WO2019008813A1

WO2019008813A1 - Beacon device and beacon transmission/reception system

Info

Publication number: WO2019008813A1
Application number: PCT/JP2018/005454
Authority: WO
Inventors: 裕彦芹澤; 崇佐伯
Original assignee: スター精密株式会社
Priority date: 2017-07-07
Filing date: 2018-02-16
Publication date: 2019-01-10
Also published as: JP2019016957A

Abstract

Provided are a beacon device and a beacon transmission/reception system, which are capable of improving the signal intensity of a beacon signal in a specific direction. The present invention has: a transmitter 140 that transmits a beacon signal; and a shield case 130, which is provided with a bottom surface 131, and a side wall 132, and which houses the transmitter 140, said shield case being a conductive member. The upper surface of the shield case 130 is an open plane 133, and the size of the open plane 133 is half the wavelength of the beacon signal or within a predetermined range from the half wavelength.

Description

Beacon device and beacon transmission / reception system

The present invention relates to a beacon device and a beacon transmission / reception system that perform proximity communication with a portable terminal of a user.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is a technology in which a beacon device installed in a store performs close proximity communication with a smartphone owned by a user and performs product clearing processing (for example, Patent Document 1).

JP, 2016-24606, A

In patent document 1, in order to communicate only with the portable terminal which approached, the technique which suppresses the signal strength of the beacon signal to transmit is proposed. However, since the reception sensitivity varies depending on the portable terminal, there is a possibility that the communication can not be properly performed by suppressing the transmission output. Therefore, it is desirable to suppress the transmission output in other than the specific direction so as to communicate only with the necessary portable terminal, and to increase the signal strength of the beacon signal in the specific direction in which the short distance communication is performed.

Therefore, an object of the present invention made in view of the above problems is to provide a beacon device and a beacon transmission / reception system capable of enhancing the signal strength of a beacon signal in a specific direction.

In order to solve the above-mentioned subject, a beacon device concerning one embodiment of the present invention is:
A transmitter for transmitting a beacon signal,
And a shield case of a conductive member having a bottom surface and a side wall and housing the transmitter.
The upper surface of the shield case is an opening surface, and the dimension of the opening surface is within a predetermined range from a half wavelength or half wavelength of the beacon signal.

Further, a beacon transmission / reception system according to an embodiment of the present invention is
A transmitter for transmitting a beacon signal,
And a shield case of a conductive member having a bottom surface and a side wall and housing the transmitter.
The beacon device whose upper surface of the shield case is an opening surface, and the size of the opening surface is within a predetermined range from a half wavelength or half wavelength of the beacon signal;
And a mobile terminal capable of receiving the beacon from the upper surface side.

According to the beacon device and the beacon transmission and reception system according to the embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to increase the signal strength of the beacon signal in the specific direction.

It is a schematic diagram of the beacon transceiver system concerning one embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view of a beacon device concerning one embodiment of the present invention. It is the perspective view which removed the upper cover of the beacon device concerning one embodiment of the present invention. It is a disassembled perspective view of the beacon device concerning one embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view of a shield case. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. 2; It is a graph which shows the receiving signal strength characteristic of the beacon device concerning one embodiment of the present invention. It is a graph which shows the receiving signal strength characteristic of a beacon signal by a portable terminal from which receiving sensitivity differs. It is a graph which shows the relationship of the received signal strength characteristic of a perpendicular direction, a reception threshold value, and the relationship of the received signal strength characteristic of a perpendicular direction, and the dimension of a shield case.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described.

Embodiment
FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a beacon transmission / reception system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. A beacon transmission and reception system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes at least a beacon device 10 and a portable terminal 20. The beacon transmission / reception system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention can be used, for example, in settlement processing of goods in a store or the like. In this case, the beacon transmission / reception system 1 includes the cashier terminal 30 and the cloud server 40 in addition to the above configuration. The portable terminal 20 and the cash register terminal 30 can be connected to the cloud server 40 via the network N. The network N is, for example, a communication line such as the Internet, and the portable terminal 20 and the cashier terminal 30 communicate with the cloud server 40 via the network N by at least one of wireless and wired.

Hereinafter, an example in which the beacon transmission / reception system 1 is used in the settlement process will be described. The beacon transmission / reception system 1 according to the present embodiment, as a schematic, receives the receipt data from the cloud server 40 after receiving the beacon signal from the beacon device 10 after the checkout process of the product etc. in the cashier terminal 30. The receipt data is image data (image data) of a receipt related to the settlement process, that is, an electronic receipt. The data format of the receipt data is not limited to image data, and may be text data or arbitrary binary data.

Beacon device 10 transmits a beacon signal periodically. The communication standard of the beacon signal is, for example, a short distance wireless communication standard such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) or BLE (Bluetooth (registered trademark) Low Energy). The beacon signal transmitted by the beacon device 10 includes a beacon ID. Beacon ID is identification information for identifying beacon device 10 uniquely. The beacon device 10 is provided near the cashier terminal 30. The beacon device 10 may transmit the POS ID in addition to the beacon ID or in place of the beacon ID. The POS ID is identification information for uniquely identifying the cashier terminal 30. That is, the beacon device 10 transmits, as a beacon signal, some information indicating a position at which the device is installed.

The portable terminal 20 is a portable communication device such as a smartphone or a tablet owned by a customer (hereinafter, also referred to as a user). A program (hereinafter referred to as an application) required for information processing in the present system is installed in the mobile terminal 20, and the operation according to the present embodiment of the mobile terminal 20 is realized in a state where the application is executed (activated). Be done. A dedicated program may not be installed in the portable terminal 20, and the operation according to the present embodiment may be realized based on standard software such as an operating system (OS) of the portable terminal 20. The portable terminal 20 receives the beacon signal from the beacon device 10 at the time of settlement processing. Here, in the application of the mobile terminal 20, a reception threshold related to the beacon signal is set, and when the signal strength of the received beacon signal is equal to or higher than the reception threshold, it is received as a beacon signal. When receiving the beacon signal, the portable terminal 20 transmits the user ID, the beacon ID according to the received beacon signal, and the first time stamp to the cloud server 40. The user ID is identification information for uniquely identifying the user. The first time stamp is data of a time when the portable terminal 20 receives a beacon signal. The portable terminal 20 stores the time of receiving the beacon signal as a first time stamp.

The cashier terminal 30 is a terminal used for the settlement process at the time of purchase of a product in a store. The cashier terminal 30 stores the beacon ID of the beacon device 10 provided in the vicinity. When the checkout process is performed by the cashier terminal 30, the cashier terminal 30 transmits receipt data, a beacon ID, and a second time stamp to the cloud server 40. The second time stamp is data of the time when the cashier terminal 30 completes the settlement process, and the cashier terminal 30 stores the data for each settlement process. When the beacon device 10 transmits POSID to the portable terminal 20 instead of the beacon ID, the cashier terminal 30 also transmits POSID to the cloud server 40 instead of the beacon ID. That is, in this case, the cashier terminal 30 transmits the receipt data, the POS ID, and the second time stamp to the cloud server 40. The cashier terminal 30 may have a function of issuing a paper receipt for a user who does not have the portable terminal 20, a user of the portable terminal 20 in which the application is not installed, or the like.

The cloud server 40 receives the user ID, the beacon ID, and the first time stamp transmitted from the mobile terminal 20. Also, the cloud server 40 receives the receipt data, the beacon ID, and the second time stamp transmitted from the cashier terminal 30. The cloud server 40 associates the user ID with the receipt data based on the beacon ID, the first time stamp, and the second time stamp. Specifically, when the same beacon ID and the first time stamp and the second time stamp are within a predetermined time, the user ID associated with these data is associated with the receipt data. The cloud server 40 stores the associated user ID and receipt data in a database. Further, the cloud server 40 transmits the associated receipt data to the portable terminal 20. The user can receive the receipt data by the portable terminal 20 and can view the received receipt data. Although six devices functioning as the cloud server 40 are shown in FIG. 1, the present invention is not limited to this, and any number of devices may be used.

Here, the beacon signal by the beacon device 10 can be received by the portable terminal 20 of the user who has performed the settlement process at the cashier terminal 30, and can not be received by the portable terminal of another person who has not performed the settlement process You need to do so. That is, the beacon signal needs to be able to be received by the portable terminal 20 in proximity to the beacon device 10, and it is necessary to prevent the portable terminal not in proximity from receiving it. Therefore, beacon device 10 concerning this embodiment is giving directivity to a beacon signal. Specifically, beacon device 10 according to the present embodiment is configured to increase the signal strength in a specific direction, and to be able to reliably communicate with portable terminal 20 located in that direction. In addition, the signal strengths in the directions other than the direction are weakened, and communication with portable terminals located in directions other than the specific direction is difficult.

Hereinafter, the configuration of the beacon device 10 will be described with reference to the drawings. The drawings are schematic. The dimensions or proportions in the drawings do not necessarily match the actual ones. The depiction of each component in each figure may be partially simplified.

FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of the beacon device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 3 is an external perspective view showing the beacon device 10 with the upper cover 110 removed, and FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of the beacon device 10 shown in FIG. The beacon device 10 includes an upper cover 110, a lower cover 120, a shield case 130, a transmitter 140, a power supply terminal 150, an LED display 160, and a transmitter holder 170. Beacon device 10 is a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape. The surface facing in the positive direction of the Y axis is also referred to as the first side surface of the beacon device 10. The surface facing in the negative direction of the Y axis is also referred to as the second side surface of the beacon device 10. The surface facing in the positive direction of the Z axis is also referred to as the upper surface of the beacon device 10. The surface facing the negative direction of the Z-axis corresponding to the opposite side of the upper surface is also referred to as the bottom surface of the beacon device 10. The surface facing the positive direction of the X axis is also referred to as the front surface of the beacon device 10. The surface facing the negative direction of the X axis corresponding to the opposite side of the front surface is also referred to as the back surface of the beacon device 10. The names of the surfaces of the beacon device 10 may be applied as the names of the upper cover 110, the lower cover 120, and the shield case 130. The descriptions “lower” and “upper” are identifiers for distinguishing the configurations. In the present embodiment, the configuration shown as the lower cover 120 is located at the lower part of the configuration shown as the upper cover 110, but it is not limited to the lower part, and may be located at the upper or side.

The upper cover 110 has a top surface, a first side surface, a second side surface, a front surface, and a back surface, and is a substantially rectangular parallelepiped member whose bottom side is opened. The upper cover 110 is made of, for example, a resin. The height on the front side of the upper cover 110 is about 31 mm, which is smaller than the height on the back side (about 41 mm). Therefore, the upper surface of the upper cover 110 is an inclined surface which is inclined from the back surface to the front surface. Since the upper surface of the upper cover 110 is a portion visually recognized by the user, the visibility of the upper surface when viewed from the front side can be improved by forming an inclined surface facing the user. The upper surface of the upper cover 110 is substantially square, and the length of one side is about 70 mm. The back face of the upper cover 110 is provided with

openings

111 and 112 for the feed terminal and the LED.

The lower cover 120 is a rectangular plate-like member that closes the bottom side of the upper cover 110. The shape of the lower cover 120 corresponds to the shape of the opening at the bottom of the upper cover 110, and in this case, is substantially square. The lower cover 120 is made of, for example, a resin. The lower cover 120 is provided with engagement holes 121 at the four corners of the rectangle, and the engagement holes are also provided at corresponding positions of the upper cover 110. The upper cover 110 and the lower cover 120 are engaged by screws 122 which are inserted into the respective engagement holes. After screwing the upper cover 110 and the lower cover 120, the upper cover 110 and the lower cover 120 are respectively sealed by the cap 123 from the bottom surface side of the engagement hole 121. The cap 123 is fixed to the lower cover 120 by, for example, a double-sided tape. Each cap 123 is a blindfold of the screw 122 and constitutes a leg of the beacon device 10 and supports the beacon device 10 at four points. Each cap 123 suppresses rattling and slipping at the location where the beacon device 10 is disposed.

The shield case 130 is provided inside the upper cover 110 and the lower cover 120. The perspective view of shield case 130 is shown in FIG. The shield case 130 has a bottomed shape including a bottom surface 131 and a side wall 132, and the top surface is an opening surface 133. In the present embodiment, the side wall 132 is cylindrical, and the entire shield case 130 is cylindrical with a bottom. The size of the shield case 130 is defined by the dimension L of the opening surface and the height H of the side wall. In the present embodiment, the opening surface is circular, and the dimension L of the opening surface corresponds to the diameter (inner size) of the opening surface. As shown in FIG. 5, the side wall 132 includes a feed terminal hole 134 and an LED hole 135. The bottom surface 131 comprises two engagement holes 136 for securing the transmitter holder 170. The shield case 130 is a conductive member such as metal and houses the transmitter 140. In the present embodiment, the shield case 130 uses aluminum which is lightweight and easy to process.

The transmitter 140 is a module that transmits a beacon signal. The transmitter 140 has two engagement holes 141, and is fixed by screwing in the shield case 130 by a transmitter holder 170 described later.

The feed terminal 150 is a terminal for feeding power to the transmitter 140 from the outside of the beacon device 10. For example, the power supply terminal 150 is a micro USB terminal, and it is possible to supply power via a USB interface using devices such as the cash register terminal 30 and a personal computer as an external power supply in addition to the household power supply. The feed terminal 150 is provided at the rear end of the back surface of the transmitter 140. The tip end of the feed terminal 150 protrudes in the direction of the outer surface of the shield case 130 from the feed terminal hole 134 provided in the side wall 132 of the shield case 130. The feed terminal 150 can be exposed from the opening 111 at the corresponding position on the rear surface of the upper cover 110 and connected to an external power supply.

The LED indicator 160 indicates the state of power supply to the transmitter 140, that is, the ON state or the OFF state of the power of the beacon device 10, by turning on or off the LED. The LED display 160 is provided at the rear end of the top surface of the transmitter 140. The LEDs of the LED display 160 protrude from the LED holes 135 provided in the side wall 132 of the shield case 130 in the direction of the outer surface of the shield case 130. The LEDs are exposed from the openings 112 provided at corresponding positions on the rear surface of the upper cover 110, so that the lighting state of the LEDs can be viewed.

The transmitter holder 170 includes a rectangular plate-shaped base 171 and supports 172 to 175 protruding upward from the base 171. The supports 172-175 support the transmitter 140 at each position. The support portions 172 to 175 are cylindrical members provided with an engagement hole in the central shaft portion. The engagement holes of the

support portions

172 and 174 are provided at positions corresponding to the engagement holes 141 of the transmitter 140, and the transmitter holder 170 and the transmitter 140 are screws that are inserted into these engagement holes. It is fixed from 142. Further, in the base material 171, engaging holes are respectively provided on the back side of the positions where the

support portions

173 and 175 are provided. The engagement holes correspond to the engagement holes 136 on the bottom of the shield case 130. The transmitter holder 170 and the shield case 130 are fixed by screws 137 inserted through the engagement holes.

6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. As shown in FIG. 6, the transmitter 140 is fixed in the shield case 130 at a position separated by a predetermined distance (h) from the bottom surface by the transmitter holder 170, and is covered by the shield case 130 except the opening surface 133. It is The shield case 130 is aluminum as described above. That is, since the shield case 130 is a conductive member, most of the beacon signal transmitted from the transmitter 140 in the bottom direction and in the horizontal direction is reflected by the bottom surface 131 and the side wall 132 of the shield case 130. On the other hand, since the opening surface 133 is provided in the upper surface direction, the beacon signal transmitted in the upper surface direction is not reflected. Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the space between the transmitter 140 and the upper surface (opening surface 133) of the shield case 130 is a cavity. That is, no member is provided to block the beacon signal in the direction from the transmitter 140 toward the opening surface 133.

As described above, the beacon device 10 according to the present embodiment differs in the aspect of reflection of the beacon signal in the horizontal direction (direction of the XY plane) and in the vertical direction (Z direction), and beacon signals in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction Reception strength characteristics are different. FIG. 7 shows received signal strength characteristics of the beacon signal of the beacon device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 shows the result when the dimension L (here, diameter) of the opening surface of the shield case 130 is about 62 mm and the height H of the side wall 132 is about 26 mm. The horizontal axis in FIG. 7 is the distance (horizontal distance or vertical distance) from the beacon device 10, and the origin is the center of the aperture 133 of the beacon device 10. FIG. 7 also shows, as a comparative example, the result of the reception strength characteristic in the case where the shield case 130 is not present (when removed).

FIG. 7A shows received intensity characteristics in the horizontal direction. The horizontal axis in FIG. 7A is the horizontal distance (the distance from the origin to the receiving device). In FIG. 7A, only the horizontal distance is changed, and the distance in the vertical direction is not changed. As shown in FIG. 7A, when the shield case 130 is present, the reception intensity in the horizontal direction is lower than in the case where the shield case 130 is not present. That is, the beacon signal in the horizontal direction is suppressed when the shield case 130 is present.

FIG. 7 (b) shows the reception intensity characteristic in the vertical direction. The horizontal axis in FIG. 7B is the vertical distance (the distance from the origin to the receiver). In FIG. 7B, only the vertical distance is changed, and the horizontal distance is not changed to zero. As shown in FIG. 7B, when there is a shield case, the reception intensity in the vertical direction is higher than when there is no shield case 130. That is, the intensity of the beacon signal in the vertical direction is improved when the shield case 130 is present. This is because the dimension L of the aperture is 62 mm, which is about 1/2 of the wavelength of the beacon signal. The frequency of the beacon signal in the present embodiment is 2.4 GHz, and the wavelength is about 124.9 mm. If the dimension L of the opening surface is about half the wavelength (within about a half wavelength to a predetermined range) of the shield case 130, cavity resonance occurs in the shield case 130, and the beacon signal emitted from the opening surface 133 It is thought that the strength is increasing.

FIG. 8 shows reception intensity characteristics when the beacon signal from the beacon device 10 according to the present embodiment is received by a plurality of different mobile terminals 20 (hereinafter, also referred to as mobile terminals X to Z, respectively). The portable terminal X is an example of a portable terminal having an average sensitivity, and is about the middle of the portable terminals Y and Z. The portable terminal Y is an example of a terminal with high sensitivity, and the portable terminal Z is an example of a terminal with low sensitivity. FIG. 8A shows received intensity characteristics in the horizontal direction. The horizontal axis in FIG. 8A is the horizontal distance (the distance from the origin to each mobile terminal). In FIG. 8A, the distance in the vertical direction is constant at zero. FIG. 8 (b) shows the reception intensity characteristic in the vertical direction. The horizontal axis in FIG. 8B is the vertical distance (the distance from the origin to each mobile terminal). In FIG. 8B, the distance in the horizontal direction is constant at zero.

Here, it is necessary to set the reception threshold value of the beacon signal so that any mobile terminal including the mobile terminal Z with low sensitivity can receive the beacon signal from the beacon device 10. On the other hand, in any mobile terminal including the mobile terminal Y with high sensitivity, the threshold value for receiving the beacon signal is set so that the beacon signal is not received when it is separated in the horizontal direction by a predetermined distance (hereinafter referred to as detection limit distance). It is necessary to set it.

According to the above criteria, in order to be able to receive the beacon signal from the beacon device 10 by any mobile terminal including the mobile terminal Z with low sensitivity, the reception threshold needs to be less than about −45 dB from FIG. 8 (b) . On the other hand, assuming that the detection limit distance is 20 cm from which the correlation with the received signal strength is obtained, from FIG. 8A to FIG. 8A no beacon signal is received at the detection limit distance by any portable terminal including the portable terminal Y with high sensitivity. The reception threshold needs to be about -65 dB or more. Based on these values, the reception threshold is set to -55 dB, which is intermediate between -45 dB and -65 dB.

The dimension L of the opening surface of the shield case 130 is determined based on the reception threshold value. FIG. 9 shows the relationship between the received signal strength characteristic in the vertical direction and the reception threshold (FIG. 9A) and the relationship between the received signal strength characteristic in the vertical direction and the dimension L of the opening surface of the shield case (FIG. 9B) It is a graph which shows). FIG. 9 shows an example in which the mobile terminal X receives a beacon signal. As shown in FIG. 9B, the received signal strength characteristic in the vertical direction changes in accordance with the dimension L of the opening surface of the shield case 130. It is preferable to set the dimensions of the shield case 130 to appropriate values in consideration of the received signal strength characteristics.

To receive a beacon signal at a standard communication distance where A is the above reception threshold, B is a measurement error, C is an output reduction amount due to a change in dimension L, and D is a received signal strength at a standard communication distance. It is necessary to satisfy the following equation (1).
D- | B | -C> A ................. (Equation 1)

Here, the output reduction amount due to the change of the dimension L represents the reduction amount of the reception signal intensity when the dimension is changed based on the dimension of the shield case 130 at which the reception signal intensity at the origin is maximum. The standard communication distance is a vertical distance at which the portable terminal 20 of standard sensitivity can detect the beacon signal of the beacon device 10. That is, Equation (1) is a conditional expression that the intensity of the received signal in the standard communication distance is larger than the reception threshold A even if the amount of decrease due to measurement error and the amount of output decrease due to change of the dimension L are subtracted.

Here, it is known that the measurement error B is ± 6 dB by experiments. Further, assuming that the standard communication distance is 3 cm, D is determined as -45 dB from FIG. In this case, the following equation (2) is derived for the output reduction amount C from the above equation (1).
C <4 ........................ (Equation 2)

In FIG. 9B, the horizontal axis represents the dimension of the opening surface of the shield case 130, and the vertical axis represents the received signal strength at the origin. As shown in FIG. 9 (b), when the diameter of the aperture plane is approximately equal to a half wavelength (about 62.5 mm) of the beacon signal, the received signal strength is maximized, and as the distance from the half wavelength is increased, the received signal strength is increased. Decreases. The region satisfying the equation (2) is a region where the reduction in received signal strength is less than 4 dB in FIG. 9B, specifically, in the range of about 51 mm to about 85 mm. The range is a range including a half wavelength of the beacon signal, and within such a range, the reduction amount of the reception intensity can be suppressed to a certain extent. Although the predetermined range is determined based on the reception intensity characteristic of FIG. 9B here, the predetermined range may be determined theoretically. For example, the predetermined range may be an area of ± 1/8 wavelength (an area of 3⁄8 to 5⁄8 wavelengths) based on a half wavelength of the beacon signal. Within this range, cavity resonance is considered to occur, and the amount of reduction in reception intensity can be suppressed to a certain extent. Although the range of about 51 mm to about 85 mm determined from the measured values in FIG. 9B does not completely coincide with the theoretical value (region of 3/8 to 5/8 wavelengths), the range is approximately Are overlapping. Therefore, either a measured value or a theoretical value may be adopted as the predetermined range.

As described above, according to the beacon device 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention, the beacon in the specific direction is enhanced by enhancing the radiation characteristics in the specific direction (here, the vertical direction) by using the shield case 130. The signal strength of the signal can be increased. Thereby, the certainty of reception of the beacon signal by the portable terminal 20 located in the said specific direction can be improved. Moreover, since the signal strength of the beacon signal other than a specific direction is weak, reception by the portable terminal 20 located in other than a specific direction can be suppressed.

Moreover, according to the beacon apparatus 10 which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention, between the transmitter 140 and the upper surface (opening surface 133) of shield case 130 is a cavity. Therefore, the intensity of the beacon signal traveling from the transmitter 140 toward the opening surface 133 is unlikely to be disturbed, and the signal intensity of the beacon signal in the specific direction can be further enhanced.

Moreover, according to the beacon apparatus 10 which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention, it has an electric power feeding terminal 150 to the transmitter 140 in the outer surface of shield case 130, and electric power is fed to the transmitter 140 from the external power supply connected to the electric power feeding terminal 150. It is like that. For this reason, it is not necessary to provide the battery which may become a factor which weakens the cavity resonance of a beacon signal in the beacon apparatus 10 (especially in shield case 130), and it can raise the signal strength of the beacon signal in a specific direction. Furthermore, it is possible to save time and effort for maintenance of the battery, such as replacement of the built-in battery.

Moreover, according to the beacon device 10 which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention, the dimension L of the opening surface of shield case 130 is made into the predetermined range from the half wavelength or half wavelength of a beacon signal. With such dimensions, cavity resonance is considered to occur in the shield case 130, and the signal strength of the beacon signal in a specific direction can be increased.

Further, the predetermined range is determined based on the output reduction amount of the beacon signal due to the change of the dimension L of the opening surface, and specifically, the output reduction amount is determined to be less than a predetermined value. If it is in the said predetermined range, the signal strength of the beacon signal of a specific direction can be raised appropriately. Specifically, for example, the dimension L of the opening surface may be 3/8 or more and 5/8 or less of the wavelength of the beacon signal, and in this range, the reduction amount of the reception intensity can be suppressed to a certain degree.

In the present embodiment, an example in which the shield case 130 is aluminum is shown, but the present invention is not limited to this. The shield case 130 may or may not be another metal. If it is not metal, for example, a member including a conductive layer may be used. In this case, the conductive layer may be formed by applying a conductive material to a member of any material.

In the present embodiment, an example in which the upper cover 110 is made of resin has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and any material can be used as long as it has a low conductivity.

In the present embodiment, the side wall 132 of the shield case 130 is cylindrical, and the whole of the shield case 130 is cylindrical with a bottom. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the shield case 130 may have a rectangular shape. In this case, the shape of the opening surface is rectangular. When the shape of the opening surface is rectangular, the length of the long side corresponds to the dimension of the opening surface. In this case, the length of the long side is within a predetermined range from the half wavelength or half wavelength of the beacon signal. Also, for example, the shield case 130 may have an elliptic cylindrical shape. In this case, the shape of the opening surface is elliptical, and the length of the major axis corresponds to the size of the opening surface. In this case, the length of the major axis is within a predetermined range from the half wavelength or half wavelength of the beacon signal. Thus, the shape of shield case 130 may be any shape, and the dimension of the opening surface is based on the distance between side walls 132 of shield case 130 (for example, diameter, length of long side, length of long axis, etc.) , As appropriate.

In the present embodiment, although the specific direction for increasing the signal strength of the beacon signal is the positive direction of the Z axis, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the signal strength of the beacon signal may be increased in the normal direction of the upper surface of the upper cover 110. Specifically, for example, the upper surface of the shield case 130 is opened so as to be parallel to the upper surface of the upper cover 110. Alternatively, the shield case 130 may be inclined and stored so that the opening surface of the shield case 130 is parallel to the upper surface of the upper cover 110. Alternatively, the transmitter 140 may be housed in the shield case 130 so as to be parallel to the upper surface of the upper cover 110. In this case, it is preferable that the direction inclined toward the user is a specific direction in which the strength of the beacon signal is increased.

Although the present invention has been described based on the drawings and examples, it should be noted that those skilled in the art can easily make various changes and modifications based on the present disclosure. Therefore, it should be noted that these variations and modifications are included in the scope of the present invention. For example, the functions and the like included in each means can be rearranged so as not to be logically contradictory, and it is possible to combine or divide a plurality of means or the like into one.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 beacon transmission / reception system 10 beacon device 20 portable terminal 30 cash register terminal 40 cloud server 110

upper cover

111, 112 opening 120 lower cover 121 engagement hole 122 screw 123 cap 130 shield case 131 bottom 132 side wall 133 opening 134 hole for feed terminal 135 LED hole 136 engagement hole 137 screw 140 transmitter 141 engagement hole 142 screw 150 power supply terminal 160 LED indicator 170 transmitter holder 171 base material 172 to 175 support part

Claims

A transmitter for transmitting a beacon signal,
A shield case of a conductive member having a bottom surface and a side wall, the conductive member housing the transmitter;
Have
The beacon device whose upper surface of said shield case is an opening side, and the size of said opening side is within a predetermined range from the half wavelength or half wavelength of said beacon signal.
The beacon device according to claim 1, wherein a space between the transmitter and the upper surface of the shield case is hollow.
The beacon device according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising: a power supply terminal for the transmitter on an outer surface of the shield case, and supplying power to the transmitter from an external power source connected to the power supply terminal.
The beacon apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a dimension of the opening surface is 3/8 or more and 5/8 or less of a wavelength of the beacon signal.
The said predetermined range is determined based on the reception threshold value of the portable terminal which receives the said beacon signal, and the output fall amount of the said beacon signal by the change of the dimension of the said opening surface. Beacon device as described.
The beacon apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the reception threshold is determined based on a horizontal detection limit distance of the beacon signal.
The beacon device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the shield case is a member including a conductive layer or a metal.
The beacon device according to claim 7, wherein a material of the shield case is aluminum.
A transmitter for transmitting a beacon signal,
A shield case of a conductive member having a bottom surface and a side wall, the conductive member housing the transmitter;
Have
The beacon device whose upper surface of the shield case is an opening surface, and the size of the opening surface is within a predetermined range from a half wavelength or half wavelength of the beacon signal;
A portable terminal capable of receiving the beacon from the top side;
Beacon transmission and reception system comprising: