Resident monitoring system
The intercom system with a point cloud data camera addresses privacy concerns by transmitting only movement information, ensuring secure and efficient monitoring of elderly residents.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- JP · JP
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- AIPHONE CO LTD
- Filing Date
- 2024-11-25
- Publication Date
- 2026-06-04
AI Technical Summary
In the context of an aging society, there is a need to monitor the health status of elderly residents while ensuring their privacy is protected, as conventional monitoring systems compromise privacy by capturing detailed images of their living spaces.
A resident monitoring system using an intercom system with a camera that generates point cloud data based on brightness changes, transmitting only movement information, thereby protecting privacy and allowing for secure monitoring.
The system effectively monitors resident safety while preserving privacy by transmitting images of resident movements, reducing data volume, power consumption, and maintaining aesthetic integrity, while also detecting potential health issues like falls or intrusions.
Smart Images
Figure 2026091540000001_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] The present disclosure relates to a resident monitoring system that takes into account the privacy of residents.
Background Art
[0002] Conventionally, a technology of a resident monitoring system that monitors the health status of residents using a room master unit of an intercom system is known. For example, Patent Document 1 proposes a resident monitoring system that can detect vital abnormalities of a resident, notify the abnormality to a public facility, and perform confirmation of the safety of the resident from the public facility.
Prior Art Documents
Patent Documents
[0003]
Patent Document 1
Summary of the Invention
Problems to be Solved by the Invention
[0004] By the way, in recent years' aging society, there is a desire to discover acute diseases, accidents, etc. of the elderly in the room as soon as possible. However, for example, when a monitoring camera is installed in the room of an elderly person, a problem occurs that the privacy of the resident is not protected.
[0005] Therefore, an object of the present disclosure is to provide a resident monitoring system that can monitor residents while taking into account the privacy of residents.
Means for Solving the Problems
[0006] To solve the above problems, the resident monitoring system of this disclosure is a resident monitoring system installed in an intercom system for an apartment building, and includes a main entrance unit, a plurality of entrance sub-units, a plurality of room master units, a management room master unit, and a control unit for controlling the intercom system, wherein the room master unit includes a camera for photographing the inside of the room and a transmission means for transmitting the camera's image to the management room master unit, and the camera generates an image consisting of point cloud data based on changes in brightness of the room. [Effects of the Invention]
[0007] According to the resident monitoring system disclosed herein, the privacy of residents can be protected because the system transmits images to the display device that represent only changes in brightness, i.e., the "movement" of the residents. [Brief explanation of the drawing]
[0008] [Figure 1] This is a system diagram of a resident monitoring system showing one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] (a) Configuration of the room master unit, (b) Configuration of the management room master unit, and a block diagram. [Figure 3] (a) A schematic diagram showing an image containing color information, and (b) an image consisting of point cloud data. [Figure 4] This is a schematic diagram illustrating the effect of displaying an image composed of point cloud data. [Figure 5] This is a flowchart showing the operation of the intercom system. [Figure 6] This is a system diagram of a modified example 1 of the resident monitoring system. [Figure 7] This is a system diagram of a modified example 2 of the resident monitoring system. [Figure 8] This is a system diagram of variation 3 of the resident monitoring system. [Modes for carrying out the invention]
[0009] Hereinafter, embodiments of this disclosure implemented in an intercom system will be described based on the drawings.
[0010] As shown in Figure 1, the resident monitoring system is installed in the intercom system 1 for apartment buildings. The intercom system 1 comprises multiple door station units 2, multiple room station units 3, a main entrance unit 4, an auto-lock system 9, a management room station 5, a wireless LAN router 12, a mobile information terminal 8 (8-1, 8-2) such as a smartphone, and a control unit 6 that controls the entire intercom system 1.
[0011] Each dwelling unit R1 is equipped with an entrance station 2 and a room master station 3. The management room R2 is equipped with an entrance station 2, a management room master station 5, and a wireless LAN router 12. The room master station 3 and the management room master station 5 are connected via a control unit 6 and an intercom line L.
[0012] The portable information terminal 8 includes portable information terminal 8-1 connected to the management room master unit 5 via the wireless LAN router 12, and portable information terminal 8-2 connected to the management room master unit 5 via the wireless LAN router 12 and the Internet N. The portable information terminal 8 can be carried by, for example, the building manager P2 (see Figure 4) or the emergency contact person of resident P1.
[0013] As shown in Figure 2(a), the room master unit 3 includes an operation unit 32 for operating the room master unit 3, a camera 31 for taking pictures of the room in which the room master unit 3 is installed, a communication unit 33 consisting of a speaker and a microphone, a monitor 36, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 34, a storage unit 35, an abnormality detection unit 37 for detecting abnormalities, a transmission unit 38 for transmitting the video E from the camera 31, and an interface 39 for connecting the room master unit 3 to the intercom line L.
[0014] The abnormality detection unit 37 and the transmission unit 38 are programs that are stored in the storage unit 35 and function as the abnormality detection unit 37 or the transmission unit 38 when executed by the CPU 34. The operation unit 32 includes a home button (not shown) for displaying a home screen, icons (not shown) displayed on the touch panel monitor 36, and the like.
[0015] When the abnormality detection unit 37 detects an abnormality, the storage unit 35 stores the abnormality information. When there is no abnormality, it may store "no abnormality" at a predetermined cycle. The abnormality information can include the video E of the camera 31, the date and time at the time of abnormality detection, and the type of abnormality. The storage unit 35 can also store the video E at all times separately from the abnormality information. The storage unit 35 is composed of a ROM (Read Only Memory) and a RAM (Random Access Memory). The ROM is a non-volatile memory or the like, and stores various programs, files and parameters used in the programs, etc. in addition to the abnormality information. The RAM temporarily stores data used when various programs are executed.
[0016] The camera 31 is equipped with an event-based vision sensor (EVS: Event-Based Vision Sensor). The EVS is a sensor that detects an event (movement) of a pixel based on the luminance change of each pixel.
[0017] As shown in FIG. 3(a), a conventional camera (not shown) outputs a video E' including color information. Therefore, in the video E', not only the resident P1 but also all stationary objects in the living room such as furniture are displayed.
[0018] On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3(b), the camera 31 of the present disclosure generates point cloud data composed only of pixels where movement has occurred and outputs a video E composed of the point cloud data. Therefore, only the movement of the resident P is displayed in the video E. As a result, as shown in FIG. 4, by checking the video E, the administrator P2 can check only the safety of the resident P1 while protecting the privacy of the resident P1.
[0019] In addition, while a conventional camera outputs the video E’ in synchronization with a control pulse, the camera 31 of the present disclosure outputs the video E composed of point cloud data asynchronously with the control pulse at the timing when the point cloud data is generated. Therefore, compared with a conventional camera, high temporal resolution (in units of 1 μs), low data rate, and low power consumption can be achieved. Since the camera 31 of the present disclosure can detect movement even with the brightness of a bean-sized light bulb, it can continuously monitor stably without being affected by the increase or decrease in the amount of light in the living room.
[0020] Furthermore, the size of the head of the camera 31 of the present disclosure is about 5 mm × 4 mm at minimum, and it can be easily fitted into a microphone hole or a speaker grille. Therefore, without impairing the design of the entire living room master unit 3, it is difficult to give stress to the resident P1 that they are being monitored.
[0021] The abnormality detection unit 37 detects an abnormality in the living room based on the video E of the camera 31. Examples of the types of abnormalities include "falling, poor physical condition, wandering, requiring confirmation, intrusion of a suspicious person", etc. The abnormality detection unit 37 can be configured to detect abnormalities by using a known video analysis method or by cooperation with AI. As a conventional video analysis method, for example, SIFT (Scale Invariant Feature Transform), SURF (Speeded-Up Robust Features), etc. can be selected. Since the video E has a smaller data amount than the video E’ including color information, the abnormality detection unit 37 can reduce the calculation load at the time of abnormality detection.
[0022] When the abnormality detection unit 37 detects an abnormality, the transmission unit 38 transmits the abnormality information to the management room master unit 5. At this time, the transmission unit 38 may transmit the abnormality information to the mobile information terminal 8. The transmission unit 38 can also transmit the video E to the management room master unit 5 constantly or at a predetermined cycle. In this case, the administrator P2 can confirm the safety of the resident P1 at a desired timing.
[0023] When the management room master unit 5 receives abnormal information, it establishes a communication channel with the resident room master unit 3. Once the communication channel is established, the manager P2 can check the video E included in the abnormal information and call out to resident P1 to check on their safety. In turn, resident P1, upon being called by resident P2, can respond to resident P2 and report their safety and symptoms.
[0024] Next, the operation of the intercom system 1 with the above configuration will be explained with reference to Figure 5.
[0025] First, camera 31 takes a picture of the room (S1). If camera 31 does not detect any motion (S2: No), it returns to taking a picture of the room (S1). On the other hand, if camera 31 does detect motion (S2: Yes), camera 31 outputs video E (S3).
[0026] The anomaly detection unit 37 detects an anomaly based on the video E (S4). If the anomaly detection unit 37 does not detect an anomaly (S4: No), it returns to recording inside the room (S1). On the other hand, if the camera 31 detects an anomaly (S4: Yes), the transmission unit 38 transmits the anomaly information to the other room master unit 3, and the storage unit 35 saves the video E (S5). After that, the communication unit 33 establishes a communication path with the room master unit 3 (S6).
[0027] With the intercom system 1 for individual residences configured as described above, video E containing only information about the movements of resident P1 is transmitted to the master unit 5 in the management room. This allows for confirmation of resident P1's well-being while respecting resident P1's privacy. Furthermore, since video E does not contain information such as the arrangement of furniture in the room, security can be enhanced. In addition, because the camera head is small, it does not detract from the aesthetic design of the master unit 3 in the room equipped with the camera 31. Moreover, since video E, which consists of point cloud data, has less data than video E' which includes color information, the capacity of the storage unit 35 is not strained even when video E is stored for a long period of time.
[0028] The following describes three modified versions of the resident monitoring system, based on Figures 6-8. In each modified version, components identical or similar to those described above are denoted by the same reference numerals, and their explanations are omitted.
[0029] As shown in Figure 6, the resident monitoring system of Modification 1 is installed in the intercom system 1a for the elderly. The intercom system 1a further includes a call button (call device 11) for resident P1 to call the management room master unit 5, and a base station 7 for a portable information terminal 8 such as a PHS carried by the care staff (manager P2). The resident room master unit 3 and the management room master unit 5 are connected by an intercom line L via the dwelling unit adapter 10 and the control unit 6. The transmitter 38 of the resident room master unit 3 transmits video E captured by the camera 31 to the management room master unit 5.
[0030] As shown in Figure 7, the resident monitoring system (patient monitoring system) of Modification 2 is installed in the nurse call system 1b. The nurse call system 1b includes a camera 14 that photographs the area including the patient bed B, a nurse call sub-unit 15, a nurse call master unit 16, a control unit 6, a portable information terminal 8 carried by nurses, a base station 7 for the portable information terminal 8, a corridor light 17, and a nurse call server 18. The camera 14 is equipped with an EVS, similar to the camera 31. The camera 14, corridor light 17, control unit 6, and nurse call master unit 16 are interconnected by a LAN line Lb. The camera 14 may also be connected to the LAN line Lb via the corridor light 17. The control unit 6 includes an abnormality detection unit 37 and a transmission unit 38. The transmission unit 38 of the control unit 6 transmits the video E captured by the camera 14 to the nurse call master unit 16.
[0031] As shown in Figure 8, the resident monitoring system of Modification 3 is installed in an intercom system 1c for individual houses. The intercom system 1c comprises an entrance unit 2, a room unit 3, and a portable information terminal 8. The room unit 3 and the portable information terminal 8 are connected via the internet N. The transmitter 38 of the room unit 3 transmits video E captured by the camera 31 to the portable information terminal 8.
[0032] According to variations 1-3 of the above configuration, it is possible to monitor resident P1 or the patient while respecting their privacy.
[0033] This disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described above, and it is possible to implement the invention by arbitrarily changing the configuration of each part without departing from the spirit of the invention. [Explanation of symbols]
[0034] 1. Intercom System 2. Door station 3. Room master unit 4. Main entrance panel 5. Control Room Master Unit 6. Controller 7 base station 8. Mobile Information Terminals 9. Automatic locking system 10 dwelling unit adapters 11 Paging device 12 Wireless LAN Routers 14 Cameras 15 Nurse call handset 16 Nurse call master unit 17. Corridor light 18 Nurse call server 31 Camera 32, 52 Operation section 33, 53 Telephone section 34, 54 CPU 35, 55 Storage section 36, 56 monitors 37 Anomaly detection unit 38 Transmitter 39, 59 Interfaces E Video L Intercom Line R1 Unit R2 management room P1 resident P2 Administrator etc.
Claims
1. A resident monitoring system installed in an intercom system for apartment buildings, It includes a main entrance unit, multiple entrance units, multiple room master units, a management room master unit, and a control unit that controls the intercom system, The aforementioned room master unit includes a camera for taking pictures of the room and a transmission means for transmitting the image from the camera to the management room master unit. The aforementioned camera is part of a resident monitoring system that generates images consisting of point cloud data based on changes in brightness in the aforementioned living room.
2. The aforementioned room master unit includes an abnormality detection means for detecting abnormalities in the room, The anomaly detection means detects an anomaly based on the video, The resident monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein the transmitting means transmits abnormal information to the management room master unit when an abnormality is detected by the abnormality detection means.
3. A resident monitoring system installed in an intercom system for individual houses, This includes an outdoor unit at the entrance, an indoor unit, and a portable information terminal carried by a family member of the resident. The aforementioned room master unit includes a camera for taking pictures of the room and a transmission means for transmitting the image from the camera to the mobile information terminal, The aforementioned camera is part of a resident monitoring system that generates images consisting of point cloud data based on changes in brightness in the aforementioned living room.
4. The aforementioned room master unit includes an abnormality detection means for detecting abnormalities in the room, The anomaly detection means detects an anomaly based on the video, The resident monitoring system according to claim 3, wherein the transmitting means transmits abnormal information to the mobile information terminal when an abnormality is detected by the abnormality detection means.