JP2003283688A - Emergency monitor informing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To surely sense forgetting of calling a receiver of a telephone depending upon an apparatus. <P>SOLUTION: When the telephone 2 becomes a hook-up state, a connecting sound or a busy tone is not detected, and a control means 41 detects whether it is a state in which a voice signal is not present from the receiver 3 for a predetermined time, or not based on a voice detecting means 54 for detecting only the voice signal. If there is no voice signal for the predetermined time from the receiver 3, it is judged that the receiver 3 is off the hook, the telephone 2 is disconnected from a telephone channel 9 via changeover switches 44a, 44b, and the means 41 is set to a call originating state. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention uses a telephone line.
To monitor the inside of the house from outside
Emergency superintendent who gives emergency notification to a pre-registered report destination when an incident occurs
The present invention relates to a visual notification device. [0002] In recent years, the social situation is aging
Elderly and children as they shift to
The situation where children are placed alone at home is increasing. That
Use the telephone line to notify the specific destination
It is sent out as monitoring information, or it is necessary to
Emergency information (hereinafter collectively referred to as emergency monitoring information)
An emergency monitoring and reporting device for sending out has been proposed. [0003] This type of emergency monitoring and reporting device is a portable telephone.
When it is not widespread, the burden on the reportee is large,
A specific person is not always waiting on the external telephone
It had to be so popular. But near
Year, with the spread of mobile phones, certain reporters
Mobile phone at all times,
The burden is reduced. Mobile phones have various features for each product.
It has features, and its functions have advantages and disadvantages, but especially
More complete functions for families with elderly people
It is required to provide such devices. [0004] The emergency monitoring and reporting device is connected to the outside via a telephone line.
A telephone that can talk to the external terminal is connected and this telephone
Control means to send emergency monitoring information to the report destination through the line
Have. However, in homes with the elderly and children
Often, people forget to leave the telephone handset off.
In such a situation, the control means should use a telephone line
Can not be sent, emergency calls and surveillance information
There was a problem that sending out information became impossible. In order to deal with such problems, for example,
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-333154 discloses that
When this occurs, the busy tone is detected by the tone detector.
Is detected, or the telephone line is
When it detects that the voltage of the
Disconnect the telephone line and send an on-hook signal.
It is proposed to output and make the control means ready to receive calls.
Have been. Also, another Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-63838 discloses
Indicates that the exchange in the central office detects that the telephone has been disconnected.
To stop applying voltage to the telephone line.
When the phone is in the off state, the telephone line is opened for a predetermined time and the line is restored
Has been proposed. However, in each of the publications proposed above,
Problem. Handset based on presence or absence of busy tone
In the method of detecting forgetting to put on, for example,
Busy when busy or when the central office is congested
In many cases, false positives often occur,
The telephone is disconnected from the telephone line without permission. Ma
High and dry, when the voltage of the telephone line becomes 0 volt
How to detect when you forget to hang up the phone
Also depends on the performance of the exchange installed at the central office.
For this reason, this is also a reliable
I can't say. Accordingly, the present invention provides a telephone set depending on the device.
Emergency monitoring notification that can reliably detect forgetting to hang up the
It is an object of the present invention to provide an information device. Means for Solving the Problems An emergency monitoring and reporting device according to the present invention
Phone is a phone that can talk to external terminals via a telephone line.
Device and connect the emergency report to the callee via the telephone line.
Emergency monitoring and reporting equipment equipped with control means for sending information
To detect whether the phone is in a hookup state
Hook-up detecting means, and the hook-up detecting means
When the stage detects a hookup condition, the telephone
Voice detection means for detecting a voice signal from a device;
When the detecting means detects a state where there is no audio signal for a certain period of time,
Disconnecting the telephone from the telephone line;
And a switching means for making a callable state.
You. In this case, the telephone is in a hookup state.
Does not detect a continuous tone or busy tone, only the audio signal
Control based on the detection output from the voice detection means for detecting
Does the unit have no audio signal from the handset for a certain period of time?
Detect whether or not. Then, an audio signal from the receiver for a certain time
If there is no, it is determined that the handset is off and switching means
Disconnects the telephone from the telephone line and sends control means
Make it possible. As described above, the presence or absence of the busy tone, the telephone
The presence of a voice signal from the handset is not a change in line voltage.
On the telephone office side.
Independent of the performance of the switch
Can be reliably detected when the receiver is left unattended. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an emergency according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.
The monitoring and reporting device will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
You. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the entire apparatus.
1 is the main unit installed in the house, 2 is the main unit
A telephone equipped with a handset 3 connected to the body,
As a monitoring means, the body 1 has a gas sensor for detecting a gas leak.
Door switch that detects intruders from doors and doors
Security sensors 5 such as the elderly and children mainly at home
People in toilets provided to prevent accidents
Toilet sensor 6 that detects nothing, and the presence or absence of a fire
Fire alarms 7 are connected by wire or wireless, respectively.
Continued. Reference numeral 8 denotes a wire provided separately from the apparatus body and teeth.
A Jares-style emergency pendant, such as an elderly or child
When an emergency occurs, an alarm signal is sent to the main unit 1
Is sent out. The telephone 2 is specified via a telephone line 9
Other external terminals including mobile phones 11a, 11b ...
You can talk with the end (telephone). Also device book
The body 1 is also transmitted through the telephone line 9 by the control means 41 described later.
Emergency surveillance to specific mobile phones 11a, 11b ...
It sends out visual information. For that, the device
The main unit 1 reserves the telephone numbers of the report destination mobile phones 11a, 11b ...
A means for registering and storing is provided. Subscribe to
The number of talk numbers should be at least 1 or more.
If you register a phone number, call priority
It is memorized. The device body 1 is a mobile phone having a high priority.
Call in order from telephones 11a, 11b ... and get a response
Call and establish a voice message in response to the activation input.
Message is sent to the report destination, and subsequent call operations are terminated.
Complete. 12 and 13 are hands-free with external terminals
A microphone and a speaker that enable a telephone call. FIG. 2 shows an apparatus main body 1 and an emergency pendant.
8 is an appearance. Configuration of device body 1
To explain, 21 is a case forming an outer shell, 22 is a case
The emergency call switch on the front of
Pressing the emergency call switch 22 corresponding to the operating means
By responding to the notification that an abnormality has occurred
The call is made to the telephone 11a, and a designated
The message will be announced as urgent information,
Two-way call mode using microphone 12 and speaker 13
After the transition, the high-sensitivity sound collection function
The ring prevention function operates. Also,
The emergency call switch 28 having the same function as the
The pendant 8 is also provided. 23 is case 21
Installed facing the microphone 12 and speaker 13
It is a slit hole drilled. In addition to the emergency call switch 22, a case
On the front of 21, a release switch 24, an absence switch 25,
Response switches 26 are provided. Answering switch 25
Is mainly used when you are away from home
Pressing the absence switch 25 switches to the absence mode,
Gas sensor 4, security sensor 5, toilet which constitutes visual means
Monitor indoors with sensors 6 and fire alarm 7
Swell. The response switch 26 is set to the regular monitoring mode.
Message from the speaker 13 at the specified time
If you do not press this when the message is reported,
An alarm is issued to notify the occurrence of an abnormality that the safety cannot be confirmed.
It is something. In addition, the release switch 24
This is for releasing the protection mode and the periodic monitoring mode.
You. Reference numeral 31 denotes a fire lamp, which is used by the fire alarm 7
Lights when a fire is detected. 32 is emergency
This is when the emergency call switches 22, 28 are pressed
Is lit. In addition, 33 is made by security sensor 5.
Security switch illuminated when activated, 34 is gas sensor 4
Gas switch that lights up when detects gas generation,
35 is a toilet lit when the toilet sensor 6 is activated
It is a switch. On the other hand, the emergency pendant 8 is
A call switch 28 is provided in the transmitter 29 and
The transmitter 29 can be suspended from the neck of a person or child
String 30 is attached so that Next, the electrical configuration of the apparatus will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIG. Note that each of the peripheral components described with reference to FIGS.
The units are all connected to the input / output unit of the control means 41,
In FIG. 3, the description is omitted. Reference numeral 41 is provided in the main body 1 of the apparatus.
Control means consisting of a microcomputer, etc.
According to the sequence of the built-in control program
Emergency monitoring information is sent to the mobile phones 11a, 11b ...
It is what you send out. Reference numeral 42 denotes a power supply to the apparatus body 1.
This is a power plug, but when the commercial power fails, the power
The up unit 43 waits for a predetermined time (for example, 60 minutes)
Supply operating voltage to the
ing. Between the telephone 2 and the telephone line 9 and control
Between the means 41 and the telephone line 9 as switching means
Changeover switches 44a and 44b are provided. This switch
The switches 44a and 44b are activated by a switching signal from the control means 41.
On and off. Also control hand
Step 41 is used when making a call to the cell phone 11a, 11b,.
Outgoing control unit 45 that controls the unit, and when an incoming call from an external terminal
An incoming call control unit 46 that controls each unit and an external
For sending various messages to the department terminal
And a sending unit 47. In the present embodiment, the telephone 2 or the portable telephone 11a,
Communication detecting means for detecting the operation of the external terminal including 11b ...
The polarity inversion detecting means 51 and the hook-up detecting means 52
, Call detection means 53, voice detection means 54, hook down
A detection means 55 is provided, and these detection signals are sent to the control means 41.
It is being taken in. Polarity inversion detection means 51
Indicates that the external terminal answered the call when calling the external terminal
Whether or not the polarity of the telephone line 9 has been reversed.
To detect. Hook-up detection means 52
When the switch 44a is turned on, ie, the telephone 2 is connected to the telephone line.
9 is connected to the receiver 3 of this telephone 2
Detects whether the device has been up (off-hook)
You. The call detecting means 53 sends a call from an external terminal to the telephone 2.
This is to detect whether or not there is a delivery. Voice detection hand
Step 54 is similar to when telephone 2 is connected to telephone line 9
If the 440Hz continuous sound (two-tone) is not detected,
Only the audio signal of 1 kHz to 1.5 kHz is detected.
Further, the hook-down detection unit 55 detects that the receiver 3 of the telephone 2
Detects whether hook-down (on-hook) has occurred
It is. Next, the operation procedure in the above configuration is shown in FIG.
This will be described based on the flowcharts of FIG. First, the main
When using the device, a telephone line 9 and a telephone
Connect the telephone 2 and connect the power plug 42 to an outlet (not shown).
Zu). Then, each part including the control means 41 operates.
A voltage is supplied to one of the switching switches constituting the switching means.
The switch 44a is turned on, the other switch 44a is turned off,
The telephone 2 is directly connected to the telephone line 9. here
Lift the handset 3 of the telephone 2 and dial the telephone number.
For example, the telephone line 9 is the same as the ordinary telephone 2
Then, the external terminal of the telephone number can be called.
In some cases, the microphone 12 and the speaker 13
Free calls are also possible. Next, an emergency alert accompanying the occurrence of an abnormal state
The operation will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. For example, before
In the absence mode described above, the gas sensor 4 and the security sensor
5, toilet sensor 6, fire alarm 7 is inside the house
To detect abnormalities in
When the 8 emergency call switches 22 and 28 of the
In step S1, the control means 41 causes the abnormal state to occur.
The emergency switch, and the switch 45
Switch 44b is turned on, and the mobile phone 11
Dial a (step S2). Subsequent step S3
The control means 41 determines whether the called party is
It is determined whether the call is in progress, and if a call is in progress, the process proceeds to step S4.
To set the mobile phone 11b as the destination of the next priority
Then, returning to step S2, the same dial signal is transmitted.
Do. On the other hand, if the called party is not busy,
In step S5, a calling operation is performed. And step
In S6, the control means 41 receives the signal from the polarity inversion detection means 51.
Based on the detection result, the destination of the report
It monitors whether or not to answer the incoming call. In step S6, the power is
The polarity of the talk line 9 is not inverted, and for example, the mobile phone 11
If a cannot answer the incoming call, the process proceeds to step S4.
To set the mobile phone 11b as the destination of the next priority
Then, returning to step S2, the same dial signal is transmitted.
Do. On the other hand, the polarity of the telephone line 9 is reversed within a certain time
If the called mobile phone 11a answers the incoming call,
The message sending unit 47 of the means 41 is, for example,
Please enter a password, such as
For example, "This is XX of XX.
Information has been activated. Please respond immediately. "
Startup input (gas sensor 4, security sensor 5, toilet
Sensor 6, fire alarm 7 and emergency call switch 22, 2
8) A message notifying the content of the abnormality according to
A notification is sent to the mobile phone 11a as information. The control means 41 determines in the next step S8.
Mobile phone 11a within a predetermined time (for example, 10 seconds)
From the same password registered in advance in the control means 41
(For example, 4 digits with # input)
Determine whether or not. Enter within the specified time from mobile phone 11a
If the password entered matches the number registered in the control means 41,
If the control means 41 receives a call from the mobile phone 11a
Responds, determines that you have entered a specific PIN,
The process proceeds to the call mode in step S9. This call mode
Then, using the microphone 12 and the speaker 13,
It is possible to carry out sound expansion / collection call with the mobile phone 11a.
(Step S10). So, for example, in the house
Between the elderly and children and the holder of the mobile phone 11a outside
Thus, more detailed information can be exchanged.
Then, if the call is ended in step S11, switching is performed.
Turn off the switch 44b and return to the procedure of step S1 again.
You. On the other hand, in the procedure of step S8, the user
If there is no password input from the telephone 11a
If you enter an incorrect PIN,
Cancel the report by telephone 11a. And said step
Returning to the procedure of S4, the mobile phone as the report destination of the next priority is returned.
The telephone 11b is set, and the same dial
Send out the signal. It should be noted in the above series of procedures that the present embodiment
The control means 41 in the example is the detection result from the polarity inversion detection means 51.
Determines that there was an incoming call response at the destination,
A message prompting the mobile phone 11a to enter a personal identification number
The password is sent from the mobile phone 11a within a certain time.
If not, dial another destination
That is what constitutes. Mobile phone with an answering machine service function
In story 11a, depending on the situation,
You can leave a message at the WatchGuard Service Center
Wear. However, instead of the mobile phone 11a, answering service
When the center answers the incoming call, the original mobile phone
Important emergency information is not transmitted to 11a, 11b ...
Cause some inconveniences. Therefore, in the present embodiment,
When it is determined that there is an incoming call response, the control means 41
Sends a message prompting for a number. Receiving this
If the Answering Service Center answers the incoming call,
Since the password is not input within a certain time, the control means 41
The caller makes another call to another destination,
Mobile phones 11a and 11b that are the primary destinations for important emergency information
It is possible to reliably communicate to ... In addition, the control of this embodiment
The control means 41 is supposed to obtain a password from the mobile phones 11a, 11b,.
If the password does not match the registered number
If it is, a call will be dialed to another report destination, so a third party
Can also prevent unauthorized use of equipment.
You. Next, the processing procedure during the external monitoring operation will be described.
This will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First step
In S21, any outside including the mobile phones 11a, 11b...
There is a call to the telephone 2 from the external terminal through the telephone line 9
Call detection means 53 indicates that there is a call to telephone set 2.
Is sent to the control means 41. Here phone 2
Handset 3 is hooked up and a call with the external terminal is opened.
When started, the voice detection means 54 detects voice accompanying the call.
A signal is sent out. Upon receiving this voice detection signal, the control
Step 41 determines that the call has started within the specified time (scanning).
(Step S22) In the next step S4, the call ends.
Wait until finished. Ie this place
In this case, the normal telephone 2 is used
You can talk with the terminal. And when the call ends
It returns to the procedure of the first step S21. On the other hand, in step S22, the telephone
Machine 2 is not on-hook and calls do not start within the specified time.
If there is, the process proceeds to step S23,
The control unit 46 turns on the changeover switch 44b to answer the incoming call.
Here, the control means 41 determines whether the external
Surveillance mode in which calls from terminals monitor the inside of the house
Is the purpose of the transition to, or to the telephone 2
To determine if the call was intended for
Enter the correct password from the terminal (for example, 4 digits with # input)
Is detected (step S2).
5). If the same number as the number registered in the control means 41
Input from the external terminal and sent to the control means 41
If the switch 44a is turned off, the telephone 2 is turned
Disconnect from line 9 and enter monitoring mode in step S26
Transition. In this monitoring mode, microphone 12 and speaker 13
Sound expansion with an external terminal (for example, mobile phone 11a) using
/ A telephone call can be made (step S27).
Therefore, for example, the elderly and children in the house and outside
More detailed information with mobile phone 11a holders
Can interact. Then, step S2
When the call ends in step 8, turn off the changeover switch 44b.
Then, the procedure returns to step S21 again. On the other hand, in step S25, the
If no security code is entered or entered
The password must match the number registered in the control means 41
Then, the procedure returns to step S24, and the telephone call with the telephone 2 is
The control means 41 waits in that state until the processing is completed.
If the telephone 2 has a so-called answering machine function,
The message from the end is stored in the telephone 2. Also phone
If the machine 2 does not have the answering machine function,
For example, the message sending unit 47 indicates “I am away now.
You. Please try again. Absence like
Sends a message to the outside terminal that it is in progress. this is
In step S23, the control means 41 replaces the telephone 2
If the silent state continues after answering the incoming call, the external terminal
This is to wipe out holding the referee. Such an absence
Whether to put a message depends on the telephone 2 to be connected
To be able to switch manually or automatically
No. As described above, the control means 41 of this embodiment is
Telephone 2 within the specified time when calling from
Sent from this external terminal if the call with
If the password you entered matches the number registered to you,
To the monitoring mode for monitoring the inside of the house by the control means 41
Is configured to allow migration of Thus, the telephone 2 has an answering machine function
If you use the answering machine before going out,
When you want to know the situation inside,
If you enter a fixed password, the home using the control means 41
It is possible to monitor the inside. Also, other
A call from a general external terminal is temporarily terminated by the telephone 2.
Even if there is no response, there is no change from the normal case, for example
Use the answering machine function added to the telephone 2 to send a message
Can be entered. In addition, a telephone without an answering machine function
When the telephone 2 is connected, the control means 41 replaces the telephone 2.
After answering the incoming call, remove the message
Automatically sent to the external terminal. Therefore, the calling external terminal
There is no danger of feeling strange on the side. Further, the password in step S25 is used.
After the detection of the signal, the control hand from the external portable terminals 11a, 11b.
Change the report destination registered in advance in step 41 and set various modes
Release and confirm settings such as report destination (for example, mobile phone
Talks 11a, 11b ... are available in areas where calls cannot be made, etc.)
Can be appropriately performed. Next, an example of the function of detecting the detachment of the receiver 3 will be described.
The continuous operation will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. S
In step S31, for example, the elderly or the child in the house
If the phone suddenly moves the handset 3 and keeps it off,
Hook-up state of handset 3 by hook-up detection means 52
Condition is detected. In response to this, the control means 41
The hookup state is detected based on the detection output from the means 54.
Conversation for a specified time (for example, 1 to 2 minutes) on the telephone line 9
It is determined whether or not there is. If there is a conversation within the specified time
If this is the case, it is determined that the call is between the ordinary telephone 2 and an external terminal
Then, the off-hook detection operation ends. On the other hand, for example
Only a continuous tone or busy tone is occurring on telephone line 9
No detection output from the voice detection means 54
If it is determined that there is no conversation at
Turn off, turn on another changeover switch 44b, and
The mobile phones 11a, 11b which are the report destinations specified from the column 41 ...
In the same way as the flowchart shown in FIG.
Emergency alerting operation for notifying that the device is off (step S3
Perform 3). The message at this time is, for example,
Are XX of XX. The handset alert has tripped. Urgently
Please respond. It is something like. Thereafter, the mobile phone 11a and the control means 41
A one-way call is established, and the caller points out
Person notices that the handset 3 has come off, and hangs up the handset 3.
When re-established, the hook-down detecting means 55
A down state is detected (step S34). Receiving this
The control means 41 turns on the changeover switch 44a and
The machine 2 and the telephone line 9 are connected again, and the original step S31 is performed.
Return in order. By the way, in the above series of operations, the telephone 2 is turned on.
Even if it is disconnected from the talk line 9,
Since the switch 44b is on, the telephone
Through the line 9, the mobile phone 11a, 11
b. Emergency alarm operation is performed in response to the occurrence of an abnormal condition.
Can be. Therefore, the handset 3 remains off
However, it is possible to reliably perform the emergency alert operation. Thus, in this embodiment, the telephone line 9
And connect the telephone 2 that can talk to the external terminal.
The mobile terminal 11a, which is a specific report destination through the telephone line 9,
11b ... equipped with a control means 41 for sending emergency monitoring information.
Phone 2 is hooked up in emergency monitoring and reporting device
Hook-up detecting means 52 for detecting whether or not
Hookup detecting means 52 detects a hookup state.
Then, a sound for detecting a voice signal from the receiver 3 of the telephone 2
The voice detecting means 54 and the voice detecting means 54
When detecting the absence, the telephone 2 is disconnected from the telephone line 9.
Release means for switching the control means 41 to a state where transmission is possible (off)
Switch 44a, 44b). In this case, the telephone 2 is in the hookup state.
If it is, a continuous sound or busy tone will not be detected and it will be an audio signal
The control means 41 receives the sound based on the sound detection means 54 for detecting the
Whether or not there is no voice signal for a certain period of time
To detect. And there is no audio signal from the handset 3 for a certain period of time.
If so, it is determined that the handset 3 is
The telephone 2 is disconnected from the telephone line 9 by the switches 44a and 44b.
Then, the control means 41 is set to a state in which transmission is possible. As described above, the presence / absence of the busy tone and the telephone
Not a change in the voltage of the line 9 but an audio signal from the receiver 3
Telephone station is determined based on the presence or absence of
Without depending on the performance of the exchange installed on the side
Depends on the telephone 3 and forgets to hang up the receiver 3
Can be detected. The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment.
Instead, various modifications may be made within the scope of the present invention.
Is possible. According to the emergency monitoring and reporting device of the present invention,
It is not the presence or absence of the G-tone or the change of the telephone line voltage.
Based on the presence or absence of an audio signal from the handset,
Is determined depending on the device.
Forgetting to leave the machine can be detected reliably.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an entire emergency monitoring and notification device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a front view showing the appearance of the above device. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the same. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure at the time of the emergency alert operation. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure at the time of the above-mentioned external monitoring operation. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure at the time of an off-hook operation. [Description of Signs] 2 Telephone 3 Handset 9 Telephone line 11a, 11b Mobile terminal (report destination) 41 Control means 44a, 44b Switch (switching means) 52 Hook-up detecting means 54 Voice detecting means

Claims (1)

Claims: 1. An emergency monitoring and reporting device comprising a control unit for connecting a telephone capable of communicating with an external terminal via a telephone line and transmitting emergency monitoring information to a report destination via the telephone line. A hook-up detecting means for detecting whether the telephone is in a hook-up state, and a voice detecting means for detecting a voice signal from a receiver of the telephone when the hook-up detecting means detects the hook-up state. ,
Switching means for disconnecting the telephone from the telephone line so that the control means can transmit when the voice detection means detects a state in which there is no voice signal for a certain period of time. .