JP2001209870A - Bather abnormality informing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To give information to a proper opposite party in a simple and speedy procedure when emergency or abnormality occurs during taking a bath. SOLUTION: This bather abnormality informing device is provided with a main part 100 having an essential function as a telephone set, a loudspeaker and microphone part 200 for adjusting the transmission and reception of a loudspeaker 201 and a microphone 203, and an emergency originating part 300 for giving emergency information at occurrence of abnormality. In the part 300, when the bather presses an emergency switch 301, an auto-dialer 303 automatically originates emergency information to the prescribed destination. The set of an ultrasonic transmitter 309 and a receiver 311 monitors the movement of the bather and when the bather stops moving in a long period, the auto-dialer 303 is started to perform automatic originating. Since plural informing destinations are registered previously in the auto-dialer 303, the emergency information can be sent by successively selecting the other informing destination, even when one informing destination is under speaking or returns no response. The emergency information can include the address, name, telephone number, message, etc., of the bather. The bather is capable of making a hand-free speech with a person at the informing destination by the part 200.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for notifying a bather that a bather has an abnormality in a bathroom.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When an abnormality occurs in a bather in a bathroom,
There is a growing need for a device that simply and quickly informs the appropriate person outside of it.

[0003]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to make it possible to make an outgoing call to an appropriate person in a simple and prompt procedure when an emergency or abnormal situation occurs during bathing. It is in.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A bather abnormality reporting device according to the present invention comprises an abnormality detector for detecting an abnormal state in a bathroom, and an automatic transmission for transmitting an emergency report in response to an output of the abnormality detector. Means.

In a preferred embodiment, an emergency call is sent to a pre-registered call destination. A plurality of report destinations can be registered. There is also a function of sequentially selecting the plurality of report destinations and automatically transmitting the call. With this function, when the report destination of the emergency report is busy or does not answer, it is possible to further transmit the emergency report to another report destination. Therefore, it is possible to reliably notify the appropriate partner of the occurrence of the emergency, and the security is further improved.

In a preferred embodiment, the abnormality detecting means includes:
It has a means for detecting the movement of the bather. For example, when a continuous inactivity of the bather is detected, it can be determined that an abnormal state has occurred. This is useful for emergency calls when you cannot move, such as when a bather falls down in the bathroom. Specifically, it receives waves such as ultrasonic waves from the bathroom,
Based on this, the movement of the bather can be detected, for example, by comparing the received waveform with a past received waveform, or monitoring the temporal change of the received waveform over a predetermined time. . Further, an emergency switch that can be operated by a bather can also be used as the abnormality detecting means. This is convenient when making an emergency call at the discretion of the bather.

[0007] In a preferred embodiment, the emergency call can include the bather's address, name, telephone number or message. The preferred embodiment comprises a data memory in which the data of the emergency call message is stored.

The preferred embodiment includes a speaker and a microphone, and has a function as a telephone having a hands-free call mode. In this preferred embodiment, when an abnormality is detected in a bather, an emergency call is transmitted to a registered partner through a telephone line. This preferred embodiment automatically returns to a state before detecting an abnormal state, such as a hands-free call mode, after issuing an emergency call. Thus, the bather can exchange more detailed information with the report destination without performing any extra operation. When the call destination of the emergency call is busy or there is no response, it is desirable that the emergency call can be further transmitted to another call destination. As a result, an appropriate partner can be reliably notified of the occurrence of an emergency, and the security is further improved.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an overall configuration of a bather abnormality notification device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The bather abnormality notification device includes a main unit 10
0, a speaker / microphone unit 200 and an emergency transmission unit 300.

The main section 100 is a section in which essential functional elements of the telephone are mounted, and includes a main circuit 101, a call switch 103 and the like. The main circuit 101 includes various circuits necessary for the telephone such as a line capturing circuit, a selection signal generating circuit, an incoming call detecting circuit, a ringing tone generating circuit, a talking circuit, a control circuit thereof, and a power supply circuit. Call switch 103
Is a switch for manually performing off-hook and off-hook signal input for starting and ending a call.

A speaker / microphone unit 200 is used for making a hands-free call. A speaker 201 for loudspeaker output of a call from a call partner, a microphone 203 for receiving a call from a bather, The controller 205 includes a controller 205 that performs a later-described correction process on the reception signal and the transmission signal in order to eliminate howling and echo.

The emergency transmission unit 300 is for automatically transmitting an emergency notification to a preset destination by a simple manual operation or completely automatically when an emergency or abnormal situation occurs during bathing. It is. This emergency calling part 3
00 is an emergency switch 301, an auto dialer 303,
It includes a controller 305, a data memory 307, an ultrasonic transmitter 309, an ultrasonic receiver 311 and a waveform comparator 313.

In such a configuration, the features of the present invention are embodied in the speaker / microphone unit 200 and the emergency transmission unit 300. Hereinafter, these two parts 200, 3
00 will be described in detail.

First, the speaker / microphone unit 200 will be described.

As shown in FIG. 1, a reception signal entering the main circuit 101 from a telephone line is transmitted to a band-pass filter 20.
After being sent to 7 and narrowed down to only a predetermined audio frequency region,
The signal is converted into a discrete time digital signal by the A / D converter 209 and input to the controller 205. This reception signal is applied with a side tone of an appropriate volume in the controller 205, and then sent to a D / A converter 215 to be converted into a continuous-time analog signal.
After unnecessary high frequency components are removed by the
1 is output.

On the other hand, the transmission signal output from the microphone 203 is filtered by a low-pass filter 219 to remove unnecessary high-frequency components, then converted into a discrete-time digital signal by an A / D converter 221 and input to the controller 205. You. This transmission signal is subjected to a correction described below for removing the looping sound from the speaker 201 in the controller 205, and then sent to the D / A converter 211 to be converted into a continuous-time analog signal. The analog transmission signal is narrowed down to a predetermined audio frequency band by the band-pass filter 213, and then transmitted to the telephone line through the main circuit 101.

The pass band of the band pass filters 207 and 213 is, for example, 300 to 3 kHz, and the cutoff frequency of the low pass filters 217, 219 is, for example, 3 kHz.

Here, the speaker 201 and the microphone 203 are arranged at a very close distance. This is to prevent the sound transfer function from the speaker 201 to the microphone 203 from substantially changing even when the bather moves in the bathroom. For this purpose, it is desirable that the effective distance between the speaker 201 and the microphone 203 be equal to or less than a quarter wavelength of the maximum frequency in the target audio frequency band. For example, if the maximum frequency is 1 kHz, the distance between them is 2.5 cm or less,
When the maximum frequency is 3 kHz, it is desirable that the frequency be 7.5 cm or less.

FIG. 2 shows an embodiment for realizing such a close arrangement between the speaker 201 and the microphone 203.

As shown in the partial cross-sectional view of FIG. 2A and the front view of FIG. 2B, the speaker 201 and the microphone 203 are housed in the same box 501 and integrated. The unit 500 is constituted. Box 501
Is covered with a mat made of a material having a good sound absorbing property, for example, a glass wool mat 503. Speaker 201
Is mounted inside the circular window so that sound can be radiated from the circular window formed on the front wall of the box 501. The microphone 203 is supported by an arm protruding from the inner peripheral wall of the circular window, and is fixed on a center axis of the speaker 201 and at a position where radiated sound from the speaker 201 can be satisfactorily received.

In the speaker / microphone unit 500, the effective distance between the speaker 201 and the microphone 203 is desirably a quarter wavelength of the maximum frequency component as described above. 201
In practice, the frequency distribution that enters the microphone 203 becomes abnormal, so that the shortest distance is actually selected within a range where the frequency distribution is substantially normal.

This speaker / microphone unit 500
Installed in the bathroom at a location suitable for hands-free calls.
For example, as shown in FIG.
A speaker / microphone unit 500 is mounted on the bathroom wall near 1a in a direction in which the front of the speaker / microphone unit 500 faces the bather side by side with the remote controller 900 of the water heater.

FIG. 3 shows a functional configuration of the controller 205.

In FIG. 3, x (n) is a discrete-time reception signal, l (n) is a reception signal heard by a bather, and r (n) is an original discrete-time transmission signal uttered by the bather. , P (n)
Is a transmission signal including wraparound sound output from the microphone 203, y (n) is a corrected discrete-time transmission signal output from the controller 205, and n is a discrete time of those signals. Also, g1 indicates an acoustic transfer function from the speaker 201 to the bather, g2 indicates an acoustic transfer function from the bather to the microphone 203, and w indicates an acoustic transfer function from the speaker 201 to the microphone 203.

It is important to note that, as already described, since the speaker 201 and the microphone 203 are close to each other, regardless of the size and structure of the bathroom and the position of the bather in the bathroom, etc. Is substantially constant. This is an important factor for making the processing for preventing howling and echo by the controller 205 described below effective.

As shown in FIG.
Includes a digital filter 501, an attenuator 503, and adders 505 and 507. Digital filter 501
Has a transfer function H, and generates a corrected acoustic signal q (n) for preventing howling and echo by applying the transfer function H to the received signal x (n). This corrected sound signal q
(n) is subtracted from the transmission signal p (n) from the microphone 203 by the adder 507, whereby a corrected transmission signal y (n) is generated and transmitted to the other party.

The attenuator 503 has an attenuation coefficient μ, and generates a side tone having an appropriate volume by multiplying the corrected transmission signal y (n) by the attenuation coefficient μ. This side tone is added to the reception signal x (n) by the adder 505 and sent to the speaker 201.

In the system shown in FIG. 3, the following equation is established. The following equation is expressed in a Z-conversion form, and the Z-conversion of physical quantities shown in lowercase letters in FIG. 3 is represented by corresponding uppercase letters.

P = W (X + μY) + G2 · R (1) Q = H (X + μY) (2) Y = P−Q (3) The following equations are obtained from the equations (1) to (3).

Y = {G 2 · R + (W−H) X} / {1−μ (W−H)} (4) It can be seen from equation (4) that the final transmission signal Y The reception signal X is included and causes an echo at the other party of the call, and the transmission signal Y diverges and howling occurs when the value of μ (W−H) is close to one.

Therefore, in order to eliminate howling and echo, it is necessary to set W−H = 0, that is, to set the transfer function H of the digital filter 501 equal to the transfer function W between the speaker and the microphone. In this case, the speaker
Since the transfer function W between the microphones is substantially constant regardless of the surrounding environment as described above, the transfer function W can be determined by measuring the impulse response between the speaker and the microphone in advance. If the coefficient matrix of the digital filter is set using the result of the impulse response as it is, the above condition W = H is obtained.

For example, the average reverberation time in the bathroom is 0.8
Since it is about 2 seconds, if the target band is 300 to 3 kHz and the sampling clock is 6 kHz, 0.8 seconds is equivalent to 4800 clocks. Therefore, it is sufficient to sample up to about 4800 clocks from the beginning of the impulse response and adopt this value as the coefficient matrix of the digital filter 501.

With the above configuration, it is possible to effectively prevent howling and echo of a hands-free call in the bathroom.

Next, referring again to FIG.
00 will be described.

The emergency switch 301 is a button switch pressed by a bather when an abnormality occurs, and when the emergency switch 301 is turned on, the auto dialer 303 is activated. Auto dialer 3
Reference numeral 03 stores, in advance, one or more subscriber telephone numbers to which an emergency call is sent, and outputs the telephone number data to the controller 305 when activated.

The controller 305 includes an auto dialer 3
03 to the main circuit 101,
In response, the main circuit 101 transmits the telephone number to the telephone line. When the destination answers, the main circuit 101
Notifies the controller 305 accordingly.

The controller 30 that has recognized the response of the transmission destination
5 reads out the message data for emergency notification stored in advance in the data memory 307, reproduces the message data as an audio signal, and sends it to the main circuit 101. As a result, the emergency call message is transmitted to the destination.

In this way, an emergency call can be made to an appropriate partner by simply pressing the button. The emergency call message may include, for example, the address, name, telephone number, message, etc. of the bather.

Further, a device for detecting the movement of the bather is provided so as to be able to cope with the case where the bather becomes unable to move due to abnormal physical condition in the bathroom. That is, the ultrasonic transmitter 309 emits ultrasonic waves into the bathroom, and the ultrasonic receiver 311 detects the ultrasonic waves and sends them to the waveform comparator 313. The waveform comparator 313 monitors the temporal change of the received signal waveform by comparing the signal waveform from the receiver 311 with that of the past. As a result, if the received waveform does not fluctuate for a predetermined time, the waveform comparator 313 determines that the bather cannot move, and the controller 30
Notify 5 Then, the controller 305 activates the auto dialer 303, whereby the emergency call as described above is automatically performed.

After the emergency call is made by the operation of the emergency button or the detection of the non-operation as described above, it is desirable that the mobile phone automatically returns after a certain period of time to enter the normal hands-free call mode. Thus, the bather can exchange more detailed information with the emergency call destination without using any hands on the spot.

If the other party is busy or does not answer when an emergency call is made, it is desirable to automatically select a plurality of destinations registered in advance in order and make an automatic call.

In order for the emergency transmission section 300 to function effectively, it is desirable that the bathroom be arranged as shown in FIG.

That is, the emergency switch 301 is housed in the switch unit 800 together with the call switch 103, and is installed together with the remote controller 900 and the speaker / microphone unit 500 in an easy-to-operate place such as a bathroom wall near the bathtub head position 601a. . Thereby, bather 7
00 is the switch unit 80 in the normal bathing posture.
0 can be manipulated.

The ultrasonic transmitter 309 is installed at a position where ultrasonic waves can be emitted to the entire bathroom, such as the ceiling of the bathroom 600. On the other hand, the ultrasonic receiver 311 is installed in a place where the movement of the bather is well reflected in the fluctuation of the ultrasonic waveform, such as on the bathroom 603 of the bathroom 600 or on the bathroom wall near the bathtub head position 601a. Is done. Thereby, the presence or absence of the movement of the bather can be detected well.

As described above, a preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described. However, the present invention can be implemented in various aspects other than this embodiment.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a bather abnormality notification device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows a speaker 201 and a microphone 2 in the embodiment.
The figure which shows arrangement | positioning with 03.

FIG. 3 is an exemplary block diagram showing a functional configuration of a controller 205 in the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an exemplary view showing an arrangement in a bathroom in the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 100 Main unit 200 Speaker / microphone unit 201 Speaker 203 Microphone 205 Controller 300 Emergency transmission unit 301 Emergency button 303 Auto dialer 305 Controller 307 Data memory 309 Ultrasonic transmitter 311 Ultrasonic receiver 313 Waveform comparator

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) H04Q 9/00 311 H04Q 9/00 311K

Claims (15)

[Claims] 1. A bather abnormality notification device comprising: abnormality detection means for detecting an abnormal state in a bathroom; and automatic transmission means for transmitting an emergency notification in response to an output of the abnormality detection means. 2. The bather abnormality notification device according to claim 1, wherein the automatic transmission unit transmits the emergency notification to a notification destination registered in advance. 3. The bather abnormality notification device according to claim 2, wherein a plurality of notification destinations can be registered in said automatic transmission means. 4. The bather abnormality notification device according to claim 3, wherein the automatic transmission means can sequentially select the plurality of notification destinations and automatically transmit the selected destinations. 5. The bather abnormality notification device according to claim 1, wherein the abnormality detector has a movement detector that detects a movement of a bather. 6. The bather abnormality notification device according to claim 5, wherein the movement detecting means detects continuous inactivity of the bather. 7. The motion detecting means for detecting a motion of the bather based on a wave received from the bathroom, wherein the waveform comparing means compares a received waveform with a past received waveform. The bather abnormality notification device according to any one of claims 5 to 6, further comprising a vessel. 8. The motion detecting means for detecting a motion of the bather based on a wave received from the bathroom, and monitors a temporal change of the received waveform over a predetermined time. The bather abnormality notification device according to any one of claims 5 to 7. 9. The emergency call may include an address, a name, a telephone number or a message of a bather.
The bather abnormality notification device according to any one of claims 8 to 8. 10. The bather abnormality notification device according to claim 1, further comprising a speaker. 11. The bather abnormality notification device according to claim 1, further comprising a microphone. 12. The bather abnormality notification device according to claim 1, wherein the emergency notification is transmitted through a telephone line. 13. The bather abnormality notification device according to claim 1, wherein the emergency notification is automatically returned to a state before the abnormal state is detected after the emergency message is transmitted. 14. The system according to claim 1, further comprising a data memory.
The bather abnormality notification device according to any one of claims 13 to 13. 15. The bather abnormality notification device according to claim 1, wherein the abnormality detection means has an emergency switch that can be operated by the bather.