Safety confirmation system

The safety confirmation system addresses the issue of repeated user responses by intelligently sending notifications only for new earthquakes or aftershocks, reducing user inconvenience during seismic events.

JP2025180764AActive Publication Date: 2025-12-11SECOM TRUST SYST
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Patent Information

Application Number
JP2024088309
Authority / Receiving Office
JP · JP
Patent Type
Applications
Current Assignee / Owner
Filing Date
2024-05-30
Publication Date
2025-12-11
Estimated Expiration
2044-05-30

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

Existing safety confirmation systems require users to repeatedly respond to safety confirmation requests following a series of earthquakes, causing inconvenience.

Method used

A safety confirmation system that includes an acquisition unit to gather earthquake information and a transmission unit to send notifications only if the earthquake is not part of a series of earthquakes, with judgment units to determine if the earthquake is a series or an aftershock, and display units to highlight operations for sending notifications based on earthquake intensity and area changes.

Benefits of technology

Reduces user inconvenience by minimizing repeated safety confirmation requests during a series of earthquakes.

✦ Generated by Eureka AI based on patent content.

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Abstract

To reduce troublesomeness of a user due to repeated safety confirmation even when a preceding earthquake and a series of earthquakes occur.SOLUTION: A safety confirmation system includes an acquisition unit 411 that acquires earthquake information regarding a target earthquake, and a transmission unit 414 that transmits a safety confirmation notification to a user terminal of a safety confirmation target according to the target earthquake when the target earthquake regarding the acquired earthquake information is not a series of earthquakes with a preceding earthquake to which the safety confirmation notification has already been transmitted, and does not transmit the safety confirmation notification to the user terminal to which the safety confirmation notification has already been transmitted according to the preceding earthquake when the target earthquake is a series of earthquakes with the preceding earthquake.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2
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Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a safety confirmation system for confirming the current status of people belonging to a client organization such as a company when a disaster occurs. In particular, the present invention relates to a safety confirmation system in which a business operator cooperates with a client organization and performs safety confirmation on behalf of the client organization. [Background technology]

[0002] BACKGROUND ART A safety confirmation system is known in which, when a disaster such as an earthquake occurs, a center device sends a safety confirmation notice to users of a client organization to confirm their safety (for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2021-144293 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the seismic activity following a large earthquake, multiple earthquakes may occur intermittently in the same epicenter or in neighboring areas. If safety confirmation is required every time a series of such earthquakes occurs, users will have to respond to safety confirmation requests multiple times, which is cumbersome.

[0005] To reduce the inconvenience to users caused by repeated safety confirmation even when a preceding earthquake and a series of earthquakes occur. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] One aspect of the present invention provides a safety confirmation system comprising an acquisition unit that acquires earthquake information related to a target earthquake, and a transmission unit that, if the target earthquake related to the acquired earthquake information is not a part of a series of earthquakes including a preceding earthquake to which a safety confirmation notification has already been sent, sends a safety confirmation notification to a user terminal that is the target of safety confirmation in response to the target earthquake, and, if the target earthquake is a part of a series of earthquakes including the preceding earthquake, does not send the safety confirmation notification to a user terminal to which a safety confirmation notification has already been sent in response to the preceding earthquake.

[0007] The safety confirmation system further includes a judgment unit that uses the acquired earthquake information to judge whether the target earthquake is a series of earthquakes with the preceding earthquake according to judgment conditions, and the judgment conditions may include a condition that the disaster area of ​​the preceding earthquake is within an adjacent area to the disaster area of ​​the target earthquake.

[0008] The safety confirmation system further includes a display unit that displays a screen including an operation image used for operations related to sending the safety confirmation notification to the target of the safety confirmation corresponding to the target earthquake in a display format that highlights the operation image when the target earthquake is not a series of earthquakes involving the preceding earthquake, and the transmission unit may send the safety confirmation notification to the user terminal of the target of the safety confirmation corresponding to the target earthquake when the operation is performed using the operation image.

[0009] The transmitting unit may transmit the safety confirmation notification to the difference in the number of targets for safety confirmation between the preceding earthquake and the target earthquake if the target earthquake is a series of earthquakes including the preceding earthquake and the seismic intensity of the target earthquake increases from the seismic intensity of the preceding earthquake, or if the affected area of ​​the target earthquake expands from the affected area of ​​the preceding earthquake.

[0010] The safety confirmation system further includes a display unit that displays a screen including an operation image used for operations related to sending the safety confirmation notification to the difference in a display format that highlights the operation image when the target earthquake is a part of a series of earthquakes including the preceding earthquake and the seismic intensity of the target earthquake increases from that of the preceding earthquake, or when the affected area of ​​the target earthquake expands from the affected area of ​​the preceding earthquake, and the transmission unit may send the safety confirmation notification to the difference when the operation is performed using the operation image.

[0011] When the target earthquake satisfies a condition for determining whether it is an aftershock, the transmission unit may transmit an aftershock notification to the manager terminal of the target of the safety confirmation corresponding to the target earthquake.

[0012] The safety confirmation system may further include a display unit that displays, when the target earthquake satisfies the aftershock determination conditions, a screen including an operation image used for operations related to sending the aftershock notification in a display format that highlights the operation image, and when the operation is performed using the operation image, the transmission unit may transmit the aftershock notification to the administrator terminal that is the target of the safety confirmation corresponding to the target earthquake.

[0013] If the acquired earthquake information is a follow-up report on the preceding earthquake, the transmitting unit may not need to send the safety confirmation notification to the user terminal to which the safety confirmation notification has already been sent in response to the preceding earthquake. [Effects of the Invention]

[0014] According to the present invention, even in the event of a preceding earthquake and a series of earthquakes, the inconvenience to users caused by having to repeatedly check the safety of their loved ones can be reduced. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0015] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a safety confirmation system according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a center device. [Figure 3]FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating earthquake information received from the Japan Meteorological Agency. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a disaster management table. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a disaster information table. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of an adjacent region table. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a condition management table. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a customer information table. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating details of notification type determination. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of notification type determination. [Figure 11] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the center device. [Figure 12] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of an operator screen (disaster notification). [Figure 13] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a safety confirmation notification. [Figure 14] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a disaster notification. [Figure 15] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a proxy transmission notification. [Figure 16] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the operator screen (seismic intensity change). [Figure 17] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a seismic intensity change notification. [Figure 18] A diagram showing an example of the operator screen (aftershock notification). [Figure 19] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an aftershock notification. [Figure 20] 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating an example of a safety status summary screen and a list screen. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0016] 1. Configuration 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a safety confirmation system 1 according to an embodiment. The safety confirmation system 1 is a system for transmitting a safety confirmation notification to a user in the event of a disaster and for confirming the safety of the user.

[0017] The safety confirmation system 1 includes a server device 10, a plurality of administrator terminals 20, a plurality of user terminals 30, and a center device 40. The server device 10 and the center device 40 are connected via a communication line 50. The communication line 50 is, for example, a dedicated line. The center device 40, each administrator terminal 20, and each user terminal 30 are connected via a communication line 60. The communication line 60 includes, for example, the Internet and a mobile communication network. Although FIG. 1 shows a plurality of administrator terminals 20, the number of administrator terminals 20 is not limited to a plurality and may be one.

[0018] The server device 10 is operated and managed by the Japan Meteorological Agency. When a disaster occurs, the server device 10 delivers a telegram corresponding to the disaster information released by the Japan Meteorological Agency to the center device 40. In this embodiment, the disaster is assumed to be an earthquake. In the case of an earthquake, the telegram includes earthquake information. The earthquake information is a definitive report released approximately five minutes after the earthquake occurs.

[0019] The administrator terminal 20 is used by a customer's administrator to view various information related to safety confirmation provided by the center device 40. The customer is an organization such as a company that has signed a contract for the safety confirmation service. The administrator is, for example, a person in an organization such as a company who is responsible for managing employees in the event of a disaster. The administrator terminal 20 has, for example, an email function and receives various notifications related to safety confirmation from the center device 40 by email. The administrator terminal 20 also has, for example, a web browser function and displays web screens related to safety confirmation provided by the center device 40 on the web browser. The administrator terminal 20 includes, for example, a smartphone, a tablet terminal, and a laptop computer. The administrator terminal 20 includes a display unit 21. The display unit 21 includes, for example, an LCD display.

[0020] The user terminal 30 is used by a customer user to view the safety confirmation notice sent from the center device 40 and respond with safety information. The user is, for example, an employee of an organization such as a company. The user terminal 30 has, for example, an email function and receives the safety confirmation notice from the center device 40 by email. The user terminal 30 also has, for example, a web browser function and inputs safety information to the center device 40 via the web browser. The user terminal 30 includes, for example, a smartphone, a tablet terminal, and a laptop computer. The user terminal 30 includes a display unit 31. The display unit 31 includes, for example, an LCD display.

[0021] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the center device 40. The center device 40 is operated and managed by an agent transmission service provider that provides safety confirmation services. The center device 40 provides various notifications related to safety confirmation to customers based on earthquake information distributed from the server device 10. The center device 40 has, for example, an email function and transmits various notifications related to safety confirmation via email to the administrator terminal 20 and the user terminal 30. The center device 40 also has, for example, a web server function and provides various web screens related to safety confirmation to the administrator terminal 20 and the user terminal 30. The center device 40 is, for example, a cloud server. However, the center device 40 is not limited to a cloud server and may be an on-premise server. Note that when the center device 40 is an on-premise server, it is possible that there is only one administrator (one administrator terminal 20). The center device 40 includes a control unit 41, a first communication unit 42, a second communication unit 43, a memory unit 44, an input unit 45, and a display unit 46. The control unit 41 is connected to the first communication unit 42, the second communication unit 43, the storage unit 44, the input unit 45, and the display unit 46 via a bus.

[0022] The control unit 41 controls each unit of the center device 40 to perform processing for providing a safety confirmation service. The control unit 41 includes a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and memories such as a ROM (Read Only Memory) and a RAM (Random Access Memory). The memory stores programs for implementing the functions of the center device 40. The first communication unit 42 is a communication interface connected to the communication line 50. The first communication unit 42 performs data communication with the server device 10 via the communication line 50. The first communication unit 42 includes, for example, a network adapter. The second communication unit 43 is a communication interface connected to the communication line 60. The second communication unit 43 performs data communication with the administrator terminal 20 and the user terminal 30 via the communication line 60. The second communication unit 43 includes, for example, a network adapter. The storage unit 44 stores various information used by the control unit 41, such as a disaster management table 441, a disaster information table 442, a condition management table 443, a customer information table 444, and an adjacent area table 445. The storage unit 44 includes, for example, a hard disk and an SSD (Solid State Drive). The input unit 45 is used to input information to the center device 40. The input unit 45 includes, for example, a mouse and a keyboard. The display unit 46 displays various information. The display unit 46 includes, for example, a liquid crystal display. The display unit 46 may be the display unit of an operator terminal operated by an operator of the agency transmission service provider.

[0023] The control unit 41 functions as an acquisition unit 411, an object determination unit 412, an identification unit 413, a transmission unit 414, a display control unit 415, and a storage unit update unit 416. These functions are realized by the processor performing calculations or controlling the operation of other hardware elements through cooperation between a program stored in memory and a processor that executes this program.

[0024] When an earthquake occurs, the acquisition unit 411 receives and acquires earthquake information related to the earthquake from the server device 10. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of earthquake information received from the Japan Meteorological Agency. The earthquake information includes an information name, identification information, information number, schema operation type information, a caption, a disaster prevention weather information element name, a target area / location name, the time of the earthquake occurrence, and the name of the epicenter. The information name is the title of the message. The identification information is an event ID that uniquely identifies the earthquake. One event ID is assigned to each earthquake. The information number is a serial number that indicates the delivery order of messages following earthquake information related to the same earthquake. Serial numbers are assigned consecutively to messages following the first earthquake information related to the same earthquake. The schema operation type information indicates whether the message is earthquake information. The caption is information that outlines the message. The disaster prevention weather information element name indicates the seismic intensity. The target area / location name indicates the area / location where the disaster occurred (affected area). Multiple areas / locations may be listed for one seismic intensity. The earthquake occurrence time is the time when the earthquake occurred. The epicenter name indicates the epicenter of the earthquake.

[0025] The target determination unit 412 determines whether to process the earthquake information based on whether the earthquake information includes a disaster prevention weather information element name with a seismic intensity of 5-lower or higher. If the earthquake information does not include a disaster prevention weather information element name with a seismic intensity of 5-lower or higher, the target determination unit 412 excludes the earthquake information from processing. If the earthquake information includes a disaster prevention weather information element name with a seismic intensity of 5-lower or higher, the target determination unit 412 registers the contents of the earthquake information as a processing target and registers the contents of the earthquake information in the disaster management table 441 via the storage unit update unit 416. Note that in this embodiment, earthquakes with a seismic intensity of 5-lower or higher are the target of safety confirmation, so the target determination unit 412 determines whether the seismic intensity indicated by the earthquake information is 5-lower or higher. However, in a system in which earthquakes with a seismic intensity of 4 or higher are the target of safety confirmation, for example, the target determination unit 412 determines whether the seismic intensity indicated by the earthquake information is 4 or higher.

[0026] 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of the disaster management table 441. The disaster management table 441 stores the details of earthquake information acquired by the acquisition unit 411. The disaster management table 441 stores a message management number, an event ID, a serial number, a message type, seismic intensity, the name of the epicenter, the date and time of occurrence, a processing status, the name of the disaster, the location of occurrence, disaster details, the area, the seismic intensity, and an adjacent flag.

[0027] The message management number is information that uniquely identifies a message. The message management number is assigned by the center device 40 when a received message is registered in the disaster management table 441. The event ID represents one disaster (tremors in the case of an earthquake). Identification information obtained from the earthquake information is set in the event ID. The serial number is a sequential number for the earthquake information corresponding to one event ID. The information number obtained from the earthquake information is set in the serial number. The message type represents which message it is among the various disaster information messages. The schema operation type information obtained from the earthquake information is set in the message type. The seismic intensity is the maximum seismic intensity among the earthquake information. The seismic intensity is set to the name of the disaster prevention weather information element with the maximum seismic intensity among the disaster prevention weather information element names obtained from the earthquake information. The epicenter place name represents the location where the earthquake occurred. The epicenter place name obtained from the earthquake information is set in the epicenter place name. The occurrence date and time is the date and time when the earthquake occurred. The occurrence date and time is set to the time when the earthquake occurred, which is included in the earthquake information. The date and time notation of the occurrence date and time may be changed from the date and time notation used in the earthquake information.

[0028] The processing status indicates the processing status of the record. The processing status is initially registered as "unprocessed" and is updated to "processed" or "not processed" in subsequent processing. The disaster name is a name that identifies the disaster and is represented by the affected area and the seismic intensity described above. In this embodiment, the affected area is represented by the area to which prefectures with a seismic intensity of 5 or higher belong, based on the disaster prevention weather information element name and the target area / location name obtained from the earthquake information. The occurrence location indicates the area where the disaster occurred. The occurrence location is represented by the affected area and seismic intensity described above, based on the disaster prevention weather information element name and the target area / location name obtained from the earthquake information. The disaster details describe the details of the disaster. The disaster details are created by combining the schema operation type information, information name, header text, etc. included in the earthquake information. The area indicates the area where the disaster occurred (disaster area). The affected area name, which is obtained by converting the target area / location name obtained from the earthquake information into a unit managed by the safety confirmation system 1, is set in the area. In addition to the affected area name, the names of areas adjacent to the affected area are also set in the area. Seismic intensity is the degree of strength of the earthquake shaking in the area. The name of the disaster prevention weather information element obtained from the earthquake information is set to the seismic intensity. The adjacent flag is information that indicates whether the area is an adjacent area name. The adjacent flag of the adjacent area name is set to "1", and the adjacent flag of the disaster area name is set to "0".

[0029] The identifying unit 413 determines whether the earthquake information determined by the target determining unit 412 to be subject to processing is subject to notification to customers. The identifying unit 413 also determines whether the earthquake subject to the earthquake information subject to notification to customers is a new disaster or a series of earthquakes including a preceding earthquake for which a safety confirmation notification has already been sent. In the following description, the earthquake subject to the earthquake information acquired by the acquiring unit 411 is also referred to as the "target earthquake." The identifying unit 413 is an example of a determining unit according to the present invention. The term "series of earthquakes" here refers to an earthquake for which a safety confirmation should be conducted together with the preceding earthquake. More specifically, a series of earthquakes refers to an earthquake that occurs after the preceding earthquake and near the epicenter of the preceding earthquake, and may be smaller in scale than the preceding earthquake. For example, if the preceding earthquake is the main shock, the series of earthquakes are its aftershocks. Thus, a series of earthquakes includes aftershocks. However, even if an earthquake occurs after the preceding earthquake and near the epicenter of the preceding earthquake, if a safety confirmation should be conducted separately from the preceding earthquake, it is not determined to be part of the series of earthquakes.

[0030] The criteria for determining a series of earthquakes are determined in advance. In this embodiment, the criteria for determining a series of earthquakes include the time from the occurrence date and time of the preceding earthquake to the occurrence date and time of the target earthquake, and the relationship between the affected area of ​​the preceding earthquake and the affected area of ​​the target earthquake. For example, if the time from the occurrence date and time of the preceding earthquake to the occurrence date and time of the target earthquake is within a predetermined time, such as six hours, and the affected area of ​​the preceding earthquake is in an area adjacent to the affected area of ​​the target earthquake, the identification unit 413 determines that the target earthquake is a series of earthquakes including the preceding earthquake. On the other hand, if at least some of the criteria for determining a series of earthquakes are not met, the identification unit 413 determines that the target earthquake is a new disaster that is not a series of earthquakes including the preceding earthquake. Note that the criteria for determining a series of earthquakes may further include a condition that the seismic intensity of the target earthquake is equal to or less than that of the preceding earthquake.

[0031] The term "adjacent area" here refers to an area that could become a disaster area if a preceding earthquake and a series of earthquakes occur. More specifically, an adjacent area is an area that is in a neighboring relationship. For example, an adjacent area is an area that is geographically adjacent. However, an adjacent area does not necessarily have to be adjacent to the disaster area; for example, it may be adjacent to the disaster area across the sea or another area. Furthermore, even if an area is geographically adjacent, if it is unlikely to become a disaster area if a preceding earthquake and a series of earthquakes occur, it does not have to be included in the adjacent area. The identification unit 413 uses the adjacent area table 445 stored in the memory unit 44 to determine whether the disaster area of ​​the preceding earthquake is within an adjacent area of ​​the disaster area of ​​the target earthquake.

[0032] FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of the adjacent area table 445. The adjacent area table 445 stores disaster area names and adjacent area names in association with each other. The disaster area name is a reference disaster area, such as the name of the place where an earthquake disaster occurred. The unit of the disaster area is, for example, a prefecture, but is not limited to this. It may be a ward, city, town, or village, or a prefecture or a ward, city, town, or village may be further divided into northern, southern, eastern, western, or island areas. The adjacent area name is a place name considered to be adjacent to the disaster area name. The adjacent area is determined in advance by, for example, an acting transmission service provider. In an earthquake disaster, if the disaster area name and adjacent area name of the target earthquake include at least one disaster area name of a preceding earthquake being responded to, the preceding earthquake and the target earthquake are determined to be the same disaster.

[0033] In the example shown in FIG. 6, the disaster area name "Tokyo" is associated with the neighboring area names "Kanagawa Prefecture," "Yamanashi Prefecture," "Saitama Prefecture," and "Chiba Prefecture." This indicates that the neighboring areas of "Tokyo" are "Kanagawa Prefecture," "Yamanashi Prefecture," "Saitama Prefecture," and "Chiba Prefecture." Note that, among the neighboring area names associated with the disaster area name "Chiba Prefecture" in FIG. 6, areas that do not geographically border Chiba Prefecture, such as "Kanagawa Prefecture," which is indicated by hatching, may also be included in the neighboring areas. The neighboring area table 445 is created in advance, for example, by an alternate transmission service provider and stored in the storage unit 44.

[0034] The criteria for determining an aftershock include, in addition to the criteria for determining a series of earthquakes, the presence or absence of new disaster areas with a predetermined seismic intensity or higher, and the seismic intensity of disaster areas that overlap with that of the preceding earthquake. For example, if the criteria for determining a series of earthquakes are met, and if the number of disaster areas with a seismic intensity of 5 lower or higher has not increased from the disaster areas of the preceding earthquake, and if the seismic intensity of disaster areas of the target earthquake that overlap with the disaster areas of the preceding earthquake has not increased from that of the preceding earthquake, the identifying unit 413 will determine that the target earthquake is an aftershock of the preceding earthquake. On the other hand, if at least some of the aftershock determination criteria are not met, the identifying unit 413 will determine that the target earthquake is not an aftershock of the preceding earthquake. The criteria for determining aftershocks are determined in advance.

[0035] The display control unit 415 displays various screens on the display unit 46 of the center device 40, the display unit 21 of the administrator terminal 20, or the display unit 31 of the user terminal 30. For example, the display control unit 415 displays an operator screen in accordance with the earthquake information acquired by the acquisition unit 411. The operator screen is used by the operator for various operations related to checking earthquake information and safety confirmation.

[0036] The operator screen includes multiple operation images used for operations related to safety confirmation. The display control unit 415 displays the operation images used for the operator's recommended tasks in an emphasized format depending on the determination result of whether the target earthquake is a series of earthquakes including a preceding earthquake. The "emphasis display format" here refers to a display format that attracts the operator's attention. More specifically, the emphasis display format is a display format that displays an operation image so that it stands out more than other operation images. For example, the emphasis display format is a display format in which the background color of the operation image is changed to a color different from the background colors of the other operation images. However, the emphasis display format is not limited to changing the background color of the operation image. It may also be possible to change the color of the frame of the background region of the operation image to a color different from the frames of the background regions of the other operation images, change the color, shape, or size of the operation image itself to a color different from that of the other operation images, display the operation image by flashing it, or add an additional image to the operation image. Furthermore, the emphasis display format may make the target operation image stand out relatively by displaying other operation images in an inconspicuous manner. In the following description, displaying in an emphasis display format is also referred to as "emphasis display."

[0037] If the identification unit 413 determines that the target earthquake is not a series of earthquakes including a preceding earthquake, the transmission unit 414 transmits a safety confirmation notification to the user terminal 30 of the customer identified as the notification target, subject to an operation by the operator on the operator screen. The earthquake information acquired by the acquisition unit 411 is first determined by the target determination unit 412 and the identification unit 413 as being the target of notification to the customer. For disasters (earthquakes) determined as the target of notification to the customer, the transmission unit 414 transmits a safety confirmation notification to the user terminal 30 of the customer that meets the transmission conditions, and a proxy transmission notification and a disaster notification to the administrator terminal 20. These transmission conditions are stored in the condition management table 443. The safety confirmation notification is information for confirming the safety of the user. The proxy transmission notification is information notifying the administrator that a safety confirmation notification has been sent on their behalf by an proxy transmission service provider. The disaster notification is information notifying the administrator that a disaster has occurred (earthquake information has been received). The safety confirmation notification, disaster notification, and proxy transmission notification are transmitted, for example, via email. However, the safety confirmation notification, disaster notification, and proxy transmission notification may be sent using other means.

[0038] On the other hand, if the identification unit 413 determines that the target earthquake is a series of earthquakes including the preceding earthquake, the transmission unit 414 does not transmit a safety confirmation notification to user terminals 30 to which a safety confirmation notification has already been sent in response to the preceding earthquake. However, if the seismic intensity of the target earthquake increases from that of the preceding earthquake, or if the affected area of ​​the target earthquake expands from that of the preceding earthquake, the transmission unit 414 transmits a safety confirmation notification to the difference between the targets of safety confirmation in response to the preceding earthquake and the targets of safety confirmation in response to the target earthquake, subject to an operation by the operator on the operator screen. If the seismic intensity of the target earthquake increases from that of the preceding earthquake, or if the affected area of ​​the target earthquake expands from that of the preceding earthquake, the targets of safety confirmation in response to the target earthquake include the targets of safety confirmation in response to the preceding earthquake. Therefore, user terminals 30 that are not targets of safety confirmation in response to the preceding earthquake but are targets of safety confirmation in response to the target earthquake become the difference targets of safety confirmation. This difference is obtained by excluding user terminals 30 to which a safety confirmation notification has already been sent in response to earthquake information of a preceding earthquake from the user terminals 30 targeted for safety confirmation in response to the target earthquake.

[0039] Furthermore, if the identification unit 413 determines that the target earthquake is an aftershock of a preceding earthquake, the transmission unit 414 transmits an aftershock notification to the manager terminal 20 of the customer identified as the notification target, subject to an operation by the operator on the operator screen. The aftershock notification is information that notifies the manager that an aftershock has occurred.

[0040] FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the disaster information table 442. Safety confirmation notifications are sent based on the disaster information table 442. The disaster information table 442 stores a customer identification code, a disaster code, a disaster name, the date and time of occurrence, the location of occurrence, and details. The customer identification code is information that uniquely identifies a customer. The disaster code is information that uniquely identifies a disaster. The disaster code is assigned by the center device 40 when a record is registered in the disaster information table 442. The disaster name, the date and time of occurrence, the location of occurrence, and details are set to values ​​entered on the screen. Records registered in the disaster information table 442 are deleted when a predetermined time, such as six hours, has passed since the date and time of the earthquake. In other words, the disaster information table 442 only stores earthquake information related to earthquakes that occurred within the predetermined time period.

[0041] FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating the condition management table 443. The condition management table 443 is a table that holds conditions (disaster area name, seismic intensity) for sending a safety confirmation notification for each customer. The condition management table 443 is used by the sending unit 414 to identify the target customer for notification after the identifying unit 413 determines that earthquake information (disaster) is the target for notification to the customer. The condition management table 443 stores a customer identification code and a sending condition for the safety confirmation notification in association with each other. The customer identification code is information that uniquely identifies the customer. The sending condition is a condition for sending a safety confirmation notification that is set in advance by the customer. The sending condition includes the name of the disaster area in units managed by the safety confirmation system 1 and the seismic intensity. In this embodiment, since the safety confirmation system 1 manages earthquakes with a seismic intensity of 5 or higher, a sending condition of 4 or lower cannot be set. However, a sending condition of 4 or lower may be set. 7, the customer identification code "Customer A" is associated with the disaster area name "Tokyo" and seismic intensity "5 lower", and the disaster area name "Chiba Prefecture" and seismic intensity "5 lower". This indicates that a safety confirmation notification will be sent to Customer A when an earthquake with a seismic intensity of 5 lower or higher occurs in at least either Tokyo or Chiba Prefecture. The condition management table 443 is created in advance and stored in the storage unit 44.

[0042] FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a customer information table 444. The customer information table 444 is a table for managing administrators and users associated with a customer. Each customer may have one or more administrators and users. The customer information table 444 stores a combination of a customer identification code and a user code, associated with a name, an area, a terminal identification, and a communication address. The customer identification code is a code that uniquely identifies a customer. The user code is a code that uniquely identifies a user. The name is the name of the administrator or user associated with the user code. The area is the area where the administrator or user is located, such as a workplace or residence. The area is used as a sending condition for a safety confirmation notification. If the area registered for the administrator or user matches the area where the disaster occurred, the notification is sent. The terminal identification is information that identifies whether it is an administrator terminal 20 or a user terminal 30. One or more administrator terminals 20 are registered for one customer. If multiple administrator terminals 20 are registered, the same process may be performed on these administrator terminals 20, or administrator terminals 20 may be registered separately for each disaster area. The communication address is the communication address of the administrator terminal 20 or user terminal 30 linked to the user code, and in this case, an email address is registered. The customer information table 444 is created in advance and stored in the storage unit 44.

[0043] In this embodiment, even if the conditions for sending a safety confirmation notification are met as a customer in the condition management table 443, the safety confirmation notification will not be sent unless the conditions for sending a safety confirmation notification are met as a user in the customer information table 444. Also, if the disaster area expands or the seismic intensity increases in the seismic intensity change process described below, and the conditions for sending a safety confirmation notification are met as both a customer and a user, a safety confirmation notification will be sent to the difference in the targets of safety confirmation.

[0044] The storage unit update unit 416 is responsible for registering and updating records in each table stored in the storage unit 44 .

[0045] 2.Operation 11 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the center device 40. This operation is performed when an earthquake occurs and earthquake information is distributed from the server device 10.

[0046] In step S31, the acquisition unit 411 receives earthquake information from the server device 10. If no earthquake information has been received, the determination in step S31 becomes NO, and the process ends. On the other hand, if earthquake information of a seismic intensity of upper 5 in the 23 wards of Tokyo and eastern Tama, Tokyo, as shown in FIG. 3, is received, the determination in step S31 becomes YES, and the process proceeds to the subsequent step S32.

[0047] In step S32, if earthquake information is received, the target determination unit 412 determines whether the maximum seismic intensity is 5-lower or greater based on the contents of the earthquake information. The determination of whether the maximum seismic intensity is 5-lower or greater is made based on the name of the disaster prevention weather information element included in the earthquake information. If the maximum seismic intensity is not 5-lower or greater, the determination in step S32 becomes NO and the processing ends. On the other hand, if the earthquake information shown in FIG. 3 is received, the maximum seismic intensity is 5-upper, so the determination in step S32 becomes YES and the processing proceeds to the subsequent step S33.

[0048] In step S33, if the maximum seismic intensity is 5 lower or greater, the contents of the received earthquake information are registered in the disaster management table 441 by the memory unit update unit 416. When the earthquake information shown in Fig. 3 is received, the contents of this earthquake information are registered in the record in the fourth row from the top of the disaster management table 441 shown in Fig. 4. However, at the time of registration, the processing status is "unprocessed."

[0049] In step S34, the identification unit 413 determines whether the received earthquake information is not subject to notification to customers. For example, consider a case where multiple earthquake information items with the same identification information (event ID) are received for one earthquake. In this case, due to a system malfunction or the like, earthquake information with an information number (serial number) of 2, which was distributed later, may be received and processed first, followed by earthquake information with an information number (serial number) of 1, which was distributed earlier. Because the earthquake information with information number 2 is a corrected version of the earthquake information with information number 1, there is no need to process the earthquake information with information number 1 before correcting it after processing the earthquake information with information number 2. Therefore, if earthquake information with information number 1 is received after processing the earthquake information with information number 2, the determination in step S34 for this earthquake information with information number 1 becomes YES, and the process proceeds to step S49. The processing status of the record newly registered in the disaster management table 441 is updated to "not subject to processing" via the memory unit update unit 416, and the process ends. On the other hand, in this case, the determination in step S34 for the earthquake information with information number 2 becomes NO, and the process proceeds to the subsequent step S35.

[0050] In step S35, the identification unit 413 determines the type of notification of the received earthquake information. The content displayed on the operator screen changes depending on the result of this determination. If it is determined to be a "disaster notification," the process proceeds to step S36, where the operator screen (disaster notification) is displayed. If it is determined to be a "seismic intensity change notification," the process proceeds to step S40, where the operator screen (seismic intensity change) is displayed. If it is determined to be an "aftershock notification," the process proceeds to step S44, where the operator screen (aftershock notification) is displayed.

[0051] FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating the details of the notification type determination in step S35. The process shown in FIG. 9 starts by transitioning from step S34 shown in FIG. 11. In step S11, the identification unit 413 checks the disaster information table 442 to determine whether a preceding earthquake is currently being handled. Here, a "preceding earthquake currently being handled" refers to a past earthquake for which a safety confirmation notification has already been sent and for which the elapsed time since the occurrence date and time is within a predetermined time. For example, if there is no record registered in the disaster information table 442, there is no preceding earthquake currently being handled, and the determination in step S11 is NO, and the process proceeds to step S14. In this case, the determination condition for a series of earthquakes is not met, so the identification unit 413 determines that the target earthquake that is the subject of the received earthquake information is a new disaster that is not a preceding earthquake or a series of earthquakes. In the case of a new disaster, a safety confirmation notification must be sent. Therefore, in step S14, the identification unit 413 determines that the notification type of the received earthquake information is a "disaster notification." On the other hand, if a record is registered in the disaster information table 442, there is a preceding earthquake that is currently being handled, so the determination in step S11 becomes YES and the process proceeds to the subsequent step S12.

[0052] In step S12, the identification unit 413 checks and determines whether the area affected by the preceding earthquake is included within the adjacent area of ​​the target earthquake that is the subject of the received earthquake information. "Within the adjacent area" here refers to the range that includes the affected area and the adjacent area. The affected area of ​​the target earthquake is indicated by the name of the affected area within the area of ​​the record in the disaster management table 441 in which the earthquake information of the target earthquake is registered. The adjacent area is indicated by the name of the adjacent area that is associated with the name of the affected area of ​​the target earthquake in the adjacent area table 445. The affected area of ​​the preceding earthquake is indicated by the name of the affected area within the area of ​​the record in the disaster management table 441 in which the earthquake information of the preceding earthquake is registered.

[0053] If the affected area of ​​the preceding earthquake is outside the adjacent area of ​​the affected area of ​​the target earthquake, the determination in step S12 becomes NO and the process proceeds to step S14 described above. In this case, the determination condition for a series of earthquakes is not met, so the identification unit 413 determines that the target earthquake is a new disaster that is not a series of earthquakes including the preceding earthquake. If it is a new disaster, it is necessary to send a safety confirmation notification. Therefore, in step S14, the identification unit 413 determines that the notification type of the received earthquake information is a "disaster notification." On the other hand, if the affected area of ​​the preceding earthquake is within the adjacent area of ​​the affected area of ​​the target earthquake, the determination in step S12 becomes YES and the process proceeds to the subsequent step S13. In this case, the determination condition for a series of earthquakes is met, so the identification unit 413 determines that the target earthquake is a series of earthquakes including the preceding earthquake.

[0054] In step S13, the identification unit 413 compares the areas affected by the preceding earthquake with the areas affected by the target earthquake, and determines whether the number of areas affected by a seismic intensity of 5 or higher is increasing. The areas affected by the preceding earthquake are indicated by the names of the affected areas in the area of ​​the record in which earthquake information about the preceding earthquake is registered in the disaster management table 441. The areas affected by the target earthquake are indicated by the names of the affected areas in the area of ​​the record in which earthquake information about the target earthquake is registered in the disaster management table 441.

[0055] Furthermore, if the affected area of ​​the preceding earthquake and the affected area of ​​the target earthquake are the same, the identification unit 413 compares the seismic intensity of the preceding earthquake with the seismic intensity of the target earthquake to determine whether the seismic intensity is increasing. The seismic intensity of the preceding earthquake is indicated by the seismic intensity of the record in the disaster management table 441 in which earthquake information of the preceding earthquake is registered. The seismic intensity of the target earthquake is indicated by the seismic intensity of the record in the disaster management table 441 in which earthquake information of the target earthquake is registered.

[0056] For example, if the number of affected areas with a seismic intensity of 5 or higher is increasing, or if the seismic intensity is rising in the same affected areas, the determination in step S13 becomes YES and the process proceeds to step S16. In this case, the increase in affected areas or the rise in seismic intensity may result in a difference between the targets of safety confirmation corresponding to the preceding earthquake and the targets of safety confirmation corresponding to the target earthquake, and a safety confirmation notification must be sent to this difference. Therefore, in step S16, the identification unit 413 determines that the notification type of the received earthquake information is a "seismic intensity change notification."

[0057] On the other hand, if the number of disaster areas with a seismic intensity of 5 or higher has not increased and the seismic intensity has not increased for the same disaster area, the determination in step S13 becomes NO and the process proceeds to step S15. In this case, the aftershock determination condition is met, so the identification unit 413 considers the target earthquake to be an aftershock and does not require a safety confirmation notification. Therefore, in step S15, the identification unit 413 determines that the notification type of the received earthquake information is an "aftershock notification." When the processing of step S14, S15, or S16 is completed, the process returns to the earthquake information processing flow shown in FIG. 11.

[0058] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of notification type determination. In this example, as shown in FIG. 10(a), assume that a first earthquake with a seismic intensity of upper 5 occurs in Tokyo when there is no preceding earthquake currently being handled. In this case, earthquake information for this earthquake is received and registered in the record in the fourth row from the top of the disaster management table 441 shown in FIG. 4. When this earthquake information is received, there is no record registered in the disaster information table 442, so there is no preceding earthquake. In this case, the determination condition for a series of earthquakes is not met, so the first earthquake is determined not to be part of a series of earthquakes with a preceding earthquake. Therefore, in the notification type determination described above, the notification type for this earthquake information is determined to be "disaster notification." Because the first earthquake is a new disaster, a new disaster code, Disaster X, is assigned to the first earthquake.

[0059] Next, as shown in Figure 10(b), assume that a second earthquake with a seismic intensity of 5+ occurs in Tokyo and a seismic intensity of 5- occurs in Chiba Prefecture during response to the first earthquake. In this case, earthquake information for this earthquake is received and registered in the record in the third row from the top of the disaster management table 441 shown in Figure 4. At the time this earthquake information is received, a record containing earthquake information for the first earthquake already exists in the disaster information table 442. Therefore, the first earthquake is the preceding earthquake. The affected areas of the second earthquake are Tokyo and Chiba Prefecture, and the neighboring areas of Tokyo and Chiba Prefecture are Kanagawa Prefecture, Yamanashi Prefecture, Saitama Prefecture, and Ibaraki Prefecture, as shown in Figure 6. Tokyo, the affected area of ​​the first earthquake, is included in the neighboring areas of Tokyo and Chiba Prefecture, the affected areas of the second earthquake. In this case, the criteria for determining a series of earthquakes are met, so the second earthquake is determined to be part of a series of earthquakes with the first preceding earthquake. Furthermore, while the first earthquake had a seismic intensity of 5+ in Tokyo, the second earthquake had a seismic intensity of 5+ in Tokyo and a seismic intensity of 5- in Chiba Prefecture, so Chiba Prefecture has been added as an affected area with a seismic intensity of 5- or higher. Therefore, in the notification type determination mentioned above, the notification type for earthquake information about the second earthquake is determined to be "seismic intensity change notification." Because the second earthquake is part of a series of earthquakes following the first earthquake, the disaster code for the second earthquake is Disaster X, the same as the first earthquake.

[0060] Next, as shown in Figure 10(c), assume that a third earthquake with a seismic intensity of lower 5 occurs in Tokyo and in Chiba Prefecture during response to the first and second earthquakes. In this case, earthquake information for this earthquake is received and registered in the record in the second row from the top of the disaster management table 441 shown in Figure 4. At the time this earthquake information is received, records containing earthquake information for the first and second earthquakes exist in the disaster information table 442. Therefore, the first and second earthquakes are the preceding earthquakes. Furthermore, the affected areas of the third earthquake are Tokyo and Chiba Prefecture, and the neighboring areas of Tokyo and Chiba Prefecture are Kanagawa Prefecture, Yamanashi Prefecture, Saitama Prefecture, and Ibaraki Prefecture, as shown in Figure 6. Tokyo, the affected area of ​​the first earthquake, and Tokyo and Chiba Prefecture, the affected areas of the second earthquake, are included in the neighboring areas of Tokyo and Chiba Prefecture, the affected areas of the third earthquake. In this case, the criteria for determining a series of earthquakes are met, so the third earthquake is determined to be part of a series of earthquakes with the first and second preceding earthquakes. Furthermore, while the first earthquake was a seismic intensity of 5+ in Tokyo, the second earthquake was a seismic intensity of 5+ in Tokyo and a seismic intensity of 5- in Chiba Prefecture, the third earthquake was a seismic intensity of 5- in Tokyo and a seismic intensity of 5- in Chiba Prefecture, so the number of affected areas with a seismic intensity of 5- or higher did not increase, and there was no increase in seismic intensity in the same affected areas of Tokyo and Chiba Prefecture. Therefore, in the notification type determination mentioned above, the notification type for earthquake information about the third earthquake is determined to be "aftershock notification." Because the third earthquake is part of a series of earthquakes following the first and second earthquakes, the disaster code for the third earthquake will be Disaster X, the same as the first and second earthquakes.

[0061] Next, as shown in Figure 10(d), assume that an earthquake with a seismic intensity of lower 5 occurs in Shizuoka Prefecture while the first through third earthquakes are being handled. In this case, earthquake information for this earthquake is received and registered in the top row of the disaster management table 441 shown in Figure 4. At the time this earthquake information is received, records containing earthquake information for the first through third earthquakes exist in the disaster information table 442. Therefore, the first through third earthquakes are the preceding earthquakes. However, the affected area of ​​the fourth earthquake is Shizuoka Prefecture, and its neighboring areas are Kanagawa Prefecture, Yamanashi Prefecture, Nagano Prefecture, and Aichi Prefecture, as shown in Figure 6. Tokyo, the affected area of ​​the first earthquake, and Tokyo and Chiba Prefectures, the affected areas of the second and third earthquakes, are not included in the neighboring areas of Shizuoka Prefecture, the affected area of ​​the fourth earthquake. In this case, the criteria for determining a series of earthquakes are not met, so the fourth earthquake is a new disaster that is not part of the series of earthquakes from the first through third earthquakes. Therefore, in the notification type determination described above, the notification type for the earthquake information for the fourth earthquake is determined to be a "disaster notification." Since the fourth earthquake is not part of a series of earthquakes with the first to third earthquakes, the disaster code for the fourth earthquake is Disaster Y, which is different from the disaster codes for the first to third earthquakes.

[0062] If the notification type determination shown in Fig. 9 proceeds to step S14 and determines that the notification is a "disaster notification," the process proceeds to step S36 shown in Fig. 11. In the following explanation of the disaster notification processing in steps S36 to S39, it is assumed that the earthquake information registered in the record in the fourth row from the top of disaster management table 441 shown in Fig. 4 is the target of processing.

[0063] If it is determined in step S36 that the request is a "disaster notification," an operator screen (disaster notification) is displayed on the display unit 46. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of the display of the operator screen (disaster notification). The operator screen (disaster notification) includes a disaster list screen 460A and a disaster notification screen 465A. The disaster list screen 460A is first displayed on the display unit 46. The disaster list screen 460A includes a list of disasters that are currently occurring. The disaster list includes the disaster name, occurrence date and time, and processing status included in the earthquake information record of the target earthquake registered in the disaster management table 441.

[0064] Furthermore, the disaster list screen 460A includes a create disaster notification button 461, a create seismic intensity change button 462, a create aftershock notification button 463, and a change button 464. The create disaster notification button 461 is used for an operation to display the disaster notification screen 465A. Since the disaster notification screen 465A is used for an operation related to sending a safety confirmation notification to a safety confirmation target, the create disaster notification button 461 is an example of an operation image used for an operation related to sending a safety confirmation notification to a safety confirmation target according to the present invention. The create seismic intensity change button 462 is used for an operation to display the seismic intensity change screen 465B. Since the seismic intensity change screen 465B is used for an operation related to sending a safety confirmation notification to a difference in the safety confirmation target, the create seismic intensity change button 462 is an example of an operation image used for an operation related to sending a safety confirmation notification to a difference in the safety confirmation target according to the present invention. The create aftershock notification button 463 is used for an operation to display the aftershock notification screen 465C. Since the aftershock notification screen 465C is used for operations related to the transmission of aftershock notifications, the aftershock notification creation button 463 is an example of an operation image used for operations related to the transmission of aftershock notifications according to the present invention. The change button 464 is used for operations to exclude earthquake information from processing.

[0065] If it is determined to be a "disaster notification," the create disaster notification button 461 is highlighted (for example, by changing the background color to make it stand out). In the example shown in Fig. 12, the create disaster notification button 461 for the disaster "Kanto region, seismic intensity 5+" is highlighted by changing the background color to a conspicuous color such as pink. This highlighting lets the operator know that the recommended operation in the disaster notification process is to press the create disaster notification button 461.

[0066] Furthermore, when the Create Seismic Intensity Change button 462 or the Create Aftershock Notification button 463 is pressed on the disaster list screen 460A, warning information is displayed asking whether the operator really wants to perform this operation, since it is not a recommended operation in disaster notification processing. This makes it possible to prevent the operator from performing operations that are not recommended in disaster notification processing.

[0067] In step S37, when the operator presses the Create Disaster Notification button 461, a disaster notification screen 465A is displayed on the display unit 46. In the example shown in FIG. 12, when the operator presses the Create Disaster Notification button 461 for a disaster called "Kanto Region, Seismic Intensity 5+," the disaster notification screen 465A is displayed with values ​​set based on the earthquake information of the target earthquake registered in the disaster management table 441. In the example shown in FIG. 12, on the disaster notification screen 465A, "Tokyo," which is the disaster area name of the area included in the record in the fourth row from the top of the disaster management table 441 shown in FIG. 4, is set as the target area for sending a safety confirmation notification without operator operation. Furthermore, on the disaster notification screen 465A, the disaster details of this record may be set as the body of the safety confirmation notification. Furthermore, the disaster notification screen 465A may include input fields for inputting the date, time, and location of the disaster. Furthermore, the disaster notification screen 465A includes a Send button 466A. The send button 466A is used for creating a disaster notification and sending a safety confirmation notification.

[0068] In this embodiment, when a safety confirmation notification is sent on behalf of the user, the operator determines whether or not to send the safety confirmation notification and performs the operation. The reason why the operator's decision result is received in this way is that, since earthquake information may be false, the operator is able to make the final decision on whether or not to send the safety confirmation notification. By having the operator's decision involved, it is possible to reduce false safety confirmation notifications.

[0069] As described above, initial values ​​are set on disaster notification screen 465A based on the contents of the earthquake information registered in disaster management table 441, so when the operator presses send button 466A either as is or after modifying as appropriate, the determination in step S37 becomes YES and the record is registered in disaster information table 442 in the subsequent step S38. On the other hand, if the operator does not press create disaster notification button 461, but instead changes the processing status of the disaster "Kanto region, seismic intensity 5+" on disaster list screen 460A to "not to be processed" and presses change button 464, the determination in step S37 becomes NO, the process proceeds to step S49, the memory unit update unit 416 updates the processing status of the record newly registered in disaster management table 441 to "not to be processed", and the process ends.

[0070] In step S38, when an operation to create a disaster notification is performed, the memory update unit 416 registers a record in the disaster information table 442. In the example shown in Fig. 5, a record with a common customer identification code is registered in the top row of the disaster information table 442. The disaster name, date of occurrence, time of occurrence, and location of occurrence of this record are set with information that is preset on the disaster notification screen 465A described above or information that is input by the operator.

[0071] In step S39, the transmission unit 414 obtains the transmission conditions for each customer from the condition management table 443, and registers customers who satisfy these transmission conditions in the disaster information table 442. The transmission unit 414 compares the names of disaster areas with a seismic intensity of 5 or higher indicated by the received earthquake information with the names of disaster areas and seismic intensities contained in the condition management table 443. In the example shown in Fig. 7, customer A has set a seismic intensity of 5 or lower for the disaster area names "Tokyo" and "Chiba Prefecture," and since the area and seismic intensity in the record in the fourth row from the top of the disaster management table 441 shown in Fig. 4 include the combination of "Tokyo" and "seismic intensity 5+," the transmission conditions are satisfied and customer A becomes a notification target. On the other hand, customer B has set the seismic intensity to 5 lower for "Saitama Prefecture" and "Ibaraki Prefecture," but the area and seismic intensity in the record in the fourth row from the top of disaster management table 441 shown in Figure 4 does not include the combination of "Saitama Prefecture" and a seismic intensity of "5 lower" or higher, or the combination of "Ibaraki Prefecture" and a seismic intensity of "5 lower" or higher, so the transmission conditions are not met and customer B is not determined to be a notification target. Similarly, customer C is not determined to be a notification target.

[0072] In this case, the target of the safety confirmation in response to the target earthquake is customer A, so a record with customer A's customer identification code is registered in the second row from the top of disaster information table 442, as shown in Figure 5. At this time, the disaster code, disaster name, date of occurrence, time of occurrence, and location of occurrence in customer A's record are set to the same value as the customer identification code in the top row of disaster information table 442 as the common record.

[0073] The transmitting unit 414 obtains the communication address of the user from the customer information table 444 based on the disaster information table 442, and transmits a safety confirmation notification to the user terminal 30. In the example shown in FIG. 5, a record with a customer identification code of customer A is registered in the disaster information table 442, so for customer A who is determined to be a notification target, the transmitting unit 414 obtains the communication address of the user terminal 30 from the customer information table 444 and transmits a safety confirmation notification to the user terminal 30 via the second communication unit 43. Since the disaster area name of the area included in the record in the fourth row from the top of the disaster management table 441 shown in FIG. 4 is Tokyo, users of customer A whose area is Tokyo are the notification targets. Therefore, the transmitting unit 414 obtains three communication addresses included in the record with the customer identification code of "customer A," the terminal type of "user," and the area of ​​"Tokyo" from the customer information table 444 shown in FIG. 8, and transmits safety confirmation notifications to these communication addresses.

[0074] Furthermore, the transmitting unit 414 acquires the communication address of the manager terminal 20 for customer A who has been determined to be the notification target, and transmits the proxy transmission notification and disaster notification to the manager terminal 20 via the second communication unit 43. For example, the transmitting unit 414 acquires one communication address included in the record in which the customer identification code is "customer A" and the terminal type is "manager" from the customer information table 444 shown in Fig. 8, and transmits the proxy transmission notification and disaster notification to this communication address.

[0075] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a safety confirmation notification. The safety confirmation notification is a notification for confirming the safety of a user. The safety confirmation notification is created based on the disaster information table 442. For example, a safety confirmation notification sent to customer A includes the disaster name, date of occurrence, and time of occurrence, the customer identification code of which is included in the record for customer A in the second row from the top of the disaster information table 442 shown in FIG. 5. The safety confirmation notification also includes information for replying to safety information. The user terminal 30 displays the safety confirmation notification received from the center device 40 on the display unit 31. The user replies with safety information (safety report) in accordance with the safety confirmation notification displayed on the display unit 31. This reply to safety information may be made using any means, such as a web screen, email, or telephone.

[0076] FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a disaster notification. A disaster notification is sent to an administrator to notify them that a disaster has occurred (earthquake information has been received). The disaster notification is created based on the disaster information table 442. For example, a safety confirmation notification sent to customer A will include the disaster name, date of occurrence, and time of occurrence, which are included in the record for customer A whose customer identification code is in the second line from the top in the disaster information table 442 shown in FIG. 5. The disaster notification lets the administrator know that a disaster has occurred.

[0077] FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of a proxy transmission notification. The proxy transmission notification notifies the administrator that a safety confirmation notification has been sent on behalf of the administrator by an proxy transmission service provider. The proxy transmission notification is created based on the disaster information table 442 and the condition management table 443. For example, the proxy transmission notification sent to customer A includes the disaster name, date and time of occurrence, which are included in the record for customer A whose customer identification code is in the second line from the top in the disaster information table 442 shown in FIG. 5, and the transmission conditions for the safety confirmation notification, which are included in the record for customer A whose customer identification code is in the condition management table 443 shown in FIG. The proxy transmission notification lets the administrator know that a safety confirmation notification has been sent on their behalf by an proxy transmission service provider.

[0078] Furthermore, when the earthquake information registered in the top row record of the disaster management table 441 shown in Figure 4 is the target of processing, the notification type of the earthquake information is determined to be "disaster notification," and the same processing as described above is performed.

[0079] If the notification type determination shown in Fig. 9 proceeds to step S16 and determines that the notification is a "seismic intensity change notification," the process proceeds to step S40 shown in Fig. 11. In the following description of the seismic intensity change processing in steps S40 to S43, it is assumed that the earthquake information registered in the record in the third row from the top of the disaster management table 441 shown in Fig. 4 is the target of processing.

[0080] If the determination in step S40 is that the notification is a "seismic intensity change notification," an operator screen (seismic intensity change) is displayed on the display unit 46. FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a display example of the operator screen (seismic intensity change). The operator screen (seismic intensity change) includes a disaster list screen 460B and a seismic intensity change screen 465B. The disaster list screen 460B is basically the same as the disaster list screen 460A included in the operator screen (disaster notification). However, if the determination is that the notification is a "seismic intensity change notification," the "seismic intensity change creation" button 462 is highlighted (for example, by changing the background color to make it stand out). In the example shown in FIG. 16, the "seismic intensity change creation" button 462 for the disaster "Kanto region seismic intensity 5+" is highlighted by changing the background color to a conspicuous color such as pink. This highlighting lets the operator know that the recommended operation in the seismic intensity change process is to press the "seismic intensity change creation" button 462.

[0081] Furthermore, when the Create Disaster Notification button 461 or the Create Aftershock Notification button 463 is pressed on the disaster list screen 460B, warning information is displayed asking whether the operator really wants to perform this operation, since it is not a recommended operation in the seismic intensity change processing. This makes it possible to prevent the operator from performing operations that are not recommended in the seismic intensity change processing.

[0082] In step S41, when the operator presses the Create Intensity Change button 462, a seismic intensity change screen 465B is displayed on the display unit 46. In the example shown in FIG. 16, when the operator presses the Create Intensity Change button 462 for the disaster "Kanto Region, Seismic Intensity 5+," the seismic intensity change screen 465B is displayed with values ​​set based on the earthquake information of the target earthquake and the earthquake information of the preceding earthquake registered in the disaster management table 441. In the example shown in FIG. 16, on the seismic intensity change screen 465B, "Tokyo" and "Chiba Prefecture," which are obtained by combining the affected area name of the preceding earthquake included in the record in the fourth row from the top of the disaster management table 441 shown in FIG. 4 and the affected area name of the target earthquake included in the record in the third row from the top, are set as the target areas for sending safety confirmation notifications without operator operation. Furthermore, other information may be set on the seismic intensity change screen 465B, as with the disaster notification screen 465A. Furthermore, the seismic intensity change screen 465B includes a Send button 466B. The send button 466B is used for operations related to creating a seismic intensity change and sending a safety confirmation notification to the difference between the preceding earthquake and the target earthquake for safety confirmation.

[0083] As described above, initial values ​​are set on the seismic intensity change screen 465B based on the combined earthquake information of the preceding earthquake and the target earthquake registered in the disaster management table 441, so if the operator presses the send button 466B either as is or after modifying it as appropriate, the determination in step S41 becomes YES and the record is registered in the disaster information table 442 in the subsequent step S42. On the other hand, if the operator does not press the create seismic intensity change button 462, but instead sets the processing status for the disaster "Kanto region, seismic intensity 5+" on the disaster list screen 460B to "not to be processed" and presses the change button 464, the determination in step S41 becomes NO, the process proceeds to step S49, the memory unit update unit 416 updates the processing status of the record newly registered in the disaster management table 441 to "not to be processed", and the process ends.

[0084] In step S42, when an operation to create a seismic intensity change notification is performed, the memory update unit 416 updates the records already registered in the disaster information table 442. The earthquake information registered in the record in the third row from the top of the disaster management table 441 shown in Fig. 4 relates to the preceding earthquake and series of earthquakes corresponding to the earthquake information registered in the record in the fourth row from the top. Therefore, based on the combined earthquake information of the preceding earthquake included in the record in the fourth row from the top of the disaster management table 441 and the earthquake information of the target earthquake included in the record in the third row from the top, the records with the same customer identification code in the top row of the disaster information table 442 shown in Fig. 5 are updated.

[0085] In step S43, the transmission unit 414 obtains the transmission conditions for each customer from the condition management table 443, as in step S39 described above, and registers and updates the customers who satisfy these transmission conditions in the disaster information table 442. In the example shown in FIG. 7, customer A has set the seismic intensity to lower 5 for the disaster area names "Tokyo" and "Chiba Prefecture," respectively. The area and seismic intensity in the record in the third row from the top of the disaster management table 441 shown in FIG. 4 include the combinations "Tokyo" and "Seismic intensity upper 5" and "Chiba Prefecture" and "Seismic intensity lower 5," so the transmission conditions are satisfied and customer A is a notification target. In the example shown in FIG. 7, customer C has set the seismic intensity to lower 5 for the disaster area names "Chiba Prefecture," "Kanagawa Prefecture," "Saitama Prefecture," and "Yamanashi Prefecture," respectively, and the seismic intensity to upper 5 for "Shizuoka Prefecture," "Nagano Prefecture," and "Tochigi Prefecture," so the area and seismic intensity in the record in the third row from the top of the disaster management table 441 shown in FIG. 4 include the combinations "Chiba Prefecture" and "Seismic intensity lower 5," so the transmission conditions are satisfied and customer C is also a notification target. On the other hand, customer B has set the seismic intensity to 5 lower for both Saitama Prefecture and Ibaraki Prefecture, but the area and seismic intensity in the record in the third row from the top of disaster management table 441 shown in Figure 4 does not include the combination of Saitama Prefecture and a seismic intensity of 5 lower or higher, nor the combination of Ibaraki Prefecture and a seismic intensity of 5 lower or higher, so the sending conditions are not met and customer B is not determined to be a notification target.

[0086] In this case, the targets for safety confirmation in response to the target earthquake are customers A and C. In disaster information table 442 shown in Fig. 5, customer A's record was already registered when the earthquake information registered in the record in the fourth row from the top of disaster management table 441 shown in Fig. 4 was received, so the customer identification code updated in step S42 is updated with the contents of the record in the common top row. On the other hand, customer C's record is not yet registered in disaster information table 442, so the customer identification code of customer C is registered in the third row from the top of disaster information table 442 as shown in Fig. 5. At this time, the disaster code, disaster name, date and time of occurrence, location of occurrence, and details of customer C's record are set to the same values ​​as those of the common record in the top row, and the customer identification code updated in step S42.

[0087] The transmitter 414 acquires the communication addresses of the difference targets of safety confirmation from the customer information table 444 based on the disaster information table 442, and transmits a safety confirmation notification to the user terminal 30. Comparing the disaster area name of the area of ​​the preceding earthquake included in the record in the fourth row from the top of the disaster management table 441 shown in FIG. 4 with the disaster area name of the area of ​​the target earthquake included in the record in the third row from the top, it is found that "Chiba Prefecture" has been added to the disaster area name of the area of ​​the target earthquake. Therefore, the difference targets of safety confirmation are the users of customer A who are in Chiba Prefecture and the users of customer C who are newly notified and are in Chiba Prefecture. Therefore, the transmitter 414 acquires one communication address included in the record with the customer identification code "customer A," the terminal type "user," and the area "Chiba Prefecture" from the customer information table 444 shown in FIG. 8, and one communication address included in the record with the customer identification code "customer C," the terminal type "user," and the area "Chiba Prefecture," and transmits a safety confirmation notification to these communication addresses.

[0088] In addition, during the seismic intensity change process, the sending unit 414 does not send a safety confirmation notification to the user terminals 30 of users of customer A who live in the Tokyo area and to whom a safety confirmation notification has already been sent in response to the earthquake information of the preceding earthquake registered in the record in the fourth row from the top of the disaster management table 441 shown in Figure 4.

[0089] The sending unit 414 also acquires the communication addresses of the manager terminal 20 for the customers A and C who are the notification targets, and transmits the proxy transmission notification and the seismic intensity change notification to the manager terminal 20 via the second communication unit 43. For example, the sending unit 414 acquires one communication address included in the record where the customer identification code is "customer A" and the terminal type is "manager" from the customer information table 444 shown in Fig. 8, and one communication address included in the record where the customer identification code is "customer C" and the terminal type is "manager", and transmits the proxy transmission notification and the seismic intensity change notification to these communication addresses.

[0090] Fig. 17 is a diagram illustrating a seismic intensity change notification. The seismic intensity change notification is sent to an administrator to notify them that a change in seismic intensity has occurred. The seismic intensity change notification is created based on the disaster management table 441 and the disaster information table 442. For example, the seismic intensity change notification includes the disaster name and occurrence date and time contained in the record in the third row from the top of the disaster management table 441 shown in Fig. 4. The seismic intensity change notification lets the administrator know that a change in seismic intensity has occurred.

[0091] If the notification type determination shown in Fig. 9 proceeds to step S15 and determines that it is an "aftershock notification," the process proceeds to step S44 shown in Fig. 11. In the following explanation of the aftershock notification processing in steps S44 to S47, it is assumed that the earthquake information registered in the record in the second row from the top of disaster management table 441 shown in Fig. 4 is the object of processing.

[0092] If the determination is made in step S44 that the event is an "aftershock notification," an operator screen (aftershock notification) is displayed on the display unit 46. FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an example of the display of the operator screen (aftershock notification). The operator screen (aftershock notification) includes a disaster list screen 460C and an aftershock notification screen 465C. Disaster list screen 460C is basically the same as disaster list screen 460A included in the operator screen (disaster notification). However, if the determination is made that the event is an "aftershock notification," then the aftershock notification create button 463 is highlighted (by changing the background color to make it stand out, for example) rather than the disaster notification create button 461. In the example shown in FIG. 18, the aftershock notification create button 463 for the disaster "Kanto region, seismic intensity 5 lower" is highlighted by changing the background color to a conspicuous color such as pink. This highlighting lets the operator know that the recommended operation in the aftershock notification processing is to press the aftershock notification create button 463.

[0093] Furthermore, when the Create Disaster Notification button 461 or the Create Intensity Change button 462 is pressed on the disaster list screen 460C, warning information is displayed asking whether the operator really wants to perform this operation, as it is not a recommended operation in aftershock notification processing. This makes it possible to prevent the operator from performing operations that are not recommended in seismic intensity change processing.

[0094] In step S45, when the operator presses the Create Aftershock Notification button 463, an aftershock notification screen 465C is displayed on the display unit 46. In the example shown in FIG. 18, when the operator presses the Create Aftershock Notification button 463 for the disaster "Kanto Region, Seismic Intensity 5 Lower," the aftershock notification screen 465C is displayed with values ​​set based on the earthquake information of the target earthquake and the preceding earthquake registered in the disaster management table 441. In the example shown in FIG. 18, on the aftershock notification screen 465C, "Tokyo" and "Chiba Prefecture," which are obtained by combining the affected area names of the preceding earthquake area included in the records on the third and fourth lines from the top of the disaster management table 441 shown in FIG. 4 and the affected area name of the target earthquake area included in the record on the second line from the top, are set as the target areas for sending safety confirmation notifications without operator operation. Furthermore, other information may be set on the aftershock notification screen 465C, just as on the disaster notification screen 465A. Furthermore, the aftershock notification screen 465C includes a Send button 466C. The send button 466C is used for the operation of creating and sending an aftershock notification.

[0095] As mentioned above, initial values ​​are set on the aftershock notification screen 465C based on the summary of the earthquake information for the preceding earthquake and the earthquake information for the target earthquake registered in the disaster management table 441, so if the operator presses the send button 466C either as is or after modifying it as appropriate, the determination will be YES in step S45 and the record will be registered in the disaster information table 442 in the subsequent step S46. On the other hand, if the operator does not press the aftershock notification creation button 463, but instead sets the processing status for the disaster "Kanto region, seismic intensity 5 lower" on the disaster list screen 460C to "not to be processed" and presses the change button 464, the determination will be NO in step S45, the process will proceed to step S49, the memory unit update unit 416 will update the processing status of the newly registered record in the disaster management table 441 to "not to be processed," and the process will end.

[0096] In step S46, when an operation to create an aftershock notification is performed, the memory update unit 416 updates the records already registered in the disaster information table 442. The earthquake information registered in the record in the second row from the top of the disaster management table 441 shown in Fig. 4 relates to the preceding earthquake and series of earthquakes indicated by the earthquake information registered in the records in the third and fourth rows from the top. Therefore, the record with the same customer identification code in the top row of the disaster information table 442 shown in Fig. 5 is updated based on the combined earthquake information of the preceding earthquake contained in the records in the third and fourth rows from the top of the disaster management table 441 shown in Fig. 4 and the earthquake information of the target earthquake contained in the record in the second row from the top.

[0097] In step S47, the transmission unit 414 obtains the transmission conditions for each customer from the condition management table 443, as in step S39 described above, and registers and updates the customers who satisfy these transmission conditions in the disaster information table 442. In the example shown in FIG. 7, customer A has set the seismic intensity to lower 5 for the disaster area names "Tokyo" and "Chiba Prefecture," respectively. The area and seismic intensity in the record in the second row from the top of the disaster management table 441 shown in FIG. 4 include the combinations "Tokyo" and "seismic intensity lower 5" and "Chiba Prefecture" and "seismic intensity lower 5." This satisfies the transmission conditions, and customer A is a notification target. Also, in the example shown in FIG. 7, customer C has set the seismic intensity to lower 5 for the disaster area names "Chiba Prefecture," "Kanagawa Prefecture," "Saitama Prefecture," and "Yamanashi Prefecture," respectively, and the seismic intensity to upper 5 for "Shizuoka Prefecture," "Nagano Prefecture," and "Tochigi Prefecture," respectively. The area and seismic intensity in the record in the second row from the top of the disaster management table 441 shown in FIG. 4 include the combination "Chiba Prefecture" and "seismic intensity lower 5." This satisfies the transmission conditions, and customer C is also a notification target. On the other hand, customer B has set the seismic intensity to 5 lower for both Saitama Prefecture and Ibaraki Prefecture, but the area and seismic intensity in the record in the second row from the top of disaster management table 441 shown in Figure 4 does not include the combination of Saitama Prefecture and a seismic intensity of 5 lower or higher, or the combination of Ibaraki Prefecture and a seismic intensity of 5 lower or higher, so the sending conditions are not met and customer B is not determined to be a notification target.

[0098] In this case, the notification recipients in response to the target earthquake are customers A and C, but in the disaster information table 442 shown in Figure 5, the records for customers A and C were already registered in the disaster information table 442 at the time of receiving the earthquake information registered in the records in the third and fourth rows from the top of the disaster management table 441 shown in Figure 4, so the customer identification codes updated in step S46 are updated with the contents of the common top row record.

[0099] The transmission unit 414 obtains the communication addresses of the managers of customers A and C who are the notification targets from the customer information table 444 based on the disaster information table 442, and transmits an aftershock notification to the manager terminal 20 via the second communication unit 43. For example, the transmission unit 414 obtains one communication address contained in a record where the customer identification code is "customer A" and the terminal type is "manager" from the customer information table 444 shown in FIG. 8, and one communication address contained in a record where the customer identification code is "customer C" and the terminal type is "manager", and transmits an aftershock notification to these communication addresses. Note that in the aftershock notification process, the transmission unit 414 does not send a safety confirmation notification. This is because, when the target earthquake is an aftershock, there is basically no difference between the targets of safety confirmation in response to the preceding earthquake and the targets of safety confirmation in response to the target earthquake.

[0100] FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating an aftershock notification. An aftershock notification is sent to an administrator to notify them that an aftershock has occurred. The aftershock notification is created based on the disaster management table 441 and the disaster information table 442. For example, the aftershock notification contains the disaster name and occurrence date and time contained in the record in the second row from the top of the disaster management table 441 shown in FIG. 4. The aftershock notification lets the administrator know that an aftershock has occurred.

[0101] In step S48, the storage unit update unit 416 updates the processing status of the record newly registered in the disaster management table 441 in step S33 to "processed."

[0102] If the process proceeds to step S49, the storage unit update unit 416 updates the processing status of the record newly registered in the disaster management table 441 in step S33 to "not to be processed," as described above, and the process ends. In this case, no safety confirmation notification, proxy transmission notification, disaster notification, seismic intensity change notification, or aftershock notification is sent for the received earthquake information.

[0103] The center device 40 stores the safety information provided by the user in the storage unit 44. The administrator can view the user's safety information by displaying on the display unit 21 a summary screen and a list screen provided by the center device 40 based on the safety information. FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating an example of a summary screen and a list screen for the safety status. The administrator can check the user's response status (safety status) to the safety confirmation notification sent by the sending unit 414 on the summary screen and the list screen. The administrator can also resend the safety confirmation notification to unconfirmed or responded users as necessary.

[0104] The summary screen includes the summary results of the safety status. These summary results include the number of users, the number of target persons, the number of responses, the number of unconfirmed persons, the number of safe persons, the number of slightly injured persons, the number of seriously injured persons, the number of responses, and the response rate. The number of users represents the total number of target customer users (number of user codes) registered in the safety confirmation system 1. The number of target persons represents the number of people to whom safety confirmation messages are sent. The number of responses represents the number of target persons who responded to the safety confirmation notification. The number of unconfirmed persons represents the number of people whose safety status has not been confirmed. When the administrator presses the "resend unconfirmed" button, safety confirmation notifications are resent to users whose safety status has not been confirmed. The number of safe persons is the summary of the number reported as "safe." The number of slightly injured persons is the summary of the number reported as "slightly injured." The number of seriously injured persons is the summary of the number reported as "severely injured." The number of responses is calculated by counting the number of users who replied to safety reports by email with content that does not fall under the response category, and the number of users who, when making a safety report, simply accessed the center device 40 but did not correctly report for each response item.When the administrator presses the "Resend Responses" button, a safety confirmation notification is resent to users who responded, asking them to report again.The response rate is the value obtained by dividing the number of responses by the number of subjects x 100, expressed as a percentage.

[0105] The list screen includes the user ID / user name, area, the user's safety status, whether they can come to work, whether their family members are safe, the condition of their home, the response date and time, the response category, comments, and the registered user. The example shown in Figure 20 shows the display items when the type of disaster indicated by the message is "earthquake." The displayed content differs depending on the type of disaster. The user ID / user name indicates the user code and name of the user to whom the safety confirmation notification is sent. The area indicates the area where the user or administrator is located (place of residence, place of work, etc.). The area is set in the customer information table 444. The user's safety status indicates whether the user is safe, slightly injured, or seriously injured. If the user did not respond correctly, it indicates that the user responded yes. The user's ability to come to work indicates whether the user can't, within approximately one hour, within approximately three hours, already at work, or other. The user's ability to confirm family members' safety indicates whether the user is unsure, all safe, some injured, some missing, or a serious accident. The house status indicates whether the user responded as unknown, safe, partially destroyed, or completely destroyed. The response date and time indicates the date and time the user responded. The response type indicates the method by which the user responded. For example, response types include a web screen (PC), a smartphone application, or email. The comment indicates the message sent by the user to the administrator. The registrant indicates the name of the user if the user responded themselves, or the name of the administrator if the administrator registered on their behalf. When the administrator presses the safety proxy registration button, the administrator can report the safety status on behalf of the user.

[0106] In this embodiment, the first earthquake, which is the subject of the earthquake information registered in the record in the fourth row from the top of disaster management table 441 shown in Figure 4, and the second earthquake, which is the subject of the earthquake information registered in the record in the third row from the top, are considered to be a series of earthquakes and are managed as a single disaster called "Disaster X." Therefore, the safety status of the user (in this case, the user with user ID 005) who was added to the list of users to be checked for safety due to the seismic intensity change process performed when the second earthquake occurred can be checked together with the safety status of users (in this case, the users with user IDs 002 to 004) who received safety confirmation notifications when the first earthquake occurred. In this way, the preceding earthquake and the series of earthquakes can be managed as a single disaster, eliminating the hassle.

[0107] According to the above-described embodiment, when a target earthquake occurs after a preceding earthquake, it is possible to determine whether the target earthquake is part of a series of earthquakes with the preceding earthquake without the need for an operator's judgment, and to perform processing according to the determination result. This reduces the burden on the operator. Furthermore, the criteria for determining a series of earthquakes include the condition that the area affected by the preceding earthquake is located in an area adjacent to the area affected by the target earthquake, thereby improving the accuracy of determining whether the preceding earthquake is part of a series of earthquakes. Furthermore, for example, if a second earthquake that satisfies the criteria for determining a series of earthquakes occurs within a predetermined time after the occurrence of a first earthquake, and a third earthquake that satisfies the criteria for determining a series of earthquakes occurs within a predetermined time after the occurrence of the second earthquake, both the second and third earthquakes are determined to be part of a series of earthquakes with the first earthquake. This improves the accuracy of determining a series of earthquakes because the preceding earthquakes and the series of earthquakes are determined in a chain reaction.

[0108] Furthermore, if the target earthquake is a series of earthquakes including a preceding earthquake, a safety confirmation notification is not sent to the user terminal 30 that has already received a safety confirmation notification in response to the preceding earthquake, thereby reducing the inconvenience to users caused by repeated safety confirmation requests during a series of earthquakes. This prevents unnecessary safety confirmation notifications from being sent to users, improves the convenience of the safety confirmation service, and reduces communication traffic. Furthermore, if the target earthquake is a series of earthquakes including a preceding earthquake, a safety confirmation notification is sent to the user terminal 30 that is the difference between the target and target earthquakes for safety confirmation. This prevents a safety confirmation notification from being sent again in response to the target earthquake to a user terminal 30 that has already received a safety confirmation notification in response to the preceding earthquake. Furthermore, if the target earthquake is an aftershock of the preceding earthquake, an aftershock notification is sent to the administrator terminal 20 of the customer whose safety is to be confirmed in response to the target earthquake, and a safety confirmation notification is not sent to the user terminal 30. This prevents a safety confirmation notification from being sent again in response to an aftershock to a user terminal 30 that has already received a safety confirmation notification in response to the preceding earthquake.

[0109] Furthermore, the operator screen (disaster notification) highlights the disaster notification creation button 461, allowing the operator to easily perform the recommended operations in disaster notification processing. Furthermore, the operator screen related to seismic intensity change processing highlights the seismic intensity change creation button 462, allowing the operator to easily perform the recommended operations in seismic intensity change processing. Furthermore, the operator screen (aftershock notification) highlights the aftershock notification creation button 463, allowing the operator to easily perform the recommended operations in aftershock notification processing.

[0110] 3. Variations The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. The above-described embodiment is an example, and may be implemented with the following modifications, or may be implemented by combining two or more of the following modifications.

[0111] 3-1. Variation 1 In the above-described embodiment, safety confirmation notifications and the like may be sent without operator operation. In this modification, the operator does not press the disaster notification creation button 461, the seismic intensity change creation button 462, the aftershock notification creation button 463, or the send buttons 466A to 466C. In disaster notification processing, after receiving earthquake information, the transmission unit 414 transmits safety confirmation notifications to the user terminals 30 of customers that meet the conditions for sending safety confirmation notifications, without operator operation, for items determined by the target determination unit 412 and the identification unit 413 to be targets for customer notification. In change notification processing, after receiving earthquake information, the transmission unit 414 transmits safety confirmation notifications to the difference in the targets for safety confirmation between the preceding earthquake and the target earthquake, without operator operation, for items determined by the target determination unit 412 and the identification unit 413 to be targets for customer notification. In the aftershock notification process, after receiving earthquake information, the transmission unit 414 transmits aftershock notifications to the manager terminal 20 of customers who meet the conditions for sending safety confirmation notifications, without any operation by the operator, for those determined by the target determination unit 412 and identification unit 413 to be targets for notification to customers. According to this variation, safety confirmation notifications and the like can be sent automatically, without any operation by the operator.

[0112] 3-2. Variation 2 In the above-described embodiment, the predetermined time included in the criteria for determining a series of earthquakes may be changed. When the magnitude of an earthquake is large, a series of earthquakes may occur with a certain amount of time between them. Therefore, for example, when the earthquake's seismic intensity is greater than a standard seismic intensity of 7 or the like, the predetermined time may be changed from the standard 6 hours to 10 hours. In this case, the predetermined time for deleting earthquake information stored in the disaster information table 442 is also changed from the standard 6 hours to 10 hours. This change in the predetermined time may be performed by an operator, or may be performed automatically by the center device 40 without operator operation. As a result, even if a series of earthquakes occurs with a certain amount of time between them when the magnitude of the earthquake is large, the earthquakes can be determined to be a series of earthquakes.

[0113] 3-3. Variation 3 In the above-described embodiment, the criteria for determining a series of earthquakes and the criteria for determining aftershocks may be generated or updated using AI (Artificial Intelligence) such as machine learning, thereby improving the accuracy of determining a series of earthquakes and aftershocks.

[0114] 3-4. Variation 4 The configurations, functions, and operations of the safety confirmation system 1, server device 10, administrator terminal 20, user terminal 30, and center device 40 described in the above-described embodiments are merely examples and are not limited to these. The server device 10, administrator terminal 20, user terminal 30, and center device 40 may be configured to include one or more of the above-described devices or components, or may be configured without including some of the devices or components. At least some of the functions of the server device 10, administrator terminal 20, user terminal 30, and center device 40 may be provided by other devices. Furthermore, the order of the operation procedures of the safety confirmation system 1, server device 10, administrator terminal 20, user terminal 30, and center device 40 may be changed or some operation procedures may be omitted, as long as there is no contradiction.

[0115] 3-5. Variation 5 Another aspect of the present invention may provide a method having operational steps performed in at least one of the safety confirmation system 1, the server device 10, the administrator terminal 20, the user terminal 30, and the center device 40. Furthermore, yet another aspect of the present invention may provide a program executed in the server device 10, the administrator terminal 20, the user terminal 30, or the center device 40. This program may be provided by being stored in a computer-readable recording medium, or may be provided by downloading via the Internet or the like.

[0116] 3-6. Variation 6 In the above-described embodiment, even when the earthquake information acquired by the acquisition unit 411 is a follow-up report on a preceding earthquake, the transmission unit 414 transmits a safety confirmation notification to the difference in the target of the safety confirmation between the preceding earthquake and the target earthquake, as in the seismic intensity change process described above, and does not need to transmit a safety confirmation notification to user terminals 30 to which a safety confirmation notification has already been sent in response to the preceding earthquake. Whether or not the earthquake information is a follow-up report on a preceding earthquake is determined based on the event ID (identification information) and serial number (information number) of the earthquake information. For example, if the event ID of the preceding earthquake stored in the disaster management table 441 is the same as the event ID of the target earthquake, this means that the target earthquake is the same earthquake as the preceding earthquake. When the target earthquake and the preceding earthquake are the same earthquake, if the serial number of the target earthquake stored in the disaster management table 441 is a number later than the serial number of the preceding earthquake, this indicates that the earthquake information of the target earthquake is a follow-up report on the preceding earthquake. According to this variant, if the target earthquake is a series of earthquakes including a preceding earthquake, a safety confirmation notification is sent to the user terminal 30 of the customer who is the difference in the target for safety confirmation between the preceding earthquake and the target earthquake, thereby preventing a safety confirmation notification from being sent again in response to the target earthquake to a user terminal 30 that has already received a safety confirmation notification in response to the preceding earthquake.

[0117] 3-7. Variation 7 In the above-described embodiment, the criteria for determining whether a series of earthquakes is occurring include the condition that the area affected by the preceding earthquake is located in an area adjacent to the area affected by the target earthquake, but this condition may also be that the area affected by the target earthquake is located in an area adjacent to the area affected by the preceding earthquake. In other words, this condition only needs to be that one of the areas affected by the preceding earthquake and the area affected by the target earthquake is located in an area adjacent to the other area affected by the preceding earthquake. This modified configuration also improves the accuracy of determining whether a series of earthquakes is occurring. [Explanation of symbols]

[0118] 1: Safety confirmation system, 10: Server device, 20: Administrator terminal, 21: Display unit, 30: User terminal, 31: Display unit, 40: Center device, 41: Control unit, 42: First communication unit, 43: Second communication unit, 44: Storage unit, 45: Input unit, 46: Display unit, 411: Acquisition unit, 412: Target determination unit, 413: Identification unit, 414: Transmission unit, 415: Display control unit, 416: Storage unit update unit

Claims

1. an acquisition unit that acquires earthquake information regarding a target earthquake; a transmitting unit that transmits a safety confirmation notification to a user terminal that is a target of safety confirmation according to the target earthquake when the target earthquake related to the acquired earthquake information is not a series of earthquakes including a preceding earthquake to which a safety confirmation notification has already been sent, and does not transmit the safety confirmation notification to a user terminal that has already been sent the safety confirmation notification according to the preceding earthquake when the target earthquake is a series of earthquakes including the preceding earthquake; A safety confirmation system equipped with the following.

2. A determination unit is further provided that determines whether the target earthquake is a series of earthquakes including the preceding earthquake in accordance with a determination condition using the acquired earthquake information, The determination conditions include a condition that the disaster area of ​​the preceding earthquake is in an area adjacent to the disaster area of ​​the target earthquake. The safety confirmation system according to claim 1 .

3. If the target earthquake is not a series of earthquakes including the preceding earthquake, a display unit is further provided which displays a screen including an operation image used for an operation related to sending the safety confirmation notification to the target of the safety confirmation corresponding to the target earthquake in a display format that highlights the operation image, When the operation is performed using the operation image, the transmission unit transmits the safety confirmation notification to the user terminal of the target of the safety confirmation corresponding to the target earthquake. The safety confirmation system according to claim 1 .

4. The transmission unit transmits the safety confirmation notification to the difference in the number of targets for safety confirmation between the preceding earthquake and the target earthquake when the target earthquake is a series of earthquakes including the preceding earthquake and the seismic intensity of the target earthquake increases from the seismic intensity of the preceding earthquake, or when the affected area of ​​the target earthquake expands from the affected area of ​​the preceding earthquake. The safety confirmation system according to claim 1 .

5. a display unit that displays a screen including an operation image used for an operation related to sending the safety confirmation notification to the difference in a display format that highlights the operation image when the target earthquake is a part of a series of earthquakes including the preceding earthquake and the seismic intensity of the target earthquake increases from that of the preceding earthquake, or when the affected area of ​​the target earthquake expands from that of the preceding earthquake; The transmission unit transmits the safety confirmation notification to the difference when the operation is performed using the operation image. The safety confirmation system according to claim 4.

6. When the target earthquake satisfies the aftershock determination condition, the transmission unit transmits an aftershock notification to the manager terminal of the safety confirmation target corresponding to the target earthquake. The safety confirmation system according to claim 1 .

7. a display unit that, if the target earthquake satisfies the aftershock determination conditions, displays a screen including an operation image used for operations related to the transmission of the aftershock notification in a display format that highlights the operation image, When the operation is performed using the operation image, the transmission unit transmits the aftershock notification to the manager terminal of the target of the safety confirmation corresponding to the target earthquake. The safety confirmation system according to claim 6.

8. When the acquired earthquake information is a follow-up report on the preceding earthquake, the transmission unit does not transmit the safety confirmation notification to the user terminal to which the safety confirmation notification has already been transmitted in response to the preceding earthquake. The safety confirmation system according to claim 1 .

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