JP2006338476A - Supporting apparatus for improving comfort, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To support improving comfort of a support-targeted living matter by means of control of an indoor-environment by automatically controlling operations of household electric appliances in a room in which the support-targetted living matter, for example, a baby or an animal is present in response to feeling determined through a voice from the support-targeted living matter. <P>SOLUTION: A supporting apparatus for improving comfort 1a analyzes a condition in a indoor-environment on the basis of the detected indoor-environment condition as well as analyzes a voice form a baby N to determine the feeling thereof. The apparatus determines a remote control content for a household electric appliance 2A on the basis of the determined feeling of the baby N and the analyzed condition of the indoor-environment, and controls a transmission of an infrared signal equivalent to the control content to control the operation of the appliance 2A to be a target of remotely control. Thereby, it supports improving the comfort of the baby N for the condition of the indoor-environment and its own feeling. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a comfort improvement support device that supports improvement of comfort for a supported animal in a room where a home electric appliance capable of remote control is installed.

  Communication with animals that do not speak human language is one of the great interests of humans. For example, people who love pets such as dogs and cats like their families always want to know their feelings. Also, I want to know the feelings of babies (infants) who can't speak the same language, as long as they are parents who have burned their hands without knowing why they are crying.

As a technology that meets these desires, for example, it means the sound of a voice by analyzing a voice of an animal and obtaining a pattern from which the features have been extracted and comparing it with a reference voice pattern analyzed in terms of animal behavior There is known one that determines emotions and displays them as characters or images that can be understood by humans (for example, see Patent Document 1). Similarly, products for determining the emotions of infants by voice analysis of infants' voices are also commercially available.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-3479

  According to the above-described conventional technology, the owner and the parents of the infant can know the emotions of the pet and the infant to some extent, and can understand and respond to the request when requested. However, while owners and parents want pets and infants to be in good mood, they are always on their side and cannot take care of them.

  By the way, for example, one of the factors that infants and children stagnate is the indoor environment in which the infant is present. For example, when the room temperature and humidity are high, it feels uncomfortable, and when it is “sleepy”, it feels uncomfortable with noise from a television or the like.

  In view of this, the present invention controls the indoor environment by automatically controlling the operation of a household electrical appliance in a room where a support target animal such as an infant or an animal is present according to the emotion determined from the sound of the support target animal. It aims at supporting the improvement of the comfort of a to-be-supported animal by this.

In order to solve the above problems, the invention described in claim 1
In the comfort improvement support device (comfort improvement support device 1a shown in FIG. 2) that supports the improvement of the comfort for the support target animal in the room in which the home appliance that can be remotely controlled is installed,
Environmental condition detection means for detecting the condition of the indoor environment (for example, the indoor environment detection unit 120 shown in FIG. 2; the indoor environment analysis process a30 shown in FIG. 7; steps c10 to c50 shown in FIG. 9);
Voice input means (for example, a sound input unit 110 shown in FIG. 2; an emotion analysis process a20 shown in FIG. 7; a step b10 shown in FIG. 8) for inputting a voice uttered from the supported animal.
Emotion determination means (for example, CPU 130 shown in FIG. 2; emotion analysis processing a20 shown in FIG. 7; step b20 shown in FIG. 8) which analyzes the voice input by the voice input means and determines the emotion of the supported animal. )When,
Remote control means for remotely controlling the home appliance by transmitting a control signal for controlling the operation of the home appliance based on the emotion determined by the emotion determination means and the situation detected by the environmental situation detection means (for example, 2, CPU 130 shown in FIG. 2, infrared transmitter 150; first home appliance control process a 40 shown in FIG. 7; steps d 10 -d 30 shown in FIG. 10;
It is characterized by having.

The program of the invention according to claim 7 is:
Environmental condition detection means (for example, the indoor environment detection unit 120 shown in FIG. 2) for detecting the condition of the indoor environment in which the home appliances capable of remote control are installed, and voices emitted from the supported animals are input. A computer having voice input means (for example, sound input unit 110 shown in FIG. 2) and transmission means (for example, infrared transmission unit 150 shown in FIG. 2) for transmitting a control signal to the home appliance;
Emotion determination function for analyzing the voice input by the voice input means and determining the emotion of the supported animal (for example, CPU 130 shown in FIG. 2; emotion analysis processing a20 shown in FIG. 7; step b20 shown in FIG. 8) When,
Based on the emotion determined by the emotion determination function and the status detected by the environmental status detection means, the control means for controlling the operation of the home appliance is transmitted to the transmission means to remotely control the home appliance. Remote control function (for example, CPU 130 shown in FIG. 2; first home appliance control process a40 shown in FIG. 7; steps d10-d30 shown in FIG. 10);
It is a program for realizing.

And invention of Claim 2 is the comfort improvement assistance apparatus of Claim 1,
The emotion determination means determines whether or not the emotion of the supported animal is a predetermined relaxation target emotion (for example, the CPU 130 shown in FIG. 2; step d10 shown in FIG. 10). Have
The remote control means changes the operation of the home appliance by remotely controlling the home appliance when the emotion of the support target animal is determined to be the emotion to be relaxed by the mitigation target emotion determination means. It is characterized by having control means for mitigating emotions to be controlled (for example, CPU 130 and infrared ray transmitter 150 shown in FIG. 2; steps d20 and d30 shown in FIG. 10).

And invention of Claim 3 is the comfort improvement assistance apparatus of Claim 1 or 2,
Control content transmission means (for example, CPU 130 shown in FIG. 12, wireless communication unit 170; step f30 shown in FIG. 10) for transmitting the remote control content of the home appliance by the remote control means to a communicable confirmation device is further provided. It is characterized by that.

And invention of Claim 4 is the comfort improvement assistance apparatus of Claim 3,
It further comprises a change instruction receiving means (for example, a wireless communication unit 170 shown in FIG. 12; step f40 shown in FIG. 15) for receiving a change instruction for remote control content from the confirmation device,
The remote control means includes a changing means (for example, CPU 130 shown in FIG. 12; step f60 shown in FIG. 15) for changing the remote control content for the home appliance based on the change instruction received by the change instruction receiving means. It is characterized by having.

The invention according to claim 5
In the comfort improvement support device that supports the improvement of the comfort for the support target animal in the room where the home appliance that can be remotely controlled is installed,
Receiving means (for example, the comfort improvement support device main body 1c shown in FIG. 17; step i10 shown in FIG. 18) for receiving the indoor environment status indicating the indoor environment status and the voice of the supported animal;
Emotion determination means for analyzing the voice received by the reception means to determine the emotion of the supported animal (for example, the comfort improvement support apparatus main body 1c shown in FIG. 17; step i20 shown in FIG. 18);
Transmitting means for transmitting a home appliance control signal for controlling the operation of the home appliance based on the emotion determined by the emotion determining means and the indoor environment situation received by the receiving means (for example, comfort improvement shown in FIG. 17) Support device body 1c; steps i40-i60) shown in FIG.
It is characterized by having.

Further, the invention according to claim 8 is
On the computer,
A reception function (for example, comfort improvement shown in FIG. 17) for receiving the indoor environment state indicating the indoor environment state in the room where the home appliance that can be remotely controlled is installed and the sound of the supported animal in the room Support device body 1c; step i10) shown in FIG.
An emotion determination function (for example, the comfort improvement support apparatus main body 1c shown in FIG. 17; step i20 shown in FIG. 18) for analyzing the voice received by the receiving means and determining the emotion of the supported animal;
A transmission function for transmitting a home appliance control signal for controlling the operation of the home appliance based on the emotion determined by the emotion determination function and the indoor environment situation received by the reception function (for example, comfort improvement shown in FIG. 17) Support device body 1c; steps i40 to i60) shown in FIG.
It is a program for realizing.

And invention of Claim 6 is the comfort improvement assistance apparatus of Claim 5,
Home appliance control signal transmission / reception means (for example, remote control device 9 shown in FIG. 17; shown in FIG. 18) that receives the home appliance control signal transmitted by the transmission means and transmits the received home appliance control signal to the home appliance. Step j10, j20) is further provided.

  According to the invention described in claim 1 or 7, a support target animal such as an infant or an animal such as a pet such as a dog, a cat or a small bird, or a livestock, which is in a room where a home electric appliance capable of remote control is installed. Analyzing the sound emitted from the object to determine the emotion of the supported animal, and automatically selects the home appliances in the room based on the determined emotion and the condition of the indoor environment where the supported animal is located Can be remotely controlled. According to this, the indoor environment can be appropriately controlled according to the emotion of the supported animal, and the comfort of the supported animal can be improved.

  According to the invention described in claim 2, when the emotion of the supported animal is a predetermined relaxation target emotion, the home appliance is automatically remotely controlled to control the operation of the appliance. Can do. Therefore, when the emotion of the supported animal is a preset emotion that should be relaxed, the emotion of the supported animal can be eased by improving the comfort of the supported animal. It can prevent situations such as making noise.

  According to invention of Claim 3, the remote control content of household appliances can be transmitted to the confirmation apparatus which can communicate. Therefore, the user can know the remote control content of the home appliance installed in the room where the supported target animal is located even if the user is not near the supported target animal by carrying the confirmation device, for example.

  According to invention of Claim 4, when the change instruction | indication of remote control content is received from the confirmation apparatus, the remote control content with respect to household appliances can be changed. Therefore, the user can appropriately change the remote control content of the home appliance installed in the room where the supported target animal is present by operating the confirmation device.

  According to the invention described in claim 5 or 8, the sound emitted from the supported animal in the room where the home appliance that can be remotely controlled is installed and the indoor environment in the room where the supported animal is located Home appliance control that controls the operation of home appliances in the room based on the emotion of the supported animal determined by analyzing the received voice and the indoor environment in the room where the supported animal is located A signal can be transmitted. According to this, the indoor environment can be appropriately controlled according to the emotion of the supported animal, and the comfort of the supported animal can be improved.

  According to invention of Claim 6, the household appliance control signal transmission / reception means can receive the household appliance control signal transmitted as mentioned above, and can transmit the received household appliance control signal toward household appliances. The home appliance control signal transmission / reception means may be a separate body separated from the comfort improvement support apparatus main body, and may be arranged at a position away from the main body.

  Hereinafter, a comfort improvement support apparatus to which the present invention is applied will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the following, the case of relieving the emotions of infants (babies) that are supported animals by remotely controlling various home appliances such as air conditioners, fans, televisions, videos, and lighting equipment equipped with infrared receivers. An example will be described.

(First embodiment)
First, the first embodiment will be described. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a room in which an infant who takes care of a user is present. In FIG. 1, an application example in the case where the comfort improvement support device 1a of the first embodiment is realized by a table clock is shown. . The comfort improvement support device 1a transmits an infrared signal to a home electric appliance 2A such as an air conditioner 2a, a television 2b, and a lighting 2c installed in the room, and performs remote control thereof. In addition, the comfort improvement assistance apparatus 1a is arrange | positioned around the baby bed 3 so that the voice of the infant N can be collected with the sound input part 110 (microphone).

[Function configuration]
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of main functional blocks of the comfort improvement support device 1a according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, the comfort improvement support apparatus 1 a includes an input unit 100, a sound input unit 110, an indoor environment detection unit 120, a CPU 130, a display unit 140, an infrared transmission unit 150, a ROM 200 a, and a RAM 160. Configured.

  The input unit 100 is for a user to input an operation, and is realized by, for example, a button switch, a lever, a dial, a touch panel, or the like. The input unit 100 outputs an operation signal corresponding to the operation input to the CPU 130.

  The sound input unit 110 is for collecting a voice (sound) uttered by the infant N, and is configured by a microphone or the like. The sound input unit 110 outputs an audio signal corresponding to the collected sound to the CPU 130.

  The indoor environment detection unit 120 is for detecting the state of the indoor environment (indoor environment state). For example, the temperature sensor 121 detects the indoor temperature, the humidity sensor 123 detects the indoor humidity, and the indoor brightness. It includes a brightness sensor 125 for detecting the height and a noise sensor 127 for detecting the noise level in the room.

The CPU 130 executes various arithmetic processes according to programs and data stored in the ROM 200a and the RAM 160, and performs overall control of the comfort improvement support apparatus 1a by giving instructions to each functional unit, transferring data, and the like.
For example, a process of generating a voice data file (sound data file) of voice input from the sound input unit 110, a process of extracting voice characteristics from the input voice and analyzing the voice, and analyzing emotions from the result of voice analysis The home appliance 2A based on the result of the emotion analysis and the result of the indoor environment analysis, the process of analyzing the current state of the indoor environment based on the indoor environment state detected by the indoor environment detection unit 120, the state including the state Control processing, clock function processing, and the like are executed.

  Note that the voice analysis processing may be realized by a dedicated IC chip. Specifically, for example, an A / D converter, a filter circuit, an arithmetic processing integrated circuit such as a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), or the like removes noise components contained in the input voice, or converts the audio signal into A This is realized by executing a process for / D conversion to convert the sound data into a predetermined format, a patterning process for extracting features of the sound data, a comparison process with a reference sound pattern registered in advance, and the like.

  The display unit 140 is for displaying various screens based on a display signal input from the CPU 130, and is configured by an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) or the like.

  The infrared transmitter 150 is configured by an infrared LED or the like, and transmits an infrared signal to the home appliance 2A main body in accordance with an instruction from the CPU 130.

  The ROM 200a stores initial programs for performing various initial settings, hardware inspections, loading of necessary programs, and the like. The CPU 130 sets the operating environment of the comfort improvement support apparatus 1a by executing this initial program when the comfort improvement support apparatus 1a is powered on.

  The ROM 200a stores a program related to the operation of the comfort improvement support device 1a, a program for realizing various functions provided in the comfort improvement support device 1a, data related to the execution of these programs, and the like. In particular, in order to realize the first embodiment, a first main program 211 including an emotion analysis program 211a, an indoor environment analysis program 211b, and a first home appliance control program 211c, an emotion determination table 213, and a home appliance control content list table 215 and a home appliance control signal list table 217 are stored.

  The emotion analysis program 211a is a program for realizing a function of voice analysis of the infant N's voice to determine emotion, and the CPU 130 executes emotion analysis processing according to the emotion analysis program 211a. The emotion of the infant N determined as a result of the emotion analysis process is stored in the emotion analysis result storage area 163 of the RAM 160 as an emotion analysis result.

The indoor environment analysis program 211b is a program for realizing a function of analyzing the indoor environment state based on the indoor environment state, and the CPU 130 executes the indoor environment analysis process according to the indoor environment analysis program 211b.
For example, the CPU 130 evaluates the detection value of each sensor constituting the indoor environment detection unit 120 according to a preset threshold for analysis, and analyzes the state of the indoor environment.

Specifically, the CPU 130 determines the temperature level by evaluating the detected value of the temperature sensor 121 in three stages of “high”, “appropriate”, and “low” in accordance with a preset threshold value for temperature analysis. To do. Further, the CPU 130 determines the humidity level by evaluating the detected value of the humidity sensor 123 in three stages of “high”, “appropriate”, and “low” in accordance with a preset humidity analysis threshold value. Further, the CPU 130 determines the lightness level by evaluating the detection value of the lightness sensor 125 in three stages of “high”, “appropriate”, and “low” in accordance with a preset lightness analysis threshold. Then, the CPU 130 determines the noise level by evaluating the detection value of the noise sensor 127 in three stages of “high”, “appropriate”, and “low” in accordance with a preset noise analysis threshold value. Note that the above-described analysis thresholds may be prepared for each time zone, and the indoor environment state may be analyzed using the analysis threshold corresponding to the current time.
The determined temperature level, humidity level, lightness level, and noise level are stored in the indoor environment analysis result storage area 165 of the RAM 160 as the indoor environment analysis result.

  The first home appliance control program 211c is a program for realizing a function of remotely controlling the home appliance 2A installed in the room where the infant N is present, and the CPU 130 performs a first home appliance control process according to the first home appliance control program 211c. Execute.

  Specifically, CPU 130 first determines the remote control content of home appliance 2A based on the emotion determined as a result of emotion analysis and the state of the indoor environment analyzed as a result of the indoor environment analysis. Then, the CPU 130 transmits an infrared signal corresponding to the determined remote control content from the infrared transmitter 150, and controls the operation of the home appliance 2A to be remotely controlled (hereinafter referred to as “control target home appliance”).

  The emotion determination table 213 stores a reference voice pattern representing the emotion for each emotion of the target animal to be supported (in this case, the infant N). The details of this emotion determination table are well known and will not be described here, but the reference voice pattern set in the emotion determination table 213 and the voice obtained by voice analysis of the actually input voice. The pattern is matched and the emotions of the target infant N and animals are determined.

  The home appliance control content list table 215 stores a list of correspondence relations between indoor environment conditions and home appliance control content for each mitigation target emotion that is a negative emotion of the infant N. The “negative emotion” referred to here is an emotion that causes the infant N to sway, and examples thereof include “uncomfortable”, “bored”, “hungry”, “sleepy”, “stress”, and the like. However, other appropriate settings may be made.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a data configuration example of the home appliance control content list table 215. In the first home appliance control process described above, the CPU 130 refers to the home appliance control content list table 215 to determine the remote control content of the home appliance 2A.

For example, if the emotion analysis results in determining that the emotion of the infant N is “sleepy”, which is the emotion to be relaxed, refer to the correspondence relationship between the indoor environment conditions set in the record L11 and the home appliance control content, The home appliances to be controlled and the control content are determined by selecting all the home appliance control contents that satisfy the indoor environmental conditions corresponding to the result of the environmental analysis. As a specific example, for example, when the indoor environment analysis results are a temperature level “high”, a humidity level “high”, a lightness level “appropriate”, and a noise level “high”, the indoor environment set in the record L11 All the matching indoor environment conditions (in the example of FIG. 3, the indoor environment conditions of records L111 and L113) are selected from the conditions. And all the household appliance control content (the household appliance control content of the records L111 and L113) matched with each selected indoor environmental condition is selected.
The selected home appliance control content is stored in the remote control content storage area 167 of the RAM 160 as remote control content.

The home appliance control signal list table 217 stores a list of infrared signals for remotely controlling the home appliance 2A. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a data configuration example of the home appliance control signal list table 217. As shown in FIG. 4, in the home appliance control signal list table 217, for each home appliance type, an operation type and an infrared signal instructing the corresponding operation are set in association with each other.
For example, when turning on the power of the air conditioner, the CPU 130 causes the infrared ray transmitting unit 150 to transmit an infrared signal (signal A1) having a predetermined frequency corresponding to the power ON of the air conditioner.

  The RAM 160 is a semiconductor memory used as a working memory for the CPU 130, and includes a memory area that temporarily holds various programs executed by the CPU 130, data related to the execution of these programs, and the like. In particular, in order to implement the first embodiment, an input voice data storage area 161 that holds voice data input from the sound input unit 110, an emotion analysis result storage area 163 that holds an emotion analysis result, and an indoor environment analysis An indoor environment analysis result storage area 165 for holding the results, a remote control content storage area 167, and a home appliance usage status storage area 169 are provided.

  The remote control content storage area 167 holds the remote control content of the home appliance 2A determined based on the determined emotion and the state of the room environment. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the remote control content storage area 167. The remote control content storage area 167 is set with the home appliance control content selected from the home appliance control content list table 215 in the first home appliance control process as described above. The CPU 130 refers to the home appliance control signal list table 217 and causes the infrared ray transmitting unit 150 to transmit an infrared signal corresponding to the control content of the controlled home appliance set in the remote control content storage area 167.

  The household appliance usage status storage area 169 holds usage status of each household electrical appliance 2A. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the home appliance usage status storage area 169. In the household appliance usage status storage area 169, data indicating whether the power source is ON or OFF is set for each household appliance type as the usage status of each household appliance 2A. The usage status of each home appliance 2A is set to “OFF” as an initial value when the comfort improvement support device 1a is turned on.

[Process flow]
Next, the flow of the first main process executed in the comfort improvement support device 1a of the first embodiment will be described. FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining the flow of the first main process. The process described here is a process that is started when the comfort improvement support apparatus 1a is turned on (ON), and the CPU 130 performs the emotion analysis program 211a, the indoor environment analysis program 211b, and the first home appliance control program. This is realized by reading and executing the first main program 211 including 211c.

  In the first main process, the CPU 130 repeatedly executes the process of the loop A, for example, at a predetermined time interval (for example, every hour) (step a10 to step a50).

  In loop A, the CPU 130 first executes emotion analysis processing (step a20). FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining the flow of emotion analysis processing.

  In the emotion analysis process, the CPU 130 samples the sound input from the sound input unit 110 for a predetermined time, generates input sound data, and stores it in the input sound data storage area 161 (step b10).

Subsequently, the CPU 130 performs voice analysis on the input voice data, compares the analysis result with the reference voice pattern set in the emotion determination table 213, and determines the emotion indicated by the voice (step b20).
Specifically, for example, a sonogram is obtained by patterning voice data and compared with a reference voice pattern in the emotion determination table 213. Then, if there is an approximation of the pattern features, the pattern is matched, and it is determined that the input voice indicates an emotion corresponding to the matched voice pattern. In addition, detailed voice analysis and voice pattern matching are appropriately implemented using known techniques.

  If the emotion is determined, the CPU 130 stores the determination result in the emotion analysis result storage area 163 and ends the emotion analysis processing.

  Returning to FIG. 7, subsequently, the CPU 130 executes an indoor environment analysis process (step a30). FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining the flow of the indoor environment analysis process.

  In the indoor environment analysis process, the CPU 130 first acquires the detection values of the sensors constituting the indoor environment detection unit 120 in order to detect the state of the indoor environment. That is, the CPU 130 acquires the detection value of the temperature sensor 121 and detects the indoor temperature (step c10). Subsequently, the CPU 130 acquires the detection value of the humidity sensor 123 and detects the humidity in the room (step c20). Subsequently, the CPU 130 acquires the detection value of the brightness sensor 125 and detects the brightness of the room (step c30). And CPU130 acquires the detection value of a noise sensor, and detects indoor noise (step c40).

  Then, the CPU 130 evaluates the acquired detection value of each sensor in accordance with a preset threshold for analysis, and analyzes the situation of the indoor environment (step c50). If the situation of the indoor environment is analyzed, the CPU 130 stores the analysis result in the indoor environment analysis result storage area 165 and ends the indoor environment analysis process.

  Returning to FIG. 7, the CPU 130 then executes the first home appliance control process (step a40). FIG. 10 is a flowchart for explaining the flow of the first home appliance control process.

  In the first home appliance control process, the CPU 130 first determines whether or not the emotion determined as a result of the emotion analysis process in step a20 is a negative emotion predetermined as a relaxation target emotion (step d10). For example, “uncomfortable”, “bored”, “hungry”, “sleepy”, and “stress” are regarded as negative emotions and are determined to be mitigated.

Then, when the determined emotion is a relaxation target (step d10; YES), CPU 130 determines the remote control content of home appliance 2A based on the emotion analysis result and the indoor environment analysis result (step d20). ).
Specifically, the CPU 130 refers to the correspondence relationship between the indoor environment condition associated with the mitigation target emotion determined in step d10 in the home appliance control content list table 215 and the home appliance control content, and analyzes the indoor environment in step a30. All indoor environment conditions that apply to the indoor environment conditions analyzed as a result of the processing are selected. And all the household appliance control content matched with each selected indoor environmental condition is selected. At this time, the CPU 130 stores the selected home appliance control content in the remote control content storage area 167 as the remote control content.

Then, the CPU 130 refers to the home appliance control signal list table 217 and performs transmission control of an infrared signal corresponding to the remote control content determined in step d20 (step d30).
Specifically, CPU 130 causes infrared signal transmission unit 150 to sequentially transmit an infrared signal corresponding to the control content of the control target home appliance set in remote control content storage area 167. At this time, the CPU 130 refers to the home appliance usage status storage area 169 when operations other than power on / off (for example, temperature adjustment of an air conditioner or volume adjustment of a television) are set as control contents. Get the usage status of controlled home appliances. Then, when the acquired usage status is “OFF”, the CPU 130 first transmits an infrared signal instructing power-on of the home appliance to be controlled. When the power on / off is remotely controlled, the CPU 130 updates the usage status of the corresponding home appliance 2A in the home appliance usage status storage area 169.
If an infrared signal is transmitted, CPU130 will complete | finish a 1st household appliance control process.

  As described above, according to the first embodiment, the voice of the infant N in the room where the home appliance 2A capable of remote control is installed is analyzed to determine the emotion of the infant N, and It is possible to detect the indoor environment situation in the room where the infant N is present and analyze the indoor environment situation. Then, based on the determined emotion of the infant N and the state of the indoor environment, the home appliance 2A in the room can be automatically remotely controlled. Accordingly, the indoor environment can be appropriately controlled according to the emotion of the infant N, and the comfort of the infant N can be improved. Therefore, when the determined emotion of the infant N is negative and the mood is impaired. , Can relieve the feelings.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, a second embodiment will be described. In addition, below, about the part similar to 1st Embodiment, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected and description is abbreviate | omitted.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of the overall configuration in the second embodiment. Similar to the first embodiment, a comfort improvement support device 1b realized by, for example, a table clock is installed in a room where an infant N who takes care of the user is present. The comfort improvement support apparatus 1b transmits an infrared signal to the home appliance 2A such as the indoor air conditioner 2a, the television 2b, and the lighting 2c, and performs remote control thereof. Moreover, in 2nd Embodiment, the comfort improvement assistance apparatus 1b performs radio | wireless communication between the confirmation apparatuses 5, and transmits / receives the data of the remote control content of the household appliances 2A. The confirmation device 5 is realized by, for example, a wrist watch having excellent portability, and is carried by a mother (user) who takes care of the infant N in the room.

[Function configuration]
First, the functional configuration of the comfort improvement support device 1b in the second embodiment will be described. FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of main functional blocks of the comfort improvement support device 1b. As shown in FIG. 12, the comfort improvement support apparatus 1b includes an input unit 100, a sound input unit 110, an indoor environment detection unit 120, a CPU 130, a display unit 140, an infrared transmission unit 150, a wireless communication unit 170, a ROM 200b, and a RAM 160. Each functional unit is provided.

  The wireless communication unit 170 is a device for exchanging information used inside the device with the outside, and performs wireless communication with another device (the confirmation device 5). The wireless communication unit 170 is realized by a device capable of wireless communication based on a communication standard such as a wireless LAN.

  In addition, the ROM 200b of the comfort improvement support device 1b has a second main program 221 including an emotion analysis program 211a, an indoor environment analysis program 211b, and a second home appliance control program 221a in order to realize the second embodiment, and emotions. A determination table 213, a home appliance control content list table 215, and a home appliance control signal list table 217 are stored.

  The second home appliance control program 221a is a program for remotely controlling the home appliance 2A installed in the room where the infant N is located, and for realizing a function of changing the content of the remote control in accordance with the instruction of the confirmation device 5. Executes the second home appliance control process according to the second home appliance control program 221a.

  Specifically, CPU 130 first determines the remote control content of home appliance 2A based on the emotion determined as a result of emotion analysis and the state of the indoor environment analyzed by the indoor environment analysis. Next, the CPU 130 transmits the determined remote control content of the home appliance 2A to the confirmation device 5 together with the emotion analysis result and the indoor environment analysis result. When the content confirmation notification is received from the confirmation device 5, the CPU 130 transmits an infrared signal corresponding to the content of remote control determined as described above from the infrared transmission unit 150, but with the content confirmation notification from the confirmation device 5. When the remote control content data is received, an infrared signal corresponding to the received remote control content is transmitted from the infrared transmitter 150 to control the operation of the home appliance 2A to be remotely controlled.

  Next, the functional configuration of the confirmation device 5 will be described. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of main functional blocks of the confirmation device 5. As illustrated in FIG. 13, the confirmation device 5 includes an input unit 500, a CPU 510, a display unit 520, a wireless communication unit 530, a ROM 540, and a RAM 550.

  The input unit 500 is for a user to input an operation, and is realized by, for example, a button switch or a touch panel. The input unit 500 outputs an operation signal corresponding to the operation input to the CPU 510.

The CPU 510 executes processing based on a predetermined program in accordance with an input instruction, performs an instruction to each functional unit, data transfer, and the like, and comprehensively controls the confirmation device 5.
For example, processing for browsing and displaying the control content confirmation data received from the comfort improvement support device 1b, processing for changing the remote control content included in the received control content confirmation data in accordance with the change operation, and the like are executed.

  The display unit 520 displays various screens based on display signals input from the CPU 510, and is configured by an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) or the like.

  The wireless communication unit 530 is a device for exchanging information used inside the device with the outside, and performs wireless communication with another device (the comfort improvement support device 1b). For example, it is realized by a device capable of wireless communication based on a communication standard such as a wireless LAN.

  The ROM 540 stores an initial program for performing various initial settings, hardware inspection, loading of necessary programs, and the like. The CPU 510 sets the operating environment of the confirmation device 5 by executing this initial program when the confirmation device 5 is powered on.

  The ROM 540 stores a program related to the operation of the confirmation device 5, a program for realizing various functions provided in the confirmation device 5, data related to the execution of these programs, and the like. In particular, a confirmation data browsing program 541 is stored to realize the second embodiment.

  The confirmation data browsing program 541 is a program for realizing a function of browsing the control content confirmation data received from the comfort improvement support apparatus 1b, and the CPU 510 executes the confirmation data browsing process according to the confirmation data browsing program 541. .

  Specifically, when receiving the control content confirmation data from the comfort improvement support device 1b, the CPU 510 displays the emotion analysis result, the indoor environment analysis result, and the remote control content set in the control content confirmation data. Control to browse and display. When a change operation is input by the user, the CPU 510 changes the remote control content stored in the control content confirmation data storage area 551. When the confirmation operation is performed by the user, the CPU 510 transmits a content confirmation notification to the comfort improvement support device 1b. However, when the remote control content is changed according to the change operation, the CPU 510 transmits the content of the changed remote control content. The data is transmitted to the comfort improvement support device 1b together with the content confirmation notification.

  The RAM 550 is a semiconductor memory used as a working memory for the CPU 510, and includes a memory area that temporarily holds various programs executed by the CPU 510, data related to the execution of these programs, and the like. In particular, in order to realize the second embodiment, a control content confirmation data storage area 551 that holds control content confirmation data transmitted from the comfort improvement support device 1b is provided.

[Process flow]
Next, the flow of the second main process executed in the comfort improvement support device 1b will be described. FIG. 14 is a flowchart for explaining the flow of the second main process. The process described here is a process that is started when the comfort improvement support apparatus 1b is turned on (ON), and the CPU 130 performs the emotion analysis program 211a, the indoor environment analysis program 211b, and the second home appliance control program. This is realized by reading and executing the second main program 221 including 221a.

  In the second main process, the CPU 130 repeatedly executes the process of loop B, for example, at a predetermined time interval (for example, every hour) (step e10 to step e50). That is, as in the first embodiment, the CPU 130 first executes emotion analysis processing (step e20), and then executes room environment analysis processing (step e30).

  Next, CPU130 performs a 2nd household appliance control process (step e40). FIG. 15 is a flowchart for explaining the flow of the second home appliance control process. In addition, in FIG. 15, the flow of the confirmation data browsing process performed in the confirmation apparatus 5 is shown with the flow of the 2nd household appliance control process.

  In the second home appliance control process, first, as in the first embodiment, the CPU 130 determines whether or not the emotion determined as a result of the emotion analysis process in step e20 is a negative emotion predetermined as a relaxation target emotion. (Step f10). Then, when the determined emotion is a relaxation target (step f10; YES), CPU 130 determines the remote control content of home appliance 2A based on the emotion analysis result and the indoor environment analysis result (step f20). ).

  Subsequently, the CPU 130 transmits the remote control content of the home appliance 2A determined in step f20 to the confirmation device 5 as control content confirmation data together with the emotion analysis result and the indoor environment analysis result (step f30). The CPU 130 is in a standby state until it receives a content confirmation notification from the confirmation device 5.

  On the other hand, in the confirmation device 5, the CPU 510 receives the control content confirmation data as the confirmation data browsing process (step g10). At this time, CPU 510 stores the received control content confirmation data (emotion analysis result, indoor environment analysis result, and remote control content) in control content confirmation data storage area 551.

  Subsequently, the CPU 130 performs control to browse and display the content of the control content confirmation data on the display unit 520 (step g20). If the change operation is performed during the browsing display of the control content confirmation data, the CPU 510 changes the remote control content (step g30). And according to confirmation operation (step g40: YES), CPU510 transmits the content confirmation notification to the comfort improvement assistance apparatus 1b (step g50). At this time, if the remote control content is changed in step g30, the CPU 510 transmits the changed remote control content data to the comfort improvement support device 1b together with the content confirmation notification.

  On the other hand, in the comfort improvement support device 1b, when the CPU 130 receives the content confirmation notification (step f40), the CPU 130 determines whether or not there is a change instruction (step f50). When the remote control content data is received together with the content confirmation notification, the CPU 130 determines that there is a change instruction, and then stores the received remote control content data in the remote control content storage area 167 and updates it. (Step f60).

  Then, the CPU 130 refers to the home appliance control signal list table 217, and sequentially transmits an infrared signal corresponding to the control content of the home appliance to be controlled set in the remote control content storage area 167 from the infrared transmitter 150 (step f70). . If an infrared signal is transmitted, CPU130 will complete | finish a 2nd household appliance control process.

[Operation example]
Next, operations performed by the user in the confirmation device 5 will be described.

  FIG. 16A is a diagram illustrating an example of a browsing screen displayed on the display unit 520 of the confirmation device 5. As shown to Fig.16 (a), an emotion analysis result, a room environment analysis result, and the content of remote control are displayed on a browsing screen. That is, as an internal process, control for browsing and displaying the content of the control content confirmation data received from the comfort improvement support device 1b is performed on the display unit 520 (step g20 shown in FIG. 15).

  On the other hand, FIG. 16B is a diagram illustrating an example of a change screen displayed on the display unit 520 of the confirmation apparatus 5. As illustrated in FIG. 16B, the remote control content of the home appliance 2A is displayed on the change screen in a changeable manner. On this change screen, the user of the confirmation device 5 operates the input unit 500 to change the remote control content of the home appliance 2A. In FIG. 16B, the remote control content “volume adjustment (−3)” for the television is changed to “power OFF”. In this case, as an internal process, a process of changing the remote control content stored in the control content confirmation data storage area 551 is performed (step g30 shown in FIG. 15).

  As described above, according to the second embodiment, the voice of the infant N in the room where the home appliance 2A capable of remote control is installed is analyzed to determine the emotion of the infant N, It is possible to detect the indoor environment situation in the room where the infant N is present and analyze the indoor environment situation. Then, based on the determined emotion of the infant N and the condition of the indoor environment, the remote control content for remotely controlling the indoor home appliance 2A is determined, and the confirmation device 5 together with the emotion analysis result and the indoor environment analysis result is determined. Can be notified.

  On the other hand, the confirmation device 5 can browse and display the emotion analysis result, the indoor environment analysis result, and the remote control content received from the indoor comfort improvement support device 1b where the infant N is present on the display unit 520. Moreover, when a change operation is performed, the remote control content can be changed, and the data of the changed remote control content can be transmitted to the comfort improvement support apparatus 1b. And in the comfort improvement assistance apparatus 1b, according to the data of the remote control content received from the confirmation apparatus 5, the home appliance 2A can be remotely controlled.

  Accordingly, the user always carries the confirmation device 5 to confirm the emotion of the infant N, the indoor environment in the room where the infant N is located, and the remote control content of the home appliance, and the control content of the home appliance as necessary. Can be changed.

[Modification]
The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, but the present invention is not limited to those described above, and can be changed as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the invention.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the comfort improvement support apparatus is installed in a room where the infant N is present is described. However, for example, a user (mother) who takes care of the infant N may carry it. FIG. 17 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the entire system when the comfort improvement support device is configured as three separate devices, so to speak, such as a transmission device 7 realized by a table clock, and a stuffed toy. The remote control device 9 is realized by a child-care toy such as the above, and the comfort improvement support device main body 1c realized by a wristwatch. The comfort improvement support device main body 1c is carried by a user (mother) and performs wireless communication with the transmission device 7 and the remote control device 9 installed in the room where the baby N who takes care of the user is present.

  The transmission device 7 includes functional units corresponding to the sound input unit 110 and the indoor environment detection unit 120 (see FIG. 2) in the above-described embodiment, and the collected voice of the infant N and the detected indoor environment state Is transmitted to the comfort improvement support apparatus main body 1c.

  The remote control device 9 includes a functional unit corresponding to the infrared ray transmitting unit 150 (see FIG. 2) in the above-described embodiment, and various types such as an indoor air conditioner, a television, and lighting according to instructions from the comfort improvement support device main body 1c. An infrared signal is transmitted to the home appliance 2A.

  When the comfort improvement support apparatus main body 1c receives the voice of the infant N and the indoor environment situation from the transmission apparatus 7, the comfort improvement support apparatus main body 1c determines an emotion based on the received voice of the infant N and the received indoor environment situation. Based on the analysis of the indoor environment. Then, the comfort improvement support device body 1c determines the remote control content of the home appliance 2A based on the determined emotion and the analyzed state of the indoor environment, and transmits it to the remote control device 9.

  FIG. 18 is a flowchart for explaining the flow of processing of the entire system. As illustrated in FIG. 18, the transmission device 7 repeatedly executes the process of the loop C, for example, at a predetermined time interval (for example, every hour) (step h10 to step h50).

  That is, the transmitting device 7 samples the sound collected by the sound input unit for a predetermined time to generate input sound data (step h20). Subsequently, the transmission device 7 acquires the detection value of the indoor environment detection unit and detects the indoor environment state (step h30). Then, the transmission device 7 transmits the input voice data generated in step h20 and the indoor environment state detected in step h30 to the comfort improvement support device body 1c (step h40).

  On the other hand, in the comfort improvement support device main unit 1c, when the input voice data and the indoor environment state are received (step i10), the received input voice data is subjected to voice analysis to determine the emotion indicated by the voice (step i20). Subsequently, the comfort improvement support apparatus main body 1c analyzes the indoor environment state of the room where the baby N is present according to the received indoor environment state (step i30).

  And the comfort improvement assistance apparatus main body 1c performs the process of step i40-step i60 as a 3rd household appliance control process. That is, first, the comfort improvement support device body 1c determines whether or not the emotion determined as a result of step i20 is a relaxation target emotion (step i40). And the comfort improvement assistance apparatus main body 1c determines the remote control contents of the home appliance 2A based on the emotion analysis result and the indoor environment analysis result when the determined emotion is a relaxation target (step i40; YES). The determined remote control content is transmitted to the remote control device 9 (step i60).

  On the other hand, if the remote control content is received (step j10), the remote control device 9 performs transmission control of an infrared signal corresponding to the received remote control content to control the operation of the home appliance to be controlled (step j20).

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the support target animal is an infant and the emotions of the infant are relieved has been described. The present invention can be similarly applied to animals including humans who are to be supported by emitting voice. In addition, the home appliances may be remotely controlled as appropriate according to positive emotions such as “fun”, “feeling good”, “self-expression”, etc., not limited to relieving negative emotions.

  The products to which the comfort improvement support device, the confirmation device, the remote control device, and the transmission device can be applied are not limited to the above-mentioned table clock, wristwatch, and toy, but a mobile phone, PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), personal computer It can be applied to all electronic devices.

The figure which shows the mode in the room where the infant who a user takes care of is. The figure which shows an example of the main functional blocks of the comfort improvement assistance apparatus in 1st Embodiment. The figure which shows the data structural example of a household appliance control content list table. The figure which shows the data structural example of a household appliance control signal list table. The figure which shows an example of a structure of a remote control content storage area. The figure which shows an example of a structure of a household appliance use condition storage area. The flowchart for demonstrating the flow of a 1st main process. The flowchart for demonstrating the flow of an emotion analysis process. The flowchart for demonstrating the flow of an indoor environment analysis process. The flowchart for demonstrating the flow of a 1st household appliance control process. The figure which shows an example of the whole structure in 2nd Embodiment. The figure which shows an example of the main functional blocks of the comfort improvement assistance apparatus in 2nd Embodiment. The figure which shows an example of the main functional blocks of the confirmation apparatus in 2nd Embodiment. The flowchart for demonstrating the flow of a 2nd main process. The flowchart for demonstrating the flow of a 2nd household appliance control process and a confirmation data browsing process. (A) is a figure which shows an example of the browsing screen displayed on the display part of a confirmation apparatus, (b) is a figure which shows an example of the change screen displayed on the display part of a confirmation apparatus. The figure for demonstrating the modification of a structure. The flowchart for demonstrating the modification of the flow of a process.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1a Comfort improvement assistance apparatus 100 Input part 110 Sound input part 120 Indoor environment detection part 121 Temperature sensor 123 Humidity sensor 125 Lightness sensor 127 Noise sensor 130 CPU
140 Display unit 150 Infrared communication unit 200a ROM
211 First main program 211a Emotion analysis program 211b Indoor environment analysis program 211c First home appliance control program 213 Emotion determination table 215 Home appliance control content list table 217 Home appliance control signal list table 160 RAM
161 Input voice data storage area 163 Emotion analysis data storage area 165 Environmental analysis data storage area 167 Remote control content storage area 169 Home appliance usage status storage area

Claims (8)

In the comfort improvement support device that supports the improvement of the comfort for the support target animal in the room where the home appliance that can be remotely controlled is installed,
Environmental status detection means for detecting the status of the indoor environment;
A voice input means for inputting a voice emitted from the supported animal;
Emotion determination means for analyzing the voice input by the voice input means and determining the emotion of the supported animal;
Remote control means for remotely controlling the home appliance by transmitting a control signal for controlling the operation of the home appliance based on the emotion determined by the emotion determination means and the situation detected by the environmental situation detection means;
A comfort improvement support device characterized by comprising: In the comfort improvement assistance apparatus of Claim 1,
The emotion determination means includes a relaxation target emotion determination means for determining whether or not the emotion of the supported animal is a predetermined relaxation target emotion,
The remote control means changes the operation of the home appliance by remotely controlling the home appliance when the emotion of the support target animal is determined to be the emotion to be relaxed by the mitigation target emotion determination means. A comfort improvement assisting device comprising control means for mitigating emotions to be controlled. In the comfort improvement assistance apparatus of Claim 1 or 2,
The comfort improvement support device further comprising control content transmission means for transmitting the remote control content of the home appliance by the remote control means to a communicable confirmation device. In the comfort improvement assistance apparatus of Claim 3,
A change instruction receiving means for receiving a change instruction for remote control content from the confirmation device;
The remote control means includes a changing means for changing a remote control content for the home appliance based on a change instruction received by the change instruction receiving means. In the comfort improvement support device that supports the improvement of the comfort for the support target animal in the room where the home appliance that can be remotely controlled is installed,
Receiving means for receiving the indoor environment status indicating the indoor environment status of the room and the sound of the supported animal;
Emotion determination means for analyzing the voice received by the reception means and determining the emotion of the supported animal;
Transmitting means for transmitting a home appliance control signal for controlling the operation of the home appliance based on the emotion determined by the emotion determining means and the indoor environment situation received by the receiving means;
A comfort improvement support device characterized by comprising: In the comfort improvement assistance apparatus of Claim 5,
The comfort improvement support apparatus further comprising a home appliance control signal transmission / reception unit that receives the home appliance control signal transmitted by the transmission unit and transmits the received home appliance control signal to the home appliance. Environment condition detection means for detecting the condition of the indoor environment in a room where a home appliance capable of remote control is installed, voice input means for inputting sound emitted from the supported animal, and control to the household appliance A computer having a transmission means for transmitting a signal;
An emotion determination function for analyzing the voice input by the voice input means and determining the emotion of the supported animal;
Based on the emotion determined by the emotion determination function and the status detected by the environmental status detection means, the control means for controlling the operation of the home appliance is transmitted to the transmission means to remotely control the home appliance. With remote control function,
A program to realize On the computer,
A receiving function for receiving an indoor environment state indicating a state of an indoor environment in a room in which a home electric appliance capable of remote control is installed, and a voice of a supported animal in the room;
An emotion determination function for analyzing the voice received by the receiving means and determining the emotion of the supported animal;
A transmission function for transmitting a home appliance control signal for controlling the operation of the home appliance based on the emotion determined by the emotion determination function and the indoor environment situation received by the reception function;
A program to realize

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