JP2017227581A - Communication system and care support system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To avoid abnormal situations resulting from a battery failure and a defective operation unit in a system of driving the operation unit with a battery.SOLUTION: The communication system includes a communication unit, an operation unit, and a management server. The operation unit is driven by a battery, and sends operational information of a user and information on the characteristics of the battery to the communication unit. The management server manages the operational history of the operation unit on the basis of the operational information sent from the operation unit via the communication unit. The arithmetic part 4a of the management server determines an estimated integrated value of power consumption made since the start of using the battery, the value including the unique integrated value of the current consumption of the battery made by the operation of the operation unit. A determination part 4b determines the remaining level of the battery and whether the battery and the operation unit are defective, on the basis of the characteristic value of the characteristic information and the estimated integrated value. An output part 4c outputs information showing the remaining level of the battery and the presence or absence of failures determined by the determination unit 4b.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to a communication system including an operation unit driven by a battery, and a care support system including the communication system.

  Conventionally, an operation unit (emergency button) called a nurse call switch has been used as a means for a hospitalized patient to call a nurse at a nurse station from a room in a hospital. The nurse call by the patient, that is, the call of the nurse, is performed by the patient operating the operation unit when the patient is in a situation that cannot be dealt with by himself / herself. The operation of the operation unit is usually performed by pressing or holding an emergency button, whereby information indicating an emergency is transmitted to the nurse station and a nurse can be called.

  On the other hand, in nursing care (insurance) facilities, facilities for making emergency calls similar to such nurse calls are provided. When a caregiver in the living room seeks some kind of assistance in an emergency or other than an emergency, he calls an caregiver who is waiting at a station in the care facility by operating the operation unit and making an emergency call. be able to.

  An emergency call is basically a notification that is made when a care receiver or patient (hereinafter also referred to as a care receiver) requests immediate action. Therefore, if a cared person or the like makes an emergency call and information to that effect is not transmitted to the other party, a serious accident may occur. Therefore, it is necessary to always operate the operation unit, which is a switch for making an emergency call, reliably.

  Here, in recent years, a system in which an operation unit is driven by a battery and an emergency call by the operation unit is performed wirelessly is used in order to allow a care recipient to freely carry the operation unit in a room. ing. In such a system, since the operation unit is always operated by the battery, the battery must always have a capacity necessary for communication, and when the remaining battery level becomes low, the battery is replaced with a new one. It needs to be replaced. Therefore, in the above system, it is necessary to appropriately manage the remaining amount of the battery that drives the operation unit.

  Regarding the management of the remaining battery level, there is a technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example. In Patent Document 1, in an electronic device in which a battery unit including a secondary battery is mounted, it is expected that the actual power consumption value (actual power consumption value Pa) of the electronic device and the current operation mode of the electronic device are supported. The obtained power consumption value (predicted power consumption value Pb) is acquired, and the actual power consumption value Pa is compared with the sum of the predicted power consumption value Pb and the threshold value S. If Pa> (Pb + S), the actual power consumption value Pa is selected. If Pa ≦ (Pb + S), the predicted power consumption value Pb is selected, and the remaining power value of the battery is selected as the selected power consumption. By dividing by the value (Pa or Pb), the remaining usable time of the electronic device is calculated. As a result, even when the actual power consumption value Pa is higher than the predicted power consumption value Pb, the power will not be turned off earlier than the usable time (the time assumed by the user), and the remaining battery level can be trusted. It is possible to improve the performance.

JP 2011-35966 A (refer to claim 1, paragraphs [0004], [0005], [0008], [0015] to [0030], FIGS. 1 to 3 etc.)

  By the way, for example, immediately after the battery of the operation unit is replaced with a new one, if the remaining amount (voltage) of the battery after replacement is low, the replaced battery may be defective. Such defective batteries include, for example, old batteries that have been stored for a long period of time, used batteries, and non-genuine batteries that are sold cheaper than regular ones. If the battery is defective, the remaining battery level suddenly disappears in a short time after the battery is replaced.For example, even though the battery is replaced, the remaining battery level is exhausted the day after the battery replacement. Unusual situations such as the inability to make emergency calls can occur.

  In addition, even if the battery is a regular product and the remaining amount of the battery is sufficient, if the operation unit itself has a malfunction, an emergency call is not properly made. As such operation failure of the operation unit, for example, connection failure of the terminal between the main body of the operation unit and the battery can be considered.

  In order to avoid situations where emergency calls cannot be made due to abnormalities such as battery failure or operation unit failure, not only the remaining battery level is managed, but also the presence or absence of such battery failure is monitored. If necessary, it is desirable to take appropriate measures, for example, urging the user to replace the battery with a genuine product or to perform maintenance on the operation unit.

  In this regard, the technique of Patent Document 1 described above is not limited to managing the remaining battery capacity, and cannot monitor the presence or absence of a battery failure as described above. Therefore, an abnormal situation caused by a battery failure or the like. (Situations where emergency calls cannot be made) cannot be avoided.

  Also, in recent years, in nursing care facilities, the interior of the living room is photographed with a camera for the purpose of supporting the daily life of the cared person, and the state of the cared person is recognized by image recognition. A system (hereinafter also referred to as a care support system) that monitors falls in a house or falls from a bed is being used. Also in the care support system, since an emergency call by the operation unit is used, it is desired to avoid an abnormal situation caused by a battery failure or the like.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and its purpose is not only to manage the remaining battery level of the operation unit in a system in which the operation unit is driven by a battery, but also to a battery failure or operation unit. Another object of the present invention is to provide a communication system capable of monitoring the presence or absence of defects and avoiding abnormal situations due to battery defects and operation unit defects, and a care support system including the communication system.

  A communication system according to an aspect of the present invention is a communication unit installed in a living room, operated by a user in the living room, driven by a battery, and characteristics related to user operation information and characteristic values of the battery. An operation unit that transmits information to the communication unit, and the operation information and the characteristic information transmitted from the operation unit via the communication unit are managed, and an operation history of the operation unit is stored based on the operation information. A management server for managing, based on the operation history, the management server calculates a specific integrated value of the current consumption of the battery by the operation of the operation unit, and includes the specific integrated value of the battery. A calculation unit for calculating an estimated integrated value of current consumption from the start of use, and determining the remaining battery level based on the characteristic value and the estimated integrated value Both include a determination unit that determines whether or not the battery and the operation unit are defective, and an output unit that outputs information indicating the remaining amount of the battery and the presence or absence of the defect determined by the determination unit. .

  When the operation information of the user (for example, information that the button has been pressed) and the characteristic information about the characteristic value (for example, voltage value, discharge current value) of the battery that drives the operation unit are transmitted from the operation unit to the communication unit, These pieces of information are transmitted from the communication unit to the management server and managed there. Moreover, since the operation history of the user who operated the operation unit is also known based on the above operation information, such an operation history is also managed by the management server.

  In the management server, the calculation unit calculates a specific integrated value of the battery consumption current due to the operation of the operation unit based on the operation history, and further estimates the consumption current from the start of use of the battery including the specific integration value. The integrated value is calculated. Then, the determination unit determines the remaining amount of the battery and whether or not the battery and the operation unit are defective based on the characteristic value and the estimated integrated value. Information indicating the determined remaining battery level and the presence or absence of the defect is output by the output unit.

  As described above, since the determination unit determines not only the remaining battery level of the operation unit but also whether the battery and the operation unit are defective, in addition to managing the remaining battery level, whether the battery and the operation unit are defective or not is also determined. It can be monitored appropriately. If there is a battery failure or operation unit failure due to the output of information at the output unit, the system administrator is urged to replace the battery with a genuine product or perform maintenance of the operation unit, for example. it can. As a result, it is possible to avoid the occurrence of an abnormal situation such as the inability to transmit operation information (for example, an emergency call) of the operation unit due to the battery failure and the operation unit failure.

  The determination unit determines whether or not the battery and the operation unit are defective based on a difference between a rank of the remaining battery level based on the characteristic value and a rank of the remaining battery level based on the estimated integrated value. May be.

  If the rank of the remaining battery level based on the characteristic value and the rank of the remaining battery level based on the estimated integrated value are different, the battery may be defective or the operation unit may be defective. It is easy to determine whether there is a defect or the like.

  When the rank of the remaining amount of the battery based on the characteristic value is higher than the rank of the remaining amount of the battery based on the estimated integrated value by a predetermined step or higher when the remaining amount of the battery is higher than the rank of the operation unit, If it is determined that there is a defect and the rank of the remaining battery level based on the characteristic value is lower than the rank of the remaining battery level based on the estimated integrated value by a predetermined level or lower, the battery level is lower. It may be determined that there is a defect.

  Judgment is made by distinguishing between battery failure and operation unit failure by determining whether the rank of the remaining battery level based on the characteristic value is higher or lower than the rank of the remaining battery level based on the estimated integrated value. can do.

  The management server, for each combination of each rank when the range of the characteristic value can be divided into a plurality of ranks and each rank when the range of the estimated integrated value can be divided into a plurality of ranks , Further comprising a storage unit that stores a table in which information indicating the remaining amount of the battery and whether the battery or the operation unit is defective is associated in advance, and the determination unit includes: By referring to the information associated with the combination of the rank to which the characteristic value of the characteristic information transmitted from the communication unit belongs and the rank to which the estimated integrated value calculated by the calculation unit belongs, the remaining amount of the battery And whether or not the battery and the operation unit are defective may be determined.

  Since the determination unit refers to the table stored in the storage unit to determine the remaining battery level and the presence or absence of defects in the battery and the operation unit, the determination can be performed immediately and easily.

  The characteristic value may be a voltage value of the battery. In the configuration of the system that uses the voltage value of the battery as the characteristic value and transmits information on the voltage value as the characteristic information from the operation unit to the management server via the communication unit, the above-described effects can be obtained.

  The table is a matrix-like table in which m is an integer equal to or greater than 2, and the range in which the voltage value as the characteristic value can be taken and the range in which the estimated integrated value can be taken are each ranked into m pieces. The rank of the voltage value is rank 1 to m from the highest voltage value to the lower one, and the rank of the estimated integrated value is rank 1 to m from the lowest current consumption value to the higher one. And x and y are each an integer of 1 to m, and a combination of any rank x of the voltage value and any rank y of the estimated integrated value is represented by A (x, y). Then, a part of the combination A (x, y) of each rank satisfying x <y is associated with information indicating that the operation unit is defective, and the combination A (x of each rank satisfying x> y , Y) Some information of the located defect of the battery may be associated.

  As described above, in the combination A (x, y) of each rank of the table, the determination unit refers to the table because the information indicating that the operation unit is defective or the information indicating that the battery is defective is associated. Thus, it is possible to distinguish between battery failure and operation unit failure.

  The output unit may include a display unit that displays information indicating a remaining amount of the battery and the presence or absence of the defect. By displaying information indicating the remaining battery level and the presence or absence of a battery failure on the display unit, the system administrator looks at the displayed information and immediately knows the remaining battery level and battery failure. can do.

  The management server may further include a control unit that performs control to transmit information indicating the remaining amount of the battery and the presence or absence of the defect to an external terminal device. In this case, the owner of the terminal device (for example, portable terminal) can display the information received from the management server on the display unit of the terminal device, and can immediately grasp the remaining battery level and the presence or absence of defects. Accordingly, appropriate measures such as battery replacement can be performed.

  A care support system according to another aspect of the present invention is a care support system including the communication system described above, wherein the communication unit of the communication system includes a moving object detection unit that detects a moving object in a living room, and the management The server manages information related to the moving object transmitted from the moving object detection unit.

  The care support system is configured such that the communication unit described above includes a moving body detection unit. Information relating to a moving object (for example, a cared person) in the living room is transmitted from the moving object detection unit to the management server and managed there. Also in such a care support system, by adopting the above-described communication system, the management server can manage the remaining battery level of the operation unit and can monitor the presence of the battery and the operation unit for defects. As a result, it is possible to avoid the occurrence of an abnormal situation due to the battery failure of the operation unit and the operation unit itself.

  The moving body detection unit includes an imaging unit that captures an image of a living room and acquires an image; an image recognition unit that performs image recognition processing on image data of the image acquired by the imaging unit; And a radio wave detection unit that detects biological information of the cared person as a moving object in the living room by reception. Thus, in the care support system which has a moving body detection unit which has an imaging part, an image recognition part, and an electromagnetic wave detection part, and detects a moving body (caregiver), the above-mentioned effect can be acquired.

  According to the above configuration, in the system in which the operation unit is driven by a battery, the management server can not only manage the remaining battery level of the operation unit, but also monitor the presence or absence of a battery failure or operation unit failure. . Thereby, the abnormal situation resulting from a battery defect and a defect of an operation part can be avoided.

1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the detailed structure of the operation part of the said communication system. It is a block diagram which shows the detailed structure of the management server of the said communication system. It is explanatory drawing which shows typically the relationship between the general discharge characteristic of a lithium ion battery, and the estimated integration value of consumption current. It is explanatory drawing which shows typically an example of rank classification of a battery remaining charge. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of operation | movement in the said management server. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of a display of the said battery remaining charge. It is explanatory drawing which shows the other example of a display of the said battery remaining charge. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of a display when there exists an operation part defect. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of a display when there exists a battery defect. It is explanatory drawing which shows typically the table previously memorize | stored in the memory | storage part of the said management server. It is explanatory drawing which shows the correspondence of a voltage value, a battery remaining charge, and a rank. It is explanatory drawing which shows the correspondence of an estimated integration value, a battery remaining charge, and a rank. It is explanatory drawing which shows the structure of the outline of the care support system to which the said communication system is applied. In the said care support system, it is explanatory drawing which shows typically the mode in the living room in which the moving body detection unit was installed. It is a block diagram which shows the schematic structure of the said moving body detection unit. It is a block diagram which shows the detailed structure of the optical detection part of the said moving body detection unit. It is explanatory drawing which shows typically an example of the image acquired by imaging | photography with the said optical detection part.

  An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the present specification, when the numerical range is expressed as A to B, the numerical value range includes the values of the lower limit A and the upper limit B.

〔Communications system〕
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a communication system 1 according to the present embodiment. The communication system 1 includes a communication unit 2, an operation unit 3, and a management server 4.

  The communication unit 2 is a unit that is installed in a room 101 of a building (for example, a nursing facility) and mediates communication between the operation unit 3 and the management server 4 and includes a communication unit, a control unit, and the like. It is configured. The communication unit 2 can be configured by a moving object detection unit 10 (see FIG. 14 and the like) that detects a moving object in the living room 101. Details of this point will be described later.

  The communication unit 2 and the management server 4 are communicably connected via a communication line NW. The communication line NW is configured by, for example, a wired LAN (Local Area Network), but may be a wireless LAN, or may be an Internet line, a telephone line, a line capable of high-speed communication using an optical fiber, or the like.

  The operation unit 3 is a device operated (for example, pressed) by a user (for example, a care recipient) in the living room 101 when making an emergency call to the management server 4 via the communication unit 2. The emergency call is a notification (call) when a user requests an immediate response. That is, when the user operates the operation unit 3, the operation information (information indicating an emergency) is transmitted to the management server 4 via the communication unit 2. As a result, information indicating that an emergency call has been made is transmitted from the management server 4 to, for example, the mobile phones 5a to 5e of the caregiver, and the caregiver can call the user in the living room 101. .

  FIG. 1 shows a state in which the management server 4 and each of the mobile phones 5a to 5e communicate with each other via the Wi-Fi base stations 6a and 6b. Alternatively, it may be configured to communicate directly without going through the Wi-Fi base stations 6a and 6b. Wi-Fi (registered trademark) refers to a wireless LAN standard certified by Wi-Fi Alliance.

  Hereinafter, details of the operation unit 3 and the management server 4 will be described in order.

(Operation section)
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a detailed configuration of the operation unit 3. The operation unit 3 includes an operation button 3a, a communication unit 3b, a voltage detection unit 3c, and a control unit 3d, and is driven by the battery BT.

  The battery BT is a rechargeable secondary battery such as a lithium ion battery, but may be a primary battery such as an alkaline battery. The battery BT is accommodated in the main body of the operation unit 3 and is electrically connected to the terminal of the main body. The battery BT can be removed from the main body and can be replaced as appropriate.

  Since the operation unit 3 is battery-driven, communication between the operation unit 3 and the communication unit 2 is performed wirelessly. The wireless communication at this time may be infrared communication, communication based on a short-range wireless communication standard called Bluetooth (registered trademark), or other wireless communication methods. When the operation unit 3 is driven by the battery BT, a user in the living room 101 can freely carry the operation unit 3 in the living room 101, and operates the operating unit 3 from anywhere in the living room 101. An emergency call can be made.

  The operation button 3a is a part pressed by the user. The operation unit 3 may have an operation switch for switching ON / OFF instead of the operation button 3a. The communication unit 3b is an interface for transmitting operation information by pressing the operation button 3a and characteristic information regarding the characteristic value of the battery BT to the communication unit 2. The operation information is information indicating that the user has pressed the operation button 3a, and when the operation button 3a is pressed, a signal by infrared rays or the like is transmitted as operation information from the communication unit 3b to the communication unit 2. Is done. Moreover, the characteristic value of the battery BT refers to the voltage value or current value (discharge current value) of the battery BT. Here, as an example, a case where a voltage value is used as the characteristic value will be described.

  The voltage value of the battery BT is acquired by the voltage detection unit 3c as a characteristic detection unit. The voltage detection unit 3c periodically measures the voltage value of the battery BT, and provides the value obtained by the measurement to the communication unit 3b as characteristic information. Such a voltage detection part 3c can be comprised with the existing voltage detection circuit. The control unit 3d is configured by a central processing unit (CPU) that controls the operation of each unit of the operation unit 3.

(Management server)
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a detailed configuration of the management server 4. The management server 4 manages the operation information of the operation unit 3 and the characteristic information (for example, voltage value) of the battery BT transmitted from the operation unit 3 via the communication unit 2, and the operation unit based on the transmitted operation information. 3 is an external terminal device that manages the operation history of No. 3. Here, the operation history of the operation unit 3 is information regarding the date and time when the user uses the operation unit 3 (presses the operation button 3a), and can be grasped from the operation information.

  The management server 4 includes a calculation unit 4a, a determination unit 4b, an output unit 4c, a storage unit 4d, a communication unit 4e, a timing unit 4f, and a control unit 4g. The control unit 4g is composed of a CPU that controls each unit of the management server 4. The control unit 4g grasps the operation history from the operation information and stores it in the storage unit 4d, and stores the characteristic information (characteristic value) of the battery BT. The information is stored in the unit 4d and managed.

  The above operation information is transmitted from the operation unit 3 to the management server 4 via the communication unit 2 each time the operation button 3a is pressed by the user, but as the characteristic value of the battery BT. Since the voltage value is periodically measured by the operation unit 3 (voltage detection unit 3c), the characteristic information is periodically transmitted from the operation unit 3 to the communication unit 2, and further periodically transmitted from the communication unit 2 to the management server 4. Sent. Hereinafter, periodic transmission of characteristic information from the operation unit 3 to the communication unit 2 is referred to as periodic communication.

  The calculation unit 4a calculates a specific integrated value (corresponding to D2 below) of the power consumption of the battery BT by the operation of the operation unit 3 based on the operation history, and further includes the battery BT including the specific integrated value. Is a block that calculates an estimated integrated value of current consumption from the start of use (corresponding to D below), and includes a calculation circuit that performs a specific calculation. The calculation method of the estimated integrated value will be described in more detail as follows.

  The current consumption of the battery BT per unit time in regular communication is i (mA / sec), the elapsed time from the start of use (replacement time) of the battery BT is t (sec), and the operation unit 3 is operated once. The total current consumption per hit (per press of the operation button 3a) is Ia (mA), and the number of times the operation unit 3 is operated from the start of use of the battery BT (the number of times the operation button 3a is pressed) is n (Times). In this case, the accumulated consumption current D1 (periodic communication accumulated value) of the battery BT required for the regular communication is i × t (mA), and the accumulated consumption current D2 of the battery BT unique to the operation of the operation unit 3 (inherent accumulated value). Is Ia × n (mA). Therefore, the estimated integrated value D (mA) of current consumption from the start of use of the battery BT is D1 + D2 = (i × t) + (Ia × n).

  Note that the consumption current i and the total consumption current Ia are known in advance, and for the elapsed time t, if the use start date and time of the battery BT is known (for example, information on the use start date and time of the battery BT is stored in the storage unit). If it is stored in 4d), it can be grasped by the time counting from the use start date and time by the time measuring unit 4f. Further, the number of times n can be grasped based on the transmitted operation information. Therefore, the estimated integrated value D can be calculated by the above arithmetic expression.

  Based on the characteristic value (for example, voltage value) included in the transmitted characteristic information and the estimated integrated value D calculated by the calculation unit 4a, the determination unit 4b determines the remaining amount of the battery BT (corresponding to the replacement time). This is a block for determining whether or not the battery BT is defective and whether or not the operation unit 3 is defective. In particular, the determination unit 4b determines the battery BT and the operation unit 3 based on the difference between the rank of the remaining amount of the battery BT based on the characteristic value (for example, the voltage value) and the rank of the remaining amount of the battery based on the estimated integrated value D. The presence or absence of defects is determined. Such a determination unit 4b can be configured by a CPU, for example, and the control unit 4g can also serve as the determination unit 4b. Details of various determination methods in the determination unit 4b will be described later.

The output unit 4c is a block that outputs information indicating the remaining amount of the battery BT determined by the determination unit 4b, the presence / absence of a defect in the battery BT, and the operation unit 3. The output unit 4c is configured to include a display unit 4c _1. The display unit 4c ₁ is a display device that displays information indicating the remaining amount of the battery BT, whether the battery BT and the operation unit 3 are defective, and includes, for example, a liquid crystal display device or an organic EL (electro-luminescence) display device. The Note that the output unit 4c may be configured to include an image forming apparatus (multifunction machine, printer, copier, etc.) that outputs the above information on a recording medium such as paper.

  The storage unit 4d includes various information transmitted from the operation unit 3 to the management server 4 via the communication unit 2, information calculated by the calculation unit 4a of the management server 4 (for example, the estimated integrated value D), and the determination unit 4b. It is a memory for storing a control program for operating each part of the management server 4 as a result of the determination, and is composed of, for example, a hard disk, a RAM (Random Access Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a nonvolatile memory, or the like. The communication unit 4e is an interface for transmitting / receiving (communication) information to / from the communication unit 2 and other terminal devices (for example, mobile phones 5a to 5e, see FIG. 1). The timer unit 4f is a timer for measuring time, and measures, for example, the elapsed time and the number of days from when the battery BT is replaced by the operation unit 3.

(Regarding the remaining battery level and the method for determining whether there is a defect in the determination unit)
Next, details of various determination methods in the determination unit 4b will be described.

  FIG. 4 schematically shows a relationship between a general discharge characteristic of a lithium ion battery as the battery BT and an estimated integrated value of current consumption. Here, it is assumed that the estimated integrated value indicates only the power consumption in the regular communication and does not include the power consumption due to the operation of the operation unit 3. As shown in the figure, the discharge characteristics of the plurality of lithium ion batteries a1 to a3 are different from each other. However, after the battery replacement, any lithium ion batteries a1 to a3 after the elapse of a time point (tmax) considered to be a lifetime. It can be seen that the voltage value suddenly decreases due to the discharge. Therefore, the remaining battery level can be managed for any of the lithium ion batteries a1 to a3 based on the voltage value (for example, 2.0 V) and the estimated integrated value (for example, 200 mA) corresponding to the battery life. In this embodiment, the remaining battery level is ranked based on a voltage value (for example, 2.0 V) and an estimated integrated value (for example, 200 mA) corresponding to the battery life, and the battery at the time when an arbitrary time has elapsed since the battery replacement. The remaining amount (rank) is judged. Specifically, it is as follows.

  FIG. 5 schematically shows an example of rank classification of the remaining amount of the battery BT. For example, when the voltage value of the battery BT is C, the determination unit 4b determines that the remaining amount is “full” when C> 2.8 at an arbitrary time t after the battery replacement. At the same time, this remaining amount is set to “rank 1”. When 2.2 <C ≦ 2.8, it is determined that the remaining amount is “sufficient”, and this remaining amount is set to “rank 2”. When <C ≦ 2.2, it is determined that the remaining amount is “low” (replacement of the battery is required), and this remaining amount is set to “rank 3”. "(Battery dead)" and the remaining amount is "rank 4". The unit of the above voltage value is V (volt).

  Similarly, for the estimated integrated value D obtained by the calculation unit 4a at an instant t after the battery replacement, for example, when 0 <D ≦ 150, the determination unit 4b has the remaining amount “full”. It is determined that the remaining amount is “rank 1”, and if 150 <D ≦ 180, the remaining amount is determined to be “sufficient”, and the remaining amount is determined to be “rank 2”. When D ≦ 200, it is determined that the remaining amount is “low” (requires battery replacement), and this remaining amount is set to “rank 3”. When D> 200, the remaining amount is “almost” (battery is dead). It is determined that the remaining amount is “rank 4”. Note that the units of numerical values indicating the estimated integrated value D and the current consumption are all mA.

  Further, the determination unit 4b determines whether or not the battery BT is defective and whether or not the operation unit 3 is defective as follows.

  For example, when the rank of the remaining amount of the battery BT based on the voltage value C and the rank of the remaining amount of the battery BT based on the estimated integrated value D are both the same (n is any integer of 1 to 4, which rank is (When n is also n), since the ranks of the remaining amounts obtained by the two methods are the same result, it is considered that the reliability of the obtained result (rank) is high. Therefore, the determination unit 4b determines that neither the battery BT is defective nor the operation unit 3 is defective.

  On the other hand, for example, the battery BT based on the voltage value C is “rank 4”, and the battery BT remaining based on the estimated integrated value D is “rank 1”. When the rank of the remaining amount of BT is lower than the rank of the remaining amount of the battery BT based on the estimated integrated value D by a predetermined level (for example, one step or two steps) or more, the estimated integrated value D is lower. Therefore, the remaining amount of the battery BT actually measured is small even though the usage period of the battery BT is assumed to be short. In this case, the battery BT is a battery that originally has a low remaining capacity, such as an old battery that has been stored for a long period of time, a used battery, or a non-genuine battery that is sold cheaply compared to a regular battery. It is considered that there is a high possibility of being defective.

  On the contrary, based on the voltage value C, for example, the remaining amount of the battery BT based on the voltage value C is “rank 1” and the remaining amount of the battery BT based on the estimated integrated value D is “rank 4”. If the rank of the remaining amount of the battery BT is higher than the rank of the remaining amount of the battery based on the estimated integrated value D by a predetermined level (for example, one step or two steps) or higher, the battery BT has a long period of time. Although it is estimated that the remaining battery level is low due to the use of the battery (the battery BT is near the end of its life), the operation unit 3 is defective (for example, a terminal between the main body of the operation unit 3 and the battery BT). It is conceivable that the battery BT is not actually consumed due to poor connection.

  Thus, when the rank of the remaining amount of the battery BT based on the voltage value C and the rank of the remaining amount of the battery BT based on the estimated integrated value D are different, the battery BT is defective or the operation unit 3 is defective. It is possible that is happening. Therefore, the determination unit 4b determines whether or not the battery BT is defective based on two types of remaining capacity ranks, that is, the remaining capacity rank based on the voltage value C and the remaining capacity rank based on the estimated integrated value D, and The presence / absence of a defect in the operation unit 3 can be determined, whereby the presence / absence of the defect can be easily and reliably determined. In particular, the determination unit 4b determines whether the rank of the remaining amount based on the voltage value C is higher or lower than a predetermined level relative to the rank of the remaining amount based on the estimated integrated value D, so that the battery BT is defective. And the defect of the operation unit 3 can be reliably distinguished and determined.

(About management server operation)
Next, the operation of the management server 4 in the communication system 1 having the above configuration will be described. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an operation flow in the management server 4.

  When the management server 4 receives operation information of the operation unit 3 and voltage information as characteristic information from the operation unit 3 via the communication unit 2 (S1), the calculation unit 4a of the management server 3 starts using the battery BT. The estimated integrated value D of the current consumption is calculated using the above-described arithmetic expression (S2). That is, the calculation unit 4a calculates an integrated value (inherent integrated value, integrated consumption current D2) of the consumption current of the battery BT resulting from the operation of the operation unit 3 based on the operation history obtained from the operation information, and periodically An integrated value of current consumption of the battery BT required for communication (periodic communication integrated value, integrated current consumption D1) is calculated, and these are added together to calculate an estimated integrated value D of current consumption. Then, with reference to FIG. 5, the determination unit 4b determines the rank of the remaining battery level from the obtained estimated integrated value D (S3). Note that the remaining battery level obtained based on the estimated integrated value D is also referred to as a remaining battery level B0 below.

  Subsequently, referring to FIG. 5, determination unit 4b determines the remaining amount of battery BT as a rank from the voltage information (from voltage value C included in the voltage information) (S4). In addition, the battery remaining amount obtained based on the voltage value C is also called battery remaining amount B1 below.

  Next, the determination unit 4b determines whether the rank of the remaining battery level B1 based on the voltage value C is higher than the rank of the remaining battery level B0 based on the estimated integrated value D by a predetermined level (for example, 2 levels) or more. (S5). In the case of Yes in S5, that is, when the rank of the remaining battery level B1 is higher than the rank of the remaining battery level B0 by a predetermined level or more, the determination unit 4b determines that the operation unit 3 is defective for the above-described reason ( After that, the process proceeds to S10.

  On the other hand, if No in S5, that is, if the rank of the remaining battery level B1 is not higher than the rank of the remaining battery level B0 by a predetermined level or more, the determination unit 4b then determines that the rank of the remaining battery level B1 is the remaining battery level. It is determined whether it is lower than the rank of the quantity B0 by a predetermined level or more (for example, two levels or more) (S7). In the case of Yes in S7, that is, when the rank of the remaining battery level B1 is lower than the rank of the remaining battery level B0 by a predetermined level or more, the determination unit 4b determines that the battery BT is defective for the above-described reason (S8). Then, the process proceeds to S10.

  In the case of No in S7, that is, when the rank of the remaining battery level B1 is not lower than the rank of the remaining battery level B0 by a predetermined level or more, the determination unit 4b determines that the operation unit 3 and the battery BT are not defective. (S9), and then the process proceeds to S10.

In S10, the display unit 4c ₁ of the output section 4c is, the battery level B1 which is determined in S4, displays information indicating the result of the determination in S6, S8 or S9. For example, FIG. 7 shows a display example of the remaining battery level B1, and FIG. 8 shows another display example of the remaining battery level B1. In FIG. 8, characters are further added to the display example of FIG. 7 to make the remaining state easier to understand. In the display unit 4c _1, the battery level indication B1 corresponding to one rank 1 to rank 4 is made.

FIG. 9 shows a display example when the operation unit 3 is defective, and FIG. 10 shows a display example when the battery BT is defective. In any case, information indicating the content is displayed on the display unit 4c ₁ together with a warning mark indicating that the failure is present. In addition, when it transfers to S10 from S9, a display like FIG. 9 and FIG. 10 is not performed, or a display without a defect is performed. Therefore, in S10, at least one of the displays in FIG. 7 to FIG. 10 is performed (only the corresponding rank is displayed in FIG. 7 or FIG. 8).

In the determination method of the present embodiment, a battery failure and an operation unit failure cannot be detected at the same time (because the conditions of S5 and S7 cannot be satisfied at the same time). It does not display 9 and 10 are simultaneously performed by the display unit 4c _1.

The display unit 4c ₁ may display the remaining battery level B0 instead of the remaining battery level B1, but the remaining battery level B0 is obtained based on the estimated integrated value D, and is set to the voltage value C. The battery remaining amount B1 obtained directly based on this is less error, and is considered to be more accurate as the battery remaining amount. Therefore, here, the state of the battery remaining amount B1 is displayed.

  As described above, the determination unit 4b of the management server 4 determines not only the remaining battery level of the operation unit 3 but also whether the battery BT and the operation unit 3 are defective. In addition to managing the remaining battery level, Whether or not the battery BT and the operation unit 3 are defective can be appropriately monitored. If there is a battery failure or a failure of the operation unit 3 due to the output of information from the output unit 4c, for example, the system administrator should replace the battery with a genuine product or perform maintenance of the operation unit 3. Can be urged. As a result, even if the user in the living room 101 operates the operation unit 3, an abnormal situation occurs in which operation information is not transmitted (emergency call does not reach) due to a defective battery and a defective operation unit 3. It can be avoided.

In addition, the display unit 4c ₁ displays information on the remaining battery level, the presence / absence of a battery failure, and the presence / absence of an operation unit failure, so that the system administrator looks at the displayed information, The presence or absence of a battery defect or the like can be immediately grasped, and the battery can be replaced with a regular product or the operation unit 3 can be maintained as necessary.

Incidentally, the control section 4g of the management server 4, the information to be displayed on the display unit 4c _1, i.e., the remaining battery level is determined by the determining unit 4b, the presence or absence of a battery failure, the information as to whether or not the operation unit failure, the communication unit You may perform control which transmits to an external terminal device (for example, mobile telephone 5a) via 4e. In this case, the mobile terminal displays various received information on its own display unit, so that the owner of the mobile terminal (for example, a caregiver) can check the battery status and the presence / absence of the defect (remote from the management server 4). It is possible to grasp immediately even if it is in the place. And the owner of a portable terminal can perform appropriate treatment (battery exchange etc.) as needed.

(Method of determining remaining battery level and defects using a table)
FIG. 11 schematically shows a table stored in advance in the storage unit 4 d of the management server 4. The determination unit 4b may determine the remaining amount of the battery BT, whether or not the battery BT is defective, and whether or not the operation unit 3 is defective by referring to the table.

  The table shown in FIG. 11 is obtained by each rank when the range in which the voltage value included in the voltage information transmitted from the operation unit 3 via the communication unit 2 can be divided into a plurality of ranks and the calculation unit 4a. Information indicating the remaining amount of the battery BT and the presence / absence of a defect in the battery BT or the operation unit 3 in advance for each combination with each rank when the possible range of the estimated integrated value is divided into a plurality of ranks. It is a correspondence. In FIG. 11, the information with a defect is indicated by a warning mark for convenience.

  More specifically, the above table is a matrix-like table in which m is an integer equal to or greater than 2, and the range in which the voltage value can be taken and the range in which the estimated integrated value can be taken are ranked into m, respectively. As for m = 4, the case is shown. In this table, the rank of the voltage value is rank 1 to m from the higher voltage value to the lower one, and the rank of the estimated integrated value is rank 1 to higher from the lower current consumption value to the higher one. m. Therefore, the smaller the rank of the voltage value (the smaller the numerical value indicating the rank), the higher the voltage value, that is, the greater the remaining battery level. Further, the smaller the rank of the estimated integrated value, the smaller the estimated integrated value (current consumption value), that is, the greater the remaining battery level.

  A combination of any rank x of the voltage value and any rank y of the estimated integrated value is represented by A (x, y), where x and y are each an integer of 1 to m. For example, A (1,2) refers to a combination of the voltage value and the estimated integrated value (remaining rank) such that the voltage value belongs to rank 1 and the estimated integrated value belongs to rank 2.

  FIG. 12 shows a correspondence relationship between the voltage value C, the battery remaining amount B1, and the rank x included in the voltage information of the battery BT, and FIG. 13 shows the estimated integrated value D, the battery remaining amount obtained by the calculation unit 4a. The correspondence relationship between B0 and rank y is shown. Here, for convenience, the correspondence relationship in FIG. 12 and the correspondence relationship in FIG. 13 are set to be the same as the correspondence relationship shown in FIG. 5, but the voltage value C corresponding to each rank is set. The upper and lower limits of the range and the upper and lower limits of the estimated integrated value range may be changed to values different from those in FIG.

  In the table shown in FIG. 11, information indicating that the operation unit 3 is defective is associated with a part of each rank combination A (x, y) where x <y. Specifically, information indicating that the operation unit 3 is defective is associated with each rank combination represented by A (1,3), A (1,4), and A (2,4). Yes. Further, information indicating that the battery BT is defective is associated with a part of each rank combination A (x, y) where x> y. Specifically, the battery BT has a defect with respect to each rank combination represented by A (2,1), A (3,1), A (4,1), A (4,2). Information is associated. As described above, the reason why the information indicating that the operation unit 3 or the battery BT is defective is associated is as follows.

  In the combination A (x, y) of any rank x of the voltage value C and any rank y of the estimated integrated value D, when x <y, the remaining battery level B1 based on the voltage value C is the estimated integrated value. Although the battery remaining amount B0 based on D is greater than the remaining battery life B0, the battery BT is not actually consumed even though it is estimated that the battery is near the end of its life. There is a high possibility that a terminal connection failure between the main body of the unit 3 and the battery has occurred. On the other hand, when x> y, the remaining battery level B1 based on the voltage value C is less than the remaining battery level B0 based on the estimated integrated value D, and it is unlikely that the battery BT will be greatly consumed in a short period. The battery BT is an originally low battery such as an old battery or a non-genuine battery, and there is a high possibility that the battery is defective.

  On the other hand, for the combinations of ranks where x = y (for example, A (1,1), A (2,2), A (3,3), A (4,4)), the remaining battery levels B0 and B1 Are the same, the battery is normally consumed, and it is considered that there is a low possibility that an operation unit failure or a battery failure has occurred. In addition, even if x> y or x <y, combinations of ranks close to x = y (for example, A (1,2), A (3,2), etc.) are affected by errors due to the influence of errors. It is not necessarily a failure or a battery failure, and is considered to be included in a range where the battery is normally consumed.

  For the above reason, the information on the operation unit failure or the battery failure is associated only with a part of A (x, y) where x> y or x <y.

  Note that information on the remaining amount of the battery BT associated with each rank combination A (x, y) is associated with information on the remaining battery amount B1 obtained based on the voltage information (voltage value C). This is because the battery remaining amount B1 is obtained based on the voltage value C directly measured by the operation unit 3, and the battery remaining amount B0 obtained based on the estimated integrated value D computed by the computing unit 4a. This is because there is less error as the remaining amount and it is considered more accurate. In the table of FIG. 11, the information on the remaining battery level is shown in the same notation as in FIG. 7 for convenience.

  When the table is stored in the storage unit 4d, the determination unit 4b determines the rank x to which the voltage value C included in the voltage information transmitted from the communication unit 2 belongs in the table after S4 in FIG. And the information associated with the combination with the rank y to which the estimated integrated value D calculated by the calculation unit 4b belongs. As described above, each rank combination A (x, y) corresponds to information indicating the remaining amount of the battery BT and whether or not the battery BT and the operation unit 3 are defective. By referring to the information of the combination A (x, y), it is possible to immediately and easily determine the remaining battery level and the presence or absence of defects. The determination result of the remaining battery level and the presence / absence of a defect in the determination unit 4b is output in the output unit 4c (see S10).

  In the table, information associated with a part of the combination A (x, y) satisfying x> y and information associated with a part of the combination A (x, y) satisfying x <y are the operation unit 3. The information on whether there is a defect is different from the information on whether the battery BT is defective. Thereby, the determination part 4b can distinguish and determine the presence or absence of the defect of the operation part 3 and the presence or absence of the defect of the battery BT with reference to the table.

  In the above, an example has been described in which the voltage value of the battery BT of the operation unit 3 is detected and the remaining voltage of the battery BT and the presence or absence of a defect such as the battery BT are determined using the voltage value as a characteristic value. The discharge current value of the battery BT may be detected, and this discharge current value may be used as a characteristic value to determine the remaining amount of the battery BT and the presence or absence of a defect such as the battery BT. However, the relationship between the magnitude of the voltage value and the magnitude of the discharge current value is reversed (for example, when the voltage value is large, the discharge current value is small with respect to the battery remaining amount).

[Care Support System]
The communication system 1 described above can be applied to a care support system. Hereinafter, a care support system including the call system 1 of the present embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic configuration of the care support system 300 of the present embodiment. The care support system 300 is a system for supporting the daily life of a cared person occupying a care facility or a patient admitted to a hospital, and is also called a watching system. The cared person and the patient are objects to be supported by the care support system 300, that is, a target person (subject) managed by recognition and detection in the image recognition system 20 and the radio wave detection unit 30 described later. Hereinafter, as an example, a case where the care support system 300 is constructed in a care facility will be described.

In the care facility, a staff station 100 and a living room 101 are provided. The staff station 100 is a so-called stuffing station for caregivers who support the lives of the care recipients who spend at the care facilities. The staff station 100 is provided with a server 100a. Server 100a via the communication line 200, a terminal device which is communicably connected to the motion detection unit 10 described later is installed in room 101, configured to include a server main body 100a ₁ and the display section 100b including a CPU Is done. Incidentally, the server 100a and the communication line 200 corresponds to the management server 4 and the communication line NW shown in FIG. 1 or the like, the display unit 100b corresponds to the display unit 4c _1. The communication line 200 may be a wired LAN, a wireless LAN, or another communication line.

  The server 100a receives and manages various types of information (for example, captured images in the living room 101 and biological information of the care recipient (for example, breathing state)) transmitted from the moving object detection unit 10 via the communication line 200. The received information is displayed on the display unit 100b. Thereby, the manager of the care facility, the caregiver, and the like can grasp the health status of the care recipient by looking at the information displayed on the display unit 100b. The display unit 100b can be configured by a display of a personal computer, for example. Further, when it is recognized that an operation of the care receiver is abnormal, for example, when the care receiver falls on the floor surface by an image recognition process in the image recognition system 20 described later, the server 100a detects the moving object detection unit 10. The data of the captured image in the living room 101 acquired by the optical detection unit 23 of the moving object detection unit 10 is transmitted to the mobile terminal owned by the caregiver, and the care receiver is informed of the abnormality. It is also possible to inform the caregiver. Note that the size and resolution of an image are adjusted as appropriate when image data is transmitted from the server 100a to the portable terminal.

  At least one living room 101 is provided in the care facility, and FIG. 14 shows a case where two living rooms 101 are provided as an example. In the living room 101, one bed 102 used by the care recipient is installed. In addition, when two or more care recipients move in one living room 101, a plurality of beds 102 corresponding to each of the care recipients are installed.

  FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing the inside of the living room 101 in which the moving object detection unit 10 is installed. As shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, the moving body detection unit 10 is installed on the ceiling 101 a of each living room 101 and is communicably connected to the communication line 200. When the living room 101 is a multi-bed room in which a plurality of beds 102 are installed, one moving object detection unit 10 is installed for one bed 102. The moving body detection unit 10 is an example of the communication unit 2 described above.

(Motion detection unit and image recognition system)
Next, the details of the moving object detection unit 10 will be described. FIG. 16 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of the moving object detection unit 10. The moving body detection unit 10 is a unit that detects information on a cared person in the living room 101, and includes an image recognition system 20, a radio wave detection unit 30, and a unit control unit 40. Details of the image recognition system 20 will be described later. Since the moving body detection unit 10 includes various sensors such as the above-described radio wave detection unit 30 and an optical detection unit 23 described later, it is also called a sensor box.

  The radio wave detection unit 30 is a sensor that detects a moving object in the room 101 by emitting and receiving radio waves. In the present embodiment, the radio wave detection unit 30 is configured by a microwave Doppler sensor for individually detecting biological information of a cared person by radiating and receiving radio waves. The radio wave detection unit 30 includes a radiation unit and a reception unit (not shown). For example, microwaves in a 24 GHz band are radiated toward the bed in each room, and reflected waves that are reflected by the care recipient and are Doppler shifted. Receive. Thereby, the radio wave detection unit 30 can detect the care recipient's breathing state, sleep state, heart rate, and the like from the received reflected wave.

  When the cared person is breathing (including during sleep), minute movements of the body (micromotion) due to the cared person's breathing occur. For this reason, detecting the care recipient's breathing state and sleep state is the same as detecting the care receiver's micromotion. From this, it can also be said that the radio wave detection unit 30 functions as a microscopic motion detection unit that detects microscopic motion of a care recipient (subject).

  The unit control unit 40 controls the operations of the image recognition system 20 and the radio wave detection unit 30, and performs image processing and signal processing on information obtained from the image recognition system 20 and the radio wave detection unit 30, and results obtained Is a control board that outputs to the server 100a as information on the state of the care recipient. The unit control unit 40 includes a main control unit 41, an information processing unit 42, an interface unit 43, a storage unit 24, and an image recognition unit 25. The storage unit 24 and the image recognition unit 25 are provided in the unit control unit 40 here, but may be provided independently of the unit control unit 40. Details of the storage unit 24 and the image recognition unit 25 will be described later.

  The main control unit 41 is composed of a CPU that controls the operation of each unit in the moving object detection unit 10. The information processing unit 42 and the image recognition unit 25 may be configured by the above-described CPU (may be integrated with the main control unit 41), or may be another arithmetic unit or a circuit that performs a specific process. It may be configured. The main control unit 41 corresponds to the control unit of the communication unit 2 described above.

  The information processing unit 42 performs predetermined processing on information (for example, image data) output from the optical detection unit 23 (to be described later) of the image recognition system 20 and information (for example, data on the respiratory state) output from the radio wave detection unit 30. Signal processing based on the algorithm is performed. Information obtained by the signal processing is used for image recognition in the image recognition system 20 (particularly, the image recognition unit 25).

  A network cable (not shown) of the communication line 200 is electrically connected to the interface unit 43. Information relating to the status of the cared person detected by the moving object detection unit 10 based on images and microwaves is transmitted to the server 100 a via the interface unit 43 and the communication line 200. The interface unit 43 is also an interface that receives operation information and characteristic information transmitted from the operation unit 3 and corresponds to the communication unit of the communication unit 2 described above.

  Next, details of the image recognition system 20 will be described. The image recognition system 20 includes an illumination unit 21, an illumination control unit 22, and an optical detection unit 23.

  The illumination unit 21 includes an LED (Light Emitting Diode) that emits infrared light (for example, near-infrared light) to enable photographing in the dark, and the ceiling 101a of the living room 101 (see FIG. 15). The interior of the living room 101 is illuminated. For example, the illumination unit 21 has a plurality of LEDs and illuminates a floor surface 101b (see FIG. 15) in the living room 101 and a wall connecting the ceiling portion 101a and the floor surface 101b. The illumination control unit 22 controls illumination (infrared light emission) by the illumination unit 21.

  The optical detection unit 23 is an imaging unit that captures an image by capturing the interior of the living room 101 under the illumination of the illumination unit 21, and is configured by a camera, for example. FIG. 17 is a block diagram illustrating a detailed configuration of the optical detection unit 23, and FIG. 18 schematically illustrates an example of an image acquired by photographing with the optical detection unit 23. The optical detection unit 23 is disposed adjacent to the illumination unit 21 in the central portion of the ceiling 101a of the living room 101, and acquires an image of an immediately above viewpoint with a viewing direction directly below by photographing. The optical detection unit 23 includes a lens 51, an image sensor 52, an AD conversion unit 53, an image processing unit 54, and a control calculation unit 55.

  The lens 51 is a fixed focus lens, for example, and is configured by a general super wide angle lens or fisheye lens. As the super wide angle lens, a lens having a diagonal angle of view of 150 ° or more can be used. As a result, as shown in FIG. 18, the entire living room 101 can be imaged from the ceiling 101a, and the cared person in the living room 101 and the entire room can be imaged without blind spots.

  The image sensor 52 is configured by an image sensor such as a charge coupled device (CCD) or a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS). The image sensor 52 is configured by removing the IR cut filter so that the state of the cared person can be detected as an image even in a dark environment. An output signal from the image sensor 52 is input to the AD conversion unit 53.

  The AD conversion unit 53 receives an analog image signal of an image captured by the image sensor 52 and converts the analog image signal into a digital image signal. The digital image signal output from the AD conversion unit 53 is input to the image processing unit 54.

  The image processing unit 54 receives the digital image signal output from the AD conversion unit 53 and executes image processing such as black correction, noise correction, color interpolation, and white balance on the digital image signal. . A signal after image processing output from the image processing unit 54 is input to the image recognition unit 25.

  The control calculation unit 55 performs calculations such as AE (Automatic Exposure) related to the control of the image sensor 52 and controls the image sensor 52 such as exposure time and gain. Moreover, the control calculating part 55 performs control while performing calculations, such as a suitable light quantity setting and light distribution setting, with respect to the illumination part 21, as needed. The control calculation unit 55 may have the function of the illumination control unit 22 described above.

  The image recognition system 20 described above further includes the storage unit 24 and the image recognition unit 25 described above.

  The storage unit 24 is a memory that stores a control program executed by the unit control unit 40 and various types of information, and includes, for example, a RAM, a ROM, a nonvolatile memory, and the like.

  The image recognition unit 25 performs image recognition processing on the image data of the image acquired by the optical detection unit 23. More specifically, the image recognition unit 25 receives a signal after the image processing unit 54 of the optical detection unit 23 performs image processing, extracts the contour of the object, for example, and shapes it by a method such as pattern matching. An image recognition process for recognizing the image is executed. Thereby, the image recognition part 25 can recognize the state of the cared person in the living room 101.

  Here, the state of the cared person in the living room 101 is assumed to be rising, leaving the floor, entering the floor, falling over, and the like. Waking up refers to the state from when the cared person wakes up to wake up on the bed. Getting out of bed refers to the state from when the cared person wakes up on the bed until it gets off the floor and leaves the bed. Entering the floor refers to the movement of the care recipient from the floor to the bed and lying down. Falling refers to an action in which the care recipient falls on the floor. The above-mentioned getting-up, getting-off, getting-in, falling-over is accompanied by the movement of the cared person's body (body movement), and the minute movement detected by the radio wave detection unit 30 (the minute movement of the body by breathing etc.) ).

  The care support system 300 described above includes the communication system 1 described above, and the communication unit 2 of the communication system 1 includes a moving object detection unit 10 that detects a moving object (for example, a care recipient) in the living room 101. The server 100a functions as a management server that manages information related to moving objects transmitted from the moving object detection unit 10.

  When the care support system 300 includes the communication system 1 described above, the server 100a can manage the remaining battery level of the operation unit 3, and can monitor whether there is a battery failure or a failure of the operation unit 3. Therefore, in the care support system 300, it is avoided that an abnormal situation such as an emergency call of a care receiver not being received due to operation of the operation unit 3 due to a battery failure of the operation unit 3 and a failure of the operation unit itself occurs. be able to.

  In particular, the communication unit 2 includes the moving object detection unit 10, and the care support system 300 that monitors the fall of the care receiver's living room 101 by the moving object detection unit 10 causes the battery failure and the operation unit failure. An abnormal situation can be avoided.

  Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the scope of the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

  The present invention can be used for a system for making an emergency call by operating an operation unit, for example.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Communication system 2 Communication unit 3 Operation part 4 Management server 4a Arithmetic part 4b Judgment part 4c Output part 4c ₁ Display part 4d Storage part 4g Control part 5a-5e Mobile phone (terminal device)
10 Moving object detection unit 24 Optical detection unit (imaging unit)
25 Image recognition unit 30 Radio wave detection unit 100a Server (management server)
101 Living room 300 Care support system BT battery

Claims (10)

A communication unit installed in the room;
An operation unit that is operated by a user in a living room and is driven by a battery, and transmits operation information of the user and characteristic information about the characteristic value of the battery to the communication unit;
A management server that manages the operation information and the characteristic information transmitted from the operation unit via the communication unit, and manages an operation history of the operation unit based on the operation information;
The management server is
Based on the operation history, a specific integrated value of the consumption current of the battery by the operation of the operation unit is calculated, and an estimated integrated value of the consumption current from the start of use of the battery including the specific integrated value is calculated. An arithmetic unit;
A determination unit that determines the remaining amount of the battery based on the characteristic value and the estimated integrated value, and that determines whether the battery and the operation unit are defective.
A communication system comprising: an output unit that outputs information indicating the remaining amount of the battery determined by the determination unit and the presence or absence of the defect.   The determination unit determines whether the battery and the operation unit are defective based on a difference between a rank of the remaining battery level based on the characteristic value and a rank of the remaining battery level based on the estimated integrated value. The communication system according to claim 1.   When the rank of the remaining amount of the battery based on the characteristic value is higher than the rank of the remaining amount of the battery based on the estimated integrated value by a predetermined level or more when the remaining battery level is higher than the predetermined level, If it is determined that there is a defect and the rank of the remaining battery level based on the characteristic value is lower than the rank of the remaining battery level based on the estimated integrated value by a predetermined level or lower, the battery level is lower. The communication system according to claim 2, wherein it is determined that there is a defect. The management server, for each combination of each rank when the range of the characteristic value can be divided into a plurality of ranks and each rank when the range of the estimated integrated value can be divided into a plurality of ranks A storage unit that stores a table in which information indicating the remaining amount of the battery and information indicating whether the battery or the operation unit is defective is associated in advance;
The determination unit includes information associated with a combination of a rank to which the characteristic value of the characteristic information transmitted from the communication unit belongs and a rank to which the estimated integrated value calculated by the calculation unit belongs in the table. 2. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein the communication system determines a remaining amount of the battery and whether or not the battery and the operation unit are defective by referring to the communication system.   The communication system according to claim 1, wherein the characteristic value is a voltage value of the battery. The table is a matrix-like table in which m is an integer of 2 or more, and a range in which the voltage value as the characteristic value can be taken and a range in which the estimated integrated value can be taken are each ranked into m pieces,
In the table,
The rank of the voltage value is rank 1 to m from the higher voltage value to the lower one, and the rank of the estimated integrated value is rank 1 to m from the lower current consumption value to the higher one. , X and y are each an integer of 1 to m, and a combination of any rank x of the voltage value and any rank y of the estimated integrated value is represented by A (x, y) ,
A part of each rank combination A (x, y) where x <y is associated with information indicating that the operation unit is defective,
5. The communication system according to claim 4, wherein information indicating that the battery is defective is associated with a part of each rank combination A (x, y) satisfying x> y.   The communication system according to claim 1, wherein the output unit includes a display unit that displays information indicating a remaining amount of the battery and the presence or absence of the defect.   8. The control server according to claim 1, further comprising a control unit that performs control to transmit information indicating the remaining amount of the battery and the presence / absence of the defect to an external terminal device. 9. The communication system according to 1. A care support system including the communication system according to any one of claims 1 to 8,
The communication unit of the communication system includes a moving body detection unit that detects a moving body in a living room,
The management server manages information related to the moving object transmitted from the moving object detection unit. The moving object detection unit is
An image capturing unit that captures an image of a room and acquires an image;
An image recognition unit that performs image recognition processing on the image data of the image acquired by the imaging unit;
The care support system according to claim 9, further comprising: a radio wave detection unit that detects biological information of a cared person as a moving object in a living room by emitting and receiving radio waves.

Images