KR102616279B1 - Method for estimating position of terminal, system and method therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a terminal location estimation method, which sets a binding box with a radius inversely proportional to the reception strength of a signal received from an access point device without a complicated calculation process, and estimates the center point of the contact point of the set binding box as the location of the terminal. It relates to a terminal location estimation method and devices and systems for this. A terminal location estimation method according to an embodiment of the present invention includes the steps of a terminal recognizing at least two or more access point devices within a certain radius, the terminal measuring reception strengths of signals received from each of the access point devices, The terminal sets binding boxes corresponding to each of the access point devices using the measured reception strengths, the terminal extracts contact points of the set binding boxes, and the terminal extracts the extracted contact points. It includes the step of estimating the current location of the terminal using.

Description

Terminal location estimation method, device and system therefor {METHOD FOR ESTIMATING POSITION OF TERMINAL, SYSTEM AND METHOD THEREFOR}

The present invention relates to a method for estimating a terminal location, and more specifically, to set a binding box with a radius inversely proportional to the reception strength of a signal received from an access point device without a complicated calculation process, and to set the center point of the contact point of the set binding box to the terminal. It relates to a method for estimating a terminal location that can be estimated from the location of , and a device and system for the same.

The content described in this section simply provides background information for this embodiment and does not constitute prior art.

Location Based System (LBS) is an application system and service that accurately determines and utilizes the location of people or objects based on wired and mobile communication networks. In other words, it is a service technology that uses location determination technology to determine the location of mobile communication terminal subscribers such as laptops, PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants), and mobile phones in real time and provides it to users.

For these location-based services, various types of location positioning technologies such as global positioning system (GPS), Wi-Fi geotagging, and base station triangulation are being introduced, and recently, wireless LAN (Wireless LAN) has been introduced. Based on WPS (Wifi Positioning System) technology, etc. are being introduced.

In WPS, the terminal receives the parameters (MAC address, signal strength, etc.) of the RF signal emitted from the access point (AP), and the WPS server calculates the user's location using location determination technology between the terminal and the system. This refers to a technology that measures the location of a terminal.

However, the current terminal location estimation method using an access point device has a problem in that it requires complex mathematical calculations. Therefore, in devices with low specifications, it is difficult to apply the technology to estimate the location of the terminal using the signal received from the access point device, and even if it is applied, there is a problem that it takes a lot of time to determine the location of the terminal due to the complicated calculation process.

Korean Patent Publication No. 2000-0040319, published on July 5, 2000 (Name: Device and method for estimating the location of a terminal in a mobile communication system)

The present invention was proposed to solve the above-described conventional problems. In particular, the location of the terminal is estimated using a wireless signal transmitted from an access point device, but the location of the terminal is more accurately determined in a simple and efficient manner without complex mathematical calculations. The purpose is to provide a method for estimating a terminal location, and a device and system for the same.

In addition, the present invention does not estimate the location of the terminal using all access point devices when a plurality of access point devices are located within a certain radius of the terminal, but only uses signals transmitted from access point devices that satisfy preset conditions, A terminal location estimation method that sets a binding box that is inversely proportional to the strength of the received signal at the location of the selected access point device without complex calculation procedures and can more quickly estimate the location of the terminal using the contact points of the set binding box, a device for the same, and The purpose is to provide a system.

However, the object of the present invention is not limited to the above object, and other objects not mentioned may be clearly understood from the description below.

A terminal location estimation method according to an embodiment of the present invention for achieving the above-described object includes the steps of: a terminal recognizing at least two or more access point devices within a certain radius; Measuring, by the terminal, reception strengths of signals received from each of the access point devices; setting, by the terminal, binding boxes corresponding to each of the access point devices using the measured reception strengths; Extracting, by the terminal, contact points of the set binding boxes; and a step of the terminal estimating the current location of the terminal using the extracted contact points.

In addition, a terminal location estimation method according to another embodiment of the present invention allows a service device to receive identification information of at least two or more access point devices from the terminal and reception strengths measured for signals received from each of the access point devices. receiving information about; setting, by the service device, binding boxes corresponding to each of the access point devices using the reception strengths; Extracting, by the service device, contact points of the set binding boxes; And a step of the service device estimating the current location of the terminal using the extracted contact points.

According to the terminal location estimation method, device, and system of the present invention, the location of the terminal is estimated using a wireless signal transmitted from the access point device, and a binding box that is inversely proportional to the strength of the received signal at the location of the access point device is used. By estimating the location of the terminal using the contact points of the configured binding box, it is possible to estimate the location of the terminal in a simple and more efficient manner without complex mathematical calculation procedures.

In addition, according to the present invention, rather than estimating the location of the terminal using all access point devices, the location of the terminal is estimated using only signals transmitted from access point devices that satisfy preset conditions, thereby enabling the terminal to be located in a more accurate and efficient manner. It is possible to estimate the location of .

In addition, various effects other than the effects described above may be disclosed directly or implicitly in the detailed description according to embodiments of the present invention, which will be described later.

1 to 3 are diagrams illustrating a method for estimating a terminal location according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 4 is a configuration diagram schematically showing a system supporting a terminal location estimation method according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the main configuration of a terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 4.
FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the main configuration of a service device according to an embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 4.
Figure 7 is a flowchart schematically explaining a method for estimating a terminal location according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 8 is a diagram illustrating the operating environment of a device for a terminal location estimation method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In order to make the characteristics and advantages of the problem-solving means of the present invention clearer, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to specific embodiments of the present invention shown in the attached drawings.

However, detailed descriptions of known functions or configurations that may obscure the gist of the present invention are omitted in the following description and attached drawings. Additionally, it should be noted that the same components throughout the drawings are indicated by the same reference numerals whenever possible.

Terms or words used in the following description and drawings should not be construed as limited to their usual or dictionary meanings, and the inventor may appropriately define the concept of the term to explain his or her invention in the best way. It must be interpreted with meaning and concept consistent with the technical idea of the present invention based on the principle that it is. Therefore, the embodiments described in this specification and the configuration shown in the drawings are only one of the most preferred embodiments of the present invention, and do not represent the entire technical idea of the present invention, so at the time of filing the present application, various alternatives may be used to replace them. It should be understood that equivalents and variations may exist.

In addition, terms containing ordinal numbers, such as first, second, etc., are used to describe various components, and are used only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from other components and to limit the components. Not used. For example, the second component may be referred to as the first component without departing from the scope of the present invention, and similarly, the first component may also be referred to as the second component.

In addition, when a component is referred to as being “connected” or “connected” to another component, it means that it is or can be connected logically or physically. In other words, a component may be directly connected or connected to another component, but it should be understood that other components may exist in the middle and may be indirectly connected or connected.

Additionally, the terms used in this specification are only used to describe specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present invention. Singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. In addition, terms such as "comprise" or "have" used in the specification are intended to designate the presence of features, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof described in the specification, but are not intended to indicate the presence of one or more of the features, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof described in the specification. It should be understood that this does not exclude in advance the presence or addition of other features, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof.

Additionally, embodiments within the scope of the present invention include computer-readable media having or transmitting computer-executable instructions or data structures stored on the computer-readable media. Such computer-readable media may be any available media that can be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer system. By way of example, such computer-readable media may include RAM, ROM, EPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage, or in the form of computer-executable instructions, computer-readable instructions or data structures. It may be used to store or transmit certain program code means, and may include, but is not limited to, a physical storage medium such as any other medium that can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer system. .

In the following description and claims, “network” is defined as one or more data links that enable the transfer of electronic data between computer systems and/or modules. When information is transmitted or provided to a computer system over a network or other communication connection (wired, wireless, or a combination of wired and wireless), this connection may be understood as a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable instructions include, for example, instructions and data that cause a general-purpose or special-purpose computer system to perform a particular function or group of functions. Computer-executable instructions may be binary, intermediate format instructions, for example, assembly language, or even source code.

In addition, the present invention is applicable to personal computers, laptop computers, handheld devices, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, network PCs, minicomputers, mainframe computers, mobile phones, PDAs, and pagers. It can be implemented in a network computing environment with various types of computer system configurations including (pager) and the like. The invention may also be practiced in distributed system environments where tasks are performed by both local and remote computer systems that are linked over a network via wired data links, wireless data links, or a combination of wired and wireless data links. In a distributed system environment, program modules may be located in local and remote memory storage devices.

Now, the terminal location estimation method, device and system therefor according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

First, the terminal location estimation method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described through example diagrams.

1 to 3 are diagrams illustrating a method for estimating a terminal location according to an embodiment of the present invention.

First, referring to FIG. 1, the terminal 100 generally receives a signal transmitted from an access point device (201, 202, 203, 204, 205, ??) located within a certain radius and connects to a communication network accordingly. You can perform procedures, etc. or perform designated actions.

The terminal 100 described in this specification of the present invention may be implemented in various forms. For example, mobile terminals such as smart phones, tablet PCs, PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants), PMPs (Portable Multimedia Players), MP3 Players, as well as Smart TVs and desktop computers. Fixed terminals such as the like may be used. The terminal 100 of the present invention has so many variations of portable devices according to the convergence trend of digital devices that it is impossible to list them all. However, a unit at an equivalent level to the above-mentioned units is the terminal according to the present invention. It can also be used as (100), connects to an access point device (201, 202, 203, 204, 205, ??) through a wireless LAN connection module, and performs a terminal location estimation method according to an embodiment of the present invention. As long as there is a terminal 100, any device can be applied as the terminal 100 of the present invention.

In addition, the terminal 100 of the present invention is a non-AP STA, a wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU), a user equipment (UE), a mobile station (MS), and a mobile terminal. , or may also be called other names such as Mobile Subscriber Unit.

Meanwhile, hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, when referring to a specific access point device, it will be described as AP1 (201), AP2 (202), AP3 (203), AP4 (204), and AP5 (205). And, when describing a plurality of unspecified access point devices rather than a specific access point device, they will be described by referring to them as access point devices 201, 202, 203, 204, 205, ??.

In an environment including a plurality of access point devices (201, 202, 203, 204, 205, ??), the terminal 100 can access the access point devices (201, 202, 203, 204, 205, ??) You can search and connect to the communication network through any of the searched access point devices.

At this time, the terminal 100 may refer to a device including Medium Access Control (MAC) that complies with the provisions of the IEEE 802.11 standard and a physical layer interface to a wireless medium. This terminal 100 is located within the access coverage supported by one or more access point devices (201, 202, 203, 204, 205, ??), and one or more access point devices (201, 202, ??) supporting the access coverage. 203, 204, 205, ??), and is connected to any one of the discovered access point devices (201, 202, 203, 204, 205, ??) to access the communication network.

The access point device (201, 202, 203, 204, 205, ??) is an access relay point that supports network access of the terminal 100, and has access coverage that covers a certain geographical range it serves. , Supports communication services from the outside for the terminal 100 located within the access coverage.

At this time, the access point devices (201, 202, 203, 204, 205, ??) are connected to the terminal 100 and upper nodes, such as a gateway (not shown) and It supports connection with nodes within the core network (not shown). It detects signals transmitted from the wireless LAN module of the terminal 100 that has entered the access coverage it is responsible for, and transmits them to the core network (not shown). By delivering it, the network connection of the terminal 100 is supported.

In addition, the access point devices (201, 202, 203, 204, 205, ??) of the present invention can be connected to the core network (not shown) through wired communication, in which case the access point devices (201, 202, 203, 204, 205, ??) may be connected to upper nodes, such as base station controllers such as BSC (Base Station Controller) and RNC (Radio Network Controller), and gateways, and may be connected to the core network (not shown), which is the backbone network. The section that supports access to ) is called a backhaul section, and this backhaul section can be connected by wired communication.

For example, APs (AP1, AP2, AP3,??) may be connected to the core network (not shown) through the S1 interface. When the core network (not shown) is implemented as an LTE system, APs (AP1, AP2, AP3,??) are connected through the EPC (Evolved Packet Core) within the core network (not shown), more specifically, through S1-MME. It can be connected to SGW (Serving Gateway) through MME (Mobility Management Entity) and S1-U. Additionally, it may be connected to a core network (not shown) according to at least one interface among Ethernet, ATM, IP, PPP, Frame Relay, or DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) such as HDSL, ADSL, or xDSL.

In particular, access point devices (201, 202, 203, 204, 205, ??), in addition to being called an access point, are a central controller, a base station (BS), a node-B, and a base transceiver system (BTS). , or it may also be called a site controller, etc.

In this system, a method for estimating a terminal location according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

Figures 2 and 3 schematically show the system of the present invention shown in Figure 1, with AP1 (201), AP2 (202), AP3 (203), AP4 (204) around the terminal 100. AP5 (205) is located, and the terminal 100 can receive signals transmitted from AP1 (201), AP2 (202), AP3 (203), AP4 (204), and AP5 (205), respectively. Assume this is the situation.

In addition, the signals that the terminal 100 receives from AP1 (201), AP2 (202), AP3 (203), AP4 (204), and AP5 (205) are connected to the terminal 100, AP1 (201), and AP2, respectively. (202), AP3 (203), AP4 (204), and AP5 (205) are inversely proportional to the distance between the terminal (100) and AP1 (201), AP2 (202), AP3 (203), and AP4 (204). , When the distance to AP5 (205) is AP1 < AP2 < AP3 < AP4 < AP5, the strength of the signal received by the terminal 100 may be S1 > S2 > S3 > S4 > S5.

In this state, the terminal 100 checks the reception strength of signals received from the surrounding AP1 (201), AP2 (202), AP3 (203), AP4 (204), and AP5 (205), and then adjusts the reception strength in inverse proportion to the confirmed reception strength. A circular binding box is set based on your location. At this time, the ratio of the signal reception strength and radius may be set based on the statistically calculated relationship between signal strength and distance. In addition, the terminal 100 of the present invention receives signals from two or more access point devices (201, 202, 203, 204, 205, ??) and forms a binding box based on the reception strength, but location accuracy To further increase, it is possible to filter only access point devices that receive signals of a certain strength or higher.

That is, as shown in FIG. 3, among the plurality of access point devices (201, 202, 203, 204, 205, ??), an access point device whose signal reception strength is above a certain value, such as AP1 (201), AP2 ( 202), only AP3 (203) can be selected by filtering, and has a radius inversely proportional to the reception strength received from the terminal 100 based on the positions of each selected AP1 (201), AP2 (202), and AP3 (203). Forms a binding box. Then, the contact points P1, P2, and P3 of the outlines where the outlines of the three binding boxes intersect are extracted, and the terminal 100 sets the center point of the area formed by the contact points P1, P2, and P3 to the location of the terminal 100. It can be calculated.

At this time, the terminal location estimation method of the present invention may operate centered on the terminal 100 and may operate centered on the service device 300. When operating centered on the terminal 100, the terminal 100 receives signals from each of AP1 (201), AP2 (202), AP3 (203), AP4 (204), and AP5 (205) as described above. After measuring the reception strength, information about the location of each AP1 (201), AP2 (202), AP3 (203), AP4 (204), and AP5 (205) is requested from the service device 300. reception, and based on this, the location of the terminal 100 can be determined. When operating around the service device 300, the terminal 100 is connected to each AP1 (201), AP2 (202), and AP3 (203). ), AP4 (204), and AP5 (205), the reception strength for AP4 (204), and AP5 (205) can be transmitted to the service device 300 to request location determination and receive the results accordingly.

Through this process, the present invention enables efficient estimation of the location of the terminal 100 more easily and conveniently without complex mathematical calculations.

Hereinafter, a system for performing a terminal location estimation method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be briefly described.

Figure 4 is a configuration diagram schematically showing a system supporting a terminal location estimation method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, the terminal location estimation method according to an embodiment of the present invention can be achieved through interworking between the terminal 100 and the service device 300, and the terminal 100 and the service device 300 are one It can operate as a position estimation system.

To describe each component in more detail, first, the terminal 100 refers to a user's device that can transmit and receive various data through the communication network 400 according to the user's operation. This terminal 100 can perform voice or data communication through the communication network 400, and can transmit and receive various information with the service device 300. For this purpose, the terminal 100 of the present invention may be equipped with a browser for transmitting and receiving information, a memory for storing programs and protocols, and a microprocessor for calculating and controlling various programs.

In particular, the terminal 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention connects to a plurality of access point devices (201, 202, 203, 204, 205, ??) arranged in the communication network 400 as shown in FIG. It is connected to the communication network 400 and can access the service device 300, and can request and receive various information from the service device 300. In particular, the terminal 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention measures the reception strength of signals received from a plurality of access point devices (201, 202, 203, 204, 205, ??) within a certain radius and provides information about this. It can transmit to the device 300, receive current estimated location information from the service device 300, and send a plurality of access point devices (201, 202, 203, 204, 205, ??) to the service device 300. It is possible to receive a request for location information and use the received information in calculations for estimating the current location.

Meanwhile, the service device 300 refers to a device that supports the terminal location estimation method according to an embodiment of the present invention. In particular, the service device 300 according to an embodiment of the present invention responds to a request from the terminal 100. Accordingly, location information of the access point device (201, 202, 203, 204, 205, ??) may be provided to the terminal 100 based on the identification information of the access point device received from the terminal 100. In addition, when the identification information and reception strength of the access point devices (201, 202, 203, 204, 205, ??) are received together from the terminal 100, the current location of the terminal 100 is estimated based on this and the estimated Information about location can be provided.

In addition, the service device 300 of the present invention can perform the role of providing various services related to location to the terminal 100, such as weather services and advertising services suitable for the current location, and provide the corresponding services for this purpose. Location-related services can be provided to the terminal 100 by linking with a content providing server (not shown).

The main configuration and operation method of the more specific terminal 100 and the service device 300 will be described later, and the processor mounted on each device according to this embodiment of the present invention provides program instructions for executing the method according to the present invention. can be processed. In one implementation, the processor may be a single-threaded processor, and in another implementation, the processor may be a multithreaded processor. Furthermore, this processor is capable of processing instructions stored in memory or a storage device.

In addition, the terminal 100 and the service device 300 according to an embodiment of the present invention transmit and receive various related information through the communication network 400, and in this case, the communication network 400 includes WLAN (Wireless LAN) and Wi-Fi (Wi-Fi). -Fi), Wibro, Wimax, and HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access), but are not limited to using wireless communication methods such as Ethernet or xDSL depending on the system implementation method. You can also use wired communication methods such as (ADSL, VDSL), HFC (Hybrid Fiber Coaxial Cable), FTTC (Fiber to The Curb), and FTTH (Fiber To The Home).

In addition, the communication network 400 of the present invention includes, for example, a plurality of access networks (not shown) and a core network (not shown), and may be configured to include an external network, such as an Internet network (not shown). Here, the access network (not shown) is an access network that performs wired and wireless communication with the terminal 100, for example, a plurality of base stations such as BS (Base Station), BTS (Base Transceiver Station), NodeB, eNodeB, etc., and BSC ( It can be implemented with a base station controller such as Base Station Controller (RNC) or Radio Network Controller (RNC). In addition, as described above, the digital signal processing unit and the wireless signal processing unit integrated in the base station are divided into a digital unit (hereinafter referred to as DU) and a radio unit (hereinafter referred to as RU), respectively. It can also be configured by installing multiple RUs (not shown) in multiple areas and connecting multiple RUs (not shown) with a centralized DU (not shown).

In addition, the core network (not shown) that constitutes the mobile network together with the access network (not shown) serves to connect the access network (not shown) with an external network, such as an Internet network (not shown).

As described above, this core network (not shown) is a network system that performs major functions for mobile communication services such as mobility control and switching between access networks (not shown), and is a network system that performs circuit switching or packet switching. switching) and manages and controls packet flow within the mobile network. In addition, the core network (not shown) manages mobility between frequencies and plays a role in linking traffic within the access network (not shown) and the core network (not shown) with other networks, such as the Internet network (not shown). It may be possible. This core network (not shown) further includes Serving GateWay (SGW), PDN GateWay (PGW), Mobile Switching Center (MSC), Home Location Register (HLR), Mobile Mobility Entity (MME), and Home Subscriber Server (HSS). It may also be configured to include.

In addition, the Internet network (not shown) refers to a typical open communication network, that is, a public network, in which information is exchanged according to the TCP/IP protocol. It is connected to the service device 300 and provides information from the service device 300. Information can be provided to the terminal 100 through the core network (not shown) and the access network (not shown), and the information provided from the terminal 100 is serviced through the access network (not shown) and the core network (not shown). It can be provided as a device 300.

Hereinafter, the main configuration and operation method of the terminal 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the main configuration of a terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 4.

Referring to Figures 1 and 5, the terminal 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a signal reception module 110, a signal strength confirmation module 120, a filtering module 130, a binding box processing module 140, It may be configured to include a location determination module 150 and a service device linkage module 160.

Here, a ‘module’ is a component that each performs a certain function and can be implemented as hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software. For example, the 'module' may mean a program module, which includes software components, object-oriented software components, class components, and Components such as task components, processes, functions, properties, procedures, subroutines, segments of program code, drivers, data, databases, data structures, tables, and arrays. , and variables. Additionally, the functions provided within the components and '~modules' may be combined into a smaller number of components and '~modules' or may be further separated into additional components and '~modules'.

To describe in more detail each module that constitutes the terminal 100 of the present invention, the signal reception module 110 sets a frequency band and performs a procedure of scanning channels supported in the set frequency band. . For example, the signal reception module 110 of the terminal 100 may set a 2.4 GHz frequency band and perform a process of scanning channels supported in the frequency band one by one from the lowest channel to the highest channel.

And the signal reception module 110 searches for at least one access point device (201, 202, 203, 204, 205, ??) and detects the access point device (201, 202, 203, 204, 205, ??). It plays the role of receiving signals received from.

In particular, the signal receiving module 110 of the present invention searches for access point devices (201, 202, 203, 204, 205, ??) through each channel and detects the access point devices (201, 202, 203, 204, 205). , ??), and this scanning procedure may include passive scanning and active scanning procedures.

First, passive scanning means that the signal reception module 110 of the terminal 100 sequentially listens to each channel one by one and uses a beacon ( This is a method of waiting for a beacon message to arrive and obtaining information about the access point device (201, 202, 203, 204, 205, ??), such as identification information, from the beacon message.

On the other hand, in active scanning, the terminal 100 sends a probe request message to each channel and then detects channel activity for a minimum channel time (MinChannelTime) in the corresponding channel. If there is no response from the corresponding channel during the minimum channel time, the signal reception module 110 of the terminal 100 scans the next channel. If movement is detected in the corresponding channel within the minimum channel time, the signal reception module 110 of the terminal 100 waits for a probe response message until the maximum channel time (MaxChannelTime), and the maximum channel time (MaxChannelTime) is detected. ) After processing the probe response message received from at least one access point device, a procedure of scanning the next channel in the same manner may be performed.

The signal strength confirmation module 120 serves to check the reception strength of the signal received through the signal reception module 110 (120). That is, the reception strength of the beacon signal of the access point devices (201, 202, 203, 204, 205, ??) identified through the signal reception module 110, that is, RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indication), is measured.

In order to further increase the accuracy of location estimation, the filtering module 130 serves to filter only the access point devices (201, 202, 203, 204, 205, ??) whose reception intensity is above a certain value. At this time, the filtering module 130 can select two or more, preferably three, access point devices having an appropriate intensity range, and supports performing terminal location estimation using the selected access point devices. In addition, the preset value of the filtering module 130 may vary depending on user settings or system settings.

And the binding box processing module 140 serves to set the binding box using the reception strength confirmed through the signal strength confirmation module 120. In particular, the binding box processing module 140 may set a circular binding box to be inversely proportional to the reception intensity based on the access point devices 201, 202, 203, 204, 205, ??. Accordingly, a binding box can be set close to an access point device (201, 202, 203, 204, 205, ??) with a large signal strength, and an access point device (201, 202, 203, 204) with a relatively small signal strength. , 205, ??), a binding box may be set at a distance from the corresponding access point device.

The location determination module 150 determines the current location of the terminal 100 based on the collected information. In particular, the location determination module 150 of the present invention determines the identification information for the access point device (201, 202, 203, 204, 205, ??) from which the signal was received and the size of the measured reception intensity through a service device interlocking module ( Location determination can be requested by transmitting to the service device 300 through 160), and a response thereto can be received through the service device interlocking module 160 to confirm the current location of the terminal 100. In addition, the location determination module 150 transmits identification information about the access point device from which the signal was received to the service device 300 through the service device interlocking module 160, and transmits each access point device from the service device 300 ( 201, 202, 203, 204, 205, ??), and the current location of the terminal 100 can be confirmed using the received location information.

At this time, when the location determination module 150 directly confirms the location of the terminal, a binding box is set in consideration of the signal reception strength based on the access point device, and then contact points P1 and P2 where the outline of the binding box intersect , extract P3. And the location determination module 150 determines the area formed by the contact points P1, P2, and P3 in consideration of the geographical location of the access point device (201, 202, 203, 204, 205, ??), and The location of the terminal 100 can be calculated from the center point of the area formed by the contact points P1, P2, and P3.

The service device interworking module 160 functions to support transmission and reception of information in conjunction with the service device 300. In particular, the service device interworking module 160 of the present invention performs a process of selecting the optimal access point device based on signal strength among the access point devices confirmed through the signal reception module 110 and the signal strength confirmation module 120. You can perform the procedure to connect to any one selected access point device.

In addition, the service device interworking module 160 of the present invention transmits identification information about the access point devices (201, 202, 203, 204, 205, ??) to the service device 300 through the connected access point device and Receive location information about the access point device (201, 202, 203, 204, 205, ??), or send information about the access point device (201, 202, 203, 204, 205, ??) to the service device 300. It may serve to receive the estimated location information of the terminal 100 by transmitting identification information and reception intensity size information.

Above, the main modules of the terminal 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention have been described. However, the terminal 100 of the present invention is not limited to the above modules, and may be configured to include various modules for performing the functions of the terminal 100.

The specific operation of the terminal 100 according to this embodiment of the present invention can be more clearly understood through the flowchart described later.

Hereinafter, the main configuration and operation method of the service device 300 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the main configuration of a service device according to an embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 4.

Referring to Figures 1 and 6, the service device 300 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a terminal interworking module 310, a filtering module 320, a binding box processing module 330, and a terminal location determination module 340. It may be configured to include.

Here, a ‘module’ is a component that each performs a certain function and can be implemented as hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software. For example, the 'module' may mean a program module, which includes software components, object-oriented software components, class components, and Components such as task components, processes, functions, properties, procedures, subroutines, segments of program code, drivers, data, databases, data structures, tables, and arrays. , and variables. Additionally, the functions provided within the components and '~modules' may be combined into a smaller number of components and '~modules' or may be further separated into additional components and '~modules'.

To describe in more detail each module that constitutes the terminal 100 of the present invention, the terminal interworking module 310 performs a role of transmitting and receiving information to and from the terminal 100. In particular, the terminal interworking module 310 of the service device 300 can receive various information for estimating the terminal location from the terminal 100, by receiving identification information about the access point device discovered from the terminal 100. , location information corresponding to the access point device may be provided to the terminal 100, and reception strength information of the signal received from the access point device may be provided along with identification information about the access point device discovered from the terminal 100. It may serve to receive and, accordingly, provide to the terminal 100 the location information of the terminal 100 estimated by the terminal location determination module 340, which will be described later.

In addition, the terminal interworking module 310 of the present invention can perform the role of providing information related to various location services to the terminal 100, such as resource scheduling according to the location of the terminal 100 and preloading of applications. It will be possible to provide various location-related services such as preloading and advertising services.

In order to further increase the accuracy of location estimation, the filtering module 320 serves to filter only the access point devices (201, 202, 203, 204, 205, ??) whose reception intensity is above a certain value. This filtering module 320 provides access greater than a preset value among the signal reception strengths for the access point devices (201, 202, 203, 204, 205, ??) received from the terminal 100 through the terminal interconnection module 310. It serves to filter access point devices to be used for location determination using only point devices (201, 202, 203, 204, 205, ??). At this time, the filtering module 320 can select two or more, preferably three, access point devices having an appropriate intensity range, and supports performing terminal location estimation using the selected access point devices.

The binding box processing module 330 serves to set a binding box using the reception strength of the access point device filtered through the filtering module 320. In particular, the binding box processing module 330 may set a circular binding box for the terminal 100 to be inversely proportional to the reception intensity based on the access point devices 201, 202, 203, 204, 205, ??. Accordingly, a binding box can be set close to an access point device (201, 202, 203, 204, 205, ??) with a large signal strength, and an access point device (201, 202, 203, 204) with a relatively small signal strength. , 205, ??), a binding box may be set at a distance from the corresponding access point device (201, 202, 203, 204, 205, ??).

The terminal location determination module 340 determines the current location of the terminal 100 based on the collected information. In particular, if only identification information about the access point device is received through the terminal interconnection module 310, the location determination module 340 of the present invention determines the location of the access point device and provides this information to the terminal interconnection module ( 310).

In addition, the location determination module 340 of the present invention collects identification information of the access point devices (201, 202, 203, 204, 205, ??) and the access point devices (201, 202, 203, 204, 205, ??), if information on the signal reception strength for (203, 204, 205, ??) is received together, a binding box is set considering the signal reception strength based on the access point device, and then the outline of the binding box intersects Contact points P1, P2, and P3 are extracted. And the position determination module 340 considers the positions of the access point devices (201, 202, 203, 204, 205, ??), checks the center point of the area formed by the contact points P1, P2, and P3, and determines the center point of the area formed by the contact points P1, P2, and P3. The location of the terminal 100 is calculated from the center point of the area. At this time, the location of the terminal 100 can be estimated using only the access point devices (201, 202, 203, 204, 205, ??) filtered through the filtering module 320.

And the terminal location determination module 340 may perform the role of providing the calculated location of the terminal 100 through the terminal interworking module 310. In addition, the terminal location determination module 340 of the present invention maps the locations of a plurality of access point devices on a map, and applies the access point device to positioning based on the reception strength information collected by the terminal 100 on the map. After selecting (201, 202, 203, 204, 205, ??) to set a binding box, the center point of the area of the intersection point extracted from this can be estimated as the location of the terminal 100.

The specific operation of the service device 300 according to this embodiment of the present invention can be more clearly understood through the flowchart described later.

Above, the main modules constituting the service device 300 according to an embodiment of the present invention have been described. However, not only the modules shown in FIG. 6 constitute the service device 300 of the present invention, and may include more modules depending on the implementation method, and the service device 300 of the present invention is implemented with fewer modules. It could be. For example, although not shown in the drawing, the service device 300 of the present invention is used to store and manage information about the terminal 100 for providing the service of the present invention or to perform the role of authenticating the terminal 100. It can be configured including modules. In addition, the service device 300 of the present invention provides the access point devices 201, 202, 203, 204, 205, and ??) may include a module that stores and manages information such as the geographical location of the device and the number of currently connected terminals. In addition, in order to periodically store and manage information about the access point devices (201, 202, 203, 204, 205, ??), the service device 300 of the present invention includes access point devices (201, 202, 203, ??). It may be configured to include a module that periodically receives keepalive messages from (204, 205, ??) and processes them.

Meanwhile, when the service device 300 of the present invention provides only location information about the access point device to the terminal 100, it may not include the filtering module 320 and the binding box processing module 330.

Hereinafter, a terminal location estimation method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 7.

Figure 7 is a flowchart schematically explaining a method for estimating a terminal location according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Before explaining with reference to FIG. 7, as explained with FIGS. 2 and 3, AP1 (201), AP2 (202), AP3 (203), AP4 (204), and AP5 ( 205) is located, and the terminal 100 can receive signals transmitted from AP1 (201), AP2 (202), AP3 (203), AP4 (204), and AP5 (205), respectively. Let us explain by assuming.

In addition, the signals that the terminal 100 receives from AP1 (201), AP2 (202), AP3 (203), AP4 (204), and AP5 (205) are connected to the terminal 100, AP1 (201), and AP2, respectively. (202), AP3 (203), AP4 (204), and AP5 (205) are inversely proportional to the distance between the terminal (100) and AP1 (201), AP2 (202), AP3 (203), and AP4 (204). , When the distance to AP5 (205) is AP1 < AP2 < AP3 < AP4 < AP5, the strength of the signal received by the terminal 100 may be S1 > S2 > S3 > S4 > S5.

In this state, the terminal 100 searches for nearby AP1 (201), AP2 (202), AP3 (203), AP4 (204), and AP5 (205) (S101), and discovers nearby AP1 (201) and AP2 ( 202), check the reception strength of signals received from AP3 (203), AP4 (204), and AP5 (205) (S103),

And since the terminal 100 has more than one discovered nearby AP1 (201), AP2 (202), AP3 (203), AP4 (204), and AP5 (205), an access point device is installed for more accurate and simple location estimation. It performs a filtering role. At this time, the terminal 100 of the present invention filters and selects only AP1 (201), AP2 (202), and AP3 (203) whose reception strength is above a certain value, and selects the selected AP1 (201), AP2 (202), and AP3 (203). ) can be used to determine the location of the terminal 100 (S105).

Then, the terminal 100 of the present invention sets a circular binding box based on its location in inverse proportion to the confirmed reception strength (S107). At this time, the ratio of the signal reception strength and radius may be set based on the statistically calculated relationship between signal strength and distance.

That is, as shown in FIG. 3, only AP1 (201), AP2 (202), and AP3 (203) whose signal reception strength is above a certain value can be filtered and selected, and each selected AP1 (201) and AP2 (202) , forming a binding box with a radius inversely proportional to the reception strength received from the terminal 100 based on the location of AP3 (203).

Then, the terminal 100 extracts the contact points P1, P2, and P3 where the outlines of the three binding boxes intersect (S109), and the terminal 100 selects the center point of the area formed by the contact points P1, P2, and P3. It can be calculated at the position of (100) (S111).

Through this process, the present invention makes it possible to more easily and efficiently estimate the location of the terminal 100 without complex mathematical calculations.

In addition, the terminal location estimation method of the present invention described with reference to FIG. 7 has been described as an example of operating centered on the terminal 100, but is not limited thereto and operates centered on the service device 300 or in conjunction with the service device 300. It can operate through linkage.

That is, the terminal 100 of the present invention receives signals from a plurality of access point devices, checks the strength of the received signals, and then sends the confirmed strength of the received signals and the identification information of the access point devices to the service device 300. It is possible to transmit and receive estimated current location information from the service device 300.

In addition, the terminal 100 of the present invention receives a signal from a plurality of access point devices (201, 202, 203, 204, 205, ??), and after checking the strength of the received signal, the access point from which the signal was received Only the identification information of the devices (201, 202, 203, 204, 205, ??) is transmitted to the service device 300, and the corresponding access point devices (201, 202, 203, 204, 205, ??) are transmitted from the service device 300. ?), the terminal 100 may directly estimate the current location based on the geographic location information provided.

Above, the terminal location estimation method according to an embodiment of the present invention has been described.

The terminal location estimation method according to the embodiment of the present invention as described above may be provided in the form of a computer-readable medium suitable for storing computer program instructions and data. A program recorded on a recording medium for implementing a terminal location estimation method according to an embodiment of the present invention includes the steps of a terminal recognizing at least one access point device within a certain radius, and the terminal receiving a signal received from the access point device. Measuring the reception strength, the terminal setting a binding box for location estimation using the measured reception strength, and the terminal extracting a contact point of the set binding box, and using the extracted contact point Steps such as estimating the current location can be performed.

At this time, the program recorded on the recording medium can be read, installed, and executed on the computer to perform the above-mentioned functions.

Here, in order for the computer to read the program recorded on the recording medium and execute the functions implemented by the program, the above-mentioned program is C, C++, etc. that the computer's processor (CPU) can read through the computer's device interface. It may include code encoded in a computer language such as JAVA or machine language.

These codes may include functional codes related to functions defining the above-mentioned functions, etc., and may also include control codes related to execution procedures necessary for the computer processor to execute the above-described functions according to predetermined procedures. In addition, these codes may further include memory reference-related codes that determine which location (address address) in the computer's internal or external memory the additional information or media required for the computer's processor to execute the above-mentioned functions should be referenced. . In addition, if the computer's processor needs to communicate with any other remote computer or server in order to execute the above-mentioned functions, the code is It may further include communication-related codes for how to communicate with other computers, servers, etc., and what information or media should be transmitted and received during communication.

Such computer-readable media suitable for storing computer program instructions and data include, for example, magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks, and magnetic tapes, and CD-ROMs (Compact Disk Read Only Memory). , optical media such as DVD (Digital Video Disk), magneto-optical media such as Floptical Disk, and ROM (Read Only Memory), RAM (RAM) , Random Access Memory), flash memory, EPROM (Erasable Programmable ROM), and EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM). The processor and memory may be supplemented by, or integrated into, special-purpose logic circuitry.

Additionally, computer-readable recording media can be distributed across computer systems connected to a network, so that computer-readable code can be stored and executed in a distributed manner. In addition, the functional program for implementing the present invention and the code and code segments related thereto are designed by programmers in the technical field to which the present invention belongs, taking into account the system environment of the computer that reads the recording medium and executes the program. It can also be easily inferred or changed by .

Each step according to these embodiments of the present invention may be implemented as computer-executable instructions and executed by a computing system. Here, “computing system” is defined as one or more software modules, one or more hardware modules, or a combination thereof that operate together to perform operations on electronic data. For example, the definition of a computer system includes hardware components of a personal computer and software modules, such as the operating system of a personal computer. The physical layout of the module is not important. A computer system may include one or more computers connected through a network.

Likewise, a computing system may be implemented as a single physical device whose internal modules, such as memory and processors, work together to perform operations on electronic data.

That is, the device for the terminal location estimation method according to the present invention can be implemented to perform the above-described embodiments based on the computing system described below.

Figure 8 is a diagram illustrating the operating environment of a device for a terminal location estimation method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 8 and the description below are intended to provide a brief, general description of a suitable computing environment in which the present invention may be implemented. Although not required, the invention may be described in terms of computer-executable instructions, such as program modules, being executed by a computer system. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc. that perform specific tasks or implement specific abstract data types. Computer-executable instructions, associated data structures, and program modules represent examples of program code means for carrying out the acts of the invention disclosed herein.

8, an exemplary computing system implementing the present invention includes a processing unit 11, a system memory 12, and various system components including the system memory 12 coupled to the processing unit 11. The device includes a computing device in the form of a system bus (10).

Processing unit 11 is capable of executing computer-executable instructions designed to implement features of the invention.

System bus 10 may be any of several types of bus structures, including a local bus, a peripheral bus, and a memory bus or memory controller using any of a variety of bus architectures. The system memory 12 includes a read only memory (ROM) 12a and a random access memory (RAM) 12b. A basic input/output system (BIOS) 13a, which contains basic routines that help transfer information between components within a computing system, such as during startup, may typically be stored in ROM 12a.

The computing system may include storage means, for example, a hard disk drive 15 to read information from or write information to a hard disk, a hard disk drive 15 to read information from or write information to a magnetic disk. It may include a magnetic disk drive 16 that records, and an optical disk drive 17 that reads information from or writes information to an optical disk, such as, for example, a CD-ROM or other optical media. . The hard disk drive 15, magnetic disk drive 16, and optical disk drive 17 are connected to the system by a hard disk drive interface 18, a magnetic disk drive-interface 19, and an optical drive interface 20, respectively. It is connected to the bus 10.

Additionally, the computing system may further include an external memory 21 as a storage means. The external memory 21 can be connected to the system bus 10 through the input/output interface 24.

The drives described above and associated computer-readable media read and written by the drives provide non-volatile storage of computer-executable instructions, data structures, program modules and other data. Exemplary environments described herein include hard disk 15, magnetic disk 16, and optical disk 17, but may also include magnetic cassettes, flash memory cards, DVDs, Bernoulli cartridges, and RAM. Other types of computer-readable media for storing data may be used, including ROM, etc.

Comprising an operating system (13b), one or more application programs (13c), other program modules (13d), and one or more program modules, which are loaded and executed by the processing unit (11), and program data (13c). Program code means may be stored in the hard disk 15, magnetic disk 16, optical disk 17, ROM 12a or RAM 12b.

In addition, the computing system can receive commands and information from the user through other input devices 22 such as a keyboard, pointing device, microphone, joy stick, game pad, scanner, etc. These input devices 22 can be connected to the processing unit 11 via an input/output interface 24 connected to the system bus 10 . The input/output interface 24 may be very diverse, such as, for example, a serial port interface, a PS/2 interface, a parallel port interface, a USB interface, an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 1394 interface (i.e., a FireWire interface), etc. Any one of a variety of different interfaces can be logically represented, or even a combination of different interfaces can be logically represented.

In addition, the computing system to which the present invention is applied may further include a display device 26, such as a monitor or LCD, or an audio device 27, such as a speaker or microphone, which are connected through a video/audio interface 25. It is connected to the system bus 10. Other peripheral output devices (not shown) may also be connected to computer system 420, such as speakers and printers, for example. The video/audio interface unit 25 may include High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI), Graphics Device Interface (GDI), etc.

Additionally, a computing system implementing the invention may be connectable to a network, such as, for example, an office-wide or enterprise-wide computer network, a home network, an intranet, and/or the Internet. A computer system may exchange data with external sources, such as remote computer systems, remote applications, and/or remote databases, through such networks.

To this end, the computing system to which the present invention is applied includes a network interface 27 that receives data from an external source and/or transmits data to an external source.

In the present invention, this computing system can transmit and receive information with a device located remotely through the network interface 27. For example, when the computing system refers to the terminal 100, information can be transmitted and received with the service device 300 through the network interface 27. On the other hand, when the computing system refers to the service device 300, information can be transmitted and received with the terminal 100 through the network interface 27. Network interface 27 may be represented as a logical combination of one or more software and/or hardware modules, such as, for example, a network interface card and a corresponding Network Driver Interface Specification (“NDIS”) stack.

Likewise, the computer system receives data from or transmits data to external sources through input/output interface 24. The input/output interface 24 may be connected to a modem 23 (e.g., a standard modem, a cable modem, or a digital subscriber line (“DSL”) modem) through which an external source may be connected. It may receive data from and/or transmit data to an external source.

8 shows an operating environment suitable for the present invention, the principles of the present invention may be employed in any system capable of implementing the principles of the present invention, with appropriate modifications if necessary. The environment depicted in Figure 8 is merely illustrative and does not represent even a small portion of the wide variety of environments in which the principles of the invention may be implemented.

In addition, various information generated when executing the terminal location estimation method of the present invention may be stored and accessed in any computer-readable medium related to the computing system as shown in FIG. 8. For example, some of these program modules and some of the associated program data may be stored in system memory 12 by operating system 13b, application programs 13c, program modules 13d, and/or program data. It can be included in (13e).

Additionally, when a mass storage device, such as a hard disk, is connected to the computing system, these program modules and related program data may be stored in the mass storage device. In a network environment, a program module related to the present invention or a portion thereof is connected to a remote computer system, for example, a user terminal 100 and an affiliated store terminal ( 200) may be stored in system memory associated with the computing system and/or in a remote memory storage device, such as a mass storage device. Execution of these modules may be performed in a distributed environment as described above.

As described above, although this specification contains details of numerous specific implementations, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of any invention or what may be claimed, but rather may be specific to particular embodiments of a particular invention. It should be understood as a description of features. Certain features described herein in the context of individual embodiments may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features described in the context of a single embodiment can also be implemented in multiple embodiments individually or in any suitable sub-combination. Furthermore, although features may be described as operating in a particular combination and initially claimed as such, one or more features from a claimed combination may in some cases be excluded from that combination, and the claimed combination may be a sub-combination. It can be changed to a variant of a sub-combination.

Likewise, although operations are depicted in the drawings in a particular order, this should not be construed as requiring that those operations be performed in the specific order or sequential order shown or that all of the depicted operations must be performed to obtain desirable results. In certain cases, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Additionally, the separation of various system components in the above-described embodiments should not be construed as requiring such separation in all embodiments, and the described program components and systems may generally be integrated together into a single software product or packaged into multiple software products. You must understand that it is possible.

Specific embodiments of the subject matter described herein have been described. Other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims. For example, the operations recited in the claims can be performed in a different order and still achieve desirable results. As an example, the process depicted in the accompanying drawings does not necessarily require the specific depicted order or sequential order to achieve desirable results. In certain implementations, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous.

The present description sets forth the best mode of the invention and provides examples to illustrate the invention and to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the invention. The specification prepared in this way does not limit the present invention to the specific terms presented. Accordingly, although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the above-described examples, those skilled in the art may make modifications, changes, and variations to the examples without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Therefore, the scope of the present invention should not be determined by the described embodiments, but by the scope of the patent claims.

The present invention relates to a method for estimating a terminal location, and more specifically, to set a binding box with a radius inversely proportional to the reception strength of a signal received from an access point device without a complicated calculation process, and to set the center point of the contact point of the set binding box to the terminal. It relates to a terminal location estimation method that can be estimated from the location of , and a device and system for the same.

According to the present invention, the location of the terminal is estimated using a wireless signal transmitted from the access point device, and a binding box that is inversely proportional to the strength of the received signal at the location of the access point device is set, and the location of the terminal is determined by the contact point of the set binding box. By estimating , it is possible to estimate the location of the terminal in a simple and more efficient manner without complex mathematical calculation procedures.

Through this, the present invention can contribute to the development of the service industry, and in addition, the present invention not only has sufficient marketability or commercial potential, but also can be clearly implemented in reality, so it has industrial applicability.

100: terminal
110: signal reception module
120: Signal strength confirmation module
130: Filtering module
140: Binding box processing module
150: Position judgment module
160: Service device interlocking module
201, 202, 203, 204: Access point device
300: service device
310: Terminal interworking module
320: Filtering module
330: Binding box processing module
340: Terminal location determination module
500: communication network

Claims (2)

A terminal recognizing at least two or more access point devices within a certain radius;
Measuring, by the terminal, reception strengths of signals received from each of the access point devices;
setting, by the terminal, binding boxes corresponding to each of the access point devices using the measured reception strengths;
Extracting, by the terminal, contact points of the set binding boxes; and
estimating, by the terminal, the current location of the terminal using the extracted contact points;
A terminal location estimation method including. A service device receiving, from a terminal, identification information of at least two access point devices and information about reception strengths measured for signals received from each of the access point devices;
setting, by the service device, binding boxes corresponding to each of the access point devices using the reception strengths;
Extracting, by the service device, contact points of the set binding boxes; and
estimating the current location of the terminal by the service device using the extracted contact points;
A terminal location estimation method including.