JP2005118177A - Alcohol detection system provided with mechanism having sensor unit detecting breath alcohol concentration using alcohol gas sensor and displaying measured result as alcohol concentration of subject in digital display, mechanism for transferring measurer's data to personal computer on market, and means for printing (transmitting) subject's id code (employee no. and the like), measured time, measured place, image in measurement, temperature, humidity, cumulative number of time of measurement, measured result concentration, and the like - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve problems that recently a driver of an automobile, a train, or the like causes a large accident due to driving drunk in various places, and in particular, it is impossible to perform a sobriety test after the call-over in starting work. <P>SOLUTION: This system is installed with an alcohol measuring device, a cellular phone, and the personal computer in the vehicle, incorporates an antifreezing heater for withstanding a sever temperature environment, performs the alcohol measurement for determining drinking when the vehicle is stopped using a GPS function and a side brake signal, and immediately reports the measured result to the headquarters using an e-mail transfer function. This system transmits a measured image of the measurer to make it impossible to perform a fraudulent measurement, and simultaneously transmits data on health aspects such as a blood pressure measurement and an oxygen concentration in the blood. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

The present invention is a system that enables alcohol measurement and detection of a driver who is in operation as well as before the start of work in order to prevent drunk driving of a driver or the like (automobile, railway, etc.).

There are the following patents as conventional alcohol detector systems.
Japanese Patent Application No. 04-204971 Japanese Patent Application No. 08-112465 Japanese Patent Application No. 08-109607 The above-mentioned invention is a device that simply measures the alcohol concentration contained in exhaled breath and is used by each individual, and has not been developed specifically for business use. There are the following patents as conventional alcohol detector systems.

In recent years, there have been an increasing number of cases where drivers of public buses and trains drunk and cause major accidents. As a countermeasure, alcohol detectors are distributed to each business office, etc., and pre-start inspections are conducted. However, face-to-face point calls such as early morning departures on shared / route buses, pre-commencement calls with drivers staying on chartered / tour buses, and land transport operations with long-distance trucks and overnight nap etc. In the absence of a person, the alcohol drinking check at the start of the call was just an oral confirmation and a self-assessment check. For this reason, it is impossible to grasp the actual situation of whether you are actually drinking and driving, and there are cases of accidents caused by not actually grasping this actual situation. It was a challenge to reliably manage drinking checks and health management for drivers in remote areas where the managers and colleagues did not see.

Means of the present invention are as follows.
According to the first aspect of the present invention, for the purpose of checking the drinking of the driver while driving, the alcohol is measured in the vehicle before the operation, and the measurement result is transmitted by e-mail. At that time, it is necessary to inform the headquarters when and where the driver measured.
Regarding the time, the clock function on the mail reception side was used, and the current position information and images were read and transmitted from the GPS unit and camera connected to and built in the mobile phone or personal computer. For a mobile phone or personal computer without a GPS unit, the current position information can be obtained from the base station information being connected to the mobile phone, so that information can be used in place of the GPS information.

The temperature, humidity, number of measurements, total number of measurements, measurement results, etc. are read from the temperature sensor and humidity sensor inside the alcohol measuring instrument unit and transmitted.
The ID code uses ID information read from a magnetic card reader or the like.
In this way, the headquarters side can obtain reliable information at the time of measurement.

The invention according to claim 2 is, for example, when the alcohol sensor unit installed in the vehicle has been frozen by condensation in the morning of a cold region, or when the alcohol sensor is extremely cold. The internal antifreeze heater can be energized to maintain the alcohol meter inside the specified temperature range.
If the temperature is extremely high, the driver is informed of the instruction “Please lower the temperature inside the vehicle” until the temperature inside the vehicle drops to a certain level.
Management of the internal temperature is monitored by an internal temperature sensor.

The invention according to claim 3 transmits the driver's health status information at the same time as the alcohol measurement result, so that the driver can immediately stop driving if an abnormality is found in health.
A blood pressure monitor and a blood oximeter can be connected as health management measuring devices.
Regarding blood pressure measurement etc., breathing was considerably disturbed and blood pressure increased after alcohol measurement, so blood oxygen concentration measurement and alcohol measurement could not be performed without blood pressure measurement.
In addition, data transmission was automatically sent when alcohol measurement was completed to eliminate the burden on the operator.

The invention of claim 4 enables the driver of the moving vehicle to measure only when the vehicle is surely stopped when performing alcohol measurement or the like.
Specifically, the determination that the vehicle is stopped can be obtained from a side brake signal of the vehicle or current position information such as GPS.

The invention of claim 5 requires alcohol measurement even during operation. At that time, time management is performed using a clock function in a mobile phone or a personal computer based on a driving schedule in advance for driving breaks. When it is the time of measurement, the display and warning sound will be sounded to stop the car, and then the driver will be instructed to take measurements.

The invention of claim 6 receives the driver ID information, the operation schedule file, and the like from the headquarters using a mail function of a mobile phone or a personal computer, and replaces the file with the current file. After the replacement, the new ID authentication and operation schedule will be switched.

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, when the vehicle is stopped and alcohol is measured and, as a result, a value exceeding a specified amount is detected, a warning is displayed to the driver. Furthermore, the contents are sent by e-mail simultaneously. At that time, the alarm itself does not have a function of stopping by the driver. To the last, after the headquarters receives a mail (confirmation of drunkness), it keeps ringing until it receives a reply mail (prohibited driving) of the headquarters.
If continuous operation is performed, the mail “Drinking drunk” and “Ignore driving prohibited” are automatically transmitted to the headquarters from position movement detection such as GPS or a brake release signal.

In the invention of claim 8, when the alcohol is measured outside the reach of the mobile phone, a mail transmission error occurs. In that case, a certain interval time is retransmitted a certain number of times.

The invention of claim 9 is transmitted as drinking data (erroneous detection) when the driver makes a mouthful of food or drink that causes the alcohol sensor to malfunction, and then makes an erroneous measurement.
In that case, the correction key (button) is pressed and remeasured within a certain period of time (time until no false detection is detected: generally about 20 minutes). If you are drunk, you will receive an email with a reasonable measurement result.
When the correction key is pressed, a mail to that effect is sent to the headquarters (error detection remeasurement schedule).

In the invention of claim 10, the measurement result is automatically dropped to a file on the personal computer as headquarter history data. At that time, if there is an erroneous detection as in claim 9, it is a problem to leave it as data. Therefore, the data after remeasurement is overwritten on the previous measurement value as normal data, and the previous data is deleted.

According to the present invention, the alcohol measurement after the driver's alcohol check before the start of work can be measured even if the driver is away from a remote place. Alcohol drinking during breaks during operation is also managed at the headquarters after the service is completed, and drunk drivers can be eradicated.
In addition, because blood pressure measurement and blood oxygen concentration measurement results are sent at the same time, health management can be properly grasped at the headquarters, and it is now possible to give instructions to take appropriate breaks.
In addition, in a vehicle, stable alcohol measurement is possible even under severe temperatures of about -20 ° C to 90 ° C.
As a result, it has become possible to eradicate malicious drunk drivers who may be anxious about ordinary passengers.

Reference number =

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
<First Embodiment>
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the present embodiment. It is roughly divided into a mobile phone (personal computer), an alcohol meter unit, and a sphygmomanometer unit.
The measuring instrument unit includes an alcohol gas sensor, a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, and an air volume sensor, and can measure the amount of alcohol in the driver's breath.
The correction key 26 is a button for correcting when an alcohol is detected due to an erroneous detection of another food or drink.
The display of 30 indicates an instruction display from the headquarters and a result display of various measuring instruments.

The 26 correction keys and display may be on the alcohol meter unit side or on the mobile phone (personal computer) side. Moreover, you may exist in both.
A magnetic card reader 9 is an ID input device for inputting a magnetic card or the like given to the driver.
The brake input No. 8 is a side brake signal input output from the vehicle, and can inform the alcohol measuring device of a stop signal.
Twelve speakers generate alarm sounds and the like.

The driver's ID information and operation schedule are stored in a FROM memory or the like in 14 mobile phones (personal computers).
The GPS of 2 is built in to detect the current position of the vehicle, and the camera of 15 is used for proof that the driver himself is measuring alcohol. The shutter of the image is dropped during alcohol measurement, and the image and measurement result data at that time are transmitted to the headquarters.
Judgment when the vehicle is stopped is made by 2 GPS and 8 brake inputs. In addition, there is no problem even if it is used as a determination signal during stoppage using a vehicle speed meter signal or an acceleration sensor.

A mobile phone or the like without GPS can determine whether the vehicle is stopped or moving from the currently connected base station information.
The mail reception side at the head office side is shown in the flowchart of mail reception by time zone shown in FIG. (For sending / receiving emails and writing history files)
When a mail is received from the driver with the same ID in the same time zone, the history file is processed by overwriting (post-priority).
Further, a reminder mail is transmitted for unreceived persons (unmeasured persons).

In FIG. 2, nine magnetic card readers are mounted outside as an ID input device, and are composed of an alcohol measuring device, a mobile phone, and a sphygmomanometer.
The camera under measurement uses 14 mobile phone cameras.
Charging and power supply for measuring instruments and mobile phones were made available by inserting a plug from a cigarette lighter attached to the car.
The mail function transmits 13 alcohol measurement data via 14 mobile phones.

FIG. 3 shows the structure of the mechanism part inside the alcohol measuring device.
The driver's exhalation is inhaled through a straw or the like from the 16 mouthpieces. The exhaled air that has entered 29 introduction pipes is blown into 3 alcohol gas sensors through 27 sensor paths. Most of the exhaled air is discharged to the outside through 28 discharge routes.
At that time, 17 actuators are driven and 19 switches are turned on to detect exhalation.
To prevent residual air and condensation, vents are provided at the top, bottom, and sides of the unit.
In a cold region, when the temperature sensor 4 is below a certain temperature, the antifreeze heater 7 is energized to increase the temperature inside the measurement unit.
On the contrary, when the inside of the vehicle becomes hot, the energization is stopped and the driver is instructed to display so as to lower the temperature inside the vehicle.

The operation will be described with reference to FIGS. 4, 5, 6, and 7. FIG.
FIG. 4 illustrates a time when the alcohol measuring device is turned on (engine start).
When the power is turned on, the previous mail transmission / reception status is confirmed, and if it is received data, it is received, and if it is unsent mail, it is transmitted (retransmitted).
The heater (semiconductor gas sensor) of the alcohol gas sensor is turned off, and the current position information is read from the GPS or the like.

Thereafter, the operation management scheduler determines whether or not there is an alcohol measurement instruction, and if so, displays the measurement instruction and enters a warm-up sequence for the alcohol gas sensor heater and the like.
The 21 warm-up sequence is as described in FIG. (Less than)
First, after measuring the temperature in the alcohol measuring device, the warm-up time corresponding to the temperature is calculated from the temperature-warm-up time table in FIG. In this case, of course, the warm-up time becomes longer as it gets colder.

When the temperature is below a certain set value (here, 20 ° C.), the antifreeze heater 7 is turned on to raise the temperature inside the measuring instrument. At that time, the warm-up timer is also subtracted, and when the temperature exceeds 20 ° C., the antifreeze heater is turned off.
On the contrary, if a certain set value (60 ° C. in this case) is exceeded, a warning display (warning sound) is displayed to activate the air conditioner in the vehicle.
The alcohol measurement becomes ready after the temperature of 60 ° C. has been cut and the sensor heater warm-up time has ended. This enables stable measurements even in the harsh environment of summer and winter.

Returning to 21 in FIG. 4, after the warm-up process, the vehicle stops confirmation.
If it is moving, a chest instruction display and warning display will appear to stop the car and enter alcohol measurement.
Thereafter, after the vehicle stops, the ID information reception mode 22 is entered.
(FIG. 7 is a detailed flowchart of 22 and is replaced with new ID information.)
After receiving the ID shown in FIG. If the measurement is not performed for a certain period of time, an unmeasured mail is sent to the headquarters.
After that, the process proceeds to the measurement mode flowchart of FIG. 5 to check whether or not a regular ID input has been entered (within the mobile phone or personal computer memory).
Thereafter, 23 blood pressure measurements are instructed and the blood pressure measurement is started.

After the blood pressure measurement is successfully completed, 24 alcohol measurement is started. By this sequence, the order of measurement is specified, and blood pressure measurement after shortness of breath is not performed.
Alcohol measurement will not be completed until an accurate measurement is made unless a breath for a certain period of time is injected.
After the exhalation is sufficiently infused, the measurement is terminated, and the blood pressure measurement value (or blood oxygen concentration value) and the alcohol measurement value are simultaneously sent by e-mail together with the image being measured.
If the reference value as a measurement result is exceeded, an operation prohibition display and an alarm sound are immediately generated.
Until 25 error-release mails are received from the headquarters, the alarm sound, display, etc. will not change.

If the car is driven as it is (side brake release, GPS position movement, etc.), “Drinking driving” and “Driving prohibited” emails are automatically sent to the headquarters.
FIG. 8 is a mailer screen received by a head office personal computer or the like. The person in charge of each vehicle, measurement results, and the like are displayed and stored in a history file.
When the same ID is received in the same time zone, all are overwritten. (As shown in the flowchart of FIG. 9, the later reception is regarded as the original version)

It is a block block diagram of this embodiment. It is an external view of this embodiment. It is an internal structure of an alcohol measuring device. It is a flowchart from the power supply ON of this embodiment. It is a flowchart at the time of the measurement of this embodiment. It is a flowchart at the time of warming up using the alcohol sensor unit and anti-freezing heater of this embodiment. It is a flowchart at the time of ID information reception from the headquarters (external) of this embodiment. It is a mailer display of the mail receiving side of this embodiment. It is a flowchart at the time of the headquarters side mail reception of this embodiment. It is a table of temperature versus warm-up time of this embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

1 Camera-equipped mobile phone and personal computer control unit 2 GPS unit 3 Alcohol detection sensor 4 Temperature sensor (thermistor, etc.)
5 Humidity Sensor 6 Flow / Wind Pressure Sensor 7 Antifreeze Heater 8 Side Brake Input Signal 9 Magnetic Card Reader Unit 10 Sphygmomanometer, Blood Oxygen Meter 11 Cigarette Plug 12 Speaker 13 Alcohol Measuring Unit 14 Camera Mobile Phone (Camera PC )
15 Digital camera 16 Mouthpiece 17 Actuator 18 Switch lever 19 Switch 20 Position information acquisition (from GPS etc.)
21 Warm-up process: Refer to FIG. 6 detailed flow 22 ID information reception: Refer to FIG. 7 detailed flow 23 Blood pressure measurement: Measurement 1
24 Alcohol measurement: Measurement 2
25 Error cancellation mail: Reply mail to the violent person 26 Correction key 27 Sensor path 28 Discharge path 29 Introductory pipe 30 Display

Claims (10)

A breath alcohol measuring instrument using an alcohol gas sensor and an anti-freezing heater and a mobile phone or personal computer in conjunction with a test subject's measurement image, ID code (employee no., Etc.), measurement time, temperature, humidity, number of measurements A vehicle-mounted alcohol detection system comprising means for sending a total, measurement result concentration, measurement position (location) information, etc. by e-mail.
A measurement control system that enables the alcohol detection system to be used in harsh environments such as in-vehicle use while controlling the warm-up time of the alcohol sensor and the internal temperature of the measuring device using an antifreeze heater and a temperature sensor.
The blood pressure and blood oximeters provided for the driver's health management are linked to the alcohol detection system, and blood oxygen concentration and alcohol are measured after blood pressure measurement. The sequence control system is characterized in that all of the measurement data is automatically sent by e-mail at the time of being performed.
Alcohol detection system that prevents alcohol measurement during operation.
An alcohol detection system characterized by having a driving time schedule for a vehicle, prompting the user to measure alcohol at a specified time, and sending an unmeasured e-mail to the headquarters in case of violation.
An alcohol detection system that allows ID information and operation data to be placed on a mobile phone or personal computer, and that these data files can be exchanged externally.
If it is determined that alcohol has been consumed after alcohol measurement, an email will be sent immediately. Also, a warning display and a warning sound to that effect are generated from the measuring instrument body.
The warning is canceled by a reply mail (e.g. boarding prohibited) from the mail receiving side (headquarters).
If you drive the car with the alarm sounding, you will automatically receive “Drinking driving” and “Ignore driving prohibition” emails to the headquarters.
In this way, the alcohol detection system is characterized in that the warning can be canceled after confirming the headquarters.
Alcohol detection system characterized in that if there is an email transmission error in the alcohol measurement result, it is resent after a certain interval
When alcohol is detected (false detection) due to the use of other food or drink in the alcohol measurement, it can be canceled with the previous correction button. However, the alcohol detection system is characterized by being sent as a warning if it is not remeasured within a certain time after correction.
An alcohol detection system characterized in that when the alcohol measurement is remeasured (measured within a certain period of time after the measurement), the previous measurement result is overwritten and the previous measurement is deleted. Overwriting is performed on both the transmission side and the reception side.

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