Safety confirmation system

Abstract

This technology provides a way to appropriately determine whether a user staying in a location where information identifying administrative boundaries such as addresses is not available should be included in safety checks. [Solution] In the safety confirmation system, the storage unit stores area information that includes first area identification information for the first administrative area to which each of the multiple first areas, which are parts of a predetermined map, belongs, and second area identification information for the second administrative area to which each of the multiple second areas, which include the multiple first areas, belongs. The acquisition unit acquires a disaster occurrence notification and acquires the location information of the user's terminal. The identification unit identifies the second area identification information of the second area, which includes the first area, from the area information if the first area identification information of the first area corresponding to the location information is not included in the area information. The determination unit determines whether the user is in the disaster area based on the disaster occurrence notification and the identified second area identification information. The setting unit sets whether the user is a target for safety confirmation based on the determination result.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a safety confirmation system.

Background Art

[0002] There is known a safety confirmation system that can quickly confirm the safety of employees and family members in the event of a disaster. In a conventional safety confirmation system, safety confirmation targets are determined by comparing areas such as places of residence and workplaces registered in a database in advance with the disaster occurrence area. Further, Patent Document 1 describes a technique for performing safety confirmation including users temporarily staying in an area affected by a disaster.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] By the way, in order to determine whether a user is a safety confirmation target staying in the target area for safety confirmation, it has been considered to utilize the list of mesh codes by municipality provided by the Statistics Bureau of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. In this list of mesh codes by municipality, the address code of each municipality is associated with the reference area mesh code. By using the list of mesh codes by municipality, for example, by specifying the reference area mesh code from the position information (latitude and longitude) of a smartphone or the like carried by the user, the address of the user's current location can be specified, and it can be determined whether the user is staying in the target area for safety confirmation. However, in the event of a disaster, there may be a case where a user stays in a section of a reference area mesh code where no address is set, such as in the sea area. In such a case, the address of the user's current location cannot be specified, and it cannot be determined whether the user is a safety confirmation target.

[0005] This invention provides a technology that can appropriately determine whether a user staying in a location where information identifying an administrative area, such as an address, is not provided should be included in a safety check. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The safety confirmation system according to the present invention includes a storage unit that stores section information including first section identification information for a first administrative area to which each of a plurality of first sections obtained by dividing a predetermined map belongs, and second section identification information for a second administrative area to which each of a plurality of second sections, which include a plurality of the first sections and are larger than each of the first sections, belongs; an acquisition unit that acquires a disaster occurrence notification including information on the affected area and acquires location information indicating the current location of the user's terminal; an identification unit that identifies the first section identification information of the first section corresponding to the location information based on the section information; a determination unit that determines whether the user is in the affected area based on the disaster occurrence notification and the identified first section identification information; and a setting unit that sets whether the user is a target for safety confirmation based on the determination result by the determination unit. The identification unit identifies the second section identification information of the second section including the first section from the section information if the first section identification information of the first section corresponding to the location information is not included in the section information, and the determination unit makes the determination based on the disaster occurrence notification and the identified second section identification information.

[0007] The aforementioned first section is a section to which an address has been set, the first section identification information of the first section is an address code indicating the address corresponding to the first section, and the second section identification information of the second section may include the address code corresponding to the first section included in the second section.

[0008] The first section may be a section indicated by a tertiary mesh code, and the second section may be a section indicated by a primary mesh code.

[0009] The safety confirmation system further includes a display unit that displays the safety confirmation targets set in the setting unit, the determination result includes determination information indicating whether the determination is based on the first area identification information or the second area identification information, the setting unit is configured to distinguish between the safety confirmation targets determined based on the first area identification information and the safety confirmation targets determined based on the second area identification information based on the determination information included in the determination result, and the display unit may display the safety confirmation targets based on the first area identification information and the safety confirmation targets based on the second area identification information in different manners. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] According to the present invention, it is possible to appropriately determine whether a user staying in a location where information identifying an administrative area, such as an address, is not provided should be included in the safety check. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0011] [Figure 1] This figure shows an example configuration of the safety confirmation system according to the embodiment. [Figure 2] This figure shows an example of the configuration of the central unit. [Figure 3] This figure shows an example of a safety confirmation database. [Figure 4] This diagram shows an example of a user terminal configuration. [Figure 5] This diagram shows an example configuration of an area identification device. [Figure 6A] This figure shows an example of mesh definition information. [Figure 6B] This figure shows an example of area definition information. [Figure 7] This is a flowchart illustrating an example of how the safety confirmation system works. [Figure 8] This is a schematic diagram showing an example of a safety confirmation screen. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0012] Figure 1 shows an example of the configuration of the safety confirmation system 1 according to an embodiment. The safety confirmation system 1 is a system that confirms the safety of users in the event of a disaster. The safety confirmation system 1 can be provided to organizations such as companies as a service for confirming the safety of employees belonging to the organization.

[0013] The safety confirmation system 1 comprises a server 10, a central device 20, multiple user terminals 30, an area identification device 40, and multiple administrator terminals 50. The server 10 and the central device 20 are connected via an internal line, such as a dedicated line. The central device 20, user terminals 30, area identification device 40, and administrator terminals 50 are connected via an external line, such as an internet line or a mobile communication network. Note that the number of user terminals 30 and administrator terminals 50 shown in Figure 1 is just an example; there may be four or more user terminals 30, and there may be at least one administrator terminal 50. A detailed explanation follows below.

[0014] (Server 10) Server 10 is operated and managed by the Japan Meteorological Agency. When a disaster occurs, Server 10 distributes a telegram to the central device 20 corresponding to the disaster information announced by the Japan Meteorological Agency. In this embodiment, an earthquake is used as an example of a disaster. In the case of an earthquake, the telegram includes earthquake information. Earthquake information is highly accurate information that is announced approximately 5 minutes after the earthquake occurs. Earthquake information includes information such as the telegram ID, the time of the earthquake, the area where the earthquake occurred (affected area), and the name of the epicenter. Note that the disaster is not limited to earthquakes, but can be any kind of damage to human society or to people, such as tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, heavy rain, typhoons, or missile attacks.

[0015] (Administrator terminal 50) The administrator terminal 50 is used by administrators of organizations such as companies to view various pieces of information regarding safety confirmation provided by the center device 20. The administrator is in charge of the safety management of employees during disasters. The administrator terminal 50 is a device that has a display and is equipped with email software and a web browser, such as a smartphone, a tablet terminal, and a notebook computer. The administrator terminal 50 receives various notifications regarding safety confirmation from the center device 20 via email, or displays a web page regarding safety confirmation provided by the center device 20 using a web browser.

[0016] (Center device 20) The center device 20 is operated and managed by an operator who provides a safety confirmation service. The center device 20 provides various notifications regarding safety confirmation based on the telegrams distributed from the server 10. The center device 20 may be, for example, a cloud server or an on-premises server. Hereinafter, the configuration of the center device 20 will be specifically described using FIG. 2.

[0017] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the center device 20. The center device 20 includes a control unit 200, a storage unit 2*1*, a communication unit 202, an input unit 203, and a display unit 204.

[0018] The storage unit 201 includes non-volatile memories such as a hard disk and an SSD (Solid State Drive). The storage unit 201 stores in advance various data such as a user database (not shown), a disaster code indicating the type of disaster (not shown), an area code table (not shown), a safety confirmation database, and a control program related to the safety confirmation service.

[0019] In the user database (not shown), for example, information such as a user code for identifying a user, a user name, the user's place of residence, place of work, and email address for safety confirmation is stored in association with each user.

[0020] The area code table (not shown in the diagram) stores area codes defined for each prefecture within Japan.

[0021] Figure 3 shows an example of a safety confirmation database. The safety confirmation database stores information indicating the safety status of all users in the event of a disaster. As shown in Figure 3, the safety confirmation database associates data such as "user code," "user name," "safety target flag," "response status," "response date and time," and "ability to come to work" for each user. The "safety target flag" indicates whether or not the user is subject to safety confirmation; it is set to "1" if the user is subject to safety confirmation, and to "0" if the user is not. In other words, the safety target flag is information indicating whether or not the user is subject to safety confirmation. "Reply status" indicates whether or not there has been a response from a user staying in the disaster area; it is set to "Yes" if the user has responded, and to "No" if the user has not responded. "Reply date and time" stores the date and time of the user's response. "Ability to come to work" is set based on the user's response; for example, it is set to "Yes" if the user can come to work, and "No" if the user cannot.

[0022] The communication unit 202 includes a communication interface for communicating with the server 10 via an internal line and a communication interface for communicating with the user terminal 30 and the administrator terminal 50 via an external line. The communication unit 202 communicates with the server 10, the user terminal 30 and the administrator terminal 50 under the control of the control unit 200.

[0023] The input unit 203 includes, for example, an input device such as a mouse and a keyboard. The input unit 203 outputs information indicating an input operation via the input device to the control unit 200.

[0024] The display unit 204 includes, for example, a liquid crystal display and displays various information under the control of the control unit 200. The display unit 204 may also be provided in an external device connected to the central unit 20.

[0025] The control unit 200 includes, for example, a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and memory such as ROM (Read Only Memory) and RAM (Random Access Memory). The control unit 200 performs safety confirmation processing by controlling each unit connected to the control unit 200 through the execution of a control program stored in the storage unit 201 by the processor. In this embodiment, the control unit 200 is an example of a setting unit.

[0026] Specifically, the control unit 200 obtains a message from the server 10 via the communication unit 202 and performs safety confirmation processing for users stored in the user database based on the earthquake information contained in the obtained message. Since earthquake information may be false alarms or corrected later, the safety confirmation processing may be initiated based on an operation by a monitor operating the center device 20 via the input unit 203 after the earthquake information has been confirmed by the monitor.

[0027] The control unit 200 performs a first safety confirmation process for users stored in the user database whose place of residence or workplace is located in the disaster-stricken area included in the earthquake information (hereinafter referred to as the first user), and a second safety confirmation process for users whose place of residence or workplace is not located in the disaster-stricken area included in the earthquake information (hereinafter referred to as the second user).

[0028] In the first safety confirmation process, the control unit 200 sends a safety confirmation email via the communication unit 202 to the first user's safety confirmation email address stored in the user database (not shown) of the storage unit 201. The safety confirmation email includes, for example, a disaster code, a user code, a user name, and an input form for the user to enter information such as their safety status. The control unit 200 receives a reply email (response) to the safety confirmation email via the communication unit 202 and updates the safety confirmation database (Figure 3) in the storage unit 201 based on the reply email. Note that the reply from the user is not limited to using email, but may also be a reply using an application program or web browser, or a reply by telephone.

[0029] In the second safety confirmation process, the control unit 200 sends a disaster notification (an example of a disaster occurrence notification) via the communication unit 202 to the user terminal 30 of a second user whose place of residence or workplace is not included in the disaster area included in the earthquake information. The disaster notification includes the user code of the second user, the disaster code, and the area code corresponding to the disaster area, which are stored in the user database (not shown) in the storage unit 201, and is sent to the user terminal 30 of the second user by push notification. In addition, in the second safety confirmation process, the control unit 200 receives disaster area stay information indicating whether or not the second user is in the disaster area, and the safety information of the second user, from the user terminal 30 of the second user via the communication unit 202, and updates the safety confirmation database (Figure 3) in the storage unit 201 based on the received disaster area stay information and safety information.

[0030] Furthermore, after updating the safety confirmation database, the control unit 200 sends an update notification to the administrator terminal 50 via the communication unit 202, and accepts access to the safety confirmation database (Figure 3) in response to a request from the administrator terminal 50.

[0031] (User terminal 30) Figure 4 shows an example configuration of a user terminal 30. The user terminal 30 is an information terminal such as a smartphone, tablet, or laptop computer. As shown in Figure 4, the user terminal 30 comprises a control unit 300, a storage unit 301, a communication unit 302, an input unit 303, a display unit 304, and a positioning unit 305. In this embodiment, the control unit 300 and the positioning unit 305 are examples of an acquisition unit and a determination unit.

[0032] The storage unit 301 includes non-volatile memory such as flash memory or a hard disk. The storage unit 301 stores various data such as application programs like the safety confirmation service application, email, and web browser, as well as user codes of users used in the safety confirmation service application.

[0033] The communication unit 302 includes a communication interface that communicates with the central device 20 and the area identification device 40 via an external line. The communication unit 302 communicates with the central device 20 and the area identification device 40 under the control of the control unit 300.

[0034] The input unit 303 includes an input device that accepts user input, such as a touch panel, stylus, mouse, or keyboard. The input unit 303 outputs information indicating the input operation via the input device to the control unit 300.

[0035] The display unit 304 includes a display. Under the control of the control unit 300, the display unit 304 displays various images such as emails and web browser screens.

[0036] The positioning unit 305 includes a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver. Under the control of the control unit 300, the positioning unit 305 acquires location information of the current location and outputs the acquired location information to the control unit 300.

[0037] The control unit 300 includes, for example, a processor such as a CPU and memory such as ROM and RAM. The control unit 300 controls each part connected to the control unit 300 by having the processor execute a control program stored in ROM, and performs the following processing. Specifically, the control unit 300 of the first user's terminal 30 (hereinafter referred to as the first user terminal 30) performs the first safety information transmission processing, and the control unit 300 of the second user's terminal 30 (hereinafter referred to as the second user terminal 30) performs the disaster area stay information transmission processing and the second safety information transmission processing.

[0038] The first safety information transmission process is the process of sending a reply email to the center device 20 in response to the safety confirmation email sent from the center device 20. The control unit 300 of the first user terminal 30 sends a reply email containing the safety information entered into the safety confirmation email input form to the center device 20 via the communication unit 302, in response to the operation of the first user.

[0039] In the process of transmitting information about being in a disaster area, the control unit 300 of the second user terminal 30 receives a disaster notification containing a user code stored in the storage unit 301 from the central device 20 via the communication unit 302, and then uses the positioning unit 305 to obtain location information including the latitude and longitude of the current location. The control unit 300 then sends an area acquisition request containing the acquired location information and user code to the area identification device 40 via the communication unit 302. The area acquisition request is a command that requests an area code indicating the area corresponding to the location information.

[0040] The control unit 300 obtains the area code in response to the area acquisition request from the area identification device 40 via the communication unit 302, and compares the obtained area code with the area code included in the disaster notification. If the control unit 300 finds that the obtained area code is among the area codes included in the disaster notification, it transmits disaster area stay information indicating that the user is staying in the disaster area, along with the disaster code and user code included in the disaster notification, to the center device 20 via the communication unit 302. The control unit 300 then further performs the second safety information transmission process. Specifically, in the second safety information transmission process, the control unit 300 displays the safety input screen on the display unit 304 and transmits the safety information entered on the safety input screen in response to the operation of the second user to the center device 20 via the communication unit 302.

[0041] (Area identification device 40) Figure 5 shows an example configuration of the area identification device 40. The area identification device 40 is a server, such as a cloud server. As shown in Figure 5, the area identification device 40 comprises a control unit 400, a storage unit 401, and a communication unit 402.

[0042] The storage unit 401 includes, for example, a non-volatile memory such as a hard disk. The storage unit 401 stores mesh definition information 40a and area definition information 40b, as well as data such as control programs related to the safety confirmation service. In this embodiment, mesh definition information 40a is an example of area information.

[0043] Figure 6A shows an example of mesh definition information 40a. Mesh definition information 40a stores mesh codes and address codes in association.

[0044] The address code is a five-digit number that defines the address of a city, town, or village. Cities, towns, and villages are examples of first and second administrative districts.

[0045] In this embodiment, the mesh code is a code that defines each section, which is divided into a mesh-like pattern on a predetermined map, with an 8-digit number, and is called the base regional mesh code or tertiary mesh code. The first four digits of the mesh code are a code that indicates a section larger than the section defined by the base regional mesh code, and are called the primary mesh code. Note that while a mesh is a section divided into a mesh-like pattern of a certain size on a predetermined map, a municipality is a section defined for each administrative area, so the two are divided according to different criteria.

[0046] Each area indicated by a primary mesh code has an address assigned to it, belonging to at least one municipality. However, within the mesh code (standard regional mesh) areas, there are areas such as sea areas that do not have an address assigned. In this embodiment, the mesh definition information 40a does not include mesh codes for areas without an address, but only mesh codes for areas with an address. Here, "belonging to" means being located within a geographical area. Furthermore, mesh codes such as "53395662," to which multiple address codes "13121" and "11221" are associated in the mesh definition information 40a, indicate that the area of ​​this mesh code spans multiple municipalities. Multiple address codes are associated with mesh codes for such areas that span multiple municipalities.

[0047] In this embodiment, each section indicated by the mesh code (reference area mesh code) is an example of a first section, each section indicated by the primary mesh code is an example of a second section, and the address code is an example of the first and second section identification information.

[0048] Figure 6B shows an example of area definition information 40b. As shown in Figure 6B, area definition information 40b associates area codes with the address codes mentioned above. Multiple address codes are associated with one area code. An area code is a four-digit alphanumeric code that defines the prefecture corresponding to the multiple associated address codes. For example, an area code representing one of several areas within Hokkaido may be defined for the address code of Hokkaido, and the Ogasawara Islands may be defined with a different area code than Tokyo. Furthermore, area codes are not limited to four-digit alphanumeric codes; they may also be six-digit codes or other numbers, or codes defined using only numbers.

[0049] The communication unit 402 includes a communication interface that communicates with the user terminal 30 via an external line. The communication unit 402 communicates with the user terminal 30 under the control of the control unit 400.

[0050] The control unit 400 includes, for example, a processor such as a CPU and memory such as ROM and RAM. The control unit 400 performs area identification processing by controlling each unit connected to the control unit 400, with the processor executing a control program stored in the storage unit 401. In this embodiment, the area identification device 40 is an example of an identification unit.

[0051] Specifically, the control unit 400 obtains an area acquisition request from the user terminal 30 via the communication unit 402, and calculates the mesh code using the latitude and longitude of the location information included in the area acquisition request using the following equations (1) to (6).

[0052] The first and second most significant digits of the mesh code = Int(A) (1) The third and fourth digits of the mesh code = Int(V) (2) The fifth digit from the top of the mesh code = Int(B) (3) The sixth digit from the top of the mesh code = Int(X) (4) The 7th digit of the mesh code = the decimal part of B × 10 (5) The 8th digit of the mesh code = the decimal part of X × 10 (6) However, the values ​​of A, V, B, and X in (1) to (6) above, and Int are defined as follows. A: (Latitude of location information) × 1.5 V: (Longitude of location information) - 100 B: (decimal part of A) × 8 X: (decimal part of V) × 8 Int(): Truncates the decimal part of the number inside the parentheses.

[0053] If the calculated mesh code is included in the mesh definition information 40a, the control unit 400 reads the address code corresponding to that mesh code from the mesh definition information 40a, and reads the area code corresponding to the read address code from the area definition information 40b.

[0054] On the other hand, if the calculated mesh code is not included in the mesh definition information 40a, that is, if no address code is set for the calculated mesh code, the control unit 400 extracts a mesh code from the mesh definition information 40a that includes the first four digits (primary mesh code) of the calculated mesh code. The control unit 400 then reads the address code corresponding to the extracted mesh code and reads the area code corresponding to the read address code from the area definition information 40b. The control unit 400 transmits area information, including the user code included in the area acquisition request and the read area code, to the user terminal 30 via the communication unit 402.

[0055] (operation) Figure 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation of the safety confirmation system 1. The flowchart in Figure 7 primarily shows the processing for the second user terminal 30 during a disaster.

[0056] When the central device 20 receives a message containing earthquake information from the server 10 (step S10), it sends a disaster notification to the second user terminal 30 (step S11).

[0057] Specifically, the control unit 200 (Figure 2) of the central device 20 receives a message containing earthquake information transmitted from the server 10 via the communication unit 202. The control unit 200 then refers to the user database (not shown) in the storage unit 201 to identify a second user whose place of residence or workplace is not included in the disaster area included in the earthquake information of the received message. The control unit 200 refers to the user database, disaster code, and area code table (none of which are shown) in the storage unit 201 to send a disaster notification to the second user terminal 30 via the communication unit 202, including the second user's user code, the disaster code corresponding to "earthquake," and the area code corresponding to the disaster area included in the earthquake information.

[0058] When the second user terminal 30 receives a disaster notification transmitted from the central device 20, it acquires location information (step S12) and sends an area acquisition request including the acquired location information to the area identification device 40 (step S13).

[0059] Specifically, the control unit 300 (Figure 4) of the second user terminal 30 receives the disaster notification transmitted from the central device 20 via the communication unit 302. The control unit 300 then acquires the current location information (latitude and longitude) using the positioning unit 305 and transmits the acquired location information and the second user's user code to the area identification device 40 via the communication unit 302.

[0060] The area identification device 40 calculates a mesh code based on the area acquisition request transmitted from the second user terminal 30 (step S14). Then, the area identification device 40 acquires an area code corresponding to the mesh code (step S15) and transmits area information including the area code to the second user terminal 30 (step S16).

[0061] Specifically, the control unit 400 (Figure 5) of the area identification device 40 receives an area acquisition request transmitted from the second user terminal 30 via the communication unit 402, and calculates a mesh code using the latitude and longitude of the location information included in the area acquisition request and a predetermined calculation formula (formulas (1) to (6) above). If the calculated mesh code is included in the mesh definition information 40a (Figure 6A) in the storage unit 401, the control unit 400 identifies the address code corresponding to the mesh code and extracts it from the mesh definition information 40a. On the other hand, if the calculated mesh code is not included in the mesh definition information 40a in the storage unit 401, the control unit 400 identifies the address code for the mesh code including the upper four digits (primary mesh code) of the calculated mesh code and extracts it from the mesh definition information 40a. The control unit 400 then obtains the area code corresponding to the extracted address code from the area definition information 40b (Figure 6B) in the storage unit 401, and transmits the area information, including the obtained area code and the user code included in the area acquisition request, to the second user terminal 30 via the communication unit 402.

[0062] In other words, if the mesh code calculated in step S14 is not included in the mesh definition information 40a, for example, if the first four digits of the mesh code (primary mesh code) are "5339", then the mesh definition information 40a (Figure 6A) extracts address codes such as "13101", "13104", "13121", and "11221" for mesh codes that include "5339" in the first four digits. In this case, for example, "A001" and "A002" are read from the area definition information 40b (Figure 6B) as area codes corresponding to the extracted address codes, and area information including the read area codes is transmitted to the second user terminal 30.

[0063] The second user terminal 30 determines whether the second user is staying in the disaster-stricken area based on the area information transmitted from the area identification device 40 (step S17), and transmits the disaster-stricken area stay information indicating the determination result to the center device 20 (step S18).

[0064] Specifically, the control unit 300 (Figure 4) of the second user terminal 30 determines that the user is in a disaster-stricken area if the area code of the acquired area information is included in the area code of the disaster notification. If the control unit 300 determines that the user is in a disaster-stricken area, it transmits disaster-stricken area stay information, indicating that the user is in a disaster-stricken area, along with the user code, to the central device 20 via the communication unit 302.

[0065] In this example, if the second user is staying in the affected area, the information indicating their presence in the affected area is sent to the center device 20. However, even if it is determined that the second user is not staying in the affected area, the information indicating their presence in the affected area may also be sent to the center device 20.

[0066] After the information about staying in the disaster area is transmitted, the second user terminal 30 receives the input of safety information from the second user (step S19) and transmits the safety information to the central device 20 (step S20).

[0067] Specifically, the control unit 300 (Figure 4) of the second user terminal 30 displays a safety status input screen (not shown) on the display unit 304 and accepts safety status information input from the second user via the input unit 303. The control unit 300 then transmits the safety status information, including the second user's user code, to the central device 20 via the communication unit 302.

[0068] The central device 20 updates the safety confirmation database (Figure 3) based on the disaster area stay information and safety status information transmitted from the second user terminal 30 (step S21).

[0069] Specifically, the control unit 200 (Figure 2) of the central device 20 receives disaster area stay information and safety status information transmitted from the second user terminal 30 via the communication unit 202. The control unit 200 updates the safety target flag corresponding to the user code included in the disaster area stay information to "1" in the safety confirmation database (Figure 3) in the storage unit 201, and updates data such as whether a response was given, the response date and time, and whether the user can come to work based on the date and time the safety status information was sent and its content. In other words, the control unit 200 sets the second user as a target for safety confirmation based on the disaster area stay information.

[0070] After step S21, the central device 20 sends an update notification for the safety confirmation database to the administrator terminal 50 (step S22). The administrator terminal 50 receives the update notification from the central device 20 and displays the safety confirmation screen according to the administrator's operation (step S23).

[0071] Specifically, when the control unit 200 (Figure 2) of the central device 20 updates the safety confirmation database (Figure 3) in the storage unit 201, it sends a notification of the safety confirmation database update to the administrator terminal 50 via the communication unit 202.

[0072] When the administrator terminal 50 receives an update notification from the central device 20, it displays an image on its screen indicating that the safety confirmation database has been updated. The administrator terminal 50 then retrieves data from the safety confirmation database in the central device 20 in response to an operation by the administrator and displays a safety confirmation screen on its screen.

[0073] Figure 8 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a safety confirmation screen. The safety confirmation screen displays data for all users registered in the safety confirmation database (Figure 3), including user code, user name, safety target flag, response status, response date and time, and whether or not they can come to work. The safety confirmation screen displays data for users who are subject to safety confirmation (with a safety target flag of "1") and data for users who are not subject to safety confirmation (with a safety target flag of "0") in a manner that can be distinguished, for example, by color.

[0074] In the embodiment described above, if a second user's workplace or address, registered in the user database (not shown), is not within the disaster area, and no address code is set for the mesh code based on the location information of the user terminal 30, the presence or absence of the second user in the disaster area is determined using the address code for the higher-level mesh code (primary mesh code). This ensures that all users are appropriately determined as to whether or not they are subject to safety confirmation, and only users staying in the disaster area are prompted to respond regarding their safety. As a result, any omissions in those subject to safety confirmation are eliminated, the burden of responses for users not staying in the disaster area is reduced, and unnecessary communication is suppressed.

[0075] The above describes an embodiment of the safety confirmation system. However, the safety confirmation system is not limited to the above embodiment, and can be implemented in various forms without departing from its essence. The drawings schematically show each component for ease of understanding, and the thickness, length, number, etc. of each component shown may differ from the actual dimensions due to the convenience of drawing creation. Furthermore, the shape, dimensions, etc. of each component shown in the above embodiment are examples and are not particularly limited, and various modifications are possible without substantially departing from the effects of the present invention. Modifications of the above embodiment will be described below.

[0076] <Variation> (1) In the embodiment described above, a second user who identifies an address code from a primary mesh code and a second user who identifies an address code from a mesh code (standard regional mesh) may be managed separately. Specifically, when an area code is identified in the area identification device 40 based on the first four digits of the mesh code (primary mesh code), area information including primary mesh usage information indicating that it was identified from the primary mesh code is transmitted to the user terminal 30. If the area code of the area information is included in the area code of the disaster notification, the user terminal 30 that has acquired the area information transmits disaster area stay information including the acquired primary mesh usage information to the center device 20. If the acquired disaster area stay information includes primary mesh usage information, the center device 20 stores the primary mesh usage information in association with the user code of the disaster area stay information in the safety confirmation database. When the administrator terminal 50 displays the data in the safety confirmation database, it may display the data of a second user to which primary mesh usage information is associated with the data of other second users by changing the display method, such as color. In this modified example, the primary mesh usage information is an example of judgment information, and the administrator terminal 50 is an example of a display unit.

[0077] The area indicated by the primary mesh code is larger than the area indicated by the standard regional mesh code. Therefore, even if the area identified based on the primary mesh code is far from the disaster area, the second user may be asked to input safety information into their user terminal 30. In this case, the second user, who is not in the disaster area and has been asked to input safety information, may ask the administrator why they are considered a person who needs to be checked for safety. By configuring the system as shown in this modified example, the administrator can immediately determine and respond to whether the second user was identified as a person who needs to be checked for safety based on the information from the standard regional mesh code or the primary mesh code, thereby reducing the administrator's workload.

[0078] (2) In the above embodiment, if the address code for a reference regional mesh code is not included in the mesh definition information 40a, the area identification device 40 may extract a secondary mesh code consisting of the upper six digits of the reference regional mesh code and identify the address code for the mesh code including this secondary mesh code from the mesh definition information 40a. Furthermore, if the address code for a mesh code including a secondary mesh code is not included in the mesh definition information 40a, the area identification device 40 may, as in the embodiment, identify the address code for a mesh code including a primary mesh code from the mesh definition information 40a. In other words, if the address code for the calculated reference regional mesh code cannot be identified, the area identification device 40 may gradually expand the area from the reference regional mesh until the address code can be identified and extract the address code.

[0079] (3) In the above embodiment, the area identification process in the area identification device 40 may be performed on the user terminal 30. In this case, the user terminal 30 includes the functions of the control unit 400 of the area identification device 40, as well as mesh definition information 40a and area definition information 40b.

[0080] (4) The mesh code and address code in the above-described embodiment are examples and are not limited to the codes shown in the embodiment. The mesh code is a code that can uniquely identify each section obtained by dividing a predetermined map into predetermined sizes, and can be derived from location information (latitude and longitude) using a predetermined algorithm. The address code is a code that can uniquely identify the administrative area to which each section belongs. Alternatively, in the mesh definition information 40a, the name of the administrative area to which the mesh code section belongs may be stored instead of the address code. The area name may be a regional name such as a city, town, or village, or a regional name such as a city, town, or village represented by alphanumeric characters. In other words, the first area identification information and the second area identification information are not limited to codes such as address codes, but can be any code that can identify the first administrative area and the second administrative area.

[0081] (5) In the embodiments described above, a tertiary mesh was used as the first section and a primary mesh as the second section as examples, but the first and second sections are not limited to these. For example, a so-called half-regional mesh (quaternary mesh) or quarter-regional mesh (fifth-order mesh), which is more detailed than a tertiary mesh, may be used as the first section. In this case, the mesh definition information should store the fourth-order mesh code or fifth-order mesh code in association with the address code. The second section may be a larger section than the first section, including the first section. For example, if the first section is a fifth-order mesh, a fourth-order mesh may be used as the second section, and the section may be expanded in stages, such as to a third-order mesh, a second-order mesh, and a primary mesh, until the address code can be identified.

[0082] (6) In the embodiments described above, an example was given in which a list of municipal mesh codes provided by the Statistics Bureau of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications was used, but the present invention is not limited thereto. If it is possible to calculate a section or a code for identifying a section from location information (latitude and longitude), if it is easy to expand the section, and if information showing the correspondence between the section and the address can be prepared, then a different section system, such as one with a proprietary specification, may be used.

[0083] (7) In the embodiments described above, municipalities were used as examples of administrative areas, but administrative areas are not limited to these. For example, an administrative area may be a prefecture, or it may be an area with a unique definition that is different from the official administrative areas based on the Local Autonomy Act, such as an area used in earthquake information. In short, an administrative area may be any area that relates to administration. In this case, the mesh definition information and area definition information should store information indicating the address code of a prefecture or an area with a unique definition instead of the address code of a municipality.

[0084] (8) In the embodiments described above, an example was given in which both the first administrative area and the second administrative area are municipalities. However, the first administrative area and the second administrative area may be different types of administrative areas. For example, the first administrative area may be a municipality and the second administrative area may be a prefecture. In this case, the mesh definition information may include both the address codes of the municipalities and the address codes of the prefectures. Alternatively, a second mesh definition information may be used in which the primary mesh code is associated with the address code of the prefecture, in addition to the first mesh definition information in which the tertiary mesh code is associated with the address code of the municipality.

[0085] (9) In the above embodiments, the area identification information is not limited to the address codes of municipalities. As explained in the above modifications (7) and (8), when prefectures or independently defined areas are used as administrative areas, the area identification information may also use codes or names that indicate the prefectures or independently defined areas accordingly. In this case, the mesh definition information and area definition information should store codes or names that indicate the prefectures or independently defined areas instead of the address codes of municipalities.

[0086] (10) In the embodiments described above, an example of expanding a mesh was given using a code system of a standard regional mesh code in which the upper four digits of the tertiary mesh code indicate the primary mesh code. However, the code system used in the present invention is not limited to this. If a second section encompassing the first section can be identified from the first section by a predetermined rule, a code system of proprietary specifications may be used instead of using the code system of a standard regional mesh code. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0087] 1: Safety confirmation system, 10: Server, 20: Center device, 30: User terminal, 40: Area identification device, 50: Administrator terminal, 200, 300, 400: Control unit, 201, 301, 401: Storage unit, 202, 302, 402: Communication unit, 203, 303: Input unit, 204, 304: Display unit, 305: Positioning unit

Claims

1. A storage unit that stores section information including first section identification information for a first administrative area to which each of a portion of the multiple first sections obtained by dividing a predetermined map belongs, and second section identification information for a second administrative area to which each of the multiple second sections, which include the multiple first sections and are larger than each of the first sections, belongs. An acquisition unit that acquires disaster occurrence notifications including information on the affected area and location information indicating the current location of the user's device, A specification unit that identifies the first area identification information of the first section corresponding to the location information based on the section information, A determination unit that determines whether the user is in the affected area based on the disaster notification and the identified first area identification information, The system includes a setting unit that sets whether or not the user is subject to safety confirmation based on the determination result by the determination unit, If the first area identification information for the first area corresponding to the location information is not included in the area information, the identification unit identifies the second area identification information for the second area including the first area from the area information. The determination unit is a safety confirmation system that performs the determination based on the disaster occurrence notification and the identified second area identification information.

2. The safety confirmation system according to claim 1, wherein the first section of the part is a section to which an address has been set, the first section identification information of the first section is an address code indicating the address corresponding to the first section, and the second section identification information of the second section includes the address code corresponding to the first section included in the second section.

3. The safety confirmation system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the first section is a section indicated by a tertiary mesh code, and the second section is a section indicated by a primary mesh code.

4. The system further includes a display unit that displays the safety confirmation target set in the setting unit, The determination result includes determination information indicating whether the determination is based on the first area identification information or the second area identification information. The setting unit is configured to distinguish between the safety confirmation target determined based on the first area identification information and the safety confirmation target determined based on the second area identification information, based on the determination information included in the determination result. The safety confirmation system according to claim 1, wherein the display unit displays the safety confirmation target based on the first area identification information and the safety confirmation target based on the second area identification information in different manners.

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