WATCHING METHOD BASED ON TELEPHONE SYSTEM

Abstract: The invention relates to a watching system for improving the security of lonely, aged or infirm persons, which is based on a normal telephone system. As the alarm to be given by the watched person with present systems might not be carried out e.g. because of a sudden illness, the method of the invention involves programming of the watching centre to contact at regular intervals the person being watched and to check that the person answers the call. If there is no answer, e.g. at the end of a certain number of check calls, the watching centre automatically gives an alarm.

Description: Watching Method based on Telephone System The present invention relates to a watching method based on a telephone system in order to improve the security of lonely, elderly or sick persons, or else to watch the presence of persons, whereby each person subscribed to the system is in telephone contact with the watching centre. Such systems are prior known. The known systems consist in that the person being watched contacts hi sef the watching centre in case of an emergency or by agreement either by te¬ lephoning normally or by pressing an alarm button. The alarm centre is for instance a health centre during day-time and during nights and weekends a regional alarm centre. The problem of these systems is of course that in case of e.g. a sudden illness the person is unable or does not carry out the- alarm on time. In the case of a person who is under sur¬ veillance at regular intervals, e.g. in terms of a court de-. cision, the drawback of known systems is that the reports of this person have to be registered manually. The purpose of the present invention is to eliminate this problem and to produce a method of providing an automatic watching. In order to achieve this purpose, the method according to the invention is characterized by the fact that the watching cent¬ re is programmed to contact the person being watched at re¬ gular intervals and to control that the person answers the call. The watching centre appropriately gives an alarm if the per¬ son does not answer the call. A specific regional alarm centre or the local health centre may act as a watching centre. The calls made by the watching centre are programmed to take place according to the needs of the person being watched, for instance once a day or every morning and night. In case the person does not answer the call at the first time, the system calls again at programmed intervals. The alarm limit is programmed in the system at the end of a certain number of unanswered calls. The invention is described briefly below with reference to the enclosed drawing, which shows the system of the invention as a segment diagram. A number of telephones 2 have been connected to the automatic telephone central 1, each telephone then being placed in the home of a watched person. The watching centre comprises a computer 5 and a connected display terminal 6 with keyboard and printer 7. The computer is connected over a speech synthesizer 4 to a normal telephone switch 3. From the terminal 6 , which approriately is a PC one, e.g. the intervals of the check calls and all the numbers (telephones 2) called are programmed. Certain inquiries in clear speech can also be programmed in the system, like for instance: "If you want the nurse to visit you, press button 1 in your telephone" . or "If you are out of medicines, press button 2" etc. Depending on the type of devices connected to the telephone of the watched person in each case, the inquiries can of cour¬ se be produced on a display screen, a paper, etc. The system can of course also be programmed so as to give the alarms to the persons' relatives in addition to the alarm in the alarm centre. Moreover, the watching centre can be programmed to accept a "return" made within a certain period of time before the check call, so that the watched person does not necessa¬ rily have to be present when the programmed call is or would be carried out.

Claims: Claims 1. Watching method based on a telephone system in order to improve the security of lonely, aged or sick persons or else to supervise the presence of persons, each person subscribed to the system being in telephone contact with the watching centre, characterized in that the watching centre has been programmed to contact the person being watched at certain in¬ tervals and to check that the person answers the call. 2. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that the watching centre gives an alarm automatically unless the person answers the call. 3. A method according to claim 2, characterized in that the watching centre automatically carries out one or more check calls at short intervals of e.g. 10 minutes, in case the per¬ son does not answer the first call. 4. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that the watching centre also carries out preprogrammed inquiries, which the watched person answers e.g. by pressing a button.

Inventors: HINTSALA EINO ENSIO, HINTSALA, EINO, ENSIO
Applicants: EH SYSTEMS KY, EH-SYSTEMS KY
Application year: 1989
Main classification: H04M11
IPC codes: H04M3, H04M11