Abstract:
Disclosed herein are a disaster situation management system and a personal identification terminal associated with the system. For this, the disaster situation management system includes a personal identification terminal detachably worn on a body of a user and configured to input and store information including personal information and location information of the user, a center server configured to enable communication with the personal identification terminal through a communication network, and configured to collect personal information and location information of each user who wears the personal identification terminal from the personal identification terminal and to manage the collected information, and a hospital server configured to enable communication with the center server through the communication network, collect personal information and location information of the person who wears the personal identification terminal, and provide the collected information to the center server, the collected information being read through a reader.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    The present invention relates, in general, to a disaster situation management system and a personal identification terminal associated with the system and, more particularly, to a disaster situation management system and a personal identification terminal associated with the system, which can easily detect personal information, location information and even the state information of each person involved in a disaster when the disaster occurs, and can provide the detected information. 
         [0003]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0004]    When accidents related to a large number of persons occur, such as accidents involving group tours, ships or aircraft, or large-scale chemical accidents, it is very important to detect the personal information of individual persons affected by the corresponding accident, and to detect the location and state information of these persons. 
         [0005]    In particular, it is true that, when the above information is not promptly transferred, or when inaccurate information is transferred, serious damage or injury to victims and persons involved may occur. 
         [0006]    Recently, a management system capable of rapidly detecting the location of victims has been presented, and an example thereof is Korean Patent Application Publication No. 10-2006-0011232. 
         [0007]    However, the above technology is focused only on the detection of a location, but does not provide a system capable of promptly providing information about a hospital to which each rescued person is evacuated and the current state (physical and mental injury condition) of the person. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0008]    Accordingly, the present invention has been made keeping in mind the above problems occurring in the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide technology that enables communication to be performed between a center server, provided in a rescue center or a national disaster management center when a disaster or emergency occurs, and a personal identification terminal attached to each person and configured to provide personal information and location information, thus promptly collecting personal information and location information of each person and minimizing injury. 
         [0009]    Another object of the present invention is to provide technology, in which a center server is connected to a hospital server, and in which the hospital server is provided with information recorded in a personal identification terminal and transfers the information to the center server, and also provides information about the physical condition or the like of each person, thus enabling a rescue center or a national disaster management center to promptly aggregate the current locations and states of respective persons. 
         [0010]    A further object of the present invention is to provide technology that can promptly and precisely provide requested location and state information when a request for an inquiry into the location and state information of a victim is received from the family or relatives of the victim or other persons involved. 
         [0011]    In order to accomplish the above objects, the present invention provides a disaster situation management system, including a personal identification terminal detachably worn on a body of a user and configured to input and store information including personal information and location information of the user; a center server configured to enable communication with the personal identification terminal through a communication network, and configured to collect personal information and location information of each user who wears the personal identification terminal from the personal identification terminal and to manage the collected information; and a hospital server configured to enable communication with the center server through the communication network, collect personal information and location information of the person who wears the personal identification terminal, and provide the collected information to the center server, the collected information being read through a reader. 
         [0012]    The disaster situation management system may further include a hospital terminal related to the hospital server, wherein, when a physical condition or a degree of injury of a person who wears a specific personal identification terminal is input through the hospital terminal, the input information is transferred to the center server through the hospital server. 
         [0013]    The center server may be configured to, when a request for provision of personal information or state information of a specific person who wears the personal identification terminal is received from an external terminal through a website or an application associated with the center server, provide the location information or state information to the requesting terminal. 
         [0014]    The personal identification terminal may include a main body and a band part connected to the main body and wound around the user&#39;s wrist or ankle, and the main body includes an input unit for enabling input of information, a display unit for displaying information, an information provision unit for providing input information to the reader, and a Global Positioning System (GPS) communication module for communicating with a GPS satellite. 
         [0015]    Further, the present invention provides a personal identification terminal associated with a disaster situation management system, including a main body; and a band part connected to the main body and wound around a part of a body of a user, wherein the main body comprises an input unit for enabling input of personal information of a person; a GPS module for transmitting and receiving signals related to location determination while communicating with a GPS satellite; a storage unit for storing personal information and location information of the person; an information provision unit for, when a read signal from an external reader is provided, providing the information input to the storage unit to the external reader; a communication unit for communicating, through a communication network, with a center server that collects personal information and location information of each person; and a control unit for entirely controlling the units. 
         [0016]    The control unit may perform control such that, when an information provision request signal is received from the center server, the personal information and location information of the person stored in the storage unit are transmitted to the center server through the communication unit. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0017]    The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
           [0018]      FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram showing a personal identification terminal and a disaster situation management system associated with the terminal according to the present invention; 
           [0019]      FIG. 2  is a control block diagram showing the personal identification terminal and the disaster situation management system associated with the terminal according to the present invention; and 
           [0020]      FIGS. 3 and 4  are control flowcharts of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0021]    Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to embodiments. Objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will be easily understood based on the following embodiments. The present invention is not limited to the embodiments and may be embodied in various forms. The embodiments proposed here are provided to those skilled in the art so that disclosed content is thoroughly and completely provided and so that the spirit of the present invention is sufficiently transmitted to those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains. Therefore, it should be noted that the present invention is not limited by the following embodiments. 
         [0022]      FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram showing a personal identification terminal and a disaster situation management system associated with the terminal according to the present invention. 
         [0023]    As shown in  FIG. 1 , the disaster situation management system according to the present invention includes a personal identification terminal  10  attachable to the wrist or ankle of each person, a wireless Access Point (AP)  20  configured to exchange communication signals with the personal identification terminal  10 , a broadband base station  30  configured to exchange communication signals with the wireless AP  20 , a center server  40  operated by a rescue center or a national disaster management center, and a center terminal  41  connected to the center server  40 . 
         [0024]    Further, the disaster situation management system according to the present invention includes a hospital server  50  connected to the center server  40  through a network  80 , a hospital terminal  51 , and a reader  52 . 
         [0025]    Meanwhile, the family or relatives of a disaster victim or persons involved in the disaster may access a disaster situation management website or application operated by the rescue center, the national disaster management center, a local government, or the government by using an external terminal  60  or  61 , and may then be provided with real-time disaster situation information. 
         [0026]    The personal identification terminal  10  is preferably implemented in the shape of a wrist watch or a band, but is not limited to such a shape. 
         [0027]    Each person is prompted to input his or her personal information to his or her personal identification terminal  10  immediately before the departure of a group tour, or immediately before boarding a bus, a ship or an airplane, and thus the personal identification terminal  10  may be regarded as a kind of electronic identification device. 
         [0028]    Alternatively, when a disaster occurs and a person is rescued, the personal identification terminal  10  is placed and worn on the person, and the personal information of the rescued person is caused to be input through the personal identification terminal  10 , thus allowing the personal information and location information of the rescued person to be tracked in real time. 
         [0029]    Since the personal identification terminal  10  is capable of exchanging Global Positioning System (GPS) location-determination signals with a GPS satellite  70 , the location information of the personal identification terminal  10  may be easily collected. 
         [0030]    Since the wireless AP  20  and the broadband base station  30  are components of a typical communication network, a detailed description thereof will be omitted. 
         [0031]    The center server  40  is a server that is operated by the rescue center or the national disaster management center, and that communicates, through the communication network, with personal identification terminals  10  distributed to respective persons, thus collecting and identifying the personal information and location information of the respective persons wearing the personal identification terminals  10 . 
         [0032]    Therefore, when a large-scale disaster occurs, the number of victims or the location information of the victims may be promptly and precisely collected. 
         [0033]    The hospital server  50  is connected to the center server  40  and is also connected to the reader  52  or to the hospital terminal  51 . 
         [0034]    Therefore, when the information of the terminal  10  (personal information and location information) of an evacuated victim is read through the reader  52 , or when the personal information, location information, and state information (degree of an injury, or survival or death information) of the evacuated victim are input through the hospital terminal  51 , the read or input information is transferred to the hospital server  50 , and then transferred to and collected by the center server  40 . 
         [0035]    In particular, when a large number of evacuated persons and several hospitals to which the persons have been evacuated are present, it is possible to promptly and precisely aggregate the number of victims who have been evacuated to a specific hospital and the number of victims who have been evacuated to other hospitals. Also, it is possible to promptly and precisely aggregate the degrees of injury of the evacuated victims. 
         [0036]    Further, such information may be provided to the website or application. 
         [0037]    When family, relatives or persons involved access the website or application through the terminal  60  or  61 , the personal information and location information of the corresponding victim, the degree of injury of the victim, etc. may be easily detected. 
         [0038]    In this case, a predetermined authentication procedure may be included to protect the personal information of each victim. 
         [0039]      FIG. 2  is a control block diagram showing the personal identification terminal and the disaster situation management system associated with the terminal according to the present invention. 
         [0040]    Below, the detailed configuration of the personal identification terminal  10  included in the disaster situation management system will be described with reference to  FIG. 2 . 
         [0041]    In the personal identification terminal  10 , a main body and a band or strap connected to the main body form the appearance thereof. 
         [0042]    The main body includes a display unit  11  implemented as a liquid crystal screen and an input unit  12  for enabling the input of information. The display unit  11  and the input unit  12  may be regarded as being implemented as a touch screen. 
         [0043]    Further, the main body includes a communication unit  15  for communicating with the center server  40  through a communication network, and a storage unit  16  for storing personal information input by the input unit  12  and location information obtained by a GPS module  17 , which will be described later. 
         [0044]    Meanwhile, the main body is provided with an information provision unit  13  that is configured to, when the reader approaches the terminal  10  in a hospital and a read signal is detected, provide personal information and location information stored in the storage unit  16  to the reader. 
         [0045]    The information provision unit  13  is preferably configured as a tag such as a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag, but it is not limited thereto. 
         [0046]    A control unit  14  functions to control the above-described components, and may issue a control command to provide personal information and location information through the communication unit  15  especially when a request to provide information is received from the center server  40 . 
         [0047]    Hereinafter, the control flow of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. 
         [0048]      FIG. 3  is a flowchart showing a process performed after the personal identification terminal  10  has been placed and worn on a person rescued via a rescue operation at the time of a disaster. 
         [0049]    First, when a rescue situation occurs at step S 301 , the personnel of a rescue agency puts the personal identification terminal  10  on the rescued person, and prompts the rescued person to input his or her personal information (name, age, address, resident registration number, etc.) at step S 302 . 
         [0050]    Meanwhile, since the personal identification terminal  10  communicates with the GPS satellite  70 , it is possible to track a variation in the location of the personal identification terminal  10 . 
         [0051]    When the personal information is input and the location information is acquired, the information is transferred to the center server  40 . 
         [0052]    The center server  40  not only stores the personal information of each rescued person, but also recognizes the location of the rescued person at steps S 304  and S 305 . Meanwhile, for a person evacuated to a hospital among rescued persons, the personal information and location information of the person, stored in the terminal thereof, are read using a recognition tool, such as the reader  52 , at steps S 306  and S 307 . 
         [0053]    However, the personal information or the location information may be directly input through the hospital terminal  51  without being read through the reader  52 . 
         [0054]    Meanwhile, a doctor or a nurse checks the degree of injury of the evacuated person or whether the evacuated person has been dead, and inputs such state information through the hospital terminal  51 , and then the input information is transferred to the center server  40  via the hospital server  50 . 
         [0055]    In this way, the center server  40  may update the personal information of the rescued person and also update the location information thereof at steps S 308  and S 309 . That is, when the rescued person is evacuated to a hospital, information about the hospital to which the person has been evacuated and the degree of injury of the person may be easily aggregated. 
         [0056]    Meanwhile, when the family, relatives or persons involved request the provision of information about a rescued person via the website or application at step S 310 , the center server may provide recently updated personal information (typical personal information and state information) and location information in response to the request. 
         [0057]      FIG. 4  is a flowchart showing the flow of information management when the personal identification terminal  10  is worn on each person before departure or boarding, and some persons are missing in case of an accident. 
         [0058]    The flow of management of information about rescued persons and evacuated persons after the occurrence of an accident is identical to that of  FIG. 3 , and thus a detailed description thereof will be omitted. 
         [0059]    As shown in  FIG. 4 , personal identification terminals  10  are distributed to and worn on respective persons before boarding a bus, an airplane, or a ship or before the departure of a group tour, and are then configured to prompt the persons to input their personal information at step S 401 . 
         [0060]    The input personal information is transferred to and stored in the center server  40  at step S 402 . 
         [0061]    Thereafter, if an accident occurs and some persons are determined to be missing, the center server  40  requests the provision of location information from the terminals  10  worn on the missing persons at step S 404 . 
         [0062]    The terminals  10 , which received the information provision request, search for the current locations of the missing persons and recognize the coordinate points thereof while exchanging location-determination signals with the GPS satellite at steps S 405  and S 406 . 
         [0063]    When the locations of the missing persons are finally found, the terminals  10  provide information about the locations to the center server  40 , and the center server receives, stores, and recognizes the location information at steps S 407  and S 408 . 
         [0064]    Meanwhile, when the family or relatives of each missing person or persons involved request the provision of information about the corresponding missing person via the website or the application at step S 409 , the center server may provide recently updated information of the missing person (personal information and location information) in response to the corresponding request. 
         [0065]    The present invention is advantageous in that it enables communication between a personal identification terminal and a center server, so that the personal information and location information of each person who is involved in an accident or a disaster may be rapidly collected, thus aggregating the number of victims, the number of rescued persons, the number of missing persons, and the respective locations of the persons. 
         [0066]    Further, the present invention is advantageous in that a reader that reads information from the information provision unit of a personal identification terminal, or a hospital server that is connected to an external terminal accesses a center server, thus easily detecting the location and personal information of persons evacuated to a hospital. 
         [0067]    In particular, in the case of information provided by a hospital server, the physical conditions or degrees of injury of evacuated persons that are input through a hospital terminal may be additionally provided in addition to the personal information and location information of the persons, with the result that survivors, mild injury cases, serious injury cases, and deaths may be promptly aggregated and classified. 
         [0068]    Furthermore, the present invention is also advantageous in that, when the family or relatives of an accident victim or persons involved in an accident request the provision of location and state information of the corresponding victim via a website or an application operated by a rescue center, a national disaster management center, a local government, or the government, the requested information may be promptly and precisely provided. 
         [0069]    In summary, there are advantages in that, when an accident occurs, information input to each personal identification terminal is read to precisely determine rescued persons, and to detect the locations of persons who are not yet rescued through a communication network, thus allowing the persons to be promptly rescued, with the result that the loss of lives is minimized. 
         [0070]    Furthermore, the present invention is also advantageous in that the overall process ranging from rescue to evacuation and medical treatment at the time of an accident may be systematically managed, accident responses may be effectively taken, and persons who are not yet rescued may be promptly rescued, thus minimizing the loss of lives. 
         [0071]    As described above, detailed embodiments of the present invention have been described. Those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains will understand that the present invention may be modified without departing from the essential features of the present invention. Therefore, the disclosed embodiments should be considered from a descriptive standpoint rather than a restrictive standpoint. The scope of the present invention is defined in the accompanying claims rather than the above detailed description, and it should be noted that all differences falling within the claims and equivalents thereof are included in the scope of the present invention.