JPH11177707A - Life monitoring system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To speedily cope with a case when inconveniences, such as the occurrence of abnormality and overturning of an electric product in the middle of use or when emergency arises. SOLUTION: This life monitoring system monitors life condition by transmitting information on the electronic products 1 (1A, 1B) to a centralized controlling means 3 through a signal carrying path (home electric-lamp wire 2) which is arranged within home and transmitting information on the products 1 massage by this means 3 to a monitoring means 5 outside home. In the system, the products 1 are provided with an abnormality detecting means 9 for detecting abnormalities at erroneous use of the products 1. Then, abnormality information detected by this means 9 is transmitted to the means 5 via the means 3. Otherwise, an overturning detecting means detecting the overturning of the products 1 is provided. Otherwise, a calling switch for making an emergency call and a releasing switch are provided.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a life monitor system, and more particularly to a life monitor system capable of monitoring the safety of an elderly person or a physically handicapped living alone over a long distance.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, this kind of life monitoring system transmits information such as operation of a predetermined electric appliance in a home, for example, ON operation and OFF operation of a hot water supply switch of an electric pot via a predetermined signal transfer path. To the centralized management means arranged in the home, and the centralized management means manages the operation information and the like. Then, the information recorded in the centralized management means is transmitted from the centralized management means to a personal computer or the like installed in a clinic outside the home via a telephone line. It is possible to monitor the safety of disabled people.

[0003]

However, the life monitor system can monitor the life situation of the household person by detecting the use state of the electric product, but the erroneous use of the electric product can be monitored. If used in the method, specifically, for example, if you cooked empty in an electric pot or cooked rice without a pot in a rice cooker, the misuse can be determined unless you check the electric product itself Did not. Further, even when these electric products have fallen down, they cannot be determined unless the electric products themselves are checked in the same manner as described above. These phenomena cause various inconveniences such as failure of electric products. Furthermore, in the life monitoring system, when an urgent situation occurs other than the inconvenience, a person who monitors the living situation cannot be called.

[0004] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to make it possible to promptly cope with an inconvenience such as an abnormal use or fall of an electric product or an emergency situation. is there.

[0005]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a life monitor system according to a first means of the present invention transmits information of an electric product to a centralized management means through a signal transfer path provided in a home. In the life monitoring system for monitoring the living condition by transmitting information on the electric product managed by the centralized management means to a monitoring means outside the home, an abnormality detection for detecting an abnormality of the electric product in the electric product. Means for transmitting the abnormality information detected by the abnormality detection means to the monitor means via the centralized management means.

[0006] In the life monitoring system, since the abnormality information of the electric product can be transmitted to the monitoring means, when such a phenomenon occurs, the person in charge of the monitoring can take prompt action, and Various inconveniences such as a failure can be prevented from occurring.

Further, the abnormality detecting means is a fall detecting means for detecting that the electric appliance has fallen, and transmits the fall information detected by the fall detecting means to the monitor means via the central management means. You may make it.

In the above-mentioned life monitoring system, when an electric product falls, it is possible to transmit the fall information to the monitor means. It is possible to prevent various inconveniences such as a product failure from occurring.
In addition, since the person in charge of monitoring can be notified by the fall of the electric product, when a person in the home needs an emergency, the person in charge can be called by turning over the electric product by himself.

Further, the life monitoring system according to the second means of the present invention transmits information of an electric product to a central management means through a signal transfer path provided in a home, and the electric management information managed by the central management means. In a life monitoring system for monitoring a living situation by transmitting product information to a monitoring means outside the home, a call switch for making an emergency call is provided on the electric product, and the emergency call information is transmitted to the central management means. The data is transmitted to the monitor means via the monitor. In this case, it is preferable that a release switch for releasing an emergency call is provided on the electric product.

[0010] In the life monitoring system, when a person in the home needs an emergency, the person in charge of monitoring can be called by pressing a call switch. can do. In addition, since a release switch is provided so that an emergency call can be released when the switch is erroneously pressed, the erroneous transmission of emergency call information can be prevented.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a life monitoring system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. This life monitoring system detects the operation status and operation status of each household electrical appliance 1 and transmits the information to the central management unit 3 via the home power line 2 as a signal transport path. Then, by transmitting to the home helper outside the home from the central management unit 3 to the monitor unit 5 such as a clinic using the telephone line 4,
The home helper monitors the living situation of the home.

As shown in FIG. 2, the electric product 1 includes a load control circuit 7, a display panel unit 8, and an abnormality detection unit 9, and further includes a microcomputer 10 serving also as an operation state detection unit, and a modulation / demodulation unit. The circuit 11 is added. In this embodiment, the electric product 1 is an electric pot 1A.
And rice cooker 1B are illustrated, but in addition to these,
It goes without saying that the present invention can be applied to all kinds of electric products 1 used at home, such as air cleaners, air conditioners, and vacuum cleaners.

Here, the abnormality of the electric product 1 means, for example, that in the case of the electric pot 1A, the electric pot 1A is boiled in a state where there is no water in the container, and the electric pot 1A is cooked empty and the rice cooker 1B.
In the case of, it means a phenomenon that occurs due to an erroneous use, such as rice cooking without a pan due to a rice cooking operation in a state where a pot is set forgotten. The abnormality detection unit 9 for detecting this abnormality has a well-known configuration such as detecting a voltage change of a thermistor in the case of the electric pot 1A, and detecting on / off of a micro switch in the case of the rice cooker 1B. Detection means are used.

The microcomputer 10 includes the display panel unit 8
The operation information obtained by detecting that the operation switch disposed in the electronic device is operated, the operation information of the electric appliance 1 at desired times such as every two hours by a built-in clock, and the abnormality detection unit 9 detect the operation information. The abnormality information is transmitted to the modulation / demodulation circuit 11 as a predetermined signal wave. Also, it detects whether or not there is a reply from the central management unit 3 to the modulation / demodulation circuit 11, and if the built-in timer 1 does not detect the reply within a predetermined time, retransmits the signal wave. Here, as the operation switches for detecting the operation information, for example, in the case of the electric pot 1A, a boiling switch, a hot water supply switch, a heat insulation switch, and the like can be given. In the case of rice cooker 1B, rice cooker switch,
An insulation switch, a reservation switch, and the like can be given.
Examples of the load component for detecting the operation information include a light-emitting diode that is turned on and blinks by operating the operation switch to turn it on, and a load component such as an operating motor and a heater.

As shown in FIG. 3, the information signal of each of the electric appliances 1 is represented by a binary system of 7 bits. Among them, b7 indicates elapsed time information, and indicates 1 for periodic information every two hours and 0 for other operation information. b6 ~
b4 indicates product information, and indicates 1 if applicable and 0 if not applicable depending on whether it corresponds to an electric pot, a rice cooker, or other. b3 indicates abnormality information, and indicates 1 when abnormality is detected and 0 when abnormality is not detected (normal). b2 indicates operation information, in which 1 indicates that the load component is operating, and 0 indicates that it is not operating. b1 indicates operation information, and indicates 1 when the operation switch is operated and 0 when the operation switch is not operated. For example, when the electric pot 1 </ b> A is in an empty cooking state, abnormal information “0001110” is sent to the central management unit 3. The information signal can be variously modified, such as amplification of transmission information.

The modulation / demodulation circuit 11 includes the microcomputer 10
The frequency of the signal wave of the information signal input from is modulated to a predetermined high-frequency current, and the modulated wave is transmitted to the domestic power line 2 via the transformer 12. Further, a modulated wave carried by the domestic power line 2 is received via the transformer 12, demodulated into a predetermined signal wave, and output to the microcomputer 10.

The household power line 2, which is the signal transport path,
By connecting the electric product 1 and the centralized management unit 3, the electric product 1 and the centralized management unit 3 are connected, and a modulated wave output from these is superimposed and conveyed.

The centralized management section 3 is provided for each home, and comprises a microcomputer 15, a modulation / demodulation circuit 16, a memory 17, and a modem 18, as shown in FIG.

The microcomputer 15 is connected to the modem 16
The information signal of each electric appliance 1 received through the is analyzed, and if the signal is not an abnormal signal,
The memory 17 is recorded in the memory 17 as to whether the operation has been performed at the hour and the minute. On the other hand, when the signal is an abnormal signal, the abnormal signal is transmitted to the predetermined monitor unit 5 via the modem 18 and the telephone line 4. The built-in clock transmits operation information and operation information of each electrical product 1 recorded in the memory 17 to the monitor unit 5 via the modem 18 and the telephone line 4 at predetermined time intervals. . The time may be set to a desired time, such as 6 o'clock, 12 o'clock, 18 o'clock, and 24 o'clock, or to a plurality of set times, similarly to the microcomputer 10 of the electric product 1. Can be.

The modulation / demodulation circuit 16 receives, via a transformer 19, a modulated wave from each of the electric products 1, which is superimposed and conveyed on the signal carrier path 2, similarly to the modulation / demodulation circuit 11 of the electric product 1. , Demodulates the signal into a predetermined signal wave and outputs the signal to the microcomputer 15, modulates the return signal from the microcomputer 15 into a predetermined modulation wave, and
And is superimposed on the signal transport path 2 and transmitted.

The monitor unit 5 is for centrally managing the operation information, operation information and abnormality information of the electric appliance 1 transmitted from each home to be monitored to monitor each home. It is connected via a telephone line 4.
A personal computer can be used as the monitor unit 5.
The information may be transmitted and received via a dedicated line or wireless instead of the telephone line 4.

Next, the operation of the microcomputer 10 of the electric appliance 1 in the life monitoring system will be described. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the microcomputer 10 of the electric pot 1A first detects whether or not an operation switch such as the hot water supply switch has been operated in step S1, and if the operation has been detected, proceeds to step S2. The process proceeds to step S8 if not detected.

In step S2, 1 is set in the operation information b1.
And then, in step S3, other information b7 to b
2 is set, and the process proceeds to step S4.

In step S4, the operation information set in step S3 is used as an information signal of the electric pot 1A.
The data is transmitted to the central management unit 3 via the domestic power line 2. The operation of the microcomputer 15 in the central management unit 3 will be described later in detail.

Next, in step S5, the timer 1 is operated, and the flow advances to step S6. In this step S6, it is detected whether or not there is a reply indicating that the transmitted information signal has been received, and if detected, the process returns. On the other hand, if no reply is detected, the process proceeds to step S7.

In step S7, it is detected whether or not the time of the timer 1 has expired. If the timer has counted up, the process returns to step S4 to retransmit the information signal to the central management unit 3. If the count has not been counted up, the process stands by in step S6. The number of retransmissions can be set to a desired number.

If the operation of the operation switch is not detected in step S1, it is determined in step S8 whether or not the electric pot 1A is erroneously cooked due to a mistake in use. It is detected whether or not water is stored in the inside. If it is empty cooking, the process proceeds to step S9. If it is not empty cooking, the process proceeds to step S11.

As shown in FIG. 5, in step S9, 1 is input to the abnormality information b3, and in step S10, other information b7 to b4, b2, and b1 are set. Then, steps S4 to S7 are performed.

If it is determined in step S8 that the electric pot 1A is not empty, it is determined in step S11 whether it is time to transmit the operation information to the central management unit 3 and the predetermined time is reached. If so, the process proceeds to step S12, and if not, the process returns to step S1.

As shown in FIG. 6, in step S12,
1 is input to the elapsed time information b7, and the process proceeds to step S13. In this step S13, for example, by detecting whether or not a load component such as a heater is operating, it is detected whether or not the electric product 1 is operating. If it is operating, the process proceeds to step S14. 1 is input to the operation information b2, and the process proceeds to step S16. On the other hand, if no operation has been detected, the operation proceeds to step S15, 0 is input to the operation information b2, and the operation proceeds to step S16.

At step S16, other information b7-b
3, b1 is set, the process proceeds to step S4, and steps S4 to S7 are performed in the same manner as described above.

Next, the operation of the microcomputer 15 of the central management unit 3 will be described. The microcomputer 1 of the central management unit 3
5, first, as shown in FIG. 7, in step S20, it is detected whether or not an information signal has been received from the electric appliance 1,
If detected, the process proceeds to step S21; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S26.

In step S21, the received information signal is analyzed, and what kind of information is transmitted from which electric product 1, that is, from which electric product 1, the operation information,
It is analyzed which of the operation information and the abnormality information has been transmitted, and the information is recorded in the memory 17 in step S22.

Next, in step S23, it is detected whether or not the received information is abnormality information of the electric appliance 1, and if it is abnormality information, the process proceeds to step S24. On the other hand, if it is not the abnormality information but the operation information of the electric product 1 or the periodic operation information, the process returns.

In step S24, an abnormal signal to be transmitted to the monitor unit 5 is set.
Then, the set abnormal signal is transmitted to the monitor unit 5 via the modem 18 and the telephone line 4, and the process returns.

On the other hand, if the reception of the information signal from the electric appliance 1 is not detected in the step S20, it is determined in a step S26 whether or not the time for transmitting the information to the monitor unit 5 by the built-in timer 1 has come. When it is determined that the predetermined time has been reached, the process proceeds to step S27,
If it is determined that the predetermined time has not elapsed, the process returns to step S20.

In step S27, after reading the information recorded in the memory 17, the process proceeds to step S24, where a signal to be transmitted to the monitor unit 5 is set, and in step S25,
Transmit the set signal and return.

As described above, in the monitor system according to the first embodiment, not only can the life status of a person in the home be monitored by detecting the operation status of the electric product 1, but the electric product 1 can be erroneously detected. If the method is used, the information is immediately transmitted to the monitor unit 5 outside the home, so that the person in charge of monitoring the home can respond quickly by seeing the abnormal information. Can be.
As a result, failure of the electric product 1 due to a mistake in use, etc.
Various inconveniences can be prevented from occurring.

FIG. 8 shows an electric pot 1A which is an electric product 1 to which the life monitoring system of the second embodiment is applied. In the electric pot 1A, a sensor 22 for detecting a fall is provided at the bottom of the container body 1a. When the sensor 22 detects the fall of the electric pot 1A, the fall information is sent to the central management unit 3 via the microcomputer 10. Is set to send to.

As the sensor 22, for example, a microswitch can be used. When the microswitch detects that the container main body 1a has fallen for a predetermined time or more, the fall information is transmitted to the electric pot 1A. At the time of an operation such as moving, it is set so that the fall information is not transmitted as the abnormal information.

The information signal of the electric product 1 according to the second embodiment is the same as the information signal of the electric product 1 according to the first embodiment shown in FIG. Is the same. The operation flow of the microcomputer 10 of the electric product 1 is also described in step S8 shown in FIG.
The only difference is that whether or not the vehicle has fallen is detected by the sensor 22.

In the life monitoring system using the electric pot 1A to which the fall detection sensor 22 is applied, similarly to the first embodiment, when an operation switch such as a hot water supply switch is operated, the microcomputer 10 detects the operation. Then, the operation information is transmitted to the central management unit 3, and the information is managed by the central management unit 3, and when a predetermined time has elapsed, the operation information and the operation information are collectively transmitted to the monitor unit 5.

On the other hand, if a person in the home with a physical disability accidentally falls down the electric pot 1A, the falling state is detected by the sensor 22 so that falling information is obtained.
Like the abnormal information shown in the first embodiment, the abnormal information is transmitted to the central management unit 3, and the central management unit 3 immediately transmits the fall information to the monitor unit 5.

Thus, the person who has seen the fall information can raise the electric pot 1A that has fallen by visiting the home or the like, and this is caused by the electric pot 1A remaining in the fall state. Various inconveniences obtained can be prevented beforehand. In this way, since the electric pot 1A falls over, the person in charge of monitoring can be visited. Therefore, when a person in the home needs urgency, the person in charge can be called by turning over the electric pot 1A itself. It is also possible to respond quickly in an emergency.

In the present embodiment, the electric pot 1A which is easy to fall down has been described. However, the electric pot 1A can be mounted on the rice cooker 1B shown in the first embodiment or another electric product 1, and the same operation as described above can be performed. Needless to say, the effect can be obtained.

FIG. 9 shows a display panel section 8 of an electric pot 1A which is an electric product 1 to which the life monitor system of the third embodiment is applied. The display panel section 8 of the electric pot 1A
Is provided with a call switch 25 for an emergency call when a person in the home needs urgent help, and a release switch 26 for canceling a call when the call switch 25 is pressed by mistake. Is provided. These switches 25 and 26 are set so that the operation thereof is detected by the microcomputer 10. The information signal transmitted from the electric pot 1A to the central management unit 3 is an abnormal signal b3 among the information signals of the first embodiment shown in FIG.
Only replaces the emergency call information, and the other information is the same.

Next, the operation of the microcomputer 10 of the electric pot 1A to which the switches 25 and 26 are applied will be described. As shown in FIG. 10, the microcomputer 10 of the electric pot 1A first detects whether or not an operation switch such as the hot water supply switch has been operated in step S1, as in the first embodiment, and determines whether or not the operation has been performed. If detected, step S
2 and as in the first embodiment, this step S
The operation flow of the operation information after step 2 (steps S2 to S7) is performed. On the other hand, if no detection is made, the process proceeds to step S30.

In step S30, it is detected whether or not the call switch 25 has been operated, and if the operation has been detected,
Proceed to step S31. On the other hand, if no detection is made, the process proceeds to step S11, and the operation flow of the periodic operation information after step 11 (steps S11 to S16 and step S16), as in the first embodiment.
4 to step S7) are performed.

As shown in FIG. 11, in step S31, the built-in timer 2 is operated. The set time of the timer 2 is set to, for example, 30 seconds.

Next, in step S32, it is detected whether or not the release switch 26 has been operated. If no operation has been detected, the operation proceeds to step S33. On the other hand, if an operation is detected, the process proceeds to step S36, where the timer 2 is stopped, and then the process returns.

In step S33, it is detected whether or not the timer 2 has counted up. If the timer 2 has counted up, the process proceeds to step S34. If the count has not been counted up, the process returns to step S32 and waits.

Then, in step S34, 1 is input to the emergency call information b3, and in step S35, other information b7 to
After setting b4, b2, and b1, the process proceeds to step S4, as in the first embodiment, and the operations from step S4 to step S7 are performed.

As described above, in the life monitoring system according to the third embodiment, when a person in the home needs an emergency, the person in charge can be called by pressing the call switch 25. Therefore, it is possible to quickly respond to an emergency. If the call switch 25 is operated by mistake, the emergency call can be released by pressing the release switch 26 within a predetermined time, so that transmission of emergency call information due to a mistake in use can be prevented. it can.

The life monitoring system of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, in the fourth embodiment, the release switch 26 for releasing the emergency call is provided exclusively. However, as shown in FIG. 12, a dedicated release switch is not provided, and the hot water supply switch 27 does not perform the hot water supply operation. The lock release switch 28 for this purpose may also be used. In this case, call switch 2
For a predetermined period of time after pressing 5, the lock release switch 2
8 is set to be an emergency call release switch.

In the above embodiments, the central management unit 3
A speaker and a microphone, or a centralized management unit 3 having a built-in telephone function that can be used freehand,
Alternatively, a speaker or a microphone is built in the electric appliance 1 and the non-use state of the electric appliance 1 as described in each of the above embodiments continues for a long time, or an abnormality of the electric appliance as described in the first embodiment. In a case where the electric appliance 1 falls down as described in the second embodiment or in an emergency as described in the third embodiment, a call is made from the monitor unit 5 via the telephone line 4 to confirm the safety first. You may. In this way, it is possible to quickly respond when the worst situation occurs.

[0056]

As is apparent from the above description, in the life monitoring system of the present invention, an abnormality detection means is provided for an electric product, and when this electric product is used in an erroneous manner, the information is transmitted to the monitor means. Thus, it is possible to prevent various inconveniences such as a failure of an electric product from occurring. Or, because a fall detection means is provided and the information is transmitted to the monitor means,
Similar to the above, it is possible to prevent various inconveniences such as failure of electric products from occurring, and in an emergency, etc.
You can also call the person in charge of the surveillance by turning over the appliance yourself. Alternatively, by providing a call switch for an emergency call and providing a release switch, a person in charge of monitoring in an emergency can be called in the same manner as described above, and when the call switch is operated by mistake, the release switch is set within a predetermined time. By pressing, the erroneous transmission of the emergency call information due to a mistake in use can be surely prevented.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a life monitor system of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the life monitoring system according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining an information signal set by an electric product.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a microcomputer of an electric product.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart continued from FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart continued from FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a microcomputer of the central management unit.

FIG. 8 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating an electric pot to which the life monitor system according to the second embodiment is applied.

FIG. 9 is a plan view showing a display panel of an electric pot to which the life monitor system of the third embodiment is applied.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of a microcomputer of an electric product according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a continuation of the flowchart of FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a plan view showing a modification of the display panel of the electric pot to which the life monitor system of the third embodiment is applied.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Electric products, 1A ... Electric pot, 1B rice cooker, 2
... house power line (signal transport path), 3 ... central management section, 4 ...
Telephone line, 5 monitor unit, 7 load control circuit, 8 display panel unit, 9 error detection unit, 10 microcomputer, 11
Modulation / demodulation circuit, 12 ... Transformer, 15 ... Microcomputer, 16 ...
Modulation / demodulation circuit, 17 ... Memory, 18 ... Modem, 19 ... Transformer, 22 ... Tumble detection sensor, 25 ... Call switch,
Release switch.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. The information of an electric product is transmitted to a central management means through a signal transfer path provided in a home, and the information of the electric product managed by the central management means is transmitted to a monitor means outside the home. In the life monitoring system for monitoring a living situation, the electric product is provided with abnormality detecting means for detecting an abnormality of the electric product, and the abnormality information detected by the abnormality detecting means is transmitted to the monitoring means via the central management means. A living monitor system characterized by being transmitted to 2. The fall detecting means is a fall detecting means for detecting that the electric appliance has fallen, and the fall information detected by the fall detecting means is transmitted to the monitor means via the central management means. 2. The life monitor system according to claim 1, wherein the life monitor system is configured to perform the operation. 3. By transmitting information of an electric product to a central control means through a signal transport path provided in a home, and transmitting information of the electric product managed by the central control means to a monitor means outside the home. In a living monitor system for monitoring a living situation, a call switch for making an emergency call is provided on the electric product, and emergency call information is transmitted to the monitor means via the central management means. Life monitoring system. 4. The life monitor system according to claim 3, wherein a release switch for releasing an emergency call is provided on the electric product.