JP2002260125A - Mobile terminal device and mobile monitoring system - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Problem] To prevent a forced release of a monitoring setting mode by an outsider in a mobile object having a terminal device. SOLUTION: A setting unit for setting alert monitoring, a storage unit for storing a home position of the user, a detecting unit for detecting a current position, and invalidating an alert monitoring canceling operation if the user is not at the home position. A prohibition operation of alarm monitoring on the terminal device side after the occurrence of an abnormality is provided, so that the mobile body monitoring center can track the mobile body thereafter.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a moving object to be monitored (for example, a wanderer, an infant, a car, a motorcycle, etc.).
The present invention relates to a mobile terminal device possessed or attached to a mobile terminal, and a mobile monitoring system for monitoring a mobile via the mobile terminal device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional mobile terminal apparatus and mobile monitoring system, when a monitoring target person or a monitoring target object in a mobile monitoring center notices an abnormality, the guardian or the owner notices the abnormality, and the mobile monitoring center detects the abnormality. Either notify the monitoring center or the monitored person generates an emergency signal on his own. Therefore, in the case of a wandering elderly man who cannot issue an emergency signal by himself, it is often delayed that the center side notices the abnormality.

In order to avoid such a situation, the present inventors have proposed a new mobile terminal device and a new mobile monitoring system that introduce the concept of “home position”. In this apparatus and system, a place where the mobile body should exist in a steady state, that is, a home position is set in advance, and whether or not the mobile terminal apparatus exists at this home position at a predetermined time is determined. Is detected to determine whether an abnormality has occurred in the moving body.

[0004] Alternatively, when the mobile terminal device moves out of a preset home position, it is determined that the mobile terminal device is abnormal, an abnormal signal is transmitted to the mobile monitoring center, and a predetermined coping action is taken at the center. I have. For example, a home is set as a home position for a child to be monitored, and whether or not the child returns home at evening, for example, at 6:00 pm, is detected by the mobile terminal device or the mobile monitoring center. If it's back, it's considered normal,
Continue normal monitoring operation. Conversely, if the child has not returned, it is determined to be abnormal, and at the mobile monitoring center, the current position of the mobile terminal carried by the child is tracked,
Take prescribed actions to respond to anomalies.

[0005] Alternatively, in the case where a mobile terminal device is installed in a car to return home to prevent theft, if a parking lot is designated as a home position, for example, a manager of the parking lot moves the car in the parking lot. In such a case, no unnecessary abnormal signal is generated. In this case, if the vehicle goes out of the parking lot, which is the home position, an abnormal signal is naturally transmitted from the mobile terminal device, and the monitoring center is notified that the vehicle has been stolen.

As described above, by introducing the concept of a home position in monitoring a moving object, the monitoring of the moving object can be performed more smoothly.

[0007]

However, even in the mobile terminal device and the mobile monitoring system as described above, an operation for releasing the monitoring mode of the mobile terminal device by an operation button provided on the mobile terminal device. Is performed, even when the mobile terminal device goes out of the home position, the state is not recognized as the occurrence of the abnormality. For this reason, the mobile terminal does not transmit the abnormal signal and the current position information to the monitoring center, so that the monitoring center cannot track the mobile terminal thereafter.

For example, if a car left in a parking lot is stolen, an abnormal signal is issued from the mobile terminal device when the car leaves the parking lot, which is the home position, and the pirates notice this. When the operation button of the mobile terminal device is operated to set the alert release mode, the mobile terminal device no longer sends its current position information to the mobile monitoring center. Therefore, the mobile monitoring center cannot track the subsequent movement of the mobile terminal device.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides a mobile terminal device and a mobile monitoring system capable of continuing monitoring even when a monitoring release operation is performed outside the home position. With the goal.

[0010]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, a mobile terminal device according to the present invention comprises a setting section for setting an alert monitor, a storage section for storing its own home position, and a current position. A detection unit for detecting the alarm signal; and a control unit for invalidating the warning monitoring release operation when the user is not at the home position.

[0011] Further, there is provided a transmission unit for transmitting an abnormal signal when an operation for canceling the alert monitoring is performed outside the home position. As a result, when the mobile terminal device is not at the home position, for example, even if the warning monitoring cancellation operation is forcibly performed by an outsider, a thief, etc., the mobile terminal device invalidates the operation and abnormally operates. Since the signal is transmitted, the mobile monitoring center can track the subsequent movement of the mobile terminal device. Further, the mobile terminal includes means for setting a preliminary monitoring area. Thereby, the range of the home position can be substantially expanded.

In order to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, a mobile monitoring system according to the present invention comprises a mobile terminal attached to a mobile and transmitting current position information of the mobile, and a signal from the mobile terminal. The center-side device receives a monitoring setting signal from a mobile terminal device, and then receives the current position information of the mobile unit every predetermined period after receiving the monitoring setting signal from the mobile terminal device. Means for acquiring, means for storing the home position of the mobile object, and, when a monitoring setting release operation signal is received from the mobile terminal device, if the current position is not at the home position, it is determined that there is an abnormality. Control means for performing the operation.

[0013] In this mobile monitoring system, the control means of the center device determines that the current position is outside the preliminary monitoring area when receiving a monitoring setting canceling operation signal from the mobile terminal. I do.

[0014] Thereby, the monitoring setting release operation forcibly performed from a place other than the home position or the preliminary monitoring area is automatically ignored, so that the mobile terminal device can be tracked thereafter.

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a configuration of a mobile monitoring system according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this system, a center device 3 and a position information center 8 arranged in an emergency response center 1 for monitoring a mobile unit are connected to a communication network 2 such as the Internet, a public line network, or a dedicated network.

The mobile terminal 4 is carried by a person who needs to monitor its movement, or is mounted on a vehicle such as an automobile. The mobile terminal device 4 transmits a transmission request signal of the current position from the emergency response center 1 when the monitoring set button provided on the device is operated (when the monitoring mode or the monitoring cancellation mode is changed). When received, GPS
The position information received from the satellite 5 is transmitted to the base station 6 and the communication network 2.
To the location information center 8 via

In the position information center 8, error information of the GPS satellite 5 and the base station 6 are transmitted from the satellite reference station 7 via the communication network 2.
And calculates highly accurate position information of the mobile terminal device 4 based on the received position information. The calculated latitude / longitude information, which is accurate position information, that is, the current position information of the mobile terminal device 4 is returned to the mobile terminal device 4.

Mobile terminal 4 that has received the current position information
Then, the current position information is transmitted to the emergency response center 1 together with a mode signal (monitoring mode or monitoring cancellation mode), an abnormal signal, and the like.

In the present embodiment, the current position information is transmitted from the mobile terminal device 4 to the emergency response center 1, but it may be transmitted from the position information center 8 to the emergency response center 1. .

Further, in the present embodiment, the position information center 8 is used to improve the accuracy of the position information detected by the mobile terminal device 4. However, if it is not necessary to improve the accuracy of the position information, the current position information detected by the mobile terminal device 4 may be directly transmitted to the emergency response center 1.

Thus, the emergency response center 1 can know the current position of the mobile terminal device 4 in real time. When the emergency response center 1 determines that some response is required, the center device 3 transmits necessary data to a predetermined response (search) terminal 9 to instruct the response person to respond. At this time, map information indicating the content of the measure and the position of the target mobile terminal device 4 is transmitted to the measurer.

For example, when the person carrying the mobile terminal device 4 moves out of the monitoring area (home position) and performs the monitoring release operation, the monitoring release signal and the current position information are transmitted to the emergency response center 1 and the emergency response center 1 is sent. When the response center 1 receives these signals, it determines that the response is abnormal, and dispatches a response person to the site.

A person carrying the mobile terminal 4;
Alternatively, when it becomes necessary to know the direction of the vehicle equipped with the mobile terminal device 4, a request signal is sent from the emergency response center 1 through each base station 6. Upon receiving the request signal, the mobile terminal device 4 transmits the current position information calculated by the position information center 8. When confirming the current location of the mobile terminal device 4, the emergency response center 1 notifies the family, the owner, the police, and the like. As a result, it is possible to search for a wandering old man who cannot be found, or to know a destination of a stolen vehicle or the like.

FIG. 2 shows the configuration of the mobile terminal device 4.
The mobile terminal device 4 has a logic unit 11 including a CPU and the like. The logic unit 11 includes a power supply unit, and is connected to the battery pack 12. Logic part 1
1 further includes an RF unit 13, a power switch 14, a mode setting button 15, an operation unit 16, a display unit 17, a storage unit 18,
The monitoring LED 19 is connected.

An antenna 21 is connected to the RF unit 13, and receives a signal from the GPS satellite 5, a base station information signal, a request signal from the center device 3, and sends it to the logic unit 11. The current position information and the like are transmitted to the center device 3 and the position information center 8 through the base station 6. In the present embodiment, the antenna for receiving the signal from the GPS satellite 5 and the antenna for transmitting and receiving the base station are specified to be shared (switched), but they may be separately provided.

When the power switch 14 is operated, the logic unit 11 switches the mobile terminal device 4 between an operating state and a non-operating state. When the owner of the mobile terminal device 4 or the owner of the automobile equipped with the mobile terminal device 4 does not use the mobile terminal device 4 or does not want to know his / her location even while using the mobile terminal device 4 By operating the power switch 14, the mobile terminal device 4 can be set to the non-operation state. The operating state of the mobile terminal device 4 in the present embodiment is a state in which the current position information can be returned at least when a request signal is received from the center device 3.

The mode setting button 15 is operated by a person who has the mobile terminal device 4 or an owner of a vehicle equipped with the mobile terminal device 4 when he / she wants monitoring. Switch to monitoring set and monitoring release mode. The logic unit 11 notifies the center device 3 of the monitoring set / monitoring cancellation signal and the position information indicating that the mode status has changed, that is, the monitoring set, and the mode has shifted to the monitoring cancellation, and in the case of the monitoring set, The monitoring LED 19 is turned on to indicate that the monitoring set has been set.

The operation unit 16 includes ten keys, alphabet buttons, and function buttons, and is operated when setting a home position or setting a preliminary monitoring area to be described later. The display unit 17 displays the content operated by the operation unit 16 so as to be confirmed, and displays map information. The storage unit 18 stores the home position when storing it in the mobile terminal device 4,
The mode information of the mobile terminal device 4 is stored. Monitoring LED
Reference numeral 19 denotes a mode setting button 15 which lights when a monitoring set is set.

The setting of the home position will be described. The home position is set by operating the operation unit 16 at a position where the person holding the mobile terminal device 4 or the owner (hereinafter referred to as a customer) of the vehicle equipped with the mobile terminal device 4 wants to set the home position. it can. A function button such as a home position setting button may be provided.

When the customer performs a predetermined operation for setting a home position on the mobile terminal device 4, the mobile terminal device 4
Then, a GPS signal from the GPS satellite 5 and a base station signal from the base station 6 are received, and current position information is obtained based on the received signals. Next, the current position signal is transmitted to the position information center 8, and the calibrated current position information is received from the position information center 8.

The mobile terminal 4 sets an area within a circle drawn with a radius of a predetermined distance from the current position information after calibration thus obtained as a base point, as a home position,
This is stored in the storage unit 18. Or, instead of the circle area, the administrative unit to which the current location belongs (for example, street address)
Is set as a home position, an arbitrary range is set as a home position on the map based on the current position, or the home position is set arbitrarily on the map by displaying map information on the mobile terminal device 4. It is also easy to do.

The mobile terminal 4 may transmit a home position setting signal, a mobile terminal number, and a current position signal to the emergency response center 1 so that the center 3 stores the home position. . Also,
The home position may be set from the customer's address in the center device 3 and stored. The emergency response center 1 sets and registers the received current position as the base point of the home position.

Next, the setting of the preliminary monitoring area will be described. Here, the preliminary monitoring area is a concept introduced in the sense of expanding the range of the home position.For example, when the home position is set as the home position, a school where children go to, a sports center, a cram school, a friend's house, etc. , And set a place where it is not surprising that children drop in as a preliminary monitoring area. As a result, even when the child leaves the home position of the home position, if the child is in any of these preliminary monitoring areas, it is not determined that the child is abnormal, and if the child goes out of these areas, it is determined that the child is abnormal. . As a result, the criteria for judging the abnormality become clearer.

When the home position is set as the priority monitoring area, that is, the first home position, the preliminary monitoring area can be regarded as the second and third home positions. Therefore, the setting of the preliminary monitoring area is performed by the operation unit 16 similarly to the setting of the home position.

In setting the preliminary monitoring area, an area to be set as the preliminary monitoring area is explicitly specified by, for example, an administrative division. The mobile terminal device 4 transmits the preliminary monitoring area setting signal and the mobile terminal device number to the emergency response center 1 via the RF unit 13. The emergency response center 1 registers the setting of the preliminary monitoring area in the database managed for each mobile terminal number. The setting of the preliminary monitoring area may be performed by downloading the map information from the emergency response center 1 and displaying it on the display unit 17 regardless of this. The setting of the preliminary monitoring area may be automatically deleted when a predetermined time elapses after the setting.

Next, the center device 3 will be described with reference to FIG. The center device 3 includes a communication unit 31, a control unit 32, an instruction server 33, and a position management server 34, and these are mutually LAN (local area).
network) connection. A map server (not shown) is connected to the LAN in the same manner as described above.

The communication section 31 of the center apparatus 3 receives the mobile terminal number and the current position information transmitted from the mobile terminal apparatus 4 via the communication network 2, and the control section 32 receives the received information. Is output to the location management server 34, and the location management server 34 additionally stores the information of the current location in the history of the current location corresponding to the mobile terminal number.

The location management server 34 stores the home position information and the preliminary monitoring area information set as described above corresponding to the mobile terminal number. Control unit 32
Is connected to the position management server 34 and the instruction server 33, and determines whether there is an abnormality based on the mobile terminal number, the current position information, and the monitoring release signal transmitted from the mobile terminal device 4, It is determined whether there is any abnormality based on the mobile terminal number, the current position information, and the monitoring set signal transmitted from the terminal device. The terminal for handling 9 possessed by the selected person in response to the operation of the person in charge of the center device 3
A response command (search command) is transmitted to the.

The instruction server 33 is connected to the control unit 32 and instructs each mobile terminal 4 to be instructed, the number of the mobile terminal, the telephone number as the contact information of the owner, the address,
Name, gender, birthday, attendant's name, phone number, address,
Stores related information such as gender, birthday, etc.

Next, the monitoring set operation of the mobile terminal device 4 will be described with reference to FIG. The person carrying the mobile terminal device 4, the guardian of the monitoring target, the owner of the monitoring target, and the like operate the mode setting button 15 to set the monitoring set (step S1). Note that the stage before step S1 is set to the monitoring canceled state. The logic unit 11 stores the monitoring set information in the storage unit 18 (Step S
2).

The GPS signal from the GPS satellite 5 and the base station 6
, And obtains current position information based on the received signals (step S3). The current position information is transmitted to the position information center 8, and the calibrated current position information is received (step S4). Then, the mobile terminal device 4 transmits the current position including the latitude and longitude information and the monitoring set signal to the emergency response center 1 together with the mobile terminal device number (Step S).
5).

Thereafter, the current position information is obtained by repeating the above steps S3 and S5 at predetermined intervals until the monitoring release mode is set (step S6), and the emergency response center 1 receives the monitoring set signal and the monitoring set signal. It is transmitted together with the mobile terminal number.

Next, the monitoring release operation of the mobile terminal device 4 will be described with reference to FIG. As described above, the home position and the preliminary monitoring area of the mobile terminal device 4 are set and stored in the storage unit 18 (step S1).
1). Next, the mode setting button 15 of the mobile terminal 4
(Step S12), the mobile terminal device 4 receives the GPS signal from the GPS satellite 5 and the base station signal from the base station 6, and based on each of the received signals, To obtain the current position information (step S
13).

Next, the mobile terminal device 4 transmits the obtained current position information to the position information center 8, and receives the calibrated current position information (step S14). The logic unit 11 of the mobile terminal device 4 stores the current position information and the storage unit 1.
It is determined from the home position and the preliminary monitoring area stored in 8 whether or not the current position is within the home position or the preliminary monitoring area (step S15).

If it is within the home position or the preliminary monitoring area, the monitoring release is stored in the storage unit 18 (step S16). If it is outside the home position or the preliminary monitoring area, the monitoring cancellation command by operating the mode setting button 15 is invalidated, and the emergency response center 1 is notified of its own current position consisting of latitude and longitude information and the monitoring cancellation abnormality signal. It is transmitted together with its own mobile terminal device number (step S
17).

The emergency response center 1 receives a signal from the mobile terminal device 4 via the communication unit 31, and if the received signal includes a monitoring release abnormality signal, the control unit 32 determines that an abnormality has occurred. A predetermined coping instruction is instructed to the coping person via the instruction server 33. Further, based on the customer information stored in the instruction server 33, a predetermined contact is notified of the occurrence of the abnormality.

The case where the home position is stored in the storage unit 18 of the mobile terminal device 4 is as described above. However, the home position and the preliminary monitoring area are stored in the position management server 34 of the emergency response center 1. The case where the information is stored will be described below.

Mode setting button 15 of mobile terminal 4
When the operation of canceling the monitoring is performed, the mobile terminal device 4 transmits the monitoring cancellation signal and the current position information to the emergency response center 1 together with the mobile terminal number. In the center device 3,
The signal is received by the communication unit 31. The control unit 32 stores the current position information in the position management server 34,
The home position and the preliminary monitoring area are read from the position management server 34 and compared with the received current position information.
The control unit 32 determines whether the mobile terminal device 4 is in the home position or in the preliminary monitoring area based on the current position information, the home position, and the preliminary monitoring area information.

If the mobile terminal device 4 is in the home position or in the preliminary monitoring area, the monitoring release mode is stored in the instruction server 33 assuming that the monitoring release has been correctly performed. If it is outside the home position or outside the preliminary monitoring area, the monitoring canceling operation is invalidated, an invalid signal is transmitted to the mobile terminal device 4, and an emergency countermeasure is taken.

In the above description, the monitoring set operation and the operation for canceling the monitoring are described on the assumption that a preliminary monitoring area is set together with the home position. However, it is clear that the above description can be directly applied to the case where only the home position is set without setting the preliminary monitoring area.

[0051]

According to the present invention, when a monitoring release operation is performed in a mobile terminal device in a region other than a predetermined region such as a home position or a preliminary monitoring region, the mobile terminal device itself or the mobile monitoring device is monitored. The center instructs the mobile terminal device to invalidate the monitoring release operation and continue the monitoring mode. Therefore, even if the monitoring cancellation operation is forcibly performed in a place away from the predetermined area, the monitoring can be continued, and the security accuracy is improved.

A plurality of regions are set as home positions, and the second and third home positions are set with respect to the first home position.
By setting the home position of
The range of the home position can be expanded, and the usability of the mobile terminal device is improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a mobile monitoring system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a mobile terminal device 4 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a center device 3 of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the mobile terminal device 4 of FIG. 1 when a monitoring set mode is set.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the mobile terminal device 4 of FIG. 1 at the time of a monitoring release operation.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Emergency response center 2 ... Communication network 3 ... Center device 4 ... Mobile terminal device 5 ... GPS satellite 6 ... Base station 7 ... Satellite reference station 8 ... Location information center 11 ... Logic unit 12 ... Battery pack 13 ... RF unit 14 ... Power switch 15 Mode setting button 16 Operation unit 17 Display unit 18 Storage unit 19 Monitoring LED 21 Antenna 31 Communication unit 32 Control unit 33 Instruction server 34 Position management server

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) H04Q 7/34 H04B 7/26 106A F term (Reference) 5C087 AA03 AA09 AA21 AA23 BB03 BB12 BB13 BB20 BB74 BB76 DD05 DD14 DD49 EE18 FF01 FF02 FF13 FF17 FF19 GG07 GG12 GG19 GG23 GG30 GG37 GG46 GG51 GG57 5H180 AA21 BB01 BB15 FF05 5K067 AA21 BB21 DD28 EE02 EE16 FF03 JJ52 JJ56

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A setting unit for setting alert monitoring, a storage unit for storing its own home position, a detecting unit for detecting a current position, and invalidating an alert monitoring canceling operation if it is not at the home position. A mobile terminal device, comprising: a control unit configured to: 2. The mobile terminal device according to claim 1, further comprising: a transmitting unit that transmits an abnormal signal when an operation for canceling alert monitoring is performed outside the home position. Terminal device. 3. The mobile terminal device according to claim 1, further comprising a preliminary monitoring area setting means for setting a preliminary monitoring area. 4. The mobile terminal device according to claim 3, wherein the control unit invalidates the warning monitoring release operation when the operation is performed outside the preliminary monitoring area. Body terminal device. 5. A mobile object monitoring device comprising a mobile terminal device attached to a mobile object and transmitting current position information of the mobile object, and a center device receiving a signal from the mobile terminal device. In the system, the center-side device, after receiving a monitoring setting signal from a mobile terminal device, a unit that obtains current position information of the mobile unit every predetermined period, and a unit that stores a home position of the mobile unit. Control means for determining, when a monitoring setting release operation signal is received from the mobile terminal device, that the current position is not at the home position, to determine that the current position is abnormal. . 6. The mobile monitoring system according to claim 5, wherein the control unit of the center device receives a monitoring setting release operation signal from the mobile terminal.
A mobile monitoring system characterized in that when the current position is outside the preliminary monitoring area, it is determined to be abnormal.