Audio Output System

Abstract

To properly convey event contents to users.SOLUTION: The present invention comprises: a human detection unit capable of detecting whether or not a person exists in a detection area; a voice output unit for outputting a voice to the person present in the detection area; and a human assessment unit capable of capturing a change state due to the use of an apparatus usable by a person in or around the detection area and assessing whether or not a person exists in the detection area. Voice output control is exercised such that when, while an event has occurred that requires for voice data to be outputted by the voice output unit, the presence of a person in the detection area is detected by the human detection unit and it is assessed by the human assessment unit that a person exists in the detection area, the control unit actuates the voice output unit in order to output a voice that corresponds to the event. When the presence of a person in the detection area is not detected by the human detection unit, or it is not assessed by the human assessment unit that a person exists in the detection area, the control unit disables execution of voice output control.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an audio output system provided with an audio output unit that outputs audio. [Background technology]

[0002] In such an audio output system, when an event occurs that requires audio data such as disaster prevention information or weather information to be output, the audio data corresponding to the event is sent to an audio output unit, and the audio output unit outputs the audio data, thereby communicating the content of the event, such as disaster prevention information or weather information, to the user (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

[0003] When an event such as disaster prevention information or weather information occurs, the user may not be near the audio output unit, and the content of the event may not be conveyed to the user even if audio data is output. Therefore, the system described in Patent Document 1 is provided with an optical human detection unit that can detect whether or not a person is present in a detection area using light, and when an event occurs that requires audio data to be output, the audio output unit outputs the audio data on the condition that a person is detected by the human detection unit. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2020-155956 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] The human detection unit described in Patent Document 1 detects the presence of a person in the detection area by detecting that light (infrared rays) projected toward the detection area is reflected by a person. However, even if an object other than a person (e.g., a pet, or equipment or furniture installed in the detection area) is present in the detection area, the light (infrared rays) projected toward the detection area is reflected by the object, so there is a possibility that the human detection unit will erroneously detect that a person is present in the detection area. In this way, when a false detection occurs in the human detection unit, audio data may be output even though there is no person in the detection area, and the content of the event may not be communicated to the user, and there is room for improvement in this regard.

[0006] In view of this situation, a main object of the present invention is to provide an audio output system that can appropriately convey event contents to users. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] A first characteristic configuration of the present invention includes a human detection unit capable of detecting whether or not a person is present in a detection area; a voice output unit that outputs voice to a person present in the detection area; a human determination unit capable of determining whether or not a human is present in the detection area by detecting a change in state that accompanies the use of a device that can be used by a person in the detection area and around the detection area; A control unit that controls an operating state of the audio output unit is provided. When an event that requires the audio output unit to output audio data occurs, if the human presence detection unit detects the presence of a person in a detection area and the human determination unit determines that a person is present in the detection area, the control unit performs audio output control to operate the audio output unit so as to output audio corresponding to the event; The control unit prohibits the execution of the audio output control when the human presence detection unit does not detect the presence of a human in the detection area, or when the human determination unit does not determine that a human is present in the detection area.

[0008] In the detection area and the surroundings of the detection area, devices that can be used by people will change, for example, in the energy supply state to the device and the environment of the detection area, as the device is used. Therefore, according to this configuration, the human determination unit can determine whether or not a person is present in the detection area by capturing the change state accompanying the use of the device. In a state in which an event that requires the audio output unit to output audio data has occurred, the control unit determines whether or not to perform audio output control, taking into account not only the detection information of the human detection unit but also the determination information of the human determination unit. As a result, even if an erroneous detection occurs in the human detection unit, if the human determination unit cannot determine that a person is present in the detection area, no audio output control is performed, and it is possible to prevent the event content from being unable to be communicated to the user due to the erroneous detection of the human detection unit. Therefore, the control unit can perform audio output control after confirming that a person is present in the detection area by both the human detection unit and the human determination unit, and the event content can be appropriately communicated to the user.

[0009] A second characteristic configuration of the present invention is a system in which the appliances include energy consuming appliances including gas appliances and electric appliances, an energy supply state detection unit capable of detecting an energy supply state to the energy consuming device; The human determination unit captures changes in the energy supply state that accompany the use of the energy consuming device based on detection information from the energy supply state detection unit, and determines whether or not a human is present in the detection area.

[0010] As energy consuming devices, including gas appliances and electric appliances, use increases the amount of energy supplied to the energy consuming device. Therefore, according to the present configuration, the human determination unit can determine that a person is present in the detection area if the amount of energy supplied to the energy consuming device increases based on detection information from the energy supply state detection unit, and can make the determination appropriately. As a result, by taking into account the determination information from the human determination unit, audio output control can be performed at an appropriate time, and the content of the event can be appropriately conveyed to the user.

[0011] A third characteristic configuration of the present invention is that a temperature and humidity detection unit is provided that is capable of detecting at least one of the temperature and humidity in the detection area, and the human determination unit captures the change in temperature or humidity in the detection area that accompanies the use of the device based on the detection information from the temperature and humidity detection unit, and determines whether or not a human is present in the detection area.

[0012] For example, when an air conditioner is in use due to the presence of a person in the detection area, the temperature and humidity in the detection area will change as the air conditioner operates. Conversely, when no person is in the detection area and the air conditioner is not in use, the temperature and humidity in the detection area will hardly change. In this way, in a device that can be switched between use and non-use depending on whether or not a person is in the detection area, the change in temperature and humidity in the detection area may differ between use and non-use.

[0013] Therefore, according to this configuration, the human presence determination unit can determine whether or not a person is present in the detection area by capturing the change in temperature or humidity in the detection area accompanying the use of the device based on the detection information from the temperature and humidity detection unit, and can appropriately perform the determination. As a result, by taking into account the determination information from the human presence determination unit, audio output control can be performed at an appropriate time, and the event content can be appropriately conveyed to the user.

[0014] A fourth characteristic configuration of the present invention is that the person determination unit determines that a person is not present in the detection area when the degree of change in temperature or humidity in the detection area based on the detection information from the temperature and humidity detection unit is greater or smaller than a set range, and determines that a person is present in the detection area when the degree of change in temperature or humidity in the detection area based on the detection information from the temperature and humidity detection unit is within a set range.

[0015] For example, when a water heater or a rice cooker is used, steam and the like are generated, and if such devices are installed in or around the detection area, the temperature and humidity in the detection area will change rapidly even if no one is present in the detection area. Also, if no one is present in the detection area and the air conditioner is not in use, the temperature and humidity in the detection area will not change much, and the degree of change will be quite small. Conversely, if a person is present in the detection area and the air conditioner is in use, the temperature and humidity in the detection area will change due to the air conditioning of the air conditioner, but the degree of change will be smaller than when a water heater or rice cooker is in use.

[0016] Therefore, for example, in consideration of the difference in the degree of change in temperature and humidity in the detection area when a water heater or a rice cooker is used and when an air conditioner is used or not used, the set range for the degree of change in temperature and humidity can be set corresponding to the case where a person is present in the detection area and the air conditioner is used. By setting the set range in this way, the person determination unit can determine that no person is present in the detection area when the degree of change in temperature or humidity in the detection area based on the detection information of the temperature and humidity detection unit is larger or smaller than the set range, and can determine that a person is present in the detection area when the degree of change in temperature or humidity in the detection area based on the detection information of the temperature and humidity detection unit is within the set range. Therefore, the presence or absence of a person in the detection area can be appropriately determined based on the degree of change in temperature and humidity in the detection area due to the use and non-use of each device.

[0017] A fifth characteristic configuration of the present invention is provided with an abnormal environment state determination unit that determines whether or not a temperature and humidity environment in the detection area and around the detection area is in an abnormal state based on detection information from the temperature and humidity detection unit, When the environmental abnormality judgment unit judges that an abnormal condition exists, the control unit is configured to determine that an event has occurred that requires the audio output unit to output audio data, and to perform audio output corresponding to the abnormal condition in the audio output control.

[0018] When the temperature or humidity in the detection area and the surrounding area is high, there is a possibility of heat stroke, etc. Therefore, according to this configuration, when the abnormal environmental state determination unit determines that an abnormal state exists, the control unit determines that an event has occurred that requires the audio output unit to output audio data, and outputs audio corresponding to the abnormal state, thereby informing the user that the temperature and humidity environment in the detection area and the surrounding area of ​​the detection area is in an abnormal state, and encouraging the user to take measures against heat stroke, etc., thereby preventing the occurrence of heat stroke, etc. In addition, the temperature and humidity detection unit can be used in both the human determination unit and the abnormal environmental state determination unit, which can simplify the configuration. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0019] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall schematic configuration of an audio output system. [Diagram 2] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an alarm device. [Diagram 3] Flowchart showing the operation of the person determination unit [Figure 4] Flowchart showing the operation of the person determination unit [Diagram 5] 1 is a flowchart showing the operation of the audio output system. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0020] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a voice output system according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. This voice output system communicates various types of information, such as weather information and disaster prevention information, to users by outputting the voice data corresponding to the event when an event occurs that requires the output of voice data such as disaster prevention information and weather information.

[0021] As shown in FIG. 1, this audio output system 100 is configured using an alarm device 1 installed in a facility such as a user's residence, and as shown in FIG. 2, the alarm device 1 is equipped with an audio output unit 18 to notify the user in the facility such as the residence of the content of the event.

[0022] 1, in addition to an alarm device 1, the audio output system 100 is equipped with a terminal device 2 such as a smartphone that allows a user to perform various settings and operations, a server device 3 that performs various controls and communications, and an external device 4 that notifies the occurrence of events, etc. Each of the alarm device 1, the terminal device 2, and the external device 4 is configured to be able to freely communicate various information with the server device 3 via an information and communication network 5 such as the Internet.

[0023] 2, the alarm device 1 is disposed on the ceiling 12 or a wall on the side of the ceiling 12, with the indoor space between the floor 11 and the ceiling 12 being the detection area 13. The alarm device 1 is equipped with a monitoring sensor unit 14, a human detection unit 15, a temperature and humidity sensor unit 16, a display unit 17, an audio output unit 18, a device-side control unit 19, a device-side memory unit 20, a device-side communication unit 21, etc.

[0024] The device-side memory unit 20 stores various types of information for activating the alarm device 1, and the device-side control unit 19 controls the operating state of the alarm device 1 using the various types of information stored in the device-side memory unit 20. The device-side control unit 19 is configured to be able to transmit and receive various types of information to and from the server device 3 via the device-side communication unit 21 by wired communication or wireless communication.

[0025] The monitoring sensor unit 14 is equipped with various sensors, such as a gas leak monitoring sensor, a CO (carbon monoxide) monitoring sensor, and a fire monitoring sensor, and the device-side control unit 19 monitors for gas leaks, abnormal CO concentrations, whether or not a fire has occurred, etc., based on the detection information of these sensors.

[0026] For example, when the concentration of the target gas detected by the gas leak monitoring sensor exceeds a set value, the apparatus-side control unit 19 determines that there is a gas leak and issues a gas leak alarm by displaying on the display unit 17 or outputting a voice by the voice output unit 18. When the CO concentration detected by the CO monitoring sensor exceeds a set value, the apparatus-side control unit 19 determines that there is an abnormal CO concentration and issues a CO concentration abnormal alarm by displaying on the display unit 17 or outputting a voice by the voice output unit 18. Furthermore, when the fire monitoring sensor detects smoke or heat caused by a fire, the apparatus-side control unit 19 determines that there is a fire and issues a fire alarm by displaying on the display unit 17 or outputting a voice by the voice output unit 18.

[0027] The temperature and humidity sensor unit 16 detects the temperature and humidity of an indoor space such as a kitchen including the detection area 13. The display unit 17 has lamps and LEDs and is configured as a display device capable of displaying text information, etc. The audio output unit 18 is configured, for example, as a speaker, etc. and is configured to be able to output various types of audio data.

[0028] 1, the server device 3 is equipped with a server-side control unit 41, a server-side storage unit 42, a server-side communication unit 43, etc. The server-side storage unit 42 stores various types of information, and the server-side control unit 41 controls the operating state of the server device 3 using the various types of information stored in the server-side storage unit 42. The server-side control unit 41 is configured to be able to transmit and receive various types of information to and from the alarm device 1 and the external device 4 by wired communication or wireless communication via the server-side communication unit 43.

[0029] The external device 4 is configured to notify the server device 3 of the occurrence of an external event such as disaster prevention information or weather information. For example, in the case of disaster prevention information, the external device 4 notifies the server device 3 of disaster prevention information such as "earthquake occurrence" assuming that the event occurred at the timing of an earthquake occurrence. In addition, in the case of weather information, the external device 4 notifies the server device 3 of an updated weather forecast (for example, "Today's weather is sunny") assuming that the event occurred at the timing of an update of the weather forecast.

[0030] When the server device 3 receives a notification from the external device 4 that an event has occurred, the server-side control unit 41 acquires voice data corresponding to the event from the server-side storage unit 42, and transmits the acquired voice data to the alarm device 1. As a result, in the alarm device 1, the device-side control unit 19 outputs the voice data transmitted from the server device 3 through the voice output unit 18, thereby communicating the content of the event to the user.

[0031] For example, when an earthquake occurs, the external device 4 notifies the server device 3 that an earthquake has occurred, and the server-side control unit 41 obtains voice data corresponding to the occurrence of the earthquake (voice data such as "earthquake has occurred") from the server-side storage unit 42, and transmits the voice data to the alarm device 1. In the alarm device 1, the device-side control unit 19 outputs the voice data such as "earthquake has occurred" transmitted from the server device 3 through the voice output unit 18, thereby notifying the user that an earthquake has occurred.

[0032] Furthermore, when the weather forecast is updated, the external device 4 notifies the server device 3 that the weather forecast has been updated, and the server-side control unit 41 obtains voice data corresponding to the updated weather forecast from the server-side storage unit 42 (voice data such as "Today's weather is sunny") and transmits the voice data to the alarm device 1. In the alarm device 1, the device-side control unit 19 outputs the voice data such as "Today's weather is sunny" transmitted from the server device 3 through the voice output unit 18, thereby communicating the updated weather forecast to the user.

[0033] In this way, in the audio output system 100, when an event occurs externally, the server-side control unit 41, the device-side control unit 19, and other control units communicate information corresponding to the event in the order of the external device 4 → the server device 3 → the warning device 1, and perform audio output control such that audio data corresponding to the event is output from the audio output unit 18. For example, the weather information is not limited to a weather forecast, and it is also possible to output a voice message of "approaching rain clouds" when rain clouds approach, or a voice message of "weather warning issued" when a weather warning is issued.

[0034] The event content in audio output control is not limited to disaster prevention information and weather information, but for example, audio data corresponding to news can be output when the news is updated, or audio data corresponding to traffic information can be output when traffic information is updated, and various types of event content can be applied.

[0035] In this audio output system 100, not only when an event occurs outside but also when an event occurs inside the facility, a control unit such as the device-side control unit 19 performs audio output control to output audio data corresponding to the event from the audio output unit 18. Since the audio output system 100 uses the alarm device 1 that monitors monitored events such as gas leaks, abnormal CO concentrations, and fires, when the alarm device 1 detects a monitored event such as a gas leak, abnormal CO concentrations, or fire, it determines that an event has occurred and outputs audio data corresponding to the monitored event from the audio output unit 18.

[0036] 2, when the apparatus-side control unit 19 detects the occurrence of a gas leak based on the detection information of the monitoring sensor unit 14, it determines that an event has occurred, acquires voice data corresponding to the gas leak such as "gas leak occurred" from the apparatus-side storage unit 20, and outputs the voice data corresponding to the gas leak such as "gas leak occurred" by the voice output unit 18. In addition, when the apparatus-side control unit 19 detects an abnormal CO concentration or the occurrence of a fire, it acquires voice data corresponding to the abnormal CO concentration or the occurrence of a fire from the apparatus-side storage unit 20, and outputs the acquired voice data by the voice output unit 18.

[0037] The alarm device 1 is equipped with not only the monitoring sensor unit 14 but also a temperature and humidity sensor unit 16 that detects the temperature and humidity of the indoor space including the detection area 13. Then, based on the detection information of the temperature and humidity sensor unit 16, the device side control unit 19 (corresponding to the environmental abnormality state determination unit) determines whether the temperature and humidity of the indoor space are rising and there is a possibility of heat stroke or the like occurring, and whether the humidity of the indoor space is falling and becoming dry, and so on, and whether the temperature and humidity environment of the indoor space is in an abnormal state or not.

[0038] When the device-side control unit 19 determines that the temperature and humidity environment in the indoor space is in an abnormal state, it acquires voice data corresponding to the temperature and humidity environment being in an abnormal state from the device-side storage unit 20, and outputs the acquired voice data by voice at the voice output unit 18. At this time, the voice data corresponding to the temperature and humidity environment being in an abnormal state can be voice data such as "Caution: Heatstroke" when there is a possibility of heatstroke or the like occurring, and voice data such as "Caution: Dryness" when the state is dry.

[0039] Also, for example, voice data of a fixed phrase such as "Today is garbage day" can be stored in the server-side storage unit 42 or the device-side storage unit 20, and the date and time for outputting the voice data of the fixed phrase can be set. As a result, when the set date and time arrives, a control unit such as the server-side control unit 41 or the device-side control unit 19 can perform voice output control to output the voice data of the fixed phrase such as "Today is garbage day" from the voice output unit 18, assuming that an event has occurred.

[0040] The occurrence of an event is a prerequisite for the audio output system 100 to perform audio output control, but the date, time, and time period during which audio output control can be executed can also be set appropriately by the user by operating the terminal device 2.

[0041] An event may not occur at a timing intended by the user, and it may be difficult to convey the contents of the event to the user by only controlling the audio output when the event occurs. Therefore, the audio output system 100 is configured to check that a person is present in the detection area 13 and then control the audio output when an event occurs.

[0042] In order to confirm whether or not a person is present in the detection area 13, the audio output system 100 is equipped with a human presence detection unit 15 capable of detecting whether or not a person is present in the detection area 13, and a human determination unit 51 capable of determining whether or not a person is present in the detection area 13 by capturing changes in the state of the detection area 13 and around the detection area 13 due to the use of equipment that can be used by people.

[0043] In this way, in the audio output system 100, when an event occurs and the human presence detection unit 15 detects the presence of a person in the detection area 13 and the human presence determination unit 51 determines that a person is present, audio output control is performed by control units such as the server-side control unit 41 and the device-side control unit 19 to output audio data corresponding to the event from the audio output unit 18. Furthermore, when an event occurs, audio output control is only performed at the first timing when the human presence detection unit 15 and the human presence determination unit 51 confirm that a person is present in the detection area 13, and thereafter, even if the human presence detection unit 15 and the human presence determination unit 51 confirm that a person is present in the detection area 13, audio output control is not performed.

[0044] First, the human detection unit 15 will be described. 2, the human presence detection unit 15 detects whether or not a person is present in a detection area 13 such as a kitchen. The human presence detection unit 15 includes an infrared light projecting unit 31 that projects infrared rays toward the detection area 13, an infrared light detection unit 32 that detects infrared rays incident from the direction of the detection area 13, and an apparatus-side control unit 19 that determines whether or not a person is present in the detection area 13 based on detection information from the infrared light detection unit 32.

[0045] The infrared projection unit 31 includes a light-emitting element capable of projecting infrared rays, and an optical lens capable of adjusting the irradiation range and irradiation angle of the infrared rays projected from the light-emitting element. The infrared detection unit 32 includes a photoelectric conversion element that is sensitive to infrared rays and can output an electric signal according to the intensity of the received infrared rays. The device-side control unit 19 compares the detection value output from the infrared detection unit 32 with a threshold value to determine whether or not a person is present in the detection area 13.

[0046] When no object such as a person exists in the detection area 13, the infrared light projected from the infrared light projector 31 is reflected by the floor 11 around the detection area 13 and detected by the infrared light detector 32. Therefore, the detection value of the infrared light detected by the infrared light detector 32 is approximately constant. On the other hand, when an object such as a person exists in the detection area 13, the infrared light projected from the infrared light projector 31 is reflected by the object such as a person existing in the detection area 13 and detected by the infrared light detector 32. Therefore, the intensity of the infrared light detected by the infrared light detector 32 increases, and the detection value of the infrared light detected by the infrared light detector 32 also increases. Therefore, the device-side control unit 19 captures how the detection value of the infrared light detected by the infrared light detector 32 changes, and when the detection value of the infrared light detected by the infrared light detector 32 becomes larger than the threshold value, it determines that a person exists in the detection area 13. The threshold value can be set in advance in consideration of the approximately constant detection value of the infrared light detector 32 when no person exists in the detection area 13.

[0047] Incidentally, the infrared detection unit 32 repeatedly performs a detection operation of detecting the presence or absence of a person based on the detection value of the infrared detection unit 32 at a set period (e.g., 1 second), and when it detects the presence of a person a set number of times (e.g., 3 times) in succession, it determines that a person is present and outputs the determined value to the server device 3, etc. Also, when the infrared detection unit 32 does not detect the presence of a person for a set period of time (e.g., 1 minute) in succession, it determines that a person is not present and outputs the determined value to the server device 3, etc.

[0048] Next, the person determination unit 51 will be described. The human determination unit 51 determines whether or not a human is present in the detection area 13 using a method different from that of the human detection unit 15, and two methods are adopted as the method.

[0049] In the first method, the human determination unit 51 detects a change in the energy supply state to the equipment as a change in state associated with the use of equipment usable by humans, and determines whether or not a human is present in the detection area 13. Since energy consuming equipment including gas equipment and electric equipment is provided in the detection area 13 and around the detection area 13, an energy supply state detection unit 52 capable of detecting the energy supply state to the energy consuming equipment is provided as shown in Fig. 1. The energy supply state detection unit 52 is capable of detecting the energy supply state of each individual equipment, and in the case of a gas equipment, it detects the amount of fuel gas supplied to the gas equipment, and in the case of an electric equipment, it detects the amount of power supplied to the electric equipment.

[0050] If a person is present in the detection area 13 and is using gas appliances and electrical appliances, the amount of energy supplied to the gas appliances and electrical appliances will increase. Therefore, as shown in the flowchart of Fig. 3, if the detection value of the energy supply state detection unit 52 in the gas appliances and electrical appliances installed in the detection area 13 is greater than a set value, the person determination unit 51 determines that a person is present in the detection area 13 (if Yes in step #1, step #2). Conversely, if the detection value of the energy supply state detection unit 52 is equal to or less than the set value, the person determination unit 51 determines that no person is present in the detection area 13 (if No in step #1, step #3).

[0051] In the second method, the human determination unit 51 detects changes in the temperature and humidity environment in the detection area 13 and around the detection area 13 as changing states associated with the use of equipment usable by humans, and determines whether or not a human is present in the detection area 13. In the detection area 13 and around the detection area 13, devices such as a water heater, a rice cooker, and an air conditioner are installed, and the temperature and humidity environment in the detection area 13 and around the detection area 13 changes as these devices switch between being in use and not being used.

[0052] For example, when a water heater or a rice cooker is used, steam and the like are generated, so that the temperature and humidity in the detection area 13 change rapidly, even if no person is present in the detection area 13, as shown in Fig. 2. Also, when no person is present in the detection area 13 and the air conditioner is not in use, the temperature and humidity in the detection area 13 do not change much, and the degree of change is quite small. Conversely, when a person is present in the detection area 13 and the air conditioner is in use, the temperature and humidity in the detection area 13 change due to the air conditioning by the air conditioner, but the degree of change is smaller than when a water heater or rice cooker is in use.

[0053] Therefore, the human determination unit 51 uses the difference in the degree of change in temperature and humidity in the detection area 13 when a water heater or rice cooker is in use and when the air conditioner is in use or not in use to compare the degree of change in the detected value of the temperature and humidity sensor unit 16 with a set range to determine whether or not a human is present in the detection area 13. At this time, the set range can be set in advance through experiments or the like to correspond to the degree of change when the temperature and humidity in the detection area 13 change due to the air conditioning of the air conditioner when a human is present in the detection area 13.

[0054] Furthermore, the temperature and humidity environment of the detection area 13 and the surrounding area of ​​the detection area 13 can be acquired from detection information of the temperature and humidity sensor unit 16, as shown in Fig. 2. The human determination unit 51 provided in the server device 3 can acquire the detection information of the temperature and humidity sensor unit 16 via communication between the alarm device 1 and the server device 3, as shown in Fig. 1. Furthermore, when the second method is adopted, the human determination unit 51 can also be provided in the device-side control unit 19 of the alarm device 1.

[0055] 4, when the degree of change in the detection value of the temperature and humidity sensor unit 16 is within the set range, the human determination unit 51 determines that a human is present in the detection area 13 (if Yes in step #11, step #12). Conversely, when the degree of change in the detection value of the temperature and humidity sensor unit 16 is greater or smaller than the set range, the human determination unit 51 determines that a human is not present in the detection area 13 (if No in step #11, step #13).

[0056] In this way, by providing not only the human detection unit 15 but also the human determination unit 51 that captures the changing state accompanying the use of the device and determines whether or not a person is present in the detection area 13, it is possible to appropriately confirm the presence of a person in the detection area 13. In this case, the above-mentioned two methods can be adopted for the human determination unit 51, so that it is possible to determine whether or not a person is present in the detection area 13 using only one of the methods, or to determine whether or not a person is present in the detection area 13 using both of the two methods.

[0057] The operation of the audio output system 100 will be described below with reference to the flowchart of FIG. When an event is occurring, the audio output system 100 performs audio output control when the human presence detection unit 15 detects the presence of a person in the detection area 13 and the human determination unit 51 determines that a person is present in the detection area 13 (if Yes in step #21, if Yes in step #22, step #23).

[0058] In contrast, the audio output system 100 prohibits the execution of audio output control when the human presence detection unit 15 does not detect the presence of a person in the detection area 13, or when the human determination unit 51 does not determine that a person is present in the detection area 13 (if No in step #22, step #24).

[0059] In this way, when an event occurs, the audio output system 100 can confirm the presence of a person in the detection area 13 by both the human presence detection unit 15 and the human determination unit 51, and then execute audio output control by control units such as the server-side control unit 41 and the device-side control unit 19 to output audio data corresponding to the content of the event.

[0060] However, there are various types of event contents, and some of the event contents should be output as audio by the audio output unit 18 regardless of whether or not a person is present in the detection area 13. Therefore, for all event contents, it is not necessary to uniformly output audio only after confirming that a person is present in the detection area 13, and this may actually cause inconvenience.

[0061] Therefore, a setting is made in advance so that, depending on the content of an event, a classification is made between events that should be output as audio after it is confirmed that a person exists in the detection area 13 and events that should be output as audio regardless of whether a person exists in the detection area 13. For example, events of high urgency that should be communicated to the user quickly, such as disaster prevention information and weather warnings, can be set as events that should be output as audio regardless of whether a person exists in the detection area 13, and events of low urgency that should be communicated to the user, such as weather forecasts, can be set as events that should be output as audio after it is confirmed that a person exists in the detection area 13.

[0062] [Another embodiment] Other embodiments of the present invention will be described below. Note that the configurations of the embodiments described below are not limited to being applied alone, but may also be applied in combination with the configurations of other embodiments.

[0063] (1) In the above embodiment, the audio output system 100 is constructed using an alarm device 1, but it is not limited to the alarm device 1. For example, any device having an audio output device with an audio output unit 18 may be used, and the type of device used can be changed as appropriate.

[0064] (2) In the above embodiment, the server device 3 is provided. However, for example, by providing the various functions of the server side control unit 41 to the device side control unit 19 or the like, the server device 3 can be omitted. [Explanation of symbols]

[0065] 13 Detection area 15 Human detection unit 16 Temperature and humidity sensor section (temperature and humidity detection section) 18 Audio output section 19 Device side control unit (control unit, environmental abnormality state determination unit) 41 Server side control unit (control unit) 51 Person Judgment Department 52 Energy supply status detection unit 100 Audio Output System

Claims

1. A human presence detection unit capable of detecting whether or not a person is present in a detection area; a voice output unit that outputs voice to a person present in the detection area; a human determination unit capable of determining whether or not a human is present in the detection area by detecting a change in state that accompanies the use of a device that can be used by a person in the detection area and around the detection area; A control unit that controls an operating state of the audio output unit is provided. When an event that requires the audio output unit to output audio data occurs, if the human presence detection unit detects the presence of a person in a detection area and the human determination unit determines that a person is present in the detection area, the control unit performs audio output control to operate the audio output unit so as to output audio corresponding to the event; When the human presence detection unit does not detect the presence of a human in the detection area, or when the human determination unit does not determine the presence of a human in the detection area, the control unit prohibits execution of the audio output control, The device that can be used by humans changes the temperature and humidity environment of the detection area and the surrounding area by switching between use and non-use. A temperature and humidity detection unit is provided that can detect at least one of the temperature and humidity in a detection area, and the human determination unit captures a change in temperature or humidity in the detection area that accompanies use of the device based on detection information from the temperature and humidity detection unit and determines whether or not a human is present in the detection area; The human determination unit determines that no human is present in the detection area when the degree of change in temperature or humidity in the detection area based on the detection information from the temperature and humidity detection unit is greater or smaller than a set range, and determines that a human is present in the detection area when the degree of change in temperature or humidity in the detection area based on the detection information from the temperature and humidity detection unit is within a set range.

2. an abnormal environment state determination unit that determines whether or not a temperature and humidity environment in the detection area and around the detection area is in an abnormal state based on detection information from the temperature and humidity detection unit; The audio output system of claim 1, wherein when the environmental abnormality determination unit determines that an abnormality exists, the control unit is configured to determine that an event has occurred that requires the audio output unit to output audio data, and to perform audio output corresponding to the abnormality in the audio output control.

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