Monitoring system, monitoring method, and program

Abstract

To provide a monitoring system, monitoring method, and program capable of determining a living sphere for a person to be watched, and notifying a watching person of a positional relationship between the person to be watched and living sphere.SOLUTION: A monitoring system (10) includes control means (34, 16) that implements control so that map information, in which positions associated with pieces of position information on a first terminal over a predetermined period of time are plotted, determined based on the pieces of position information on the first terminal carried by a person to be watched, is displayed on a second terminal as a moving history of the person to be watched, a determination unit (37) that determines a positional relationship between each position of the first terminal and an area on the basis of the area of any shape, which is designated by an operator of the second terminal, in relation to the map information displayed on the second terminal, and a notification unit (38) that notifies the second terminal of a result of the determination made by the determination unit.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a monitoring system, a monitoring method, and a program having a monitoring function suitable for, for example, watching over children and wandering elderly people.

Background Art

[0002] When a child becomes an elementary school student and often acts alone, the greatest concern of the guardian is to ensure the safety of the child. Also, for the family of an elderly person with a tendency to wander or a nursing facility, etc., the greatest concern is also to ensure the safety of the elderly person.

[0003] For this reason, a monitoring system for a guardian, family, or staff of a nursing facility, etc. to grasp the location of a person to be watched (hereinafter also referred to as "watched person") such as a child or a wandering elderly person in real time has been put into practical use (see, for example, https: / / dekiru.net / article / 15964 (October 24, 2017)).

Prior Art Documents

Non-Patent Documents

[0004]

Non-Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] By using this type of monitoring system, the watcher can not only grasp the location of the watched person in real time, but also grasp the movement history by tracking the location in chronological order.

[0006] As a result, for example, a caregiver can grasp whether a child is moving along the correct route to school or playing in the usual park, i.e., within the normal range of activities, that is, within the living area, or conversely, can also grasp that the child has exceeded the normal range of activities, that is, has deviated from the living area.

[0007] However, a caregiver does not always have the ability to constantly observe the location of the person being monitored. For this reason, even if the person being monitored has deviated from the living area, it is not always possible to immediately grasp this, and there is also a risk of noticing it after a considerable amount of time has passed. Alternatively, even when a caregiver is constantly observing the location of the person being monitored, if the caregiver does not grasp the living area of the person being monitored, there is also a risk of not noticing that the person being monitored has deviated from the living area.

[0008] The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a monitoring system, a monitoring method, and a program that can determine the living area for a person being monitored and notify a caregiver of the positional relationship between the person being monitored and the living area.

Means for Solving the Problem

[0009] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention takes the following means.

[0010] That is, the monitoring system according to the first aspect of the present invention plots map information corresponding to the position information of the first terminal within a predetermined period, which is determined based on the position information of the first terminal carried by the person being monitored, as the movement history of the person being monitored on a second terminal. The monitoring system includes control means for controlling to display the map information on the second terminal, a determination unit for determining the positional relationship between the position of the first terminal and the area based on an arbitrarily shaped area designated by the operator of the second terminal with respect to the map information displayed on the second terminal, and a notification unit for notifying the second terminal of the determination result by the determination unit.

[0011] Further, in the monitoring system according to the second aspect of the present invention, in the monitoring system according to the first aspect, a correction unit is further provided which changes the area so as to expand the outer periphery of the area outward or contract it inward in response to an operation by the operator of the second terminal.

[0012] Furthermore, the monitoring system according to the third aspect of the present invention includes an information storage unit that stores the position information of the first terminal determined based on the information uploaded from the first terminal carried by the person being monitored, and control means for controlling to display on the second terminal, as the movement history of the person being monitored, map information in which each position corresponding to the position information stored within a predetermined period among the stored position information is plotted, and based on a setting unit that sets interval information specifying an interval between timings at which the first terminal uploads information and a predetermined value which is the threshold acceleration of the first terminal, controls the first terminal to sleep when an acceleration equal to or higher than the predetermined value is not detected during the interval specified by the interval information, and to wake up when an acceleration equal to or higher than the predetermined value is detected during sleep.

[0013] Furthermore, the monitoring system according to the fourth aspect of the present invention includes an information storage unit that stores the position information of the first terminal determined based on the information uploaded from the first terminal carried by the person being monitored, control means for controlling to display on the second terminal, as the movement history of the person being monitored, map information in which each position corresponding to the position information stored within a predetermined period among the stored position information is plotted, a battery remaining amount grasping unit that determines whether the battery remaining amount information uploaded from the first terminal is below a predetermined amount, and a notification unit that notifies the second terminal that the battery remaining amount information is below the predetermined amount when it is determined that the battery remaining amount information is below the predetermined amount.

[0014] The monitoring system according to the fifth aspect of the present invention, in the monitoring system according to the fourth aspect, further includes a setting unit that sets whether or not to notify by the notification unit in response to an operation by the operator of the second terminal.

[0015] The monitoring system according to the sixth aspect of the present invention further includes a setting unit that changes an interval between timings at which information is uploaded from the first terminal in response to an operation by an operator of the second terminal in the monitoring system according to the fourth aspect.

[0016] The monitoring system according to the seventh aspect of the present invention includes an information storage unit that stores position information of the first terminal determined based on information uploaded from the first terminal carried by the person being monitored, and control means for controlling to display, on a second terminal, map information in which each position corresponding to the position information stored within a predetermined period among the stored position information is plotted, as a movement history of the person being monitored, a battery remaining amount determination unit that determines whether the battery remaining amount information uploaded from the first terminal is below a predetermined amount, and a setting unit that changes an interval between timings at which information is uploaded from the first terminal in response to an operation by an operator of the second terminal.

[0017] The monitoring system according to the eighth aspect of the present invention includes an information storage unit that stores position information of the first terminal determined based on information uploaded from the first terminal carried by the person being monitored, a map information creation unit that creates map information in which each position corresponding to the position information stored within a predetermined period among the stored position information is plotted, as a movement history of the person being monitored, a living area determination unit that determines a living area of the person being monitored by connecting each position plotted on the map information with a solid line or a dotted line, and a communication unit that transmits the map information in which the living area is specified to a second terminal designated in advance.

[0018] The monitoring system according to the ninth aspect of the present invention is a system that monitors a person under care based on the position of a terminal determined based on information uploaded from a terminal carried by the person under care. The position of the terminal is determined based on any one of: first position information determined from GPS information for the same or a deemed same timestamp; second position information determined by a positioning server based on the MAC address of a WiFi router and the radio wave intensity from the WiFi router; third position information determined by a positioning server based on the radio wave intensity from a base station; and fourth position information determined by weighting from a plurality of the first to third position information.

Advantages of the Invention

[0019] According to the monitoring system, monitoring method, and program of the present invention, by taking the above measures, it becomes possible to determine the living area for the person under care. Furthermore, when the person under care deviates from the living area, it is possible to detect this and notify the caregiver.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0020]

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Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0021] FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram for explaining the concept of a monitoring system to which a monitoring method according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

[0022] The monitoring system 10 grasps the position of the user terminal 100 based on information uploaded from the terminal 100 carried by the person under guardianship (for example, a person to be watched over such as a child or an elderly person, hereinafter referred to as the "user terminal 100"), determines the living area of the person under guardianship based on the position history of the user terminal 100, and determines the positional relationship between the current position of the user terminal 100 and the living area, and notifies the terminal 200 of the person watching over (for example, the guardian or supervisor of the person under guardianship. hereinafter also referred to as the "guardian") (hereinafter referred to as the "guardian terminal 200").

[0023] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the user terminal.

[0024] The user terminal 100 includes a SIM card 110, a transceiver function 120 capable of communicating with the monitoring system 10 via a base station 60 by a cellular method such as 3G, LTE (registered trademark), 4G, or 5G, a GPS function 130 for acquiring GPS information, a WiFi function 140 for acquiring the MAC address of a surrounding WiFi router together with information indicating the received signal strength (RSSI) of the radio wave received from the WiFi router, an acceleration sensor 150 for measuring the acceleration of the user terminal 100, and a rechargeable battery 160 such as a lithium-ion battery for supplying power to the user terminal 100. Since all of these apply well-known technologies, further detailed description is avoided here.

[0025] In addition, the user terminal 100 is not limited to directly communicating with the base station 60 by the transceiver function 120, and may indirectly communicate with the base station 60 by passing through the WiFi router 61 as shown by the dashed line in FIG. 1. In this case, the WiFi router 61 can be realized by, for example, a smartphone.

[0026] Furthermore, the user terminal 100 is a cellular method like LPWA (Low Power Wide Area). It may communicate with the monitoring system 10 using a communication method other than the formula. In this case, in the user terminal 100, the SIM card 110 becomes unnecessary. Also, the base station 60 is replaced by a gateway. Thus, depending on the communication method, 60 becomes either a base station or a gateway. Hereinafter, as an example, a form in which the user terminal 100 communicates with the monitoring system 10 by a cellular method, that is, via the base station 60, will be described.

[0027] The user terminal 100 is configured to be lightweight and small-sized so that it does not burden children or the elderly when carried. A unique identification number is set in advance for each user terminal 100.

[0028] To start using the monitoring system 10, first, it is necessary to register the user terminal 100 with the monitoring system 10 as a user. User registration is performed by transmitting the identification number a of the user terminal 100 to the monitoring system 10 via a communication network 70 such as the Internet from a guardian terminal 200, which is, for example, a smartphone or a PC.

[0029] In response to this, the monitoring system 10 recognizes the user terminal 100 having this identification number a as the user terminal 100 to be monitored (watched over), and also recognizes the email address used by the guardian terminal 200 to transmit the identification number a as the address b of the guardian terminal 200 (hereinafter, also referred to as the "guardian address b"). When the user terminal 100 and the guardian terminal 200 are recognized by the monitoring system 10 in this way, the user registration is completed.

[0030] After user registration, when the acceleration sensor 150 of the user terminal 100 detects an acceleration equal to or greater than a predetermined value, that is, when there is movement in the user terminal 100, it wakes up and acquires GPS information at intervals such as every 1.5 minutes set by default, for example, by the GPS function 130. Note that the GPS information includes not only the position information but also a time stamp indicating the time at the time of positioning. It also includes an imestamp.

[0031] The user terminal 100 further uploads the acquired GPS information to the monitoring system 10 using the transceiver function 120 together with the identification number a of the user terminal 100. At this time, the transceiver function 120 can also acquire the battery remaining amount information from the battery 160, and further add the battery remaining amount information and upload it to the monitoring system 10.

[0032] By the way, there may be a case where the user terminal 100 is located in a place where the GPS function 130 cannot acquire GPS information. In such a case, the user terminal 100 acquires the MAC addresses of a plurality of surrounding WiFi routers together with the received signal strength information of the radio waves from each WiFi router by the WiFi function 140. The received signal strength information also includes a time stamp indicating the time when the radio wave was transmitted from the WiFi router.

[0033] Then, instead of the GPS information, the user terminal 100 uploads the acquired MAC addresses of a plurality of WiFi routers and the received signal strength information of the radio waves from each WiFi router to the monitoring system 10 from the transceiver function 120 together with the identification number a of the user terminal 100. The MAC address of the WiFi router and the received signal strength information of the radio wave from the WiFi router are used for positioning by the positioning server 40 as will be described later.

[0034] Also, when the user terminal 100 is located in a place where the GPS function 130 cannot acquire GPS information, the user terminal 100 further receives the radio wave from the base station 60 by the transceiver function 120, and instead of the GPS information, the received signal strength information of the radio wave from the base station 60, together with the identification number a of the user terminal 100 and a time stamp indicating the time when the radio wave was received from the base station 60, can also be uploaded from the transceiver function 120 to the monitoring system 10 via the base station 60. The received signal strength information of the radio wave from the base station 60 is also used for positioning by the positioning server 40 as will be described later.

[0035] Note that instead of uploading only one of the MAC address of the WiFi router, the received signal strength information from the WiFi router, the received signal strength information and the time stamp from the base station 60 to the monitoring system 10 selectively, the user terminal 100 can upload both to the monitoring system 10.

[0036] Note that even when the user terminal 100 can acquire GPS information, in addition to the GPS information, the MAC address of the WiFi router, the received signal strength information from the WiFi router, the received signal strength information from the base station 60, and the time stamp may be uploaded to the monitoring system 10.

[0037] Thereby, the monitoring system 10 can use, for positioning the user terminal 100, either the position information determined from the GPS information, or the position information determined by the positioning server 40 based on the MAC address of the WiFi router and the received signal strength information from the WiFi router, or the position information determined by the positioning server 40 based on the radio wave intensity of the radio wave from the base station 60.

[0038] On the other hand, as long as the acceleration sensor 150 of the user terminal 100 does not detect an acceleration equal to or greater than a predetermined value, that is, as long as the user terminal 100 does not move, the user terminal 100 does not acquire GPS information, does not receive radio waves from the WiFi router, and does not receive radio waves from the base station 60, and does not upload information to the monitoring system 10. Thus, when the user terminal 100 does not move the user terminal 100 goes to sleep. Thereby, the power of the battery 160 can be saved.

[0039] Note that the user terminal 100 does not have an operation button. All setting operations for the user terminal 100 (for example, setting and changing the interval for uploading, etc.) are remotely performed via the monitoring system 10 according to instructions from the guardian terminal 200. Therefore, even if the person under guardianship does not operate the user terminal 100 at all, the user terminal 100 automatically wakes up / sleeps, and when waking up, it uploads information to the monitoring system 10 at the set interval.

[0040] FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a monitoring system to which the monitoring method according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

[0041] The monitoring system 10 includes a CPU 14, a communication unit 16, a storage device 20, and a memory 30 that are connected to each other by a bus 12.

[0042] The CPU 14 is a computer that controls the internal operations of the monitoring system 10 according to various programs 31 to 39 stored in the memory 30.

[0043] The communication unit 16 can receive information uploaded from the user terminal 100 via the base station 60. Also, it can communicate with the positioning server 40 and the guardian terminal 200 via a communication network 70 such as the Internet.

[0044] For the storage device 20, for example, an SSD (Solid State Drive) or an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) etc. is used, and it stores a user registration database 22 (hereinafter referred to as "user registration DB" 22) that manages user registration information (identification number a, guardian address b) transmitted from the guardian terminal 200, and an upload information database 24 (hereinafter referred to as "upload information DB" 24) that accumulates information uploaded from the user terminal 100 and position information determined by the positioning server 40.

[0045] The registration management program 31 performs the processing for the aforementioned user registration. The user registration is carried out by transmitting the identification number a of the user terminal 100 from, for example, the guardian terminal 200 which is a smartphone or a PC, to the monitoring system 10 via a communication network 70 such as the Internet. As a result, the transmitted identification number a is received by the communication unit 16, and the email address used by the guardian terminal 200 to transmit the identification number a is recognized by the communication unit 16.

[0046] Figure 4 is a data structure diagram showing an example of the user registration DB.

[0047] The user registration DB 22 includes, as data items, the identification number a, the guardian address b, and the living area location information h. The living area location information h is determined and written by the living area determination program 33 as will be described later. Although omitted in Figure 4, other information such as the guardian's address and the start date and time of use of the user terminal 100 can be appropriately added as data items.

[0048] The registration management program 31 writes the identification number a received by the communication unit 16 into the user registration DB 22. Also, the recognized email address of the guardian terminal 200 is written into the user registration DB 22 as the guardian address b. Thereby, the user registration process is completed.

[0049] When the user registration process is completed, the monitoring system 10 becomes capable of receiving the information uploaded from the user terminal 100 having this identification number a. The information that can be uploaded can include the identification number a, GPS information, the MAC address of the WiFi router, the received signal strength information of the radio wave received by the user terminal 100 from the WiFi router and the timestamp indicating the reception time, as well as the received signal strength information of the radio wave received by the user terminal 100 from the base station 60, battery remaining amount information, and so on.

[0050] Note that the user terminal 100 may not be able to receive any of GPS information, radio waves from a WiFi router, or radio waves from the base station 60. Therefore, for example, when the user terminal 100 cannot receive GPS information, the uploaded information does not include GPS information. On the other hand, when the user terminal 100 cannot receive radio waves from a WiFi router, the uploaded information does not include the MAC address of the WiFi router and the received signal strength information of the radio waves from the WiFi router. Also, when the user terminal 100 cannot receive radio waves from the base station 60, the uploaded information does not include the received signal strength information of the radio waves from the base station 60 and the timestamp indicating the reception time thereof.

[0051] The information uploaded from the user terminal 100 at the set interval is received by the communication unit 16. Note that the interval can be arbitrarily set and changed by the setting program 36 according to an instruction from the guardian terminal 200 as will be described later.

[0052] Based on the uploaded information, the information storage program 32 writes the corresponding information to each data item specified in the upload information DB 24.

[0053] FIG. 5 is a data structure diagram showing an example of the upload information DB.

[0054] The upload information DB 24 includes, as data items, a timestamp c, an identification number a, GPS location information d, WiFi location information e, base station location information f, battery remaining amount information g, etc. In addition, although omitted in FIG. 5, the MAC address of the WiFi router, the received signal strength of the radio waves from the WiFi router, the received signal strength of the radio waves from the base station 60, etc. may be appropriately added as data items.

[0055] When the uploaded information contains the identification information a and the GPS information, the information storage program 32 stores the identification number a and the GPS information as the identification number a and the GPS position information d in the upload information DB 24. Also, the time stamp included in the GPS information is stored as the time stamp c in the upload information DB 24.

[0056] On the other hand, when the uploaded information contains the MAC address of the WiFi router and the received signal strength information from the WiFi router, the information storage program 32 writes the time stamp included in the received signal strength information as the time stamp c in the upload information DB 24, and outputs the MAC address and the received signal strength information from the communication unit 16 to the positioning server 40 via the communication network 70.

[0057] Also, when the uploaded information contains the received signal strength information of the radio wave from the base station 60 and the time stamp, the information storage program 32 writes this time stamp as the time stamp c in the upload information DB 24, and outputs the received signal strength information of the radio wave from the base station 60 to the positioning server 40 via the communication network 70.

[0058] When the MAC address and the received signal strength information are transmitted from the communication unit 16, the positioning server 40 determines the position of the user terminal 100 based on these information, and the corresponding position information (for example, latitude and longitude information) is returned as the WiFi position information e to the communication unit 16 via the communication network 70.

[0059] Also, when the received signal strength information of the radio wave from the base station 60 is transmitted from the communication unit 16, the positioning server 40 determines the position of the user terminal 100 based on this information, and returns the corresponding position information (for example, latitude and longitude information) as the base station position information f to the communication unit 16 via the communication network 70.

[0060] By using such a positioning server 40, the monitoring system 10 can determine the position of the user terminal 100 even in a place where GPS signals cannot be obtained, such as a subway platform. Since such a positioning server 40 can be realized by using a known technology such as geoLocation provided by Google, further detailed description is avoided.

[0061] When the WiFi location information e and / or the base station location information f is returned from the positioning server 40 to the communication unit 16, the information storage program 32 stores the WiFi location information e and / or the base station location information f in the upload information DB 24 in association with the corresponding timestamp.

[0062] In this way, every time information is uploaded from the user terminal 100, at least any one of the location information d, e, f of the user terminal 100 is associated with the timestamp c and stored in the upload information DB 24.

[0063] In this way, since the monitoring system 10 collectively stores the location information of each user terminal 100 in the upload information DB 24, each user terminal 100 only needs to have the minimum necessary memory capacity, and the cost of the user terminal 100 can be suppressed.

[0064] Based on the timestamp c, the living area determination program 33 determines the living area, which is the normal activity range of the person being monitored, for the location information d, e, f stored in the upload information DB 24 and accumulated within a predetermined period. The predetermined period is set to a default value such as the past 30 days, for example, but as will be described later, it can be set and changed to any period by making the necessary input from the protector terminal 200 using the setting program 36.

[0065] The living area determination program 33 can further determine the living area in more detail by using the location information d, e, f accumulated under predetermined conditions among the location information d, e, f accumulated within a predetermined period.

[0066] For example, by setting the predetermined condition as weekdays, based on the time stamp c, it is possible to determine the living area for weekdays only targeting the location information d, e, f accumulated on weekdays. Also, by setting the predetermined condition as weekends and holidays, based on the time stamp c, it is possible to determine the living area for weekends and holidays only targeting the location information d, e, f accumulated on weekends and holidays. Furthermore, by setting the predetermined condition as a specific day of the week (for example, Friday), based on the time stamp c, it is possible to determine the living area for the specific day of the week only targeting the location information d, e, f accumulated on the specific day of the week.

[0067] Furthermore, as a predetermined condition, it is also possible to set an even more specific time zone. As a result, based on the time stamp c, in addition to the day-of-the-week settings as described above, it is also possible to more finely determine the living area, for example, the living area in the morning on weekdays (for example, from 6:00 am to 10:00 am), the living area during the day on weekdays (for example, from 1 0:00 to 5:00 pm), the living area at night on weekdays (for example, from 5:00 pm to 11:00 pm). Note that as a predetermined condition, it is also possible to set only the time zone without setting the day of the week.

[0068] Since the usual range of activities generally varies greatly depending on weekdays, weekends and holidays, and also in the morning, afternoon, and evening, the living area determination program 33 is designed to be able to determine various living areas according to a predetermined period, predetermined conditions, and predetermined criteria described later.

[0069] The predetermined period, predetermined conditions, and predetermined criteria may also be set and changed by performing necessary input from the guardian terminal 200 using the setting program 36 as described later.

[0070] A specific example of the process for determining the living area by the living area determination program 33 will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following example, the case of determining the living area based on the position information d, e, and f accumulated in the past 30 days as the predetermined period will be described. However, as described above, even when further predetermined conditions are set, such as the day of the week or the time zone, only the position information to be considered is different, and the process for determining the living area is the same.

[0071] The living area determination program 33 targets only the position information d, e, and f accumulated within the set predetermined period (for example, the past 30 days) among the position information d, e, and f of the specific user terminal 100 accumulated in the upload information DB 24.

[0072] Using any of the position information d, e, and f accumulated within the predetermined period, the living area determination program 33 can determine the living area by various methods as shown below.

[0073] When two or more of the GPS position information d, the WiFi position information e, and the base station position information f are accumulated for the same or a type stamp c that can be regarded as the same, the living area determination program 33 uses any one of the position information or one position information determined by appropriate weighting from the plurality of position information.

[0074] FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining an example of the first determination method of the living area.

[0075] In the first determination method, the living area is determined using a map previously divided into a plurality of sections.

[0076] The map illustrated in FIG. 6 is a well-known UTM grid map and is divided by a plurality of square sections having a size corresponding to, for example, 100 meters in length and width.

[0077] The living area determination program 33 determines, as the living area, a section in such a map where the position information accumulated within a predetermined period belongs to the section a predetermined number of times (for example, two or more times).

[0078] For example, in the map illustrated in FIG. 6, the plots P21 to P30 respectively correspond to the position information accumulated within a predetermined period. The section L3T3 includes the plots P21, P22, and P24. The section L3T2 includes the plots P28, P29, and P30. The section L4T2 includes the plots P25, P26, and P27.

[0079] That is, since the position information accumulated within a predetermined period belongs to the sections L3T3, L3T2, and L4T2 two or more times, the living area determination program 33 determines, as the living area K, an area combining the sections L3T

[0080] On the other hand, the section L3T4 includes only the plot P23 and the position information accumulated within a predetermined period belongs to it only once, for example, so it is not regarded as the living area K.

[0081] Note that when the living area determination program 33 determines the living area by the first determination method, the map to be used is not necessarily limited to a map divided into square sections like the UTM grid map, and a map divided into arbitrary shapes can also be used. For example, a map divided by address, like an address division map, can be used to determine the living area. This will be described with reference to FIG. 7.

[0082] FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining another example of the first determination method of the living area.

[0083] It should be understood that in the address division map shown in FIG. 7, for the sake of explanation, only the first to fifth cho-me are simply shown divided.

[0084] In the map illustrated in FIG. 7 as well, the plots P21 to P30 respectively correspond to the position information accumulated within a predetermined period, and the plots P21 to P24 are included in the 3-chome shown in FIG. 7, and the plots P25 to P30 are included in the 5-chome.

[0085] That is, in the 3-chome and the 5-chome, since the position information belongs, for example, to two or more times, the living area determination program 33 determines the area combining the 3-chome and the 5-chome as the living area K.

[0086] Also, the living area determination program 33 can determine the living area K by a second determination method as shown below.

[0087] FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining an example of a second determination method of the living area.

[0088] In the second determination method, as in FIGS. 6 and 7, the living area K can be determined using a map divided into sections, but as in FIG. 8, the living area K can also be determined using a map not divided into sections.

[0089] For example, in the map illustrated in FIG. 8, the plots P21 to P30 respectively correspond to the position information accumulated within a predetermined period.

[0090] In the second determination method, as illustrated in FIG. 8, the living area determination program 33 can determine the smallest convex-shaped area including all the plots P21 to P30 displayed on the map as the living area K.

[0091] Furthermore, the living area determination program 33 can determine the living area K by a third determination method as shown below.

[0092] FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining an example of a third determination method of the living area.

[0093] Even with the third determination method, the living area K can be determined using a map divided into sections as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, but as shown in FIG. 9, the living area K can also be determined using a map that is not divided into sections.

[0094] For example, in the map illustrated in FIG. 9, plots P21 to P30 respectively correspond to the position information accumulated within a predetermined period. correspond to the position information accumulated within a predetermined period.

[0095] In the third determination method, as illustrated in FIG. 9, the living area determination program 33 can also determine, as the living area K, the smallest circular area that includes all the plots P21 to P30 displayed on the map.

[0096] Furthermore, the living area determination program 33 can also determine the living area K by a fourth determination method as described below.

[0097] FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining an example of a fourth determination method for the living area.

[0098] Even with the fourth determination method, the living area K can be determined using a map divided into sections as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, but as shown in FIG. 10, the living area K can also be determined using a map that is not divided into sections.

[0099] For example, in the map illustrated in FIG. 10, plots P21 to P30 respectively correspond to the position information accumulated within a predetermined period.

[0100] In the fourth determination method, as illustrated in FIG. 10, the living area determination program 33 can determine, as the living area K, the area shown in the smallest rectangular shape that includes all the plots P21 to P30 displayed on the map.

[0101] Also, the living area determination program 33 can also determine the living area K by a fifth determination method as described below.

[0102] FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining an example of a fifth method for determining a living area.

[0103] Even with the fifth method, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the living area K can be determined using a map divided into sections, but as shown in FIG. 11, the living area K can also be determined using a map that is not divided into sections.

[0104] For example, in the map illustrated in FIG. 11, the plots indicated by water drop marks each correspond to the position information accumulated within a predetermined period.

[0105] In the fifth method, as illustrated in FIG. 11, the living area determination program 33 determines the smallest area that includes all the plots displayed on the map as the living area K. For this purpose, some plots P11 to P15 that are located at the outermost part of the living area K are selected from the displayed plots, and the area formed by connecting the adjacent plots with a straight line L is determined as the living area K only for the selected plots.

[0106] Furthermore, the living area determination program 33 can also determine the living area K by a sixth method as described below.

[0107] FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining an example of a sixth method for determining a living area.

[0108] In the sixth method, the living area determination program 33 determines the living area K using the routes of roads and railways. Therefore, it is necessary to use a map that includes information on the routes of roads and railways. If the information on the routes of roads and railways is included, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the living area K can be determined using a map divided into sections or a map that is not divided into sections. The living area K can be determined.

[0109] In the map illustrated in FIG. 12, the plots indicated by water droplet marks respectively correspond to the position information accumulated within a predetermined period.

[0110] In the sixth determination method, the living area determination program 33 determines, as the living area K, an area formed by connecting between adjacent plots along the routes of roads and railways for all the plots displayed on the map. Therefore, the line α connecting between adjacent plots does not necessarily become the straight line L as shown in FIG. 11, and for example, as illustrated in FIG. 12, it may be a straight line or a curve along the routes of roads and railways.

[0111] The method for determining the living area K as described above is merely an example, and the living area K may be determined by modifying a part of any of the determination methods, or by combining a plurality of determination methods, or even by adopting another determination method.

[0112] For example, a circle with a certain radius centered on each plot is drawn, and if there are other plots within a certain sectional circle, it means that the distance between the plots is less than or equal to the radius, so that sectional circle can be determined as the living area.

[0113] The living area determination program 33 writes the position information defining the living area K determined in this way as the living area position information h of the corresponding identification number a in the user registration DB22.

[0114] The map information creation program 34 creates map information in which the living area K is specified on the map based on the living area position information h written in the user registration DB22. And when a request is received from the guardian terminal 200, this map information is transmitted from the communication unit 16 to the guardian terminal 200 via the communication network 70.

[0115] The protector can display the map information sent to the protector terminal 200 on the display screen of the protector terminal 200. Thereby, the protector can visually grasp the living area K of the person under guardianship.

[0116] If the protector deems the living area K determined in this way to be inappropriate and wishes to modify it, the protector can use the setting program 36 to modify the living area K.

[0117] When the setting program 36 is launched, it causes the setting screen M as shown in FIG. 13 to be displayed on the display screen of the requesting protector terminal 200.

[0118] FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the setting screen.

[0119] On the setting screen M shown in FIG. 13, as an example, there are shown items for inputting an interval i, a predetermined period t, a predetermined condition u (weekday u1, weekend / holiday u2, day of the week u3, time zone u4), a predetermined standard v (radius v1, length v2, radius v3), a battery level option x, and a forced sleep option y.

[0120] The protector can use the input function of the protector terminal 200 to input numerical values from the setting screen M or select desired contents from the previously prepared options, thereby setting the interval i, the predetermined period t, the predetermined condition u (weekday u1, weekend / holiday u2, day of the week u3, time zone u4), the predetermined standard v (radius v1, length v2, radius r3), the battery level option x, the forced sleep option y, etc. in the monitoring system 10.

[0121] Furthermore, the setting contents of the interval i, the battery level option x, and the forced sleep option y are transmitted from the monitoring system 10 to the user terminal 100 via the communication unit 16, received by the transceiver function 120 of the user terminal 100, and set in the user terminal 100.

[0122] In addition to the items illustrated in FIG. 13, necessary items may be appropriately added to the setting screen M so that various additional settings can be made for the monitoring system 10.

[0123] Through the settings on such a setting screen M, the monitoring system 10 can also determine a plurality of living areas K as described below.

[0124] Generally, the living patterns are different between weekdays and weekends and holidays. Therefore, the monitoring system 10 is configured to be able to determine the living area for each predetermined condition u, such as the living area for weekdays, the living area for weekends and holidays, the living area for a specific day of the week, and the living area during a specific time period.

[0125] For example, if the button for weekdays u1 is set to on, the living area determination program 33 can determine the living area K for weekdays only targeting the position information uploaded to the upload information DB 24 on weekdays within a predetermined period t. Similarly, if the button for weekends and holidays u2 is set to on, the living area determination program 33 can determine the living area K for weekdays only targeting the position information uploaded to the upload information DB 24 on weekends and holidays within a predetermined period t. Furthermore, by setting the button u31 for a specific day of the week u3 to on and further selecting or specifying the desired day of the week (e.g., "Tuesday") in the input field u32, the living area K for Tuesday can be determined only targeting the position information uploaded to the upload information DB 24 on Tuesday within a predetermined period t. Note that the button for weekdays u1, the button for weekends and holidays u2, and the specification of a specific day of the week u3 cannot be set to on simultaneously.

[0126] Furthermore, the time period u4 can be set alone or in combination with weekdays u1, Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays u2, or a specific day of the week u3. For example, if "Tuesday" is specified in the input field u32 and "10:00" to "17:00" is further specified by selection or input as the time period u4, the living area determination program 33 can determine the living area K based only on the location information uploaded to the upload information DB 24 between 10:00 and 17:00 on Tuesdays within the predetermined period t.

[0127] In this way, if the guardian specifies the desired conditions in the specified conditions u on the setting screen M, the setting program 36 narrows down the location information to be used to determine the living area K, and the living area determination program 33 determines the living area K based on the narrowed down location information, making it possible to set the living area K in detail based on time conditions.

[0128] The monitoring system 10 can also expand or reduce the determined living area K. This function will be described below.

[0129] In general, a child's range of movement becomes wider as he or she grows. Conversely, an elderly person's range of movement becomes narrower as he or she gets older. Therefore, if the person being watched over is a child, the guardian may wish to expand the living area K determined by the living area determination program 33 in line with the child's growth. On the other hand, if the person being watched over is an elderly person, the guardian may wish to reduce the living area K determined by the living area determination program 33.

[0130] In order to deal with such a situation, the monitoring system 10 has a life zone determination program. The living area K, once determined by the RAM 33, can be expanded or reduced in response to a request from the parent terminal 200. This is made possible by setting values ​​in the predetermined criteria v field (radius v1, length v2, radius v3) on the setting screen M displayed by the setting program 36. Specific examples will be described with reference to the above-mentioned Figs. 9, 10, and 11.

[0131] Figure 9 shows a living area K defined by the smallest circular shape.

[0132] When enlarging or reducing the circular living area K as illustrated in Figure 9, in the radius v1 column of the predetermined standard v on the setting screen M, when increasing the radius of the current living area K, enter " +□□" (for example, when increasing the radius by 100m, enter " +100"), and when decreasing it, enter " -□□" (for example, when decreasing the radius by 100m, enter " -100") for the specified input. When the specified input is made, the setting program 36 changes the size of the circular living area K concentrically according to the specified input for the living area determination program 33. As a result, the living area determination program 33 can re - determine the living area K by enlarging or reducing the circular living area K. Figure 9 illustrates the re - determined living area Kmax obtained by enlarging the living area K together with the living area K before re - determination.

[0133] Figure 10 shows a living area K defined by the smallest rectangular shape.

[0134] When enlarging or reducing the rectangular living area K as illustrated in Figure 10, in the length v2 column of the predetermined standard v on the setting screen M, when expanding the current living area K to the outside, enter " +□□" (for example, when expanding 100m to the outside, enter " +100"), and when reducing it to the inside, enter " -□□" (for example, when reducing 100m to the inside, enter " -100") for the specified input. When the specified input is made, the setting program 36 changes the size of the rectangular living area K according to the specified input for the living area determination program 33. As a result, the living area determination program 33 can re - determine the living area K by enlarging or reducing the rectangular living area K. Figure 10 illustrates the re - determined living area Kmax obtained by enlarging the living area K together with the living area K before re - determination.

[0135] FIG. 11 shows a living area K of an arbitrary shape defined as the smallest area that includes all position information.

[0136] When expanding or shrinking the living area K of an arbitrary shape, in the radius v3 column of the predetermined standard v on the setting screen M, when expanding the current living area K to the outside, enter "+□□" (for example, when expanding 100 m to the outside, enter "+100"), and when shrinking to the inside, enter "-□□" (for example, when shrinking 100 m to the inside, enter "-100") for the specified input. When the specified input is made, the setting program 36 causes the living area determination program 33 to execute the following processing, thereby changing the size of the living area K of an arbitrary shape according to the specified input.

[0137] Specifically, by moving the circle R along the straight line L that defines the outer periphery of the living area K, the expanded living area Kmax and the shrunk living area Kmin are determined. This will be generally described with reference to FIG. 14.

[0138] FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram illustrating a part of the straight line that defines the outer periphery of the living area.

[0139] In FIG. 14, the straight line L1 connecting the plot P1 and the plot P2, and the straight line L2 connecting the plot P2 and the plot P3 are parts of the straight line L that defines the outer periphery of the living area K.

[0140] Here, draw a circle R1 with a radius v3 centered on the plot P1, and move the center of the circle R1 along the straight line L1 to the adjacent plot P2 as shown by the arrow Q1. Then, the outer periphery of the circle R1 moves from the plot P1 to the plot P2 while drawing a locus as shown by the straight lines Lmax and Lmin. Similarly, draw a circle R2 with a radius v3 centered on the plot P2, and move the center of the circle R2 along the straight line L2 to the adjacent plot P3 as shown by the arrow Q2. Then, the outer periphery of the circle R2 moves from the plot P2 to the plot P3 while drawing a locus as shown by the straight lines Lmax and Lmin.

[0141] ​ By defining the outer periphery of the living area Kmax with the straight line Lmax thus obtained, it is possible to determine the enlarged living area Kmax for any-shaped living area K. Also, by defining the outer periphery of the living area Kmin with the straight line Lmin, it is possible to determine the reduced living area Kmin for any-shaped living area K.

[0142] In this way, the living area determination program 33 can redetermine the living area K by enlarging or reducing the size even for a living area K with an arbitrary shape. FIG. 11 illustrates the enlarged living area Kmax and the reduced living area Kmin resulting from such redetermination, together with the living area K before redetermination.

[0143] In the above, an example was described in which values were input into the columns of the radius v1, length v2, and radius v3 of the predetermined standard v on the setting screen M to specify the amount of enlargement or reduction. However, instead of numerical input, it is also possible to specify the values of the radius v1, length v2, and radius v3 of the predetermined standard v by other methods. This will be described with reference to FIG. 15.

[0144] FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a display on the display screen of the guardian terminal for setting a predetermined standard.

[0145] FIG. 15 shows an example of a state in which, when the setting program 36 is activated, a setting screen used as an alternative to the setting screen M is displayed from the display screen of the guardian terminal 200. This display screen shows a map display section M1, a slider display section M2, and a setting determination section M3.

[0146] The map display section M1 shows a circular living area K as exemplified in FIG. 9.

[0147] The slider display section M2 shows a slider N for setting the value of the radius v1 of the predetermined standard v.

[0148] The protector can specify the value of the radius v1 by moving the slider N using the input function (e.g., touch panel function) of the protector terminal 200, and can transmit the value of the radius v1 to the monitoring system 10 by pressing the setting button of the setting determination unit M3.

[0149] According to the transmitted value of the radius v1, the living area K is re-determined by the living area determination program 33, and an enlarged living area Kmax or a reduced living area Kmin is displayed from the map display unit M1.

[0150] In FIG. 15, an example of inputting the value of the radius v1 by the slider N has been described. Similarly, the values of the length v2 and the radius v3 can also be input by the slider N.

[0151] In this way, the protector can input the conditions for determining the living area K.

[0152] In addition to this, the monitoring system 10 also provides a living area correction program 35 to enable the protector to arbitrarily set the living area K.

[0153] FIG. 16 is map information for explaining a method of setting the living area by the living area correction program.

[0154] When the protector operates the protector terminal 200 to activate the living area correction program 35, map information S showing plots corresponding to the position information targeted for the determination of the living area K is displayed from the protector terminal 200 as illustrated in FIG. 16.

[0155] For this map information S, the protector can specify the ranges B1 to B8 of the living area K by tracing the display screen with a finger. In this case, the protector can specify the ranges B1 to B8 of the living area K with reference to the displayed plots, or can arbitrarily specify the ranges B1 to B8 of the living area K regardless of the displayed plots.

[0156] After that, the guardian transmits the map information S in which the ranges B1 to B8 of the living area K are specified from the guardian terminal 200 to the monitoring system 10.

[0157] The map information S in which the ranges B1 to B8 are specified is received by the communication unit 16. Also, the communication unit 16 recognizes the guardian address b of the source guardian terminal 200.

[0158] When the map information S in which the ranges B1 to B8 are specified is received by the communication unit 16, the living area correction program 35 refers to the user registration DB22 and updates the user registration DB22 by updating the living area position information h of the recognized guardian address b to the living area position information determined by the specified ranges B1 to B8.

[0159] In this way, the guardian can arbitrarily determine the living area K by the living area correction program 35.

[0160] After the living area K (including the expanded living area Kmax and the reduced living area Kmin) is determined as described above, the determination program 37 determines, based on the position information d, e, f of the user terminal 100 determined based on the information uploaded from the user terminal 100, the positional relationship between the position of the user terminal 100 and the living area K, for example, whether the position of the user terminal 100 is inside the living area K or outside the living area K.

[0161] Therefore, every time new information is uploaded from the user terminal 100 and new information (timestamp c, identification information a, GPS location information d, WiFi location information e, base station location information f, battery remaining information g, etc.) is written into the upload information DB 24, the determination program 37 refers to the user registration DB 22 and obtains the living area location information h of the user terminal 100 with the corresponding identification number a from the upload information DB 24. Then, by comparing at least any one of the GPS location information d, WiFi location information e, and base station location information f written into the upload information DB 24 with the living area location information h, it is determined whether the position of the user terminal 100 is inside or outside the living area K.

[0162] In addition, when two or more of the GPS location information d, WiFi location information e, and base station location information f are accumulated for the same or regarded as the same type stamp c, the determination program 37 compares any one of the location information or one location information determined by appropriate weighting from the plurality of location information with the living area location information h to determine whether the position of the user terminal 100 is inside or outside the living area K.

[0163] When the determination program 37 determines that the position of the user terminal 100 is outside the living area K, the alarm notification program 38 notifies the guardian terminal 200 of an alarm by sound or display. As a result, the guardian can quickly and surely grasp that the person under guardianship has deviated from the living area K.

[0164] Also, in response to this, when a display request for the current position of the user terminal 100 is received from the guardian terminal 200, the map information creation program 34 creates map information S that displays the living area K and the current position H of the user terminal 100 as illustrated in FIG. 17, and transmits it to the guardian terminal 200 via the communication unit 16.

[0165] FIG. 17 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of map information displaying the positional relationship between the living area and the current position of the user terminal.

[0166] Note that regardless of the determination result by the determination program 37, the map information creation program 34 can create map information S showing the position H of the user terminal 100 at any current and past times and time zones in response to a request from the guardian terminal 200, and transmit it to the guardian terminal 200 via the communication unit 16. As a result, the guardian terminal 200 can confirm not only the current position of the user terminal 100 but also the movement history (plots P21 → P22 → ··· → P30) of the user terminal 100 over a certain period (for example, one day) on the map. This example is shown in FIG. 18.

[0167] FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram showing an example of map information in which the movement history of the user terminal is displayed.

[0168] The guardian can confirm the movement history (plots P21 → P22 → ··· → P30) of the user terminal 100 over a certain period (for example, one day) by displaying the map information S as illustrated in FIG. 18 on the display screen of the guardian terminal 200.

[0169] In this way, the monitoring system 10 has a function of setting the living area K of the person under guardianship and notifying the guardian that the position of the user terminal 100 is outside the living area K.

[0170] The monitoring system 10 further has, as an optional function, a battery remaining amount option x and a forced sleep option y.

[0171] The battery remaining amount option x is provided by the battery remaining amount grasping program 39.

[0172] The battery remaining amount grasping program 39 refers to the upload information DB 24 to obtain the battery remaining amount information g. Then, based on the battery remaining amount information g, it determines whether the battery remaining amount of the user terminal 100 is below a preset predetermined amount (for example, 20% remaining).

[0173] In the battery remaining amount option x column of the setting screen M shown in FIG. 13, if it is set to notify x1 when the battery remaining amount decreases, when the battery remaining amount grasping program 39 determines that the battery remaining amount is below the predetermined amount, the alarm notification program 38 refers to the user registration DB 22 to recognize the guardian address b of the corresponding identification number a, and notifies the guardian terminal 200 with a message such as "The battery remaining amount has decreased" or "Please charge".

[0174] The guardian can grasp that the battery remaining amount of the user terminal 100 is low based on this message sent to the guardian terminal 200. Accordingly, if the guardian can charge the battery 160 of the user terminal 100 on the spot, the guardian can charge the battery 160 of the user terminal 100. Also, if it cannot be charged immediately on the spot, from the guardian terminal 200, the setting program 36 can be started, and in order to suppress the consumption amount of the battery 160 and extend the operation time of the user terminal 100, it can also be instructed to increase the interval i (for example, from 1.5 minutes to 3 minutes) from the setting screen M. Alternatively, the time zone y2 for forcibly putting the user terminal 100 to sleep can be set from the forced sleep option y column. Thereby, in order to suppress the consumption amount of the battery 160 of the user terminal 100, for example, it is also possible to set the time when the person under guardianship is at school as the time zone y2 for forcibly putting the user terminal 100 to sleep.

[0175] On the other hand, when the battery 160 is fully charged, when uploading information from the user terminal 100, the remaining battery level information of the battery 160 is reflected in the remaining battery level information g of the upload information DB24. Therefore, the battery remaining amount grasping program 39 recognizes that the remaining battery level has become sufficient. In addition, when it is specified in the remaining battery level option x column on the setting screen M to notify x2 to that effect when the charging of the battery 160 is completed, the alarm notification program 38 notifies the user terminal 100 with a message "The charging of the battery has been completed" to the guardian terminal 200.

[0176] Next, an operation example of a monitoring system to which the monitoring method according to the embodiment of the present invention configured as described above is applied will be described.

[0177] In order to start using the user terminal 100, first, it is necessary to register the user by transmitting the identification number a of the user terminal 100 to the monitoring system 10. The user registration is performed, for example, by transmitting the identification number a of the user terminal 100 from the guardian terminal 200 which is a smartphone or a PC to the monitoring system 10 via a communication network 70 such as the Internet.

[0178] The transmitted identification number a is received by the communication unit 16, and the email address of the guardian terminal 200 is recognized as the guardian address b by the communication unit 16. The identification number a received by the communication unit 16 and the recognized guardian address b are written into the user registration DB22 by the registration management program 31. Thereby, the user registration process is completed.

[0179] When the user registration process is completed, information such as the identification number, GPS information, MAC address of the WiFi router, received signal strength information of the radio wave from the WiFi router, received signal strength information of the radio wave from the base station 60, battery remaining amount information, etc. can be uploaded from the user terminal 100 to the monitoring system 10 at a set interval i, for example, every 1.5 minutes. Note that the interval i can be set by inputting a desired value from the guardian terminal 200 to the setting screen M displayed by the setting program 36.

[0180] The information uploaded from the user terminal 100 is received in the communication unit 16, and the corresponding information is written to each data item in the upload information DB 24 by the information storage program 32.

[0181] Note that when the uploaded information includes the MAC address of the WiFi router, the received signal strength information of the radio wave from the WiFi router, and the received signal strength information of the radio wave from the base station 60, these information are output from the communication unit 16 to the positioning server 40 via the communication network 70 by the information storage program 32.

[0182] In the positioning server 40, when the MAC address of the WiFi router and the received signal strength information of the radio wave from the WiFi router are transmitted from the communication unit 16, the position of the user terminal 100 is determined based on these information, and the corresponding position information (for example, latitude and longitude information) is returned as the WiFi position information e to the communication unit 16 via the communication network 70.

[0183] Also, in the positioning server 40, when the received signal strength information of the radio wave from the base station 60 is transmitted from the communication unit 16, the position of the user terminal 100 is determined based on this information, and the corresponding position information (for example, latitude and longitude information) is returned as the base station position information f to the communication unit 16 via the communication network 70.

[0184] The WiFi location information e and / or the base station location information f returned from the positioning server 40 is associated with the corresponding time stamp c by the information storage program 32 and stored in the upload information DB 24.

[0185] In this way, every time information is uploaded from the user terminal 100, at least one of the location information d, e, f of the user terminal 100 is associated with the time stamp c and stored in the upload information DB 24.

[0186] Based on the location information stored in the upload information DB 24 in this way, the living area determination program 33 determines the living area K, and based on the determined living area K, the determination program 37 determines the positional relationship between the user terminal 100 and the living area K.

[0187] FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing related to the determination of the living area and the determination of the positional relationship between the user terminal and the living area.

[0188] First, among the location information d, e, f stored in association with the identification number a of this user terminal 100 from the upload information DB 24, next, based on the time stamp c, the location information d, e, f accumulated within a set predetermined period t such as the past 30 days is extracted (S1).

[0189] Then, the living area is determined for the location information extracted in step S1 (S2). At this time, when a plurality of types of location information (for example, at least two of the location information d, the location information e, and the location information f) are associated with the same or regarded as the same time stamp c, any one of the location information or one location information determined by appropriate weighting from the plurality of location information is targeted.

[0190] The specific method for determining the living area is not limited. For example, as described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7, among a plurality of sections on a map, the living area K is determined by combining the sections to which the position information accumulated within a predetermined period belongs a predetermined number of times (for example, 2 times) or more.

[0191] Alternatively, as described with reference to FIG. 8, the smallest convex-shaped area including all the plots P21 to P30 displayed on the map is determined as the living area K.

[0192] Alternatively, as described with reference to FIG. 9, the area indicated by the smallest circle including all the plots P21 to P30 displayed on the map is determined as the living area K.

[0193] Alternatively, as described with reference to FIG. 10, the area indicated by the smallest rectangular shape including all the plots P21 to P30 displayed on the map is determined as the living area K. is determined.

[0194] Alternatively, as described with reference to FIG. 11, representative plots P11 to P15 located at the outermost part of the living area K are selected, and only the selected plots P11 to P15 are targeted. By connecting adjacent plots with a straight line or along a road or railway route, the area including all the plots inside is determined as the living area K.

[0195] These methods for determining the living area K are merely examples, and it is also possible to modify a part of the above-described methods, appropriately combine them, or follow another algorithm.

[0196] In addition, the monitoring system 10 can also determine a plurality of living areas for each predetermined condition, such as the living area for weekdays u1, the living area for Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays u2, the living area for a specific day of the week u3, and the living area at a specific time zone u4.

[0197] In this way, when the living area K is determined, the location information defining the living area K is written as the living area location information h of the corresponding identification number a in the user registration DB22.

[0198] After that, according to the corresponding identification number a, the living area location information h registered for the user is acquired from the user registration DB22 by the map information creation program 34, and based on the acquired living area location information h, map information S in which the living area K is specified on the map is created and transmitted to the guardian terminal 200 via the communication unit 16 in response to a request from the guardian terminal 200 (S3).

[0199] The map information S transmitted to the guardian terminal 200 is displayed from the display screen of the guardian terminal 200 (S4). As a result, the guardian can visually grasp the living area K of the person under guardianship.

[0200] Furthermore, the guardian can also change the living area K by looking at such map information S. If not changed (S5: Yes), the living area K is determined (S7). On the other hand, when the guardian wants to change the living area K (S5: No), the guardian can change the living area K by inputting values for a predetermined period t, a predetermined condition u, and a predetermined standard v from a setting screen M as shown in FIG. 13, or by tracing the living area K displayed on the display screen of the guardian terminal 200 with a finger on the display screen as shown in FIG. 15 (S6).

[0201] After that, according to the changed living area K, the living area location information h in the user registration DB22 is updated, and the process returns to step S3.

[0202] By repeating the processes from step S3 to step S6, when the living area K is finally determined (S7), every time new information (time stamp c, identification information a, GPS location information d, WiFi location information e, base station location information f, battery remaining amount information g, etc.) is written into the upload information DB24, the determination program 37 compares the location information of the user terminal 100 with the living area location information h to determine whether the location of the user terminal 100 is inside or outside the living area K (S8).

[0203] According to the result of this determination, the map information creation program 34 creates map information S that displays the living area K and the current location H of the user terminal 100 as illustrated in FIG. 17, and transmits it to the guardian terminal 200 via the communication unit 16. Thereby, the guardian can grasp the current location of the person under guardianship.

[0204] Furthermore, if the result of this determination is that the location of the user terminal 100 is outside the living area K (S9: Yes), the alarm notification program 38 notifies the guardian terminal 200 of an alarm by sound or display (S10). Thereby, the guardian can quickly and surely grasp that the person under guardianship has deviated from the living area K and take necessary measures (S11).

[0205] On the other hand, if it is determined that the location of the user terminal 100 is inside the living area K (S9: No), the process returns to step S8 and the subsequent processes continue.

[0206] As described above, according to the monitoring system 10 to which the monitoring method according to the embodiment of the present invention is applied, an appropriate living area K for the person under care can be determined by the above-described operation. Further, the monitoring system 10 can provide a function for a protector to arbitrarily set a predetermined period t, a predetermined condition u, and a predetermined standard v for determining the living area K. Furthermore, when the position of the user terminal 100 deviates from the living area K, it can be detected and notified to the protector by an alarm or the like, so that the protector can surely grasp the movement of the person under care outside the normal action range almost in real time.

[0207] Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist thereof at the implementation stage. Also, each embodiment may be implemented in an appropriate combination as much as possible, and in that case, the combined effects can be obtained. Furthermore, the above-described embodiment includes inventions at various stages, and various inventions can be extracted by appropriate combinations of a plurality of disclosed constituent elements.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0208] 10 Monitoring system 12 Bus 14 CPU 16 Communication unit 20 Storage device 22 User registration database 24 Upload information database 30 Memory 31 Registration management program 32 Information accumulation program 33 Living area determination program 34 Map information creation program 35 Living area correction program 36 Setting program 37 Judgment program 38 Alarm notification program 39 Battery remaining amount grasping program 40 Positioning server 60 Base Station 61 WiFi Router 70 Communication Network 100 User Terminal 110 SIM Card 120 Transceiver Function 130 GPS Function 140 WiFi Function 150 Acceleration Sensor 160 Battery 200 Guardian Terminal

Claims

1. A monitoring system that communicates with a caregiver terminal and a care recipient terminal, comprising: a first means for receiving unique identification information for each of the care recipient terminals, transmitted from the caregiver terminal; a second means for setting a monitoring range in association with the identification information; a third means for receiving the position information of the care recipient terminal and the identification information of the care recipient terminal, transmitted from the care recipient terminal; a fourth means for transmitting a notification based on the position information and the monitoring range to the caregiver terminal.

2. The monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein communication with the care recipient terminal is by a cellular system.

3. The monitoring system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the third means does not receive the position information from the care recipient terminal when the acceleration of the care recipient terminal is less than a predetermined value.

4. The monitoring system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the third means receives the position information obtained based on the GPS function of the care recipient terminal.

5. The monitoring system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the third means receives the position information obtained based on the Wi-Fi function of the care recipient terminal.

6. The monitoring system according to claim 5, wherein the position information is obtained based on the signal strength of Wi-Fi.

7. The monitoring system according to any one of claims 1 to 6 (except for those in which the care recipient terminal has a function of transmitting the identification information).

8. The monitoring system according to any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising a fifth means for transmitting first map information showing the monitoring range and the position information of the care recipient terminal on a map to the caregiver terminal.

9. a sixth means for receiving information indicating the remaining battery level of the care recipient terminal, transmitted from the care recipient terminal; a seventh means for transmitting information regarding the remaining amount to the caregiver terminal.

10. comprising an eighth means for receiving interval information set by a user of the caregiver terminal from the caregiver terminal and transmitting it to the care recipient terminal. The monitoring system according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the third means receives the position information transmitted from the wardee terminal at intervals according to the interval information.

11. The monitoring system according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the second means sets two or more monitoring ranges in association with the identification information.

12. One of the two or more monitoring ranges is a monitoring range for a certain day of the week, Another one of the two or more monitoring ranges is a monitoring range for another day of the week, according to claim 11 The described monitoring system.

13. One of the two or more monitoring ranges is a monitoring range for a certain time period, Another one of the two or more monitoring ranges is a monitoring range for another time period, according to the monitoring system described in claim 11.

14. The monitoring system according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein the second means sets the monitoring range based on the position information and a road and / or railway route.

15. The monitoring system according to any one of claims 1 to 14, comprising an eighth means for transmitting, in response to a request from the monitor terminal, second map information showing the movement history of the wardee terminal on a map to the monitor terminal.

16. A monitoring program that functions as a monitoring system that communicates with a monitor terminal and a wardee terminal, A first means for receiving identification information unique to each wardee terminal transmitted from the monitor terminal, A second means for setting a monitoring range in association with the identification information, A third means for receiving the position information of the wardee terminal and the identification information of the wardee terminal transmitted from the wardee terminal, A fourth means for transmitting a notification based on the position information and the monitoring range to the monitor terminal.

17. A monitoring system that communicates with a monitor terminal and a wardee terminal, Receives identification information unique to each wardee terminal transmitted from the monitor terminal, Sets a monitoring range in association with the identification information, Receives the position information of the wardee terminal and the identification information of the wardee terminal transmitted from the wardee terminal, A monitoring method for transmitting a notification based on the position information and the monitoring range to the monitor terminal.

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