JP2003042536A - System for monitoring abnormality in bathroom - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To realize a system for monitoring abnormality in a bathroom in which a preecho of an accident in the bathroom is caught without fail and occurrence of an accident is found in an early stage while protecting privacy of a person taking a bath. SOLUTION: The image in a bathroom is subjected to correction, e.g. mosaicking, before being displayed to the outside of the bathroom. The correction level can be switched stepwise and can be selected in accordance with the privacy level of a person taking a bath. Consequently, the inside of the bathroom can be monitored constantly without causing a sense of shame in the person taking a bath.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a system for monitoring whether a bather has an abnormality in a bathroom.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Accidents in bathrooms are as common as traffic accidents, and have become a social problem that cannot be overlooked. Above all, the discovery of slipping and loss of consciousness while bathing was delayed, so there were no end to the events that led to the importance.
Therefore, for the purpose of early detection of an accident or abnormality in the bathroom, a system has been proposed in which a human body detection sensor is installed in the bathroom to monitor the behavior of a bather.

[0003]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION Problems to be Solved by the Invention In the bathroom abnormality monitoring system that has been proposed so far, the movement of the bather in the bathroom is monitored, and when the movement of the bather stops for a predetermined time or longer, it is notified. there were. In such a system,
It is difficult to distinguish between a quiet bath and an accident in the bathroom, and it is difficult to catch the accident in the bathroom early.
In addition, until the bather's movement stops, even if there is a sign ahead of time, the sign cannot be detected, and it is often too late when the warning is given. Therefore, it is conceivable to install a camera in the bathroom and display an image of the bathroom outside the bathroom for monitoring. According to this technology, it is expected that the occurrence of an accident in the bathroom can be detected early without overlooking the sign of the accident in the bathroom. However, this method cannot protect the privacy of the bather and cannot be put to practical use as it is.

The present invention does not miss a sign of an accident in a bathroom,
It is an object of the present invention to realize an abnormality monitoring system in the bathroom that can detect an accident in the bathroom early and protect the privacy of the bather.

[0005]

Means, Actions and Effects for Solving the Problem The present inventor is the most effective method for preventing and finding an accident in the bathroom by observing the image in the bathroom outside the bathroom, but violates the privacy of the bather. As a result of further recognition, it was confirmed that by appropriately blurring the image, both prevention and discovery of accidents in the bathroom and protection of privacy can be achieved. The bathroom abnormality monitoring system of the present invention includes a bathroom image capturing device that captures an image of the interior of the bathroom,
An image blurring device for blurring an image taken by an image capturing device in the bathroom and an outside-bathroom display device for displaying the image blurred by the image blurring device outside the bathroom. The "blurring process" of the image here means the correction process such as "mosaic" or "blurring".
Blurring to the extent that it does not violate the privacy of the bather. In the bathroom abnormality monitoring system of the present invention, since the image in the bathroom is blurred and then displayed on the display device outside the bathroom, it is possible to detect the accident in the bathroom and its sign without spoiling the privacy of the bather. it can.

In the bathroom abnormality monitoring system of the present invention, it is preferable that the blurring processing level of the image blurring device can be switched in the bathroom. In the bathroom abnormality monitoring system of the present invention, it is possible to switch the blurring level according to the protection level of the bather's privacy and the necessity of monitoring in the bathroom. For example, when the bather is an infant, it is highly necessary to monitor the inside of the bathroom, but the privacy protection level may be low, and the bath can be safely bathed by making the blur level “weak and obscure”. (Or infants can safely bathe).
In the case of elderly people, an image blurred so that the movement can be grasped is displayed. As a result, the elderly can bathe with confidence or the elderly can bathe with confidence. On the other hand, the need to monitor the bathroom is small,
In the case of a bather who values privacy, the blurring level of the image is set to "strongly blur". When the blurring level is switched in the bathroom, depending on the protection level of the bather's privacy and the need for surveillance in the bathroom,
Operate the bathroom monitoring system.

Further, in the bathroom abnormality monitoring system of the present invention, it is provided with the bathroom microphone for collecting the sound in the bathroom and the speaker outside the bathroom for outputting the sound collected by the bathroom microphone outside the bathroom. It is preferable to switch whether or not the speaker outside the bathroom outputs sound in association with the activation level. In the bathroom abnormality monitoring system of the present invention, it is possible to switch the blurring level according to the protection level of the bather's privacy and the necessity of monitoring. When the image blur level is "weakly blur", the speaker outside the bathroom outputs the sound in the bathroom, and when the image blur level is "strongly blur", the speaker outside the bathroom is in the bathroom. The sound of is not output. This makes it possible to monitor the inside of the bathroom by using both the image and the sound while protecting the privacy of the bather.

The outside-bath-display device used in the present invention is preferably provided in a water heater remote control installed outside the bathroom.
By installing a display device outside the bathroom that displays the image of the bathroom in the existing remote controller for the water heater (referred to as a remote controller) installed in the kitchen, etc., the system can be constructed at low cost, and the hot water can be supplied by one remote controller. It is possible to operate the vessel and monitor the inside of the bathroom, and to centrally manage the inside of the bathroom outside the bathroom.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. 1 is a schematic diagram of a bathroom abnormality monitoring system according to the present embodiment, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the bathroom abnormality monitoring system of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a bathroom abnormality monitoring of FIG. It is explanatory drawing of a display screen when a system is operated.

As shown in FIG. 1, a bathroom remote controller 12 is installed in the bathroom 10. The bathroom remote controller 12 controls the hot water temperature of the water heater and the automatic hot water filling of the bathtub according to the operation of the bather. To do. The bathroom remote controller 12 is provided with an image display unit 14 for displaying an image and a speaker / microphone 16. Further, this bathroom remote controller 12 is provided with a privacy switch 18 for setting a mosaic processing level (hereinafter referred to as a mosaic level) of an image described later. A CCD camera 20 for photographing the inside of the bathroom is installed on the ceiling or a wall surface near the ceiling in the bathroom 10 and is connected to the bathroom remote controller 12 via a signal line 22. A door sensor 24 for detecting entrance and exit of a bather is installed on the door of the bathroom 10 and is connected to the bathroom remote controller 12 via a signal line 26. A kitchen remote controller 52 is installed in the kitchen 50, and the operator can instruct the kitchen to adjust the hot water temperature of a water heater (not shown) or automatically fill the bathtub with hot water. The kitchen remote controller 52 is provided with an image display unit 54 for displaying an image in the bathroom and a speaker / microphone 56, and is connected to the bathroom remote controller 12 via a signal line 58.

As shown in FIG. 2, the bathroom remote controller 12 has a built-in controller 28 such as a CPU, which controls a water heater (not shown) and a bathroom abnormality monitoring system. Further, the bathroom remote controller 12 has an image processing unit 30 that performs mosaic processing described later on an image of the bathroom taken by the CCD camera 20.

Next, the operation of the bathroom abnormality monitoring system will be described. When the door sensor 24 detects entry into the bathroom, the abnormality monitoring system in the bathroom starts to operate. That is, C
The CD camera 20 starts shooting. The photographed image signal is sent to the image processing unit 30 and subjected to mosaic processing, and the mosaiced and blurred image in the bathroom is displayed on the image displays 14 and 54.

There are five mosaic levels, and the bather can select the privacy level by using the privacy switch 18 provided on the bathroom remote controller 12 according to the privacy level. When the mosaic level is low (meaning that the degree of blurring is low and the degree of sharpening of the display image is high), the sound in the bathroom is collected by the speaker / microphone 16 provided in the bathroom remote controller, and the kitchen remote controller 52. It is output to the outside of the bathroom from the speaker / microphone 56 provided in the. High mosaic level (high degree of blurring,
It means that the displayed image is strongly blurred.)
The speaker / microphone 56 in the kitchen is turned off, and the sound in the bathroom is not output outside the bathroom.

The mosaic level will be described with reference to FIG.
At "Mosaic level 0", where the mosaic level is the lowest,
An uncorrected image that is not mosaic-processed is displayed on the image display unit 14,
54, the voice in the bathroom is output from the speaker / microphone 56 in the kitchen. In the “mosaic level 1”, a finely mosaiced image is displayed on the image display units 14 and 54, and the sound in the bathroom is the speaker / microphone 56 in the kitchen.
Is output from. In the "mosaic level 2", an image that is coarsely mosaic-processed as compared with the "mosaic level 1" is displayed on the image display units 14 and 54, and the sound in the bathroom is output from the speaker / microphone 56 in the kitchen. In the "mosaic level 3", an image that is more roughly mosaic-processed than in the "mosaic level 2" is displayed on the image display units 14 and 54, and the sound in the bathroom is not output from the speaker / microphone 56 in the kitchen. In this case, it is possible to obtain information about whether the bather is stationary or moving from the image. "Mosaic level 4" with the highest mosaic level
Then, as a result of the maximum image correction processing, the image is no longer displayed on the image display units 14 and 54, and the sound in the bathroom is not output from the speaker / microphone 56 in the kitchen.

In "Mosaic level 0", the image is uncorrected and the voice in the bathroom can be heard, so that the state of the bather can be clearly understood. If the bather is an infant or the like and the level of privacy protection is low, it is appropriate to set this level. In "mosaic level 1", the mosaic is fine and the voice in the bathroom can be heard, so that the state of the bather can be understood relatively well. It is appropriate to set this level when the bather is in the lower grades of elementary school. The "mosaic level 2" has a rougher mosaic than the "mosaic level 1", but since the voice in the bathroom can be heard, the state of the bather can be judged mainly by the voice. It is possible to judge visually whether the bather is moving or not. It is appropriate to set this level when the bather is in the upper grade of elementary school. "Mosaic level 3" has a rougher mosaic than "Mosaic level 2" and it is not possible to judge by voice in the bathroom, so it is difficult to grasp the state of the bather, and it is judged whether or not the bather is moving. Is barely possible. It is appropriate to set this level when the bather is an elderly person. In "mosaic level 4", neither image nor sound is output outside the bathroom. Therefore, when the bather wants to give priority to privacy protection, it is appropriate to set this level.

As described above, in the bathroom abnormality monitoring system of this embodiment, the image inside the bathroom is subjected to mosaic processing and displayed outside the bathroom. Furthermore, the mosaic level can be switched to 5 levels, and it can be selected according to the privacy level of the bather. As a result, it is possible to monitor the inside of the bathroom without embarrassing the bather.

In the above-described embodiment, when the door sensor 24 provided on the door of the bathroom 10 detects the entrance of the room, the abnormality monitoring system in the bathroom starts to operate, and when the door sensor 24 detects the exit, the abnormality monitoring system in the bathroom. However, the method of starting and ending the operation of the system can be improved as follows. Figures 2 and 3
As shown in, the bathroom remote controller 12 and the kitchen remote controller 52 are provided with an automatic water filling switch 3 for performing automatic water filling.
2, 60 are provided. The automatic hot water filling function is a function of supplying hot water having a preset temperature to the bathtub and stopping the hot water supply to keep the temperature when the preset water level is reached. Normally, a bather takes a bath with the automatic water filling switches 32 and 60 turned on, and turns off when leaving the room. The automatic water filling switches 32 and 60 are diverted to start and end the operation of the bathroom abnormality monitoring system. That is, the automatic filling operation and the monitoring system are started at the same time by turning on the automatic filling switches 32 and 60.
By turning off 60, they are simultaneously ended. According to this, since it is possible to start or end the bathroom abnormality monitoring system using the existing device without newly providing the door sensor 24 on the door of the bathroom 10, it is possible to construct the system at low cost. .

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the image in the bathroom is displayed on the image display section of the kitchen remote controller outside the bathroom, but the display destination of the image in the bathroom can be improved as follows. The image in the bathroom can be displayed not only on the kitchen remote control, but also on the screen of a TV set in the living room or the like, or the display of a mobile phone. As a display destination of the image, in addition to the kitchen remote controller, a TV screen, a display unit of a mobile phone, or the like is preset, and the kitchen remote controller is provided with channels for selecting these display destinations. According to this, the image in the bathroom can be displayed using the existing display device, so that the system can be constructed at low cost. Furthermore, it is possible to monitor the inside of the bathroom not only in the kitchen but anywhere outside the bathroom.

The conventional bathroom abnormality monitoring system detects and informs when the movement of the bather has stopped for a predetermined period of time or longer, and therefore detects a critical situation before the movement stops. In many cases, it was too late when the warning was issued. On the other hand, if a bather is constantly monitored by a monitoring system using images, there is a problem that the bather's privacy is not protected. In the present embodiment, since the image in the bathroom can be subjected to the five-step mosaic processing, the bather can switch the mosaic level according to the privacy protection level. As a result, it becomes possible to detect an accident or abnormality occurring in the bathroom at an early stage and promptly deal with it while protecting the privacy of the bather.

In the monitoring system of the present embodiment, in addition to the mosaic display, when it is detected from the signal of the CCD camera 20 that the bather does not move continuously for a predetermined time or more,
It judges that some abnormality has occurred and issues a warning.
Specifically, the current image and the immediately preceding image are constantly compared to determine whether or not there is a change. If the determination that no change has been made continues for a predetermined time or longer, the kitchen remote controller 52 is provided. An alarm sound is emitted from the kitchen speaker / microphone 56. At this time, a warning may also be displayed on the image display 54 or the like.

Specific examples of the present invention have been described in detail above, but these are merely examples and do not limit the scope of the claims. The technology described in the claims includes various modifications and changes of the specific examples illustrated above. Further, the technical elements described in the present specification or the drawings are
The technical usefulness is exhibited alone or in various combinations, and is not limited to the combinations described in the claims at the time of filing. In addition, the technique illustrated in the present specification or the drawings achieves a plurality of purposes at the same time, and achieving the one purpose among them has technical utility.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a bathroom abnormality monitoring system according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the same bathroom abnormality monitoring system.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a display screen when the abnormality monitoring system in the bathroom is activated.

[Explanation of symbols]

10: Bathroom 12: Bathroom remote control 14: Image display 16: Speaker / microphone 18: Privacy switch 20: CCD camera 22: signal line 24: Door sensor 26: signal line 28: Control unit 30: Image processing unit 32: Automatic water filling switch 50: Kitchen 52: Kitchen remote control 54: Image display 56: Speaker / microphone 58: signal line 60: Automatic water filling switch

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A bathroom photographing device for photographing the inside of a bathroom, an image blurring device for blurring an image photographed by the bathroom photographing device, and an image for blurring treated by the image blurring device outside the bathroom. An abnormality monitoring system in the bathroom, which is provided with a display device outside the bathroom for displaying. 2. The system for monitoring abnormality in a bathroom according to claim 1, wherein the blurring level of the image blurring device is switchable in the bathroom. 3. A bathroom microphone for collecting the sound in the bathroom and an outside bathroom speaker for outputting the sound collected by the bathroom microphone to the outside of the bathroom, wherein the outside speaker is interlocked with the blurring level. The abnormality monitoring system in the bathroom according to claim 2, wherein whether or not to output the sound is switched. 4. The in-bath-room abnormality monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein the outside-bath-room display device is provided on a remote controller for a water heater installed outside the bathroom.