JP7792827B2 - Return/go-out detection device - Google Patents

Description

This disclosure relates to a device for determining whether a person has arrived home or gone out.

A locking/unlocking system that uses a mobile terminal to lock/unlock a lock built into a front door is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Patent No. 6937449

While locking and unlocking systems can operate, they have the problem of not being able to inexpensively and automatically determine whether residents or other users are at home or out.

This disclosure has been made in light of the above-mentioned circumstances, and aims to provide an in-home/out-of-home determination device that inexpensively and automatically determines whether a user is at home or out.

One aspect of the present disclosure is an arrival/departure determination device that includes a human presence sensor installed inside a building, an electric lock installed at an entrance/exit of the building, and a determination device that determines whether a user has arrived home or gone out based on the detection result of the human presence sensor and the locking or unlocking of the electric lock .

1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of an in-home/out-home determination device A. FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of a relay device 4. 10 is a flowchart showing the operation of the coming-home/going-out determination device A.

1, the home/away determination device A according to this embodiment includes, as components, an electric lock 1, a mobile terminal 2 ( electric lock operating terminal), a smart home appliance 3, a relay device 4 (determination device), and a wireless LAN router 5. LAN is an abbreviation for Local Area Network.

Of the components of the home/away determination device A, the electric lock 1, mobile terminal 2, and relay device 4 are referred to as a "smart lock" and constitute a locking/unlocking system in which the electric lock 1 can be locked and unlocked contactlessly from the mobile terminal 2 ( electric lock operating terminal).

Electric lock 1 is installed at an entrance such as a front door in a building such as a typical home. Electric lock 1 is a lock that can be locked and unlocked electrically and is capable of short-range communication with mobile terminal 2 and relay device 4. The short-range communication method (communication standard) used in this embodiment is the so-called "Bluetooth (registered trademark)." Electric lock 1 communicates wirelessly (Bluetooth communication) with mobile terminal 2 and relay device 4 in accordance with the Bluetooth communication protocol.

In addition to "Bluetooth (registered trademark)," several other short-range communication methods (communication standards) are commonly known, including "ZigBee (registered trademark)." In this embodiment, "Bluetooth (registered trademark)" is used as the short-range communication method, but other short-range communication methods may also be used to construct the home/away determination device A as needed.

When electric lock 1 receives a locking instruction from mobile terminal 2, it enters a locked state (a state in which the entrance cannot be opened or closed) based on the locking instruction. When electric lock 1 receives an unlocking instruction from mobile terminal 2, it enters an unlocked state (a state in which the entrance can be opened or closed freely) based on the unlocking instruction. Electric lock 1 notifies relay device 3 of the locked/unlocked state based on the locking or unlocking instruction received from mobile terminal 2.

The mobile terminal 2 is a mobile device such as a smartphone that can be carried by a human user. The mobile terminal 2 is a communication device capable of Bluetooth communication with the electric lock 1. The mobile terminal 2 is pre-installed with an application program ( electric lock control program) that operates the electric lock 1 contactlessly using short-range communication.

The mobile terminal 2 is an electric lock operating terminal that locks or unlocks the electric lock 1 by transmitting a locking or unlocking instruction to the electric lock 1 via short-range communication based on an electronic lock control program. The electronic lock control program is compatible with the OS (Operating System) of the mobile terminal 2.

When the user returns home from outside and approaches the entrance of the building, he/she operates the electric lock control program on the mobile terminal 2 to send an unlock command to the electric lock 1. When the electric lock 1 receives the unlock command from the mobile terminal 2, it makes the entrance open and close freely (unlocked state) in accordance with the unlock command.

When a user leaves the building, the user operates the electric lock control program on the mobile terminal 2 from outside the entrance (outside the building) to send a locking command to the electric lock 1. When the electric lock 1 receives the locking command from the mobile terminal 2, it disables the opening and closing of the entrance (locked state) in accordance with the locking command.

The smart home appliances 3 are home appliances that can connect to external communication terminals and are components of a home network (domestic LAN) established in the building. In this embodiment, a home network including the smart home appliances 3 and the wireless LAN router 5 as components has been established in advance in the building.

Smart home appliance 3 is, for example, an electrical outlet or light with communication capabilities, commonly referred to as a smart outlet (smart plug) or smart lighting. Smart home appliance 3 performs wireless communication (wireless LAN communication) with wireless LAN router 5 using a communication protocol that complies with wireless LAN (Local Area Network), a communication method (communication standard) that has a longer communication distance than short-range communication.

Smart home appliances 3 perform their functions based on operational instructions received from the outside via the wireless LAN router 5. For example, when a smart outlet (smart plug) receives a power-on instruction from the outside, it starts supplying power to the electrical devices connected to it. When a smart light receives a power-on instruction from the outside, it switches from an off state to an on state.

Relay device 4 is installed near the entrance (entrance floor) inside the building. Relay device 4 is a communication device that relays wireless communication between electric lock 1 and the home network (home LAN). Relay device 4 communicates with electric lock 1 via Bluetooth, but also communicates with smart home appliances 3 and wireless LAN router 5 using a communication method (communication standard) that has a longer communication distance than Bluetooth communication.

The communication method between the relay device 4, smart home appliances 3, and wireless LAN router 5 is a wireless LAN that is generally referred to as "Wi-Fi (registered trademark)" and conforms to home networks (domestic LANs).

As shown in Figure 1, the relay device 4 is equipped with a human presence sensor 4a, and as shown in Figure 2, in addition to the human presence sensor 4a, it is also equipped with a pairing switch 4b, a power LED 4c, a power plug 4d, a power circuit 4e, memory 4f, an MCU 4g, a smart lock communication circuit 4h, a smart lock high-frequency circuit 4i, a smart lock antenna 4j, a home network communication circuit 4k, a home network high-frequency circuit 4m, and a home network antenna 4n.

The human presence sensor 4a is installed near the entrance/exit (inside the entrance/exit) within the relay device 4, i.e., the building. The human presence sensor 4a is, for example, an infrared sensor that detects infrared rays emitted by a user (person) and detects the presence of a user (person) near the entrance/exit. When the human presence sensor 4a detects a user (person) inside the entrance/exit, it outputs a detection signal (detection result) to the MCU 4g indicating that the presence of a user (person) has been detected.

The pairing switch 4b is an operation button that instructs the MCU 4g to pair with the electric lock 1. When the user operates the pairing switch 4b, the pairing switch 4b outputs a pairing start signal to the MCU 4g. The MCU 4g establishes pairing with the electric lock 1 based on the pairing start signal.

In detail, the MCU 4g establishes a communication line with the electric lock 1 by performing short-range communication with the electric lock 1 via the smart lock communication circuit 4h, the smart lock high-frequency circuit 4i, and the smart lock antenna 4j. Once pairing is established between the electric lock 1 and the relay device 4, the electric lock 1 and the relay device 4 are able to freely communicate with each other in short-range communication.

The power LED 4c is a semiconductor light-emitting element (light-emitting diode) that notifies the outside world that power is being applied to the relay device 4. When power is being applied to the relay device 4, the power LED 4c emits light in accordance with a light-emitting signal input from the MCU 4g. The light-emitting signal is a voltage signal having a voltage that can cause the power LED 4c, which is a semiconductor light-emitting element, to emit light.

The power plug 4d is a connection part that connects the relay device 4 to a commercial power source (AC power source) such as AC 100V installed in the building. As is well known, the power plug 4d has a pair of electrodes, which are connected to the commercial power source and engage with an outlet that also has a pair of electrodes, thereby connecting the relay device 4 to the commercial power source. When the power plug 4d engages with the outlet, commercial power is supplied to the relay device 4.

The power supply circuit 4e is a power conversion circuit that converts the commercial power supply (AC power supply) input from the power plug 4d into DC power. The power supply circuit 4e converts the commercial power supply (AC power supply) into DC power supply used by the various electronic components of the relay device 4 (the human sensor 4a, pairing switch 4b, and power LED 4c) and various electronic circuits (memory 4f, MCU 4g, smart lock communication circuit 4h, smart lock high-frequency circuit 4i, home network communication circuit 4k, and home network high-frequency circuit 4m).

The various electronic components (human sensor 4a, pairing switch 4b, and power LED 4c) perform their desired functions using the DC power supplied from the power supply circuit 4e. The various electronic circuits, such as memory 4f and MCU 4g, perform their desired functions using the DC power supplied from the power supply circuit 4e.

Memory 4f is a semiconductor storage device that stores the relay program executed by MCU 4g and various control data required to execute the relay program. Memory 4f consists of non-volatile memory (ROM: Read Only Memory) and volatile memory (RAM: Random Access Memory).

Memory 4f stores the relay program and various control data in non-volatile memory, and stores data generated by MCU 4g during the execution of the relay program in volatile memory. Data reading and writing in memory 4f is controlled by MCU 4g, which executes the relay program.

The MCU 4g is the control unit (microcontroller unit) of the relay device 4 that provides overall control of the relay device 4. The MCU 4g includes a central processing unit (CPU) that executes a relay program, a human presence sensor 4a, a pairing switch 4b, a power LED 4c, a memory 4f, an input/output unit that inputs and outputs data to and from the smart lock communication circuit 4h and the home network communication circuit 4k.

The MCU 4g receives a detection signal input from the human presence sensor 4a based on the relay program. The MCU 4g receives a pairing start signal input from the pairing switch 4b based on the relay program. The MCU 4g outputs a light-emitting signal to the power LED 4c based on the relay program.

The MCU 4g outputs a transmission instruction (Bluetooth communication instruction) to the smart lock communication circuit 4h based on the relay program, thereby performing Bluetooth communication with the electric lock 1 via the smart lock high-frequency circuit 4i and the smart lock antenna 4j.

The MCU 4g outputs a transmission instruction (wireless LAN communication instruction) to the home network communication circuit 4k based on the relay program, thereby performing wireless LAN communication with the wireless LAN router 5 via the home network high-frequency circuit 4m and the home network antenna 4n. Detailed processing by the MCU 4g will be described later as the operation of the home/away determination device A according to this embodiment.

The smart lock communication circuit 4h generates a communication packet (Bluetooth transmission packet) conforming to the Bluetooth communication protocol based on a Bluetooth transmission instruction input from the MCU 4g and outputs it to the smart lock high-frequency circuit 4i. The Bluetooth transmission packet includes at least the identification number of the relay device 4 as the sender, the identification number of the electric lock 1 as the destination, and transmission data indicating the content of the transmission.

The smart lock communication circuit 4h extracts the received data from the electric lock 1 based on the Bluetooth received packet input from the smart lock high-frequency circuit 4i. The Bluetooth received packet contains at least the identification number of the electric lock 1, which is the sender, the identification number of the relay device 4, which is the destination, and received data indicating the received content. The smart lock communication circuit 4h outputs the received data to the MCU 4g.

The smart lock high-frequency circuit 4i is a high-frequency circuit that performs high-frequency transmission processing (Bluetooth high-frequency transmission processing) in accordance with the Bluetooth communication protocol on Bluetooth transmission packets input from the smart lock communication circuit 4h. The Bluetooth high-frequency transmission processing is a modulation process in accordance with the Bluetooth communication protocol, and converts the Bluetooth transmission packets into Bluetooth high-frequency transmission signals. The smart lock high-frequency circuit 4i outputs the Bluetooth high-frequency transmission signals to the smart lock antenna 4j.

The smart lock high-frequency circuit 4i extracts a Bluetooth reception packet from the Bluetooth high-frequency reception signal by performing high-frequency reception processing (Bluetooth high-frequency reception processing) that complies with the Bluetooth communication protocol on the Bluetooth high-frequency reception signal input from the smart lock antenna 4j. The Bluetooth high-frequency reception processing is a demodulation process that complies with the Bluetooth communication protocol. The smart lock high-frequency circuit 4i outputs the Bluetooth reception packet to the smart lock communication circuit 4h.

The smart lock antenna 4j is a high-frequency component that emits the Bluetooth high-frequency transmission signal input from the smart lock high-frequency circuit 4i into the air as radio waves (Bluetooth transmission waves). The Bluetooth transmission waves are high-frequency waves in the 2.4 GHz band that contain the contents of the Bluetooth transmission packet, and when received by the electric lock 1, which is the destination, the contents of the Bluetooth transmission packet are reproduced.

The smart lock antenna 4j converts radio waves (Bluetooth reception waves) received from the air into Bluetooth high-frequency reception signals and outputs them to the smart lock high-frequency circuit 4i. The Bluetooth reception waves are high-frequency waves in the 2.4 GHz band that contain the contents of a Bluetooth reception packet and are transmitted from the electric lock 1, which is the source of the transmission. The Bluetooth reception packet is a Bluetooth transmission packet generated by the electric lock 1.

The home network communication circuit 4k generates a communication packet (wireless LAN transmission packet) conforming to the wireless LAN communication protocol based on the wireless LAN transmission instruction input from the MCU 4g and outputs it to the home network high frequency circuit 4m. The wireless LAN transmission packet includes at least the identification number of the relay device 4 as the sender, the identification number of the wireless LAN router 5 as the destination, and transmission data indicating the transmission content.

The home network communication circuit 4k extracts the received data from the electric lock 1 based on the wireless LAN received packet input from the home network high-frequency circuit 4m. The Bluetooth received packet contains at least the identification number of the wireless LAN router 5, which is the sender, the identification number of the relay device 4, which is the destination, and received data indicating the received content. The home network communication circuit 4k outputs the received data to the MCU 4g.

The home network high-frequency circuit 4m is a high-frequency circuit that performs high-frequency transmission processing (wireless LAN high-frequency transmission processing) that conforms to the wireless LAN communication protocol on wireless LAN transmission packets input from the home network communication circuit 4k. The wireless LAN high-frequency transmission processing is a modulation process that conforms to the wireless LAN communication protocol, and converts the wireless LAN transmission packets into wireless LAN high-frequency transmission signals.

The home network high frequency circuit 4m extracts wireless LAN reception packets from the wireless LAN high frequency reception signal by performing high frequency reception processing (wireless LAN high frequency reception processing) that conforms to the wireless LAN communication protocol on the wireless LAN high frequency reception signal input from the home network antenna 4n. The wireless LAN reception packets are output from the home network high frequency circuit 4m to the home network communication circuit 4k. The wireless LAN high frequency reception processing is a demodulation process that conforms to the wireless LAN communication protocol.

The home network antenna 4n is a high-frequency component that radiates the wireless LAN high-frequency transmission signal input from the home network high-frequency circuit 4m into the air as radio waves (wireless LAN transmission waves). The wireless LAN transmission waves are high-frequency waves in the 2.4 GHz band that contain the contents of the wireless LAN transmission packets, and when received by the wireless LAN router 5, which is the destination, the contents of the wireless LAN transmission packets are reproduced.

The home network antenna 4n converts radio waves (wireless LAN reception waves) received from the air into wireless LAN high-frequency reception signals and outputs them to the home network high-frequency circuit 4m. The wireless LAN reception waves are high-frequency waves in the 2.4 GHz band that contain the contents of wireless LAN reception packets and are transmitted from the wireless LAN router 5, which is the source of the signals. The wireless LAN reception packets are wireless LAN transmission packets generated by the wireless LAN router 5.

The wireless LAN router 5 is a communication device (connection device) that connects a home network (domestic LAN) to an external communication line such as the Internet. The wireless LAN router 5 performs wireless LAN communication with smart home appliances 3 and relay devices 4 in accordance with the wireless LAN communication protocol, and also performs communication with external communication lines in accordance with the communication protocol of the external communication line.

The wireless LAN router 5 receives operation instructions (external operation instructions) for the smart home appliance 3, for example, via an external communication line. The wireless LAN router 5 converts the external operation instructions into wireless LAN transmission waves that comply with the wireless LAN communication protocol and transmits them to the smart home appliance 3. The smart home appliance 3 operates in accordance with the external operation instructions.

The wireless LAN router 5 receives wireless LAN transmission waves containing transmission data indicating the operating status of the electric lock 1 and information on whether the user has arrived home or left home as wireless LAN reception waves, for example, from the relay device 4. The wireless LAN router 5 extracts the reception data (transmission data of the wireless LAN transmission waves) from the wireless LAN reception waves and saves the operating status of the electric lock 1 and the information on whether the user has arrived home or left home as log information.

Wireless LAN router 5 sends log information to cloud B as needed. Cloud B is a storage device installed on an external communication line. Cloud B stores the log information received from wireless LAN router 5.

The operation of the home/away determination device A according to this embodiment will be explained with reference to the flowchart shown in Figure 3.

First, we will explain what happens when a user returns home from an outing. The electric lock 1 and the MCU 4g of the relay device 4 are constantly monitoring for the occurrence of an event. When the user returns home from an outing, they input a command to unlock the electric lock 1 into the mobile terminal 2 in front of the entrance (outside the entrance). The mobile terminal 2 then transmits the user's unlock command to the electric lock 1 via Bluetooth communication.

When electric lock 1 receives an "unlock instruction" from mobile terminal 2 (step S1), it changes itself from a locked state to an unlocked state in accordance with the unlock instruction (event) (step S2). Once electric lock 1 has set itself to the unlocked state, it sends an unlock notification to relay device 4 via Bluetooth communication (step S3).

When the electric lock 1 is unlocked, the user moves from the entrance to the entrance floor inside the building (inside the entrance). When the human presence sensor 4a of the relay device 4 detects a user on the entrance floor, it outputs a detection signal to the MCU 4g. When the MCU 4g detects the detection signal as an event (step S7), it evaluates the order of unlocking the electric lock 1 and human detection (step S8).

In the current state, the human presence sensor 4a detects a person (user) after the electric lock 1 is unlocked, so the evaluation result in step S8 is "A." When the evaluation result in step S8 becomes "A," the MCU 4g determines that the user has returned home (step S9). The MCU 4g then sends log information to cloud B indicating that the user has returned home (step S12).

Next, we will explain what happens when the user goes out. When the user goes out, the human presence sensor 4a detects the user on the entrance floor. When the human presence sensor 4a detects the user, it outputs a detection signal to the MCU 4g. The MCU 4g detects the detection signal as an event (step S7).

The user then moves from the entrance floor to outside the entrance and inputs a locking command to the electric lock 1 into the mobile terminal 2 outside the entrance. The mobile terminal 2 transmits the user's locking command to the electric lock 1 via Bluetooth communication. When the electric lock 1 receives the "locking command" from the mobile terminal 2 (step S4), it changes itself from an unlocked state to a locked state in accordance with the locking command (event) (step S5). When the electric lock 1 sets itself to the locked state, it notifies the relay device 4 of the locking command via Bluetooth communication (step S6).

When the locking notification is input from the smart lock high-frequency circuit 4i, the MCU 4g evaluates the order of human detection and locking of the electric lock 1 (step S8). In this state, the electric lock 1 was locked after the human sensor 4a detected a person (user), so the evaluation result of step S8 is "B."

When the evaluation result in step S8 becomes "B," MCU 4g determines that the user has gone out (step S10). MCU 4g then sends log information indicating that the user has gone out to cloud B (step S12).

If the electric lock 1 is not locked after the human presence sensor 4a detects a person (user), the MCU 4g sets the evaluation result of step S8 to "C." In this case, the MCU 4g does not determine that the user has gone out, but instead sets the result to "no determination," and goes into a state where it monitors for the occurrence of the next event.

Cloud B stores chronological log information about users returning home or leaving the building based on the operation of the return/leave determination device A shown in Figure 3. The log information in cloud B can be viewed by anyone with viewing authority. By viewing this information, those with viewing authority can easily confirm whether users have returned home or left the building.

According to this embodiment, by using a simple configuration in which a human presence sensor 4a is provided in the relay device 4 that constitutes the smart lock, it is possible to provide an in-home /out-of-home determination device A that inexpensively and automatically determines whether a user is at home or out.

Note that this disclosure is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications are possible.

(1) The unlocked state in step S2 is not limited to the unlock instruction in step S1. The locked state in step S5 is not limited to the lock instruction in step S4. Since electric locks 1 are generally provided with a manual operation function, the setting may be changed from the locked state to the unlocked state by manual operation by the user, or from the unlocked state to the locked state by manual operation by the user.

(2) In this embodiment, the relay device 4 is provided with a human presence sensor 4a, but the present disclosure is not limited to this. The human presence sensor 4a may be provided near an entrance or exit within the building, and may be provided separately from the relay device 4.

(3) In this embodiment, Bluetooth (registered trademark) is used as the short-range communication method, but the present disclosure is not limited to this. For example, ZigBee (registered trademark) may be used as a short-range communication method other than Bluetooth.

(4) In this embodiment, log information is stored in cloud B, but the present disclosure is not limited to this. Log information may also be stored in a storage device other than cloud B that is capable of communication.

A...Homecoming/going-out determination device, 1...electric lock, 2...mobile terminal ( electric lock operation terminal), 3...smart home appliance, 4...relay device (determination device), 4a...human presence sensor, 4b...pairing switch, 4c...power LED, 4d...power plug, 4e...power supply circuit, 4f...memory, 4g...MCU, 4h...smart lock communication circuit, 4i...smart lock high-frequency circuit, 4j...smart lock antenna, 4k...home network communication circuit, 4m...home network high-frequency circuit, 4n...home network antenna, 5...wireless LAN router

Claims (7)

A human presence sensor installed inside the building;
an electric lock installed at the entrance of the building;
a determination device that determines whether a user has returned home or gone out based on the detection result of the human presence sensor and the locking or unlocking of the electric lock ;
The human presence sensor is an in-home/out-home determination device provided in a relay device that relays wireless communication between the electric lock and the home network of the building . The coming-home/going-out determination device according to claim 1 , wherein the determination device determines that the user has come home when the human presence sensor detects the user after the electric lock is unlocked. The home/go-out determination device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the determination device determines that the user has gone out when the electric lock is unlocked after the human presence sensor detects the user. 3. The coming-home/going-out determination device according to claim 1, wherein the determination device does not determine whether the person has come home or gone out if the human presence sensor does not detect a person after the electric lock is unlocked. A relay device that relays wireless communication between an electric lock installed at an entrance of a building and a home network of the building,
a human presence sensor that detects users in the building;
A relay device that determines whether the user has returned home or gone out based on the detection result of the human presence sensor and the locking or unlocking of the electric lock. a relay device that relays wireless communication between an electric lock provided at an entrance of a building and a home network of the building, the relay device being provided with a human presence sensor that detects a user in the building;
A method for determining whether the user has returned home or gone out, in which the relay device determines whether the user has returned home or gone out based on the detection result of the human presence sensor and the locking or unlocking of the electric lock. A relay program executed by a relay device that relays wireless communication between an electric lock installed at an entrance of a building and a home network of the building,
A relay program that determines whether a user has returned home or gone out based on the detection result of a human presence sensor provided in the relay device and the locking or unlocking of the electric lock.