position information of the terminal device from the position information providing device;
a transmission step which is executed by the terminal device in either a normal mode or an emergency mode, in which the terminal device transmits to an external device the location information acquired in the location information acquisition step in the normal mode, and transmits to an external device tracking information including the positioning information in the emergency mode,
Network positioning methods.

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