JP7555835B2 - Monitoring device, control device, and monitoring method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a monitoring device, a control device, and a monitoring method.

Nowadays, mechanical security systems are known that remotely monitor monitored objects, such as houses, buildings, vehicles, and specific equipment, by installing sensors in the monitored object and transmitting an alarm signal from a control device installed in the monitored object to a remote monitoring device when it is determined that an abnormality has occurred in the monitored object based on a detection signal from the sensor. In this mechanical security system, when a sensor detects theft of the monitored object or an equipment abnormality, the control device transmits an alarm signal via a communication line to a monitoring device installed in a remote monitoring center. When the monitoring device receives an alarm signal from the control device, it displays the alarm signal on the monitoring device. When a monitor at the monitoring center confirms the displayed alarm signal, he or she instructs the security guard to go to the location of the monitored object (on-site dispatch instruction). As a result, the security guard goes to the location of the monitored object and checks the safety of the monitored object, etc.

Here, in the case of mechanical security systems that use vibration sensors to remotely monitor monitored objects, the vibration sensors detect vibrations and generate alarm signals, so they can also react to vibrations caused by environmental conditions such as earthquakes, wind, or the installation location, resulting in the problem of many false alarms being issued.

For this reason, the monitoring device disclosed in Patent Document 1 (JP Patent Publication No. 2003-115091) reduces false alarms by controlling the vibration sensor installed in the monitored object so that it does not send an alarm signal to the monitoring center when it detects the occurrence of an earthquake.

JP 2003-115091 A

However, the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1 does not transmit an alarm signal based on a detection signal from a vibration sensor during a disaster such as an earthquake or typhoon. This means that during an earthquake or other disaster, particularly if a typhoon or strong wind continues for a long period of time, the alarm signal is suppressed as a false alarm and no alarm signal is transmitted, making it impossible for the monitoring device to perform adequate monitoring. In addition, there is a possibility that true alarms, such as those indicating the occurrence of a fire, may be mixed in with the large number of alarm signals generated in this way. For this reason, it is necessary to be able to accurately distinguish between true and false alarms and respond accordingly.

The present invention was made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide a monitoring device, control device, and monitoring method that can accurately distinguish between true and false alarms when an earthquake or other event occurs, and can improve the accuracy of responses to alarms.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the objective, the present invention provides a monitoring device that monitors the occurrence of an abnormality in a monitored object in which a control device is installed based on an alarm signal transmitted from the control device installed in the monitored object, and the alarm signal includes at least information indicating the sensor that detected the abnormality and information indicating whether a disaster has occurred, and when the monitoring device receives an alarm signal, it determines and displays the urgency of the received alarm signal based on the information indicating whether a disaster has occurred and the information indicating the sensor that detected the abnormality, which are included in the alarm signal.

The present invention can accurately distinguish between true and false alarms even when an earthquake or other incident occurs, improving the accuracy of responses to warnings.

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of a monitoring system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the flow of operations of the control device in the monitoring system according to the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the flow of operations of the center device in the monitoring system according to the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a detailed flow of the urgency determining operation in the urgency determining unit. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a history of past false alarms. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a monitor screen display during monitoring by a monitor. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of comprehensive information generated by the summary generating unit by summarizing (summarizing) frequently occurring alarms. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a processing result recorded in the security information DB by the processing result input unit.

Below, we will explain a monitoring system according to an embodiment of the present invention, which applies the monitoring device, control device, and monitoring method, with reference to the drawings.

(System Configuration)
Fig. 1 is a system configuration diagram of a monitoring system according to an embodiment. As shown in Fig. 1, the monitoring system includes one or more control devices 1-1 to 1-n provided in objects to be monitored, such as houses, buildings, or vehicles, and one or more center devices 2 (corresponding to the monitoring device of the present invention) that remotely monitor the objects to be monitored based on alarm signals from the control devices 1-1 to 1-n. The control devices 1-1 to 1-n and the center device 2 are connected to each other so as to be able to communicate with each other via a communication line 3, such as a wide area network, such as the Internet, or a private network, such as a LAN.

Various sensors 21 and disaster detection units 22 are connected to the control devices 1-1 to 1-n. As an example, the sensors 21 include vibration sensors installed on windows and the like to detect vibrations, fire sensors to detect heat and smoke, and image sensors to detect intruders from images. As an example, the disaster detection unit 22 includes a circuit for receiving emergency earthquake alerts from a mobile phone network, a seismic intensity meter, an acceleration sensor, and an image analysis circuit for earthquake detection. As the disaster detection unit 22, an anemometer, a vibration sensor, and a sound sensor for wind detection are provided. As the disaster detection unit 22, a water leak sensor, a water level gauge, and an image analysis circuit for flood detection are provided. As the disaster detection unit 22, an inclination sensor and an image analysis circuit for landslide detection are provided. The sensor 21 transmits a detection signal indicating that the detection target has been detected to the alarm determination unit 31 of the connected control device 1-1 to 1-n. The disaster detection unit 22 also transmits a disaster detection output indicating that a detection target has been detected to the disaster determination unit 32 of the connected control devices 1-1 to 1-n.

Based on the disaster detection output from the disaster detection unit 22, the disaster determination unit 32 determines whether a disaster has occurred, the "disaster type" such as earthquake, strong wind, flooding, tsunami, and landslide, and the "disaster level" such as seismic intensity 5, flooding 1m, major damage, minor damage, etc.

The disaster detection unit 22 and the disaster determination unit 32 may be integrated with the control devices 1-1 to 1-n, or may be provided separately for each function.

The center device 2 is connected to the monitor terminal 51, the security guard terminal 52, and the display unit 53 via the communication unit 42. The monitor terminal 51 is a terminal device used by the monitor to monitor and guard the security. It is connected to the center device 2 and displays the alarm signal to which the monitor should respond and information on the monitored object where the control device that is the source of the alarm signal is installed, which are received from the center device 2, and also receives input from the monitor, such as instructions to the security guard to go to the monitored object, and transmits them to the sensor device 2. The security guard terminal 52 is a portable terminal device carried by the security guard, and displays instructions to the security guard to go to the monitored object from the center device 2, and transmits the results of the action taken in response to the instructions to the security guard to go to the monitored object to the center device 2 in response to the security guard's input operation. The display unit 53 is a large monitor device or the like that displays disaster information received from the center device 2. When a disaster occurs, the monitor checks the scale and area of the disaster from the contents displayed on the display unit 53. As shown by the dotted line blocks in FIG. 1, the monitor terminal 51 and the security guard terminal 52 may be connected to the central device 2 via the communication line 3.

(Configuration of the control device)
The control devices 1-1 to 1-n each have a control unit 11, a communication unit 12, and a storage unit 13. The communication unit 12 communicates with the center device 2 and transmits an alarm signal, a recovery signal, and the like to the center device 2. An alarm processing program for the control devices 1-1 to 1-n is stored in the storage unit 13. The control unit 11 executes the alarm processing program stored in the storage unit 13, thereby functioning as an alarm determination unit 31, a disaster determination unit 32, and a transmission message generation unit 33.

When the control unit 11 functions as the alarm determination unit 31, it determines whether or not an abnormality such as a fire or an illegal intrusion has occurred based on the sensor output of the sensor 21. When the control unit 11 functions as the disaster determination unit 32, it determines whether or not a disaster such as an earthquake or strong wind has occurred, and the type and level of the disaster, based on the detection output from the disaster detection unit 22. When the control unit 11 functions as the transmission message generation unit 33, if the alarm determination unit 31 determines that an abnormality has occurred, it generates an alarm signal including the "type of abnormality that has occurred" and the "disaster occurrence details" such as the occurrence of a disaster, the type of disaster, and the level of the disaster, which are the determination results of the disaster determination unit 32. When it determines that the output of the sensor 21 has changed from a state in which an abnormality has occurred to a state in which an abnormality has not occurred, it generates a recovery signal indicating that the abnormality is no longer detected. This alarm signal and recovery signal are transmitted to the center device 2 via the communication line 3 by the communication unit 12.

In this example, the control unit 11 executes the alarm processing program to realize the alarm determination unit 31, the disaster determination unit 32, and the transmission message generation unit 33 in software. However, all or part of these may be realized by hardware such as an integrated circuit (IC).

The alarm processing program may be provided by recording it in the form of file information in an installable or executable format on a recording medium that can be read by a computer device, such as a CD-ROM or a flexible disk (FD). The alarm processing program may be provided by recording it on a recording medium that can be read by a computer device, such as a CD-R, a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk), a Blu-ray (registered trademark) disk, or a semiconductor memory. The alarm processing program may be provided by being installed via a network such as the Internet. The alarm processing program may be provided by being pre-installed in a ROM or the like within the device.

(Configuration of Center Device)
The center device 2 has a control unit 41, a communication unit 42, and a storage unit 43. The communication unit 42 communicates with each of the control devices 1-1 to 1-n, the monitor terminal 51, and the security guard terminal 52 via the communication line 3, and transmits and receives alarm signals, recovery signals, on-site dispatch instructions, treatment results, and the like. An alarm processing program for the center device 2 is stored in the storage unit 43. The storage unit 43 also has a security information database (security information DB: an example of a database) that corresponds to a storage area for security information.

The security information database stores various information based on past surveillance and security, such as customer information for each monitored object, alarm history, history of false alarms during disasters, current status, and treatment results, as well as instructions to security guards.

The control unit 41 executes an alarm processing program for the center device 2 stored in the memory unit 43, and functions as an urgency determination unit 61, a summary generation unit 62, a monitor notification unit 63, a treatment result input unit 64, a display control unit 65, a disaster area analysis unit 66, a disaster analysis unit 67, and a false alarm analysis unit 68.

When the control unit 41 functions as an urgency determination unit 61, which is an example of a determination unit, it determines the urgency of the received alarm signal and whether it is a true or false alarm based on the presence or absence of a disaster. When the control unit 41 functions as a summary generation unit 62, if a predetermined number or more of alarm signals that are determined to be false alarms or possible false alarms are received from the same control device 1-1 to 1-n within a preset monitoring time (multiple alarm signals), the control unit 41 generates comprehensive information by summarizing (summarizing) the contents of each alarm signal into one (or a small number of) signals. Note that the summary generation unit 62 may be implemented on the control device 1-1 to 1-n side.

The received alarm signal and the generated general information are notified to the monitor terminal 51 by the monitor notification unit 63. The monitor terminal 51 displays the notified alarm signal, general information, and information on the monitored object where the control devices 1-1 to 1-n that are the senders of these alarm signals, etc. are installed. In addition, the monitor terminal 51 inputs an instruction to dispatch to the site to a security guard in response to the operation of the monitor who has confirmed this display. The center device 2 to which the on-site dispatch instruction from the monitor terminal 51 is input stores the instruction content in the security information DB of the storage unit 43, and transmits an on-site dispatch instruction including information on the monitored object to the security guard terminal 52 carried by the security guard who will be sent to the monitored object. At this time, the security guard terminal 52 is notified of the status of the monitored object estimated based on the alarm signal and general information from the control devices 1-1 to 1-n installed at the monitored object. For example, when the emergency button is operated during a flood disaster, the security guard is notified of the danger of flooding and is urged to be careful, and the notification includes the details of the disaster.

This allows monitors and others to be notified of frequent alarms in an easy-to-understand manner, and prevents the inconvenience of monitors and others being notified of a large number of alarms due to frequent alarms during a disaster, making it difficult to respond. In addition, the general information (summary information) that has been summarized and generated is displayed on the monitor terminal 51 according to the level of urgency, and is also stored in the security information DB of the memory unit 43. Furthermore, the disaster situation at the target security location can be grasped, and appropriate instructions can be given to security personnel.

The control unit 41 also receives, via the communication unit 42, the action results input by the instructed security guard at the security guard terminal 52, and when functioning as the action result input unit 64, automatically inputs the action results for the alarm signal determined to be a false alarm by the urgency determination unit 61 into the security information DB of the storage unit 43. When functioning as the action result input unit 64, if the action results received from the security guard terminal 52 at the communication unit 42 correspond to the summary information generated by the above-mentioned summary, the control unit 41 inputs the action results for each alarm signal before summarization into the alarm information DB. This reduces the effort required for monitors and others to input action results for a large number of alarms that occur during a disaster.

When the control unit 41 functions as the display control unit 65, it controls the display unit 53 to display the analysis results and prediction results of the disaster area analysis unit 66 and disaster analysis unit 67, which will be described later, or images of the conditions of the area in which the control devices 1-1 to 1-n monitored by the center device 2 are installed. When the control unit 41 functions as the disaster area analysis unit 66, it predicts the area where a disaster will occur and the damage. When the control unit 41 functions as the disaster analysis unit 67, it predicts the damage caused by the disaster. When the control unit 41 functions as the false alarm analysis unit 68, it considers and suggests the installation location and type of sensor based on the installation location of the malfunctioning sensor, and aims to reduce the recurrence of the malfunction.

In this example, the control unit 41 executes an alarm processing program for the center device 2, thereby realizing the urgency determination unit 61 to the false alarm analysis unit 68 in software. However, all or part of these may be realized by hardware such as an integrated circuit (IC). Also, in this embodiment, the center device 2 is described as an integrated unit, but this is not limited to this and some parts may be separated.

The alarm processing program may be provided by recording it in the form of file information in an installable or executable format on a recording medium that can be read by a computer device, such as a CD-ROM or a flexible disk (FD). The alarm processing program may be provided by recording it on a recording medium that can be read by a computer device, such as a CD-R, a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk), a Blu-ray (registered trademark) disk, or a semiconductor memory. The alarm processing program may be provided by being installed via a network such as the Internet. The alarm processing program may be provided by being pre-installed in a ROM or the like within the device.

(Operation of the control device)
Next, the operation of the control devices 1-1 to 1-n in such a monitoring system will be described with reference to the flowchart of Fig. 2. In the flowchart of Fig. 2, in step S1, the warning determination unit 31 determines whether or not an abnormality has occurred based on the output from the sensor 21. When the warning determination unit 31 detects the occurrence of an abnormality (step S1: Yes), the disaster determination unit 32 determines whether or not a disaster has occurred, the disaster type, and the disaster level based on the disaster detection output acquired from the disaster detection unit 22 (step S2). At this time, the disaster determination unit 32 can make an accurate determination by making a determination based on multiple factors, such as determining the disaster type and disaster level based on both the received emergency earthquake warning and the detection output of the building seismic intensity meter.

That is, for example, when an earthquake occurs, the alarm determination unit 31 detects the occurrence of an abnormality (intrusion) alarm based on the detection output of a vibration sensor, which is one of the sensors 21, for detecting window breakage, etc. (step S1). When the occurrence of this alarm is detected, the disaster determination unit 32 acquires information indicating the occurrence of an earthquake (disaster type) and information indicating the disaster level, such as a seismic intensity of 5, detected by a circuit for receiving emergency earthquake alerts, which is one of the disaster detection units 22, and determines the disaster type and disaster level (step S2).

Next, the transmission message generation unit 33 generates an alarm signal including "disaster occurrence details" such as the occurrence or nonoccurrence of a disaster, the disaster type, and the disaster level determined by the disaster determination unit 32 in addition to the type of abnormality and the sensor number (step S3). The communication unit 12 transmits the alarm signal including this "disaster occurrence details" to the center device 2 via the communication line 3 (step S4). The center device 2 determines the urgency of the alarm based on the "disaster occurrence details" of the alarm signal, as described below.

(Operation of the center device)
Next, the operation of the center device 2 will be described with reference to the flowchart of Fig. 3. In the flowchart of Fig. 3, in step S21, the urgency determination unit 61 determines whether or not an alarm signal including the above-mentioned "disaster occurrence details" has been received from the control devices 1-1 to 1-n by the communication unit 42 (one example of a receiving unit). Then, when this alarm signal is received (step S21: Yes), the urgency determination unit 61 determines the urgency of the alarm based on various information such as the "disaster occurrence details" included in the alarm signal in step S22. That is, the urgency determination unit 61 determines the urgency of the alarm based on the disaster occurrence details (whether or not a disaster has occurred, disaster type, disaster level), alarm details (fire, gas leak, intrusion, equipment abnormality, etc.), monitored objects, past false alarm history stored in the security information DB, etc., of the alarm signal received from the control devices 1-1 to 1-n.

Figure 4 is a flowchart showing the detailed flow of the urgency determination operation in the urgency determination unit 61. When the urgency determination unit 61 moves to the urgency determination operation, it first determines in step S41 whether or not a disaster has occurred based on information indicating whether or not a disaster has occurred that is included in the disaster occurrence content of the received alarm signal. In this step S41, the determination that there is no disaster means that the received alarm signal is not an alarm signal based on a disaster, but a true report indicating that some abnormal situation has occurred in the monitored object.

Therefore, if the urgency determination unit 61 determines in step S41 that there is no disaster, the process proceeds to step S43, where it determines that the urgency is a true report of high (normal) urgency. In this case, the monitor notification unit 63, which is an example of a notification unit, notifies the monitor terminal 51 that an alarm has been issued.

In contrast, if it is determined in step S41 that the received warning signal is a warning signal that may have been generated due to a disaster (disaster has occurred), the urgency determination unit 61 advances the process to step S42. In step S42, the urgency determination unit 61 determines whether the received warning signal is a false alarm.

In this false alarm judgment, the urgency judgment unit 61 determines the urgency of the alarm based on the disaster occurrence details (disaster type, disaster level) and alarm details (fire, gas leak, intrusion, equipment abnormality, etc.) of the received alarm signal, as well as the sensor type, monitored object, and past false alarm history stored in the security information DB of the memory unit 43.

Figure 5 is an example of a history of past false alarms. The history of past false alarms for a monitored object is a history of past on-site measures taken to deal with the cause of a false alarm, and includes records of on-site measures such as whether the sensor installation location was changed or replaced.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5, the past false alarm history stores various information such as the date and time of the false alarm (year/month/date/hour/minute/second), the target of security (area where monitored objects exist, etc.), and the details of the disaster (disaster type: earthquake, strong wind, flooding, tsunami, landslide, etc., disaster level: numerical values such as seismic intensity and amount of flooding, degree (large/medium/small), etc.). In addition, the past false alarm history stores various information such as the alarm content (type: fire, gas, intrusion, equipment abnormality, etc.), sensor type (sensor number, sensor model, sensor method, sensor sensitivity, etc.), cause (false alarm, true alarm, etc.), and action taken (change of sensor installation location, sensor replacement, change of sensor sensitivity, etc.).

The urgency determination unit 61 refers to these false alarm histories and determines the urgency of the alarm as follows. That is, if the urgency determination unit 61 determines in step S42 that a disaster has occurred in the "disaster occurrence details" included in the alarm signal and that the alarm is a life-threatening alarm such as a fire or gas leak, the urgency determination unit 61 determines in step S44 that although the alarm signal was generated during a disaster, it is an alarm with a high urgency, i.e., "high (disaster)."

In addition, in step S42, if the alarm signal is from a monitored object where the same alarm has occurred as a false alarm during a past disaster, and no on-site measures such as changing the sensor installation location or replacing the sensor have been taken, the urgency determination unit 61 determines in step S46 that the alarm is "low (false alarm due to disaster)," indicating that the alarm is of low urgency, since there is a high possibility that the alarm is a false alarm due to a disaster.

In addition, in step S42, if the disaster occurrence details and the type of sensor that detected the abnormality match conditions that may indicate a false alarm (such as detection by a vibration sensor during an earthquake or strong winds), the urgency determination unit 61 determines in step S45 that the urgency is "medium (possibility of false alarm due to disaster)," indicating that the alarm signal is of a medium level.

When such determination of the urgency of the alarm signal is completed, processing proceeds to step S23 in the flowchart of FIG. 3. In step S23, the monitor notification unit 63 determines whether or not the determination result of the urgency of the alarm in step S22 is a determination result indicating a high urgency. If the determination result is a high urgency (step S23: Yes), in step S24, the monitor notification unit 63 notifies the monitor terminal 51 of the content of the generated alarm, and the monitor terminal 51 displays the received content of the alarm on its own monitoring screen.

Figure 6 shows an example of a monitoring screen displayed by a monitor. As shown in Figure 6, the monitoring screen displays the urgency of the alarm, the customer number, the district number where the monitored object is located, the name of the security location, the district name, an overview of the received alarm signal, general information, and disaster information showing the details of the disaster.

The urgency level is displayed as "High (real news)", "High (disaster)", "Low (false news)", "Medium (possibility of false news)", etc. The customer number is displayed as a unique number assigned to each customer, for example, "000001", "000002", etc. The name of the security location is displayed as the store name or owner name of the security target, for example, XX Bank, Mr. □□'s residence, etc. The area name is displayed as the location where the sensor 21 is installed, such as the vault or conference room.

As for the received signal, the time when the sensor 21 detected the abnormality and the details of the abnormality are displayed, for example, "01:00, intrusion", "01:00, emergency", etc. As for summary information, as described below, if comprehensive information is created as a summary of the alarm signals due to the frequent occurrence of alarm signals, this comprehensive information is displayed. As for disaster information, the details of the disaster that has occurred are displayed, such as a landslide occurred, an earthquake of seismic intensity 6+, etc.

The monitor terminal 51 displays on a monitoring screen the notified alarm signal, general information, and information about the monitored object where the control devices 1-1 to 1-n that are the senders of these alarm signals are installed, and notifies the monitor of the occurrence of an abnormality (step S24). In addition, in response to the operation of the monitor who has confirmed this display, an instruction to dispatch a security guard to the scene is input.

When an on-site dispatch instruction is input from the guard terminal 51, the center device 2 stores the instruction in the security information DB in the memory unit 43, and transmits the on-site dispatch instruction, including information about the monitored object, to the guard terminal 52 carried by the guard who will be sent to the monitored object. At this time, the guard terminal 52 is notified of the status of the monitored object estimated based on the alarm signals and overall information from the control devices 1-1 to 1-n installed at the monitored object.

After receiving instructions to dispatch to the scene, the security guard checks the situation of the monitored object and then inputs the details of the measures to be taken, etc., into the security guard terminal 52. The security guard terminal 52 then transmits the results of the measures, including the details of the measures, to the central device 2.

When the treatment result input unit 64 of the center device 2 receives the treatment result from the security guard terminal 52 via the communication unit 42 (step S25: Yes), it inputs the treatment content etc. for the generated alarm signal to the security information DB in the memory unit 43 (step S26) and ends the processing for the alarm signal. Note that if the treatment result cannot be received in step S25 (step S25: No), it waits until the treatment result is received.

Next, if it is determined in step S23 that the urgency of the alarm signal is not high (step S23: No), it is determined whether the urgency of the alarm signal is medium (step S27). If the urgency is medium (step S27: Yes), the process proceeds to step S28, where the urgency determination unit 61 determines whether the same alarm signal has been received a predetermined number of times or more within a preset monitoring time (multiple alarms). If the alarm signal is a single signal or a small number of alarms (step S28: No), the process proceeds to step S24, where the monitor notification unit 63 notifies the monitor terminal 51 of the content of the generated alarm, and the monitor terminal 51 displays the received content of the alarm on its own monitoring screen.

In step S28, if the same alarm signal is received a predetermined number of times or more within the preset monitoring time (multiple alarm signals) (step S28: Yes), in step S29, the summary generation unit 62 generates comprehensive information that summarizes the multiple alarms, as shown in FIG. 7, for example.

Specifically, the example shown in FIG. 7 is an example in which the central device 2 receives multiple equipment alarms between 19:00:00 and 19:01:00 due to an earthquake. When the summary generation unit 62 receives multiple alarm signals like this, it generates comprehensive information that summarizes the multiple alarms into one, such as "Multiple equipment alarms (30 alarms) during the earthquake from 19:00 to 19:01."

The format of the comprehensive information is free, but it is preferable to include a summarized time range of multiple warnings, such as 19:00-19:01, and the number of frequent warning signals, such as 30. It may also include details of the disaster, such as an earthquake of intensity 5+.

The monitor notification unit 63 notifies the monitor terminal 51 of the comprehensive information generated by summarizing the multiple alarm signals (step S29). This prevents the monitor terminal 51 from being notified of multiple alarms, making it difficult for the monitor to respond.

The monitor notification unit 63 may notify the monitor terminal 51 of the overall information generated by summarizing multiple alarm signals after the notification of the high-urgency alarm has been completed. In this case, the monitor, etc. can recognize the receipt of an alarm signal from the overall information after taking action in response to the high-urgency alarm, preventing inconveniences that make it difficult for the monitor or security guard to respond.

Furthermore, the monitor terminal 51, which has received a notification from the monitor notification unit 63, displays this comprehensive information on the monitoring screen as shown in FIG. 6. The example in FIG. 6 shows that comprehensive information indicating that there were multiple window sensor triggers (five times) between 1:00 and 1:01 is generated and displayed on the monitoring screen. This allows the monitor to recognize that the multiple alarm signals that occurred between 1:00 and 1:01 may be false alarms caused by an earthquake.

The monitor terminal 51 displays on a monitoring screen the notified general information and information about the monitored object where the control devices 1-1 to 1-n that are the senders of the general information are installed, and notifies the monitor of the occurrence of an abnormality. In addition, the monitor who has confirmed this display inputs instructions to dispatch security guards to the scene in response to their operations.

When an on-site dispatch instruction is input from the guard terminal 51, the center device 2 stores the instruction in the security information DB in the memory unit 43, and transmits an on-site dispatch instruction including information about the monitored object to the guard terminal 52 carried by the guard who will be sent to the monitored object. At this time, the guard terminal 52 is notified of the status of the monitored object estimated based on the alarm signals and overall information from the control devices 1-1 to 1-n installed at the monitored object.

After receiving instructions to dispatch to the scene, the security guard checks the situation of the monitored object and then inputs the details of the measures to be taken, etc., into the security guard terminal 52. The security guard terminal 52 then transmits the results of the measures, including the details of the measures, to the central device 2.

When the treatment result input unit 64 of the center device 2 receives the treatment result from the security guard terminal 52 via the communication unit 42 (step S30: Yes), it inputs the treatment details etc. for the generated alarm signal to the security information DB in the memory unit 43 (step S31) and ends the processing for that alarm signal. The treatment details etc. are input in step S31 individually for the multiple alarm signals before they are summarized as comprehensive information. Note that if the treatment result cannot be received in step S30 (step S30: No), it waits until the treatment result is received.

Figure 8 is an example of the processing results that are input to the security information DB by the processing result input unit 64. In the example of Figure 8, 30 alarms were issued, but because there is a possibility that these were false alarms caused by an earthquake, they are input to the security information DB in a reduced information format such as "Processing result: No abnormalities, Cause: Earthquake."

The monitor may input such treatment results into the monitor terminal 51. Even if the monitor does so, the input of the treatment results can be completed with only the input of the small amount of summarized information described above, which significantly reduces the effort required to input the treatment results.

Next, if it is determined in step S27 that the urgency is not medium (step S27: No), the urgency determination unit 61 determines in step S32 whether a recovery signal has been received within a certain period of time.

If a recovery signal is received within the certain time (step S32: Yes), this means that the received alarm signal is a false alarm. Therefore, in step S33, the monitor notification unit 63 does not notify the monitor terminal 51 of the alarm, and the treatment result input unit 64 stores the alarm content, the receipt of the recovery signal, and the treatment result (false alarm due to disaster, no on-site treatment) in the security information DB, and the process ends.

In this example, if a recovery signal is received within a certain period of time for an alarm signal that is not of high or medium urgency (step S32: Yes), the monitor notification unit 63 does not notify the monitor terminal 51 of the content of the alarm. However, the display of an alarm signal for which a recovery signal was received within a certain period of time on the monitoring screen may be performed after the display of an alarm with a high urgency has been completed.

In addition, if a recovery signal is received within a certain period of time (step S32: Yes), the monitor may individually input the results of the alarm handling process from the monitor terminal 51, and the details of the alarm, receipt of the recovery signal, and the handling results (false alarm due to disaster, no on-site handling process) may be stored in the security information DB, and the process may end (step S33).

On the other hand, if a recovery signal is not received within a certain period of time (step S32: No), which is likely a false alarm and low urgency, some kind of abnormality may have occurred and it is necessary to dispatch security guards to the scene. In this case, the monitor notification unit 63 proceeds to step S28. As a result, the monitor takes action such as dispatching a security guard to the scene based on the alarm signal displayed on the monitoring screen.

For example, when the disaster area analysis unit 66 of the center device 2 receives an alert from multiple security locations that a disaster is occurring, it predicts the disaster area and damage from the addresses of the security locations. The display control unit 65 displays this disaster area and predicted damage status on the display unit 53, thereby notifying the monitor of the damage status of the wide-area disaster. The damage status can also be notified to the security guard terminal 52, so that the security guard can be informed of the damage status and alerted.

The disaster analysis unit 67 of the center device 2 predicts the degree of risk of building collapse, for example, from the location of sensor operation due to an earthquake, and also predicts failures such as deterioration of customer equipment based on the frequent occurrence of equipment abnormalities due to an earthquake. The monitor notification unit 63 notifies the monitor terminal 51 of the predicted degree of risk or failure predictions in this way, so that the monitor can alert the security guard. The damage situation can also be notified to the security guard terminal 52, so that the security guard can also be informed of the damage situation and alerted.

The false alarm analysis unit 68 of the center device 2 also suggests changing the sensor installation location or sensor type, based on the installation location or sensor type of the sensor that malfunctioned during a disaster. For example, if a false alarm is issued from the door sensor on the first floor every time an earthquake occurs, the false alarm analysis unit 68 suggests changing the installation location of the 1F door sensor by displaying this on the display unit 53 via the display control unit 65. This makes it possible to reduce the occurrence of false alarms.

(Effects of the embodiment)
As is clear from the above explanation, the monitoring system of the embodiment can identify alarm signals that are believed to be false alarms caused by sensor malfunctions due to disasters such as earthquakes or typhoons, and enables appropriate measures to be taken based on the identification results, thereby improving the accuracy of responses to alarm signals.

The monitoring system of the embodiment can also reliably monitor highly urgent alarms among the many alarm signals that occur, and efficiently instruct security guards to dispatch and input the results of on-site measures.

In addition, the monitoring system of the embodiment can accurately distinguish between true and false alerts even when multiple alerts are issued due to a disaster or other reason, so monitoring operations can be continued without problems even during a disaster such as an earthquake or typhoon.

In addition, by receiving an alarm signal containing disaster information, the monitoring system of the embodiment can be used not only to determine the level of urgency and whether an alarm is false, but also to grasp the damage situation of areas, buildings, etc., using analytical systems such as machine learning using artificial intelligence.

Finally, the above-described embodiment is presented as an example and is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. This novel embodiment can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the invention. Furthermore, the embodiment and modifications of the embodiment are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are included in the scope of the invention and its equivalents described in the claims.

1-1 to 1-n Control device 2 Center device 3 Communication circuit 11 Control unit 12 Communication unit 13 Memory unit 21 Sensor 22 Disaster detection unit 31 Alarm determination unit 32 Disaster determination unit 33 Transmission message generation unit 41 Control unit 42 Communication unit 43 Memory unit 51 Monitor terminal 52 Security guard terminal 53 Display unit 61 Urgency determination unit 62 Summary generation unit 63 Monitor notification unit 64 Treatment result input unit 65 Display control unit 66 Disaster area analysis unit 67 Disaster analysis unit 68 False alarm analysis unit

Claims (8)

A monitoring device that monitors occurrence of an abnormality in a monitored object in which a control device is installed based on an alarm signal transmitted from the control device, the monitoring device comprising:
The alarm signal includes at least information indicating the sensor that detected the abnormality and information indicating whether a disaster has occurred,
The monitoring device, upon receiving the alarm signal, determines and displays a level of urgency of the received alarm signal based on information indicating the presence or absence of a disaster contained in the received alarm signal and information indicating a sensor that has detected an abnormality. The monitoring device according to claim 1, characterized in that, when a predetermined number or more of alarm signals determined to be false alarms are received within a predetermined period of time, the monitoring device generates comprehensive information by summarizing the contents of the predetermined number or more of alarm signals into one or a small number of summarized information and displays the comprehensive information. 3. The monitoring device according to claim 2, wherein the monitoring device displays the general information after displaying an alarm signal with a high degree of urgency has been completed. The warning signal includes information indicating the occurrence or nonoccurrence of a disaster, information indicating a sensor that detected an abnormality, and information indicating a disaster type of the disaster that has occurred,
The monitoring device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the monitoring device determines the urgency of the alarm signal based on information included in the alarm signal indicating the presence or absence of a disaster, information indicating a sensor that detected an abnormality, and information indicating a type of disaster. The warning signal includes information indicating whether or not the disaster has occurred, information indicating the type of the disaster that has occurred, information indicating the sensor that detected the abnormality, and information indicating the disaster level of the disaster that has occurred,
The monitoring device according to claim 4, characterized in that the monitoring device determines the urgency of the alarm signal based on information indicating the presence or absence of a disaster, information indicating a sensor that detected an abnormality, information indicating the disaster type, and information indicating a disaster level. Further comprising a database storing information based on past surveillance and security;
The monitoring device according to claim 5, characterized in that the monitoring device determines the urgency of the alarm signal based on information contained in the received alarm signal indicating whether or not a disaster has occurred, information indicating the type of disaster that has occurred, information indicating the disaster level of the disaster that has occurred, information indicating the sensor that detected the abnormality, and information based on past surveillance and security stored in the database. A control device that, when receiving a signal indicating that an abnormality has been detected from a sensor, transmits an alarm signal including at least information indicating the sensor that has detected the abnormality,
A disaster detection unit is provided to detect the occurrence of a disaster,
The control device according to claim 1, further comprising: a disaster prevention unit that detects a disaster occurrence and a disaster occurrence status of the control device; A receiving step of receiving an alarm signal including at least information indicating a sensor that has detected an abnormality in the monitored object and information indicating whether a disaster has occurred;
a determination step of determining and displaying a degree of urgency of the received alarm signal based on information indicating the presence or absence of a disaster and information indicating a sensor that has detected an abnormality, which are included in the alarm signal;
The monitoring method includes:

Images