Emergency notification device

Abstract

To enable a user to intuitively recognize an emergency call state.SOLUTION: An emergency call device 1 for issuing a call in an emergency includes: an operation button 10 incorporating a backlight 20 so as to display a symbol indicating an emergency call state by light of the backlight 20; an indicator 30 indicating a state of the emergency call device 1; and a control section 70 for turning on the backlight 20 when the operation button 10 is not operated, blinking the backlight 20 when the operation button 10 is operated, and turning on the indicator 30 when an abnormality occurs in the emergency call device 1.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an emergency notification device. [Background technology]

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art Emergency notification devices that are mounted on vehicles and that are used to make notifications in the event of an emergency have been known.

[0003] Patent Document 1 discloses a technology that has an emergency call button and an indicator, and controls the indicator so that it lights up continuously during normal times other than when an emergency call is being made, turns off when the emergency call button is pressed to make an emergency call, and flashes when an equipment abnormality occurs.The technology disclosed in Patent Document 1 also reduces the voltage output to the indicator lighting device in synchronization with the lighting of the sidelights, etc., and dims the lighting to solve the problem of it being too bright at night. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-250193 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1, whether an emergency call button has been pressed or whether an abnormality has occurred in the device is notified by the state of an indicator. As a result, it is difficult to know whether the notification by the indicator is related to an emergency call, and the emergency call is not visually and intuitively conveyed as a user interface.

[0006] As a result, when the indicator state changes, it is difficult for the user to understand what it is indicating, which may cause anxiety to the user or lead the user to mistakenly believe that an abnormality has occurred in the device.

[0007] The present invention has been made in consideration of the problems associated with the conventional technology as described above, and aims to provide an emergency call device that allows a user to intuitively recognize the status of an emergency call. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides: An emergency notification device for making a notification in an emergency, an operation button that has a built-in backlight and displays a symbol indicating an emergency call by illuminating the backlight; an indicator that indicates the state of the emergency notification device; The emergency notification device has a control unit that lights up the backlight when the operation button is not operated, blinks the backlight when the operation button is operated, and lights up the indicator when an abnormality occurs in the emergency notification device. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the present invention, the user can intuitively recognize the state of the emergency call. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of operation buttons and their surroundings according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 3] 4 is a flowchart illustrating a process at the time of an emergency call according to the present embodiment. [Figure 4] 10 is a flowchart illustrating a process when a failure occurs according to the present embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of operation buttons and their surroundings in a conventional emergency notification device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0012] <Configuration of emergency notification device> Fig. 1 is a functional block diagram according to an embodiment of the present invention, and Fig. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of operation buttons and their peripherals according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0013] As shown in FIG. 1, this embodiment is an emergency notification device 1 having an operation button 10, a backlight 20, an indicator 30, a fault occurrence determination unit 40, a communication unit 50, a memory unit 60, a control unit 70, and a power control unit 80.

[0014] The operation button 10 is provided, for example, on the front surface of the emergency notification device and is operated in an emergency. The operation button 10 may be, for example, a push button, and is operated by being pressed in an emergency. As shown in FIG. 2, the operation button 10 is provided with a transparent portion 12. The transparent portion 12 is transparent or translucent so that the internal light can be transmitted to the outside, while the other areas of the operation button 10 are colored so that the internal light cannot be transmitted to the outside. The transparent portion 12 is shaped like a symbol 11 that indicates an emergency call and is composed of the letters "SOS" and the shape of a telephone receiver. Note that the symbol 11 is not limited to that shown in FIG. 2, and any suitable symbol, such as letters, numbers, symbols, or figures, can be used as long as it indicates an emergency call.

[0015] The backlight 20 is configured by, for example, an LED or the like, and is built into the operation button 10. When the backlight 20 is turned on, it has an amount of light that allows the light from the light to pass through the transmission portion 12 to the outside of the operation button 10. The backlight 20 lights up or flashes under the control of the control unit 70.

[0016] 2, the indicator 30 is provided near the operation button 10. The indicator 30 has a built-in light source such as an LED, and is turned on under the control of the control unit .

[0017] The fault occurrence determination unit 40 determines whether or not an abnormality has occurred in the emergency notification device 1, and if an abnormality has occurred, notifies the control unit 70 to that effect.

[0018] When the operation button 10 is operated, the communication unit 50 makes an emergency call to a predetermined call destination or a call destination stored in the storage unit 60.

[0019] The storage unit 60 stores information used for emergency calls, such as the license plate number of the vehicle in which the emergency call device 1 is installed and the telephone number of the emergency call destination.

[0020] The power supply control unit 80 is connected to the battery of the vehicle in which the emergency notification device 1 is mounted, converts the power supplied from the vehicle battery into power for driving the emergency notification device 1, and supplies the power to the control unit 70.

[0021] The control unit 70 lights or blinks the backlight 20 and lights the indicator 30 using the power supplied from the power supply control unit 80. Specifically, the control unit 70 keeps the backlight 20 on at all times when the operation button 10 is not operated, and blinks the backlight 20 when the operation button 10 is operated. Furthermore, the control unit 70 lights the indicator 30 when notified by the failure occurrence determination unit 40 that an abnormality has occurred in the emergency notification device 1. Furthermore, the control unit 70 makes an emergency call via the communication unit 50 when the operation button 10 is operated.

[0022] <Emergency call operation> The operation of the emergency notification device 1 configured as above will be described below.

[0023] First, the operation at the time of emergency call will be described.

[0024] FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the process at the time of an emergency call according to this embodiment.

[0025] As an initial state, the control unit 70 turns on the backlight 20 when the operation button 10 is not being operated (step S1). When the backlight 20 is turned on, the light from the turned-on backlight 20 passes through the transparent portion 12 of the operation button 10, making the symbol 11 provided on the operation button 10 appear to be illuminated. In this way, the operation button 10 displays the symbol 11 by the light from the backlight 20. The backlight 20 may also be used as a nighttime illumination.

[0026] When the operation button 10 is operated to make an emergency call in the event of a traffic accident or sudden illness (step S2), the control unit 70 causes the backlight 20 to blink (step S3). When the backlight 20 is blinking, the blinking light passes through the transparent portion 12 of the operation button 10, and the symbol 11 provided on the operation button 10 appears to be blinking. This allows the user to intuitively recognize that the operation button 10 has been operated and an emergency call state is being made.

[0027] The control unit 70 also calls, for example, the telephone number of the emergency call destination stored in the storage unit 60, and notifies information such as the vehicle license plate number stored in the storage unit 60 via the communication unit 50 (step S4). If the vehicle equipped with the emergency call device 1 is equipped with a GPS device, it is also possible to notify the current location information of the vehicle acquired by the GPS device via the communication unit 50. Furthermore, if the vehicle equipped with the emergency call device 1 is equipped with a gyro sensor, it is also possible to notify the traveling direction and orientation of the vehicle detected by the gyro sensor together with the current location information of the vehicle via the communication unit 50.

[0028] Thereafter, when the emergency call is completed (step S5), the control unit 70 switches the lighting state of the backlight 20 from blinking to lighting (step S6).

[0029] <Operation when a failure occurs> Next, the operation when a failure occurs in the emergency notification device 1 will be described.

[0030] FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the processing when a failure occurs according to this embodiment.

[0031] The fault occurrence determination unit 40 constantly monitors the operation of the emergency notification device 1, determines whether an abnormality has occurred in the emergency notification device 1, and notifies the control unit 70 if an abnormality has occurred.

[0032] The control unit 70 does not light up the indicator 30 unless it receives a notification from the failure occurrence determination unit 40 that an abnormality has occurred in the emergency notification device 1. As a result, the indicator 30 remains off (step S11).

[0033] When an abnormality occurs in the emergency notification device 1 (step S12) and the fault occurrence determination unit 40 notifies the control unit 70 of this, the control unit 70 turns on the indicator 30 (step S13). This allows the user to recognize that an abnormality has occurred in the emergency notification device 1.

[0034] Thereafter, when the state of the emergency notification device 1 returns to normal (step S14) and the fault occurrence determination unit 40 no longer notifies the control unit 70 that an abnormality has occurred in the emergency notification device 1, the control unit 70 turns off the indicator 30 (step S15).

[0035] <Conventional emergency call device> FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of operation buttons and their surroundings in a conventional emergency notification device.

[0036] As shown in FIG. 5, this conventional example has an operation button 110 on which a symbol 111 indicating an emergency call is displayed, and indicators 130a and 130b provided near the operation button 110.

[0037] In the emergency notification device having the above configuration, the symbol 111 of the operation button 110 is always lit, also serving as a night light. Furthermore, the indicator 130a is also lit when the operation button 110 is not operated. When the operation button 110 is operated in an emergency, the indicator 130a flashes, thereby letting the user know that an emergency notification is being made. Furthermore, the indicator 130b is, for example, off when no abnormality has occurred in the emergency notification device, and lights up when an abnormality has occurred in the emergency notification device, thereby notifying the user that an abnormality has occurred in the emergency notification device.

[0038] In the emergency notification device of this example, the state of indicator 130a changes to let the user know that an emergency notification is occurring. Meanwhile, operation button 110 displays symbol 111 indicating an emergency notification, but the state of symbol 111 does not change even during an emergency notification. Therefore, even if the state of indicator 130a changes, it is difficult for the user to intuitively recognize that the change indicates the occurrence of an emergency notification. Furthermore, if the state of indicator 130a changes, there is a risk that the user may mistakenly recognize that an abnormality has occurred in the emergency notification device.

[0039] In contrast, in the emergency call device 1 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a symbol 11 consisting of the letters "SOS" indicating an emergency call and the shape of a telephone receiver is formed by a transparent portion 12 on an operation button 10 that is operated in an emergency. A backlight 20 built into the operation button 10 switches from a lit state to a flashing state when an emergency call is made, and the flashing of the backlight 20 is recognized as a flashing of the symbol 11 by the transparent portion 12. This allows the user to intuitively recognize the state of the emergency call and also prevents the user from misunderstanding the state. Furthermore, by using the operation button 10 that is operated in an emergency as a means for notifying the user of the state of the emergency call, an indicator for notifying the user of the state of the emergency call is not required, and the number of parts can be reduced.

[0040] In this embodiment, the symbol 11 is formed by the transparent portion 12 of the operation button 10, and the light of the backlight 20 passes through the transparent portion 12, causing the operation button 10 to display the symbol 11 with the light from the backlight 20. However, the operation button 10 may be configured to display the symbol 11 with the light from the backlight 20 by making the area of ​​the operation button 10 other than the symbol 11 transparent, or by making only the outline of the symbol 11 transparent.

[0041] Furthermore, by adopting the above-described configuration in other devices that have operation buttons with built-in backlights, the user can intuitively recognize that processing is in progress due to the operation of the operation button. [Explanation of symbols]

[0042] 10 Operation buttons 11 Symbols 12 Transparent part 20 Backlight 30 Indicators 40 Failure occurrence determination unit 50 Communications Department 60 Storage section 70 Control Unit 80 Power supply control unit

Claims

[Claim 1] An emergency notification device mounted on a vehicle for making a notification in an emergency, an operation button that has a built-in backlight and displays a symbol indicating an emergency call by illuminating the backlight; an indicator that indicates the state of the emergency notification device; an emergency notification device having a control unit that lights up the backlight when the operation button is not operated, so that the symbol appears to be lit, and blinks the backlight when the operation button is operated, so that the symbol appears to blink for the operated operation button, and lights up the indicator when an abnormality occurs in the emergency notification device.

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