JP7601580B2 - Monitoring device, monitoring method, and monitoring program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a monitoring device, a monitoring method, and a monitoring program.

Recently in developed countries, it has become common for elderly people who live alone to be watched over by someone in a remote location. It has also become common for working parents to watch over schoolchildren who are left home alone from a remote location.

The refrigerator safety confirmation device in Patent Document 1 sends a message to a pre-registered electronic terminal when the number of times the person being watched over opens and closes the refrigerator door falls below a predetermined threshold. The safety confirmation system in Patent Document 2 detects that an abnormality has occurred in the person being watched over when the number of times the person being watched over opens and closes the mailbox door deviates from the average value that reflects the person's lifestyle habits.

JP 2003-185315 A JP 2015-46156 A

It is more preferable that the refrigerator safety confirmation device of Patent Document 1 considers the idea of setting the period of the object of monitoring according to the convenience of the watcher at the time of reception and the actual living conditions of the person being watched. For example, in the device of Patent Document 1, the electronic terminal of the watcher receives the signal every time the elderly person frequently opens and closes the refrigerator door. In addition, the electronic terminal of the watcher may miss the rare opportunity when the schoolchild opens the refrigerator immediately after returning home. The safety confirmation system of Patent Document 2 lacks this idea, and as a result, it takes time to determine whether the number of times the mailbox door is opened and closed deviates from the average value. Moreover, the accuracy of the system decreases if the schoolchild shows no interest in mail.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to enable a watcher to accurately watch over a person being watched for a period specified by the watcher.

The monitoring device of the present invention includes a sensor information acquisition unit that receives an operation of a first home appliance by a person being watched over from a sensor attached to the first home appliance in the person being watched over, an attention period management unit that accepts an attention period for one day input by the person being watched over via a terminal device of the person being watched over, and a sensor information processing unit that, when an operation of the first home appliance is received during the attention period, automatically displays on the terminal device a message indicating that the operation has been performed. When the sensor information acquisition unit receives an operation of a third home appliance in the home from a sensor attached to the third home appliance, The sensor information processing unit also receives information about the subject of the operation, and when an operation on the first home appliance is received within a predetermined period after an operation on the third home appliance performed by a predetermined person among the subjects is received during the attention period, the sensor information processing unit automatically causes the terminal device to display an indication that the person being watched over has eaten a meal after returning home , wherein the first home appliance is a refrigerator, the operation on the first home appliance is an operation to open the door of the refrigerator, the third home appliance is an entry/exit management device that manages entry and exit to a residence, and the operation on the third home appliance is an operation on the entry/exit management device .
Other means will be described in the description of the embodiment of the invention.

The present invention allows the watcher to accurately watch over the person being watched for a period of time specified by the watcher.

1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an environment and a monitoring device according to a first embodiment. FIG. 1A and 1B are diagrams illustrating information acquired by a sensor and a refrigerator. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of state information. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of state information. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of state information. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of state information. 1 is a flowchart of a basic processing procedure. 13 is an example of a life rhythm screen. 13 is an example of a push notification screen. 1 is a flow chart of an overnight processing procedure. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of the environment and a monitoring device according to the second embodiment. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of state information. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of state information. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of state information. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of state information. 13 is a flowchart of a procedure (part 1) of processing a period of interest. 13 is a flowchart of a second period of interest processing procedure. 13 is a flowchart of a third period-of-interest processing procedure. 13 is an example of a life rhythm screen.

Hereinafter, a form for implementing the present invention (referred to as the "present embodiment") will be described in detail with reference to the drawings, etc. The present embodiment is an example in which a child or his/her relatives watches over an elderly person living alone, and an example in which working parents watch over school-aged children left at home. The present embodiment includes a first embodiment that detects the presence/absence of the person being watched over in the living room, and a second embodiment that detects the use of the refrigerator by the person being watched over.

First, we will explain the first embodiment.

(Configuration of environment and monitoring device)
FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the environment and the configuration of the monitoring device of the first embodiment. A person being watched over 5 lives in a residence 6. There are no other residents in the residence 6 other than the person being watched over 5, who is a single elderly person. The residence 6 has multiple rooms, including a living room 6a, a bedroom 6b, and a kitchen 6c. The living room 6a, the bedroom 6b, and the kitchen 6c are independent of each other, with a corridor, a wall, etc. in between. The person being watched over 5 spends the most time in the living room 6a among the rooms other than the bedroom 6b and the kitchen 6c. When the person being watched over 5 is at home, he spends most of the day in the living room 6a and sleeps in the bedroom 6b at night. One sensor 2 is installed on the wall, ceiling, etc. of the living room 6a, and a refrigerator 8 is installed in the kitchen 6c (details will be described later). The toilet and bathroom are omitted.

The monitoring device 1 is a general server and constitutes a monitoring service center. This center monitors multiple monitored persons in each residence where a sensor 2 is installed. This server comprises a central control device 11, an input device 12 such as a mouse or keyboard, an output device 13 such as a display, a main memory device 14, an auxiliary memory device 15, and a communication device 16. These are interconnected by a bus. The auxiliary memory device 15 stores status information 31 (31a to 31d, described in detail below). The sensor information acquisition unit 21 and the sensor information processing unit 22 in the main memory device 14 are programs. The central control device 11 reads these programs from the auxiliary memory device 15 and loads them into the main memory device 14, thereby realizing the functions of each program (described in detail below). The auxiliary memory device 15 may be configured independent of the monitoring device 1.

The monitoring device 1 is connected to a sensor 2, a refrigerator 8, and a terminal device 3 via a network 4. In this embodiment, the terminal device 3 is a portable computer operated by a monitor (not shown). However, the terminal device 3 may be a computer other than a portable computer.

(Sensor)
2(a) and (b) are diagrams explaining the information acquired by the sensor 2 and the refrigerator 8. The sensor 2 is a human presence sensor of any type (for example, an infrared type). The sensor 2 detects whether the person being watched over 5 is in the living room 6a or not. In FIG. 2(a), the person being watched over 5 is in the living room 6a. At this time, the sensor 2 transmits in real time to the monitoring device 1 via the network 4 the information "Present" indicating that the person being watched over 5 is in the living room 6a, as well as the year, month, day, hour, minute and second at which this information was generated (symbol 7a).

In FIG. 2(b), the person being watched over 5 is not in the living room 6a. At this time, the sensor 2 transmits the information "not there" indicating that the person being watched over 5 is not in the living room 6a, along with the year, month, day, hour, minute and second of the time when this information was generated (symbol 7b) to the monitoring device 1 in real time via the network 4.

When the sensor information acquisition unit 21 acquires information from the sensor 2, the sensor information processing unit 22 processes the information at that time, stores the necessary information, and transmits the information to the terminal device 3. When the sensor information processing unit 22 receives "presence" or "absence" information from the sensor 2, it stores the time when "presence" changed to "absence" and the time when "absence" changed to "presence" in the status information 31. In other words, the sensor information processing unit 22 stores the time when "presence" and "absence" changed. The sensor information processing unit 22 then transmits to the terminal device 3 of the watcher, described below, information indicating that the person is in the living room if "presence" or information indicating that the person is not in the living room if "absence", together with the time. Note that the "presence" or "absence" information from the sensor is not used after it has been processed by the sensor information processing unit 22, described below.

(refrigerator)
The person being watched 5 stores foodstuffs and the like in the refrigerator 8, and opens and closes the door of the refrigerator 8 every time the person being watched takes out or puts away the foodstuffs. The refrigerator 8 has a mechanism (e.g., a sensor) that recognizes the opening and closing operation and/or the opening and closing state of the door, and transmits the recognized opening and closing operation and/or the opening and closing state to the monitoring device 1 via the network 4 in real time. In addition, the opening and closing operation and/or the opening and closing state recognized by a sensor retrofitted to the refrigerator 8 may be transmitted to the monitoring device 1 via the network 4 in real time. The refrigerator 8 here is an example of a home appliance (a connected home appliance connected to a network) installed in a residence including a living room. A microwave oven, a room temperature food storage, a hot water warmer, etc. may replace the refrigerator 8. Note that the installed sensor 2 has a blind spot, and there is a problem that if the person being watched 5 passes through the blind spot, the sensor 2 will not detect it. In this case, it can be said that the refrigerator 8 plays the role of the sensor 2 in an auxiliary manner.

(Status Information)
3 to 6 are examples of the status information 31. For ease of explanation, the four status information 31a to 31d will be explained in order below. The four status information 31a to 31d correspond to the following patterns 1 to 4, respectively.

<Pattern 1> A pattern in which absence continues for more than a specified period of time.
<Pattern 2> A pattern in which the absence continues for a predetermined period of time or more, and the refrigerator status becomes "open" at least once before the predetermined period of time has elapsed.
<Pattern 3> A pattern in which the refrigerator state becomes "open" a predetermined number of times or more during a period in which the monitoring device 1 determines that the person being watched over is asleep after the change in presence to absence during the night. Pattern 3 is a pattern related to nighttime operation (described in detail later).
<Pattern 4> A pattern in which the monitoring device 1 once judges that the person being watched over is asleep, and then reconsiders the judgment and finds that the person being watched over is actually absent, and the refrigerator state is set to "open" at least once during the period in which it was judged that the person was asleep. Pattern 4 is also a pattern related to nighttime operation.

Pay attention to FIG. 3. In the status information 31a corresponding to pattern 1, the living room status is stored in the living room status column 102, the refrigerator status is stored in the refrigerator status column 103, the timer value is stored in the timer column 104, the status text is stored in the status display column 105, and the notification category is stored in the notification category column 106, in association with the time stored in the time column 101.

The time in the time column 101 indicates the year, month, day, hour, minute, and second at the time when the sensor 2 acquired the information indicated by reference numeral 7a in Fig. 2A or the information indicated by reference numeral 7b in Fig. 2B. In this embodiment, the sensor 2 acquires this information every five minutes.
The living room status in the living room status column 102 is either "present", indicating that the watched over person 5 is in the living room 6a, or "not present", indicating that the watched over person 5 is not in the living room 6a.
The refrigerator status in the refrigerator status column 103 is either "open" indicating that the door of the refrigerator 8 is open, or "closed" indicating that the door of the refrigerator 8 is closed.

The timer value in the timer column 104 is the time since the timer started to run. The monitoring device 1 is assumed to have a timer (not shown).
The status message in the status display field 105 is a character string that the monitoring device 1 displays on the output device of the terminal device 3 .

The notification category in the notification category field 106 is either "waiting for request" or "push". "Waiting for request" means that when the terminal device 3 makes a request to the monitoring device 1 (hereinafter referred to as "display request"), which starts when the watcher operates the terminal device 3 to launch the application, the monitoring device 1 displays the status wording on the output device of the terminal device 3. Specifically, when the watcher starts this application, the terminal device 3 requests information for every 5 minutes since the last time from the monitoring device 1, and the monitoring device 1 transmits information including the status display to the terminal device 3. "Push" means that the monitoring device 1 automatically (forcibly) displays the status wording on the output device of the terminal device 3, regardless of whether there is a display request. When the monitoring device 1 makes a "push" request to the application of the terminal device 3, the application automatically (forcibly) displays the status wording on the output device of the terminal device 3. The status wording with the notification category of "push" is particularly important information for the watcher. When the monitoring device 1 displays such a status message on the output device of the terminal device 3, it is preferable for the terminal device 3 to emit an alarm sound, vibration, etc.

The configuration of each column in status information 31a is the same as that in status information 31b (Figure 4) corresponding to pattern 2. The configuration of each column in status information 31c (Figure 5) corresponding to pattern 3 and status information 31d (Figure 6) corresponding to pattern 4 are the same as the configuration of each column in status information 31a, except that the timer column 104 is not included.

The following can be seen from FIG.
At 17:55:00 on April 1, 2019, the living room status was "present" and the refrigerator status was "closed." The monitoring device 1 generated a status message "In the living room" and stored it in the status display field 105. At this time, the monitoring device 1 was in a state in which it could display the status message "In the living room" on the output device of the terminal device 3 if there was a display request. For the sake of simplicity, hereinafter, "a state in which an arbitrary status message can be generated and stored, and then the status message can be displayed on the output device of the terminal device 3 if there is a display request" will be referred to as a "request waiting state."

- At 18:00:00 on April 1, 2019, the living room status was "Away" and the refrigerator status was "Closed." The monitoring device 1 started the timer when the living room status changed from "Present" to "Away." The monitoring device 1 generated the status text "Not in living room" and stored it in the status display field 105. At this time, the monitoring device 1 was in a request waiting state.

- At 18:00:00 on April 2, 2019, the living room status was "Away" and the refrigerator status was "Closed". At this time, the timer value reached a predetermined value (24 hours in this case). The monitoring device 1 generated a status message "We haven't seen you for more than 24 hours" and stored it in the status display field 105. At the same time, the monitoring device 1 displayed the status message "We haven't seen you for more than 24 hours" as a push notification on the output device of the terminal device 3.

- At 18:55:00 on April 2, 2019, the living room status was "present" and the refrigerator status was "closed." The monitoring device 1 stopped the timer when the living room status changed from "not present" to "present." The monitoring device 1 generated a status message "In the living room" and stored it in the status display field 105. At this time, the monitoring device 1 was in a request waiting state.

Attention is now directed to Figure 4. From Figure 4, the following can be seen.
The same explanation as in FIG. 3 applies at 17:55:00 on Apr. 1, 2019 and 18:00:00 on Apr. 1, 2019.

- At 02:00:00 on April 2, 2019, the timer value reached 8 hours with no changes in the living room state or refrigerator state. The monitoring device 1 generated a status message "Not in living room" and stored it in the status display field 105. At this time, the monitoring device 1 was in a request waiting state.

- At 03:00:00 on April 2, 2019, the living room status was "not in the living room" and the refrigerator status was "open." The monitoring device 1 did not reset the timer value, regardless of the fact that the refrigerator status was "open." The monitoring device 1 generated a status message "Not in the living room" and stored it in the status display field 105. At this time, the monitoring device 1 was in a request waiting state. In addition, although not described in the status display field 105 of FIG. 4 and described in detail later in the explanation of FIG. 8, the monitoring device 1 also generated "The refrigerator has been opened once."

At 18:00:00 on April 2, 2019, the living room state was "absent", the refrigerator state was "closed", and the timer value was "24 hours". 18:00:00 on April 2, 2019 is the time 24 hours have passed since 18:00:00 on April 1, 2019, when the timer was started. However, the monitoring device 1 did not display the status wording "I haven't seen you for more than 24 hours" as a push notification on the output device of the terminal device 3, as in 18:00:00 on April 2, 2019 in FIG. 3. Instead, the monitoring device 1 generated the status wording "I haven't seen you for more than 24 hours, but you have used the refrigerator" and stored it in the status display field 105. At this time, the monitoring device 1 was in a request waiting state. This is because, compared to pattern 1, even if the watched over person 5 has not been in the living room for 24 hours, if the refrigerator has been opened at least once, there is a high probability that the watched over person 5 has been in a room with a refrigerator (often the kitchen) within the 24 hours, and therefore no urgency is considered to be required.
At 18:55:00 on Apr. 2, 2019, the same explanation as in FIG. 3 applies.

(Nighttime operation)
Before explaining FIG. 5, we will explain nighttime operation. When the living room state is "Absent" during the day, the person being watched over 5 is likely to be somewhere other than the living room in the residence, or to be out. When the living room state is "Absent" at night, the person being watched over 5 is likely to be sleeping in the bedroom 6b. Therefore, the monitoring device 1 sets a specific period (for example, from 18:00 to 04:00 the next day) as the nighttime operation period. The monitoring device 1 then considers the living room state "Absent" during the nighttime operation period to be a state in which the person being watched over 5 is sleeping.

Attention is now directed to Figure 5. From Figure 5, the following can be seen.
At 21:55:00 on Apr. 1, 2019, the living room status was "Occupied" and the refrigerator status was "Closed." The monitoring device 1 generated a status text "In the living room" and stored it in the status display field 105. At this time, the monitoring device 1 was in a request waiting state.

At 22:00:00 on April 1, 2019, the living room status was "Away" and the refrigerator status was "Closed." The monitoring device 1 memorizes the time when the previous time, 21:55:00, was "Present," and when it became "Away" at 22:00:00, and determines that the person is asleep when "Away" occurs 12 times in a row (the person is determined to be asleep when the living room status at 23:00:00 on April 1, 2019 (not shown) continues to be "Away"), and rewrites "Not in the living room" from 22:00:00 onwards to "Resting," and stores this in the status display field 105. "Resting" means "Sleeping." At this time, the monitoring device 1 was in a request waiting state.

- At 01:00:00 on April 2, 2019, the living room state was "not in" and the refrigerator state was "open." The monitoring device 1 generated a "count number = 1" due to the refrigerator state being "open." The count number did not reach a predetermined threshold (e.g., "3"). The monitoring device 1 generated a status message "Closed" and stored it in the status display field 105. At this time, the monitoring device 1 was in a request waiting state. The monitoring device 1 also generated "The refrigerator has been opened once."

- At 01:05:00 on April 2, 2019, the living room state was "not in" and the refrigerator state was "open." The monitoring device 1 generated a "count number = 2" due to the refrigerator state being "open." The count number did not reach a predetermined threshold. The monitoring device 1 generated a status message "Closed" and stored it in the status display field 105. At this time, the monitoring device 1 was in a request waiting state. The monitoring device 1 also generated "The refrigerator was opened twice."

- At 01:10:00 on April 2, 2019, the living room state was "not in" and the refrigerator state was "open." The monitoring device 1 generated a "count number = 3" due to the refrigerator state being "open." The count number reached a predetermined threshold. The monitoring device 1 generated a status message "Closed" and stored it in the status display field 105. At this time, the monitoring device 1 was in a request waiting state. The monitoring device 1 also generated "The refrigerator has been opened three times."

・At 08:00:00 on April 2, 2019, the living room status was "absent" and the refrigerator status was "closed". The monitoring device 1 generated "The night refrigerator was used three or more times" due to the number of times the refrigerator was opened at night reaching a predetermined threshold (here, three times) and stored it in the status display field 105. At the same time, the monitoring device 1 displayed the status text "The night refrigerator was used three or more times" as a push notification on the output device of the terminal device 3. The reason for the push notification of the night refrigerator use at 8:00 a.m. is that although it is not as urgent as the above-mentioned pattern 1, it is considered to be of high importance and it is necessary to reliably inform the watcher. If the refrigerator is opened and closed at night only for one night, it is not a problem, but if it is opened and closed every night, it has the effect of making the watcher aware that there may be something unusual happening.

Before proceeding with the explanation of FIG. 6, we will explain the review of the status from asleep to absent during nighttime operation. If "absent" occurs consecutively during the night and then changes to "present" after a specific time the next day (e.g. 12:00), there is a high possibility that the person being watched over 5 has gone out to a friend's house or the like and then returned home. Therefore, the monitoring device 1 first determines that the person being watched over 5 is asleep when "absent" occurs 12 times in a row during the night. Next, if "absent" has not changed to "present" by 12:00 the next day, the monitoring device 1 reviews its determination that the person being watched over 5 is asleep and retroactively determines that they were "absent."

Attention is now directed to Figure 6. From Figure 6, the following can be seen.
The same explanation as in FIG. 5 applies at 21:55:00 on April 1, 2019 and 22:00:00 on April 1, 2019 (the same applies in that it is determined that the user is asleep at 23:00:00 on April 1, 2019, and the status wording for the past hour, “Not in the living room,” is replaced with “Sleep”).

- At 01:00:00 on April 2, 2019, the living room state was "not in" and the refrigerator state was "open." The monitoring device 1 generated a "count number = 1" due to the refrigerator state being "open." The count number did not reach a predetermined threshold. The monitoring device 1 generated a status message "Closed" and stored it in the status display field 105. At this time, the monitoring device 1 was in a request waiting state. The monitoring device 1 also generated "The refrigerator has been opened once."

- At 12:00:00 on April 2, 2019, the living room status was "not in" and the refrigerator status was "closed." The monitoring device 1 rewrote the previous status text "on vacation" to "not in the living room," generated the status text "not in the living room," and stored it in the status display field 105. At this time, the monitoring device 1 was in a request waiting state.

The record for 01:00:00 on April 2, 2019 is compared with the record for 12:00:00 on April 2, 2019. At 01:00:00 on April 2, 2019, the monitoring device 1 determines that the person being watched over 5 is asleep. At 12:00:00 on April 2, 2019, the monitoring device 1 determines that the person being watched over 5 is "absent." In this case, at 12:00:00 on April 2, 2019, the monitoring device 1 updates the status text of all records from 22:00:00 on April 1, 2019 onwards from "Resting" to "Not in the living room."

(Processing Procedure)
The processing procedure will be described below. For convenience of explanation, the processing procedure is divided into two: a basic processing procedure and a nighttime processing procedure. In the nighttime processing procedure, the monitoring device 1 determines that "absent" means that the person being watched 5 is asleep.

7 is a flowchart of the basic processing procedure. The basic processing procedure corresponds to the state information 31a (FIG. 3) and the state information 31b (FIG. 4). In the middle of the flowchart, reference is made to FIGS. 9 and 10 as necessary.
In step S201, the sensor information acquisition unit 21 of the monitoring device 1 receives "not in residence." Specifically, first, the sensor information acquisition unit 21 receives from the sensor 2 the living room state "not in residence."
Secondly, the sensor information acquiring unit 21 creates a record of the status information 31. The record created at this time is, for example, a record of the status information 31a (FIG. 3) with the time being "20190401 18:00:00".

In step S202, the sensor information processing unit 22 of the monitoring device 1 determines whether or not it has received "absent" messages for a predetermined period of time. Specifically, if the current timer value has reached a predetermined value (e.g., 24 hours) (step S201 "Yes"), the sensor information processing unit 22 proceeds to step S203, and otherwise (step S201 "No"), it waits. Note that in this embodiment, the predetermined period is counted by a timer, but the sensor information processing unit 22 may count the number of consecutive "absent" messages. If the predetermined period is 24 hours, the number of "absent" messages is 288 (if the living room status is transmitted from the sensor 2 every 5 minutes).

In step S203, the sensor information processing unit 22 determines whether or not "open" has been received within a predetermined period. Specifically, if at least one record of the most recent 24-hour period of the status information 31 includes the refrigerator status "open" ("Yes" in step S203), the sensor information processing unit 22 proceeds to step S204. Otherwise ("No" in step S203), the sensor information processing unit 22 proceeds to step S205.

In step S204, the sensor information processing unit 22 generates "I haven't seen you, but you have used the refrigerator" and waits for a request. Specifically, the sensor information processing unit 22 creates a record of the status information 31. The record created at this time is, for example, a record of the status information 31b (FIG. 4) with the time "20190402 18:00:00". Now, assume that the watcher presses the life rhythm display button (not shown) of the operation terminal 3. Then, the sensor information processing unit 22 causes the output device of the terminal device 3 to display a life rhythm screen (FIG. 8). We are in the middle of FIG. 7, but let's focus on FIG. 8 for now.

Figure 8 is an example of a life rhythm screen 41 displayed on the terminal device 3 in Figure 4. The life rhythm screen 41 displays a status graph 42 and a refrigerator door open sign 43 "The refrigerator has been opened once". The status graph 42 displays "Away", "Present" and "Sleeping" in chronological order using different colors. "Present" is further displayed using three different colors depending on the activity level of the person being watched over 5 ("Low", "Medium" and "High"). Screen 41 is an example where it is determined that the person is "Away" at night.

The refrigerator door open sign 43 shows the message "The refrigerator has been opened once" and indicates that the refrigerator status became "open" at around 03:00 on a certain day. The color of the living room status graph 42 at that time indicates "not in residence". Up to this point, the refrigerator door open sign 43 in FIG. 4 has been explained, but in the case of FIG. 5, for example, the refrigerator status became "open" three times at around 01:00 on a certain day, so the refrigerator door open sign 43 displays the message "The refrigerator has been opened three times". Return to FIG. 7.

In step S205, the sensor information processing unit 22 generates a status message "I haven't seen you for more than 24 hours" and displays it as a push notification on the terminal device. Specifically, first, the sensor information processing unit 22 creates a record of the status information 31. The record created at this time is, for example, a record of the status information 31a (FIG. 3) with the time "20190402 18:00:00".
Secondly, the sensor information processing unit 22 transmits to the terminal device 3 an instruction to display a status message "I haven't seen you for more than 24 hours" as a push notification on the output device of the terminal device 3. Then, the output device of the terminal device 3 displays the status message. Pay attention to FIG. 9.

9 is an example of a push notification screen 51. Since the person being watched over 5 has been absent for more than 24 hours and the refrigerator has not been opened or closed, it is possible that something has happened to the person being watched over. Since this information is important to the watcher, by sending a push notification, only information with a high degree of urgency can be strongly conveyed to the watcher. In the center of the screen, the status message "Not seen for more than 24 hours" is displayed prominently. In addition to this display, the terminal device 3 may generate an alarm sound, vibration, etc.
After step S204 or S205, the basic processing procedure ends.

10 is a flow chart of the nighttime processing procedure, which corresponds to the status information 31c (FIG. 5) and the status information 31d (FIG. 6).
In step S301, the sensor information acquisition unit 21 of the monitoring device 1 changes from "present" to "absent", and thereafter continuously receives "absent". Specifically, the sensor information acquisition unit 21 changes from the living room state "present" to "absent" from the sensor 2, and thereafter continuously receives "absent" 12 times (a timer may be used to count one hour).

In step S302, the sensor information processing unit 22 of the monitoring device 1 determines that the person being watched 5 is asleep. Specifically, first, the sensor information processing unit 22 determines that the consecutive "absent" signals received during the nighttime operation period indicate that the person being watched 5 is asleep, due to the fact that the sensor information processing unit 22 has consecutively received "absent" signals during the nighttime operation period.
Secondly, the sensor information processing unit 22 creates a record of the status information 31. The record created at this time is, for example, a record of the status information 31c (FIG. 5) with the time being "20190401 22:00:00".

In step S303, the sensor information acquisition unit 21 of the monitoring device 1 receives "open." Specifically, the sensor information acquisition unit 21 receives the refrigerator status "open" from the refrigerator 8.

In step S304, the sensor information processing unit 22 of the monitoring device 1 determines whether or not "open" has been received a predetermined number of times. Specifically, if the number of records of status information 31 including the refrigerator status "open" reaches a predetermined number during the period in which the sensor information processing unit 22 determines that "absent" indicates that the watched person 5 is asleep (step S304 "Yes"), the process proceeds to step S307. Otherwise (step S304 "No"), the sensor information processing unit 22 proceeds to step S305.

In step S305, the sensor information processing unit 22 generates "I'm taking a break" and waits for a request. Specifically, the sensor information processing unit 22 creates a record of the state information 31. The record created at this time is, for example, a record of the state information 31d (FIG. 6) with the time "20190402 01:00:00". Now, assume that the watcher opens this application on the operation terminal 3. Then, the sensor information processing unit 22 displays the life rhythm screen (FIG. 8) on the output device of the terminal device 3. At this time, the refrigerator door open sign 43 is "The refrigerator has been opened once". After step S305, the process proceeds to step S306. If the refrigerator has only been used once or twice during the night, it can be assumed that, for example, the user drank water during sleep because they were thirsty. Therefore, in step S305, the sensor information processing unit 22 generates "I'm taking a break" and determines that sleep is continuing.

In step S306, the sensor information processing unit 22 determines whether it is still "Absent" until 12:00 the next day. Specifically, if records of status information 31 including the living room status "Absent" continue up to a specified time during the period in which the sensor information processing unit 22 determines that "Absent" indicates that the watched person 5 is asleep (step S306 "Yes"), the process proceeds to step S310. Otherwise (step S306 "No"), the sensor information processing unit 22 returns to step S304. The "specified time" here is, for example, 12:00:00 the next day. Here, "continuous" means that there is no "Present" in between.

In step S307, the sensor information processing unit 22 generates "The user is taking a break" and waits for a request. Specifically, the sensor information processing unit 22 creates a record of the status information 31. The record created at this time is, for example, a record of the status information 31d (FIG. 5) with the time "20190402 01:10:00". Now, assume that the watcher opens this application on the terminal device 3. Then, the sensor information processing unit 22 causes the output device of the terminal device 3 to display the life rhythm screen 41 (FIG. 8). At this time, the refrigerator door open sign 43 is "The refrigerator has been opened three times". After step S307, the process proceeds to step S308.

In step S308, the sensor information processing unit 22 generates a status statement "The overnight refrigerator has been used three or more times" and displays it on the terminal device. Here, "three times" is an arbitrarily determined number of times. Specifically, firstly, the sensor information processing unit 22 creates a record of the status information 31. The record created at this time is, for example, a record of the status information 31c (FIG. 5) with the time being "20190402 08:00:00".
Secondly, the sensor information processing unit 22 transmits to the terminal device 3 an instruction to display the status message "The overnight refrigerator has been used three or more times" on the output device of the terminal device 3. Then, the output device of the terminal device 3 displays the status message.

In step S309, the sensor information processing unit 22 determines whether it is still "Absent" until 12:00 the next day. Specifically, if records of status information 31 including the living room status "Absent" continue up to a specified time during the period in which the sensor information processing unit 22 determines that "Absent" indicates that the watched person 5 is asleep (step S309 "Yes"), the process proceeds to step S310. Otherwise (step S309 "No"), the sensor information processing unit 22 ends the nighttime processing procedure. Here, the "specified time" is, for example, 12:00:00 the next day. Here, "continuous" means that there is no "Present" in between.

In step S310, the sensor information processing unit 22 reassesss the living room state from "asleep" to "absent." Specifically, the sensor information processing unit 22 reassesss the determination in step S302 and retroactively determines again that the person being watched over 5 was "absent." The nighttime processing procedure is then terminated.

Note that a "display request" is a request from the terminal device 3 to the monitoring device 1, which is initiated when the watcher operates the terminal device 3 to launch an application. However, a "display request" may also be a request from the watcher operating the terminal device 3, for example, a request made by the watcher pressing an update icon for an application, or any other similar request.

Next, we will explain the second embodiment.

(Configuration of environment and monitoring device)
Fig. 11 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of the environment and the monitoring device according to the second embodiment. The differences between Fig. 11 and Fig. 1 are as follows.
The monitoring device 1 includes an attention period management unit 23 as a program.
The residence 6 has an entrance 6d, which has a door 10 for entering and exiting from the outside.
The kitchen 6 is equipped with a cooking appliance 9. The cooking appliance 9 here is a microwave oven with an opening and closing door or the like.
The person being watched over 5 may be an elderly person living alone, or a schoolchild (including junior and senior high school students) living with both working parents.
The status information 31 includes status information 31e, 31f, 31g, and 31h, which will be described later.

The monitoring device 1 is connected to the cooking appliance 9 and the door 10 via the network 4. The cooking appliance 9 has a mechanism (e.g., a sensor) for recognizing the opening/closing operation and/or the opening/closing state of the door, and transmits the recognized opening/closing operation and/or the opening/closing state to the monitoring device 1 via the network 4 in real time. The door (entrance/exit management device) 10 also has a mechanism (e.g., a sensor) for recognizing its own opening/closing operation and/or the opening/closing state, and transmits the recognized opening/closing operation and/or the opening/closing state to the monitoring device 1 via the network 4 in real time. In other words, the sensor information acquisition unit 21 of the monitoring device 1 receives operations on the refrigerator 8 (first home appliance), the cooking appliance 9 (second home appliance), and the door 10 (third home appliance) by the person being watched 5 from sensors installed in those appliances.

(Status Information)
12 to 15 are examples of the status information 31. For ease of explanation, the four status information 31e to 31h will be explained in order below. The four status information 31e to 31h correspond to the following patterns 5 to 8, respectively.

<Pattern 5> A pattern in which the watched person opens the door of the refrigerator 8 during the attention period specified by the watcher (details below).
<Pattern 6> A pattern in which the watched person does not open the door of refrigerator 8 during the attention period.
<Pattern 7> A pattern in which the watched person opens the door of the cooking appliance 9 immediately after opening the door of the refrigerator 8 during the attention period.
<Pattern 8> A pattern in which the watched person opens the door of the refrigerator 8 immediately after opening the door 10 during the attention period.

In status information 31e (FIG. 12) corresponding to pattern 5 and status information 31f (FIG. 13) corresponding to pattern 6, the refrigerator status is stored in refrigerator status column 103, a status message is stored in status display column 105, and a notification category is stored in notification category column 106 in association with the time stored in time column 101. The explanation of each of these columns is the same as that described above in FIG. 3.

The configuration of status information 31g (Figure 14) corresponding to pattern 7 is the same as that of status information 31e, but with the addition of a cooking appliance status (column 103b). The cooking appliance status in cooking appliance status column 103b is either "open", indicating that the door of cooking appliance 9 is open, or "closed", indicating that the door of cooking appliance 9 is closed. The configuration of status information 31h (Figure 15) corresponding to pattern 8 is the same as that of status information 31e, but with the addition of a front door status (column 103c). The front door status in front door status column 103c is either "open", indicating that the door 10 is open, or "closed", indicating that the door 10 is closed.

The following can be seen from FIG.
The caregiver has specified the attention period to be from 7:00:00 to 8:00:00 every day (within the thick frame above the double line). During the attention period, the caregiver is trying to make sure that the elderly person living alone gets up regularly every morning and eats breakfast.
At 7:00:00 on Apr. 2, 2019, the refrigerator status was "closed." The monitoring device 1 generated a status message "Refrigerator not in use" and stored it in the status display field 105. At this time, the monitoring device 1 was in a state where it could display the status message on the output device of the terminal device 3 if there was a display request.

At 7:05:00 on April 2, 2019, the refrigerator status was “open.” The monitoring device 1 generates a status statement “The refrigerator was used during breakfast time,” stores the status statement in the status display field 105, and causes the output device of the terminal device 3 to display the status statement as a push notification.
At 7:10:00 on April 2, 2019, the refrigerator status was "open." The monitoring device 1 generated a status message "The refrigerator was used during breakfast time" and stored it in the status display field 105. If the notification category was "push," the monitoring device 1 displayed the status message by push notification on the output device of the terminal device 3. If the notification category was "waiting for request," the monitoring device 1 was in a state in which it could display the status message on the output device of the terminal device 3 if there was a display request.

- Incidentally, outside the period of interest, even if the refrigerator status is "open", the monitoring device 1 does not generate a status message. Therefore, outside the period of interest, the status display field 105 and the notification distinction field 106 are blank (the same applies to the example below the double line). This also applies to Figures 13 to 15.

Below the double line, the watcher, the watched person and the residence 6 are different from those above the double line.
The watcher specifies the attention period to be from 12:00:00 to 16:00:00 every day (within the thick frame below the double line). During the attention period, the watcher is trying to make sure that the child comes home from school and eats lunch alone while the watcher is away.
At 12:00:00 on Apr. 2, 2019, the refrigerator status was "closed." The monitoring device 1 generated a status message "Refrigerator not in use" and stored it in the status display field 105. At this time, the monitoring device 1 was in a state where it could display the status message on the output device of the terminal device 3 if there was a display request.

At 12:05:00 on Apr. 2, 2019, the refrigerator status was “open.” The monitoring device 1 generates a status statement “The refrigerator was used during the time when the user arrived home,” stores the status statement in the status display field 105, and causes the output device of the terminal device 3 to display the status statement as a push notification.
At 12:10:00 on April 2, 2019, the refrigerator status was "open." The monitoring device 1 generated a status message "The refrigerator was used during the time when the user arrived home" and stored it in the status display field 105. If the notification category was "push," the monitoring device 1 displayed the status message by push notification on the output device of the terminal device 3. If the notification category was "waiting for request," the monitoring device 1 was in a state in which it could display the status message on the output device of the terminal device 3 if there was a display request.

The following can be seen from Fig. 13: The watcher, the person being watched, and the residence 6 on the double line in Fig. 13 are the same as those on the double line in Fig. 12 (the case of an elderly person living alone).
As described above, the watcher has specified the attention period from 7:00:00 to 8:00:00 every day (within the thick frame above the double line). During this attention period, the refrigerator status was "closed" continuously.
- At 8:05:00 on April 3, 2019, immediately after the end of the period of interest, the monitoring device 1 generated a status message "The refrigerator was not used during breakfast time," stored it in the status display field 105, and displayed it as a push notification on the output device of the terminal device 3.

The watcher, the watched person and the residence 6 under the double line in FIG. 13 are the same as those under the double line in FIG. 12 (in the case of a schoolchild).
As described above, the watcher has specified the period of interest to be from 12:00:00 to 16:00:00 every day (within the bold frame below the double line). During this period of interest, the refrigerator status was "closed" continuously.
- At 16:05:00 on April 3, 2019, immediately after the end of the period of interest, the monitoring device 1 generated a status message "The refrigerator was not used during the time the user arrived home", stored it in the status display field 105, and displayed it as a push notification on the output device of the terminal device 3.

The following can be seen from Fig. 14: The watcher, the person being watched, and the residence 6 above the double line in Fig. 14 are the same as those above the double line in Fig. 12 (the case of an elderly person living alone).
As described above, the watcher has specified the attention period from 7:00:00 to 8:00:00 every day (within the thick frame above the double line).

- At 7:00:00 on April 4, 2019, the refrigerator status was "closed" and the cooking appliance status was also "closed." The monitoring device 1 generated a status message "Refrigerator and cooking appliance not in use" and stored it in the status display field 105. At this time, the monitoring device 1 was in a state where it could display the status message on the output device of the terminal device 3 if there was a display request.

- At 7:05:00 on April 4, 2019, the refrigerator status was "open" and the cooking appliance status was "closed." The monitoring device 1 generated a status message "The refrigerator was used during breakfast time" and stored it in the status display field 105. At this time, the monitoring device 1 was in a state where it could display the status message on the output device of the terminal device 3 if there was a display request.

- At 7:10:00 on April 4, 2019, the refrigerator status was "closed" and the cooking appliance status was "open." In this way, if the cooking appliance status changes to "open" within a specified period (e.g., 10 minutes) after the refrigerator status changes to "open," it is highly likely that the person being watched over will have taken food out of the refrigerator and cooked it in the cooking appliance after waking up. Therefore, at this time, the watching device 1 generates a status statement "It appears that the person has had breakfast," stores this in the status display field 105, and displays it as a push notification on the output device of the terminal device 3.

The watcher, the watched person and the residence 6 under the double line in FIG. 14 are the same as those under the double line in FIG. 12 (the case of a schoolchild).
As described above, the watcher has specified the attention period from 12:00:00 to 16:00:00 every day (within the thick frame below the double line).

- At 12:00:00 on April 4, 2019, the refrigerator status was "closed" and the cooking appliance status was also "closed." The monitoring device 1 generated a status message "Refrigerator and cooking appliance are not in use" and stored it in the status display field 105. At this time, the monitoring device 1 was in a state where it could display the status message on the output device of the terminal device 3 if there was a display request.

- At 12:05:00 on April 4, 2019, the refrigerator status was "open" and the cooking appliance status was "closed." The monitoring device 1 generated a status message "The refrigerator was used during the time when the user returned home" and stored it in the status display field 105. At this time, the monitoring device 1 was in a state in which it could display the status message on the output device of the terminal device 3 if a display request was made.

・At 12:10:00 on April 4, 2019, the refrigerator status was "closed" and the cooking appliance status was "open." In this way, if the cooking appliance status changes to "open" within a specified period (e.g., 10 minutes) after the refrigerator status changes to "open," it is highly likely that the person being watched over will have taken food out of the refrigerator and cooked it in the cooking appliance after returning home to an empty residence. Therefore, at this time, the watching device 1 generates a status statement "It appears that the person has had lunch," stores this in the status display field 105, and displays this as a push notification on the output device of the terminal device 3.

From Fig. 15, the following can be seen: The watcher, the watched person, and the residence 6 in Fig. 15 are the same as those under the double line in Fig. 12 (the case of school children).
As described above, the watcher has specified the attention period from 12:00:00 to 16:00:00 every day (within the thick frame below the double line).
The watcher is paying attention to the return of the younger of the two school children, "Mr. A." Specifically, the watcher displays a status message on the output device of the terminal device 3 by push notification only when the door 10 detects that Mr. A has opened the door 10. The door 10 detects Mr. A from a card or the like that Mr. A holds up to the door 10.

- At 12:00:00 on April 5, 2019, the refrigerator status was "closed" and the front door status was also "closed." The monitoring device 1 generated a status message "The front door is not open, the refrigerator is not in use" and stored it in the status display field 105. At this time, the monitoring device 1 was in a state where it could display the status message on the output device of the terminal device 3 if there was a display request.

- At 12:05:00 on April 5, 2019, the refrigerator status was "closed" and the front door status was "open." Then, the door 10 detected that Person A had opened the door. The monitoring device 1 generated a status message "It appears Person A has returned home" and stored it in the status display field 105. At this time, the monitoring device 1 was in a state where it could display the status message on the output device of the terminal device 3 if there was a display request.

- At 12:10:00 on April 5, 2019, the refrigerator status was "open" and the front door status was "closed." In this way, if the refrigerator status changes to "open" within a specified period (e.g., 10 minutes) after the front door status changes to "open," it is highly likely that the person being watched over has taken food out of the refrigerator after returning home to an unattended residence. Therefore, at this time, the watching device 1 generates a status statement "It appears that Mr. A had lunch after returning home," stores this in the status display field 105, and displays this as a push notification on the output device of the terminal device 3.

- At 12:30:00 on April 5, 2019, the refrigerator status was "closed" and the front door status was "open." Then, the door 10 detected that Person B had opened the door. The monitoring device 1 generated a status message "It appears Person B has returned home" and stored it in the status display field 105. At this time, the monitoring device 1 was in a state where it could display the status message on the output device of the terminal device 3 if there was a display request.

・At 12:35:00 on April 5, 2019, the refrigerator status was "open" and the front door status was "closed." At this time, the monitoring device 1 generated a status message "It appears that Mr. B had lunch after returning home" and stored it in the status display field 105. Then, if there is a display request, the monitoring device 1 was in a state where it could display this status message on the output device of the terminal device 3. At this time, the monitoring device 1 does not display this status message by push notification on the output device of the terminal device 3. This is because the watcher is not paying attention to Mr. B.

(Processing Procedure)
16 is a flowchart of the attention period processing procedure (part 1). The attention period processing procedure (part 1) corresponds to FIGS.
In step S401, the attention period management unit 23 of the watching device 1 accepts an attention period. Specifically, the attention period management unit 23 accepts an attention period input by the watcher via the terminal device 3, such as "7:00:00 to 8:00:00 every day."

In step S402, the attention period management unit 23 accepts a notification category rule. Specifically, the attention period management unit 23 accepts the notification category rule input by the watcher via the terminal device 3 as follows:
When the refrigerator status becomes "open" during the period of interest, the monitoring device 1 displays a push notification to that effect each time, or displays a push notification to that effect only the first time.
If the refrigerator state has never become "open" during the period of interest, the monitoring device 1 displays a push notification to that effect immediately after the end of the period of interest.
As is clear from the above, the notification classification rule is a rule by which the monitoring device 1 selectively uses "wait for request" and "push" during the attention period.

In step S403, the attention period management unit 23 determines whether the attention period has arrived. Specifically, if the attention period has started (step S403: "Yes"), the attention period management unit 23 proceeds to step S404, and otherwise (step S403: "No"), the attention period management unit 23 waits.

In step S404, the sensor information processing unit 22 of the monitoring device 1 determines whether the refrigerator state has become "open." Specifically, if the refrigerator state has become "open" (step S404, "Yes"), the sensor information processing unit 22 proceeds to step S405, and otherwise (step S404, "No"), the sensor information processing unit 22 proceeds to step S407.

In step S405, the sensor information processing unit 22 determines whether the notification category is "push". Specifically, if the notification category is "push" (step S405 "Yes"), the sensor information processing unit 22 proceeds to step S406, and otherwise (step S405 "No"), the sensor information processing unit 22 proceeds to step S407. The sensor information processing unit 22 refers to the notification category rules accepted in step S402 and determines whether the notification category at the relevant timing is "push" or "request waiting".

In step S406, the sensor information processing unit 22 generates "The refrigerator was used during XX time period" and displays the result as a push notification on the terminal device 3. The display corresponds to, for example, the record for 7:05:00 in FIG. 12.

In step S407, the attention period management unit 23 of the monitoring device 1 determines whether the attention period has ended. Specifically, if the attention period has ended (step S407 "Yes"), the attention period management unit 23 proceeds to step S408, and otherwise (step S407 "No"), the attention period management unit 23 returns to step S404.

In step S408, the sensor information processing unit 22 of the monitoring device 1 determines whether there has been an opportunity to display a push notification. After the attention period arrives, it may end without going through step S406 even once (the same applies to Figures 17 and 18). Therefore, if the sensor information processing unit 22 has gone through step S406 at least once (step S408 "Yes"), it proceeds to step S410. Otherwise (step S408 "No"), the sensor information processing unit 22 proceeds to step S409.

In step S409, the sensor information processing unit 22 generates "The refrigerator was not used during XX time period" and causes the terminal device 3 to display the push notification. The display corresponds to, for example, the record for 8:05:00 in FIG. 13. Then, the attention period processing procedure (part 1) ends.

In step S410, the sensor information processing unit 22 causes the terminal device 3 to display the summary count by push notification. Specifically, the sensor information processing unit 22 divides the period of interest into a number of segment periods of equal length. The sensor information processing unit 22 then causes the terminal device 3 to display, by push notification, the number of push displays for each segment period and/or the number of times the refrigerator status became "open" (see FIG. 19). Thereafter, the period of interest processing procedure (part 1) is terminated.

Figure 19 is an example of the life rhythm screen 41. The period of interest in this example is "8:00 to 11:00." The sensor information processing unit 22 divides the period of interest into three 60-minute segments, and causes the terminal device 3 to display the number of times the refrigerator status became "open" for each segment. The sensor information processing unit 22 may also display the number of times for each segment each time the segment ends.

17 is a flowchart of the attention period processing procedure (part 2). The attention period processing procedure (part 2) corresponds to FIG.
Step S421 is the same as step S401 in FIG.
In step S422, the attention period management unit 23 of the watching device 1 accepts the notification category rule. Specifically, the attention period management unit 23 accepts the following notification category rule input by the watcher via the terminal device 3.
If the cooking appliance state changes to "open" within a predetermined period (e.g., 10 minutes) after the refrigerator state changes to "open" during the period of interest, the monitoring device 1 displays a push notification to that effect.

In step S423, the attention period management unit 23 determines whether the attention period has arrived. Specifically, if the attention period has started (step S423: "Yes"), the attention period management unit 23 proceeds to step S424, and otherwise (step S423: "No"), the attention period management unit 23 waits.

In step S424, the sensor information processing unit 22 of the monitoring device 1 determines whether the refrigerator state has become "open." Specifically, if the refrigerator state has become "open" (step S424, "Yes"), the sensor information processing unit 22 proceeds to step S425, and otherwise (step S424, "No"), the sensor information processing unit 22 proceeds to step S428.

In step S425, the sensor information processing unit 22 determines whether the cooking device state has become "open". Specifically, if the cooking device state has become "open" within a predetermined period (e.g., 10 minutes) after the refrigerator state has become "open" (step S425 "Yes"), the sensor information processing unit 22 proceeds to step S426. Otherwise (step S425 "No"), the sensor information processing unit 22 proceeds to step S428.

In step S426, the sensor information processing unit 22 determines whether the notification category is "push". Specifically, if the notification category is "push" (step S426 "Yes"), the sensor information processing unit 22 proceeds to step S427, and otherwise (step S426 "No"), the sensor information processing unit 22 proceeds to step S428. The sensor information processing unit 22 refers to the notification category rules accepted in step S422 to determine whether the notification category at the relevant timing is "push" or "request waiting".

In step S427, the sensor information processing unit 22 generates "It appears that you have had ○ meals" and causes the terminal device 3 to display the message as a push notification. The message corresponds to the record for 7:10:00 in Fig. 14, for example. The message indicates that the operation of opening the refrigerator 8 and the operation of opening the cooking appliance 9 have been performed consecutively.
In step S428, the attention period management unit 23 of the watching device 1 judges whether or not the attention period has ended. Specifically, if the attention period has ended (step S428 "Yes"), the attention period management unit 23 proceeds to step S429, and otherwise (step S428 "No"), the attention period management unit 23 returns to step S424.

In step S429, the sensor information processing unit 22 of the monitoring device 1 determines whether there has been an opportunity to display a push notification. Specifically, if step S427 has been passed through at least once (step S429 "Yes"), the sensor information processing unit 22 ends the attention period processing procedure (part 2). Otherwise (step S429 "No"), the sensor information processing unit 22 proceeds to attention step S430.

In step S430, the sensor information processing unit 22 generates "It appears that you have not eaten ○ meals" and displays the push notification on the terminal device 3. Then, the attention period processing procedure (part 2) ends.

18 is a flowchart of the attention period processing procedure (part 3). The attention period processing procedure (part 3) corresponds to FIG.
Step S441 is the same as step S401 in FIG.
In step S442, the attention period management unit 23 of the watching device 1 accepts the notification category rule. Specifically, the attention period management unit 23 accepts the following notification category rule input by the watcher via the terminal device 3.
- If the refrigerator state becomes "open" within a specified period of time (e.g., 10 minutes) after the entrance state becomes "open" due to the action of a specific monitored person (e.g., Mr. A), the monitoring device 1 will display a push notification to that effect.

In step S443, the attention period management unit 23 determines whether the attention period has arrived. Specifically, if the attention period has started (step S443: "Yes"), the attention period management unit 23 proceeds to step S444, and otherwise (step S443: "No"), the attention period management unit 23 waits.

In step S444, the sensor information processing unit 22 of the monitoring device 1 determines whether the entrance state has been changed to "open" by a specific person being watched over. Specifically, if the entrance state of a specific person being watched over (e.g., Mr. A) has been changed to "open" (step S444 "Yes"), the sensor information processing unit 22 proceeds to step S445, and otherwise (step S444 "No"), the sensor information processing unit 22 proceeds to step S448.

In step S445, the sensor information processing unit 22 determines whether the refrigerator state has become "open". Specifically, if the refrigerator state has become "open" within a predetermined period (e.g., 10 minutes) after the entrance state has become "open" (step S445 "Yes"), the sensor information processing unit 22 proceeds to step S446. Otherwise (step S445 "No"), the sensor information processing unit 22 proceeds to step S448.

In step S446, the sensor information processing unit 22 determines whether the notification category is "push". Specifically, if the notification category is "push" (step S446 "Yes"), the sensor information processing unit 22 proceeds to step S447, and otherwise (step S446 "No"), the sensor information processing unit 22 proceeds to step S448. The sensor information processing unit 22 refers to the notification category rules accepted in step S442 to determine whether the notification category at the relevant timing is "push" or "request waiting".

In step S447, the sensor information processing unit 22 generates "It appears that Mr./Ms. XX had XX meals after returning home" and displays it as a push notification on the terminal device 3. This display corresponds to, for example, the record of 12:10:00 in Fig. 15. This display indicates that the operation of opening the door 10 and the operation of opening the refrigerator 8 were performed consecutively.
In step S448, the attention period management unit 23 of the monitoring device 1 determines whether the attention period has ended. Specifically, if the attention period has ended (step S448 "Yes"), the attention period management unit 23 proceeds to step S449, and otherwise (step S448 "No"), the attention period management unit 23 returns to step S444.

In step S449, the sensor information processing unit 22 of the monitoring device 1 determines whether there has been an opportunity to display a push notification. Specifically, if step S447 has been passed through at least once (step S449 "Yes"), the sensor information processing unit 22 ends the attention period processing procedure (part 3). Otherwise (step S449 "No"), the sensor information processing unit 22 proceeds to step S450.

In step S450, the sensor information processing unit 22 generates a push notification that reads, "It appears that Mr./Ms. XX has not had XX meals since returning home," and causes the terminal device 3 to display the push notification. Then, the attention period processing procedure (part 3) is terminated.

(Effects of this embodiment)
The effects of the monitoring device of this embodiment are as follows.
(1) The monitoring device can display a push notification to the watcher that the person being watched has used a home appliance only during a period of attention specified by the watcher.
(2) The monitoring device can display to the monitor the number of times the person being monitored has used a home appliance.
(3) The monitoring device can display a push notification that the person being watched did not use a home appliance during the period of interest.
(4) If the person being watched over uses multiple home appliances during the period of interest, the monitoring device can display a push notification that the person being watched over has used a home appliance only the first time.
(5) The monitoring device can be applied to the case where the person being monitored uses a refrigerator (which is always turned on).

(6) The monitoring device can display a push notification that the person being watched over has used another home appliance immediately after using the home appliance of interest during the attention period (improving the sense of security).
(7) The monitoring device can be applied when the person being watched uses a cooking appliance immediately after using a refrigerator (detecting meal preparation).
(8) The monitoring device can display a push notification that a home appliance of interest has been used immediately after using another home appliance (improving the sense of security).
(9) The monitoring device can identify a person being monitored who has used another home appliance (limiting the people being monitored who should be paid attention to).
(10) The monitoring device can be applied when the person being monitored uses an entrance/exit management device (utilizing the person recognition function of the entrance/exit management device as is).

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, but includes various modified examples. For example, the above-described embodiments have been described in detail to make the present invention easier to understand, and are not necessarily limited to those having all of the configurations described. It is also possible to replace part of the configuration of one embodiment with the configuration of another embodiment, and it is also possible to add the configuration of another embodiment to the configuration of one embodiment. It is also possible to add, delete, or replace part of the configuration of each embodiment with other configurations.

1 Monitoring device 2 Sensor 3 Terminal device 4 Network 5 Monitored person 8 Refrigerator (first home appliance)
9. Cooking appliances (second household appliances)
10 Door (third home appliance)
REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 11 central control device 12 input device 13 output device 14 main memory device 15 auxiliary memory device 16 communication device 21 sensor information acquisition unit 22 sensor information processing unit 23 attention period management unit 31 status information

Claims (7)

a sensor information acquisition unit that receives an operation of a first home appliance by a person being watched over from a sensor installed in the first home appliance in the person being watched over;
an attention period management unit that accepts input of an attention period in one day by the watcher via a terminal device of the watcher;
a sensor information processing unit that, when an operation for the first home electric appliance is received during the attention period, automatically displays on the terminal device a message indicating that the operation has been received;
Equipped with
The sensor information acquisition unit
receiving an operation on a third home appliance from a sensor provided in the third home appliance in the residence, and receiving a subject of the operation;
The sensor information processing unit includes:
when an operation on the first home appliance is received within a predetermined period after an operation on the third home appliance performed by a predetermined person among the subjects is received during the attention period, automatically displaying on the terminal device that the person being watched over has eaten a meal after returning home ;
The first home appliance comprises:
It is a refrigerator,
The operation on the first home appliance includes:
An operation of opening the door of the refrigerator,
The third home appliance comprises:
An entrance/exit management device that manages entry and exit to a residence,
The operation on the third home appliance includes:
The operation is performed on the entrance/exit management device.
A monitoring device characterized by the above. The sensor information processing unit includes:
displaying the number of times of the operation on the terminal device;
The monitoring device according to claim 1 . The sensor information processing unit includes:
when no operation on the first home electric appliance is received within the attention period, automatically displaying on the terminal device a message indicating that no operation has been received;
The monitoring device according to claim 2 . The sensor information processing unit includes:
When an operation for the first home electric appliance is received multiple times during the attention period, automatically displaying on the terminal device that the operation has been received only for the first time;
The monitoring device according to claim 3 . The sensor information acquisition unit
receiving an operation of a second home appliance by the person being watched over from a sensor installed in the second home appliance in the residence;
The sensor information processing unit includes:
when an operation for the second home appliance is received within a predetermined period after the operation for the first home appliance is received during the attention period, automatically displaying on the terminal device that the person being watched over has eaten a meal ;
The second home appliance includes:
A heating cooker,
The operation on the second home appliance includes:
The operation is performed using the cooking device;
The monitoring device according to claim 4 , The sensor information acquisition unit of the monitoring device
receiving an operation of a first home appliance by a person being watched over from a sensor installed in the first home appliance in a residence of the person being watched over;
The attention period management unit of the monitoring device
Accepting an input of a daily attention period by the watcher via a terminal device of the watcher,
The sensor information processing unit of the monitoring device
when an operation for the first home electric appliance is received during the attention period, automatically displaying on the terminal device that the operation has been received;
The sensor information acquisition unit
receiving an operation on a third home appliance from a sensor provided in the third home appliance in the residence, and receiving a subject of the operation;
The sensor information processing unit includes:
when an operation on the first home appliance is received within a predetermined period after an operation on the third home appliance performed by a predetermined person among the subjects is received during the attention period, automatically displaying on the terminal device that the person being watched over has eaten a meal after returning home ;
The first home appliance comprises:
It is a refrigerator,
The operation on the first home appliance includes:
An operation of opening the door of the refrigerator,
The third home appliance comprises:
This is an entrance/exit management device that manages entry and exit to a residence,
The operation on the third home appliance includes:
The operation is performed on the entrance/exit management device.
A monitoring method for a monitoring device comprising the steps of: Computer,
a sensor information acquisition unit that receives an operation of a first home appliance by a person being watched over from a sensor installed in the first home appliance in the person being watched over;
an attention period management unit that accepts input of an attention period in one day by the watcher via a terminal device of the watcher;
a sensor information processing unit that, when an operation for the first home electric appliance is received during the attention period, automatically displays on the terminal device a message indicating that the operation has been received;
A monitoring program for making the system function as a
The sensor information acquisition unit
receiving an operation for a third home appliance in the residence from a sensor provided in the third home appliance and receiving a subject of the operation;
The sensor information processing unit:
executing a process of automatically displaying on the terminal device a message indicating that the person being watched over has eaten a meal after returning home, when an operation on the first home appliance is received within a predetermined period after an operation on the third home appliance performed by a predetermined person among the subjects is received during the attention period;
The first home appliance comprises:
It is a refrigerator,
The operation on the first home appliance includes:
An operation of opening the door of the refrigerator,
The third home appliance comprises:
This is an entrance/exit management device that manages entry and exit to a residence,
The operation on the third home appliance includes:
The operation is performed on the entrance/exit management device.
A monitoring program that features the following:

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