JP7193801B2 - Monitoring device and monitoring system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a watching device and a watching system, and more particularly to a watching device and a watching system using a remote controller (hereinafter referred to as "remote control") of a television receiver (hereinafter referred to as "television").

Patent Literature 1 discloses a watching system capable of watching over a watching target using existing equipment without preparing special equipment. This monitoring system receives an infrared signal transmitted from a remote controller for turning on/off the power of the television and switching channels on the side of the target person's home where the person to be monitored is located, and receives the event information of the television operation information containing the infrared signal. a viewing information collection unit for collecting viewing information (watching information) consisting of (power ON/OFF, channel switching), time stamp information when event information occurs, and ID information for identifying a person to be watched over, and viewing information collection A communication unit (router) is added to transmit viewing information collected by the unit to a viewing information storage server that stores and manages the viewing information.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2017-117168

However, the monitoring system disclosed in Patent Document 1 collects and accumulates event information of television operation information including infrared signals of the remote control of the television, time stamp information when the event information occurs, etc. There has not been a deep study of communication between the person with the disease and his/her family.

For this reason, although the family of the person being watched over can grasp the TV viewing status of the person being watched over, if they try to communicate with the person being watched over and their family, they will not be able to make a phone call or send a letter. For example, it was necessary to use another medium. In this case, the usage of the monitoring device is limited, and there has been a demand to increase its utility value.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to enable simple communication between a watching target person and his/her family using a watching device itself.

In order to solve the above problems, the watching device of the present invention
a first radio signal receiving unit that receives a radio signal transmitted from the remote controller when a specific button provided on the remote controller of the television is pressed;
a first notification unit that notifies that a radio signal has been received by the first radio signal reception unit;
a signal transmission unit configured to transmit a signal indicating that the specific button has been pressed to a preset registration destination when a wireless signal is received by the first wireless signal reception unit;
a signal receiving unit that receives a signal corresponding to pressing of the specific button transmitted from the registration destination;
a second notification unit that notifies that a signal has been received by the signal reception unit;
Prepare.

The specific button can be a color button, and in this case, the first or second notification unit lights, blinks, or extinguishes a lamp of the same color as the color assigned to the color button. should be notified by

moreover,
a second radio signal receiving unit that receives a radio signal transmitted from the remote controller when a power button provided on the remote controller is pressed;
a power signal transmission unit configured to transmit a signal indicating a change in an ambient sound volume level of the monitoring device main body and a signal indicating that the power button has been pressed when a wireless signal is received by the second wireless signal reception unit;
can also be provided.

In addition, the watching system of the present invention is
the monitoring device;
a terminal that receives a signal transmitted from the signal transmission unit;
are connected via a network.

Furthermore, a server that mediates between the watching device and the terminal may be provided,
The server is
A power signal receiving unit that receives a signal indicating a change in the volume level of the surroundings of the monitoring device main body and a signal indicating that the power button is pressed, which are transmitted from the monitoring device triggered by pressing of the power button. should be provided.

It is a typical lineblock diagram of a watching system of an embodiment of the present invention. It is a time chart which shows operation|movement of the watching system shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display of smartphone 500 when the already-described application program installed in smartphone 500 of FIG. 1 is activated.

100 monitoring device 110, 130 reporting unit 120 infrared signal receiving unit 140 sound collecting unit 150 communication unit 200 remote control 300 television 400 server 500 smartphone 600 infrared signal 700 network line

Embodiment of the invention

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(Description of overview)
First, an overview of the watching system of the present embodiment will be described. In the watching system of this embodiment, when the person being watched over presses a color button provided on the remote control of the television, typically, the color button pressed is displayed on the family members of the person being watched over. to be notified.

In this way, the watching system of the present embodiment allows the elderly, who would be a typical person to be watched over, to express their intentions to their family members by pressing the colored buttons without having to operate a complicated remote control. becomes possible.

In addition, the watching system of the present embodiment notifies the watching target when a signal corresponding to the pressing of the color button is transmitted from the family of the watching target from the smartphone or personal computer.

Therefore, in the watching system of the present embodiment, the watching target's family can respond to the watching target's declaration of intention to the watching target, and the watching target's intention can be voluntarily expressed to the watching target. can.

The family members of the person being watched over express their intentions to the person being watched over through the watching device. Specifically, although not limited to this, the remote control is usually provided with four color buttons such as a blue button, a red button, a green button, and a yellow button. LED lamps of colors corresponding to the two color buttons are provided, and the LED lamps of colors corresponding to signals transmitted from the family of the person being watched over are switched between lighting, blinking, and extinguishing.

The contents of the meaning of the declaration of intent when the four colored buttons are pressed may be agreed upon in advance between the person being watched over and his/her family, or may be decided in advance by the administrator of the watching system. You can leave it. As a result, it becomes possible for both parties to easily convey their intentions to the other party.

For example, when the blue button is pressed, the meaning is "I'm fine", when the red button is pressed, the meaning is "Give me a call", and when the green button is pressed It is sufficient to determine in advance that the message has a meaning of ``good morning'' when the yellow button is pressed, and that it has a meaning of ``good night'' when the yellow button is pressed.

Furthermore, in addition to these four variations, as mentioned above, if you consider whether the LED lamp is lit or blinked, it becomes possible to convey eight meanings to the other party, blinking time, By changing the blinking pattern such as the lighting interval, it is possible to convey more meanings to the other party.

Thus, in the watching system of the present embodiment, the watching device itself is used to facilitate simple communication between the person being watched over and his/her family. The configuration and operation of the watching system will be specifically described below.

(Description of configuration)
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a watching system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 shows a watching device 100, a remote controller 200, a television 300, a server 400, a smart phone 500, an infrared signal 600, and a network line 700, which will be described below.

Monitoring device 100 is normally installed near television 300 of the person being watched over, and receives infrared signal (radio signal) 600 transmitted from remote controller 200 when any button 210 or the like of remote controller 200 is pressed. It is something to do.

Also, when the monitoring device 100 receives the infrared signal 600 transmitted from the remote control when the power button 210 of the remote control 200 is pressed, the signal indicating the change in the peripheral sound volume level of the main body of the monitoring device 100 and the power button 210 is pressed to the server 400, and if an abnormal condition set in the server 400 occurs, an alarm is sent to the smartphone 500 attached to the preset registration destination. be.

The monitoring device 100 includes reporting units 110 and 130, an infrared signal receiving unit 120, a sound collecting unit 140, and a communication unit 150, which will be described below.

Notification units 110 and 130 notify the watching target person that infrared signal 600 indicating that, for example, blue button 232 or yellow button 234 has been pressed among color buttons 230 by infrared signal receiving unit 120 . It is intended to inform.

If the person being watched over unintentionally touches blue button 232 or yellow button 234 and infrared signal 600 is transmitted from remote control 200 to watching device 100, watching device 100 reacts and responds. In order to avoid this, the notification units 110 and 130 can perform notification processing when the blue button 232 or the yellow button 234 is pressed for about 2 to 3 seconds, for example.

Informing units 110 and 130 also detect that communication unit 150 has received a signal corresponding to pressing of blue button 232 or yellow button 234 transmitted via server 400 from smartphone 500 attached to the registration destination. is reported.

Although two notification units 110 and 130 are shown in FIG. 1, the number of notification units may be one or three or more. Also, the notification units 110 and 130 may be provided with a notification unit other than the one corresponding to the color button 230, that is, for example, a notification unit corresponding to the decision button.

In addition, the notification units 110 and 130 provide notification in a visually understandable manner by lighting, blinking, or extinguishing an LED lamp of the same color as the color assigned to the color button, although not limited to these. do it.

When the power button 210, any one of the number button group 220, the color button 230, or any other button provided on the remote control 200 of the television 300 is pressed, the infrared signal receiving unit 120 receives the signal from the pressed button. It receives an infrared signal 600 transmitted from the remote controller 200 correspondingly.

Currently, many remote controllers 200 transmit an infrared signal 600, but some remote controllers can transmit wireless signals conforming to wireless standards such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) and Zigbee (registered trademark). In such a case, a receiver corresponding to these radio signals may be provided.

In order to obtain a signal indicating a change in the volume level around the monitoring device 100, the sound collecting unit 140 includes, for example, a microphone that constantly collects sounds around the monitoring device 100 and a FIFO that records the sounds collected by the microphones. a memory;

When infrared signal 600 indicating that color button 230 has been pressed is received by infrared signal receiving unit 120, communication unit 150 notifies smartphone 500 attached to the registration destination that color button 230 has been pressed. The signal shown is transmitted via the server 400 .

Further, the communication unit 150 receives a signal corresponding to pressing of the color button 230, which is transmitted from the smartphone 500 attached to the registration destination via the server 400. FIG.

Furthermore, when receiving infrared signal 600 indicating that power button 210 of remote controller 200 has been pressed, communication unit 150 detects the volume level around the main body of watching device 100 collected and recorded by sound collector 140 . and a signal indicating that the power button 210 has been pressed are transmitted to the server 400 .

The remote controller 200 includes at least a power button 210, any one of a number button group 220, color buttons 230 including a blue button 232 and a yellow button 234, and other buttons including an enter button. The remote controller 200 may be of an infrared transmission type, or may be of a radio signal transmission type.

As is well known, the television 300 incorporates an antenna, a tuner, and the like capable of receiving various broadcast waves such as terrestrial waves, BS broadcasts, and CS broadcasts. Note that each function of the watching device 100 can be integrated by being mounted on the television 300 itself.

The server 400 receives various signals transmitted from the watching device 100, the smartphone 500, and the like, and performs processing corresponding to the signals. Various specific processes will be described later along with an explanation of the operation. When an instruction corresponding to H.234 is given, the notification unit 130 of the watching device 100 notifies it.

The smartphone 500 is owned by a family member, a related person, or the like of the person being watched over. The smartphone 500 can be installed with an application program for executing operations described later. Note that this operation can also be realized by a browser.

Infrared signal 600 is transmitted from remote controller 200 when power button 210, color button 230, or the like of remote controller 200 is pressed. Again, if the remote control 200 is of a type that transmits radio signals other than infrared, the infrared signal 600 will be a radio signal.

The network line 700 is a general term for Internet lines, mobile phone lines, and the like. Specifically, as a typical example, the watching device 100 and the server 400 are connected via an Internet line or a communication line such as LTE, and the server 400 and the smart phone 500 are connected via an Internet line and a mobile phone line.

(Description of operation)
FIG. 2 is a time chart showing the operation of the watching system shown in FIG. First, the initial setting will be explained. Initial setting is performed by executing steps S1 to S7.

If the remote control 200 is called a general-purpose remote control, the person being watched over or his/her family member sets information such as the manufacturer name and model number of the television 300 to the remote control 200 (step S1).

In addition, the watching target or the like operates the remote control 200 so that the infrared signal 600 transmitted from the remote control 200 can be received by the watching device 100, and watches the signal indicating the manufacturer name, model number, etc. of the television 300. It is transmitted to the device 100 (step S2).

In the monitoring device 100, when the communication unit 150 receives the signal indicating the manufacturer name and model number from the remote control 200, it stores it in a memory (not shown) to register the settings of the remote control 200 (step S3).

Next, in the watching device 100, the communication unit 150 transmits the device ID uniquely assigned to the monitoring device 100 to the server 400 via the network line 700 so as to communicate with the server 400 (step S4). ).

In addition, in order to be able to receive the services of the monitoring system of the present embodiment, the smartphone 500 uses a unique login ID, device ID, etc. that are assigned to the monitoring device 100 to register the user as a member. (Step S5).

Specifically, from the smartphone 500 to the server 400, a login ID, a password, and a registration address to be the above-described registration destination, which are necessary when receiving the service of the monitoring system of the present embodiment, are sent together with the above device ID. It is transmitted to the server 400 through the network line 700 (step S6).

When the server 400 receives the device ID and the like transmitted from the smartphone 500, the server 400 compares the device ID and the like transmitted from the watching device 100 in advance, and stores the registered address and the like as a set of correspondence information in a memory (not shown). Store (step S7).

In this way, remote controller 200 , watching device 100 , server 400 and smartphone 500 are associated with each other. Initial setting is completed by executing each of the above processes.

After the initial setting is completed, the watching target person presses and holds the yellow button 234, which is one of the color buttons 230 of the remote control 200, while pointing the infrared signal transmitting section of the remote control 200 toward the infrared signal receiving section of the television 300. (step S8).

Then, remote controller 200 starts transmitting infrared signal 600 corresponding to yellow button 234 to television 300 and watching device 100 installed nearby (steps S9 and S10).

In the monitoring device 100, the infrared signal receiving unit 120 receives the infrared signal 600 corresponding to the yellow button from the remote controller 200, and when this state continues for a predetermined period of time and it is determined that the button has been pressed for a long time, the monitoring device 100 receives the infrared signal 600. In order to indicate that the watching device 100 has responded to the long-pressing operation by the person, the notification unit 130 is turned on (step S11).

Next, in the monitoring device 100, the communication unit 150 sends a yellow button signal indicating that the yellow button has been long-pressed to the server 400, adds a unique device ID assigned to the own device, and transmits the signal to the network line. 700 to the server 400 (step S12).

When server 400 receives the yellow button signal transmitted from watching device 100, server 400 reads from the memory the registration destination address corresponding to the device ID added thereto as a destination (step S13).

Then, when server 400 transmits a yellow button signal to the registered address through network line 700 (step S14), smartphone 500 can receive this signal, so that the yellow button on remote control 200 of the person being watched over can be activated. That the button 234 has been long pressed can be notified to the family through the smart phone 500 (step S15).

The notification method referred to here is not limited to these, but may include sending an e-mail to the registered address, sending a short message, or sending a monitoring message according to the present embodiment. Alarms may be issued through application programs attached to the system's services.

When the family member noticed this, in order to reply that the yellow button signal was received, the smartphone 500 or the like was operated to perform a release operation to release the lighting state of the notification unit 130 of the monitoring device 100. (step S16).

As a result, a cancellation instruction signal to which information indicating the registration destination is added is transmitted from smartphone 500 or the like through network line 700 (step S17).

When server 400 receives the cancellation instruction signal transmitted from smartphone 500 or the like, server 400 reads from the memory, as a destination, the device ID corresponding to the registered address added thereto (step S18).

Then, when the server 400 transmits a release instruction signal to the device ID through the network line 700 (step S19), the monitoring device 100 can receive this signal. If necessary, it switches from the flashing state to the extinguished state (step S20).

As described above, after the initial setting is performed, the person being watched over can express his/her intention to his/her family by executing the processes shown in steps S8 to S20.

On the other hand, when the family member of the person being watched over expresses his/her intention to the person being watched over, the family member of the person being watched over can operate the smartphone 500 or the like. Specifically, for example, a swipe operation or a tap operation may be performed on an image resembling a blue button through an application program installed on the smartphone 500 (step S21).

Accordingly, a blinking instruction for blinking the notification unit 110 corresponding to the blue button 232 to which the information indicating the registration destination is added is transmitted from the smartphone 500 or the like via the network line 700 (step S22).

When server 400 receives the flashing instruction signal transmitted from smartphone 500 or the like, server 400 reads from the memory the device ID corresponding to the registration destination address added thereto as a destination (step S23).

Then, when server 400 transmits a flashing instruction signal to the device ID through network line 700 (step S24), watching device 100 can receive this signal, so that notification unit 130 is turned off. Switch to flashing state (step S25).

As described above, after the initial setting is performed, the person being watched over can express his/her intention to his/her family by executing the processes shown in steps S21 to S25.

In order to avoid duplication of similar explanations, although not shown, if the person being watched over who notices the blinking of the notification unit 130 presses the blue button 232 on the remote control 200, steps S15 to S15 are performed in conjunction with this. Processing corresponding to step S20 is performed, and smartphone 500 can be notified that the flashing processing has been cancelled.

Further, as will be described later, in the monitoring system of the present embodiment, when the power button 210 of the remote control 200 is pressed, it is possible to determine whether the television 300 is powered on or off. and the television 300, a program for executing required processing is set in them, and when the power of the television 300 is on, the contents to be notified through the notification units 110 and 130 are set. Displaying on the screen of the television 300 is also one method. In this case, as the television 300, a so-called smart television may be used.

That is, specifically, when it is agreed between the person being watched over and his/her family that when the blue button 232 is pressed, it means "I'm fine" as described above. makes it possible to set the meaning and content for the watching device 100 and the television 300 through the remote control 200. - 特許庁

When the blue button 232 of the remote controller 200 is pressed long while the power of the television 300 is on and the watching device 100 detects it, the watching device 100 can output to the television 300 to that effect. . On the other hand, in the television 300, when this output signal is input, it is possible to display information such as "I have sent you a message that I am fine" on the display.

Alternatively, since the television 300 is powered on, the television 300 detects that the blue button 232 of the remote controller 200 has been pressed for a long time, and the same operation can be performed without the watching device 100. do. In this case, in order to prevent redundant instructions from watching device 100 to television 300 , output from watching device 100 to television 300 may be suppressed when television 300 is powered on.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a screen example displayed on the display of smartphone 500 when the above-described application program installed in smartphone 500 of FIG. 1 is activated. Note that the screen example shown in FIG. 3 is merely an example, and the layout, display content, display mode, display target, and the like are not limited to this.

The screen example shown in FIG. 3 includes a service name display area 510, a menu display area 520, an LED lighting state display area 530, a blue LED lamp on/off display area 540, and a blue LED lamp lighting/flashing display area 540. It includes an instruction display area 550 , a yellow LED lamp on/off display area 560 , and a yellow LED lamp lighting/blinking instruction display area 570 .

The service name display area 510 displays the service name provided by the monitoring system of the present embodiment, displays an instruction area for transitioning to various setting screens of this application program, and instructs logout from the application program. It is used to display the area.

The menu display area 520 displays an instruction area “Member TOP” that transitions to the top screen of the application program, or displays an instruction area “Alarm Top” that transitions to a screen for setting an alarm when a color button signal transmitted through the server 400 is received. settings, or
An instruction area “history summary” that transitions to a viewing screen for a simple operation history of the remote control 200 of the person being watched over collected by the watching device 100 is displayed. It displays an instruction area "life rhythm" that transitions to a viewing screen for detailed operation history and the like.

The LED lighting state display area 530 includes a blue LED lamp ON/OFF display area 540, a blue LED lamp lighting/blinking instruction display area 550, a yellow LED lamp ON/OFF display area 560, and a yellow LED lamp lighting/blinking instruction display area 570. is a region containing

A blue LED lamp on/off display area 540 is an area in which a swipe operation is performed to switch on/off of the blue LED lamp, which is the notification unit 110 . FIG. 3 shows the state where the blue LED lamp is "on".

The blue LED lamp lighting/blinking instruction display area 550 is an area that indicates whether the notification unit 110 is in a lighting state or a blinking state when the blue LED lamp on/off display area 540 indicates "on". be. Here, "lighting" is indicated.

Yellow LED lamp on/off display area 560 is an area corresponding to blue LED lamp on/off display area 540 . The only difference between the two is that the display target is changed from the notification unit 110 to the notification unit 130, which is a yellow LED lamp.

The yellow LED lamp lighting/blinking instruction display area 570 is an area corresponding to the blue LED lamp lighting/blinking instruction display area 550 . The only difference between the two is that the display target is changed from the notification unit 110 to the notification unit 130, which is a yellow LED lamp.

Note that FIG. 3 shows a state in which the yellow LED lamp is "on", which corresponds to the state in which step S15 in FIG. 2 is executed. Also, when the family member of the person being watched over performs a swipe operation to switch the yellow LED lamp to "OFF", each process of steps S16 to S20 in FIG. 2 is executed.

Next, a method for determining whether power button 210 of remote controller 200 is on or off will be described. When power button 210 is pressed, infrared signal 600 transmitted from remote control 200 is the same regardless of whether television 300 is powered on or off.

In other words, for ease of understanding, the relationship between television 300 and remote control 200 will be described. , the power of the television 300 is switched from off to on.

Conversely, when power button 210 is pressed while television 300 is on, and this is received by the infrared signal receiver of television 300, television 300 is switched from on to off.

As described above, the infrared signal 600 transmitted when the power button 210 of the remote controller 200 is pressed is called "instruction to switch from the off state to the on state" or "instruction to switch from the on state to the off state." It does not refer to a specific item, but simply refers to an instruction that "the power button 210 has been pressed."

As described above, in the case of the television 300, the power button 210 is pressed and the power is switched on/off each time it is detected. It may be required to determine whether the power button 210 was pressed with the intention of turning on the power or whether the watching target pressed the power button 210 with the intention of turning off the power of the television 300 .

Therefore, in the monitoring device 100 of the present embodiment, the sound collector 140 is provided as described above. To explain once again, the sound collector 140 always has a microphone that collects sounds around the main body of the monitoring device 100 and a and a FIFO memory for recording sound.

For this reason, typically, regardless of whether the television 300 is turned on or off, a microphone is always used to collect sounds around the main body of the watching device 100, which are sampled and converted from analog signals to digital signals, Information indicating the ambient volume level is recorded in the FIFO memory. The FIFO memory should have a capacity capable of recording information for at least the past 30 seconds.

Then, when the person being watched over presses the power button 210 of the remote controller 200 and receives this by the infrared signal receiving unit 120, the communication unit 150 waits until about 15 seconds have passed, and the signal is recorded in the FIFO memory. A signal indicating information about the past 30 seconds or so and a signal indicating that the power button 210 has been pressed are sent to the server 400 through the network line 700 after adding a unique device ID assigned to the device itself. Send. As a result, information about 15 seconds before and after the power button 210 is pressed is transmitted to the server 400 .

When receiving the signal transmitted from the watching device 100, the server 400 stores information indicated by the signal in the memory in association with the device ID added to the signal. Also, the server 400 can determine whether the power of the television 300 has been switched from on to off or from off to on, for example, based on the level of the surrounding audio of the signal indicating the information. Before and after the pressing signal of the power button 210, power on/off may be determined based on the pressing signal of any button of the number button group 220 or other buttons.

Here, the processing when the power button 210 is pressed has been described, but when any button in the number button group 220 of the remote control 200 or any other button is pressed, the operation of the remote control 200 is also performed. The operation history is transmitted from the watching device 100 to the server 400 .

Therefore, by receiving these operation histories from server 400 , smartphone 500 can view the operation history by pressing an instruction area displaying “history summary” or “life rhythm” in menu display area 520 . Browsing is possible.

As described above, according to the watching system of the present embodiment, the person being watched over simply performs a simple operation such as pressing a specific button on the remote controller 200, and between the person being watched over and his/her family, Easy communication can be achieved.

Claims (5)

a first radio signal receiving unit for receiving a radio signal transmitted from a remote controller of a television receiver when a specific button provided on the remote controller is pressed;
a first notification unit that notifies that a radio signal has been received by the first radio signal reception unit;
a signal transmission unit configured to transmit a signal indicating that the specific button has been pressed to a preset registration destination when a wireless signal is received by the first wireless signal reception unit;
a signal receiving unit that receives a signal corresponding to pressing of the specific button transmitted from the registration destination;
a second notification unit that notifies that a signal has been received by the signal reception unit;
A monitoring device with The specific button is a color button,
2. The watching device according to claim 1, wherein said first or second notification unit notifies by lighting, blinking or extinguishing a lamp of the same color as the color assigned to said color button. moreover,
a second radio signal receiving unit that receives a radio signal transmitted from the remote controller when a power button provided on the remote controller is pressed;
a power signal transmission unit configured to transmit a signal indicating a change in an ambient sound volume level of the monitoring device main body and a signal indicating that the power button has been pressed when a wireless signal is received by the second wireless signal reception unit;
The watching device according to claim 1, comprising: The watching device according to claim 1;
a terminal that receives a signal transmitted from the signal transmission unit;
is connected via a network. Furthermore, comprising a server that mediates between the watching device and the terminal,
The server is
A signal indicating a change in the peripheral sound volume level of the monitoring device main body and a signal indicating that the power button is pressed, which are transmitted from the monitoring device triggered by pressing of a power button provided on the remote controller ; 5. The watching system according to claim 4, comprising a power supply signal receiving section that receives the .

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