Information notifying method and apparatus

• US 7,186,271 B2
• Filed: 12/14/2001
• Issued: 03/06/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 06/29/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Fujifilm Business Innovation Corp. (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Fuji Xerox Company Limited (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Abe, Hitoshi, Horikiri, Kazunori, Kano, Yusuke, Kudo, Hirotake
• Primary Examiner(s): Barron; Gilberto
• Assistant Examiner(s): LEMMA, SAMSON B
• Application Number:
  US10/014,531
• Publication Number:
  US 20030005332A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,908 Days
• Field of Search: 713/201, 348/143, 726/35, 709/223, 709/224
• US Class Current: 726/35
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19602 Image analysis to detect motion of the intruder, e.g. by frame subtraction
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19658 Telephone systems used to communicate with a camera, e.g. PSTN, GSM, POTS
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19684 Portable terminal, e.g. mobile phone, used for viewing video remotely
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19697 Arrangements wherein non-video detectors generate an alarm themselves

Abstract

When a security server detects an abnormality in the building by a sensor, the security server sends an abnormality notification mail that has embedded a link to image information shot by a supervision camera upon detection of an abnormality and a mail address of the security server to a portable telephone terminal and in case neither access from the portable telephone terminal to the image information nor a response mail is confirmed, determines that the abnormality mail is not confirmed by the user and notifies occurrence of the abnormality to a security center.

Claims

1. An information notifying method comprising:

supervising physical phenomenon of a predetermined supervision area;

when the physical phenomenon is detected by the supervising, notifying detection information indicating that the physical phenomenon is detected to each of a plurality of portable terminals while giving priority to a portable terminal closest to the supervision area based on location information of each portable terminal, the location information being detected by using location detection function of each portable terminal;

determining as to whether or not users of the portable terminals have accessed the notified detection information; and

when it is determined that all of the users of the plurality of portable terminals have not accessed the detection information, notifying the detection information to an external apparatus other than the portable terminals.

2. The information notifying method according to claim 1, wherein if it is determined at a time when a predetermined period has been elapsed from the notifying of the detection information to the portable terminals, that the users have not accessed the detection information, the detection information is notified to the external apparatus other than the portable terminals.

3. The information notifying method according to claim 1, wherein the detection information is notified to the portable terminals a predetermined number of times;

and

when it is determined after the predetermined number times of the notifying, that the users have not accessed the detection information, the detection information is notified to the external apparatus other than the portable terminals.

4. The information notifying method according to claim 1, wherein when the detected physical phenomenon has a particular content, the detection information is notified to the external apparatus other than the portable terminals without waiting for the determining as to whether or not the users of the portable terminals have accessed the notified detection information.

5. The information notifying method according to claim 1, wherein the detection information notified to portable terminals is different from the detection information notified to the external apparatus other than the portable terminals in content.

6. The information notifying method according to claim 5, the detection information notified to the external apparatus other than the portable terminals includes information indicating as to whether or not the users have accessed the detection information notified to the portable terminals.

7. The information notifying method according to claim 1, further comprising:

receiving from the portable terminals access completion information indicating that the users have accessed the detection information notified to the portable terminals; and

when the access completion information is received, determining that the users have accessed the detection information notified to the portable terminals.

8. The information notifying method according to claim 1, wherein the access completion information is an e-mail.

9. The information notifying method according to claim 1, wherein the detection information notified to the portable terminals includes at least one of still image and moving image of the detected physical phenomenon.

10. The information notifying method according to claim 1, wherein the information notified to the external apparatus other than the portable terminals is a non-image.

11. An information notifying method according to claim 1, wherein the notifying comprises notifying the detection information to the portable terminals by e-mail.

12. The information notifying method according to claim 1, wherein the notifying comprises notifying the detection information to the portable terminals by voice utilizing telephone lines.

13. The information notifying method according to claim 1,

wherein the notifying comprises:

notifying the detection information to the portable terminals by e-mail; and

when it is determined that the users have not accessed the detection information notified by the e-mail, notifying the detection information to the portable terminals by voice utilizing telephone lines.

14. The information notifying method according to claim 1, further comprising notifying to the portable terminals that the detection information has been notified to the external apparatus other than the portable terminals.

15. The information notifying method according to claim 1, wherein the detection information includes information used to grasp content of the physical phenomenon.

16. The information notifying method according to claim 1, wherein the determining comprises determining as to whether or not the users of the portable terminals have accessed the notified detection information on a basis of information indicating as to whether or not the portable terminals are in a state where the portable terminals can receive the detection information.

17. An information notifying apparatus comprising:

a supervision unit adapted to supervise physical phenomenon in a predetermined supervision area;

a first notification unit adapted to notify detection information indicating that the physical phenomenon has been detected to each of a plurality of portable terminals while giving priority to a portable terminal closest to the supervision area based on location information of each portable terminal, the location information detected by using location detection function of each portable terminal when the physical phenomenon has been detected by the supervision unit,

a determination unit adapted to determine as to whether users of the portable terminals have accessed the notified detection information, and

a second notification unit adapted to notify the detection information to an external apparatus other than the portable terminals when the determination unit determines that the users have not accessed the notified detection information.

18. The information notifying apparatus according claim 17, wherein when the determination unit determines that the users have not accessed the detection information at a time when a predetermined period has been elapsed since the first notification unit notifies the detection information to the portable terminals, the second notification unit notifies the detection information to the external apparatus other than the portable terminals.

19. The information notifying apparatus according to claim 17,

wherein the first notification unit notifies the detection information to the portable terminals a predetermined number of times;

and

when the determination unit determines after the first notification notifies the predetermined number of times, that the users have not accessed the detection information, the second notification unit notifies the detection information to the external apparatus other than the portable terminals.

20. The information notifying apparatus according to claim 17, wherein when the detected physical phenomenon has a particular content, the second notification unit notifies the detection information to the external apparatus other than the portable terminals without waiting that the determination unit determinates as to whether or not the users of the portable terminals have accessed the notified detection information.

21. The information notifying apparatus according to claim 17, wherein the detection information notified to the portable terminals is different from the detection information notified to the external apparatus other than the portable terminals in content.

22. The information notifying apparatus according to claim 21, wherein the second notification unit notifies to the external apparatus other than the portable terminals the detection information including information indicating as to whether or not the users have accessed the detection information notified to the portable terminals.

23. The information notifying apparatus according to claim 17, wherein the determination unit receives from the portable terminals, access completion information indicating that the users have accessed the detection information notified to the portable terminals;

and

when the determination unit receives the access completion information, the determination unit determines that the users have accessed the detection information notified to the portable terminals.

24. The information notifying apparatus according to claim 23, wherein the access completion information is an e-mail.

25. The information notifying apparatus according to claim 17, wherein the detection information notified to the portable terminals includes at least one of still image and moving image of the detected physical phenomenon.

26. The information notifying apparatus according to claim 17, wherein the information notified to the external apparatus other than the portable terminals is a non-image.

27. The information notifying apparatus according to claim 17, wherein the first notification unit notifies the detection information to the portable terminals by e-mail.

28. The information notifying apparatus according to claim 17, wherein the first notification unit notifies the detection information to the portable terminals by voice utilizing telephone lines.

29. The information notifying apparatus according to claim 17,

wherein the first notification unit notifies the detection information to the portable terminals by e-mail;

and

when the determination unit determines that the users have not accessed the detection information notified by the e-mail, the first notification unit notifies the detection information to the portable terminals by voice utilizing telephone lines.

30. The information notifying apparatus according to claim 17, wherein the first notification unit notifies information indicating that the detection information has been notified to the external other than the portable terminals to the portable terminals.

31. The information notifying apparatus according to claim 17, wherein the detection information includes information used to grasp content of the physical phenomenon.

32. The information notifying apparatus according to claim 17, the determination unit determines as to whether or not the users of the portable terminals have accessed the notified detection information, on a basis of information indicating as to whether or not the portable terminals are in a state where the portable terminals can receive the detection information.