Child monitoring device, control device, child monitoring system, and child monitoring method
The child monitoring device uses passage sensors with varying detection heights and a verification system to differentiate between children and adults, addressing privacy and false alarm issues, enabling accurate child monitoring.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- JP · JP
- Patent Type
- Patents
- Current Assignee / Owner
- LIXIL CORP
- Filing Date
- 2022-03-17
- Publication Date
- 2026-04-10
AI Technical Summary
Existing child monitoring devices using image sensors face privacy issues and limited installation locations, while devices using human presence sensors struggle to distinguish between children and adults, leading to false alarms.
A child monitoring device equipped with multiple passage sensors at the boundary between safe and dangerous zones, utilizing sensors with different detection line heights to differentiate between children and adults, and an alarm system to notify intrusion into dangerous zones, along with a monitoring unit to verify the detection signals.
Accurately monitors children's movements while avoiding privacy concerns and reducing false alarms by distinguishing between children and adults, ensuring timely notification of potential hazards.
Smart Images
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Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This disclosure relates to a child monitoring device , control device, child monitoring system and child monitoring method and is concerned with it.
Background Art
[0002] Monitoring devices using image sensors or human presence sensors are known. As an example, Patent Document 1 discloses a monitoring device using an image sensor.
Prior Art Documents
Patent Documents
[0003]
Patent Document 1
Summary of the Invention
Problems to be Solved by the Invention
[0004] In a monitoring device using an image sensor, there are privacy issues and the installation locations are limited. In a monitoring device using a human presence sensor, it is impossible to distinguish between a child and an adult, and there is a risk of false alarms.
[0005] This disclosure has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a child monitoring device capable of accurately monitoring a child while avoiding privacy problems.
Means for Solving the Problems
[0006] One aspect of this disclosure includes a plurality of passage sensors provided at the boundary between a safe zone and a dangerous zone, a monitoring unit that determines whether a child has passed through the boundary based on the detection signals of the passage sensors, and an alarm signal input from the monitoring unit. A notification unit that notifies the intrusion of the child into the dangerous zone based on the above The boundary is provided with an opening / closing door, and the opening / closing door is provided with an opening / closing sensor. The monitoring unit determines the passage of the child based on the detection signal from the passage sensor and at least the detection signal from the opening / closing sensor. is a child monitoring device.
Brief Description of the Drawings
[0007] [Figure 1] This is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of child monitoring device A. [Figure 2] This is a schematic diagram showing the arrangement of the passage sensors. [Figure 3] This is a flowchart showing the operation of child monitoring device A. [Modes for carrying out the invention]
[0008] As shown in Figure 1, the child monitoring device A according to this embodiment is a device that monitors a child's intrusion from a safe zone R1 into a dangerous zone R2. The safe zone R1 is a space where a child can spend time in a relatively safe environment, such as a room in an apartment building.
[0009] In contrast, while hazard zone R2 is adjacent to safe zone R1, it is a space that requires caution as it is less safe for children than safe zone R1. Hazard zone R2 is, for example, the balcony of an apartment building, a space where safety cannot be guaranteed if a child enters.
[0010] A door G is provided at the boundary between safe zone R1 and dangerous zone R2. Door G is a retractable partition that separates safe zone R1 and dangerous zone R2, and is normally closed. When door G is closed, children in safe zone R1 cannot easily enter dangerous zone R2.
[0011] As shown in Figure 1, the child monitoring device A comprises a small passage sensor 1, a large passage sensor 2, an opening / closing sensor 3, a human presence sensor 4, a monitoring unit 5, a notification unit 6, and a passage sensor 7 as its components. Of these components, the small passage sensor 1 and the large passage sensor 2 correspond to multiple passage sensors in this disclosure.
[0012] The small passage sensor 1 is installed at the boundary between the safe zone R1 and the dangerous zone R2, and is a detector that detects children and adults passing through the boundary between the safe zone R1 and the dangerous zone R2. The small passage sensor 1 is a reflective light sensor that detects children and adults by emitting detection light, such as infrared light, along the boundary and detecting the reflected light of the detection light.
[0013] As shown in Figure 2, the detection line of the child passage sensor 1 is set to the left and right (horizontal) direction of the boundary between the safe zone R1 and the dangerous zone R2. As shown in the figure, the height H1 of the detection line of the child passage sensor 1, relative to the floor surface of the boundary between the safe zone R1 and the dangerous zone R2, is set lower than the height H2 (head position) of a child.
[0014] The small passage sensor 1 can detect children and adults passing through the boundary because the height H1 of the detection line is set lower than the height H2 of a child. When the small passage sensor 1 detects a child or adult, it outputs a detection signal (first passage signal) to the monitoring unit 5. The first passage signal is an electrical signal indicating that a child or adult has passed through the boundary between the safe zone R1 and the dangerous zone R2.
[0015] Large Passage Sensor 2, like Small Passage Sensor 1, is installed at the boundary between safe zone R1 and dangerous zone R2, and is a detector that detects only adults passing through the boundary between safe zone R1 and dangerous zone R2. Large Passage Sensor 2 is a reflective light sensor that detects only adults by emitting detection light, such as infrared light, along the boundary and detecting the reflected light of the detection light.
[0016] As shown in Figure 2, the detection line of the large passage sensor 2 is set horizontally (left-right) along the boundary between the safe zone R1 and the dangerous zone R2, similar to the small passage sensor 1. As shown in the figure, the height H3 of the detection line of the large passage sensor 2, relative to the floor surface of the boundary, is set lower than the height of an adult H3 and higher than the height of a child H2.
[0017] Since the height H3 of the detection line of the large passage sensor 2 is set to be lower than the height H4 of an adult and higher than the height H2 of a child, only adults passing through the boundary are detected. When the large passage sensor 2 detects an adult, it outputs a detection signal (second passage signal) to the monitoring unit 5. The second passage signal is an electrical signal indicating that an adult has passed through the boundary between the safe zone R1 and the dangerous zone R2.
[0018] The opening / closing sensor 3 is a detector that detects the opening and closing of the opening / closing door G. When the opening / closing sensor 3 detects the opening and closing of the opening / closing door G, it outputs a detection signal (opening / closing signal) to the monitoring unit 5. The opening / closing signal is an electrical signal indicating the opening and closing state of the opening / closing door G. The opening / closing sensor 3 can be either a contact sensor or a non-contact sensor, and either a contact sensor or a non-contact sensor is adopted in consideration of the structure of the opening / closing door G, etc.
[0019] The human presence sensor 4 is provided in the dangerous zone R2 and is a detector that detects people (adults and children) present in the dangerous zone R2. More preferably, the human presence sensor 4 is provided in the vicinity of the opening / closing door G in the dangerous zone R2. The human presence sensor 4 is, for example, an infrared sensor that detects infrared rays radiated from the human body.
[0020] When the human presence sensor 4 detects a person (adult and child), it outputs a detection signal (human presence signal) to the monitoring unit 5. The human presence signal is an electrical signal indicating that there are people (adults and children) in the dangerous zone R2.
[0021] Based on the detection signal (first passage signal) of the small passage sensor 1, the detection signal (second passage signal) of the large passage sensor 2, the detection signal (human presence signal) of the human presence sensor 4, and the detection signal (opening / closing signal) of the opening / closing sensor 3, the monitoring unit 5 determines whether a child has passed through the boundary between the safe zone R1 and the dangerous zone R2.
[0022] As will be described in detail later, the monitoring unit 5 initially determines (initial determination) whether a person passing through the boundary between the safe zone R1 and the danger zone R2 is an adult or a child by using the detection signal (first passing signal) of the small passage sensor 1 and the detection signal (second passing signal) of the large passage sensor 2.
[0023] The detection signal (opening / closing signal) of the opening / closing sensor 3 and the detection signal (human presence signal) of the human presence sensor 4 are used to verify the initial determination. The monitoring unit 5 uses the detection signal (human presence signal) of the human presence sensor 4 and the detection signal (opening / closing signal) of the opening / closing sensor 3 to confirm the reliability of the initial determination, and when it determines that a child has passed, it outputs an alarm signal to the notification unit 6.
[0024] The notification unit 6 is provided in the safe zone R1 or the danger zone R2 or both the safe zone R1 and the danger zone R2. The notification unit 6 notifies the intrusion of a child into the danger zone R2 from the safe zone R1 in the safe zone R1 or the danger zone R2 or both the safe zone R1 and the danger zone R2 based on the alarm signal input from the monitoring unit 5.
[0025] The notification unit 6 notifies the surroundings that a child has intruded from the safe zone R1 into the danger zone R2 by using, for example, an alarm sound or an alarm light or both an alarm sound and an alarm light. When a child intrudes from the safe zone R1 into the danger zone R2, an alarm sound or an alarm light or both an alarm sound and an alarm light are generated from the notification unit 6.
[0026] For example, the notification unit 6 is a speaker that emits an alarm sound to the surroundings or a light emitter that emits an alarm light to the surroundings. The notification unit 6 notifies the safe zone R1 or the danger zone R2 or both the safe zone R1 and the danger zone R2 of the intrusion of a child into the danger zone R2 both audibly and visually.
[0027] The passage sensor 7 is installed at the boundary between the safe zone R1 and the dangerous zone R2, and is a detector that detects children and adults passing through the boundary between the safe zone R1 and the dangerous zone R2. Similar to the small passage sensor 1, the passage sensor 7 is set to a detection line height H1 relative to the floor surface at the boundary between the safe zone R1 and the dangerous zone R2. When the passage sensor 7 detects children and adults, it outputs a detection signal (third passage signal) to the monitoring unit 5.
[0028] The operation of the child monitoring device A according to this embodiment will be explained in detail with reference to the flowchart in Figure 3.
[0029] The monitoring unit 5 determines whether the small passage sensor 1 has detected the passage of an adult or a child based on the first passage signal (step S1). As shown in Figure 2, the height H1 of the detection line of the small passage sensor 1 is set lower than the height H2 of a child, so it is not possible to determine whether the passage is that of an adult or a child based solely on the passage detection by the small passage sensor 1.
[0030] The monitoring unit 5 then determines whether the large passage sensor 2 has detected the passage of an adult based on the second passage signal (step S2). As shown in Figure 2, the small passage sensor 1 has a detection line height H3 that is lower than the height of an adult H4 and higher than the height of a child H2, so it detects that an adult has passed the boundary between the safe zone R1 and the dangerous zone R2.
[0031] As a result of the decision processing in steps S1 and S2, the monitoring unit 5 detects that a child has passed the boundary between the safe zone R1 and the dangerous zone R2 (step S3). If the decision in step S1 is "Yes" and the decision in step S2 is "Yes", the monitoring unit 5 can determine that the passage detected by the child passage sensor 1 is that of a child and not an adult (initial determination).
[0032] If the judgment in step S1 is "Yes" and the judgment in step S2 is "No", then it can be determined that a person has passed the boundary between safe zone R1 and dangerous zone R2, but it cannot be determined whether it was an adult or a child. In this case, the monitoring unit 5 returns to step S1 instead of step S3.
[0033] This embodiment uses a small-passage sensor 1 and a large-passage sensor 2 with different detection line heights to determine whether a person passing through the boundary between a safe zone R1 and a dangerous zone R2 is a child or an adult.
[0034] If the determination in step S1 is "No" and the determination in step S2 is "No", then no passage of people at the boundary between safe zone R1 and dangerous zone R2 has been detected, and the monitoring unit 5 returns to step S1.
[0035] The decision-making processes in steps S4 to S6 verify the determination (initial determination) made in step S3 regarding the child's passage. The monitoring unit 5 determines whether or not a child has passed based on the third passage signal (step S4). If the initial determination in step S3 is correct, the child will have passed the boundary between the safe zone R1 and the dangerous zone R2, and the passage sensor 7 should detect the child's passage.
[0036] If the judgment in step S4 is "Yes", the monitoring unit 5 has completed the verification of the initial judgment in step S3 and notifies the surroundings that the child has crossed the boundary between safe zone R1 and dangerous zone R2 (step S7). People (adults) in the surroundings take action to ensure the safety of the child who has entered dangerous zone R2.
[0037] If the determination in step S4 is "No", the monitoring unit 5 determines whether or not the opening of the door G has been detected based on the opening / closing signal (step S5). If the initial determination in step S3 is correct, the child should open the closed door G when passing the boundary between the safe zone R1 and the dangerous zone R2, and the opening of the door G should be detected by the opening / closing sensor 3.
[0038] When a child passes the boundary between safe zone R1 and dangerous zone R2, the closed door G will always open. Therefore, if the initial determination in step S3 is correct, the determination in step S5 will be "Yes". The determination process in step S5 verifies the initial determination in step S3 based on the detection result of the open / close sensor 3.
[0039] If the determination in step S5 is "Yes", the monitoring unit 5 notifies the surroundings that a child has crossed the boundary between safe zone R1 and dangerous zone R2 (step S7). If the determination in step S5 is "No", the monitoring unit 5 determines whether or not a person has been detected in dangerous zone R2 based on the motion signal (step S6). If the initial determination is correct, a child who has crossed the boundary between safe zone R1 and dangerous zone R2 should be detected by the motion sensor 4, and the determination in step S6 should be "Yes".
[0040] If the judgment in step S6 is "Yes", the monitoring unit 5 has completed the verification of the initial judgment in step S3 and notifies the surroundings that a child has crossed the boundary between safe zone R1 and dangerous zone R2 (step S7). If the motion sensor 4 does not detect a person (child) in dangerous zone R2, the judgment in step S6 will be "No". If the judgment in step S6 is "No", the reliability of the initial judgment is denied, and the process executed by the monitoring unit 5 returns to step S1. The judgment process in step S6 verifies the initial judgment in step S3 based on the detection result of the motion sensor 4.
[0041] Since the motion sensor 4 is installed near the opening / closing door G in the danger zone R2, it can detect a child who has entered the danger zone R2 by passing through the opening / closing door G relatively early. If the motion sensor 4 were installed in a location far from the opening / closing door G, there is a concern that early detection of a child may not be possible.
[0042] In this embodiment, since the motion sensor 4 is installed near the opening and closing door G, children in the danger zone R2 can be detected more reliably and early. According to this embodiment, notification in step S7 can be given earlier.
[0043] According to this embodiment, by using a small passage sensor 1 and a large passage sensor 2 with different detection line heights, it is possible to determine whether the person passing through the boundary between the safe zone R1 and the dangerous zone R2 is a child rather than an adult, thus enabling accurate monitoring of children while avoiding privacy issues. According to this embodiment, it is possible to provide a child monitoring device A that can accurately monitor children while avoiding privacy issues.
[0044] According to this embodiment, the initial determination in step S3 is verified by the verification process in steps S4 to S6, making it possible to more reliably determine if a child has entered the danger zone R2. For example, if an incorrect initial determination is made due to a malfunction of the small passage sensor 1 or the large passage sensor 2, this embodiment makes it possible to avoid incorrect notification by the notification unit 6.
[0045] This disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications are possible.
[0046] (1) In this embodiment, a case in which a small passage sensor 1 and a large passage sensor 2 (two passage sensors) with different detection line heights are used has been described, but the multiple passage sensors in this disclosure are not limited to two passage sensors. Three or more passage sensors with different detection line heights may be used to initially determine whether a child is passing through the boundary between a safe zone R1 and a dangerous zone R2.
[0047] (2) In this embodiment, as shown in Figure 2, a small passage sensor 1 and a large passage sensor 2 (two passage sensors) are provided so that the detection line is in the left-right direction (horizontal direction) of the boundary between the safe zone R1 and the dangerous zone R2, but the disclosure is not limited thereto.
[0048] For example, multiple passage sensors, with detection lines set in the vertical direction above the boundary, may be placed along the boundary and above the boundary at predetermined intervals. By employing reflective light sensors as passage sensors, the distance to a person's head passing below can be detected, making it possible to accurately detect a child passing at the boundary between safe zone R1 and dangerous zone R2.
[0049] (3) In this embodiment, the initial determination in step S3 was verified by providing an open / close sensor 3 and a motion sensor 4, but this disclosure is not limited thereto. The verification process of the initial determination using the detection signal (open / close signal) of the open / close sensor 3 and the detection signal of the motion sensor 4 in the monitoring unit 5 (steps S4 to S6) may be omitted if necessary.
[0050] The initial judgment verification process (steps S4-S6) can be omitted in several ways, including omitting all of steps S4-S6 or omitting one or two of them. For example, the initial judgment verification process using the detection signal (third passing signal) of the passage sensor 7 (step S4), the initial judgment verification process using the detection signal (open / close signal) of the open / close sensor 3 (step S5), or the initial judgment verification process using the detection signal of the motion sensor 4 (step S6) may be omitted.
[0051] (4) The notification unit of this disclosure is not limited to those that use an alarm sound or an alarm light or both an alarm sound and an alarm light. When notifying a child that has entered a dangerous area R2, outside the range of the alarm sound and alarm light, a communication device may be used as the notification unit.
[0052] For example, by making the notification unit a communication device capable of communicating with a home network or mobile phone line, it is possible to notify the outside world via communication that the child has entered dangerous zone R2. Conventional mobile phones and smartphones could be used as communication devices. [Explanation of symbols]
[0053] A...Child monitoring device, G...Open / close door, R1...Safe zone, R2...Danger zone, 1...Small passage sensor, 2...Large passage sensor, 3...Open / close sensor, 4...Motion sensor, 5...Monitoring unit, 6...Notification unit, 7...Passage sensor
Claims
1. A plurality of passage sensors provided at the boundary between a safe zone and a dangerous zone, A monitoring unit that determines whether or not a child has crossed the boundary based on the detection signal from the passage sensor, The system includes a notification unit that notifies the child of entering the danger zone based on an alarm signal input from the monitoring unit, The aforementioned boundary is provided with an opening and closing door. The aforementioned door is equipped with an opening / closing sensor. The monitoring unit determines the passage of the child based on the detection signal from the passage sensor and at least the detection signal from the opening / closing sensor. Child monitoring device.
2. A plurality of passage sensors provided at the boundary between a safe zone and a dangerous zone, A monitoring unit that determines whether or not a child has crossed the boundary based on the detection signal from the passage sensor, The system includes a notification unit that notifies the child of entering the danger zone based on an alarm signal input from the monitoring unit, Motion sensors are installed in the aforementioned dangerous area. The monitoring unit determines the passage of the child based on the detection signal from the passage sensor and the detection signal from the human presence sensor. Child monitoring device.
3. The aforementioned passage sensor is The aforementioned small passage sensor detects the passage of children and adults, The system includes a large passage sensor that detects the passage of only adults. The child monitoring device according to claim 1 or 2.
4. A monitoring unit that determines whether a child has crossed the boundary based on detection signals from a plurality of passage sensors installed at the boundary between a safe zone and a dangerous zone, The system includes a notification unit that notifies the child of entering the danger zone based on an alarm signal input from the monitoring unit, The aforementioned boundary is provided with an opening and closing door. The aforementioned door is equipped with an opening / closing sensor. The monitoring unit determines the passage of the child based on the detection signal from the passage sensor and at least the detection signal from the opening / closing sensor. Control device.
5. A monitoring unit that determines whether a child has crossed the boundary based on detection signals from a plurality of passage sensors installed at the boundary between a safe zone and a dangerous zone, The system includes a notification unit that notifies the child of entering the danger zone based on an alarm signal input from the monitoring unit, Motion sensors are installed in the aforementioned dangerous area. The monitoring unit determines the passage of the child based on the detection signal from the passage sensor and the detection signal from the human presence sensor. Control device.
6. A plurality of passage sensors provided at the boundary between a safe zone and a dangerous zone, A child monitoring device having a monitoring unit that determines whether or not a child has crossed the boundary based on the detection signal of the passage sensor, It comprises a notification unit provided in a terminal that can communicate with the monitoring unit via a network, The notification unit notifies the child of entering the danger zone based on an alarm signal received from the monitoring unit via the network. The aforementioned boundary is provided with an opening and closing door. The aforementioned door is equipped with an opening / closing sensor. The monitoring unit determines the passage of the child based on the detection signal from the passage sensor and at least the detection signal from the opening / closing sensor. Child monitoring system.
7. A plurality of passage sensors provided at the boundary between a safe zone and a dangerous zone, A child monitoring device having a monitoring unit that determines whether or not a child has crossed the boundary based on the detection signal of the passage sensor, It comprises a notification unit provided in a terminal that can communicate with the monitoring unit via a network, The notification unit notifies the child of entering the danger zone based on an alarm signal received from the monitoring unit via the network. Motion sensors are installed in the aforementioned dangerous area. The monitoring unit determines the passage of the child based on the detection signal from the passage sensor and the detection signal from the human presence sensor. Child monitoring system.
8. A first determination step of determining whether or not a child has crossed the boundary based on detection signals from a plurality of passage sensors installed at the boundary between a safe zone and a dangerous zone, If the first determination step determines that the child has entered the danger zone, a second determination step determines whether or not the child has passed the boundary based on the detection signal from an opening / closing sensor installed on the opening / closing door located at the boundary, If the second determination step determines that the child has entered the danger zone, the system includes a notification step that notifies the outside of the child's intrusion into the danger zone. Methods for supervising children.
9. A first determination step of determining whether or not a child has crossed the boundary based on detection signals from a plurality of passage sensors installed at the boundary between a safe zone and a dangerous zone, If the first determination step determines that the child has entered the danger zone, a second determination step determines whether or not the child has crossed the boundary based on the detection signal from a motion sensor installed in the danger zone. If the second determination step determines that the child has entered the danger zone, the system includes a notification step that notifies the outside of the child's intrusion into the danger zone. Methods for supervising children.
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