JPH07239991A - Responding device for caring aged person - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To take emergency measures as quickly as possible by making supervisor side possible to surely detect abnormality of an aged person who really requires help. CONSTITUTION:This device is equipped with a life switch means 11 which is arranged at a proper place in a house, a switching detecting means 17 which detects the ON/OFF switching of the life switch 11, an update means 21 which initializes a timer memory 20 when the switching detecting means 17 detects the ON/OFF switching of the life switch means, and an alarm means 25 which outputs an alarm signal to an external supervisory device 30 when the timer memory 20 is initialized at a specific timing. The life switch means and the switching detecting means 17 which detects its ON/OFF state, detect whether or not the aged person is living normally. It can be judged that the aged person lives a normal life as long as the life switch is turned on and off.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a device for caring for the elderly, and more particularly to a signal response system for guaranteeing a care system when an abnormality occurs.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Recently, with the increase of the elderly population, an emergency response system for managing and managing sudden attacks and abnormalities of the elderly has become widespread.

This system is, for example, as shown in FIG.
Management center 1 and emergency switch 2 carried by the elderly
The emergency switch 2 sends a rescue signal S when an old man complains of a health abnormality, and the management center 1 dispatches a care helper based on the reception of the signal S.

The transmission and reception of the signal S is carried out not only by ordinary radio waves but also by a radio telephone line or by a GP for specifying the position.
A satellite communication line such as S may be used.

[0005]

By the way, the conventional elderly care response system is premised on transmitting a signal S from the elderly side to the management center 1 when an abnormality such as a heart attack occurs. .

[0006] However, seizures of the elderly are rapid, and it is often difficult to contact them by the emergency switch 2, and when the emergency switch 2 is not carried around, it is managed even in the house. There are quite a few cases in which it is not possible to contact Center 1, resulting in death after a few hours. In other words, since the conventional emergency system waited for a response from the elderly person and dealt with it, the elderly person who had an abnormal seizure could not contact the person using the switch, and the administrator side often could not provide prompt care.

Further, in the system using the emergency switch,
There is a problem that an old person may send a false distress signal even though it is not necessary, and the administrator staff is troubled by the response.

[0008] As a more serious problem, there is a social problem that an old person dies in a seizure while lying down and is left unknowingly for a long period of several days or longer. It is in.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to make it possible for an administrator to surely detect an abnormality of an elderly person who really needs nursing care and to deal with it as quickly as possible.

[0010]

Means for Solving the Problems To achieve the above object and to achieve the above object, a response device for elderly care according to the present invention comprises a life switch means arranged at an appropriate place in a house, and on / off switching of the life switch means. Switching detecting means for detecting the ON / OFF switching, and updating means for initializing the timer memory when the switching detecting means detects ON / OFF switching of the life switch means,
Alarm means for outputting a warning signal to the external management device when the timer memory is not initialized at a predetermined timing.

[0011]

The life switch means arranged at an appropriate place in the house and the switch detection means for detecting the on / off state of the life switch detect whether or not the old man is living without any abnormality. As long as this life switch is on and off, it can be considered that there is no health abnormality in the elderly.

On the other hand, when the elderly person suffers an abnormal attack and falls down, the life switch is stopped for a predetermined time. This state is detected based on whether the life switch is on or off. As long as the timer memory is initialized by the updating means, it can be considered that there is no abnormality.

If the timer memory is not initialized at a predetermined timing, it means that no living activity can be seen inside the house, and it is highly probable that an abnormality will occur. If you are in a situation such as traveling, you will be contacted in advance and you will know that it is not abnormal, so there is no problem.

When there is no response to switch the life switch on and off, the alarm means outputs a warning signal to the external management device.
If there is no prior notification, this alarm signal indicates that the life switch has not been turned on and off for a certain period of time or more, indicating that the life of the old man has stopped for some reason. Appropriate measures can be taken such as dispatching

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 shows an example of a response device according to the present invention. The response device 10 includes a plurality of life switches 11 arranged at predetermined locations inside the house, a switching detection device 17 for detecting ON / OFF switching of the life switch 11, and the switching detection device 17 switching ON / OFF of the life switch 11. An updating unit 21 which initializes the timer memory 20 when detected,
The alarm device 25 outputs a warning signal to the external management device 30 when the timer memory 20 is not initialized at a predetermined timing.

The life switch 11 is arranged in association with various member tools that are frequently used in daily life. For example, the toilet door 12, the toilet lighting 13, the television device 14, the water faucet 15, the living room lighting. 16 and the like, and when these are used, for example, an ON signal is sent to the subsequent stage. The switch setting location may be appropriately selected and changed according to the structure of the house and the life week of the person to be managed (elderly person).
And, for example, the opening operation of the toilet door 12, the toilet lighting 1
3 or switch on TV device 14, water faucet 15
When the living room lighting 16 is turned on, the ON signal is sent to the switching detection device 17.

Based on the ON signal detected by the switching detection device 17, the updating unit 21 of the timer memory 20 updates (or initializes and updates) the preset time count number. This timer memory 20 is set with a timing for detecting an abnormality in life, and in addition to a timer 22 for confirming the time, a memory section 23 for storing an on / off signal together with the time and an abnormality detection. A timing setting unit 24 for setting and storing the time for storing is provided.

Since the timing setting unit 24 is for detecting an abnormality in life, basically, the detection timing is set by a combination of the switching interval of the life switch 11 and the time. For example, if there is no switching operation for 10 hours when the life switch 11 is switched on and off, it is possible to consider a reason such as a fall due to a seizure. Even if there is no switching operation for 10 hours, it cannot be judged as abnormal.

Therefore, for example, from 6:00 am to 10:00 pm, which is the living time zone of the general elderly, an abnormality is detected when the life switch 11 has not been switched for 7 hours or more, but from 10 pm Until 6 am the next morning, a setting method is adopted such that no abnormality is detected (or abnormality detection is canceled) even if the life switch 11 is not switched for 9 hours. The detection timing may be set individually depending on the life rhythm of the old man who is the managed person, the time rhythm of occurrence of chronic disease, and the like. In an example in which a seizure at night is remarkable, such as asthma, on / off of the water faucet 15 may be detected at a timing of 2 to 3 hours even in the midnight time.

The alarm device 25 transmits a warning signal to the external management device 30 when the life switch 11 is not switched on and off for a long time which is longer than the set time of the timer memory 20. The signal transmission may be wired or wireless. In the case of wireless, in addition to radio waves of natural frequency assigned to facilities for the care of the elderly, various signal formats such as telephone lines via satellite or ground stations are selected for use.

Therefore, according to the response device 10, when the life switch 11 is not switched on and off for a long time, the management staff can rush to the old man's home based on the warning signal and take appropriate care measures. .

In the case of an elderly person who normally lives at home, it is often the case that he can recover his health by giving immediate treatment. The response device 10 enables the management staff to take reliable and prompt first-aid measures for an elderly person who is unable to perform daily living activities for some reason. Alarm device 2
When there is a warning from 5, the staff immediately contact the nearby hospital and urge the staff in charge.

The life switch 11 according to the present invention is preferably installed in as many places as possible. However, due to the relationship with the house structure, electric wiring equipment, or the device cost, the life switch 11 can be installed in the entire house. It is assumed that it cannot be placed in equipment. Therefore, as the minimum switch installation location,
First, it may be considered to provide a switch for detecting opening / closing of the toilet door. As another place, lighting of a toilet, a TV switch, or the like is suitable. In any case, the manager will determine the installation location according to the lifestyle of the relevant elderly person and other specific circumstances.

The alarm signal of the alarm device 25 is "normal".
Not limited to the two types of "abnormal", it may be divided into a plurality of stages according to the number of hours when the life switch is not switched on and off. For example, the warning level is raised every two hours and the respective states are distinguished by the color of the lighting lamp. In addition, it goes without saying that the time span for raising the warning level may be changed for each individual depending on the presence or absence and the degree of chronic disease.

The external management device 30 shows the warning signal received from the alarm device 25 to the management staff in an appropriate display format. Use a monitoring device that can reliably detect individual abnormalities such as lighting of individual lamps, voice signals, and collective display on the CRT.

When the user is away from home for a long time, such as when traveling, a meaningless abnormality detection can be avoided by making a telephone contact with the management center in advance. Further, when tracking and monitoring are required even while out of the house, a small GPS-like transmitting device is carried, and a reply signal indicating no abnormality is returned at predetermined time intervals or in response to a response request signal from the management center. It is also possible.

FIG. 2 shows an example of such a portable response device. A response signal transmission switch 41 is arranged on the device body 40, and a speaker for receiving a confirmation signal from the management center side. 42, a blinking lamp 43, and a vibration device 44 are arranged. The speaker 42 sounds a chime bell in response to a signal from the management center side, and by pressing the response signal transmission switch 41 in response to the bell sound, the management center side can confirm "no abnormality". The blinking lamp 43 is an access means for an old man who is deaf and the vibrating device 44 is an access means for an old man who is both deaf and hard of hearing.

[0028]

As described above, according to the response device for elderly care according to the present invention, it is possible for the administrator side to reliably detect the abnormality of the elderly who really need care, and to promptly take emergency measures. Become.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a response device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a portable response device.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of a conventional response device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Response Device 11 Life Switch 12 Toilet Door 13 Toilet Lighting 14 Television Device 15 Water Faucet 16 Living Room Lighting 17 Switching Detection Device 20 Timer Memory 21 Update Unit 22 Timer 23 Memory Unit 24 Timing Setting Unit 25 Alarm Device 30 External Management Device

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A life switch means arranged at an appropriate place in a house, a switch detecting means for detecting ON / OFF switching of the life switch means, and a timer when the switch detecting means detects ON / OFF switching of the life switch means. An answering device for elderly care, comprising: an updating means for initializing a memory and an alarm means for outputting a warning signal to an external management device when the timer memory is not initialized at a predetermined timing.