Patent Application
20200118410
The invention relates to a method and to a system, by means of which persons in an area to be monitored can be observed and monitored.
The monitoring of the condition of elderly people in a home environment is indispensable if it is desired to lengthen the possibility of an aging population coping in its home environment. Safety bracelets are widely used. Their weakness is that the user must wear the bracelet continuously and must be able to press the alarm button in an emergency. Bracelets that check the state of health also exist, but one of their problems is false alarms.
Prior art has also sought solutions in which a film that is of piezoelectric material is installed on the floor, which film registers pressure changes caused by movement on the surface of the floor. Also known to be used are sensors to be installed on the floor, or under it, that detect the presence and movements of people without a change in pressure by means of capacitive sensors.
The possibility of using video cameras, movement detectors that are based e.g. on detecting infrared light, or e.g. ultrasound sensors for monitoring the condition and state of elderly people is also disclosed in prior art.
For example, specification WO2012164169 describes a method and system known in the art for tracking objects based on ultrasound technology.
A drawback with prior-art observation systems and monitoring systems is that they can interpret a person as having fallen in a situation in which the person has not really fallen. In such a case the system sends a false notification of a fall or a false fall alarm although there was no need for it in the situation in question. A false notification of a fall or a false fall alarm incurs costs because the recipient of the notification of a fall must ascertain whether the person has really fallen and whether he/she needs assistance.
The system according to the invention comprises at least one sensor for detecting the state and/or attitude of a person, said sensor being suited for measuring. In the solution according to the invention the sensors can be installed e.g. on a ceiling, floor or wall. The solution according to the invention can be used e.g. for monitoring the condition and state of elderly people e.g. in their own homes or in retirement homes.
By using the system according to claim 1 and the method according to claim 11, the problems of the state of the art can be eliminated and an arrangement can be implemented that corresponds to the requirements according to the needs of actual usage. The invention is characterized by what is disclosed in the claims below.
In the solution according to the invention a space is monitored with at least one sensor, which is adapted to measure in two measuring ranges that are at a different height, of which the first measuring range is an upper measuring range and the second measuring range is a lower measuring range. The system is adapted to interpret a person as having fallen if an object is not detected in the upper measuring range and an object is detected in the lower measuring range. The system is further adapted to send a notification of a fall if a person is interpreted as having fallen and the predetermined criteria attached to sending a notification are met. A notification of a fall can be sent e.g. to a central control room or to a corresponding body that supervises a certain area and/or people moving in it.
In one embodiment of the invention the system comprises at least two sensors and the system is adapted to send a notification of a fall if no sensor at all in the upper measuring range detects any objects at all.
In one embodiment of the invention the system is adapted to issue an alarm signal lasting a predetermined period of time in the area to be monitored before sending a notification of a fall. In the embodiment in question a notification of a fall is only sent if an object is not detected in the upper measuring range during the issuing of the alarm signal or within a certain time from when the alarm signal ceased to be issued.
One advantage, among others, in the system according to the invention compared to earlier systems is that the system functions reliably and does not issue false alarms or notifications associated with falling and, that being the case, also does not incur the unnecessary costs incurred by false notifications.
The invention is illustrated with the following drawings, of which
In the solution of the invention, sensors to be installed e.g. on a wall or ceiling can be used, which sensors can detect the presence of an object by means of movement, heat or sound waves. The object can be e.g. an elderly person or some other person benefitting from supervision.
The motion detectors 102, 103 of the sensor 101 can be e.g. passive infrared sensors (PIR), ultrasound sensors, microwave sensors or combination sensors, such as a combination of a passive infrared sensor and a microwave sensor or a combination of two passive infrared sensors. The detectors of the sensor 101 can also be implemented with other technologies, by means of which the sensor is adapted to measure the presence and/or movement of an object in two different measuring ranges 104, 105 in the height direction.
The system according to the invention further comprises measuring electronics that produces sensor observations by means of sensors, and a central unit, suited to processing sensor observations and comprising a processor and a memory, which central unit is e.g. a data processing device. The central unit of the system can manage one or more sensors or sensor groups, wherein one sensor group means e.g. the sensors in the same space, such as in the same room.
The processor, central unit and/or measuring electronics can be integrated into the sensors or they can be disposed separately or in separate units. In the embodiment described in
A sensor measuring two different height ranges can interpret the falling of an object e.g. according to the following conditions:
The system is adapted to send a notification of a fall if a person is interpreted as having fallen and the predetermined criteria attached to sending a notification are met.
In the solution according to one embodiment of the invention after detecting a fall the system is adapted to issue an alarm signal lasting a certain predetermined period of time in the area to be monitored before sending a notification of a fall or a fall alarm. The alarm signal can be e.g. a sound signal and/or a light signal. The duration of the alarm signal can be e.g. 10 seconds. An alarm signal, e.g. a light and/or a sound, can be issued in pulses, e.g. at 1 s intervals, and can be stopped when movement is detected in the upper measuring range. The light can be e.g. green in color and/or the sound can be e.g. low, so that the person does not become anxious.
In one embodiment of the invention the system cancels the sending of a notification of a fall if the sensor that detected falling or another sensor in the upper measuring range detects an object during the issuing of an alarm signal. In one embodiment of the invention the system interrupts the issuing of an alarm signal if the sensor that detected falling or another sensor in the upper measuring range detects an object during the issuing of an alarm signal.
In these ways false notifications of a fall or false fall alarms are reduced in situations in which movement is not detected in the top part of the area to be monitored but movement is detected in the bottom part. In all cases the person has not actually fallen in such a situation but instead can be sitting in a chair or on a bed and waving his/her legs, in which case the upper body does not move but the legs do not move.
By means of an alarm signal a person in the area to be monitored will know that he/she must move or otherwise the system will send a notification of a fall or a fall alarm. The light and/or sound functioning as an alarm signal catches the person's attention and can easily e.g. get the person's head to turn. In such a case detectable movement occurs in the upper measuring range and the sending of a notification of a fall or of a fall alarm can be cancelled.
In one embodiment of the invention only some of the sensors of the area to be monitored have the functionality enabling the issuing of an alarm signal as described above. For example, the sensors in only some rooms, such as in the living room, can be provided with this functionality and the sensors in other rooms send a notification of a fall onwards immediately after detecting a falling event. In one embodiment of the invention only some of the sensors in one space, such as in a room, comprise the functionality enabling the issuing of an alarm signal as described above.
The system according to the invention can also combine the information of a number of sensors and deduce by means of the information of a number of sensors e.g. the movement and attitude of an object and e.g. the need for sending a fall alarm. In one embodiment of the invention the system examines the information measured by a number of sensors, e.g. by all the sensors in the area to be monitored, and a notification of a fall is only sent if no sensor at all in the upper measuring range detects any objects at all. In such a case movement detectable by some sensor in the upper measuring range can be movement caused by the actual object interpreted as having fallen or movement caused by some other person in the space. If the movement detectable by some sensor in the upper measuring range is movement caused by some other person, that person can assist the fallen person and the sending of a fall alarm is unnecessary. If the movement detected by a sensor in the upper measuring range is caused by the actual object interpreted as having fallen, the person has not actually fallen but instead he/she can be e.g. in a shadow zone of some sensor in the upper measuring range.
In the system there can also be a control center and the predetermined information concerning the presence, location, movement and/or attitude of the object can be sent to the control center. The alarm terms used by the system can be changed, e.g. on the basis of presence information received from an RFID reader. An alarm can be given e.g. to an external alarm system or wirelessly to a central server of the system, from which server the alarm is directed onwards.
The system can also have a memory means, in which the system is adapted to record a measurement signal, or information derived from it, for observing the chronological dependency of the area to be monitored and the behavior of objects. By means of this the system can give an alarm e.g. if a person being monitored has not got out of bed or visited the kitchen at a certain time, or if the person has gone to the toilet too often. The memory means also enables learning of a more common daily rhythm and the detection of aberrations occurring in it.
An area to be monitored with sensors can be the whole area or only a part of some area. The area to be monitored can be composed e.g. of one or more rooms and certain parts of the area, e.g. fixed installations such as cupboards, can be left outside the area to be monitored.
In some applications it is advantageous to first perform a charting of the unchanged area, i.e. to chart the measuring information of the sensors when mainly unmoving and unchanging objects and structures are in place. This type of situation is e.g. in a residential apartment when the furniture is in position but there are no people, pets or robots in the apartment. This charted information can be recorded in the system, e.g. in a memory that is located in the central unit or in a memory means that is in connection via a data network, which memory means can be e.g. in a control center or service center. For this purpose memory means must be comprised in the arrangement, which memory means can be in the central unit or connected to it via a data network.
According to one embodiment of the invention the system performs a charting of the unchanged area continuously or at defined intervals, in which case the system is able to detect e.g. changes in the area caused by new furniture or by changes in the location of furniture. In this way the system is able to adapt gradually to changes occurring in the area to be monitored.
By means of the sensors of the system the movements of an object can be checked. For the purposes of this function the central unit of the system comprises the necessary software and information about the characteristic properties of the signals being detected. Generally the central unit can deduce information from a signal received via a sensor, e.g. about the location, speed, movement direction, state or attitude of an object.
Generally, at least some of the sensors of the system are disposed in the proximity of those types of surfaces, or on the surfaces, such as e.g. floor surfaces, wall surfaces, door surfaces or ceiling surfaces of an apartment, of the area to be monitored to which, or into the proximity of which, the object has access.
In one embodiment of the invention the sensor 201 or sensors comprise their own central unit and the central unit of a sensor is in connection with the gateway 204. In a second embodiment of the invention the central units of the sensor 201 or sensors are integrated into a gateway 204.
It is possible that some of the functions of the central unit or of the gateway 204 are performed elsewhere via a data network connection, e.g. in a central control room or service center.
According to one embodiment of the invention, an alarm signal given by the system and lasting a predetermined period of time in the area to be monitored and that can be given before the sending of a notification of a fall, can be given via a light unit and/or a sound unit of the system. The light unit and/or sound units can be in each different part, e.g. room, of the premises. This functionality can also be integrated into the sensors, e.g. into all the sensors or only some of the sensors.
The system according to the invention can also comprise a call pushbutton 202, after the pressing of which the system can form a connection e.g. to nursing personnel, security personnel or it can perform various alarm procedures. The call pushbutton can be wireless and it can be adapted to function without batteries.
The notification procedures and alarm procedures according to the system of the invention can include e.g. the starting of alarm indication signaling (buzzer, light, siren, alarm clock), making contact with an alarm center or service center, a care provider or a relative. In some cases, an alarm can also be given directly to the person being monitored or to the user, e.g. by means of speech synthesis or a speech recording. For performing these tasks the arrangement can comprise means needed for processing time data, such as e.g. a clock circuit.
The system according to the invention can also comprise fire detectors 203, which can be in connection with another system via a wireline or wireless connection. If the fire detectors 203 warn of a fire, alarm procedures can be performed, e.g. by sending an alarm message to a control center or to the rescue authorities.
In one embodiment of the invention the system issues an alarm signal lasting a predetermined period of time in the area to be monitored before sending a notification of a fall. If the sensor that detected falling or another sensor in the upper measuring range still does not detect movement during the issuing of an alarm signal or after issuing it, the system sends a notification of a fall and/or a fall alarm via the system gateway 304 onwards and at the same time the system can perform predetermined fall alarm procedures or notification procedures.
In one embodiment of the invention the system examines the information measured by a number of sensors, e.g. by all the sensors in the area to be monitored, and a notification of a fall is only sent if no sensor at all in the upper measuring range detects any objects at all.
In one embodiment of the invention the system examines the information measured by a number of sensors, e.g. by all the sensors in the area to be monitored, and an alarm signal lasting a predetermined period of time is only issued if no sensor at all in the upper measuring range detects any objects at all. If still no sensor in the upper measuring range detects movement during the issuing of an alarm signal or after issuing it, the system sends a notification of a fall and/or a fall alarm via the system gateway 304 onwards and at the same time the system can perform predetermined fall alarm procedures or notification procedures.
In one embodiment of the invention the system issues an alarm signal lasting a predetermined period of time in the area to be monitored before sending a notification of a fall. If a certain sensor detecting falling in the upper measuring range still does not detect movement during the issuing of an alarm signal or after issuing it, the system examines the information measured by a number of sensors, e.g. by all the sensors in the area to be monitored. In such a case a fall alarm or a notification of a fall is sent if no sensor at all in the upper measuring range detects movement.
In the situation in the embodiment presented in
It is obvious to the person skilled in the art that the different embodiments of the invention are not limited solely to the examples described above, and that they may therefore be varied within the scope of the claims presented below. The characteristic features possibly presented in the description in conjunction with other characteristic features can if necessary be used separately to each other.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20165260 | Mar 2016 | FI | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/FI2017/050186 | 3/20/2017 | WO | 00 |
