JP2007102637A - Customer premise equipment for emergency communication - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To promptly and surely perform emergency communication operation at customer premise, even when abnormalities in power supply from a commercial power source have occurred. <P>SOLUTION: In a power supply device 24 placed in customer premise equipment 2, power supply to a customer premise communication device 21 and a communication terminal 22 is switched by a changeover switch 242 to power supply from a battery 241, when a commercial power output taken via a commercial power supply socket 23 is monitored and a power outage is detected. At the same time, a power outage detection signal is transmitted by a power supply control part 243, to the communication terminal 22 via a control signal communication line 25. Upon receiving the power outage detection signal, the communication terminal 22 performs only the emergency call application program, while making other application programs terminated. When an emergency call operation is conducted in the communication terminal 22, the customer premise communication device 21 makes an emergency call to a server 51 via an optic access line 3. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an emergency communication in-home device that performs emergency communication with a center side when an emergency such as a natural disaster, an accident, or a crime occurs in a subscriber's home such as a general home or a business establishment.

  Conventional examples of emergency call systems using fixed telephone lines using metallic cables include, for example, call centers operated by the nearest fire department, local government, etc. when an elderly person or care recipient encounters an emergency situation at home. Have been proposed (see, for example, Non-Patent Document 1). In such an emergency call system using a fixed telephone line, an emergency call device (emergency communication in-home device) installed at a subscriber's home is a base unit of a portable emergency call transmitter (slave device) carried by a person at home. Can communicate via low-power radio, and is also connected to a fixed telephone.

  In the above system, for example, when an emergency situation occurs and the “emergency” button of the slave unit is pressed, an emergency notification signal is transmitted to the master unit via the low-power radio. Upon receiving this, the master unit establishes voice communication with the emergency call receiving device (center side device) installed in the emergency information center via the fixed telephone line, and also changes from the emergency call device to the emergency call receiving device. On the other hand, an emergency message is sent. In this emergency call system using a fixed telephone line, the minimum power required for making an emergency call is supplied by the power supply device of the subscriber accommodation station via the telephone line. An emergency call can be made even if is refused.

  On the other hand, in the environment where various services provided on the IP network from homes and public facilities, such as the Internet, are being prepared, optical access lines, ADSL lines, etc. are used as fixed access lines to the IP network. Broadband lines are spreading rapidly. Various emergency call systems using the optical access line and the IP network have been proposed. In addition, in this type of system, an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) is installed in the house to enable emergency communication even during a power failure of the commercial power supply. Some measures have been taken.

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  However, in general, UPS continues to supply power only for the time required to normally shut down communication terminals, etc., even when power supply is suddenly cut off due to a failure of the power supply facility of the power company or excess capacity of the home power supply. To be introduced. However, if the communication terminal is shut down due to a power failure due to the occurrence of a disaster, emergency information such as emergency notification and evacuation related information cannot be transmitted immediately. As a result, evacuation from the hazardous area is delayed, and there is a risk that human damage will increase.

  The present invention has been made paying attention to the above circumstances, and its purpose is to perform an emergency communication operation promptly and reliably even when an abnormality occurs in power supply from a commercial power source in a subscriber's house. An object of the present invention is to provide an in-home device for emergency communication.

  In order to achieve the above object, an emergency communication home device according to the present invention is an emergency communication home device connected to a center side device via a communication line and performing emergency communication with the center side device. A communication terminal that operates with a commercial power source and performs the emergency communication; and a communication device that operates with the commercial power source and transmits information to and from the center side device via the communication line according to an instruction from the communication terminal And a power failure determination means for determining whether or not power supply from the commercial power source to the communication terminal and the communication device is in an abnormal state, and when the power failure determination means determines that the power supply is in an abnormal state, A power supply device that supplies required power to the communication terminal and communication device instead of the commercial power supply, and the communication terminal when the power failure determination means determines that power supply is in an abnormal state. ; And a power failure notification means for transmitting a power failure detection signal. And the said communication terminal will perform only the application program which governs the said emergency communication, if the said power failure notification signal is received.

  According to the above configuration, when the communication terminal receives the power failure detection signal, the communication terminal selectively executes only the application program related to emergency communication such as emergency call and disaster information reception required at the time of power failure, and other application programs Stop operation. With this configuration, the communication terminal can be operated in a power saving state and the battery life of the power supply apparatus can be prolonged, so that an emergency communication operation can be performed reliably.

The in-home device for emergency communication according to the present invention is also characterized by having the following various configurations.
In the first configuration, the communication terminal transmits an emergency call signal to the center side device via the communication line by the application program.
If comprised in this way, an emergency call will be performed to the center side, for example by pressing the emergency button provided in the communication terminal. This makes it possible to notify the center side of an abnormal situation that has occurred at the subscriber's home quickly and reliably.

In the second configuration, when the communication terminal is connected to an emergency call device, the communication terminal sends an emergency call signal to the communication based on an emergency call request coming from the emergency call device by the application program. The data is transmitted to the center side device via a line.
As a result, after a power failure is detected, it is possible to make an emergency call from a location away from the communication terminal by pressing the emergency call button provided on the portable emergency call transmitter, for example, in a power saving operation state It becomes.

The third configuration is characterized in that the communication terminal obtains emergency information from the center side device via the communication line by the application program when receiving the power failure detection signal.
By doing in this way, in the communication terminal in the power saving operation state after detection of the power failure, it is possible to quickly obtain notification information such as disaster information, evacuation information, and the like that cause the power failure. Further, if the center side apparatus is configured to be repeatedly accessed at regular intervals, the latest information can be reliably acquired.

According to a fourth configuration, the communication terminal includes a plurality of input / output means, and has a function of selectively controlling the plurality of input / output means by the application program.
With this configuration, when the communication terminal includes a plurality of input / output means, different input / output devices are selectively controlled according to information transmitted / received. For example, when the communication terminal includes both output devices of a speaker and a display, emergency information is presented by either voice output or character display under the control of the application program. Thereby, the power consumption in the emergency communication operation can be further reduced.

  In short, according to the present invention, it is an object of the present invention to provide an in-home device for emergency communication that can perform an emergency communication operation quickly and reliably even when an abnormality occurs in power supply from a commercial power source in a subscriber's home.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
(First embodiment)
In the first embodiment of the present invention, an in-home device for emergency communication (hereinafter referred to as a home device) provided in a subscriber's house and an in-station device provided in a subscriber accommodation station are connected via an optical access line. In a system that performs IP (Internet Protocol) communication, when an abnormality is detected in power supply from a commercial power source in a power supply device provided in a home device, power supply from a battery to a communication device and a communication terminal is started and communication is performed. Operate the terminal in a power-saving state. Further, when an emergency call operation is performed at the communication terminal, the emergency call is transmitted to the server device of the emergency information center via the optical access line.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an emergency communication system provided with a home device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In this system, an in-station device 1 and a home device 2 are connected via an optical access line 3 using an optical fiber. The intra-station device 1 includes an optical subscriber transmission device 11 and an intra-station IP communication device 12, and the intra-station IP communication device 12 is connected to a server 51 provided in the emergency information center 5 via an IP network 4 such as the Internet. ing. On the other hand, the home device 2 includes a home communication device 21. The in-home communication device 21 is provided with an optical line termination device 211, and the in-home device 2 is connected to the in-office device 1 through the optical access line 3 by the optical line termination device 211.

  As a transmission method using the optical access line 3, for example, two methods standardized by IEEE802.3ah are adopted. The first method is a point-to-point (P-P) connection method in which the optical subscriber transmission device 11 and the optical line terminal device 211 are connected one-to-one. In the second method, an optical signal transmitted from the optical subscriber transmission device 11 is separated into a plurality of optical signals by a splitter, and the separated optical signal is transmitted to the optical line terminating device 211 of a different subscriber home device. This is a PON (Passive Optical Network) connection method. In any of these systems, signals are transmitted and received by an Ethernet (registered trademark) frame.

  In the PP connection method, the optical line termination device 211 is called a media converter (MC), and the optical subscriber transmission device 11 is called a collective media converter. On the other hand, in the PON connection method, the optical line termination device 211 is referred to as ONU (Optical Network Unit), and the optical subscriber transmission device 11 is referred to as OLT (Optical Line Terminal). Hereinafter, in this embodiment, a case where the PON connection method is adopted will be described as an example.

  The in-home device 2 is provided with a router 212 provided in the in-home communication device 21, a communication terminal 22, a commercial power supply outlet 23, and a power supply device 24. The router 212 has a wired interface function for performing packet transfer between the communication terminal 22 and the optical network unit (ONU) 211. For example, a personal computer is used as the communication terminal 22, and emergency communication is performed with the server 51 of the emergency information center 5 by the home communication device 21.

  The power feeding device 24 includes a battery 241, a changeover switch 242, and a power feeding control unit 243. The power supply control unit 243 monitors the commercial power output taken in via the commercial power outlet 23. When the commercial power output is normal, the commercial power output or the operating voltage generated based on the commercial power output is supplied to the home communication device 21 and the communication terminal 22. On the other hand, when an abnormality occurs in the commercial power output, the changeover switch 242 is switched to the battery 241, and the power output of the battery 241 is supplied to the in-home communication device 21 and the communication terminal 22. The power supply control unit 243 and the communication terminal 22 are connected via a control signal communication line 25. When the power supply control unit 243 detects an abnormality in the commercial power supply output, the control signal communication line A power failure detection signal is transmitted to the communication terminal 22 via 25.

Next, the operation of the emergency communication system configured as described above will be described. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a control procedure and control contents of the power feeding device 24 and the communication terminal 22 in the home device 2.
The power supply control unit 243 of the power supply device 24 monitors the commercial power output that is captured via the commercial power outlet 23 in step 2a. In this state, when an abnormality in the commercial power output is detected, the process proceeds to step 2b, and the power supply control unit 243 switches the power supply to the home communication device 21 and the communication terminal 22 to power supply from the battery 241 by the changeover switch 242. . In step 2 c, the power supply control unit 243 transmits a power failure detection signal to the communication terminal 2 via the control signal communication line 25.

  On the other hand, when the communication terminal 22 receives the power failure detection signal in step 2d, the communication terminal 22 proceeds to step 2e and terminates the application programs being executed other than the emergency notification application program. Further, in step 2f, if the emergency call application program is being executed, it is continued as it is, and if the emergency call application program is not being executed, it is started. In step 2g, when an emergency call operation is performed by an emergency button or the like provided on the communication terminal 22, the process proceeds to step 2h, and the emergency call information is transmitted to the server 51 by the home communication device 21.

  As described above, in the first embodiment, when the power supply 24 provided in the home device 2 monitors the commercial power output taken in via the commercial power outlet 23 and detects a power failure, the home communication device 21 and the communication The power supply to the terminal 22 is switched to power supply from the battery 241 by the changeover switch 242. At this time, the power supply control unit 243 transmits a power failure detection signal to the communication terminal 2 via the control signal communication line 25. Upon receiving this power failure detection signal, the communication terminal 22 executes only the emergency call application program and terminates other application programs. When an emergency call operation is performed at the communication terminal 22, an emergency call is made to the server 51 via the optical access line 3 by the home communication device 21.

  Therefore, even when a power failure occurs in the commercial power supply, the required power is supplied from the battery 241 to the in-home communication device 21 and the communication terminal 22. For this reason, the in-home communication device 21 and the communication terminal 22 can maintain the operation state. Further, when the communication terminal 22 receives the power failure detection signal from the power supply control unit 243, the communication terminal 22 enters the power saving operation state by executing only the emergency notification application program, and prevents the battery 241 from being discharged unnecessarily, thereby extending the life of the battery. Can be achieved. Thereby, it becomes possible to transmit the abnormal situation which occurred in the subscriber's house quickly and reliably.

(Second Embodiment)
As in the first embodiment, the second embodiment of the present invention starts power supply by a battery and detects a power supply from a commercial power source in a power supply device of a home device, and In response, a power failure detection signal is transmitted. When the communication terminal receives the power failure detection signal, the communication terminal operates in a power saving state and acquires emergency information that needs immediate transmission from the server device of the emergency information center.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a control procedure and control contents of the power feeding device 24 and the communication terminal 22 of the in-home device 2 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. Since the basic configuration of the system is the same as that of FIG. 1 described in the first embodiment, this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  Similarly to FIG. 2 in the first embodiment, it is assumed that a power failure detection signal is transmitted from the power feeding device 24 to the communication terminal 22 in step 2c. When the communication terminal 22 receives the power failure detection signal in step 3a, the communication terminal 22 proceeds to step 3b and terminates the application programs being executed other than the emergency information acquisition application program. Further, in step 3c, if the emergency information acquisition application program is being executed, it is continued as it is. If the emergency information acquisition application program is not being executed, it is started. In step 3d, the emergency information is acquired by accessing the server 51 of the emergency information center 5 at predetermined intervals. This emergency information acquisition process is repeated until an end operation is performed in step 3e.

  As described above, in the second embodiment, when the power supply 24 provided in the home device 2 monitors the commercial power output taken in via the commercial power outlet 23 and detects a power failure, the home communication device 21 and the communication The power supply to the terminal 22 is switched to power supply from the battery 241 by the changeover switch 242. At this time, the power supply control unit 243 transmits a power failure detection signal to the communication terminal 2 via the control signal communication line 25. When receiving the power failure detection signal, the communication terminal 22 executes only the emergency information acquisition application program and terminates the other application programs. And the communication terminal 22 acquires emergency information from the server 51 for every fixed time by an emergency information acquisition application program.

  Therefore, similarly to the first embodiment, even when a power failure occurs in the commercial power supply, the required power is supplied from the battery 241 to the in-home communication device 21 and the communication terminal 22. For this reason, the in-home communication device 21 and the communication terminal 22 can maintain the operation state. In addition, when the communication terminal 22 receives the power failure detection signal from the power supply control unit 243, the communication terminal 22 enters the power saving operation state by executing only the emergency information acquisition application program, thereby preventing unnecessary discharge of the battery 241 and reducing the battery life. Prolongs life. This makes it possible to quickly and reliably acquire emergency information that needs immediate transmission at the subscriber's home.

Further, the communication terminal 22 is configured to access the server 51 at regular intervals by the emergency information acquisition application program, so that the latest emergency information can be reliably acquired even when the emergency information is updated. .
The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. For example, in the first and second embodiments, the in-station device 1 and the in-home device 2 are connected by the optical access line 3, but the present invention can also be applied to an ADSL line or other communication lines. In the case of an ADSL line, it can be realized by using an ADSL modem in place of the optical line termination unit (ONU) 211 of the in-home communication apparatus 21, and a communication device corresponding to the connected communication line is used.

  When the communication terminal 22 is connected to an emergency call device (for example, a portable wireless communication device), an emergency call is transmitted to the server 51 of the emergency information center 5 based on an emergency call request coming from the emergency call device. You may make it do. If comprised in this way, after the power failure detection, in the communication terminal 22 in a power saving operation state, by pressing an emergency call button provided in the emergency call device, an emergency call is made even at a place away from the communication terminal 22 Is possible.

  When the communication terminal 22 includes a plurality of input / output means, it is preferable that different input / output devices are selectively controlled according to information transmitted / received by an emergency information acquisition application program or the like in the event of a power failure. For example, when the communication terminal includes both output devices of a speaker and a display, emergency information is presented by either voice output or text display under the control of the application program. Thereby, the power consumption in the emergency communication operation can be further reduced.

In addition, the configuration of the in-home device 2 and the procedure and contents of the operation at the time of power failure can be implemented with various modifications without departing from the scope of the present invention.
In short, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments as they are, and can be embodied by modifying the components without departing from the scope of the invention in the implementation stage. Moreover, various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of constituent elements disclosed in the above embodiments. For example, some components may be deleted from all the components shown in the embodiment. Furthermore, you may combine suitably the component covering different embodiment.

The block block diagram which shows the emergency communication system provided with the subscriber | terminal apparatus concerning 1st Embodiment of this invention. The flowchart for demonstrating the procedure of the operation | movement at the time of a power failure in the in-home apparatus shown in FIG. 1, and its content. The flowchart for demonstrating the procedure of the operation | movement at the time of a power failure in the subscriber | terminal apparatus concerning the 2nd Embodiment of this invention, and its content.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... In-station apparatus, 2 ... In-house apparatus, 3 ... Optical access line, 4 ... IP network, 5 ... Emergency information center, 11 ... Optical subscriber-transmission apparatus (OLT), 12 ... In-office IP communication apparatus, 21 ... In-home communication apparatus , 211, optical line termination unit (ONU), 212, router, 22, communication terminal, 23, commercial power outlet, 24, power supply device, 241, battery, 242, power supply control unit, 243, changeover switch, 25, control signal Communication line, 51 ... server.

Claims (5)

An emergency communication home device that is connected to a center side device via a communication line and performs emergency communication with the center side device,
A communication terminal that operates from a commercial power source and performs the emergency communication;
A communication device that operates with the commercial power supply and performs information transmission with the center side device via the communication line according to an instruction from the communication terminal;
A power failure determination means for determining whether or not power supply from the commercial power source to the communication terminal and the communication device is in an abnormal state;
When it is determined by the power failure determination means that power supply is in an abnormal state, a power supply device that supplies required power instead of the commercial power supply to the communication terminal and the communication device;
A power failure notification means for transmitting a power failure detection signal to the communication terminal when the power failure determination means determines that the power supply is in an abnormal state;
When the communication terminal receives the power failure notification signal, the communication terminal executes only the application program that manages the emergency communication.   The emergency communication home device according to claim 1, wherein the communication terminal transmits an emergency call signal to the center side device via the communication line by the application program.   When the communication terminal is further connected to an emergency call device, the communication terminal uses the application program to send an emergency call signal via the communication line based on an emergency call request coming from the emergency call device. The in-home device for emergency communication according to claim 1, wherein the in-home device is transmitted to a center side device.   The emergency communication home according to claim 1, wherein the communication terminal acquires emergency information from the center side device via the communication line by the application program when the power failure detection signal is received. apparatus.   The emergency communication in-house device according to claim 1, wherein the communication terminal includes a plurality of input / output means, and has a function of selectively controlling the plurality of input / output means by the application program.

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