JP2007180936A - Lost article discovery unit - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a lost article discovery unit having identification capability of easily detecting a lost article even in a noisy use environment, and portability enabling all the time wearing of a radio transmitter thereof, with good economy not requiring an individual telephone channel number registration. <P>SOLUTION: A lost article discovery unit 10 includes a receiving circuit section 12 for receiving a control signal transmitted via a radio communication function provided in a mobile phone 11, a response notification section 13 having functions of generating sound, light and vibration, and a response control section 14 for driving the response notification section 13 in a predetermined operation mode, based on the control signal obtained from the receiving circuit section 13. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a lost article detector for locating articles lost around us.

  Conventionally, when a car key, a wallet, or the like is left behind, the only way to search for it is with your own eyes and hands, which often wastes a lot of time and effort. For example, the following is disclosed in relation to the technology for finding such lost items.

  Patent Document 1 has an operation unit that selectively transmits one of a plurality of radio signals and a plurality of reception units that receive radio signals, and the reception unit identifies radio signals transmitted to itself. Thus, an article search device is described in which an article is searched for by sound generated by an acoustic device.

  In Patent Document 2, a radio wave transmitter for transmitting a constant radio wave to be detected is preliminarily incorporated in the object to be detected or combined with the object to be detected, and the radio wave from the radio wave transmitter is detected. There is described a lost object detecting device characterized by comprising a responder which transmits a certain response sound when received.

Patent Document 3 discloses a pager that receives a radio signal by downsizing a pager and attaching it to an object such as a car key, dialing the pager number when forgetting where the object is placed. A key ring type pager that emits sound and light to show where the object is located is described.
JP-A-8-65775 Utility Model Registration No. 3090839 JP-A-11-313139

However, the prior art described in the patent document has the following problems.
That is, in the article search device described in Patent Document 1, the reception unit identifies the radio signal from the operation unit and only a certain sound is transmitted from the acoustic device. Depending on the usage environment where there is a lot of noise, there is a problem that it is difficult to discriminate the sound, and the sound attracts the attention of the surrounding players.

  In addition, in the lost object detection device that transmits a constant response sound when receiving a certain radio wave described in Patent Document 2, in addition to the same disadvantages as described above, such an exploration radio wave transmitter is always worn. Because it is difficult to put on, there is a problem that it is difficult to use easily when you have left something.

  Further, in the case where the small pager described in Patent Document 3 is used by being attached to an object such as a key, the notification operation is limited only to sound, and in addition to lack of discrimination, this pocket There is a problem that it is necessary to register an individual telephone number for each bell with the telephone company, and the actual operation cost becomes high.

  The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described conventional problems, and is capable of easily detecting a lost item even in a noisy use environment, and a portable phone that can always be worn by the radio wave transmitter. It is an object of the present invention to provide a lost object detector that has excellent characteristics and economical efficiency that does not require registration of individual line telephone numbers.

(1) A lost object detector of the present invention made to solve the above-described conventional problems includes a receiving circuit unit that receives a control signal transmitted via a wireless communication function provided in a mobile phone, A response notification unit having a light emission and vibration function; and a response control unit that drives the response notification unit in a predetermined operation mode based on a control signal acquired from the reception circuit unit.

(2) The lost item detector according to the present invention is characterized in that, in (1), the mobile phone and the receiving circuit unit are wirelessly connected according to a Bluetooth standard.

(3) The lost item detector of the present invention is the lost item detector main body according to (1) or (2), wherein the lost item detector main body is provided with a stop operation unit that stops driving the response notification unit, and the response control unit However, when the operation of the stop operation unit is not detected within a predetermined time after the response notification unit starts to be driven in the predetermined operation mode, the operation is shifted to another operation mode.

(4) In the lost item detector of the present invention, in the operation modes (1) to (3), in the operation mode, the response notification unit is operated for a predetermined time by the light emission function, and then switched to the sound generation function. A light emission sound mode to be operated; a light emission mode for maintaining the light emission function of the response notification unit; a sound generation mode for maintaining the sound generation function of the response notification unit; a vibration mode for continuing the vibration function of the response notification unit; And a reset mode for resetting the operation history of the response notification unit.

  According to the present invention, the response notification unit can be driven in a predetermined operation mode based on the control signal transmitted from the mobile phone, so that the lost object detector is attached even in a noisy use environment. It is possible to easily detect and discriminate objects. Moreover, since it can be operated using a mobile phone, it is excellent in portability and convenience. Furthermore, pairing with a mobile phone in accordance with the Bluetooth communication standard eliminates the need for registration and cost of individual line telephone numbers, and is excellent in economic efficiency.

  The lost object detector of the present embodiment includes a receiving circuit unit for receiving a control signal transmitted via a wireless communication function provided in a mobile phone, a response notifying unit having a sound generation, light emission, and vibration function, A response control unit for driving the response notification unit in a predetermined operation mode based on a control signal acquired from the reception circuit unit. As a result, for example, even in a use environment such as a noisy game hall, it is possible to easily detect and determine a lost object on which a lost object detector is mounted. In addition, since the lost item detector can be easily detected using a mobile phone, it is excellent in portability and convenience.

  The receiving circuit unit is built in the lost object detector body, which is entirely formed in a card shape, etc., and receives control signals transmitted via wireless communication functions such as the Bluetooth standard and call function provided in mobile phones It is a communication device having a function to perform.

  The response notification unit includes a sound generation device such as a speaker and a buzzer, a liquid crystal display unit including a liquid crystal panel, a light emitting device such as an LED, and a vibration device including a vibrator. The driving state is controlled.

  The response control unit is a microcomputer including a CPU, and device devices such as a reception circuit unit and a response notification unit are connected via an input / output interface. The memory unit of the response control unit is preloaded with a communication control program via the Bluetooth standard for controlling the receiving circuit unit and the response notification unit and an application program for controlling the response notification unit in a predetermined operation mode. Yes.

  In addition, the lost item detector of the present embodiment can be configured such that the mobile phone and the receiving circuit unit are wirelessly connected according to the Bluetooth standard (registered trademark). As a result, communication between the mobile phone and the receiving circuit unit is performed at a speed of 1 Mbps using a radio wave of a frequency band of 2.45 GHz that can be freely used without a license from the mobile phone to the receiving circuit unit. Can be performed. Thus, unlike IrDA which uses infrared rays, it can be used even if there is an obstacle as long as the distance between both devices is within 10 m. In addition, according to the wireless communication based on the Bluetooth standard, a small transceiver can be used, so that the power consumption is smaller than that of IrDA and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

In the lost object detector according to the present embodiment, the lost object detector main body is provided with a stop operation unit that stops driving the response notification unit, and the response control unit starts driving the response notification unit according to a predetermined operation mode. Thereafter, when an operation of the stop operation unit is not detected within a predetermined time, it is possible to shift to another operation mode. As a result, unless a lost item is found and the stop operation unit is not pressed, the operation mode is changed every predetermined time, so that the recognition rate of the lost item can be improved. For example, when a control signal is first received from a mobile phone, the response notification unit is continuously driven for about 10 seconds in a light emission mode in which LEDs and lamps are turned on and off, and then an alarm sound is emitted from a buzzer for about 5 seconds. The response notification unit may be shifted to the sound generation mode, and then the operation mode may be shifted.
The stop operation unit is a push button or touch sensor provided on the front of the lost object detector main body, etc., and the operator who discovered the lost object detector in the operation mode is operating by operating it The response notification unit can be stopped. The stop operation unit can also be controlled by transmitting a control signal through the communication function of the mobile phone, thereby operating the mobile phone at hand to always find the lost object detector that is responding. Can be stopped.

  In the operation mode, the lost object detector of the present embodiment operates in the light emitting sound generation mode in which the response notification unit is operated for a predetermined time by the light emission function and then switched to the sound generation function. A light emission mode for maintaining the light emission function; a sound generation mode for maintaining the sound generation function of the response notification unit; a vibration mode for continuing the vibration function of the response notification unit; and a reset mode for resetting the operation history of the response notification unit; , Also has a feature. As a result, the control signal selected using the mobile phone can be transmitted to the receiving circuit unit of the lost object detector, and the response notification unit can be driven in a predetermined operation mode, which is appropriate depending on the usage environment, etc. By driving in a different operation mode, it is possible to more easily find a car key attached to or coupled to the lost item detector, or an article such as a bicycle, vehicle, or valuables.

(Example)
FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a lost object detection system to which a lost object detector according to the present embodiment is applied, and FIG. 2 is a block configuration diagram thereof. Hereinafter, a lost object detection system using a lost object detector will be described with reference to the drawings.
1 and 2, reference numeral 10 denotes a lost item detector of the present embodiment formed in a card type or the like that is previously attached to an article such as a wallet or valuables, and 11 a Bluetooth paired to the lost item detector 10. A mobile phone having a Bluetooth transmission circuit unit 11a that operates according to the standard, 12 is a Bluetooth reception circuit unit (reception circuit unit) having an antenna for receiving a control signal transmitted through the Bluetooth transmission circuit unit 11a, 13 Is a response notification unit having a sound generation, light emission, and vibration function, 14 is a response control unit for driving the response notification unit 13 in a predetermined operation mode based on a control signal acquired from the Bluetooth reception circuit unit 12, It is a stop operation part for stopping the operation of the response notification part 13.
In addition to the Bluetooth transmission circuit unit 11a for sending a predetermined control signal to the lost item detector 10, the mobile phone 11 has a receiving circuit for making a communication call with the mobile phone base station via the antenna 11b, The communication control unit 11c includes a transmission circuit, an operation unit 11d such as a dial button and a touch button, a liquid crystal display unit 11e for displaying communication call information, and the like.

  The cellular phone 11 transmits a predetermined control signal to the Bluetooth receiving circuit unit 12 of the lost item detector 10 via the Bluetooth transmitting circuit unit 11a by operating an operation unit 11d such as a dial button provided on the front surface thereof. Be able to. Note that such an antenna for Bluetooth communication can also be shared with the antenna 11b used for the communication call function performed with the mobile phone base station.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the lost item detector 10 is held in a state of being attached to an article such as a wallet or a key or being incorporated in the article. In this way, when losing sight of an article equipped with the lost article detector 10 or trying to detect it from a large number of articles placed thereon, the operation unit 11d of the mobile phone 11 is operated. Then, a control signal corresponding to the lost item detector 10 paired with the mobile phone 11 is transmitted to the communicable near-field area via the Bluetooth transmission circuit unit 11a. Bluetooth is one of the wireless communication systems, and can build a low-cost and high-speed wireless communication environment. A frequency band that does not require a 2.4 GHz license is used for wireless communication by Bluetooth, and the radio wave connection area is about 10 m to 100 m. Further, 1 Mbps data transmission can be performed by frequency hopping type spread spectrum communication.

  The response control unit 14 includes a CPU for controlling the operation of the entire lost item detector, a memory for storing a control program and data, and an input / output unit. This input / output unit is connected to the Bluetooth receiving circuit unit 12, the response notification unit 13, and the stop operation unit 15, and inputs and outputs data to and from the CPU and memory.

  In the control signal transmitted from the mobile phone 11 toward the Bluetooth receiving circuit unit 12 of the lost item detector 10, in addition to the identification code for specifying the lost item detector 10, the operation mode of the response notification unit 13 The control code for specifying is included. This makes it easy to identify the response notification unit 13 that operates in a predetermined mode in accordance with the control signal even when a plurality of lost item detectors are mixed in the communicable area using the Bluetooth communication function. Can be done. For example, when the lost object detector 10 attached to the wallet is operated, an intermittent alarm sound is generated, and in the case of the lost object detector built in the suitcase, a continuous alarm sound is generated. In addition, by transmitting a control signal corresponding to this from the mobile phone 11, both can be identified and detected.

Furthermore, when articles are densely packed and it is difficult to identify them by sound, the response control unit 14 controls the response notification unit 13 to change from a sound generation mode in which a buzzer is sounded to a light emission mode in which LEDs are flashed. It is also possible to improve the distinguishability by switching. Further, the lost object detector 10 is provided with a stop operation unit 15 such as a push button on the front side thereof, and the operator of the mobile phone 11 discovers the lost object detector 10 that is responding. The response operation can be stopped by operating. As a result, it is possible to stop the unnecessary response operation after the article discovery and to make the lost article detector 10 easy to use.
Furthermore, a control signal for operating the stop operation unit 15 or a control signal for directly stopping the response notification unit 13 can be transmitted via the Bluetooth communication function of the mobile phone 11. The response operation of the lost item detector 10 can be stopped.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of a response operation in the response control unit. The operation flow will be described below with reference to the drawings.
First, in the first step S1, the response control unit 14 accesses the Bluetooth receiving circuit unit 12 at a predetermined time interval.
In the next step S2, the presence / absence of a control signal from the Bluetooth transmission circuit unit 11a of the mobile phone 11 is checked. If no control signal is received (no), the process returns to step S1 and the above access operation is repeatedly executed. The On the other hand, when the control signal is received (yes), the process proceeds to step S3.
In step S3, the control signal is analyzed, and the operation mode of the response notification unit 13 corresponding to the identification code and control code of the mobile phone is set. Such a control code includes, for example, (1) a light emitting sound generation mode in which the response notification unit 13 is operated for about 5 seconds by the light emission function and then switched to the sound generation function, and (2) the response notification unit 13 A light emission mode for maintaining the light emission function, (3) a sound generation mode for maintaining the sound generation function of the response notification unit 13, (4) a vibration mode for continuing the vibration function of the response notification unit 13, and (5) an operation history of the response notification unit 13 This corresponds to a reset mode for resetting, and a predetermined operation mode is thereby set.

In step S4, the response notification unit 13 is activated in the set operation mode, and the following time measurement process for determining the standby time is started.
In the next step S5, the on / off operation state of the stop operation unit 15 is acquired at predetermined intervals via the interrupt processing routine, and this operation state is determined. Here, when the stop operation unit 15 is pressed (yes), stop processing for stopping the response notification unit 13 is performed, and the above routine is finished. On the other hand, when the stop operation part 15 is not pushed (no), it transfers to step S6.
In step S6, the time after step S4, that is, the time after the activation of the response notification unit is obtained, and it is determined whether or not it is within a predetermined standby time. If it is within the waiting time (yes), skip to step S7, and if it is not within the waiting time (no), skip step S7 and stop the response notification unit 13. finish.
In step S7, the operation mode set in step S3 is switched to another operation mode, the process proceeds to step S4, and the subsequent steps are repeated. Note that a stop mode for stopping the response notification unit 13 may be included as one of such operation modes. In this case, the stop determination process in step S5 can be omitted.

  As described above, the lost item detector 10 of the present embodiment can be operated from an application of a Bluetooth-compatible mobile phone or the like, and thus is excellent in portability and convenience that can be easily used at any time. Then, it is possible to notify where it is by emitting sound, light, or vibration from the response notification unit 13 that is bearing on an article such as a key or wallet. In this way, by operating a mobile phone that is always carried around, it is possible to search for small items such as keys and saf in a home room or an office.

  That is, pair the Bluetooth mobile phone application with a device with a small speaker. Then, attach the device with the small speaker to the key or wallet. As a lost item detector with a small speaker, a key ring type or a card type can be considered. When a key or wallet with a device with a small speaker is lost, it is executed by selecting “sound” or “vibrate” from the mobile phone application, so that lost items can be found quickly. In addition, when sending a radio wave to search for the receiver circuit part of the lost item detector from a mobile phone etc., select either the operation mode of reacting with vibration, light or sound. Therefore, it is excellent in the distinguishability of the operation form.

  The gist of the lost object detector of the present invention is that the response notifying unit is driven in a predetermined operation mode based on a control signal transmitted from a mobile phone, and what belongs to this is the present invention. Is the scope of rights. For example, in this example, we described the case where a lost item detector is attached to small items such as keys and wallets. However, it is difficult to find objects such as car searches in parking lots and baggage searches in baggage storage at airports. It can also be widely used for searching for a specific one.

It is explanatory drawing of the lost article detection system using a lost article detector. It is a block block diagram of a system including a lost item detector. It is a flowchart of the response operation in the response control part of a lost article detector.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Lost object detector 11 Mobile phone 11a Bluetooth transmission circuit part 11b Antenna 11c Communication control part 11d Operation part 11e Liquid crystal display part 12 Bluetooth reception circuit part (reception circuit part)
13 Response notification unit 14 Response control unit 15 Stop operation unit

Claims (4)

  A receiving circuit unit that receives a control signal transmitted through a wireless communication function provided in a mobile phone, a response notification unit having a sound generation, light emission, and vibration function, and a control signal acquired from the receiving circuit unit And a response control unit that drives the response notification unit in a predetermined operation mode.   2. The lost article detector according to claim 1, wherein the mobile phone and the receiving circuit unit are wirelessly connected according to a Bluetooth standard.   The lost item detector main body is provided with a stop operation unit for stopping the drive of the response notification unit, and the response control unit starts driving the response notification unit in a predetermined operation mode within a predetermined time. The lost item detector according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the operation mode is shifted to another operation mode when no operation is detected. In the operation mode, after the response notification unit is operated for a predetermined time by the light emission function, a light emission sound generation mode for switching to the sound generation function and operating, a light emission mode for maintaining the light emission function of the response notification unit, The sound generation mode for continuing the sound generation function of the response notification unit, the vibration mode for continuing the vibration function of the response notification unit, and the reset mode for resetting the operation history of the response notification unit. The lost item detector of any one of 1-3.

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