JP2006285795A - Monitoring system and resident monitoring method - Google Patents

Abstract

【Task】
To provide a monitoring system and a resident monitoring method that are easy to construct and can accurately determine the occupant's occupancy and detect motions.
[Solution]
The monitoring system 100 according to the present invention is installed in a residence, uses a radio wave sensor 1 that transmits a transmission wave, receives a reflected wave of the transmission wave, and outputs an output signal corresponding to the received reflected wave. Yes. From the signal output from the radio wave sensor 1, the signal processing unit 2 extracts a respiratory signal in a frequency band corresponding to the breathing of the resident and a motion signal in a frequency band higher than the respiratory signal. The extracted respiration signal and motion signal are input to the control unit 3. When the control unit 3 detects the breathing signal and determines that the resident has not moved for a predetermined time or more based on the motion signal, the control unit 3 determines that the resident is in an abnormal state.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a monitoring system and a resident monitoring method for monitoring a resident's operation using a sensor.

  Conventionally, monitoring systems have been proposed and developed for monitoring abnormalities in residents in the room. In order to monitor the abnormality of the resident in the room, it is necessary to monitor and detect the resident's operation. For example, it is determined that an abnormality has occurred when the resident's movement is different from normal or when the movement is stopped. However, there is a risk of erroneously determining that the operation has stopped when the resident is absent. Therefore, it is necessary to determine whether the resident is in the room.

  As a method for determining the occupant's occupancy and detecting the motion, there is a method for operating the on / off of the motion monitoring sensor that constantly monitors the resident by using a switch provided near the entrance of the residence, or a motion monitoring sensor. There is a method of providing a room sensor and controlling the motion monitoring sensor only when the occupancy sensor detects the occupant's occupancy, that is, a method of performing occupancy determination and motion detection using a plurality of sensors. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).

In addition, there has been proposed a method of monitoring both the occupant's occupancy and the occupant's movements from characteristic changes in signals obtained in time series using one pyroelectric sensor or radio wave sensor (for example, Patent Document 2). reference).
JP 2002-31815 A JP 2005-4256 A

  In order to realize the above-described method of performing occupancy determination and motion detection using a plurality of sensors, the occupancy sensor must be installed in the vicinity of the entrance and the motion detection sensor must be installed at a position where the occupant can easily monitor. Therefore, since it is necessary to connect each of the occupancy sensor and the motion detection sensor to the control device by wiring, there is a problem in system construction in which measures for wiring routing must be considered.

  In addition, in the method of performing occupancy determination and motion detection with a single sensor, the presence of an occupancy is determined by detecting characteristic signal changes accompanying the opening and closing of the occupancy door during entry / exit on the time series of signals. , And monitor. In such a method, since the characteristics of signal change greatly differ depending on the structure of the room door, there is a problem in detection accuracy that it is difficult to accurately determine the entrance / exit.

  The present invention has been made in the background as described above, and an object of the present invention is to provide a monitoring system and a resident that can easily perform system construction and accurately perform occupant determination and motion detection. Is to provide a monitoring method.

  A monitoring system according to the present invention is installed in a house, transmits a transmission wave, receives a reflected wave of the transmission wave, outputs an output signal corresponding to the received reflected wave, and outputs from the sensor A signal processing unit that extracts a breathing signal in a frequency band corresponding to the breathing of the resident and a motion signal in a frequency band corresponding to the movement of the resident and higher than the breathing signal from the output signal thus generated, and the signal processing If the respiration signal and the motion signal extracted by the unit are input, the respiration signal is detected, and the resident is determined not to move for a certain period of time based on the motion signal, the resident is abnormal And a determination unit that determines to be in a state.

Here, the determination unit can determine that the user is in the room based on the respiratory signal or the motion signal.
In a preferred embodiment, the sensor is a Doppler sensor.

  The respiratory signal is a signal in a frequency band of 1 Hz or less. The motion signal is a signal in a frequency band higher than 1 Hz.

  The resident monitoring method according to the present invention includes a step of transmitting a transmission wave in a residence, receiving a reflected wave of the transmission wave, obtaining a signal corresponding to the received reflected wave, and living from the obtained signal. Extracting a respiratory signal in a frequency band corresponding to a person's breathing, a motion signal in a frequency band higher than the respiratory signal corresponding to the movement of the resident, and the extracted respiratory signal and the motion signal. A step of inputting, detecting the breathing signal, and determining that the resident is in an abnormal state when it is determined that the resident has not moved for a certain period of time based on the motion signal. It is.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, system construction is easy and can provide the monitoring system and resident monitoring method which can perform a resident's occupancy determination and operation | movement detection with a sufficient precision.

  Embodiments to which the present invention can be applied will be described below with reference to the drawings. The following description is to describe the embodiment of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the following embodiment. For clarity of explanation, the following description and drawings are omitted and simplified as appropriate. Moreover, those skilled in the art can easily change, add, and convert each element of the following embodiments within the scope of the present invention.

  In executing the occupant's occupancy determination and motion detection, there are the following restrictions. First, in the presence determination, it must be avoided to depend on the characteristics of the living space such as the door of the house. In motion detection, it is inevitable that individual differences occur for each resident, but it is necessary to avoid the occurrence of complicated operations such as adjusting the signal processing level for each subject. Adjustment of the signal processing level should also be avoided from this point because it changes the appearance of the characteristic behavior of the signal and degrades the detection accuracy.

  Focusing on such restrictions, the inventors of the present application have found the following points and have come up with the monitoring system according to the present invention. For residents in the room, the chest and abdomen movements accompanying breathing can be observed in a low frequency region of 1 Hz or less, and the resident is in the room by detecting a signal in this low frequency region Can be determined. The resident's motion can be observed in a high frequency region higher than 1 Hz, and the resident's motion state can be determined by detecting a signal in this high frequency region. In particular, when a signal in a high frequency region higher than 1 Hz cannot be detected for a certain period of time, it is possible to determine that some abnormality has occurred in the resident.

  With reference to FIG. 1, the structure of the monitoring system concerning embodiment of this invention is demonstrated. The monitoring system 100 includes a radio wave sensor 1, a signal processing unit 2, a control unit 3, an audio output unit 4, and a communication processing unit 5, and is connected to a monitoring center processing device 300 via a communication network 200. This monitoring system 100 is applied to, for example, a private room type elderly care apartment.

  The radio wave sensor 1 is installed in a resident's residence, transmits a transmission wave, receives a reflected wave of the transmission wave, and outputs an output signal corresponding to the received reflected wave. The radio wave sensor 1 is used to detect whether or not a resident is in the room and to detect the resident's operation. The radio wave sensor 1 is installed on the ceiling of a residence, for example. The radio wave sensor 1 is, for example, a Doppler sensor that operates using the Doppler effect. The sensor used for this invention should just be a sensor which can acquire frequency information, for example, can also use a sound wave sensor.

  The signal processing unit 2 receives the output signal output from the radio wave sensor 1 and performs signal processing and frequency analysis. Specifically, the signal processing unit 2 extracts a respiration signal in a frequency band corresponding to the resident's respiration and a motion signal in a frequency band higher than the respiration signal from the input signal. A signal is output to the control unit 3. The signal processing unit 2, for example, separates an input signal into a low frequency signal of 1 Hz or less and a high frequency signal higher than 1 Hz by a band pass filter, and outputs each signal to the control unit 3. When the respiratory signal cannot be acquired, the signal processing unit 2 may control to acquire the respiratory signal by increasing the signal sensitivity to a predetermined level. Note that frequency separation may be performed by Fourier analysis or weblet analysis instead of the bandpass filter.

  The control unit 3 is constituted by, for example, a microprocessor, inputs a low frequency signal and a high frequency signal separated by the signal processing unit 2, and whether or not a resident is present in accordance with a predetermined software program. It functions as a determination unit that determines whether the occupant is in an operating state, in particular, whether an abnormality has occurred in the resident. The control unit 3 outputs the determination result to the audio output unit 4 or transmits the determination result to the monitoring center processing device 300 via the communication network 200 by the communication processing unit 5.

  The audio | voice output part 4 alert | reports the determination result in the control part 3 to a resident with an audio | voice. In particular, when the control unit 3 determines that an abnormality has occurred in the resident, the voice output unit 4 outputs a warning to the resident by the control signal. Note that the warning can be output not only by voice but also by flashing light.

  The communication processing unit 5 executes communication processing for transmitting the determination result information output from the control unit 3 to the monitoring center processing device 300 via the communication network 200.

  Although not shown in the system configuration diagram of FIG. 1, the monitoring system 100 further includes storage means for storing the determination result.

  The communication network 200 is a communication network such as a public telephone network or the Internet network.

  The monitoring center processing device 300 is a processing device provided in the monitoring center, and includes, for example, a personal computer (PC) provided with a display for displaying the determination result. Although FIG. 1 shows a configuration in which only one monitoring system 100 is communicably connected to the monitoring center processing apparatus 300, normally, a plurality of monitoring systems 100 are communicably connected.

  Next, the flow of processing in the monitoring system 100 will be described using the flowchart shown in FIG. First, the radio wave sensor 1 transmits a transmission wave, receives a reflected wave of the transmission wave, and outputs an output signal corresponding to the received reflected wave. The signal processing unit 2 inputs this output signal (S101). The signal processing unit 2 receives the output signal output from the radio wave sensor 1, performs signal processing (S102), and executes frequency analysis (S103). Here, the signal processing is band-pass filter processing, and the frequency analysis is low-frequency band signal extraction and high-frequency band signal extraction. In this way, the signal processing unit 2 extracts, from the input signal, a respiratory signal in a frequency band corresponding to the resident's breathing and a motion signal in a frequency band higher than the respiratory signal, and the extracted respiratory signal The signal and the motion signal are output to the control unit 3.

  The control unit 3 determines whether or not the input signal includes a low frequency signal of 1 Hz or less corresponding to the respiratory signal (S104). FIG. 3A shows an example of a respiratory signal waveform. As shown in the figure, the signal has a substantially constant period. Note that the lower limit of the frequency of the low-frequency signal corresponding to the respiratory signal is, for example, 0.1 Hz. At this time, when the respiratory signal is not detected, the control unit 3 determines that the resident is not in the house, that is, is absent (S110).

  On the other hand, if it is determined that there is a breathing signal, it is further determined whether or not there is a signal indicating the occupant's movement, that is, the movement signal (S105). The motion signal is a high-frequency signal higher than 1 Hz, and when this motion signal is present, it indicates that the resident is moving normally. FIG. 3B shows a waveform example of the motion signal. If there is a motion signal, it is determined that the resident is normal (S106).

  When it is determined that there is no motion signal, it is determined whether or not the state continues for a certain time (S107). In this example, the fixed time is 10 minutes. If the motion signal does not continue for 10 minutes or more, it is determined that the resident is in an abnormal state such as falling (S108). When it is determined that the resident is in the abnormal state, the control unit 3 transmits the result information determined by the communication processing unit 5 to be in the abnormal state to the monitoring center processing apparatus 300 via the communication network 200. To do. That is, the monitoring system 100 notifies the monitoring center processing device 300 (S109).

  FIG. 4 shows the presence / absence of a respiratory signal and the presence / absence of a motion signal detected by the monitoring system 100 from 6:00 am to 8:00 pm (20:00). It is determined that there is a breathing signal from noon at 6 am to noon. On the other hand, it is determined that there is no motion signal from 6 am to around 7:20 am. This is determined that the resident is in a sleeping state. Thereafter, it is determined that there is a motion signal from 7:20 am to noon. During this time, it is determined that the resident is awake and is doing something.

  From noon to 14:00, neither respiratory signal nor motion signal is detected. During this time, it is determined that the resident has gone out due to a meal or the like and is not in the room. Then, it is determined that there is a respiratory signal from 14:00 to 20:00, and it is determined that a resident is present during this time period. On the other hand, from 16:00 to 20:00, although there is a respiratory signal, no motion signal is detected. In this case, it is determined that the resident cannot move and is in an abnormal state. In the above example, when such a state is continuously detected for 10 minutes, a notification is made. Therefore, in the example shown in FIG.

  In addition, when the resident is in a sleep state as in the time zone from 6 am to 7:20 in FIG. 4, for example, it is determined that there is a respiratory signal and no motion signal. Should not be judged abnormal. For example, when it is detected that the lighting of the residence is turned off, the control unit 3 may stop the determination of the abnormal state. The extinction may be detected by an optical sensor, or on / off of illumination may be detected electrically.

  As described above, in the monitoring system 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention, since only one radio wave sensor 1 is used as a sensor for detecting the presence or absence of a resident and detecting movement, System installation is easy because the installation of the sensor in the residence is only one place.

  In addition, since the respiratory signal and the motion signal are detected by performing frequency analysis of the output signal of the radio wave sensor 1, the presence / absence of the occupant and the occupant's motion are determined, so the determination is performed with high accuracy. It is possible.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a monitoring system according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a process of the monitoring system concerning embodiment of this invention. It is a signal waveform diagram of a respiration signal and a motion signal detected by a monitoring system according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the determination result of the presence or absence of a respiration signal and the presence or absence of a motion signal by the monitoring system concerning embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Radio wave sensor 2 Signal processing part 3 Control part 4 Audio | voice output part 5 Communication processing part 100 Monitoring system 200 Communication network 300 Monitoring center processing apparatus

Claims (6)

A sensor that is installed in a residence, transmits a transmission wave, receives a reflected wave of the transmission wave, and outputs an output signal corresponding to the received reflected wave;
A signal processing unit that extracts a respiration signal in a frequency band corresponding to a resident's respiration and a motion signal in a frequency band higher than the respiration signal corresponding to the resident's movement from an output signal output from the sensor When,
When the respiration signal and the motion signal extracted by the signal processing unit are input, the respiration signal is detected, and when it is determined that the resident has not moved for a certain period of time based on the motion signal, A monitoring system including a determination unit that determines that a person is in an abnormal state.   The monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit determines that the user is present in the room based on the respiratory signal or the motion signal.   The monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein the sensor is a Doppler sensor.   The monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein the respiratory signal is a signal in a frequency band of 1 Hz or less.   The monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein the motion signal is a signal in a frequency band higher than 1 Hz. Transmitting a transmission wave in the residence and receiving a reflected wave of the transmission wave, and obtaining a signal corresponding to the received reflected wave;
Extracting a respiratory signal in a frequency band corresponding to the breathing of the resident from the acquired signal and a motion signal in a frequency band corresponding to the movement of the resident and higher than the respiratory signal;
When the extracted respiration signal and motion signal are input, the respiration signal is detected, and if it is determined that the resident has not moved for a certain period of time based on the motion signal, the resident is in an abnormal state. A resident monitoring method comprising the step of determining that there is a resident.

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