Remote monitoring system, information processing apparatus, program, and adapter apparatus

Abstract

To provide a remote monitoring system capable of suppressing introduction cost low and comprehensively monitoring the activity situation of a person to be observed.SOLUTION: According to the present invention, there is provided an adapter device for electrically connecting a socket for illumination and an illuminator, the adapter device including a wireless communication means which operates by power supplied from the socket while the socket is energized and transmits predetermined information to the information processing device at a set transmission interval, wherein the information processing device includes an energization state history recording unit that records an energization state history, which is a history of the energization state of the socket, based on a reception history in which the energization information is received from the adapter device, and a monitoring information generation unit that generates monitoring information based on the energization state history.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a remote monitoring system, an information processing device, and an adapter device. [Background technology]

[0002] There has traditionally been a demand for remote monitoring of the activities of elderly people living alone or children left at home.

[0003] In this regard, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-78138 (Patent Document 1) discloses a lifestyle monitoring device that abstracts output information from various sensors provided to detect the activity status of the person being observed and provides it to the observer, in order to protect the privacy of the person being observed.

[0004] However, it takes a lot of time and money to install sensors in various locations and comprehensively monitor the activity status of the person being observed.In this regard, a method of monitoring the activity status of the person being observed based on the usage of existing household appliances (e.g., electric kettles) is widely known as a low-cost method, but this method of using household appliances installed in specific locations in the house has the problem that it is not possible to comprehensively monitor the activity status of the entire house.Furthermore, depending on the type of household appliance, the frequency of use may change depending on the season or weather, which causes the problem of variation in the accuracy of the information obtained. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems in the conventional technology, and aims to provide a remote monitoring system that can comprehensively monitor the activity status of an observation target. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The inventors of the present invention have conducted extensive research into the configuration of a remote monitoring system that can comprehensively monitor the activity status of a person being observed, and as a result, have come up with the following configuration and have completed the present invention.

[0007] That is, according to the present invention, there is provided a remote monitoring system including an adapter device that electrically connects a lighting socket and a lighting device, and an information processing device that is communicatively connected to the adapter device via a network, wherein the adapter device operates on power supplied from the socket while power is applied to the socket and includes wireless communication means that transmits predetermined information to the information processing device at set transmission intervals, and the information processing device includes a power supply status history recording unit that records a power supply status history that is a history of the power supply status of the socket based on a reception history of the power supply information received from the adapter device, and a monitoring information generation unit that generates monitoring information based on the power supply status history. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] As described above, the present invention provides a remote monitoring system that can comprehensively monitor the activity status of a person being observed. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the system configuration of a remote monitoring system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an adapter device according to the present embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the remote monitoring system according to the present embodiment. [Figure 4] 3A to 3C are diagrams showing various tables held by the remote monitoring server of the present embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 3 is a sequence diagram showing a process executed by the remote monitoring system of the present embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a service screen of a remote monitoring service according to the embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a service screen of a remote monitoring service according to the embodiment. [Figure 8]FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a service screen of a remote monitoring service according to the embodiment. [Figure 9] 5A and 5B are conceptual diagrams for explaining a power-on information reception history and a power-on state history. [Figure 10] FIG. 3 is a sequence diagram showing a process executed by the remote monitoring system of the present embodiment. [Figure 11] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a service screen of a remote monitoring service according to the embodiment. [Figure 12] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a service screen of a remote monitoring service according to the embodiment. [Figure 13] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of a remote monitoring server according to the present embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] The present invention will be described below with reference to embodiments, but the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described below. In the drawings referred to below, the same reference numerals will be used for common elements, and their description will be omitted as appropriate.

[0011] As shown in FIG. 1, a remote monitoring system 1000 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a remote monitoring server 200 and a plurality of adapter devices 100 arranged on a network 70, such as the Internet.

[0012] As shown in FIG. 1, lighting sockets 20 (hereinafter referred to as sockets 20) for supplying commercial power to lighting devices 30 are provided in various places in a typical house 80. The adapter device 100 of this embodiment has an electrical configuration equivalent to that of a typical base conversion adapter, and fits into both the receptacle of the socket 20 and the base of the lighting device 30 to electrically connect the two.

[0013] 1 illustrates a bulb-type lighting device (such as an incandescent bulb, an LED bulb, or a bulb-type fluorescent lamp) with a screw-type base as the lighting device 30, but the adapter device 100 of this embodiment may be compatible with a socket for a lighting device (such as various fluorescent lamps or LED lights) with a snap-in base, in which case the adapter device 100 has an appropriate adapter structure compatible with the snap-in base. However, the following description will be given taking as an example the adapter device 100 compatible with the bulb-type lighting device 30 (hereinafter referred to as the bulb 30).

[0014] Here, the adapter device 100 is equipped with a wireless communication function compatible with predetermined wireless standards such as Wi-Fi (registered trademark) and Bluetooth (registered trademark), and is configured to establish wireless communication with a wireless LAN access point 50 installed in the house 80, and to be connected to the remote monitoring server 200 so as to be able to communicate with each other via a wired LAN 60 and a network 70 connected to the access point 50.

[0015] On the other hand, the remote monitoring server 200 of this embodiment is an information processing device equipped with a database function and a Web application server function. The remote monitoring server 200 accumulates information received from each adapter device 100 via the network 70, executes various processes based on the accumulated information, and provides the execution results via the network 70 to a user terminal 40 referred to as a PC, a smartphone, or the like, or to a predetermined external server 300.

[0016] Having explained the outline of the remote monitoring system 1000 of this embodiment above, the detailed configuration of the adapter device 100 of this embodiment will now be explained with reference to FIG.

[0017] FIG. 2(a) shows the external appearance of the adapter device 100 of this embodiment. Note that FIG. 2(a) shows a portion cut away for ease of explanation. As shown in FIG. 2(a), the adapter device 100 comprises a base portion 11 and a substantially cylindrical holder portion 12 formed of an insulating material such as synthetic resin. The base portion 11 is formed to be threadedly fitted into a receptacle of a socket 20, and the holder portion 12 has a receptacle 13 formed on its inner circumferential surface to be threadedly fitted with the base of a light bulb 30. The serial number of the adapter device 100 is engraved as a unique identifier at an appropriate position on the surface of the adapter device 100. Additionally, the adapter device 100 includes a wireless communication unit 10 embedded in the holder portion 12 for wireless communication with an access point 50.

[0018] 2(b) shows the hardware configuration of the wireless communication unit 10 mounted on the adapter device 100. As shown in FIG. 2(b), the wireless communication unit 10 includes a power supply control circuit 16, a microcomputer 17, an antenna 18, and a communication interface 19.

[0019] In this embodiment, terminal 14 of base portion 11 comes into contact with terminal 22 of socket 20, and terminal 15 of holder portion 12 comes into contact with terminal of the base of light bulb 30, thereby forming an electrical path between terminal 22 of socket 20 and light bulb 30. Wireless communication unit 10 is configured so that when switch 23, which turns light bulb 30 on and off, is turned on, commercial power is supplied to both socket 20 and power supply control circuit 16, and when switch 23 is turned off, the power supply to both socket 20 and power supply control circuit 16 is cut off.

[0020] Here, the power supply control circuit 16 is configured to convert the power supply voltage supplied from the commercial power supply into a DC power supply voltage of a predetermined voltage value and supply it to the microcomputer 17, and the microcomputer 17 is configured to operate on the DC power supply voltage supplied from the power supply control circuit 16 and transmit and receive radio signals via the antenna 18.

[0021] Furthermore, the microcomputer 17 is configured to receive input of information via a communication interface 19. Examples of standards for the communication interface 19 include USB (Universal Serial Bus) and NFC (Near Field Communication), and the wireless communication unit 10 may include, for example, both a USB interface and an NFC USB interface.

[0022] Having explained the detailed configuration of the adapter device 100 of this embodiment above, the functional configuration of the adapter device 100 and the remote monitoring server 200 will now be explained based on the functional block diagram shown in FIG.

[0023] The adapter device 100 includes a wireless communication establishment unit 102, a power supply information transmission unit 104, and a storage area .

[0024] The wireless communication establishment unit 102 is a means for searching for a wireless LAN access point and establishing wireless communication with the discovered access point.

[0025] The power supply information transmitting unit 104 is a means for periodically transmitting power supply information indicating that power is being supplied to the socket 20 connected to the adapter device 100 to the remote monitoring server 200 while power is being supplied to the socket 20.

[0026] Memory area 106 is a memory area provided by a non-volatile memory element (such as a flash memory) mounted on microcomputer 17, and stores the serial number (manufacturing number) of the device itself, the URL (destination information) of remote monitoring server 200 to which the previously mentioned power information is to be sent, the transmission interval for the power information, and connection information (ESSID of access point 50, encryption key, etc.) for connecting to the wireless LAN of the house to be monitored.

[0027] In this embodiment, the microcomputer 17 that executes a predetermined program functions as each of the above-mentioned means.

[0028] On the other hand, the remote monitoring server 200 is configured to include a login processing unit 201, an adapter registration unit 202, a warning condition setting unit 203, a power information reception history recording unit 204, a power status history recording unit 205, a monitoring information generation unit 206, a monitoring information transmission unit 207, a warning condition establishment determination unit 208, a warning information transmission unit 209, and a database 210.

[0029] The login processing unit 201 is a means for executing login processing in response to a login request from the user terminal 40.

[0030] The adapter registration unit 202 is a means for registering and deregistering the adapter device 100 .

[0031] The warning condition setting unit 203 is a means for setting warning conditions received from the user.

[0032] The power information reception history recording unit 204 is a means for recording the reception history of the power information periodically transmitted from the adapter device 100 .

[0033] The power supply state history recording unit 205 is a means for recording a history of whether or not power is supplied to the socket 20 (hereinafter referred to as power supply state history) based on the power supply information received from the adapter device.

[0034] The monitoring information generating unit 206 is a means for generating predetermined monitoring information based on the power supply state history recorded by the power supply state history recording unit 205 .

[0035] The monitoring information transmission unit 207 is a means for transmitting predetermined monitoring information in response to a request from a user or the external server 300 .

[0036] The warning condition establishment determination unit 208 is means for determining whether or not a preset warning condition is established based on the power supply state history recorded by the power supply state history recording unit 205 .

[0037] The warning information transmitting unit 209 is a means for transmitting predetermined warning information to a destination registered in advance when it is determined that a warning condition is met.

[0038] The database 210 is a means for retaining a user information management table 500 in which user information for each user is stored, an adapter information management table 600 in which adapter information for each registered adapter device 100 is stored, a warning setting information management table 700 in which warning setting information for each user is stored, a history of the time when power information for each registered adapter device 100 was received (hereinafter referred to as a reception log), and a power status history for each registered adapter device 100. Here, Fig. 4(a) shows the user information management table 500, Fig. 4(b) shows the adapter information management table 600, and Fig. 4(c) shows the warning setting information management table 700.

[0039] In this embodiment, the remote monitoring server 200 that executes a predetermined program functions as each of the above-mentioned means.

[0040] The functional configurations of the adapter device 100 and the remote monitoring server 200 have been described above. Next, the processing executed by the remote monitoring system 1000 of this embodiment will be described.

[0041] Here, we will first explain the process by which a user of this system newly installs an adapter device 100 in a house (hereinafter referred to as the house) where a person to be observed (such as an elderly person living alone) lives, and starts operating it, based on the sequence diagram shown in Figure 5.

[0042] First, the user operates the user terminal 40 to access the "Remote Monitoring Service" Web service provided by the remote monitoring server 200, enters account information on the "Login Screen" shown in FIG. 6(a), and selects the "Login" button (S1). In response, the user terminal 40 sends a login request including the entered account information to the remote monitoring server 200 (S2). The login processing unit 201 of the remote monitoring server 200 compares the account information received from the user terminal 40 with the account information registered in the user information management table 500 (see FIG. 4(a)) to perform user authentication (S3), and permits login for users who are successfully authenticated.

[0043] At this time, the remote monitoring server 200 transmits the "monitoring information screen" shown in Fig. 6(b) to the user terminal 40 that has successfully logged in, and the user terminal 40 displays this. In response to this, when the user selects the "adapter registration" button displayed on the "monitoring information screen," the "monitoring information screen" transitions to the "adapter registration screen" shown in Fig. 7(a).

[0044] In response to this, the user inputs the following adapter information (1) to (4) relating to one or more adapter devices 100 to be registered from the input form displayed on the "adapter registration screen" (S4). (1) Serial number of adapter device 100 (2) Name of adapter device 100 (3) Installation location of adapter device 100 (4) Transmission interval of power-on information to be transmitted by the adapter device 100

[0045] For (1) above, the user inputs the serial number engraved on the surface of the adapter device 100. For (2) above, the user inputs an appropriate name for identifying the adapter device 100 (for example, any character string that evokes the installation location of the adapter device 100). For (3) above, the user inputs any character string that identifies the installation location of the adapter device 100.

[0046] Regarding (4) above, the user inputs an appropriate transmission interval according to the purpose of the lighting to which the adapter device 100 is connected and the desired monitoring accuracy. Specifically, since lights in places such as toilets, washrooms, bedrooms, and entryways are often turned on for relatively short periods of time, the transmission interval of the adapter device 100 to which these lights are connected can be set to about 1 minute, while lights in rooms such as living rooms are often turned on for relatively long periods of time, so the transmission interval of the adapter device 100 to which these lights are connected can be set to about 10 minutes.

[0047] Thereafter, in response to the user selecting the "Register" button, the user terminal 40 transmits an adapter registration request including the input adapter information (1) to (4) to the remote monitoring server 200 (S5). In response to this, the adapter registration unit 202 of the remote monitoring server 200 creates a new adapter information management table 600 (see FIG. 4(b)) related to the logged-in user, and stores the adapter information (1) to (4) included in the adapter registration request received from the user terminal 40 in the corresponding fields of the created table.

[0048] Next, when the user returns to the "Monitoring Information Screen" shown in FIG. 6(b) and selects the "Alert Settings" button, the "Monitoring Information Screen" transitions to the "Alert Settings Screen" shown in FIG. 7(b). Here, the "remote monitoring service" of this embodiment provides a service of sending an alert email to a pre-registered email address when a state in which the power status of the socket 20 connected to the adapter device 100 remains unchanged reaches a set time threshold. The user inputs the time threshold as the alert condition and a desired email address as the alert destination in an input form displayed on the "Alert Settings Screen" (S7). Note that possible recipients of the alert email include the user himself / herself, family members living near the person being observed, welfare organizations, a family doctor, and a security company.

[0049] Thereafter, in response to the user selecting the "Register" button, the user terminal 40 transmits an alert setting request including the input alert condition and alert destination to the remote monitoring server 200 (S8). In response to this, the alert condition setting unit 203 of the remote monitoring server 200 creates a new record for the logged-in user in the alert setting information management table 700 (see FIG. 4(c)), and stores the alert condition and alert destination registration information included in the alert setting request received from the user terminal 40 in the corresponding fields of the created record (S9).

[0050] Next, the user inputs and sets the same value as the transmission interval input in S4 described above to the wireless communication unit 10 of each registered adapter device 100 via the communication interface 19 (S10). At this time, the set transmission interval is stored in the memory area 106.

[0051] Next, the user inputs and sets connection information (ESSID, encryption key, etc.) required for wireless connection to the access point 50 installed in the house to the wireless communication unit 10 of each registered adapter device 100 via the communication interface 19 (S11). At this time, the set connection information is stored in the memory area 106.

[0052] After completing the wireless connection setup, the wireless communication establishment unit 102 of each adapter device 100 establishes wireless communication with the access point 50 installed in the house (S12). In this embodiment, after completing the wireless connection setup of the registered adapter device 100, the user can check the details on the "network setting confirmation screen" shown in FIG. 8(a). As shown in FIG. 8(a), the "network setting confirmation screen" displays a list of the names, serial numbers, IP addresses, and MAC addresses of the adapter devices 100 that have established wireless communication with the access point 50. In response to this, when the user selects the "detailed settings" button displayed in the list, the "network setting confirmation screen" transitions to the "network detailed settings screen" shown in FIG. 8(b). The "network detailed settings screen" can accept detailed settings related to the network settings of the adapter device 100 from the user.

[0053] Thereafter, the user installs the base 11 of the registered adapter device 100 in the registered installation position (S13). Specifically, after removing the light bulb 30 from the socket 20 arranged in the registered installation position, the user threads the base 11 of the adapter device 100, whose installation position is registered, into the receptacle of the socket 20, and threads the base of the removed light bulb 30 into the receptacle 13 of the holder part 12 of the adapter device 100, thereby electrically connecting the socket 20 and the light bulb 30.

[0054] Thereafter, when the switches 23 of the sockets 20 connected to the adapter devices 100 installed in various places in the house are turned on and power is applied to the sockets 20, the microcomputer 17 mounted on the adapter device 100 receives power from the power supply control circuit 16 and starts up (see FIG. 2(b)). In response to this, the power-on information transmitting unit 104 of the adapter device 100 generates power-on information including its own serial number and transmits the generated power-on information to the remote monitoring server 200 at the communication interval stored in the memory area 106 (S14). Thereafter, the power-on information transmitting unit 104 repeatedly executes S14 while power is being supplied to the adapter device 100 (i.e., while power is being applied to the sockets 20).

[0055] Meanwhile, the power information reception history recording unit 204 of the remote monitoring server 200 records the reception time of the power information received from the adapter device 100 in a reception log (reception history) (S13). Fig. 9(a) shows the reception log stored for each serial number.

[0056] While the power information reception history recording unit 204 updates the reception log for each serial number, the power status history recording unit 205 of the remote monitoring server 200 determines the power status indicating whether or not power is being supplied (on / off) to the socket 20 connected to each adapter device 100 based on the reception log of each adapter device 100, and repeats the process of updating the power status history of each adapter device 100 stored in the database 210 based on the determination result (S16).

[0057] 9(b), the power-on state history recording unit 205 determines the power-on state to be "ON" when power-on information is received from the adapter device 100, and when a time threshold T has elapsed without receiving the next power-on information after receiving the power-on information, determines the power-on state to be "OFF", and repeats this process, recording and updating the change in the determination result over time as the power-on state history. Here, the time threshold T can be a value obtained by adding an appropriate margin to the communication interval (see FIG. 4(b)) set in each adapter device 100.

[0058] The above has described the process of installing a new adapter device 100 in a house and putting it into operation. Next, the process executed when a user views monitoring information will be described with reference to the sequence diagram shown in FIG. 10.

[0059] When a user who wants to check the current status of the person being observed logs in to the "remote monitoring service" (S1), the user terminal 40 sends a login request to the remote monitoring server 200 (S2). In response to this, the login processing unit 201 of the remote monitoring server 200 performs user authentication (S3) and permits the user to log in.

[0060] Next, the monitoring information generation unit 206 of the remote monitoring server 200 generates monitoring information related to the logged-in user (S4). Specifically, the power state history of one or more adapter devices 100 registered by the logged-in user is read from the database 210, and based on the read power state history, the current "power state" of the light bulbs 30 connected to each adapter device 100 and the "elapsed time" since the light bulbs 30 transitioned to the current power state are determined. After that, a list of the "power state" and "elapsed time" determined for each adapter device 100 is generated as monitoring information.

[0061] Thereafter, the monitoring information generation unit 206 transmits the generated monitoring information to the logged-in user terminal 40 (S5). In response to this, the user terminal 40 displays a "monitoring information screen" including the received monitoring information (S6). FIG. 11(a) shows the "monitoring information screen" displayed in S6. As shown in FIG. 11(a), the "monitoring information screen" displays a list of monitoring information that summarizes the "name," "installation location," "power status," and "elapsed time" of each adapter device 100 registered by the user.

[0062] At this time, the user checks the box corresponding to the "name" they want to check from the "graph" check boxes displayed in the list on the "monitoring information screen" and then selects the "display graph" button (S7).The user terminal 40 then sends a monitoring information request including the serial number of the adapter device 100 with the "name" selected by the user to the remote monitoring server 200 (S8).In response to this, the monitoring information generation unit 206 reads from the database 210 the power status history linked to the serial number included in the monitoring information request, and generates monitoring information in the form of a bar graph of the power status history from midnight on that day to the current time (S9).

[0063] Thereafter, the monitoring information transmission unit 207 transmits the generated graph (monitoring information) to the user terminal 40 (S10), and the user terminal 40 displays a "monitoring information screen" including the received graph (S11). FIG. 11(b) shows the "monitoring information screen" displayed in S11. As shown in FIG. 11(b), the "monitoring information screen" displays, as monitoring information, a bar graph of the power supply status history corresponding to four names selected by the user ("toilet," "living room," "bedroom," and "entrance").

[0064] As shown in Figure 11(b), the graph visualizing the power status history of the sockets 20 installed in various places in the house accurately reflects the activity status of the person being observed. By comparing this graph with the personality and daily behavior patterns of the person being observed that the user knows, the user can estimate the activity status of the person being observed with a high degree of accuracy.

[0065] For example, the user can infer the following about the behavior of the person being observed (for example, an elderly person living alone) from the graph shown in FIG. 11(b). (1) Went to the toilet around 3:00 a.m. (The subject has recently been experiencing frequent urination.) (2) After going to the toilet, the subject was unable to fall asleep for about an hour. (The subject has difficulty falling asleep.) (3) Waking up at around 6:00 a.m. and moving to the living room. (The subject has the habit of watching TV dramas every morning.) (4) The subject went out around 3 p.m. (The subject has the habit of going to the bathroom before going out.)

[0066] Although the above description has focused on providing monitoring information to individual users, the present system does not limit the provision of monitoring information to individual users. The remote monitoring server 200's WebAPI can be made public to accept and provide monitoring information requests from the external server 300. Examples of entities operating such external servers 300 include security companies and medical institutions. In this case, upon receiving a monitoring information request from the external server 300 (S12), the monitoring information generation unit 206 generates the specified monitoring information requested by the external server 300 based on information (such as a reception log and power-on status history) stored in the database 210 (S13), and the monitoring information transmission unit 207 transmits the generated monitoring information to the external server 300 (S14).

[0067] Meanwhile, the warning condition satisfaction determination unit 208 of the remote monitoring server 200 continuously monitors the power-on state history of each adapter device 100 registered by the user, and repeats the process of determining whether the warning condition set by the user is satisfied (S15). Specifically, it periodically determines whether the duration of no change in the power-on state of the light bulbs 30 connected to all adapter devices 100 registered by the user reaches the set warning condition (time), and if it determines that the warning condition is reached, the warning information transmission unit 209 sends predetermined warning information by email to the warning destination registered in advance by the user (S16).

[0068] Instead of or in addition to sending the warning information by email, the remote monitoring server 200 may send a push notification of the warning information to the user terminal 40 logged in to the "remote monitoring service." Also, instead of or in addition to the policy of sending warning information when the power status of all sockets 20 remains unchanged for a long period of time, a policy of sending warning information based on the power status of sockets 20 installed in specific locations may be adopted. An example of such a policy is a policy of sending warning information when the power status of the socket 20 for the toilet light changes more frequently than a certain frequency (i.e., when the user visits the toilet frequently).

[0069] In this embodiment, the deregistration of an adapter device 100 is performed as follows. That is, when the user selects the "Deregistration" button displayed on the "Monitoring Information Screen" shown in FIG. 11(b), the "Monitoring Information Screen" transitions to the "Adapter Deregistration Screen" shown in FIG. 12. At this time, the "Adapter Deregistration Screen" displays a list of registered adapter devices 100 with check boxes. When the user checks the box of the adapter device they wish to deregister and selects the "Deregistration" button (S17), the user terminal 40 sends a deregistration request including the serial number of the adapter device selected by the user to the remote monitoring server 200 (S18). In response to this, the adapter registration unit 202 of the remote monitoring server 200 deletes the record that matches the serial number included in the deregistration request from the adapter information management table 600 (see FIG. 4(b)) linked to the user ID of the logged-in user (S19).

[0070] The remote monitoring system 1000 of this embodiment has been described above. The advantages of this system will now be summarized as follows.

[0071] First, this system can be constructed simply by fitting the adapter device 100 to an existing light socket in the house, eliminating the need for sensor installation work or electrical wiring work, thereby reducing implementation costs. Second, the activity status of the person being observed is clearly reflected in the on / off operation of the light switch regardless of the season, so this system, which focuses on the power status of the light socket, can estimate the activity status of the person being observed with high accuracy. Third, this system can sense various parts of the house, making it possible to comprehensively monitor the activity status of the person being observed throughout the entire house.

[0072] Finally, the hardware configuration of the remote monitoring server 200 of this embodiment will be described with reference to the hardware configuration diagram shown in FIG.

[0073] The information processing device that constitutes the remote monitoring server 200 includes a processor 212 that controls the operation of the entire device, a ROM 213 that stores boot programs, firmware programs, etc., a RAM 214 that provides an execution space for executing programs, an auxiliary storage device 215 that stores an operating system (OS) and various applications, etc., an input / output interface 216 for connecting external input / output devices, and a network interface 218 for connecting to the network 70.

[0074] Although the present invention has been described above using embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and any embodiment conceivable by a person skilled in the art that achieves the functions and effects of the present invention is within the scope of the present invention. For example, an embodiment in which functionality equivalent to the wireless communication unit 10 described above is embedded inside a light bulb 30 and the light bulb 30 is directly connected to the socket 20 is naturally within the scope of the present invention. In this case, a serial number (unique identifier) ​​is engraved at an appropriate position on the surface of the light bulb 30, and the user registers the serial number, name, installation location, and power information transmission interval of the light bulbs 30 installed in various locations in the remote monitoring server 200.

[0075] Each function of the above-described embodiments can be realized by a device-executable program written in C, C++, C#, Java (registered trademark), etc., and the program of this embodiment can be stored and distributed on a device-readable recording medium such as a hard disk drive, CD-ROM, MO, DVD, flexible disk, EEPROM, or EPROM, and can also be transmitted over a network in a format that can be used by other devices. [Explanation of symbols]

[0076] 10...Wireless communication unit 11...Fastener part 12...Holder part 13...Receipt 14...Terminal 15...Terminal 16...Power supply control circuit 17...Microcomputer 18...Antenna 19...Communication interface 20...Lighting socket 22...Terminal 23...Switch 30...Lighting fixture (bulb) 40...User terminal 50...Access point 60…Wired LAN 70…Network 80…house 100...Adapter device 102...wireless communication establishment unit 104...Power supply information transmission unit 106...Storage area 200: Remote monitoring server 201...Login processing section 202...Adapter registration section 203...Warning condition setting section 204... Power information reception history recording unit 205... Power supply status history recording unit 206…Monitoring information generation unit 207...Monitoring information transmission unit 208…Warning condition establishment determination unit 209...Warning information transmission unit 210...Database 212...processor 213...ROM 214...RAM 215…Auxiliary storage device 216... Input / output interface 218...Network Interface 300...External server 500...User information management table 600...Adapter information management table 700...Warning setting information management table 1000...Remote monitoring system [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0077] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-78138

Claims

1. an adapter device that electrically connects the lighting socket and the illuminator; an information processing device communicably connected to the adapter device via a network; Including, The adapter device a wireless communication means that operates using power supplied from the socket while the socket is energized and transmits predetermined information to the information processing device at set transmission intervals; The information processing device includes: an electrical current status history recording unit that records an electrical current status history that is a history of an electrical current status of the socket based on a reception history of the predetermined information received from the adapter device; a monitoring information generating unit that generates monitoring information based on the power supply state history; Including, Remote monitoring system.

2. a power-on information reception history recording unit that records the reception history; The remote monitoring system of claim 1 .

3. the predetermined information includes a unique identifier of the adapter device; 3. The remote monitoring system according to claim 1 or 2.

4. the remote monitoring system includes a plurality of the adapter devices; The remote monitoring system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the power supply status history recording unit records a power supply status history, which is a history of the power supply status of the sockets to which each of the adapter devices is connected, for each of the sockets based on a reception history of receiving the specified information from each of the adapter devices.

5. The monitoring information includes a graph visualizing the power supply state history. The remote monitoring system according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

6. The information processing device includes: a monitoring information transmitting unit that transmits the monitoring information in response to a request from a user or an external server; include, The remote monitoring system according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

7. The information processing device includes: a warning condition establishment determination unit that determines whether a preset warning condition is established based on the power supply state history; a warning information transmitting unit that transmits warning information to a pre-registered destination when it is determined that the warning condition is met; Including, The remote monitoring system according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

8. An adapter device electrically connecting a lighting socket and a lighting device, the adapter device operating on power supplied from the socket while power is being supplied to the socket, and an information processing device communicably connected to the adapter device via a network, an electrical current status history recording unit that records an electrical current status history, which is a history of an electrical current status of the socket, based on a reception history of predetermined information transmitted from the adapter device at predetermined transmission intervals; a monitoring information generating unit that generates monitoring information based on the power supply state history; Including, Information processing device.

9. a monitoring information transmitting unit that transmits the monitoring information in response to a request from a user or an external server; The information processing device according to claim 8 .

10. a warning condition establishment determination unit that determines whether a preset warning condition is established based on the power supply state history; a warning information transmitting unit that transmits warning information to a pre-registered destination when it is determined that the warning condition is met; Including, 10. The information processing device according to claim 8.

11. An adapter device electrically connecting a lighting socket and a lighting device, the adapter device operating on power supplied from the socket while power is being supplied to the socket, and a computer communicably connected to the adapter device via a network, an electrical current status history recording means for recording an electrical current status history, which is a history of an electrical current status of the socket, based on a reception history of predetermined information transmitted from the adapter device at predetermined transmission intervals; a monitoring information generating means for generating monitoring information based on the power supply state history; A program to function as a

12. An adapter device for electrically connecting a lighting socket and a lighting device, a wireless communication means that operates using power supplied from the socket while the socket is energized, and transmits predetermined information including a unique identifier of the device at a set transmission interval; a non-volatile storage element that stores the unique identifier, destination information indicating a destination of the predetermined information, and the transmission interval; Including, Adapter device.

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