JP2022038281A - Search support system - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a search support system for supporting so as to efficiently perform operation to identify a position of an operator who is missing on a disaster site.SOLUTION: A search support system 10 includes: a plurality of RF tags 30 which are fitted to operation equipment 20 one operator puts on when operating and transmit response radio waves on the basis of reception of search radio waves; an RFID reader 40 which transmits the search radio waves and reads a tag ID included in the response radio waves received from the RF tag 30 and radio wave intensity of the response radio waves; and a display part displaying radio wave intensity of the tag ID read by the RFID reader 40 and the response radio waves received. The plurality of RF tags 30 are fitted to a plurality of different positions of the operation equipment 20.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a search support system for searching workers who are active at a disaster site, such as firefighters and rescue workers.

Workers such as firefighters and rescue workers who are active in disaster sites such as fires, storms and floods, and earthquakes often encounter secondary disasters, and may become stuck due to accidents during activities and go missing. It can happen. Therefore, various systems have been proposed to reduce the risk of workers working in dangerous environments such as disaster sites.

For example, Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 disclose a system for detecting a worker in an emergency state who cannot move due to an accident or the like during an activity at a disaster site. In these systems, the wireless device worn by the worker is provided with a sensor that detects the movement of the worker's body. Then, when the sensor detects that the worker is not moving for a certain period of time, the wireless device is configured to transmit a radio signal indicating that the worker is in an emergency state to the master unit or the base station.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 4-322669 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 11-066477

At a disaster site where visibility is poor due to smoke, rubble, buildings, etc., it is often difficult to find a worker who is stuck, even if it is nearby. Therefore, even if another worker grasps that an emergency worker has occurred by the conventional system, it is not easy to identify the position of the worker in the emergency state. In particular, when the situation in which the worker in an emergency state is placed is covered with obstacles such as smoke and rubble, the work of identifying the position of the worker becomes more difficult.

The present invention has been made in view of these circumstances, the purpose of which is to search for assistance in efficiently performing the work of locating a missing worker at a disaster site. It is to provide a support system.

A search support system that solves the above problems is attached to work equipment worn by one worker during work, and transmits a plurality of RF tags that emit response radio waves based on the reception of search radio waves, and the search radio waves. At the same time, the RFID reader that reads the tag ID included in the response radio wave received from the RF tag and the radio wave strength of the response radio wave, and the tag ID read by the RFID reader and the radio wave strength of the received response radio wave are displayed. A display unit is provided, and the plurality of RF tags are attached to a plurality of different positions of the work equipment.

According to the above configuration, if at least one of the RF tags attached to the work equipment of the search target can communicate with the RFID reader possessed by the searcher, the short distance between the RF tag and the RFID reader. By using wireless communication, the position of the search target can be narrowed down. Therefore, even if the situation in which the search target person is placed is a poor situation in which many obstacles exist in the surroundings, the work of identifying the position of the search target person can be efficiently performed.

In the search support system, it is preferable that the work equipment is composed of one or a plurality of equipments, and at least one of the equipments includes a plurality of the RF tags. In this case, it is preferable that the equipment provided with the plurality of RF tags has the RF tags attached so as to be located on both sides of the human body of the operator when the equipment is worn.

Moisture contained in the human body can also be an obstacle that blocks or attenuates radio waves between the RF tag and the RFID reader. According to the above configuration, since the RF tags are attached to the equipment so as to be located on both sides of the human body with respect to the equipment, both RF tags are covered with the wearer's human body at the same time. It is hard to become. Therefore, regardless of the posture of the person to be searched, there is a probability that at least one of the plurality of RF tags located on both sides of the human body will be able to communicate with the RFID reader. It gets higher.

In the search support system, it is preferable that the RF tag includes a power supply circuit that generates electric power by the received search radio wave.
According to the above configuration, it is not necessary to provide a power source such as a battery for operating the RF tag. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the RF tag from not operating normally due to a dead battery or the like due to insufficient maintenance or prolonged activity at a disaster site.

In the search support system, it is preferable to include a detection sound generating unit that generates a detection sound that changes according to the radio wave intensity of the response radio wave from the specific RF tag.
According to the above configuration, the searcher can grasp the increase / decrease in the radio field strength without visually checking the display unit. Therefore, the visual sense of the searcher can be concentrated on the visual search work.

According to the present invention, it is possible to efficiently perform the work of identifying the position of the missing worker at the disaster site.

Block diagram of the search support system. Block diagram of RF tag. (A) and (b) are explanatory views of the first search screen. An explanatory diagram of the state of the person to be searched. Explanatory drawing of the second search screen.

Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the search support system of the present invention is embodied in a search support system for firefighters will be described.
As shown in FIG. 1, the search support system 10 includes a plurality of RF tags (Radio Frequency tags) 30 and RFID readers (Radio Frequency Identification readers) attached to a work equipment 20 for fire fighting worn by a fire brigade member who is a worker. ) 40, an information processing terminal 50, and a server 60.

The work equipment 20 for fire fighting is a set of equipment worn by one firefighter during work, and is composed of a plurality of equipment. In the present embodiment, the work equipment 20 is composed of seven equipments of the helmet 21, the upper garment 22, the right glove 23, the left glove 24, the trousers 25, the right shoe 26, and the left shoe 27.

The RF tag 30 is attached to all the equipments, and a plurality of RF tags 30 are attached to some of the equipments. More specifically, the upper garment 22 has a total of four RF tags 30 attached to the back collar portion, the front side trunk portion, the right sleeve, and the left sleeve. A total of two RF tags 30 are attached to the trousers 25 at two locations, the right hem and the left hem. One RF tag 30 is attached to each of the other equipment.

In addition, each RF tag 30 is sewn to the inner part (human body side) of the functional material corresponding to the function of the work equipment 20 such as the heat-resistant material, the fire-resistant material, and the impact-resistant material provided in the attached equipment. More attached. Further, it is preferable that each RF tag 30 is attached to the inside of the folded portion of the fabric such as the cuffs and the collar so as not to be directly exposed to the external environment such as heat and smoke.

As shown in FIG. 2, the RF tag 30 includes an antenna 31 for receiving a search radio wave and transmitting a response radio wave, and an IC chip 32. The IC chip 32 includes a power supply circuit 33 that generates electric power by the received search radio wave, a storage circuit 34 for storing the tag ID, and a wireless circuit 35 for transmitting a response radio wave carrying the tag ID. As the RF tag 30, a known passive tag that operates permanently using the received search radio wave as an energy source can be used. Further, the RF tag 30 is preferably a radio wave type (UHF band) tag.

The tag ID stored in the storage circuit 34 of the IC chip 32 includes equipment information that identifies the equipment to which the RF tag 30 is attached, and position information that specifies the position of the equipment to which the RF tag 30 is attached. It is included. The position information may be omitted for the tag ID stored in the RF tag 30 attached to the equipment in which the number of attached RF tags 30 is one.

Further, the RF tag 30 is preferably a waterproof tag. Examples of the waterproof tag include a tag having a structure in which the antenna 31 and the IC chip 32 are sandwiched between synthetic paper and a cloth made of synthetic fibers.

As shown in FIG. 1, the RFID reader 40 has a first communication unit 41 that transmits a search radio wave and receives a response radio wave, a second communication unit 42 that communicates with an information processing terminal 50, and a received response. It includes a reading unit 43 that reads a tag ID from radio waves. As the RFID reader 40, a known reading device applied to an automatic recognition technique using short-range wireless communication can be used.

The second communication unit 42 is a communication interface for communicating with the information processing terminal 50 via short-range wireless communication. Near field communication is, for example, Bluetooth (Bluetooth: registered trademark) communication. The second communication unit 42 transmits the tag ID read from the received response radio wave and the radio wave strength of the received response radio wave to the information processing terminal 50.

The information processing terminal 50 is detachably attached to the RFID reader 40. The information processing terminal 50 is, for example, a high-performance mobile phone (smartphone), and serves as a terminal touch panel 51, a terminal touch sensor 52, a first terminal communication unit 53, a second terminal communication unit 54, a detection sound generation unit 55, and a control unit. The terminal CPU 56 and the terminal memory 57 as a storage unit are provided.

The terminal touch panel 51 has a rectangular shape having a longitudinal direction and a lateral direction. The terminal touch panel 51 notifies the user and displays a desired image in detail. In this embodiment, the terminal touch panel 51 corresponds to the "display unit".

The terminal touch sensor 52 detects an input operation on the terminal touch panel 51, which is a kind of operation on the information processing terminal 50. Examples of the input operation include a touch operation and a slide operation. Specifically, the terminal touch sensor 52 detects whether or not the finger is in contact with the terminal touch panel 51, and if the finger contact is detected, detects the position thereof. Then, the terminal touch sensor 52 outputs the detection result to the terminal CPU 56. As a result, the terminal CPU 56 can grasp the input operation for the terminal touch panel 51.

The first terminal communication unit 53 is a communication interface for communicating with the RFID reader 40 via short-range wireless communication. Near field communication is, for example, Bluetooth (Bluetooth: registered trademark) communication.

The second terminal communication unit 54 is a communication interface for communicating with another information processing terminal 50 or a server 60 via, for example, the Internet NT1 as a wide area communication network. The second terminal communication unit 54 may be, for example, one that corresponds to a mobile communication system so as to be directly connected to the Internet NT1, or may be one that communicates with a device connected to the Internet NT1. The wide area communication network is arbitrary, and may be, for example, a telephone line.

The detection sound generation unit 55 is a sounding device that generates a detection sound that changes according to the radio wave intensity of the received response radio wave.
The terminal CPU 56 executes various processes using various programs stored in the terminal memory 57. Specifically, the terminal memory 57 includes display control of the terminal touch panel 51, generation control of the detection sound from the detection sound generation unit 55, and communication between the RFID reader 40, another information processing terminal 50, and the server 60. The terminal program related to control is stored. The terminal CPU 56 controls the display of the terminal touch panel 51, controls the generation of detection sounds, and controls various communications by reading and executing the terminal program.

The server 60 includes a server communication unit 61 that communicates with the information processing terminal 50, a server CPU 62, and a server memory 63. The server CPU 62 controls communication with the information processing terminal 50 by executing various programs stored in the server memory 63. The server memory 63 stores equipment information for identifying the work equipment 20 worn by each firefighter for all the firefighters belonging to the preset group. The equipment information is information in which each equipment constituting the work equipment 20 and the wearer thereof are associated with each other in a one-to-one relationship.

Hereinafter, a specific operation method of the search support system 10 will be described.
First, as a preparatory step, a registration step is performed in which the equipment information of each firefighter belonging to a preset group is stored in the server memory 63 of the server 60. Here, we will explain the registration steps using equipment inspections that individual firefighters carry out on a regular basis, such as at the start of work every day.

Each firefighter emits a search radio wave from the RFID reader 40 toward the storage location where his / her work equipment 20 is stored, and each RF tag 30 attached to each equipment constituting the work equipment 20. Each tag ID of is read collectively by the RFID reader 40.

Each tag ID read by the RFID reader 40 is transmitted to the information processing terminal 50 and displayed in a list on the terminal touch panel 51 of the information processing terminal 50. By checking the tag IDs listed on the terminal touch panel 51, the firefighters can grasp whether the work equipment 20 is in excess or deficiency. If there is no problem such as excess or deficiency in the work equipment 20, the firefighter operates the information processing terminal 50 to create equipment information in which the tag ID displayed in the list is the own work equipment 20. The equipment information created here is associated with the registration date (for example, 20200520), the name of the wearer (for example, firefighter A), and the tag IDs of all RF tags 30 attached to the work equipment 20. This is the attached information. The created equipment information is transmitted from the information processing terminal 50 to the server 60 and stored in the server memory 63 of the server 60.

Next, the search step for actually searching for members will be described. Here, it is assumed that the firefighter A who cannot be contacted is the search target at the fire site, and another firefighter B belonging to the same group as the firefighter A searches as a searcher.

The searcher operates his / her own information processing terminal 50 to acquire the equipment information of the firefighter A who is the search target from the server 60. The acquired equipment information of the firefighter A is stored in the terminal memory 57 of the information processing terminal 50.

As shown in FIG. 3A, when the equipment information of the firefighter A is acquired, the terminal touch panel 51 of the information processing terminal 50 lists the reception status of the response radio waves from the tag ID constituting the equipment information of the firefighter A. The first search screen G1 to be displayed is displayed. Note that FIG. 3A shows a state in which the response radio wave from the RF tag 30 constituting the equipment information of the firefighter A is not received.

Next, the searcher operates the RFID reader 40 to search for the firefighter A while transmitting search radio waves in each of the surrounding directions. At this time, if the firefighter A is within the effective range reached by the search radio wave, the response radio wave is transmitted from the RF tag 30 attached to the work equipment 20 worn by the firefighter A.

As shown in FIG. 3B, when the searcher's RFID reader 40 receives the response radio wave from the RF tag 30 attached to the work equipment 20 of the firefighter A, the first search screen G1 receives the response radio wave. A list of tag IDs corresponding to the response radio waves is displayed together with the signal strength of the received response radio waves. In the present embodiment, the radio wave strength of the response radio wave is displayed as a bar graph that increases or decreases according to the radio wave strength. By confirming that the tag ID for the received response radio wave is displayed on the first search screen G1, the searcher can grasp that the firefighter A is near himself / herself.

Here, as shown in FIG. 3B, only the tag IDs of some of the RF tags 30 attached to the work equipment 20 of the firefighter A are displayed, and the other RF tags 30 are displayed. Tag ID may not be displayed. The cause of this is that there is an obstacle between the RF tag 30 on which the tag ID is not displayed and the RFID reader 40 that blocks or attenuates radio waves, and the obstacle blocks or attenuates the search radio wave or the response radio wave. Can be mentioned. The obstacles are, for example, buildings such as earth and sand, rubble, smoke, and walls.

As shown in FIG. 4, when most of the body of the firefighter A is covered with the obstacle S such as earth and sand, the position is located in the part exposed from the obstacle S in the body of the firefighter A. Only the RF tag 30 can communicate with the RFID reader 40. Then, only the response radio waves of the RF tag 30 located in the portion exposed from the obstacle S are received, and the tag IDs of those RF tags 30 are displayed on the first search screen G1.

Next, the detailed position of the nearby firefighter A is specified. When one of the tag IDs displayed on the first search screen G1 is touched and specified, the screen displayed on the terminal touch panel 51 of the information processing terminal 50 is switched from the first search screen G1 to the second search screen G2.

As shown in FIG. 5, only the reception status of the response radio wave from the designated tag ID is displayed on the second search screen G2. Then, in the state where the second search screen G2 is displayed, the information processing terminal 50 generates a detection sound that changes according to the radio wave intensity of the response radio wave from the designated tag ID. Examples of the change in the detected sound according to the radio wave intensity include a change in volume and a change in sound interval. It is preferable that the change of the detected sound according to the radio wave intensity changes so that the volume becomes louder and the interval between sounds becomes shorter as the radio wave strength becomes stronger.

The searcher changes the direction in which the search radio wave is transmitted, and identifies the direction in which the radio wave strength of the response radio wave is the strongest based on the change in the display and the detection sound of the second search screen G2. Next, the searcher identifies the position where the radio wave strength of the response radio wave is the strongest by moving in the same direction while transmitting the search radio wave in the direction in which the radio wave strength of the response radio wave is the strongest. Then, a concentrated search is performed by narrowing the search range to the vicinity of the position where the signal strength of the response radio wave is the strongest. As a result, the work of narrowing down the position of the firefighter A who is the search target can be efficiently performed, and as a result, the firefighter A can be found earlier.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.
In the search support system 10 of the present embodiment, the RF tag 30 is attached in advance to the work equipment 20 worn by the firefighter A. Then, when the firefighter A is missing, the short-range wireless communication between the RF tag 30 attached to the work equipment 20 of the firefighter A and the RFID reader 40 used by the searcher is used. By doing so, it is possible to narrow down the position of firefighter A.

In particular, the RF tag 30 is attached to a plurality of different positions of the set of working equipment 20. Therefore, even if an obstacle S exists between the searcher's RFID reader 40 and the firefighter A, such as when a part of the firefighter A is covered with the obstacle S, the firefighter If at least one of the RF tags 30 attached to the work equipment 20 of A can communicate with the RFID reader 40, the position of the firefighter A can be narrowed down.

Next, the effect of this embodiment will be described.
(1) The search support system 10 is attached to a work equipment 20 worn by one worker during work, and transmits a plurality of RF tags 30 that transmit response radio waves based on reception of search radio waves, and search radio waves. In addition, an RFID reader 40 that reads the tag ID included in the response radio wave received from the RF tag 30 and the radio wave strength of the response radio wave, and a display unit that displays the tag ID read by the RFID reader 40 and the radio wave strength of the received response radio wave. It is equipped with. The plurality of RF tags 30 are attached to a plurality of different positions of the work equipment 20.

According to the above configuration, if at least one of the RF tags 30 attached to the work equipment 20 of the search target can communicate with the RFID reader 40 possessed by the search target, the position of the search target is narrowed down. Can be done. Therefore, even when the situation in which the search target person is placed is a poor situation in which many obstacles S exist in the surroundings, the work of specifying the position of the search target person can be efficiently performed.

(2) A part of the plurality of RF tags 30 is attached to the equipment so as to be located on both sides of the wearer's human body, such as the collar portion on the back side and the torso on the front side of the upper garment 22. ..
Moisture contained in the human body can also be an obstacle S that blocks or attenuates radio waves between the RF tag 30 and the RFID reader 40. In particular, the body portion is greatly affected by moisture. Therefore, in a situation where the search target person is lying face down, the RF tag 30 attached to the front side of the search target person becomes an obstacle S in the human body of the search target person and becomes an RFID reader 40. Communication may be disabled.

According to the above configuration, since the RF tags 30 are attached to the equipment so as to be located on both sides of the human body with respect to the equipment, both RF tags 30 are covered with the wearer's human body at the same time. It is hard to get into a bad state. Therefore, regardless of the posture of the person to be searched, at least one of the plurality of RF tags 30 located on both sides of the human body can communicate with the RFID reader 40. The probability of becoming is high.

(3) A part of the plurality of RF tags 30 is attached to the tip end side of the limbs in each equipment such as the right sleeve and the left sleeve of the upper garment 22 and the right hem and the left hem of the trousers 25.
The part on the tip side of the limb is a part that is easily exposed even when the person to be searched is buried in earth and sand, and is a part that has a relatively low water content in the human body. Therefore, with respect to the RF tag 30 attached to these portions, it is unlikely that the earth and sand and the water contained in the human body become obstacles S and communication with the RFID reader 40 becomes impossible.

(4) The work equipment 20 is composed of a plurality of equipments, and one or more RF tags 30 are attached to all the equipments.
According to the above configuration, the RF tag 30 and the RFID reader 40 attached to each equipment can be used to easily perform equipment inspection such as confirmation of whether or not a set of work equipment 20 is available. Can be done.

(5) At the time of equipment inspection, which is a daily work, a registration step is performed in which equipment information for each firefighter is stored in the server memory 63 of the server 60.
According to the above configuration, by incorporating the registration step into the daily work of equipment inspection, it is possible to suppress omission of registration of equipment information.

(6) The RF tag 30 includes a power supply circuit 33 that generates electric power by the received search radio wave.
According to the above configuration, it is not necessary to provide a power source such as a battery for operating the RF tag 30. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the RF tag 30 from not operating normally due to a dead battery or the like due to insufficient maintenance or prolonged activity at a disaster site.

(7) The information processing terminal 50 generates a detection sound that changes according to the radio wave intensity of the response radio wave from the RF tag 30 to a specific tag ID.
According to the above configuration, the searcher can grasp the increase / decrease in the radio wave intensity without visually confirming the terminal touch panel 51 of the information processing terminal 50. Therefore, the visual sense of the searcher can be concentrated on the visual search work.

In addition, this embodiment can be changed and carried out as follows. The present embodiment and the following modified examples can be implemented in combination with each other within a technically consistent range.
-The workers to be searched by the search support system 10 are not limited to firefighters. Workers other than firefighters include, for example, members of a special rescue team responding to fires, natural disasters, traffic accidents, etc., and workers who work in an environment where earth and sand, rubble, smoke, etc. are generated.

-The equipment constituting the work equipment 20 can be appropriately changed according to the operator.
If two or more RF tags 30 are attached to a set of work equipment 20 worn by one worker, the number and position of the RF tags 30 attached to the work equipment 20 are the same as those in the above embodiment. Not limited. For example, the work equipment 20 may include equipment to which the RF tag 30 is not attached.

-The detection sound generation unit 55 may be omitted.
-In the above embodiment, the case of searching for a search target person specified in advance has been described, but the search support system 10 may be applied when searching for an unspecified search target person. For example, before the search, the equipment information of all the workers who are working is acquired from the server 60 and stored in the terminal memory 57 of the information processing terminal 50. Then, the searcher operates the RFID reader 40 to perform a search while transmitting search radio waves in each of the surrounding directions. When the response radio wave from the RF tag 30 is received by the RFID reader 40, the tag ID of the received response radio wave is sent to the information processing terminal 50, and the equipment information and the response radio wave tag stored in the terminal memory 57 are sent. Matching with the ID is performed. Thereby, it is possible to specify which worker the tag ID of the response radio wave corresponds to. The search process after identifying the worker is the same as that of the embodiment.

At the time of search, the information processing terminal 50 may transmit the information related to the tag ID received by the RFID reader 40 to the server 60, and the information related to the tag ID received by the server 60 may be centrally managed. Such a configuration is especially effective when there are multiple searchers, and it is possible to share the search status in real time with the headquarters that directs the search and other groups, improving the efficiency of organized search. do.

-The information processing terminal 50 of each worker may store in advance the equipment information of all the workers belonging to the preset group.
-Although it was configured so that the equipment information of the worker was acquired via the server 60, the equipment information of the worker may be acquired by communication between the information processing terminals 50. In this case, the server 60 may be omitted.

Each configuration of the information processing terminal 50 for configuring the search support system 10 may be provided in the RFID reader 40. In this case, the information processing terminal 50 is omitted.

10 ... Search support system 20 ... Work equipment 30 ... RF tag 40 ... RFID reader 51 ... Terminal touch panel (display)

Claims (5)

Multiple RF tags that are attached to work equipment worn by one worker during work and emit response radio waves based on the reception of search radio waves,
An RFID reader that transmits the search radio wave and reads the tag ID included in the response radio wave received from the RF tag and the radio wave strength of the response radio wave.
It is provided with a display unit that displays the tag ID read by the RFID reader and the signal strength of the received response radio wave.
The plurality of RF tags are search support systems attached to a plurality of different positions of the work equipment. The work equipment is composed of one or more equipments.
The search support system according to claim 1, wherein the equipment is provided with a plurality of the RF tags. The search support according to claim 2, wherein the equipment having the plurality of RF tags is attached so as to be located on both sides of the worker's body while wearing the equipment. system. The search support system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the RF tag includes a power supply circuit that generates electric power by the received search radio wave. The search support system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising a detection sound generating unit that generates a detection sound that changes according to the radio wave intensity of the response radio wave from the specific RF tag.

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