JP6155104B2 - Terminal device, information acquisition system, information acquisition method, and program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for acquiring information from sound waves.

  As an invention for specifying the position of a mobile phone, there is a system disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example. In this system, a sound indicating a region ID of the space region is emitted from a speaker that emits sound in the space region. The mobile phone picks up the sound emitted from the speaker with a microphone and extracts the area ID from the picked up sound. When the mobile phone transmits the area ID to the positioning device, the positioning device specifies the position of the mobile phone based on the transmitted area ID. The positioning device notifies the mobile phone of the specified position, and the mobile phone displays the notified position. Further, in this system, when a plurality of space areas are provided, the sound of the area ID is emitted by changing the frequency for each speaker from the speaker provided for each space area. In the mobile phone, the sound of the area ID emitted from each speaker is extracted by a band pass filter, and the position is specified using the extracted area ID.

JP 2009-198209 A

  According to the system disclosed in Patent Document 1, since the sound of the area ID emitted from the speakers in each space area has a different frequency for each speaker, the mobile phone has a plurality of speakers at the position where the space areas overlap. Even if the sound from the sound is picked up, the area ID indicated by the sound emitted from each speaker can be extracted, and the position can be specified from the plurality of extracted area IDs. However, in the system of Patent Document 1, when the spatial regions overlap, it is necessary to change the frequency of the sound indicating the region ID for each speaker, which takes time and effort. Note that Patent Document 1 discloses a method of emitting sounds of different area IDs from a plurality of speakers with the same frequency of the sound of the area ID. In this case, two microphones are provided in the mobile phone. This increases the cost of the mobile phone.

  The present invention has been made under the background described above, and obtains a plurality of sound waves having the same frequency on which information is superimposed with one microphone, and a terminal among a plurality of transmitters arranged at different positions. It aims at providing the technique which extracts the information superimposed on the sound wave transmitted from the transmitter close | similar to an apparatus.

The present invention obtains a first signal representing a sound wave from a single microphone that picks up sound waves transmitted from a plurality of transmitters at the same frequency and each modulated with unique information of the transmitters. And extraction means for demodulating the first signal and extracting a second signal having a level corresponding to the amplitude of the first signal, and binarizing the second signal with a threshold value that has been previously obtained. possess specifying means for specifying the unique information from the results, the said transmitter is a plurality arranged in a plurality of store, the specifying unit provides a terminal device configured to change the threshold value for each of the plurality of store .

In this invention, the said threshold value is good also as a structure which is a value of the predetermined ratio of the maximum amplitude of the sound wave which can be acquired by the said acquisition means.
In the present invention, the threshold may be different for each model of the terminal device.
In the present invention, the plurality of transmitters may be arranged at different positions in a predetermined area .

In addition, the present invention provides a plurality of transmitters that transmit sound waves of the same frequency modulated by the unique information of the transmitter, and a plurality of transmitters that are transmitted at the same frequency and are each modulated by the unique information of the transmitter. Acquisition means for acquiring a first signal representing the sound wave from one microphone that has picked up the sound wave, and demodulating the first signal, and obtaining a second signal at a level corresponding to the amplitude of the first signal. extraction means for extracting, the second signal, comprising a specifying means for specifying the unique information from the result of the binarization by binarizing the threshold having previously, a terminal device having a, wherein the transmitter is , a plurality arranged in a plurality of store, the identification means provides information acquisition system to change the threshold value for each of the plurality of stores.

Moreover, this invention acquires the 1st signal showing the said sound wave from one microphone which picked up the sound wave which was transmitted from the some transmitter at the same frequency, and each was modulated with the specific information of the transmitter. An acquisition step; an extraction step of demodulating the first signal and extracting a second signal of a level corresponding to the amplitude of the first signal; and binarizing the second signal with a predetermined threshold. have a, a specifying step of specifying the unique information from the result of reduction, the transmitter is more arranged in a plurality of store, the specifying step, the information acquisition method for changing the threshold value for each of the plurality of store I will provide a.

Further, the present invention provides a computer from a single microphone that picks up sound waves transmitted from a plurality of transmitters arranged in a plurality of stores at the same frequency and each modulated by unique information of the transmitter. An acquisition unit that acquires a first signal representing a sound wave, an extraction unit that demodulates the first signal and extracts a second signal having a level corresponding to the amplitude of the first signal, and the second signal are provided in advance. There is provided a program for binarizing with a threshold value, specifying the unique information from the binarization result, and functioning as specifying means for changing the threshold value for each of the plurality of stores .

  According to the present invention, it is possible to acquire a plurality of sound waves having the same frequency with superimposed information using a single microphone, and extract information from the sound waves transmitted from a transmitter close to the terminal device.

The figure which showed the apparatus which comprises the point system 1 which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. The figure which showed the signal which the transmitter 30 outputs. The block diagram which showed the hardware constitutions of the terminal device 10. The block diagram which showed the function structure of the terminal device. The block diagram which showed the hardware constitutions of the server apparatus 20. FIG. The figure which showed an example of transmitter table TB1. The figure which showed an example of user table TB2. The block diagram which showed the function structure of the server apparatus. The figure which showed the example of arrangement | positioning of the transmitter 30. FIG. The flowchart which showed the flow of the process which the terminal device 10 performs. The figure which showed the level of the signal which the terminal device 10 acquired. The flowchart which showed the flow of the process which the server apparatus 20 performs. The figure which showed the example of arrangement | positioning of the transmitter 30 in a modification.

[Embodiment]
(overall structure)
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an apparatus constituting a point system 1 which is an example of a privilege grant system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The point system 1 is a system that provides a loyalty program to those who visit the store 3. A plurality of products are displayed in the store 3, and a bar code representing the product is attached to the displayed products. The point system 1 includes a server device 20, transmitters 30 </ b> A and 30 </ b> B, and a register 40. In the present embodiment, the configurations of the transmitters 30A and 30B are the same. Therefore, hereinafter, the transmitters 30A and 30B will be referred to as transmitters 30 when there is no need to distinguish between them. The communication network 2 is a communication network that provides communication services such as voice communication and data communication. The communication network 2 can include the Internet, a fixed telephone network, and the like. The server device 20, the register 40, and the terminal device 10 perform data communication via the communication network 2.

  The terminal device 10 is a smartphone in the present embodiment, and performs voice communication and data communication via the communication network 2. In the present embodiment, the terminal device 10 is a smartphone, but is not limited to a smartphone, and may be a tablet PC (Personal Computer) as long as it has a function of performing data communication via the communication network 2. It may be a feature phone or a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant). Although a plurality of terminal devices 10 exist, only one terminal device 10 is shown in FIG. 1 in order to prevent the drawing from becoming complicated.

The server device 20 is a device that manages points given to the user of the terminal device 10. The server device 20 manages the points given to the user for each user of the terminal device 10.

  The transmitter 30 is a device that transmits a sound wave signal having a predetermined frequency. A plurality of transmitters 30 are arranged in a predetermined area. In the present embodiment, the predetermined area is in the store 3, and the transmitter 30 is arranged on each of a plurality of shelves in the store 3. The transmitter 30 is information unique to the transmitter 30 and transmits a sound wave signal indicating a transmitter identifier that uniquely identifies the transmitter at a predetermined cycle (for example, 1 second). In addition, the cycle in which the transmitter 30 transmits a signal is not limited to 1 second, and may be a cycle longer than 1 second or a cycle shorter than 1 second. In the present embodiment, the sound pressure of the sound wave transmitted by the transmitter 30A and the sound pressure of the sound wave transmitted by the transmitter 30B are the same. The register 40 is an electronic register compatible with a POS (Point Of Sale) system, and displays a price of a product by reading a barcode attached to the product, or wireless communication known as NFC (Near Field Communication). It is a register with a function to perform communication according to the international standard.

  In the point system 1, when the terminal device 10 owned by a person who has visited the store 3 receives a signal transmitted from the transmitters 30 and 30 </ b> B, the server device 20 gives an example of a privilege to the user of the terminal device 10. Give a point that is. Although there are a plurality of stores 3 in which the transmitter 30 is arranged, only one store 3 is shown in FIG. 1 in order to prevent the drawing from becoming complicated. Further, although a plurality of transmitters 30 are arranged in the store 3, only two transmitters 30 are shown in FIG. 1 in order to prevent the drawing from becoming complicated.

  Here, the signal output from the transmitter 30 will be described with reference to FIG. The transmitter 30 stores the transmitter identifier in binary number, and generates a signal S1 representing the stored transmitter identifier at a predetermined cycle. For example, when the transmitter identifier of the transmitter 30A is “1001100”, the signal S1 is L (Low) corresponding to the digit “0” of the transmitter identifier as shown in FIG. The level becomes H (High) level corresponding to the digit “1” of the transmitter identifier. In the present embodiment, the period during which the signal S1 is at the H level or the L level corresponding to one digit of the transmitter identifier is determined in advance, and both are the same period.

  The transmitter 30 generates a sine wave signal S2 having a predetermined frequency shown in FIG. 2, and modulates the signal S2 with the signal S1 to generate a signal S3. In the present embodiment, the frequency of the signal S2 is the frequency of the ultrasonic wave band, but may be the frequency of the sound wave band of the audible range. As shown in FIG. 2, the signal S3 has an amplitude of 0 when the signal S1 is at the L level, and has the same waveform as the signal S2 when the signal S1 is at the H level. That is, the signal S3 is a sound wave on which information on the transmitter identifier is superimposed. When the transmitter identifier of the transmitter 30B is “1001101”, the signal S1 of the transmitter 30B is as shown in FIG. 2B, and the signal S3 of the transmitter 30B is (b) of FIG. ).

(Configuration of terminal device 10)
FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the terminal device 10. The control unit 101 is a microcontroller including a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), and a RAM (Random Access Memory). When the CPU executes a program stored in the ROM, the basic functions of the smartphone are realized.

  The display unit 103 includes a liquid crystal display, and displays a screen for operating the terminal device 10 and various messages. The operation unit 104 includes a plurality of keys for operating the terminal device 10. In addition, the operation unit 104 includes a touch panel that is provided on the surface of the display unit 103 and detects a position touched by a finger through the image displayed on the display unit 103. The communication unit 105 functions as a communication interface that performs communication via the communication network 2 and receives and transmits various types of information. The reading unit 106 includes a camera module having a lens and an image sensor. The reading unit 106 converts the subject image formed on the image sensor into an electrical signal, and outputs data indicating the subject image to the control unit 101. The short-range communication unit 108 is a communication interface that performs communication in accordance with an international standard for wireless communication known as NFC.

  The audio processing unit 107 has a microphone and a speaker. When the terminal device 10 performs a voice call between the terminal devices 10, when a digital signal related to the voice of the other party is supplied from the communication unit 105, the voice processing unit 107 converts the supplied digital signal into an analog signal. This analog signal is supplied to a speaker, and the voice of the other party is emitted from the speaker. When the sound wave is input to the microphone, the sound processing unit 107 converts the input sound wave into a digital signal. When the terminal device 10 performs a voice call, the voice processing unit 107 supplies a digital signal obtained by converting the user's voice to the communication unit 105. This digital signal is transmitted from the communication unit 105 to the communication network 2 and transmitted to the terminal device 10 of the other party. Note that, when an application program described later is executed, the sound processing unit 107 converts an input sound wave into a digital signal and supplies the digital signal to the control unit 101.

  The storage unit 102 is a nonvolatile memory and stores various application programs. In the present embodiment, the storage unit 102 stores an application program (hereinafter referred to as application A) that realizes a function of providing a point program service to the user of the terminal device 10. Further, the storage unit 102 stores a user identifier for identifying the user of the application A. When the CPU of the control unit 101 executes the application A stored in the storage unit 102, a function of providing a point program service is realized.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of characteristic functions according to the present invention among functions realized by the control unit 101 that executes the application A. The acquisition unit 1001 is a unit that acquires a digital signal output from the audio processing unit 107, that is, a signal S3 (first signal) representing a sound wave collected by the microphone. The extraction unit 1002 is a unit that demodulates the signal S3 acquired by the acquisition unit and extracts a signal S1 (second signal) corresponding to the amplitude of the sound wave. The specifying unit 1003 is a unit that binarizes the signal S1 obtained by demodulation using a threshold value that is previously stored, and specifies a transmitter identifier. The transmitting unit 1004 is a unit that cooperates with the communication unit 105 and transmits the transmitter identifier specified by the specifying unit 1003 to the server device 20.

(Configuration of server device 20)
FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the server device 20. The display unit 203 includes a liquid crystal display, and displays a screen for operating the server device 20, information stored in the storage unit 202, and the like. The operation unit 204 includes a keyboard and a mouse, and the server device 20 operates in accordance with operations performed on the keyboard and mouse. The communication unit 205 functions as a communication interface that performs communication via the communication network 2. The communication unit 205 exchanges information with the terminal device 10 and the register 40 via the communication network 2. In the present embodiment, the server device 20 includes the display unit 203 and the operation unit 204, but may be configured not to include the display unit 203 and the operation unit 204.

  The storage unit 202 has a hard disk device, and stores a program that realizes a function of providing a point program service to a person who has visited the store 3. The storage unit 202 also stores a transmitter table TB1 and a user table TB2 that are used when providing point services.

  The transmitter table TB1 is a table that stores transmitter identifiers of the transmitter 30. In the transmitter table TB1, as shown in FIG. 6, a transmitter identifier and a point given to the user of the terminal device 10 that has received the sound wave of the transmitter identifier are stored in association with each other.

  The user table TB2 is a table that stores information on users who use the application A described above. The user table TB2 is created for each user when the user performs an operation of registering with the point program service in the terminal device 10 that is executing the application A. The user table TB2 stores a user identifier for identifying the user of the application A. Further, the user table TB2 stores points acquired by the user as shown in FIG. For example, when the user having the user identifier “u0001” has 100 points, the user table TB2 is as shown in FIG.

  The control unit 201 includes a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM. When the program stored in the storage unit 202 is executed by the control unit 201, a function of providing a point program service to a person who visits the store 3 is realized.

  FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a configuration of functions according to the present invention among the functions realized in the server device 20. The receiving unit 2001 is a unit that receives information transmitted by the terminal device 10 in cooperation with the communication unit 205. The updating unit 2002 is a unit that updates the point information stored in the storage unit 202 in association with the user identifier received by the receiving unit 2001 with the point corresponding to the transmitter identifier received by the receiving unit 2001.

(Operation example of embodiment)
Next, an example of the operation of this embodiment will be described. In the following description, as shown in FIG. 9, the transmitter 30A is arranged on the shelf 50A arranged in the store 3, and the transmitter 30B is arranged on the shelf 50B arranged side by side with the shelf 50A. The operation will be described on the assumption. In addition, FIG. 9 is the figure which looked at the inside of the store 3 from the ceiling side. In the following description, it is assumed that the sound pressures of the sound waves transmitted by the transmitter 30A and the transmitter 30B are the same, and the position P3 is an intermediate position between the transmitter 30A and the transmitter 30B. I do.

  First, before entering the store 3, the user of the terminal device 10 performs an operation for instructing activation of the application A described above on the operation unit 104. The control unit 101 executes the application A according to a user operation.

  When the control unit 101 executes the application A, the sound processing unit 107 converts the sound wave acquired by the microphone into a digital signal, and the digital signal is supplied to the control unit 101. When the digital signal is supplied, the control unit 101 executes the processing shown in FIG. First, the control unit 101 analyzes a supplied digital signal and extracts a signal having a predetermined frequency (frequency of the signal S2) (step SA1). When the control unit 101 extracts a signal having a predetermined frequency (YES in step SA2), the control unit 101 demodulates the extracted signal (step SA3).

  For example, when the terminal device 10 is outside the store 3, the signal S <b> 3 transmitted by the transmitter 30 does not reach the microphone of the sound processing unit 107. For this reason, even if the control part 101 converts the sound wave acquired with the microphone into the digital signal, the signal of the predetermined frequency which the transmitter 30 transmits cannot be obtained. In this case, the control unit 101 determines NO in step SA2.

  On the other hand, when the user of the terminal device 10 enters the store 3 with the terminal device 10 and moves between the shelf 50A and the shelf 50B, the signal S3a transmitted by the transmitter 30A and the transmitter 30B transmit. Signal S3b being acquired by the microphone of the sound processing unit 107.

  When the transmission timings of the signal S3a and the signal S3b are shifted and the signal S3a and the signal S3b are not simultaneously acquired by the microphone, the signal S3a and the signal S3b are alternately acquired by the microphone. The audio processing unit 107 converts a signal acquired by the microphone into a digital signal and supplies the digital signal to the control unit 101. The control unit 101 (acquiring unit 1001) acquires the supplied digital signal. The control unit 101 (extraction unit 1002) extracts a signal having a frequency transmitted by the transmitter 30, and demodulates the extracted signal to obtain a signal S1. Note that the level of the signal S1 depends on the amplitude of the signal S3.

  For example, when the user is located at the position P1, since the position P1 is close to the transmitter 30A, when the control unit 101 demodulates the signal S3a at the position P1, the level of the signal S1 obtained by demodulation is (( It becomes what was shown in the upper stage of a) (signal S1a of Fig.11 (a)). Further, since the position P1 is far from the transmitter 30B, when the control unit 101 demodulates the signal S3b at the position P1, the level of the signal S1 obtained by the demodulation is as shown in the middle part of FIG. (Signal S1b in FIG. 11A).

  Further, when the user is located at the position P2 in FIG. 9, since the position P2 is close to the transmitter 30B, when the control unit 101 demodulates the signal S3b at the position P2, the level of the signal S1 obtained by demodulation is 11 (c) is shown in the middle (signal S1b in FIG. 11 (c)). Further, since the position P2 is far from the transmitter 30A, when the control unit 101 demodulates the signal S3a at the position P2, the level of the signal S1 obtained by the demodulation is as shown in the upper part of FIG. (Signal S1b in FIG. 11C).

  Further, when the user is located at the position P3, the position P2 is farther from the transmitter 30A than the position P1. Therefore, when the control unit 101 demodulates the signal S3a at the position P3, the level of the signal S1 obtained by demodulation is the position P1. It becomes lower than that in the case of FIG. 11 and becomes the one shown in the upper part of FIG. Further, since the position P3 is farther from the transmitter 30B than the position P2, when the control unit 101 demodulates the signal S3b at the position P3, the level of the signal S1 obtained by the demodulation becomes lower than that at the position P2, as shown in FIG. (B) is shown in the middle (signal S1b in FIG. 11B).

  The control unit 101 (identifying means 1003) analyzes the level of the signal S1 and identifies the transmitter identifier from the signal S1 (step SA4). Specifically, the control unit 101 binarizes the signal S1 with a predetermined threshold th. The threshold th is n% of the maximum amplitude of the signal S3 that can be acquired by the terminal device 10 (for example, the maximum amplitude of the signal S3 when the terminal device 10 is adjacent to the transmitter 30) (n = 70 in this embodiment). It is the value of. When the control unit 101 extracts the signal S1a at the position P1, the signal S1a has a level indicating “1” equal to or higher than the threshold th as shown in FIG. 11A, and the signal S1a is binarized by the threshold. The obtained value is “1001100”. When the control unit 101 extracts the signal S1b at the position P1, the signal S1b has a level indicating “1” less than the threshold th as shown in FIG. The value obtained by conversion is “0000000”.

  Further, when the control unit 101 extracts the signal S1b at the position P2, the signal S1b has a level indicating “1” equal to or higher than the threshold th as shown in FIG. 11C, and the signal S1b is binarized. The value obtained is “1001101”. Further, when the control unit 101 extracts the signal S1a at the position P2, the signal S1a has a level indicating “1” less than the threshold th as shown in FIG. The value obtained by conversion is “0000000”.

  Further, when the control unit 101 extracts the signal S1a at the position P3, the signal S1a has a level indicating “1” less than the threshold th as shown in FIG. 11B, and the signal S1a is binarized. The value obtained is “0000000”. When the control unit 101 extracts the signal S1b at the position P3, the signal S1b has a level indicating “1” less than the threshold th as shown in FIG. 11C, and the signal S1b is binarized. The value obtained is “0000000”.

  In addition, when the transmission timing of the sound wave which shows a transmitter identifier overlaps with transmitter 30A and transmitter 30B, since the sound wave overlaps, the waveform of signal S1 obtained is different from those shown in the upper and middle stages of FIG. It will be a thing. For example, the phase of the sound wave transmitted by the transmitter 30A is the same as the phase of the sound wave transmitted by the transmitter 30B, and the transmitter 30B is transmitting the sound wave of the MSB (Most Significant Bit) of the transmitter identifier of the transmitter 30A. When the transmission of the MSB sound wave of the transmitter identifier is started, the waveform of the signal S1 obtained by demodulating the signal S3 is shown in the lower part of FIG.

For example, when the terminal device 10 is located at the position P1, as shown in the lower part of FIG. 11A, the terminal device 10 is obtained by demodulation at the timing when the sound wave of the transmitter 30A and the sound wave of the transmitter 30B overlap. The level of the signal S1 is higher than when the sound waves do not overlap. Here, the value obtained by binarizing the signal S1 with the threshold th is “1001100”, and the transmitter identifier of the transmitter 30A close to the terminal device 10 among the plurality of transmitters 30 can be obtained.
Further, when the terminal device 10 is located at the position P2, as shown in the lower part of FIG. 11C, the terminal device 10 is obtained by demodulation at the timing when the sound wave of the transmitter 30A and the sound wave of the transmitter 30B overlap. The level of the signal S1 is higher than when the sound waves do not overlap. Here, the value obtained by binarizing the signal S1 with the threshold th is “1001101”, and the transmitter identifier of the transmitter 30B close to the terminal device 10 among the plurality of transmitters 30 can be obtained.
When the terminal device 10 is located at the position P3, as shown in the lower part of FIG. 11B, the terminal device 10 is obtained by demodulation at the timing when the sound wave of the transmitter 30A and the sound wave of the transmitter 30B overlap. The level of the signal S1 is higher than when the sound waves do not overlap. However, since the level of the signal S1 does not exceed the threshold th here, the value obtained when the signal S1 is binarized is “0000000”.
That is, in the present embodiment, even if the sound waves of the plurality of transmitters 30 overlap, the terminal device 10 causes the transmitter 30 near the terminal device 10 among the plurality of transmitters 30 to be the same as when the sound waves do not overlap. A transmitter identifier can be obtained.

  When the value of the extracted transmitter identifier is “0000000” (YES in step SA5), control unit 101 ends the process shown in FIG. On the other hand, if the value of the extracted transmitter identifier is not “0000000” (NO in step SA5), the control unit 101 stores the extracted transmitter identifier in the RAM (step SA6). The control unit 101 determines whether or not the transmitter identifier stored last in the RAM is the same as the transmitter identifier stored in the RAM immediately before the last transmitter identifier stored in the RAM (Step S101). SA7). If the control unit 101 determines NO in step SA7, the control unit 101 ends the process illustrated in FIG. Further, when it is determined YES in step SA7, the control unit 101 transmits the user identifier stored in the storage unit 102 and the extracted transmitter identifier to the server device 20.

  In the server device 20, when the communication unit 205 receives the user identifier and the transmitter identifier transmitted from the terminal device 10, the control unit 201 executes the processing illustrated in FIG. First, the control unit 201 searches the transmitter table TB1 for the received transmitter identifier (step SB1). When the received transmitter identifier is stored in transmitter table TB1 (YES in step SB2), control unit 201 searches user table TB2 for the user identifier received together with the transmitter identifier (step SB3).

  When the received user identifier is stored in the user table TB2 (YES in step SB4), the control unit 201 performs a process of giving points to the user (step SB5). Specifically, the control unit 201 specifies a row in which the received transmitter identifier is stored in the transmitter table TB1, and extracts a point stored in the specified row. Next, the control unit 101 identifies the row storing the received user identifier in the user table TB2, and adds the point acquired from the transmitter table TB1 to the point stored in association with the identified row. When the received user identifier is not stored in the user table TB2, the control unit 201 newly creates a row in which the received user identifier is stored in the user table TB2, and adds the created row from the transmitter table TB1. Stores the acquired points.

  For example, when the terminal device 10 is located at the position P1, “1001100” is transmitted to the server device 20 as a transmitter identifier. As shown in FIG. 6, since “10” is associated with the transmitter identifier “1001100”, 10 points are added to the user of the terminal device 10. Further, when the terminal device 10 is located at the position P <b> 2, “1001101” is transmitted to the server device 20 as a transmitter identifier. As illustrated in FIG. 6, since “5” is associated with the transmitter identifier “1001101”, 5 points are added to the user of the terminal device 10.

  Thus, according to this embodiment, when the user of the terminal device 10 who has visited the store 3 approaches the shelf, points corresponding to the shelf close to the user can be given. Moreover, according to this embodiment, even if the sound wave of the same frequency overlaps, a shelf (transmitter) close to the terminal device 10 can be specified without using a plurality of microphones. In other words, it can be seen that the terminal device 10 is in a position close to the shelf 50A or the shelf 50B, and the position where the user of the terminal device 10 is present can be known.

Next, an operation example when the user of the terminal device 10 uses the acquired points when purchasing a product will be described. The user of the terminal device 10 goes to the place where the register 40 is located in the store 3 with the product to be purchased. When the store clerk causes the register 40 to read the barcode attached to the product, the register 40 displays the price of the product specified by the barcode.
The user of the terminal device 10 brings the terminal device 10 closer to the register 40 when using the point service. When the terminal device 10 approaches the reader, short-range wireless communication is started between the register 40 and the terminal device 10 that is executing the application A. First, the control unit 101 controls the short-range communication unit 108 and transmits the user identifier stored in the storage unit 102 to the register 40. Upon receiving the user identifier, the register 40 transmits the received user identifier to the server device 20.

  When the communication unit 205 of the server device 20 receives the user identifier, the control unit 201 searches the user table TB2 for the received user identifier. When the received user identifier is in the user table TB2, the control unit 201 acquires the point stored in the row in which the received user identifier is stored. The control unit 201 controls the communication unit 205 and transmits data indicating the acquired points to the register 40.

  When the register 40 receives the data transmitted by the server device 20, the register 40 displays a point indicated by the received data. When the user of the terminal device 10 informs the store clerk that the displayed point is to be used, the store clerk performs an operation in the register 40 using the displayed point. When this operation is performed, the register 40 displays an amount corresponding to the points discounted from the price of the displayed product. When the user pays the displayed amount and the store clerk performs a checkout operation in the register 40, the register 40 transmits a message including the user identifier and notifying the use of the point to the server device 20.

  Upon receiving this message, the server device 20 searches the user table TB2 for the received user identifier. When the row storing the received user identifier is in the user table TB2, the control unit 201 specifies the row storing the received user identifier, and sets the value of the point stored in association with the specified row to 0. To do.

[Modification]
As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to embodiment mentioned above, It can implement with another various form. For example, the present invention may be implemented by modifying the above-described embodiment as follows. In addition, you may combine each of embodiment mentioned above and the following modifications.

  In the embodiment described above, the sound pressure of the sound wave of the transmitter 30A and the sound pressure of the sound wave of the transmitter 30B are the same, but the sound pressure of the sound wave of the transmitter 30A and the transmitter 30B may be different. According to this configuration, it is possible to adjust the area in which the terminal device 10 can extract the transmitter identifier. In the above-described embodiment, the number of transmitters 30 is two, but three or more transmitters 30 may be arranged in the store 3.

  In the present invention, the direction of the sound wave transmitted from the transmitter 30 may be adjusted. For example, as shown in FIG. 13, a transmitter 30 may be arranged at a corner of the store 3, and a speaker that emits sound waves at the transmitter 30 may be directed to the inside of the store 3. According to this configuration, sound waves are transmitted to the inside of the store 3. The sound wave transmitted from the transmitter 30 is reflected by the wall 60 or absorbed by the wall 60 and does not leak out of the store 3. For this reason, it is possible to prevent points from being acquired by collecting sound waves outside the store 3.

  In the present invention, the directionality of the sound wave transmitted from the transmitter 30 may be adjusted. For example, if the directivity of the sound wave transmitted from the transmitter 30 is sharpened to have a beam shape, the area where the transmitter identifier can be acquired can be narrowed. If a high point is given to the user of the terminal device 10 in this narrow area, the user will walk around the store in order to search for a place where the high point can be obtained. It is possible to show and increase purchase motivation. In addition, according to the configuration in which the directivity of the sound wave is sharpened, it is possible to finely divide the area in which the transmitter identifier can be acquired in the store 3, and various points can be given.

In the embodiment described above, the threshold th for binarizing the signal S1 obtained by demodulation is n% of the maximum amplitude of the signal S3 that can be acquired by the terminal device 10, but is limited to this configuration. It is not something. For example, the control unit 101 obtains the sound pressure level of the signal S3 from the signal obtained by the microphone. The control unit 101 may store a predetermined fixed value as the threshold th and extract the transmitter identifier when the sound pressure level is equal to or higher than the threshold.
In the embodiment described above, the threshold th may be varied for each model of the terminal device 10. In the embodiment described above, the terminal device 10 is a smartphone, but the performance of the microphone provided in the smartphone differs depending on the model, and the signal obtained by demodulating the signal S3 even if the sound wave is collected at the same position The level of S1 may be different. In this case, the threshold value th for each model may be held in the application A, and the threshold value th may be changed according to the terminal device 10 on which the application A is executed. Instead of giving the threshold th to the application A, the terminal device 10 may acquire the threshold th corresponding to the model from the server device 20 and store it.

Further, when the transmitters 30 are arranged in a plurality of stores 3, the threshold value th determined for the store 3 may be used instead of using the same threshold th in any store 3. For example, when the threshold value th is 90% of the maximum amplitude of the signal S3 that can be acquired by the terminal device 10, the user obtains a point when the user is located at a position close to the transmitter 30 as compared to 70%. be able to. That is, it is possible to adjust a region where points can be obtained without changing the sound pressure of the sound wave of the transmitter 30.
When the threshold is changed by the store 3, a device that performs NFC communication is arranged at the entrance of the store 3, and the terminal device 10 that is executing the application A is at the entrance of the store 3 when entering the store 3. The threshold value th may be transmitted from the device to the terminal device 10, and the terminal device 10 may use the transmitted threshold value th.
In the configuration in which the threshold value th can be changed, the terminal device 10 may change the threshold value th according to an operation by the user. Further, when the threshold value th is changed according to a user operation, the terminal device 10 may acquire the threshold value th from the server device 20 and use the acquired threshold value th.

  In the above-described embodiment, the point is given to the user according to the transmitter identifier extracted by the terminal device 10, but is not limited to this configuration. For example, in the transmitter table TB1, information (location name, shop name, latitude, longitude, etc.) indicating the position where the transmitter 30 is arranged in place of the points may be stored in association with each other. According to this configuration, the position of the terminal device 10 can be specified in the server device 20. If the transmitter table TB1 in which the transmitter identifier is associated with the information indicating the position is stored in the terminal device 10, the position of the terminal device 10 can be specified without communicating with the server device 20. .

In the above-described embodiment, the transmitter 30 transmits a transmitter identifier, but information unique to the transmitter 30 transmitted by the transmitter 30 is not limited to the transmitter identifier. For example, a number unique to the shelf on which the transmitter 30 is arranged may be written in the transmitter 30, and the transmitter 30 may transmit this unique number. Moreover, the information showing the position where the transmitter 30 is arranged may be written in the transmitter 30, and the transmitter 30 may transmit information indicating the written position.
Moreover, the information which shows the point given to the user of the terminal device 10 is written in the transmitter 30 together with the information on the shelf number or the position, and the transmitter 30 stores the point together with the information on the shelf number or the information on the position. The information shown may be transmitted. In the terminal device 10, it is determined whether the information on the shelf number or the position indicated by the acquired sound wave has been acquired in the past, and if it has not been acquired in the past, the information on the point indicated by the acquired sound wave is stored in the server You may transmit to the apparatus 20. In the server device 20, the point information transmitted from the terminal device 10 may be given to the user of the terminal device 10.

  The program for realizing the functions according to the present invention includes a magnetic recording medium (magnetic tape, magnetic disk (HDD (Hard Disk Drive), FD (Flexible Disk)), etc.), optical recording medium (optical disk, etc.), magneto-optical recording medium, It may be provided in a state stored in a computer-readable recording medium such as a semiconductor memory and installed in each device. Alternatively, the program may be downloaded via the communication network 2 and installed in each device.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Point system, 2 ... Communication network, 3 ... Store, 10 ... Terminal device, 20 ... Server device, 30, 30A, 30B ... Transmitter, 40 ... Register, 101 ... Control part, 102 ... Memory | storage part, 103 ... Display , 104 ... operation part, 105 ... communication part, 106 ... reading part, 107 ... voice processing part, 108 ... near field communication part, 201 ... control part, 202 ... storage part, 203 ... display part, 204 ... operation part, 205: Communication unit, 1001 ... Acquisition means, 1002 ... Extraction means, 1003 ... Identification means, 1004 ... Transmission means, 2001 ... Reception means, 2002 ... Update means

Claims (7)

An acquisition means for acquiring a first signal representing the sound wave from one microphone that has picked up a sound wave that is transmitted from a plurality of transmitters at the same frequency and each modulated by unique information of the transmitter;
Extracting means for demodulating the first signal and extracting a second signal having a level corresponding to the amplitude of the first signal;
A specifying means for binarizing the second signal with a threshold value in advance and specifying the specific information from the binarization result;
I have a,
A plurality of the transmitters are arranged in a plurality of stores, and the specifying unit changes the threshold value for each of the plurality of stores .   The terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the threshold value is a value of a predetermined ratio of a maximum amplitude of a sound wave that can be acquired by the acquisition unit.   The terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the threshold value is different for each model of the terminal device.   The terminal device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the plurality of transmitters are arranged at different positions in a predetermined area. A plurality of transmitters that transmit sound waves of the same frequency modulated by the unique information of the transmitter;
An acquisition means for acquiring a first signal representing the sound wave from one microphone that has picked up a sound wave that is transmitted from a plurality of transmitters at the same frequency and each modulated by unique information of the transmitter;
Extracting means for demodulating the first signal and extracting a second signal having a level corresponding to the amplitude of the first signal;
A specifying means for binarizing the second signal with a threshold value in advance and specifying the specific information from the binarization result;
A terminal device having
Equipped with a,
The transmitter is a plurality arranged in a plurality of store, the identification means, information acquisition system to change the threshold value for each of the plurality of stores. An acquisition step of acquiring a first signal representing the sound wave from one microphone that has collected sound waves that are transmitted from a plurality of transmitters at the same frequency and each modulated by unique information of the transmitter;
An extraction step of demodulating the first signal and extracting a second signal of a level corresponding to the amplitude of the first signal;
A specifying step of binarizing the second signal with a threshold value in advance and specifying the unique information from the binarization result;
I have a,
A plurality of the transmitters are arranged in a plurality of stores, and the specifying step is an information acquisition method for changing the threshold value for each of the plurality of stores . Computer
A first signal representing the sound wave is acquired from one microphone that has picked up sound waves transmitted from a plurality of transmitters arranged in a plurality of stores at the same frequency and each modulated with unique information of the transmitter. Acquisition means;
Extracting means for demodulating the first signal and extracting a second signal having a level corresponding to the amplitude of the first signal;
A program for binarizing the second signal with a predetermined threshold value, specifying the unique information from the binarization result, and causing the second signal to function as a specifying unit that changes the threshold value for each of the plurality of stores .

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