Toilet monitoring system

Abstract

To enable a manager to smoothly recognize a nuisance by a user which occurs inside a toilet while protecting privacy of the user.SOLUTION: A toilet monitoring system 10 for monitoring inside a toilet 2 includes: a camera 11 for imaging a human body 5 inside the toilet 2; and a control device 12. The control device 12 comprises: a conversion section for capturing a video imaged by the camera 11 so as to convert the human body 5 included in the captured video into skeleton information; a storage section for pre-storing an abnormality state of the skeleton information; and a determination section for determining whether or not the skeleton information shows the pre-stored abnormality state.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a toilet monitoring system, and more particularly to a toilet monitoring system for monitoring the inside of a toilet.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, from the viewpoints of crime prevention, disaster prevention, etc., various places (inside facilities, on the streets, etc.) have been photographed by cameras (see Patent Document 1). When the video captured by this camera is stored in a storage medium, the administrator can later acquire (play back and confirm) this stored video. Therefore, when nuisance acts (troubles, pranks, thefts, etc.) by users occur in various places, the administrator can smoothly grasp this nuisance act.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, in the above-described technology, from the viewpoint of protecting the privacy of users, for example, it has been difficult to photograph the inside of a toilet and store the captured video in a storage medium. Therefore, when a nuisance act by a user occurs inside the toilet, the administrator may not be able to smoothly grasp this nuisance act. Thus, it has been conventionally required that the administrator can smoothly grasp the nuisance act by the user that occurs inside the toilet while protecting the privacy of the user.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0005] According to one feature of the present disclosure, a toilet monitoring system for monitoring the interior of a toilet includes a camera for photographing a human body inside the toilet and a control device. The control device includes a conversion unit that captures the video captured by the camera and converts the human body included in the captured video into skeletal information, a storage unit that stores in advance abnormal states of the skeletal information, and a determination unit that determines whether the skeletal information is an abnormal state stored in advance in the storage unit.

[0006] Therefore, the control device converts the human body included in the video captured by the camera into skeletal information, and determines whether the human body is in an abnormal state based on the converted skeletal information. That is, the control device does not determine whether the human body is in an abnormal state based on the video of the human body captured by the camera itself. Therefore, even when the camera photographs the interior of the toilet, since the determination is made based on the skeletal information of the user, the determination is made while protecting the privacy of the user. As a result, while protecting the privacy of the user, the administrator can smoothly grasp the nuisance behavior caused by the user inside the toilet.

[0007] According to another feature of the present disclosure, the abnormal state is at least one of a first abnormal state, a second abnormal state, and a third abnormal state. The first abnormal state is a state in which a first predetermined time has elapsed since the conversion unit started converting the skeletal information. The second abnormal state is a rough behavior state in which the human body is performing a rough behavior, and is a state in which the rough behavior state has continued for a second predetermined time. The third abnormal state is a state of excretion outside the toilet in which the human body is performing an excretion behavior outside the toilet, and is a state in which the state of excretion outside the toilet has continued for a third predetermined time.

[0008] Therefore, the administrator can smoothly grasp at least one of the sitting state of the user inside the toilet, the rough behavior state of the user inside the toilet, and the state of excretion outside the toilet by the user.

[0009] According to another feature of the present disclosure, the toilet monitoring system includes a terminal device that communicates with a control device. The control device includes an output unit that outputs the result of the determination by the determination unit as a signal. The terminal device acquires the signal output from the output unit and notifies the administrator of information based on the acquired signal.

[0010] Therefore, if the administrator has the terminal device, the administrator can grasp in real time the nuisance behavior caused by the user inside the toilet.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0011]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0012] The embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7. An example in which the toilet monitoring system 10 according to the embodiment is applied to Store 1 will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, Store 1 is roughly divided into a toilet 2 that can be used by a user 5 (not shown in FIG. 1) who is a customer, a backyard 3 that serves as a control room for a staff member 6 who is an administrator of Store 1, and a store interior 4 that is a staying space for the user 5 and the staff member 6.

[0013] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the toilet monitoring system 10 includes a camera 11, a control device 12, and a tablet 13. These camera 11, control device 12, and tablet 13 will be individually described below.

[0014] First, the camera 11 will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the camera 11 is attached to the ceiling 2a while facing the toilet bowl 2b installed in the toilet 2. Therefore, this camera 11 can photograph the user 5 (the user 5 who uses the toilet 2, a human body) inside the toilet 2. This camera 11 is attached to the ceiling 2a while being covered by a camera cover 30.

[0015] As shown in FIG. 3, the camera cover 30 includes a mounting portion 31 formed in a substantially disk shape and serving as a mounting site to the ceiling 2a, and a storage portion 32 that stores the camera 11 so as to cover it. The storage portion 32 includes a flat transmission surface 33. The transmission surface 33 includes a plurality of transmission holes 34 arranged two-dimensionally. The aperture diameter of the transmission holes 34 is, for example, 3 to 4 mm.

[0016] Since the camera 11 is covered by the storage portion 32 in this way, the camera 11 can be hidden from the line of sight of the user 5. Therefore, the user 5 does not feel the awareness of being photographed in a private space such as inside the toilet 2. Also, since photographing is performed through the plurality of transmission holes 34, even if the camera 11 is hidden from the line of sight of the user 5, the user 5 can be photographed clearly.

[0017] Next, the control device 12 will be described. As shown in FIG. 2, the control device 12 includes a control unit 20, a storage unit 23, an input unit 27, and an output unit 28. The control unit 20 includes a processor such as a CPU or MPU including a conversion unit 21 and a determination unit 22, and its peripheral circuits. The processor expands and executes a computer program stored in an HDD 26 described later in a ROM 24 and a RAM 25 to monitor the inside of the toilet 2.

[0018] The conversion unit 21 converts the user 5 included in the video captured by the camera 11 into skeletal information using skeletal analysis software. The determination unit 22 determines whether the skeletal information converted by the conversion unit 21 is an abnormal state previously stored in the storage unit 23. The storage unit 23 includes semiconductor memories such as a ROM 24 and a RAM 25, and a magnetic disk which is an HDD 26. The ROM 24 and the RAM 25 temporarily store various data.

[0019] The HDD 26 stores the computer program executed by the control unit 20. Further, the HDD 26 stores the abnormal state of the skeletal information in advance. The computer program is stored (installed) in the HDD 26 of the storage unit 23 using a known setup program or the like from a computer-readable portable recording medium such as a CD-ROM or a DVD-ROM.

[0020] The input unit 27 is an interface capable of communicating with the camera 11 via a wire. Through this input unit 27, the video captured by the camera 11 can be captured. The output unit 28 is an interface capable of communicating with the tablet 13 described later via wireless communication. Through this output unit 28, the control unit 20 can output the result of the determination by the determination unit 22 as various signals. These control unit 20, storage unit 23, input unit 27, and output unit 28 are connected to each other so as to be communicable via a bus 29.

[0021] Finally, the tablet 13 will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the tablet 13 is a portable terminal device that can be carried by the staff 6. The tablet 13 acquires various signals output from the output unit 28 of the control device 12 via wireless communication, and notifies various information based on (corresponding to) the acquired various signals. As a method of this notification, for example, sound, light, vibration, etc. can be considered. Through this tablet 13, the staff 6 can grasp various information.

[0022] Next, referring to FIG. 4, the operation of the control device 12 of the toilet monitoring system 10 will be described with reference to the flowchart. The operation of this control device 12 is to determine whether the user 5 of the toilet 2 is in an abnormal state. As examples of this abnormal state, a first abnormal state, a second abnormal state, and a third abnormal state will be described.

[0023] As shown in FIG. 5, the first abnormal state is a state where the user 5 of the toilet 2 is sitting inside the toilet 2 (sitting state), and the sitting state continues for, for example, 10 minutes (the first predetermined time). As shown in FIG. 6, the second abnormal state is a state where the user 5 of the toilet 2 is performing a rough act inside the toilet 2 (rough act state), and the rough act state continues for, for example, 2 seconds (the second predetermined time).

[0024] As shown in FIG. 7, the third abnormal state is a state where the user 5 of the toilet 2 is performing an excretion act outside the toilet bowl 2b of the toilet 2 (excretion outside the toilet bowl state), and the excretion outside the toilet bowl state continues for, for example, 2 seconds (the third predetermined time). These first abnormal state, second abnormal state, and third abnormal state are stored in the storage unit 23 in advance.

[0025] As a prerequisite for this flowchart, the video captured by the camera 11 is constantly captured by the control device 12 via the input unit 27. Also, as a prerequisite for this flowchart, when the captured video includes the user 5 (the user 5 enters the toilet 2), it starts, and when the user 5 disappears from the captured video (the user 5 exits the toilet 2), it ends.

[0026] First, the control device 12 executes a process of converting the user 5 (human body) included in the captured video into skeletal information (step S1). At that time, the captured video itself is not stored in the storage unit 23. Or, even if the captured video is stored in the storage unit 23, the storage is temporary, and immediately, the captured video is deleted.

[0027] Next, the control device 12 executes a process of determining whether or not it has been in a continuous state for 10 minutes since the conversion of the skeletal information was started in step S1 (step S2). That is, the control device 12 executes a process of determining whether or not the user 5 is in a sitting state (a state of being in the toilet 2). The control device 12 executes a process of counting for 10 minutes using an internal timer (not shown).

[0028] Next, in step S2, if the control device 12 determines NO, it executes a process of determining whether or not the user 5 is in a rough behavior state in which the user 5 is performing a rough behavior based on the skeletal information and the rough behavior state has continued for 2 seconds (step S3). The rough behavior state is determined by the determination unit 22 based on, for example, the amount of movement (operation amount) of the skeleton within a unit time. The control device 12 executes a process of counting for 2 seconds using an internal timer.

[0029] Next, in step S3, if the control device 12 determines NO, it executes a process of determining whether or not the user 5 is in an excretion state outside the toilet in which the user 5 is performing an excretion behavior outside the toilet 2b based on the skeletal information and the excretion state outside the toilet has continued for 2 seconds (step S4). The excretion state outside the toilet is determined by the determination unit 22 based on, for example, the orientation of the skeleton with respect to the toilet 2b, the fact that the skeleton is away from the toilet 2b, etc. The control device 12 executes a process of counting for 2 seconds using an internal timer.

[0030] Next, in step S4, if the control device 12 determines NO, it executes a process of determining whether or not the user 5 is in a normal state based on the skeletal information and the normal state has continued for 2 seconds (step S5). The control device 12 executes a process of counting for 2 seconds using an internal timer. Next, in step S5, if the control device 12 determines YES, it executes a process of outputting a monitoring signal indicating that the user 5 is in a normal state from the output unit 28, and then executes a process of returning to step S2 (step S6).

[0031] On the one hand, when it is determined as YES in step S2, the control device 12 executes a process of outputting an abnormal signal indicating that the sitting behavior of the user 5 has occurred from the output unit 28, and then executes a process of returning to step S2 (step S7). Further, when it is determined as YES in step S3, the control device 12 executes a process of outputting an abnormal signal indicating that the rough behavior of the user 5 has occurred from the output unit 28, and then executes a process of returning to step S2 (step S8).

[0032] Also, when it is determined as YES in step S4, the control device 12 executes a process of outputting an abnormal signal indicating that the excretory behavior outside the toilet of the user 5 has occurred from the output unit 28, and then executes a process of returning to step S2 (step S9). When the control device 12 determines as NO in step S5, it executes a process of returning to step S2. When the process of returning to step S2 is executed, thereafter, the process is repeated from step S2.

[0033] Note that when various signals are output from the output unit 28 in steps S6 to S9, the tablet 13 acquires these various signals via wireless communication. Then, the tablet 13 notifies various information based on (associated with) the acquired various signals. Therefore, the staff 6 can grasp the internal situation of the toilet 2 according to the various information. That is, the staff 6 can currently grasp that the inside of the toilet 2 is in one of the following states: a normal state in which the user 5 is using it normally, a sitting state in which the user 5 is sitting, a rough behavior state in which the user 5 is performing rough behavior, and an excretory state outside the toilet in which the user 5 is performing an excretory behavior outside the toilet 2b.

[0034] The toilet monitoring system 10 according to the embodiment is configured as described above. According to this configuration, the toilet monitoring system 10 includes a camera 11 and a control device 12. The camera 11 photographs the user 5 inside the toilet 2. The control device 12 includes a conversion unit 21 and a determination unit 22. The conversion unit 21 captures the video captured by the camera 11 and converts the user 5 included in the captured video into skeletal information. The determination unit 22 determines whether the skeletal information converted by the conversion unit 21 is an abnormal state pre-stored in the storage unit 23.

[0035] Therefore, the control device 12 converts the user 5 included in the video captured by the camera 11 into skeletal information, and determines whether the user 5 is in an abnormal state based on the converted skeletal information. That is, the control device 12 does not determine whether the user 5 is in an abnormal state based on the video of the user 5 captured by the camera 11 itself. Therefore, even when the camera 11 photographs the inside of the toilet 2, since the determination is made based on the skeletal information of the user 5, the determination is made while protecting the privacy of the user 5. As a result, while protecting the privacy of the user 5, the staff 6 can smoothly grasp the nuisance behavior caused by the user 5 inside the toilet 2.

[0036] Also, according to this configuration, the abnormal state is at least one of a sitting state inside the toilet 2 by the user 5, a rough behavior state inside the toilet 2 by the user 5, and an excretory state outside the toilet bowl by the user 5. Therefore, the staff 6 can smoothly grasp at least one of the sitting state inside the toilet 2 by the user 5, the rough behavior state inside the toilet 2 by the user 5, and the excretory state outside the toilet bowl by the user 5.

[0037] Also, according to this configuration, the toilet monitoring system 10 includes a tablet 13 that communicates with the control device 12 via wireless. The control device 12 includes an output unit 28 that outputs the result of the determination by the determination unit 22 as various signals. The tablet 13 acquires the various signals output from the output unit 28 via wireless communication, and notifies the staff 6 of various information based on (corresponding to) the acquired various signals.

[0038] Therefore, if the staff member 6 holds the tablet 13, the staff member 6 can grasp in real time any nuisance behavior caused by the user 5 inside the toilet 2.

[0039] Although the embodiments have been described with reference to the above structure, it is obvious to those skilled in the art that many alternations, improvements, and modifications are possible without departing from the object of the present invention. Therefore, the embodiments may include all alternations, improvements, and modifications that do not depart from the spirit and object of the appended claims. For example, the embodiments are not limited to a special structure and can be modified as follows.

[0040] In the embodiment, as the first predetermined time, 10 minutes, as the second predetermined time, 2 seconds, and as the third predetermined time, 2 seconds have been described as examples. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and these numerical values may be any number of minutes or seconds. The same applies to the determination in step S5.

[0041] In the embodiment, as the abnormal state, at least one of the sitting state of the user 5 inside the toilet 2, the rough behavior state of the user 5 inside the toilet 2, and the excretory state outside the toilet bowl by the user 5 has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and as the abnormal state, at least one of the smoking behavior of the user 5, the taking-out behavior of toilet paper by the user 5, the crouching behavior of the user 5, the fainting behavior, etc. may be included.

[0042] In the embodiment, an example of notifying various types of information to the staff member 6 via the tablet 13 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and information on each location may be notified to the staff member 6 from the control device 12 itself. In that case, the control device 12 is configured to include a notification unit that notifies the staff member 6 of information on each location.

[0043] In addition, in the embodiment, an example in which the camera 11 and the control device 12 communicate by wire and the control device 12 and the tablet 13 communicate wirelessly has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the camera 11 and the control device 12 may communicate wirelessly, and the control device 12 and the tablet 13 may communicate by wire. Of course, the specifications of wired and wireless communications may be any.

Explanation of Signs

[0044] 2 Toilet 5 User (human body) 10 Toilet monitoring system 11 Camera 12 Control device 21 Conversion unit 22 Determination unit 23 Memory unit

Claims

1. A toilet monitoring system for monitoring the interior of a toilet, a camera for photographing a human body inside the toilet, a conversion unit that captures the video captured by the camera and converts the human body included in the captured video into skeleton information, a storage unit that stores an abnormal state of the skeleton information in advance, and a determination unit that determines whether the skeleton information is the abnormal state stored in the storage unit in advance, and a control device having the same, the camera is attached to the toilet by a camera cover, the camera cover includes an attachment portion that forms an attachment site to the toilet and a storage portion that stores the camera so as to cover it, the storage portion has a plurality of transmission holes arranged in a two-dimensional manner, and includes a planar transmission surface through which photographing by the camera is performed through the plurality of transmission holes, when converting the human body included in the captured video into the skeleton information by the conversion unit, the control device does not store the captured video in the storage unit, or temporarily stores and deletes the captured video in the storage unit. Toilet monitoring system.

2. The toilet monitoring system according to claim 1, the abnormal state is at least one of a first abnormal state, a second abnormal state, and a third abnormal state, the first abnormal state is a state in which a first predetermined time has continued since the conversion unit started the conversion of the skeleton information, the second abnormal state is a rough behavior state in which the human body is performing a rough behavior, and a state in which the rough behavior state has continued for a second predetermined time, The third abnormal state is a state in which the human body is performing an excretion behavior outside the toilet bowl, and a state in which the state of excretion outside the toilet bowl has continued for a third predetermined time. Toilet monitoring system.

3. The toilet monitoring system according to any one of claims 1 to 2, comprising a terminal device that communicates with the control device, the control device includes an output unit that outputs the result of the determination by the determination unit as a signal, the terminal device acquires the signal output from the output unit and notifies the administrator of information based on the acquired signal. Toilet monitoring system.

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