JP7273271B1 - Parent-child monitoring system - Google Patents

Abstract

Kind Code: A1 A parent-child monitoring device, a parent-child monitoring system, and a parent-child monitoring program for casually watching over a parent and child by issuing an alert according to the contact situation between the child and the parent, so that appropriate physical contact is ensured. I will provide a. A parent-child monitoring device (1) has a CPU (31), and the CPU (31) detects a contact state detection means for detecting a contact state between a child and its parent, and monitors the child according to a contact level corresponding to the detected contact state. A reminder determination means for determining whether or not a contact reminder is required to prompt the parent to contact with the child, and a reminder issuance control means for issuing a contact reminder when it is determined that the contact reminder is required are realized. [Selection drawing] Fig. 3

Description

The present invention relates to a parent-child monitoring system that obtains contact (contact) situations between children (mainly infants) and their parents, and issues alerts according to the contact situations.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, child-rearing support services for parents who are raising children are known. For example, housework assistance, a childcare support helper service that provides advice on childcare, a childcare service or temporary care service for preschool children, and a childcare product rental service are known.

In addition, as a service using the Internet, there is a service that provides childcare-related information, and a childcare support system that provides information on facilities and costs required for childcare according to the user's situation (see Patent Document 1, for example). , a support service for purchasing child care products (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

JP 2005-284844 A Japanese Patent No. 7002087 Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2021-108996

By the way, it is known that direct skin-to-skin contact (so-called skinship) between a child and its parents is a very important factor in child-rearing. Physical contact forms a relationship between the child and the parent, which makes the child (especially infants) feel connected to the parent, and as a result, promotes the healthy growth of the child. is.

However, in conventional childcare support, emphasis has been placed on reducing the burden on parents involved in childcare, and the perspective of healthy growth of children has not been taken into consideration. Therefore, even if physical contact is an important factor in child-rearing, conventionally, child-rearing support related to physical contact, for example, examining whether physical contact is sufficient or not, and encouraging physical contact when physical contact is insufficient There was no such system or service.

On the other hand, whether or not the physical contact is sufficient can be grasped from the state of contact (contact) between the child and mainly its parents. It is effective to measure the distance between the child and mainly its parents.

Regarding this point, for example, in Patent Document 3, an RFID tag in which personal identification information of an infant is recorded is provided at a place where the infant exists, and a reading device for reading the RFID tag is provided indoors, whereby the infant's It is disclosed that the location is determined.

However, in Patent Document 3, in addition to the infant's position, the parent's position is not specified. In other words, since the parent is not the object of measurement, the distance between the child and the parent is not measured, and the physical contact situation is not grasped. Therefore, in the prior art of Patent Document 3, even if physical contact between the parent and child is insufficient, physical contact is not encouraged, and this prior art is not effective for promoting the healthy growth of children. rice field.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, and finds the contact (contact) situation between the child and mainly his or her parents, and adjusts the contact situation according to the contact situation so as to ensure appropriate skinship. To provide a parent-child watching system for casually watching a parent and child by issuing an alert.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention has a distance measuring device for measuring the distance from a reference position to a child and his/her parent, and a parent-child watching device for performing watching processing for the child and his/her parent. When the device receives a reading request from the parent-child monitoring device, the distance measuring means measures the child distance and the parent distance, which are the distances from the reference position to the child and the parent respectively, and the distance measuring means measures the distance. distance transmission control means for transmitting the child distance and the parent distance to the parent-child monitoring device, and the parent-child monitoring device measures the distance between the child and the parent using the child distance and the parent distance transmitted from the distance measuring device. parent-child distance calculation means for calculating the parent-child distance; contact state detection means for detecting the state of contact between the child and the parent using the parent-child distance calculated by the parent-child distance calculation means; Reminder determination means for determining whether or not a contact reminder for prompting the parent to contact with the child is necessary according to the contact level according to the contact status detected by the situation detection means, and the reminder determination means determines whether the contact reminder is required. and a reminder issuing control means for issuing a contact reminder when it is determined that there is contact, by wireless communication with a child tag that is an RFID tag attached to a child and a parent tag that is an RFID tag attached to a parent. An RFID reader unit having a dual reader structure having first and second RFID readers for measuring a child distance and a parent distance and having a fixed arrangement interval of the first and second RFID readers as a distance measuring device The parent-child distance calculation means is a child triangle having, as three sides, the first and second child distances, which are the distances from the reference position to the child measured by the first and second RFID readers, respectively, and the arrangement interval. a child coordinate calculating means for measuring the lengths of the three sides of the tag by trilateration, and using the lengths of the three sides to calculate the child coordinates, which are the coordinates of the child tag; and the first and second RFID readers The lengths of the three sides of the parent triangle, which has the first and second parent distances and the placement interval as three sides, which are the distances from the reference position to the parent, are measured by trilateration, and the lengths of the three sides are measured. The parent-child watching system is characterized by having parent coordinate calculation means for calculating parent coordinates, which are the coordinates of the parent tag, using the length, and calculating the parent-child distance using the child coordinates and the parent coordinates.

In the parent-child watching system described above, it is preferable that the contact state detection means determines the contact level using the parent-child distance calculated by the parent-child distance calculation means.

Further, in the parent-child watching system , the contact state detection means detects the distance between the parent and child calculated by the distance detection means between the parent and child, and the period during which the distance between the parent and child is constant and does not change. It is preferable to determine the contact level using a certain contact hold time.

As described in detail above, according to the present invention, the state of contact (contact) between a child and mainly its parents is obtained, and attention is called according to the contact state so as to ensure appropriate skinship. A parent-child watching system for casually watching the parent and child can be obtained by emitting the .

1 is a system configuration diagram of a parent-child watching system according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically showing the positional relationship among an RFID reader unit, child tags, and parent tags; It is a block diagram mainly showing an internal configuration of the parent-child watching device. FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram showing the main configurations of the RFID reader unit, child tag, and parent tag together with the parent-child monitoring device; It is the flowchart which showed an example of the operation|movement procedure of a parent-child watching process. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of an operation procedure of distance detection processing; 4 is a flowchart showing an example of an operation procedure of contact state detection processing; It is the flowchart which showed an example of the operation|movement procedure of a reminder issue control process. It is a figure which shows an example of the database structure of a distance table. It is a figure which shows an example of the database structure of a reminder table. It is the figure which showed typically the communication procedure of a parent-child watching apparatus and an RFID reader unit. It is the figure which showed typically the data reading period and parent-child distance calculation period by a parent-child watching apparatus. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the positional relationship among the RFID reader unit, child tag, and parent tag, and their respective distances; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing coordinates of child tags and parent tags, and distances between child tags and parent tags; FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram for obtaining three sides of a triangle composed of an RFID reader unit and a child tag by trilateration; Figures showing an example of how the parent-child distance changes, (a) when the parent-child distance is 0.1 m, and (b) when the parent-child distance is 3.0 m and temporarily becomes 0.1 m. is a diagram. Figures showing an example of how the parent-child distance changes, (a) when the parent-child distance is 3.0 m, and (b) when the parent-child distance is 3.0 m and temporarily becomes 0.1 m. is a diagram. It is the flowchart which showed an example of the operation|movement procedure of the parent-child watching process which concerns on a modification. 10 is a flow chart showing an example of an operation procedure of contact situation recording processing according to a modification; FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the database structure of a CL count table; FIG.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The same reference numerals are used for the same elements, and overlapping descriptions are omitted.

(Overall configuration of parent-child monitoring system)
First, the configuration of a parent-child watching system 100 including a parent-child watching device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of a parent-child watching system 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically showing the positional relationship among the RFID (Radio Frequency IDentification) reader unit 70, the child tag 81, and the parent tag 82 that constitute the parent-child watching system 100. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 1 , the parent-child monitoring system 100 includes a parent-child monitoring device 1 , a speaker 2 , an RFID reader unit 70 , a child tag 81 and a parent tag 82 .

In parent-child monitoring system 100, as shown in FIG. A distance to the child tag 81 and the parent tag 82, which will be described later, is detected. Using the result, the parent-child watching device 1 calculates the parent-child distance D3 (the distance between the child tag 81 and the parent tag 82, which will be described later in detail), and the child tag 81 is attached accordingly. The state of contact between the child A who is wearing the parent tag 82 and the parent B who is wearing the parent tag 82 is detected. A contact reminder, which will be described later, is output from the speaker 2 to prompt the parent B to make contact with the child A according to the contact situation.

The contact reminder is an alert to parent B that encourages contact with child A. This encourages parent B to contact child A. Skinship will be secured. Therefore, the parent-child watching system 100 promotes healthy growth of the child A. In the present invention, the parent (parent B according to the embodiment) means not only the biological parents (mother and father) of the child (child A according to the embodiment), but also those who take care of the child in place of the biological parent. Or the grandparents, siblings, and babysitters you interact with.

(Configuration of parent-child monitoring device 1)
The parent-child monitoring device 1 has wireless communication means for performing data communication using a wireless LAN (Local Area Network) (for example, Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity, registered trademark), Bluetooth (near-field wireless communication, registered trademark), and a speaker. 2 and the RFID reader unit 70. In the following description, a high-performance mobile phone (also called a smart phone) is used as the parent-child monitoring device 1, but a portable notebook type mobile phone is used as the parent-child monitoring device 1. A personal computer or a tablet-type terminal device may be used.

As shown in FIG. 3, the parent-child monitoring device 1 has a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 31, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 32, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 33, a data storage section 34, and a liquid crystal display section 35. there is The parent-child watching device 1 also has a voice processing unit 36 , a battery 37 , a wireless module 38 , a built-in speaker 39 , a microphone 40 and an image processing unit 41 .

The CPU 31 operates according to a program stored in the ROM 32 to control the operation of the entire parent-child watching device 1 . The CPU 31 executes a parent-child watching process according to a parent-child watching program described later. The ROM 32 stores control programs such as an OS (Operating System) executed by the CPU 31, application programs such as a parent-child watching program, a distance table 51, a reminder table 52, and other permanent data. The RAM 33 temporarily stores data and programs used when the CPU 31 operates.

The data storage unit 34 is configured by internal storage using NAND flash memory (preferably including external storage using an SD card). The data storage unit 34 stores various still image data, moving image data, audio data, and the like. The liquid crystal display unit 35 is image display means having an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) and its driving unit, and for displaying images such as characters, figures, and symbols. A touch panel (not shown) is formed on its surface. The audio processing unit 36 expands the audio data and outputs it to the built-in speaker 39 , converts and compresses the analog audio signal input from the microphone 40 into digital audio data, and inputs the digital audio data to the CPU 31 . The battery 37 is power supply means for supplying power to the parent-child monitoring device 1, and is configured using a lithium ion battery. The wireless module 38 is an electronic component that includes components required for wireless communication. The wireless module 38 has a structure in which a wireless chip, an antenna for detecting radio waves, and a controller (and its software) for controlling wireless communication are all mounted on a small substrate (not shown). The built-in speaker 39 is an audio output means for outputting audio, and the microphone 40 receives audio such as user's conversation content and converts it into an electric signal. The image processing unit 41 performs image processing on still images and moving images.

(Configuration of RFID reader unit 70, child tag 81, and parent tag 82)
As shown in FIG. 4, the RFID reader unit 70 is a distance measuring device according to the present invention and has two RFID readers (a first RFID reader 71 and a second RFID reader 72). Further, the RFID reader unit 70 has a structure (dual reader structure according to the present invention) in which the spacing (arrangement spacing) between the first RFID reader 71 and the second RFID reader 72 is fixed. In the illustrated RFID reader unit 70, the interval between the first RFID reader 71 and the second RFID reader 72 is set to a constant arrangement interval 70d.

The first RFID reader 71 and the second RFID reader 72 wirelessly communicate with the child tag 81 and the parent tag 82, respectively, and the data (child tag data) stored in the child tag 81 and the data stored in the parent tag 82 are read. received data (parent tag data) by reflected waves 81c and 82c. The first and second RFID readers 71 and 72 respectively have controllers 71a and 72a and antennas 71b and 72b. A wiring 71c connects the controller 71a and the antenna 71b, and a wiring 72c connects the controller 72a and the antenna 72b. The controllers 71a and 72a have control circuits for transmitting the carrier waves 71d and 72d through the antennas 71b and 72b, receiving the reflected waves 81c and 82c, and processing the signals. The controllers 71a and 72a function as distance measurement means and distance transmission control means according to the present invention. The antennas 71b and 72b transmit carrier waves 71d and 72d according to instructions from the controllers 71a and 72a, receive reflected waves 81c and 82c, and output the reflected waves 81c and 82c to the controllers 71a and 72a.

The child tag 81 and the parent tag 82 are passive tags that operate by receiving power from the carrier waves 71d and 72d. For example, the child tag 81 and the parent tag 82 correspond to members (not shown) in which a label-like IC tag is attached to a strip-shaped resin member, and the resin member is detachably attached using a hook-and-loop fastener.

The child tag 81 and parent tag 82 may be active tags. Then, since the radio wave reachable distance is extended, the child A and the parent B can be detected in a wider range. However, since active tags are more expensive than passive tags and require periodic battery replacement, it is preferable to use only the parent tag 82 as an active tag and the child tag 81 as a passive tag.

The child tag 81 and parent tag 82 have antennas 81a and 82a and IC chips 81b and 82b, respectively. Antennas 81a, 82a receive carriers 71d, 72d. At that time, electric power is generated in the antennas 81a and 82a. The power is used to operate the IC chips 81b and 82b. The IC chips 81b and 82b have control circuits and memories (not shown). The control circuit reads data stored in the memory, performs data processing such as calculation, and writes the processed data to the memory. Also, the IC chips 81b and 82b (control circuits) carry device identification data (identification data unique to the child tag 81 and parent tag 82) stored in the memory, received power intensity, processed data, and the like. Reflected waves 81c and 82c are transmitted from antennas 81a and 82a.

(Operating details of parent-child monitoring system)
Next, operation contents of the parent-child watching system 100 will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6. FIG.

In the parent-child watching system 100 , pairing is performed in advance between the parent-child watching device 1 and the RFID reader unit 70 before the parent-child watching process described later is executed. By executing the pairing, the device information required for data communication by Bluetooth (near field communication) is exchanged between the parent-child monitoring device 1 and the RFID reader unit 70, and the device information is transferred to each ROM (Read Only). Memory) 32 and the controllers 71a and 72a (registered).

In the pairing, for example, in the parent-child watching device 1, Bluetooth (near field communication) is activated while the RFID reader unit 70 is powered on, and the RFID reader search process is executed. When the RFID reader (RFID reader unit 70) found in the search process is selected in the parent-child watching device 1 and a predetermined input operation is performed, the pairing is completed.

Then, in the parent-child watching device 1, when an icon corresponding to the parent-child watching program is selected by an input operation using the liquid crystal display section 35, the parent-child watching program is activated. The parent-child watching program is a program for making the high-performance mobile phone function as the parent-child watching device 1, and is executed by the CPU 31 of the parent-child watching device 1. FIG. When the parent-child watching program is started for the first time, an initial setting program (not shown) operates. In the initial setting program, the conditions (for example, the time zone in which the parent-child watching program operates) are set. The conditions set here are reflected in the end conditions described later. The CPU 31 executes the parent-child watching process along the flowchart shown in FIG. 5 according to the parent-child watching program. 5 and 6, S stands for step.

(Parent-child monitoring process)
When the parent-child watching process is started, the CPU 31 advances the process to step 1 and executes the distance detection process, which will be described later. Next, the CPU 31 advances the process to step 2 and executes the contact state detection process, which will be described later. After that, the CPU 31 advances the process to step 3, performs the operation as the reminder determination means according to the present invention, and executes the contact reminder necessity determination. In the contact reminder necessity determination, it is determined whether or not the contact reminder is necessary. The contact reminder is output of voice and display of characters and images prompting parent B to contact child A, and in the present embodiment, is realized by output of voice (details will be described later).

In the contact reminder necessity determination of step 3, the CPU 31 determines whether or not the contact reminder is necessary depending on whether the contact level CL described later is not "0". When the contact level CL is not "0", it is determined that the contact reminder is required and the process proceeds to step 4. However, if the contact level CL is "0", it is determined that the contact reminder is not required. Processing proceeds to step 5. As will be described later, in the present embodiment, four numerical values of "0", "9", "8", and "7" are set as the contact level CL. It is determined that a contact reminder is required when the contact level CL is one of three types, "9", "8", and "7".

Then, when the CPU 31 advances the process to step 4, the CPU 31 operates as a reminder issue control means according to the present invention, and executes a reminder issue control process to be described later. The CPU 31 then advances the process to step 5 .

Next, when proceeding to step 5, the CPU 31 determines whether or not the termination condition is satisfied. When the CPU 31 determines that the termination condition is satisfied, it ends the parent-child watching processing, but when it determines that the termination condition is not satisfied, it returns to step 1 and executes the processing after step 1 again.

(distance detection processing)
The CPU 31 executes distance detection processing according to the flowchart shown in FIG. In this case, the CPU 31 performs the operation of parent-child distance calculation means according to the present invention.

When the CPU 31 executes the distance detection process, the parent-child watching device 1 and the RFID reader unit 70 execute data communication as shown in FIG.

In the distance detection process, the reading request _I0 is transmitted from the parent-child watching device 1 to the RFID reader unit 70 . The RFID reader unit 70 transmits read data _J0 to the parent-child watching device 1 in response to the read request _I0 . In the illustrated case, in the parent-child monitoring device 1, the data reading cycle by the RFID reader unit 70 is set in advance to 1 second, the unit reading time (unit time) is 10 minutes, and the basic measurement time (Tu) is 1 hour (exactly is set to 1 hour + 6 seconds). A data reading cycle is a cycle in which data reading by the RFID reader unit 70 is performed. Since the data reading cycle is set to 1 second, the distance detection process repeats every second to transmit the read request _I0 , read the data (by the RFID reader unit 70), and transmit the read data _J0 . A unit read time is a period during which data reading is continuously performed. Since the unit reading time (unit time) is set to 10 minutes, in the distance detection process, the transmission of the reading request _I0 , the data reading, and the transmission of the reading data _J0 are executed every second continuously for 10 minutes. The basic measurement time (Tu) is a period during which data reading by the RFID reader unit 70 continues until the contact reminder necessity determination is executed. Since the basic measurement time (Tu) is set to 1 hour, the transmission of the read request _I0 , the data read, and the transmission of the read data _J0 are executed for 1 hour (1 hour + 6 seconds to be exact), and then the contact A reminder necessity determination is executed.

Then, as shown in FIG. 11, the parent-child monitoring device 1 and the RFID reader unit 70 transmit the read request _I0 and the read data _J0 every second. The read data _J0 can include the child distance D1 and the parent distance D2.

Since the unit reading time (unit time) is set to 10 minutes and the basic measurement time (Tu) is set to 1 hour, as shown in FIGS. It includes time (unit time), u1, u2, u3, u4, u5 and u6 (u3, u4 and u5 are not shown in FIG. 11). In each unit reading time of u1 to u6, the reading request _I0 and the reading data _J0 are sent 600 times in total (=60 times×10 minutes).

In FIG. 12, n is a number counter and u is a unit counter. The number counter is a counter that indicates the number of readings in the basic measurement time (Tu), and the unit counter is a counter that indicates the number of times per unit reading time (unit time). R1 is the period during which the reading request _I0 is transmitted, the data is read, and the read data _J0 is transmitted (data reading period), and R2 is the period during which the parent-child monitoring device 1 calculates the parent-child distance. It corresponds to the period (parent-child distance calculation period).

Then, when the CPU 31 starts the distance detection process in the parent-child watching device 1, the process proceeds to step 11 in FIG.

Next, the process proceeds to step 12, and the CPU 31 activates the wireless module 38 to transmit the read request _I0 . In the subsequent step 13, the CPU 31 operates as distance acquisition means to acquire the child distance D1 and the parent distance D2 at the read time (detection time) Sn from the read data _J0 . In the next step 14, the CPU 31 sets the acquired child distance D1 and parent distance D2 in the child distance field 51b and parent distance field 51c of the distance table 51, which will be described later. After that, the process proceeds to step 15, and "1" is added to the number counter n. Steps 12 to 15 are executed during the data reading period R1. As shown in FIG. 9, the distance table 51 has a reading time field 51a, a child distance field 51b, a parent distance field 51c, and a parent-child distance field 51d. A distance D2 and a parent-child distance D3 are stored.

Subsequently, the process proceeds to step 16, where it is determined whether or not the number counter F obtained by the following formula 1 exceeds "600". 17, but if the number counter F does not exceed "600", the process returns to step 12.
Formula 1: F = n-(u-1) x 600

When the process proceeds to step 17, the CPU 31 operates as parent-child distance calculation means to calculate the parent-child distance D3 of the basic measurement time Tu using the child distance D1 and the parent distance D2. The parent-child distance D3 is executed for the child distance D1 and the parent distance D2 (600 times in total in this embodiment) measured during the unit reading time. Calculation of the parent-child distance D3 will be described later in detail. In step 17, the parent-child distance D3 is aggregated. By the aggregation process, the calculated parent-child distance D3 is aggregated into numerical values at regular intervals. The aggregated interval corresponds to the aggregation interval. In this embodiment, the aggregation interval is set to 5 cm intervals. Then, for example, when the calculated parent-child distances D3 are 51 cm, 52 cm, 53 cm, and 54 cm, 51 cm and 52 cm are aggregated to 50 cm, and 53 cm and 54 cm are aggregated to 55 cm (in this example, parent-child distances D3 is divided by 52.5 cm at the midpoint between 50 cm and 55 cm, the parent-child distance D3 below the midpoint is aggregated to 50 cm, and the parent-child distance D3 greater than the midpoint is aggregated to 55 cm). In the next step 18, the CPU 31 sets the parent-child distance D3 in the parent-child distance field 51d of the distance table 51. FIG. In the subsequent step 19, "1" is added to the unit counter u.

In the subsequent step 20, it is determined whether or not the unit counter u exceeds "6". When the unit counter u exceeds "6", the distance detection process ends, but when the unit counter u does not exceed "6", the process returns to step 12 and the above processes are repeated. Steps 17 to 19 are executed during the parent-child distance calculation period R2.

(Contact state detection processing)
When the distance detection process ends, the CPU 31 executes the contact state detection process according to the flowchart shown in FIG. In this case, the CPU 31 performs the operation as the contact state detection means according to the present invention.

When the contact state detection process is started, the CPU 31 advances the process to step 31 and sequentially reads out the set parent-child distance D3 (from reading times _S1 to _S3600 ) from the distance table 51 . Subsequently, the process proceeds to step 32, and it is determined whether or not there is a parent-child distance D3 smaller than the reminder distance dg, which will be described later, with respect to the read parent-child distance D3. If there is a parent-child distance D3 smaller than the reminder distance dg, the process proceeds to step 33, but if there is no parent-child distance D3 smaller than the reminder distance dg, the process proceeds to step 36. The reminder distance dg is a distance at which it can be determined that the contact between the parent and child is secured to some extent and the contact reminder is unnecessary. In this embodiment, the reminder distance dg is set to 0.3 m (meters).

When the process proceeds to step 33, the CPU 31 first determines that the parent-child distance D3 remains constant during the basic measurement time (Tu) (for example, as shown in FIG. A period in which the distance D3 is 0.1 m and does not change, which is also called a "fixed distance period", is searched. In addition, the CPU 31 counts the number of parent-child distances D3 included in the found constant distance period (the number of appearances), and the number (the maximum number if multiple constant distance periods are found) will be described later. Set contact hold time CH time. Since the parent-child distance D3 is calculated every second, when the number of parent-child distances D3 is counted, a period in which the parent-child distance D3 does not change is determined from the count.

After that, the process proceeds to step 34, and it is determined whether or not the contact holding time CH time is greater than the unit time. If the contact holding time CH time is longer than unit time, the process proceeds to step 37 , but if the contact holding time CH time is not longer than unit time, the process proceeds to step 35 . At step 35, it is determined whether or not the contact holding time CH time is longer than 5 minutes. If the contact holding time CH time is longer than 5 minutes, the process proceeds to step 38 , but if the contact holding time CH time is not longer than unit time, the process proceeds to step 39 .

Then, when the process proceeds to steps 36, 37, 38 and 39, "9", "0", "7" and "8" are set to contact levels CL, which will be described later. When steps 36, 37, 38, and 39 are executed, the contact state detection process ends.

The contact level CL is configured by dividing the situation of parent-child contact, which changes from moment to moment, into a plurality of pieces and assigning numerical values to each of them. The contact level CL has a plurality of discontinuous and discrete values. Individual data of the contact level CL are registered in a reminder table 52, which will be described later. As shown in FIG. 10, the reminder table 52 has a contact level field 52a, a voice pattern field 52b, and an output voice field 52c, and stores the contact level CL, voice pattern SP, and output voice in association with each other. In this embodiment, four numerical values of "0", "9", "8", and "7" are set as the contact level CL.

(Reminder issue control process)
Then, the CPU 31 executes the reminder issuing control process according to the flowchart shown in FIG. In this case, the CPU 31 performs an operation as a reminder issuing control means according to the present invention.

After starting the reminder issuing control process, the CPU 31 advances the process to step 41 and searches the reminder table 52 by setting the contact level CL set in the contact state detection process as a search key. In subsequent step 42 , the CPU 31 acquires the voice pattern SP corresponding to the contact level CL from the reminder table 52 and then proceeds to step 43 . When the process proceeds to step 43 , the CPU 31 generates voice data corresponding to the voice pattern SP and proceeds to step 44 . Then, in step 44, the CPU 31 operates the audio processing unit 36 to transmit the audio data to the speaker 2 and cause the speaker 2 to generate corresponding audio (or the built-in speaker 39 may generate audio). When step 44 ends, the reminder issue control process ends. If the contact level CL is "0", it is determined that the contact reminder is not necessary (in step 3), so the reminder issuance control process is not executed. Even when the contact level CL is "0", the corresponding voice pattern SP may be obtained from the reminder table 52 and the corresponding voice may be output from the speaker 2 (the voice output in this case is not the contact reminder). .

(Calculation processing of parent-child distance)
Next, referring to FIG. 13 and FIG. 14 together with FIG. 2, the measurement of D1 _and D2 by the RFID reader unit 70 and the calculation process of the parent-child distance D3 by the parent-child watching device 1 will be described. Here, as shown in FIG. 2, D1 is the distance from the RFID reader unit 70 to the child tag 81 and corresponds to the child distance in the present invention. D2 is the distance from the RFID reader unit 70 to the parent tag 82, and corresponds to the parent distance in the present invention. When the child distance and the parent distance are measured, the distances from the RFID reader unit 70 to the child tag 81 and the parent tag 82 are measured, so the position where the RFID reader unit 70 is installed is used as a reference. be. Therefore, the position where the RFID reader unit 70 is installed corresponds to the reference position in the present invention.

First and second RFID readers 71 and 72 of RFID reader unit 70 transmit carrier waves to child tag 81 and parent tag 82, respectively, and receive reflected waves from child tag 81 and parent tag 82, respectively.

In general, RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indicator) in RFID means the strength of the reflected wave transmitted from the tag to the RFID reader when the tag receives the carrier wave of the RFID reader, and the unit is dBm (decibel milliwatt) is represented by Since the tag sends back the RSSI value to the RFID reader along with the stored data, the RFID reader can use the RSSI value to measure the distance from the RFID reader to the tag. (because the RSSI value fluctuates accordingly). The RFID reader unit 70 also measures the distance from the RFID reader unit 70 to the child tag 81 and the parent tag 82 (the child distance and the parent distance in the present invention) using the RSSI values received from the child tag 81 and the parent tag 82. can be done.

In addition, the power (also referred to as received power) of the signals received by the child tag 81 and the parent tag 82 via carrier waves, respectively, is the distance from the RFID reader unit 70 to the child tag 81 and the parent tag 82 (child distance in the present invention, parent distance). Therefore, the child distance and the parent distance can be measured from the power levels of the signals received by the child tag 81 and the parent tag 82 . For example, when the UHF band is used as the carrier wave frequency, there is a relationship that the received power is inversely proportional to the square of the child distance and the parent distance. Then, the reflected wave can include data (magnitudes of current and voltage) regarding received power when the carrier wave is received by the child tag 81 and the parent tag 82 . Using this received power data, the controllers 71a and 72a of the first and second RFID readers 71 and 72 operate as distance measuring means and can measure the child distance D1 and the parent distance D2.

Then, in FIG. 2, when the angle (angle θ) formed by the line connecting the RFID reader unit 70 and the child tag 81 and the line connecting the RFID reader unit 70 and the parent tag 82 is obtained, the parent-child distance is determined by the following procedure. D3 can also be calculated.

A perpendicular line h 1 is drawn from the child tag 81 to a line connecting the RFID reader unit 70 and the parent tag 82 . An intersection point G is formed between the line and the perpendicular h1. The length of the perpendicular line h1 is D1×sin θ, the length m1 from the RFID reader unit 70 to the intersection point G is D1×cos θ, and the length m2 from the intersection point G to the parent tag 82 is D2−m1. Then, in a triangle having the child tag 81, the parent tag 82, and the intersection point G, the parent-child distance D3 can be calculated from the Pythagorean theorem by the following Equation 2.
Equation 2: D3 = √K
(K=(D1×sin θ) ² +(D2−D1×cos θ) ² )

In order to calculate the parent-child distance D3 by Equation 2, it is necessary to measure the above angle θ, but it may be difficult to measure the angle θ using the RSSI value or the received power. .

Therefore, in the parent-child monitoring system 100 according to the present embodiment, the RFID reader unit 70 has the first RFID reader 71 and the second RFID reader 72, and the arrangement interval between the two is a known size (FIG. 13). 70d). Then, as shown in FIG. 13, in a triangle tr1 (a triangle having the child tag 81 and the first and second RFID readers 71 and 72 as vertices and corresponding to the child triangle in the present invention), the first and second The three sides are the first and second child distances D11 and D21 measured by the RFID readers 71 and 72 and the arrangement interval 70d. Of the three sides, the arrangement interval 70d has a known size, so that the first and second child distances D11 and D21 are measured by the first and second RFID readers 71 and 72, and thus the triangle tr1 The sizes of all three sides of are specified. Similarly, in a triangle tr2 (a triangle whose vertices are the parent tag 82 and the first and second RFID readers 71 and 72 and corresponds to the parent triangle in the present invention), the first and second RFID readers 71 and 72 The measured first and second parent distances D12 and D22 and the arrangement interval 70d are three sides, and the sizes of all three sides are also specified.

Therefore, in triangles tr1, tr2, trilateration can be applied (more on this later). By applying the trilateration, as shown in FIG. 14, the coordinates (child coordinates) P1 (x1, y1) of the child tag 81 and the coordinates (parent coordinates) P2 (x2, y2) of the parent tag 82 are calculated. be done. Therefore, the parent-child distance D3 can be calculated by Equation 3 below.
Formula 3: D3 = √Z (Z = (x1-x2) ² + (y1-y2) ² )

(trilateration)
Taking the triangle tr1 as an example, the procedure for obtaining the coordinates (child coordinates) P1 of the child tag 81 by applying trilateration will be described in detail as follows. The coordinates (parent coordinates) P2 of the parent tag 82 are similarly obtained. In this case, the CPU 31 operates as child coordinate calculation means and parent coordinate calculation means.

An arrangement interval 70d between the first and second RFID readers 71 and 72 is a known size. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 15, the first and second RFID readers 71 and 72 are respectively a point on the x-axis (x-coordinate is xa, y-coordinate is 0) and a point (x-coordinate is xb, y-coordinate is 0). ).

Then, when the distance between the child tag 81 and the first RFID reader 71 (first child distance D11) and the distance between the child tag 81 and the second RFID reader 72 (second child distance D21) are measured, Cos θ1 of the child tag 81 and the first and second RFID readers 71 and 72 (angle θ1 in FIG. 15) is calculated by the following equation 4 according to the law of cosines.
Equation 4 cos θ1=(b ² +c ² -a ² )/2bc
(a=D21, b=D11, c=70d)

Therefore, the x component xp of the coordinate P1 is calculated by the following Equation 5 using cos θ1.
Equation 5 xp=xa+xc
= xa + b cos θ1
= xa + (b ² +c ² -a ² )/2c
Also, the y-component yp of the coordinate P1 is calculated by the following formula 6 from the Pythagorean theorem.
Equation 6 yp=√w (w=b ² −xc ² )

As described above, in the parent-child watching system 100 having the parent-child watching device 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention, the state of contact between the child and the parent is detected, and a contact reminder is issued according to the detected state of contact. is executed. As a result, when it is determined that a contact reminder is required, a contact reminder is issued. Then, for example, a sound such as "Would you like to hold the baby soon?" is output from the speaker 2 (the sound output from the speaker 2 as a contact reminder is also referred to as a reminder sound). is output. When the voice (reminder sound) reaches Parent B, Parent B is urged to contact Child A, so appropriate physical contact between Parent B and Child A is ensured. Therefore, for example, even when contact between parent B and child A is insufficient because parent B is busy with housework or work at home, parent B hugs child A after the reminder sound is output. opportunities for contact are ensured. As a result, physical contact between child A and parent B is obtained, and healthy growth of child A is expected.

In this way, in parent-child watching system 100, parent B is encouraged to contact child A through the action of outputting a reminder sound. Therefore, the approach to parent B is very loose. Parent-child watching by the parent-child watching system 100 does not have the formality of recording contact situations using a monitoring camera. The parent-child watching system 100 forms a situation in which the child A and the parent B are casually watched over.

In the parent-child watching system 100 (parent-child watching device 1), the contact level is determined using the parent-child distance D3 calculated by the parent-child distance calculation means. Whether or not a contact reminder is required is determined according to the contact level. In general, it is considered that the parent-child distance D3 is short when the parent-child contact is sufficient, and the parent-child distance D3 is long when the parent-child contact is not sufficient. Therefore, it is considered that the parent-child contact status is reflected in the parent-child distance D3.

In this respect, for example, as shown in FIG. 16(a), when the distance between the parent and child is as close as 0.1 m (meters) and continues without change, it is considered that the contact between the parent and child is sufficient. . On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 17A, when the parent-child distance D3 is a long distance of 3.0 m (meters) and continues without change, it is considered that the contact between the parent and child is insufficient.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 16(b), if the parent-child distance D3 continues at 3.0 m (meters), it can be considered that the parent-child contact is not sufficient.

However, in the middle of this, there is a continuous time of 10 minutes where the parent-child distance D3 is a short distance of 0.1 m (meters) and does not change. This is presumed to be, for example, a situation in which a child is being comforted by making him/her laugh. Therefore, even though it is temporary, when there is a continuous period of time at a short distance of 0.1 m (meters) without change, parent-child contact may be sufficient.

However, as shown in FIG. 17B, while the parent-child distance D3 is continuous at 3.0 m (meters), the parent-child distance D3 is continuously close to 0.1 m (meters). Even if there is time to stay, if it is as short as 120 seconds (2 minutes), for example, it is possible that the parent leaves the child immediately after coming near the child. In this case, the contact desired by the child is not secured, and it is not effective for the child's growth.

As described above, in order to ensure sufficient physical contact, the parent-child distance needs to be short and continuous for a certain amount of time. Therefore, it is preferable to calculate the duration of the parent-child distance D3 together with the parent-child distance D3, and use both of them to determine the necessity of the contact reminder.

Therefore, the parent-child monitoring system 100 (parent-child monitoring device 1) not only calculates the parent-child distance, but also calculates the contact holding time indicating how long the calculated parent-child distance continues. The contact level is set using the contact holding time along with the distance (see FIG. 7). As a result, the time during which the parent-child distance is maintained is reflected in the need for the contact reminder, so the state of contact between the parent and child is reflected more accurately with respect to the need for the contact reminder. Moreover, since the reminder distance is set in order to determine the necessity of the contact reminder, determination of the necessity of the contact reminder is routinely performed. By setting the reminder distance, subjectivity is eliminated from the contact reminder necessity determination, and objectivity is ensured in the contact reminder necessity determination.

In addition, since the contact status of the parent and child may change from moment to moment, if the contact reminder necessity determination is executed according to the contact status, the necessity determination may become complicated.

In this regard, in the present invention, contact levels having discrete values are set. Therefore, the parent-child watching system 100 (parent-child watching device 1) is configured so that the necessity determination is simplified and a contact reminder is reliably issued when necessary.

(Modification 1)
The parent-child watching system 100 (parent-child watching device 1) may execute the parent-child watching process according to the flowchart shown in FIG. FIG. 18 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation procedure of parent-child watching processing according to Modification 1. As illustrated in FIG. The parent-child watching process according to Modification 1 differs from the parent-child watching process shown in FIG. 5 in that step 6 is executed between steps 4 and 5 .

In step 6, contact situation recording processing is executed. The contact situation recording process is executed along the flowchart shown in FIG. When the CPU 31 starts the contact situation recording process, the process proceeds to step 51 . In step 51, the CPU 31 operates as contact level counting means, counts the number of contact levels CL (the number of appearances) for each contact level CL, and sets the number of contact levels CL in the CL counter. In the CL counter, the processing time and the number of contact levels CL are set for each CL. In this embodiment, the number is set for each of "9", "8", "7" and "0". Next, the process proceeds to step 52 and the numerical value of the CL counter is set in the CL count table 53 . The CL count table 53, as shown in FIG. 20, has a CL counter field 53a and an appearance number field 53b, each contact level ("9", "8", "7", "0"), Each number is stored together with the processing time. When step 52 ends, the contact situation recording process ends.

In the parent-child watching process according to Modification 1, the number of each contact level CL is stored in the CL count table 53 together with the processing time, so the contact status during the period in which the parent-child watching process was executed is recorded. Then, for example, when a babysitter was in charge of taking care of child A instead of the biological parent as parent B, the biological parent can confirm whether the contact situation by the babysitter was appropriate. can be done.

In the above embodiment, the parent-child monitoring device 1 obtains the child distance D1 and the parent distance D2 every second, and calculates the parent-child distance D3 for 10 minutes of the child distance D1 and the parent distance D2. . Alternatively, the parent-child watching device 1 may acquire the child distance D1 and the parent distance D2 every minute, and calculate the parent-child distance D3 each time (every minute).

(Modification 2)
In the parent-child watching system 100 and the parent-child watching device 1 according to the above embodiment, the parent-child distance D3 is calculated using the child distance D1 and the parent distance D2. can also be calculated without using

By the way, when the child tag 81 and the parent tag 82 are detected at the same time by the first RFID reader 71 or the second RFID reader 72, compared to the case where the child tag 81 and the parent tag 82 are not detected at the same time. Therefore, it is considered that the child tag 81 and the parent tag 82 are arranged at close positions. Then, the closer the child tag 81 and the parent tag 82 are arranged, the closer the child tag 81 and the parent tag 82 are arranged to each other. 82 can be detected simultaneously (simultaneous detection range). As the child tag 81 and the parent tag 82 are separated from each other, the simultaneous detection range becomes smaller. From this point, there is a correlation between the size of the three-dimensional space in which two tags can be detected at the same time and the distance between the two tags (the parent-child distance D3 in the case of the child tag 81 and the parent tag 82). From the size, it is considered that the parent-child distance D3 can be calculated in a pseudo manner.

A child tag 81 and a parent tag 82 are detectable within two spheres centered on each other (also called tag spheres). Then, when the first RFID reader 71 (or the second RFID reader 72) is in the space where the two tag spheres overlap (also referred to as the overlapping space), the first RFID reader 71 (or the second RFID reader 71) A child tag 81 and a parent tag 82 can be detected simultaneously by the RFID reader 72).

Then, if the distance between the centers of the two tag spheres is q and the radius of the tag sphere is r, the volume Vm of the overlapping space is expressed by Equation 7 below.
Equation 7: Vm=(π/12)×E (E=16r ³ −12r ² q+q ³ )

On the other hand, when many random readings are performed around the child tag 81 or the parent tag 82, the number of times K1 that only the child tag 81 is detected, the number of times K2 that only the parent tag 82 is detected, the child tag 81 and the parent tag The ratio of the number of times K12 that both of 82 are detected agrees with the ratio of the three-dimensional space sizes V1, V2, and Vm that can be detected respectively. Therefore, Vm is represented by Equation 8 below.
Equation 8: Vm∝K12/L (L=K1+K2+K12)

By substituting Equation 8 into Equation 7 and solving the cubic equation for q, an approximate solution of q can be represented by K1, K2, and K12. Based on the q, the distance D3 between the parent and child is calculated in a pseudo manner.

In this way, when the parent-child distance D3 is calculated, only one of the first RFID reader 7 and the second RFID reader 72 is used instead of the RFID reader unit 70 to calculate the parent-child distance D3. be done. In the above embodiment, when the parent-child distance D3 is calculated using the child distance D1 and the parent distance D2, the RSSI value and the magnitude of the power of the signal received by the child tag 81 and the parent tag 82 are used. When the child tag 81 and parent tag 82 are detected indoors, multipath is likely to occur, and therefore the child distance D1 and parent distance D2 may not be detected with sufficient accuracy. In this regard, it is preferable that the parent-child distance D3 is calculated without using the child distance D1 and the parent distance D2, as in the second modified example.

(Other modifications)
The parent-child monitoring device may be a notebook computer instead of a high-performance mobile phone. The parent-child watching program executed by the CPU 31 can be recorded on various recording media such as a magnetic recording medium, CD-ROM, and DVD, or can be downloaded from a server (not shown) via a network.

The above description is about the embodiments of the present invention, and does not limit the apparatus and method of the present invention, and various modifications can be easily implemented. The present invention also includes an apparatus or method configured by appropriately combining the components, functions, features, or method steps of each embodiment.

By applying the present invention, the state of contact (contact) between a child and its parents is sought, and attention is issued according to the contact state so that skinship is appropriately performed, thereby You can watch over it casually. INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be used in the field of parent-child watching systems .

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 parent-child monitoring device 2 speaker 31 CPU 38 wireless module 70 RFID reader unit 71 first RFID reader 72 second RFID reader 81 child tag 82 parent tag , 51...distance table, 52...reminder table, 53...CL count table, D1...child distance, D2...parent distance, D3...parent-child distance.

Claims (3)

a distance measuring device for measuring the distance from a reference position to a child and its parents; and a parent-child watching device for watching the child and its parents,
The distance measuring device includes distance measuring means for measuring a child distance and a parent distance, which are distances from the reference position to the child and the parent respectively, when a reading request is received from the parent-child watching device; distance transmission control means for transmitting the child distance and the parent distance measured by the measuring means to the parent-child watching device;
The parent-child watching device uses the child distance and the parent distance transmitted from the distance measuring device to calculate the parent-child distance, which is the distance between the child and the parent;
contact state detection means for detecting a state of contact between the child and the parent using the parent-child distance calculated by the parent-child distance calculation means;
reminder determination means for determining whether or not a contact reminder prompting the parent to make contact with the child is necessary according to the contact level corresponding to the contact situation detected by the contact situation detection means;
a reminder issuance control means for issuing the contact reminder when the reminder determination means determines that the contact reminder is necessary;
First and second RFID readers for measuring the child distance and the parent distance by wireless communication with a child tag that is an RFID tag attached to the child and a parent tag that is an RFID tag attached to the parent. , an RFID reader unit having a dual reader structure in which the arrangement interval of the first and second RFID readers is fixed is used as the distance measurement device,
The parent-child distance calculation means has, as three sides, first and second child distances and the arrangement interval, which are distances from the reference position to the child measured by the first and second RFID readers, respectively. the first and second child coordinate calculation means for measuring the lengths of the three sides of the child triangle by trilateration and calculating the child coordinates, which are the coordinates of the child tag, using the lengths of the three sides; The length of the three sides of a parent triangle having the three sides of the first and second parent distances and the arrangement interval, which are the distances from the reference position to the parent measured by the RFID reader, respectively, by trilateration parent coordinate calculation means for calculating parent coordinates, which are coordinates of the parent tag, using the lengths of the three sides, and calculating the parent-child distance using the child coordinates and the parent coordinates. child care system. 2. The parent-child watching system according to claim 1 , wherein the contact state detection means determines the contact level using the parent-child distance calculated by the parent-child distance calculation means. The contact state detection means uses the parent-child distance calculated by the parent-child distance detection means and a contact holding time, which is a period in which the parent-child distance continues without changing at a constant size. 2. The parent-child watching system according to claim 1 , wherein the contact level is determined by

Images