Remote monitoring system, information processor, program, and adapter device

Abstract

To provide a remote monitoring system which can keep the cost for installation low and can exhaustively monitor the activity situation of an observation subject.SOLUTION: According to the present invention, there is provided the remote monitoring system including: an adapter device electrically connecting an illumination socket and an illuminator to each other; and an information processor. The adapter device has radio communication means for sending predetermined information to the information processor at set intervals by working with a power source supplied from the socket while the socket is being supplied with electricity. The information processor has a conductive state history recording unit for recording a conductive state history as a history of the conductive state of the socket based on the reception history of receiving the conduction information from the adapter device, and a monitoring information generation unit for generating monitoring information based on the conductive state history.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a remote monitoring system, an information processing device, and an adapter device. [Background technology]

[0002] There has traditionally been a demand for remote monitoring of the activities of elderly people living alone or children left at home.

[0003] In this regard, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-78138 (Patent Document 1) discloses a lifestyle monitoring device that makes it possible to abstract output information from various sensors provided to detect the activity status of a person being observed and provide it to the observer, in order to protect the privacy of the person being observed.

[0004] However, it takes a lot of time and money to place sensors in various locations and comprehensively monitor the activity status of the person being observed. In this regard, a method of monitoring the activity status of the person being observed based on the usage status of existing household appliances (e.g., electric kettles) is widely known as a low-cost method to implement, but such a method using household appliances installed in specific locations in the house has the problem that it is not possible to comprehensively monitor the activity status throughout the entire house, and furthermore, depending on the type of household appliance, the frequency of use may change depending on the season or weather, resulting in a problem of variation in the accuracy of the information obtained. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the problems in the conventional technology described above, and has an object to provide a remote monitoring system capable of comprehensively monitoring the activity status of an observation subject. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The present inventors have thoroughly investigated the configuration of a remote monitoring system capable of comprehensively monitoring the activity status of an observation subject, and as a result, have come up with the following configuration and completed the present invention.

[0007] That is, according to the present invention, there is provided a remote monitoring system including an adapter device which electrically connects a lighting socket and a lighting device, and an information processing device which is communicatively connected to the adapter device via a network, the adapter device including wireless communication means which operates on power supplied from the socket while power is applied to the socket and transmits predetermined information to the information processing device at set transmission intervals, the information processing device including a power supply history recording unit which records a power supply state history which is a history of the power supply state of the socket based on a reception history of the power supply information received from the adapter device, and a monitoring information generation unit which generates monitoring information based on the power supply state history. Effect of the Invention

[0008] As described above, according to the present invention, a remote monitoring system capable of comprehensively monitoring the activity status of a subject of observation is provided. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a system configuration of a remote monitoring system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an adapter device according to the embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the remote monitoring system according to the embodiment. [Figure 4] 3A to 3C are diagrams showing various tables held by the remote monitoring server of the embodiment; [Diagram 5] FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram showing a process executed by the remote monitoring system of the present embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a service screen of a remote monitoring service according to the embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a service screen of a remote monitoring service according to the embodiment. [Figure 8]FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a service screen of a remote monitoring service according to the embodiment. [Figure 9] 5 is a conceptual diagram for explaining an energization information reception history and an energization state history. FIG. [Figure 10] FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram showing a process executed by the remote monitoring system of the present embodiment. [Figure 11] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a service screen of a remote monitoring service according to the embodiment. [Figure 12] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a service screen of a remote monitoring service according to the embodiment. [Figure 13] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of a remote monitoring server according to the embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] The present invention will be described below with reference to an embodiment, but the present invention is not limited to the embodiment described below. In the drawings referred to below, the same reference numerals are used for common elements, and the description thereof will be omitted as appropriate.

[0011] As shown in FIG. 1, a remote monitoring system 1000 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a remote monitoring server 200 and a plurality of adapter devices 100 arranged on a network 70 referred to as the Internet or the like.

[0012] As shown in FIG. 1, lighting sockets 20 (hereinafter referred to as sockets 20) for supplying commercial power to lighting devices 30 are provided in various places in a typical house 80. The adapter device 100 of this embodiment has an electrical configuration equivalent to that of a typical base conversion adapter, and fits into both the receptacle of the socket 20 and the base of the lighting device 30 to electrically connect the two.

[0013] 1 illustrates a light bulb-type illuminator (such as an incandescent light bulb, an LED light bulb, or a light bulb-type fluorescent lamp) having a screw-in base as the illuminator 30, but the adapter device 100 of this embodiment may be compatible with a socket of an illuminator (such as various fluorescent lamps or LED lights) having a snap-in base, in which case the adapter device 100 has an appropriate adapter structure compatible with the snap-in base. However, the following description will be given taking as an example the adapter device 100 compatible with the light bulb-type illuminator 30 (hereinafter referred to as the light bulb 30).

[0014] Here, the adapter device 100 is equipped with a wireless communication function compatible with a predetermined wireless standard such as Wi-Fi (registered trademark) or Bluetooth (registered trademark), and establishes wireless communication with a wireless LAN access point 50 installed in a house 80, and is connected to the remote monitoring server 200 so as to be able to communicate with each other via a wired LAN 60 connected to the access point 50 and a network 70.

[0015] On the other hand, the remote monitoring server 200 of this embodiment is an information processing device equipped with a database function and a Web application server function. The remote monitoring server 200 accumulates information received from each adapter device 100 via a network 70, executes various processes based on the accumulated information, and provides the results of the execution to a user terminal 40 referred to as a PC, a smartphone, or the like, or a predetermined external server 300 via the network 70.

[0016] Having described above the outline of the remote monitoring system 1000 of this embodiment, the detailed configuration of the adapter device 100 of this embodiment will now be described with reference to FIG.

[0017] FIG. 2(a) shows the appearance of the adapter device 100 of this embodiment. For convenience of explanation, FIG. 2(a) shows a cutaway view of the adapter device 100. As shown in FIG. 2(a), the adapter device 100 is composed of a base portion 11 and a substantially cylindrical holder portion 12 made of an insulating material such as synthetic resin. Here, the base portion 11 is formed so as to be screwed into a receptacle of a socket 20, and the holder portion 12 has a receptacle 13 formed on its inner circumferential surface so as to be screwed into the base of a light bulb 30. In addition, the serial number of the adapter device 100 is engraved as a unique identifier at an appropriate position on the surface of the adapter device 100. In addition, the adapter device 100 is equipped with a wireless communication unit 10 for wireless communication with an access point 50, embedded inside the holder portion 12.

[0018] 2(b) shows a hardware configuration of the wireless communication unit 10 mounted on the adapter device 100. As shown in FIG. 2(b), the wireless communication unit 10 includes a power supply control circuit 16, a microcomputer 17, an antenna 18, and a communication interface 19.

[0019] In this embodiment, terminal 14 of base portion 11 comes into contact with terminal 22 of socket 20, and terminal 15 of holder portion 12 comes into contact with the terminal of the base of light bulb 30, thereby forming an electrical path between terminal 22 of socket 20 and light bulb 30. Wireless communication unit 10 is configured so that when switch 23, which turns light bulb 30 on and off, is turned on, commercial power is supplied to both socket 20 and power supply control circuit 16, and when switch 23 is turned off, the power supply to both socket 20 and power supply control circuit 16 is cut off.

[0020] Here, the power supply control circuit 16 is configured to convert the power supply voltage supplied from a commercial power supply into a DC power supply voltage of a predetermined voltage value and supply it to the microcomputer 17. The microcomputer 17 is configured to operate on the DC power supply voltage supplied from the power supply control circuit 16 and to transmit and receive wireless signals via the antenna 18.

[0021] Furthermore, the microcomputer 17 is configured to receive input of information via the communication interface 19. Examples of standards for the communication interface 19 include USB (Universal Serial Bus) and NFC (Near Field Communication), and the wireless communication unit 10 may include, for example, both a USB interface and an NFC USB interface.

[0022] Having described above the detailed configuration of the adapter device 100 of this embodiment, the functional configuration of the adapter device 100 and the remote monitoring server 200 will now be described with reference to the functional block diagram shown in FIG.

[0023] The adapter device 100 includes a wireless communication establishment unit 102, a power supply information transmission unit 104, and a storage area .

[0024] The wireless communication establishment unit 102 is a means for searching for a wireless LAN access point and establishing wireless communication with the discovered access point.

[0025] The power supply information transmitting unit 104 is a means for periodically transmitting power supply information indicating that power is being supplied to the socket 20 connected to the adapter device 100 to the remote monitoring server 200 while power is being supplied to the socket 20.

[0026] Memory area 106 is a memory area provided by a non-volatile memory element (such as a flash memory) mounted on microcomputer 17, and stores the serial number (manufacturing number) of the device itself, the URL (destination information) of remote monitoring server 200 to which the previously described power information is to be sent, the transmission interval for the power information, and connection information (ESSID of access point 50, encryption key, etc.) for connecting to the wireless LAN of the house to be monitored.

[0027] In this embodiment, the microcomputer 17 that executes a predetermined program functions as each of the above-mentioned means.

[0028] On the other hand, the remote monitoring server 200 is composed of a login processing unit 201, an adapter registration unit 202, a warning condition setting unit 203, a power information reception history recording unit 204, a power status history recording unit 205, a monitoring information generation unit 206, a monitoring information transmission unit 207, a warning condition establishment determination unit 208, a warning information transmission unit 209, and a database 210.

[0029] The login processing unit 201 is a unit that executes login processing in response to a login request from the user terminal 40.

[0030] The adapter registration unit 202 is a means for executing registration and deregistration of the adapter device 100 .

[0031] The warning condition setting unit 203 is a means for setting warning conditions received from the user.

[0032] The power information reception history recording unit 204 is a means for recording the reception history of the power information periodically transmitted from the adapter device 100 .

[0033] The power-on state history recording unit 205 is a means for recording a history of whether or not power is being applied to the socket 20 (hereinafter referred to as power-on state history) based on the power information received from the adapter device.

[0034] The monitoring information generating unit 206 is a unit that generates predetermined monitoring information based on the power supply state history recorded by the power supply state history recording unit 205 .

[0035] The monitoring information transmission unit 207 is a means for transmitting predetermined monitoring information in response to a request from a user or the external server 300 .

[0036] The warning condition satisfaction determination unit 208 is a means for determining whether or not a preset warning condition is satisfied based on the power supply state history recorded by the power supply state history recording unit 205 .

[0037] The warning information transmission unit 209 is a means for transmitting predetermined warning information to a destination registered in advance when it is determined that a warning condition is met.

[0038] The database 210 is a means for retaining a user information management table 500 in which user information for each user is stored, an adapter information management table 600 in which adapter information for each registered adapter device 100 is stored, a warning setting information management table 700 in which warning setting information for each user is stored, a history of the reception time of power information for each registered adapter device 100 (hereinafter referred to as a reception log), and a power status history for each registered adapter device 100. Here, Fig. 4(a) shows the user information management table 500, Fig. 4(b) shows the adapter information management table 600, and Fig. 4(c) shows the warning setting information management table 700.

[0039] In this embodiment, the remote monitoring server 200 that executes a predetermined program functions as each of the above-mentioned means.

[0040] The functional configurations of the adapter device 100 and the remote monitoring server 200 have been described above. Next, the processing executed by the remote monitoring system 1000 of this embodiment will be described.

[0041] Here, first, the flow of operations from when a user of this system installs a new adapter device 100 in a house (hereinafter referred to as a house) where an observed person (such as an elderly person living alone) lives and starts operating the adapter device 100 will be described based on the sequence diagram shown in FIG. 5.

[0042] First, the user operates the user terminal 40 to access the Web service "Remote Monitoring Service" provided by the remote monitoring server 200, inputs account information into the "Login Screen" shown in Fig. 6(a), and selects the "Login" button (S1). In response to this, the user terminal 40 transmits a login request including the input account information to the remote monitoring server 200 (S2). The login processing unit 201 of the remote monitoring server 200 collates the account information received from the user terminal 40 with the account information registered in the user information management table 500 (see Fig. 4(a)) to perform user authentication (S3), and permits login of users who have been successfully authenticated.

[0043] At this time, the remote monitoring server 200 transmits the "monitoring information screen" shown in Fig. 6(b) to the user terminal 40 that has successfully logged in, and the user terminal 40 displays this. In response to this, when the user selects the "adapter registration" button displayed on the "monitoring information screen", the "monitoring information screen" transitions to the "adapter registration screen" shown in Fig. 7(a).

[0044] In response to this, the user inputs the following adapter information (1) to (4) relating to one or more adapter devices 100 to be registered from an input form displayed on the "adapter registration screen" (S4). (1) Serial number of adapter device 100 (2) Name of adapter device 100 (3) Installation location of adapter device 100 (4) The transmission interval of the power information to be transmitted by the adapter device 100

[0045] For (1) above, the user inputs the serial number engraved on the surface of the adapter device 100. For (2) above, the user inputs an appropriate name for identifying the adapter device 100 (for example, any character string that evokes the installation location of the adapter device 100). For (3) above, the user inputs any character string for identifying the installation location of the adapter device 100.

[0046] For the above (4), the user inputs an appropriate transmission interval according to the purpose of the lighting to which the adapter device 100 is connected and the desired monitoring accuracy. Specifically, since lighting in places such as toilets, washrooms, bedrooms, and entranceways is often turned on for a relatively short period of time, the transmission interval of the adapter device 100 to which these are connected can be set to about 1 minute, whereas lighting in the living room, etc. is often turned on for a relatively long period of time, the transmission interval of the adapter device 100 to which these are connected can be set to about 10 minutes.

[0047] Thereafter, in response to the user selecting the "Register" button, the user terminal 40 transmits an adapter registration request including the above-mentioned input adapter information (1) to (4) to the remote monitoring server 200 (S5). In response to this, the adapter registration unit 202 of the remote monitoring server 200 creates a new adapter information management table 600 (see FIG. 4(b)) related to the logged-in user, and stores the adapter information (1) to (4) included in the adapter registration request received from the user terminal 40 in the corresponding fields of the created table.

[0048] Next, when the user returns to the "Monitoring Information Screen" shown in FIG. 6(b) and selects the "Warning Setting" button, the "Monitoring Information Screen" transitions to the "Warning Setting Screen" shown in FIG. 7(b). Here, the "remote monitoring service" of this embodiment provides a service of sending a warning email to a pre-registered email address when the state of the socket 20 connected to the adapter device 100 without any change reaches a set time threshold, and the user inputs the time threshold as the warning condition and the desired email address as the warning destination from an input form displayed on the "Warning Setting Screen" (S7). Note that possible destinations for sending the warning email include the user himself, family members living in the vicinity of the observed subject, welfare organizations, family doctors, security companies, and the like.

[0049] Thereafter, in response to the user selecting the "Register" button, the user terminal 40 transmits an alert setting request including the input alert condition and alert destination to the remote monitoring server 200 (S8). In response to this, the alert condition setting unit 203 of the remote monitoring server 200 creates a new record for the logged-in user in the alert setting information management table 700 (see FIG. 4(c)), and stores the alert condition and alert destination registration information included in the alert setting request received from the user terminal 40 in the corresponding fields of the created record (S9).

[0050] Next, the user inputs and sets (S10) the same value as the transmission interval input in S4 described above to the wireless communication unit 10 of each registered adapter device 100 via the communication interface 19. At this time, the set transmission interval is stored in the memory area 106.

[0051] Next, the user inputs and sets connection information (ESSID, encryption key, etc.) required for wireless connection to the access point 50 installed in the house to the wireless communication unit 10 of each registered adapter device 100 via the communication interface 19 (S11). At this time, the set connection information is stored in the memory area 106.

[0052] After completing the wireless connection setting, the wireless communication establishment unit 102 of each adapter device 100 establishes wireless communication with the access point 50 installed in the house (S12). In this embodiment, after completing the wireless connection setting of the registered adapter device 100, the user can check the contents on the "Network Setting Confirmation Screen" shown in FIG. 8(a). As shown in FIG. 8(a), the "Network Setting Confirmation Screen" displays a list of the name, serial number, IP address, and MAC address of the adapter device 100 that has established wireless communication with the access point 50. In response to this, when the user selects the "Detailed Settings" button displayed in the list, the "Network Setting Confirmation Screen" transitions to the "Network Detailed Settings Screen" shown in FIG. 8(b). In the "Network Detailed Settings Screen", the user can receive detailed settings related to the network settings of the adapter device 100.

[0053] Thereafter, the user installs the base 11 of the registered adapter device 100 in the registered installation position (S13). Specifically, after removing the light bulb 30 from the socket 20 disposed in the registered installation position, the base 11 of the adapter device 100 whose installation position has been registered is screwed into the receptacle of the socket 20, and the base of the removed light bulb 30 is screwed into the receptacle 13 of the holder part 12 of the adapter device 100, thereby electrically connecting the socket 20 and the light bulb 30.

[0054] Thereafter, when the switch 23 of the socket 20 connected to the adapter device 100 installed in each place in the house is turned on and power is applied to the socket 20, the microcomputer 17 mounted on the adapter device 100 receives power from the power supply control circuit 16 and starts up (see FIG. 2(b)). In response to this, the power information transmitting unit 104 of the adapter device 100 generates power information including its own serial number and transmits the generated power information to the remote monitoring server 200 at a communication interval stored in the memory area 106 (S14). Thereafter, the power information transmitting unit 104 repeatedly executes S14 while power is being supplied to the adapter device 100 (i.e., while power is being applied to the socket 20).

[0055] Meanwhile, the power information reception history recording unit 204 of the remote monitoring server 200 records the reception time of the power information received from the adapter device 100 in a reception log (reception history) (S13). Fig. 9(a) shows the reception log stored for each serial number.

[0056] In parallel with the power information reception history recording unit 204 updating the reception log for each serial number, the power status history recording unit 205 of the remote monitoring server 200 determines the power status indicating whether or not power is being applied (on / off) to the socket 20 connected to each adapter device 100 based on the reception log of each adapter device 100, and repeats the process of updating the power status history of each adapter device 100 stored in the database 210 based on the determination result (S16).

[0057] To explain this in detail with reference to Fig. 9(b), the power-on state history recording unit 205 judges the power-on state to be "ON" when power-on information is received from the adapter device 100, and when a time threshold T has elapsed without receiving the next power-on information after receiving the power-on information, it judges the power-on state to be "OFF", and repeats this process, recording and updating the change in the judgment result over time as the power-on state history. Here, the time threshold T can be a value obtained by adding an appropriate margin to the communication interval (see Fig. 4(b)) set in each adapter device 100.

[0058] The above has described the flow from newly installing the adapter device 100 in a house to operating it. Next, the process executed when a user views monitoring information will be described with reference to the sequence diagram shown in FIG. 10.

[0059] When a user who wants to check the current situation of a person being observed logs in to the "remote monitoring service" (S1), the user terminal 40 transmits a login request to the remote monitoring server 200 (S2). In response to this, the login processing unit 201 of the remote monitoring server 200 performs user authentication (S3) and permits the user to log in.

[0060] Next, the monitoring information generating unit 206 of the remote monitoring server 200 generates monitoring information related to the logged-in user (S4). Specifically, the power-on state history of one or more adapter devices 100 registered by the logged-in user is read from the database 210, and the current "power-on state" of the light bulbs 30 connected to each adapter device 100 and the "elapsed time" since the transition to the current power-on state are obtained based on the read power-on state history. After that, a list of the obtained "power-on state" and "elapsed time" for each adapter device 100 is generated as monitoring information.

[0061] Thereafter, the monitoring information generation unit 206 transmits the generated monitoring information to the logged-in user terminal 40 (S5). In response, the user terminal 40 displays a "monitoring information screen" including the received monitoring information (S6). FIG. 11(a) shows the "monitoring information screen" displayed in S6. As shown in FIG. 11(a), the "monitoring information screen" displays a list of monitoring information including the "name," "installation location," "power status," and "elapsed time" of each adapter device 100 registered by the user.

[0062] At this time, when the user checks the box corresponding to the "name" he / she wishes to check from among the "graph" check boxes displayed in the list on the "monitoring information screen" and then selects the "display graph" button (S7), the user terminal 40 transmits a monitoring information request including the serial number of the adapter device 100 having the "name" selected by the user to the remote monitoring server 200 (S8). In response to this, the monitoring information generating unit 206 reads out the power-on state history linked to the serial number included in the monitoring information request from the database 210, and generates monitoring information in the form of a bar graph of the power-on state history from midnight on the current day (S9).

[0063] Thereafter, the monitoring information transmission unit 207 transmits the generated graph (monitoring information) to the user terminal 40 (S10), and the user terminal 40 displays a "monitoring information screen" including the received graph (S11). FIG. 11(b) shows the "monitoring information screen" displayed in S11. As shown in FIG. 11(b), the "monitoring information screen" displays, as monitoring information, bar graphs of the power supply state history corresponding to the four names selected by the user ("toilet", "living room", "bedroom", and "entrance").

[0064] As shown in FIG. 11(b), a graph visualizing the power status history of the sockets 20 installed in various places in the house accurately reflects the activity status of the person being observed. By comparing this graph with the personality and daily behavioral patterns of the person being observed that the user knows, the user can estimate the activity status of the person being observed with a high degree of accuracy.

[0065] For example, the user can infer the following about the behavior of the observed subject (eg, an elderly person living alone) from the graph shown in FIG. (1) Went to the bathroom at around 3am. (The subject has recently been experiencing frequent urination.) (2) After going to the bathroom, the subject was unable to fall asleep for about an hour. (The subject has difficulty falling asleep.) (3) Waking up at around 6:00 a.m. and moving to the living room. (The subject has the habit of watching a TV drama series every morning.) (4) Going out around 3 p.m. (The subject has the habit of going to the bathroom before going out.)

[0066] Although the above description has been given of a form in which monitoring information is provided mainly to individual users, the present system does not limit the provision of monitoring information to individual users, and can also open the WebAPI of the remote monitoring server 200 to receive and provide a monitoring information request from the external server 300. Examples of the operator of such an external server 300 include a security company and a medical institution. In this case, upon receiving a monitoring information request from the external server 300 (S12), the monitoring information generating unit 206 generates the predetermined monitoring information requested by the external server 300 based on the information (reception log, power-on state history, etc.) stored in the database 210 (S13), and the monitoring information transmitting unit 207 transmits the generated monitoring information to the external server 300 (S14).

[0067] Meanwhile, the warning condition satisfaction determination unit 208 of the remote monitoring server 200 continuously monitors the power-on state history of each adapter device 100 registered by the user, and repeats the process of determining whether the warning condition set by the user is satisfied (S15). Specifically, it periodically determines whether the duration of the state in which the power-on state of the light bulbs 30 connected to all adapter devices 100 registered by the user remains unchanged reaches the set warning condition (time), and if it determines that the warning condition is reached, the warning information transmission unit 209 sends predetermined warning information by email to the warning destination registered in advance by the user (S16).

[0068] Instead of or in addition to sending the warning information by email, the remote monitoring server 200 may send a push notification of the warning information to the user terminal 40 logged in to the "remote monitoring service." Also, instead of or in addition to the policy of sending warning information when the power-on state of all the sockets 20 remains unchanged for a long period of time, a policy of sending warning information based on the power-on state of the socket 20 installed at a specific location may be adopted. An example of such a policy is a policy of sending warning information when the power-on state of the socket 20 for the bathroom light changes with a certain frequency or more (i.e., when the user frequently goes to the bathroom).

[0069] In this embodiment, the deregistration of the adapter device 100 is performed in the following procedure. That is, when the user selects the "Deregistration" button displayed on the "Monitoring Information Screen" shown in FIG. 11(b), the "Monitoring Information Screen" transitions to the "Adapter Deregistration Screen" shown in FIG. 12. At this time, the "Adapter Deregistration Screen" displays a list of the registered adapter devices 100 with check boxes. When the user checks the box of the adapter device that the user wants to deregister and selects the "Deregistration" button (S17), the user terminal 40 transmits a deregistration request including the serial number of the adapter device selected by the user to the remote monitoring server 200 (S18). In response to this, the adapter registration unit 202 of the remote monitoring server 200 deletes the record that matches the serial number included in the deregistration request from the adapter information management table 600 (see FIG. 4(b)) linked to the user ID of the logged-in user (S19).

[0070] The remote monitoring system 1000 of this embodiment has been described above. The advantages of this system will now be summarized as follows.

[0071] First, this system can be constructed simply by fitting the adapter device 100 to a lighting socket already installed in the house, eliminating the need for sensor installation work or electrical wiring work, which makes it possible to keep implementation costs low. Second, since the activity status of the person being observed is clearly reflected in the on / off operation of the lighting switch regardless of the season, this system, which focuses on the power supply state of the lighting socket, makes it possible to estimate the activity status of the person being observed with a high degree of accuracy. Third, this system can sense various parts of the house, making it possible to comprehensively monitor the activity status of the person being observed throughout the entire house.

[0072] Finally, the hardware configuration of the remote monitoring server 200 of this embodiment will be described with reference to the hardware configuration diagram shown in FIG.

[0073] The information processing device that constitutes the remote monitoring server 200 comprises a processor 212 that controls the operation of the entire device, a ROM 213 that stores boot programs, firmware programs, etc., a RAM 214 that provides an execution space for executing programs, an auxiliary storage device 215 for storing an operating system (OS) and various applications, etc., an input / output interface 216 for connecting an external input / output device, and a network interface 218 for connecting to a network 70.

[0074] Although the present invention has been described above with reference to the embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and as long as the functions and effects of the present invention are achieved within the scope of embodiments that a person skilled in the art can imagine, the scope of the present invention is included. For example, an embodiment in which a function equivalent to the wireless communication unit 10 described above is embedded inside the light bulb 30 and the light bulb 30 is directly connected to the socket 20 is naturally included in the scope of the present invention. In this case, a serial number (unique identifier) ​​is engraved at an appropriate position on the surface of the light bulb 30, and the user registers the serial numbers, names, installation locations, and transmission intervals of power information of the light bulbs 30 installed in various places in the remote monitoring server 200.

[0075] Each function of the above-mentioned embodiments can be realized by a device-executable program written in C, C++, C#, Java (registered trademark), etc., and the program of this embodiment can be stored and distributed on a device-readable recording medium such as a hard disk drive, CD-ROM, MO, DVD, flexible disk, EEPROM, or EPROM, and can also be transmitted over a network in a format that can be used by other devices. [Explanation of symbols]

[0076] 10...Wireless communication unit 11…Flange part 12...Holder part 13…Receipt 14…Terminal 15…Terminal 16...Power supply control circuit 17...Microcomputer 18…Antenna 19...Communication interface 20…Lighting socket 22...Terminal 23…Switch 30…Lighting equipment (light bulb) 40...User terminal 50…Access point 60…Wired LAN 70…Network 80…house 100...Adapter device 102...wireless communication establishment unit 104...Electricity information transmission unit 106…Storage area 200: Remote monitoring server 201: Login processing section 202...Adapter registration section 203...Warning condition setting section 204... Power information reception history recording unit 205... Power supply state history recording unit 206…Monitoring information generation unit 207…Monitoring information transmission unit 208…Warning condition establishment determination unit 209...Warning information transmission unit 210…Database 212…Processor 213...ROM 214…RAM 215…Auxiliary storage device 216... Input / Output Interface 218…Network interface 300: External server 500...User information management table 600...Adapter information management table 700...Warning setting information management table 1000...Remote monitoring system [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0077] [Patent Document 1] JP 2005-78138 A

Claims

1. A system including a device and an information processing device capable of communicating with the device via a network, The apparatus comprises: a wireless communication means for transmitting information to the information processing device while power is being supplied; The information processing device includes: an acquisition means for acquiring the information transmitted from the wireless communication means; updating means for updating a state of the device based on the information; Including, the system.

2. The information processing device, A determination means for determining the state based on the information, The update means updates the state based on the determination result of the determination means. The system of claim 1 .

3. the determination means determines that the device is in a first state when the device receives the information from the wireless communication means, and determines that the device is in a second state when the device does not receive the next information after receiving the information. The system of claim 2.

4. The determination means determines that the second state is present when a predetermined time has elapsed without receiving the next information after receiving the information from the wireless communication means. The system of claim 3.

5. The first state is a state in which power is supplied to the device, and the second state is a state in which power is not supplied to the device.

5. A system according to claim 3 or 4.

6. The wireless communication means transmits the information to the information processing device at predetermined intervals while the power is being supplied. A system according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

7. The device is electrically connected to a socket, When the socket is energized in response to an operation of a switch for energizing the socket, the wireless communication means receives the power supply, starts up, and transmits the information to the information processing device. A system according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

8. The device is an illuminator. A system according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

9. The device is an adapter that electrically connects a socket and a illuminator. A system according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

10. A method executed by a system including a device and an information processing device capable of communicating with the device via a network, comprising: transmitting information to the information processing device while the device is powered; The information processing device acquires the information transmitted from the device; updating a state of the information processing device based on the information; Includes, a method.

11. An information processing device capable of communicating with a device via a network, An acquisition means for acquiring information transmitted from the device while power is being supplied to the device; updating means for updating a state of the device based on the information; Includes an information processing device.

12. A computer capable of communicating with the device via a network, an acquisition means for acquiring information transmitted from the device while power is being supplied to the device; updating means for updating a state of the device based on said information; A program to function as a

13. A lighting device electrically connected to a lighting socket and receiving power in response to operation of a switch for energizing the socket, a wireless communication means for transmitting information at predetermined intervals while the power is being supplied; Illumination fixture.

Images