JP2003281694A - Action monitoring system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an action monitoring system capable of positively transferring information whether a monitored person is at a normal position or not to a monitoring person, and exactly and timely knowing a state of the monitored person. <P>SOLUTION: Existing position information of a monitored person terminal 5 carried by the monitored person is obtained on the basis of a GPS system, and sent to a system center. An action area map indicating action patterns of the monitored person is stored in an action area memory 14. The action area map stores the action patterns of the monitored person about each day of a week and each time. A control portion 13 sends an alarm signal to a monitoring person terminal 30 when determining that the present position of the monitored person terminal 5 is not matched with the action area map. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a GPS (Global P
ositioning System: Global Positioning System), PHS phone system, etc., and a behavior monitoring system that monitors the behavior of the owner of the mobile terminal using a system for confirming the current position of the mobile terminal.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art With the increase in nuclear families and dual-income families, there is an increasing demand for a behavior monitoring system for monitoring behaviors of children such as elementary school children and supervised persons such as wandering old people. This behavior monitoring system allows a monitored person to have a mobile terminal equipped with a GPS function and a PHS telephone system, receives a position detection signal obtained from the mobile terminal, and monitors the current position of the monitored person. It informs (parents, etc.).

However, at present, such an action monitoring system searches the position of the monitored person in response to an inquiry from the monitoring person, reports the search result to the monitoring person, and if necessary, a rescuer or the like. Has rushed to the person being monitored. Therefore, the monitor cannot obtain the position information of the monitored person in a timely manner. For example, even if the monitored person is involved in a sudden emergency (kidnapping, etc.), he / she cannot know that the monitored person has been involved in the emergency itself unless he / she makes an inquiry. In addition, the current behavior monitoring system merely informs the location information of the monitored person by a map or an address (such as OX town △ address), and is that the monitored person's position should be present at that time? It does not tell you whether or not.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of this point, and it is possible to positively convey information to a monitor person whether or not the monitored person is in a normal position. It is an object of the present invention to provide a behavior monitoring system capable of accurately and timely knowing the condition of a monitored person.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, the behavior monitoring system according to the first invention of the present application is a monitored person configured to be movable together with the monitored person and to detect its position. A terminal, a monitor terminal for a monitor who monitors the monitored person to send and receive various information, a current position detection unit which detects a current position where the monitored terminal is currently located, and the monitored person An action pattern information storage unit that stores action pattern information in which a position to be located and time information are associated with each other, and the current position and the action pattern information are compared with each other. To the observer terminal, a permission information transmission unit that transmits permission information that permits the stay at the current position according to the warning information, and the action pattern information storage unit based on the permission information. Characterized by comprising an update unit for updating 憶 said activity pattern information was.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the current position detecting section detects the current position of the monitored terminal. Then, the action pattern information and this current position information are compared in the comparison unit, and when there is a mismatch between the two,
Warning information is transmitted to the supervisor terminal. The observer sees the current position information transmitted together with the warning information, and transmits permission information permitting stay at the position. When this permission information is transmitted, the action pattern information stored in the action pattern information storage unit is updated based on this permission information. Therefore, when there is a discrepancy between the action pattern information and the current position information, the supervisor can receive the warning information without making an inquiry, and thus can receive the warning information in a timely manner. . Also,
Since the action pattern information stored in the action pattern information storage unit is updated by transmitting the permission information, it is possible to flexibly respond to changes in the action pattern of the monitored person. In the present invention, the warning unit may be configured to also transmit the warning information to the monitored terminal. Further, it is preferable that the permission information transmission unit is arranged in the supervisor terminal.

In order to achieve the above object, the behavior monitoring system according to the second invention of the present application provides a monitored person terminal configured to be movable together with a monitoring person and capable of detecting its position, and the monitored person. A monitor terminal for the monitor to send and receive various information, a current position detection unit that detects the current position where the monitored terminal is currently located and the current position where the monitor terminal is currently located, and the current Based on the detection result of the position detection unit, a distance calculation unit that calculates the distance between the monitored person terminal and the monitored person terminal, and if the distance becomes larger than a predetermined distance, the warning information is displayed. And a warning unit for transmitting to the supervisor terminal together with the current position information of the supervisor terminal.

In the first or second aspect of the invention, the warning unit is configured to transmit the warning information when it is detected that the monitored terminal stays at the same position for a certain time or longer. be able to.

[0009]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An action monitoring system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows the overall configuration of a behavior monitoring system 1 according to this embodiment. The behavior monitoring system 1 detects a position of a monitored person terminal 5 carried by a monitored person, a satellite St that transmits a position detection radio wave to the monitored person terminal 5, and a radio wave from the satellite St. A system center 10 that receives and analyzes the current position signal of the monitored person terminal 5,
It is generally composed of a supervisor terminal 30 carried by a supervisor and transmitting / receiving various information to / from the system center 10 via a network 40.

The monitored terminal 5 is configured to acquire position detection information indicating its own current position based on the radio wave from the GPS satellite St, and transmit the position detection information to the system center 10. . Instead of or in combination with GPS, another location system, such as a PHS telephone system, may be used. The monitored person terminal 5 may be a mobile phone terminal, a pager (registered trademark), or a terminal dedicated to this behavior monitoring system. The monitored person terminal 5 may be incorporated in a wrist watch, a pendant, a brooch, or the like. The system center 10 is the monitored person terminal 5
An antenna 11 for receiving radio waves from the antenna, a current position analysis unit 12 for analyzing the current position of the monitored terminal 5 based on the radio waves received by the antenna 11, a control unit 13, and an action area memory 14, It comprises a RAM 15, a ROM 16, and an information input / output unit 17 for inputting / outputting various kinds of information to / from the supervisor terminal 30.

The action area memory 14 stores an action area map in which the position of the person to be monitored is stored together with the time zone as shown in FIG. This action area map stores, for example, for each day of the week, at what position and at what time on that day.
For example, in Figure 2, on Monday, I was on my way from my home to my elementary school from 8:30 to 8:30, and from 8:30 to 1:30
He was in school until 5:30, was in the school route from elementary school to his home from 16:00 to 16:30, and was at home after 16:30. Also, regarding Tuesday, it is the same until 15:30, but since there is a cram school from 17:00 to 19:00, position information that is slightly different from Monday is stored. On Saturdays, school classes are held until morning and are closed, so different information from Monday to Friday is stored.

[0012] The position information may be acquired by the supervisor in advance and transmitted to the system center 10, or the position information of the portable terminal 5 may be continuously acquired for a certain period of time. Then, it may be created based on this acquisition result. Further, in order to deal with the case of an event (field trip or the like) that is held at a specific time such as once a year, the behavior of the monitored person may be stored in the behavior area memory 14 in advance. In addition, the action area memory 14 is
It remembers not only the areas where these activities are planned, but also the prohibited areas where the activities are prohibited. In the example of FIG. 2, for example, in order to prohibit going to the game center in front of the station, registration is made as an “action prohibited area” regardless of day of the week and time. In this example, it is prohibited to go to the game center regardless of the day of the week and the time. However, the prohibited area may be registered only for a certain time, for example, prohibiting going to the game center only on a certain day of the cram school (eg, Tuesday), or prohibiting after 6 o'clock.

The control unit 13 controls the entire system center 10, and performs various data processing based on the behavior monitoring program stored in the ROM 16. The RAM 15 also provides a work area for performing these data processes. The monitor terminal 30 is
Position information, warning information, etc. of the monitored person are received from the information input / output unit 17 via the network 40 such as the Internet. Further, the supervisor terminal 30 has a function of making various responses to the received warning information, and a function of creating or acquiring an action area map to be stored in the action area memory 14 and transmitting it to the system center 10. Is equipped with.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described based on the flowchart shown in FIG. First, based on the position detection signal from the current position analysis unit 12, the current position information of the monitored person terminal 5 is acquired (S1). Next, the action area map (FIG. 2) stored in the action area memory 14 is compared with the current position information obtained in S1 (S2). Next, based on the comparison result, it is determined whether or not the current position indicated by the current position information matches the action area map (S3). For example, the current time is 8:15 on Monday
If it is minutes, it is determined whether or not the current position matches the position of the “school road” stored in the action area map. If they match, the process proceeds to S4, and if they do not match, the process proceeds to S6 and the warning information is transmitted to the supervisor terminal 30. At this time, information on the current position of the monitored person terminal 5 is transmitted together with the warning information.

In S4, it is determined whether or not the current position matches the action prohibited area. In the example of FIG. 2, it is determined whether the current position does not match the location of the game center. If they match, the process proceeds to S6 and the warning information is transmitted to the monitor terminal 30 together with the current position information of the monitored terminal 5. If there are multiple monitor terminals 30,
It may be transmitted to a plurality of them at the same time, or may be ranked as a first candidate and a second candidate, first transmitted to the first candidate, and then transmitted to the second candidate when there is no response, It may be said that. If they do not match, the process proceeds to S5. In addition, in S4, the action prohibited area may not be set. If the action prohibited area is not set, a negative determination (N) is always made in S4, and after S4 is executed, the process always proceeds to S5.

In S5, it is determined whether or not the position detection signal from the monitored person terminal 5 has been interrupted for a predetermined time or longer (S5). If it is interrupted, the process proceeds to S6 and the warning information is transmitted to the supervisor terminal 30. This is the case, for example, when the monitored person is abducted and trapped in a place where radio waves do not reach, such as a car trunk or underground warehouse, or when the mobile terminal is destroyed due to an accident or the like. If not interrupted, the process returns to S1, the current position information is acquired again, and the same procedure is repeated.

When the warning information is received by the supervisor terminal 30 in S6, the supervisor terminal 30 transmits permission information permitting staying at the position according to the intention of the supervisor (S7). For example, when the current location of the monitored person terminal 5 transmitted together with the warning information is a friend's house of a classmate with whom the monitored person has recently become friends, and the house happens to be outside the action area map, etc. , This permission information is transmitted. When the permission information is received, the control unit 13
Updates the action area map stored in the action area memory 14 based on the permission information and the current position information (S8). As a result, from the next time onward, the chances of unnecessary use of the warning signal are reduced, and the convenience of the behavior monitoring system is further enhanced. Moreover, it is possible to flexibly deal with the expansion of the action area due to the growth of children.

Next, the transmission of the permission information will be described with reference to FIG. When the warning information is sent in S6,
As shown in FIG. 4, the display of the monitor terminal 30 displays the place where the monitored person should be (eg home) and the place where the monitored person is actually (example: ∘machi × address). As for the actual location, a map of the location may be displayed if necessary. Also, with these,
Ask the observer if he or she is allowed to actually stay where you are (eg, display a question such as "Are you sure you want to allow me to stay?") And wait for an answer from the observer. The monitor responds by operating the input unit of the monitor terminal 30 and asking whether to permit the stay.

When the stay is not permitted, necessary measures such as sending warning information to the monitored terminal 5 and requesting the security company to dispatch a rescue team are taken. When the answer that the stay is permitted is input from the supervisor terminal 30,
As shown in, the system center 10 requests to enter the time allowed to stay and the period allowed to stay (eg, only today, this time every week on this day of the week, the same time every month on the same day, etc.). Will be issued. When the observer makes this input, this information is used as permission information at the system center 1
Reply to 0. The control unit 13 determines the action area memory 14 based on the input permission information and the current position information.
The action area map stored in is updated.

For example, when the supervisory terminal 30 transmits permission information indicating that the user is allowed to stay at the position indicated by the current position information every Wednesday from 16:00 to 18:00, the fact is written in the action area map. Be done. As a result, the warning information will be transmitted from the next time based on the written information. In the above example, the warning information will not be transmitted even if the user is in the position related to the permission information every Wednesday from 16:00 to 18:00. As described above, in the present embodiment, when the monitored person is located at the position matching the action area map and is outside the action prohibited area, no information is transmitted to the monitor terminal 30. On the other hand, when a mismatch between the current position of the monitored person and the action area map is detected, and when the position of the monitored person matches the action prohibited area, the warning information is immediately transmitted. Therefore, the monitor does not have to check the position information one by one, and the burden on the monitor is reduced. Even if the warning information is sent, by sending the update information after that,
The action area map can be changed easily.

[Second Embodiment] Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.
The embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In this embodiment, the monitored person terminal 5 is provided with various sensors, for example, a temperature sensor 51, a vibration sensor 52, a humidity sensor 53, etc., as shown in FIG. (Fire, abduction and confinement, traffic accident, water accident, etc.)
I am trying to detect that I was hit by. Other,
A sensor for detecting biological information (pulse, blood pressure, body temperature, blood sugar level, etc.) of the monitored person may be added. Other parts are the same as those in the first embodiment.

For example, when the temperature sensor 51 detects an abnormal temperature, the monitored person terminal 5 transmits the detection information of the temperature sensor 51 and the current position information to the system center 10. Whether or not it is an “abnormal temperature” can be determined by setting normal range data indicating a normal temperature range in the memory of the monitored person terminal 5 and comparing this range with the detected temperature. it can. Further, it is preferable that the normal range data stored in this memory be made different depending on the current position of the monitored terminal 5, seasonal changes, time changes, and the like.
For example, it is preferable to set different temperature settings in the school room and in the school road, and it is preferable to change the normal range data in summer and winter and day and night.

On the basis of this information, the system center 10 sends a message such as "The monitored terminal has detected an abnormal temperature. The current position is ...". Based on this information, the monitor can take action such as contacting the security company. The timing of transmitting the message, the content of the message, and the like can be changed according to the current position information, time information, information from the various sensors 51-53, and the like. For example, when the current position of the monitored terminal 5 indicates the outside of a cold region, the timing of sending a message may be frequent, or the message may include information indicating the severity of the situation. May be.

Although the case of the temperature sensor has been described in detail above, when the vibration sensor 52 detects an abnormal vibration,
The same process can be performed when the humidity sensor 53 detects abnormal humidity (for example, 95% or more). It should be noted that these sensors 51 to 53 are O-based on the detected current position information and / or time information of the monitored person terminal 5.
You may make it N / OFF and may raise sensitivity. For example, the time spent at school is
-53 is turned off, and the sensitivity of the sensors 51-53 is turned on when in a position where danger is likely to occur, such as a school road.
It is also possible to increase the sensitivity of the sensor when approaching a dangerous area, such as near a river or on a bank. Further, each sensor may be turned on when it is determined that the user is outside the action area map. For example,
When the monitored person is abducted by a car and taken away from the action area map, it is detected from the current position information that the person is outside the action area map, and when this is detected, the sensors 51-53 are turned on. May be. These processes reduce unnecessary power consumption by the sensor. In addition, even if the current location information indicates near the plaza,
If the time information is daytime, each sensor 51-53 may be turned off.

[Third Embodiment] Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described.
The embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7. In the above-described embodiment, it is assumed that the person being monitored is in a position beyond the eyes of the person being monitored, and warning information is transmitted when it is detected that the person being monitored is in a position different from the content of the action area map. I was trying to do it. In this embodiment, when the monitored person is acting together with the monitored person and the monitored person's eyes reach the monitored person, the monitored person (monitored person terminal 5) monitors the person (monitored person). The warning information is transmitted when a predetermined distance or more (for example, 100 m or more) is distant from the worker terminal 30). That is, as shown in FIG. 6, not only the current position of the monitored terminal 5 but also the current position of the monitored terminal 30 is acquired based on the radio wave from the GPS satellite St. Based on position
The distance Dpc between both terminals is calculated. And this Dpc
When is larger than a predetermined distance Dmax (for example, 100 m), a warning signal is transmitted to the supervisor terminal 30.

The third embodiment is effective, for example, when a family goes out to an amusement park or the like. Therefore, it is preferable that the monitoring system as in the first embodiment is used on weekdays and the monitoring system as in this embodiment is used on weekends so that the monitoring system can be used. .

The operation of this embodiment will be described below with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. First, the current position analysis unit 12 calculates the current position of the monitored person terminal 5 based on the radio wave transmitted from the monitored person terminal 5 (S1).
1). Next, the current position analysis unit 12 calculates the current position of the monitor terminal 30 based on the radio wave transmitted from the monitor terminal 30 (S12). Next, the control unit 13 causes the S1
The distance Dpc between the terminals 5 and 30 is calculated based on the calculation results of 1 and 12 (S13). And this Dpc
Is larger than the threshold value Dmax by the control unit 13 (S14).

When it is determined that Dpc is less than or equal to Dmax, the process proceeds to S15, and the control unit 13 determines whether or not the current position of the monitored person terminal 5 is within the action prohibited area (S1).
6). Note that the action prohibited area may not be set in S16. When the action prohibited area is not set, in S16, a negative determination (N) is always made, and after S15 is executed, the process always returns to S11.

When it is determined in S16 that the current position of the monitored person terminal 5 is outside the action prohibited area, S1
Return to 1 and repeat the above procedure. Dp in S14
When it is determined that c is larger than Dmax, and S1
If it is determined in 5 that the current position of the monitored terminal 5 is within the action prohibited area, the warning information and the current position information of the monitored terminal 5 are transmitted to the monitoring terminal 30 (S1).
7). The monitoring person can search for the monitored person based on the warning information and the current position information.

In the present embodiment, no information is transmitted to the monitor terminal 30 when the monitored person is near the monitor and is outside the action prohibited area. On the other hand, when the distance Dpc between the monitored person and the monitored person becomes larger than the distance Dmax, and when the position of the monitored person matches the action prohibited area, the warning information is immediately transmitted. Therefore, the monitor does not have to check the position information one by one, and the burden on the monitor is reduced.

Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above with reference to the case of monitoring the behavior of a child, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the behavior of an old man, a salesman outside, a pet, etc. It can also be used for monitoring.
Further, even when the monitored person terminal 5 is in the action area map (FIG. 2), the warning information may be transmitted when the time to stay in one place is unnaturally long.

[0032]

As described above, according to the behavior monitoring system of the present invention, it is possible to positively convey information to the person being monitored whether or not the person being monitored is in a normal position, so that the person being monitored can be monitored. It is possible to know the condition of a person accurately and timely without particularly inquiring. Further, since the action pattern information stored in the action pattern information storage unit is updated by transmitting the permission information, it is possible to flexibly cope with changes in the action pattern of the monitored person.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 shows a configuration of a behavior monitoring system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

2 shows an example of an action area map stored in an action area memory 14 of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation of the behavior monitoring system shown in the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining how warning information is transmitted and permission information is returned in the behavior monitoring system according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 shows a configuration of a monitored person terminal 5 according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 shows a configuration of a behavior monitoring system according to a third exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an operation of the behavior monitoring system (FIG. 6) according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Behavior monitoring system, 5 ... Monitored terminal, St
... GPS satellites, 10 ... system centers, 11 ...
・ Antenna, 12 ... Current position analysis unit, 13 ... Control unit, 14 ... Action area memory, 15 ... RAM,
16 ... ROM, 30 ... Observer terminal, 40 ... Network, 51 ... Temperature sensor, 52 ... Vibration sensor,
53 ... Humidity sensor

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A monitored person terminal configured to be movable together with the monitored person and capable of detecting the position thereof, and a monitored person terminal for a monitoring person who monitors the monitored person to send and receive various information. A current position detection unit that detects a current position where the monitored terminal is currently positioned; an action pattern information storage unit that stores action pattern information in which the position to be monitored and the time information are associated with each other; The current position and the action pattern information are compared, and if there is a mismatch between the two, a warning unit that sends warning information to the supervisor terminal, and a stay at the current position related to the warning information is permitted. And a permission information transmitting unit for transmitting permission information, and an updating unit for updating the action pattern information stored in the action pattern information storage unit based on the permission information. system. 2. The behavior monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein the warning unit also transmits the warning information to the monitored terminal. 3. The behavior monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein the permission information transmission unit is arranged in the supervisor terminal. 4. The monitored terminal comprises a sensor for detecting a condition of the monitored person or the surroundings thereof, and the warning section transmits the warning information based on information from the sensor. Behavior monitoring system described. 5. The information from the sensor is stored in the behavior pattern information storage unit to form a part of the behavior pattern information, and the information from the sensor is sequentially compared with the behavior pattern information in the warning unit. The behavior monitoring system according to claim 4, wherein the warning information is configured to be transmitted based on a result of the comparison. 6. The behavior monitoring system according to claim 4, wherein the sensor is configured to be driven or adjusted in sensitivity according to the current position and / or time information. 7. A monitored person terminal configured to be movable together with a monitoring person and capable of detecting its position; a monitoring person terminal for a monitoring person who monitors the monitored person to send and receive various information; A current position where the monitored terminal is currently located and a current position detecting section for detecting the current position where the monitored terminal is currently located; and the monitored terminal and the monitored person based on the detection result of the current position detecting section. A distance calculation unit that calculates a distance to the terminal, and a warning unit that, when the distance becomes larger than a predetermined distance, sends warning information to the monitor terminal together with current position information of the monitored terminal. An action monitoring system characterized by having. 8. The behavior monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein the warning unit transmits the warning information when it is detected that the monitored terminal stays in the same position for a certain period of time or longer.