Emergency information offering system

• US 5,689,233 A
• Filed: 07/27/1995
• Issued: 11/18/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 07/29/1994
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Kurisu, Hiromitsu, Komura, Fuminobu
• Primary Examiner(s): Hayes, Gail O.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Poinvil, Frantzy
• Application Number:
  US08/507,944
• Time in Patent Office: 845 Days
• Field of Search: 395/200, 395/201, 364/431, 364/138, 364/146, 364/188, 376/216, 376/244, 376/245, 379/40-45, 379/37, 379/38, 340/286.04, 340/500, 340/501, 340/511, 340/517, 340/521, 340/539, 340/588, 340/870.07, 340/870.02, 340/870.09, 340/870.16, 340/525, 340/531, 340/506 , 340/825.54, 345/2, 345/525
• US Class Current: 340/506
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 99/00 Subject matter not provided for in other groups of this subclass

Abstract

An emergency information offering system collects and offers information of lifeline facilities upon emergency properly by combining information infra-structures and public infrastructures. In the system, a center monitoring apparatus detects abnormality on the basis of information of the lifeline facilities collected by distributed monitoring apparatuses and meter apparatuses. A risk management apparatus grasps abnormal states and determines countermeasures of abnormality in accordance with the detected abnormality to produce the determined information. A guidance information management apparatus automatically prepares guidance information on the basis of the information and transmits the guidance information to a customer in response to an inquiry. When the guidance information management apparatus detects the congestion of lines, the guidance information management apparatus transmits the guidance information to telephone offices in respective areas, so that a guidance information offering apparatus installed in each office offers the information dispersedly. Thus, common customers can obtain the information relative to the lifeline facilities easily and the information upon emergency can be offered promptly. The congestion of lines due to an excessive amount of inquiries can be avoided.

Claims

1. An emergency area information offering system for monitoring situations at predetermined places in lifeline facilities and offering information relative to the lifeline facilities upon emergency on the basis of the monitored results, comprising:

monitoring means located in a plurality of places distributed in an area where the lifeline facilities exist to monitor the facilities and transmitting information representative of results of the monitor;

measured information memory means for storing measured information transmitted from said monitoring means;

area information memory means for storing area information unique to the area where the facilities exist;

central monitoring means combined with said measured information memory means and said area information memory means, for detecting abnormality on the basis of said transmitted information and said information unique to the area;

disaster information memory means for storing disaster information relative to abnormality having occurred in the past;

risk management means for grasping abnormal states and determining countermeasures of abnormality on the basis of said measured information, said area information and said disaster information;

guidance information management means for preparing and offering guidance information for users of lifelines upon emergency on the basis of information relative to abnormality issued from said risk management means; and

guidance information memory means combined with said guidance information management means for storing said prepared guidance information.

2. An emergency area information offering system according to claim 1, wherein said monitoring means includes distributed monitoring means located at primary points in the facilities and meter means located in each customer using the facilities.

3. An emergency area information offering system according to claim 2, wherein said distributed monitoring control means includes input/output means for receiving a signal measured by a sensor and sending a command signal to an actuator, control means for determining an operation amount of said actuator on the basis of said measured signal and a control set value transmitted externally, diagnostic means for judging abnormality of said measured signal, memory means for temporarily storing the control set value transmitted externally, the measured signal by said sensor and an abnormality detection signal by said diagnostic means, and communication means for transmitting information stored in said memory means.

4. An emergency area information offering system according to claim 2, wherein said meter means includes input/output means for receiving measured signals from a meter and a sensor and sending a command signal to an actuator, memory means for temporarily storing the measured signals from said meter and sensor, communication means for transmitting information stored in said memory means, and circuit change-over means for suppressing ringing of a bell of a telephone and connecting said telephone to said communication means when an external communication request is detected.

5. An emergency area information offering system according to claim 1, wherein said guidance information management means includes guidance information preparing means for preparing the guidance information for the users of the lifelines upon emergency on the basis of information related to abnormality issued from said risk management means, number information recognition means for detecting number information of a receiving party and a calling party of a communication request received through a line, area information selection means for selecting and sending guidance information of an area pertinent to the calling party on the basis of the calling party'"'"'s number, and report processing means for converting the receiving party'"'"'s number information into connectable number information.

6. An emergency area information offering system according to claim 1, wherein said guidance information management means includes guidance information preparing means for preparing the guidance information for the users of the lifelines upon emergency on the basis of information related to abnormality issued from said risk management means, and guidance information offering means located in a plurality of places for offering guidance information transmitted from said guidance information preparing means to the users of the lifelines.

7. An emergency area information offering system according to claim 6, wherein said guidance information offering means includes guidance information editing means for editing the guidance information prepared by said guidance information preparing means, number information recognition means for detecting number information of the calling party and the receiving party of a communication request received through a line, and report processing means for converting the receiving party'"'"'s number information into connectable number information, and said guidance information offering means are located in a plurality of offices in a telephone line network.

8. An emergency area information offering system according to claim 6, wherein said guidance information offering means includes guidance information editing means for editing the guidance information prepared by said guidance information preparing means, number information recognition means for detecting the calling party'"'"'s number information of a communication request received through a line, and area information selecting means for selecting and sending guidance information of an area pertinent to the calling party on the basis of the calling party'"'"'s number, and said guidance information offering means is located in a CATV station.

9. An emergency area information offering system according to claim 6, wherein said guidance information offering means includes means for temporarily storing the guidance information prepared by said guidance information preparing means and is connected to broadcasting means.

10. An emergency area information offering system according to claim 1, wherein said risk management means includes crisis analyzing means for analyzing information upon emergency in the past, damage prediction means for grasping current and future damage situations on the basis of analyzed results by said crisis analyzing means and measured information by said center monitoring means, restoration planning means for planing restoration measures in accordance with the damage situations, moving body guidance means for determining indication to workers on the basis of the restoration plan, communication means for transmitting the indication to portable information processing means carried by the workers through a communication satellite, and crisis countermeasure training means for supporting crisis countermeasure training on the basis of the analyzed results of information upon emergency in the past.

11. An emergency area information offering system according to claim 1, wherein said central monitoring means includes remote measurement control means for collecting measured information from primary points in the lifeline facilities and transmitting a control set value to said primary points, control means for determining the control set value on the basis of collected measured information, meter management means for processing measured information and meter information from customers using the facilities, and monitoring means for detecting the abnormal states from the measured information.

12. An emergency area information offering system according to claim 1, comprising guidance information preparing means for preparing the guidance information for the users of the lifelines upon emergency on the basis of the information relative to the abnormality, guidance information memory means for storing the prepared guidance information, number information recognition means for detecting number information of a receiving party and a calling party of a communication request received through a line, area information selection means for retrieving guidance information of an area pertinent to the calling party from the guidance information stored in said guidance information memory means on the basis of the calling party'"'"'s number, and report processing means for converting the receiving party'"'"'s number information into connectable number information.

13. An emergency area information offering system according to claim 12, comprising guidance information offering means located in a plurality of places for offering the guidance information transmitted from said guidance information preparing means to the users of the lifelines.

14. An emergency area information offering system according to claim 13, wherein said guidance information offering means includes guidance information editing means for editing the guidance information by said guidance information preparing means, number information recognition means for detecting number information of the calling party and receiving party of the communication request received through the line, and report processing means for converting the receiving party'"'"'s number information into connectable number information, and are located in a plurality of offices in a telephone line network.

15. An emergency area information offering system according to claim 13, wherein said guidance information offering means includes guidance information editing means for editing the guidance information by said guidance information preparing means, number information recognition means for detecting number information of the calling party of the communication request received through the line, and area information selection means for selecting and sending guidance information of an area corresponding to the calling party on the basis of the calling party'"'"'s number, and are located in a CATV station.

16. An emergency area information offering system according to claim 13, wherein said guidance information offering means includes means for temporarily storing the guidance information by said guidance information preparing means and is connected to broadcasting means.

17. An emergency area information offering system according to claim 12, comprising communication request amount monitoring means for monitoring a frequency of incoming calls by telephone lines and changing over to respond to inquiries concentratedly or dispersedly, and guidance information offering means located in a plurality of places for offering the guidance information transmitted from said guidance information preparing means to the users of the lifelines.

18. An emergency area information offering system according to claim 17, comprising a data base in which a lifeline facility disposition network and telephone numbers of the customers are related to each other and wherein when the customer requires information of the area through the line upon emergency, area information corresponding to the area of the calling party is offered on the basis of the telephone number or the telephone office number of the calling party.