RADIO COMMUNICATION DEVICE, RADIO COMMUNICATION SYSTEM, AND POSITION ESTIMATION METHOD

• US 20140329543A1
• Filed: 01/29/2013
• Published: 11/06/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 02/22/2012
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: NTT Docomo Incorporated (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Original Assignee: NTT Docomo Incorporated (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Inventors: Hayashi, Kouki, Ishida, Masanori, Yoshikawa, Kunio
• Application Number:
  US14/366,422
• Publication Number:
  US 20140329543A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/456.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 17/00 Methods or arrangements for effecting co-operative working between equipments covered by two or more of main groups G06K1/00 - G06K15/00, e.g. automatic card files incorporating conveying and reading operations
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07 with integrated circuit chips
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/0723 the record carrier comprising an arrangement for non-contact communication, e.g. wireless communication circuits on transponder cards, non-contact smart cards or RFIDs
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07766 comprising at least a second communication arrangement in addition to a first non-contact communication arrangement
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10128 the step consisting of detection of the presence of one or more record carriers in the vicinity of the interrogation device
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10386 the interrogation device being of the portable or hand-handheld type, e.g. incorporated in ubiquitous hand-held devices such as PDA or mobile phone, or in the form of a portable dedicated RFID reader
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10405 the interrogation device including an arrangement for sensing environmental parameters, such as a temperature or acceleration sensor, e.g. used as an on/off trigger or as a warning means
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72412 using two-way short-range wireless interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/12 including a sensor for measuring a physical value, e.g. temperature or motion
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management

Abstract

A radio communication device performs radio communication with a tag which includes a first short-range radio communication module, wherein the radio communication device includes a second short-range radio communication module that measures electric field strength of a radio wave from the tag, a sensor that detects a motion of the radio communication device, a location estimation unit that estimates a location of the tag, based on the electric field strength measured by the second short-range radio communication module, and the motion of the radio communication device detected by the sensor, and an output unit that outputs information indicating the location of the tag, wherein the location of the tag is estimated by the location estimation unit.

Claims

1. A radio communication device that performs radio communication with a tag which includes a first short-range radio communication module, the radio communication device comprising:

a second short-range radio communication module that measures electric field strength of a radio wave from the tag;

a sensor that detects a motion of the radio communication device;

a location estimation unit that estimates a location of the tag, based on the electric field strength measured by the second short-range radio communication module, and the motion of the radio communication device detected by the sensor; and

an output unit that outputs information indicating the location of the tag, wherein the location of the tag is estimated by the location estimation unit.

2. The radio communication device according to claim 1,

wherein the sensor includes a gyro sensor and a geomagnetic sensor, and

wherein the location estimation unit estimates a second direction in which the tag is located, based on the electric field strength measured by the second short-range radio communication module, and a first direction which is determined based on information from the gyro sensor and the geomagnetic sensor.

3. The radio communication device according to claim 1,

wherein the sensor includes a gyro sensor, and

wherein the location estimation unit estimates a second direction in which the tag is located, based on the electric field strength measured by the second short-range radio communication module, and a first direction which is determined based on information from the gyro sensor.

4. The radio communication device according to claim 1,

wherein the location estimation unit estimates a distance between the radio communication device and the tag, based on the electric field strength measured by the second short-range radio communication module.

5. The radio communication device according to claim 1,

wherein the sensor includes an acceleration sensor, and

wherein the location estimation unit estimates a start and an end of the motion of the radio communication device, based on acceleration information measured by the acceleration sensor.

6. The radio communication device according to claim 1,

wherein the first short-range radio communication module and the second short-range radio communication module conform to at least one of a Bluetooth standard, a ZigBee standard, a Wi-Fi standard, and an ANT+ standard.

7. A radio communication system comprising:

a tag which includes a first short-range radio communication module; and

a radio communication device that performs radio communication with the tag,

wherein the tag includes the first short-range radio communication module that performs the radio communication with the radio communication device, and

wherein the radio communication device includes

a second short-range radio communication module that measures electric field strength of a radio wave from the tag;

a sensor that detects a motion of the radio communication device;

a location estimation unit that estimates a location of the tag, based on the electric field strength measured by the second short-range radio communication module, and the motion of the radio communication device detected by the sensor; and

an output unit that outputs information indicating the location of the tag, wherein the location of the tag is estimated by the location estimation unit.

8. A location estimation method of a radio communication device that performs radio communication with a tag including a first short-range radio communication module,

wherein the method measures electric field strength of a radio wave from the tag by a second short-range radio communication module;

detects a motion of the radio communication device by a sensor;

estimates a location of the tag, based on the electric field strength measured by the second short-range radio communication module, and the motion of the radio communication device detected by the sensor; and

outputs information indicating the estimated location of the tag.