Monitoring device

• US 20050040953A1
• Filed: 03/09/2004
• Published: 02/24/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 03/12/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kyocera Corporation
• Original Assignee: Sanyo Electric Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: McDonald, Andrew
• Granted Patent: US 7,340,240 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/573.100
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/025 System arrangements wherein the alarm criteria uses absence of reply signal after an elapsed time
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/043 detecting an emergency event, e.g. a fall
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/22 responsive to presence or absence of persons
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/001 Alarm cancelling procedures or alarm forwarding decisions, e.g. based on absence of alarm confirmation

Abstract

The present invention includes a mobile telephone having a radio transmit/receive function, and a control unit 109 that detects key input operations by a user, and has the mobile telephone transmit an emergency notification message to a predetermined address stored in a storage unit 112 when notified by a timer unit 111 that a preset period has elapsed since a key input operation was last detected.

Claims

1. A monitoring device comprising:

a mobile telephone having a radio transmit/receive function;

an operation detection unit operable to detect a key input operation by a user; and

a transmission control unit operable, when a preset period has elapsed since the key input operation was last detected, to have the mobile telephone transmit an emergency notification message to a predetermined address.

2. The monitoring device of claim 1, wherein

the transmission control unit has the mobile telephone transmit the emergency notification message when the preset period has elapsed since the key input operation was last detected, only within a preset timeslot.

3. The monitoring device of claim 2 further comprising:

a position information acquisition unit operable to acquire position information showing a current position of the monitoring device; and

a position-shift judgment unit operable to judge whether the position of the monitoring device has shifted, based on the acquired position information, wherein

the transmission control unit-has the mobile telephone transmit the emergency notification message to the predetermined address, only when the position has not shifted.

4. The monitoring device of claim 3 further comprising:

a warning generation unit operable, when the preset period has elapsed, to emit a warning indicating that the preset period has elapsed, wherein

the transmission control unit has the mobile telephone transmit the emergency notification message to the predetermined address, only when the key input operation is not detected within a predetermined period after the warning is emitted.

5. The monitoring device of claim 4 further comprising:

a time clocking unit operable to clock time;

an operation history recording unit operable to record operation history information on a recording medium whenever the key input operation by the user is detected, the operation history information including a content of the detected key input operation and a detection time clocked by the time clocking unit;

a call reception unit operable to receive a call request message from another communication terminal; and

a judgment unit operable to judge whether the received call request message includes an acquisition request identification code showing the call request message to be an acquisition request for operation history information, wherein

the transmission control unit has the mobile telephone transmit the operation history information recorded on the recording medium to the other communication terminal if the acquisition request identification code is included.

6. The monitoring device of claim 5 further comprising:

a ringer operable to sound off when the call request message is received; and

an inhibiting unit operable to inhibit the sounding off of the ringer when the acquisition request identification code is included in the received call request message.

7. The monitoring device of claim 3 further comprising:

a position judgment unit operable to judge whether the position shown by the acquired position information is within a predetermined range, wherein

the position-shift judgment unit judges whether the position of the monitoring device has shifted, based on the acquired position information, only when the position shown by the acquired position information is outside the predetermined range.

8. The monitoring device of claim 7 further comprising:

a warning generation unit operable, when the preset period has elapsed, to emit a warning indicating that the preset period has elapsed, wherein

the transmission control unit has the mobile telephone transmit the emergency notification message to the predetermined address, only when the key input operation is not detected within a predetermined period after the warning is emitted.

9. The monitoring device of claim 7 further comprising:

a time clocking unit operable to clock time;

an operation history recording unit operable to record operation history information on a recording medium whenever the key input operation by the user is detected, the operation history information including a content of the detected key input operation and a detection time clocked by the time clocking unit;

a call reception unit operable to receive a call request message from another communication terminal; and

a judgment unit operable to judge whether the received call request message includes an acquisition request identification code showing the call request message to be an acquisition request for operation history information, wherein

the transmission control unit has the mobile telephone transmit the operation history information recorded on the recording medium to the other communication terminal if the acquisition request identification code is included.

10. The monitoring device of claim 8 further comprising:

a time clocking unit operable to clock time;

an operation history recording unit operable to record operation history information on a recording medium whenever the key input operation by the user is detected, the operation history information including a content of the detected key input operation and a detection time clocked by the time clocking unit;

a call reception unit operable to receive a call request message from another communication terminal; and

a judgment unit operable to judge whether the received call request message includes an acquisition request identification code showing the call request message to be an acquisition request for operation history information, wherein

the transmission control unit has the mobile telephone transmit the operation history information recorded on the recording medium to the other communication terminal if the acquisition request identification code is included.

11. The monitoring device of claim 9 further comprising:

a ringer operable to sound off when the call request message is received; and

an inhibiting unit operable to inhibit the sounding off of the ringer when the acquisition request identification code is included in the received call request message.

12. The monitoring device of claim 10 further comprising:

a ringer operable to sound off when the call request message is received; and

an inhibiting unit operable to inhibit the sounding off of the ringer when the acquisition request identification code is included in the received call request message.

13. The monitoring device of claim 1 further comprising:

a position information acquisition unit operable to acquire position information showing a current position of the monitoring device; and

a position-shift judgment unit operable to judge whether the position of the monitoring device has shifted, based on the acquired position information, wherein

the transmission control unit has the mobile telephone transmit the emergency notification message to the predetermined address, only when the position has not shifted.

14. The monitoring device of claim 1 further comprising:

a warning generation unit operable, when the preset period has elapsed, to emit a warning indicating that the preset period has elapsed, wherein

the transmission control unit has the mobile telephone transmit the emergency notification message to the predetermined address, only when the key input operation is not detected within a predetermined period after the warning is emitted.

15. The monitoring device of claim 2 further comprising:

a warning generation unit operable, when the preset period has elapsed, to emit a warning indicating that the preset period has elapsed, wherein

the transmission control unit has the mobile telephone transmit the emergency notification message to the predetermined address, only when the key input operation is not detected within a predetermined period after the warning is emitted.

16. The monitoring device of claim 1 further comprising:

a time clocking unit operable to clock time;

an operation history recording unit operable to record operation history information on a recording medium whenever the key input operation by the user is detected, the operation history information including a content of the detected key input operation and a detection time clocked by the time clocking unit;

a call reception unit operable to receive a call request message from another communication terminal; and

a judgment unit operable to judge whether the received call request message includes an acquisition request identification code showing the call request message to be an acquisition request for operation history information, wherein

the transmission control unit has the mobile telephone transmit the operation history information recorded on the recording medium to the other communication terminal if the acquisition request identification code is included.

17. The monitoring device of claim 2 further comprising:

a time clocking unit operable to clock time;

an operation history recording unit operable to record operation history information on a recording medium whenever the key input operation by the user is detected, the operation history information including a content of the detected key input operation and a detection time clocked by the time clocking unit;

a call reception unit operable to receive a call request message from another communication terminal; and

a judgment unit operable to judge whether the received call request message includes an acquisition request identification code showing the call request message to be an acquisition request for operation history information, wherein

the transmission control unit has the mobile telephone transmit the operation history information recorded on the recording medium to the other communication terminal if the acquisition request identification code is included.

18. The monitoring device of claim 3 further comprising:

a time clocking unit operable to clock time;

an operation history recording unit operable to record operation history information on a recording medium whenever the key input operation by the user is detected, the operation history information including a content of the detected key input operation and a detection time clocked by the time clocking unit;

a call reception unit operable to receive a call request message from another communication terminal; and

a judgment unit operable to judge whether the received call request message includes an acquisition request identification code showing the call request message to be an acquisition request for operation history information, wherein

the transmission control unit has the mobile telephone transmit the operation history information recorded on the recording medium to the other communication terminal if the acquisition request identification code is included.

19. A monitoring method in a monitoring device that includes a mobile telephone having a radio transmit/receive function, comprising the steps of:

detecting a key input operation by a user; and

having the mobile telephone transmit an emergency notification message to a predetermined address, when a preset period has elapsed since the key input operation was last detected.