Safety confirmation system

Abstract

To reduce a load on processing to perform safety confirmation by including a user who is temporarily present in an area to be affected by a disaster.SOLUTION: When a disaster occurs, a center device 120 makes an inquiry to user terminals about whether the user terminals are present in an area to be affected by the disaster. The user terminal 130 measures a position of the user terminal 130, determines whether the user terminal 130 is present in an area to be affected by a disaster based on the position in accordance with an inquiry from the center device, and makes a response indicating a determination result. The center device 120 determines the user terminal to be a safety confirmation object in response to a determination result, and acquires safety information from the user terminal 130 to be an object.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a technique for confirming the safety of a user using a user terminal in a center device.

Background Art

[0002] When a disaster such as an earthquake occurs, there is a safety confirmation system for collecting and registering safety information in order to confirm the safety of company employees, family members, etc. For example, in Patent Document 1, position information is transmitted in real time from the mobile terminal of the person to be confirmed for safety, a person to be confirmed for safety who is in a predetermined severe area of the disaster that has occurred is extracted, and an e-mail requesting contact of safety information is transmitted to the mobile terminal of this person to be confirmed for safety.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] For users who are in an area not affected by the disaster, there is no need to confirm their safety. Therefore, for example, it is conceivable to confirm the safety of users whose place of work or residence is included in the disaster area. However, with this method, users who are temporarily in the disaster area due to business trips, travel, etc. are not confirmed for safety. Also, as in the invention described in Patent Document 1, it is also conceivable to have the center device monitor the position information of the users in real time and confirm the safety of the users who are in the disaster area when the disaster occurs. However, with this method, since the center device has to constantly monitor the positions of all users, the processing load on the center device increases when the number of users is large. In addition, obtaining detailed position information of users may also cause privacy problems because the actions of users including their privacy will be known.

[0005] The present invention aims to reduce the burden of the process of confirming the safety of users, including those temporarily staying in areas affected by disasters, and to confirm the safety of users without unnecessarily acquiring their location information.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The present invention is a safety confirmation system for confirming the safety of users using user terminals registered in a center device. When a disaster occurs, the center device has an inquiry unit that transmits an inquiry signal to a predetermined user terminal to inquire whether the user is in an area affected by the disaster. The user terminal has a positioning unit that measures its own position, a determination unit that determines whether the position measured by the positioning unit is within the affected area when receiving the inquiry signal, and a response unit that transmits the determination result of the determination unit to the center device. The center device has a determination unit that determines a user terminal in the affected area as a user terminal to be the target of safety confirmation from the determination result received from the user terminal, and an acquisition unit that acquires safety information from the user terminal to be the target of safety confirmation, thereby providing a safety confirmation system.

[0007] The inquiry unit may transmit the inquiry signal to all registered user terminals.

[0008] In addition to the user terminal with a determination result of being in the affected area, the determination unit may also set a user terminal for which the determination result could not be received as a target for safety confirmation.

[0009] The user terminal further has a receiving unit that receives a safety information request, an input unit that inputs safety information, and a transmitting unit that transmits the safety information to the center device. The acquisition unit of the center device may have a request unit that requests safety information from user terminals that have not received safety information among the user terminals to be the target of safety confirmation.

Effects of the Invention

[0010] According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the burden of the process of confirming the safety of users including those temporarily staying in the area affected by the disaster. Furthermore, since the location information of the user terminal is not automatically acquired, it is possible to consider the privacy of the users whose safety is confirmed.

[0011] According to the present invention, when the user terminal is in a state where it cannot be queried, such as being temporarily powered off, by making it a target for safety confirmation, it is possible to reduce the omission of safety confirmation targets.

[0012] According to the present invention, since the safety information is requested for the user terminals that have not received the safety information, it is possible to prevent the re-request for the safety information to the user terminals that have transmitted the safety information in response to the query signal.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0013]

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Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0014] 1. First Embodiment 1.1 Configuration FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a safety confirmation system 100 according to the first embodiment. The safety confirmation system 100 is a system for confirming the safety of users when a disaster occurs. Here, the disaster refers to damage to human social life and humans. Disasters include, for example, damage caused by natural phenomena such as earthquakes and tsunamis, as well as damage caused by human causes such as incidents and accidents. The safety confirmation system 100 includes a server device 110, a center device 120, and a plurality of user terminals 130. The server device 110 and the center device 120 are connected via a communication line 150. This communication line 150 is, for example, a dedicated line. The center device 120 and the plurality of user terminals 130 are connected via a communication line 155. This communication line 155 includes, for example, the Internet and a mobile communication network.

[0015] When a disaster occurs, the server device 110 distributes disaster information. The server device 110 is installed in a disaster center that plays a role of providing disaster information during a disaster. This disaster center includes, for example, a meteorological operation support center. The disaster information includes, for example, the type of disaster, the scale of the disaster, and the location information of the affected area. Here, the affected area refers to the area affected by the disaster. The affected area may include not only the area affected by the disaster but also the area indirectly affected by the disaster.

[0016] When a disaster occurs, the center device 120 provides a safety confirmation service for confirming the safety of users. In this safety confirmation service, the safety of users located in the affected area at the time of the disaster is confirmed. The center device 120 is installed in a monitoring center operated by an operator that provides this safety confirmation service.

[0017] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the center device 120. The center device 120 includes a control unit 121, a communication unit 122, a storage unit 123, an input unit 124, and a display unit 125.

[0018] The control unit 121 controls each part of the center device 120 to perform a process of providing a safety confirmation service. The control unit 121 includes a processor and a memory. The processor executes a program stored in the memory to perform a process of providing a safety confirmation service. For example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) is used as the processor. The memory stores a program for executing a process of providing a safety confirmation service. This program may include a web server. The memory includes, for example, a ROM (Read Only Memory) and a RAM (Random Access Memory). The communication unit 122 is a communication interface connected to the communication lines 150 and 155. The communication unit 122 performs data communication with the server device 110 or the user terminal 130 via the communication line 150 or 155. The storage unit 123 stores user information 231, which is information of a user who receives the provision of the safety confirmation service. For example, a hard disk or an SSD (Solid State Drive) is used as the storage unit 123. The input unit 124 is used for inputting information to the center device 120. For example, a mouse and a keyboard are used as the input unit 124. The display unit 125 displays the safety information of the user. For example, a liquid crystal display is used as the display unit 125.

[0019] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of user information 231. The user information 231 includes information of all users who receive the safety confirmation service. The user information 231 includes a user ID (identifier), a terminal ID, a communication address, a place of work, and a place of residence. These pieces of information are grouped as a data set for each user and are associated with each other within the data set. The user ID is information that uniquely identifies a user. The user ID may include the name of the user. The terminal ID is information that uniquely identifies the user terminal 130 used by the user. The communication address is an address used for communication with the user terminal 130. For this communication address, for example, an email address or an ID of a messaging application is used. The place of work is information indicating the place where the user works. The place of work is an example of the "dwelling place" according to the present invention. The place of residence is information indicating the place where the user lives. The place of residence is an example of the "address" according to the present invention. These pieces of information are preset by the user.

[0020] Returning to FIG. 2, the control unit 121 functions as a reception unit 211, an inquiry unit 212, an acquisition unit 213, a registration unit 214, a determination unit 215, a request unit 216, and a display control unit 217. These functions are realized by the cooperation of a program stored in the memory and a processor that executes this program, where the processor performs calculations or controls the operations of other hardware elements.

[0021] The reception unit 211 receives disaster information when a disaster occurs. This disaster information is distributed from, for example, the center device 120. Alternatively, when an incident due to terrorism occurs, the disaster information may be provided through a route different from the normal one. In this case, the disaster information may be input, for example, by an operator's operation using the input unit 124. The inquiry unit 212 inquires of the user terminal 130 whether the user is in the disaster area when a disaster occurs. This inquiry is made, for example, by transmitting a signal. The acquisition unit 213 acquires the response made by the user terminal 130 in response to the inquiry. This response indicates the result of the determination as to whether the user terminal 130 is in the disaster area. Also, the acquisition unit 213 acquires safety information from the user terminal 130 that is the target of the safety confirmation. The registration unit 214 registers the safety information acquired from the user terminal 130 for each user. This registration is performed, for example, by storing it in the storage unit 123. The determination unit 215 determines the user terminal 130 that is the target of the safety confirmation according to the result of the determination indicated by the response from the user terminal 130. For example, when the response indicates the result of the determination that the user is in the disaster area, the user terminal 130 that made the response is determined as the target of the safety confirmation. The request unit 216 requests safety information from the user terminal 130 among the user terminals 130 that are the targets of the safety confirmation and for which the safety information has not been acquired. This request is made, for example, by transmitting a signal. This request is repeated at a predetermined time interval until safety information is acquired from all the user terminals 130 that are the targets of the safety confirmation. The display control unit 217 causes the display unit 125 to display the safety information acquired from the user terminal 130.

[0022] Returning to FIG. 1, the user terminal 130 is used to report the safety of the user to the center device 120. The user terminal 130 is, for example, a smartphone or a tablet terminal, and is carried and used by each user.

[0023] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the user terminal 130. The user terminal 130 includes a control unit 131, a communication unit 132, a storage unit 133, an input unit 134, a display unit 135, and a positioning unit 136. The control unit 131 controls each part of the user terminal 130 to perform a process of reporting the safety of the user. The control unit 131 includes a processor and a memory. The processor performs a process of reporting the safety of the user by executing a program stored in the memory. For example, a CPU is used as the processor. The memory stores a program for executing a process of reporting the safety of the user. This program may include a web browser. The memory includes, for example, a ROM and a RAM. The communication unit 132 is a communication interface connected to the communication line 155. The communication unit 132 performs data communication with the center device 120 via the communication line 155. The storage unit 133 stores the terminal ID of the user terminal 130 and the determination conditions for safety confirmation. For example, the magnitude of an earthquake is used as the determination condition for safety confirmation. For example, a hard disk or an SSD is used as the storage unit 133. The input unit 134 is used for inputting information to the user terminal 130. For example, a touch panel and buttons are used as the input unit 134. The display unit 135 displays an input screen used for inputting safety information. This input screen may be a web screen displayed by a web browser. For example, a liquid crystal display is used as the display unit 135. The positioning unit 136 measures the current position of the user terminal 130 and acquires position information indicating the current position. The positioning unit 136 is, for example, a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver, and calculates position information based on GPS signals received from GPS satellites. Note that when GPS signals cannot be received, the positioning unit 136 may measure the current position using information of a base station.

[0024] The control unit 131 functions as a reception unit 311, a determination unit 312, a response unit 313, a display control unit 314, a transmission unit 315, and a notification unit 316. These functions are realized by the cooperation of a program stored in the memory and a processor that executes this program, where the processor performs calculations or controls the operations of other hardware elements.

[0025] The receiving unit 311 receives inquiries and requests from the center device 120. The determination unit 312 determines whether the user terminal 130 is in the disaster area based on the position measured by the positioning unit 136 in response to the inquiry from the center device 120. For example, if the position of the user terminal 130 is included in the disaster area, it is determined that the user terminal 130 is in the disaster area. On the other hand, if the position of the user terminal 130 is not included in the disaster area, it is determined that the user terminal 130 is not in the disaster area. In addition to the position information acquired by the positioning unit 136, the determination conditions of the safety confirmation in the storage unit 133 may be used as the determination conditions of the determination unit 312. The response unit 313 gives a response indicating the result of the determination by the determination unit 312. This response is made, for example, by transmitting a signal. In the first embodiment, when it is determined that the user terminal 130 is in the disaster area, the response unit 313 gives a response indicating the result of the determination that the user terminal 130 is in the disaster area. The display control unit 314 causes the display unit 135 to display an input screen used for inputting safety information when it is determined that the user terminal 130 is in the disaster area. The transmission unit 315 transmits the safety information input using the input screen to the center device 120. Here, when the input screen is a web screen, the safety information input to the input screen may be transmitted, for example, in accordance with HTTP (hypertext transfer protocol). The notification unit 316 gives a notification prompting the input of safety information in response to a request from the center device 120. This notification is made, for example, by at least any one of display of an image, output of a sound, light emission, and vibration.

[0026] 1.2 Operations Figures 5 and 6 are sequence charts showing an example of the operation of the safety confirmation system 100 according to the first embodiment. This operation starts when a disaster occurs. In step S11, the processing of the center device 120 is not started until disaster information is received (the determination in step S11 is NO). On the other hand, when a disaster occurs, the disaster information is distributed from the server device 110 to the center device 120. In this case, the reception unit 211 of the center device 120 receives the disaster information (the determination in step S11 is YES). In this case, the process proceeds to step S12. This disaster information includes the type of disaster, the scale of the disaster, and the location information of the affected area. FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining an example of a disaster. Here, it is assumed that an earthquake with a seismic intensity of lower 6 has occurred in the affected area 160. In this case, the disaster information includes the type of disaster "earthquake", the scale of the disaster "lower 6", and the location information indicating the location of the affected area 160. This location information is expressed using, for example, latitude and longitude.

[0027] Note that since the disaster information distributed from the server device 110 may be a false alarm, the monitor may confirm that the disaster information is not a false alarm. When it is confirmed that the disaster information is not a false alarm, the monitor performs an operation of pressing the transmission button using the input unit 124. In response to this operation, the process may proceed to step S12. Also, for example, when an incident due to terrorism occurs, etc., the disaster information may be provided from outside the server device 110. In this case, for example, when the monitor inputs the disaster information using the input unit 124 and performs an operation of pressing the transmission button, the process may proceed to step S12.

[0028] In step S12, the inquiry unit 212 of the center device 120 transmits a first safety confirmation request to the user terminals 130 of all users. The first safety confirmation request is a signal that combines an inquiry as to whether the user terminal 130 is in the disaster area and a request for safety information to the user terminal 130 in the disaster area. The first safety confirmation request includes the type of disaster, the scale of the disaster, and the location information of the disaster area. In the example shown in FIG. 3, the user information 231 includes the communication addresses of the user terminals 130 of all users. Therefore, the first safety confirmation request is transmitted to all communication addresses included in the user information 231. The first safety confirmation request is transmitted, for example, as a push notification. The transmission of the first safety confirmation request may be performed using e-mail or may be performed using a messaging application.

[0029] In step S13, until the first safety confirmation request is received from the center device 120, the processing of the user terminal 130 is not started (the determination in step S13 is NO). On the other hand, when the first safety confirmation request is transmitted from the center device 120, the receiving unit 311 of the user terminal 130 receives this first safety confirmation request (the determination in step S13 is YES). In this case, the process proceeds to step S14.

[0030] In step S14, the positioning unit 136 of each user terminal 130 measures the current position of its own terminal and acquires position information indicating the current position. This position information is stored in the storage unit 133.

[0031] In step S15, the determination unit 312 of each user terminal 130 determines whether the own terminal is in the disaster area by using the location information of the own terminal. The location of the disaster area is indicated by the location information of the disaster area included in the first safety confirmation request. The location of the own terminal is indicated by the location information acquired in step S14. In the example shown in FIG. 7, if the location of the own terminal is not included in the disaster area 160, it is determined that the own terminal is not in the disaster area (the determination in step S15 is NO). In this case, the process of the user terminal 130 ends. On the other hand, for example, if the location of the own terminal is included in the disaster area 160, it is determined that the own terminal is in the disaster area (the determination in step S15 is YES). In this case, since the user of the user terminal 130 is the target of the safety confirmation, the process proceeds to step S16. As the determination condition of the determination unit 312, in addition to the location information acquired by the positioning unit 136, the safety confirmation determination condition of the storage unit 133 may be used. In the following description, the user terminal 130 used by the target of the safety confirmation may be referred to as the "target user terminal 130".

[0032] In step S16, the response unit 313 of the target user terminal 130 transmits a response indicating the determination result of step S15 to the center device 120 together with the terminal ID stored in the storage unit 133. This response is a signal that responds to the first safety confirmation request. In this case, a response indicating the determination result that the own terminal is in the disaster area is transmitted.

[0033] In step S17, until a response is received from the user terminal 130, the process of the center device 120 is not started (the determination in step S17 is NO). On the other hand, when a response is transmitted from the user terminal 130, the acquisition unit 213 of the center device 120 receives this response (the determination in step S17 is YES). In this case, the process proceeds to step S18.

[0034] In step S18, the determination unit 215 of the center device 120 determines a person to be confirmed as safe or not among the users according to the response received from the user terminal 130. For example, the user of the user terminal 130 that has sent a response indicating a determination result of being in the disaster area is determined as a person to be confirmed as safe or not. On the other hand, the user of the user terminal 130 that has not sent a response is determined as a person not to be confirmed as safe or not.

[0035] In step S19, the registration unit 214 of the center device 120 causes the storage unit 123 to store target information indicating whether or not a user is a target for confirmation of safety or not for each user. The target information is added to the user information 231 stored in the storage unit 123. At this time, "target", which indicates that the user is a target for confirmation of safety or not, is added to the dataset of the user determined as a person to be confirmed as safe or not. On the other hand, "non-target", which indicates that the user is not a target for confirmation of safety or not, is added to the dataset of the user determined as a person not to be confirmed as safe or not. For example, when the user of the user terminal 130 with the terminal ID "terminal X" is determined as a person to be confirmed as safe or not, as shown in FIG. 8, the target information "target" is stored in association with the terminal ID "terminal X".

[0036] In step S20, the display control unit 314 of the target user terminal 130 starts a program for displaying the input screen 350 for safety information, and causes the display unit 135 to display this input screen 350. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of the input screen 350. The input screen 350 is used for inputting safety information. The safety information includes, for example, information indicating whether the user is safe or not and information indicating whether the user can go to work or not. Further, the input screen 350 may include the type of disaster, the scale of the disaster, and the location information of the disaster area. After the user inputs safety information into the input screen 350 using the input unit 134, the user performs an operation of pressing the send button 351. In addition, when a predetermined time has elapsed without the safety information being input, the program for displaying the input screen 350 may be temporarily stopped and the input screen 350 may be made non-displayed.

[0037] As described above, on the user terminal 130 of the target determined to be in the disaster area in step S15, the input screen 350 is displayed. On the other hand, on the user terminal 130 determined not to be in the disaster area (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "non-target user terminal 130"), the input screen 350 is not displayed. At this time, the display control unit 314 of the non-target user terminal 130 controls so that the input screen 350 is not displayed.

[0038] In step S21, the user terminal 130 waits until the safety information is input to the input screen 350 (the determination in step S21 is NO). When the safety information is input to the input screen 350 and the send button 351 is pressed, it is determined that the safety information has been input (the determination in step S21 is YES). In this case, the process proceeds to step S22.

[0039] In step S22, the transmission unit 315 of the target user terminal 130 transmits the safety information input to the input screen 350 to the center device 120 together with the terminal ID stored in the storage unit 133. At this time, the location information stored in the storage unit 133 may be transmitted together with the safety information.

[0040] In step S23, the process of the center device 120 is not started until the safety information is received from the target user terminal 130. On the other hand, when the safety information is transmitted from the target user terminal 130, the acquisition unit 213 of the center device 120 receives this safety information (the determination in step S23 is YES). In this case, the process proceeds to step S24.

[0041] In step S24, the registration unit 214 of the center device 120 stores the safety information received from the target user terminal 130 in the storage unit 123 for each user. The safety information is added to the user information 231 stored in the storage unit 123. At this time, the safety information is added to the dataset of the user who input the safety information. For example, for the safety information received together with the terminal ID of "terminal X", as shown in FIG. 8, it is stored in association with the terminal ID of "terminal X".

[0042] On the other hand, in the above step S23, if safety information is not received from the target user terminal 130 (the determination in step S23 is NO), the process of step S24 is skipped and the process proceeds to the process of step S31 shown in FIG. 6.

[0043] In step S31, the request unit 216 of the center device 120 determines whether safety information of all target persons has been received. For example, in the user information 231 shown in FIG. 8, if safety information is included in all data sets including the target information of "target", it is determined that safety information of all target persons has been received (the determination in step S31 is YES). In this case, the process of the center device 120 ends. On the other hand, for example, in the user information 231 shown in FIG. 8, if safety information is not included in at least a part of the data sets including the target information of "target", it is determined that safety information of all target persons has not been received (the determination in step S31 is NO). In this case, the process proceeds to step S32.

[0044] In step S32, the request unit 216 of the center device 120 determines whether a predetermined time has elapsed since the first safety confirmation request was sent. This predetermined time is the time interval for urging the input of safety information, for example, 30 minutes. If the predetermined time has not elapsed (the determination in step S32 is NO), the process returns to the process of step S23 shown in FIG. 5. On the other hand, when the predetermined time elapses (the determination in step S32 is YES), the process proceeds to the process of step S33.

[0045] In step S33, the request unit 216 of the center device 120 transmits a second safety confirmation request to the user terminal 130 of a user among the safety confirmation target persons for whom safety information has not been received (hereinafter, may be referred to as the "remaining user terminal 130"). The second safety confirmation request is a signal for requesting safety information. The remaining user terminal 130 is extracted using the user information 231 stored in the storage unit 123. In the example shown in FIG. 8, a data set that includes the target information "target" and does not include safety information is extracted from the user information 231. Then, the second safety confirmation request is transmitted to the communication address included in the extracted data set. The second safety confirmation request is transmitted as a push notification, for example, in the same manner as the first safety confirmation request. The transmission of the second safety confirmation request may be performed using an email or a messaging application, in the same manner as the transmission of the first safety confirmation request.

[0046] In step S34, until the second safety confirmation request is received from the center device 120, the processing of the user terminal 130 is not started (the determination in step S34 is NO). On the other hand, when the second safety confirmation request is transmitted from the center device 120, the receiving unit 311 of the remaining user terminal 130 receives this second safety confirmation request (the determination in step S34 is YES). In this case, the process proceeds to the process of step S35.

[0047] In step S35, the notification unit 316 of the remaining user terminal 130 issues a notification prompting the input of safety information. This notification is performed, for example, by causing a message prompting the input of safety information to be displayed on the display unit 135. Also, when the program for displaying the input screen 350 has been temporarily stopped, this program may be started and the input screen 350 may be displayed again on the display unit 135. When the process of step S35 is completed, the process returns to the process of step S21 described above. In this way, until the safety information of all target persons is received, the second safety confirmation request is repeatedly transmitted to the user terminal 130 of the target for whom safety information has not been acquired at a predetermined time interval.

[0048] In the safety confirmation system 100, it is possible to view the safety information of users collected by the center device 120. For example, when an operator uses the input unit 124 to instruct the display of safety information, the display control unit 217 of the center device 120 causes the display unit 125 to display a safety confirmation screen 450 indicating the safety confirmation status. This safety confirmation screen 450 includes, for example, the safety information and target information stored in the storage unit 123.

[0049] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the safety confirmation screen 450. The safety confirmation screen 450 includes target information and safety information for each user. Here, on the safety confirmation screen 450, information on users who are temporarily in the disaster area due to business trips or travel, etc. is emphasized and displayed. A user who is temporarily in the disaster area is, for example, a user whose corresponding work location and place of residence are not included in the disaster area in the user information 231 shown in FIG. 3. Similarly, information on users who usually work or live in the disaster area but are temporarily not in the disaster area due to business trips or travel may also be emphasized and displayed. A user who is temporarily not in the disaster area is, for example, a user who is not a target for safety confirmation although the corresponding work location and place of residence are included in the disaster area in the user information 231 shown in FIG. 3.

[0050] In the example shown in FIG. 10, user A is a user who is temporarily in the disaster area, and user C is a user who works or lives in the disaster area. In this case, the information of user A is emphasized and displayed. This emphasized display refers to a display that makes the color, size, or position different so as to be noticeable. For example, the background of the information of user A may be changed to a noticeable color. In this way, when the information of users who are temporarily in the disaster area is emphasized and displayed, it is possible to easily grasp the users who are temporarily in the disaster area. Users who are temporarily in the disaster area may require different countermeasures from those who work or live in the disaster area. For example, for users who are temporarily in the disaster area, it may be necessary to guide them to a shelter. Also, for users who are temporarily in the disaster area, it may be necessary to inform their original workplaces and families of their safety. By making it easier to grasp users who are temporarily in the disaster area, such countermeasures can be easily taken.

[0051] Note that the information displayed on the safety confirmation screen 450 is not limited to the example shown in FIG. 10. For example, the safety confirmation screen 450 may include the aggregated results of the safety confirmation status. This aggregated result may include, for example, the number of responses and the number of acquired safety information.

[0052] The safety confirmation screen 450 may be displayed on a device other than the center device 120. For example, when an administrator who manages users is using a management terminal, the safety confirmation screen 450 may be displayed on this management terminal. Also, the safety confirmation screen 450 may be displayed on the user terminal 130. Thereby, the user or the administrator can also grasp the safety confirmation status.

[0053] According to the first embodiment, since a safety check is performed on the users in the disaster area at the time of a disaster, it is also possible to check the safety of people who are temporarily in the disaster area due to business trips or travel. At this time, since it is determined on the user terminal 130 side whether the user is in the disaster area, the processing load on the center device 120 is reduced. Also, since the location information of the user does not necessarily have to be transmitted to the center device 120, the interference with the user's privacy is minimized. Furthermore, compared with the case where the location information is constantly transmitted to the center device 120, the communication cost and battery consumption of the user terminal 130 are also suppressed. Furthermore, since the second safety confirmation request is not transmitted to the user terminal 130 that is not in the disaster area, it is possible to prevent the unnecessary request for safety information from being repeatedly made to the users who are not in the disaster area.

[0054] 2. Second Embodiment In the first embodiment described above, a response was made when the user terminal 130 was in the disaster area. In contrast, in the second embodiment, a response is made when the user terminal 130 is not in the disaster area.

[0055] The configuration of the safety confirmation system 100 according to the second embodiment is basically the same as that of the safety confirmation system 100 according to the first embodiment. However, in the second embodiment, when it is determined that the user terminal 130 is not in the disaster area, the response unit 313 of the user terminal 130 makes a response indicating the result of the determination that it is not in the disaster area.

[0056] The flow of processing of the center device 120 according to the second embodiment is the same as the flow of processing according to the first embodiment. On the other hand, the flow of processing of the user terminal 130 according to the second embodiment is different from the flow of processing according to the first embodiment. Here, the operation of the user terminal 130 will be described centering on the parts different from the operation according to the first embodiment.

[0057] FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the user terminal 130 according to the second embodiment. The processing in steps S41 to S43 is the same as the processing in steps S13 to S15 according to the first embodiment. However, in the second embodiment, if it is determined in step S43 that the own terminal is not in the disaster area (the determination in step S43 is NO), the process proceeds to step S44. In the example shown in FIG. 7, if the position of the own terminal is not included in the disaster area 160, it is determined that the own terminal is not in the disaster area. In this case, the user of the user terminal 130 becomes a person not subject to safety confirmation. In step S44, the response unit 313 of the non-target user terminal 130 transmits a response indicating the determination result of step S43 to the center device 120. In this case, a response indicating the determination result that the own terminal is not in the disaster area is transmitted.

[0058] In the center device 120, according to this response, the person to be subject to safety confirmation is determined from among the users. In the second embodiment, for example, the user of the user terminal 130 that has made a response indicating the determination result of not being in the disaster area is determined as a person not subject to safety confirmation. The users excluding the users determined as persons not subject to safety confirmation are determined as the persons to be subject to safety confirmation.

[0059] The processes of steps S45 to S46 are the same as the processes of steps S20 to S21 according to the first embodiment. The subsequent processes performed in the safety confirmation system 100 are also the same as the processes according to the first embodiment.

[0060] According to the second embodiment, since a response is made when not in the disaster area, users not in the disaster area can surely know. Generally, there are more users not in the disaster area than users in the disaster area. Therefore, by making users not in the disaster area non-targets for safety confirmation, the processing load on the subsequent center device 120 is reduced. Also, due to some circumstances such as the power of the user terminal 130 being cut off or communication being impossible due to a communication failure, the user terminal 130 that could not receive the first safety confirmation request becomes a target for safety confirmation and a target for sending the second safety confirmation request. Thus, safety confirmation can also be performed for the users of such user terminals 130.

[0061] 3. Modification Example The above-described first embodiment and second embodiment are examples of the present invention. The present invention is not limited to the above-described first embodiment and second embodiment. Also, the above-described first embodiment and second embodiment may be implemented with modifications as in the following examples. At this time, two or more of the following modification examples may be used in combination.

[0062] In the above-described first and second embodiments, a message of any content such as a request for recovery support may be transmitted to the user terminal 130 of a user located in the surrounding area of the disaster area. This surrounding area is, for example, an area outside the disaster area within a predetermined distance from the disaster area. The user terminal 130 of a user located in the surrounding area of the disaster area is, for example, the user terminal 130 of a user whose place of work or place of residence in the user information 231 is included in the surrounding area. Alternatively, when the position information is transmitted from the user terminal 130 together with the safety information, the user terminal 130 located in the surrounding area of the disaster area may be extracted using this position information. In this case, the determination unit 215 of the center device 120 further determines the user terminal 130 located in the surrounding area of the disaster area among the user terminals 130 that are not the targets of safety confirmation. Further, the center device 120 includes a transmission unit, and transmits a message for requesting, for example, recovery support to this user terminal 130. The content of this message is determined, for example, by the administrator. Further, the transmission unit of the center device 120 may transmit a message for assisting evacuation to the user terminal 130 of a user who is temporarily in the disaster area due to business trips, travel, etc. This message may include, for example, information indicating a shelter.

[0063] In the above-described first and second embodiments, the position information of the user terminal 130 may be transmitted from the user terminal 130 to the center device 120 together with a response. Based on this position information, the position of each user is specified. In this case, the display control unit 217 may cause the display unit 125 to display a map in which, for example, the presence or absence of a response, the presence or absence of safety information, and the content of the safety information are added in association with the position of each user. In this map, the information of users for whom safety information has been obtained and the information of users for whom safety information has not been obtained may be displayed separately. For example, an area where there are many users for whom safety information has not been obtained is considered to be an area where there are many seriously ill users who cannot report their safety. By separately displaying the information of users for whom safety information has been obtained and the information of users for whom safety information has not been obtained, such an area can be easily grasped. As a result, for example, it becomes possible to give an instruction such as requesting rescue in such an area.

[0064] In the above-described first and second embodiments, a response may be made regardless of whether the user terminal 130 is in the disaster area or not. At this time, when the user terminal 130 is in the disaster area, a response indicating the determination result of being in the disaster area is made. When the user terminal 130 is not in the disaster area, a response indicating the determination result of not being in the disaster area is made. Thereby, it is possible to easily extract the user terminal 130 that cannot make a response due to some circumstances such as power being cut off or communication being impossible due to a communication failure.

[0065] In the above-described first and second embodiments, for the user terminal 130 that is the target of safety confirmation and for which safety information has not been acquired, and the user terminal 130 that is not the target of safety confirmation, the processes of steps S12 to S19 shown in FIG. 5 may be repeatedly performed at a predetermined time interval. Thereby, at the time when the first safety confirmation request is first transmitted, a user who was outside the disaster area but then moved inside the disaster area, or vice versa, can also be the target of safety confirmation.

[0066] In the above-described first and second embodiments, the first safety confirmation request may be transmitted in two parts. In this case, the first first safety confirmation request is transmitted to the user terminal 130 of a user who is highly likely to be in the disaster area. A user who is highly likely to be in the disaster area is, for example, a user whose place of work or place of residence is included in the disaster area in the user information 231. The second second safety confirmation request is transmitted to the user terminals 130 of other users. When there are a large number of users, if the first safety confirmation request is transmitted to all users at once, it may take time to transmit the first safety confirmation request. According to this modification, since the first safety confirmation request is transmitted first only to the user terminals 130 of users who are highly likely to be in the disaster area, it is possible to obtain the safety information of users who are highly likely to be in the disaster area earlier by that much.

[0067] In the above-described first and second embodiments, regardless of the second safety confirmation request, the notification unit 316 of the user terminal 130 may give a notification prompting the input of safety information at a predetermined time interval. In this case, the second safety confirmation request does not necessarily have to be transmitted.

[0068] In the above-described first and second embodiments, the main body of the functions of the safety confirmation system 100 is an example and is not limited to this example. For example, at least a part of the functions of the center device 120 may be possessed by other devices. For example, the user information 231 may be stored in a cloud server device connected to the center device 120 via the communication line 155 instead of the storage unit 123. Also, the order of processing of the safety confirmation system 100 is an example, and as long as there is no contradiction, the order may be changed.

[0069] The present invention may be provided as a program executed in each of the center device 120 and the user terminal 130. The center device 120 and the user terminal 130 are both examples of a computer according to the present invention. This program may be downloaded via a communication line such as the Internet, or may be provided in a state recorded on a computer-readable recording medium such as a magnetic recording medium (magnetic tape, magnetic disk, etc.), an optical recording medium (optical disk, etc.), a magneto-optical recording medium, or a semiconductor memory.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0070] 100: Safety confirmation system, 110: Server device, 120: Center device, 121: Control unit, 122: Communication unit, 123: Storage unit, 124: Input unit, 125: Display unit, 130: User terminal, 131: Control unit, 132: Communication unit, 133: Storage unit, 134: Input unit, 135: Display unit, 136: Positioning unit, 211: Reception unit, 212: Inquiry unit, 213: Acquisition unit, 214: Registration unit, 215: Decision unit, 216: Request unit, 217: Display control unit, 311: Reception unit, 312: Determination unit, 313: Response unit, 314: Display control unit, 315: Transmission unit, 316: Notification unit

Claims

1. A safety confirmation system for confirming the safety of a user using a user terminal registered in a center device, comprising: The center device: When a disaster occurs, it has an inquiry unit that transmits an inquiry signal to a predetermined user terminal regarding whether the user is in the area affected by the disaster; The user terminal: A positioning unit for measuring its own position; When receiving the inquiry signal, a determination unit for determining whether the position measured by the positioning unit is within the area affected by the disaster; When it is determined that the position measured by the positioning unit is within the area affected by the disaster, a response unit that transmits the determination result of the determination unit to the center device, and when it is determined that the position measured by the positioning unit is not within the area affected by the disaster, the response unit does not transmit the determination result of the determination unit to the center device; The center device: A determination unit that determines, from the determination result received from the user terminal, a user terminal in the area affected by the disaster as a user terminal to be the target of safety confirmation; And an acquisition unit that acquires safety information from the user terminal to be the target of safety confirmation. A safety confirmation system.

2. The inquiry signal includes information regarding the area affected by the disaster, The determination unit makes a determination based on the information regarding the area affected by the disaster, The safety confirmation system according to claim 1, wherein the determination result does not include the position measured by the positioning unit.

3. The determination unit sets a user terminal with a determination result that it is in the area affected by the disaster as the target of safety confirmation, and sets a user terminal that could not receive the determination result as not being the target of safety confirmation. The safety confirmation system according to claim 1 or claim 2.

4. Furthermore, the user terminal: A receiving unit for receiving a safety information request; An input unit for accepting input of safety information when it is determined that the position measured by the positioning unit is within the area affected by the disaster; And a transmitting unit for transmitting the safety information to the center device. The safety confirmation system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the acquisition unit of the center device has a request unit for requesting safety information from a user terminal that has not received safety information among the user terminals to be the target of safety confirmation. ​

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