JP2018190459A - Watching system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a watching system capable of reducing obstacles to a life of a watching object person, and labor of system introduction and maintenance management in a system for watching the life of an object person.SOLUTION: A watching system has: a sensor module 21 which is provided in the surroundings of piping of a house to monitor a state of flow inside the piping; and a watching device 1 which acquires information showing presence/absence of the flow based on information showing the state of the flow monitored by the sensor module. Then, the watching device outputs information showing a warning to a notification destination device 3 when the flow is not detected for a first predetermined period or longer, or when the flow is continuously detected for a second predetermined period or longer.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a viewing system.

  Conventionally, a system has been proposed in which a human body sensor such as an infrared sensor is provided in a bed, a toilet, or a bathroom to watch the living state (for example, Patent Document 1). Also, if an abnormality detection means is connected to a meter meter for electricity, gas, water, etc. and all flow rates do not change for a long time, or if water or gas flow continues to flow for more than a predetermined time, an abnormality is detected. A determination system has also been proposed (for example, Patent Document 2). In addition, in order to detect abnormalities of the person being managed, a sensor that responds to the passage of the entrance to the dwelling unit, a sensor that responds to the on / off of the television, a sensor that responds to the opening / closing of the toilet door, a sensor that responds to the use of the water supply, etc. A system that collects information by using it has also been proposed (for example, Patent Document 3).

JP 2002-251686 A JP-A-9-28681 JP-A-11-232567

  Conventionally, there has been proposed a technique for monitoring whether there is an abnormality in the life of a target person using a sensor provided in the house. However, in the case where a living body is detected by a so-called human sensor, the activation and stop of an electrical appliance, or the opening / closing of a door is detected, the sensor is provided in a living space such as a room. Therefore, the installed sensor has become an obstacle to the life of the person to be monitored, and it has been necessary to install the sensor or the like in the house, taking time for construction and maintenance. Similarly, when a sensor for monitoring the usage of electricity, water, gas, or the like is installed, there is a problem that it takes time for installation work and equipment maintenance.

  In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to reduce troubles in the life of a person being watched and trouble of system introduction and maintenance in a system for watching the life of the subject.

  The viewing system according to the present invention is provided around a pipe in a house, and is a sensor for monitoring the flow state inside the pipe, and information indicating the presence or absence of flow based on information indicating the flow state monitored by the sensor. A viewing device for acquiring The watching device outputs information indicating a warning to a predetermined output destination when the flow is not detected for the first predetermined period or longer, or when the flow is continuously detected for the second predetermined period or longer.

  With such a viewing system, it is possible to monitor the state of life of the subject person via the state of the pipe where the sensor is installed. Moreover, since the sensor is installed around the piping, the introduction of the system does not cause much trouble to the target person's life. At the same time, the effort for system introduction and maintenance is also reduced.

In addition, the observation device acquires information indicating the movement of the fluid from the sensors provided in each of the plurality of pipes, and if the movement of the fluid is not detected in all the sensors for the first predetermined period or more, or either If the sensor is continuously detected for the second predetermined period or longer, information indicating a warning may be output. Specifically, abnormality can be detected by such determination.

  The sensor may be a vibration sensor, and when the vibration of a predetermined range of frequency is detected by the sensor, the watching device may determine that the movement of the fluid inside the pipe is detected. In particular, if the vibration sensor is installed around the pipe, the labor for introducing and maintaining the system is reduced.

  In addition, the watching device accumulates information indicating the presence or absence of flow in the storage unit, obtains a predetermined reference value based on the accumulated information indicating the presence or absence of flow, and indicates the newly acquired flow or not However, when it indicates a value that has changed from a reference value by a predetermined threshold or more, information indicating a warning may be output to a predetermined output destination. In this way, when there is a change in the life pattern of the subject monitored by the sensor, a warning can be output.

  The contents described in the means for solving the above-described problems can be combined as much as possible without departing from the problems and technical ideas of the present invention. The contents of the means for solving the above-described problems can be provided as a method for causing the computer to execute the process or a program for causing the computer to execute the process, in addition to the monitoring system. Furthermore, a recording medium that holds the program may be provided.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, in the system for watching the monitoring subject's life, the trouble to the watching subject's life and the effort of system introduction and maintenance management can be reduced.

It is a figure which shows an example of a system configuration. It is a side view which shows an example of the sensor module installed in the faucet. It is a perspective view which shows an example of the sensor module installed in piping. It is sectional drawing which represents typically the function structure of a sensor module. It is a functional block diagram which shows an example of a viewing apparatus. It is an example of the information which shows the use condition of the equipment hold | maintained at a table. It is an apparatus block diagram which shows an example of a computer. It is a processing flow figure showing an example of watching processing.

<System configuration>
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The embodiment is an example of the present invention, and the configuration of the present invention is not limited to the following example.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the entire system according to the present embodiment. The system according to the present embodiment includes a viewing device 1, a sensor management device 2 and one or more sensor modules 21 provided in a house, and a notification destination terminal that is a destination for transmitting information when a predetermined condition is satisfied. These are connected via a network 4 such as the Internet. The watching device 1 collects information from the sensor management device 2 via the network 4 and determines whether there is an abnormality in the life of the person who is the watching target. The sensor management device 2 is installed, for example, for each building or dwelling unit (in other words, for each household), and transmits information collected from one or more sensor modules 21 to the viewing device 1. The notification destination terminal 3 is a notification destination when the watching device 1 detects an abnormality, and receives a message such as an e-mail from the watching device 1 via the network 4. Typically, a mode in which the sensor management device 2 and the sensor module 21 are installed in a residence of an elderly person who lives alone, and a relative who lives in a remote place uses the notification destination device 3 can be exemplified. In addition, the number of houses, sensor modules 21, notification destination devices 3, etc. is not particularly limited.

  FIG. 2A is a side view showing an example of the sensor module 21 installed in the faucet. FIG. 2B is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of the sensor module 21 installed in the pipe. The sensor module 21 is installed around a dedicated pipe 22 (also simply referred to as “pipe”) such as a house drain pipe or water pipe. The sensor module 21 may have a shape that can be fitted (externally fitted) around the pipe, or a shape that can be sandwiched between the pipes. The sensor module 21 may be fixed by a fixing means such as a string, a wire, a binding band, or the like, or may be fixed by a magnetic force depending on the material of the pipe. In addition, the circumference | surroundings of piping shall mean at least one part of the outer periphery of piping.

  2C is a schematic cross-sectional view for explaining the functional configuration of the sensor module 21 shown in FIG. 2A. The sensor module 21 selects a predetermined resonance frequency and an annular portion 211 that is a connecting means for mounting around the pipe 22, a sound collection section 212 that contacts the pipe 22 and transmits sound and vibration in the pipe 22, and a predetermined resonance frequency. A sensor unit 213 including a resonance unit 213 that automatically amplifies, a sensor such as a vibration sensor (for example, a sound collecting microphone), and a flow determination unit that determines the presence or absence of fluid movement (flow) in the pipe, and a communication IF ( Interface) 214.

  For example, when a fluid (liquid) flows through the pipe 22, white noise is generated in a predetermined frequency band as a flowing sound. The vibration of the white noise is transmitted to the sensor unit 213 through the sound collection unit 211 and the resonance unit 212 of the sensor module 21 that is in contact with the pipe 22. The resonating unit 212 resonates with a specific frequency according to the natural frequency determined by the distance between the sound collecting unit 211 and the sensor unit 213, the size of the sensor module 21, and the like.

  The sensor provided in the sensor unit 213 according to the present embodiment is, for example, various microphones, other vibration sensors, or the like. And a sensor monitors the state of the flow inside piping, and converts the detected vibration into an electric signal. In addition, the flow determination unit included in the sensor unit 213 determines whether or not there is a flow when the amplitude is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, when vibration continues for a time equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold, or by a combination of these conditions. It may be.

The communication IF 214 is connected to the sensor management device 2 by wire or wireless, and transmits information indicating that the fluid has moved in the pipe to the sensor management device 2. For example, the sensor and the management device 2 convert the measured frequency (frequency) into the amplitude of the carrier wave and transmit the amplitude (Amplitude Modulation: AM) method, or the measured frequency of the carrier wave. Wireless communication is performed by a frequency modulation (FM) system that transmits the frequency change. The transmission of the radio wave may be performed when the above-described flow determination unit determines that there is a flow. Note that a digital signal may be transmitted by connecting with a serial cable, a twisted pair cable, another signal cable, or a wireless communication method such as a wireless LAN or Bluetooth (registered trademark). Also, a plurality of sensors may constitute a machine-to-machine (M2M) system, and information may be transmitted via the plurality of sensors.

  In this embodiment, when installing the several sensor module 21 in a house, the frequency which each sensor module 21 outputs by the above-mentioned resonance part 212 is made into a different value, for example. In this way, the sensor management device 2 can determine the sensor module 21 based on information indicating the frequency included in the received radio wave. That is, it is not necessary to discriminate the identifier or the like of the sensor module 21 with a digital circuit, so that cost can be reduced.

The sensor module 21 as described above is provided in water facilities such as a kitchen, a washroom, a bathroom, and a toilet, and the sensor management device 2 collects information indicating that the movement of the fluid in the pipe is detected. Here, the information indicating that the movement of the fluid in the pipe has been detected can be said to be information indicating the use status of the equipment. The sensor module 21 outputs a measured value (for example, a vibration frequency) to the sensor management device 2 so that the flow determination unit provided in the sensor management device 2 determines whether each facility is used. Also good. And the sensor management apparatus 2 transmits the information which shows the use condition of the predetermined | prescribed equipment with which a building or a dwelling unit is provided to the observation apparatus 1. FIG. It is assumed that the sensor module 21 is supplied with power by a power cable, non-contact power transmission, a battery or the like not shown.

  FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram illustrating an example of the watching device 1. The viewing device 1 in FIG. 3 includes a storage unit 11, a sensor data acquisition unit 12, an abnormality determination unit 13, and a warning output unit 14. The storage unit 11 stores conditions acquired for accumulating information acquired from the sensor management device 2 and determining whether there is an abnormality. In addition, the sensor data acquisition unit 12 acquires information indicating the usage status of the facility to be monitored from the sensor management device 2 via the network 4 and stores the information in the storage unit 11. Moreover, the abnormality determination part 13 reads the information which shows the use condition of the facility memorize | stored in the memory | storage part 11, and determines whether the conditions which should be determined as abnormality are satisfy | filled. When the abnormality determination unit 13 detects an abnormality, the warning output unit 14 notifies the notification destination device 3 of the fact via the network 4.

  In FIG. 4, an example of the information which shows the use condition of the installation memorize | stored in the memory | storage part 11 is shown. The table in FIG. 4 includes columns of house ID, sensor ID, start date and time, and end date and time. In the house ID column, identification information that can uniquely identify a single-family building or a dwelling unit of an apartment house is registered based on the living environment of the person being watched (also called the person being watched). Based on the house ID, it is possible to determine whether the person to be watched has used at least one of the facilities. In the sensor ID column, identification information that can uniquely identify a sensor module is registered. Based on the sensor ID, it can be determined which equipment has been used. In addition, in the columns of the start date and time and the end date and time, the date and time when the use of the equipment is started and the date and time when the use of the equipment is finished are registered. Information indicating the date and time may be added by any of the sensor module 21, the sensor management device 2, the viewing device 1, and the like. Even if there is an error in time, it is possible to grasp the general equipment usage status of the person being watched.

  By using such information, for example, when use of equipment is not detected for a predetermined period or longer in all sensor modules with the same residence ID, there is a risk that an abnormality has occurred in the life of the person being watched It can be judged that there is. In addition, if the use of equipment is not completed for a predetermined period of time in any sensor module, there is a risk that an abnormality has occurred in the life of the person being watched or there is a possibility that a failure has occurred in the equipment. You may judge. In addition, after calculating the feature value from the life pattern of the person being watched or performing clustering (cluster analysis), if there is a change in the usage status of the above equipment, it is determined that there is a risk of abnormality It may be.

  Further, the notification destination apparatus 3 shown in FIG. 1 is a destination computer that notifies that when the observation apparatus 1 detects an abnormality. That is, the notification destination apparatus 3 is an apparatus used by a system user to be notified when an abnormality is detected in the life of the person being watched. Note that a configuration may be adopted in which a notification message such as an e-mail is transmitted from the viewing device 1 to a notification destination device 3 via a predetermined server device (not shown). Moreover, it is good also as a structure which push-reports to the application software installed in the notification destination apparatus 3 by a predetermined method. Further, the notification destination apparatus 3 may be configured to be able to refer to information indicating the usage status of the facility as illustrated in FIG. Specifically, the notification destination device 3 can be a mobile phone, a smartphone, or another device connected to a communication network.

FIG. 5 is an example of a configuration diagram of a computer. The watching device 1, the sensor management device 2, and the notification destination device 3 are assumed to be computers as shown in FIG. The computer includes, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 1001, a main storage device 1002, an auxiliary storage device 1003, a communication IF (Interface) 1004, an input / output IF (Interface) 1005, a drive device 1006, and a communication bus 1007. The CPU 1001 performs processing described in this embodiment by executing a program. The main storage device 1002 caches programs and data read by the CPU 1001 and develops a work area of the CPU. Specifically, the main storage device is a RAM (Random Access Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), or the like. The auxiliary storage device 1003 stores programs executed by the CPU 1001, setting information used in the present embodiment, and the like. Specifically, the auxiliary storage device 1003 is an HDD, an SSD, a flash memory, or the like. The communication IF 1004 transmits / receives data to / from other computer devices. The communication IF 1004 is specifically a wired or wireless network card or the like. The input / output IF 1005 is connected to an input / output device, and receives input from a computer user or outputs information to the user. Specifically, the input / output device is a keyboard, a mouse, a display, a touch panel, or the like. The drive device 1006 reads data recorded on a recording medium such as a flexible disk, a CD (Compact Disc), a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), and a BD (Blu-ray (registered trademark) Disc), and reads data on the recording medium. Write. The above components are connected by a communication bus 1007. A plurality of these components may be provided, or some of the components (for example, the drive device 1006) may not be provided. Further, the input / output device may be integrated with the computer.

<Viewing process>
Next, processing executed by the system will be described. FIG. 6 is a process flow diagram illustrating an example of a watching process executed by the watching apparatus 1. First, the sensor data acquisition unit 12 of the viewing device 1 determines whether information has been received from the sensor management device 2 (FIG. 6: S1). When the information is received (S1: YES), the sensor data acquisition unit 12 stores the received information in the storage device 11 (S2). Here, information as shown in FIG. 4 is accumulated.

  Further, when it is determined that information is not received in S1 (S1: NO), or after S2, the abnormality determination unit 13 of the watching device 1 performs watching based on the information acquired from the sensor management device 2. It is determined whether there is a possibility that abnormality has occurred in the life of the subject (S3). For example, the abnormality determination unit 13 has detected an abnormality in the life of the person being watched when the use of the equipment is not detected for a predetermined period (for example, 3 days) or more in all sensor modules with the same residence ID. Judge that there is a possibility. Furthermore, if the use of equipment is not completed for a predetermined period (for example, 10 hours) in any of the sensor modules, there is a possibility that an abnormality has occurred in the life of the person being watched or that there has been a failure in the equipment. You may judge that there is sex.

  Here, a period (also referred to as a first predetermined period, for example, 3 days) in which it is determined that there is an abnormality when the equipment is not used continuously, and a threshold value (first It is also referred to as a predetermined period of 2. For example, 10 hours), an arbitrary time is set in advance. Moreover, you may make it apply a different period according to the kind of installation.

  Further, the possibility of occurrence of an abnormality may be determined based on a change in life pattern. For example, based on the total usage time per day for each facility and the actual usage for each facility and time zone, for example, a feature amount by a feature vector is calculated, and a warning is sent when there is a change beyond a predetermined threshold You may do it. Moreover, you may make it obtain | require as the reference value the average value of the frequency | count of equipment use in a predetermined period (for example, several days-several months), the range of the use time in 1 day, distribution, etc. Then, it may be determined that there is a possibility of occurrence of abnormality when the newly detected data has changed by a predetermined threshold value or more as compared with the reference value. Such changes in lifestyle patterns can trigger early detection of symptoms such as dementia and hemorrhoids in the person being watched.

  When it is determined that there is a possibility that an abnormality has occurred (S3: YES), the warning output unit 14 of the watching device 1 transmits a warning to the notification destination device 3 via the network 4 (S4). It is assumed that the storage unit 11 of the watching device 1 holds destination information for notifying a warning in association with the above-described house ID. The warning may be sent by e-mail to an e-mail address used by the user of the notification destination device 3 or may be pushed to the application software installed in the notification destination device 3 by a predetermined method. Also good.

  On the other hand, if it is determined that there is no possibility that an abnormality has occurred, or after S4, the process returns to S1 and the process is repeated.

  In this way, it is possible to remotely monitor the usage status of the facilities around the water in the house, and to monitor whether there is an abnormality in the life of the person being watched. In this embodiment, the sensor module 21 is installed in a residential pipe. Because it is not a part that is frequently used in daily life, the obstacles to the daily life of the person being watched are reduced compared with the case where it is installed in a place where it is normally used such as electrical appliances and doors of houses. It can be said. In addition, the sensor module 21 can be provided around the piping by some fixing means, and the labor for construction and maintenance is reduced.

<Threshold setting process>
The sensor module 21 shown in FIG. 2 may be able to learn vibrations when a fluid moves in a pipe to be measured (when equipment is used). For example, an operator who installs the sensor module 21 operates a water faucet to cause a small amount of water to flow through the pipe, or a state where a large amount of water flows through the pipe. Then, the installation operator performs a predetermined operation on the sensor module 21, and based on the vibration frequency per unit time measured by the sensor 211 at that time, vibration when the fluid moves in the pipe to be measured. Are stored in the storage unit 213.

  The frequency measured by the size of the pipe, the amount of liquid flowing inside, and the like changes. However, according to the threshold setting process, setting according to the pipe to be measured can be easily performed. In addition, such a setting is held not in the sensor module 21 but in the sensor management device 2 or the watching device 1, and is received by the sensor management device 2 or the watching device 1 that has received the measured frequency. It may be determined whether the equipment has been used. Note that the threshold value setting process described above does not set the value measured by the sensor 211 itself, but sets the lower limit value or the upper limit value with a margin so that the value measured by the sensor 211 is included in the range. May be. Moreover, you may make it set the predetermined threshold value used for general purpose for the sensor module 21 grade | etc.,.

<Others>
The present invention includes a computer program that executes the above-described processing. Furthermore, a computer-readable recording medium on which the program is recorded also belongs to the category of the present invention. With respect to the recording medium on which the program is recorded, the watching process can be performed by causing the computer to read and execute the program on the recording medium.

  Here, the computer-readable recording medium refers to a recording medium in which information such as data and programs is accumulated by electrical, magnetic, optical, mechanical, or chemical action and can be read from a computer. Examples of such a recording medium that can be removed from the computer include a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk, an optical disk, a magnetic tape, and a memory card. In addition, examples of the recording medium fixed to the computer include a hard disk drive and a ROM.

  Moreover, a sensor is not limited to the vibration sensor attached to the circumference | surroundings of piping, A various existing technique is employable. For example, a sensor may be incorporated in the pipe, or it may be linked to a meter that counts the amount used. In addition, a rotary impeller having blade members that are angled to rotate in a predetermined direction by a water flow is built in a pipe or a valve, and a change in magnetic force is detected by a Hall element that rotates integrally with the rotary impeller to generate a pulse. It is good also as an aspect which measures a flow volume by counting with a counter.

  In addition, different resonance plates may be incorporated in the plurality of vibration sensors, or the plurality of vibration sensors may be housed in different resonance boxes so that the sensors can be identified by the measured vibration frequency. In this way, the sensor management device 2 can identify which sensor module 21 is the value measured based on the measurement value acquired from the sensor module 21.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Watching apparatus 11 Memory | storage part 12 Sensor data acquisition part 13 Abnormality determination part 14 Warning output part 2 Sensor management apparatus 21 Sensor module 22 Piping 3 Notification destination apparatus 4 Network

Claims (4)

A sensor provided around a pipe in a house and monitoring the flow state inside the pipe;
A viewing device that acquires information indicating the presence or absence of flow, based on information indicating the flow state monitored by the sensor;
Have
The watching device outputs information indicating a warning to a predetermined output destination when the flow is not detected for a first predetermined period or longer, or when the flow is continuously detected for a second predetermined period or longer. Vision system. The observation device acquires information indicating the flow from each of the sensors provided in each of a plurality of pipes, and when the flow is not detected for the first predetermined period or more in all the sensors, or either The viewing system according to claim 1, wherein information indicating the warning is output when the sensor continuously detects the second predetermined period or longer. 3. The viewing system according to claim 1, wherein the sensor is a vibration sensor, and when the vibration of a predetermined range of frequency is detected by the sensor, the viewing device determines that the flow inside the pipe is detected. . The observation device accumulates information indicating the presence / absence of the flow in a storage unit, obtains a predetermined reference value based on the accumulated information indicating the presence / absence of the flow, and determines the newly acquired presence / absence of the flow. The viewing system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein when the information to be displayed indicates a value that has changed from the reference value by a predetermined threshold or more, information indicating a warning is output to the predetermined output destination.