KR101675164B1 - Movable real-time location / tracking system - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a mobile real-time location / tracking system that can be more easily constructed and utilized.
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for receiving a tag signal from a Real-Time Locating System (RTLS) tag, measuring a distance to the RTLS tag, and a plurality of readers in a detachable form, A dongle device which receives distance information from the RTLS tags from the readers and a distance information between the readers and the RTLS tags from the dongle device when the dongle device is connected, calculates the position of the RTLS tag, And a terminal for displaying the location on the map. Accordingly, it provides a real-time location confirmation / tracking system in a form where the system can be constructed at a desired place apart from the existing fixed type.

Description

[0001] MOVABLE REAL TIME LOCATING SYSTEM [0002]

The present invention relates to a non-stationary, non-stationary, movable real-time location / tracking system.

Recently, interest and investment in RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) and technology development are increasing. RFID technology is an RFID technology that attaches an electronic tag to an object, recognizes the unique ID of each RFID wirelessly, collects, stores, processes, and tracks the information to locate, remotely manage, manage, and exchange information between objects Which is a technology that provides services.

Particularly, an active RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tag having a built-in internal battery and a transmitting device can be used for a variety of fields such as environmental monitoring, military service, medical care, and the like. Currently, a real time locating system (RTLS) is emerging as one of the active RFID tag applications, which can detect the location of a tagged object in real time. Here, the term " real time " means that the active RFID tag can calculate and confirm the position within 30 seconds after transmitting a blink signal including its own identification information.

Real Time Locating System (RTLS) is implemented based on Received Signal Strength Intensity / Identification (RSSI) and Time Difference of Alive (TDOA) technology.

The RSSI technique measures and uses the signal strength of a received wireless mobile device or tag to measure a power loss or path loss of a signal between a tag and an access point (AP) . Zigbee and Wi-Fi systems usually use this algorithm. Implementation is simple and often used, but it is hard to get accurate position.

The TDOA technique measures the time difference between the tag and the AP and estimates the position by converting the time to the distance. The current position of the tag is calculated by using the points where the time difference between the AP and the tag is constant. It is the most common method and is used in UWB (Ultra Wide Band) and Wi-Fi systems. It is the same as the position confirmation method of the mobile phone, which is the current mobile communication terminal, and the position can be obtained up to 30cm level by UWB. In addition, using CSS (Chirp Spread Spectrum) or low-power IR-UWB-based technology, which has recently been standardized and undergoing technological development, it will be possible to provide precise positioning of less than 20cm-100cm and a wider communication range.

This real - time location / tracking system is expected to be useful in the security maintenance of logistics and other management by applying to the distribution field of cargo container or logistics so as to confirm the movement route flow of the moving object in real time.

However, since the existing real-time location / tracking system is not a fixed type, that is, a movable type system structure, it is necessary to build a system again in a corresponding area whenever a region to which the present system is applied is changed. Therefore, it is burdensome and inefficient in terms of time and cost.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a movable real-time location / tracking system that can be easily constructed and utilized.

The mobile real-time location / tracking system according to the first preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a detachable form of a plurality of tags for receiving a tag signal from a Real-Time Locating System (RTLS) tag and performing distance measurement with the RTLS tag Dog leaders; And a terminal having an RTLS communication module for forming a communication channel with the readers, the RTLS communication module receiving distance information between the readers and the RTLS tag through the RTLS communication module, calculating a position of the RTLS tag, And a terminal for displaying the location on the map.

A mobile real-time location / tracking system according to a second preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a detachable form of receiving a tag signal from an RTLS (Real-Time Locating System) tag and performing distance measurement with the RTLS tag Dog leaders; A dongle device that communicates with the readers to form a communication channel and receives distance information from the RTLS tags from the readers; And a terminal for receiving the distance information between the leaders and the RTLS tag from the dongle device when the dongle device is connected to calculate the position of the RTLS tag and display the calculated position on a map do.

In the present invention, the terminal may be a smart phone, a PC (personal digital assistant) capable of operating a program that calculates the position of the RTLS tag using distance information between the readers and the RTLS tag, and displays the calculated position on a map A personal computer), or a notebook.

Since the real-time positioning / tracking system was fixed, it was possible to track the location only in the area where the system was constructed. However, according to the present invention, it is possible to construct a system temporarily in an area desired to be tracked and move the system to another area, so that the real-time location / tracking system can be utilized more efficiently.

1 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a general real-time location / tracking system (RTLS).
2 is a diagram illustrating a first embodiment of a mobile real-time location / tracking system according to the present invention.
Figure 3 is a diagram illustrating a second embodiment of a mobile real-time location / tracking system in accordance with the present invention.

The following detailed description is merely an example, and is merely an example of the present invention. In addition, the principles and concepts of the present invention are presented as being most useful and readily explanatory.

1 shows an embodiment of a general real-time location / tracking system (RTLS). The RTLS tag 100 includes a plurality of readers 110-1, And a server (Server) 120.

The RTLS tag 100 is an active RFID tag having unique ID information. The RTLS tag 100 is attached to an object (object, person, or the like) to which a position is to be confirmed and periodically transmits a blink signal And transmits its own unique ID information to the readers 110-1, 2, n.

The readers 110-1 and 200-2 communicate with the RTLS tag 100 wirelessly and transmit commands to the RTLS tag 100 or receive information from the RTLS tag 100 and transmit the commands to the server 120 . The reader 110-1 receives the blink signal of the RTLS tag 100 and transmits the blink signal to the server 120. When receiving the distance measurement command from the server 120, And transmits the measurement result to the server 120.

The server 120 receives the tag information transmitted through the readers 110-1, 2-n, selects the readers 110-1, 2, n to be used for distance measurement, 1, 2, n). Based on the information transmitted from the commanded readers 110-1, 2, and n, the position of the RTLS tag 100 is calculated using an appropriate positioning technique, and information about the position is displayed on the display means 130 Display. Here, as a positioning technique used by the server 120, the triangulation method is the most commonly used method for estimating the real-time position of a moving object on a two-dimensional plane by a geometric method. In order to estimate the real-time position of the moving object on the two-dimensional plane, at least three reference points, i.e., the readers 110-1, 2, n, are required.

Accordingly, the real-time location / tracking system provides information on the current location of the object to be tracked in the area where the system is constructed and information on the travel path of the object in real time.

FIG. 2 illustrates a first embodiment of a mobile real-time location / tracking system according to the present invention. One of the features of the present invention is that the readers 210-1, But it is a form that can be attached and detached.

Since the readers 210-1, 210-2, and 210-3 are removable, it is possible to temporarily attach them to objects existing in a specific area, remove them, and then remove them. The readers 210-1, 2 and 3 receive a tag signal from a nearby Real-Time Locating System (RTLS) tag 200 and perform distance measurement with the RTLS tag 200.

The terminal 220 shown in FIG. 2 is a terminal having an RTLS communication module for forming a communication channel with the readers 210-1, 230-2, and 230-3. The terminal 220 calculates the position of the RTLS tag 200 using the distance information between the readers 210-1, 230-2, and 230 received through the RTLS communication module and the RTLS tag 200, On the map.

Herein, the terminal 220 calculates the position of the RTLS tag 200 using the distance information between the readers 210-1, 2,3, and the RTLS tag 200, and displays the calculated position on the map A personal computer (PC) or a notebook computer in which the program can be operated and the RTLS communication module is built in.

The real-time location / tracking system according to the present invention is expected to be more usable than existing systems because it is easy to construct and move. For example, in order to prevent incidents such as missing children or disappeared persons who may occur in the outdoors, such as kindergartens, elementary school students or persons with disabilities who are in need of protection, The present invention may be applied to an event area temporarily while giving the RTLS tag 200. [

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a second embodiment of a mobile real-time location / tracking system according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, the real-time location / , 3) are not fixed at a certain point but are detachable.

Since the readers 310-1, 310-2, and 310-3 are detachable, they can be temporarily attached to objects in a specific area, then used again for collection. The readers 310-1, 3-2, and 3-3 receive tag signals from a nearby Real-Time Locating System (RTLS) tag 300 and perform distance measurement with the RTLS tag 300.

The dongle device 320 generally refers to an external peripheral device such as a personal computer (PC), which is connected to various devices supporting a USB terminal. Therefore, the dongle device 320 according to the present invention connects to the terminal 330 as an external peripheral device and communicates with the readers 310-1, 310, 2, 3) to the RTLS tag 300 to the terminal 330. In other words, even if the RTLS communication module is not provided in the terminal 330, the terminal 330 can operate as having the RTLS communication module when the dongle device 320 is connected.

When the dongle device 320 is connected, the terminal 330 receives the distance information from the dongle device 320 to the reader 310-1,2,3 and the RTLS tag 300. And calculates the position of the RTLS tag 300 and displays the calculated position on the map. Herein, the terminal 330 includes a program for calculating the position of the RTLS tag 300 using the distance information between the readers 310-1, 3, and the RTLS tag 300, and displaying the calculated position on the map A personal terminal such as a smart phone, a personal computer (PC), or a notebook computer which can operate the portable terminal can be used.

The real-time location / tracking system according to the present invention can be used in a real-time location / tracking system in which a user uses his or her personal terminal 330, dongle device 320, detachable readers 310-1,2,3 and RTLS tag 300 You can build it temporarily, or you can move the system to another location. Accordingly, a real time location / tracking system can be constructed more easily than the conventional fixed type.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is clearly understood that the same is by way of illustration and example only and is not to be taken by way of limitation, Various changes and modifications will be possible.

100,200,300: RTLS tag
210-1, 2, 3, 210-1, 2, 3, 310-1,
120; Server 130: Display means
220: Terminal with RTLS communication module
320: Dongle device 330: Terminal

Claims (4)

A plurality of readers that are moved as readers that receive tag signals from RTLS (Real-Time Locating System) tags and perform distance measurements with the RTLS tags, and that can be attached to and detached from other objects; And
And a terminal for receiving the distance information between the readers and the RTLS tag, calculating a position of the RTLS tag, and displaying the calculated position on a map,
The terminal comprises:
And an RTLS communication module for forming a communication channel with the readers,
And receives distance information between the readers and the RTLS tag through the RTLS communication module.
delete A plurality of readers in a detachable form for receiving a tag signal from an RTLS (Real-Time Locating System) tag and performing distance measurement with the RTLS tag;
A dongle device that communicates with the readers to form a communication channel and receives distance information from the RTLS tags from the readers; And
And a terminal for receiving the distance information between the leaders and the RTLS tag from the dongle device when the dongle device is connected to calculate the position of the RTLS tag and display the calculated position on a map A mobile real time location / tracking system.
The method according to claim 1 or 3,
The terminal comprises:
A personal computer (PC) or a notebook capable of operating a program that calculates the position of the RTLS tag using distance information between the readers and the RTLS tag and displays the calculated position on a map A mobile real time location / tracking system featuring.

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