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JP-2026074676-A - Monitoring system

JP2026074676AJP 2026074676 AJP2026074676 AJP 2026074676AJP-2026074676-A

Abstract

[Problem] To provide a technology that enables power saving in a monitoring system using millimeter-wave sensors. [Solution] The monitoring system 1 for watching over a person in a living room 90 includes a bed sensor 21 that detects whether or not a person is present on a bed 92 placed in the living room 90, a millimeter-wave sensor 20 that sets the space in the living room 90 as the detection target space and detects the posture of a person in the detection target space, and a control unit that controls the operating state of the millimeter-wave sensor 20 based on the detection result from the bed sensor 21. [Selection Diagram] Figure 1

Inventors

  • 竹原 大貴

Assignees

  • グローリー株式会社

Dates

Publication Date
20260507
Application Date
20241021

Claims (10)

  1. It is a monitoring system that keeps an eye on the person inside the room. A bed sensor that detects whether or not a person is present on the bed placed in the aforementioned living room, The space within the aforementioned room is set as the detection target space, and a millimeter-wave sensor is used to detect the posture of a person within the detection target space. A control unit controls the operating state of the millimeter-wave sensor based on the detection results from the bed sensor, A monitoring system characterized by having the following features.
  2. The monitoring system according to claim 1, characterized in that, when the bed sensor detects the presence of a person on the bed, the control unit transitions the operating state of the millimeter-wave sensor from a first state for detecting the person's posture to a second state with lower power consumption than the first state.
  3. The monitoring system according to claim 1, characterized in that, when the bed sensor detects the absence of a person on the bed, and the millimeter-wave sensor, which is operating in a first state for detecting the posture of a person, does not detect the presence of a person in the room, the control unit transitions the operating state of the millimeter-wave sensor from the first state to a second state with lower power consumption than the first state.
  4. A door sensor installed at the entrance to the aforementioned living room detects the opening and closing of the door. Furthermore, The monitoring system according to claim 3, characterized in that when the bed sensor detects the absence of a person on the bed, and the millimeter-wave sensor operating in the first state does not detect the presence of a person in the room, the control unit maintains the operating state of the millimeter-wave sensor in the first state if the door sensor does not detect the opening or closing of the door.
  5. The monitoring system according to any one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that, when the bed sensor detects the absence of a person on the bed, and the millimeter-wave sensor operating in the first state detects the presence of a person in the room and detects that the person is in a supine position, the control unit operates the millimeter-wave sensor in vital signs detection mode.
  6. A motion sensor that detects whether or not a person is present in the first space, which includes the space above the bed, within the space of the room. Furthermore, The monitoring system according to claim 1, characterized in that when the bed sensor detects the presence of a person on the bed and the motion sensor detects the presence of a person in the first space, the control unit transitions the operating state of the millimeter-wave sensor from a first state for detecting the posture of a person to a second state which consumes less power than the first state.
  7. The monitoring system according to claim 6, characterized in that, even when the presence of a person on the bed is detected by the bed sensor, the control unit continues the operation state of the millimeter-wave sensor in the first state when the absence of a person in the first space is detected by the human presence sensor.
  8. A motion sensor that detects whether or not a person is present in the first space within the living room, including the space around the bed. Furthermore, The millimeter-wave sensor sets a second space within the living space, which includes the space around the bed that is part of the first space and has a size equal to or greater than the first space, as the detection target space, and detects the posture of a person within the detection target space. The monitoring system according to claim 1, characterized in that when the bed sensor detects the absence of a person on the bed and the motion sensor detects the absence of a person in the first space, and the millimeter-wave sensor, which is operating in a first state for detecting the posture of a person, does not detect the presence of a person in the second space, the control unit transitions the operating state of the millimeter-wave sensor from the first state to a second state which consumes less power than the first state.
  9. A door sensor installed at the entrance to the aforementioned living room detects the opening and closing of the door. Furthermore, The monitoring system according to claim 8, characterized in that when the absence of a person on the bed is detected by the bed sensor and the absence of a person in the first space is detected by the motion sensor, and the presence of a person in the second space is not detected by the millimeter-wave sensor operating in the first state, the control unit maintains the operating state of the millimeter-wave sensor in the first state if the door sensor does not detect the opening or closing of the door.
  10. The monitoring system according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that, when the bed sensor detects the absence of a person on the bed and the presence of a person in the first space is detected by the motion sensor, and the millimeter-wave sensor operating in the first state detects that the person in the room is lying down, the control unit operates the millimeter-wave sensor in vital signs detection mode.

Description

This invention relates to a monitoring system for keeping an eye on a person in a living room, and related technologies. A monitoring system exists to keep an eye on people inside a room. This system uses various sensors, such as bed sensors and Time of Flight (TOF) cameras, to detect people inside the room and monitor their behavior. In monitoring systems, ToF cameras are sometimes used as sensors capable of obtaining three-dimensional information about a person's position (such as lying down, sitting, or standing) within a room. For example, ToF cameras with infrared imaging sensors are sometimes used, taking into consideration factors such as nighttime use. A TOF camera provides depth information (depth data) for each point in the captured image. Based on this image information and depth information, human skeletal information is acquired as three-dimensional data, and it is possible to estimate the person's posture based on this skeletal information. Japanese Patent Publication No. 2023-131563 This is a diagram showing a monitoring system.This is a functional block diagram showing the general configuration of the detection device.This is a view of the living space from above.This indicates the space or area to be detected by the motion sensor.This is a diagram showing a person lying on a bed.This diagram shows the situation when a person is present in the space detected by the motion sensor (the first space (especially the space around the bed)).This diagram illustrates a situation in which a person exists in a second space (specifically, a second space other than the first space).This diagram shows a situation where there are no people in the room (a state of absence).This is a flowchart showing the processing performed by the controller (control unit).This figure shows an example of point cloud detection of a person using a millimeter-wave sensor.This is a flowchart showing the processing of the controller according to the second embodiment.This is a flowchart showing the processing of the controller according to the third embodiment.This is a flowchart relating to a modified example of the third embodiment.This is a flowchart showing the processing of the controller according to the fourth embodiment.This is a flowchart relating to a modified example of the fourth embodiment. The embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. <1. First Embodiment> <1-1. System Overview> Figure 1 shows a monitoring system 1 that monitors a person (more specifically, the person's behavior, etc.) in a living room 90. As shown in Figure 1, the monitoring system 1 comprises a plurality of detection devices 10 and a plurality of terminal devices 70, 80. Terminal device 70 is also called a management device 70, and terminal device 80 is also called a portable terminal device 80. The monitoring system 1 is a system that detects the posture, etc. ("falling state", etc.) of the person being monitored (a person receiving care, etc.). Each detection device 10 and each terminal device 70, 80 are connected to each other via a network 108. The network 108 consists of a LAN (Local Area Network) and the Internet, etc. The connection to the network 108 may be wired or wireless. For example, the management device 70 may be wired to the network 108, while each detection device 10 and each mobile terminal device 80 are wirelessly connected to the network 108. Alternatively, all devices 10, 70, and 80 may be wirelessly connected to the network 108. In the monitoring system 1, various input/output processes (operation input processing, display processing, etc.) related to each detection device 10 are performed using the management device 70 and the portable terminal device 80. That is, the management device 70 and the portable terminal device 80 each function as terminal devices for multiple detection devices 10. The following primarily provides examples of how the monitoring system 1 may be used in nursing care facilities. However, it is not limited to these examples; the monitoring system 1 may also be used in nursing facilities (hospitals, etc.) or in private homes. <1-2. Detection device 10> Each detection device 10 is placed in the room 90 of each person being monitored (in this case, the person receiving care (resident)) (for example, in each person's individual room). Each detection device 10 is a device that detects the posture of the person being monitored ("fallen state," etc.) based on measurement data (measurement data from the millimeter-wave sensor 20), etc., related to the person being monitored, as will be described later. Figure 2 is a functional block diagram showing the schematic configuration of the detection device 10. As shown in Figure 2, the detection device 10 comprises a millimeter-wave sensor 20 and a processing unit 30. The millimeter-wave sensor 20 transmits radio waves in the millimeter-wave band (transmitted waves) and receives radio waves (received waves) reflect