Bathing management device, bathing management system, bathing management method and program

Abstract

To provide a bathing management device capable of reducing energy to be consumed by a water heater, a bathing management system, a bathing management method and a program.SOLUTION: A cloud server 1 comprises: a hot water storage notification acquisition unit 111 for acquiring hot water storage notification information; a bathing start determination unit 113 for determining whether or not a user starts bathing; a bathing situation determination unit 115 for determining whether or not a first duration in a state where it is not determined by the bathing start determination unit 113 that the user starts bathing, from a hot water storage notification acquisition time in which the hot water storage notification acquisition unit 111 acquires the hot water storage notification information exceeds a first bathing determination reference time; and a notification unit 116 for transmitting to a terminal device 6 bathing reminder information reminding the user about bathing when the bathing situation determination unit 115 determines that the first duration exceeds the first bathing determination reference time.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a bathing management device, a bathing management system, a bathing management method, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] A water heating device has been proposed that is equipped with a completion notification means that notifies the user that automatic hot water supply is complete just before or just after hot water supply is stopped when the amount of hot water flowing into the bathtub reaches the target amount required to fill it (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-240338 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, the water heater described in Patent Document 1 only notifies the user that automatic hot water supply is complete immediately before or after the bathtub is filled with water. For example, if the user does not notice the notification that automatic hot water supply is complete, the user may leave the bath without taking a bath. In this case, when the user takes a bath, the water in the bathtub may cool to a temperature lower than the user's desired temperature, requiring the water to be heated again. This may result in unnecessary energy consumption by the water heater to heat the water again.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned reasons, and aims to provide a bathing management device, a bathing management system, a bathing management method, and a program that can reduce the energy consumed by a water heater. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve the above object, the bathing management device according to the present disclosure includes: a bathtub filling notification acquisition unit that acquires bathtub filling notification information that notifies the user that the amount of hot water in the bathtub has reached a preset target amount; When the bath filling notification acquisition unit acquires the bath filling notification information, the biological information sensor Biometric information indicating the user's biological activity status By transmitting to the biometric information sensor biometric information request information requesting transmission of the biometric information of the user generated by the biometric information sensor in response to the biometric information request information, a biometric information acquisition unit that acquires the biometric information; Before the biometric information acquisition unit acquires a vital activity status determination unit that determines whether the vital activity status of the user before bathing is such that bathing is not possible based on the vital information; The device is equipped with an alarm unit that, when the biological activity status determination unit determines that the user's biological activity status before bathing is such that bathing is not possible, sends bathing impossibility notification information to a terminal device carried by the user to notify the user that bathing is not possible. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present disclosure, the bathing status determination unit determines whether a first duration, during which the bathing start determination unit has not determined that the user has started bathing, from the time the bath filling notification acquisition unit receives the bath filling notification information, exceeds a first bathing determination reference time. When the bathing start determination unit determines that the first duration has exceeded the first bathing determination reference time, the alarm unit transmits bathing prompting information to the terminal device carried by the user, urging the user to take a bath. This prevents the user from being left without bathing for a long period of time after starting to fill the bathtub with water or after the bathtub's water volume has reached a target water volume. Therefore, the time required to keep the water in the bathtub warm after the water volume has reached the target water volume can be shortened, thereby saving energy equivalent to the energy required to keep the water in the bathtub warm. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a bathing management system according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] A block diagram showing the hardware configuration of a bathing management system according to the first embodiment. [Figure 3]FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a cloud server according to a first embodiment. [Figure 4] 1A is a diagram showing an example of information stored in a bathing timing storage unit according to the first embodiment, and FIG. 1B is a diagram showing an example of information stored in a notification setting storage unit according to the first embodiment. [Figure 5] A sequence diagram for explaining the operation of the bathing management system according to the first embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 1A is a diagram showing an example of an operation screen image displayed on a display unit of a terminal device according to the first embodiment, and FIG. 1B is a diagram showing another example of an operation screen image displayed on a display unit of a terminal device according to the first embodiment. [Figure 7] A sequence diagram for explaining the operation of the bathing management system according to the first embodiment. [Figure 8] A sequence diagram for explaining the operation of the bathing management system according to the first embodiment. [Figure 9] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of a bathing management process executed by the cloud server according to the first embodiment. [Figure 10] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of a bathing management process executed by the cloud server according to the first embodiment. [Figure 11] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a bathing management system according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 12] A block diagram showing the hardware configuration of a bathing management system according to a second embodiment. [Figure 13] A block diagram showing the functional configuration of a cloud server according to a second embodiment. [Figure 14] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of information stored in a bathing permission criteria storage unit according to the second embodiment. [Figure 15] A sequence diagram for explaining the operation of the bathing management system according to the second embodiment. [Figure 16] 1A is a diagram showing an example of an operation screen image displayed on a display unit of a terminal device according to a second embodiment, and FIG. 1B is a diagram showing another example of an operation screen image displayed on a display unit of a terminal device according to a second embodiment. [Figure 17]A sequence diagram for explaining the operation of the bathing management system according to the second embodiment. [Figure 18] A sequence diagram for explaining the operation of the bathing management system according to the second embodiment. [Figure 19] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of an operation screen image displayed on a display unit of a terminal device according to a second embodiment; [Figure 20] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of bathroom heating control processing executed by a cloud server according to the second embodiment. [Figure 21] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of bathroom heating control processing executed by a cloud server according to the second embodiment. [Figure 22] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a bathing management system according to a modified example. [Figure 23] A block diagram showing the hardware configuration of a bathing management system according to a modified example. [Figure 24] FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of a cloud server according to a modified example. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] (Embodiment 1) A bathing management system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the drawings. The bathing management system according to this embodiment includes a terminal device carried by a user, a bath filling notification acquisition unit, a bathing start determination unit that determines whether the user has started bathing, a bathing status determination unit, and an alarm unit. The bath filling notification acquisition unit acquires bath filling notification information that notifies the user that the water heater has started filling the bathtub with water or that the amount of hot water in the bathtub has reached a preset target amount. The bathing status determination unit determines whether a first duration from the time the bath filling notification acquisition unit acquires the bath filling notification information, during which the bathing start determination unit has not determined that the user has started bathing, exceeds a preset first bathing determination reference time. When the bathing status determination unit determines that the first duration exceeds the first bathing determination reference time, the alarm unit transmits bathing prompting information to the terminal device to prompt the user to take a bath.

[0010] As shown in FIG. 1, the bathing management system according to this embodiment includes a cloud server 1 and a terminal device 6. This bathing management system is used with a bathroom heating device 3, which is installed in a bathroom and heats the bathroom, and a water heater 5, which supplies hot water to the bathroom. When a user operates an operating device 55 to start filling the bathtub with water, the water heater 5 starts filling the bathtub with water. The bathroom heating device 3 and the water heater 5 are connected to a local network NW2 installed in a building that has a bathroom. The local network NW2 is connected to a wide area network NW1 via a router 8. The cloud server 1 and the terminal device 6 can communicate with each other via the wide area network NW1, and the cloud server 1 can communicate with the bathroom heating device 3 or the water heater 5 via the wide area network NW1 and the local network NW2. The local network NW2 is, for example, a wired local area network (LAN) or a wireless LAN, and the wide area network NW1 is, for example, the Internet. The router 8 is, for example, a broadband router.

[0011] The water heater 5 is, for example, a storage-type water heater, and as shown in Fig. 2, includes a heat pump 53 that heats hot water, a drive unit 52 that drives the heat pump 53 and a supply mechanism (not shown) that mixes hot water stored in a hot water storage tank with tap water at room temperature to supply hot water at an appropriate temperature, a control unit 51 that controls the operation of the drive unit 52, and a communication adapter 59. The water heater 5 also includes a hot water output sensor 56 that detects hot water being supplied to the bathroom. Here, the amount of hot water supplied to the bathroom includes at least the hot water from a shower installed in the bathroom. Furthermore, an operating device 55 that accepts operations by the user is connected to the control unit 51.

[0012] The communication adapter 59 controls communication between the control unit 51 and the cloud server 1 via the local network NW2, the router 8, and the wide area network NW1. When a user performs a preset operation on the operating device 55, the control unit 51 controls the drive unit 52 to drive the heat pump according to the operation. The control unit 51 also has two operating modes: manual mode and automatic mode. The automatic mode corresponds to a temperature maintenance operating mode in which the temperature of the hot water stored in the bathtub is maintained at a preset temperature after the bathtub is filled with water. Each time the operating mode of the water heater 5 is switched, the control unit 51 transmits operating mode information indicating the updated operating mode to the cloud server 1.

[0013] Furthermore, when a user operates the operating device 55 to start filling the bathtub in the bathroom, the control unit 51 accordingly drives the supply mechanism to start filling the bathtub. After the bathtub starts to be filled, when the amount of hot water in the bathtub reaches a preset target amount, the control unit 51 generates filling notification information notifying the user of this and sends it to the cloud server 1. After sending the filling notification information, the control unit 51 generates hot water output information indicating the amount of hot water being output when the hot water output sensor 56 detects hot water being output into the bathroom. The control unit 51 then sends the generated hot water output information to the cloud server 1 when the preset hot water output notification period arrives. Here, the hot water output notification period is set to occur, for example, every minute. The control unit 51 may also calculate the amount of hot water to be supplied to the bathroom as detected by the hot water output sensor 56, and generate the hot water output information when the calculated amount of hot water exceeds a preset reference amount.

[0014] The terminal device 6 is, for example, a smartphone, and includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 601, a main memory 602, an auxiliary memory 603, a display 604, an input unit 605, a wide-area communication unit 606, a local communication unit 607, and a bus 609 connecting these units to one another. The main memory 602 has a volatile memory such as a random access memory (RAM) and is used as a work area for the CPU 601. The auxiliary memory 603 is a non-volatile memory such as a semiconductor flash memory and stores programs for the CPU 601 to execute various processes. The display 604 is a display device such as a liquid crystal display or an organic electroluminescence (EL) display. The input unit 605 is, for example, a transparent touchpad placed on top of the display 604. The wide-area communication unit 606 is connected to the wide-area network NW1 and transmits information transferred from the CPU 601 to the cloud server 1 and transfers information received from the cloud server 1 to the CPU 601. The local communication unit 607 has, for example, a wireless module, and communicates with the cloud server 1 via the local network NW2 and the router 8 when the terminal device 6 is placed in an environment where it can be wirelessly connected to the local network NW2.

[0015] The CPU 601 reads out a program stored in the auxiliary storage unit 603 into the main storage unit 602 and executes it, thereby functioning as a notification information acquisition unit 611, a display control unit 612, a reception unit 613, a setting information notification unit 614, and a connection status notification unit 615, as shown in FIG. 3. The auxiliary storage unit 603 shown in FIG. 2 also has a message storage unit 631 that stores message information indicating various messages to be notified to the user, as shown in FIG. 3. When the notification information acquisition unit 611 acquires bathing prompt information for prompting the user to take a bath from the cloud server 1, it notifies the display control unit 612 of the acquired bathing prompt information. Based on the bathing prompt information notified from the notification information acquisition unit 611, the display control unit 612 identifies message information to be displayed on the display unit 604 from the message information stored in the message storage unit 631. Then, the display control unit 612 causes the display unit 604 to display a bathing prompt screen including the identified message information.

[0016] The reception unit 613 receives the operation content performed by the user on the input unit 605, generates operation information corresponding to the received operation content, and notifies the setting information notification unit 614. The setting information notification unit 614 generates, for each user, determination reference time information indicating a first bathing determination reference time and a second bathing determination reference time that serve as criteria for determining whether or not to send notification information after the bath filling notification information has been notified to the cloud server 1, and transmits this information to the cloud server 1. The setting information notification unit 614 also generates bathing time information indicating a reference bathing time that determines the transmission time interval for notification information when sending notification information to the terminal device 6 possessed by each of the multiple users, and transmits this information to the cloud server 1. Here, when the user performs an operation to input the first bathing judgment reference time, the second bathing judgment reference time, or the reference bathing time via the input unit 605 while an operation screen image for setting the first bathing judgment reference time, the second bathing judgment reference time, or the reference bathing time is displayed on the display unit 604, the receiving unit 613 generates operation information including information indicating the first bathing judgment reference time, the second bathing judgment reference time, or the reference bathing time. Then, the setting information notifying unit 614 generates judgment reference time information or bathing time information based on the operation information including information indicating the first bathing judgment reference time, the second bathing judgment reference time, or the reference bathing time notified from the receiving unit 613.

[0017] When the local communication unit 607 becomes connectable to the local network NW2, the connection status notification unit 615 generates connection notification information and transmits it to the cloud server 1.

[0018] Returning to FIG. 2, the cloud server 1 includes a CPU 101, a main memory unit 102, an auxiliary memory unit 103, a wide area communication unit 106, a timer unit 107, and a bus 109 interconnecting these units, and functions as a bathing management device that manages the bathing status of users. The CPU 101 is, for example, a multi-core processor. The main memory unit 102 is made up of volatile memory and is used as a work area for the CPU 101. The auxiliary memory unit 103 is made up of large-capacity non-volatile memory and stores programs for realizing various functions of the cloud server 1. The wide area communication unit 106 is connected to the wide area network NW1. The timer unit 107 is, for example, a timer having a hardware clock and a counter.

[0019] By loading the programs stored in auxiliary storage unit 103 into main storage unit 102 and executing them, CPU 101 functions as a bath filling notification acquisition unit 111, a hot water output acquisition unit 112, a bathing start determination unit 113, an operation mode acquisition unit 114, a bathing status determination unit 115, an alarm unit 116, a user presence / absence determination unit 117, an alarm setting unit 118, and a setting information acquisition unit 119, as shown in Fig. 3. Furthermore, auxiliary storage unit 103 shown in Fig. 2 has a determination reference time memory unit 131, a bathing timing memory unit 132, an alarm setting memory unit 133, and an operation mode memory unit 134, as shown in Fig. 3. The judgment reference time memory unit 131 stores judgment reference time information indicating the first bathing judgment reference time and the second bathing judgment reference time, which are the criteria for determining whether or not to send alarm information after the aforementioned bath filling notification information for each user has been notified, in correspondence with a combination of user identification information that identifies the user and device identification information that identifies the terminal device 6 carried by the user.

[0020] As shown in FIG. 4A, the bathing time storage unit 132 stores bathing time information indicating a standard bathing time for each user, bathing order information indicating the order in which users should take a bath, and notification count information indicating the maximum number of times notification information is to be repeatedly sent to the terminal device 6 carried by each user, in association with user identification information identifying the user. In the example shown in FIG. 4A, the user assigned user identification information IDU(3) takes a bath first, followed by the user assigned user identification information IDU(4), the user assigned user identification information IDU(1), and the user assigned user identification information IDU(2). Here, the bathing time information is preferably set based on the actual bathing time of the corresponding user. In this case, the standard bathing time reflects the user's physical strength, preferences, etc., enabling bathing prompt information to be sent at an appropriate time.

[0021] The notification setting storage unit 133 stores address information indicating the address of the terminal device 6 carried by the user and presence / absence information indicating whether the user is present in the home, in association with a combination of user identification information and device identification information, as shown in FIG. 4(B), for example. Here, the address information is information indicating, for example, an IP address or a MAC address. The presence / absence information corresponds to transmission necessity information indicating whether or not a bathing reminder information needs to be transmitted. If the presence / absence information is set to F1 (at home), it is determined that transmission of the bathing reminder information is necessary, and if the presence / absence information is set to F2 (away), it is determined that transmission of the bathing reminder information is not necessary. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 4(B), the presence / absence information corresponding to user identification information IDU(1), IDU(2), and IDU(3) is set to F1 (at home), and the presence / absence information corresponding to user identification information IDU(4) is set to F(0) (away). In this case, the notification unit 116 determines that it is necessary to transmit bathing prompt notification information to the terminal device 6 to which the device identification information IDT(1), IDT(2), IDT(3) corresponding to the user identification information IDU(1), IDU(2), IDU(3) is assigned. On the other hand, the notification unit 116 determines that it is not necessary to transmit bathing prompt notification information to the terminal device 6 to which the device identification information IDT(4) corresponding to the user identification information IDU(4) is assigned. Returning to FIG. 3, the operation mode memory unit 134 stores operation mode information indicating the operation mode of the water heater 5.

[0022] When the water filling notification acquisition unit 111 acquires the aforementioned water filling notification information transmitted from the water heater 5, it notifies the bathing status determination unit 115 of the acquired water filling notification information. The hot water output acquisition unit 112 acquires hot water output information indicating the amount of hot water output to the bathroom by the water heater 5 after the water filling notification acquisition time when the water filling notification acquisition unit 111 acquires the water filling notification information. The bathing start determination unit 113 determines whether the user has started bathing, and if it determines that the user has started bathing, it notifies the bathing status determination unit of the bathing start notification information. Here, the bathing start determination unit 113 determines that the user has started bathing if the hot water output indicated by the hot water output information becomes equal to or exceeds a predetermined standard hot water output amount after the aforementioned water filling notification acquisition time. When the operation mode acquisition unit 114 acquires operation mode information transmitted from the water heater 5, it stores the acquired operation mode information in the operation mode storage unit 134.

[0023] The bathing status determination unit 115 determines whether a first duration from the bath filling notification acquisition time during which the bathing start determination unit 113 has not determined that the user has started bathing exceeds the first bathing determination reference time. That is, when the bath filling notification acquisition unit 111 acquires the bath filling notification information, the bathing status determination unit 115 starts measuring the first duration, and then determines whether the first bathing determination reference time has elapsed. The bathing status determination unit 115 also determines whether a second duration from the bathing prompt transmission time at which the alarm unit 116 transmitted the bathing prompt information during which the bathing start determination unit 113 has not determined that the user has started bathing exceeds a preset second bathing determination reference time.

[0024] When the bathing status determination unit 115 determines that the first duration has exceeded the first bathing determination reference time, the notification unit 116 transmits bathing prompt information to the terminal device 6 carried by the user, prompting the user to take a bath. The notification unit 116 also references the operation mode information stored in the operation mode memory unit 134 to determine whether the operation mode of the water heater 5 has been changed to manual mode. Here, when the notification unit 116 determines that the operation mode of the water heater 5 has been changed to manual mode, it terminates the bathing management process and avoids transmitting the bathing prompt information to the terminal device 6.

[0025] Furthermore, when the water filling notification acquisition unit 111 acquires water filling notification information from the water heater 5, the notification unit 116 refers to the presence / absence information stored in the notification setting storage unit 133 to determine whether or not there is a terminal device 6 to which the bathing reminder information is to be sent. Here, if the presence / absence information stored in the notification setting storage unit 133 includes presence / absence information set to "F1 (at home)," the notification unit 116 determines that there is a terminal device 6 to which the bathing reminder information is to be sent. Then, when the notification unit 116 determines that there is a terminal device 6 to which the bathing reminder information is to be sent, the notification unit 116 refers to the user identification information and bathing order information stored in the bathing time storage unit 132 and the device identification information, user identification information, and presence / absence information stored in the notification setting storage unit 133 to select the first destination of the bathing reminder information. Here, the notification unit 116 first identifies user identification information for which presence information is set to F1 (at home) from among the user identification information stored in the notification setting storage unit 133. Next, the notification unit 116 identifies the user identification information with the earliest bathing order from among the identified user identification information, based on the bathing order information stored in the bathing timing storage unit 132, and selects the terminal device 6 to which the device identification information corresponding to the identified user identification information with the earliest bathing order is assigned as the recipient of the initial bathing prompt information.

[0026] Furthermore, when multiple terminal devices 6 are selected based on the transmission necessity information, the notification unit 116 transmits the bathing prompt information to one of the multiple terminal devices 6, and then, after the bathing time indicated by the bathing time information of the user who owns the terminal device 6 to which the bathing prompt information was sent has elapsed, identifies the terminal device owned by the user who is next in line to take a bath based on the bathing order information.The notification unit 116 then transmits the bathing prompt information to the identified terminal device 6.

[0027] The user presence / absence determination unit 117 determines the presence or absence of a user at home who is likely to take a bath, based on connection notification information transmitted from the terminal device 6. Here, when the user presence / absence determination unit 117 acquires connection notification information from the terminal device 6, it determines that the user who owns the terminal device 6 that is the sender of the connection notification information is at home. On the other hand, the user presence / absence determination unit 117 determines that users who own terminal devices 6 other than the terminal device 6 corresponding to the acquired connection notification information are absent. Then, the user presence / absence determination unit 117 generates user presence / absence information indicating the result of the user presence / absence determination, and notifies the notification setting unit 118. Based on the user presence / absence information notified from the user presence / absence determination unit 117, the notification setting unit 118 sets the presence / absence information corresponding to each user stored in the notification setting storage unit 133. When the setting information acquisition unit 119 acquires determination reference time information transmitted from the terminal device 6, it stores the acquired determination reference time information in the determination reference time storage unit 131. Furthermore, when the setting information acquisition unit 119 acquires bathing time information transmitted from the terminal device 6, it stores the acquired bathing time information in the bathing timing storage unit 132.

[0028] Next, the operation of the bathing management system according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Figs. 5 to 8. First, as shown in Fig. 5, assume that a user operates the operating device 55 to start filling the bathtub with water. In this case, the water heater 5 starts filling the bathtub with water (step S1). Next, when the amount of hot water in the bathtub reaches a preset target amount, the water heater 5 ends the filling operation (step S2) and generates the aforementioned filling notification information (step S3). Next, the generated filling notification information is sent from the water heater 5 to the cloud server 1 (step S4).

[0029] Meanwhile, upon receiving the bath filling notification information, the cloud server 1 selects the terminal device 6A to which the bathing prompt information is to be sent by referring to the user identification information and bathing order information stored in the bathing timing storage unit 132 and the device identification information, user identification information, and presence / absence information stored in the notification setting storage unit 133 (step S5). Here, the cloud server 1 first identifies the user identification information IDU(1), IDU(2), and IDU(3) whose presence / absence information is set to F1 (at home), as shown in FIG. 4(B). Next, based on the bathing order information shown in FIG. 4(A), for example, the cloud server 1 identifies the user identification information IDU(3) that is first in the bathing order, as indicated by the bathing order information, from among the identified user identification information IDU(1), IDU(2), and IDU(3). Next, the cloud server 1 selects, from the address information stored in the notification setting memory unit 133, the terminal device 6A to which the device identification information IDT(3) corresponding to the identified user identification information IDU(3) having the earliest bathing order is assigned.

[0030] Returning to FIG. 5, the cloud server 1 then starts measuring a first duration during which the user is not taking a bath (step S6). Then, assume that the first bathing determination reference time has elapsed while the user is not taking a bath. In this case, bathing prompting information prompting the user to take a bath is transmitted from the cloud server 1 to the selected terminal device 6A (step S7). Here, the cloud server 1 acquires address information "ccc" corresponding to the device identification information IDT(3) of the selected terminal device 6A from the address information stored in the notification setting storage unit 133 shown in FIG. 4(B), for example, and transmits the bathing prompting information to the destination indicated by the acquired address information. Next, the cloud server 1 starts measuring a second duration during which the user is not taking a bath (step S8).

[0031] Meanwhile, when terminal device 6A acquires bathing prompt information, it acquires message information corresponding to the acquired bathing prompt information from the message information stored in message storage unit 631 and displays a bathing prompt screen including the acquired message information on display unit 604 (step S9). At this time, terminal device 6A displays a bathing prompt screen GA11, for example, as shown in FIG. 6(A), on display unit 604. Here, bathing prompt screen GA11 includes a message image M11 including message information urging the user to take a bath, and a button image BU11 that is displayed in a portion that is touched to clear the bathing prompt screen. Then, when the user touches a portion of input unit 605, which is a touchpad, that corresponds to button image BU11, terminal device 6A clears the bathing prompt screen GA11 from display unit 604.

[0032] Returning to FIG. 5, it is assumed that the second bathing determination reference time has elapsed without the user having taken a bath. In this case, bathing prompting information prompting the user to take a bath again is transmitted from the cloud server 1 to the selected terminal device 6A (step S10). Meanwhile, upon receiving the bathing prompting information again, the terminal device 6A retrieves message information corresponding to the retrieved bathing prompting information from the message information stored in the message storage unit 631 and displays a bathing prompting screen including the retrieved message information on the display unit 604 (step S11). At this time, the terminal device 6A displays a bathing prompting screen GA12, for example, as shown in FIG. 6(B), on the display unit 604. Here, the bathing prompting screen GA12 includes a message image M12 including message information prompting the user to take a bath and a button image BU12 that is displayed in the area that is touched to clear the bathing prompting screen. When the user touches a portion of the input unit 605, which is a touchpad, that corresponds to the button image BU12, the terminal device 6A erases the bathing prompt screen GA12 from the display unit 604.

[0033] Returning to FIG. 5, suppose that the user carrying terminal device 6A then starts taking a bath. Then, when the aforementioned hot water output notification time arrives after starting the bath, water heater 5 generates hot water output information (step S12). Next, as shown in FIG. 7, the generated hot water output information is sent from water heater 5 to cloud server 1 (step S13). Meanwhile, suppose that cloud server 1 determines that the user has started taking a bath because the hot water output indicated by the hot water output information acquired from water heater 5 is equal to or greater than a predetermined standard hot water output (step S14). In this case, cloud server 1 starts timing the user's bathing time (step S15).

[0034] Next, suppose that the user's bathing time has elapsed by the reference bathing time corresponding to the user assigned user identification information IDU(3). In this case, the cloud server 1 refers to the user identification information and bathing order information stored in the bathing time storage unit 132 and the device identification information, user identification information, and presence / absence information stored in the notification setting storage unit 133, and selects the terminal device 6B to which the next bathing prompt information will be sent (step S16). Here, based on the bathing order information shown in FIG. 4(A), for example, the cloud server 1 first identifies the user identification information IDU(1) whose bathing order information indicates the next earliest bathing order after the previously identified user identification information IDU(3) from among the user identification information IDU(1), IDU(2), and IDU(3) whose presence / absence information is set to F1 (at home). Next, the cloud server 1 selects, from the address information stored in the notification setting storage unit 133, the terminal device 6B to which the device identification information IDT(1) corresponding to the identified user identification information IDU(1) has been assigned.

[0035] Thereafter, bathing prompting information prompting the user assigned with the user identification information IDU(1) to take a bath is transmitted from the cloud server 1 to the selected terminal device 6B (step S17). Here, the cloud server 1 acquires address information “aaa” corresponding to the device identification information IDT(1) of the selected terminal device 6B from the address information stored in the notification setting storage unit 133 shown in FIG. 4(B), for example, and transmits the bathing prompting information to the destination indicated by the acquired address information. Next, the cloud server 1 starts measuring a second duration during which the user is not taking a bath (step S18). Meanwhile, upon acquiring the bathing prompting information, the terminal device 6B acquires message information corresponding to the acquired bathing prompting information from the message information stored in the message storage unit 631, and displays a bathing prompting screen including the acquired message information on the display unit 604 (step S19). Next, assume that the user carrying the terminal device 6B starts taking a bath. Then, when the aforementioned hot water output notification time arrives after the bathing start, the water heater 5 generates hot water output information (step S20). The generated hot water output information is then transmitted from the water heater 5 to the cloud server 1 (step S21). Meanwhile, suppose that the cloud server 1 determines that the user assigned with the user identification information IDU(1) has started bathing because the hot water output indicated by the hot water output information acquired from the water heater 5 is equal to or greater than a preset standard hot water output amount (step S22). In this case, the cloud server 1 starts timing the user's bathing time (step S23).

[0036] Next, assume that the user's bathing time has elapsed by the reference bathing time corresponding to the user assigned user identification information IDU(1). In this case, the cloud server 1 refers to the user identification information and bathing order information stored in the bathing time storage unit 132 and the device identification information, user identification information, and presence / absence information stored in the notification setting storage unit 133, and selects the terminal device 6C to which the next bathing prompt information will be sent (step S24). Here, based on the bathing order information shown in FIG. 4(A), for example, the cloud server 1 first identifies the user identification information IDU(2) whose bathing order information indicates the next earliest bathing order after the previously identified user identification information IDU(1). Next, the cloud server 1 selects, from the address information stored in the notification setting storage unit 133, the terminal device 6C to which the device identification information IDT(2) corresponding to the identified user identification information IDU(2) has been assigned.

[0037] Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 8, bathing prompting information prompting the user assigned with the user identification information IDU(2) to take a bath is transmitted from the cloud server 1 to the selected terminal device 6C (step S25). Here, the cloud server 1 acquires address information “bbb” corresponding to the device identification information IDT(1) of the selected terminal device 6C from the address information stored in the notification setting storage unit 133 shown in FIG. 4(B), for example, and transmits the bathing prompting information to the destination indicated by the acquired address information. Next, the cloud server 1 starts measuring a second duration during which the user is not taking a bath (step S26). Meanwhile, upon acquiring the bathing prompting information, the terminal device 6C acquires message information corresponding to the acquired bathing prompting information from the message information stored in the message storage unit 631, and displays a bathing prompting screen including the acquired message information on the display unit 604 (step S27). Next, the same processing as that from step S20 onward described above is executed.

[0038] Furthermore, suppose that the user operates the operating device 55 to switch the operation mode of the water heater 5 from automatic mode to manual mode. In this case, the water heater 5 generates operation mode information indicating the manual mode (step S28). The generated operation mode information is then transmitted from the water heater 5 to the cloud server 1 (step S29). Meanwhile, upon acquiring the operation mode information, the cloud server 1 ends the bathing management process for managing the bathing status of the user (step S30).

[0039] Next, the bathing management process executed by the cloud server 1 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10. This bathing management process is initiated when the cloud server 1 acquires operation mode information indicating automatic operation mode from the water heater 5 while the cloud server 1 is powered on. First, as shown in FIG. 9, the water filling notification acquisition unit 111 determines whether or not it has acquired water filling notification information from the water heater 5 (step S101). If the water filling notification acquisition unit 111 determines that it has not yet acquired water filling notification information (step S101: No), the notification unit 116 refers to the operation mode information stored in the operation mode storage unit 134 and determines whether or not the operation mode of the water heater 5 has been changed to manual mode (step S102). If the notification unit 116 determines that the operation mode of the water heater 5 has been changed to manual mode (step S102: Yes), the bathing management process ends. On the other hand, if the notification unit 116 determines that the operation mode of the water heater 5 is maintained in the automatic mode (step S102: No), the process of step S101 is executed again.

[0040] Also, assume that the bath filling notification acquisition unit 111 determines in step S101 that it has acquired bath filling notification information from the water heater 5 (step S101: Yes). In this case, the notification unit 116 references the presence / absence information stored in the notification setting storage unit 133 to determine whether or not there is a terminal device 6 to which the bathing prompt information is to be sent (step S103). Here, if the presence / absence information stored in the notification setting storage unit 133 includes presence / absence information set to "F1 (at home)," the notification unit 116 determines that there is a terminal device 6 to which the bathing prompt information is to be sent. If the notification unit 116 determines that there is no terminal device 6 to which the bathing prompt information is to be sent (step S103: No), the bathing management process ends. On the other hand, when the notification unit 116 determines that there is a terminal device 6 to which the bathing prompt information is to be sent (step S103: Yes), it references the user identification information and bathing order information stored in the bathing time storage unit 132 and the device identification information, user identification information, and presence / absence information stored in the notification setting storage unit 133 to select a destination to which the first bathing prompt information is to be sent (step S104). Here, the notification unit 116 first identifies user identification information for which presence / absence information is set to F1 (at home) from the user identification information stored in the notification setting storage unit 133. Next, the notification unit 116 identifies the user identification information that is first to take a bath from the identified user identification information based on the bathing order information stored in the bathing time storage unit 132, and selects the terminal device 6 to which the device identification information corresponding to the identified first to take a bath as a destination to which the first bathing prompt information is to be sent.

[0041] Next, the bathing status determination unit 115 starts measuring a first duration during which the user is not bathing (step S105). Subsequently, the hot water output acquisition unit 112 determines whether or not hot water output information has been acquired from the water heater 5 (step S106). If the hot water output acquisition unit 112 determines that hot water output information has not been acquired from the water heater 5 (step S106: No), the process of step S108, which will be described later, is executed. On the other hand, if the hot water output acquisition unit 112 determines that hot water output information has been acquired from the water heater 5 (step S106: Yes), the bathing start determination unit 113 determines whether or not the user has started bathing based on the hot water output indicated by the acquired hot water output information (step S107). If the hot water output indicated by the hot water output information is equal to or greater than a predetermined standard hot water output, the bathing start determination unit 113 determines that the user has started bathing. If the bathing start determination unit 113 determines that the user has started bathing (step S107: Yes), the process of step S115 described below is executed. On the other hand, if the bathing start determination unit 113 determines that the user has not yet taken a bath (step S107: No), it determines whether a preset first bathing determination reference time has elapsed since the start of timing the above-mentioned first duration time (step S108). Here, if the bathing start determination unit 113 determines that the first bathing determination reference time has not yet elapsed (step S108: No), the process of step S106 is executed again.

[0042] On the other hand, if the bathing start determination unit 113 determines that the first bathing determination reference time has elapsed (step S108: Yes), the notification unit 116 transmits bathing prompting information prompting the user to take a bath to the terminal device 6 (step S109). Next, the bathing status determination unit 115 starts measuring a second duration during which the user is not taking a bath (step S110). Thereafter, the hot water output acquisition unit 112 determines whether or not hot water output information has been acquired from the hot water heater 5 (step S111). Here, if the hot water output acquisition unit 112 determines that hot water output information has not been acquired from the hot water heater 5 (step S111: No), the processing of step S113 described below is executed. On the other hand, if the hot water output amount acquisition unit 112 determines that it has acquired hot water output amount information from the water heater 5 (step S111: Yes), the bathing start determination unit 113 determines whether the user has started bathing based on the hot water output amount indicated by the acquired hot water output amount information (step S112). If the bathing start determination unit 113 determines that the user has started bathing based on the hot water output amount information (step S112: Yes), the process of step S115 described below is executed. On the other hand, if the bathing start determination unit 113 determines that the user has not yet taken a bath (step S112: No), it determines whether a preset second bathing determination reference time has elapsed since the start of clocking the second duration time (step S113). If the bathing start determination unit 113 determines that the second bathing determination reference time has not yet elapsed (step S113: No), the process of step S111 is executed again.

[0043] On the other hand, if the bathing start determination unit 113 determines that the second bathing determination reference time has elapsed (step S113: Yes), the notification unit 116 determines whether the number N of times the bathing prompt information has been transmitted to the same terminal device 6 is less than a preset upper limit of the number of times of transmission (step S114). If the notification unit 116 determines that the number N of times the bathing prompt information has been transmitted to the same terminal device 6 is less than the upper limit of the number of times of transmission (step S114: Yes), the process of step S109 is executed again. On the other hand, if the notification unit 116 determines that the number N of times the bathing prompt information has been transmitted to the same terminal device 6 is equal to or greater than the upper limit of the number of times of transmission (step S114: No), the notification unit 116 determines whether there is another destination to which the bathing prompt information is to be transmitted (step S103). Thereafter, the process from step S104 onwards is executed.

[0044] Also, assume that the bathing start determination unit 113 determines in step S112 that the user has started bathing (step S112: Yes). In this case, as shown in FIG. 10, the notification unit 116 starts timing the bathing time of the user who owns the terminal device 6 to which the bathing prompt information is to be sent (step S115). Next, the notification unit 116 determines whether a preset reference bathing time has elapsed since the start of timing the bathing time (step S116). Here, the notification unit 116 repeats the process of step S116 unless the reference bathing time has elapsed (step S116: No). On the other hand, if the notification unit 116 determines that the reference bathing time has elapsed (step S116: Yes), it determines whether there is another destination to which the bathing prompt information is to be sent (step S117). Here, if the notification unit 116 determines that the bathing prompt information has been sent to all of the destinations of the bathing prompt information (step S117: No), the bathing management process ends.

[0045] On the other hand, if the notification unit 116 determines that there are other destinations for the bathing prompt information (Step S117: Yes), it selects one terminal device 6 as a destination of the bathing prompt information from the other destinations for the bathing prompt information (Step S118). Here, the notification unit 116 first identifies the user identification information whose presence / absence information is set to F1 (at home) and whose bathing order information indicates the user identification information that is next to the previously identified user identification information. The notification unit 116 then selects the terminal device 6 to which the device identification information corresponding to the identified user identification information is assigned. Next, the notification unit 116 transmits the bathing prompt information to the selected terminal device 6 (Step S119). Subsequently, the bathing status determination unit 115 starts measuring a second duration during which the user is not bathing (Step S120). After that, the hot water output acquisition unit 112 determines whether hot water output information has been acquired from the hot water heater 5 (Step S121). Here, if the hot water output amount acquisition unit 112 determines that it has not acquired hot water output amount information from the water heater 5 (step S121: No), the process of step S123 described below is executed. On the other hand, if the hot water output amount acquisition unit 112 determines that it has acquired hot water output amount information from the water heater 5 (step S121: Yes), the bathing start determination unit 113 determines whether the user has started bathing based on the hot water output amount indicated by the acquired hot water output amount information (step S122). Here, if the bathing start determination unit 113 determines that the user has started bathing based on the hot water output amount information (step S122: Yes), the process of step S115 is executed again. On the other hand, if the bathing start determination unit 113 determines that the user has not yet taken a bath (step S122: No), it determines whether a preset second bathing determination reference time has elapsed since the start of counting the second duration time described above (step S123). Here, if the bathing start determination unit 113 determines that the second bathing determination reference time has not yet elapsed (step S123: No), the process of step S121 is executed again.

[0046] On the other hand, if the bathing start determination unit 113 determines that the second bathing determination reference time has elapsed (step S123: Yes), the notification unit 116 determines whether the number N of times the bathing prompt information has been transmitted to the same terminal device 6 is less than a preset upper limit of the number of times of transmission (step S124). If the notification unit 116 determines that the number N of times the bathing prompt information has been transmitted to the same terminal device 6 is less than the upper limit of the number of times of transmission (step S124: Yes), the process of step S119 is executed again. On the other hand, if the notification unit 116 determines that the number N of times the bathing prompt information has been transmitted to the same terminal device 6 is equal to or greater than the upper limit of the number of times of transmission (step S124: No), the process of step S117 is executed again.

[0047] As described above, in the bathing management system according to this embodiment, bathing status determination unit 115 determines whether the first duration, during which bathing start determination unit 113 has not determined that the user has started bathing, from the time when bath filling notification acquisition unit 111 acquires the bath filling notification information, exceeds the first bathing determination reference time. If notification unit 116 determines that the first duration exceeds the first bathing determination reference time, it transmits bathing prompt information to terminal device 6 carried by the user. This prevents the user from leaving the bathtub unfilled for a long period of time after the bathtub begins filling or the bathtub's water level reaches the target level. This reduces the time required to keep the bathtub water warm after the target level is reached, thereby saving energy equivalent to the energy required to keep the bathtub water warm. Furthermore, if the user sets bathroom heating unit 3 to start operating when the bathtub is completely filled, the time between the bathtub being filled and the start of bathing is shortened, thereby shortening the operating time of bathroom heating unit 3. Therefore, the operating time of bathroom heating device 3 is shortened, and the energy consumed by bathroom heating device 3 can be reduced accordingly.

[0048] The water heater described in the aforementioned Patent Document 1 notifies the user when the heat exchanger outlet temperature or the hot water outlet temperature drops by a preset temperature after the bathtub is filled without switching from automatic hot water supply mode to standard hot water supply mode. Therefore, if the user starts bathing while the mode is still automatic hot water supply mode and the heat exchanger outlet temperature or the hot water outlet temperature drops, the user receives an unnecessary notification. On the other hand, if the user switches modes before bathing, the user receives no notification after that, which can lead to the user being left without bathing for a long time. As a result, the bathtub water may cool down and require reheating. In this case, the water heater consumes extra energy to reheat the water.

[0049] In contrast, the cloud server 1 according to this embodiment monitors the bathing status of the user after the bathtub has been filled with water, and if the user has not started bathing after the first bathing determination standard time has elapsed since the bathtub was filled with water, it transmits bathing prompting information to the terminal device 6 carried by the user to prompt the user to take a bath. This has the advantage that it can be applied not only to water heaters that require a mode switching operation as described in Patent Document 1, but also to water heaters that do not require a mode switching operation. Furthermore, the user does not need to perform any operation to stop the transmission of bathing prompting information when it is no longer necessary, thereby reducing the operational burden on the user.

[0050] Furthermore, the bathing start determination unit 113 according to this embodiment determines that the user has started bathing when the hot water flow rate indicated by the hot water flow rate information reaches or exceeds the reference hot water flow rate after the bath filling notification is received. This eliminates the need to install a separate device to detect the human body in the bathroom, simplifying the configuration of the bathing management system.

[0051] Furthermore, when the notification unit 116 according to this embodiment determines that the automatic operation mode has been canceled based on the operation mode indicated by the operation mode information acquired by the operation mode acquisition unit 114, it terminates the bathing management process and avoids sending bathing prompting information to the terminal device 6. As a result, bathing prompting information is sent to the terminal device 6 only when necessary to prompt the user to take a bath, depending on the operation mode of the water heater 5, thereby preventing the user from being prompted to take a bath more than necessary.

[0052] Furthermore, bathing status determination unit 115 according to this embodiment determines whether the second duration from the bathing prompt transmission time at which notification unit 116 transmitted the bathing prompt information to terminal device 6 has exceeded the second bathing determination reference time. When bathing status determination unit 115 determines that the second duration has exceeded the second bathing determination reference time, notification unit 116 again transmits the bathing prompt information to terminal device 6. This prevents the user from being left without bathing for a long period of time after the user has started filling the bathtub with water or after the amount of water in the bathtub has reached the target amount.

[0053] Furthermore, the notification unit 116 according to this embodiment selects a terminal device 6 to which bathing reminder information needs to be sent, based on the presence / absence information stored in the notification setting storage unit 133, and sends the bathing reminder information to the selected terminal device 6. This prevents the bathing reminder information from being sent to a terminal device 6 to which device identification information corresponding to user identification information whose presence / absence information is set to F0 (absent), thereby preventing unnecessary bathing reminder information from being sent to a terminal device 6 carried by a user who does not take a bath.

[0054] Furthermore, when the notification unit 116 according to this embodiment selects multiple terminal devices 6 as destinations of the bathing prompt information based on the presence / absence information, it transmits the bathing prompt information to one of the multiple terminal devices. Then, after the bathing time indicated by the bathing time information of the user possessing the terminal device to which the bathing prompt information is to be sent has elapsed, the notification unit 116 identifies the terminal device possessed by the next user in line to take a bath based on the bathing order information, and transmits the bathing prompt information to the identified terminal device 6. This makes it possible to prevent conflicts over bathing time slots when multiple users are scheduled to take a bath.

[0055] (Embodiment 2) The bathing management system according to this embodiment differs from the bathing management system according to embodiment 1 in that it includes a biological information acquisition unit that acquires biological information indicating the biological activity status of the user, and a biological activity status determination unit that determines whether the user's biological activity status is such that bathing is not possible based on the biological information after the bath filling notification acquisition time. When the biological activity status determination unit determines that the user's biological activity status is such that bathing is not possible, the notification unit transmits bathing impossibility notification information to the terminal device, requesting the user to refrain from bathing.

[0056] As shown in Fig. 11, the bathing management system according to this embodiment includes a cloud server 2001, a terminal device 6, a biological information sensor 91, and a management server 92 that manages the biological information sensor 91. In Fig. 11, components similar to those in the first embodiment are assigned the same reference numerals as in Fig. 2. This bathing management system is used together with a bathroom heating device 2003 and a water heater 5.

[0057] As shown in FIG. 12, bathroom heating device 2003 includes heater 32, blower fan 33, motion sensor 34, control unit 31, and communication adapter 39. Note that in FIG. 12, components similar to those in embodiment 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals as in FIG. 2. When control unit 31 receives control information from cloud server 1, it drives heater 32 and blower fan 33 to heat the bathroom based on the received control information. Furthermore, while motion sensor 34 detects the presence of a person in the bathroom, control unit 31 periodically generates and transmits human body detection information to cloud server 2001. While motion sensor 34 detects the presence of a person in the bathroom, control unit 31 repeatedly generates and transmits the human body detection information to cloud server 2001, for example, every minute. Communication adapter 39 controls communication between control unit 31 and cloud server 2001 via local network NW2, router 8, and wide area network NW1.

[0058] The terminal device 6 is, for example, a smartphone, and includes a CPU 601, a main memory unit 602, an auxiliary memory unit 603, a display unit 604, an input unit 605, a wide-area communication unit 606, a local communication unit 607, a short-range wireless communication unit 608, and a bus 609 connecting these units to one another. The short-range wireless communication unit 608 communicates with the biometric information sensor 91 using a communication method conforming to a short-range wireless communication standard such as Bluetooth (registered trademark). When the terminal device 6 acquires biometric information from the biometric information sensor 91 via the short-range wireless communication unit 608, it functions as a so-called tethering terminal that transmits the acquired biometric information as is to the management server 92 via the wide-area communication unit 606 and the wide-area network NW1.

[0059] The biometric sensor 91 is, for example, a wearable terminal device worn on the user's body. It generates biometric information indicating the user's biological activity status by measuring the user's body temperature, blood pressure, pulse, and blood oxygen saturation. This biometric information includes body temperature information indicating the user's body temperature, blood pressure information indicating the user's blood pressure, pulse information indicating the pulse, and oxygen saturation information indicating the blood oxygen saturation. The biometric sensor 91 can communicate with the terminal device 6 using a communication method conforming to a short-range wireless communication standard such as Bluetooth (registered trademark). The biometric sensor 91 adds biometric sensor identification information for identifying the biometric sensor 91 to the generated biometric information and transmits it to the terminal device 6. When the biometric sensor 91 receives biometric information request information from the cloud server 2001 via the management server 92, the wide area network NW1, and the terminal device 6, the biometric sensor 91 generates biometric information in response to the information. The biometric sensor 91 then transmits the generated biometric information to the cloud server 1 via the terminal device 6, the wide area network NW1, and the management server 92.

[0060] The management server 92 includes a biometric sensor identification information storage unit (not shown) that stores biometric sensor identification information for identifying the biometric sensor 91 in association with the user identification information of the user who owns the biometric sensor 91. When the management server 92 acquires biometric information from the biometric sensor 91, it identifies user identification information corresponding to the biometric sensor identification information added to the acquired biometric information from the user identification information stored in the biometric sensor identification information storage unit. Then, the management server 92 adds the identified user identification information to the acquired biometric information and transmits it to the cloud server 1.

[0061] Cloud server 2001 has the same hardware configuration as cloud server 1 described in embodiment 1, and includes CPU 101, main memory 102, auxiliary memory 103, wide area communication unit 106, timer 107, and bus 109. Auxiliary memory 103 stores programs for implementing various functions of cloud server 2001. CPU 101 loads the programs stored in auxiliary memory 103 into main memory and executes them, thereby functioning as a bath filling notification acquirer 111, a human body detection information acquirer 2112, a bathing start determiner 2113, an operation mode acquirer 114, a bathing status determiner 2115, an alarm 2116, a user presence / absence determiner 117, an alarm setting unit 118, a setting information acquirer 2119, a biological information acquirer 2120, a biological activity status determiner 2121, and a bathing end determiner 2122, as shown in FIG. 13 . 13, the same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals as those in Fig. 3. As shown in Fig. 13, the auxiliary storage unit 103 shown in Fig. 12 includes a determination reference time storage unit 131, a bathing timing storage unit 132, a notification setting storage unit 133, an operation mode storage unit 134, and a bathing possibility criteria storage unit 2135.

[0062] 14, the bathing permission criteria storage unit 2135 stores bathing permission information indicating whether bathing is permitted and bathing upper limit time information indicating the upper limit of bathing time if bathing is permitted, in association with a combination of type information and standard information, distinguishing them for each user identification information. Here, type information indicates body temperature information, blood pressure information, pulse information, or oxygen saturation information, and standard information indicates the ranges for body temperature, blood pressure, pulse, and blood oxygen saturation related to bathing permission and the upper limit of bathing time. 14, for a user identified by user identification information IDU(1), the system determines that the user is not permitted to bathe if the user's body temperature Thp indicated by the body temperature information is below 35.5°C or above 37°C, if the blood pressure information indicates that the systolic blood pressure Pb (systolic) is above 160 mmHg or the diastolic blood pressure Pb (diastolic) is above 100 mmHg, if the pulse information indicates that the pulse Bb is below 50 bpm or above 100 bpm, or if the blood oxygen saturation information indicates that the blood oxygen saturation is below 96%. Furthermore, if the blood pressure information indicates that the systolic blood pressure Pb (systolic) is between 140 mmHg and 160 mmHg or the diastolic blood pressure Pb (diastolic) is between 80 mmHg and 100 mmHg, the system determines that the user is permitted to bathe, but the maximum bathing time is 20 minutes. Furthermore, if the pulse rate Bb indicated by the pulse rate information is equal to or greater than 80 bpm and less than 100 bpm, the user is allowed to take a bath, but the upper limit of bathing time is set to 30 minutes.

[0063] Returning to FIG. 13, human body detection information acquisition unit 2112 acquires human body detection information transmitted from bathroom heating device 2003. When human body detection information acquisition unit 2112 acquires the human body detection information, bathing start determination unit 2113 determines that the user has started bathing. Based on the human body detection information, bathing start determination unit 2113 determines that the user has started bathing when the duration of the state in which a human body is detected by human sensor 34 exceeds a preset human body detection reference time. Bathing end determination unit 2122 determines that the user has finished bathing when the state in which human body detection information acquisition unit 2112 does not acquire human body detection information exceeds a preset human body non-detection reference time.

[0064] The biological information acquiring unit 2120 acquires biological information from the biological information sensor 91 by transmitting the above-mentioned biological information request information to the biological information sensor 91. Then, the biological information acquiring unit 2120 notifies the biological activity status determining unit 2121 of the acquired biological information.

[0065] The vital activity status determination unit 2121 determines whether the user's vital activity status is such that bathing is not possible based on the vital information after the bath filling notification acquisition time when the bath filling notification acquisition unit 111 acquires the bath filling notification information from the water heater 5. If the vital activity status determination unit 2121 determines that the user's vital activity status is such that bathing is not possible, it notifies the notification unit 2116 of the bathing impossibility notification information. If the vital activity status determination unit 2121 determines that the user's vital activity status is suitable for bathing, it sets an upper limit bathing time for the user based on the vital information and the criterion information stored in the bathing permission criterion storage unit 2135. Here, the vital activity status determination unit 2121 identifies the bathing upper limit time information corresponding to the user identification information notified by the bathing status determination unit 2115 from the bathing upper limit time information stored in the bathing permission criterion storage unit 2135. Then, the vital activity status determination unit 2121 notifies the bathing status determination unit 2115 of the bathing upper limit time information indicating the set bathing upper limit time.

[0066] In addition to the functions described in the first embodiment, the bathing status determination unit 2115 determines whether the elapsed bathing time from the bathing start time, at which the bathing start determination unit 2113 determines that the user has started bathing, reaches the upper bathing limit time, without the bathing end determination unit 2122 determining that the user has finished bathing. Here, the upper bathing limit time is the upper bathing limit time indicated by the upper bathing limit time information notified by the biological activity status determination unit 2121. Furthermore, the bathing status determination unit 2115 identifies the user identification information of the user taking a bath based on the bathing order information stored in the bathing time storage unit 132 and the number of times that the bathing start determination unit 2133 determines that bathing has started, and notifies the biological activity status determination unit 2121. Furthermore, when the bathing end determination unit 2122 determines that the user has finished bathing, the bathing status determination unit 2115 stops measuring the elapsed bathing time.

[0067] In addition to the functions described in the first embodiment, when the biological activity status determination unit 2121 determines that the user's biological activity status is such that bathing is not possible, the notification unit 2116 transmits bathing impossibility notification information notifying that the user is not allowed to take a bath to the terminal device 6. Here, the notification unit 2116 transmits the above-mentioned bathing impossibility notification information to multiple terminal devices 6A, 6B, and 6C including the terminal device (e.g., terminal device 6A) of the user whose biological activity status is such that bathing is not possible. Furthermore, when the bathing status determination unit 2115 determines that the elapsed bathing time has reached the upper bathing time limit, the notification unit 2116 transmits bathing end request information to the terminal device 6 requesting that the user end their bathing.

[0068] In addition to the functions described in embodiment 1, when the setting information acquisition unit 2119 acquires bathing eligibility criteria information transmitted from the terminal device 6, it updates the criteria information stored in the bathing eligibility criteria memory unit 2125 based on the acquired bathing eligibility criteria information.

[0069] Next, the operation of the bathing management system according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 15 to 19. In FIGS. 15, 17, and 18, the same processes as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals as those in FIGS. 5, 7, and 8. First, as shown in FIG. 15, assume that a user operates the operating device 55 to start filling the bathtub with water. As will be described later, if the water heater 5 starts filling the bathtub upon receiving a command from the terminal device 6 to start filling the bathtub with water when the user operates the terminal device 6 to start filling the bathtub with water, assume that the user operates the terminal device 6 to start filling the bathtub with water. In this case, a series of processes from steps S1 to S4 is executed. Next, the cloud server 1 transmits biometric information request information to the biometric information sensor 91, requesting the biometric information sensor 91 to transmit biometric information (step S2001). Meanwhile, upon receiving the biometric information request information, the biometric information sensor 91 generates the biometric information described above in response (step S2002). Next, the generated biological information is transmitted from the biological information sensor 91 to the cloud server 1 (step S2003).

[0070] On the other hand, when the cloud server 1 acquires the biometric information, it determines whether or not there is a user whose biometric activity status makes bathing impossible based on the acquired biometric information. If it determines that there is a user whose biometric activity status makes bathing impossible, it selects terminal devices 6A, 6B, and 6C to which bathing impossible notification information is to be sent (step S2004). Here, the cloud server 1 selects, for example, the terminal devices 6 owned by the user whose biometric activity status makes bathing impossible and each of the user's family members. Thereafter, the cloud server 1 generates bathing impossible notification information (step S2005), and the generated bathing impossible notification information is transmitted from the cloud server 1 to each of the terminal devices 6A, 6B, and 6C (steps S2008, S2010). On the other hand, when the terminal devices 6A, 6B, and 6C acquire the bathing impossible notification information, they each display a bathing impossible notification screen on the display unit 604 based on the acquired bathing impossible notification information (steps S2007, S2009, S2011).

[0071] Assume now that the biological activity status of the user of terminal device 6A indicates that bathing is not permitted. In this case, terminal device 6A displays a bathing-prohibited notification screen GA21, for example, as shown in FIG. 16(A), on the display unit 604. Here, the bathing-prohibited notification screen GA21 includes a message image M21 containing message information requesting the user to stop bathing, and a button image BU21 that is displayed in a portion that is touched to clear the bathing-prohibited notification screen. When the user touches a portion of input unit 605, which is a touchpad, that corresponds to button image BU21, terminal device 6A clears the bathing-prohibited notification screen GA21 from the display unit 604. Furthermore, terminal devices 6B and 6C display a bathing-prohibited notification screen GA22, for example, as shown in FIG. 16(B), on the display unit 604. Here, the bathing-prohibited notification screen GA22 includes a message image M22 including message information requesting the user, who has been determined to be in a biological activity state that does not allow bathing, to stop bathing, and a button image BU22 that is displayed in a portion that is touched to erase the bathing-prohibited notification screen. When the user touches a portion of the input unit 605, which is a touchpad, that corresponds to the button image BU22, the terminal devices 6B and 6C erase the bathing-prohibited notification screen GA22 from the display unit 604.

[0072] Next, the cloud server 1 identifies the user identification information of the user whose biological activity status is suitable for taking a bath, and then refers to the user identification information and bathing order information stored in the bathing timing storage unit 132 and the device identification information, user identification information, and presence / absence information stored in the notification setting storage unit 133 to select the terminal device 6A to which the bathing prompt information will be sent (step S5). Note that in the following description, it is assumed that the biological activity information of the user who owns the terminal device 6A indicates that they are ready to take a bath. Next, a series of processes from step S6 to step S9 shown in FIG. 17 are executed.

[0073] Suppose that the user carrying terminal device 6A then begins taking a bath. Then, bathroom heating device 3 sends human body detection information indicating that a human body has been detected by human sensor 34 to cloud server 1 (step S2012). In this case, cloud server 1 determines that the user has started taking a bath and begins timing the user's bathing time (step S15). Next, a series of processes from steps S16 to S19 are executed.

[0074] Next, suppose that the user carrying terminal device 6B starts taking a bath. Then, suppose that bathroom heating device 3 sends human body detection information indicating that a human body has been detected by human sensor 34 to cloud server 1 (step S2013). In this case, cloud server 1 determines that the user has started taking a bath and begins timing the user's bathing time (step S23). Next, a series of processes from steps S24 to S26 are executed. Next, the same processing as that from step S2013 onwards is executed.

[0075] Suppose that the bathing time limit for the user carrying terminal device 6B has elapsed since the start of timing the user's bathing time. In this case, cloud server 1 selects terminal devices 6A and 6C to which bathing end request information requesting the user carrying terminal device 6B to end the bathing (step S2014). Here, cloud server 1 selects terminal devices 6A and 6C, for example, owned by each family member of the user who is bathing beyond the bathing time limit. Cloud server 1 then generates bathing end request information (step S2015), and transmits the generated bathing end request information from cloud server 1 to terminal devices 6A and 6C, respectively (steps S2016 and S2018). Meanwhile, upon receiving the bathing end request information, terminal devices 6A and 6C each display a bathing end request screen on display unit 604 based on the received bathing end request information (steps S2017 and S2019). At this time, the terminal devices 6A and 6C display a bathing end request screen GA23, for example, as shown in Fig. 19, on the display unit 604. Here, the bathing end request screen GA23 includes a message image M23 containing message information requesting the user to end bathing, and a button image BU23 that is displayed in a portion that is touched to close the bathing end request screen. When the user touches a portion of the input unit 605, which is a touchpad, that corresponds to the button image BU23, the terminal devices 6A and 6C close the bathing end request screen GA23 from the display unit 604.

[0076] Next, the bathing management process executed by the cloud server 2001 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 20 and 21. In FIGS. 20 and 21, the same processes as those described in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals. First, the processes from steps S101 to S103 are executed, and the notification unit 2116 determines in step S103 that there is a terminal device 6 to which bathing prompt information is to be sent (step S103: Yes). In this case, the biological information acquisition unit 2120 transmits the above-mentioned biological information request information to the biological information sensor 91 (step S201) and acquires biological information from the biological information sensor 91 (step S202). The biological information acquisition unit 2120 then notifies the biological activity status determination unit 2121 of the acquired biological information.

[0077] Next, the vital activity status determination unit 2121 determines whether any of the users is in a vital activity status that makes bathing impossible, based on the vital information notified from the vital information acquisition unit 2120 (step S203). If the vital activity status determination unit 2121 determines that all of the users are in a vital activity status that makes bathing impossible (step S203: No), the process proceeds to step S104. On the other hand, if the vital activity status determination unit 2121 determines that any of the users is in a vital activity status that makes bathing impossible (step S203: Yes), it notifies the notification unit 2116 of bathing impossible notification information. Then, the notification unit 2116 selects a terminal device 6 to which the bathing impossible notification information is to be sent, based on the bathing impossible notification information notified from the vital activity status determination unit 2121 (step S204). Next, the notification unit 2116 generates bathing impossible notification information and sends it to the selected destination terminal device 6 (step S205). Thereafter, the processes of steps S104 and S105 are executed.

[0078] Next, bathing start determination unit 2113 determines whether human body detection information acquisition unit 2112 has acquired human body detection information transmitted from bathroom heating device 2003 (step S206). If bathing start determination unit 2113 determines that human body detection information acquisition unit 2112 has acquired human body detection information (step S206: Yes), the process of step S115 shown in FIG. 21 is executed. On the other hand, if bathing start determination unit 2113 determines that human body detection information acquisition unit 2112 has not acquired human body detection information (step S206: No), it determines whether a preset first bathing determination reference time has elapsed since the start of clocking the first duration time (step S108). Here, if bathing start determination unit 113 determines that the first bathing determination reference time has not yet elapsed (step S108: No), the process of step S206 is executed again. On the other hand, if the bathing start determination unit 113 determines that the first bathing determination reference time has elapsed (step S108: Yes), the processes of steps S109 and S110 are executed.

[0079] Next, the bathing start determination unit 2113 determines whether or not human body detection information has been acquired by the human body detection information acquisition unit 2112 (step S207). If the bathing start determination unit 2113 determines that human body detection information has been acquired by the human body detection information acquisition unit 2112 (step S207: Yes), the process of step S115 shown in FIG. 21 is executed. On the other hand, if the bathing start determination unit 2113 determines that human body detection information has not been acquired by the human body detection information acquisition unit 2112 (step S207: No), the bathing start determination unit 2113 determines whether or not a preset second bathing determination reference time has elapsed since the start of clocking the second duration time (step S113). Here, if the bathing start determination unit 2113 determines that the second bathing determination reference time has not yet elapsed (step S113: No), the process of step S207 is executed again. On the other hand, if the bathing start determination unit 2113 determines that the second bathing determination reference time has elapsed (step S113: Yes), the processes from step S114 onwards are executed.

[0080] Also, assume that the bathing start determination unit 2113 determines in step S206 that the user has started bathing (step S206: Yes). In this case, as shown in FIG. 21, the notification unit 2116 starts timing the bathing time of the user who owns the terminal device 6 to which the bathing prompt information is sent (step S115). Next, the bathing completion determination unit 2122 determines whether the user has finished bathing based on the acquisition status of human body detection information by the human body detection information acquisition unit 2112 (step S208). If the bathing completion determination unit 2122 determines that the user has finished bathing (step S208: Yes), the process of step S117 is executed. On the other hand, assume that the bathing completion determination unit 2122 determines that the user is still bathing (step S208: No). In this case, the bathing status determination unit 2115 determines whether the bathing upper limit time indicated by the bathing upper limit time information notified by the biological activity status determination unit 2121 has elapsed since the bathing start time determined by the bathing start determination unit 2113 that the user has started bathing (step S209). If the bathing status determination unit 2115 determines that the bathing upper limit time has not yet elapsed since the bathing start time (step S209: No), the process of step S116 is executed. On the other hand, if the bathing status determination unit 2115 determines that the bathing upper limit time has elapsed since the bathing start time (step S209: Yes), the notification unit 2116 selects a terminal device 6 to which to send bathing end request information requesting the user who has elapsed the bathing upper limit time to end their bathing (step S210). Next, the notification unit 2116 generates bathing end request information and transmits the generated bathing end request information to the terminal device 6 (step S211). Thereafter, a series of processes from steps S116 to S120 are executed.

[0081] Next, the bathing start determination unit 2113 determines whether or not human body detection information has been acquired by the human body detection information acquisition unit 2112 (step S212). If the bathing start determination unit 2113 determines that human body detection information has been acquired by the human body detection information acquisition unit 2112 (step S212: Yes), the process of step S115 is executed again. On the other hand, if the bathing start determination unit 2113 determines that human body detection information has not been acquired by the human body detection information acquisition unit 2112 (step S212: No), the bathing start determination unit 2113 determines whether or not a preset second bathing determination reference time has elapsed since the start of clocking the second duration time (step S123). Here, if the bathing start determination unit 2113 determines that the second bathing determination reference time has not yet elapsed (step S123: No), the process of step S211 is executed again. On the other hand, if the bathing start determination unit 2113 determines that the second bathing determination reference time has elapsed (step S123: Yes), the processes from step S124 onwards are executed.

[0082] As described above, the bathing management system according to this embodiment includes human body detection information acquisition unit 2112, which acquires human body detection information indicating the human body detection status of human body sensor 34 from bathroom heating device 2003. Based on the human body detection information, bathing start determination unit 2113 determines that the user has started bathing if the duration of human body detection by human body sensor 34 exceeds a preset human body detection reference time. This prevents the user from being mistakenly determined to have started bathing when they only briefly entered the bathroom without the purpose of bathing, thereby improving the accuracy of determining the user's bathing status.

[0083] Furthermore, the cloud server 2002 according to this embodiment is equipped with the bathing completion determination unit 2122, and is therefore able to determine when the user has finished bathing. This allows the bathing status of the user to be determined with greater accuracy.

[0084] Furthermore, the biological activity status determination unit 2121 according to this embodiment determines whether the user's biological activity status is such that bathing is not possible based on the biological information acquired by the biological information acquisition unit 2120 after the bath filling notification acquisition time. When the biological activity status determination unit 2121 determines that the user's biological activity status is such that bathing is not possible, the notification unit 2116 transmits bathing impossibility notification information to the terminal device 6, notifying the user that bathing is not possible. Here, when the notification unit 2116 determines that the user's biological activity status is such that bathing is not possible, it transmits the bathing impossibility notification information to multiple terminal devices 6, including the user's terminal device. In this way, when the user's biological activity status is such that bathing is not possible, the bathing impossibility notification information can be transmitted to, for example, a terminal device 6 owned by the user's family. Therefore, for example, elderly users can be prevented from bathing without fully understanding their biological activity status, thereby reducing the risk of bathing-related accidents.

[0085] Furthermore, when the biological activity status determination unit 2121 according to this embodiment determines that the user's biological activity status is appropriate for bathing, it sets an upper limit bathing time for the user based on the biological information. Furthermore, the bathing status determination unit 2115 determines whether the elapsed bathing time from the bathing start time, at which the bathing start determination unit 2113 determines that the user has started bathing, has reached the upper limit bathing time. Then, when the bathing status determination unit 2115 determines that the elapsed bathing time has reached the upper limit bathing time, the notification unit 2116 transmits bathing end request information to the terminal device 6, requesting that the user end their bathing. This prevents the user from taking a long bath that exceeds the upper limit bathing time, thereby reducing the risk of bathing-related accidents.

[0086] Furthermore, the cloud server 2001 according to this embodiment includes a bathing permission criterion storage unit 2135 that stores bathing limit time information indicating the bathing limit time for each of multiple users in association with the user identification information of each of the multiple users. The biological activity status determination unit 2121 then selects, from the bathing limit time information stored in the bathing permission criterion storage unit 2135, bathing limit time information corresponding to the user identification information of the user determined by the bathing start determination unit 2113 to have started bathing. This allows the bathing limit time to be set according to the age, physique, etc. of each of the multiple users, thereby enabling detailed determination of whether bathing is appropriate for each user. This reduces the risk of bathing accidents occurring.

[0087] Although the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above, the present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments. For example, the terminal device may be a so-called smart speaker having a speaker and a microphone. As shown in FIG. 22, the bathing management system according to this modification includes a cloud server 3001, a terminal device 6, and a terminal device 3007 which is a smart speaker. In FIG. 22, the same components as those in the first and second embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals as those in FIGS. 1 and 11. The terminal device 3007 is connected to a wide area network NW1.

[0088] As shown in FIG. 23, the terminal device 3007 includes a CPU 701, a main memory unit 702, an auxiliary memory unit 703, a speaker 704, a microphone 705, a wide-area communication unit 706, and a bus 709 connecting these components to one another. In FIG. 23, components similar to those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals as in FIG. 2. The CPU 701 reads a program stored in the auxiliary memory unit 703 into the main memory unit 702 and executes it, thereby functioning as a notification information acquisition unit 711, a voice output control unit 712, a voice analysis unit 713, and a setting information notification unit 714, as shown in FIG. 24. In FIG. 24, components similar to those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals as in FIG. 3. The auxiliary memory unit 703 shown in FIG. 23 includes a voice information storage unit 731 that stores voice information indicating various messages to be notified to the user, as shown in FIG. 24. The audio output control unit 712 identifies audio information corresponding to audio urging the user to take a bath from the audio information stored in the audio information storage unit 731, based on the bathing prompting information notified from the notification information acquisition unit 611. Then, the audio output control unit 712 causes the speaker 704 to output audio corresponding to the identified audio information.

[0089] The voice analysis unit 713 analyzes the voice input by the user to the microphone 705 to identify the operation content corresponding to the voice, generates operation information according to the identified operation content, and notifies the setting information notification unit 614. Here, for example, after a voice guide for setting the first bathing determination reference time, the second bathing determination reference time, or the reference bathing time is output from the speaker 704, when the user inputs the first bathing determination reference time, the second bathing determination reference time, or the reference bathing time into the microphone 705 by voice, the voice analysis unit 713 analyzes the input voice and generates operation information including information indicating the first bathing determination reference time, the second bathing determination reference time, or the reference bathing time.

[0090] According to this configuration, when the notification information acquisition unit 711 acquires bathing prompt information, the audio output control unit 712 identifies audio information corresponding to the audio prompting the user to take a bath. Then, the audio output control unit 712 outputs the audio corresponding to the identified audio information to the speaker 704. In this way, the user is prompted to take a bath by the audio, which reduces the likelihood of the user ignoring the bathing prompt information and ignoring it.

[0091] In the first embodiment, the bathing start determination unit 113 may use, for example, hot water flow information and hot water destination information indicating whether the hot water is flowing to the bathroom shower, bathroom faucet, kitchen, etc., to determine that the user has started bathing when the amount of hot water flowing to the bathroom shower or bathroom faucet exceeds a preset reference amount of hot water flow. In this case, the accuracy of the bathing start determination can be improved.

[0092] In the first embodiment, an example was described in which the bathing start determination unit 113 determines that the user has started bathing when the hot water output indicated by the hot water output information exceeds a preset reference hot water output. In the second embodiment, an example was described in which the bathing start determination unit 2113 determines that the user has started bathing when the duration of the state in which a human body is detected by the human presence sensor 34 exceeds a preset reference human body detection time. However, the bathing start determination unit is not limited to these configurations. For example, a cloud server may include a lighting information acquisition unit that acquires lighting information including lighting status information indicating the on / off status of lighting fixtures installed in the bathroom, and the bathing start determination unit may determine that the user has started bathing when the lighting fixtures change from an off state to an on state based on the lighting information. Alternatively, the bathing start determination unit may determine that the user has started bathing when the amount of hot water flow indicated by the hot water flow information becomes equal to or exceeds a standard amount of hot water flow, or when the duration of the state in which a human body is detected by the human presence sensor 34 exceeds a predetermined human body detection standard time, and the lighting fixture transitions from an off state to an on state.

[0093] In the first embodiment, the bathroom heating device may be equipped with a human presence sensor 34, and the bathing start determination unit may determine that the user has started bathing when the duration of the state in which a human body is detected by the human presence sensor 34 exceeds a preset human body detection reference time. Also, in the second embodiment, the bathing start determination unit may determine that the user has started bathing when the hot water output indicated by the hot water output information exceeds a preset reference hot water output.

[0094] In each embodiment, for example, if the cloud server is equipped with a lighting information acquisition unit that acquires lighting information including lighting state information indicating the on / off state of lighting fixtures installed in the bathroom, the notification unit may determine that bathing has ended when the lighting fixtures transition from a lighting state to an off state based on the lighting information.

[0095] In the second embodiment, an example has been described in which the biometric information includes information indicating the user's pulse rate, blood pressure, body temperature, and blood oxygen saturation level, but the type of biometric information is not limited to this. For example, the biometric information may include information indicating the user's body surface temperature or information indicating the user's operating status. Furthermore, in the second embodiment, an example has been described in which the biometric sensor 91 is a wearable terminal device worn on the user's body, but the type of biometric sensor is not limited to this. For example, the biometric sensor may be a non-contact sensor such as an infrared sensor, a millimeter wave sensor, or a laser sensor.

[0096] In each embodiment, an example has been described in which the cloud server 1, 2001 transmits bathing prompt information to the terminal device 6, but the destination of the bathing prompt information is not limited to the terminal device 6. For example, the cloud server 1, 2001 may transmit the information to the operating device 55 of the water heater 5 or a remote control device (not shown) installed in a room other than the bathroom, such as the kitchen or a living room. When the operating device 55 or the remote control device acquires the bathing prompt information, it may sound a buzzer to notify the user.

[0097] In each embodiment, an example has been described in which water heater 5 starts filling the bathtub with water when a user operates operating device 55 to start filling the bathtub with water, but the trigger for water heater 5 to start filling the bathtub with water is not limited to this. For example, when a user operates terminal device 6 to start filling the bathtub with water, terminal device 6 may send water filling start command information to water heater 5 via wide area network NW1, router 8, and local network NW2, and water heater 5 may start filling the bathtub with water when it receives the water filling start command information.

[0098] Furthermore, the various functions of the cloud servers 1, 2001, and 3001 according to the present disclosure can be realized using a normal computer system, rather than a dedicated system. For example, a program for executing the above operations may be stored on a non-transitory recording medium (such as a CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read Only Memory)) that can be read by the computer system and distributed to a computer connected to a network, and the program may be installed in the computer system to configure the cloud servers 1, 2001, and 3001 that execute the above processes.

[0099] The method of providing the program to the computer is arbitrary. For example, the program may be uploaded to a bulletin board system (BBS) on a communication line and distributed to the computer via the communication line. The computer then launches the program and executes it under the control of an operating system (OS) in the same way as other applications. In this way, the computer functions as a cloud server 1, 2001, or 3001 that executes the above-mentioned processes.

[0100] Although the embodiments and modifications of the present disclosure have been described above, the present disclosure is not limited to these. The present disclosure includes appropriate combinations of the embodiments and modifications, and appropriate modifications thereto. [Industrial Applicability]

[0101] The present disclosure is suitable as a bathing management system that manages the bathing status of bathroom users. [Explanation of symbols]

[0102] 1,2001,3001 Cloud server, 3,2003 Bathroom heating device, 5 Water heater, 6,3007 Terminal device, 8 Router, 31,51 Control unit, 32 Heater, 33 Blower fan, 34 Human presence sensor, 52 Drive unit, 53 Heat pump, 55 Operation device, 56 Hot water output sensor, 55 Operation device, 91 Biometric information sensor, 92 Management server, 101,601,701 CPU, 102,602,702 Main memory unit, 103,603,703 Auxiliary memory unit, 106,606,706 Wide area communication unit, 107 Timer unit, 109,609,709 Bath, 111 Bath filling notification acquisition unit, 112 Hot water output amount acquisition unit, 113,2113 Bath start determination unit, 114 Operation mode acquisition unit, 115, 2115 Bathing status determination unit, 116, 2116 Notification unit, 117 User presence determination unit, 118 Notification setting unit, 119, 2119 Setting information acquisition unit, 131 Determination reference time memory unit, 132 Bathing time memory unit, 133 Notification setting memory unit, 134 Operation mode memory unit, 604 Display unit, 605 Input unit, 607 Local communication unit, 608 Short-range wireless communication unit, 611, 711 Notification information acquisition unit, 612 Display control unit, 613 Reception unit, 614, 714 Setting information notification unit, 615 Connection status notification unit, 704 Speaker, 705 Microphone, 712 Audio output control unit, 713 Audio analysis unit, 731 Audio information memory unit, 2112 Human body detection information acquisition unit, 2120 Biometric information acquisition unit, 2121 biological activity status determination unit, 2122 bathing completion determination unit, 2135 bathing availability criteria storage unit, BU11, BU12, BU21, BU22, BU23 button images, GA11, GA12 bathing prompt screen, GA21, GA22 bathing unavailable notification screen, GA23 bathing completion request screen, M11, M12, M21, M22, M23 message images, NW1 wide area network, NW2 local network

Claims

1. a bathtub filling notification acquisition unit that acquires bathtub filling notification information that notifies the user that the amount of hot water in the bathtub has reached a preset target amount; a biometric information acquisition unit that, when the bath filling notification acquisition unit acquires the bath filling notification information, transmits to the biometric information sensor biometric information request information that requests the biometric information sensor to transmit biometric information indicating the user's bioactivity status, thereby acquiring the biometric information of the user generated by the biometric information sensor in accordance with the biometric information request information; a biological activity status determination unit that determines whether the user's biological activity status before bathing is such that bathing is not possible based on the biological information acquired by the biological information acquisition unit; and a notification unit that, when the vital activity status determination unit determines that the vital activity status of the user before bathing is such that bathing is not possible, transmits bathing impossibility notification information notifying the user that bathing is not possible to a terminal device carried by the user. Bathing management device.

2. the notification unit, when the vital activity status determination unit determines that the vital activity status of the user is such that bathing is not possible, transmits the bathing impossibility notification information to a plurality of terminal devices including the terminal device of the user. The bathing management device according to claim 1.

3. a bathing start determination unit that determines whether or not the user has started bathing; and a bathing status determination unit that determines whether or not a first duration of time during which the bathing start determination unit has not determined that the user has started bathing from the bath filling notification acquisition time when the bath filling notification acquisition unit acquires the bath filling notification information exceeds a first bathing determination reference time that has been set in advance. when the vital activity status determination unit determines that the vital activity status of the user is such that bathing is possible, the vital activity status determination unit sets an upper limit bathing time for the user based on the vital information; the bathing status determination unit determines whether or not the elapsed bathing time from the bathing start time determined by the bathing start determination unit that the user has started bathing has reached the upper bathing time limit; When the bathing status determination unit determines that the elapsed bathing time has reached the upper bathing time limit, the notification unit transmits bathing end request information requesting that the user end their bathing to a plurality of terminal devices including terminal devices other than the user. The bathing management device according to claim 1 or 2.

4. The bathing availability criteria storage unit further includes a bathing availability criteria storage unit that stores bathing availability criteria information indicating the bathing availability criteria for each of the plurality of users in association with the user identification information of each of the plurality of users; the biological activity status determination unit sets, from the bathing upper limit time information stored in the bathing permission criterion storage unit, bathing upper limit time information corresponding to user identification information of the user determined by the bathing start determination unit to have started bathing, the bathing status determination unit determines, based on the bathing upper limit time information set by the biological activity status determination unit, whether or not the bathing time elapsed from the bathing start time has reached the bathing upper limit time indicated by the set bathing upper limit time information. The bathing management device according to claim 3.

5. The biological information is information indicating at least one of the pulse rate of the user, the blood pressure of the user, the body temperature of the user, the body surface temperature of the user, the motion status of the user, and the blood oxygen saturation of the user. The bathing management device according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

6. The water heater further includes a hot water output amount acquisition unit that acquires hot water output amount information indicating the amount of hot water output into the bathroom by the hot water heater after the time when the hot water filling notification is acquired. The bathing start determination unit determines that the user has started bathing when the amount of hot water discharge indicated by the hot water discharge amount information becomes equal to or greater than a predetermined reference amount of hot water discharge after the time when the bath filling notification is obtained. The bathing management device according to claim 3.

7. a human body detection information acquisition unit that acquires, from a human body sensor that detects a human body present in the bathroom in which the bathtub is installed, human body detection information indicating that the human body has been detected by the human body sensor; The bathing start determination unit determines that the user has started bathing when a duration of a state in which a human body is detected by the human sensor exceeds a predetermined human body detection reference time based on the human body detection information. The bathing management device according to claim 3 or 6.

8. A terminal device owned by a user; a bathtub filling notification acquisition unit that acquires bathtub filling notification information that notifies the user that the amount of hot water in the bathtub has reached a preset target amount; a biometric information acquisition unit that, when the bath filling notification acquisition unit acquires the bath filling notification information, transmits to the biometric information sensor biometric information request information that requests the biometric information sensor to transmit biometric information indicating the user's bioactivity status, thereby acquiring the biometric information of the user generated by the biometric information sensor in accordance with the biometric information request information; a biological activity status determination unit that determines whether the user's biological activity status before bathing is such that bathing is not possible based on the biological information acquired by the biological information acquisition unit; and a notification unit that, when the vital activity status determination unit determines that the vital activity status of the user before bathing is such that bathing is not possible, transmits bathing impossibility notification information notifying the user that bathing is not possible to a terminal device carried by the user. Bathing management system.

9. A step in which the bathing management device acquires bath filling notification information notifying that the amount of hot water in the bathtub has reached a predetermined target amount of hot water; When the bathing management device acquires the bath filling notification information, it transmits to the biometric information sensor biometric information request information requesting the biometric information sensor to transmit biometric information indicating the user's bioactivity status, thereby acquiring the biometric information of the user generated by the biometric information sensor in response to the biometric information request information; a step in which the bathing management device determines whether the user's biological activity status before bathing is such that bathing is not possible based on the acquired biological information; and when the bathing management device determines that the user's biological activity status before bathing is such that bathing is not possible, transmitting bathing impossibility notification information notifying the user that bathing is not possible to a terminal device carried by the user. Bathing management method.

10. Computer, a bathtub filling notification acquisition unit that acquires bathtub filling notification information that notifies the user that the amount of hot water in the bathtub has reached a preset target amount; a biometric information acquisition unit that, when the bath filling notification acquisition unit acquires the bath filling notification information, transmits to the biometric information sensor biometric information request information that requests the biometric information sensor to transmit biometric information indicating the user's bioactivity status, thereby acquiring the biometric information of the user generated by the biometric information sensor in accordance with the biometric information request information; a biological activity status determination unit that determines whether the user's biological activity status before bathing is such that bathing is not possible based on the biological information acquired by the biological information acquisition unit; a notification unit that, when the vital activity status determination unit determines that the vital activity status of the user before bathing is such that bathing is not possible, transmits bathing impossibility notification information notifying that the user is not able to take a bath to a terminal device carried by the user; A program to function as a

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