Calling system

Abstract

The invention provides a calling system. In order to enable a first person to call a second person by operating a contact sensor disposed on a garment, a call system (1) is provided with: a mutual capacitance type contact sensor (11) having a fibrous conductor, the contact sensor being integrally formed with a garment (C) worn by the first person or being attachable to the garment; a first information providing unit (12a) for providing, to a first person, first information for assisting the operation of the contact sensor; a second information providing unit (12b) for providing, to a second person, second information for calling the second person; and a control unit (14) that executes call processing for calling the second person by providing the second information from the second information providing unit on the basis of the operation of the first person on the contact sensor.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to a calling system for a first person to call a second person. Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a sensor system technology for monitoring the body surface using a pressure sensor of a fabric. This sensor system can provide the body surface conditions to users, managers, and clinicians (see the abstract of Patent Document 1).

[0003] Prior art literature

[0004] Patent Literature

[0005] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application No. 2015-509028 Summary of the invention

[0006] Problem that the invention aims to solve

[0007] However, the conventional technology as described above is limited to providing the conditions of the body surface to the clinician, etc., and is unable to enable the user to call the clinician, etc.

[0008] An object of one embodiment of the present invention is to realize a calling system in which a first person can call a second person by operating a contact sensor disposed on clothing.

[0009] Solutions for solving problems

[0010] In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, a calling system involved in one embodiment of the present invention is a calling system for a first person to call a second person, and the calling system comprises: a contact sensor, which is a mutual capacitance contact sensor having a fibrous conductor, the contact sensor can be formed integrally with clothes worn by the first person, or can be installed on the clothes, and the contact sensor is operated by the first person; a first information providing unit, which is used to provide the first person with first information for assisting the operation of the contact sensor; a second information providing unit, which is used to provide the second person with second information for calling the second person; and a control unit, which provides the second information from the second information providing unit based on the operation of the contact sensor by the first person, thereby performing call processing for calling the second person.

[0011] Effects of the Invention

[0012] According to one aspect of the present invention, it is possible to realize a calling system in which a first person can call a second person by operating a contact sensor disposed on clothing. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] Figure 1This is a schematic diagram showing a call system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0014] Figure 2 This is a flowchart showing a calling method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0015] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram showing the relationship between the first information provided by the first information providing unit and the operation of the contact sensor.

[0016] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram showing an example of information of options for the reason for calling provided by the first information providing unit.

[0017] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram showing an example of optional information provided by the first information providing unit.

[0018] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram showing an example of optional information provided by the first information providing unit.

[0019] Figure 7 It is a schematic diagram showing an example of optional information provided by the second information providing unit. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0020] Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail. Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram showing a call system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0021] The calling system 1 is a system for a first person Pa to call a second person Pb. The first person Pa is, for example, a subject or operator of medical treatment or nursing, and the second person Pb is, for example, a medical treatment or nursing practitioner, a supervisor, or an operator supervisor. It is assumed that the first person Pa and the second person Pb are in areas Ra and Rb that are separated from each other.

[0022] It is also possible that at least one of the first person Pa and the second person Pb is multiple people. As described later, multiple first persons Pa can call the second person Pb. In addition, it is also possible that the first person Pa calls multiple second persons Pb. And, it is also possible that both the first person Pa and the second person Pb are multiple people. In this way, when at least one of the first person Pa and the second person Pb is multiple people, it is preferred that the number of the first information providing unit 12a and the second information providing unit 12b shown below corresponds to the number of the first person Pa and the second person Pb.

[0023] The call system 1 includes a contact sensor 11 , a first information providing unit 12 a , a second information providing unit 12 b , a storage unit 13 , and a control unit 14 .

[0024] The contact sensor 11 is a sensor for the first person Pa to operate, and the contact sensor 11 has a contact surface 11a that the first person Pa can directly or indirectly contact. The first person Pa can operate the contact sensor 11 by directly or indirectly contacting the contact surface and call the second person Pb with the help of the calling system 1. The first person Pa can operate the contact sensor 11 by, for example, directly contacting the contact surface 11a with a fingertip. The first person Pa can also operate the contact sensor 11 by indirectly contacting the contact surface 11a with an object (for example, a rod-shaped member). When the first person Pa contacts the contact surface 11a, the capacitance of the part of the contact surface 11a that the first person Pa contacts changes. The contact sensor 11 can detect the change in capacitance and then detect the contact part.

[0025] The contact sensor 11 is a mutual capacitance type contact sensor having a fibrous conductor, and can be formed integrally with the clothing C. For example, the contact sensor 11 can be formed integrally with the clothing C by weaving (e.g., embroidering) a fibrous first conductor for electric field generation and a fibrous second conductor for electric field absorption into the clothing to be worn in a lattice shape. On the other hand, the contact sensor 11 can also be configured to be attachable to the clothing C. That is, the contact sensor 11 can also be formed in a form such as a coat of arms, a label, or a badge and attached to the clothing C.

[0026] The contact sensor 11 may be formed integrally with the clothing C worn by the first person Pa, in particular, at least one of the left sleeve and the right sleeve, or may be mounted on at least one of the left sleeve and the right sleeve of the clothing C. When the first person Pa is right-handed, the contact sensor 11 is arranged on the left sleeve of the clothing C, and when the first person Pa is left-handed, the contact sensor 11 is arranged on the right sleeve of the clothing C. Thus, the first person Pa can operate the contact sensor 11 with his dominant hand. Alternatively, a pair of contact sensors 11 may be arranged on the left sleeve and the right sleeve of the clothing C, respectively. Whether the first person Pa is right-handed or left-handed, it is easy to operate the contact sensor 11 with his dominant hand.

[0027] The contact sensor 11 may include an auxiliary device 111. The auxiliary device 111 may include, for example, a voltage generating unit for applying a voltage to an electrode of the contact sensor 11, a capacity detecting unit for detecting the capacity of the contact sensor 11, and a communication unit for communicating with the control unit 14. The communication between the communication unit and the control unit 14 may be wired or wireless. The auxiliary device 111 may be disposed in a pocket PK of clothing C, for example. Here, the auxiliary device 111 is provided separately from the contact sensor 11, but the auxiliary device 111 may be provided integrally with the contact sensor 11.

[0028] The first information providing unit 12a is an information providing unit that provides the first information for assisting the operation of the contact sensor 11 to the first person Pa. The second information providing unit 12b is an information providing unit that provides the second information for calling the second person Pb to the second person Pb. The first information providing unit 12a and the second information providing unit 12b are connected to the control unit 14 by wire or wirelessly, and provide information based on instructions from the control unit 14.

[0029] The first information providing unit 12a and the second information providing unit 12b can be, for example, an image display device, a sound output device, or a combination of these devices. As an example of an image display device, a liquid crystal display device and an EL (Electro Luminescence) display device can be listed. As an example of a sound output device, a speaker and a headset can be listed. In this case, the first information providing unit 12a and the second information providing unit 12b provide the first information and the second information as information such as images and sounds.

[0030] The first information providing unit 12a and the second information providing unit 12b are preferably respectively disposed in the region Ra and the region Rb where the first person Pa and the second person Pb are located. The storage unit 13 and the control unit 14 can be appropriately disposed in the region Ra, the region Rb, and other regions.

[0031] The storage unit 13 is a hardware resource for storing information, and is composed of, for example, a secondary storage device (for example, a flash memory, a hard disk, or an SSD (Solid State Drive)), and stores a table T that represents a plurality of positions on the contact surface 11a in correspondence with a plurality of options. The table is, for example, information that represents a range of coordinates on the contact surface 11a in correspondence with the options corresponding to the range.

[0032] The control unit 14 is constituted by, for example, a processor (for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit)). Alternatively, as the control unit 14 and the storage unit 13, a computer such as a personal computer (PC) or a server device may be used.

[0033] The control unit 14 provides the second information from the second information providing unit 12b based on the operation of the first person Pa on the contact sensor 11, thereby performing a call process for calling the second person Pb. The control unit 14 can accept the option selected by the first person Pa based on the table T and the position where the first person Pa touches the contact surface 11a to execute the calling method S10 described later.

[0034] The control unit 14 can control the first information providing unit 12a to provide information indicating the correspondence between a plurality of positions on the contact surface 11a and a plurality of options as the first information. As an example of the first information, an image in which a plurality of options are arranged can be listed. The data of the image can be pre-stored in the storage unit 13 or generated by the control unit 14 based on the table T. The first person Pa can easily select an option using the contact sensor 11 by being provided with the first information.

[0035] Figure 2 1 is a flowchart showing a calling method S10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The calling method S10 executes an acceptance process S11 and a calling process S13. Next, the calling method S10 will be described in detail.

[0036] The control unit 14 executes a plurality of acceptance processes S11. The first person Pa operates the contact sensor 11 to select an option. At this time, the control unit 14 controls the first information providing unit 12a to provide first information to assist the first person Pa in selecting the option. The control unit 14 accepts the option selected by the first person Pa based on the table T and the position where the first person Pa touches the contact surface 11a.

[0037] The acceptance process S11 is, for example, any one of the following first acceptance process, second acceptance process, and third acceptance process. The first acceptance process is a process for accepting the selection of a call process for calling the second person Pb based on the first operation of the first person Pa on the contact sensor 11. The second acceptance process is a process for accepting the selection of the execution of the call process selected in the first acceptance process based on the second operation of the first person Pa on the contact sensor 11. The third acceptance process is an acceptance process for accepting the selection of a reason for calling the second person Pb based on the third operation of the first person Pa on the contact sensor 11.

[0038] The acceptance process S11 can be repeated until the "execution" (selection) of the call process (i.e., the second acceptance process) is accepted (step S12). For example, the first acceptance process and the third acceptance process can be performed before the second acceptance process, and the order of the first acceptance process and the third acceptance process is arbitrary. In addition, the first acceptance process and the third acceptance process can also be performed at the same time. That is, the first acceptance process can also serve as the third acceptance process. For example, in a case where the option selected in the first acceptance process represents both "call process" and "call reason" as described later, the selection of the option corresponds to both the first operation and the third operation (first acceptance process, third acceptance process).

[0039] The control unit 14 performs the call processing after the second acceptance processing (step S12: "Yes"). The control unit 14 controls the second information providing unit 12b to provide the second information for calling the second person Pb through, for example, image information, sound information, or both. The second information preferably includes the information of the call reason selected in the third acceptance processing. The called second person Pb moves from the area Rb to the area Ra to confirm and respond to the status of the first person Pa.

[0040] Next, application examples of the call system 1 applied to (1) medical treatment and nursing care, and (2) work sites will be described. In order to facilitate understanding, the first information providing unit 12a and the second information providing unit 12b are assumed to be display devices that provide image information as information.

[0041] An example in which the call system 1 is applied to medical treatment and nursing care will be described. It is assumed that the first person Pa is a subject of medical treatment or nursing care, for example, lying in bed.

[0042] Figure 3 1 is a schematic diagram showing the relationship between the first information provided by the first information providing unit 12a and the operation of the contact sensor 11. The first information providing unit 12a displays "Call", "Bed Adjustment", "Determine", and "Return" as options. The first information providing unit 12a displays the part where the finger F of the first person Pa touches the contact surface 11a as a cursor AR.

[0043] "Call" is a first option for selecting a call process. "Bed Adjustment" is an option for selecting a call process for bed adjustment. "Bed Adjustment" is a first option for selecting "Call Processing" and a third option for selecting "Reason for Calling". "Determine" is an option for determining the selected option and functions as a second option for selecting execution of a call process when "Call" or "Bed Adjustment" is selected. "Return" is an option for displaying other options not displayed on the first information providing unit 12a.

[0044] The first person Pa can select "Call" or "Bed Adjustment", and then select "Confirmation" of the call. The control unit 14 receives these selections and executes the call process. That is, the control unit 14 controls the second information providing unit 12b to provide the second information for calling the second person. In this case, if "Bed Adjustment" is selected, the second information includes the information of "Bed Adjustment".

[0045] The first person Pa can select an option for the reason for the call after selecting "Call". The information of the option for the reason for the call is provided by the first information providing unit 12a. For example, by setting as follows, "Decide" can be used as an option for providing information of the option for the reason for the call. That is, it is set so that when "Decide" is selected when "Call" is selected, the information of the option for the reason for the call is provided instead of executing the call processing. In addition, as an alternative to this, an option dedicated to "Reason for Call" for providing information of the option for the reason for the call may be displayed together with "Call" and the like.

[0046] Figure 4 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of information of options of call reasons provided by the first information providing unit 12a. The first information providing unit 12a displays "physical abnormality", "fall from bed", "excretion", "decision", and "return" as options.

[0047] "Abnormality of the body", "Falling from the bed" and "Excretion" are third options for selecting a reason for the call. "Determine" is an option for confirming the selected option. "Return" is an option for displaying other options not displayed on the first information providing unit 12a.

[0048] The first person Pa can select the second option for selecting the execution of the call process after selecting the third option for selecting the call reason. The control unit 14 executes the call process after accepting the selection of the third option. In the call process, the second information provided by the second information providing unit 12b includes information on the call reason (either "abnormality of the body", "falling from the bed" or "excretion") selected in the third acceptance process.

[0049] An example in which the call system 1 is applied to a work site will be described. It is assumed that a first person Pa and a second person Pb are a worker and a supervisor of the work, respectively.

[0050] Assume that the work site is divided into areas A1 to A3, B1 to B3, and C1 to C3, and the workers work in each area. That is, it is assumed that a plurality of first persons Pa (workers) can call a second person Pb. It is assumed that the contact sensor 11 and the first information providing unit 12a are also plural in number corresponding to the plurality of first persons Pa. It is assumed that the plurality of first persons Pa each wear a piece of clothing C having a contact sensor 11, and can receive information from the first information providing unit 12a.

[0051] Figure 5 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of information of options provided by the first information providing unit 12a. The first information providing unit 12a displays "A1" to "A3", "B1" to "B3", "C1" to "C3", "Determine", and "Return" as options.

[0052] "A1" to "C3" are first options for selecting call processing, and also serve as options for determining the call location (areas A1 to C3). That is, selecting "A1" means selecting a call to area A1. In this way, the call processing option also serves as an option for adding information to the call processing (here, the location where the call is made), so that the first person Pa can easily and quickly call the second person Pb. In addition, the first information can be shared between different areas A1 to C3.

[0053] "Determine" is an option for confirming the selected option, and functions as a second option for selecting execution of call processing when any one of "A1" to "C3" is selected. "Return" is an option for displaying other options not displayed on the first information providing unit 12a.

[0054] The first person Pa can select any one of "A1" to "C3" based on the display content of the first information providing unit 12a, and then select "determine" for calling. The control unit 14 accepts these selections and executes the call processing. That is, the control unit 14 controls the second information providing unit 12b to provide the second information for calling the second person. In this case, if "A1" is selected, the second information includes information that the call source is the area "A1".

[0055] The first person Pa, for example, can select an option for the reason for the call after selecting "A1". The information on the option for the reason for the call is provided by the first information providing unit 12a. For example, an option dedicated to "reason for the call" for providing information on the option for the reason for the call may be displayed together with "A1" etc., so that the information on the option for the reason for the call is provided when "reason for the call" is selected. Alternatively, when "determine" is selected after "A1", the information on the option for the reason for the call is provided instead of executing the call process. In this case, Figure 5 The "decision" shown does not function as a second option for selecting execution of the call process.

[0056] Figure 6 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of information of options of call reasons provided by the first information providing unit 12a. The first information providing unit 12a displays "Injury / Emergency", "Injury / Minor Injury", "Device / Abnormality", "Device / Maintenance", "Decision", and "Return" as options.

[0057] "Injured / Emergency" indicates that one of the workers is injured and needs emergency treatment. "Injured / Minor Injury" indicates that one of the workers is injured but the injury is relatively minor. "Device / Abnormal" indicates that an abnormality has occurred in the device. "Device / Maintenance" indicates that maintenance of the device is required. "Determine" is an option for confirming the selected option. "Return" is an option for displaying other options that are not displayed on the first information providing unit 12a.

[0058] The first person Pa can select the second option for selecting the execution of the call process after selecting the third option for selecting the call reason. The control unit 14 executes the call process after accepting the selection of the third option. In this call process, the second information provided by the second information providing unit 12b includes information on the call reason (any one of "injury / emergency", "injury / minor injury", "device / abnormality" and "device / maintenance") selected in the third acceptance process.

[0059] Figure 7 : is a schematic diagram showing an example of the second information provided by the second information providing unit 12b. Here, in response to the selection of "Injured / Emergency", the second information providing unit 12b displays "A2 Emergency" to indicate that an injured person requiring emergency treatment has occurred in the area A2.

[0060] Here, the second information providing unit 12b displays Figure 5 The second information providing unit 12b is used for both monitoring the operating state of the contact sensor 11 and processing the call. In this way, when the operating state of the contact sensor 11 can be monitored by the second information providing unit 12b, the second person Pb can easily detect the situation of the first person Pa before the call is processed.

[0061] As above, in the calling system 1, the first person Pa can operate the contact sensor 11 based on the assistance from the first information providing section 12a to call the second person Pb. The first person Pa can select a calling reason and present the calling reason at the time of calling.

[0062] [Note]

[0063] The calling system of method 1 is a calling system for a first person to call a second person, and the calling system comprises: a contact sensor, which is a mutual capacitance contact sensor having a fibrous conductor, the contact sensor can be formed integrally with clothes worn by the first person, or can be installed on the clothes, and the contact sensor is operated by the first person; a first information providing unit, which is used to provide the first person with first information for assisting the operation of the contact sensor; a second information providing unit, which is used to provide the second person with second information for calling the second person; and a control unit, which provides the second information from the second information providing unit based on the operation of the contact sensor by the first person, thereby performing call processing for calling the second person.

[0064] With the calling system 1 of aspect 1, the first person Pa can operate the contact sensor 11 based on the assistance from the first information providing unit 12a to call the second person Pb.

[0065] In the calling system of method 2, based on the calling system of method 1, the control unit executes the call processing after executing a first acceptance processing and a second acceptance processing, wherein the first acceptance processing is a processing for accepting the selection of the call processing based on the first person's first operation on the contact sensor, and the second acceptance processing is a processing for accepting the selection of the execution of the call processing selected in the first acceptance processing based on the first person's second operation on the contact sensor.

[0066] According to the call system 1 of the second embodiment, the first person Pa can select a call process and then select execution of the selected call process. As a result, it is possible to reduce the occurrence of erroneous call processes.

[0067] In the calling system of method 3, based on the calling system of method 2, the contact sensor has a contact surface that the first person can directly or indirectly contact, and the calling system has a storage unit, which stores a table that represents multiple positions on the contact surface corresponding to multiple options, and the multiple options include a first option for selecting the call processing and a second option for selecting the execution of the call processing. The control unit executes the first acceptance processing and the second acceptance processing based on the table and the position on the contact surface that the first person contacts.

[0068] With the call system 1 of method 3, the control unit 14 can accept selection of a first option for selecting a call process and a second option for selecting execution of the call process based on a table T indicating a plurality of positions on the contact surface 11a of the contact sensor 11 in correspondence with a plurality of options.

[0069] In the calling system of method 4, based on the calling system of method 2 or 3, the control unit performs a third acceptance process based on the third operation of the first person on the contact sensor, and then performs the call process, the third acceptance process is a process of accepting a selection of a reason for calling the second person, and the second information provided in the call process includes information on the reason for calling selected in the third acceptance process.

[0070] Through the calling system 1 of mode 4, the first person Pa can select a calling reason for calling the second person Pb, and the selected calling reason is presented when calling the second person Pb.

[0071] In the calling system of method 5, in the calling system of any one of methods 1 to 4, the contact sensor is mounted on at least one of the left sleeve and the right sleeve of the garment, or is formed integrally with at least one of the left sleeve and the right sleeve of the garment.

[0072] By using the calling system 1 of mode 5, the first person Pa can operate the contact sensor disposed on the sleeve on the side opposite to the dominant hand with the dominant hand. The first person Pa can easily operate the contact sensor 11 with the dominant hand by wearing clothes having the contact sensor disposed on the sleeve on the side opposite to the dominant hand. In addition, when using clothes C having the contact sensor 11 disposed on both the left sleeve and the right sleeve, the first person Pa can easily operate the contact sensor 11 with the dominant hand regardless of whether the dominant hand is the left hand or the right hand.

[0073] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the claims. Embodiments obtained by appropriately combining technical means disclosed in different embodiments are also included in the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A calling system, used for a first person to call a second person, the calling system comprising: a contact sensor, which is a mutual capacitance type contact sensor having a fibrous conductor, the contact sensor being able to be formed integrally with the clothes worn by the first person, or being able to be mounted on the clothes, and the contact sensor being operated by the first person; a first information providing unit configured to provide the first person with first information for assisting the operation of the contact sensor; A second information providing unit, configured to provide the second person with second information for calling the second person; as well as A control unit that performs a call process for calling the second person by providing the second information from the second information providing unit based on the operation of the contact sensor by the first person.

2. The calling system according to claim 1, wherein: The control unit executes the call processing after executing the first acceptance processing and the second acceptance processing, The first acceptance process is a process of accepting selection of the call process based on a first operation of the first person on the contact sensor. The second acceptance process is a process of accepting a selection of execution of the call process selected in the first acceptance process based on a second operation of the first person on the contact sensor.

3. The calling system according to claim 2, wherein: The contact sensor has a contact surface that can be directly or indirectly contacted by the first person, The calling system includes a storage unit storing a table in which a plurality of positions on the touch surface are represented in correspondence with a plurality of options. The plurality of options include a first option for selecting the call process and a second option for selecting execution of the call process, The control unit executes the first acceptance process and the second acceptance process based on the position at which the watch and the first character are in contact with the contact surface.

4. The calling system according to claim 2 or 3, wherein: The control unit executes a third acceptance process based on a third operation of the first person on the contact sensor, and then executes the call process, wherein the third acceptance process is a process of accepting a selection of a reason for calling the second person, The second information provided in the call processing includes information on the call reason selected in the third acceptance processing.

5. The calling system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: The contact sensor is attached to at least one of the left sleeve and the right sleeve of the garment, or is formed integrally with at least one of the left sleeve and the right sleeve of the garment.

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