Watch condition management system and watch condition management method

Abstract

To provide a watch condition management system and a watch condition management method which minimize a human oversight and construct an environment where an object person to be watched can be entrusted at ease.SOLUTION: A watch condition management system includes a watcher terminal that receives a beacon sent from a beacon origination terminal, and a server that communicates with the watcher terminal. The watcher terminal transmits a watch initiation notification and a watch terminal notification to the server. When receiving the watch initiation notification from the watcher terminal, the server records cancellation of an alert condition, and transmits an alert cancellation notification to another predetermined watcher terminal. When receiving the watch termination notification from the watcher terminal, the server designates the alert condition and transmits an alert notification to another predetermined watcher terminal.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a monitoring status management system that can reliably monitor those who need to be monitored. [Background technology]

[0002] There have been accidents where children have been left behind on shuttle buses or in private cars due to human error when being taken to or from childcare facilities. When a person being watched over (for example, a child) becomes separated from the person watching over them, it is necessary to prompt the person watching over them to take action.

[0003] As a background technique in this field, there is Patent Document 1 (JP 2017-135584 A). Patent Document 1 describes a communication system including a plurality of first communication terminals and a second communication terminal, in which the plurality of first communication terminals and the second communication terminal have a first communication unit that performs wireless communication to identify the degree of separation between the first communication terminal and another terminal, and a second communication unit that performs wireless communication in a manner different from the first communication unit, and the second communication terminal further has a storage unit that stores terminal identification information that identifies each of the plurality of first communication terminals designated as targets for monitoring the communication status of wireless communication by the first communication unit, and a communication control unit that performs wireless communication with at least one of the plurality of first communication terminals by the second communication unit based on the terminal identification information when the communication status of wireless communication by the first communication unit changes to a communication status indicating that the second communication terminal is away from each of the plurality of first communication terminals by a predetermined distance or more. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2017-135584 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In the technology described in Patent Document 1, when there are multiple watchers for one person being watched over, if one watcher leaves the person being watched over, an alert notification may be sent to the person being watched over, even if there are other watchers present. For this reason, it is desirable to prevent unnecessary alert notifications from being sent to the person being watched over.

[0006] Therefore, the present invention aims to reduce human error and create an environment in which the person being watched can be safely watched by reducing the amount of operation by the watcher and sending an alert to the necessary watcher only when the watcher is no longer present. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] A representative example of the invention disclosed in the present application is as follows: A monitoring status management system including a watcher terminal that receives a beacon transmitted from a beacon transmitting terminal and a server that communicates with the watcher terminal, wherein the watcher terminal transmits a monitoring start notification and a monitoring end notification to the server, and the server, upon receiving the monitoring start notification from the watcher terminal, records the cancellation of an alert state and transmits an alert cancellation notification to another predetermined watcher terminal, and upon receiving the monitoring end notification from the watcher terminal, sets an alert state and transmits an alert notification to the other predetermined watcher terminal. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to one aspect of the present invention, it is possible to reliably watch over a person being watched over while suppressing unnecessary alert notifications to the person being watched over. Problems, configurations, and effects other than those described above will become apparent from the following description of the embodiments. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a monitoring state management system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a watching target database according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a watcher database according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a watcher list database according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 5] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a group database according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a group member database according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of an alert database according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a safety area database according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 9A] 13 is a flowchart of a monitoring start process according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 9B] 11 is a flowchart of a monitoring mode determination process according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 10] 13 is a flowchart of an alert cancellation process according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 11] 13 is a flowchart of a monitoring end process according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 12] 13 is a flowchart of an alert issuing process according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 13] 11 is a flowchart of a monitoring mode OFF process according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 14A] 11 is a flowchart of a monitoring mode ON process according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 14B] 13 is a flowchart of a monitoring mode setting screen display process according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 15] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a display on a watcher terminal of a parent group under normal conditions in an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 16] 13A to 13C are diagrams illustrating examples of normal display on a watcher terminal other than the parent group in an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 17] 13A to 13C are diagrams illustrating an example of a display when an alert is sent on a watcher terminal of a parent group in an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 18]A figure showing an example of the display when an alert is generated on a watcher terminal other than the parent group in an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 19] A figure showing an example of a display when an alert is canceled on a watcher terminal of a parent group in an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 20] A figure showing an example of the display when an alert is canceled on a watcher terminal other than the parent group in an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0011] <Example 1> FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a monitoring state management system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0012] The monitoring state management system of this embodiment includes a monitoring state management server 100, a watcher terminal 210 communicatively connected to the monitoring state management server 100, and a beacon transmitting terminal 300 that transmits a beacon to be received by the watcher terminal 210.

[0013] The watching state management server 100 is configured by a computer having a calculation unit 110, a storage unit 120, and a communication unit .

[0014] The calculation unit 110 is a calculation device such as a processor that executes a program stored in the storage unit 120. The calculation unit 110 executes various programs, thereby realizing functions of each functional unit (notification processing unit 111, terminal notification processing unit 112, alert processing unit 113, information management unit 114) of the watching state management server 100. Note that a part of the processing performed by the calculation unit 110 by executing the program may be executed by another calculation device (for example, hardware such as ASIC or FPGA). The notification processing unit 111 executes a process of receiving a notification from the watcher terminal 210. The terminal notification processing unit 112 executes a process of sending a notification to the watcher terminal 210. The alert processing unit 113 executes an alert cancellation process (FIG. 10) and an alert issuance process (FIG. 12). The information management unit 114 controls reading and writing of data to a database stored in the storage unit 120.

[0015] The storage unit 120 includes a memory including a ROM, which is a nonvolatile storage element, and a RAM, which is a volatile storage element, and a large-capacity, nonvolatile auxiliary storage device such as a magnetic storage device (HDD) and a flash memory (SSD). The RAM is a high-speed, volatile storage device such as a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory), and temporarily stores the program executed by the calculation unit 110 and data used when the program is executed. The auxiliary storage device stores data used by the calculation unit 110 when the program is executed (such as a watching target database 121, a watcher database 122, a group database 124, a group member database 125, a watcher list database 123, an alert database 126, and a safe area database 127), and the program executed by the calculation unit 110. That is, the program is read from the auxiliary storage device, loaded into the memory, and executed by the calculation unit 110 to realize each function of the watching state management server 100.

[0016] The watched-over person database 121 is a database in which beacon transmitting terminals and watcher terminals are recorded in association with each other. The watcher database 122 is a database in which watchers are recorded. The watcher list database 123 is a database in which the current relationship between the watched-over person and the watcher is recorded. The group database 124 is a database in which information on the group to which the watcher terminal 210 and the beacon transmitting terminal 300 belong is recorded. The group member database 125 is a database in which information on the watcher terminal 210 and the beacon transmitting terminal 300 belonging to the group is recorded. The alert database 126 is a database in which information on issued alerts is recorded. The safety area database 127 is a database in which information on the safety area to be set is recorded.

[0017] The communication unit 130 is a network interface device that controls communication with other devices according to a predetermined protocol. The watching state management server 100 is connected to the watcher terminal 210 and the watcher management terminal 220 via a network by the communication unit 130.

[0018] The watching state management server 100 may have an input interface and an output interface. The input interface is an interface to which an input device (not shown) such as a keyboard or a mouse is connected and which receives input from an operator. The output interface is an interface to which an output device (not shown) such as a display device or a printer is connected and which outputs the results of program execution in a format that can be viewed by the user. Note that a user terminal (watcher management terminal 220) connected to the watching state management server 100 via a network may provide the input device and the output device. In this case, the watching state management server 100 may have a function of a web server, and the user terminal may access the watching state management server 100 using a predetermined protocol (e.g., http).

[0019] The program executed by the calculation unit 110 is provided to the monitoring state management server 100 via a removable medium (CD-ROM, flash memory, etc.) or a network, and is stored in a storage area of ​​the non-volatile storage unit 120, which is a non-transitory storage medium. For this reason, the monitoring state management server 100 may have an interface for reading data from removable media.

[0020] The monitoring state management server 100 is a computer system configured on one physical computer, or on multiple logically or physically configured computers, and may operate on a virtual computer constructed on multiple physical computer resources. For example, multiple programs that realize the functions of the monitoring state management server 100 may each operate on a separate physical or logical computer, or multiple programs may be combined to operate on a single physical or logical computer.

[0021] The watcher terminal 210 is a terminal device used by a watcher who watches over the person being watched over, and has a processor that executes a program, a memory unit, a display unit, and a communication unit. The communication unit of the watcher terminal 210 has a short-range wireless communication function (e.g., Bluetooth, Bluetooth is a registered trademark, the same applies below), and communicates with the beacon transmitting terminal 300 via the short-range wireless communication function. The watcher terminal 210 can detect that the beacon transmitting terminal 300 is located near the beacon transmitting terminal 300 by communicating with the beacon transmitting terminal 300 via the short-range wireless communication function.

[0022] The beacon transmitting terminal 300 is a terminal device used by the person being watched over, and includes a processor that executes a program, a storage unit, and a communication unit. The communication unit of the beacon transmitting terminal 300 has a short-range wireless communication function (e.g., Bluetooth), and repeatedly transmits a beacon at a predetermined time interval by the short-range wireless communication function.

[0023] The watcher management terminal 220 is a computer used by a watcher who watches over the person being watched, and has a processor that executes programs, a memory unit, a display unit, and a communication unit. Using the watcher management terminal 220, the watcher can register, update, and refer to information on the person being watched, watcher information, group information, group member information, and safety area information, and can learn the status of the person being watched over.

[0024] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the watching over target database 121. As shown in FIG.

[0025] The watched-over person database 121 is a database in which beacon transmitting terminals and watching modes are associated with each other and recorded, and information on the watching mode and the watcher (watcher terminal) who most recently changed the information on the watching mode is recorded. The watched-over person database 121 stores records including a beacon transmitting terminal ID, a display name, a watching mode, a watching-over person terminal ID, and an area ID. The beacon transmitting terminal ID is identification information for uniquely identifying the beacon transmitting terminal 300 connected to the watching-over person terminal 210. The display name is a name for displaying the watching-over person using the beacon transmitting terminal 300 on the watching-over person terminal 210 and the watching-over person management terminal 220. The watching mode is information indicating whether to issue an alert notification when the watcher watching the watching-over person using the beacon transmitting terminal 300 is no longer present. The terminal ID is identification information of the watcher terminal 210, and is the watcher terminal ID of the watcher who most recently changed the information of the watching mode associated with the beacon transmitting terminal 300. The area ID is identification information of the safety area derived from the position of the watcher terminal 210. That is, since the beacon transmitting terminal 300 recorded in the watched person database 121 is in communication with the watcher terminal 210 (is within a communication distance), the area ID is the safety area ID of the safety area including the position of the beacon transmitting terminal 300. Note that, since the position of the watcher terminal 210 may be outside the safety area when the watching mode is ON, if the position of the watcher terminal 210 is not included in the safety area, a code indicating that it is outside the safety area is recorded in the area ID.

[0026] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the watcher database 122. As shown in FIG.

[0027] The watcher database 122 is a database in which watchers are recorded, and stores records including a watcher terminal ID, a group ID, and a display name. The terminal ID is identification information for uniquely identifying the watcher terminal 210. The group ID is identification information for the group to which the watcher terminal 210 belongs. The display name is a name for displaying the watcher using the watcher terminal 210 on the watcher terminal 210 and the watcher management terminal 220.

[0028] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the watcher list database 123. As shown in FIG.

[0029] The watcher list database 123 is a database in which the current relationship between the person being watched and the watcher is recorded upon a watching start notification, and stores records including a beacon transmitting terminal ID, a watcher terminal ID, a watching notification time, and location information. The beacon transmitting terminal ID is identification information of the beacon transmitting terminal 300 connected to the watcher terminal 210. The watcher terminal ID is identification information of the watcher terminal 210 in communication with the beacon transmitting terminal 300. The watching notification time is the time when the watcher terminal 210 transmitted the watching start notification. The location information is the location of the watcher terminal 210.

[0030] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the group database 124. As shown in FIG.

[0031] The group database 124 is a database in which information about the groups to which the watcher terminal 210 and the beacon transmitting terminal 300 belong is recorded, and stores records including a group ID, a parent group flag, and a display name. The group ID is identification information for uniquely identifying the group to which the watcher terminal 210 belongs. The parent group flag is a flag indicating whether the group is a parent group. A parent group is a group made up of the parents of the person being watched over. The display name is a name for displaying the group on the watcher terminal 210 and the watcher management terminal 220.

[0032] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the group member database 125. As shown in FIG.

[0033] The group member database 125 is a database in which information on the watcher terminal 210 and the beacon transmitting terminal 300 belonging to a group is recorded, and stores records including a group ID, an ID type, and a terminal ID. The group ID is identification information of the group to which the watcher terminal 210 belongs. The terminal ID is identification information of the watcher terminal 210 or the beacon transmitting terminal 300 belonging to the group. The ID type is the type of terminal recorded in the terminal ID.

[0034] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the alert database 126. As shown in FIG.

[0035] The alert database 126 is a database in which information on issued alerts is recorded, and stores records including a beacon transmitting terminal ID, an alert issuance time, an ID type, and an alert target ID. The beacon transmitting terminal ID is identification information of the beacon transmitting terminal 300 related to the issued alert. The alert issuance time is the date and time when the alert was issued. The ID type is the type of terminal or group recorded in the alert target ID, and indicates the range to which the alert was issued. The alert target ID is identification information of the watcher terminal ID or group to which the alert was issued.

[0036] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the safe area database 127. As shown in FIG.

[0037] The safety area database 127 is a database in which information on the safety area to be set is recorded, and stores records including a safety area ID, a center point, a radius, and a group ID. The safety area ID is identification information for uniquely identifying the safety area to be set. The center point is the center point of the safety area. The radius is the radius of the safety area. The safety area is set within a range from the center point to a distance of the radius, and if the position of the watcher terminal 210 communicating with the beacon transmitting terminal 300 is within the safety area, the beacon transmitting terminal 300 is determined to be in the safety area. The group ID is identification information for the group that uses the safety area. Since the safety area differs depending on the person being watched over, different safety areas are used depending on the group ID.

[0038] FIG. 9A is a flowchart of the watching start process executed by the notification processing unit 111.

[0039] The watcher terminal 210 repeatedly waits for a beacon transmitted from the beacon transmitting terminal 300 at predetermined intervals, and when it receives a beacon transmitted from the beacon transmitting terminal 300 (S1011), it executes a watch start process. Then, it refers to the beacon reception record (received beacon transmitting terminal ID and beacon reception date and time) recorded in the memory, and judges whether the beacon transmitting terminal ID included in the received beacon is an unreceived one (S1012). If the received beacon transmitting terminal ID is transmitted from a beacon transmitting terminal 300 that has not yet been received, it transmits a watch start notification to the watching state management server 100 (S1013). The watch start notification includes a notification type, a beacon transmitting terminal ID, a watcher terminal ID, a position of the watcher terminal 210, and a notification time. On the other hand, if the received beacon transmitting terminal ID is an already received one, it records a beacon reception record including the received beacon transmitting terminal ID and the beacon reception date and time in the memory (S1014).

[0040] When the watching state management server 100 receives a watching start notification from the watcher terminal 210 (S1021), it executes a watching mode determination process (S1022), adds the record of the received watching start notification to the watcher list database 123 (S1023), and searches the alert database 126 for the beacon transmitting terminal ID included in the received watching start notification (S1024). If the received beacon transmitting terminal ID is recorded in the alert database 126 (Y in S1025), the beacon transmitting terminal 300 is in an alert state, so the alert is cancelled when watching starts (S1026). Details of the alert cancellation process (S1026) will be described with reference to FIG. 10. The alert cancellation process notifies the target watcher terminal 210 of the alert cancellation (S1035), and as illustrated in FIG. 19 and FIG. 20, the alert cancellation is displayed on the watcher terminal 210 (S1015).

[0041] On the other hand, if the received beacon transmitting terminal ID is not recorded in the alert database 126 (N in S1025), the beacon transmitting terminal 300 is not in an alert state, so the alert cancellation process is not executed and the monitoring start process is terminated.

[0042] FIG. 9B is a flowchart of the watching mode determination process (S1022).

[0043] The watching state management server 100 searches the watching target database 121 using the beacon transmitting terminal ID included in the watching start notification as a key, and acquires data related to the beacon transmitting terminal ID (S2001). The data acquired from the watching target database 121 is at least (1) the watching mode, (2) the watching terminal ID that last updated the watching mode, and (3) the area ID that last updated the watching mode.

[0044] Then, the watching state management server 100 judges the obtained watching mode of the beacon transmitting terminal 300 (S2002). If the obtained watching mode is ON, the watching mode judgment process is terminated.

[0045] On the other hand, if the monitoring mode is OFF, It is determined whether the acquired watcher terminal ID (person who notified the start of watching) is the same as the person who set the watching mode to OFF, and whether the safety area in which the watcher who set the watching mode to OFF is present is the same as the safety area when the watching mode was turned OFF (S2003). If both the watcher and the safety area are the same, there is no change in the watching state, so the watching mode determination process is terminated.

[0046] On the other hand, if either the watcher or the safety area is different, it is determined whether the watcher who has set the watching mode to OFF is in any safety area (S2004). For example, the group ID of the group to which the watcher terminal ID belongs is obtained from the group member database 125, and a record that is the same as the group ID and has the safety area ID of the safety area in which the watcher terminal is located is searched for in the safety area database 127, to determine whether the watcher is in a safety area.

[0047] If a corresponding record is found in the safety area database 127, it is determined that the watcher is in one of the safety areas (Y in S2004), and the area ID of the safety area in which the watcher is located is notified to the watcher terminal of the obtained watcher terminal ID (S2005), and the watching mode determination process is terminated. The watcher terminal 210 registers the notified safety area in the Geofence function (S2006).

[0048] On the other hand, if there is no corresponding record in the safe area database 127, it is determined that the watcher is not in any safe area (N in S2004), the watch mode of the beacon transmitting terminal 300 is set to ON, and the watched over person database 121 is updated (S2007).

[0049] FIG. 10 is a flowchart of the alert cancellation process (S1026) executed by the alert processor 113.

[0050] The monitoring state management server 100 searches the alert database 126 for the beacon transmitting terminal ID included in the received monitoring start notification, and acquires a record of the corresponding beacon transmitting terminal ID from the alert database 126 (S1031). Then, if a record of the received beacon transmitting terminal ID can be acquired from the alert database 126 (S1032), the server 100 executes an alert release notification process for each record acquired from the alert database 126 (S1033).

[0051] In the alert cancellation notification process, the process is assigned according to the ID type of the record acquired from the alert database 126 (S1034). If the ID type is a watcher terminal, the terminal notification processing unit 112 notifies the watcher terminal 210 described in the alert target ID of the alert cancellation (S1035). On the other hand, if the ID type is Group, the group member database 125 is referenced, and the watcher terminal ID of the group is obtained from the group ID described in the alert target ID. Then, the watcher terminal 210 of the obtained terminal ID is notified of the alert cancellation (S1036). After notifying the alert cancellation, the record in the alert database 126 in which the beacon transmitting terminal ID and the alert target ID are the same is deleted (S1037).

[0052] FIG. 11 is a flowchart of the monitoring end process executed by the notification processing unit 111.

[0053] The watcher terminal 210 repeatedly refers to the beacon reception record at predetermined time intervals and determines whether there is a beacon transmitting terminal 300 that has not been able to receive a beacon for a predetermined time or longer (S1111). If there is a beacon transmitting terminal 300 that has not been able to receive a beacon for a predetermined time or longer, the watcher terminal 210 transmits a watching end notification to the watching state management server 100 (S1112). The watching end notification includes a notification type, a beacon transmitting terminal ID, and a watcher terminal ID, and may also include the location of the watcher terminal 210 and the time of notification. After that, the watcher terminal 210 deletes the beacon reception record of the beacon transmitting terminal ID of the beacon transmitting terminal 300 (S1113).

[0054] When the watching state management server 100 receives a watching end notification (S1121), it deletes from the watcher list database 123 a record having the same combination of the beacon transmitting terminal ID and the watcher terminal ID included in the received watching end notification (S1122). Then, the watching state management server 100 searches the alert database 126 for a record of the beacon transmitting terminal ID included in the received watching end notification (S1123). Then, it judges whether the watching mode of the record of the beacon transmitting terminal ID in the watching target database 121 is ON, or whether the record of the beacon transmitting terminal ID is in the watcher list database 123 (S1124). If the watching mode of the beacon transmitting terminal ID is ON and the record of the beacon transmitting terminal ID is in the watcher list database 123 (Y in S1124), it means that watching is necessary but there is no other watcher, so it issues an alert (S1125). Details of the alert issuing process (S1125) will be described with reference to FIG. 12. An alert is sent to the target watcher terminal 210 through the alert issuing process (S1139), and the alert notification is displayed on the watcher terminal 210 (S1015), as shown in the examples of FIGS. 17 and 18.

[0055] On the other hand, if the monitoring mode for the beacon transmitting terminal ID is OFF or there is no record for the beacon transmitting terminal ID in the watcher list database 123, then monitoring is not required or there is another person watching, so the alert issuance process is not executed and the monitoring end process is terminated.

[0056] FIG. 12 is a flowchart of the alert issuing process executed by the alert processing unit 113.

[0057] When issuing an alert, the monitoring state management server 100 adds the following three records to the alert database 126 (S1135). (1) The last guardian to be alerted Alert issue time: 0 (immediate) (2) The group to which the final guardian belongs Alert issue time: Current time + α 1 second later (3) If the last person watching over is not the parent group, the parent group to be alerted Current time + α1 + α2 seconds later

[0058] The monitoring state management server 100 acquires records whose alert notification issuance time is older than the current time from the alert database 126 (S1132). If the alert issuance time is older than the current time and there are records in the alert database 126 for which an alert has not been issued (Y in S1133), it executes alert notification processing for each acquired record (S1134). When a predetermined time has elapsed since the execution of the alert notification processing (S1135), it returns to step S1132 and acquires records from the alert database 126. If the alert issuance time is older than the current time and there are no records in the alert database 126 for which an alert has not been issued (N in S1133), it ends the alert issuance processing.

[0059] In the alert notification process, the process is assigned according to the ID type of the record obtained from the alert database 126 (S1136). If the ID type is a watcher terminal, a terminal ID list including the watcher terminal 210 that is the target of the alert is created (S1137). On the other hand, if the ID type is Group, the group member database 125 is referenced to obtain the watcher terminal IDs of the group with the group ID that is the target of the alert, and a terminal ID list is created (S1138). Then, the terminal notification processing unit 112 notifies the watcher terminal 210 in the created terminal ID list of the alert (S1139). An example of a display displayed on the watcher terminal 210 when an alert is notified will be described later with reference to Figs. 17 and 18.

[0060] FIG. 13 is a flowchart of the monitoring mode OFF process executed by the notification processing unit 111.

[0061] The watcher terminal 210 displays a watching mode setting screen in response to a user operation (S1141). Details of the watching mode setting screen display process will be described with reference to FIG. 14B. A watching mode confirmation notification is sent to the watching state management server 100. The watching mode setting screen displays a list of beacon transmitting terminals 300 that are being watched (i.e., receiving a beacon), and includes a button for switching the watching mode ON or OFF for each beacon transmitting terminal 300. The watching mode confirmation notification includes the watcher terminal ID and location information of the watcher terminal 210 that sent the watching mode confirmation notification, and the beacon transmitting terminal ID of the beacon transmitting terminal 300 that is receiving a beacon.

[0062] The watcher terminal 210 judges whether the watching mode is ON and whether the watching mode can be changed (S1142). If the watching mode is OFF or cannot be changed, the watching mode OFF process is terminated. On the other hand, if the watching mode is ON and can be changed, the process waits for the user to switch the watching mode. When the user then performs a watching mode OFF operation, the watcher terminal 210 notifies the watching state management server 100 that the watching mode is OFF (S1145) and registers the safety area (center position, radius) in the watcher terminal 210 (S1146). Information on the safety area is registered in the Geofence function of the watcher terminal 210, and entry and exit into the safety area is monitored. The watching mode OFF notification includes the notification type, the beacon transmitting terminal ID, the watcher terminal ID, the position of the watcher terminal 210, and the notification time.

[0063] When the watching state management server 100 receives a watching mode OFF notification (S1149), it updates the record of the watching target database 121 of the beacon transmitting terminal ID included in the received watching mode OFF notification (S1150). Specifically, it changes the watching mode from ON to OFF, records the watching terminal ID of the watching terminal 210 that sent the received watching mode OFF notification, and records the safety area ID including the position of the watching terminal 210 in the area ID by referring to the safety area database 127. If there is no safety area including the position of the watching terminal 210, it records a code indicating that it is outside the safety area in the area ID.

[0064] FIG. 14A is a flowchart of the monitoring mode ON process executed by the notification processing unit 111.

[0065] The watcher terminal 210 executes a watching mode ON process (S1161) when any of the following events occurs. (1) The Geofence function notifies you that you have left a registered safe area. (2) The monitoring mode setting screen display process is executed, and the monitoring mode setting screen is displayed.

[0066] When the monitoring mode setting screen display process is executed, it is determined whether the monitoring mode is OFF and whether the monitoring mode is changeable (S1162). If the monitoring mode is ON or cannot be changed, the monitoring mode ON process is terminated. On the other hand, if the monitoring mode is OFF and can be changed, the process waits for the user to switch the monitoring mode.

[0067] Thereafter, when the user performs an operation to turn on the watching mode (S1163), the watcher terminal 210 transmits a watching mode ON notification to the watching state management server 100 (S1164), and deletes the information about the safe area from the Geofence function of the watcher terminal 210 (S1165).

[0068] Furthermore, if the Geofence function notifies the user that the user has left a registered safe area, the process proceeds from step S1164 onwards.

[0069] When the watching state management server 100 receives a watching mode ON notification (S1166), it updates the record of the watching target database 121 of the beacon transmitting terminal ID included in the received watching mode ON notification (S1167). Specifically, it changes the watching mode from OFF to ON, records the watcher terminal ID of the watcher terminal 210 that sent the received watching mode ON notification, and records the safety area ID of the safety area including the position of the watcher terminal 210 in the area ID by referring to the safety area database 127. Note that if there is no safety area including the position of the watcher terminal 210, it records a code indicating that it is outside the safety area in the area ID.

[0070] FIG. 14B is a flowchart of the monitoring mode setting screen display process.

[0071] When the user performs an operation to display a watching mode setting screen on the watcher terminal 210, the watcher terminal 210 transmits a watching mode confirmation notification to the watching state management server 100 (S1181). The watching mode confirmation notification includes identification information of the watcher terminal 210, location information of the watcher terminal 210, and identification information of the beacon transmitting terminal 300 that is receiving a beacon.

[0072] When the watching state management server 100 receives the watching mode confirmation notification (S1188), it judges whether the watching person terminal that sent the watching mode confirmation notification is in a safety area (S1189). For example, it obtains the group ID of the group to which the watching person terminal ID belongs from the group member database 125, and searches the safety area database 127 for a record that is the same as the group ID and has a safety area ID of the safety area in which the watching person terminal is located. If a corresponding record is found in the safety area database 127, it can be judged that the watching person is in one of the safety areas. Then, it transmits the watching mode and the area ID of the safety area as a reply to the watching mode confirmation notification (S1190). The reply to the watching mode confirmation notification includes the watching mode ON / OFF, safety area information (whether the watching person is in a safety area / not in a safety area, if in a safety area, the safety area ID, and the coordinates and radius of the center point of the safety area).

[0073] When the watcher terminal 210 receives the watching mode and the area ID of the safe area, it displays the watching mode (S1182). Then, the watcher terminal 210 judges whether or not a beacon is being received (S1183). Then, if a beacon is not being received, the watcher terminal 210 disables the watching mode operation (S1184).

[0074] On the other hand, if a beacon is being received, the watcher terminal 210 determines whether the watching mode is ON (S1185), and if the watching mode is ON, determines whether the watcher terminal 210 is within a safe area (S1186).

[0075] As a result of the above determination, if a beacon is being received (Y in S1183) and the watching mode is OFF (OFF in S1185), the watching mode can be turned ON (S1187). Also, if a beacon is being received (Y in S1183), the watching mode is ON, and the watcher terminal 210 is within the safety area (Y in S1186), the watching mode can be turned OFF (S1187).

[0076] On the other hand, in other cases, that is, when a beacon is not being received or when the monitoring mode is ON but outside the safety area, the operation to change the monitoring mode is disabled (S1184).

[0077] FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of a display on the watcher terminal 210 of the parent group in normal times, and is displayed when an app is started on the watcher terminal 210, for example.

[0078] The watcher terminal 210 displays information about the beacon transmitting terminals 300 that belong to the same group. In Fig. 15, Mr. XX is a beacon transmitting terminal 300 that belongs to the same group, and since a watcher belonging to a different group from the watcher terminal 210 is watching, the display name of the group to which the watcher's watcher terminal 210 belongs is used, and "Watching over YYYY nursery school" is displayed. Since Mr. □□'s watcher terminal 210 is receiving a beacon, "Watching over □□" is displayed for Mr. △△. Note that □□ is the display name of the watcher terminal 210 or the watcher terminal 210 that belongs to the same group as the watcher terminal 210.

[0079] FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of a display in normal mode on the watcher terminal 210 other than the parent group.

[0080] Information on the beacon transmitting terminals 300 belonging to the same group is displayed on the watcher terminals 210 other than the parent group. In Fig. 16, since the watcher terminal 210 of YY, which belongs to the same group, receives a beacon from XX, it is displayed as "Watching over YY". Since none of the watcher terminals 210 belonging to the same group as the watcher terminal 210 has received a beacon from △△, it is displayed as "Not yet arrived at the kindergarten".

[0081] The watcher terminal 210 acquires information to be displayed on various display screens from the watching state management server 100. For example, the watching state of the beacon transmitting terminal 300 belonging to the same group is acquired, and the display screen shown in FIG. 15 is displayed. When the current watcher belongs to the same group as the watcher terminal 210, the watching state of the beacon transmitting terminal 300 may display the display name of the current watcher, and when the current watcher belongs to a different group, the display name of the group to which the current watcher belongs may be displayed. Note that when the group to which the current watcher belongs is not the parent group, it may display "Before going to kindergarten" as shown in FIG. 16.

[0082] FIG. 17 is a diagram showing an example of a display on the watcher terminal 210 of the parent group when an alert is notified.

[0083] When an alert is notified, the watcher terminal 210 of the parent group displays information about the beacon transmitting terminals 300 belonging to the same group, similar to the display example shown in Figure 15, and further displays the alert notified from the watching state management server 100.

[0084] The alert includes the display name of the beacon transmitting terminal 300 that is no longer in the watching state and the location information of the watcher terminal 210 that last watched the watching target. This location information may be displayed in the alert display, or may be obtained from the watching state management server 100 or another map information server by providing a link to map information in the alert display and selecting the link. For example, the watching state management server 100 transmits the display name of the beacon transmitting terminal 300 that is the target of the alert and the location information recorded in the watcher list database 123 when the last watching notification was received for the beacon transmitting terminal 300, together with the alert notification. The watcher terminal 210 may map the location information obtained in the alert notification to the obtained map information.

[0085] FIG. 18 is a diagram showing a display example of a watcher terminal 210 other than the parent group when an alert is issued.

[0086] When an alert is notified, the watcher terminal 210 other than the parent group displays information about the beacon transmitting terminals 300 belonging to the same group, similar to the display example shown in Figure 16, and further displays the alert notified from the watching state management server 100.

[0087] The alert includes the display name of the beacon transmitting terminal 300 that is no longer in the watching state, and the location information of the watching over terminal 210 that last watched over the person being watched over, similar to the display example shown in Fig. 17. This location information may be displayed within the alert display, but it may also be possible to provide a link to map information within the alert display, and obtain the information from the watching state management server 100 or another map information server by selecting this link.

[0088] FIG. 19 is a diagram showing an example of a display on the watcher terminal 210 of the parent group when an alert is cancelled.

[0089] When an alert is cancelled, the watcher terminal 210 of the parent group displays information about the beacon transmitting terminals 300 belonging to the same group, similar to the display example shown in Figure 15, and further displays information about the alert cancellation notified by the watching status management server 100.

[0090] When the alert is cancelled, the display name of the beacon transmitting terminal 300 that is in the monitoring state and the "OK" button that the user can operate are displayed. When the user operates the "OK" button, the alert cancellation display is erased and the display returns to the normal display (FIG. 15).

[0091] FIG. 20 is a diagram showing a display example when an alert is cancelled on a watcher terminal 210 other than the parent group.

[0092] When an alert is cancelled, the watcher terminal 210 other than the parent group displays information about the beacon transmitting terminals 300 belonging to the same group, similar to the display example shown in Figure 16, and further displays information about the alert cancellation notified by the watching status management server 100.

[0093] When the alert is cancelled, the display name of the beacon transmitting terminal 300 that is in the monitoring state and the "OK" button that the user can operate are displayed. When the user operates the "OK" button, the alert cancellation display is erased and the display returns to the normal display (FIG. 17).

[0094] As described above, the monitoring state management system of the present invention includes a watcher terminal 210 that receives a beacon transmitted from a beacon transmission terminal 300, and a monitoring state management server 100 that communicates with the watcher terminal 210. The watcher terminal 210 transmits a monitoring start notification and a monitoring end notification to the monitoring state management server 100. When the watching state management server 100 receives a monitoring start notification from the watcher terminal 210, it records the release of the alert state and transmits an alert release notification to a predetermined other watcher terminal 210. When the watching end notification is received from the watcher terminal 210, it sets the alert state and transmits an alert notification to a predetermined other watcher terminal 210. Therefore, the data of the watcher is always recorded, and the watcher of the parent group can grasp the state of the person being watched (for example, who is currently watching). In addition, since an alert is notified when no one is watching, mistakes due to oversight can be prevented without increasing the burden on the watcher. This provides overall responsibility and peace of mind.

[0095] As described above, in the conventional technology, the monitoring function needs to be manually turned on to resume monitoring, which can lead to human error due to forgetting to turn it on, and when there are multiple people being watched over, turning it on for each person being watched over is cumbersome, but with the monitoring status management system of the embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to start and end monitoring without operating the watcher terminal. Therefore, by reducing the number of operations by the watcher and sending an alert to the necessary watcher only when the watcher is no longer there, it is possible to reduce human error and create an environment in which the watcher can safely watch over the people being watched over.

[0096] Furthermore, according to the monitoring status management system of this embodiment, by aggregating the monitoring status on a server, watchers who are away from the person being watched can know whether the person being watched is being watched by another watcher.

[0097] In addition, the monitoring status management server 100 stores a group member database 125 in which definitions of groups to which the watcher terminal 210 and the beacon transmitting terminal 300 belong are recorded, and alert notifications are managed by group, so that the information displayed about the watcher can be controlled so that only the group name is displayed to members of other groups, with information about specific individuals being concealed.

[0098] Furthermore, the watching state management server 100 can notify multiple types of watchers in stages, since it transmits an alert notification to the watcher terminal of the final watcher recorded in the watcher list database 123, and then transmits the alert notification to the watcher terminal of the group to which the final watcher belongs after a predetermined time has elapsed. In other words, an alert can be issued quickly to the final watcher, and unnecessary alerts to people other than the final watcher can be suppressed in a situation where the final watcher can immediately handle the situation.

[0099] In addition, after sending an alert notification to the watcher terminal of the group to which the last watcher belongs, the monitoring status management server 100 sends an alert notification to the watcher terminals of a specified group (parent group) of the beacon emitting terminal that is the target of the alert after a specified time has elapsed, thereby preventing delays in notification from the childcare facility to the parents when the person being watched leaves the watcher.

[0100] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and includes various modified examples and equivalent configurations within the spirit of the appended claims. For example, the above-described embodiments have been described in detail to clearly explain the present invention, and the present invention is not necessarily limited to those including all of the configurations described. Furthermore, a part of the configuration of one embodiment may be replaced with the configuration of another embodiment. Furthermore, the configuration of another embodiment may be added to the configuration of one embodiment. Furthermore, a part of the configuration of each embodiment may be added, deleted, or replaced with another configuration.

[0101] In addition, each of the above-mentioned configurations, functions, processing units, processing means, etc. may be realized in hardware, for example by designing some or all of them as an integrated circuit, or may be realized in software by a processor interpreting and executing a program that realizes each function.

[0102] Information such as programs, tables, and files that realize each function can be stored in a storage device such as a memory, a hard disk, or an SSD (Solid State Drive), or in a recording medium such as an IC card, an SD card, or a DVD.

[0103] In addition, the control lines and information lines shown are those considered necessary for the explanation, and do not necessarily show all the control lines and information lines necessary for implementation. In reality, it can be considered that almost all components are connected to each other. [Explanation of symbols]

[0104] 100 Monitoring status management server 110 Arithmetic section 111 Notification processing unit 112 Terminal notification processing unit 113 Alert Processing Unit 114 Information Management Department 120 Storage section 121 Subject Database 122 Watcher Database 123 Watcher List Database 124 Group Database 125 Group Member Database 126 Alert Database 127 Safe Area Database 130 Communications Department 210 Guardian Terminal 220 Guardian Management Terminal 300 Beacon transmitter

Claims

1. A watcher terminal that receives a beacon transmitted from the beacon transmitting terminal; A monitoring status management system including a server that communicates with the monitoring terminal, The watcher terminal transmits a watch start notification and a watch end notification to the server, The server, When receiving the monitoring start notification from the watcher terminal, record the cancellation of the alert state and send an alert cancellation notification to the watcher terminal related to the cancelled alert state; A monitoring status management system characterized in that when it receives the monitoring end notification from the monitoring terminal and the number of monitoring terminals monitoring the monitoring target becomes zero, it sets an alert state and sends an alert notification to the monitoring terminal regarding the set alert state.

2. The monitoring status management system according to claim 1, The beacon transmitting terminal transmits a beacon at a predetermined time interval, The watcher terminal includes: When a new beacon is received from a beacon transmitting terminal that does not have a beacon reception record, the beacon reception record is recorded, and a monitoring start notification is transmitted to the server; A monitoring status management system characterized in that if a beacon in which the beacon reception record is recorded is not received for a predetermined period of time, a monitoring end notification is sent to the server and the beacon reception record is deleted.

3. The monitoring status management system according to claim 2, The server, storing watcher list information that records the current relationship between the watchee and the watcher, and alert information that records information on the watcher terminal that is the target of the alert; When a monitoring start notification is received from the watcher terminal, data relating to the start of monitoring is added to watcher list information, an alert cancellation notification is sent to the watcher terminal recorded in the alert information relating to the monitoring start notification, and the monitoring data relating to the monitoring start notification is deleted from the alert information; A monitoring status management system characterized in that, when a monitoring end notification is received from the watcher terminal, data regarding the end of monitoring is deleted from the watcher list information, and if there are no other watchers, the monitoring data related to the monitoring end notification is added to the alert information, and further, an alert notification is sent to the watcher terminal related to the added alert information.

4. The monitoring status management system according to claim 1, The server, storing group information in which a definition of a group to which the watcher terminal and the beacon transmitting terminal belong is recorded; A monitoring status management system characterized by transmitting the monitoring start notification and the alert notification to the monitoring terminals belonging to the group.

5. The monitoring status management system according to claim 4, The server, storing watcher list information in which the beacon transmitting terminal and the watcher terminal are recorded in association with each other; A monitoring status management system characterized by sending an alert notification to the watcher terminal of the final watcher recorded in the watcher list information, and then, after a predetermined time has elapsed, sending an alert notification to the watcher terminal of the group to which the final watcher belongs.

6. The monitoring status management system according to claim 5, The monitoring status management system is characterized in that the server sends an alert notification to the monitoring terminal of the group to which the final monitoring person belongs, and then, after a predetermined time has elapsed, sends an alert notification to the monitoring terminal of a specified group of the beacon transmitting terminal that is the target of the alert.

7. A monitoring status management method executed by a monitoring status management system, The monitoring state management system includes a watcher terminal that receives a beacon transmitted from a beacon transmitting terminal, and a server that communicates with the watcher terminal, The monitoring state management method includes: The watcher terminal transmits a watch start notification to the server, When the server receives the monitoring start notification from the watcher terminal, the server records the cancellation of the alert state and transmits an alert cancellation notification to other predetermined watcher terminals; The watcher terminal transmits a watch end notification to the server, A monitoring status management method characterized in that the server receives the monitoring end notification from the watching over terminal and, when the number of watching over terminals watching over the watching over target person becomes zero, sets an alert state and sends an alert notification to other specified watching over terminals.

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