JP2002209248A - Mobile terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a mobile terminal used for a mobile body monitor system that can transmit a current position to a center device even when a power switch is turned off in the case that an emergency button is operated. SOLUTION: The mobile terminal is provided with a power switch to select an operating state or an inoperative state. When the emergency button is operated, the mobile terminal transmits the current position information to the center device. After the emergency button is operated, even when the power switch is operated, switching of the mobile terminal to the inoperative state is stopped. Thus, even when a thief turns the power switch after an emergency notice is issued, the center device can continuously monitor the current position.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a moving object monitoring system for monitoring the current position of a moving object such as a person or an automobile at a monitoring center, and more particularly to a portable terminal used in the moving object monitoring system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art There is a mobile monitoring system using a portable terminal having a function of detecting a current position and transmitting current position information to a center device. In this mobile object monitoring system, when a person carries a portable terminal and some abnormality occurs, the person who operates the portable terminal operates an emergency button of the portable terminal for emergency notification. Then, the emergency signal is transmitted from the mobile terminal to the center device, and the current position information of the mobile terminal is transmitted to the center device. When the emergency signal and the current location information are sent, the monitoring center takes necessary measures such as dispatching a response person to the site.

In this mobile monitoring system, a portable terminal sometimes has a function of transmitting the current position information to the center device upon receiving a request signal from the center device. In the case of this system, a wandering elderly person or the like carries a portable terminal, or a portable terminal is mounted on a car or the like. When the whereabouts of the wandering old people etc. are lost,
Alternatively, when the car or the like is stolen, the center device transmits a request signal requesting transmission of the current position to the corresponding portable terminal. On the other hand, since the current position information is automatically returned from the mobile terminal, the monitoring center can take necessary measures.

[0004]

In this mobile monitoring system, a power switch may be provided to protect the privacy of the owner, so that the portable terminal can be switched between an operating state and a non-operating state. If the power switch is provided in the portable terminal in this way, even if the owner makes an emergency report when a thief is attacked, the thief may operate the power switch of the portable terminal and put the portable terminal in a non-operation state. There is. Then, although the current position information at the time of the attack by the thief can be transmitted to the center device together with the emergency signal, the subsequent current position information is not transmitted. Therefore, if the victim is moved by car or the like, the center device cannot continue monitoring.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a portable terminal used in a mobile monitoring system, in which, when an emergency button is operated, the current position can be transmitted to a center device even if a power switch is operated. Aim.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to achieve the above object. The portable terminal of the present invention includes a power switch that switches the portable terminal between an active state and a non-active state, an emergency button that is operated when an emergency occurs, a detection unit that detects a current position, and the emergency button that is operated. Then, a current position transmitting unit that transmits the current position information detected by the detecting unit to a center device, and a switching operation prohibiting unit that invalidates the switching operation of the power switch when the emergency button is operated. I do.

According to the portable terminal of the present invention, once the emergency button is operated, even if the power switch is operated, the operation of switching between the operating state and the non-operating state becomes invalid, and the portable terminal remains operating. Becomes Therefore, even if the thief operates the power switch of the mobile terminal after the holder operates the emergency button, the mobile terminal maintains the state where the current position information is transmitted to the center device. This allows the monitoring center to continue monitoring the current location of the victim.

Further, a receiving unit is provided in the portable terminal of the present invention,
When a current position transmission request signal is received from the center device, the current position information can be transmitted in response. In this case, even if the owner cannot operate the mobile terminal, the center device can continue monitoring the current position by transmitting the request signal to the mobile terminal.

[0009] Therefore, even when the possessor is detained by pirates, cannot operate due to sudden illness, dementia, or the like, or a car equipped with a portable terminal has been stolen, a request signal is transmitted from the center device. By doing so, the current position of the mobile terminal can be monitored.

[0010]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a configuration of a mobile monitoring system to which the mobile terminal of the present invention is applied. A center device 3 and a location information center 8 arranged in an emergency response center 1 for monitoring a mobile object are connected to a communication network 2 such as an Internet public line network or a dedicated network.

The portable terminal 4 is carried by a person or mounted on an automobile. When the equipped emergency button is operated, or when the transmission request signal of the current position is received from the emergency response center 1, the mobile terminal 4 transmits the position information signal received from the GPS satellite 5 to the base station 6 and the communication network. 2 to the location information center 8. The position information center 8 receives the error information of the GPS satellites, the position information of the base station 6, and the like from the satellite reference station 7 via the communication network 2, and calculates highly accurate position information of the portable terminal 4 based on these. . The calculated latitude / longitude information as high-accuracy position information, that is, the current position information of the mobile terminal 4 is returned to the mobile terminal 4.

In the portable terminal 4 which has received the current position information,
The current position information is transmitted to the emergency response center 1 together with an emergency signal and the like. In the present embodiment, the current location information is transmitted from the mobile terminal 4 to the emergency response center 1, but may be transmitted from the location information center 8 to the emergency response center 1.

Further, in the present embodiment, the position information center 8 is used to improve the accuracy of the position information detected by the portable terminal 4. However, if it is not necessary to increase the accuracy of the position information, the current position information detected by the portable terminal 4 may be directly transmitted to the emergency response center 1. Thereby, the emergency response center 1 can know the current position of the mobile terminal 4 in real time. And if you decide that something needs to be done,
The necessary data is transmitted from the center device 3 to a predetermined coping terminal 9 to instruct coping personnel to cope. At this time, map information indicating the contents of the measure and the position of the target portable terminal 4 is transmitted to the measurer.

For example, when an emergency occurs in a person carrying the portable terminal 4 and an emergency button of the portable terminal 4 is operated, an emergency signal and current position information are transmitted to the emergency response center 1. When the emergency response center 1 receives the emergency signal,
Dispatch response personnel to the site. When it is necessary to know the location of the person carrying the portable terminal 4 or the vehicle equipped with the portable terminal 4, a request signal is transmitted from the emergency response center 1 through each base station 6. Applicable mobile terminal 4
Receives the request signal, transmits the current position information calculated by the position information center 8. Emergency Response Center 1
Notifies the family, police, etc. after confirming the current location. As a result, it is possible to search for a wandering old man whose location has been lost or to know a destination of a stolen vehicle or the like.

FIG. 2 shows the configuration of the portable terminal 4. The mobile terminal 4 has a logic unit 11 including a CPU and the like. The logic unit 11 includes a power supply unit, and is connected to the battery pack 12. The logic unit 11 further includes
RF unit 13, power switch 14, emergency button 15, buzzer 16, vibrator 17, communication LED 18, emergency LE
D19 is connected.

The RF unit 13 is connected to an antenna 21,
Signal from GPS5, base station information signal, center device 3
, And sends the request signal and the like to the logic unit 11, and transmits the current position information and the like from the logic unit 11 to the center device 3 and the position information center 8 through the base station 6. The emergency button 15 is operated when a person carrying the portable terminal 4 is attacked by a thief or when he / she feels sick.
Notifies the center device 3 that the status has changed, that is, an emergency signal and position information.

When the power switch 14 is operated, the logic unit 11 switches the portable terminal 4 between an operating state and a non-operating state. When the user of the portable terminal 4 does not use the portable terminal 4 or does not want to know his / her location even while the portable terminal 4 is being used, the user operates the power switch 14 to put the portable terminal 4 in a non-operating state. It can be. Note that the operating state of the mobile terminal 4 in the present embodiment is a state where the current position information can be returned when at least a request signal is received from the center device 3.

The operations of the communication LED 18, the emergency LED 19, the buzzer 16, and the vibrator 17 will be described later. The operation of the logic unit 11 will be described below. When a command for requesting the current position is received from the center device 3, the latitude /
The longitude is acquired and transmitted as a position information signal. The current position information signal calculated by the position information center 8 based on the position information is notified to the center device 3 as described above.

The operation when the emergency button 15 is operated will be described with reference to FIG. The process of FIG. 3 is started by interruption when the emergency button 15 is operated for emergency notification. First, the buzzer 16 sounds an alarm sound,
The emergency LED 19 blinks slowly (blinks in a long cycle) (step S1). In the case where a thief is attacked, the sound of the buzzer 16 is expected to allow the thief to escape.

Subsequently, a status change notification, that is, an emergency signal is transmitted to the center device 3 by a packet command (step S2). The status change notification, that is, the emergency signal, includes information for identifying the mobile terminal 4, an indication that an emergency has occurred, and the latitude / longitude of the current position information. The current position information is obtained from the exchange with the position information center 8 described above.

When receiving the status change notification (emergency signal), the center device 3 transmits an OK response signal by a packet command. When the portable terminal 4 receives this (step S3), it turns on the emergency LED 19 (step S4) and vibrates the vibrator (step S3).
5). The vibrator stops when it vibrates for 3 seconds.
The holder of the mobile terminal 4 can confirm that the emergency call has been made to the emergency response center 1 by turning on the emergency LED 19 and vibrating the vibrator.

Thereafter, an instruction is issued from the emergency response center 1 to the response person, and the response person rushes to the site to take a response. When the response person finishes the response, from the response terminal 9,
The completion of the countermeasure is transmitted to the center device 3. In the emergency response center 1, a monitoring status change request is transmitted from the center device 3 to the relevant portable terminal 4 by an SMS command. When receiving the monitoring status change request (step S6), the mobile terminal 4 stops the alarm sound from the buzzer 16 and turns off the emergency LED 19 (step S6).
7). Thereby, the portable terminal 4 is restored from the emergency state to the normal state.

When the emergency button is operated, the portable terminal 4 periodically transmits the current position information to the emergency response center 1 until receiving the monitoring status change request signal.
When the emergency button 15 is operated by the operation described above, the mobile terminal 4 notifies the center device 3 that an emergency has occurred and the current position information. Thereafter, when the countermeasure is completed, the portable terminal 4 returns to the original state by the command from the center device 3.

During this time, even if the owner of the portable terminal 4 is shifted, if there is a request signal from the center device 3, the current position information is transmitted to the center device 3. Therefore, by transmitting a request signal from the center device 3 to the corresponding portable terminal 4 at appropriate time intervals and continuing to monitor the current position, even if the owner is shifted by car. The emergency response center 1 can continue monitoring.

Note that, instead of transmitting the current position information when the request signal is received from the center device 3, the current position information may be automatically transmitted from the portable terminal 4 at predetermined time intervals. However, after the emergency button 15 is operated, it is possible that the thief notices and operates the power switch 14 of the portable terminal 4 to turn it off. As a result, when the mobile terminal 4 becomes inactive,
Even if the request signal is received from the center device 3, the current position information will not be transmitted. On the other hand, when the emergency button 15 is operated, the portable terminal 4 of the present invention invalidates the power switch 14 even if the power switch 14 is operated, so that the monitoring of the current position can be continued.

The operation of invalidating the operation of the power switch 14 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The operation in FIG. 4 is executed by interruption processing at predetermined time intervals when the power switch 14 is turned on and the mobile terminal 4 is in the operating state. First, it is determined whether or not the power switch 14 has been operated (step S11). Here, the power switch 1
If there is no operation 4, the process ends, and the operating state is maintained. If the operation of the power switch 14 is detected in step S11, it is determined whether or not the state is an emergency state (step S12). Here, the emergency state refers to the state of steps S3 to S6 in the flowchart of FIG.
If it is not an emergency state, the portable terminal 4 is switched to a non-operation state (step S13). On the other hand, if it is determined in step S12 that the mobile terminal 4 is in the emergency state, the process ends, and the mobile terminal 4 is maintained in the operating state without switching to the non-operating state.

By performing the start-up control as described above, once the emergency button 15 is operated, even if the power switch 14 is operated, the portable terminal 4 can change the status from the operating state to the non-operating state. There is no. Therefore, even if the power switch 14 is operated by a thief, the emergency response center 1 can continue monitoring. In addition,
When a monitoring status change request signal is received from the center device 3 in step S6 in FIG. 3, step S12 in FIG.
In this case, since the emergency state is not determined, if the power switch 14 is operated, the portable terminal 4 is switched from the operating state to the non-operating state. Therefore, the monitoring status change request signal from the center device 3 functions as an emergency state restoration signal.

[0028]

According to the present invention, in a portable terminal used in a mobile monitoring system, when an emergency button is operated, the current position can be transmitted to the center device even if the power switch is turned off. become.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of a mobile monitoring system in which a mobile terminal of the present invention is used.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of a portable terminal of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation of the portable terminal shown in FIG. 2 at the time of an emergency report.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing activation control processing of the mobile terminal in FIG. 2;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Emergency response center 2 ... Communication network 3 ... Center device 4 ... Portable terminal 5 ... GPS satellite 6 ... Base station 7 ... Satellite base station 8 ... Location information center 9 ... Response terminal 11 ... Logic part 12 ... Battery pack 13 ... RF unit 14 ... power switch 15 ... emergency button 16 ... buzzer 17 ... vibrator 18 ... communication LED 19 ... emergency LED 21 ... antenna

Continued on the front page F-term (reference) 5C087 AA03 AA12 AA23 AA32 AA42 AA51 BB12 BB13 BB46 BB74 BB76 DD05 DD14 DD33 EE16 EE18 FF01 FF05 FF13 FF17 GG21 GG30 GG43 GG51 GG69 GG70 GG32 A18 DD DD DD DD DD DD DD DD DD DD DD DD EE16 EE18 JJ66 KK05 KK13 LL13

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A power switch for switching a mobile terminal between an active state and a non-active state, an emergency button operated when an emergency occurs, a detection unit for detecting a current position, and when the emergency button is operated. A current position transmitting unit that transmits current position information detected by the detection unit to a center device; and a switching operation prohibiting unit that disables a switching operation of the power switch when the emergency button is operated. A mobile terminal characterized by the above-mentioned. 2. A current position transmitting unit, wherein the current position transmitting unit transmits the current position information to the center device when a request signal for requesting transmission of a current position is received from the center device by the receiving unit. The mobile terminal according to claim 1. 3. The portable terminal according to claim 1, further comprising a receiving unit, wherein the switching operation prohibiting unit stops prohibiting the switching operation when the receiving unit receives a restoration signal from the center device. . 4. The mobile terminal according to claim 1, wherein the current position transmitting unit continuously transmits current position information to a center device when the emergency button is operated.