Safety belt use state checking device and use state checking system

Abstract

To provide a safety belt use state checking device and a safety belt use state checking system that can be easily applied even to a safety belt on the market.SOLUTION: A safety belt use state checking device includes an inclination sensor 31 and a beacon 32 (a kind of wireless ID tag) that can be attached to a safety belt hook 3, and a controller 11 incorporating an altimeter 15, which can be attached to a safety belt body 2. The controller 11 determines whether the safety belt hook 3 engages with an engaged object properly on the basis of a) a height measured by the altimeter 15, b) information on a distance between the beacon and the controller or on whether the beacon is far from the controller or close to the controller, provided as a signal from the beacon 32, and c) information on a posture of the safety belt hook 3 provided as a signal from the inclination sensor 31.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a safety belt use status confirmation device and a safety belt use status confirmation system that integrates and manages the use status confirmation devices. [Background technology]

[0002] In order to protect workers working at heights from falls and ensure their safety, workers are required to wear safety belts. A typical safety belt consists of a safety belt body (including a waist belt and other parts) worn by the worker, a safety belt hook for attaching the safety belt to a fixed object at the work site (for example, a horizontal bar or other object to be attached to the scaffolding), and a lifeline for connecting the safety belt body to the safety belt hook.

[0003] Conventionally, various techniques and methods have been proposed for checking whether a safety belt is being used correctly by a worker, more specifically, whether a safety belt hook is properly hooked to a hooked object. For example, various devices have been proposed, such as a device using a dedicated hook for hooking confirmation (Patent Document 1), a device using a hooked object with a special shape, and a device using a retractable lanyard (Patent Document 2). However, the conventional devices generally have some restrictions, and cannot be easily applied to existing safety belts currently on the market. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2022-182771 [Patent Document 2] Patent Publication No. 2009-165517 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a safety belt usage status confirmation device that can be easily applied to commercially available safety belts, and to provide a safety belt usage status confirmation system that can be relatively easily constructed using such a usage status confirmation device. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The present invention provides a safety belt usage status confirmation device for confirming the usage status of a safety belt that is worn by a worker and that is composed of a safety belt body, a safety belt hook, and a lifeline that connects the safety belt body and the safety belt hook, a tilt sensor attachable to the safety belt hook; a radio frequency identification tag attachable to the safety belt hook; A controller having an altimeter built therein, which can be attached to the safety belt body or to a worker wearing the safety belt body; Equipped with The controller is capable of receiving signals from the tilt sensor and the radio frequency identification tag, and the controller further comprises: a) the altitude measured by said altimeter; b) information about the distance or proximity between the radio frequency identification tag and a controller, the information being provided as a signal from the radio frequency identification tag; and c) information about the position of the safety belt hook provided as a signal from the tilt sensor; This is a safety belt usage status confirmation device that determines whether the safety belt hook is properly engaged with the object to be engaged based on the above. In this invention, a "wireless ID tag" refers to an electronic element or electronic circuit that holds an ID (identification code) and can wirelessly output a signal related to the ID. For example, beacons and RFID tags fall within the category of wireless ID tags.

[0007] Preferably, the controller includes an alarm generating means, and the controller causes the alarm generating means to generate an alarm when it determines that the safety belt hook is not properly engaged with the object to be engaged. The alarm sound emitted from the alarm sound generating means includes, for example, a buzzer sound from an alarm buzzer, as well as announcements made using a synthetic voice that imitates a human voice (for example, a voice message such as "Please check XX").

[0008] Preferably, when the safety belt has a plurality of safety belt hooks for one safety belt body, the controller determines for each safety belt hook whether or not the plurality of safety belt hooks are properly engaged with the corresponding engaged object based on signals from tilt sensors respectively attached to the plurality of safety belt hooks and signals from wireless ID tags respectively attached to the plurality of safety belt hooks. Preferably, the safety belt use status confirmation device further comprises a communication handset electrically connected to the controller.

[0009] According to the safety belt use status confirmation device of the present invention, for example, a) When a worker is at an altitude where wearing a safety belt is mandatory, B) Under the condition that the safety belt hook is located at a certain distance from the worker, C) The safety belt hook is not in a position that it can assume when properly attached to the object (for example, an upright position or a tilted position close to upright). If these three conditions are met simultaneously, the controller determines that the safety belt hook is not properly hooked to the object (if there are multiple safety belt hooks, the determination is made for each safety belt hook). Then, an alarm is generated from the alarm generating means to prompt the worker to use the safety belt properly. If necessary, the controller can transmit information on the use status of the safety belt, including the above determination result, to the outside via the communication slave.

[0010] The present invention (the second invention of the present application) is At least one safety belt usage status confirmation device; A communication master unit capable of wireless communication with a communication slave unit provided in the safety belt use status confirmation device; a communication terminal device for an administrator capable of wirelessly and / or wired communication with the communication master; This is a safety belt usage status confirmation system constructed by the above.

[0011] According to the safety belt use status confirmation system of the present invention, a system capable of transmitting information regarding the use status of the safety belt by each worker in a relatively wide local area can be easily constructed. Effect of the Invention

[0012] The safety belt usage status confirmation device of the present invention can be relatively easily applied to commercially available safety belts and is highly versatile. According to the safety belt usage confirmation system of the present invention, a system capable of transmitting information regarding the usage status of the safety belt of each worker can be easily constructed. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram showing a safety belt incorporating a device for checking the use state of a safety belt according to an embodiment of the present invention, and a worker wearing the safety belt; [Diagram 2] 1A shows a safety belt hook in a safety belt, where (A) is a diagram showing a proper engagement state of the safety belt hook to the rod, and (B) is a diagram showing an improper engagement state of the safety belt hook to the rod. [Diagram 3] 1 shows an example of a usable tilt sensor and its detection principle, where (A) is a diagram showing the tilt sensor in an upright position (tilt angle 0°), (B) is a diagram showing the tilt sensor tilted at an inclination angle of 35°, and (C) is a diagram showing the tilt sensor tilted at an inclination angle of 110°. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an outline of the electrical configuration of the safety belt use status confirmation device. [Diagram 5] FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram showing an example of a safety belt usage status confirmation system. [Figure 6] 5 is a flowchart showing a safety belt use status determination routine executed by a controller of the safety belt use status confirmation device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0014] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0015] The safety belt used in this embodiment is generally known and commercially available, except for the electronic components and electronic devices that are added later. That is, as shown in Fig. 1, the safety belt 1 that is the basis of the present invention is composed of a safety belt body 2 worn by a worker, a safety belt hook 3, and a lifeline 4. The safety belt body 2 is composed of a waist belt, a shoulder belt, and other parts. The lifeline 4 is a rope that connects the safety belt body 2 to the safety belt hook 3. The safety belt hook 3 is a fastening device for fastening one end of the lifeline 4 to an object to be fastened (for example, a bar fixedly installed at a work site), and the end of the hook 3 is a hook-shaped part 3a.

[0016] As shown in FIG. 1, in this embodiment, an inclination sensor 31 and a beacon 32 are attached to a safety belt hook 3.

[0017] The inclination sensor 31 is attached to the inside of the hook-shaped part 3a of the safety belt hook by utilizing the recess on the inside of the hook-shaped part 3a. The inclination sensor 31 detects whether the hook-shaped part 3a faces upward or not, that is, whether the safety belt hook 3 is maintaining a posture in which the hook-shaped part 3a faces upward or not, and outputs a signal related to the detection state by wireless communication (i.e., the sensor 31 has a built-in wireless communication module). For example, as shown in Fig. 2(A), when the hook-shaped part 3a of the safety belt hook is properly engaged with the rod material 5 as the engaged object, the safety belt hook 3 can take a "posture with the hook-shaped part facing upward" (in the figure, the safety belt hook 3 is drawn in an upright position with the hook-shaped part facing upward). Reflecting this state, the inclination sensor 31 outputs a signal indicating that the safety belt hook 3 is in a posture with the hook-shaped part facing upward. In this embodiment, the "posture with the hook-shaped part facing upward" includes not only the case where the safety belt hook 3 is in a posture along the central perpendicular line C in a natural hanging state (i.e., an upright posture), but also the case where the safety belt hook 3 is in a posture slightly tilted within a range of an allowable tilt angle θ (e.g., θ=35°) from the central perpendicular line C. This allowable tilt angle θ is appropriately set according to the "allowable range of swing or tilt" within which the safety belt hook 3 will not come off unintentionally.

[0018] On the other hand, as shown in Fig. 2(B), if the hook part 3a of the safety belt hook is not properly hooked to the rod 5 as the object to be hooked, the safety belt hook 3 will assume a posture in which the hook part 3a faces downwards simply because the lifeline 4 is hooked on the rod 5, that is, an "inverted posture with the hook part facing downwards". Reflecting this situation, the tilt sensor 31 outputs a signal indicating that the safety belt hook is not in a posture with the hook part facing upwards.

[0019] FIG. 3 shows an example of a tilt sensor 31 that can be used in this embodiment and its detection principle. As shown in FIG. 3(A), the tilt sensor 31 is formed by combining two tilt sensor elements of different types (for convenience of explanation, they are called "sensor element type A" and "sensor element type B", respectively). The sensor element type A located at the upper side in the figure has flat electrodes A1 and A2 arranged on the left and right in a V-shape facing each other, and a conductive ball A3 arranged between the left and right electrodes. The sensor element type B located at the lower side in the figure has electrodes B1 and B2 arranged above and below facing each other, and a conductive ball B3 arranged between the upper and lower electrodes. The upper electrode B1 has a substantially cylindrical or cup-shaped shape that opens downward, and the lower electrode B2 has a conical or mortar-shaped shape that opens upward. The electrodes A1 and A2 of the sensor element type A and the electrodes B1 and B2 of the sensor element type B are connected in parallel, and together they form an output terminal (output end of the terminal output).

[0020] Basically, as shown in Figure 3(A), when a tilt sensor consisting of sensor element types A and B is in an upright position relative to a horizontal reference plane, the conductive balls A3 and B3 do not conduct electricity to the two opposing electrodes (A1, A2) and (B1, B2) corresponding to each other, and the terminal output is OFF. If the tilt sensor is tilted, for example, by 35° (or more) with respect to a horizontal reference plane as shown in Figure 3(B), in sensor element type B, the conductive ball B3 moves to the vicinity of the periphery of the conical lower electrode B2, causing the two opposing electrodes (B1, B2) to become conductive, and as a result, the terminal output turns ON. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 3(C), when the tilt sensor is tilted, for example, by 110° (or more) with respect to a horizontal reference plane, then, at least in sensor element type A, conductive ball A3 moves to the back of the V-shaped structure formed by planar electrodes A1 and A2, causing the two opposing electrodes (A1, A2) to become conductive, and as a result, the terminal output turns ON.

[0021] In this way, by adopting a tilt sensor as shown in Figure 3, which combines sensor element types A and B and connects their electrode terminals in parallel, the terminal output is maintained OFF as long as the tilt sensor's attitude is within an inclination angle of less than 35° from the upright state (tilt angle of 0°). On the other hand, when the tilt sensor's attitude is tilted 35° or more from the upright state, the terminal output is turned ON by sensor element type B, and when it is tilted further by 110° or more from the upright state, the terminal output is turned ON by sensor element type A. In other words, with the tilt sensor in Figure 3, a) The terminal output is kept OFF when the inclination angle is within the range of 0° to the allowable inclination angle θ=35°. b) The terminal output can be maintained ON within the allowable tilt angle θ range of 35° or more. By employing such a tilt sensor, when the terminal output is OFF, it is deemed to have detected a "posture in which the hook faces upwards," and when the terminal output is ON, it is deemed to have detected a "posture in which the hook does not face upwards," thereby enabling the tilt sensor to be used as a simplified posture detection means.

[0022] The beacon 32, which is a kind of wireless ID tag, is attached near the base of the hook-shaped part 3a of the safety belt hook, for example, near the connection part between the safety belt hook 3 and the lifeline 4. The beacon 32 is a BEL wireless transmission module that holds an ID (identification code) and can transmit an ID signal at a constant cycle. In this embodiment, the beacon 32 is used as a distance or distance detection means for simply detecting the distance between the beacon 32 and the beacon communication interface 14, or the distance or distance from the beacon communication interface 14. More specifically, the beacon 32 is used to detect whether the safety belt hook 3 equipped with the beacon 32 is near the worker wearing the beacon communication interface 14 or far away from the worker.

[0023] As shown in FIG. 1, in this embodiment, a thin box-type or card-type control unit 10, in which a controller 11 and a communication handset 19 are integrated, is attached to a part of a safety belt body 2 worn by a worker (the vertical belt part of the shoulder belt in FIG. 1).

[0024] As shown in FIG. 4, the control unit 11 of the control unit 10 includes an arithmetic processing unit 12 incorporating at least a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and a timer, a communication interface 13 for the tilt sensor, a communication interface 14 for the beacon, an altimeter 15, a group of push buttons 16, and an alarm buzzer 17 as an alarm sound generating means.

[0025] The tilt sensor communication interface 13 is, for example, a Bluetooth (registered trademark) module, and performs wireless data communication with the tilt sensor 31 of the safety belt hook 3.

[0026] The beacon communication interface 14 receives radio waves (ID signal) transmitted from the beacon 32 of the safety belt hook 3. The beacon communication interface 14 is capable of adjusting the detection sensitivity of the radio waves from the beacon 32, and by appropriately adjusting the sensitivity, the beacon 32 can be used as a simplified distance or nearness detection element.

[0027] The altimeter 15 is a sensor for measuring altitude based on the surrounding air pressure and for measuring relative altitude from a reference height. The reference height is provided from an external device (a communication master unit 20, described later).

[0028] The alarm buzzer 17 is a means for generating an alarm sound to notify an operator of an abnormality. The group of push buttons 16 are manual switches that an operator operates to initialize the settings of the controller 11 or to stop the thunder (alarm sound) of the alarm buzzer 17.

[0029] Furthermore, in this embodiment, as shown in Fig. 4, a communication slave unit 19 is provided in addition to the control unit 10. A communication master unit 20 is installed in a location (for example, a field office temporarily installed at a work site) away from the communication slave unit 19. The communication master unit 20 and the communication slave unit 19 can communicate with each other using a short- or medium-range wireless communication standard such as Wifi (registered trademark).

[0030] The communication base unit 20 includes a calculation processing unit 21 having a built-in CPU, ROM, and RAM, and an altimeter 22. The altimeter 22 included in the communication base unit 20 is, so to speak, a reference station for altitude measurement, and the altitude measured by this altimeter 22 is regarded as the "reference height" and is transmitted as information to the controller 11 via the communication slave unit 19.

[0031] As shown in Fig. 5, the communication master unit 20 can communicate with a plurality of communication slave units 19 (i.e., devices for checking the use status of each safety belt used by a plurality of workers), and can collect, store, and manage information provided by each communication slave unit 19. In particular, the communication master unit 20 can store in its internal memory, for each worker, the working altitude and the locking status of the safety belt hook at each point in time (i.e., the result of locking judgment).

[0032] The communication base unit 20 is connected to the Internet through a wireless and / or wired communication line. The communication base unit 20 can perform data communication via the Internet with a communication terminal device 41 (e.g., a smartphone) of a manager (a person responsible for managing and supervising workers at the site) and a management computer 42 installed in a remote location (e.g., a head office building) far away from the work site. Therefore, the manager can use the communication terminal device 41 at hand to grasp the use status of the safety belt of each worker in real time and appropriately perform safety management and supervision. In addition, the management computer 42 can monitor the status of the work at the site even from a remote location, and can back up all information stored in the internal memory of the communication base unit 20.

[0033] Next, a method of using and an operation mode of the safety belt use status confirmation device will be described.

[0034] First, a worker wearing the safety belt 1 of this embodiment turns on the power of the control unit 10. Then, standing near the communication master unit 20, the worker presses the push button 16 of the controller 11 to initialize the controller 11 and establish a communication linkage between the communication slave unit 19 and the communication master unit 20. Then, the worker heads to the target work location (high place).

[0035] The controller 11, which has started to operate, performs real-time monitoring of the usage status of the safety belt in the calculation processing unit 12 according to the safety belt usage status determination routine (determination program) shown in Fig. 6. The calculation processing unit 12 internally holds a binary abnormality determination flag (F) that takes on either a value of "0" or "1", and in this determination program, F=0 is interpreted as "a state in which the safety belt is being used properly" and F=1 is interpreted as "a state in which the safety belt is not being used properly (improper use state)". The abnormality determination flag (F) may be realized by either hardware (for example, a flag register) or software (a specific address in memory).

[0036] The controller 11 (arithmetic processing unit 12) is initialized by the push button 16 and first sets the abnormality determination flag to F=0 in step S1. Then, in step S2, it is determined whether the worker's altitude (relative altitude) is higher than a predetermined threshold altitude H (for example, 2 m). This threshold altitude H is set according to the minimum working altitude at which wearing a safety belt is mandatory. The worker's altitude (relative altitude) is calculated based on the absolute altitude indicated by the altimeter 15 built into the controller 11 and the "reference altitude" acquired from the altimeter 22 of the communication base unit 20. Incidentally, one of the reasons for using the reference altitude data from the altimeter 22 of the communication base unit 20 is that the altimeter 15 on the controller 11 side is a type that uses air pressure, and changes in air pressure due to weather changes can adversely affect altitude measurement as disturbances, so that the influence of changes in air pressure can be corrected or eliminated.

[0037] If the determination in step S2 is NO, it is assumed that the worker has not yet reached a high altitude where usage status monitoring is required, and the process returns to step S1. If the determination in step S2 is YES, i.e., if the worker has reached a high altitude where usage status monitoring is required, the process proceeds to step S3.

[0038] In step S3, it is determined whether the worker is ascending or descending. "Ascending or descending" refers to a situation in which the worker is ascending or descending stairs, for example. This determination is made based on the change in altitude within a specified observation time. For example, if an altitude change of 0.5 m or more is measured within an observation time of 30 seconds, it is deemed to be "ascending or descending." If the determination in step S3 is YES, it is considered that the worker is in the middle of moving and has not yet arrived at the destination (high place) and is not yet in a condition to use the safety belt, and the process returns to step S1. If the determination in step S3 is NO, it is assumed that there is a high probability that the worker has arrived at the destination (high place), and the process proceeds to step S4.

[0039] In step S4, it is determined whether the safety belt hook 3 is separated from the body of the worker. This determination is made based on the establishment status of data communication between the beacon 32 on the safety belt hook 3 side and the beacon communication interface 14 of the controller 11. Specifically, when the distance between the beacon 32 and the communication interface 14 exceeds, for example, 700 mm, the radio wave directed from the beacon 32 to the communication interface 14 becomes extremely weak, and depending on the setting of the reception sensitivity on the communication interface 14 side, it becomes a situation where "the ID signal from the beacon 32 cannot be detected". On the other hand, when the distance between the beacon 32 and the communication interface 14 is, for example, 700 mm or less, the beacon communication interface 14 receives the ID signal from the beacon 32 in real time and can detect the ID signal. In this way, the beacon communication interface 14 can indirectly grasp (or determine) the distance or nearness between the beacon 32 and the communication interface 14 based on whether it can receive the ID signal from the beacon 32 at the appropriate time and with sufficient radio wave strength.

[0040] If the determination in step S4 is NO, that is, the safety belt hook 3 is not separated from the controller 11 (body position of the worker) by, for example, more than 700 mm, that is, the safety belt hook 3 is near the worker, the timer in the calculation processing unit 12 is started, and it is determined whether or not a predetermined time t1 (for example, 30 seconds) has elapsed (step S41). If the determination in step S41 is NO, that is, if the state in which the safety belt hook 3 is near the worker does not continue for t1=30 seconds, the process returns to step S1 (that is, F=0 is maintained). On the other hand, if the determination in step S41 is YES, that is, if the state in which the safety belt hook 3 is near the worker continues for at least t1=30 seconds, the process proceeds to step S42, where the abnormality determination flag is set to F=1, that is, it is internally determined that the "safety belt is not being used properly (improper use state)". Then, the controller 11 receives the flag value change from F=0 to 1, and causes the alarm buzzer 17 to emit an alarm sound. This alarm will continue to sound until the operator operates the push button 16 to stop it.

[0041] If the determination in step S4 is YES, i.e., if the safety belt hook 3 is away from the controller 11 (body position of the worker) by, for example, more than 700 mm, in other words, if the safety belt hook 3 is positioned to a certain extent (more than a predetermined distance) away from the worker, the process proceeds to step S5.

[0042] In step S5, it is determined whether or not the safety belt hook 3 is in a hook-shaped portion facing upward. This determination utilizes information from a tilt sensor provided on the safety belt hook 3. Specifically, it is determined based on whether the signal from the tilt sensor 31 is a signal suggesting that the safety belt hook is in a hook-shaped portion facing upward or not (a signal suggesting that the hook is not facing upward).

[0043] If the judgment in step S5 is NO, that is, if the safety belt hook 3 is not in a position with the hook-shaped part facing upward, a timer in the calculation processing unit 12 is started, and it is judged whether or not a predetermined time t2 (for example, 3 seconds) has passed (step S51). If the judgment in step S51 is NO, that is, if the state in which the safety belt hook 3 is not in a position with the hook-shaped part facing upward does not continue for t2=3 seconds, it is considered that the safety belt hook 3 is not properly engaged or is swinging and the position is not sufficiently fixed, so the process returns to step S5 and judgment is continued again. On the other hand, if the judgment in step S51 is YES, that is, if the safety belt hook 3 maintains a posture in which the hook-shaped portion is not facing upward for at least t2=3 seconds, the process proceeds to step S52, where the abnormality judgment flag is set to F=1, that is, it is internally judged that the "safety belt is not being used properly (improper use state)". Then, in response to the change in flag value F=0→1, the controller 11 generates an alarm sound from the alarm buzzer 17. This alarm sound continues to sound until the worker operates the push button 16 to stop it.

[0044] If the determination in step S5 is YES, that is, if the safety belt hook 3 is in a position with the hook-shaped portion facing upward, the process returns to step S1 (that is, F=0 is maintained).

[0045] That is, according to the usage status determination routine of FIG. The S2 determination is YES (the worker's relative height is higher than the predetermined threshold height H), and S3 is NO (the worker is not ascending or descending), and S4 is judged as YES (the safety belt hook 3 is located at a certain distance from the worker), and S5 judgement is YES (safety belt hook 3 is in an upward position), As long as the above four conditions remain satisfied, the calculation processing unit 12 of the controller 11 maintains the abnormality determination flag F=0, and continues to confirm that the safety belt hook 3 is being used properly.

[0046] On the other hand, if the state in which the safety belt hook 3 is not separated from the worker to a certain extent continues for t1=30 seconds (the judgment in S4 is NO and the judgment in S41 is YES), or if the state in which the safety belt hook 3 does not assume a position with the hook-shaped part facing upward continues for t2=3 seconds (the judgment in S5 is NO and the judgment in S51 is YES), the calculation processing unit 12 of the controller 11 determines that the safety belt hook 3 is not being used properly, changes the abnormality judgment flag from F=0 to F=1, and generates an alarm from the alarm buzzer 17.

[0047] Thus, according to this embodiment, the safety belt usage confirmation device can be basically configured with a small number of parts and devices, namely, the tilt sensor 31 and the beacon 32 that can be attached to the safety belt hook 3 side, and the control unit 10 that can be attached to the safety belt main body 2 or the worker side. Therefore, the usage confirmation device can be easily applied to commercially available safety belts and has excellent versatility.

[0048] According to this embodiment, in the safety belt usage confirmation device, the control unit 10 has a built-in communication handset 19, so that the multiple usage confirmation devices (10, 31, 32), the communication master unit 20, the communication terminal device 41 for the manager, (and, if necessary, the remote management computer 42) can be connected to each other via a short- or medium-range communication standard or an Internet line. Therefore, a borderless safety belt usage confirmation system can be easily constructed using these devices.

[0049] Generally, the manager of a work site (the so-called site supervisor) has a duty to ensure that workers engaged in high-altitude work wear and use safety belts properly. However, when a worker is hiding behind an object or in a distant place, there is a limit to fulfilling the duty of management by visual confirmation alone. In this respect, according to this embodiment, the manager can use the communication terminal device 41 at hand to grasp and confirm the usage status of the safety belt of each worker via the communication base unit 20. Then, the manager can individually warn (i.e., urge workers who are not using the safety belt properly (or who are likely to do so) to securely hook the safety belt hook to the object to be hooked), and the occurrence of a fall accident can be prevented or reduced as much as possible.

[0050] [Other changes] An "RFID tag" may be used instead of the beacon 32, and an "RFID reader" may be used instead of the beacon communication interface 14. In general, an RFID reader transmits radio waves to an RFID tag to activate it, and receives radio waves (a return signal of ID data) from the activated RFID tag. The beacon 32 is an active wireless ID tag that autonomously and periodically transmits an ID signal, while the RFID tag is a passive wireless ID tag that returns and transmits an ID signal in response to radio waves from an RFID reader. However, there is no essential difference between the two in that both are "wireless ID tags" that can be used in the present invention.

[0051] In the above embodiment (FIG. 1), the safety belt 1 having one safety belt hook 3 for one safety belt body 2 (body / hook = 1 to 1 type) has been described, but the present invention can also be applied to a case where the safety belt 1 has multiple safety belt hooks 3 (and the same number of lifelines 4 as the safety belt hooks) for one safety belt body 2 (body / hook = 1 to multiple type). For example, the safety belt 1 has two safety belt hooks 3x, 3y for one safety belt body 2, and the two safety belt hooks 3x, 3y have inclination sensors 31x, 31y and wireless ID tags 32x, 32y, respectively. Even in such a case, the single controller 11 provided on one safety belt body 2 can individually receive the signals from the two inclination sensors 31x, 31y and the signals from the two wireless ID tags 32x, 32y and use them individually for the judgment process. In other words, a single controller 11 can simultaneously perform the process of determining the locking status, etc., of one safety belt hook 3x and the process of determining the locking status, etc., of the other safety belt hook 3y. In this way, the present invention employs a method of individually allocating an inclination sensor and a wireless ID tag to each safety belt hook that is the subject of monitoring of the locking status, so that even with only one controller 11 (or control unit 10), it can easily handle a large number of safety belt hooks 3 (one-to-many correspondence). In this respect, the safety belt usage confirmation device of the present invention has excellent scalability, with no limit to the number of installed safety belt hooks 3, as long as the calculation processing capacity of the controller 11 allows.

[0052] The object to be secured is not limited to the rod 5 as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, but may be any physical entity that helps prevent falls, such as a single pipe, a handrail, or a lifeline. [Explanation of symbols]

[0053] 1 Safety belt 2 Safety belt body 3 Safety belt hook 3a Safety belt hook hook 4. Lifeline 5 Bar material (locked object) 10. Control Unit 11 Controller 12 Processing unit 13 Communication interface for tilt sensor 14 Beacon communication interface 15 Altimeter 16 Group of push buttons 17 Alarm buzzer (alarm sound generating means) 19 Communication adapter 20 Communication base station 31 Tilt sensor 32 Beacon (radio frequency identification tag) 41 Communication terminal device for administrator 42 Remote management computer

Claims

1. A safety belt usage status confirmation device for confirming the usage status of a safety belt that is worn by a worker and that is composed of a safety belt body, a safety belt hook, and a lifeline that connects the safety belt body and the safety belt hook, comprising: a tilt sensor attachable to the safety belt hook; a wireless ID tag that can be attached to the safety belt hook; A controller having an altimeter built therein, which can be attached to the safety belt body or to a worker wearing the safety belt body; Equipped with The controller is capable of receiving signals from the tilt sensor and the wireless ID tag, and the controller further comprises: a) the altitude measured by said altimeter; b) information about the distance or proximity between the radio frequency identification tag and a controller, the information being provided as a signal from the radio frequency identification tag; and c) information regarding the position of the safety belt hook provided as a signal from the tilt sensor; and determining whether or not a safety belt hook is properly engaged with a target object based on the result of the test.

2. 2. The safety belt usage status confirmation device according to claim 1, wherein the controller is provided with an alarm sound generating means, and when the controller determines that the safety belt hook is not properly engaged with the object to be engaged, the controller causes the alarm sound generating means to generate an alarm sound.

3. 2. The safety belt usage confirmation device according to claim 1, wherein when the safety belt has a plurality of safety belt hooks for one safety belt body, the controller judges for each safety belt hook whether or not each of the plurality of safety belt hooks is properly hooked to a corresponding object based on signals from tilt sensors respectively attached to the plurality of safety belt hooks and signals from wireless ID tags respectively attached to the plurality of safety belt hooks.

4. The safety belt usage status confirmation device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a communication slave unit electrically connected to the controller.

5. At least one safety belt use status confirmation device according to claim 4; A communication master unit capable of wireless communication with a communication slave unit provided in the safety belt use status confirmation device; a communication terminal device for an administrator capable of wirelessly and / or wired communication with the communication master; A safety belt usage status confirmation system constructed by the above.

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