JP2003346258A - Emergency contact system and terminal device used in the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an emergency contact system capable of promptly and accurately reporting the occurrence of emergency situation such as a fire, flood damage, and a traffic accident to a department concerned, and announcing it to those nearby. <P>SOLUTION: A terminal device 10 comprises an emergency contact information creating means for creating the emergency contact information, and a transmitting means for transmitting the emergency contact information to a center device. The center device 30 is provided with a transmitting means for receiving the emergency contact information from the terminal device 10, and transmitting the emergency contact information to the terminal device 10 installed at the emergency occurrence point reported by the terminal device 10. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an emergency system for accurately reporting a fire, flood, sudden illness, traffic accident, crime, terrorism, or other emergency situation to the center so that the situation can be dealt with. The present invention relates to a communication system and a terminal device used for the communication system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, fire, flood, sudden illness, traffic accident,
In the event of a crime, terrorism, or other emergency, the following methods have been used to notify the relevant authorities or inform the surrounding people.

[0003] That is, as a method of notifying the government office in charge, a method of making a direct telephone call is most often used. As a method of notifying a nearby person, broadcasting by a speaker installed outdoors, The method of getting out of a car and notifying is widely used. Then, speaking only about traffic accidents, as described in JP-A-2000-105886, when a traffic accident occurs,
It is known to automatically detect it and report it to the police or emergency center in charge.In the case of fire, theft, etc., those that automatically detect and report these emergency situations are often used. I have.

[0004]

However, none of these methods, which have been widely used in the past, are sufficient as an emergency notification system, and have many problems as described below. In other words, in the method of making a direct report by telephone, it may take time to report itself due to the tension of the emergency, it may not be possible to accurately report the location or situation, and the emergency In the method of detecting and reporting, only a specific emergency situation can be reported, and the content of the emergency report is only predetermined content.
It is not always sufficient, and as a method of notifying others, there is a problem that it is a human tactic, and it is not possible to accurately and accurately notify an emergency.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and can accurately report an emergency.
It is to provide an excellent emergency contact system that can notify the surrounding people exactly.

[0006]

An emergency contact system according to the present invention includes a terminal device and a center device capable of communicating with each other via a communication network, and the terminal device includes a terminal-side emergency contact information for generating emergency contact information. A center unit comprising: a generating unit; a transmitting unit that transmits the emergency contact information to the center device; a receiving unit that receives the emergency contact information from the center device; and a display unit that displays the emergency contact information received by the receiving unit. Receiving means for receiving emergency contact information from the terminal device, display means for displaying the emergency contact information received by the receiving means, and new emergency contact information based on the emergency contact information received by the receiving means. Center-side emergency contact information generating means for generating a new emergency contact information generated by the center-side emergency contact information generating means to a predetermined terminal device. And it has a configuration in which a unit.

With this configuration, the terminal device accurately generates emergency contact information using the emergency contact information generating means,
It can be transmitted to the center device, and the center device can receive and display it to accurately grasp the emergency contact information from the terminal device, and further, based on the emergency contact information received from the terminal device. It is possible to generate new emergency contact information, transmit the new emergency contact information to a predetermined terminal device, and receive and display the new emergency contact information accurately at the predetermined terminal device. Has an action.

Further, the emergency contact system of the present invention is configured such that the emergency contact information generated in the terminal device includes at least one of the information unique to the terminal device, and the current position and the emergency occurrence point. .

[0009] With this configuration, it is possible to immediately know who the emergency contact information is, from where the emergency contact information is, or where the emergency contact information is related to the emergency that has occurred, and the center device can accurately respond to the emergency. It has the action of:

Further, the emergency contact system of the present invention has a configuration in which the emergency contact information generated in the terminal device includes at least one of audio information from a microphone provided in the terminal device and video information from a camera.

[0011] With this configuration, it is possible to notify the center of voice, video, and the like around the emergency occurrence point as emergency contact information, so that the emergency can be notified more accurately.

Further, the emergency contact system of the present invention has a configuration in which the new emergency contact information generated in the center device includes the new emergency contact information reflecting the result of the confirmation of the emergency contact information with the terminal device.

With this configuration, new emergency contact information is generated not only based on the emergency contact information transmitted from the terminal device but also based on the information after the confirmation of the emergency contact information.
Inadvertent transmission of erroneous information to a large number of predetermined terminal devices can be prevented inadvertently, and an effect of always enabling proper information transmission is provided.

In the emergency communication system according to the present invention, the predetermined terminal device is a peripheral terminal device determined in advance based on an emergency occurrence point.

With this configuration, the emergency notification information is transmitted from the center device to a predetermined terminal device near the emergency occurrence point, and the emergency occurring near the predetermined terminal device can be promptly notified. It has the effect of being able to know exactly, and taking evacuation and other actions quickly and appropriately based on the emergency contact information.

Further, the emergency communication system of the present invention has a configuration in which the terminal device and the center device have respective compression / expansion means for compressing / expanding the emergency information.

With this configuration, even if the emergency contact information includes an image and other information having a large data amount, these can be compressed, transmitted, received, and then decompressed. More detailed information can be transmitted without worrying about costs.

[0018]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an emergency communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an emergency communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of a terminal device constituting the system, and FIG. 3 is a center device constituting the system. It is a schematic block diagram.

An emergency communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIGS.
A terminal device 10 and a center device 30 that can communicate with each other via a wireless telephone line, a base station 40, the Internet, and other communication lines 50 are provided.

The terminal device 10, as shown in FIG.
A positioning unit 11 that receives a radio wave from the S satellite and measures the current position where the terminal device 1 is located, a microphone 12, and a speaker 1
3 connected to the audio input / output unit 14 and the camera 1
5, a key input unit 17 for inputting various commands and various information, a storage unit 18 for storing various information, and a display unit 19 for displaying these information.
And a communication unit 20 that communicates with the center device 30 and other communication partners, and a control unit 21 that controls each of them.

As shown in FIG. 3, the center device 30 includes a communication unit 31 for communicating with the terminal device 10, a storage unit 32 for storing various information, a key input unit 33 for inputting various commands and various information, A display unit 34 for displaying such information, an audio input / output unit 37 connected to a microphone 35 and a speaker 36, respectively, and a control unit 38 for controlling these components are provided.

As shown in FIG. 1, servers such as an Internet provider 60, a company, and an organization 70 are connected to the communication network, and the terminal device 10 can communicate via these servers. It is configured.

Next, the operation of the emergency communication system according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.

First, in the present embodiment, the terminal device 10
Has a function as a mobile phone. Therefore, if the telephone number of the desired partner is input and transmitted using the key input unit 17, it is possible to call the partner, and if the terminal device 10 of the partner responds, the line is captured between the two. Then, telephone communication can be performed between the two.

If the Internet address or mail address of the other party is input using the key input unit 17 and the call is transmitted, various kinds of information can be exchanged with the other party via the Internet or e-mail. 1
In addition to the information such as characters, numbers, and symbols input in step 7, the video taken by the camera 15 can be transmitted or received to the other party at the same time.

Further, in the present embodiment, there is provided a positioning unit 11 for receiving a radio wave from a GPS satellite and positioning the current position of the terminal device 10, and based on the current position measured by the positioning unit 11, its surroundings. It is also possible to read out the map information from the storage unit 18 and always display the current position on the display unit 19 together with the surrounding map information.

Then, the user can arbitrarily input a map from the key input unit 17 (for example, display a map on the display unit 19, specify a destination using a cursor or the like using the map, or use the key input unit 1).
If a destination is input (by directly inputting a location name and the like by using 7), a route from the current position to the destination can be searched and displayed on the display unit 19 together with the current position.

Next, a detailed description will be given of the operation when a fire, flood, sudden illness, traffic accident or other emergency occurs and the emergency is contacted. FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the emergency communication system according to one embodiment of the present invention.

When an emergency occurs, the storage unit 18 has a contact address (center device 30) for notifying the emergency.
Contact identification information (ID) such as a telephone number, a mail address, an Internet address, etc., is registered in advance for each type of emergency, and furthermore, a contact information for notifying the emergency for each type of emergency is provided. The determined messages are stored together in pairs.

When an emergency contact operation is performed by using the key operation unit 17 (step 401), an emergency contact mode is set, and emergency contact information can be generated in this state (step 402).

As the emergency contact information, it is first necessary to determine what the emergency situation is. For this reason, in this embodiment, when an emergency contact operation is performed using the key operation unit 17 (step 401). The type of emergency (fire, flood, sudden illness, accident, crime, terrorism, etc.) registered in the storage unit 18 in advance is read and displayed on the display unit 19.

Therefore, first, one of a plurality of emergency situations displayed on the display unit 19 is selected,
This is input using the key input unit 17. The input can be performed by moving the cursor to the position of the emergency to be input and operating the enter key.

When the type of emergency is determined and input in this way, a message (for example, a message indicating a fire or a sudden illness) stored in advance in the storage unit 18 corresponding to the emergency is transmitted to the emergency contact. The information is selected as one of the information, and further, one or more of the following information 1) to 6) can be additionally transmitted to the center device 30 as the other information.

1) Position information of the current position measured by the positioning section 11 2) Map information of the surrounding area is extracted based on the current position measured by the positioning section 11, and an emergency occurrence point is determined based on the map information. 3) the current position specified by the key input unit 17 and obtained by using the key input unit 17;
4) Arbitrary message information such as characters and sentences input using the key input section 17) 5) Voice information obtained by the caller obtained by the microphone 12 and its surroundings 6) Camera 15 As described above, a message or additional information previously stored in the storage unit 18 can be transmitted. In this state, when the transmission operation is performed using the key input unit 17 (step 40).
3) These pieces of information are respectively transmitted to the corresponding center devices 30 via the communication network (step 40).
4).

That is, when a transmission operation is performed using the key input unit 17, the line is connected to the center device 30 of the report destination based on the specific number of the report destination stored in the storage unit 18 in advance. In this state, the various types of information described above are respectively transmitted to the center device 30 via the communication network. At this time, terminal identification information (ID) such as a telephone number and a mail address for identifying the terminal device 10 is also transmitted to the center device 30 at the same time.

In the center device 30, the emergency contact information is received by the communication unit 31 (step 406), and those which can display the image are displayed on the display unit 34 (step 4).
07) The voice is output from the speaker 36. That is, when the current position or the position information of the emergency occurrence point is received, based on the received position information, the position is displayed on the display unit 34 together with the map information so that the position can be confirmed accurately. I do.

When the character information and the video information from the camera 15 are received, the character information and the video information are
In addition, with regard to voice, the terminal device 10 and the center device 30 are operated to enable two-way communication using the microphones 12 and 35 and the speakers 13 and 36 provided respectively. Therefore, the information confirms what the emergency situation is and what the situation is, and if necessary, further confirms it accurately by voice call (step 408).

Confirmation of emergency contact information (step 408)
Is the communication between the terminal device 10 that has issued the emergency notification and the center device 30 that has received the emergency notification (step 40).
5, 408), and when the confirmation of the emergency contact information is completed (step 408), new emergency contact information to an emergency destination determined later is generated based on the result (step 409). The emergency contact to which the new emergency contact information is to be transmitted is appropriately determined according to the location information of the emergency occurrence point and the situation of the emergency (Step 4).
10).

For example, when the content of an emergency is such that a very large fire is occurring in a building such as a company or an organization, it is necessary to notify the building and everyone in the vicinity of the building of the emergency. Yes, for that purpose, based on the location information of the building, one or a plurality of base stations 40 and an antenna (not shown) having directivity of the base station 40 are selected so as to cover the building, Therefore, the terminal device 10 periodically communicates with the base station 40 to notify the position of the terminal device, so that the base station 40 can recognize all the terminal devices existing in the area, and based on the information, The building and all the terminal devices 10 around the building are determined as emergency contacts.

When the emergency contact information is determined (step 410), a transmission operation is performed using the key input unit 33 (step 411), and the emergency contact information generated earlier is replaced with the emergency information determined earlier. Send to contact (Step 4
12). The terminal device 10 that has received the emergency contact information (step 413) displays the emergency contact information on the display unit 34, and performs an alarm and a display using voice from the speaker 35 (step 414).

In the case where the emergency contact information is determined in the center device 30, it may be determined based on the position information of the terminal device 10. In this case, an emergency contact to the telephone or the personal computer may be determined by combining the server connected to the telephone or the personal computer.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, when a fire, a flood, an accident, a crime, a terrorism, or any other emergency occurs, the information on the emergency is transmitted to the terminal device 10 using the terminal device 10. The center device 30 that has received the notification receives the information on the occurrence of the emergency and sends the emergency information to a large number of terminal devices 10 at the emergency occurrence point. This is extremely effective as an emergency notification system.

In the present embodiment, the portable terminal device 10 is used as the terminal device 10.
A non-portable terminal device fixedly installed in a workplace or the like may be used.

Further, in this embodiment, a contact identification number is stored in the storage unit 18 of the terminal device 10 for each type of emergency, and a notification is sent to the center device 30 which is different for each type of emergency. However, a configuration may be adopted in which the number of the center devices 30 is collectively one, and control is performed centrally there.

Further, in the present embodiment, the emergency contact information is exchanged between the terminal device and the center device without being compressed, but in the exchange between the two,
These pieces of information may be compressed and exchanged, received, and then decompressed. In this way, the amount of data exchanged between the center device and the terminal device decreases, and data transmission becomes more efficient. Further, in the present embodiment, the emergency contact information is not encrypted, but it goes without saying that the emergency contact information may be encrypted.

In the case where emergency contact information is notified to a specific contact, the cost for data communication may not be charged.

[0048]

As described above, according to the present invention, fire, flood,
In the event of an accident, crime, terrorism, or other emergency,
Such information can be easily reported to the center device using the terminal device, and the center device receiving the report receives the information on the occurrence of the emergency and sends the information to a large number of terminal devices at the emergency occurrence point. On the other hand, it is possible to accurately report the status of an emergency, which is effective as an emergency notification system.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an emergency communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of a terminal device constituting the emergency contact system according to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram of a center device constituting the emergency communication system according to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the emergency communication system according to the embodiment of the present invention;

[Explanation of symbols]

10 Terminal device 11 Positioning unit 12 microphone 13 Speaker 14 Voice input / output unit 15 Camera 16 Video input section 17 Key input section 18 Memory 19 Display 20 Communication unit 21 Control unit 30 center equipment 31 Communication unit 32 storage unit 33 key input section 34 Display 35 microphone 36 speakers 37 Audio input / output unit 38 Control unit 40 base stations 50 communication lines 60 Internet Provider 70 companies and organizations

   ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page    F term (reference) 5C087 AA02 AA03 AA09 AA25 AA37                       BB12 BB46 BB65 BB74 DD02                       DD03 DD08 EE05 EE06 EE08                       GG12 GG19 GG21 GG32                 5K101 KK14 LL01 LL12 MM07 NN06                       NN07 NN21 NN37 RR12

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A terminal device and a center device capable of communicating with each other via a communication network, the terminal device comprising: a terminal-side emergency contact information generating means for generating emergency contact information; Transmitting means for transmitting to the apparatus side, receiving means for receiving emergency contact information from the center device, and display means for displaying the emergency contact information received by the receiving means, wherein the center device comprises the terminal Receiving means for receiving emergency contact information from the apparatus, display means for displaying the emergency contact information received by the receiving means, and generating new emergency contact information based on the emergency contact information received by the receiving means A center-side emergency contact information generating means for transmitting the new emergency contact information generated by the center-side emergency contact information generating means to a predetermined terminal device. Emergency contact system which is characterized in that a means. 2. The terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the emergency contact information generated by the terminal device includes information unique to the terminal device and at least one of a current position and an emergency occurrence point. Emergency contact system described in 1. 3. The emergency contact information generated in the terminal device includes at least one of audio information from a microphone provided in the terminal device and video information from a camera. The emergency contact system according to claim 2. 4. The new emergency contact information generated by the center device includes new emergency contact information reflecting a result of confirmation of the emergency contact information with the terminal device. Emergency contact system. 5. The emergency communication system according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined terminal device is a peripheral terminal device predetermined based on an emergency occurrence point. 6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said terminal device and said center device have respective compression / expansion means for compressing / expanding said emergency contact information.
Emergency contact system described. 7. Emergency contact information generating means for generating emergency contact information, transmitting means for transmitting the emergency contact information to a center device side, receiving means for receiving emergency contact information from the center device, and receiving Display means for displaying the emergency contact information received by the means.