Intercom system

Abstract

To provide an intercom system that allows a resident to avoid responding to an unwanted visitor regardless of the number of visits made by the visitor, and allows the resident to respond to visitors at ease.SOLUTION: An intercom system includes a master unit to be operated by a resident and a subordinate unit to be operated by a visitor. The intercom system includes: a storage section that stores registered person information, which is information on at least one registered person previously registered by the resident and identifies the registered person; a generation section that generates visitor information for a visitor detected by a detector that detects visitors; a collating section that collates the visitor information with the registered person information; and a control section that causes an output device included in the subordinate unit to output visit checking information for checking requirements of the visitor according to the result of collation performed by the collating section.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an intercom system for responding to visitors to a house or the like. [Background technology]

[0002] Intercom systems have traditionally been used as a way for residents to check the visitor's details when they are outside their home, and they have continued to evolve with the addition of various functions.

[0003] In recent years, from the standpoint of crime prevention, etc., a technology has become known in which an image of an undesirable visitor is captured and registered, and the image of the visitor the next time he or she visits is compared with the registered image, and if there is a match, the response via the intercom is restricted (for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2017-108342 A

[0005] Technology such as that in Patent Document 1 is expected to reduce the number of times residents inadvertently respond to visitors they deem undesirable, such as door-to-door salesmen. However, there is a problem that if it is a first-time visitor whose image has not yet been registered, it can still be time-consuming to respond to the visitor, resulting in an undesirable situation for the resident.

[0006] In view of the above circumstances, the present invention provides an intercom system that enables a resident to respond to a visitor with peace of mind by avoiding responses to visitors that are undesirable to the resident, regardless of the number of visits by the visitor. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] An intercom system according to one embodiment of the present invention is an intercom system consisting of a parent unit operated by a resident and a child unit operated by a visitor, and has a memory unit that stores registered person information which is information about at least one registered person previously registered by the resident and identifies the registered person, a detection unit that detects the visitor, a generation unit that generates visitor information about the visitor detected by the detection unit, a comparison unit that compares the visitor information with the registered person information, and a control unit that causes an output device provided in the child unit to output visit confirmation information for confirming the visitor's requirements in accordance with the comparison result by the comparison unit. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the configuration of the present invention, by registering information on desirable or undesirable visitors for a resident in advance, it is possible to avoid responding to undesirable visitors regardless of the number of visits. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram relating to the configuration of an intercom system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] 1 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a slave unit that constitutes an intercom system according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 3] 2 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a slave unit constituting a server according to the present embodiment; FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of displaying visit confirmation information on a display. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a processing flow of the intercom system according to the present embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing another processing flow of the intercom system according to the present embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An intercom system according to an embodiment of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0011] (Intercom system configuration) 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of an intercom system 1 according to the present embodiment. The intercom system 1 is a system that realizes communication such as telephone calls between a resident living in a residence H, such as a detached house or an apartment building, and a visitor who wishes to visit the resident.

[0012] As shown in FIG. 1, an intercom system 1 according to the present embodiment includes a master unit 10, a slave unit 20, a server 30, and a user terminal 40, and each device is connected via a network W.

[0013] The parent unit 10 is installed in the residence H, and is a device that realizes communication with visitors outdoors. The parent unit 10 has a speaker that outputs the voice of the visitor, a microphone that speaks to the visitor, a display that displays the visitor's video and the like, and an operation function for performing various operations. The configuration of the parent unit 10 is not limited to this, and other functions necessary for communicating with the visitor and checking the state of the visitor may be provided. Note that the parent unit 10 is not limited to being installed in the residence, and may be a portable terminal that the resident can carry and operate, or a user terminal 40 described later may function as the parent unit 10.

[0014] The slave unit 20 is installed outdoors adjacent to the residence H, and is a device for realizing communication with the resident of the residence H. The slave unit 20 has a communication unit 21, an operation reception unit 22, a voice processing unit 23, a detection unit 24, an imaging unit 25, and a control unit 26.

[0015] The communication unit 21 executes a process for the child device 20 to communicate with an external device.

[0016] The operation reception unit 22 executes a process of receiving an input operation by an operator such as a visitor to the input device of the sensitive device 221 or the display 222 .

[0017] The voice processing unit 23 executes processing related to voice input and output. The voice processing unit 23 has a microphone 231 and a speaker 232. The microphone 231 collects the voice of a visitor, etc., and the collected voice signal is transmitted to the parent unit 10, the server 30, the user terminal 40, etc. The speaker outputs the voice of the resident collected via the parent unit 10.

[0018] The calling unit 24 processes a call request to a resident made by a visitor when a visitor arrives. The call request by the calling unit 24 is the starting point for the detection of a visitor by a detection unit 33 constituting the server 30 described later. Therefore, when a call request is executed by the calling unit 24, a notification (visit detection notification) is not immediately sent to the parent unit 10 indicating that a visitor has arrived. However, it is also possible to set the parent unit 10 and the user terminal 40 to be notified of a visit detection notification at the same time that the detection unit 33 detects a visitor when a call request is executed by the calling unit 24.

[0019] The imaging unit 25 executes a process for capturing an image or video of a visitor. The imaging unit 25 has an imaging device such as a camera or video, and captures an image of a visitor standing in front of the camera. The imaging range of the visitor captured by the imaging unit 25 is set appropriately.

[0020] The control unit 26 executes commands included in a program stored in advance, thereby executing a process for controlling the operation of the child device 20. The control unit 26 is, for example, an application pre-installed in the child device 20. The control unit 26 operates according to the program, thereby functioning as an input operation receiving unit 181, a transmitting / receiving unit 182, a notification control unit 183, and a data processing unit 184.

[0021] The server 30 is connected to the master unit 10, the slave unit 20, and the user terminal 40 via wireless communication or the like, and controls various operations of the intercom system 1 and manages various information. The server 30 has a communication unit 31, a storage unit 32, a detection unit 33, a generation unit 34, a collation unit 35, a control unit 36, an imaging unit 37, and a notification unit 38.

[0022] The communication unit 31 executes a process for the server 30 to communicate with an external device.

[0023] The storage unit 32 stores information about at least one registrant who has been registered in advance by a resident of the residence H (hereinafter, referred to as registrant information).

[0024] The storage of the registrant information in the storage unit 32 can be performed, for example, by a registration operation of the registrant information using the master unit 10 and the user terminal 40. For example, the resident uses the user terminal 40 to perform an operation to store the registrant information in the storage unit 32 based on image data of a person stored in the user terminal 40. In this way, the resident can apply the operation of the intercom system 1 to a visitor who visits for the first time by storing information about a person who may visit as the registrant information in the storage unit 32. The storage of the registrant information in the storage unit 32 may be based on image data of the visitor captured by an imaging device (imaging unit 25) such as a camera or video provided in the handset 20 described later. As a result, information about the visitor not included in the registrant information stored in advance is also stored in the storage unit 32, so that the operation of the intercom system 1 can be applied to a visitor who the resident did not expect.

[0025] The registrant information stored in the storage unit 32 includes information on the target person who may be visiting, such as information on the target person's name, information on the target person's affiliation such as the company name, information on the target person's relationship with the resident, information on image data such as the target person's face, and information on the target person's voice. The registrant information is stored in the storage unit 32, for example, by a registration operation from a user terminal 40 owned by the resident. When the registrant information includes information on image data, it can include not only image data on the target person's face, but also image data showing the characteristics of the target person, such as their clothing and posture. For example, the registrant information can include image data on a uniform specific to a delivery company or image data on a police uniform.

[0026] Furthermore, information regarding attributes may be included in the registrant information stored in the storage unit 32. Information regarding attributes may include, for example, information regarding family, relatives, close friends, delivery and home delivery companies, sales and solicitations, and the like.

[0027] The registrant information can be classified into groups or the like depending on whether the visitor is desirable to the resident. For example, registrant information corresponding to visitors desirable to the resident (family members, relatives, close friends, etc.) can be stored in the storage unit 32 as a first group (first registrant information), and registrant information corresponding to visitors undesirable to the resident (people who make sales such as door-to-door sales, people who solicit for religion, etc.) can be stored in the storage unit 32 as a second group (second registrant information). Such grouping may be performed based on information related to attributes, or may be performed based on individual registrant information. Note that such group setting is merely an example, and registrant information can be classified based on various conditions.

[0028] The storage unit 32 further stores visit confirmation information, which is information for confirming the requirements for a visit from a visitor. The storage unit 32 can store the visit confirmation information, for example, by a registration operation of the visit confirmation information using the parent unit 10 and the user terminal 40.

[0029] The visit confirmation information includes information about a message to confirm the purpose of the visit with the visitor, information about the specific purpose of the visit, etc. Information about the specific purpose of the visit is information indicating the reason for the visit that the visitor notifies the resident, and includes, for example, "sales / solicitation, etc.", "package delivery / mail delivery," "visit by appointment," "visit related to neighborhood association," and "visit for other reasons." Such information is used as information that the control unit 36 ​​causes to be output to the output device (display 222) provided in the handset 20.

[0030] The visit confirmation information is output and displayed on the output device (display 222) in a form as shown in FIG. 4, for example. A screen 2220 of the display 222 has a display frame 2221 that displays information for the visitor to confirm the purpose of the visit, and a display frame 2222 that displays a plurality of specific reasons for the visit selected by the visitor. In the display frame 2222, information 2222A with the reason for the visit being "sales, solicitation, etc.", information 2222B with the reason for the visit being "home delivery of parcels, delivery of mail," information 2222C with the reason for the visit being "visit by appointment," information 2222D with the reason for the visit being "visit related to neighborhood association," and information 2222E with the reason for the visit being "visit for other reasons" are selectively displayed. The visitor selects one of the five pieces of information with the reason for the visit by touching the corresponding information.

[0031] The detection unit 33 executes a process for detecting a visitor. The detection unit 33 can detect a visitor based on various conditions. For example, the detection unit 33 can detect a visitor when a call button (call unit 24) provided on the handset 20 is pressed. Also, for example, the detection unit 33 can detect a person who remains within a predetermined distance range from the handset 20 for a certain period of time or more as a visitor. In this case, the handset 20 is provided with a human sensor or the like, and the visitor can be detected by the human sensor. The detection conditions are not limited to these, and various conditions can be set.

[0032] The generating unit 34 executes a process of generating visitor information regarding the visitor detected by the detecting unit. The visitor information generated by the generating unit 33 includes, for example, information regarding image data such as the visitor's face, information regarding the visitor's voice, and information regarding the visitor's name and affiliation. The generation of information regarding image data such as the visitor's face is realized, for example, by capturing an image of the visitor using an imaging device (imaging unit 25) such as a camera or video provided in the child unit 20. The generation of information regarding the visitor's voice is realized, for example, by collecting the visitor's voice using the imaging device or a sound collecting device (sound processing unit 23) such as a microphone provided in the child unit 20. The generation of information regarding the visitor's name and affiliation is realized, for example, by the visitor's voice collected by the imaging device (imaging unit 25) or sound collecting device (sound processing unit 23).

[0033] The matching unit 35 executes a process of matching the registrant information stored in the storage unit 32 with the visitor information generated by the generation unit 34. The matching process by the matching unit 35 is executed to determine whether the visitor matches the registrant registered as the registrant information. For example, the matching unit 35 verifies whether information related to image data such as the face of the registrant stored as the registrant information matches information related to image data such as the face of the visitor generated as the visitor information. In addition to this, the matching unit 35 can execute a process of matching whether information related to the voice of the registrant matches information related to the voice of the visitor, whether information related to the name, affiliation, etc. of the registrant matches information related to the name, affiliation, etc. of the visitor, and the like.

[0034] The control unit 36 ​​executes a process for outputting visit confirmation information for confirming the requirements of the visitor to an output device (display 222) provided in the child device according to the result of the collation by the collation unit 35.

[0035] For example, in a case where the memory unit 32 stores, as the registrant information, first registrant information corresponding to a visitor preferred by the resident and second registrant information corresponding to a visitor unpreferred by the resident, the control unit 36 ​​can execute a process to output visit confirmation information to the output device (display 222) of the slave unit 20 when the visitor information does not match the first registrant information or matches the second registrant information as a result of the collation by the collation unit 35. By executing such a process, when the visitor is unpreferred by the resident or when it is impossible to determine whether the visitor is a preferred visitor or not, the purpose of the visit can be confirmed, which can be useful for crime prevention, etc.

[0036] Furthermore, the control unit 36 ​​can execute a process of not outputting the visit confirmation information to the output device (display 222) when the visitor information matches the first registrant information as a result of the comparison by the comparison unit 35. By executing such a process, it is possible to quickly respond to a visitor who is desirable to the resident without having to go through the trouble of checking the requirements.

[0037] Furthermore, when the visitor information does not match the first registered person information or matches the second registered person information as a result of the comparison by the comparison unit 35, the control unit 36 ​​can execute a process of having the imaging unit 25 of the slave unit 20 capture an image of the visitor. By performing such a process, when a visitor is undesirable to the resident or when a visitor is undeterminable whether or not he is a desirable visitor, capturing an image of the visitor can be useful for crime prevention, etc. In this case, when the visitor is unregistered, the unregistered visitor can be captured and the captured image data can be used as registered person information.

[0038] When a visitor is detected by the detection unit 33, the notification unit 37 executes a process of notifying the resident of visit detection information regarding the visit detection. Specifically, the notification unit 37 notifies the parent unit 10 of the visit detection information when the detection unit 33 detects a visitor in response to the visitor pressing the call button (call unit 24) of the child unit 20. The parent unit 10 is notified of the visit detection information by, for example, a sound such as a ring tone. The notification unit 37 can not only notify the parent unit 10, but also notify the user terminal 40 owned by the resident. The user terminal 40 is notified of the visit detection information by, for example, email, SMS (short message), or via a dedicated application.

[0039] The visit detection information notified by the notification unit 37 can include not only voice information but also information about the visitor. The visit detection information can also include information about the result of matching by the matching unit 35. The visit detection information can also include information about the attributes of the registrant information when the matching unit 35 is able to match the visitor information with the registrant information.

[0040] The user terminal 40 is a terminal device owned by a resident of the house H, and is a device that can perform various operations related to the intercom system by the resident's operation. The resident can use the user terminal 40 to perform an operation to register registrant information in order to store the registrant information in the memory unit 32. The resident can also use the user terminal 40 to perform an operation to register visit confirmation information in order to store visit confirmation information in the memory unit 32 for confirming the reason for a visit from a visitor. Such information registration operations can be realized, for example, by a dedicated application or browser service.

[0041] Furthermore, a resident can use the user terminal 40 to receive visit detection information when a visitor arrives. For example, notification of the visit detection information to the user terminal 40 can be linked with notification to the parent unit 10, and the visit detection information is notified to the user terminal 40 at the same time as the notification to the parent unit 10. However, this is not limited to this, and the present invention can also be applied to a mode in which the visit detection information is notified to the user terminal 40 instead of notifying the parent unit 10 of the visit detection information. The present invention can also be applied to a mode in which the user terminal 40 functions as the parent unit 10, and the visit detection information is notified to the user terminal 40 as the parent unit 10. Such information notification can be realized, for example, by a dedicated application or browser service.

[0042] (Explanation of the processing flow of the intercom system) An example of a process flow executed by the intercom system according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 5. The following process flow is an example in the present embodiment, and is not limited to this.

[0043] First, a visitor to a resident of house H presses the call button of handset 20, whereby detection unit 33 detects the visitor (step S10).

[0044] When the detection unit 33 detects a visitor, the visitor is imaged by an imaging device (imaging unit 25) provided in the child device 20, and the generation unit 34 generates visitor information based on image data of the imaged visitor (step S12).

[0045] Next, the collation unit 35 collates the generated visitor information with the registrant information stored in the storage unit 32 (step S13). The storage unit 32 stores, as the registrant information, first registrant information which is registrant information corresponding to visitors undesirable to the resident, and second registrant information which is registrant information corresponding to visitors desirable to the resident.

[0046] In step S14, if the comparison by the comparison unit 35 shows that the visitor information does not match the first registrant information, the control unit 36 ​​causes the output device (display 222) provided in the slave unit 20 to output visit confirmation information (step S15). The visit confirmation information is output and displayed on the display 222 in a selectable format with information on five reasons for visit in the format shown in Fig. 4.

[0047] When the visit confirmation information is output and displayed on the display 222, information on the reason for the visit (reason for visit information) is accepted from the visitor (step S16). Specifically, when the visitor touches one piece of information (for example, "home delivery of luggage / mail") from among the five reasons for the visit, this is accepted as the reason for the visit information.

[0048] When the visit reason information is accepted, the notification unit 37 notifies the parent device 10 of the visit detection information (step S17), and the process ends. The notification unit 37 can also notify the user terminal 40 of the visit detection information.

[0049] On the other hand, if the visitor information matches the first registrant information as a result of the comparison by the comparison unit 35 in step S14, the notification unit 37 notifies the parent device 10 of the visit detection information (step S17). The notification unit 37 can also notify the user terminal 40 of the visit detection information.

[0050] Another example of the process flow of the intercom system will be described with reference to Fig. 6. This process is a flow for capturing an image of a visitor when the visitor is not registered as a first registrant.

[0051] The process flow of steps S21 to S24 in FIG. 6 is the same as the process flow of steps S11 to S14 in FIG.

[0052] In step S24, if the comparison unit 35 finds that the visitor information does not match the first registrant information, the control unit 36 ​​causes the imaging device (imaging unit 25) provided in the child unit 20 to capture an image of the visitor (step S25).

[0053] On the other hand, in step S24, if the comparison unit 35 finds that the visitor information matches the first registrant information, the control unit 36 ​​does not execute the process of causing the imaging device (imaging unit 25) to capture an image of the visitor, and ends the processing flow.

[0054] According to the configuration of the intercom system of the present embodiment, visitors that are favorable to the resident are registered as registrant information, and when a visitor arrives, the visitor information is compared with the registrant information, and if the visitor is not favorable to the resident, a process is performed to confirm the purpose of the visit, thereby preventing the resident from responding unnecessarily. In particular, by registering the registrant information in advance, it is possible to prevent the resident from responding unnecessarily, even if it is the first visitor.

[0055] The intercom system according to the present invention is not limited to the configurations shown in the above-described embodiments, and any configuration can be adopted within the scope of the present invention.

[0056] In the above embodiment, an example of processing has been shown in which the comparison unit 35 compares the visitor information with the first registrant information stored in the memory unit 32, and if the comparison results in the visitor information not matching the first registrant information, the control unit 36 ​​causes the output device (display 222) included in the slave unit 20 to output the visit confirmation information. However, this is not limited to this, and a processing can be executed in which the memory unit 32 stores second registrant information that is registrant information corresponding to a visitor preferred by the resident, the comparison unit 35 compares the visit confirmation information with the second registrant information, and if the comparison results in the visitor information matching the second registrant information, the control unit 36 ​​causes the output device (display 222) included in the slave unit 20 to output the visit confirmation information.

[0057] In the above embodiment, an example of processing has been shown in which the matching unit 35 matches the visitor information with the first registrant information stored in the storage unit 32, and if the matching result shows that the visitor information does not match the first registrant information, the control unit 36 ​​causes the imaging device (imaging unit 25) provided in the child unit 20 to capture an image of the visitor. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the storage unit 32 may store second registrant information that is registrant information corresponding to visitors preferred by the resident, and the matching unit 35 may match the visit confirmation information with the second registrant information, and if the matching result shows that the visitor information matches the second registrant information, the control unit 36 ​​may execute processing to cause the imaging device (imaging unit 25) provided in the child unit 20 to capture an image of the visitor.

[0058] In the above embodiment, an example was shown in which the visit confirmation information output to the display 222 provided on the handset 20 in order to confirm with the visitor the purpose of the visit includes information indicating the reason for the visit, selectively displayed as "sales / solicitation, etc.", "package delivery / mail delivery," "visit by appointment," "visit related to neighborhood association," and "visit for other reasons," but is not limited to this and may include information indicating reasons for the visit other than these.

[0059] In the above embodiment, an intercom system that realizes communication such as telephone calls between a resident living in a detached residence H and a visitor who wishes to visit the resident has been described as an example, but it goes without saying that the present invention can also be applied to an intercom system that realizes communication such as telephone calls between a resident living in an apartment building and a visitor who wishes to visit the resident. In this case, the visitor inputs the room number of the resident he or she wishes to visit into handset 20 installed in the common space of the apartment building and presses the call button installed on handset 20, whereby detection unit 33 can detect the visitor. [Explanation of symbols]

[0060] 1: intercom system, 10: parent unit, 20: child unit, 21: communication unit, 22: operation reception unit, 23: voice processing unit, 24: calling unit, 25: imaging unit, 30: server, 31: communication unit, 32: memory unit, 33: detection unit, 34: generation unit, 35: matching unit, 36: control unit, 37: notification unit, 40: user terminal, W: network, H: residence

Claims

1. In an intercom system consisting of a master unit operated by a resident and a slave unit operated by a visitor, a storage unit that stores information about at least one registrant who has been registered in advance by the resident, the information identifying the registrant; a generation unit that generates visitor information regarding the visitor detected by a detection device that detects the visitor; A verification unit that verifies the visitor information and the registrant information; An intercom system characterized by having a control unit that outputs visit confirmation information for confirming the visitor's requirements to an output device provided in the handset in accordance with the matching result by the matching unit.

2. The intercom system described in claim 1, characterized in that the memory unit stores, as the registrant information, at least one of first registrant information regarding registrants who are preferable to the resident and second registrant information regarding registrants who are unpreferred to the resident.

3. The storage unit stores, as the registrant information, first registrant information related to a registrant who is preferred by the resident; The intercom system of claim 1, wherein the control unit causes the output device to output the visit confirmation information when the comparison unit finds that the visitor information does not match the first registered person information as a result of the comparison.

4. The slave unit further includes an imaging unit that images the visitor, The intercom system according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that when the comparison unit finds that the visitor information does not match the first registered person information as a result of the comparison, the control unit causes the imaging unit to capture an image of the visitor.

5. The storage unit stores, as the registrant information, first registrant information related to a registrant who is preferred by the resident; The intercom system of claim 1, wherein the control unit does not cause the output device to output the visit confirmation information when the comparison unit finds that the visitor information matches the second registered person information as a result of the comparison.

6. the storage unit stores information related to image data of a face part of the registrant as the registrant information; 4. The intercom system according to claim 1, wherein the generating unit generates information on image data of a facial part of the visitor as the visitor information.

7. The intercom system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a notification unit that notifies the resident of visit detection information regarding the visit detection when the visitor is detected by the detection unit.

8. The intercom system according to claim 7 , wherein the notification unit notifies the visit detection information including a result of the matching by the matching unit.

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