JP2001309359A - Visitor notification system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a visitor notification system which enables family members to surely and easily referred to who visits when from the outside without restricting family members while they are out. SOLUTION: This system consists of a detecting means 3 for detecting the visit of a visitor, a photographing means 4 for photographing the detected visitor, a host station/composed of a server device provided with a function for managing the image of the photographed visitor and the history information of the visitor including the date and hour of the visit as a database, a function for carrying the history information on the homepage of a web site and a function for distribution visitor notification showing the visit of the visitor toward a mobile terminal station 2 and connected to the Internet, and of the mobile terminal station 2 provided with a function for receiving visitor notification 8 and notifying a user that the visitor comes and a function for accessing the web site of the station 1 and displaying a visitor history homepage where the history of the visitor is carried on the display and connected to the Internet.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a visitor notification system capable of reliably and easily ascertaining who visited from where and when a visitor has visited while away from home.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional interphone is generally composed of an entrance slave unit and an in-home master unit provided at an entrance and in a house, respectively. A call button for calling the in-home master unit, and a speaker or a microphone that enables communication with the householder who took the in-home master unit, and the other in-home master unit corresponds to the operation of the call button. It includes a speaker that emits a ringing tone, a receiver used for the call, a monitor for confirming visitors, and the like.

[0003] In recent years, in many houses, a family member is often away from home during the day. In such a case, in order to be able to communicate between the visitor and the family member, the entrance is made using a telephone line. Many transfer systems have been proposed which enable communication between a mobile terminal and a mobile terminal station.
In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1-313166, when a visitor is called from an entrance cordless handset, a portable videophone terminal held by an outgoing family member is called from a home parent machine set in the transfer mode, A system is disclosed in which a visitor visited by a portable videophone terminal can be interphone-compatible (call) while confirming the visitor with an image.

[0004]

A transfer system of this type is designed to immediately call a housekeeper who is out when a visitor visits, and to enable a direct call between the visitor and the housekeeper. It is inconvenient because it is not possible to respond sufficiently during commuting, working, driving a car, etc., and it is necessary to call out a family member every time a visitor visits and go out. It was sometimes annoying to the housekeepers inside. In addition, a system has been proposed in which a visitor's voice message can be recorded and the message can be confirmed later through a telephone line while away from home. However, such a voice message is useful in an emergency or when a courier uses it as a courier note, but not all visitors, including acquaintances and non-acquaintances, leave a message. It was not possible to grasp everyone completely, and on the contrary, it made the visitor widely aware that he was absent, and had a security problem.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above situation, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a visitor notification system which can reliably and easily refer to who went and when from whereabouts without restricting a person on the go. Things.

[0006]

Means for Solving the Problems The inventor of the present invention has made intensive studies to solve such problems, and first focused on the Internet, which has been explosively expanding in recent years. The Internet is referred to as a "network of networks" in which many computer networks around the world are linked, and is an open network that anyone can easily participate in. In recent years, the communication environment has been rapidly improved with the explosion of individual users, and there has been a tendency for participation in networks to be at a lower cost. Terminals connected to the Internet have also been installed at home and at work. In addition to personal computers, mobile terminals such as personal digital assistants, car navigation devices, and mobile phones are becoming more diverse.By connecting to the Internet from these mobile terminals while on the go, you can connect to the Internet for news, weather forecasts and other living information, fortune-telling, and games. There is also provided a service that can easily acquire entertainment information such as a bank transfer, hotel, airline ticket reservation, and the like.
The present inventor has focused on the technology of acquiring or operating information by connecting to the Internet from these mobile terminals, and by adding further ingenuity to this technology, it is possible to ensure that visitors who come home while away are In addition, a system that can be easily grasped was conceived.

The visitor notification system of the present invention completed based on such an idea has the following contents. That is, detecting means for detecting a visitor's visit, photographing means for photographing the detected visitor, and a function of managing a visitor's history information including a photographed visitor's image and its photographing date and time as a database, Internet-connected, equipped with a function of posting the history information on the homepage of a Web site established on the Internet and a function of distributing a visitor notification indicating that a visitor has been visited to a mobile terminal station. A host station comprising a server device,
A function of receiving the visitor notification and notifying the user that there is a visitor, and a Web service of the host station.
It is characterized by comprising a mobile terminal station connected to the Internet and having a function of accessing a site and displaying a home page on which visitor history information is posted on a display. In the thus configured visitor notification system according to the present invention, when a visitor is first detected by the detecting means, the image of the visitor is reliably photographed by the photographing means, and the server device of the host station performs the photographing. The visitor's history information including the visitor's image and the photographing date and time of the visitor is managed as a database. The server device is
A mobile terminal that posts the history information on a homepage of a Web site established on the Internet, distributes a visitor notification indicating that the visitor has been visited to the mobile terminal station, and receives the visitor notification. The bureau informs the user that there was a visitor. The user who has been notified can immediately know that there was a visitor wherever he is by the visitor notice, and thereafter, at an appropriate time,
By accessing the website of the host station from the mobile terminal station and displaying a home page on which history information including the visitor's image and the visit date and time is displayed on the display of the mobile terminal station using a WWW browser or the like, It is possible to easily grasp the detailed information from the whereabouts.

[0008] The Internet is a vast network that spans the world. Users can easily access the homepage from anywhere in the world from a mobile terminal station, and can immediately browse the history information posted on the homepage. is there. In addition, a function (program) for searching or changing the database of the host station on the displayed homepage can be relatively easily provided, and the user can search the history information managed in chronological order, You can easily find out when and who came. In the present invention, since a photograph is always taken when a visitor is detected, security is maintained without any threat, and the existence of the photographing means also has an effect of suppressing child mischief such as unnecessary doorbell operation. ing.

The host station can be provided at an appropriate place such as a home, an administration office of a condominium, an office, a provider (internet connection company), etc. It is preferable that the home server is installed in the home. Further, it is preferable that the mobile terminal station is a mobile phone, a mobile phone, or a simplified mobile phone (PHS) connected to the Internet via a mobile network.

The means for detecting the visitor of the visitor may be a means for detecting the presence or absence of the visitor in accordance with the opening and closing of the entrance door, and other means may be used. It is preferable to use Here, the doorbell terminal is installed at the entrance or collective entrance of a suburban house, detached house, two-family house, apartment house, ground-type multi-story house, high-rise apartment house, office building, etc.
A terminal for calling an office clerk, an office worker, or the like, which corresponds to an intercom entrance handset, but the call function provided by a general intercom is not an essential component here.

The image of the visitor photographed by the photographing means may be either a still image or a moving image. The photographing means for photographing the visitor photographs the visitor in conjunction with the calling operation of the doorbell terminal. A camera provided with a photographing camera is preferable. The mode of installation of such a camera is not particularly limited as long as it can surely image the visitor. For example, the camera may be provided integrally with a part of the doorbell terminal or separately provided at a place away from the doorbell terminal. May be provided.

It is preferable to use an electronic mail as a visitor notice for notifying a user that there is a visitor. This e-mail is a visitor notice distributed to the mobile terminal station from the server device of the host station that posted the history information on the homepage of the Web site when the visitor made a visit. With this method, the user can refer to the visitor notice at an appropriate time when time is available without binding the time of the user on the go as in the conventional transfer system, and thereafter, It is possible to access the web site as needed, and to surely grasp all the visitors who have visited based on the specific history information posted on the homepage.

If the doorbell terminal installed at the entrance is provided with voice input means and the voice data of the visitor obtained by this means is added to the history information, the mobile terminal station can refer to the website of the Web site. Who did
The voice data of the visitor can provide more specific information such as the reason for the visit, the urgency, the location of the parcel delivery baggage, and the like, which is convenient. In particular, if a voice recognition means for converting the voice data into text is provided and the transcribed message is added to the e-mail as a visitor notification, the user who has received the visitor notification can access the web site before accessing the web site. The reason for the visit and the urgency can be known from the e-mail, so that it is possible to respond more quickly.

The doorbell terminal installed at the entrance may be provided with a number input means, and the contact telephone number of the visitor inputted by this means may be added to the history information or the e-mail as the visitor notice. The visitor can be contacted by telephone from the user who has referred to the history information or the e-mail.

[0015]

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a structure of a visitor notification system S according to a first embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a host station, 2 denotes a mobile terminal station, 3 denotes a detection means, 4 denotes an imaging means,
Indicates a visitor, and Y indicates a user who is a house resident.

The visitor notification system S according to the present invention comprises a detecting means 3 for detecting a visit of a visitor A, a photographing means 4 for photographing the detected visitor A, and a server device 10 connected to the Internet I. And a mobile terminal station 2 also connected to the Internet I, and when the visitor A is detected by the detecting means 3,
The image of the visitor A is photographed by the photographing means 4, and the visitor's history information including the image of the visitor photographed by the server device 10 of the host station 1 and the photographing date and time is managed as a database D. Then, the history information is posted on the homepage of the website established on the Internet I by the host station 1 and the visitor visits the mobile terminal station 2 from the server device 10 of the host station 1. The mobile terminal station 2 that has received the visitor notice 8 displays the notice on the display 20 and informs the user Y that there is a visitor.
Inform When the user Y receiving the notification accesses the Web site of the host station 1 from the mobile terminal station 2, the home page 9 on which the history information including the image of the visitor and the date and time of the visit is posted is moved by a WWW browser or the like. It is displayed on the display 20 of the terminal station 2.

As the mobile terminal station 2, a mobile phone connected to the Internet I via a mobile communication network M, a mobile phone carried by a user, a simplified mobile phone (PHS), or the like can be used. The present invention is not limited to this, and a portable notebook personal computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a digital camera, or the like that can be connected to the Internet I while away from home can be used. In recent years, services that can acquire information such as news and weather forecasts using these mobile terminals connected to the Internet, and can perform bank transfers, hotels, airline ticket reservations, and the like have been provided. Visitor notification that can be used to acquire and operate information from various mobile terminals, and by adding further ingenuity to those who have visited their home while away from home, can be assured and easily grasped from outside. It is a system built. The host station that manages the history information can be provided in an appropriate place such as a home, an apartment house management office, an office, a provider, and the like. In the following first embodiment, all or a part of the server function is provided. Is performed by a home server installed in each home.

1 to 3 show a first embodiment of the present invention. A host station 1 for managing history information includes a server device 10 which is a home server installed in a house.
At least the WWW (World Wide)
A function as a Web) server and a function as an e-mail server are provided, and the server includes one or a plurality of devices. Here, it goes without saying that some server functions such as an e-mail server may be outsourced to an external company such as a provider. The host station 1 equipped with the server device 10 manages the visitor's history information in the database D and provides a visitor history homepage on which the history information is posted.
The site b is managed on the Internet I, and after posting the visitor's history on the homepage, a visitor notice 8 composed of an e-mail is distributed to the mobile terminal station 2.
The visitor notice 8 is distributed almost simultaneously with the posting of the history information on the homepage, but can be distributed at a predetermined time before and after the posting of the homepage.

The host station 1 in the present embodiment is installed in a suburban house, a detached house, or a house H consisting of a double-family house. A call bell terminal 5 including a call button 30 pressed by a finger, a speaker and a microphone for enabling a call between the parent device 6 and a camera 40 for photographing a visitor is provided. A speaker that emits a ringing sound in response to the operation of the call button 30 and a home base unit 6 provided with a receiver used for a telephone call are provided. The doorbell terminal 5 has a function as a front-end handset of an interphone system conventionally used, and a visitor is detected when the visitor A presses the call button 30. As means for detecting a visitor's visit, a call button 3
In addition to the method using 0, for example, as shown in FIG. 2, a sensor 31 that responds to the opening and closing operation of the entrance door may be provided in a hinge portion or the like to detect a visit. Further, the photographing camera 40 for photographing the visitor may be provided separately from the doorbell terminal and provided in another place, for example, on the gate post 70 of the entrance 7 as shown in FIG.

The photographing camera 40 acquires the image of the visitor A as a still image based on the operation of the call button 30. However, it can naturally acquire the moving image as a moving image. It can also be used as a monitor camera that captures images. The doorbell terminal 5 and the in-home parent device 6 are connected online to the server device 10, respectively, and are controlled by a microprocessor in the server device 10. The image data 41 of the visitor A acquired by the photographing camera 40 of the doorbell terminal 5 is stored in the database D of the server device 10 as history information together with the date and time of the visit, when the house visits the house H when the family member is away. Is done. The photographing of the visitor by the photographing camera 40 is limited to the case where the server that detects the visitor's visit through the call button 30 determines the setting status by the family member, that is, whether or not the absence setting has been made, and then the absence setting has been made. In the case of using the monitor at the same time as the monitor camera as described above, the photographing is separately started when the resident at home picks up the handset of the in-home master unit 6.

FIG. 3 shows another embodiment of the doorbell terminal provided at the entrance 7, and this doorbell terminal 50 enables a call between the call button 30 pressed by the visitor A who has visited and the parent device in the house. In addition to the speaker 52 and the microphone 53, the camera 54 for photographing the visitor, a display 54 for displaying an image of a householder who picked up the receiver of the in-home master unit, and for the visitor to input a contact telephone number. Number input means 5
5, an input number display unit 56 for confirming the input telephone number, and a transmission button 57 for transmitting the input contact telephone number to the server. In such a doorbell terminal 50, when a visitor presses the call button 30 when he is away, the message "If you are away now, please enter your contact number and press the send button." Is sent from the server device 10 to the speaker 52 or the display 54.
Is notified to the visitor by voice or text display, the visitor inputs his / her contact telephone number with the number input means 55, confirms the telephone number on the input number display section 56, and then presses the send button 57. Thus, the data of the contact telephone number is added to history information including the image data of the visitor and the date and time of the visit, or to an e-mail as a notice of the visitor. Then, the user Y who knows the contact telephone number of the visitor by referring to the e-mail or the visitor history homepage can make a direct telephone call to the visitor from outside when necessary. In addition, since the contact telephone number input in this way is organized in a database in association with the visitor's image and visit date and time, it can be managed as a telephone directory,
It is possible to make a telephone call when returning to the office or when necessary.

Also, the visitor can input a voice message through the microphone 53, and the obtained message is converted into voice data or character data transcribed by voice recognition means in the server device 10, and the visitor receives the voice message. By referring to the e-mail as the visitor notice or the message added to the visitor history homepage added to the history information, the user Y can check the reason for the visit, the urgency, the location of the parcel delivery baggage, etc. More specific information can be obtained, and prompt action can be taken.

A display 11 is connected to the server device 10 provided in the host station 1 so that the user Y who has returned home or his / her family can display the visitor's history information on the screen and refer to it. , And updating and creating data. This display 11 may be used as a home monitor by being integrated with the home base unit,
It is also preferable to use it together as a television receiver for reproducing television broadcast images and sounds. The database D in which the visitor's history information is managed employs a relational database or the like that can easily update and create data. The visitor history homepage of the Web site under the control of the host station has a visitor's visit homepage. Updated every time. As described above, the host station 1 manages the data of the history information, but based on the images and the messages directly input from the visitors,
By additionally registering attribute data such as names, addresses, and family friends in the stored image data, useful history information that can be easily reused can be created. If you have a visitor history homepage, the image data acquired at the visitor's visit is checked against the past history information, and the image and the photographing date and time are recorded together with information such as attributes and visit counts registered in advance. Alternatively, it can be attached to an e-mail.

FIG. 4 shows a visitor notification system S1 according to a second embodiment of the present invention. A host station 1 having a server device 10 is installed in a management office C of an apartment house H1.

The server device 10 is connected to the Internet I and has at least a function as a WWW server and a function as an e-mail server. In addition, the doorbell terminal 5 provided in the collective entrance 7, the automatic locking device 71, the in-home parent machine 6 provided in each dwelling unit, and the terminal device 12 such as a personal computer are connected to each other. It is centrally controlled by a microprocessor in the server device 10. The host station 1 having such a server device 10 manages the visitor's history information for each dwelling unit in the database D, and establishes a Web site for providing a visitor history homepage on which the history information is posted on the Internet. When a visitor visits each unoccupied dwelling unit, the history information is posted on the homepage and the mobile terminal station carried by the registered user Y of the visited dwelling unit A visitor notification 8 composed of an e-mail is distributed toward 2.

The doorbell terminal 5 provided at the meeting entrance 7
Room number input button and call button used when visitor A visits a house of a specific dwelling unit, speaker and microphone for enabling communication with in-home master unit 6 of each dwelling unit, and photograph of the visitor The home parent device 6 provided in each dwelling unit includes a speaker that emits a ringing sound at the dwelling unit of the corresponding room number in response to the operation of the call button 30, a handset used for a telephone call, and an automatic lock. Device 7
And a release button for releasing 1. These have the function of an interphone system conventionally used in apartment houses. Then, the image data 41 of the visitor A acquired by the photographing camera 40 of the doorbell terminal 5 is file-managed together with the visit date and time in the database D of the server device 10 as history information for each dwelling unit. Registered user Y and his family who came home
The user can search the database D of the host station 1 through the in-home terminal device 12 and perform operations such as updating and creating data, and these terminal devices 12 are connected by the connection server of the host station 1 that manages a router. Internet I
It is preferable to be able to be connected to. The system configuration of the present embodiment can also be applied to an office building. In this case, the host station may be installed in a management office managing the building. Other configurations are basically the same as those of the above-described first embodiment, and thus the same configurations are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 5 shows a visitor notification system S2 according to a third embodiment of the present invention, in which a host station 1 includes a provider P who has contracted with a plurality of users such as a house and an office.
Service center. The host station 1 includes a server device 10 and a large-sized host computer 13 for managing the server device. The server device 10 has at least a function as a WWW (World Wide Web) server, a function as an e-mail server, and an Internet connection. A function as a server is provided. The host computer 13 is provided with a database D for storing and managing visitor history information for each house, and image data of the visitor A acquired by the photographing camera 40 of the doorbell terminal 5 provided in each house, office or the like. Reference numeral 41 denotes a file managed as history information in the database D together with the visit date and time for each dwelling unit and office. The website for providing the visitor history homepage to the registered user Y of each house,
This host computer 13 is managed on the Internet I. Also, the registered user Y and his / her family who have returned home search the database D in the host computer 13 through the terminal device 12 provided in the home,
Operations such as updating and creating data can be performed. Other configurations are basically the same as those of the above-described first embodiment, and thus the same configurations are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof will be omitted.

[0028]

According to the visitor notification system of the present invention,
The visitor notification delivered from the host station allows the user to know immediately that there was a visitor wherever the user is, and the user receiving the notice can, at an appropriate time, send the host station from the mobile terminal station to the host station. Visit the website of
By displaying the visitor history homepage on which the visitor's image and the history information including the visit date and time are posted on the display of the mobile terminal station using a WWW browser or the like, it is possible to easily grasp who visited when and from whereabouts. it can.
The user can easily access the visitor history homepage from anywhere in the world from the mobile terminal station, and can immediately view the history information posted on the visitor history homepage. In addition, a function of searching the host station database or making changes on the displayed visitor history homepage can be provided relatively easily, and the user can search the history information managed in chronological order, You can easily find out when and who came. Also,
Since photographing is always performed when a visitor is detected, security is maintained without any threat, and the existence of the photographing means also has the effect of suppressing child mischief such as unnecessary calling.

Further, in a system using an e-mail as a visitor notice for notifying a user that there is a visitor, the user is not bound to the time of a home person who is away from the user as in a conventional transfer system. Can refer to the visitor notice at an appropriate time when the time is available, and thereafter, accesses the web site as needed, and visits based on specific history information posted on the visitor history homepage. Of all persons can be ascertained with certainty.

In a system in which a doorbell terminal installed at the entrance is provided with voice input means and voice data of a visitor obtained by this means is added to history information, a visitor history homepage on a Web site is provided from a mobile terminal station. Is convenient because the user can obtain more specific information such as the reason for the visit, the urgency, and the location of the parcel delivery baggage, by referring to the voice data of the visitor. In particular, in a system in which voice recognition means for converting the voice data into text and adding a transcribed message to an e-mail as a visitor notice are provided, the user who has received the visitor notice has w
Before accessing the web site, the reason for the visit or the urgency can be known by the e-mail, so that it is possible to respond more quickly.

In a system in which the doorbell terminal installed at the entrance is provided with a number input means, and the contact telephone number of the visitor inputted by this means is added to the history information or the e-mail as the visitor notice, The user who referred to the history information or the e-mail can make a telephone call to the visitor.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of a visitor notification system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing another example of the detecting means.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing a modification of the doorbell terminal.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of a visitor notification system according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of a visitor notification system according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 A visitor C management office D database H, H1 house h dwelling unit I Internet M mobile communication network P provider S, S1, S2 visitor notification system Y user 1 host station 2 mobile terminal station 3 detecting means 4 photographing means 5 doorbell Terminal 6 In-home parent machine 7 Entrance 8 Visitor notification 9 Homepage 10 Server device 11 Display 12 Terminal device 13 Host computer 20 Display 30 Call button 31 Sensor 40 Photo camera 41 Image data 50 Doorbell terminal 52 Speaker 53 Microphone 54 Display 55 Number input means 56 Input number display section 57 Send button 70 Gatepost 71 Automatic locking device

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Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A detecting means for detecting a visit of a visitor, a photographing means for photographing the detected visitor, and a visitor history information including a photographed visitor image and the photographing date and time are managed as a database. A function of posting the history information on a website of a Web site established on the Internet, and a function of distributing a visitor notification indicating that the visitor has been visited to the mobile terminal station. A host station comprising a server device connected to the server, a function of receiving the visitor notification and notifying a user that there is a visitor, and a Web site of the host station.
A visitor notification system comprising: a mobile terminal station connected to the Internet, having a function of accessing a site and displaying a home page on which visitor history information is posted on a display. 2. The visitor notification system according to claim 1, wherein all or a part of the server function of the host station is performed by a home server installed in each home. 3. The visitor notification system according to claim 1, wherein the mobile terminal station is a car phone, a mobile phone, or a simplified mobile phone connected to the Internet via a mobile communication network. 4. The visitor notification system according to claim 1, wherein a means for detecting a visitor of the visitor uses a calling operation of a doorbell terminal installed at the entrance. 5. The visitor notification system according to claim 4, further comprising a photographing camera for photographing the visitor in association with a call operation of the doorbell terminal. 6. The visitor notification system according to claim 1, wherein an electronic mail is used as a visitor notification for notifying a user that there is a visitor. 7. The doorbell terminal installed at the entrance is provided with voice input means, and voice data of a visitor obtained by this means is added to the history information. Visitor notification system. 8. The visitor notification system according to claim 7, further comprising voice recognition means for converting the voice data into characters, and adding a transcribed message to an electronic mail as a visitor notification. 9. A doorbell terminal installed at a front door provided with a number input means, and a contact telephone number of a visitor inputted by this means is added to history information or an e-mail as a visitor notice. A visitor notification system according to any one of Items 1 to 8.