Information processing system and control method

Abstract

To provide an information processing system and a control method and the like suitable for fields such as caregiving or assistance.SOLUTION: An information processing system includes a communication unit placed at a first position in the living space of a person being assisted, a first device placed at the first position, and a second device used to assist the person being assisted, which is performed in the vicinity of the first device. The first device acquires, based on communication with the communication unit, correspondence information that associates position information representing the location where the first device is placed with person-being-assisted information about the person being assisted using the first device. When connected to the first device, the second device performs processing corresponding to the person being assisted identified by the person-being-assisted information based on the correspondence information.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing system, a control method, and the like. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, there are known methods for communicating with multiple devices in nursing situations. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a method for wirelessly communicating between a unit installed on a wall and a bed. Patent Document 2 discloses a method for pairing a bed with a peripheral device. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] US Patent Application Publication No. 2022 / 0384033 [Patent Document 2] US Patent Application Publication No. 2021 / 0321908 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The present invention provides an information processing system and a control method suitable for fields such as caregiving. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] One aspect of the present disclosure includes a communication unit that is placed at a first position in a living space of a person being assisted and has a communication unit, a first device that is placed at the first position, and a second device that is used to assist the person being assisted in the vicinity of the first device, wherein the first device acquires, based on communication with the communication unit, location information indicating the location where the first device is placed and correspondence information that associates assisted person information regarding the person being assisted using the first device, and when the second device is connected to the first device, the second device is associated with an information processing system that performs processing corresponding to the person being assisted identified by the assisted person information based on the correspondence information.

[0006] Another aspect of the present disclosure relates to a control method for an information processing system including a communication unit placed at a first position in a living space of a person being assisted and having a communication unit, a first device placed at the first position, and a second device used to assist the person being assisted and executed in the vicinity of the first device, the control method storing, in the first device, location information indicating a location where the first device is placed and correspondence information that corresponds to assisted person information related to the person being assisted using the first device based on communication between the communication unit and the first device, and when the first device and the second device are connected, causing the second device 200 to execute processing corresponding to the person being assisted identified by the assisted person information based on the correspondence information. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a configuration of an information processing system. [Diagram 2] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of the configuration of a server system. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a communication unit. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a first device. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a second device. [Figure 6A]This is an example of training data for a positioning application. [Figure 6B] 1 is a specific example of a usage mode of a positioning application. [Figure 7] This is an example of a seat sensor placed on a wheelchair. [Figure 8] 1 is an example of a choking detection device. [Figure 9] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of association information. [Figure 10] FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram illustrating a process of connecting a communication unit and a first device. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram illustrating an assistance process at a first position. [Figure 12] FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram illustrating a process of connecting a communication unit and a first device. [Figure 13] FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram illustrating a process of connecting a communication unit and a first device. [Figure 14] 1 is a configuration example of an information processing system in which a smart speaker is used. [Figure 15] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of an information processing system in a case where association information is taken over. [Figure 16] FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram illustrating a takeover process. [Figure 17] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a detailed configuration example of the information processing system. [Figure 18] FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram illustrating an assistance process at a second position. [Figure 19] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a detailed configuration example of the information processing system. [Figure 20] FIG. 11 is another sequence diagram illustrating the assistance process at the second position. [Figure 21] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a detailed configuration example of the information processing system. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0008] Hereinafter, the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the same or equivalent elements are given the same reference numerals, and duplicated explanations are omitted. Note that the present embodiment described below does not unduly limit the contents described in the claims. In addition, all of the configurations described in the present embodiment are not necessarily essential configurations of the present disclosure.

[0009] 1. System configuration example FIG. 1 is a configuration example of an information processing system 1 according to the present embodiment. The information processing system 1 includes a server system 20, a relay device 30, and each device disposed at a given location in a facility. In FIG. 1, three locations, Room A to Room C, are illustrated as locations in the facility. The Room A to Room C are, for example, rooms (private rooms) in a nursing home or a hospital, but are not limited thereto, and may include locations such as a dining room, a bathroom, and a toilet. For example, the information processing system 1 includes a communication unit 10, a bed 610 (first device 100 in a broad sense), and a second device 200 as devices disposed in Room A. The second device 200 includes various devices such as a smartphone CP, a seat sensor 440, and a choking detection device 460. Details of each device will be described later with reference to FIGS. 6A to 8. The second device 200 may also include a medical device 800. A specific example of the medical device 800 will be described later. 1, a communication unit 10, a bed 610, and a second device 200 are also arranged in Room B and Room C. However, the devices arranged in each location do not need to be the same, and for example, in Room B and Room C, some of the devices illustrated in Room A in FIG. 1 may be omitted or other devices may be added. Furthermore, the configuration of the information processing system 1 is not limited to that in FIG. 1, and various modifications such as omitting some components or adding other components are possible.

[0010] The information processing system 1 according to this embodiment digitizes the tacit knowledge of an experienced caregiver, for example in a medical facility or nursing home, which is performed based on the "intuition" or "tacit knowledge" (hereinafter simply referred to as tacit knowledge), thereby supporting other caregivers to provide appropriate care regardless of their level of skill. For example, the tacit knowledge of an experienced caregiver is realized as application software. Hereinafter, application software will be referred to simply as application. Furthermore, an application that uses tacit knowledge will be referred to as a tacit knowledge application.

[0011] For example, in the information processing system 1 of the present embodiment, the server system 20 may store and manage the tacit knowledge application. The second device 200 acquires the tacit knowledge application via the communication unit 10 and the bed 610, or directly from the server system 20. In this way, it becomes possible to centrally manage the tacit knowledge application using the server system 20, which has a relatively high processing capacity. In addition, by transmitting the tacit knowledge application to the second device 200, the caregiver using the second device 200 can provide care similar to that of an expert. In addition, the tacit knowledge application may run on the bed 610, or may run on another device such as the third device 300 described later.

[0012] However, the application that runs on the second device 200 etc. is not limited to digitized tacit knowledge, and may be software that supports the caregiver's assistance without using tacit knowledge. Below, an example in which a tacit knowledge application runs on the second device 200 etc. is described, but the tacit knowledge application can be replaced with an application that does not use tacit knowledge.

[0013] In addition, the caregiver in this embodiment is a person in charge of providing care to the person being assisted, and includes, for example, a care manager, a caregiver, a visiting helper, etc. In addition, in home care, the family of the person being assisted may provide care to the person being assisted, so the caregiver in this embodiment may include the family of the person being assisted. In addition, the person being assisted in this embodiment may be a patient suffering from some kind of illness, and the caregiver may include medical personnel such as a doctor, a nurse, or a pharmacist. The information processing system 1 and each device included in the information processing system 1 will be described in detail below.

[0014] The communication unit 10 is placed at a first location in, for example, a care facility. The first location (for example, Room A) is the room of the person being assisted as described above, but may be another location such as a dining room. The communication unit 10 may be a smart plug connected to a socket SO that is supplied with commercial power and placed on a wall surface of the first location, as shown in FIG. 1. The communication unit 10 may have a communication section that performs wireless communication with other devices. The wireless communication here can be based on various communication methods such as Bluetooth (registered trademark), ZigBee (registered trademark), and IEEE802.11.

[0015] The bed 610 and the second device 200 are devices used to assist a person receiving care in, for example, a nursing facility. The bed 610 and the second device 200 may have a communication unit that performs wireless communication with other devices. For these devices, various modifications of the communication method are possible.

[0016] For example, the communication unit 10 is connected to a bed 610. The bed 610 is connected to the second device 200.

[0017] The server system 20 is connected to the communication unit 10 via a network, for example. The network here may be a public communication network such as the Internet, or a network such as a LAN. For example, the server system 20 is connected to the communication unit 10 using a communication method conforming to the IEEE802.11 standard. The server system 20 may also be connected to the communication unit 10 via a relay device 30. The communication method between the server system 20, the relay device 30, and the communication unit 10 can be modified in various ways.

[0018] The server system 20 may be one server or may include multiple servers. For example, the server system 20 may include a database server and an application server. The database server stores various data such as association information, which will be described later with reference to FIG. 9. The application server performs a process of updating the association information and a process of transmitting the association information to the bed 610, for example, based on sensing data collected via the communication unit 10. The multiple servers here may be physical servers or virtual servers. In addition, when a virtual server is used, the virtual server may be provided in one physical server, or may be distributed and arranged in multiple physical servers. As described above, the specific configuration of the server system 20 in this embodiment can be modified in various ways.

[0019] The relay device 30 is, for example, a router that is an L3 switch, but other devices such as an L2 switch may also be used.

[0020] In this embodiment, an apparatus that is expected to be used for a certain person being assisted at a first position (within a range of a predetermined distance or less from the communication unit 10) where the communication unit 10 is arranged is referred to as the first device 100. The first device 100 may be, for example, a nursing bed 610 as shown in FIG. 1. The bed 610 is highly likely to be used as a dedicated device for one person being assisted unless an event occurs, such as the person being assisted (resident) moving out. Below, an example in which the first device 100 is the bed 610 will be described. However, as will be described later, equipment other than the bed 610 may be used as the first device 100.

[0021] The second device 200 is, for example, the smartphone CP shown in Fig. 1. For example, the second device 200 may be a device on which a positioning application, which will be described later with reference to Figs. 6A and 6B, operates. The positioning application is an example of a tacit knowledge application.

[0022] However, the second device 200 in this embodiment may be any device used in the care and is not limited to the smartphone CP. For example, the second device 200 may be a seat sensor 440 described later with reference to FIG. 7, or a choking detection device 460 described later with reference to FIG. 8. The second device 200 may be a detection device that detects information such as sleep, heart rate, and breathing based on the body movement of the person being assisted in bed, or may be other devices. For example, the above-mentioned tacit knowledge application may run in devices such as the smartphone CP, the seat sensor 440, and the choking detection device 460 among the second device 200.

[0023] The second device 200 may also include a medical device 800. The medical device 800 is, for example, a device that senses information on the biological activity of the person being assisted and outputs the sensing result. The sensing result output by the medical device 800 is stored, for example, in an electronic medical records (EMR) system. As shown in FIG. 1, the medical device 800 includes a thermometer 810, an SpO2 sensor (pulse oximeter) 820, a blood pressure monitor 830, an infusion sensor 840, and the like. The medical device 800 is not limited to the example in FIG. 1, and may include devices such as an oxygen cylinder and a catheter.

[0024] 2 is a block diagram showing a detailed configuration example of the server system 20. The server system 20 includes, for example, a control unit 21, a storage unit 22, and a communication unit .

[0025] The control unit 21 of this embodiment is configured by the following hardware. The hardware may include at least one of a circuit for processing digital signals and a circuit for processing analog signals. For example, the hardware may be configured by one or more circuit devices or one or more circuit elements mounted on a circuit board. The one or more circuit devices are, for example, an integrated circuit (IC) or a field-programmable gate array (FPGA). The one or more circuit elements are, for example, a resistor, a capacitor, etc.

[0026] The control unit 21 may be realized by the following processor. The server system 20 of this embodiment includes a memory that stores information and a processor that operates based on the information stored in the memory. The information is, for example, a program and various data. The memory may be the storage unit 22 or another memory. The processor includes hardware. The processor can use various processors such as a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), and a digital signal processor (DSP). The memory may be a semiconductor memory such as a static random access memory (SRAM), a dynamic random access memory (DRAM), or a flash memory, or may be a register, or may be a magnetic storage device such as a hard disk drive (HDD), or may be an optical storage device such as an optical disk device. For example, the memory stores instructions that can be read by a computer, and the function of the control unit 21 is realized as a process by the processor executing the instructions. The instructions here may be instructions of an instruction set that constitutes a program, or may be instructions that instruct the hardware circuit of the processor to operate.

[0027] The control unit 21 includes, for example, a capability information acquisition unit 24, a scene information acquisition unit 25, and a correspondence information processing unit .

[0028] The ability information acquiring unit 24 performs a process of acquiring ability information representing the activity ability of the person being assisted. For example, the ability information acquiring unit 24 acquires sensing data from the second device 200. The sensing data here may be an output value of a sensor included in each device, or may be a processing result based on the output value. For example, the sensing data may include log data for a predetermined period of time of a tacit knowledge application.

[0029] For example, the ability information acquiring unit 24 obtains a time-series change in the state of the person being assisted based on the sensing data, and estimates the ability information based on the change. The ability information here may be index information related to daily activities (ADL: Activities of Daily Living). For example, various methods for evaluating ADL, such as the Barthel Index, are known, and these can be widely applied in this embodiment. In addition, the ability information may be a nine-level index disclosed as the Clinical Frailty Scale in "Frailty and the potential kidney transplant recipient: time for a more holistic assessment?", Henry HL Wu, etc. For example, the ability information acquiring unit 24 in this embodiment determines which of the nine levels the person being assisted belongs to based on the sensing data.

[0030] The scene information acquisition unit 25 determines a scene in which the person being assisted is to be assisted. The scene information here may be information specifying the type of assistance to be performed, such as meal assistance, excretion assistance, and movement / transfer assistance. The scene information may also be information about the assistants who will be assisting the person being assisted, such as the number and skill level of the assistants. The scene information may also be information about the person being assisted, such as the attributes of the person being assisted. For example, the scene information acquisition unit 25 performs a process of obtaining scene information based on a user input, the schedule of the assistant, and the like. The scene information may also be information about the place where assistance is to be performed.

[0031] The corresponding information processing unit 26 performs processing related to the creation, update, and transmission of the corresponding information. The corresponding information is, for example, information that associates information on a location with information on a person being assisted. A specific example of the corresponding information will be described later with reference to FIG. 9.

[0032] The correspondence information processing unit 26 performs a process of updating the correspondence information when, for example, the ADL of the assisted person is updated by the ability information acquiring unit 24. For example, the correspondence information processing unit 26 may perform a process of adding data to the correspondence information when the ADL of the target assisted person is deteriorated so that more thorough assistance is provided than before.

[0033] Furthermore, the association information processing unit 26 may perform a process of transmitting the association information to the bed 610. The specific process will be described later with reference to FIG.

[0034] The storage unit 22 is a work area of ​​the control unit 21 and stores various information. The storage unit 22 can be realized by various memories, and the memory may be a semiconductor memory such as an SRAM, a DRAM, a ROM, or a flash memory, or may be a register, a magnetic storage device, or an optical storage device. The storage unit 22 stores, for example, tacit knowledge applications and association information created in the server system 20 or other devices.

[0035] The communication unit 23 is an interface for performing communication via a network, and includes, for example, an antenna, an RF (radio frequency) circuit, and a baseband circuit when the server system 20 performs wireless communication. However, the server system 20 may perform wired communication, in which case the communication unit 23 may include a communication interface such as an Ethernet connector, and a control circuit for the communication interface. The communication unit 23 may operate under the control of the control unit 21, or may include a processor for communication control different from the control unit 21.

[0036] 3 is a block diagram showing a detailed configuration example of the communication unit 10. The communication unit 10 includes a control unit 11, a storage unit 12, a communication unit 13, a first connection unit 14, and a second connection unit 15, for example.

[0037] The control unit 11 of this embodiment is configured by hardware including at least one of a circuit for processing digital signals and a circuit for processing analog signals. The control unit 110 may also be realized by a processor. The processor may be of various types, such as a CPU, a GPU, or a DSP. The processor executes instructions stored in the memory of the communication unit 10, thereby realizing the function of the control unit 11 as processing.

[0038] The storage unit 12 is a work area for the control unit 11 and stores various information. The storage unit 12 can be realized by various memories, and the memory may be a semiconductor memory such as an SRAM, a DRAM, a ROM, or a flash memory, or may be a register, a magnetic storage device, or an optical storage device. The storage unit 12 stores, for example, information related to the location where the communication unit 10 is placed. An example of a process for acquiring information related to the location will be described later with reference to FIG. 10 etc.

[0039] The communication unit 13 is an interface for performing communication via a network, and includes, for example, an antenna, an RF (radio frequency) circuit, and a baseband circuit. The communication unit 13 may operate under the control of the control unit 11, or may include a processor for communication control different from the control unit 11.

[0040] The first connection unit 14 receives power from a commercial power source. For example, the first connection unit 14 includes a power plug unit that is connected to a commercial power socket SO provided on a wall or the like, and a power circuit. The power circuit may include an AC / DC converter, a step-down circuit, and the like. The first connection unit 14 processes the power supplied via the power plug unit in the power circuit, and then supplies the output of the power circuit to the second connection unit 15.

[0041] The second connection unit 15 includes a socket unit for supplying power to the other device. For example, when a power plug of the other device is connected to the socket unit of the second connection unit 15, the communication unit 10 supplies power to the other device via the socket unit. The first connection unit 14 and the second connection unit 15 may be connected via the control unit 11. For example, the control unit 11 may control the on / off of the power supply from the second connection unit 15 to the other device, or may control monitoring of the amount of power supplied to the other device.

[0042] Fig. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a bed 610 (first device 100). The bed 610 includes, for example, a control unit 110, a storage unit 120, a communication unit 130, a movable unit 140, and an operation unit 150. However, the configuration of the bed 610 is not limited to that shown in Fig. 4, and modifications such as omitting some components and adding other components are possible. Also, as described above, equipment other than the bed 610 may be used as the first device 100.

[0043] The control unit 110 is configured by hardware including at least one of a circuit for processing digital signals and a circuit for processing analog signals. The control unit 110 may also be realized by a processor. The processor may be of various types, such as a CPU, a GPU, or a DSP. The processor executes instructions stored in the memory of the bed 610, thereby realizing the functions of the control unit 110 as processing.

[0044] The storage unit 120 is a work area of ​​the control unit 110, and is realized by various memories such as SRAM, DRAM, ROM, etc. The storage unit 120 may store association information that associates the position information with the information on the person being assisted. For example, the bed 610 obtains the association information from the server system 20 via the communication unit 10, and stores the association information in the storage unit 120.

[0045] The communication unit 130 is an interface for performing communication via a network, and includes, for example, an antenna, an RF circuit, and a baseband circuit. The communication unit 130 performs communication with the communication unit 10. The communication unit 130 also performs communication with, for example, the second device 200 and a third device 300 described later.

[0046] The movable part 140 is a member whose position and posture can be changed. For example, the movable part 140 of the bed 610 includes a bottom, which is a surface on which a mattress is placed. Therefore, the movable part 140 here may be the bottom and a drive part (motor, etc.) that drives the bottom. For example, the movable part 140 controls the position and posture of the bottom by driving the drive part under the control of the control unit 110.

[0047] The operation unit 150 is an interface used to operate the bed 610. For example, the operation unit 150 is used to set the movement direction and amount of movement of the movable unit 140. The operation unit 150 may include a hand switch arranged in a position (for example, near the pillow) that is easy to use for a user lying on the bed 610. For example, the hand switch is connected via a cable to a control box in which the control unit 110 and the like are provided, and the position of the hand switch may be adjustable by bending and stretching the cable. The bed 610 may also include a display unit that displays information related to the bed 610. The display unit displays various information such as the state of the movable unit 140 of the bed 610 and sensor output. The operation unit 150 of the bed 610 may be buttons or the like arranged together near the display unit, or the display unit and the operation unit 150 may be integrated into one unit using a touch panel or the like.

[0048] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the second device 200. The second device 200 includes, for example, a control unit 210, a storage unit 220, a communication unit 230, a display unit 240, and an operation unit 250. As described above, in the method of this embodiment, devices of various aspects can be used as the second device 200. Therefore, the configuration of the second device 200 is not limited to that shown in FIG. 5, and modifications such as omitting some components or adding other components are possible. For example, the second device 200 may have various sensors according to the aspect of the device, such as a motion sensor such as an acceleration sensor or a gyro sensor, an imaging sensor, a pressure sensor, a GPS (Global Positioning System) sensor, etc.

[0049] The control unit 210 is configured by hardware including at least one of a circuit for processing digital signals and a circuit for processing analog signals. The control unit 210 may also be realized by a processor. The processor may be of various types, such as a CPU, a GPU, or a DSP. The processor executes instructions stored in the memory of the second device 200, thereby realizing the functions of the control unit 210 as processing.

[0050] The storage unit 220 is a work area for the control unit 210, and is realized by various types of memory such as SRAM, DRAM, and ROM.

[0051] The communication unit 230 is an interface for performing communication via a network, and includes, for example, an antenna, an RF circuit, and a baseband circuit. The communication unit 230 performs communication with, for example, the bed 610. The communication between the bed 610 and the second device 200 can be performed using various communication methods such as Bluetooth, ZigBee, and IEEE802.11. The communication method used in the communication between the communication unit 10 and the bed 610 and the communication method used in the communication between the bed 610 and the second device 200 may be the same or different. The communication unit 230 may also perform communication with the communication unit 10.

[0052] The display unit 240 is an interface that displays various information, and may be a liquid crystal display, an organic EL display, or another type of display. The operation unit 250 is an interface that accepts user operations. The operation unit 250 may be a button or the like provided on the second device 200. The display unit 240 and the operation unit 250 may be a touch panel that is integrally configured.

[0053] The second device 200 may also include a configuration not shown in FIG. 5. For example, the second device 200 has an imaging unit (image sensor) that outputs image information by imaging a predetermined imaging range. The image information here may be a still image or a moving image. The image information may also be color or monochrome. The imaging unit may also include a depth sensor that detects the distance to the subject, or a sensor (e.g., an infrared sensor) that detects the heat of the subject. The second device 200 may also include a light-emitting unit, a vibration unit, a sound input unit, a sound output unit, and the like. The light-emitting unit is, for example, an LED (light emitting diode) and notifies by emitting light. The vibration unit is, for example, a motor and notifies by vibration. The sound input unit is, for example, a microphone. The sound output unit is, for example, a speaker and notifies by sound.

[0054] As described above, the information processing system 1 of this embodiment includes a communication unit 10 that is placed at a first position in the living space of the person being assisted and has a communication section 13, a bed 610 (broadly speaking, a first device 100) that is also placed at the first position, and a second device 200 that is used to assist the person being assisted in the vicinity of the bed 610.

[0055] The bed 610 acquires, based on communication with the communication unit 10, position information indicating the location where the bed 610 is placed and association information that associates information on the person being assisted using the bed 610. When the bed 610 is connected to the second device 200, the bed 610 changes the processing content to be executed for each type of the second device 200. For example, when the bed 610 is connected to a medical device 800 as the second device 200, the bed 610 performs a process of transmitting data acquired from the medical device 800 to the server system 20 via the communication unit 10 and the relay device 30. For example, when the bed 610 is connected to a second device 200 used to assist a person being assisted, the bed 610 performs a process of searching for a second device 200 used to assist another person being assisted, and a process of acquiring data from the second device 200 and transmitting the data to the other second device 200. A specific example will be described later.

[0056] Furthermore, when the second device 200 is connected to the bed 610, the second device 200 performs processing corresponding to the person identified by the assisted person information, based on the association information. The second device 200 may store the processing result here in association with the bed 610. For example, as described below, the processing result in the second device 200 may be associated with information indicating that the processing was performed in the vicinity of the bed 610. Details of the processing will be described later with reference to FIG. 10 etc.

[0057] In the method of this embodiment, the communication unit 10 is a wall unit (or, in a narrow sense, a smart plug) that is placed on a wall of a room, for example, and has the advantage that it can be realized by a device with a simple configuration and can be easily associated with a location.

[0058] Moreover, the bed 610 in this embodiment is highly likely to be used as a device dedicated to a specific person being assisted. Therefore, when the bed 610 is found near the communication unit 10, it is considered that the bed 610 is used at the first position by the person being assisted who is linked to the bed 610. In other words, by communication between the communication unit 10 and the bed 610, the bed 610 can automatically perform association between the bed 610, the position, and the person being assisted. Furthermore, since the communication unit 10 is assumed to be connected to the server system 20, it is also possible to share the association in the information processing system 1.

[0059] Also, for example, the caregiver accesses the server system 20 using a terminal device at a station or the like, and inputs association information that associates information about the person being assisted with the bed 610. In this case, the latest association information is held by the server system 20. When the bed 610 is found near the communication unit 10, the communication unit 10 and the bed 610 communicate with each other, and the server system 20 can automatically associate the bed 610 with its position and the person being assisted.

[0060] Furthermore, as long as the person being assisted moves together with the bed 610, the correspondence between the bed 610 and the person being assisted does not change. For example, a patient who has been hospitalized in an ICU may be moved to a general ward together with the bed 610. In this case, the information regarding the location can be easily updated by connecting the bed 610 to the communication unit 10 at the moving destination, and the previous information regarding the correspondence between the bed 610 and the person being assisted can be continuously used. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the burden on the staff of the nursing facility regarding the setting and registration work associated with the change in the position of the bed 610.

[0061] For example, in the information processing system 1 of this embodiment, when the medical device 800 is used as the second device 200 near the bed 610, the medical device 800 performs a process of transmitting the sensing result to the bed 610, the bed 610 performs a process of transmitting the sensing result and the association information to the server system 20, and the server system 20 associates the sensing result with the person being assisted and registers it in the EMR. As a result, it is possible to easily specify at which location and for which person being assisted the sensing result of the medical device 800 was acquired. Therefore, for example, when the sensing result of the medical device 800 is registered in the EMR, it is possible to appropriately associate the location and the information of the person being assisted and register it.

[0062] Furthermore, when the second device 200 used to assist the person being assisted is connected to the bed 610, the bed 610 can provide the second device 200 with the association information itself or information based on the association information. Therefore, the second device 200 can appropriately perform processing that takes into account the location where the assistance is performed and the target person being assisted. In particular, when the association information includes various additional information as described later with reference to FIG. 9, for example, the second device 200 can perform assistance that takes into account information about the location (e.g., the scene) and information about the person being assisted (e.g., the ADL). More specifically, the second device 200 can change the tacit knowledge application to be used depending on the scene or the ADL, change other devices to be linked, and the like. That is, the method of this embodiment not only allows the processing of acquiring data from the second device 200 and associating the data with information about the location and the person being assisted, but also allows the processing of providing appropriate data to the second device 200. In other words, the bed 610 of this embodiment not only uses information on the location and the person being assisted when acquiring data from the peripheral devices, but also executes a process of providing data to the peripheral devices based on the information on the location and the person being assisted. The bed 610 changes the specific process depending on the type of the peripheral device (e.g., a medical device) and the request content acquired from the peripheral device (e.g., a request to extract a peripheral device to be linked, a request to acquire information on the person being assisted). In addition, when the specific process content of the bed 610 is determined depending on the type of the peripheral device, the bed 610 may acquire the type of the peripheral device together with the data and automatically perform a specific process. An example of a specific process flow will be described later.

[0063] As shown in FIG. 1, the information processing system 1 may include a terminal device 700 connected to the server system 20 directly or via another device. The terminal device 700 here may be, for example, a smartphone CP used as the second device 200, or may be a smartphone different from the smartphone CP. For example, when the terminal used by the first caregiver in charge of the target care recipient is the smartphone CP, the terminal device 700 is a terminal device used by a second caregiver different from the first caregiver during work. For example, the terminal device 700 may refer to the results of care by other caregivers in the same facility (log data, etc., to be described later) by connecting to the server system 20. For example, when the terminal device 700 is a terminal device used by a caregiver, the server system 20 may operate as a system (nurse call system in the narrow sense) that prompts the caregiver to care for the care recipient.

[0064] The terminal device 700 may be a smartphone or a PC used by a family member of the person receiving care. The family member of the person receiving care can check the state of the person receiving care at the nursing facility by connecting to the server system 20 using the terminal device 700.

[0065] The terminal device 700 may also receive a push notification from the server system 20. For example, if the terminal device 700 is a smartphone used by the second caregiver, an alert notification is sent to the smartphone, which can prompt the second caregiver to support the first caregiver. If the terminal device 700 is a smartphone or the like used by a family member of the person being assisted, it can notify the family member of any change in the condition of the person being assisted or any incident such as a fall that has occurred.

[0066] Furthermore, a part or all of the processing performed by the information processing system 1 of this embodiment may be realized by a program. In a narrow sense, the processing performed by the information processing system 1 includes at least one of the processing performed by the control unit 11 of the communication unit 10, the processing performed by the control unit 110 of the bed 610, and the processing performed by the control unit 210 of the second device 200. Furthermore, the information processing system 1 may include other devices such as the server system 20 and relay device 30 shown in FIG. 1, and the processing performed by the information processing system 1 may include processing executed by the other devices.

[0067] The program according to this embodiment can be stored in a non-transitory information storage medium (information storage device), which is a medium readable by a computer, for example. The information storage medium can be realized by, for example, an optical disk, a memory card, a HDD, or a semiconductor memory. The semiconductor memory is, for example, a ROM. The control unit 11 and the like perform various processes of this embodiment based on the programs stored in the information storage medium. That is, the information storage medium stores a program for making the computer function as the control unit 11 and the like. The computer is a device equipped with an input device, a processing unit, a storage unit, and an output unit. Specifically, the program according to this embodiment is a program for making the computer execute at least a part of each step described later with reference to Figs. 10 to 13, 16, 18, 20, and the like.

[0068] The technique of this embodiment can also be applied to a control method including the following steps. The control method according to this embodiment is a control method for an information processing system including a communication unit that is placed at a first position in the living space of a person being assisted and that has a communication unit, a bed (first device in a broader sense) that is placed at the first position, and a second device that is used to assist the person being assisted in the vicinity of the bed. The control method includes the steps of: storing, in the bed, position information indicating the location where the bed is placed and association information that associates assisted person information related to the assisted person using the bed, based on communication between the communication unit and the bed; and, when the bed and the second device are connected, causing the second device to execute a process corresponding to the assisted person identified by the assisted person information, based on the association information.

[0069] 2.Specific examples of devices Next, a specific example of the second device 200 will be described. The second device 200 is not limited to the device described below, and may include a device for detecting the amount of food intake, a device for detecting that the person being assisted is trying to touch (touch) the skin or the inside of the person being assisted's clothes (pants or underwear) by inserting a hand into the clothes, etc. Also, the device described below may execute different processes by operating according to different applications. For example, the choking detection device 460 described below may function as a medication management device that manages the administration of medicine by the person being assisted by detecting the swallowing of medicine.

[0070] In addition, each device described below is not limited to functioning as the second device 200, and may function as the third device 300 described later. In this embodiment, when assistance is performed by cooperation between multiple devices, the master device that detects a trigger for the cooperation process is represented as the second device 200, and the slave device that performs the cooperation process based on a cooperation request from the second device 200 is represented as the third device 300. In addition, whether the device is the second device 200 or the third device 300 does not have to be fixed. That is, each device described below may function as the second device 200 in one type of assistance and as the third device 300 in another type of assistance. In addition, each device described below may function as the fifth device 500 described later, or as a sixth device that operates in cooperation with the fifth device 500.

[0071] 2.1 Smartphone (positioning application) For example, the second device 200 may be a smartphone CP or a PC (Personal Computer). In the smartphone CP or the PC, a positioning application may run as the tacit knowledge application.

[0072] A positioning application is an application that performs processing related to the position or posture of at least one of a person and an object during care. The positioning application may be used to adjust the posture of a person being assisted in a bed, or may be used to adjust the posture of a person being assisted in a wheelchair. For example, the positioning application may operate in a setting mode in which settings are made, and a usage mode in which actual position adjustment is supported according to the settings. For example, in the setting mode, the positioning application obtains teacher data in which a person or object is imaged at a desired position based on the operation of an expert. Then, in the operation mode, the positioning application superimposes and displays the teacher data that has been subjected to transparency processing on the image of the person or object to be adjusted.

[0073] FIG. 6A is an example of teacher data acquired in the setting mode. In the example of FIG. 6A, image information showing a desired posture when a person being assisted lies on a bed is acquired as teacher data. In the example shown in FIG. 6A, the teacher data may be an image of a cushion, and a triangular or rectangular figure may be displayed at a position corresponding to the cushion as additional information. The figure is input by a user (e.g., an administrator such as an occupational therapist) who sets the teacher data. FIG. 6B is an example showing a usage status of a positioning application in a usage mode and a specific example of a display screen. For example, a device such as a smartphone on which a positioning application runs superimposes the teacher data shown in FIG. 6A on a captured image of a person being assisted who is a target for position adjustment. For example, the positioning application may perform a transparency process on the teacher data, and then superimpose the teacher data after the transparency process (e.g., corresponding to the dashed line in FIG. 6B) on the captured image. The caregiver assists the person being assisted in the captured image so that the person being assisted approaches the teacher data. In this way, it is possible to appropriately support the position adjustment by the caregiver.

[0074] Although an example of superimposing and displaying the teacher data, which is image information, has been described here, the positioning application may output a judgment result (OK / NG) as to whether the posture of the person being assisted is appropriate or not. For example, the positioning application may judge whether it is OK or NG based on the degree of similarity between the image captured during position adjustment and the teacher data, and output the judgment result. Specifically, the positioning application may judge whether the posture of the person being assisted or the caregiver is appropriate or not, or may judge whether the position of a tool such as a cushion is appropriate or not. The judgment of whether it is OK or NG may be based on the skeletal information of the person being assisted contained in the teacher data and the skeletal information of the person being assisted contained in the image captured during position adjustment. For example, since the skeletal information includes information on several feature points such as the shoulders, elbows, and wrists, it is possible to specify the coordinate values ​​of the feature points. The coordinate values ​​here are values ​​in x and y coordinates that represent the vertical and horizontal positions of the image. Furthermore, when depth information is acquired, the coordinate values ​​may include a z coordinate value that represents the distance from the camera. Furthermore, different coordinate systems may be set as two-dimensional or three-dimensional coordinates. The positioning application determines which feature points contained in the skeletal information being adjusted for position have a degree of difference from the coordinate values ​​in the training data that is greater than or equal to a predetermined value, and determines that the point is NG if the number of points with large differences exceeds a threshold value.

[0075] The positioning application may also perform a process of displaying specific points that are determined to be NG. For example, the positioning application may compare the captured image with the teacher data and perform a process of highlighting the points that are determined to have a large difference. Alternatively, the positioning application may output specific instructions such as how to change the position of the cushion or how to change the posture. The points that are determined to have a large difference may be based on the skeletal information of the person being assisted contained in the teacher data and the skeletal information of the person being assisted contained in the image captured during the position adjustment. For example, the positioning application may determine the coordinate values ​​of the above-mentioned feature points and highlight points with a difference of a predetermined value or more as points with a large difference. For example, the black frame shown in FIG. 6B and the feature points corresponding to the ankles correspond to the highlighting result. Also, the rightward arrow in FIG. 6B is information that indicates the direction in which the posture is changed.

[0076] The positioning application may also accept additional information such as points that an expert considers important in the setting mode, and present the additional information in the use mode. The additional information may include information such as the position and angle of a specific part, the presence or absence, size, and softness of a cushion. The positioning application may also recommend welfare equipment suitable for the person being assisted, if it is determined based on the result of the posture determination of the person being assisted that the person being assisted can easily adjust his / her posture by using welfare equipment such as a cushion. Even if the person being assisted is already using a cushion, if the position adjustment of the cushion is not properly performed, or if the size of the cushion is different from the size of the cushion included in the teacher data, a new cushion or the like may be recommended. The recommendation here may specify the size, hardness, etc. of the cushion, or may specify a specific product (model number, etc.). When a specific product is specified, the positioning application may output link information to an EC site or the like that sells the product.

[0077] The positioning application may also display a questionnaire about the set teacher data when setting the teacher data in the setting mode. This questionnaire about the teacher data is conducted to obtain information necessary for interpreting the teacher data, such as the purpose of setting the teacher data (e.g., bedsore purpose, pressure relief purpose) and the target area for the bedsore purpose, etc.

[0078] The positioning application may accumulate training data by prompting the caregiver to manually input information to a questionnaire at the start of the service. When a predetermined number of pieces of training data or more are accumulated, the positioning application performs a learning process based on the training data. The learning process here is performed based on training data including both teacher data and input results to the questionnaire. As a result, in the trained model generated by the learning process, it is possible to output appropriate teacher data for each purpose of setting the teacher data and each target part. For example, in the case of bed positioning targeting a certain part, the learning model can determine where a cushion of what size should be placed and what posture the person being assisted should be in. In other words, after the trained model is created, it is possible to check the optimal positioning in the position app by simply selecting the target part without setting teacher data. Furthermore, when the service is started, the training data may be accumulated by prompting the caregiver to manually input desired welfare equipment. When a predetermined number of pieces of training data or more are accumulated, the positioning application may create a trained model that recommends welfare equipment by performing a learning process based on the training data.

[0079] Note that various modifications are possible regarding how application A used to adjust the position of the first person being assisted (Mr. AAA) and application B used to adjust the position of the second person being assisted (Mr. BBB) are managed and used. For example, application A and application B may be treated as different applications in the first place. For example, on a smartphone, each application is launched by selecting a different icon.

[0080] Alternatively, application A and application B may share a common interface application and be switchable within the interface application. For example, in a smartphone or the like, an icon of a positioning application may be selected first, and then application A and application B may be switched by selecting a tab within the positioning application.

[0081] Note that application A and application B may have the same process (algorithm) and different parameters used in the process, or both the process and the parameters may be different. Furthermore, even if it is the same application A, application A1 that cooperates with other applications (devices) and application A2 that does not cooperate with other applications may be treated as different applications. Furthermore, the management and usage modes of applications described above are not limited to positioning applications, and the same applies to other applications such as a choking application that operates in choking detection device 460 described later.

[0082] 2.2 Seat sensor 7 is an example of the second device 200, and is a diagram showing a seat sensor 440 arranged on the seat of a wheelchair 630. The seat sensor 440 includes a pressure sensor that outputs a pressure value, and outputs the pressure value.

[0083] In the example of FIG. 7, four pressure sensors Se1 to Se4 are arranged on the back side of a cushion 441 arranged on the seat of a wheelchair 630. Pressure sensor Se1 is a sensor arranged in the front, pressure sensor Se2 is a sensor arranged in the rear, pressure sensor Se3 is a sensor arranged on the right, and pressure sensor Se4 is a sensor arranged on the left. Note that front, back, left, and right here refer to directions seen from the person being assisted when the person is sitting on the wheelchair 630. The pressure sensors Se1 to Se4 are connected to a control box 442. The control box 442 includes a processor therein for controlling the pressure sensors Se1 to Se4, and a memory that serves as a work area for the processor. The processor detects pressure values ​​by operating the pressure sensors Se1 to Se4.

[0084] The seat sensor 440 may determine whether the posture of the person being assisted sitting on the wheelchair 630 (hereinafter also referred to as the sitting posture) is normal, forward shifted, side shifted, or any of a plurality of postures including side shifted, etc., based on the pressure values ​​from the pressure sensors Se1 to Se4. A forward shift indicates a state in which the center of gravity of the user is shifted forward from normal, and a side shift indicates a state in which the center of gravity of the user is shifted to either the left or right from normal. For example, the seat sensor 440 determines a forward shift when the value of the pressure sensor Se1 increases by a predetermined value or more compared to the initial state, and determines a side shift when the value of the pressure sensor Se3 or Se4 increases by a predetermined value or more compared to the initial state. The seat sensor 440 may also perform a fall possibility determination to determine whether or not there is a possibility that the person being assisted will fall off the seat.

[0085] The judgment conditions such as normal, forward slippage, side slippage, etc., or the judgment conditions for the possibility of falling may differ depending on the person being assisted and the scene. For example, the seat sensor 440 may execute the above judgment based on a tacit knowledge application. The seat sensor 440 may also add or update the tacit knowledge application based on communication with the server system 20 described later.

[0086] The second device 200 of the present embodiment may be a mattress capable of detecting pressure, or may be a device that communicates with the mattress. These devices make a determination regarding the posture of the person being assisted on the bed.

[0087] 2.3 Choking Detection Device Fig. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of the second device 200, which is a choking detection device 460 used in a mealtime. As shown in Fig. 8, the choking detection device 460 includes a throat microphone 461 that is attached around the neck of the person being assisted, and a terminal device 462 that has a camera.

[0088] The throat microphone 461 outputs voice data generated by swallowing, coughing, etc. of the person being assisted. The camera of the terminal device 462 outputs a captured image of the person being assisted eating. The terminal device 462 is, for example, a smartphone or a tablet PC placed on a table where the person being assisted eats. The throat microphone 461 is connected to the terminal device 462 using Bluetooth or the like. However, the specific connection mode can be modified in various ways.

[0089] The swallowing choking detection device 460 judges whether the person being assisted has choked or swallowed based on the audio data of the throat microphone 461. A device that detects swallowing using a microphone worn around the neck is described, for example, in U.S. Patent Application No. 16 / 276,768, filed February 15, 2019, entitled "Swallowing action measurement device and swallowing action support system." This patent application is incorporated by reference in its entirety into this specification. The swallowing choking detection application can detect the number of choking incidents, the duration of the choking (time of occurrence, duration, etc.), and whether or not the person swallowed based on the audio data.

[0090] The camera of the terminal device 462 captures an image of the person being assisted from the front direction, as shown in Fig. 8, for example. Therefore, the choking detection application may detect the mouth and eyes of the person being assisted, and chopsticks and spoons used by the person being assisted, based on the captured image. Note that there are various known methods for detecting these facial parts and objects based on image processing, and in this embodiment, known methods can be widely applied.

[0091] For example, the choking detection device 460 may obtain a swallowing time from when the assisted person opens his / her mouth to when he / she swallows, based on the swallowing detection result and the opening / closing determination result of the mouth of the assisted person. In this way, for example, when the number of swallows has decreased, it is possible to determine a specific situation, such as whether the action of putting food in the mouth is not performed, or whether food is put in the mouth but not swallowed. As a result, it is possible to accurately determine the risk of aspiration during meals. For example, the choking detection device 460 may perform these determinations based on a tacit knowledge application. The choking detection device 460 may also add or update a tacit knowledge application based on communication with the server system 20, which will be described later.

[0092] 3. Examples of association information FIG. 9 is an example of the association information. The association information in this embodiment may include information for identifying the person being assisted, ability information for the person being assisted, information for identifying the assistance scene, information for identifying the type of assistance to be performed, information for identifying the device used for assistance, information for identifying the tacit knowledge application used for assistance, and information on the update date and time of the association information. The association information is, for example, table data (relational database in a narrow sense) in which item values ​​are associated with each item. However, the configuration of the association information is not limited to the example of FIG. 9, and some items may be omitted, and other items may be added. Furthermore, the association information is not limited to table data, and data in other formats may be used. Furthermore, while FIG. 9 illustrates four rows of data as table data, the item values ​​of each row are merely an example, and various modifications of the specific item values ​​are possible as described below.

[0093] The information for identifying the person being assisted corresponds to the above-mentioned information about the person being assisted. The information about the person being assisted is, for example, an ID about the person being assisted, which is an ID uniquely assigned to the person being assisted. The ID about the person being assisted is associated with information about the person being assisted, such as the person's name, address, and facility where the person is residing. The ID about the person being assisted may also be associated with attribute information about the person being assisted, such as age, sex, height, weight, medical history, and medication history. The information about the name and the attribute information may be different from the information about the person being assisted, or may be included in the information about the person being assisted.

[0094] The ability information of the person being assisted is obtained based on the sensing data. The sensing data is information representing the state of the biological activity of the person being assisted or the sensing result of the surrounding environment of the person being assisted, and may be, for example, the output of a sensor included in the bed 610 or the second device 200, or may be the output of a sensor included in a sensing device different from these devices. The server system 20 described later may obtain a time-series change in the state of the person being assisted based on the sensing data, and may estimate the ability information based on the change. The ability information here may be index information related to daily activities (ADL: Activities of Daily Living). For example, various methods for evaluating ADL, such as the Barthel Index, are known, and these can be widely applied in this embodiment. In addition, the ability information may use a nine-stage index disclosed as the Clinical Frailty Scale in "Frailty and the potential kidney transplant recipient: time for a more holistic assessment?", Henry HL Wu, etc. For example, the ability information is information representing which of the nine stages the person being assisted belongs to.

[0095] The scene information includes, for example, information on a place where the person being assisted is provided. The place where the assistance is provided may specifically be a place where the bed 610 is located. That is, the scene information may include position information indicating the position of the bed 610. The scene information may also be information specifying the type of assistance to be provided, such as meal assistance, excretion assistance, or moving / transfer assistance. The scene information may also be information on the assistants providing assistance to the person being assisted, such as the number and skill level of the assistants. The scene information may also be information on the person being assisted, such as the attributes of the person being assisted. For example, the scene information may be determined based on a user input or the schedule of the assistant.

[0096] The information specifying the type of assistance to be performed is information specifying specific assistance content, such as, for example, meal assistance, excretion assistance, movement assistance, etc. Note that meal assistance and excretion assistance may be further subdivided.

[0097] Information identifying a device used for assistance (hereinafter referred to as device information) may be information (type ID) identifying a type of device, such as a "smartphone," "choking detection device," or "seat sensor." Alternatively, device information may be information (device ID) identifying one of multiple devices belonging to a specific type. Device ID is information that uniquely identifies a device, such as a serial number or MAC address. Device ID and type ID may be associated with information such as the vendor or the app ID of an installed application. Information such as the vendor may be different from the device information, or may be included in the device information.

[0098] The information for identifying the tacit knowledge used for the assistance is, for example, an application ID, which is an ID uniquely assigned to each of a plurality of tacit knowledge applications. The application ID may be associated with information such as an application name and a creator.

[0099] The update date and time is information indicating the timing when the target association information was updated, and is, for example, information specifying the year, month, and day. The update date and time may also include information on the hour and minute. For example, when the association information is table data with the configuration shown in FIG. 9, the data of each row includes, as an item value of the update date and time, information indicating the timing when the row was newly added or when at least one of the item values ​​of the row was updated. Note that, although an example in which an update date and time is associated with each row of data has been shown here, this is not limited to this. For example, the association information may include information on one update date and time for the entire association information. In this case, the update date and time indicates the timing when the last update process was performed on any row of the association information.

[0100] For example, even if the same meal assistance is required, an experienced caregiver is considered to change the device and tacit knowledge to be used in consideration of the person being assisted and the situation (ability, scene, etc.) in which the person being assisted is placed. In other words, not only the content of the assistance but also the condition judgment for performing the assistance is considered to be tacit knowledge. In this regard, in the correspondence information of this embodiment, a device ID and an application ID are associated with the assisted person ID, ADL, and scene, respectively. This makes it possible not only to digitize the assistance of the expert (create a tacit knowledge application) but also to appropriately digitize the use conditions of the tacit knowledge application. For example, the server system 20 may create and update the correspondence information based on the use history of the tacit knowledge application by the experienced person being assisted. A device such as the second device 200 can change the tacit knowledge application to be used based on the correspondence information.

[0101] The correspondence information may also include information associating multiple devices used in cooperation with each other in assisting a person being assisted. For example, consider table data including a row in which the assisted person ID, ADL, scene, and type of assistance are common, and the device ID is device ID1, and another row in which the device ID is device ID2. In this case, it is represented that in one assistance specified by the assisted person ID, ADL, scene, and type of assistance, two devices, a device corresponding to device ID1 and a device corresponding to device ID2, are used in cooperation with each other. However, one row may include information on multiple device IDs used in cooperation with each other, and various modifications are possible for the data structure for associating multiple devices used in cooperation with each other.

[0102] The server system 20 according to the present embodiment may store association information related to a plurality of care recipients as a master table. The master table includes, for example, information related to all care recipients residing in a nursing facility. The bed 610 according to the present embodiment may acquire information related to the care recipient associated with the bed 610 from the master table as narrow association information. For example, when a care recipient with an assisted person ID=1 is associated with the bed 610, the bed 610 may acquire, as narrow association information, a result of extracting only rows with an assisted person ID item value ID=1 from among multiple rows included in the master table. Alternatively, the bed 610 may acquire the entire master table, and use a portion of the master table related to the target care recipient as narrow association information for processing. An example in which the bed 610 acquires narrow association information (a result of extracting a portion) from the server system 20 will be described below. Details of the processing will be described later with reference to FIG. 10.

[0103] Since the bed 610 can acquire position information by communicating with the communication unit 10, the bed 610 can also acquire only the result of extracting part of the information in the master table that corresponds to the first position (for example, a row in which the position included in the scene information is the first position) from the server system 20. However, in this embodiment, as will be described later with reference to FIG. 15 etc., it is also assumed that the association information acquired by the bed 610 is used at a second position different from the first position. Therefore, the association information acquired by the bed 610 from the server system 20 may include information on a position other than the first position.

[0104] 4. Processing Details The processing of the information processing system 1 of this embodiment will be described in detail. First, a specific flow of the processing will be described by taking as an example a case where the first position is the room of the person being assisted. Then, the processing will be described when the person being assisted moves to a second position different from the first position. Specifically, the processing will be described when the second position is a dining room and when it is a bathroom.

[0105] 4.1 Room 4.1.1 Example of connecting the communication unit to the bed 10 is a sequence diagram illustrating a process for establishing a communication connection between the communication unit 10 and the bed 610. When this process is started, first, in step S101, the communication unit 10 is connected to a commercial power source in a room which is a first position. For example, the first connection portion 14 (power plug portion) of the communication unit 10, which is a smart plug, is inserted into a commercial power socket SO provided on a wall surface of the room. This causes power to be supplied to the communication unit 10, and the communication unit 10 starts operating.

[0106] In step S102, the communication unit 10 acquires information specifying the first location and stores it in the storage unit 12. For example, the communication unit 10 may be connected to a staff terminal (e.g., a smartphone) used by staff of a care facility or the like, and acquire information indicating the first location from the staff terminal. The staff here may be a caregiver or an administrator. For example, the staff terminal operates according to a setting application provided by a vendor of the smart plug or the like. The smartphone here may be, for example, a smartphone CP that is a terminal device used by a caregiver and functions as the second device 200 or the like. The processes of steps S101 and S102 are processes that are performed only once, for example, when the communication unit 10 is inserted into a socket SO of a commercial power source. In contrast, the processes from step S103 onwards described below are processes that are repeatedly executed when a person being assisted moves in, a bed is replaced, or the like.

[0107] In step S103, information associating the person being assisted with the bed 610 is registered in the server system 20 using the staff terminal. For example, the staff uses the staff terminal to execute a process of registering an assisted person ID that identifies the person being assisted and a bed ID that identifies the bed 610 in the EMR managed by the server system 20. For example, the staff executes the process of step S103 when a new person being assisted moves into the facility or when an existing person being assisted moves to a different bed 610.

[0108] In step S104, the communication unit 10 performs a process of searching for devices that are present in the vicinity and can be connected to the communication unit 10. For example, the communication unit 10 searches for devices whose communication signal strength with the communication section 13 (e.g., Bluetooth communication signal strength) is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold. Furthermore, in step S105, the communication unit identifies a device whose communication signal strength is equal to or greater than the threshold and whose device type is "bed." Through the processes of steps S104-S105, the communication unit 10 can identify beds 610 that are present in the vicinity.

[0109] In step S106, the communication unit 10 establishes a communication connection with the bed 610 identified in the processing of steps S104-S105. The communication method here is arbitrary, and may be the same as or different from the communication method between the communication unit 10 and the server system 20 (relay device 30).

[0110] In step S107, the communication unit 10 starts processing to have the bed 610 acquire the association information (table data) shown in Fig. 9. For example, the communication unit 10 transmits an acquisition request for the association information to the server system 20. The acquisition request here may include a bed ID that identifies the bed 610 with which a communication connection has been established. The communication unit 10 may acquire the bed ID of the bed 610, for example, when the communication connection is established in the processing of step S106.

[0111] In step S108, the server system 20 identifies the assisted person ID of the assisted person linked to the target bed based on the combination of the bed ID and the assisted person ID registered in step S103 and the bed ID included in the acquisition request in step S107.

[0112] In step S109, the server system 20 extracts a portion of the association information (master table) that corresponds to the assisted person ID, and in step S110, the server system 20 transmits the extraction result to the communication unit 10 as association information in the narrow sense.

[0113] In step S111, the communication unit 10 transmits the association information received from the server system 20 to the bed 610. In step S112, the bed 610 receives the association information from the communication unit 10 and stores the association information in the storage unit 120. The association information stored in the bed 610 is, for example, the same information as the association information received by the communication unit 10 from the server system 20. However, the communication unit 10 may perform a process of extracting a part of the association information received from the server system 20 or a process of processing the association information, and transmit the processing result to the bed 610.

[0114] As described above, in this embodiment, when a bed 610 is present near the communication unit 10, the communication unit 10 and the bed 610 are connected, so that the bed 610 can acquire association information including at least information on the location and the person being assisted. Note that information specifying the location (information on the first location) may be transmitted from the communication unit 10 to the bed 610 in step S106, or may be transmitted together with the association information in step S111. In the example shown in Fig. 10, the communication unit 10 only needs to hold information indicating the first location, and does not need to hold information on the ID of the person being assisted.

[0115] The trigger for performing the process of step S104 (the trigger for starting the search for the bed 610) may be the insertion of a power plug of another device into the second connection section 15 (the socket of the smart plug) of the communication unit 10. For example, the manual of the bed 610 may instruct the user to insert the power plug of the bed 610 into the socket of the smart plug. In this case, when the bed 610 is replaced, the power plug of the new bed 610 is inserted into the second connection section 15 of the communication unit 10, so that it is possible to establish a connection between the communication unit 10 and the bed 610 at an appropriate timing. In this example, the communication unit 10 may identify the device connected to the second connection section 15 as the bed 610, instead of determining the communication radio wave strength or the device type.

[0116] However, the method of the present embodiment is not limited to this. For example, the device connected to the communication unit 10 may be a device other than the bed 610. In this case, the power connection of the other device to the communication unit 10 is used as a trigger indicating that assistance may be performed around the communication unit 10. The process of identifying the bed 610 may be realized by a process from a perspective different from whether or not the communication unit 10 is connected to a power source (for example, a process based on the communication signal strength and the device type as described above).

[0117] 3, in the case where the communication unit 10 has the first connection section 14, the second connection section 15, and the communication section 13 and is a unit that supplies power supplied from a commercial power source via the first connection section 14 via the second connection section 15, the communication unit 10 may perform a process of searching for a device of a type corresponding to the first device from devices whose communication radio wave strength with the communication section 13 is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold when another device is connected to the second connection section 15. In this way, it becomes possible to automatically identify the bed 610 based on the communication radio wave strength and the type of device, triggered by the connection of another device to a power source.

[0118] By carrying out the above-described processing, the bed 610 stores the association information (step S112), and thus the bed 610 is ready to function as a hub in the first location.

[0119] 4.1.2 Example of assistance process using a second device 11 is a sequence diagram illustrating a cooperation process executed with the bed 610 (first device 100) as a hub. An example will be described below in which a smartphone CP running a positioning application or the like and a choking detection device 460 work together to provide assistance around the bed 610. In particular, in the following example, the smartphone CP is a master device (second device 200) that detects a cooperation trigger, and the choking detection device 460 is a slave device (third device 300) that works together based on an instruction from the master device.

[0120] When this process is started, first, in step S201, trigger information for starting assistance is acquired in the smartphone CP which is the second device 200. The trigger information here is, for example, information indicating that a specific application has been started in the second device 200. For example, when a positioning application for adjusting a position while eating is started in the smartphone CP, it is considered that it is time for the person being assisted to start eating. Therefore, by starting the choking detection device 460, it becomes possible to have the person being assisted assume a posture that makes it difficult for choking or aspiration to occur while eating.

[0121] In step S202, the communication unit 230 of the second device 200 searches for peripheral devices (for example, by determining the Bluetooth communication radio wave strength with each device) and determines whether or not there is a device that holds correspondence information for the peripheral devices. For example, the communication unit 230 of the second device 200 inquires about the presence or absence of correspondence information in a Bluetooth advertisement packet, and the peripheral device that receives the advertisement packet replies with information indicating the presence or absence of correspondence information. The second device 200 identifies a device whose communication radio wave strength is equal to or greater than a given threshold and that holds correspondence information as the bed 610.

[0122] In step S203, the second device 200 establishes a communication connection with the bed 610. For example, the bed 610 and the second device 200 execute pairing in Bluetooth communication.

[0123] In step S203, the device with which the second device 200 establishes a communication connection may be determined based not only on the presence or absence of the above-mentioned association information, but also on the presence or absence of connection to a network (e.g., the presence or absence of connection to the server system 20). For example, the second device 200 holds association information and establishes a communication connection with a device that is connected to the network. Alternatively, the second device 200 may perform a process of displaying a list of peripheral devices in which the peripheral devices are sorted so that devices that hold association information and are connected to the network are given priority. The second device 200 establishes a communication connection with a device selected by the user from among the peripheral devices.

[0124] In step S204, the bed 610 performs a process of identifying the tacit knowledge application used in the second device 200 and a linked device (the third device 300) that operates in cooperation with the second device 200. In step S205, the bed 610 transmits information on the tacit knowledge application and the linked device to the second device 200.

[0125] The association information in this embodiment may include, for example, information on tacit knowledge data that digitizes the tacit knowledge of an experienced caregiver. The tacit knowledge data here may be, for example, a tacit knowledge application. In the example shown in FIG. 9, the association information includes an application ID that identifies the tacit knowledge application. However, the tacit knowledge data in this embodiment may include data in a form other than an application. For example, the tacit knowledge data may not be the application itself, but may be setting data (parameters, etc.) used in the application. For example, if the target application is a positioning application, the tacit knowledge data may be data that identifies any one of multiple teacher data included in the positioning application.

[0126] For example, the bed 610 acquires information such as the latest ADL and scene of the person being assisted. The latest ADL of the person being assisted may be acquired from the server system 20 via the communication unit 10 in step S204, for example, or may be acquired together with the association information when performing the process shown in Fig. 10. The scene is, for example, information indicating the location of assistance, and the first position acquired in the process shown in step S102 in Fig. 10 is used. In addition, since the association information already acquired by the bed 610 corresponds to the ID of the person being assisted (steps S108-S109 in Fig. 10), the ID of the person being assisted is also known.

[0127] That is, the bed 610 can identify tacit knowledge data (tacit knowledge application) that should be used by the second device 200 in providing assistance using the second device 200, based on the known information and the acquired association information.

[0128] When the second device 200 is connected to the bed 610 (step S203), the second device 200 may determine tacit knowledge data to be used in the second device 200 based on the association information, and may acquire the tacit knowledge data via the bed 610 if the tacit knowledge data has not been acquired. Here, the process of determining the tacit knowledge data is executed, for example, in the bed 610 (step S204), but the process may be executed in the second device 200.

[0129] For example, the second device 200 that has acquired the information for identifying the necessary tacit knowledge application in step S205 determines whether the tacit knowledge application has been installed. If the tacit knowledge application has been installed, the processes of steps S206-S210 described below are omitted.

[0130] If the tacit knowledge application has not been installed, in step S206, the second device 200 requests the bed 610 for the tacit knowledge application. In step S207, the bed 610 transmits the request for the tacit knowledge application to the communication unit 10. In step S208, the communication unit 10 acquires the tacit knowledge application required by the second device 200. Specifically, the communication unit 10 may communicate with the server system 20 in step S208 and receive the tacit knowledge application required by the second device 200 from the server system 20. In step S209, the communication unit 10 transmits the acquired tacit knowledge application to the bed 610. In step S210, the bed 610 transmits the tacit knowledge application received from the communication unit 10 to the second device 200. By the second device 200 installing the tacit knowledge application, the tacit knowledge required for the assistance of the person being assisted becomes available in the second device 200.

[0131] Also, as described above in step S205, the bed 610 may transmit information of the linked devices to the second device 200. For example, the association information may include device information (such as a type ID or an apparatus ID) indicating a device used for assistance, as described above with reference to FIG. 9. The device information is not limited to information specifying the type of one device, and may be information of a combination of the types of a plurality of devices used in association. Based on the association information of the bed 610, the second device 200 determines the third device 300 used for assistance of the person being assisted in association with the second device 200, and communicates with the third device 300 via the bed 610 when the third device 300 is connected to the bed 610. In this way, it is possible to link various devices used for assistance around the bed 610, using the bed 610 as a hub.

[0132] For example, in step S204, the bed 610 identifies the type of device usable as the third device 300 based on known information such as the assisted person ID, the ADL, the scene, and a type ID indicating the type of the second device 200, and on the association information. Here, consider an example in which the type of device usable as the third device 300 is type ID=1.

[0133] In this case, bed 610 may identify a device whose type ID is 1 and whose communication radio wave strength with bed 610 is the highest, and transmit information about the device to second device 200 in step S205. Second device 200 accepts user input regarding whether or not to permit collaboration with the device. When user input permitting collaboration is accepted, second device 200 transmits information about the device to bed 610 in step S211.

[0134] Alternatively, the bed 610 may obtain list information of one or more devices whose type ID is 1 and whose communication radio wave strength with the bed 610 is equal to or greater than a threshold, and transmit the list information to the second device 200 in step S205. The second device 200 may accept a user input for selecting the third device 300 from the list information. When a user input for selecting any device is performed, the second device 200 transmits information on the selected device to the bed 610 in step S211.

[0135] In step S212, the bed 610 establishes a communication connection with the third device 300 identified by the information acquired in step S211. For example, the bed 610 and the third device 300 execute pairing in Bluetooth communication. As a result, both the second device 200 and the third device 300 are paired with the bed 610. Therefore, the second device 200 and the third device 300 can perform cooperative processing with the bed 610 as a hub.

[0136] In step S213, the second device 200 transmits a link request to the third device 300 via the bed 610. When the third device 300 receives the link request, it determines whether or not a communication connection with the bed 610 has been established. If a communication connection has been established, in step S214, the third device 300 returns a link acceptance response to the second device 200 via the bed 610. Note that in FIG. 11, in order to simplify the representation in the drawing, the processing of steps S213-S214 is described as if it were performed directly between the second device 200 and the third device 300, but these processing are performed via the bed 610 as described above. This also applies to the processing of step S216 described later. In addition, if the second device 200 and the third device 300 are each connected to the bed 610 (steps S203 and S212), link processing between them is possible, so the processing shown in steps S213-S214 may be omitted.

[0137] When the cooperation acceptance response is received, in step S215, the display unit 240 of the second device 200 displays "ready" indicating that the cooperation process is ready to start. In step S216, the second device 200 and the third device 300 start cooperation process for assisting the person being assisted via the bed 610. For example, as described above, the smartphone CP as the second device 200 judges whether the position is OK / NG, and the choking detection device 460 as the third device 300 judges whether swallowing or choking occurs. In this case, cooperation may be performed such that, if choking is detected, a positioning application is used to prompt the person to adjust their posture, or, if the positioning application judges the positioning to be NG, the choking detection device 460 prompts the person to stop eating.

[0138] For example, the data acquired by the second device 200 and the data acquired by the third device 300 may be collected in the control unit 110 (e.g., a control box) of the bed 610, and each piece of data may be processed in the control unit 110. Alternatively, the data acquired by the third device 300 may be transmitted to the second device 200 via the bed 610, and processing of both the data of the second device 200 and the third device 300 may be executed in the control unit 210 of the second device 200. For example, when choking is detected, the choking detection device 460 may inquire of a positioning application (which is constantly monitored) of the smartphone CP about the posture situation via the bed 610, and obtain the result and raw data via the bed 610.

[0139] Data and logs resulting from the use of the second device 200 and the third device 300 may be transmitted to the server system 20 via the bed 610. For example, in step S217, the third device 300 transmits the processing result to the bed 610. In step S218, the second device 200 transmits the processing result to the bed 610. In step S219, the bed 610 transfers the processing result of the second device 200 and the third device 300 to the server system 20. The timing of the transfer may be set to be shifted for each device so as not to burden the server system 20. The timing of the transfer may also be set in a quiet period with low communication load such as late night hours. The server system 20 may automatically register the log data in an EMR (Electronic Medical Records). The server system 20 may also perform a summary process of the log data using a generative AI (e.g. ChatGPT) as necessary. By performing the summary process, the recording work can be simplified.

[0140] In this embodiment, when a process related to assistance of the person being assisted is performed, the second device 200 may transmit a care record indicating that assistance for the person being assisted was performed around the bed 610 (the first device 100 in a broader sense) to the server system 20 via the bed 610. In other words, in the method of this embodiment, since the second device 200 communicates with the bed 610, the fact that the second device 200 was used around the bed 610 is left as log data. By leaving such log data, it is easy to know where the second device 200 is actually being used, which also facilitates inventory management of the device and consumables consumed by the device.

[0141] Furthermore, if the caregiver is wearing an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) or the like, the fact that the caregiver was near the bed 610 is automatically recorded based on the results of reading the RFID. Therefore, the care record associated with the bed 610 described above can be left associated with the name of the caregiver, etc. At that time, the caregiver may input additional notes using the display unit 240 of the second device 200 or a display unit of the bed 610 (for example, a display provided on the bed 610). In this way, it becomes possible to include additional notes input by the caregiver in the care record.

[0142] For example, if a caregiver is authenticated when using a positioning application, the result of the authentication process can be used to identify the caregiver without using RFID. In this case, too, it becomes possible to include the caregiver's information in the care record.

[0143] Although not described above, as described above with reference to FIG. 9, the association information may include assistance type information indicating the type of assistance to be performed on the assisted person. Therefore, when the second device 200 is connected to the bed 610, the second device 200 may execute a process for providing the type of assistance indicated by the assistance type information to the assisted person identified by the assisted person information, based on the association information. In other words, the type of assistance may also be automatically determined from the association information and information such as the assisted person ID. However, when the trigger information is the start of a specific application as described above, the type of assistance may be determined from the started application, and in this case, the association information may not be used to determine the type of assistance.

[0144] In addition, in the method of the present embodiment, various devices can be used as the second device 200 and the third device 300 that cooperates with the second device 200. For example, the vendor of the second device 200 and the vendor of the third device 300 may be different. However, when the second device 200 cooperates with another device, it is considered that the data structure when transmitting data to the other device is determined by the vendor of the second device 200. Similarly, the data structure when the third device 300 receives data from the other device is determined by the vendor of the third device 300. Therefore, when the second device 200 attempts to transmit data to the third device 300 during the cooperation process, it is possible that the structure of the transmission data of the second device 200 and the structure of the reception data of the third device 300 do not match due to the difference in vendor. The possibility of a mismatch in data structure also occurs when the second device 200 receives data from the third device 300.

[0145] Therefore, in this embodiment, the bed 610 may convert the data structure of data received from one of the second device 200 and the third device 300, and transmit the converted data to the other device. In this way, the bed 610, which functions as a hub for the second device 200 and the third device 300, can convert the data structure, and each device connected to the hub does not need to perform processing that takes into account differences in data structure between vendors.

[0146] In the above, an example in which the second device 200 and the third device 300 are used in cooperation with each other in providing assistance around the bed 610 has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the second device 200 may be used alone in a given type of assistance. Even in this case, the association information of the bed 610 can be used to identify the person being assisted, to determine an appropriate tacit knowledge application, to determine the content of assistance, and the like, so there is an advantage that assistance around the bed 610 can be appropriately performed, as in the above example.

[0147] 4.1.3 Variations <Another Example of the First Device 100> In the above, an example in which the first device 100 is the bed 610 has been described. However, the first device 100 may be a device other than the bed 610 as long as it is a device that can be relatively easily associated with a person being assisted on a one-to-one basis. For example, a mattress or a pillow having a communication function may be used as the first device 100. The first device 100 may also be a device that is attached to a bed or a mattress. That is, the description of the bed 610 in this specification may be replaced with another device such as a mattress, as appropriate.

[0148] <Acquisition process of information representing first position by communication unit> In the above, an example has been described in which the communication unit 10 acquires information representing the first location based on an input operation by the staff terminal (step S102 in FIG. 10). However, the processing of this embodiment is not limited to this, and the communication unit 10 may acquire the first location based on communication with the server system 20 or the relay device 30, etc.

[0149] For example, the relay device 30 may store information indicating the location where the relay device 30 is placed in advance, and the control unit 11 of the communication unit 10 may specify the first location depending on which relay device 30 in the nursing facility the communication unit 13 is connected to. Alternatively, the server system 20 may store information in advance that associates an ID that identifies the communication unit 10 with the first location where the communication unit 10 is placed. The information is input, for example, by a system administrator of the nursing facility. The communication unit 10 may request location information from the server system 20 via the relay device 30. The server system 20 specifies the first location based on the ID of the requesting communication unit 10, and returns information indicating the first location to the communication unit 10.

[0150] <Another example of connection processing between communication unit and bed> 12 and 13, another example of the process of connecting the communication unit 10 and the bed 610 and the process of storing correspondence information in the bed 610 will be described. In the process of FIG. 12, first, in step S301, the communication unit 10 is connected to a commercial power socket SO. In step S302, the communication unit 10 obtains information indicating a first position. The processes of steps S301-S302 are similar to the processes of steps S101-S102 in FIG. 10.

[0151] In step S303, the communication unit 10 acquires information on the ID of the person being assisted from the staff terminal. For example, the staff member uses a staff terminal on which a setting application for the smart plug is installed to input information that identifies the person being assisted who resides in the room in which the smart plug is installed. Note that, although an example of inputting the ID of the person being assisted is shown in FIG. 12, other information such as the name of the person being assisted may be input on the staff terminal, and the server system 20 may collate the ID of the person being assisted.

[0152] In step S304, the communication unit 10 searches for connectable peripheral devices. In step S305, the communication unit 10 identifies the bed 610 from the peripheral devices. In step S306, a communication connection is established between the communication unit 10 and the bed 610. The processing in steps S304-S306 is similar to steps S104-S106 in FIG.

[0153] In step S307, the communication unit 10 transmits a request to acquire the association information to the server system 20. The request may include the ID of the person being assisted acquired in step S303.

[0154] In step S308, the server system 20 extracts a portion of the association information (master table) that corresponds to the assisted person ID, and in step S309, transmits the extraction result to the communication unit 10 as association information in the narrow sense.

[0155] In step S310, the communication unit 10 transmits the association information received from the server system 20 to the bed 610. In step S311, the bed 610 receives the association information from the communication unit 10 and stores the association information in the storage unit 120.

[0156] 13, first, in step S401, the communication unit 10 is connected to a commercial power socket SO. In step S402, the communication unit 10 obtains information representing the first position. The processes in steps S401-S402 are similar to the processes in steps S101-S102 in FIG.

[0157] In step S403, the communication unit 10 searches for connectable peripheral devices. In step S404, the communication unit 10 creates a list of devices whose communication signal strength is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, and transmits the list to the staff terminal.

[0158] In step S405, the staff terminal performs a user operation of selecting a device corresponding to the bed 610 from the list and inputting the ID of the person being assisted. This allows the staff terminal to obtain information indicating the correspondence between the bed 610 and the person being assisted (specifically, the correspondence between the bed ID and the ID of the person being assisted).

[0159] In step S406, the staff terminal transmits the bed ID and the assisted person ID to the communication unit 10. Since the communication unit 10 can identify the bed 610 to be connected based on the bed ID, in step S407, a communication connection between the communication unit 10 and the bed 610 is established.

[0160] The processing in steps S408-S412 is similar to that in steps S307-S311 in FIG. 12, and therefore a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0161] Even when the processing shown in Figure 12 or Figure 13 is performed, the server system 20 is able to properly identify the person being assisted who corresponds to the bed 610, and as a result, the bed 610 is able to obtain association information appropriate for that person being assisted.

[0162] 10, 12 and 13, the communication unit 10 does not necessarily acquire the ID of the person being assisted in FIG. 10, whereas the communication unit 10 acquires the ID of the person being assisted in FIG. 12 and 13. However, in the process of FIG. 10, the communication unit 10 may acquire the ID of the person being assisted corresponding to the bed 610 from the server system 20 or the like. Also, in any of FIG. 10, 12 and 13, the communication unit 10 only transfers the association information acquired from the server system 20 to the bed 610, and does not necessarily hold the association information. However, the method of this embodiment is not limited to this, and the memory unit 12 of the communication unit 10 may also store the association information. In this way, various modifications are possible for the data held by the communication unit 10.

[0163] <Examples of communication units other than smart plugs> In the above, an example in which the communication unit 10 is a smart plug has been described. However, the method of the present embodiment is not limited to this. FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of a device arranged at the first position (room) of the information processing system 1. As shown in FIG. 14, in addition to a bed 610, a smart speaker 640 that recognizes the voice of a user (caregiver) and controls each device based on the voice recognition result may be arranged as the communication unit 10 in the room. In addition, a curtain 690, a beverage server 660 that provides thickened beverages, an aroma diffuser 670, lighting 680, etc. may be arranged at the first position.

[0164] Each device such as the bed 610 arranged in the living room may be connected to, for example, a smart speaker 640 and controlled by voice recognition processing using the smart speaker. For example, the bed 610, the curtain 690 (a driving mechanism for opening and closing the curtain 690), the beverage server 660, the aroma diffuser 670, and the lighting 680 are each connected to the smart speaker 640 directly or via a network, and can operate based on an operation signal from an external device, similar to a so-called smart home example. The smart speaker 640 is also provided with a microphone for receiving voice, and a smart home application for transmitting control signals to devices based on voice recognition and the voice recognition results is installed.

[0165] For example, the caregiver issues a voice command including "open the curtains" to the smart speaker 640. Although not shown here, a recognition process for a specific hot word may be executed before the command. The smart speaker 640 recognizes that the voice is an operation instruction for the curtains 690 by performing a voice recognition process according to the smart home application. Similarly, the caregiver adjusts the height of the bed 610 by saying "raise the bed to the height for changing clothes" or the like. The caregiver also instructs the beverage server 660 to prepare a beverage with a specified viscosity by saying "prepare Thickening 3" or the like. In this way, by executing instructions to the device by voice recognition, the burden on the caregiver can be reduced. For example, the caregiver can concentrate on changing the clothes of the person being assisted and giving them a beverage.

[0166] The caregiver may also control the aroma diffuser 670 and the lighting 680 using voice. For example, the smart speaker 640 may control the on / off of the aroma diffuser 670 and the on / off of the lighting 680 when a corresponding keyword is recognized. If these devices have multiple operation modes (for example, when fine adjustment of the air volume and illuminance is possible), the smart speaker 640 may perform control to determine a specific operation mode based on the user's voice. Note that, although FIG. 14 illustrates both a small light placed on a shelf and a ceiling light as the lighting 680, either one of them may be omitted. Also, other types of lighting may be used as the lighting 680.

[0167] 14, the smart speaker 640 can be connected to the server system 20 via a network, and can also be connected to the bed 610. Therefore, in this embodiment, the smart speaker 640 may be used as the communication unit 10 to execute the various processes described above.

[0168] In addition, the smart plug and the smart speaker 640 are not limited to being used alone, and may operate in conjunction with each other. For example, the smart plug may be connected to a medical device (second device 200) as described above with reference to FIG. 1, and the smart speaker 640 may be connected to a non-medical device (lighting, air conditioning, etc.).

[0169] Furthermore, when the smart speaker 640 controls the lighting 680, etc., a process for identifying which room's lighting is to be controlled, that is, a process for identifying the location to be controlled, is required. In this case, if both the smart plug and the smart speaker 640 are provided, it is considered that the smart plug has acquired information representing the first location as described above. Therefore, the smart speaker 640 may request information representing the first location from the smart plug via the bed 610. Then, when the smart speaker 640 recognizes a voice requesting control of the lighting 680, etc., it controls the lighting 680, etc., located at the first location acquired from the smart plug. In this way, by linking with the smart plug according to the present embodiment, the smart speaker 640 can execute appropriate control based on the location.

[0170] <Bed control according to the type of second device> As described above, the second device 200 of the present embodiment may be a device (such as the smartphone CP, the seat sensor 440, or the choking detection device 460) that operates according to the tacit knowledge application, or may be the medical device 800. In other words, the second device 200 of the present embodiment may be a device to which the bed 610 transmits information on the tacit knowledge application or the device to be linked, or may be a device that transmits the sensing result to the bed 610. Therefore, the bed 610 of the present embodiment needs to switch the process to be executed between the second device 200 and the bed 610 depending on the device type of the second device 200.

[0171] Therefore, the storage unit 120 of the bed 610 may store data (e.g., a program or application software) that specifies a process targeted at the second device 200 of the device type in association with the device type of the second device 200. In this way, it becomes possible to cause the bed 610 to execute an appropriate process according to the device type.

[0172] The data stored in the bed 610 may be updated using an external device such as a smartphone (e.g., a staff terminal). For example, by using a bed application installed on the smartphone, the smartphone may rewrite at least one of the data specifying the device type and the process stored in the bed 610. Alternatively, the smartphone may perform a process of writing new data in which the device type and the data specifying the process are associated with each other in the storage unit 120. In this way, it becomes possible to flexibly change the operation of the bed 610 and the operation of peripheral devices used around the bed 610 without changing the hardware of the bed 610 (e.g., a control box including the control unit 110 and the communication unit 130) itself to a new one. For example, even when a vendor develops a new peripheral device or an additional function of an already registered peripheral device, it becomes possible to flexibly change the operation.

[0173] 4.2 Dining room <Handover> As described above, the bed 610 used in a room obtains information on the position and the person being assisted based on communication with the communication unit 10, making it possible to properly provide assistance around the bed using the bed 610 as a hub.

[0174] However, in a care facility, etc., assistance may be provided in places other than the living room. For example, meals and medication are taken in the dining room, so various types of assistance such as meal assistance and medication assistance are provided. However, since it is not realistic to carry the bed 610 in the living room to the dining room, a device other than the bed 610 must be set as a hub in the dining room. For example, the possibility of multiple people receiving care using a wheelchair at the same time is sufficiently low, so in the short term, it is possible to assign a one-to-one correspondence to each person receiving care.

[0175] However, it is expected that multiple people receiving care will gather in the dining room. Therefore, even if the second communication unit 10b (smart plug) located in the dining room tries to search for a wheelchair that will be a hub, there are often multiple wheelchairs around the second communication unit 10b. Therefore, even if the communication signal strength and device type are taken into consideration, it is not easy for the second communication unit 10b to determine which wheelchair should be the hub at the second position.

[0176] In addition, when devices are used on a dining table, it is conceivable that most of the devices are used without obtaining power through a wire. Therefore, it may not be easy to identify the device that serves as the hub based on the power connection between the second communication unit 10b and the device. Furthermore, if a wired power connection is required, the number of power wirings will increase, and the risk of falling due to tripping over the wiring will increase.

[0177] Therefore, in this embodiment, when moving from a first position (e.g., a living room) to a second position (e.g., a dining room), the function as a hub may be taken over from the bed 610 to another device such as the wheelchair 630. In this way, even if the second communication unit 10b arranged in the second position (dining room) does not search for the wheelchair 630, it becomes possible to set the wheelchair 630 as a hub at the second position (holding association information corresponding to the person being assisted). Specifically, the taking over of the hub function may be performed by taking over the association information. Specific processing will be described below.

[0178] Fig. 15 is a diagram for explaining a situation in which handover occurs in a room that is a first location. Among the devices shown in Fig. 15, the communication unit 10, the bed 610, and the smartphone CP that is an example of the second device 200 are the same as those in Fig. 1. Although omitted in Fig. 15, other devices not shown in Fig. 15 may be placed in the first location (Room A).

[0179] In addition to these configurations, the information processing system 1 shown in FIG. 15 further includes a fourth device 400 that moves to the second position together with the person being assisted when the person being assisted moves from the first position to the second position. When the first device 100 detects the movement of the person being assisted, the first device 100 transmits the association information to the fourth device 400. Here, the detection of the movement of the person being assisted does not necessarily mean the detection of the movement from the first position to the second position itself, but may mean the detection of a sign of the person being assisted moving to a position away from the first position. In this way, the association information can be handed over at an appropriate time.

[0180] 15, the first device 100 may be a bed 610 placed at the first position, and the fourth device 400 may be a wheelchair 630 used to assist the person being assisted in moving. By using the bed 610 and the wheelchair 630, it becomes possible to use devices that can be easily associated with the person being assisted as the first device 100 and the fourth device 400. However, the fourth device 400 is not limited to the wheelchair 630, and other devices such as the seat sensor 440 described above with reference to FIG. 7 or a walker having a communication unit may be used as the fourth device 400.

[0181] 16 is a sequence diagram for explaining the process of taking over the association information. In step S501, the bed 610 detects the transfer of the person being assisted from the bed 610 to the wheelchair 630. For example, the bed 610 may be a device capable of detecting pressure, and may determine that the transfer has occurred when it detects that the person being assisted has left the bed. Alternatively, the bed 610 may determine that the transfer has occurred when the person being assisted has moved from a lying position to a sitting position (particularly, a sitting position at one of the left and right ends of the bed). Also, a detection device capable of detecting pressure may be disposed in the bed 610, and the detection device may detect the transfer.

[0182] When a transfer is detected, in step S502, the bed 610 searches for a wheelchair 630 to which the user is to transfer. For example, the bed 610 determines that a device having a communication radio wave intensity equal to or higher than a threshold and a device type of “wheelchair” is the wheelchair 630 to which the user is to transfer.

[0183] In step S503, the bed 610 establishes a communication connection with the wheelchair 630. For example, the bed 610 and the wheelchair 630 execute pairing in Bluetooth communication.

[0184] Although an example of detecting transfer from bed 610 has been described above, the present invention is not limited to this, and transfer may be detected by wheelchair 630. Specifically, the process shown in steps S501-S503 in Fig. 16 may be changed to the following steps S501'-S503'.

[0185] For example, the wheelchair 630 may be provided with a seat sensor 440, and in step S501', the wheelchair 630 may determine that the person being assisted is being transferred when the seat sensor 440 detects that the person being assisted is sitting.

[0186] If a transfer is detected, in step S502', the wheelchair 630 searches for the bed 610 from which the association information is to be taken over. For example, the wheelchair 630 determines that the device whose communication radio wave strength is equal to or greater than the threshold and that stores the association information is the bed 610. In step S503', the bed 610 establishes a communication connection with the wheelchair 630.

[0187] Moreover, transfer detection may be performed using both the bed 610 and the wheelchair 630, and various modifications of the specific processing are possible.

[0188] In step S504, bed 610 transmits the association information to wheelchair 630. In step S505, wheelchair 630 stores the acquired association information. As a result, the association information is handed over from bed 610 to wheelchair 630. Since the association information here is information that identifies the person being assisted (for example, table data related to a specific person being assisted ID), the wheelchair 630 and the person being assisted are associated with each other by handing over the association information.

[0189] As described above, the association information processing unit 26 of the server system 20 may update the association information based on the ability information (ADL) of the person being assisted. Therefore, depending on the relationship between the timing when the bed 610 acquires the association information and the timing of the update process in the association information processing unit 26, the association information of the bed 610 may not be the latest. Therefore, the control unit 110 of the bed 610 may inquire of the server system 20 whether the association information is the latest or not before the handover process of the association information. The inquiry here is executed, for example, via the communication unit 10. For example, the bed 610 transmits information on the update date and time of the association information to the server system 20, and the server system 20 compares the update date and time of the association information stored in the storage unit 22 with the update date and time acquired from the bed 610 to determine whether the association information of the bed 610 is the latest or not. If the association information of the bed 610 is not the latest, the server system 20 transmits the latest association information to the bed 610 via the communication unit 10. The bed 610 executes a process of transferring the updated association information to the wheelchair 630.

[0190] Thereafter, in step S506, the wheelchair 630 is moved to the second position. For example, the caregiver moves the wheelchair 630 with the person being assisted in the wheelchair 630 to the second position (dining room).

[0191] In step S507, the wheelchair 630 searches for the communication unit 10 located at the second position. Here, the description will be given assuming that the second communication unit 10b, which is a smart plug, is connected to a commercial power socket SO provided on the wall of the dining room. That is, the second communication unit 10b is a device located at the second position and has a communication unit. For example, the wheelchair 630 searches for a device whose communication radio wave intensity is equal to or greater than a threshold and whose device type is a smart plug, and when a device that satisfies the conditions is found, it attempts to connect to the device. In step S508, the wheelchair 630 establishes a communication connection with the second communication unit 10b.

[0192] Instead of the process of step S507, the second communication unit 10b may search for the wheelchair 630. For example, the second communication unit 10b may periodically perform a process of searching for peripheral devices. The second communication unit 10b determines that a device whose communication radio wave intensity is equal to or greater than a threshold and that stores association information is the wheelchair 630. In step S508, the second communication unit 10b establishes a communication connection with the wheelchair 630.

[0193] <Example of information processing system 1> 17 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the information processing system 1 at the second location. The information processing system 1 includes a server system 20, a relay device 30, a second communication unit 10b, and a wheelchair 630. The information processing system 1 may also include a fifth device 500 used for assisting the person being assisted at the second location.

[0194] The server system 20 is the same as in the example described above with reference to FIG. 1. The relay device 30 is, for example, an L3 switch (router) as in the example described above with reference to FIG. 1. The relay device 30 at the first location and the relay device 30 at the second location may be the same device or different devices. For example, when one relay device 30 has radio wave strength sufficient to cover both a living room and a dining room, both the communication unit 10 in the living room and the second communication unit 10b in the dining room may be connected to the one relay device 30. Alternatively, different relay devices 30 may be provided in each of the living room and the dining room.

[0195] The wheelchair 630 may be connected to the second communication unit 10b, for example, as described above using step S508 in Fig. 16. In this case, the wheelchair 630 is connected to the server system 20 via the second communication unit 10b. Therefore, the wheelchair 630 has a function similar to that of the bed 610, not only in terms of holding the association information, but also in terms of being able to communicate with the server system 20. Note that the wheelchair 630 does not have to be connected to the second communication unit 10b, and an example of this case will be described later using Figs. 19 and 20.

[0196] 17, when the wheelchair 630 and the second communication unit 10b are connected, a fifth device 500 that is an apparatus used for assistance at the second position is connected to the wheelchair 630. For example, the fifth device 500 may be a smartphone CP on which a positioning application runs, or a choking detection device 460. When these devices transmit and receive data to and from the server system 20, the transmission and reception is performed via the wheelchair 630.

[0197] Furthermore, the information processing system 1 may include a sixth device that operates in cooperation with the fifth device 500 in providing assistance at the second position. Similar to the relationship between the second device 200 and the third device 300 described above, the smartphone CP and the choking detection device 460 may operate as the fifth device 500 or as the sixth device. Furthermore, an appliance operating as the second device 200 or the third device 300 is not prevented from operating as the fifth device 500 or the sixth device.

[0198] 18 is a sequence diagram illustrating a linking process executed with the wheelchair 630 (fourth device 400) as a hub. In the following, an example will be described in which a smartphone CP running a positioning application or the like and a linked device work in cooperation with each other in providing assistance around the wheelchair 630. The linked device may be the choking detection device 460 or another device.

[0199] When this process starts, first, in step S601, the smartphone CP, which is the fifth device 500, acquires trigger information for starting assistance. In step S602, the communication unit of the fifth device 500 determines whether there is a device whose communication radio wave intensity is equal to or greater than a threshold and which holds association information. Here, it is assumed that the wheelchair 630 that has inherited the association information is found as a device that satisfies the conditions. In this case, in step S603, a communication connection between the wheelchair 630 and the fifth device 500 is established.

[0200] In other words, the fifth device 500 obtains the type of each of one or more devices with which it can communicate, and establishes a connection with the wheelchair 630 if the one or more devices include the wheelchair 630. Whether or not the type of device corresponds to the wheelchair 630 may be determined based on whether or not the correspondence information is stored as described above. Alternatively, the fifth device 500 may obtain a device type name or type ID, and determine that a device with a type name or type ID corresponding to the wheelchair 630 is the wheelchair 630. In this way, assistance at the second position can also be processed using the wheelchair 630 that stores the correspondence information as a hub.

[0201] The fifth device 500 executes a process corresponding to the person being assisted based on the association information of the wheelchair 630. For example, the wheelchair 630, the fifth device 500, the sixth device, and the second communication unit 10b may execute the process shown in steps S604-S616 shown in FIG. 18. When compared with the process described above using FIG. 11, the process shown in steps S604-S616 is the same as the process in steps S204-S216, except that the communication unit 10 at the first position is changed to the second communication unit 10b at the second position, the bed 610 is changed to the wheelchair 630, the second device 200 is changed to the fifth device 500, and the third device 300 is changed to the sixth device. That is, by transferring the association information from the bed 610 to the wheelchair 630 in advance, it becomes possible to execute the same process as that at the first position at the second position.

[0202] 11. Moreover, the storage of log data shown in steps S617-S619 is similar to steps S217-S219 in FIG.

[0203] <Example of information processing system 2> In the above, an example in which the wheelchair 630 is connected to the server system 20 via the second communication unit 10b has been described, but the method of the present embodiment is not limited to this. For example, the bed 610, which is an example of the first device 100, is likely to communicate with the server system 20 relatively frequently, so that a process of transmitting monitoring results of a sleeping person being assisted to the server system 20 is conceivable. On the other hand, the wheelchair 630, which is an example of the fourth device 400, has many time periods when the person being assisted is not on the wheelchair, and therefore communicates with the server system 20 relatively infrequently. Therefore, the wheelchair 630 does not need to be connected to the second communication unit 10b.

[0204] Fig. 19 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the information processing system 1 in this case. The information processing system 1 includes a server system 20, a relay device 30, a second communication unit 10b, a wheelchair 630, and a fifth device 500 (smartphone CP or choking detection device 460) as in Fig. 17. Also, the smartphone CP or the choking detection device 460 may operate as a sixth device as in Fig. 17.

[0205] Compared with Fig. 17, in the example of Fig. 19, as described above, the second communication unit 10b and the wheelchair 630 are not always connected. For example, the wheelchair 630 transmits and receives data to and from the server system 20 by connecting to the second communication unit 10b during a time period when the communication load of the network is low, such as late at night. Therefore, during a time period such as daytime when assistance is performed at the second position, the second communication unit 10b and the wheelchair 630 do not need to be connected, as shown in Fig. 19.

[0206] Even in this case, as in the above-mentioned example, the fifth device 500 is connected to the wheelchair 630. In this way, it becomes possible for the wheelchair 630 to appropriately perform assistance for a specific person being assisted based on the association information inherited by the wheelchair 630.

[0207] On the other hand, if the fifth device 500 is connected only to the wheelchair 630, communication with the server system 20 cannot be performed. Therefore, there is a possibility that the tacit knowledge application cannot be updated. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 19, the fifth device 500 may also be connected to the second communication unit 10b. In this way, communication between the fifth device 500 and the server system 20 is also possible.

[0208] 20 is a sequence diagram illustrating the linking process executed with the wheelchair 630 as a hub. The process of acquiring trigger information in step S701 is similar to step S601 in FIG.

[0209] Next, the communication unit of the fifth device 500 determines whether there is a device whose communication radio wave intensity is equal to or greater than a threshold and which holds association information. In addition, the fifth device 500 may obtain information on whether each device is connected to the network (whether it is connected to the server system 20).

[0210] For example, when the Bluetooth communication radio wave strength is equal to or greater than the threshold, and the wheelchair 630 that stores the association information is present, and the wheelchair 630 is connected to the LAN, the fifth device 500 executes the process described above with reference to FIG. 18 to realize the configuration shown in FIG. 17. On the other hand, when the Bluetooth communication radio wave strength is equal to or greater than the threshold, and the wheelchair 630 that stores the association information is present but the wheelchair 630 is not connected to the LAN, the fifth device 500 executes the process to realize the configuration shown in FIG. 19. That is, when the wheelchair 630 is not connected to the server system 20, the fifth device 500 establishes a connection with the second communication unit 10b. In this way, the fifth device 500 can communicate with the server system 20 via the second communication unit 10b.

[0211] Specifically, the fifth device 500 performs a process of identifying a peripheral device whose Bluetooth communication radio wave strength is equal to or greater than a threshold and stores association information (step S702), and a process of identifying a peripheral device connected to the network (step S703). The fifth device 500 determines the device identified in step S702 as the wheelchair 630, and determines the device identified in step S703 as the second communication unit 10b. Alternatively, the fifth device 500 may perform a process of presenting to the user a first list, which is a list of peripheral devices whose Bluetooth communication radio wave strength is equal to or greater than a threshold and stores association information, and a second list, which is a list of peripheral devices connected to the network. The fifth device 500 accepts a user input to select one of the lists, and determines the device selected from the first list as the wheelchair 630 and the device selected from the second list as the second communication unit 10b.

[0212] In step S704, the fifth device 500 establishes a communication connection with the wheelchair 630. In addition, in step S705, the fifth device 500 establishes a communication connection with the second communication unit 10b. This enables the fifth device 500 to perform assistance processing using the association information of the wheelchair 630, and also to communicate with the server system 20 as necessary.

[0213] The processing in steps S706-S707 is similar to that in steps S604-S605 in FIG.

[0214] If the fifth device 500 does not have a necessary tacit knowledge application installed, the fifth device 500 performs a process to acquire the tacit knowledge application. At this time, in steps S606-S610 of FIG. 17, the process is performed via the wheelchair 630. However, in the example of FIG. 19, the fifth device 500 and the second communication unit 10b are directly connected. Therefore, in step S708, the fifth device 500 transmits an acquisition request for the tacit knowledge application to the second communication unit 10b. In step S709, the second communication unit 10b communicates with the server system 20 to acquire the tacit knowledge application required for the fifth device 500. In step S710, the second communication unit 10b transmits the acquired tacit knowledge application to the fifth device 500.

[0215] The processing in steps S711 to S716 is similar to that in steps S611 to S616 in FIG.

[0216] The fifth device 500 may also switch the transmission destination depending on the type of data acquired in the linking process. For example, when the fifth device 500 detects an abnormality with high urgency while performing a process related to caregiving, it may output alert information. By outputting the alert information from the fifth device 500, it becomes possible to prompt the caregiver performing caregiving at the second position to take necessary measures. In addition, when the urgency is particularly high, it is necessary to notify the administrator of the care facility and the caregiver at another position of the alert. In this case, as described above with reference to FIG. 1, the alert information may be transmitted to the terminal device 700 via the server system 20.

[0217] 19, even if alert information is sent to the wheelchair 630, the wheelchair 630 is not connected to the server system 20. Therefore, in step S717, the fifth device 500 sends alert information when an abnormality is detected in the processing to the second communication unit 10b. The second communication unit 10b sends the alert information to the server system 20. In this way, it becomes possible to appropriately send and share information of high importance.

[0218] On the other hand, log data when no abnormality has occurred is of low urgency, and there is little problem even if the log data is uploaded to the server system 20 in a lump, for example, late at night. Therefore, in step S719, the fifth device 500 transmits log data indicating the results of processing related to the person being assisted to the wheelchair 630. The same applies to the sixth device (step S718).

[0219] The wheelchair 630 accumulates log data in a storage unit, and when it is connected to the network during late night hours or the like, it transmits the log data to the server system 20 via the relay device 30. If the wheelchair 630 continues to be disconnected from the network, there is a possibility that the log data will not be uploaded to the server system 20. Therefore, the fifth device 500 or the sixth device may store the use history of the tacit knowledge application. For example, the fifth device 500 stores a timestamp when the tacit knowledge application is turned on / off. The fifth device 500 may inquire whether the log data has been uploaded by transmitting the use history to the server system 20. If the log data has not been uploaded even after a predetermined period has elapsed since the end of the use of the tacit knowledge application, the server system 20 or the fifth device 500 may output information prompting the wheelchair 630 to be connected to the network. For example, a process is performed in the smartphone CP, which is the fifth device 500, or the terminal device 700 used by the administrator, to display information identifying the wheelchair 630 (such as a device ID) and text prompting the wheelchair 630 to be connected to the network.

[0220] 4.3 Bathroom The second location is not limited to a dining room, and may be a bathroom. FIG. 21 is a diagram showing a configuration example of an information processing system 1 in a bathroom. The information processing system 1 includes a server system 20, a relay device 30, a third communication unit 10c, and a lift 650 used for bathing assistance. The server system 20 and the relay device 30 are the same as those in FIG. 1. The third communication unit 10c is a smart plug placed on the wall of the bathroom (which may be inside the bathroom or in a dressing room), and is connected to the server system 20 via the relay device 30. The lift 650 has, for example, a communication unit, and is connected to the third communication unit 10c.

[0221] The lift 650 is a device shared by multiple people who may use the bathroom, and it is not easy to store information about a specific person in the third communication unit 10c and associate the information about the specific person with the lift 650.

[0222] 15-16, the present embodiment considers a case in which the association information of the bed 610 is transferred to the wheelchair 630, and the person being assisted moves to the bathroom using the wheelchair 630. In this case, since the information of the person being assisted who has moved to the bathroom is associated with the wheelchair 630, the information can also be used for bathing assistance.

[0223] For example, the lift 650 judges whether the peripheral devices include the wheelchair 630. For example, the lift 650 judges a device whose communication radio wave intensity is equal to or greater than a threshold and which has correspondence information to be the wheelchair 630. When the wheelchair 630 is found, the lift 650 acquires the correspondence information from the wheelchair 630 and performs assistance suitable for the person being assisted using the correspondence information. In this case, since the lift 650 is connected to the network via the third communication unit 10c, it becomes possible to complete bathing assistance using the device in the bathroom without using other communication devices or the like.

[0224] In addition, in the case where the lift 650 does not have the function of connecting to the third communication unit 10c, as in the example described above using Figure 17, the wheelchair 630 may be connected to the third communication unit 10c, and processing may be performed with the wheelchair 630 as the hub.

[0225] Although the present embodiment has been described in detail as above, it will be easily understood by those skilled in the art that many modifications are possible that do not substantially deviate from the novel matters and effects of the present embodiment. Therefore, all such modifications are intended to be included in the scope of the present disclosure. For example, a term described at least once in the specification or drawings together with a different term having a broader meaning or synonymy can be replaced with that different term at any point in the specification or drawings. In addition, all combinations of the present embodiment and modifications are also included in the scope of the present disclosure. In addition, the configurations and operations of the information processing system, communication unit, first to sixth devices, etc. are not limited to those described in the present embodiment, and various modifications are possible. [Explanation of symbols]

[0226] 1...information processing system, 10...communication unit, 10b...second communication unit, 10c...third communication unit, 11...control unit, 12...storage unit, 13...communication unit, 14...first connection unit, 15...second connection unit, 20...server system, 21...control unit, 22...storage unit, 23...communication unit, 24...capability information acquisition unit, 25...scene information acquisition unit, 26...association information processing unit, 30...relay device, 100...first device, 110...control unit, 120...storage unit, 130...communication unit, 140...movable unit, 150...operation unit, 200...second device, 210...control unit, 220...storage unit, 230...communication unit, 240...display unit, 250...operation unit, 300...third device vice, 400...fourth device, 440...seat sensor, 441...cushion, 442...control box, 460...choking detection device, 461...throat microphone, 462...terminal device, 500...fifth device, 610...bed, 630...wheelchair, 640...smart speaker, 650...lift, 660...beverage server, 670...aroma diffuser, 680...lighting, 690...curtain, 700...terminal device, 800...medical device, 810...thermometer, 820...SpO2 sensor (pulse oximeter), 830...blood pressure monitor, 840...infusion sensor, CP...smartphone, Se1-Se4...pressure sensor, SO...socket

Claims

1. A communication unit is disposed at a first position in a living space of the person being assisted, the communication unit having a communication section; a first device disposed at the first location; A second device used to assist the person being assisted in the vicinity of the first device; Including, The first device is Based on communication with the communication unit, acquiring location information indicating a location where the first device is placed and correspondence information associating information on the person being assisted who uses the first device; The second device is An information processing system that, when connected to the first device, performs processing corresponding to the person being assisted identified by the assisted person information based on the correspondence information.

2. In claim 1, The association information includes device information representing a device used in the assistance, The second device is An information processing system that determines a third device to be used in the assistance of the assisted person in cooperation with the second device based on the correspondence information, and communicates with the third device via the first device when the third device is connected to the first device.

3. In claim 1, The association information includes information regarding tacit knowledge data obtained by digitalizing the tacit knowledge of the skilled caregiver, The second device is An information processing system that determines the tacit knowledge data to be used in the second device based on the association information, and acquires the tacit knowledge data via the first device if the tacit knowledge data has not been acquired.

4. In claim 1, The association information includes assistance type information that indicates a type of assistance to be performed for the person being assisted, The second device is An information processing system that executes processing to provide the type of assistance represented by the assistance type information to the person being assisted identified by the assisted person information based on the correspondence information.

5. In any one of claims 1 to 4, and a fourth device that moves to the second position along with the person being assisted when the person being assisted moves from the first position to the second position, The first device is An information processing system that transmits the association information to the fourth device when movement of the person being assisted is detected.

6. In claim 5, the first device is a bed that is positioned at the first position; The fourth device is an information processing system that is a wheelchair used to assist the person being assisted in moving.

7. In claim 5, and a fifth device used in the assistance of the person being assisted at the second position; The fifth device is Determining the type of each of the one or more devices with which communication can be performed; if the one or more devices include the fourth device, establishing a connection with the fourth device; An information processing system that executes processing corresponding to the person being assisted based on the correspondence information of the fourth device.

8. In claim 7, a second communication unit disposed at the second location and having a communication portion; The fifth device is If the fourth device is not connected to a server system, establishing a connection with the second communication unit; An information processing system that transmits log data representing the results of processing related to the person being assisted to the fourth device, and transmits alert information to the second communication unit when an abnormality is detected in the processing.

9. In any one of claims 1 to 4, The second device is An information processing system that, when processing related to the assistance to the assisted person is performed, transmits a care record indicating that the assistance to the assisted person was performed in the vicinity of the first device to a server system via the first device.

10. In any one of claims 1 to 4, the communication unit has a first connection portion, a second connection portion, and a communication portion, and supplies power supplied from a commercial power source via the first connection portion, via the second connection portion; The communication unit includes: An information processing system that, when another device is connected to the second connection unit, performs a process of searching for a device of a type corresponding to the first device from devices whose communication radio wave strength with the communication unit is above a predetermined threshold.

11. A control method for an information processing system including a communication unit arranged at a first position in a living space of a person being assisted and having a communication unit, a first device arranged at the first position, and a second device used for assisting the person being assisted, the second device being executed in the vicinity of the first device, storing, in the first device, location information representing a location where the first device is placed and correspondence information relating to the person being assisted who uses the first device, based on communication between the communication unit and the first device; When the first device and the second device are connected, the second device is caused to execute a process corresponding to the person being assisted identified by the assisted person information based on the association information. Control methods.

Images