Abstract:
Security information notification system furnished with sensor for detecting occurrence of an abnormality, and a control unit that receives an abnormality detection signal from the sensor and issues first alarm information to a user, and then, after a set period has elapsed since issuing the first alarm information, issues second alarm information that is more detailed than the first alarm information to the user. The control unit has a transmission interrupt function that by user operation within the set period stops issuance of the second alarm information.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0002]     The present invention relates to security information notification systems and notification methods, and control units for such security information notification systems, for transmitting security information that has been detected by a camera or a sensor within a building, such as a residence, to a portable terminal of a user in a remote location.  
         [0003]     2. Description of the Related Art  
         [0004]     Criminal acts such as burglaries have been on the rise at personal residences, etc. in recent years, and this has led to proposals for security information notification systems that allow a user in a remote location to learn of the conditions within his or her residence in real time.  FIG. 10  is a block diagram of a security information notification system that has been proposed in the past. Within a building  2 , such as a residence, are provided a surveillance camera  10 , a sensor  11  for detecting the temperature changes found in people and animals, a sensing circuit (not shown) for detecting movement from changes on a screen, and a control unit  1  that is connected to the surveillance camera  10 , the sensor  11 , and the sensing circuit, and also is connected to a portable systems network  30  of a portable telephone  3  via a telephone line  4 . The telephone line  4  is connected to the Internet  6  and the portable systems network  30  through a provider  40 , a company for providing this connection.  
         [0005]     When the sensor  11  and the sensing circuit have detected that there is an intruder based on temperature changes within the area under detection and changes on the screen, the surveillance camera  10  records an image of the area under video surveillance. The control unit  1  transmits voice information indicating that there is an intruder to the user&#39;s portable telephone  3  over the telephone line  4  and the portable systems network  30 .  
         [0006]     The control unit  1  digitizes the images that have been captured by the surveillance camera  10  and compresses the data and sends it to the provider  40  over the telephone line  4 . The provider  40  sends those transmitted camera images to the portable telephone  3  via the portable systems network  30 . The user can use a personal computer  60  to view the conditions within the residence from a web page on the Internet  6 . The control unit  1  also can transmit an electronic mail message indicating that an intruder is present in lieu of, or together with, the images that have been captured by the surveillance camera  10 . Thus, the systems that conventionally have been proposed have an abnormality notification function for notifying a user in a remote location that an abnormality has occurred within the building  2 .  
         [0007]     With this system, the sensor  11  and the surveillance camera  10  are activated also when the user returns home and enters the region sensed by the sensor  11 , and transmit image information, etc. to the portable telephone  3 , and this becomes an annoyance. Thus, some systems allow a mode for delaying transmission of the image information, etc. to be set through the control unit  1 . In this transmission delay mode, if the user has set the delay time to one minute, for example, then the image information, etc. will be sent to the portable telephone  3  after one minute has elapsed from when the user enters the region that is sensed by the sensor  11 . When the user performs an operation to indicate that transmission is not necessary within one minute of entering the region that is sensed by the sensor  11 , the image information, etc. is not transmitted to the portable telephone  3 .  
         [0008]     However, the above security information notification system has the following problems.  
         [0009]     If an intruder knows how to operate the control unit  1 , then when the above transmission delay mode has been set, the intruder can perform an operation within the delay time to indicate that transmission is not necessary, in which case the user will not be notified that an intruder is present. In this case, even though an abnormality notification function exists, it may not be useful.  
         [0010]     Further, with this system it takes approximately 10 seconds for an electronic mail, etc. to be transmitted to the portable telephone  3  after the sensor  11  has detected that an intruder is present. During this time the intruder may notice the surveillance camera  10  and for example destroy the surveillance camera  10 , and in this case the user will not be notified that there is an intruder, and in this regard as well, there is a possibility that even though an abnormality notification function exists, it may not be useful.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0011]     According to the preferred embodiments, system and method are provided, which can reliably notify a user of at least the fact that an abnormality has occurred.  
         [0012]     One implementation of the invention includes sensor for detecting occurrence of an abnormality, and a control unit  1  that receives an abnormality detection signal from the sensor and issues first alarm information to a user, and then, after a set period has elapsed since issuing the first alarm information, issues second alarm information that is more detailed than the first alarm information, wherein the control unit  1  has a transmission interrupt function that allows the user to perform an operation within the set period to stop issuance of the second alarm information.  
         [0013]     It is also possible to provide a server that is arranged between the control unit  1  and a alerting device in the possession of the user, and that can hold the first alarm information for a grace period. The server has a hold function with which, when it receives the second alarm information within the grace period after receiving the first alarm information, it sends the content of the second alarm information along with the first alarm information to the alerting device. When the server does not receive the second alarm information within the grace period after it has received the first alarm information, the server sends a message to indicate this condition to the alerting device. The server also has a transmission interrupt function that allows the user to stop transmission of the first alarm information by operating the control unit  1  within the set period.  
         [0014]     In a favorable embodiment, at least the first alarm information is delivered to the user when the sensor detects that an abnormality has occurred. Thus, the user can reliably learn of at least the fact that an abnormality has occurred. The user can operate the control unit  1  within the set period to keep the second alarm information from being issued. By doing this, unnecessary alarm information, and more specifically, the image information from the surveillance camera  10 , can be discarded.  
         [0015]     Further, if the server receives the second alarm information within the grace period after it has received the first alarm information, then it sends the information of the second alarm information along with the first alarm information to the alerting device. When the server does not receive the second alarm information within the grace period, it sends a message to the alerting device to indicate this. Thus, in either case, the user learns that some manner of abnormality has occurred, even if the control unit  1  is destroyed after the first alarm information is issued.  
         [0016]     The server also stops transmission of the first alarm information in response to an operation performed by the user through the control unit  1  within the set period. To put it differently, the first alarm information is transmitted if the user does not operate the control unit  1  within the set period. Thus, the user reliably learns of at least the fact that an abnormality has occurred, and by providing a server, it is possible to delete first alarm information that is not necessary to the user.  
         [0017]     From the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, the foregoing and other objects, features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0018]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the control unit;  
         [0019]      FIG. 2  is a schematic view of the security information notification system;  
         [0020]      FIG. 3  is a flowchart showing the operation of the add delay mode;  
         [0021]      FIG. 4  shows the screen of the portable telephone;  
         [0022]      FIG. 5  is a schematic view of the security information notification system according to another embodiment;  
         [0023]      FIG. 6  shows the relationship between the set period and the grace period;  
         [0024]      FIG. 7  is a flowchart showing the normal operation;  
         [0025]      FIG. 8  is a flowchart showing the operation when the control unit has been destroyed;  
         [0026]      FIG. 9  is a flowchart showing the operation when the user has returned home; and  
         [0027]      FIG. 10  is a schematic view of a conventional security information notification system. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
     First Embodiment  
       [0028]     An example of the present invention is described in greater detail below using the drawings.  
         [0029]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a control unit  1  that is employed in the security information notification system of this example.  FIG. 2  is a schematic view of that security information notification system. The control unit  1  is internally provided with a surveillance camera  10  and a sensor  11 , and the sensor  11  that for example detects the temperature changes found in humans and animals to sense that there is an intruder. The surveillance camera  10  is connected to an image processing circuit (not shown) within the control unit  1 , and the image processing circuit detects movement from changes in images, which are data compressed in the JPEG (or MPEG) format. Naturally it is also possible for the sensor  11  to detect fire and gas leaks as well.  
         [0030]     A remote control signal transmission portion  13  is provided on the front face of the control unit  1 , and transmits infrared signals to an air conditioner or lighting fixture within the building. The user can employ a portable telephone  3 , for example, to operate the air conditioner or lighting fixture from a remote location by causing the remote control signal transmission portion  13  to transmit infrared signals.  
         [0031]     The control unit  1  has a “home/away” mode, and the home mode and the away mode can be toggled between by operating a switch button  12  that is provided on an upper portion of the control unit  1 . The sensor  11  is not activated in home mode, and is activated in away mode. When the sensor  11  has detected an intruder, the control unit  1  sounds a buzzer, lights up or flashes auxiliary lights  14 , and activates the abnormality notification function, which is discussed later.  
         [0032]     The away mode includes the transmission delay mode discussed earlier and the add delay mode of this embodiment, and is characterized by this add delay mode. A video OUT terminal (not shown) is provided on the rear side of the control unit  1 , and a menu screen can be displayed on a display via the video OUT terminal to allow the user to selectively set the transmission delay mode or the add delay mode. The menu screen also can be set from the personal computer  60  of  FIG. 2 . As will be discussed later, in the add delay mode a first electronic mail is transmitted and then, after an amount of time that has been set in advance has elapsed, a second electronic mail is produced and transmitted, and this set period t 1  also can be input from the menu screen. The control unit  1  has a timer function and can measure the set period t 1 . For illustrative purposes this set period t 1  has been put at one minute, but obviously is not limited to being one minute.  
         [0033]     As shown in  FIG. 2 , the control unit  1  within the building  2  is connected to a router  7  wirelessly or through a wired connection, and the router  7  is connected to a provider  40  via a telephone line  4 . The provider  40  is connected to a alerting device, and more specifically the portable telephone  3 , that is in the possession of the user via a portable systems network  30 , and also is connected to the Internet  6 . Hereinafter, for the sake of convenience of description, the control unit  1  shall be placed near a door  20  of the building  2 .  
         [0000]     Add Delay Mode  
         [0034]     The operation when an intruder opens the door  20  at a time when the control unit  1  has been set to the add delay mode and the building  2  is empty is described using the flowchart of  FIG. 3 .  
         [0035]     When it is detected that an abnormality has occurred, that is, the presence of an intruder has been detected, from the images continuously captured by the sensor  11  and the surveillance camera  10  (S 1 ), the control unit  1  transmits a first electronic mail that indicates this condition to the portable telephone  3  (S 2 ). As shown in  FIG. 4 , the first electronic mail is first alarm information in a text format that includes a notification that an abnormality has occurred and the time that the abnormality occurred, and is the first to arrive to the user. The first electronic mail also includes the set period t 1  therein or as an attachment.  
         [0036]     Next, the control unit  1  uses its timer function to measure the time elapsed since transmission of the first electronic mail. When one minute, which is the set period t 1  (that is, the time set in advance by the user), has elapsed (S 3 ), a second electronic mail that includes images that have been captured by the surveillance camera  10  or detailed information is produced and transmitted (S 5 ). In this way, when there is an intruder, the user can learn that an abnormality has occurred within the building  2  from a remote location and can contact the police or a security company, for example.  
         [0037]     When the control unit  1  detects that an abnormal situation has occurred, it transmits at least the first electronic mail to the user. Consequently, the user reliably learns of at least the fact that an abnormality has occurred.  
         [0038]     If the user himself has returned home and opened the door  20 , he does not need the second electronic mail. The user himself either operates the control unit  1  to turn off the add delay mode of the control unit  1  within the set period t 1 , or, by setting the mode to the home mode, the second electronic mail is not produced (S 4 ). That is, the control unit  1  has a transmission interrupt function that allows the user to perform an operation within the set period t 1  to stop production of the second electronic mail, which is the second alarm information. Thus, although the first electronic mail arrives, the unnecessary second electronic mail can be discarded. Discarding the unnecessary second electronic mail is particularly important because the second electronic mail includes image information and therefore is large is size.  
         [0039]     It should be noted that because it takes time to capture images, it is also possible to produce the second electronic mail after finishing capturing images after the set period t 1  has elapsed. It is also possible to send the first electronic mail and the second electronic mail to the user&#39;s personal computer  60  over the Internet  6 .  
       Second Embodiment  
       [0040]      FIG. 5  is a schematic view of another security information notification system. A control unit  1  within a building  2  is connected to a router  7  wirelessly or through a wired connection, and the router  7  is connected to a provider  40  via a telephone line  4 . The provider  40  is connected to a mail-dedicated server  5  via the Internet  6 . The server  5  is connected to a portable telephone  3  that is in the possession of the user over a portable systems network  30 . It should be noted that the provider  40  and the server  5  can be provided in a single unit as shown by the long-short dashed line.  
         [0041]     The server  5  has a hold function of sending an electronic mail that it has received after holding it for a grace period t 2 . As shown in  FIG. 6 , the grace period t 2  is a time that is greater than the set period t 1  mentioned earlier. In this example, the server  5  holds the first electronic mail, and then sends the first electronic mail together with the second electronic mail that is generated after the set period t 1  has elapsed, and thus a grace period t 2  that is shorter than the set period t 1  would not allow the server  5  to receive the second electronic mail. It is therefore necessary that the grace period t 2  is at least as long as the set period t 1 , and for example, when the set period t 1  is one minute the grace period t 2  can be two minutes. Of course, as long as it is at least one minute, the grace period is not limited to two minutes.  
         [0000]     Normal Operation ( FIG. 7 )  
         [0042]     The operation when an intruder opens the door  20  when the control unit  1  has been set to the add delay mode and the building  2  is empty is described using the chart of  FIG. 7 .  
         [0043]     When the control unit  1  has detected that an abnormality has occurred, that is, the presence of an intruder, from the sensor  11  and the surveillance camera  10  images (S 10 ), it transmits a first electronic mail indicating that condition to the portable telephone  3  (S 11 ). Information on the grace period t 2  (that is, a period at least a long as the set period t 1 ) is attached to the first electronic mail. At this time, the server  5  holds the first electronic mail temporarily and does not immediately send it to the portable telephone  3  (S 14 ).  
         [0044]     When the set period t 1  has elapsed since transmission of the first electronic mail (S 12 ), the control unit  1  sends a second electronic mail, to which images or detailed information has been attached, to the server  5  (S 13 ). After the grace period t 2  has elapsed since it has received the first electronic mail, the server  5  sends the content of the second electronic mail together with the first electronic mail to the user (S 15  to S 17 ). The user thus can learn that an abnormality has occurred in the building  2  from a remote location.  
         [0000]     When Control Unit is Destroyed ( FIG. 8 )  
         [0045]     In the above scenario, it is conceivable that the intruder will become aware of the presence of the control unit  1 , which is provided with the surveillance camera  10 , and destroy (S 22 ) the control unit  1  after the control unit  1  has issued the first electronic mail (S 21 ) but before the set period t 1  has elapsed. In this case, the second electronic mail is not sent to the server  5 .  
         [0046]     As shown in the chart of  FIG. 8 , if the server  5  does not receive the second electronic mail after it has received the first electronic mail and the grace period t 2  has elapsed (S 23 , S 24 ), then the server  5  attaches a message indicating that the second electronic mail was not received to the first electronic mail and sends it to the portable telephone  3  (S 25 ). The user can understand from this that an abnormality has occurred in the building  2  and that some manner of problem has occurred in the control unit  1 . Therefore, the user can learn that an abnormality of some manner has occurred in the building  2  even if the control unit  1  has been broken.  
         [0000]     When User Returns Home ( FIG. 9 )  
         [0047]     In the above case, when the user returns home and opens the door  20 , the server  5  sends the first electronic mail to his portable telephone  3  (S 31 ), and then after the grace period t 2 , it sends the second electronic mail. From the standpoint of the user, however, both e-mail messages are unnecessary and an annoyance.  
         [0048]     In this case, as shown in the flowchart of  FIG. 9 , the user operates the control unit  1  within the set period t 1  to send a stop mail to the server  5  from the control unit  1  (S 32 ). This stop mail is sent from the control unit  1  by performing an operation that is simple yet difficult for anyone other than the user to know, such as pressing the switch button  12  two times consecutively, pushing and holding it down for several seconds, or pressing a hard-to-see button on the control unit  1  that is separate from the switch button  12 .  
         [0049]     When the server  5  receives the stop mail, it discards the first electronic mail that it is holding (S 33  to S 35 ). That is, the server  5  has a transmission interrupt function for allowing the user to operate the control unit  1  within the set period t 1  to stop transmission of the first electronic mail. The second electronic mail is not sent from the control unit  1 , and no electronic mail is received by the user from the server  5 . By doing this, unnecessary electronic mail messages can be discarded, and thus the work to delete unnecessary electronic mail messages is obviated.  
         [0050]     As mentioned above, it is also possible to send the first electronic mail and the second electronic mail to the user&#39;s personal computer  60  over the Internet  6 .  
         [0051]     This example has illustratively shown a portable telephone as the alerting device in the possession of the user, but it is also possible for this device to be installed in place rather than portable in nature. Further, electronic mail was adopted as the alarm information that is sent to the portable terminal, but it is also possible for at least the first electronic mail to be replaced by voice information. In the case of voice information, it is possible for the telephone line  4  and the portable systems network  30  in  FIG. 2  to be connected directly. The portable terminal is not limited to the portable telephone  3 , and also can be a PDA, for example.  
         [0000]     Further, it is also possible that the control unit  1 , the surveillance camera  10  and the sensor  11  are provided separately.  
         [0052]     The control unit  1  also can receive signals input from alerting devices such as fire alarms, and security sensors that have been attached at positions other than the door  20 , such as at windows. The first electronic mail includes information on the set period t 1  in the above example, and together with this the first electronic mail also can include information from alerting devices or information from security sensors. Adding information from security sensors allows the location where the abnormality has occurred to be discerned. This makes it possible to gain a general idea of the location where the abnormality has occurred without receiving the second electronic mail, which is image information.  
         [0053]     Only selected embodiments have been chosen to illustrate the present invention. To those skilled in the art, however, it will be apparent from the foregoing disclosure that various changes and modifications can be made herein without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. Furthermore, the foregoing description of the embodiments according to the present invention is provided for illustration only, and not for limiting the invention as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.