JP2017194443A - Beacon transmission device, beacon transmission system, beacon transmission method, and beacon transmission program - Google Patents

Abstract

Transmission of beacon signals of a plurality of services is performed by one beacon device per place.
A beacon transmission device for transmitting a beacon signal, which receives a registration of transmission timings, transmission formats, and transmission data of a plurality of beacon signal specifications and registers them in a storage unit, and is registered in the storage unit A transmission execution unit that sequentially transmits the beacon signals of the plurality of beacon signal specifications based on the transmission timing, the transmission format, and the transmission data.
[Selection] Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a beacon transmission device, a beacon transmission system, a beacon transmission method, and a beacon transmission program.

  In recent years, beacon devices (beacon transmission devices) capable of transmitting beacon signals to terminal devices carried by users have been arranged in facilities such as supermarkets, convenience stores, department stores, and specialty stores, and various services have been provided. I came. The terminal device that has received the beacon signal from the beacon device can acquire the product information based on the beacon signal by an application installed in the terminal device, and can display the product information on the display unit of the terminal device.

  In addition, position information services using GPS (Global Positioning System) are prevalent, mainly in car navigation systems and smartphones. However, since GPS is a positioning technology using satellite radio waves, it cannot be used in places where radio waves do not reach, such as indoors and underground. Therefore, in order to realize a location information service indoors, positioning technology other than GPS such as indoor positioning technology is required. In this regard, in an environment where positioning using GPS cannot be performed, such as indoors or underground, by receiving a beacon signal from a beacon device, inertia that integrates an acceleration sensor, a geomagnetic sensor, etc. with reference to the position of the beacon device Pedestrian dead reckoning (PDR) that estimates the position of a pedestrian by calculation by a device is already known.

  Thus, it is considered that services using beacon devices are becoming more and more popular, and it is important how to efficiently install beacon devices.

  On the other hand, in an environment where a large number of beacon devices are installed, in order to shorten the time required for scanning identification information, a technology for limiting beacon devices to be received using installation position information has been disclosed (for example, (See Patent Document 1).

  When a new service using a beacon device is to be provided, a new beacon device is installed, but in general, a number of other beacon devices are already installed in places where service is highly valuable. The possibility is high and new installation is not easy. In other words, in addition to installation costs such as installation work and maintenance after installation, there is a shortage of installation locations due to the presence of existing beacon devices, a shortage of power supply extraction locations, radio wave interference (beacon signals are transmitted asynchronously) For example, it is difficult to secure the installation location.

  The present invention has been proposed in view of the above-described conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to enable operation of transmission of beacon signals of a plurality of services by one beacon device per place. is there.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, in the present invention, a beacon transmission device for transmitting a beacon signal, which receives registration of transmission timings, transmission formats, and transmission data of a plurality of beacon signal specifications and registers them in a storage unit And a transmission execution unit that sequentially transmits beacon signals of the plurality of beacon signal specifications based on transmission timing, transmission format, and transmission data registered in the storage unit.

  In the present invention, transmission of beacon signals of a plurality of services can be operated by one beacon device per place.

It is a figure which shows the structural example of the system concerning the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the function structural example of a beacon apparatus. It is a figure which shows the more specific function structural example of a beacon apparatus. It is a figure which shows the function structural example of a content server. It is a figure which shows the function structural example of a mobile terminal. It is a figure which shows the function structural example of a beacon management server. It is a figure which shows the hardware structural example of a beacon apparatus. It is a figure which shows the hardware structural example of a content server and a beacon management server. It is a figure which shows the hardware structural example of a mobile terminal. It is a sequence diagram which shows the process example of 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structural example of beacon installation information. It is a figure (the 1) which shows the example of beacon service information. It is a figure (the 2) which shows the example of beacon service information. It is FIG. (3) which shows the example of beacon service information. It is a figure which shows the example of a transmission timing. It is a figure which shows the function structural example of the beacon apparatus in 2nd Embodiment. It is a sequence diagram which shows the process example of 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of interference information. It is a figure which shows the example of a transmission timing. It is a figure which shows the function structural example of the beacon apparatus in 3rd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the function structural example of the beacon management server in 3rd Embodiment. It is a sequence diagram which shows the process example of 3rd Embodiment.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described.

<First Embodiment>
[Constitution]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, a plurality (a large number) of beacon devices 1 (1A, 1B, 1C,...) For transmitting (transmitting) beacon signals are installed indoors or outdoors, and these beacon devices 1 are wired to a network 2. Or it is connected by radio. As the beacon device 1, a BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) device or a WIFI device is used. Since BLE and WIFI are standardized, the operation of a business for receiving an order for beacon signal transmission from a customer becomes easy by conforming to BLE and WIFI. In addition, system construction can be facilitated by conforming to BLE and WIFI. In addition to BLE and WIFI, a beacon signal can also be transmitted by sound waves (ultrasonic waves).

  The network 2 is connected to content servers 3 (3A, 3B, 3C,...) That are individually managed for each service or service group and provide content corresponding to data included in the beacon signal. A mobile terminal 4 (4A, 4B,...) Such as a smartphone that approaches the beacon device 1 indoors or outdoors receives the beacon signal and accesses the corresponding content server 3 via the network 2 by the operation of the internal application. In addition, content corresponding to the service can be acquired. In addition, a beacon management server 5 that manages a plurality of beacon devices 1 is connected to the network 2.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration example of the beacon device 1 (1A, 1B, 1C,...). In FIG. 2, the beacon device 1 includes a maintenance communication unit 11 and a beacon transmission execution unit 15. The maintenance communication unit 11 receives transmission timings, transmission formats, and transmission data of a plurality of beacon signal specifications corresponding to a plurality of beacon services from the beacon management server 5 at a predetermined timing, a transmission timing storage unit 12, a transmission format storage unit 13 and the transmission data storage unit 14. The transmission timing storage unit 12, the transmission format storage unit 13, and the transmission data storage unit 14 need only be associated with the beacon signal specifications, the transmission timing, the transmission format, and the transmission data for each beacon service. It may be stored in a format, or may be stored in a plurality of table formats.

  The beacon transmission execution unit 15 transmits the transmission data registered in the transmission data storage unit 14 in the transmission format registered in the transmission format storage unit 13 according to the transmission timing registered in the transmission timing storage unit 12 for each beacon service. It has a function of transmitting (transmitting) to the surroundings as a beacon signal.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a more specific functional configuration example of the beacon device 1. In FIG. 3, the beacon transmission execution unit 15 uses three advertising channels “37”, “38”, and “39” prepared by BLE and sound waves emitted from a speaker. In BLE, three out of a total of 40 channels are allocated to advertising channels for device discovery, and the remaining 37 channels are allocated to data channels for data communication. There is only one sound wave. This is because a microphone built in the mobile terminal 4 such as a smartphone has a frequency band of almost audible sound, and it is difficult to set a plurality of channels for non-audible sound in normal use. The three advertising channels “37”, “38”, “39” and sound waves can simultaneously transmit beacon signals, and may transmit beacon signals of the same beacon service at the same time, or beacon signals of different beacon services. May be transmitted simultaneously. By simultaneously transmitting beacon signals of a plurality of beacon services using a plurality of channels and sound waves, a large number of beacon signal transmission orders can be efficiently operated.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a functional configuration example of the content server 3 (3A, 3B, 3C,...). In FIG. 4, the content server 3 includes a content providing unit 31. When the content providing unit 31 receives data specifying the beacon device 1 included in the beacon signal from the mobile terminal 4, the content providing unit 31 refers to the content DB 32, acquires the corresponding content, and returns the function to the requesting mobile terminal 4. Have.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration example of the mobile terminal 4 (4A, 4B,...). In FIG. 5, the mobile terminal 4 includes a beacon receiving unit 41 and a beacon using application 42. The beacon receiving unit 41 has a function of receiving a beacon signal transmitted from the beacon device 1 in accordance with a standard such as BLE or WIFI, and is normally installed in a smartphone or the like. The beacon receiving unit 41 delivers the received beacon signal data to the beacon using application 42 only when a beacon signal including a pre-registered beacon ID is received. The beacon using application 42 is a dedicated application provided by a beacon service provider or the like, and has a function of accessing the content server 3 based on data included in the beacon signal and acquiring content corresponding to the service. ing.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration example of the beacon management server 5. In FIG. 6, the beacon management server 5 includes an information management unit 51, a beacon-specific information generation unit 54, and a maintenance communication unit 56. The information management unit 51 registers beacon installation information including the installation position and the like of the managed beacon device 1 in the beacon installation information storage unit 52, and provides detailed information (beacon service information) of the received beacon service as beacon service information. It has a function of registering in the storage unit 53. Based on the beacon installation information registered in the beacon installation information storage unit 52 and the beacon service information registered in the beacon service information storage unit 53, the beacon-specific information generation unit 54 sets setting information (for each beacon device 1). (Beacon-specific information) is generated and registered in the beacon-specific information storage unit 55. The maintenance communication unit 56 has a function of setting the beacon device 1 based on the beacon information registered in the beacon information storage unit 55. In addition, the maintenance communication unit 56 registers the result of the maintenance communication in the maintenance result storage unit 57. Details of each information will be described later.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example of the beacon device 1. In FIG. 7, a beacon device 1 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 101, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 102, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 103, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) / HDD, which are connected to each other via a bus 100. An SSD (Solid State Drive) 104 is provided. The CPU 101 performs overall control of the operation of the beacon device 1 by executing a program stored in the ROM 102 or the HDD / SSD 104 or the like using the RAM 103 as a work area.

  Further, the beacon device 1 includes an input / output I / F (Interface) 105, a wireless LAN AP (Local Area Network Access Point) unit 106, a BLE communication unit 107, and a speaker unit 108. The input / output I / F 105 is an interface that accepts user operations and the like. The wireless LAN AP unit 106 is an interface for communicating with other information processing apparatuses via the wireless LAN, and is used for transmitting a beacon signal according to a standard such as WIFI. The BLE communication unit 107 is a part that performs communication by BLE, and is used to transmit a beacon signal according to the BLE standard. The speaker unit 108 is a part that transmits an ultrasonic signal, and is used to transmit a beacon signal using a sound wave.

  The power supply unit 109 is a part that supplies power to each unit in the beacon device 1 and may be any of a battery, a solar battery, USB (Universal Serial Bus) power supply, PoE (Power over Ethernet) power supply, and the like.

  The functions of the beacon device 1 described with reference to FIG. 2 or 3 are realized by the CPU 101 executing a predetermined program. The program may be acquired via a recording medium, may be acquired via a network, or may be embedded in a ROM. Also, the various types of information described with reference to FIG. 2 or FIG. 3 are temporarily stored in the RAM 103 and permanently stored in the HDD / SSD 104.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example of the content server 3 and the beacon management server 5. In FIG. 8, the content server 3 or the like includes a CPU 301, a ROM 302, a RAM 303, and an HDD / SSD 304 that are connected to each other via a bus 300. The CPU 301 centrally controls the operation of the content server 3 and the like by executing a program stored in the ROM 302 or the HDD / SSD 304 or the like using the RAM 303 as a work area.

  Further, the content server 3 and the like include an operation unit 305, a display unit 306, a communication unit 307, and an input / output I / F 308. The operation unit 305 is a part that receives a user operation. The display unit 306 is a part that displays an operation menu, a processing state, and the like to the user. The communication unit 307 is a part that communicates with other information processing apparatuses. The input / output I / F 308 is an interface for inputting / outputting data to / from an external device or the like.

  The functions of the content server 3 and the like described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 6 are realized by a predetermined program being executed by the CPU 301. The program may be acquired via a recording medium, may be acquired via a network, or may be embedded in a ROM. 4 and 6 are temporarily stored in the RAM 303 and permanently stored in the HDD / SSD 304.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example of the mobile terminal 4. In FIG. 9, the mobile terminal 4 includes a CPU 401, a ROM 402, a RAM 403, and an HDD / SSD 404 that are connected to each other via a bus 400. The CPU 401 performs overall control of the operation of the mobile terminal 4 by executing a program stored in the ROM 402 or the HDD / SSD 404 or the like using the RAM 403 as a work area.

  The mobile terminal 4 includes a display unit 405, a camera unit 406, a microphone unit 407, a speaker unit 408, a wireless communication unit 409, an input / output I / F 410, a wireless LAN communication unit 411, and a BLE communication unit 412. A display unit 405 is a part that displays an operation menu, a processing state, and the like to the user. The camera unit 406 is a part that performs photographing with a built-in camera. The microphone unit 407 is a part that acquires sound using a built-in microphone. The speaker unit 408 is a part that outputs sound. The wireless communication unit 409 is a part that performs voice communication or data communication. The input / output I / F 410 is an interface for inputting / outputting data to / from an external device or the like. The wireless LAN communication unit 411 is a part that communicates with other devices via a wireless LAN. The BLE communication unit 412 is a part that communicates with other devices by BLE.

  The functions of the mobile terminal 4 described in FIG. 5 are realized by executing a predetermined program in the CPU 401. The program may be acquired via a recording medium, may be acquired via a network, or may be embedded in a ROM. Further, the various types of information described with reference to FIG. 5 are temporarily stored in the RAM 403 and permanently stored in the HDD / SSD 404.

[Operation]
FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram showing a processing example of the first embodiment. In FIG. 10, the operator of the beacon management server 5 performs a beacon installation information registration operation for the beacon management server 5 at the initial operation time or when a new beacon device 1 is installed (step S101). The information management unit 51 of the beacon management server 5 accepts a beacon installation information registration operation, and registers the beacon installation information in the beacon installation information storage unit 52 (step S102). FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a structure example of beacon installation information, and includes items such as “beacon device ID”, “installation location type”, and “installation location”. The “beacon device ID” is information for identifying the beacon device 1. “Installation location type” is information indicating the type of location where the beacon device 1 is installed. The “installation location type” is, for example, “indoor”, “outdoors”, “around the station”, “subway”, “underground shopping”, “in front of the station”, “in the vicinity of the hotel”, “in the vicinity of the store”, “in the room” In-store ". “Installation location” is information indicating the latitude / longitude and address of the installation location.

  Returning to FIG. 10, the operator of the beacon management server 5 performs beacon service information registration operation on the beacon management server 5 at the time of collecting orders for the beacon service (step S <b> 103). The information management unit 51 of the beacon management server 5 receives a beacon service information registration operation, and registers the beacon service information in the beacon service information storage unit 53 (step S104).

  12-14 is a figure which shows the example of beacon service information. Note that the beacon signal is only transmitted by BLE. FIG. 12 shows an example of beacon service information related to a navigation service (navigation service) as a beacon service. FIG. 13 shows an example of beacon service information related to an advertisement distribution service as a beacon service. FIG. 14 illustrates an example of beacon service information for maintenance for confirming whether or not a beacon signal is normally transmitted at the installation location of the beacon device 1. 12 to 14, the beacon service information includes items of “order number”, “order company name”, “location”, “delivery time zone (time)”, and “transmission interval (seconds)”. The beacon service information includes "output format (data specifications)", "UUID", "Major", "Minor", "Namespace ID", "Instance ID", "URL Scheme", "output [dbm]", "encryption", and "encryption key". “Beacon data distribution fee [yen]” is included.

  In FIG. 12, “Order No.” is a number for managing orders. Regarding the other items, the case where “Order No.” is “1” will be described. “Ordering company name” indicates the name of a company that has received a beacon service for the navigation service: A Navi. “Location” indicates the location (range) of a beacon that performs data transmission for which an order has been received: all indoor and outdoor beacons (data transmission using all installed indoor and outdoor beacons). “Delivery time zone (time)” indicates a time zone (time) for data transmission: all day, 24 hours (every day, 24 hours in a row). “Transmission interval (seconds)” indicates a data transmission interval: one time within 0.1 seconds (0.1 second interval). Note that if the transmission interval is accurately observed, it may overlap with the data transmission of other orders No., so the minimum transmission interval is to be protected. “Output format (data specification)” indicates a data transmission format: iBeacon (data transmission according to the iBeacon specification). iBeacon is a standard for beacons using BLE advertising packets by Apple, and ID information consists of three types of identifiers: proximityUUID, Major, and Minor. For details, see “What is iBeacon” (http://smartphone-ec.net/ibeacon/system.html) and “BLE physical layer” (http://reinforce-lab.github.io/blog/2013/ Please refer to 02/06 / ble-phy-layler /).

  “UUID” indicates a unique ID: A Navi (ID for A Navi). “Major” indicates the coordinate X, and “Minor” indicates the coordinate Y. Set a unique ID for this beacon with “Major” and “Minor” (data specifications are acceptable for each company). “Output [dbm]” indicates an output: 0 (0 dbm) set when data transmission is performed. “Encryption” indicates whether data transmission is to be encrypted: Yes (encrypted). By performing encryption, free riding and spoofing can be prevented. “Encryption key” indicates a key for decrypting data transmission: for company A (decryption key dedicated to company A). By managing the encryption key on the customer side, the data included in the beacon signal can be kept secret for each customer. “Beacon data distribution charge [yen]” indicates the beacon service charge for the navigation service company that has been ordered: ?????????? (because the beacon usage place and time are high, the charge is high).

  In FIG. 13, a case where “order No.” is “1002” will be described. “Ordering company name” indicates a company name: A taxi that has received an order for a beacon service for a navigation service company. “Location” indicates the location (range) of a beacon that performs data transmission upon receiving an order: all station beacons (data transmission using all beacons in front of installed stations). “Delivery time zone (time)” indicates a time zone (time) for data transmission: all day, after the last train (every day, for example, from 23:00 to 24:00). “Transmission interval (seconds)” indicates an interval of data transmission: one time within 1 second (1 second interval). Note that if the transmission interval is accurately observed, it may overlap with the data transmission of other orders No., so the minimum transmission interval is to be protected. “Output format (data specification)” indicates a data transmission format: Eddystone 1 (data transmission according to Eddystone 1 specification). Eddystone is a standard for beacons using Google's BLE advertising packet by Google, Eddystone1 of the frame closest to iBeacon, Eddystone2 incorporating the concept of UrlBeacon, and Eddystone3 of the frame that sends Eddystone status There are frame types. Eddystone1 specifies Namespace ID corresponding to iBeacon's UUID and Instance ID corresponding to iBeacon's Major and Minor. For details, please refer to “What is Google's Eddystone” (http://dev.classmethod.jp/smartphone/eddystone/) and the like.

  “Namespace ID” indicates a unique ID: A taxi (ID for A taxi). “Instance ID” indicates an advertisement AA ′ (an advertisement AA ′ is displayed). “Output [dbm]” indicates an output: 0 (0 dbm) set when data transmission is performed. “Encryption” indicates whether data transmission is to be encrypted: none (not encrypted). "Beacon data distribution fee [Yen]" is the beacon service fee for advertising distribution that has been ordered: (Beacon usage place / time is low, so the price is low).

  The beacon service information for maintenance in FIG. 14 is that “location” is all indoor and outdoor beacons, “delivery time zone (time)” and “transmission interval (seconds)” are idle times, and “output format (data specification)”. Is Eddystone3, "Output [dbm]" is 0, and "Encryption" is none. Since the beacon management server 5 appropriately performs maintenance communication with each beacon device 1, it is possible to grasp the operating status of the beacon device 1, but the beacon signal transmitted by this information is really transmitted. It is used for on-site maintenance or not. Here, it is assumed that the beacon signal is transmitted in the output format Eddystone3 during the transmission idle time according to FIGS. 12 and 13 regardless of the output format of the ordering company. By transmitting a beacon signal for local maintenance during idle time, it is possible to perform local maintenance while the system is operating. In addition, maintenance is facilitated by unifying the beacon signal specifications (data) for maintenance irrespective of the specifications of other ordered services.

  Returning to FIG. 10, the beacon-specific information generation unit 54 of the beacon management server 5 extracts the transmission format and transmission data of each service from the beacon service information for each beacon device 1 at a predetermined timing, and generates transmission timing (scheduling) And registered in the beacon-specific information storage unit 55 (step S105). That is, the “location” of the beacon service information (FIGS. 12 to 14) is collated with the beacon installation information (FIG. 11) of each beacon device 1, and the “order number” of the target service for each beacon device 1 is determined. Identify. Then, the transmission format and transmission data are extracted from the beacon service information, and transmission scheduling is performed by generating transmission scheduling. As the transmission format, “output format (data specification)” and the like are extracted. As transmission data, “UUID”, “Major”, “Minor”, “Namespace ID”, “Instance ID”, “URL Scheme”, “output [dbm]”, and the like are extracted.

  FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of transmission timing, and is an example in the case of sequentially transmitting all the received orders in FIGS. 12 to 14. A black circle indicates the timing at which the beacon signal is transmitted. In this example, the data transmission capability of the beacon signal is set to 100 data per second (1 data 10 mS).

  Further, the portion surrounded by a circle near the time “1.0” is adjusted because the transmission timing is covered when scheduling is performed only from the transmission interval. In other words, orders No. 1001 and 1002 (transmission interval 1 second) are originally 1 second if transmitted at the position of the white circle, but overlap with orders No. 3 and 4 (transmission interval 0.2 seconds). Therefore, priority is given to the one with a shorter transmission interval (orders No. 3 and 4), and orders No. 1001 and 1002 are transmitted at the positions of the black circles. By processing with “empty” in the figure, which is the previous free time, the minimum transmission interval is kept. The processing may be performed at a later time. Thereby, the beacon signal can be transmitted while keeping the minimum transmission interval with one beacon device 1 and maintaining the transmission interval accuracy to some extent. Further, the transmission of the beacon signal for maintenance in FIG. 14 is also scheduled to be executed at timings of time 0.29, 0.39, 0.49,.

  Returning to FIG. 10, when the beacon-specific information is registered in the beacon-specific information storage unit 55 by the beacon-specific information generation unit 54, the maintenance communication unit 56 considers the past maintenance result in the maintenance result storage unit 57, and the beacon device The transmission format, transmission data, and transmission timing of each service are transmitted for each one (step S106). Considering the maintenance result means that by obtaining from the maintenance result how much data has been transmitted and set for the target beacon device 1, the difference from that is transmitted.

  When the maintenance communication unit 11 of the beacon device 1 receives the transmission format, transmission data, and transmission timing of each service from the beacon management server 5, the maintenance communication unit 11 receives the transmission timing storage unit 12, the transmission format storage unit 13, and the transmission data storage unit 14. Data is set (step S107). In addition, the maintenance communication unit 11 responds as necessary as to whether or not data registration has been performed normally (step S108).

  The maintenance communication unit 56 of the beacon management server 5 registers information for specifying data that has been set in each beacon device 1 in the maintenance result storage unit 57 as a maintenance result (step S109).

  Thereafter, during operation, the beacon transmission execution unit 15 of the beacon device 1 uses the transmission format of the transmission format storage unit 13 and the transmission data of the transmission data storage unit 14 as a beacon signal based on the transmission timing of the transmission timing storage unit 12. Sequentially transmit (send) to the surroundings (step S110).

  When the mobile terminal 4 in the vicinity of the beacon device 1 receives the beacon signal (step S111), in the case of the beacon device 1 registered in advance in the mobile terminal 4, data included in the beacon signal is extracted and the beacon use application 42 is delivered (step S112).

  The beacon using application 42 requests content from the corresponding content server 3 (step S113), and the content server 3 responds with the content (step S114).

  For example, in the case of an order No. 1 for a beacon service for a navigation service in FIG. 12, it is assumed that a beacon using application 42 created by A Navi is installed and operating on the mobile terminal 4. When the mobile terminal 4 obtains the UUID from the beacon signal, the UUID (A Navi) of the beacon device 1 and the encrypted Major (coordinate X) and Minor (coordinate Y) are used. Is inquired about the position coordinates of the beacon device 1 (request). The content server 3 decrypts the received Major (coordinate X) and Minor (coordinate Y) with the encryption key for company A, identifies the beacon device 1, and determines the position coordinates of the beacon device 1 as a mobile terminal. Reply to 4 (response). The mobile terminal 4 displays the current position on the map based on the received position coordinates.

  Further, in the case of the order No. 1002 for the beacon service for advertising distribution in FIG. 13, it is assumed that the beacon using application 42 created by the A taxi is installed in the mobile terminal 4 and is operating (background). When receiving the Namespace ID (A taxi) from the beacon signal, the mobile terminal 4 can identify the beacon device 1 by the Instance ID, and makes an inquiry to the content server 3 of the A taxi using this Instance ID. Based on the received Instance ID, the content server 3 returns a discount coupon or the like according to the location of the beacon device 1 or the past A-taxi usage of the user of the mobile terminal 4 to the mobile terminal 4, and the mobile terminal 4 Display.

<Second Embodiment>
An embodiment having a function of removing the influence of interference caused by a beacon coming from the outside will be described. In this embodiment, the system configuration is the same as that shown in FIG. 1, and the functional configurations of the content server 3, the mobile terminal 4, and the beacon management server 5 are the same as those shown in FIGS. The hardware configuration of each device is the same as that shown in FIGS.

  FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration example of the beacon device 1 according to the second embodiment. In FIG. 16, the beacon device 1 includes a maintenance communication unit 11, a beacon transmission execution unit 15, a beacon reception unit 161, a fixed beacon determination unit 162, and a schedule generation unit (correction unit) 166.

  The maintenance communication unit 11 receives transmission timings, transmission formats, and transmission data of a plurality of beacon signal specifications corresponding to a plurality of beacon services from the beacon management server 5 at a predetermined timing, a transmission timing storage unit 12, a transmission format storage unit 13 and the transmission data storage unit 14. The transmission timing storage unit 12, the transmission format storage unit 13, and the transmission data storage unit 14 need only be associated with the beacon signal specifications, the transmission timing, the transmission format, and the transmission data for each beacon service. It may be stored in a format, or may be stored in a plurality of table formats.

  The beacon receiving unit 161 has a function of receiving a beacon coming from the outside and acquiring the reception timing, reception format, and reception data of the received beacon. The fixed beacon determination unit 162 determines whether or not the received beacon is transmitted from the fixed station, and determines that the received beacon is transmitted from the fixed station. The reception data is registered in the reception timing storage unit 163, the reception format storage unit 164, and the reception data storage unit 165 as interference information. Even if a beacon transmitted from a mobile station interferes accidentally, no continuous interference occurs, so only a beacon transmitted from a fixed station is targeted.

For example, the fixed beacon determination unit 162 calculates the distance between the beacon device 1 and the transmission source from the received signal strength indicator (RSSI) received by the beacon reception unit 161, and the distance over a predetermined time. If there is no change exceeding a predetermined threshold, it is determined that the station is a fixed station. The RSSI takes a smaller value as the distance from the beacon transmission source becomes larger, the distance is r, the RSSI measured when the distance r is near 1 m is A, and the constant representing the degree of attenuation of the radio wave is B (theoretically). “2”)
_{RSSI (r) = A-10Blog} 10 (r)
According to the relational expression of From this equation, the distance r is
r = 10 ^{(A-RSSI) / 10B}
Can be calculated.

  The schedule generation unit 166 refers to the reception timing storage unit 163 and the reception format storage unit 164 at a predetermined timing, and has already been received from the beacon management server 5 and registered in the transmission timing storage unit 12, the transmission format storage unit 13, and the like. The schedule has a function of correcting (finally generating) the schedule.

  The beacon transmission execution unit 15 transmits the transmission data registered in the transmission data storage unit 14 in the transmission format registered in the transmission format storage unit 13 according to the transmission timing registered in the transmission timing storage unit 12 for each beacon service. It has a function of transmitting (transmitting) to the surroundings as a beacon signal.

  FIG. 17 is a sequence diagram illustrating a processing example of the second embodiment. In FIG. 17, the operator of the beacon management server 5 performs a beacon installation information registration operation for the beacon management server 5 at the initial operation time or when a new beacon device 1 is installed (step S121). The information management unit 51 of the beacon management server 5 accepts a beacon installation information registration operation, and registers the beacon installation information in the beacon installation information storage unit 52 (step S122). The beacon installation information is the same as that shown in FIG.

  Returning to FIG. 17, the operator of the beacon management server 5 performs a beacon service information registration operation to the beacon management server 5 at the time of collecting orders for the beacon service (step S <b> 123). The information management unit 51 of the beacon management server 5 receives a beacon service information registration operation and registers the beacon service information in the beacon service information storage unit 53 (step S124). The beacon service information is the same as that shown in FIGS.

  Returning to FIG. 17, the beacon-specific information generation unit 54 of the beacon management server 5 extracts the transmission format and transmission data of each service from the beacon service information for each beacon device 1 at a predetermined timing, and generates transmission timing (scheduling) And registered in the beacon-specific information storage unit 55 (step S125). The transmission timing is the same as that shown in FIG.

  Returning to FIG. 17, when the beacon-specific information is registered in the beacon-specific information storage unit 55 by the beacon-specific information generation unit 54, the maintenance communication unit 56 considers the past maintenance result in the maintenance result storage unit 57, and the beacon device The transmission format, transmission data, and transmission timing of each service are transmitted every one (step S126). Considering the maintenance result means that by obtaining from the maintenance result how much data has been transmitted and set for the target beacon device 1, the difference from that is transmitted.

  When the maintenance communication unit 11 of the beacon device 1 receives the transmission format, transmission data, and transmission timing of each service from the beacon management server 5, the maintenance communication unit 11 receives the transmission timing storage unit 12, the transmission format storage unit 13, and the transmission data storage unit 14. Data is set (step S127). In addition, the maintenance communication unit 11 responds as necessary as to whether or not data registration has been performed normally (step S128). The maintenance communication unit 56 of the beacon management server 5 registers information for specifying data that has been set in each beacon device 1 in the maintenance result storage unit 57 as a maintenance result (step S129).

  On the other hand, in parallel with the above processing, the beacon receiving unit 161 of the beacon device 1 receives a beacon coming from the outside, and acquires the reception timing, reception format, and reception data of the received beacon (step S130). Next, the fixed beacon determination unit 162 determines whether or not the received beacon is transmitted from a fixed station. If it is determined that the received beacon is transmitted from a fixed station, the beacon reception timing, reception The format and the received data are registered in the reception timing storage unit 163, the reception format storage unit 164, and the reception data storage unit 165 as interference information (step S131). In addition, since the reception timing of a beacon coming from the outside varies depending on the accuracy of the external device, the latest information is treated as valid in principle.

  FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an example of interference information, which is shown in the same format as the beacon service information (FIGS. 12 to 14) for easy understanding, but items corresponding to reception timing, reception format, and reception data. Can be held in any format. In FIG. 18, the item “channel” is added, but the item “channel” may be added to the beacon service information shown in FIGS.

  FIG. 18A shows an example in which a beacon having a transmission interval of 0.5 seconds and an offset of −0.02 seconds (occurring at 0.48 seconds, 0.98 seconds,...) Is received. Yes. FIG. 18B shows an example in which the transmission interval and the offset are the same as in FIG. 18A, but the channel is also specified. FIG. 18C shows an example in which the transmission interval, offset, and channel are the same as those in FIG. 18B and the output format is specified. When the output format is “iBeacon”, it is used for fixing in normal use (use).

  Returning to FIG. 17, the schedule generation unit 166 refers to the reception timing storage unit 163 and the reception format storage unit 164 at a predetermined timing, and has already been received from the beacon management server 5 and registered in the transmission timing storage unit 12 and the like. The existing schedule is corrected (finally generated) (step S132).

  FIG. 19A shows the case where the “order No.” is “1001” in the transmission timing shown in FIG. 15 and the interference timing due to the beacon shown in FIG. is there. In this example, for the case where “Order No.” is “1001”, transmission is scheduled in advance at the position indicated by a white circle at time 0.98, which overlaps with the timing of the beacon from the outside, and there is an adverse effect due to interference. Conceivable. Therefore, the schedule generation unit 166 corrects the timing from the position of the white circle to the position of the previous black circle that does not overlap with other cases.

  FIG. 19B shows the transmission timing shown in FIG. 15 extracted for the case where “Order No.” is “1001” and the timing of interference caused by the beacon shown in FIG. 18B or FIG. It is shown. In this example, for the case where the “order number” is “1001”, transmission is scheduled in advance at a position indicated by a black circle at time 0.98, which overlaps with the timing of the beacon from the outside, and there is an adverse effect due to interference. Conceivable. However, according to FIG. 18B or 18C, since the channel is “39”, when another channel, for example, “37” can be used, the timing can be moved only by specifying the channel. Is no longer necessary.

  Returning to FIG. 17, during the subsequent operation, the beacon transmission execution unit 15 of the beacon device 1 uses the transmission format of the transmission format storage unit 13 based on the transmission timing of the transmission timing storage unit 12 (including the case where the correction is made). The transmission data in the transmission data storage unit 14 is sequentially transmitted (transmitted) to the surroundings as a beacon signal (step S133).

  When the mobile terminal 4 in the vicinity of the beacon device 1 receives the beacon signal (step S134), in the case of the beacon device 1 registered in advance in the mobile terminal 4, data included in the beacon signal is extracted and the beacon use application 42 is delivered (step S135).

  The beacon using application 42 requests content from the corresponding content server 3 (step S136), and the content server 3 responds with the content (step S137).

  In the present embodiment, since the schedule can be corrected in real time in the beacon device 1 that has received an external beacon that causes interference, adverse effects due to interference can be kept low. There is a possibility that the transmission timing of an external beacon may vary depending on the accuracy of the external device. When the variation occurs, it is necessary to re-correct the schedule, but the beacon device 1 can correct the schedule in real time. Easy to handle.

<Third Embodiment>
In the second embodiment described above, the case where the final generation (correction) of the beacon transmission timing is performed on the beacon device 1 side has been described, but by transmitting interference information from the beacon device 1 to the beacon management server 5, It can also be performed on the beacon management server 5 side. In this embodiment, the system configuration is the same as that shown in FIG. 1, and the functional configurations of the content server 3 and the mobile terminal 4 are the same as those shown in FIGS. The hardware configuration of each device is the same as that shown in FIGS.

  FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration example of the beacon device 1 according to the third embodiment. In FIG. 20, the beacon device 1 includes a maintenance communication unit 11, a beacon transmission execution unit 15, a beacon reception unit 161, and a fixed beacon determination unit 162.

  The maintenance communication unit 11 transmits interference information acquired on the beacon device 1 side to the beacon management server 5 and transmission timings of a plurality of beacon signal specifications corresponding to a plurality of beacon services from the beacon management server 5 at a predetermined timing, It has a function of receiving and registering a transmission format and transmission data.

  The beacon receiving unit 161 has a function of receiving a beacon coming from the outside and acquiring the reception timing, reception format, and reception data of the received beacon. The fixed beacon determination unit 162 determines whether or not the received beacon is transmitted from a fixed station. If it is determined that the received beacon is transmitted from a fixed station, the beacon reception format and received data are determined. It has a function of registering in the reception timing storage unit 163, the reception format storage unit 164, and the reception data storage unit 165 as interference information.

  FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration example of the beacon management server 5 according to the third embodiment. In FIG. 21, the beacon management server 5 includes an information management unit 51, a beacon-specific information generation unit 54, and a maintenance communication unit 56. The information management unit 51 registers beacon installation information including the installation position and the like of the managed beacon device 1 in the beacon installation information storage unit 52, and provides detailed information (beacon service information) of the received beacon service as beacon service information. It has a function of registering in the storage unit 53. In this embodiment, interference information received from the beacon device 1 side is also registered in the beacon service information storage unit 53.

  The beacon-specific information generation unit 54 is based on the beacon installation information registered in the beacon installation information storage unit 52 and the beacon service information (including interference information) registered in the beacon service information storage unit 53. It has a function of generating setting information (beacon-specific information) for each and registering it in the beacon-specific information storage unit 55. The maintenance communication unit 56 receives the interference information from the beacon device 1 and registers it in the beacon service information storage unit 53, and sets the beacon device 1 based on the beacon-specific information registered in the beacon-specific information storage unit 55. It has a function to perform. In addition, the maintenance communication unit 56 registers the result of the maintenance communication in the maintenance result storage unit 57.

  FIG. 22 is a sequence diagram illustrating a processing example of the third embodiment. In FIG. 22, the operator of the beacon management server 5 performs a beacon installation information registration operation for the beacon management server 5 at the initial operation time or when a new beacon device 1 is installed (step S141). The information management unit 51 of the beacon management server 5 accepts a beacon installation information registration operation, and registers the beacon installation information in the beacon installation information storage unit 52 (step S142). The beacon installation information is the same as that shown in FIG.

  Returning to FIG. 22, the operator of the beacon management server 5 performs beacon service information registration operation on the beacon management server 5 at the time of collecting orders for beacon services (step S143). The information management unit 51 of the beacon management server 5 receives a beacon service information registration operation, and registers the beacon service information in the beacon service information storage unit 53 (step S144). The beacon service information is the same as that shown in FIGS. The interference information has a format as shown in FIG.

  Returning to FIG. 22, the beacon receiving unit 161 of the beacon device 1 receives a beacon coming from the outside, and acquires the reception timing, reception format, and reception data of the received beacon (step S145). Next, the fixed beacon determination unit 162 determines whether or not the received beacon is transmitted from a fixed station. If it is determined that the received beacon is transmitted from a fixed station, the beacon reception timing, reception The format and the received data are registered as interference information in the reception timing storage unit 163, the reception format storage unit 164, and the reception data storage unit 165 (step S146). Then, the beacon reception timing, reception format, and reception data are transmitted to the beacon management server 5 as interference information via the maintenance communication unit 11 (step S147). The maintenance communication unit 56 of the beacon management server 5 registers the received interference information in the beacon service information storage unit 53 (step S148).

  The beacon-specific information generation unit 54 of the beacon management server 5 extracts the transmission format and transmission data of each service from the beacon service information for each beacon device 1 at a predetermined timing, and generates (schedules) the transmission timing to beacon-specific. Register in the information storage unit 55 (step S149). In the generation of the transmission timing here, as shown in FIG. 18, the timing is set so as not to overlap with the beacon from the outside that causes interference, or the channel is designated when it can be dealt with by changing the channel. In addition, about the interference to consider, what is necessary is just to be notified from the beacon apparatus 1 used as the object of scheduling, but received notification from the beacon apparatus 1 installed in the vicinity from the information on the installation location (FIG. 11). Interference may also be considered. The transmission timing is the same as that shown in FIG.

  Returning to FIG. 22, when the beacon-specific information is registered in the beacon-specific information storage unit 55 by the beacon-specific information generation unit 54, the maintenance communication unit 56 considers the past maintenance result in the maintenance result storage unit 57, and the beacon device The transmission format, transmission data, and transmission timing of each service are transmitted every one (step S150).

  When the maintenance communication unit 11 of the beacon device 1 receives the transmission format, transmission data, and transmission timing of each service from the beacon management server 5, the maintenance communication unit 11 receives the transmission timing storage unit 12, the transmission format storage unit 13, and the transmission data storage unit 14. Data is set (step S151). In addition, the maintenance communication unit 11 responds as necessary as to whether or not data registration has been normally performed (step S152).

  The maintenance communication unit 56 of the beacon management server 5 registers information specifying the data that has been set in each beacon device 1 in the maintenance result storage unit 57 as a maintenance result (step S153).

  Thereafter, during operation, the beacon transmission execution unit 15 of the beacon device 1 uses the transmission format of the transmission format storage unit 13 and the transmission data of the transmission data storage unit 14 as a beacon signal based on the transmission timing of the transmission timing storage unit 12. Sequentially transmit (send) to the surroundings (step S154).

  When the mobile terminal 4 in the vicinity of the beacon device 1 receives the beacon signal (step S155), in the case of the beacon device 1 registered in advance in the mobile terminal 4, data included in the beacon signal is extracted and the beacon use application 42 is delivered (step S156).

  The beacon using application 42 requests content from the corresponding content server 3 (step S157), and the content server 3 responds with the content (step S158).

<Summary>
As described above, according to the present embodiment, transmission of beacon signals for a plurality of services can be operated by one beacon device per place.

  Further, the beacon management server 5 is not essential in the system, and the beacon device 1 may be configured to perform the function of the beacon management server 5.

  The present invention has been described above by the preferred embodiments of the present invention. While the invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments, various modifications and changes may be made to these embodiments without departing from the broad spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the claims. Obviously you can. In other words, the present invention should not be construed as being limited by the details of the specific examples and the accompanying drawings.

<Correspondence between Terms in Embodiment and Terms in Claims>
The transmission timing storage unit 12, the transmission format storage unit 13, and the transmission data storage unit 14 are examples of “storage unit”. The maintenance communication unit 11 is an example of a “registration unit”. The beacon transmission execution unit 15 is an example of a “transmission execution unit”.

1, 1A to 1C Beacon device 11 Maintenance communication unit 12 Transmission timing storage unit 13 Transmission format storage unit 14 Transmission data storage unit 15 Beacon transmission execution unit 161 Beacon reception unit 162 Fixed beacon determination unit 163 Reception timing storage unit 164 Reception format storage unit 165 Received data storage unit 166 Schedule generation unit 2 Network 3, 3A-3C Content server 31 Content provision unit 32 Content DB
4, 4A, 4B Mobile terminal 41 Beacon receiving unit 42 Beacon using application 5 Beacon management server 51 Information management unit 52 Beacon installation information storage unit 53 Beacon service information storage unit 54 Beacon-specific information generation unit 55 Beacon-specific information storage unit 56 Maintenance communication 57 Maintenance result storage

Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2015-143631

Claims (10)

A beacon transmission device that transmits a beacon signal,
A registration unit that accepts registration of transmission timings, transmission formats and transmission data of a plurality of beacon signal specifications and registers them in a storage unit;
A beacon transmission device comprising: a transmission execution unit that sequentially transmits beacon signals of the plurality of beacon signal specifications based on transmission timing, transmission format, and transmission data registered in the storage unit. The beacon transmission device according to claim 1, wherein the transmission execution unit transmits beacon signals having a plurality of beacon signal specifications simultaneously. The beacon transmission device according to claim 1, wherein the transmission execution unit transmits the beacon signal including the encrypted data. The beacon transmission device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a beacon signal specification for field maintenance is included in the plurality of beacon signal specifications. When the transmission timings of the plurality of beacon signal specifications are scheduled at the transmission intervals defined in the beacon signal specifications, the transmission timings of other beacon signal specifications will be overlapped with each other. The beacon transmission device according to any one of claims 1 to 4. If the transmission timing of the plurality of beacon signal specifications overlaps with the transmission timing of other beacon signal specifications when scheduling is performed at the transmission interval defined in the beacon signal specification, the longer transmission interval is set to the idle time. The beacon transmission device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the beacon transmission device moves. A receiver for receiving a beacon signal coming from outside;
The beacon transmission device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, further comprising a correction unit that corrects the transmission timing or the transmission format in order to remove interference of a beacon signal coming from outside. . A beacon transmission device that transmits a beacon signal and a server device that manages the beacon transmission device;
The beacon transmitter is
A registration unit that accepts registration of transmission timings, transmission formats and transmission data of a plurality of beacon signal specifications and registers them in a storage unit;
A transmission execution unit that sequentially transmits beacon signals of the plurality of beacon signal specifications based on transmission timing, transmission format, and transmission data registered in the storage unit;
The server device
An information generation unit that generates the transmission timing, transmission format, and transmission data of the plurality of beacon signal specifications based on the received beacon service information;
A beacon transmission system comprising a communication unit that transmits transmission timings, transmission formats, and transmission data of the plurality of beacon signal specifications to the beacon transmission device at a predetermined timing. A method performed by a beacon transmission device that transmits a beacon signal,
A registration process for accepting registration of transmission timings, transmission formats and transmission data of a plurality of beacon signal specifications and registering in a storage unit;
A beacon transmission method comprising: a transmission execution step of sequentially transmitting beacon signals of the plurality of beacon signal specifications based on transmission timing, transmission format, and transmission data registered in the storage unit. A computer constituting a beacon transmission device that transmits a beacon signal,
A registration unit that accepts registration of transmission timings, transmission formats and transmission data of a plurality of beacon signal specifications and registers them in a storage unit,
A beacon transmission program that functions as a transmission execution unit that sequentially transmits beacon signals of the plurality of beacon signal specifications based on transmission timing, transmission format, and transmission data registered in the storage unit.

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