Notification system, notification method, server device, and apparatus

Abstract

To provide a notification system capable of shortening the time lag from when an event occurs until when sound source data for notifying of the occurrence of the event is reproduced by an apparatus.SOLUTION: A server device 4 includes: a location information acquisition unit 14 for acquiring location information; a storage unit 18 for storing sound source data information 26; a time determination unit 16 for determining the current time; a determination unit 20 for determining sound source data by referring to the sound source data information 26; and a communication unit 24 for transmitting the sound source data determined by the determination unit 20 to a speech apparatus 6 prior to the predicted time of occurrence of an event. The speech apparatus 6 includes: a communication unit 28 for receiving the sound source data from the server device 4; a storage unit 30 for storing the sound source data received by the communication unit 28; and a reproduction unit 32 for reproducing the sound source data stored in the storage unit 30 when the event occurs at the location at the predicted time of occurrence.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a notification system, a notification method, a server device, and a device. [Background technology]

[0002] There are known home appliances having a speech function that reproduces sound source data to produce speech (see, for example, Patent Document 1). When an event (phenomenon) occurs in the home appliance, this type of home appliance produces a speech to notify the user of the occurrence of the event. This allows the user to recognize that an event has occurred in the home appliance. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2008-46424 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The present disclosure provides a notification system, a notification method, a server device, and a device that can shorten the time lag between when an event occurs and when sound source data for notifying of the occurrence of the event is played on an device. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] The notification system of the present disclosure is a notification system including a device installed in a building and a server device capable of communicating with the device via a network, the server device having a first acquisition unit that acquires location information indicating the location of the building, a first memory unit that stores sound source data information indicating a correspondence between an area, a predicted time of occurrence of an event in the area, and sound source data for notifying by voice that the event has occurred in the area, a time determination unit that determines a current time, a determination unit that determines sound source data corresponding to an area including a location indicated by the location information acquired by the first acquisition unit and a predicted time of occurrence that will arrive after the current time determined by the time determination unit by referring to the sound source data information, and a first communication unit that transmits the sound source data determined by the determination unit to the device before the predicted time of occurrence, and the device has a second communication unit that receives sound source data from the server device, a second memory unit that stores the sound source data received by the second communication unit, and a playback unit that plays the sound source data stored in the second memory unit when the event occurs in the location at the predicted time of occurrence. Effect of the Invention

[0006] According to the notification system etc. of the present disclosure, it is possible to reduce the time lag between the occurrence of an event and the reproduction by a device of sound source data for notifying the occurrence of the event. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] 1 is a conceptual diagram showing an overview of a notification system according to an embodiment. [Diagram 2] 1 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a notification system according to an embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of sound source data information in the embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram showing the flow of operations of a notification system according to an embodiment. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram for explaining the operation of the notification system according to the embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0008] (Findings on which this disclosure is based) The present inventors have found that the conventional techniques described in the "Background Art" section have the following problems.

[0009] In the above-mentioned conventional technology, each time an event occurs on the home appliance, the home appliance downloads sound source data for notifying the user of the occurrence of the event from a server device, and plays the sound source data after the download is completed. However, since the download takes time, the time lag from the occurrence of the event to the reproduction of the sound source data on the home appliance becomes long, which causes a problem that it is difficult to notify the user of the occurrence of the event in real time.

[0010] Therefore, after extensive research, the inventors have devised a notification system, notification method, server device, and device that can shorten the time lag between when an event occurs and when sound source data to notify of the occurrence of the event is played on an equipment.

[0011] Hereinafter, the embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the drawings as appropriate. However, more detailed explanation than necessary may be omitted. For example, detailed explanation of already well-known matters or duplicate explanation of substantially the same configuration may be omitted. This is to avoid the following explanation becoming unnecessarily redundant and to facilitate understanding by those skilled in the art.

[0012] It should be noted that the inventors provide the accompanying drawings and the following description so that those skilled in the art can fully understand the present disclosure, and they do not intend to limit the subject matter described in the claims.

[0013] (Embodiment) Hereinafter, an embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5. FIG.

[0014] [1. Notification System Overview] First, an overview of a notification system 2 according to an embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 1. Fig. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing an overview of a notification system 2 according to an embodiment.

[0015] As shown in Fig. 1, the notification system 2 includes a server device 4 and a speech device 6 (an example of a device). The server device 4 and the speech device 6 are capable of communicating with each other via a network 8. The network 8 is, for example, the Internet. The speech device 6 is installed inside a building 12, which may be, for example, the home of a user 10.

[0016] The server device 4 is a cloud server for controlling the contents of speech from the speech device 6. The server device 4 transmits sound source data for notifying the user 10 by voice that a natural disaster (one example of an event) has occurred at the location of the building 12 to the speech device 6 in advance via the network 8, a predetermined period of time prior to the predicted occurrence of the natural disaster. The location of the building 12 is, for example, the address of the building 12 (i.e., the residence of the user 10). In addition, the predetermined period of time prior to the predicted occurrence of the natural disaster refers to, for example, one day to several days prior to the first day of the predicted occurrence.

[0017] The speech device 6 is a home appliance having a speaker 34 (see FIG. 2 described later) used by the user 10. Specifically, the speech device 6 is a home appliance having a speech function for emitting sound from the speaker 34, and is, for example, a stationary, wall-mounted, or portable television receiver.

[0018] The speech device 6 downloads (receives) sound source data from the server device 4 in advance, prior to the predicted time of occurrence of a natural disaster likely to occur in the location of the building 12, and stores the downloaded sound source data in an internal memory. Then, when a natural disaster occurs in the location of the building 12 at the predicted time of occurrence, the speech device 6 reproduces the sound source data stored in the memory, thereby uttering the notification content indicated by the sound source data from the speaker 34. For example, if the natural disaster is a tsunami, the notification content indicated by the sound source data is a voice message saying, "A tsunami has occurred. Please be careful."

[0019] In this embodiment, the speech device 6 is described as a television receiver; however, the present invention is not limited to this, and the speech device 6 may be any home appliance equipped with a speaker, such as an autonomous robot vacuum cleaner, a ceiling light, or an intercom handset (so-called door phone).

[0020] [2. Notification system configuration] Next, a functional configuration of a notification system 2 according to an embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 2 and Fig. 3. Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the notification system 2 according to an embodiment. Fig. 3 is a diagram showing an example of sound source data information 26 according to an embodiment.

[0021] As shown in FIG. 2, the server device 4 has, as its functional configuration, a location information acquisition unit 14 (an example of an acquisition unit and a first acquisition unit), a time determination unit 16, a memory unit 18 (an example of a memory unit and a first memory unit), a determination unit 20, a natural disaster occurrence information acquisition unit 22 (an example of a second acquisition unit), and a communication unit 24 (an example of a communication unit and a first communication unit).

[0022] The location information acquisition unit 14 acquires location information indicating the location of the building 12 (see FIG. 1). For example, the location information acquisition unit 14 acquires, as location information, a postal code input (registered) to the speaking device 6 by the user 10 when the speaking device 6 is installed, from the speaking device 6 via the network 8 (see FIG. 1). The location information acquisition unit 14 outputs the acquired location information to the determination unit 20.

[0023] In this embodiment, the user 10 inputs a postal code to the speaking device 6 when the speaking device 6 is installed, but this is not limiting. When the speaking device 6 is installed, the user 10 may, for example, (a) directly input an address by operating the speaking device 6, or (b) input a postal code and address from a web application by operating a smartphone, tablet, or the like. In this case, the location information acquisition unit 14 may acquire the address input to the speaking device 6 or the postal code and address input from the web application as location information from the speaking device 6 via the network 8.

[0024] Alternatively, when the speech device 6 is installed, the speech device 6 may, for example, (c) identify the location of the communication source (speech device 6) from network connection information, or (d) register the address using a GPS (Global Positioning System) function. In this case, the location information acquisition unit 14 may acquire the location identified by the speech device 6 or the address registered by the speech device 6 as location information from the speech device 6 via the network 8.

[0025] The time determination unit 16 determines the current time. The time determination unit 16 outputs the determined current time to the determination unit 20. Note that the time is, for example, a period in months or days.

[0026] The storage unit 18 is a memory that stores sound source data information 26. The sound source data information 26 is, for example, a data table as shown in Fig. 3. As shown in Fig. 3, the sound source data information 26 is correspondence information that indicates a correspondence relationship between an area in Japan, a natural disaster likely to occur in the area, a predicted time of occurrence of the natural disaster, and sound source data for notifying by voice that the natural disaster has occurred in the area. Note that the area is, for example, an area in prefecture or city, town, or village units, and is an area including the location of the building 12 described above.

[0027] In the example shown in FIG. 3, the first line of sound source data information 26 stores (a) "Area A (sea side)" as the area, (b) "tsunami" as the natural disaster likely to occur in that area, (c) "June to October" as the predicted time of occurrence of that natural disaster, and (d) "sound source data A" as the sound source data. Area A is an area on the sea side of Japan. The notification content indicated by sound source data A is "A tsunami has occurred. Please be careful."

[0028] Furthermore, the second line of the sound source data information 26 stores (a) "Area B (mountain side)" as the area, (b) "landslide" as the natural disaster likely to occur in that area, (c) "June to July" as the predicted time of occurrence of that natural disaster, and (d) "sound source data B" as the sound source data. Area B is a mountain side area in Japan. The notification content indicated by sound source data B is "A landslide has occurred. Please be careful."

[0029] Furthermore, the third line of the sound source data information 26 stores (a) "Area C (mountain side)" as the area, (b) "heavy snow, avalanches" as the natural disasters likely to occur in the area, (c) "December to March" as the predicted time of occurrence of the natural disaster, and (d) "sound source data C" as the sound source data. Area C is a mountain side area in Japan. The notification content indicated by sound source data C is "An avalanche has occurred. Please be careful."

[0030] Furthermore, the fourth line of the sound source data information 26 stores (a) "Area D (near a river)" as the area, (b) "flooding" as the natural disaster likely to occur in the area, (c) "June to October" as the predicted time of occurrence of the natural disaster, and (d) "sound source data D" as the sound source data. Area D is an area near a river in Japan. The notification content indicated by sound source data D is "A river has flooded. Please be careful."

[0031] Furthermore, the fifth line of the sound source data information 26 stores (a) "Area E (area where typhoons frequently pass)" as the area, (b) "heavy rain" as the natural disaster likely to occur in the area, (c) "June to October" as the predicted time of occurrence of the natural disaster, and (d) "sound source data E" as the sound source data. Area E is an area in Japan where typhoons frequently pass (e.g., several times to a dozen times a year). The notification content indicated by the sound source data E is "Heavy rain caused by a typhoon has occurred. Please be careful."

[0032] Additionally, the sixth line of the sound source data information 26 stores (a) "Area F (all areas)" as the area, (b) "earthquake" as the natural disaster likely to occur in the area, (c) "year-round" as the predicted time of occurrence of the natural disaster, and (d) "sound source data F" as the sound source data. Area F is all areas in Japan. The notification content indicated by sound source data F is "An earthquake has occurred. Please be careful."

[0033] Returning to FIG. 2, the storage unit 18 further stores the above-mentioned sound source data (sound source data A to F).

[0034] The determination unit 20 refers to the sound source data information 26 stored in the storage unit 18 to determine sound source data corresponding to an area including the location indicated by the location information acquired by the location information acquisition unit 14 and a predicted occurrence time that will arrive later than the current time determined by the time determination unit 16. For example, if the location indicated by the location information acquired by the location information acquisition unit 14 is included in "area A (sea side)" and the current time determined by the time determination unit 16 is "May 30th", the determination unit 20 refers to the sound source data information 26 to determine "sound source data A" corresponding to the area "area A (sea side)" and the predicted occurrence time "June to October" that will arrive later than the current time "May 30th".

[0035] The natural disaster occurrence information acquisition unit 22 acquires natural disaster occurrence information indicating that a natural disaster has occurred at the location of the building 12 at the predicted occurrence time from, for example, an external server (not shown) that provides weather warnings, earthquake alerts, etc., via the network 8. The natural disaster occurrence information acquisition unit 22 outputs the acquired natural disaster occurrence information to the communication unit 24.

[0036] The communication unit 24 transmits and receives various data and the like to and from the speaking device 6 via the network 8. Specifically, the communication unit 24 reads out the sound source data determined by the determination unit 20 from the storage unit 18 a predetermined period before the predicted occurrence of a natural disaster, and transmits the read sound source data to the speaking device 6. For example, when the sound source data determined by the determination unit 20 is "sound source data A", the communication unit 24 transmits the sound source data A read out from the storage unit 18 to the speaking device 6 on, for example, May 30 of the same year, a predetermined period before the predicted occurrence of a tsunami in region A, "June to October".

[0037] Furthermore, the communication unit 24, when triggered by the natural disaster occurrence information acquisition unit 22 acquiring the natural disaster occurrence information, transmits to the speech device 6 a playback instruction signal for instructing the speech device 6 to play back the sound source data.

[0038] As shown in FIG. 2, the speech device 6 has, as its functional configuration, a communication unit 28 (an example of a communication unit and a second communication unit), a memory unit 30 (an example of a memory unit and a second memory unit), a playback unit 32, and a speaker 34.

[0039] The communication unit 28 transmits and receives various data and the like to and from the server device 4 via the network 8. Specifically, the communication unit 28 receives sound source data from the server device 4, and stores the received sound source data in the storage unit 30. The communication unit 28 also receives a playback instruction signal from the server device 4, and outputs the received playback instruction signal to the playback unit 32. The communication unit 28 also transmits the postal code input by the user 10 when the speaking device 6 is installed to the server device 4 as location information.

[0040] The storage unit 30 is a memory that stores the sound source data received by the communication unit .

[0041] When a natural disaster occurs at the location of the building 12 during the predicted occurrence time, the playback unit 32 plays back the sound source data previously stored in the storage unit 30 based on a playback instruction signal received by the communication unit 28. The playback unit 32 discards (deletes) the sound source data stored in the storage unit 30 after the predicted occurrence time of the natural disaster has passed (for example, the day after the last day of the predicted occurrence time).

[0042] The speaker 34 outputs the notification content represented by the sound source data reproduced by the reproduction unit 32 in a voice form.

[0043] [3. Operation of communication system] Next, the operation of the notification system 2 according to the embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 4 and Fig. 5. Fig. 4 is a sequence diagram showing the flow of the operation of the notification system 2 according to the embodiment. Fig. 5 is a conceptual diagram for explaining the operation of the notification system 2 according to the embodiment.

[0044] 4, first, the communication unit 28 of the speech device 6 transmits the postal code input by the user 10 when the speech device 6 is installed to the server device 4 as location information (S101). For example, the location indicated by the location information is an address included in area A (sea side).

[0045] Next, the location information acquisition unit 14 of the server device 4 acquires the location information from the speech device 6 (S102). The location information acquisition unit 14 outputs the acquired location information to the determination unit 20.

[0046] Next, the time determination unit 16 of the server device 4 determines the current time (S103). For example, the current time determined by the time determination unit 16 is “May 30th.” The time determination unit 16 outputs the determined current time to the determination unit 20.

[0047] Next, the determination unit 20 of the server device 4 refers to the sound source data information 26 stored in the storage unit 18 to determine sound source data corresponding to the area including the location indicated by the location information acquired by the location information acquisition unit 14 and the predicted occurrence time that will come later than the current time determined by the time determination unit 16 (S104). For example, if the location indicated by the location information acquired by the location information acquisition unit 14 is included in "area A (sea side)" and the current time determined by the time determination unit 16 is "May 30th", the determination unit 20 refers to the sound source data information 26 to determine "sound source data A" corresponding to the area "area A (sea side)" and the predicted occurrence time "June to October" that will come later than the current time "May 30th".

[0048] Next, the communication unit 24 reads out the sound source data determined by the determination unit 20 from the storage unit 18 a predetermined period before the predicted occurrence of the natural disaster, and transmits the read sound source data to the speaking device 6 (S105). For example, if the sound source data determined by the determination unit 20 is "sound source data A", the communication unit 24 transmits the sound source data A read out from the storage unit 18 to the speaking device 6 on May 30th of the same year, which is a predetermined period before the predicted occurrence of the tsunami in region A, "June to October".

[0049] Next, the communication unit 28 of the speech device 6 receives the sound source data (for example, sound source data A) from the server device 4 (S106), and stores the received sound source data in the storage unit 30 (S107).

[0050] Next, the natural disaster occurrence information acquisition unit 22 of the server device 4 acquires natural disaster occurrence information indicating that a natural disaster occurred in the location of the building 12 at the predicted occurrence time (S108). For example, the natural disaster occurrence information acquisition unit 22 acquires natural disaster occurrence information indicating that a tsunami occurred on August 1st in area A where the building 12 is located. The natural disaster occurrence information acquisition unit 22 outputs the acquired natural disaster occurrence information to the communication unit 24.

[0051] Next, the communication unit 24 of the server device 4, triggered by the natural disaster occurrence information acquisition unit 22 acquiring the natural disaster occurrence information, transmits a playback instruction signal to the speaking device 6 to instruct the speaking device 6 to play the sound source data (S109).

[0052] Next, the communication unit 28 of the speech device 6 receives the playback instruction signal from the server device 4 (S110), and outputs the received playback instruction signal to the playback unit 32.

[0053] Next, the playback unit 32 of the speaking device 6 plays back the sound source data previously stored in the storage unit 30 based on the playback instruction signal received by the communication unit 28 (S111). For example, as shown in Fig. 5, when a tsunami occurs on August 1 in area A where the building 12 is located, the playback unit 32 plays back sound source data A with notification content of "A tsunami has occurred. Please be careful." This allows the user 10 to know in real time that a tsunami has occurred in area A where the user 10 lives.

[0054] Then, the playback unit 32 of the speaking device 6 discards the sound source data stored in the storage unit 30 after the predicted period of occurrence of the natural disaster has passed (S112). For example, the playback unit 32 discards the sound source data A stored in the storage unit 30 on the 1st of the 11th, which is after the predicted period of occurrence of a tsunami in region A, "June to October," has passed.

[0055] 3, the communication unit 24 may read the sound source data F from the storage unit 18 at the timing when the location information acquisition unit 14 acquires the location information, and transmit the read sound source data F to the speech device 6. In this case, since the predicted period of occurrence of an earthquake is "all year round," the sound source data F stored in the storage unit 30 of the speech device 6 may be stored at all times without being discarded.

[0056] [4. Effects] The notification system 2 according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure includes a speech device 6 installed in a building 12, and a server device 4 capable of communicating with the speech device 6 via a network 8. The server device 4 includes a location information acquisition unit 14 that acquires location information indicating the location of the building 12, a storage unit 18 that stores sound source data information 26 indicating a correspondence between an area, a predicted time of occurrence of an event (e.g., a natural disaster) in the area, and sound source data for notifying by voice that the event has occurred in the area, a time determination unit 16 that determines a current time, a determination unit 20 that determines sound source data corresponding to an area including a location indicated by the location information acquired by the location information acquisition unit 14 and a predicted time of occurrence that will come after the current time determined by the time determination unit 16 by referring to the sound source data information 26, and a communication unit 24 that transmits the sound source data determined by the determination unit 20 to the speech device 6 before the predicted time of occurrence. The speech device 6 has a communication unit 28 that receives sound source data from the server device 4, a memory unit 30 that stores the sound source data received by the communication unit 28, and a playback unit 32 that plays back the sound source data stored in the memory unit 30 when an event occurs at the location at the predicted occurrence time.

[0057] According to this, sound source data for notifying by voice of the occurrence of an event that is likely to occur at the location of the building 12 before the predicted occurrence time of the event is stored in advance in the storage unit 30 of the speech device 6. As a result, when the event occurs at the location at the predicted occurrence time, the playback unit 32 of the speech device 6 can read out the sound source data stored in the storage unit 30 and play back the read out sound source data. As a result, it is possible to reduce the time lag from the occurrence of an event until the playback unit 32 plays back the sound source data for notifying the occurrence of the event.

[0058] In the notification system 2 according to the second aspect of the present disclosure, the sound source data stored in the storage unit 30 in the first aspect is discarded after the predicted occurrence time has passed.

[0059] This makes it possible to save resources in the storage unit 30.

[0060] In addition, in the notification system 2 according to the third aspect of the present disclosure, in the first or second aspect, the location information acquisition unit 14 of the server device 4 acquires the postal code of the location from the speech device 6 as location information.

[0061] This allows the location information acquisition unit 14 to easily acquire location information.

[0062] In the notification system 2 according to the fourth aspect of the present disclosure, in any one of the first to third aspects, the event is a natural disaster.

[0063] This allows the user 10 to be promptly notified by voice of the occurrence of a highly urgent natural disaster.

[0064] Also, in the notification system 2 according to the fifth aspect of the present disclosure, in the fourth aspect, the server device 4 further includes a natural disaster occurrence information acquisition unit 22 that acquires natural disaster occurrence information indicating that a natural disaster has occurred at the location at a predicted occurrence time. The communication unit 24 of the server device 4 transmits a playback instruction signal to instruct the speaking device 6 to play back the sound source data, triggered by the natural disaster occurrence information acquisition unit 22 acquiring the natural disaster occurrence information. The communication unit 28 of the speaking device 6 receives the playback instruction signal from the server device 4. The playback unit 32 of the speaking device 6 plays back the sound source data stored in the storage unit 30, based on the playback instruction signal received by the communication unit 28.

[0065] This allows the user 10 to be promptly notified by voice of the occurrence of a highly urgent natural disaster.

[0066] A notification method according to a sixth embodiment of the present disclosure is a notification method in a notification system 2 including a speech device 6 installed in a building 12 and a server device 4 capable of communicating with the speech device 6 via a network 8. The notification method includes the steps of (a) the server device 4 acquiring location information indicating the location of the building 12, (b) the server device 4 determining the current time, (c) the server device 4 determining sound source data corresponding to the area including the location indicated by the location information acquired in (a) above and the predicted occurrence time that comes after the current time determined in (b) above by referring to sound source data information 26 indicating the correspondence between an area, a predicted occurrence time of an event in the area, and sound source data for notifying by voice that the event has occurred in the area, (d) the server device 4 transmitting the sound source data determined in (c) above to the speech device 6 before the predicted occurrence time, (e) the speech device 6 receiving the sound source data from the server device 4, (f) the speech device 6 storing the sound source data received in (e) above in the memory unit 30, and (g) the speech device 6 playing the sound source data stored in the memory unit 30 when the event occurs in the location at the predicted occurrence time.

[0067] According to this, sound source data for notifying by voice of the occurrence of an event that is likely to occur at the location of the building 12 before the predicted occurrence time of the event is stored in advance in the storage unit 30 of the speech device 6. As a result, when the event occurs at the location at the predicted occurrence time, the speech device 6 can read out the sound source data stored in the storage unit 30 and play the read out sound source data. As a result, it is possible to shorten the time lag from the occurrence of an event until the speech device 6 plays back the sound source data for notifying the occurrence of the event.

[0068] The server device 4 according to the seventh aspect of the present disclosure is a server device capable of communicating with the speech device 6 via the network 8. The server device 4 includes a location information acquisition unit 14 that acquires location information indicating the location of the building 12 in which the speech device 6 is installed, a storage unit 18 that stores sound source data information 26 indicating a correspondence relationship between an area, a predicted time of occurrence of an event in the area, and sound source data for notifying by voice that the event has occurred in the area, a time determination unit 16 that determines a current time, a determination unit 20 that determines sound source data corresponding to an area including a location indicated by the location information acquired by the location information acquisition unit 14 and a predicted time of occurrence that will arrive after the current time determined by the time determination unit 16 by referring to the sound source data information 26, and a communication unit 24 that transmits the sound source data determined by the determination unit 20 to the speech device 6 before the predicted time of occurrence.

[0069] This, similar to the above, makes it possible to reduce the time lag from when an event occurs until when sound source data for notifying the occurrence of the event is reproduced by the speech device 6.

[0070] The speech device 6 according to the eighth embodiment of the present disclosure is a device that is installed in the building 12 and is capable of communicating with the server device 4 via the network 8. The speech device 6 includes a communication unit 28 that receives the sound source data transmitted from the server device 4 when the server device 4 determines sound source data corresponding to an area including the location of the building 12 and a predicted occurrence time that is later than the current time based on sound source data information 26 indicating a correspondence relationship between an area, a predicted occurrence time of an event in the area, and sound source data for notifying by voice that the event has occurred in the area, a storage unit 30 that stores the sound source data received by the communication unit 28, and a playback unit 32 that plays the sound source data stored in the storage unit 30 when the event occurs in the location at the predicted occurrence time.

[0071] This, similar to the above, makes it possible to reduce the time lag from when an event occurs until when sound source data for notifying the occurrence of the event is reproduced by the speech device 6.

[0072] (Variations, etc.) As described above, the above embodiment has been described as an example of the technology disclosed in this application. However, the technology in this disclosure is not limited to this, and can be applied to embodiments in which modifications, substitutions, additions, omissions, etc. are appropriately made. In addition, it is also possible to combine the components described in the above embodiment to create a new embodiment.

[0073] Therefore, other embodiments will be exemplified below.

[0074] In the above embodiment, the event is a natural disaster, but the present invention is not limited to this and the event may be, for example, a man-made disaster, an incident, an accident, or the like.

[0075] In the above embodiment, each component may be implemented by dedicated hardware or by executing a software program suitable for each component. Each component may be implemented by a program execution unit such as a CPU or a processor reading and executing a software program recorded on a non-transitory recording medium such as a hard disk or a semiconductor memory.

[0076] Furthermore, some or all of the functions of the notification system 2 according to each of the above-described embodiments may be realized by a processor such as a CPU executing a program.

[0077] As described above, the embodiments have been described as examples of the technology in the present disclosure. For this purpose, the attached drawings and detailed description have been provided.

[0078] Therefore, among the components described in the attached drawings and detailed description, not only are there components essential for solving the problem, but there may also be components that are not essential for solving the problem in order to illustrate the above technology. Therefore, the fact that such non-essential components are described in the attached drawings or detailed description should not be interpreted as immediately indicating that such non-essential components are essential.

[0079] Furthermore, since the above-described embodiments are intended to illustrate the technology in the present disclosure, various modifications, substitutions, additions, omissions, and the like can be made within the scope of the claims or their equivalents. [Industrial Applicability]

[0080] The present disclosure is applicable as a notification system or the like for notifying a user by voice of the occurrence of a natural disaster when the natural disaster occurs in the user's place of residence. [Explanation of symbols]

[0081] 2. Notification System 4. Server equipment 6. Speaking Devices 8 Network 10 users 12. Building 14 Location information acquisition department 16 Timing determination section 18,30 Storage part 20 Decision Section 22 Natural Disaster Information Acquisition Department 24,28 Communications Department 26 Sound source data information 32 Playback Department 34 Speaker

Claims

1. A notification system including a device installed in a building and a server device capable of communicating with the device via a network, The server device includes: A first acquisition unit that acquires location information indicating a location of the building; a first storage unit that stores sound source data information indicating a correspondence relationship between a region, a predicted time of occurrence of an event in the region, and sound source data for notifying by voice that the event has occurred in the region; A time determination unit that determines a current time; a determination unit that determines the sound source data corresponding to the area including the location indicated by the location information acquired by the first acquisition unit and the predicted occurrence time that is to arrive after the current time determined by the time determination unit, by referring to the sound source data information; a first communication unit that transmits the sound source data determined by the determination unit to the device before the predicted occurrence time, The device comprises: a second communication unit that receives the sound source data from the server device; a second storage unit that stores the sound source data received by the second communication unit; a playback unit that plays back the sound source data stored in the second storage unit when the event occurs at the location at the predicted occurrence time. Notification system.

2. The sound source data stored in the second storage unit is discarded after the predicted occurrence time has elapsed. The notification system of claim 1 .

3. The first acquisition unit of the server device acquires a postal code of the location from the device as the location information.

3. A notification system according to claim 1 or 2.

4. The event is a natural disaster.

3. A notification system according to claim 1 or 2.

5. The server device further includes a second acquisition unit that acquires natural disaster occurrence information indicating that the natural disaster occurred at the location during the predicted occurrence time, the first communication unit of the server device transmits a playback instruction signal to the device instructing the device to play the sound source data when the second acquisition unit acquires the natural disaster occurrence information; the second communication unit of the device receives the playback instruction signal from the server device, The playback unit of the device plays back the sound source data stored in the second storage unit based on the playback instruction signal received by the second communication unit. The notification system of claim 4.

6. A notification method in a notification system including a device installed in a building and a server device capable of communicating with the device via a network, comprising: (a) the server device acquiring location information indicating a location of the building; (b) the server device determining a current time; (c) the server device refers to sound source data information indicating a correspondence relationship between an area, a predicted time of occurrence of an event in the area, and sound source data for notifying by voice that the event has occurred in the area, and determines the sound source data corresponding to the area including the location indicated by the location information acquired in (a) and the predicted time of occurrence that is to arrive later than the current time determined in (b); (d) the server device transmitting the sound source data determined in (c) to the device before the predicted occurrence time; (e) receiving, by the device, the sound source data from the server device; (f) storing the sound source data received in (e) in a storage unit by the device; (g) when the event occurs at the location at the predicted occurrence time, the device reproduces the sound source data stored in the storage unit. Notification method.

7. A server device capable of communicating with a device via a network, an acquisition unit that acquires location information indicating a location of a building in which the device is installed; a storage unit that stores sound source data information indicating a correspondence relationship between a region, a predicted time of occurrence of an event in the region, and sound source data for notifying by voice that the event has occurred in the region; A time determination unit that determines a current time; a determination unit that determines the sound source data corresponding to the area including the location indicated by the location information acquired by the acquisition unit and the predicted occurrence time that is to come later than the current time determined by the time determination unit, by referring to the sound source data information; a communication unit that transmits the sound source data determined by the determination unit to the device before the predicted occurrence time. Server device.

8. A device that is installed in a building and is capable of communicating with a server device via a network, a communication unit in the server device that receives the sound source data transmitted from the server device when the sound source data corresponding to the area including the location of the building and the predicted occurrence time that is later than the current time is determined based on sound source data information indicating a correspondence relationship between an area, a predicted occurrence time of an event in the area, and sound source data for notifying by voice that the event has occurred in the area; a storage unit that stores the sound source data received by the communication unit; a playback unit that plays back the sound source data stored in the storage unit when the event occurs at the location at the predicted occurrence time. device.

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