Mobile Object Monitoring System and Mobile Object Monitoring Method

• US 20100216487A1
• Filed: 02/09/2007
• Published: 08/26/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 02/22/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Lenovo Innovations Ltd Hong Kong (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Inventors: Yamaguchi, Yuuichi
• Granted Patent: US 8,649,781 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/456.100
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/51 Relative positioning
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0225 Monitoring making use of different thresholds, e.g. for different alarm levels
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0266 System arrangements wherein the object is to detect the exact distance between parent and child or surveyor and item
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/00 Alarm systems in which the location of the alarm condition is signalled to a central station, e.g. fire or police telegraphic systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/00 Supervisory, monitoring or testing arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/04 adapted for relaying to or from another terminal or user

Abstract

A GPS mobile terminal (2) that a person (1) carries monitors position information on a dog (3) to whom a GPS terminal (4) is attached. When the person (1) and the dog (3) are separated more than a preset distance, the GPS mobile terminal (2) that the person (1) carries uses PoC communication enabling intragroup communication such as a transceiver to make a call request to mobile terminals (6, 7, 8) of all guardians belonging to any one of a plurality of groups (A, B, C) made up of the guardians. When there is a response from a group of the guardians, the communication is enabled in the group, so that the guardians can guide the person (1) to a safe place.

Claims

1. A mobile object monitoring system comprising:

a monitoring target portable terminal;

a plurality of monitor portable terminals classified into a plurality of groups; and

a relay device which communicates with said monitoring target portable terminal and said monitor portable terminals, wherein

said monitoring target portable terminal comprises a first control unit which performs control to transmit position information of said monitoring target portable terminal to said relay device, and

said relay device comprises

a position information storage unit which stores position information transmitted from said monitoring target portable terminal, and

a second control unit which performs control to transmit a group connection request which requests group communication to all monitor portable terminals belonging to a predetermined group when position information is transmitted from said monitoring target portable terminal.

2. A mobile object monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein said monitoring target portable terminal comprises a main portable terminal and a sub-portable terminal,

said sub-portable terminal comprising a first position detection unit which detects position information of the sub-portable terminal, and

said main portable terminal comprising

a second position detection unit which detects position information of said main portable terminal,

a distance calculation unit which calculates a distance between said sub-portable terminal and said main portable terminal from position information transmitted from said sub-portable terminal and position information detected by said second position detection unit, and

a position information transmission control unit, included in said first control unit, which performs control to transmit position information of said main portable terminal to said relay device.

3. A mobile object monitoring system according to claim 2, wherein said position information transmission control unit transmits position information when a distance calculated by said distance calculation unit exceeds a predetermined distance.

4. A mobile object monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein

a priority level is set for each group belonging to said monitor portable terminal, and

said second control unit performs control to transmit a group connection request to all monitor portable terminals belonging to a group with a highest priority level when position information is transmitted from said monitoring target portable terminal.

5. A mobile object monitoring system according to claim 4, wherein when no response is received from any monitor portable terminals belonging to a group to which a group connection request has been transmitted, said second control unit performs control to transmit a group connection request to all monitor portable terminals belonging to a group with a next highest priority level.

6. A mobile object monitoring system according to claim 5, wherein said second control unit performs control to transmit position information stored in said position information storage unit to all monitor portable terminals belonging to all groups, when no response is received from any monitor portable terminals belonging to a group with a lowest priority level.

7. A mobile object monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein when no response is received from any monitor portable terminals belonging to a group to which a group connection request has been transmitted, said second control unit performs control to repeatedly transmit a group connection request to monitor portable terminals belonging to the same group a predetermined number of times.

8. A mobile object monitoring system according to claim 2, wherein

said main portable terminal is carried by a person, and

said sub-portable terminal is attached to a dog.

9. A mobile object monitoring system according to claim 2, wherein both said main portable terminal and said sub-portable terminal are carried by persons.

10. A mobile object monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein as a communication unit in a group, one of “

Push-to-Talk over Cellular”

, “

Multi Party Call”

, and “

Short Message Service”

is used.

11. A mobile object monitoring method comprising the steps of:

causing a monitoring target portable terminal to transmit position information of the monitoring target portable terminal to a relay device which manages group communication between portable terminals;

causing the relay device to store position information transmitted from the monitoring target portable terminal in a position information storage unit; and

causing the relay device to transmit a group connection request to request group information to all monitor portable terminals, of a plurality of monitor portable terminals classified into a plurality of groups, which belong to a predetermined group, when position information is transmitted from the monitoring target portable terminal.

12. A mobile object monitoring method according to claim 11, comprising the steps of:

causing a sub-portable terminal serving as the monitoring target portable terminal together with a main portable terminal to detect position information of the sub-portable terminal and transmit the position information to the main portable terminal;

causing the main portable terminal to detect position information of the main portable terminal; and

of causing the main portable terminal to calculate a distance between the main portable terminal and the sub-portable terminal from position information of the main portable terminal and position information transmitted from the sub-portable terminal,

wherein the step of causing a monitoring target portable terminal to transmit comprises the step of transmitting position information of the main portable terminal.

13. A mobile object monitoring method according to claim 12, wherein the step of causing a monitoring target portable terminal to transmit further comprises the step of transmitting position information when the calculated distance between the two terminals exceeds a predetermined distance.

14. A mobile object monitoring method according to claim 11, wherein the step of causing the relay device to transmit a group connection request comprises the step of transmitting a group connection request to all monitor portable terminals belonging to a group with a highest priority level among priority levels set for groups to which the monitor portable terminals belong, when position information is transmitted from the monitoring target portable terminal.

15. A mobile object monitoring method according to claim 14, wherein the step of causing the relay device to transmit a group connection request further comprises the step of, when no response is received from any monitor portable terminals belonging to a group to which a group connection request has been transmitted, transmitting a group connection request to all monitor portable terminals belonging to a group with a next highest priority level.

16. A mobile object monitoring method according to claim 15, wherein the step of causing the relay device to transmit a group connection request further comprises the step of transmitting position information stored in the position information storage unit to monitor portable terminals belonging to all groups when no response is received from any monitor portable terminals belonging to a group with a lowest priority level.

17. A mobile object monitoring method according to claim 11, wherein the step of causing the relay device to transmit a group connection request comprises the step of, when no response is received from any monitor portable terminals belonging to a group to which a group connection request has been transmitted, repeatedly transmitting a group connection request to a monitor portable terminal belonging to the same group a predetermined number of times.

18. A mobile object monitoring method according to claim 12, wherein the main portable terminal is carried by a person, and the sub-portable terminal is attached to a dog.

19. A mobile object monitoring method according to claim 12, wherein both the main portable terminal and the sub-portable terminal are carried by persons.

20. A mobile object monitoring method according to claim 11, further comprising the step of performing group communication by using one of “

Push-to-Talk over Cellular”

, “

Multi Party Call”

, and “

Short Message Service”

.

21. A portable terminal comprising:

a position detection unit which detects position information of a self-portable terminal;

a reception unit which receives position information of another portable terminal from said another portable terminal;

a distance calculation unit which calculates a distance between the self-portable terminal and the other portable terminal from position information of the self-portable terminal and position information of the other portable terminal; and

a position information transmission control unit which performs control to transmit the position information of the self-portable terminal to a relay device which manages group communication between the portable terminals.

22. A portable terminal according to claim 21, wherein said position information transmission control unit transmits position information when a distance calculated by said distance calculation unit exceeds a predetermined distance.

23. A mobile object monitoring system comprising:

a monitoring target portable terminal;

a plurality of monitor portable terminals classified into a plurality of groups; and

a relay device which communicates with said monitoring target portable terminal and said monitor portable terminals, wherein

said monitoring target portable terminal comprises first control means for performing control to transmit position information of said monitoring target portable terminal to said relay device, and

said relay device comprises

position information storage means for storing position information transmitted from said monitoring target portable terminal, and

second control means for performing control to transmit a group connection request which requests group communication to all monitor portable terminals belonging to a predetermined group when position information is transmitted from said monitoring target portable terminal.

24. A portable terminal comprising:

position detection means for detecting position information of a self-portable terminal;

reception means for receiving position information of another portable terminal from said another portable terminal;

distance calculation means for calculating a distance between the self-portable terminal and the other portable terminal from position information of the self-portable terminal and position information of the other portable terminal; and

position information transmission control means for performing control to transmit the position information of the self-portable terminal to a relay device which manages group communication between the portable terminals.