Alarm device

Abstract

We provide a compact alarm device capable of issuing alarms appropriate for both adults and children. [Solution] The alarm device 1 comprises a transmitting unit 10 that emits microwaves into the surroundings, a receiving unit 12 that receives reflected microwaves from the transmitted microwaves, a distance calculation unit 14 that calculates the distance from the transmitting unit 10 to the object from which the microwaves were reflected based on the time from when the microwaves were emitted until when the reflected waves were received, an amplitude value calculation unit 16 that calculates the amplitude value of the reflected waves received by the receiving unit 12, an identification unit 18 that identifies whether or not an object is an object to be alarmed based on the distance and the amplitude value, and an output unit 20 that outputs an audio signal according to the object to be alarmed identified by the identification unit 18.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an alarm device that outputs voice to an alarm target object.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, an alarm device that outputs voice when detecting an alarm target object has been used. As a technology applicable to such an alarm device, for example, there are those described in Patent Documents 1-2 cited below.

[0003] Patent Document 1 describes a voice output system. This voice output system has a human sensor capable of detecting whether a person exists in a predetermined detection area, and a voice output unit capable of outputting voice to a person existing in the detection area. When the human sensor detects a person in the detection area, it transmits the detection to a server device, and is configured to output the voice data received from the server device from the voice output unit.

[0004] Patent Document 2 describes a voice output system. This voice output system includes a first infrared light projection unit that projects infrared light toward a first detection area that is an upper area of a planned human presence area, and a first infrared light detection unit that can detect infrared light incident from the direction of the first detection area. A first infrared sensor unit having the first infrared light detection unit, a second infrared light projection unit that projects infrared light toward a second detection area that is a lower area of the planned human presence area, and a second infrared light detection unit that can detect infrared light incident from the direction of the second detection area. A second infrared sensor unit having the second infrared light detection unit, and a human determination unit determines whether a person exists in the planned human presence area based on the detection information of the first infrared light detection unit and the second infrared light detection unit, including whether the person is an adult or a child.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0005]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

[0006] The voice output system described in Patent Document 1 is configured to output voice from the voice output unit when a human presence sensor detects a person in the detection area, but it does not distinguish whether the detected person is an adult or a child. Furthermore, the voice output system described in Patent Document 2 requires the installation of two infrared sensors: a first infrared sensor unit and a second infrared sensor unit. Alarm devices are expected to be miniaturized, and it is not easy to install two sensor units in the housing of an alarm device. For this reason, there is room for improvement in the voice output systems described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 in order to miniaturize devices that provide voice output suitable for adults and children, respectively.

[0007] Therefore, there is a need for a small alarm device that can provide voice output suitable for both adults and children. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The characteristic configuration of the alarm device according to the present invention is that it comprises: a transmitting unit that emits microwaves into the surroundings; a receiving unit that receives reflected waves of the transmitted microwaves; a distance calculation unit that calculates the distance from the transmitting unit to the object to which the microwaves were reflected based on the time from the emission of the microwaves to the reception of the reflected waves; an amplitude value calculation unit that calculates the amplitude value of the reflected waves received by the receiving unit; an identification unit that identifies whether or not the object is an object to be alarmed based on the distance and the amplitude value; and an output unit that outputs an audio signal according to the object to be alarmed identified by the identification unit.

[0009] Microwaves are reflected over a wider area the larger the surface area of ​​the object. Furthermore, the amplitude of the microwaves depends on the area of ​​the object that reflects them. On the other hand, when the object and the microwave source (transmitter) are in close proximity, the area reflecting the microwaves becomes relatively larger, and the amplitude of the reflected wave increases. Therefore, with the aforementioned configuration, it becomes easier to distinguish whether an object is an adult or a child based on the distance to the object calculated from the reflected wave and the amplitude of the reflected wave. As a result, it becomes possible to provide audio output appropriate for adults and children, respectively. Moreover, since this distinction between adults and children can be performed with a single transmitter and receiver, the alarm device can be miniaturized.

[0010] Furthermore, it is preferable that the identification unit estimates the size of the object based on the distance and the amplitude value, and identifies whether the object is an adult or a child that is subject to the alarm based on the estimated size.

[0011] As described above, when an object that reflects microwaves is in close proximity to the transmitter and receiver, the area of ​​the object that reflects microwaves becomes relatively larger, and the amplitude of the reflected wave increases. Therefore, by estimating the size of the object while considering the distance to it, it becomes possible to distinguish between adults and children more accurately.

[0012] Furthermore, when the receiving unit receives two reflected waves with different amplitude values, and the difference between the distances based on the two reflected waves is smaller than a predetermined value, it is preferable for the identification unit to identify the larger of the two objects whose sizes have been estimated based on the two reflected waves as the adult object to be warned, and to identify the smaller of the two objects as the child object to be warned.

[0013] With this configuration, if two objects that are close to each other are detected based on reflected waves, it becomes possible to easily distinguish between an adult and a child based on the amplitude values ​​of the reflected waves.

[0014] Furthermore, the identification unit preferably identifies based on a map defined by at least one distance threshold set for the distance and at least two amplitude value thresholds set for the amplitude value.

[0015] By using a map in this way for identification, it becomes possible to appropriately and easily distinguish between adults and children.

[0016] Furthermore, the system preferably includes a storage unit that stores in advance family information indicating the family composition of the residents of the house where the transmitting unit and the receiving unit are provided, and the identification unit identifies the object based on the size and the family information.

[0017] By pre-storing this kind of family information for each house, it becomes possible to identify individuals by considering the family information specific to that house. Therefore, it becomes possible to improve the accuracy of distinguishing between adults and children.

[0018] Furthermore, it is preferable that the storage unit also stores pet information indicating the pets in the house in advance, and that the identification unit identifies the object as the pet when its size is smaller than that of the child.

[0019] With this configuration, in homes with pets, it becomes possible to further improve the accuracy of distinguishing between adults and children by separately recognizing pets. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0020] [Figure 1] This is a block diagram showing the configuration of the alarm system. [Figure 2] This diagram shows the relationship between the area of ​​an object and the distance and amplitude. [Figure 3] This diagram shows the positional relationship between the alarm device and the object. [Figure 4] This is an example of family information. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0021] The alarm device according to the present invention is configured to be miniaturized. Hereinafter, the alarm device 1 of the present embodiment will be described. However, the alarm device 1 is not limited to the following embodiment, and various modifications are possible without departing from the gist thereof.

[0022] The alarm device 1 is configured such that the detection range can be set in advance, and when the presence of an alarm target, which is an object for voice output within this detection range, is confirmed, voice output is performed. Further, this voice output may be performed, for example, when gas is detected by a separately provided gas detection sensor or when a fire is detected by a fire detection sensor. Also, the voice output may be information such as meteorological information, weather information, rain cloud rapid report, dryness caution report, etc., or may be information such as disaster prevention information or landslide disaster information.

[0023] FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing the configuration of the alarm device 1. As shown in FIG. 1, the alarm device 1 includes a transmission unit 10, a reception unit 12, a distance calculation unit 14, an amplitude value calculation unit 16, an identification unit 18, an output unit 20, and a storage unit 22. Each functional unit is constructed by hardware or software or both with a CPU as a core member in order to perform processing related to the output of voice to the alarm target.

[0024] The transmission unit 10 emits microwaves to the surroundings. The surroundings correspond to the above-described detection range. Emitting microwaves means transmitting microwaves. Therefore, the transmission unit 10 transmits microwaves toward the detection range. For example, the transmission of microwaves may be performed at preset time intervals.

[0025] The receiving unit 12 receives the reflected waves of the transmitted microwaves. The microwaves transmitted from the transmitting unit 10 are reflected according to the composition of the object. The receiving unit 12 receives the reflected waves in this manner. In the alarm device 1, as will be described later, the distance to the object that reflected the microwaves is calculated based on the transmitted microwaves and the received reflected waves, so it is preferable to install the receiving unit 12 adjacent to the transmitting unit 10.

[0026] The distance calculation unit 14 calculates the distance from the transmitting unit 10 to the object to which the microwave was reflected, based on the time from when the microwave was emitted until the reflected wave was received. The distance calculation unit 14 is transmitted time information indicating the timing (timestamp) when the transmitting unit 10 transmitted the microwave. In addition, when the receiving unit 12 receives a reflected wave corresponding to the microwave transmitted by the transmitting unit 10, time information indicating the timing (timestamp) when the reception unit 12 received the microwave is transmitted. The reflected wave corresponding to the microwave transmitted by the transmitting unit 10 is a reflected wave caused by microwaves transmitted at predetermined intervals. Based on the time information indicating the timing (timestamp) when the transmitting unit 10 transmitted the microwave and the time information indicating the timing (timestamp) when the receiving unit 12 received the reflected wave, the distance calculation unit 14 calculates the time difference and the distance from the transmitting unit 10 and the receiving unit 12 to the object based on the calculated time difference and the microwave propagation speed (approximately 300,000 km / second). The calculation result of the distance calculation unit 14 is transmitted to the identification unit 18, which will be described later.

[0027] The amplitude value calculation unit 16 calculates the amplitude value of the reflected wave received by the receiving unit 12. Here, the microwave transmitted from the transmitting unit 10 is reflected over a wider area as the surface area of ​​the object increases, which affects the change in the amplitude of the reflected wave. In other words, the larger the surface area of ​​the object, the larger the amplitude of the reflected wave. The amplitude value calculation unit 16 may calculate the amplitude value of the reflected wave for each period of the reflected wave, for example, based on the peak value detected by the peak hold circuit and the bottom value detected by the bottom hold circuit. The calculation result of the amplitude value calculation unit 16 is transmitted to the identification unit 18, which will be described later.

[0028] The identification unit 18 identifies whether or not an object is an object that triggers an alarm, based on the distance calculated by the distance calculation unit 14 and the amplitude value calculated by the amplitude value calculation unit 16.

[0029] The identification unit 18 estimates the size of the object based on the distance calculated by the distance calculation unit 14 and the amplitude value calculated by the amplitude value calculation unit 16, and identifies whether the object is an adult alarm target or a child alarm target based on the estimated size.

[0030] In other words, for example, if an adult and a child are at equal distances from the alarm device 1, the area of ​​the adult is generally larger than the area of ​​the child, so the amplitude of the reflected wave will be larger for the adult than for the child. Therefore, it is possible to distinguish whether an object is an adult or a child based on the amplitude of the reflected wave.

[0031] Specifically, if the receiving unit 12 receives two reflected waves with different amplitude values, and the difference between the distances based on the two reflected waves is smaller than a predetermined value, the identification unit 18 may identify the larger of the two objects whose sizes have been estimated based on the two reflected waves as an adult alarm target, and the smaller of the two objects as a child alarm target.

[0032] If the difference in distance between two reflected waves is less than a predetermined value, it is assumed that the two objects emitting the two reflected waves are at roughly the same distance from the alarm device 1. In this case, if two reflected waves with different amplitude values ​​are received, it is possible to identify that the object with the larger amplitude value is an adult, and the object with the smaller amplitude value is a child.

[0033] The output unit 20 outputs audio according to the alarm target object identified by the identification unit 18. The alarm target object identified by the identification unit 18 is an object that has been identified as either an adult or a child based on the amplitude of the reflected wave. If the identified object is an adult, the output unit 20 outputs audio appropriate for an adult; if the identified object is a child, it outputs audio appropriate for a child.

[0034] Here, if the distance between the object and the warning device 1 decreases, the area of the object becomes relatively large and the amplitude value of the reflected wave increases. For this reason, for example, when considering an adult far away from the warning device 1 and a child near the warning device 1 closer than the adult, depending on the distance between the adult and the child, their areas may become equal (become comparable), and the amplitude values of the reflected waves may become equal (become comparable). Assuming such a case, the discrimination unit 18 may be configured to discriminate whether the object is an adult or a child by using one threshold value for the distance and two threshold values for the reflected wave.

[0035] Specifically, the discrimination unit 18 discriminates based on a map defined by at least one distance threshold value provided for the distance and at least two amplitude value threshold values provided for the amplitude value. Such a map is shown in FIG. 2. In the example of FIG. 2, one distance threshold value D is provided for the distance, and two amplitude value threshold values A1 and A2 are provided for the amplitude. However, A1 < A2. The discrimination unit 18 discriminates the object based on such a distance threshold value D and amplitude value threshold values A1 and A2.

[0036] Specifically, when the distance X from the warning device 1 to the reflection source that reflected the microwave is greater than the distance threshold value D and the amplitude value Y of the reflected wave is greater than the amplitude value threshold value A2 (#1), the discrimination unit 18 discriminates that the object a is an extremely large adult. An example of the object a discriminated as such an adult is shown in FIG. 3.

[0037] When the distance X from the warning device 1 to the reflection source that reflected the microwave is greater than the distance threshold value D, the amplitude value Y of the reflected wave is less than or equal to the amplitude value threshold value A2 and greater than the amplitude value threshold value A1 (#2), the discrimination unit 18 discriminates that the object b is an adult. In this case, since the amplitude value of the adult of the object b is smaller than that of the adult of the object a, it corresponds to an adult with a smaller build than the adult of the object a. An example of the object b discriminated as such an adult is shown in FIG. 3.

[0038] The identification unit 18 identifies object c as an adult if the distance X from the alarm device 1 to the source from which the microwave was reflected is less than or equal to the distance threshold D, and the amplitude value Y of the reflected wave is greater than the amplitude value threshold A2 (#3). An example of an object c identified as an adult in this way is shown in Figure 3.

[0039] The identification unit 18 identifies object b as a child if the distance X from the alarm device 1 to the source from which the microwave was reflected is greater than the distance threshold D, and the amplitude value Y of the reflected wave is less than or equal to the amplitude value threshold A1 (#4). An example of an object d identified as such a child is shown in Figure 3.

[0040] The identification unit 18 identifies object e as a child if the distance X from the alarm device 1 to the source from which the microwave was reflected is less than or equal to the distance threshold D, and the amplitude value Y of the reflected wave is less than or equal to the amplitude value threshold A2 and greater than the amplitude value threshold A1 (#5). An example of an object e identified as such a child is shown in Figure 3.

[0041] The identification unit 18 identifies object f as a child if the distance X from the alarm device 1 to the source from which the microwave was reflected is less than or equal to the distance threshold D, and the amplitude value Y of the reflected wave is less than or equal to the amplitude value threshold A1 (#6). An example of an object f identified as such a child is shown in Figure 3.

[0042] In this case, it is preferable for the alarm device 1 to pre-store family information indicating the family composition of the residents of the house where the transmitter 10 and receiver 12 are installed in the memory unit 22. The house where the transmitter 10 and receiver 12 are installed is the house where the alarm device 1 is installed. The family information indicating the family composition of the residents is information indicating the number of people living in the house and whether they are adults or children. An example of such family information is shown in Figure 4. In the example in Figure 4, "height" and "weight" are associated and stored with "adult S1". Similarly, "height" and "weight" are associated and stored with "adult S2" and "child T1", respectively. By storing "height" and "weight" in this way, it becomes possible to understand the physique of each person.

[0043] When storing such family information in the storage unit 22, it is preferable for the identification unit 18 to identify the object based on its size and family information. That is, since the size of the object can be calculated from the amplitude value of the reflected wave, it is preferable to identify the person included in the family information corresponding to this size and determine whether they are an adult or a child.

[0044] Furthermore, if pets are kept in the house where the alarm device 1 is installed, it is advisable to pre-store pet information indicating the pets in the house in the memory unit 22. The pet information may include, for example, the type of pet (dog, cat, etc.) and the size (physique) of the pet. For example, if the pet's physique is smaller than that of a child, and the size of the object calculated from the amplitude value of the reflected wave is smaller than that of the child, the identification unit 18 can identify the object as a pet.

[0045] Furthermore, the output unit 20 may be configured to output audio when an object (person) is detected within the detection range, for example, when gas or fire is detected. Alternatively, the output unit 20 may be configured to output audio information such as weather information, weather forecasts, rain cloud alerts, dry weather warnings, disaster prevention information, and landslide information when an object (person) is detected within the detection range.

[0046] [Other Embodiments] Next, other embodiments of the alarm device 1 will be described.

[0047] In the above embodiment, the identification unit 18 was described as identifying based on a map defined by one distance threshold D provided for distance and two amplitude value thresholds A1 and A2 provided for amplitude value. However, the identification unit 18 may provide two or more distance thresholds, or three or more amplitude value thresholds.

[0048] In the above embodiment, the alarm device 1 was described as having a storage unit 22 that pre-stores family information indicating the family structure of the residents of a house equipped with a transmitting unit 10 and a receiving unit 12. However, the alarm device 1 may be configured without a storage unit 22.

[0049] In the above embodiment, it was explained that the storage unit 22 has pet information indicating pets in a house pre-stored in it. However, it is also possible to configure the storage unit 22 not to store pet information. In this case, the identification unit 18 may be configured to identify an object as not being an object to be alarmed if its size is smaller than a child.

[0050] Furthermore, the configurations disclosed in each of the embodiments described above can be applied in combination with configurations disclosed in other embodiments, as long as no inconsistencies arise. Regarding other configurations, the embodiments disclosed herein are merely illustrative in all respects. Therefore, various modifications can be made as appropriate, without departing from the spirit of this disclosure. [Industrial applicability]

[0051] This invention can be used in an alarm device that outputs audio to an object that is subject to alarm. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0052] 1:Alarm device 10: Transmitter 12: Receiver 14: Distance Calculation Unit 16: Amplitude value calculation unit 18: Identification section 20: Output section 22: Storage part D: Distance threshold A1: Threshold for amplitude value A2: Threshold for amplitude value

Claims

1. A transmitting unit that emits microwaves into the surroundings, A receiving unit that receives the reflected waves of the transmitted microwave, A distance calculation unit calculates the distance from the transmitting unit to the object to which the microwave was reflected, based on the time from the time the microwave was emitted until the reflected wave was received. An amplitude value calculation unit calculates the amplitude value of the reflected wave received by the receiving unit, An identification unit that identifies whether or not the object is an object to be alarmed based on the distance and the amplitude value, An output unit that outputs sound according to the alarm target object identified by the identification unit, An alarm device equipped with the following features.

2. The alarm device according to claim 1, wherein the identification unit estimates the size of the object based on the distance and the amplitude value, and identifies whether the object is an adult or a child based on the estimated size.

3. When the receiving unit receives two reflected waves with different amplitude values, and the difference between the distances based on the two reflected waves is smaller than a predetermined value, The alarm device according to claim 2, wherein the identification unit identifies the larger of the two objects whose respective sizes have been estimated based on the two reflected waves as the adult alarm target object, and identifies the smaller of the two objects as the child alarm target object.

4. The alarm device according to claim 2, wherein the identification unit identifies based on a map defined by at least one distance threshold provided for the distance and at least two amplitude value thresholds provided for the amplitude value.

5. The system further includes a storage unit that stores in advance family information indicating the family structure of the residents of the house where the transmitting unit and the receiving unit are provided. The alarm device according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the identification unit identifies the object based on the size and the family information.

6. The aforementioned storage unit also has pet information pre-stored in it, indicating pets in the aforementioned residence. The alarm device according to claim 5, wherein the identification unit identifies the object as the pet when its size is smaller than that of the child.

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