Bathroom Monitoring System

Abstract

To provide a bathroom monitoring system which determines whether or not a person who enters a bathroom is a resident or not and performs bathroom monitoring in accordance with the determination result.SOLUTION: In a bathroom monitoring system 10, a resident information acquisition unit 16g of a portable terminal device 16 acquires resident information for a housing where a bathroom is located, and a resident information storage unit 12m of a server device 12 stores the acquired resident information. An entering person information acquisition unit 8m of a bathroom remote controller acquires entering person information as information on an entering person who enters the bathroom and transmits the acquired entering person information to the server device. An entering person determination unit 12j of the server device compares the acquired entering person information with the resident information stored in the resident information storage unit to determine whether or not the entering person is a resident, and transmits the determination result to the bathroom remote controller. A bathroom control device 8c of the bathroom remote controller provides a crime prevention notification if the entering person determination unit determines that the entering person is not a resident, and provides a life-saving notification if an abnormality occurs with the entering person in the bathroom in the case where the entry person is determined to be a resident.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The technology disclosed in this specification relates to a bathroom monitoring system. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a bathroom monitoring system (referred to as a hot water supply system in Patent Document 1) equipped with an entrant information acquisition unit (e.g., a human detection sensor) that acquires entrant information, which is information on a person entering a bathroom. In the bathroom monitoring system of Patent Document 1, a crime prevention mode can be set to on and off by a user's operation. When the entrant information acquisition unit detects a person entering the bathroom while the crime prevention mode is on, a crime prevention alarm is issued to inform the outside (e.g., the user) that a person (suspicious person) who is not a resident of the house in which the bathroom is located has entered the bathroom. This allows the user to recognize that a suspicious person has entered the bathroom. On the other hand, when the entrant information acquisition unit detects a person entering the bathroom while the crime prevention mode is off, it notifies the user that the resident is currently taking a bath. This allows the user to recognize that the resident is currently taking a bath. As a result, the user can quickly respond when an abnormality occurs in a resident taking a bath, such as an elderly person or a child. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2020-16381 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The purpose of bathroom monitoring differs depending on whether the person entering the bathroom is a resident or not. In the bathroom monitoring system of Patent Document 1, the user turns on and off the crime prevention mode to determine whether the person entering the bathroom is a resident or not. In this case, if the user accidentally turns off the crime prevention mode, the user will not be notified of a crime even if a suspicious person enters the bathroom. In addition, if the user accidentally turns on the crime prevention mode, the user will be notified of a crime even if the resident is taking a bath. This specification provides a bathroom monitoring system that can determine whether the person entering the bathroom is a resident or not without the user's operation, and can perform bathroom monitoring according to the determination result. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] The technology disclosed in this specification is embodied in a bathroom monitoring system that monitors a bathroom. This bathroom monitoring system includes a resident information acquisition unit, a resident information storage unit, a entrant information acquisition unit, a entrant determination unit, an output unit, and an abnormality occurrence determination unit. The resident information acquisition unit acquires resident information, which is information about an occupant of a house in which the bathroom is located. The resident information storage unit stores the resident information acquired by the resident information acquisition unit. The entrant information acquisition unit acquires entrant information, which is information about a person entering the bathroom. The entrant determination unit compares the entrant information acquired by the entrant information acquisition unit with the resident information stored in the resident information storage unit, and determines whether or not a person entering the bathroom identified by the entrant information is the resident. The output unit switches its output mode depending on the determination of the entrant determination unit. The abnormality occurrence determination unit determines whether or not an abnormality has occurred to the entrant in the bathroom. The output unit further issues a crime prevention alarm to inform the outside that a person other than the resident has entered the bathroom when the entrant determination unit determines that the entrant is not the resident. Also, when the entrant determination unit determines that the entrant is the resident, the output unit issues a life-saving alarm to inform the outside that an abnormality has occurred in the bathroom with the entrant when the abnormality occurrence determination unit determines that an abnormality has occurred in the bathroom with the entrant. Furthermore, when the intruder determination unit determines that the intruder is not the resident, in addition to issuing the crime prevention alert, the output unit locks the entrance to the bathroom.

[0006] In the bathroom monitoring system described above, the entrant determination unit determines whether or not the person entering the bathroom, as identified by the entrant information, is a resident. The output unit switches between a crime prevention alert to inform the person that a non-resident has entered the bathroom and a life-saving alert to inform the person that an abnormality has occurred in the bathroom, depending on the determination by the entrant determination unit. The user does not need to perform any operation to set the crime prevention mode on or off. The bathroom monitoring system disclosed in this specification can determine whether or not the person entering the bathroom is a resident without user operation, and perform bathroom monitoring according to the determination result.

[0007] The resident information may include an image of the face of the resident, and the entrant information acquisition unit may be configured to be able to capture an image of the face of a person entering the bathroom. In this case, the entrant determination unit may determine whether a person entering the bathroom identified by the entrant information is the resident by comparing the image of the face of the person entering the bathroom captured by the entrant information acquisition unit with an image of the face of the resident included in the resident information.

[0008] According to the above configuration, by comparing the captured image of the resident's face with the captured image of the face of the person entering the room, it is possible to accurately determine whether the person entering the room is a resident or not. In another embodiment, it may be possible to determine whether the person entering the room is a resident or not using information other than the face image, such as physical build.

[0009] The bathroom monitoring system may further include a client device that is installed in the house and includes the occupant information acquisition unit, and a server device that is configured to be able to communicate with the client device and includes the occupant information storage unit and the occupant determination unit.

[0010] According to the above configuration, by disposing the resident information storage unit and the entrant determination unit in the server device, it is possible to reduce the memory capacity and processing power required in the client device installed in the home.

[0011] The bathroom monitoring system may further include a mobile terminal device. In this case, the mobile terminal device may be configured to be able to communicate with the server device or the client device, and may include the occupant information acquisition unit.

[0012] According to the above configuration, a resident can relatively easily obtain resident information and transmit the obtained resident information to a server device or a client device.

[0013] The output unit may issue the crime prevention alert or the life-saving alert to the mobile terminal device.

[0014] According to the above configuration, for example, a crime prevention notification or a life-saving notification can be sent even to a mobile terminal device that has moved outside a house.

[0015] Details and further improvements of the technology disclosed in this specification are described in the following "Forms for Carrying Out the Invention". [Brief description of the drawings]

[0016] [Figure 1] 1 shows a schematic diagram of a bathroom monitoring system according to an embodiment. [Diagram 2] 2 shows a control configuration of the bathroom monitoring system of the embodiment. [Diagram 3] 4 shows an example of resident information stored in a resident information storage unit. [Figure 4] 4 shows a flow diagram of a process executed by the server control device. [Diagram 5] 4 shows a flow diagram of the process executed by the bathroom control device. [Figure 6] 13 shows an example of a crime prevention alert displayed on a mobile terminal device. [Figure 7] 13 shows an example of a life-saving message displayed on a mobile terminal device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0017] (Example) A bathroom monitoring system according to an embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. First, the configuration of a bathroom monitoring system 10 according to an embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 1. The bathroom monitoring system 10 includes a bathroom remote control 8, a kitchen remote control 9, a server device 12, and a mobile terminal device 16. Both the bathroom remote control 8 and the kitchen remote control 9 are disposed within a residence 2. Both the bathroom remote control 8 and the kitchen remote control 9 are configured to be able to communicate with a router 3 within the residence 2 via Bluetooth (registered trademark). Both the bathroom remote control 8 and the kitchen remote control 9 can communicate with the Internet 14 via the router 3. Note that communication between the bathroom remote control 8 and the kitchen remote control 9 and the router 3 is not limited to Bluetooth, and may be, for example, Wi-Fi (registered trademark).

[0018] The bathroom remote control 8 is a remote control operated by the user to set the temperature of the hot water supplied to the bathtub 4b located in the bathroom 4, the temperature of the hot water in the shower (not shown), etc. The bathroom remote control 8 is located on the wall of the bathroom 4 of the house 2. The bathroom remote control 8 faces the entrance 4e of the bathroom 4. The bathroom remote control 8 includes a bathroom display 8v, a bathroom camera 8p, and a bathroom intercom unit 8t. The bathroom display 8v displays the temperature of the hot water in the bathtub 4b and the temperature of the hot water in the shower set by the user. The bathroom camera 8p is configured to be able to capture an image of the imaging range 8a indicated by the dashed line in FIG. 1. The bathroom camera 8p constantly acquires images of the imaging range 8a. The bathroom intercom unit 8t includes a speaker (not shown) and a microphone (not shown) for communicating with the kitchen remote control 9.

[0019] The kitchen remote control 9 is placed in the kitchen 6 in the house 2. A system kitchen 6k is placed in the kitchen 6. The kitchen remote control 9 is placed above the system kitchen 6k. The kitchen remote control 9 includes a kitchen display 9v and a kitchen communication unit 9t. The kitchen remote control 9 is a remote control for setting the temperature of hot water supplied to the kitchen 6. However, the kitchen remote control 9 can also be used to start and stop the supply of hot water to the bathtub 4b in the bathroom 4. Furthermore, the kitchen remote control 9 can also be used to set the temperature of hot water supplied to the bathtub 4b in the bathroom 4 and the temperature of the hot water for the shower. The kitchen communication unit 9t includes a speaker (not shown) and a microphone (not shown) for communicating with the bathroom communication unit 8t of the bathroom remote control 8.

[0020] Server device 12 is capable of communicating with router 3 in house 2 via the Internet 14. Server device 12 provides a service of remotely monitoring and controlling bathroom 4 via the Internet 14. Server device 12 is installed by the vendor of bathroom remote control 8. In a modified example, server device 12 may be installed by a provider different from that of bathroom remote control 8.

[0021] The mobile terminal device 16 is typically a smartphone, but may also be a feature phone, a tablet terminal, a personal computer, etc. The mobile terminal device 16 is a terminal owned and operated by a resident of the house 2. The mobile terminal device 16 is capable of communicating with the server device 12 via the Internet 14. The mobile terminal device 16 includes a mobile display 16v and a mobile camera 16p. An operation screen for operating the mobile terminal device 16 is displayed on the mobile display 16v. The mobile terminal device 16 can capture various images by operating the mobile camera 16p on the operation screen displayed on the mobile display 16v.

[0022] The control configuration of bathroom monitoring system 10 will be described with reference to Fig. 2. Server device 12 is equipped with a server control device 12c. Bathroom remote control 8 is equipped with a bathroom control device 8c. Mobile terminal device 16 is equipped with a mobile terminal control device 16c. Although not shown in the figure, kitchen remote control 9 also similarly includes a kitchen control device.

[0023] Each control device is equipped with a hardware processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a RAM (Random Access Memory), and a ROM (Read Only Memory). Each control device also has an external interface that is an interface for communicating with external devices. Each control device loads a program that is pre-stored in the ROM into the RAM. Each control device uses the CPU to interpret and execute the program loaded into the RAM to control each component.

[0024] As shown in Fig. 2, the server control device 12c of the server device 12 is configured as a computer including a resident information storage unit 12m, an entrant determination unit 12j, a server-side receiving unit 12r, and a server-side transmitting unit 12s. The server-side receiving unit 12r receives various information from the bathroom remote control 8, the mobile terminal device 16, and the kitchen remote control 9 (see Fig. 1) via the router 3 (see Fig. 1) and the Internet 14. The server-side transmitting unit 12s transmits various information to the bathroom remote control 8, the mobile terminal device 16, and the kitchen remote control 9 via the Internet 14 and the router 3.

[0025] The resident information storage unit 12m stores resident information, which is information about the resident of a plurality of houses including the house 2. Details of the information stored in the resident information storage unit 12m will be described later with reference to FIG.

[0026] The entrant determination unit 12j uses the resident information stored in the resident information storage unit 12m to determine whether or not a person entering the bathroom 4 (see FIG. 1) is a resident of the house 2 (see FIG. 1). The entrant determination unit 12j compares the entrant information (described below) received by the server-side receiving unit 12r from the bathroom remote control 8 with the resident information stored in the resident information storage unit 12m. If the entrant information matches the resident information, the entrant determination unit 12j determines that the entrant identified by the entrant information is a resident. If the entrant information does not match the resident information, the entrant determination unit 12j determines that the entrant identified by the entrant information is not a resident.

[0027] Bathroom remote control 8 is configured as a computer equipped with bathroom side memory 8m, entrant information acquisition unit 8g, bathroom side receiver 8r, bathroom side transmitter 8s, and bathroom side display unit 8d. Bathroom side memory 8m stores information such as the temperature of hot water to be supplied to bathtub 4b (see FIG. 1) set by the resident and the time of supplying the hot water. Entering person information acquisition unit 8g controls bathroom camera 8p (see FIG. 1). As described above, bathroom camera 8p always acquires images of imaging range 8a (see FIG. 1). Entering person information acquisition unit 8g acquires the image of imaging range 8a (see FIG. 1) as entrant information when a change occurs in the image within imaging range 8a (see FIG. 1). The acquired entrant information is stored in bathroom side memory 8m. Bathroom side transmitter 8s transmits various information to server device 12, kitchen remote control 9, and mobile terminal device 16 via router 3 and Internet 14. Bathroom transmission unit 8s transmits the occupant information stored in bathroom memory unit 8m to server device 12 via the Internet .

[0028] The bathroom receiving unit 8r receives various information from the server device 12 and the mobile terminal device 16 via the Internet 14. The bathroom receiving unit 8r receives various information from the kitchen remote control 9 via the router 3 (see FIG. 1). The bathroom display unit 8d controls the content to be displayed on the bathroom display 8v (see FIG. 1).

[0029] The mobile terminal device 16 is configured as a computer including a mobile side storage unit 16m, a resident information acquisition unit 16g, a mobile side receiving unit 16r, a mobile side transmitting unit 16s, and a mobile side display unit 16d. The mobile side storage unit 16m stores applications and the like installed in the mobile terminal device 16. The resident information acquisition unit 16g captures an image of the face of the user (i.e., the resident) of the mobile terminal device 16 using the mobile camera 16p (see FIG. 1). The resident information acquisition unit 16g stores the captured image of the resident's face in the mobile side storage unit 16m as resident information. The mobile side transmitting unit 16s transmits various information to the bathroom remote control 8, the kitchen remote control 9, and the server device 12 via the Internet 14 and the router 3. The mobile side transmitting unit 16s transmits the resident information stored in the mobile side storage unit 16m to the server device 12 via the Internet 14 in association with bathroom identification information that identifies the bathroom 4 of the house 2 (see FIG. 1 for both).

[0030] Mobile phone receiving unit 16r receives various information from server device 12, bathroom remote control 8, and kitchen remote control 9 via Internet 14. Mobile phone display unit 16d controls the content to be displayed on mobile display 16v (see FIG. 1).

[0031] As described above, the mobile terminal device 16 transmits to the server device 12 resident information and bathroom identification information that identifies a bathroom located in the house in which the resident lives in association with the resident information. As a result, as shown in FIG. 3, the resident information storage unit 12m of the server device 12 stores facial images of residents of a plurality of houses in association with the respective bathrooms 4, 40, 50, and 60 of the houses. For example, facial images F1, F2, F3, and F4 are stored as the resident information for the bathroom 4 of the house 2 shown in FIG. 1. The facial images F1 to F4 are the resident information acquired by the four residents of the house 2 by the respective mobile terminal devices 16 and transmitted to the server device 12. Note that a plurality of pieces of resident information may be acquired by one mobile terminal device 16 and transmitted to the resident information storage unit 12m. As shown in FIG. 3, the number of pieces of resident information associated with each bathroom can be changed according to the number of residents of the house in which the bathroom is located.

[0032] With reference to FIG. 4, the process executed by bathroom control device 8c of bathroom remote control 8 will be described. Bathroom control device 8c constantly captures images of imaging range 8a by bathroom camera 8p, and when a change occurs in the image, it detects that a person has entered bathroom 4 (see FIG. 1) (step S2). Although not shown, bathroom control device 8c starts measuring the time since entry as soon as it detects a person entering the bathroom. When it detects a person entering the bathroom, bathroom control device 8c acquires entrant information (i.e., an image from bathroom camera 8p) (step S4). This entrant information includes an image of the person's face. Bathroom control device 8c transmits the acquired entrant information to server device 12 (step S6). The process executed by server control device 12c of server device 12 that has received the entrant information will be described later with reference to FIG. 5.

[0033] After that, bathroom control device 8c receives from server device 12 the entrant determination result determined by entrant determination unit 12j (see FIG. 2) of server control device 12c (step S8). When bathroom control device 8c receives the entrant determination result that the entrant specified by the entrant information transmitted to server device 12 in step S6 is a resident (step S10: YES), bathroom control device 8c determines whether the entrant has left bathroom 4 using bathroom camera 8p (step S11). When the entrant has left bathroom 4 (step S11: YES), bathroom control device 8c ends the process. On the other hand, when the entrant has not left bathroom 4 (step S11: NO), bathroom control device 8c determines whether the time after entry, which started to be measured at the same time as step S2, exceeds a threshold (step S12). Here, this threshold is the time at which it can be determined that an abnormality has occurred in bathroom 4, such as the resident losing consciousness in bathroom 4 (see FIG. 1). This threshold can be changed by the resident. In this way, bathroom controller 8c determines whether or not something abnormal has happened to the occupant in bathroom 4.

[0034] If the time since entry exceeds the threshold (step S12: YES), bathroom control device 8c transmits the abnormality information to server device 12 and kitchen remote control 9 (step S14). Server device 12, which has received the abnormality information, transmits the abnormality information to mobile terminal device 16. At this time, server device 12 may transmit the abnormality information to mobile terminal devices of related parties other than the resident who are registered in advance, in addition to mobile terminal device 16 of the resident identified by face images F1 to F4 associated with bathroom 4 of house 2. In this way, related parties other than the resident, such as family members living in a different location from the elderly person, can also be notified that an abnormality has occurred in bathroom 4. In addition, a mobile terminal device of a relative, acquaintance, or the like who is temporarily staying in house 2 (see FIG. 1) may be temporarily registered as a mobile terminal device of the resident.

[0035] On the other hand, if the time since entry has not exceeded the threshold (step S12: NO), bathroom control device 8c returns to step S11 again to determine whether the person has left bathroom 4. In other words, bathroom control device 8c continues measuring the time since entry until the person has left the bathroom 4.

[0036] Mobile terminal device 16 that has received the abnormality occurrence information displays a message saying "Someone has collapsed in the bathroom" as shown in FIG. 7. This allows the user of mobile terminal device 16 to recognize that the resident may have collapsed in bathroom 4. In addition, kitchen remote control 9 that has received the abnormality occurrence information issues a voice saying "Someone has collapsed in the bathroom" by kitchen communication unit 9t. This allows other residents around kitchen remote control 9 to be notified that the resident may have collapsed in bathroom 4. In addition to the message in FIG. 7, mobile terminal device 16 may display an image of the resident (i.e., an image of bathroom camera 8p) included in the resident information acquired by bathroom control device 8c in step S4 on mobile display 16v. In this case, mobile terminal device 16 may receive an image of the face included in the resident information from server device 12. This allows the owner of mobile terminal device 16 to identify the resident who has collapsed in bathroom 4. Furthermore, mobile terminal device 16 may display an image of the current state of bathroom 4 in addition to the image included in the resident information.

[0037] When bathroom control device 8c receives an intruder determination result indicating that the intruder identified by the intruder information sent to server device 12 in step S6 is not a resident (step S10: NO), bathroom control device 8c issues a suspicious intruder alarm (step S16). The suspicious intruder alarm is a voice issued from bathroom communication unit 8t of bathroom remote control 8 saying, "A suspicious intruder has intruded into the bathroom." This suspicious intruder alarm allows the resident to recognize that there is a possibility that a suspicious intruder has intruded into bathroom 4. The suspicious intruder alarm may simply be a siren sound.

[0038] The process executed by server control device 12c will be described with reference to FIG. 5. As described in step S6 of FIG. 4, server control device 12c receives entrant information from bathroom control device 8c (step S20). Server control device 12c compares the received entrant information with resident information stored in resident information storage unit 12m (step S22). More specifically, server control device 12c compares the facial image included in the entrant information with resident information (i.e., facial images F1 to F4) associated with bathroom 4 in which bathroom control device 8c (i.e., bathroom remote control 8) that transmitted the entrant information is located. If the facial image included in the entrant information matches or is similar to any of facial images F1 to F4 (step S22: YES), server control device 12c determines that the entrant identified by the entrant information is a resident. In this case, server control device 12c transmits resident bathing information indicating the entrant determination result that the entrant is a resident to bathroom remote control 8 (step S24).

[0039] The bathroom remote control 8 that has received the resident bathing information executes the process of step S11 in FIG. 4. The server control device 12c may also transmit the resident bathing information to the kitchen remote control 9 in step 24. In that case, the kitchen remote control 9 that has received the resident bathing information displays a message "The resident is taking a bath" on the kitchen display 9v. This allows other residents in the vicinity of the kitchen remote control 9 to recognize that the resident is taking a bath. The server control device 12c may also transmit the resident bathing information to the mobile terminal device 16 in step 24. In that case, the mobile terminal device 16 that has received the resident bathing information displays a message "The resident is taking a bath" on the mobile display 16v. This allows the owner of the mobile terminal device 16 (i.e., another resident) to recognize that the resident is taking a bath.

[0040] On the other hand, if the face image included in the entrant information does not match or resemble any of the face images F1 to F4 (step S22: NO), the server control device 12c determines that the entrant identified by the entrant information is not a resident. In this case, the server control device 12c transmits suspicious person intrusion information indicating the entrant determination result that the entrant is not a resident to the bathroom remote control 8 (step S26). The bathroom remote control 8 that has received the suspicious person intrusion information executes the process of step S16 in FIG. 4. Note that, if the face image included in the entrant information does not match or resemble any of the face images F1 to F4, the server control device 12c may obtain the entrant information again after a predetermined time has elapsed and determine whether the entrant identified by the entrant information is a resident or not. In this way, by performing the determination multiple times, the accuracy of the entrant determination can be improved.

[0041] Furthermore, server control device 12c may also transmit the suspicious person intrusion information to mobile terminal device 16 and kitchen remote control 9 in step S26. In this case, mobile terminal device 16 that has received the suspicious person intrusion information displays a message "There is a suspicious person in the bathroom" on mobile display 16v as shown in FIG. 6. This allows the user of mobile terminal device 16 to recognize that there may be a suspicious person in bathroom 4. Kitchen remote control 9 that has received the suspicious person intrusion information emits a voice message "A suspicious person has intruded into the bathroom" from kitchen communication unit 9t. This allows residents around kitchen remote control 9 to recognize that there may be a suspicious person intruded into bathroom 4. Kitchen remote control 9 may also emit a simple siren sound. In addition to the message in FIG. 6, mobile terminal device 16 may display an image of the suspicious person included in the entrant information acquired by bathroom control device 8c in step S4 (i.e., an image of bathroom camera 8p) on mobile display 16v. In this case, mobile terminal device 16 may receive an image of a face included in the entrant information from server device 12. This allows the owner of mobile terminal device 16 to confirm an image of the suspicious person who has entered bathroom 4. Furthermore, mobile terminal device 16 may display an image of the current state of the interior of bathroom 4, in addition to the image included in the entrant information.

[0042] (Correspondence) The bathroom control device 8c is an example of an "abnormality occurrence determination unit." The bathroom remote control 8 is an example of a "client device." The server control device 12c is an example of an "output unit." The display of the message "There is a suspicious person in the bathroom" in FIG. 6 and the voice "There is a suspicious person in the bathroom" emitted by the bathroom remote control 8 and the kitchen remote control 9 are examples of a "crime prevention alert." The display of the message "Someone has collapsed in the bathroom" in FIG. 7 and the voice "Someone has collapsed in the bathroom" emitted by the bathroom remote control 8 and the kitchen remote control 9 are examples of a "lifesaving alert."

[0043] Although the embodiments have been described in detail above, these are merely examples and do not limit the scope of the claims. The technology described in the claims includes various modifications and variations of the specific examples exemplified above. Modifications of the above-mentioned embodiments are listed below.

[0044] (Variation 1) In the above-described embodiment, an image of the resident's face is used as the resident information, but in variation 1, instead, for example, the resident's physical build may be used as the resident information. In that case, bathroom remote control 8 may be equipped with an infrared sensor capable of acquiring the physical build of the person entering the bathroom, instead of bathroom camera 8p. Also, the resident's voice may be used as the resident information, and the voice of the person entering the bathroom 4 may be compared with the voice of the resident acquired by bathroom communication unit 8t and the voice of the resident stored in resident information storage unit 12m to determine whether the person entering the bathroom 4 is a resident. In that case, the resident's voice may be acquired by mobile terminal device 16.

[0045] (Variation 2) Furthermore, in Variation 2, whether or not the person entering the bathroom is a resident may be determined based on whether or not the person is carrying a possession that is unique to the resident, instead of the physical characteristics of Variation 1. In Variation 2, bathroom camera 8p may identify wristbands worn by all residents of house 2 to determine whether or not the person entering the bathroom is a resident.

[0046] (Variation 3) In the above-described embodiment, server control device 12c includes entrant determination unit 12j and resident information storage unit 12m, but in variation 3, bathroom control device 8c may include the entrant determination unit and resident storage unit. In this case, bathroom control device 8c stores in the resident storage unit only the resident information of the resident of house 2 in which bathroom 4 is located. Furthermore, mobile terminal device 16 may transmit the resident information directly to bathroom control device 8c via Bluetooth.

[0047] (Variation 4) In the above-described embodiment, an image of the resident's face, which is resident information, is acquired by mobile camera 16p of mobile terminal device 16. In variation 4, instead of this, for example, an image of the resident's face may be acquired by bathroom camera 8p of bathroom remote control 8.

[0048] (Modification 5) In the above embodiment, the crime prevention and lifesaving alerts are sent to the bathroom remote control 8, the kitchen remote control 9, and the mobile terminal device 16. However, in modification 5, instead, the alerts may be sent to, for example, a security company. Furthermore, if it is determined that a suspicious person has entered the bathroom 4, the entrance 4e of the bathroom 4 may be automatically locked.

[0049] (Variation 6) In the above-described embodiment, when it is determined that the person entering bathroom 4 is a resident, the time after entry is measured to determine whether or not something abnormal has occurred with the resident in bathroom 4. In variation 6, instead, for example, the behavior of the resident in bathroom 4 may be detected by bathroom camera 8p, and if the resident does not move for a predetermined time, it may be determined that an abnormality has occurred. Also, the body temperature of the resident in bathroom 4 may be measured, and if the measured body temperature changes by more than a predetermined temperature, it may be determined that an abnormality has occurred.

[0050] Although specific examples of the present invention have been described above in detail, these are merely examples and do not limit the scope of the claims. The technology described in the claims includes various modifications and variations of the specific examples exemplified above. The technical elements described in this specification or drawings exhibit technical utility alone or in various combinations, and are not limited to the combinations described in the claims at the time of filing. In addition, the technology exemplified in this specification or drawings can achieve multiple objectives simultaneously, and achieving one of these objectives is itself technically useful. [Explanation of symbols]

[0051] 2: Housing 3: Router 4:Bathroom 4b: Bathtub 4e: Entrance 6: Kitchen 6k: System kitchen 8: Bathroom remote control 8a: Image area 8c: Bathroom control device 8d:Bathroom side display 8g: Room visitor information acquisition department 8m: Bathroom side storage section 8p: Bathroom Camera 8r: Bathroom side receiver 8s: Bathroom transmitter 8t:Bathroom communication section 8v:Bathroom display 9: Kitchen remote control 9t:Kitchen call department 9v: Kitchen display 10: Bathroom monitoring system 12: Server device 12c: Server control device 12j: Room Entrant Judgment Department 12m: Resident information storage section 12r: Server side receiver 12s: Server side transmission unit 14: Internet 16: Portable terminal device 16c: Portable terminal control device 16d: Mobile phone display 16g:Resident information acquisition department 16m: Mobile phone memory 16p: Mobile phone camera 16r: Mobile phone receiver 16s: Mobile phone transmitter 16v: Mobile display

Claims

1. A bathroom monitoring system for monitoring a bathroom, comprising: a resident information acquisition unit that acquires resident information, which is information about the resident of the house in which the bathroom is located; a resident information storage unit that stores the resident information acquired by the resident information acquisition unit; an occupant information acquisition unit that acquires occupant information, which is information on a person entering the bathroom; an entrant determination unit that compares the entrant information acquired by the entrant information acquisition unit with the resident information stored in the resident information storage unit and determines whether the person entering the bathroom identified by the entrant information is a resident; an output unit that switches an output mode in response to a determination by the entrant determination unit; and an abnormality occurrence determination unit that determines whether or not an abnormality has occurred to the person entering the bathroom, When the entry person determination unit determines that the entry person is not the resident, the output unit issues a crime prevention alert to inform the user that a person other than the resident has entered the bathroom. When the entrant determination unit determines that the entrant is the resident, when the abnormality occurrence determination unit determines that an abnormality has occurred in the bathroom, the output unit performs a life-saving alert to inform the entrant that an abnormality has occurred in the bathroom, When the intruder determination unit determines that the intruder is not the resident, the output unit locks an entrance to the bathroom in addition to issuing the crime prevention alert. Bathroom monitoring system.

2. The resident information includes an image of the face of the resident, The entrance person information acquisition unit is configured to capture an image of a face of a person entering the bathroom, The bathroom monitoring system of claim 1, wherein the entrant determination unit determines whether or not the person entering the bathroom identified by the entrant information is the resident by comparing an image of the face of a person entering the bathroom captured by the entrant information acquisition unit with an image of the face of the resident included in the resident information.

3. A client device installed in the residence and including the occupant information acquisition unit; The bathroom monitoring system of claim 1 or 2, further comprising a server device configured to communicate with the client device and equipped with the resident information storage unit and the entrant determination unit.

4. The bathroom monitoring system according to claim 3 , further comprising a mobile terminal device configured to be able to communicate with the server device or the client device, and including the occupant information acquisition unit.

5. the server device transmits to the mobile terminal device suspicious person intrusion information indicating that a person other than the resident has entered the bathroom or abnormality occurrence information indicating that an abnormality has occurred in the bathroom with the person who entered the bathroom; The mobile terminal device When the suspicious person intrusion information is received from the server device, the crime prevention alert is issued. When the abnormality occurrence information is received from the server device, the life-saving notification is performed. The bathroom monitoring system according to claim 4.

Images