KR20180057412A - Positioning System And Method Using Visible Light Communication - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a system and method for determining a terminal position using visible light communication, and a system according to the present invention includes a plurality of illuminators installed in a building and capable of communicating with terminals through visible light communication, And a server for receiving the terminal identification information and the illumination device identification information and confirming the location and the movement route of the terminal in the building. According to the present invention, it is possible to confirm the indoor position and the movement route of the terminal without installing additional communication equipment in the room. Further, when the position checking terminal is attached to the position checking object, the position and the moving route of the object can be easily confirmed and managed.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a positioning system and method using visible light communication,

The present invention relates to a positioning system and method, and more particularly, to a positioning system and method using visible light communication.

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram for explaining a conventional positioning system using GPS.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, a technique of locating a terminal, an article, a vehicle, and the like outdoors using GPS is widely used, but the GPS receiver can not be used in a room where GPS signals can not be received.

In order to detect the position of the goods in the room, a wireless sensor is used. However, a separate transceiver for a 447 MHz frequency transceiver, Z-wave communication, ZigBee communication, .

In order to solve such a problem, Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 10-2014-0128679 discloses a method in which a portable terminal receives position information from a lighting device installed for indoor lighting through visible light communication.

2. Description of the Related Art Visible light communication (VLC) technology, which is a communication technology for transmitting information by using a visible light visible to a human being, is widely used as an illumination device using a light emitting device such as a light emitting diode (LED) Has recently attracted attention. Generally, visible light communication uses an LED to transmit an optical signal and uses a PD (Photo Diode) and a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) to receive an optical signal.

In Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 10-2014-0128679, however, the portable terminal only receives location ID and information data unilaterally through visible light communication from a visible light lamp installed in a room, and in order to check location information of a portable terminal in a server, There has been a problem that an access point capable of short-range wireless communication with a terminal must be installed indoors separately from the lighting apparatus.

Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2014-0128679

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a location checking system and method using visible light wireless communication that can check the indoor position of a terminal without installing additional communication equipment in a room.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a position checking system using visible light communication, comprising: a plurality of illuminating devices installed in a building and capable of communicating with terminals through visible light communication; And a server for receiving the terminal identification information and the illumination device identification information from the device and confirming the location and the movement route of the terminal in the building.

The terminal may be configured to receive the position information of the terminal using at least one of a visible light communication unit for visible light communication, a GPS receiver for receiving a GPS signal, and GPS signals received through the GPS receiver, And a terminal control unit for obtaining information.

The plurality of illuminating devices can transmit the illuminating device position information corresponding to the position where the plurality of illuminating devices are installed through the visible light communication to the terminal.

The terminal records the movement route of the terminal using the GPS signal and the position information of the illumination device, and can provide the movement route of the terminal according to a request from an external device.

The terminal control unit may automatically turn on the visible light communication function if the GPS signal is not received and automatically turn off the visible light communication function when the GPS signal is received.

The terminal may further include an electronic tag reader for acquiring data from an electronic tag attached to an object to which the terminal is attached.

According to the present invention, it is possible to confirm the indoor position and the movement route of the terminal without installing additional communication equipment in the room. Further, when the position checking terminal is attached to the position checking object, the position and the moving route of the object can be easily confirmed and managed.

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram for explaining a conventional positioning system using GPS.
2 is a view for explaining an operational concept of a positioning system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 3 is a diagram provided to illustrate positioning in an interlayer space in a location system according to one embodiment of the present invention
4 is a configuration diagram of a terminal position checking system using visible light wireless communication according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention in more detail.
6 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a lighting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention in more detail.
7 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a UE according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings so that those skilled in the art can easily carry out the present invention.

2 is a view for explaining an operational concept of a positioning system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, in a location determination system according to the present invention, a GPS signal transmitted from a GPS satellite can be received by a positioning terminal (not shown) outside a building where a GPS signal can be received. Inside the building where GPS signals can not be received, it is possible to identify the layer inside the building and the inter-story movement path in cooperation with a plurality of lighting devices that provide a visible light communication (Li-Fi communication) function.

In FIG. 2, when a connection is made through the visible light communication between the illumination device providing the visible light communication function installed in each of the 10th, 11th and 12th layers and the position confirmation terminal carried by the person, a server (not shown) It is possible to confirm which illumination device is installed. By checking the lighting device connected while the positioning terminal moves, the current position of the terminal and the inter-floor movement path can be confirmed.

On the contrary, the position confirmation terminal can also confirm the current position of the terminal by receiving the position information on the corresponding lighting apparatus through the visible light communication from the lighting apparatus.

Figure 3 is a diagram provided to illustrate positioning in an interlayer space in a location system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, a plurality of illuminating devices capable of performing visible light communication may be installed in the building at regular intervals for each layer, and the location information of the illuminating devices may be associated with each illuminating device. Accordingly, it is possible to grasp at which position the position confirming terminal is located even in the same layer by knowing which illuminating device and visible light communication the current position confirming terminal is connected to. Particularly, since the light emitted from the LED illuminating device has a strong directivity, when each illuminating device is arranged at an appropriate interval, it is possible to grasp accurately which illuminating device is positioned below the illuminating device through the visible light communication.

4 is a configuration diagram of a terminal position checking system using visible light wireless communication according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, the terminal location confirmation system using visible light communication according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention may include a terminal 100, a lighting device network 200, and a server 300.

The illumination device network 200 includes a plurality of illumination devices 210a, 210b, 210c, ..., 210n, 220a, 220b, 220c, ..., 220n, 230a, 230b, 230c, ..., 230n.

The Li-Fi communication method used in the present invention means a communication method in which data can be exchanged between devices wirelessly in LED illuminance using a visible light frequency. The visible light frequencies are in the range of 668THz to 789THz, 631THz to 668THz, 606THz to 630THz, green 526THz to 606THz, yellow 508THz to 526THz, orange 484THz to 508THz, 484THz). The Li-Fi system turns on / off the searchlight. It is very fast, which is not perceived by the human eye. Therefore, it does not disturb the eyes at all and can communicate light using the binary method. Particularly, among the visible light communication technologies, a technology using a light emitting diode (LED) has developed and can communicate using a radio frequency band of 385 THz to 789 THz.

The plurality of lighting apparatuses 210a, 210b, 210c, ..., 210n, 220a, 220b, 220c, ..., 220n, 230a, 230b, 230c, ..., 230n may be installed within each building. A lighting device having a visible light communication function can be installed in the building at regular intervals. Of course, depending on the embodiment, it is also possible to select a position where the position of the terminal 100 is required and selectively install a lighting device having a visible light communication function only at the corresponding position.

The plurality of lighting devices 210a, 210b, 210c, ..., 210n, 220a, 220b, 220c, ..., 220n, 230a, 230b, 230c, ..., 230n are connected to the server 300 ). ≪ / RTI >

The plurality of illumination devices 210a, 210b, 210c, ..., 210n, 220a, 220b, 220c, ..., 220n, 230a, 230b, 230c ... 230n wirelessly communicate data with the terminal 100 through visible light communication. Exchangeable.

The server 300 and the terminal 100 can exchange data through the illuminator network 200. [

The plurality of illumination devices 210a, 210b, 210c, 210n, 220a, 220b, 220c, ..., 220n, 230a, 230b, 230c ... 230n transmit terminal identification information through visible light communication from the terminal 100 The terminal 300 may transmit the terminal location message to the server 300. The terminal location message may include illumination device identification information and terminal identification information.

The plurality of illuminating devices 210a, 210b, 210c, 210n, 220a, 220b, 220c, ..., 220n, 230a, 230b, 230c, ..., 230n may include a visible light signal receiving module, And a signal transmission module. The visible light signal transmission module can utilize LEDs and provide indoor lighting functions. The visible light signal receiving module includes at least one of a photodiode, an optical-spectrum sensor and a red-green-blue sensor to receive visible light signals and convert the received visible light signals into electrical signals. have.

The server 300 can identify the current position of the terminal 100 using the terminal identification information and the illumination device identification information. To this end, the server 300 may store data mapping the lighting device identification information and the lighting device location information.

The server 300 can collect the terminal identification information, the illumination device location information, the location message reception time, and the like through the lighting device network 200 and confirm the travel route information of the terminal. The movement route information may include a movement route, a movement time, and the like.

Meanwhile, the server 300 may receive and store status information of the terminal 100 from the terminal 100 through the lighting device network 200, and may provide the status information upon request of the administrator. Here, the state information of the terminal 100 may include battery information of the terminal, object information on which the terminal is attached, and the like.

For example, when the terminal 100 includes an electronic tag reader function, the terminal 100 can read the object information from the electronic tag attached to the object and automatically transmit the object information to the server 300 through the illuminator network 200. [ By simply attaching the terminal 100 according to the present invention to the parts, equipment, and the like, it is possible to automatically check the position, movement route, use status, and the like of the parts, equipment, and the like in the factory line of the room.

Each of the plurality of illuminating devices 210a, 210b, 210c, ..., 210n, 220a, 220b, 220c, ..., 220n, 230a, 230b, 230c, ..., The location information may be transmitted to the terminal 100.

5 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention in more detail.

Referring to FIG. 5, the terminal 100 confirms its position through a GPS signal in an outdoor place where GPS signals can be received, and a plurality of lighting devices 210a, 210b, 210c, ..., 210n, 220a, 220b, 220c, ..., 220n, 230a, 230b, 230c, ..., 230n.

The terminal 100 may include a GPS receiving unit 110, a visible light communication unit 120, a terminal control unit 130, and a storage unit 140. The electronic tag reader unit 150 may further include an electronic tag reader unit 150 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The GPS receiving unit 110 receives a GPS signal from a GPS satellite (not shown) and provides the GPS signal to the terminal control unit 130.

The visible light communication unit 120 supports the terminal 100 to exchange data with the illumination device network 200 through visible light communication. For this purpose, the visible light communication unit 120 may include a visible light transmitting unit 121 and a visible light receiving unit 123.

The visible light transmitting unit 121 can use LEDs and can transmit data in the Li-Fi system under the control of the terminal control unit 130. [

The visible light receiving unit 123 may include at least one of a photodiode, a light-spectrum sensor, and an RGB sensor to receive the visible light signal, convert the visible light signal into an electrical signal, and transmit the electrical signal to the terminal control unit 130.

The terminal control unit 130 can transmit the visible light signal including the terminal identification information to the lighting apparatus network 200 and can transmit the visible light signal including the terminal identification information to the lighting apparatuses 210a, 210b, 210c, ..., 210n, 220a, 220b, 220c, , 220n, 230a, 230b, 230c, ..., and 230n. The terminal control unit 130 may also check the current location information of the terminal from the GPS signal received through the GPS receiver 110. [

The storage unit 140 may store various data and programs related to the operation of the terminal 100 and may provide the data and the program upon request of the terminal control unit 130. The storage unit 140 may record the movement route including the terminal location information obtained using the GPS signal and the illumination device location information.

The terminal control unit 130 can confirm the location of the terminal using the GPS signal or the location information of the illuminating device and record the travel route made of the location information of the confirmed terminal in the storage unit 140, Thereby providing a movement path of the terminal.

On the other hand, the terminal control unit 130 receives the GPS signal outdoors and confirms the position of the terminal, and if the GPS signal is not received, the terminal control unit 130 can automatically turn on the visible light communication function by operating the visible light communication unit 110. On the other hand, the terminal control unit 130 may automatically turn off the visible light communication function when the GPS signal is received. Accordingly, by always operating the visible light communication unit 110, it is possible to prevent the battery from being consumed quickly.

The terminal 100 may optionally include an electronic tag reader unit 150. [

The electronic tag reader unit 150 may read the object related information from the electronic tag attached to the object to be positioned, for example, a part, equipment, and the like, and provide the object related information to the terminal control unit 130. Therefore, the manager can automatically collect the status information and the location path for the object through the server 300, simply by attaching the terminal 100 according to the present invention to the object to be positioned.

6 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a lighting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention in more detail.

The illumination devices 210a, 210b, 210c, 210n, 220a, 220b, 220c, ..., 220n, 230a, 230b, 230c, ..., 230n may include a visible light transmission module 211, A communication module 213, a communication module 215, and a control module 217.

The visible light transmitting module 211 can use an LED and can transmit data transmitted from the server 300 to the terminal 100 in a Li-Fi manner. In addition, the visible light transmitting module 211 can also perform a lighting function for a building interior.

The visible light receiving module 213 includes at least one of a photodiode, a light-spectrum sensor, and an RGB sensor, and receives the visible light signal from the terminal 100 and converts the received visible light signal into an electric signal.

210n, 220a, 220b, 220c, ..., 220n, 230a, 230b, and 230c (not shown) are connected to the server 300 through the power line communication , ..., 230n can exchange data.

The control module 217 controls the operation of the illumination devices 210a, 210b, 210c, ..., 210n, 220a, 220b, 220c, ..., 220n, 230a, 230b, 230c, ..., 230n. The control module 217 receives the terminal identification information from the terminal 100 and transmits the terminal identification information to the server 300. [ The control module 217 may control the visible light transmission module 211 to broadcast the lighting device position information in which the lighting device is installed, through visible light communication.

7 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a UE according to an embodiment of the present invention.

7, when the terminal 100 receives GPS signals outdoors and confirms its position, the terminal controller 130 enters the building and receives GPS signals (S310-N) (Step S320). If the visible light communication function is already on, the visible light communication function can be kept on.

In operation S330, the terminal control unit 130 may obtain the position information of the illuminating device through the visible light communication from the illuminating device installed in the place where the current terminal 100 is located in the illuminating device network 200. [

The terminal control unit 130 may check the movement path of the terminal 100 and record the movement path in the storage unit 140 while performing step S330 in the building at step S340.

Meanwhile, when the terminal 100 moves out of the building and receives a GPS signal (S310-Y), the terminal control unit 130 can turn off the visible light communication function (S350).

The terminal control unit 130 receives the GPS signal and confirms the location information of the terminal 100 in step S360 and stores the location information in the storage unit 140 in step S370.

When the terminal 100 repeats the steps from S310 to S370, the terminal 100 can confirm and record the location of the terminal inside or outside the building.

Meanwhile, while the terminal 100 is located inside the building, the server 300 may collect the location information of the terminal 100 through the lighting device network 200, Can also be collected and managed.

Embodiments of the present invention include a computer-readable medium having program instructions for performing various computer-implemented operations. This medium records a program for executing the positioning method using the above-described visible light wireless communication. The medium may include program instructions, data files, data structures, etc., alone or in combination. Examples of such media include magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks and magnetic tape, optical recording media such as CD and DVD, programmed instructions such as floptical disk and magneto-optical media, ROM, RAM, And a hardware device configured to store and execute the program. Examples of program instructions include machine language code such as those produced by a compiler, as well as high-level language code that can be executed by a computer using an interpreter or the like.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments, Of the right.

100: terminal
110: GPS receiver
120: visible light communication unit
121: visible light transmitter
123: visible light receiver
130:
140:
150: Electronic tag reader
200: Lighting Device Network
300: server

Claims (6)

A plurality of lighting devices installed inside the building and capable of communicating with terminals through visible light communication, and
A server for receiving the terminal identification information and the illumination device identification information from the plurality of lighting devices and confirming the location and movement route of the terminal inside the building
And a display unit for displaying the position of the terminal. The method of claim 1,
The terminal,
A visible light communication unit for performing visible light communication,
A GPS receiver for receiving GPS signals, and
A terminal control unit for obtaining positional information of the terminal using at least one of information obtained from the illumination device through visible light communication and GPS signal received through the GPS receiver,
And a display unit for displaying the position of the terminal. 3. The method of claim 2,
The plurality of illuminating devices include:
And transmits visible light position information corresponding to a position where the plurality of illumination devices are installed through the visible light communication to the terminal. 4. The method of claim 3,
The terminal,
And records the movement route of the terminal using the GPS signal and the position information of the illuminator, and provides the movement route of the terminal according to a request from an external device. 5. The method of claim 4,
The terminal control unit,
And automatically turns off the visible light communication function if the GPS signal is not received and automatically turns off the visible light communication function when the GPS signal is received. The method of claim 5,
The terminal,
An electronic tag reader for acquiring data from an electronic tag attached to an object to which the terminal is attached,
Further comprising: means for determining a location of the terminal.

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