JP2002042267A - Bathroom - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a safety bathroom preventing the delay of an alarm by detecting a human body in a bathtub as well as in a wash place in a bathroom. SOLUTION: This bathroom is characterized in that a controller issuing an alarm, when turning on a metal detector, in a case where there is no movement of a person taking a bath by a human body detecting sensor, is provided therein.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a bathroom equipped with a human body detection sensor for capturing a motion of a human body and performing image processing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Hitherto, it has been known to provide a human body detection sensor for detecting movement in a bathroom. Then, the entire bathroom is monitored using an infrared sensor, a CCD camera, or the like as a sensor, and if the state of no human body movement has continued for a certain period of time (for example, about 10 minutes) after the movement of the human body has stopped, A warning is issued by a buzzer or the like. The reason why the fixed time is set is that a person who is in a long bath may get stuck in the middle of bathing, so that if the movement stops and an alarm is issued immediately, the alarm will be issued randomly.

[0003]

However, in the prior art, if the time during which the human body does not move is just before reaching a certain time (for example, 9 minutes), no alarm is issued, so that the time is not longer than a certain time. In the case of sinking in the bathtub hot water, there is a problem that the warning is delayed despite the danger.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide a safe bathroom without delay in alarming by ensuring not only detection of a human body in a bathroom washroom but also detection of a human body in a bathtub.

[0005]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a bathroom according to the present invention is provided with a bathroom having a bathtub and a washing place, and a human body detection sensor for imaging the movement of a human body in the bathroom to perform image processing. A metal object worn by a bather and a metal detector provided at a low position in a bathtub or a washing room, wherein the human body detection sensor detects no movement of the bather and detects the metal. The first feature is that a controller is provided which gives an alarm when the device is turned on. According to the first feature, when the bather stops moving, and when the metal detector is turned on, an alarm is always issued. Even if a certain period of time has not elapsed after stopping, if a dangerous state occurs, such as falling down in the bathroom, an abnormality can be notified and others can be notified. In addition, the bathroom of the present invention, a bathroom having a bathtub and a washbasin, a low-resolution human body detection sensor that performs image processing by imaging the movement of a human body in the bathroom, and a metal object worn by a bather, A metal detector provided at a low position in a bathtub or a washing place, and provided with a controller that gives an alarm when there is no movement of a bather by the human body detection sensor and when the metal detector is turned on. This is the second feature. According to the second feature, by using a low-resolution sensor, the contour of the human body can be blurred, and privacy can be protected.

Further, the bathroom of the present invention comprises a bathroom having a bathtub and a washing room, a low-resolution human body detection sensor for imaging and processing the movement of the human body in the bathroom, and a metal worn by a bather. Made of a metal necklace and a metal detector provided at a low position in a bathtub or a washing place, and when there is no movement of a bather by the human body detection sensor and when the metal detector is turned on, an alarm is issued. A third feature is that a controller that performs the operation is provided. According to the third feature, the outline of the human body can be blurred, privacy can be protected, and even if the human body sinks in the bathtub, the necklace can be quickly detected, a danger warning can be issued, and a safe bathroom can be provided. Can be provided.

Further, the bathroom according to the present invention comprises a bathroom having a bathtub and a washing basin, a low-resolution human body detection sensor for imaging the movement of a human body in the bathroom and performing image processing, an infrared sensor, and a bather. And a metal detector provided at a low position in a bathtub or a washing room, wherein both the infrared sensor and the human body detection sensor are turned on, and furthermore, the human body detection sensor The fourth feature is that a controller is provided which gives an alarm when there is no movement of the bather due to the above and when the metal detector is turned on. According to the fourth feature, an alarm can be issued only when a danger occurs when a person enters the bathroom, and when a person is absent, metal objects in the bathroom, such as a shower head, fall naturally. Even if it does, there is no danger of issuing an alarm.

[0008]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an electric circuit showing one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram showing a configuration of an image core circuit constituting one pixel of the image detection unit of the human body detection sensor. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between the imaging range of the sensor, the detection range, and the detection area. FIG.
4 is a control flowchart showing one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a flowchart of another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a side view showing one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a bathroom 1 and a hot water device 40 viewed from the side, schematically showing an embodiment of the present invention. It is provided. 4 is an entrance to the bathroom. A human body sensor 5 is installed on the ceiling of the bathroom 1. When the bathroom 1 is a system bathroom, it is desirable to install the bathroom 1 in the inspection opening 44 opened on the ceiling for maintenance and inspection. Note that the attachment position of the human body sensor may be a wall surface of the bathroom 1. The ceiling human body sensor 5 has an imaging device using an artificial retina and includes a human body detection sensor 51 that captures an image of a human body movement in a bathroom and performs image processing, and an infrared sensor 52 that detects a human body by infrared detection. However, they may be provided separately.

In addition, the bathtub 2 is located at a low position or a washing place 3.
A metal detector 50 is provided at a low position. The metal detector 50 is turned on when a metal touches or approaches a metal, and sends a signal to a controller 90 described later. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 7, the mounting location of the metal detector 50 is desirably at a low position of the bathtub 2, that is, near the bottom of the bathtub 2. Since it is near the bottom, it may be not only the bottom but also the lower part of the side. Also,
Regardless of the inside and outside of the tank. The bather wears a metal object 65 such as a necklace. The metal object 65 is not limited to a necklace, but may be a hairpin or a hairband. When the bather sinks in the bathtub, the metal object 65 attached to the neck and head of the bather approaches the metal detector 50, and the metal detector 50 is turned on. The headrest 80 is separately placed on the bathtub 2.

The output of the human body sensor 5 is input to a controller 42 of the hot water device 40 through a connection cord 41 connected to the hot water device 40, and is transmitted from the controller 42 to a remote controller 60 for a bathroom or a remote controller 70 for a kitchen. Here, the hot water device 40 is a device for heating water such as hot water in a bathtub, and specifically includes a bath water heater, a water heater, a hot water heater, a hot water heater, and the like. I have. The hot water equipment may be not only gas-fueled but also oil-fueled. The remote controller 60 provided in the bathroom for controlling the water heater and the remote controller 70 provided in the kitchen have a display / alarm unit such as a lamp or a buzzer for notifying that there is a bather in the bathroom 1, and the human body sensor 5 When a bather is detected and a detection signal is output from the signal line, the display / alarm unit notifies. The display / alarm unit is not limited to the above, and if there is no movement of the bather for a certain period of time, it is presumed that the bather is sleeping or falling down, and the bathroom remote control 60 first alerts the user with an alarm sound or voice, If there is no response from the bathroom within a predetermined time, the kitchen remote controller 70 may be used to notify other persons by an alarm sound or voice.

The human body sensor 5 and the hot water device 4
A connector 43 for detachably attaching the human body sensor 5 is provided in the middle of the connection cord 41 for connecting to the connector 0. If the human body sensor 5 is fixed to the inspection port 44 of the bathroom 1, it is recommended that the inspection port 44 and the human body sensor 5 can be integrally removed by removing the connector 43.

A heat exchanger and a burner (not shown) are built in the hot water equipment 40. Human body sensor 5
Is supplied from a power plug 47 and is stepped down to a low voltage and supplied through a transformer of the controller 42 of the hot water equipment 40. Further, the controller 42 is provided with a control unit 90 connected to the metal detector 50 via an electric wire cord 61. The control unit 90 gives an alarm to a remote controller or the like when the metal detector 50 is turned on under certain requirements.

FIG. 2 shows a specific configuration of a human body sensor 5 including a human body detection sensor 51 using an artificial retinal chip and an infrared sensor 52. Human body detection sensor 51
Is composed of an imaging device 6 that detects a human body and processes the detected image, and a control device 7 that supplies a control signal to the imaging device 6 and determines processing information. And
In addition to the human body detection sensor 51, an infrared sensor 52 is provided in the same case body, the control device 7 is shared, and the monitoring when the bathroom 1 is dark is mutually supplemented.

The image pickup section 8 of the image pickup apparatus 6 comprises an image detection section 9 consisting of 32 × 32 pixels (= 1024 pixels), an imaging lens 10, a scanner 11, a multiplexer 12, and a scanner drive control section 13. ing. The pixels of the image detection unit 9 are each set to 256 levels of monochrome “level 0”.
(256) from (black) to 255 (white) ".

In the image pickup section 8, an image in the bathroom is formed on the image detecting section 9 by the image forming lens 10. The drive of the scanner 11 is controlled by a scanner drive control unit 13, and controls each pixel row of the image detection unit 9 so as to sequentially enter a light receiving state (on state) at regular intervals. Photocurrents simultaneously output from the pixels in one column in the light receiving state are converted from analog data into serial data by the multiplexer 12, amplified by the amplifier 14, and then input to the image processing unit 15. The conversion from analog data to serial data may be performed by a control unit provided externally or by an IC provided separately.

Each pixel of the image detecting section 9 is constituted by a pixel core circuit 17 as shown in FIG. The pixel core circuit 17 includes a light receiving element 18, a charge storage circuit 19, and a sensitivity variable circuit 20.
The reset terminal 22 is connected to the scanner 11, and the photocurrent output terminal 23 is connected to the multiplexer 12.

In FIG. 2, the gain adjustment unit 16 checks the image average value (brightness of the image) in the image processing unit 15 and, if the image average value is out of an appropriate range, the amplifier 14 controls the imaging device 6. The gain is adjusted, and the accumulation time of the image detection unit 9 is adjusted by the scanner drive control unit 13 so that the light is adjusted so that an image with appropriate brightness is obtained.

In the imaging device 6 using the artificial retina, the average value of the image is expressed by the gradation (0 gradation (black) to 255 gradation (white)) of all 32 × 32 pixels constituting the image detecting unit 9. 25
(6 gradations) and is represented by a value from 0 to 255. The average value of the image is determined by the gain of the amplifier 14 and the accumulation time of the image detector 9. Here, the gain corresponds to the aperture of the camera, and the accumulation time corresponds to the shutter speed of the camera. Therefore, in order to obtain an appropriate image average value of the imaging device 6, the gain is fixed to an appropriate gain,
The accumulation time may be adjusted. Alternatively, the gain may be adjusted by fixing an appropriate accumulation time.

In FIG. 2, at least an image detecting section 9 for performing image pickup and an image processing section 15 for performing image processing.
Is composed of one chip. This chip is called an artificial retinal chip. Also, on the back side of this chip,
The control device 7 is provided. The control device 7 is composed of a microcomputer, and incorporates therein, as software, an area dividing means 24 for dividing a detection area for performing a detection process by the human body detection sensor 51 into a plurality of areas. is there.

More specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, a point table 25 for processing image information input to the image processing section 15 is divided into a plurality of areas. That is, the imaging capability range detectable by the human body detection sensor (corresponding to the entire point table 25) is firstly changed to a detection area 26 requiring image processing and a non-detection area 27 not performing image processing.
And divided into That is, the entire imaging capability range is not set as the detection area. As a result, a part of the detection processing area that can be detected is used as a sensor detection area for actually detecting and processing, thereby limiting the processing range of the image and increasing the speed of the image processing. Further, the detection area 26 is divided into two areas, a washing area 30 and a bathtub area 31. Further, the area between the washing area 30 and the bathtub area 31 may be an invalid area, and the invalid area may be a non-detection area where no image processing is performed.

The imaging lens 10, the imaging device 6, and the control device 7, which constitute the human body detection sensor 51, are housed in one case together with the infrared sensor 52, and are mounted on the ceiling of the bathroom 1 as a human body sensor set. Can be

Then, the detection output of the imaging device 6 and the detection output of the infrared sensor 52 are input to the judgment means 32, respectively. The determining means comprehensively determines the presence or absence of a bather and the movement of the bather in the bathroom based on the output from the imaging device 6 and the output from the infrared sensor.

The image detected by the artificial retina is processed as follows. The image processing unit 15 receives image information from all pixels constituting the image detection unit 9 at regular intervals. The image processing unit 15 receives the image information at regular time intervals,
The image information is processed and output to the judging means 32 to monitor the movement of the bather.

More specifically, first, the image processing unit 15 calculates the difference (difference) in the amount of received light between the image (previous image) a predetermined time earlier detected by the image detection unit 9 and the current image (current image). I do. Pixels having a positive difference are represented by +, negative pixels are represented by-, and pixels having a difference of 0 are represented by 0. Since the movement of the object can be determined based on the boundary of the image, the movement of the boundary of the image appears as a positive or negative difference there. Thereby, the moving direction of the image boundary is estimated. By looking at the sum of the differences, it is possible to roughly grasp the movement of the person. Further, the above-described analysis method is applied to a two-dimensional image. Specifically, the directions on the pixels are divided into four directions of a vertical direction, a horizontal direction, a diagonally upward diagonal direction, and a diagonally downward diagonal direction. Each time, the difference (scalar) between the current image and the previous image is obtained, the motion in each direction is determined from the image of the difference, and the difference in each direction may be represented as a vector. Then, by averaging the difference vector between the pixel and its surrounding 3 × 3 pixels (optical flow), it is possible to detect the presence or movement of a person in the bathroom.

As shown in FIG. 4, the detection area 26 of the human body detection sensor 51 is divided into two areas, a washing area 30 and a bathtub area 31, and the sum of the differences or the amount of movement is detected for each area. . Here, the amount of motion refers to each region 30, 3
It is the average of the scalar amounts of the optical flows of each pixel for each pixel (scalar average) or the sum of the scalar amounts (scalar sum).

Next, determination of whether or not a person has entered the bathroom 1 will be described. In FIG. 5, when a person starts entering the bathroom, first, the infrared sensor 52 in a standby state detects a human body and is turned on (step S1), and a timer is set (step S2). When a person is detected in the washing room (step S3),
It is determined that the user has entered the room (step S4). In this entry determination, since the human body detection by the human body detection sensor 51 requires time for imaging and calculation of the amount of motion, or when the bathroom is dark, the monitoring sensitivity is low. After the detection by the human body detection sensor 52, the human body detection sensor 51 detects a person together, thereby compensating for the weak points of the human body detection sensor 51 and ensuring the entry into the room.

Also, when the user leaves the bathroom, the infrared sensor 52 is turned off (No in step S5), and the human body detection sensor 51 does not detect the amount of movement (No in step S6). in the case of)
Is determined to have left the bathroom. Since the infrared sensor 52 may erroneously determine the bathtub temperature as the human body temperature, the weak point of the infrared sensor 52 is supplemented by using another sensor.

Then, even when the human body detection sensor 51 does not detect a person in the washing room (No in step S3), if a person is detected in the bathtub (step S3).
8) If both the infrared sensor 52 and the human body detection sensor 51 detect a person within a predetermined time (step S
9, S10), it is determined that the person has entered the room (step S4). After it is determined that the person has entered the room, a timer is set (step S11) so that the detection duration time of the sensor matches the average bathing time. The timer set time may be extended by detecting that a person is in the bathroom.

The attachment of the human body detection sensor 51
It is attached to the ceiling of the bathroom 1 at the boundary between the washing area 30 and the bathtub area 31 of the bathroom. This position is the optimum position where the movement of a person in the bathroom provided with the washing room 3 and the bathtub 2 can be monitored in a standard bathroom. In particular, bathtub 2 and washroom 3
The boundary can be clarified with respect to the movement of a person in the bathtub 2 and the washing place 3 by being attached to the boundary between the bathtub 2 and the washing place 3. By combining the metal detector 50, the human body detection sensor 51, and the infrared sensor 52, even if a metal object such as a shower head falls naturally when a person is not in the bathroom, when a bather is not detected. There is no risk of issuing an alarm.

In the case of a system bathroom including a unit bath or the like, an inspection port for inspection is located on the ceiling of the bathroom, and the human body sensor 5 is attached to the inspection port which is an inspection lid. Is recommended. The inspection port can be attached and detached, so that the human body sensor 5 can be installed,
Not only can the inspection be performed easily, but also the condition of the optimum mounting position of the sensor is satisfied.

Further, according to the present invention, the detection of an abnormal situation in the bathroom 1 is taken into consideration. This example is shown in FIG.
It will be described based on. In the flowchart of FIG.
When the hot water is automatically supplied to the bathtub 2 by the hot water device 40 and the hot water is supplied to the bathtub 2 (step S1).
2), the entry determination shown in the flowchart of FIG. 5 is performed (step S13). When it is determined that the person has entered the bathroom 1 as described above (Yes in step S13), the motion of the human body is continuously imaged by the human body detection sensor 51, image-processed, and a monitoring state is set. .

During the monitoring of the human body detection sensor 51, if there is no movement of the bather (YES in step S14), for example, if the bather is submerged in the bathtub 2 water, it is wound around the bather's neck. Metal objects 65 such as worn necklaces
Approaches the metal detector 50 and turns on the metal detector 50 (in the case of YES in step S15), the electric wire cord 6
1, a signal is input to the control unit 90 of the controller 42, and an alarm is issued to the remote controller 60 or 70 by a buzzer or the like (step S16). The remote control may be attached not only to the kitchen but also to the living room, as long as it can notify other people.

When there is a movement of the bather (step S14)
In the case of (No), no warning is issued because the dangerous state is not assumed. If the metal detector 50 does not turn on even if the bather does not move (step S)
15 (No in the case of 15), for example, there is a drowsiness during bathing, and in this case, it can be estimated that the user is in a safe state, so no alarm is issued.

As described above, when the human body detection sensor 51 and the metal detector 50 are used in combination, when there is no motion in the bathtub and when the metal detector is turned on, it is determined that there is a danger. Becomes By using a low-resolution imaging device as the human body detection sensor 51, the screen can be blurred and the bathroom can be monitored exclusively without impairing the so-called privacy.

In this embodiment, by providing the metal detector 50 in the bathtub 2, the head of the bather can be detected, and the human body can be reliably recognized. Of course, the metal detector 50 may be installed at a position other than the low position of the bathtub 2, for example, at a low position of the washing room 3. 50 detects a metal object 65 such as a necklace and is turned on, so that an alarm is issued. It is recommended that a plurality of metal detectors 50 be installed near the floor of the washing room 3. The probability of safety detection is increased, and the safety is further increased.

The above-described embodiment is a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to this, and various design changes can be made within the scope. For example, in the present embodiment, the system bathroom has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this example and can be installed in other existing bathrooms. In addition, although a sensor having a small number of pixels is used as the human body detection sensor, the same effect can be expected by using an image sensor using a CCD.

[0038]

According to the present invention, an alarm is always issued when the bather stops moving and the metal detector is turned on, so that the bather stops moving. Even if a certain period of time has not passed, if a dangerous state occurs, such as falling down in the bathroom, an abnormality can be notified and another person can be notified. Further, according to the present invention, the contour of a human body can be blurred by using a low-resolution sensor, and privacy can be protected. Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to blur the contour of the human body, protect privacy, and even when sinking in the bathtub, quickly detect it with a necklace, issue a danger alarm, and provide a safe bathroom. it can. Further according to the invention,
An alarm can be issued only when a danger condition occurs when a person enters the bathroom, and there is a risk that a metal object in the bathroom, such as a shower head, etc. will give an alarm even if it falls naturally when there is no person. Without.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an electric circuit showing one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram showing a configuration of an image core circuit forming one pixel of an image detection unit of the human body detection sensor.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a relationship between an imaging range of a sensor, a detection range, and a detection area.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a side view showing one embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Bathroom 2 Bathtub 3 Washing room 4 Doorway 5 Human body sensor 6 Imaging device 7 Control device 9 Image detection part 15 Image processing part 17 Image core circuit 24 Area division means 26 Detection area 30 Washing area 31 Bath area 32 Judgment means 40 Hot water equipment 42 Controller 47 Power Plug 50 Metal Detector 51 Human Body Detection Sensor 52 Infrared Sensor 65 Metal Object 90 Control Unit

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A bathroom having a bathtub and a washing room, a human body detection sensor for imaging and processing an image of a human body in the bathroom, a metal object worn by a bather, a bathtub or a washing room And a metal detector provided at a position, wherein a controller is provided for alarming when the bather does not move by the human body detection sensor and when the metal detector is turned on. . 2. A bathroom having a bathtub and a washing room, a low-resolution human body detection sensor that captures an image of the movement of a human body in the bathroom and performs image processing, a metal object worn by a bather, a bathtub or a washing machine. And a metal detector provided at a low position in the field, wherein a controller is provided for giving an alarm when the bather does not move by the human body detection sensor and when the metal detector is turned on. And bathroom. 3. A bathroom having a bathtub and a washroom, a low-resolution human body detection sensor for imaging and processing the movement of a human body in the bathroom, a metal necklace worn by a bather, and a bathtub Alternatively, a metal detector provided at a low position in the washroom, wherein a controller is provided for alarming when there is no movement of a bather by the human body detection sensor and when the metal detector is turned on. A bathroom characterized by: 4. A bathroom having a bathtub and a washing room, a low-resolution human body detection sensor for imaging and processing an image of a human body in the bathroom, an infrared sensor, and a metal member worn by a bather. It consists of a necklace and a metal detector provided at a low position in a bathtub or a washing place, and when both the infrared sensor and the human body detection sensor are turned on, the movement of the bather by the human body detection sensor is reduced. A bathroom provided with a controller which gives an alarm when there is no metal detector and when the metal detector is turned on.