JP2017094173A - Information detection apparatus and information detection method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information detection apparatus and an information detection method capable of discriminating whether or not the apparatus is attached normally to a measurement target, by a comparatively simple constitution.SOLUTION: The information detection apparatus comprises: irradiation means for irradiation with light; reflection means which has a reflectance ratio different from that of a measurement target; light receiving means for receiving return light of the irradiation light from a light emission part; and discrimination means which, on the basis of a quantity of received light by the light receiving means, discriminates whether the return light has returned from the measurement target or the reflection means.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a technical field of an information detector and an information detection method for detecting various kinds of information related to a measurement target by, for example, irradiating the measurement target with light.

  As this type of device, for example, there is known a device that obtains information about a living body such as blood flow and pulse wave by irradiating the living body with light and detecting light reflected or transmitted by the living body. . Such an apparatus is used by being mounted on, for example, a finger or ear of a living body, but may be removed from the measurement target depending on the mounting mode. For this reason, Patent Document 1 proposes an apparatus that uses a touch sensor to determine whether or not a living body is touching a measurement unit.

  In the above-described apparatus, for example, when an abnormality such as a failure occurs in a light emitting unit that emits light or a light receiving unit that receives light, accurate measurement cannot be performed. For this reason, for example, Patent Document 2 proposes an apparatus having means for examining the deterioration of a light emitting element based on the amount of received light.

JP 2009-183289 A JP 2004-298619A

  However, since the device described in Patent Document 1 described above needs to include a touch sensor separately, the configuration of the device becomes complicated and the cost increases. In addition, in the apparatus as described in Patent Document 2, since it is necessary to separately include a means for checking the deterioration degree of the light emitting element, the structure of the apparatus is similarly complicated and the cost is increased.

  Examples of problems to be solved by the present invention include the above. An object of the present invention is to provide an information detector and an information detection method capable of determining whether or not a device is normally attached to a measurement target with a relatively simple configuration.

  A first information detector for solving the above problem is an information detector for detecting information on a measurement object, an irradiation means for irradiating light, a reflection means having a reflectance different from that of the measurement object, A light receiving means for receiving the return light of the light emitted from the irradiating means, and determining a measurement error when the amount of light received by the light receiving means is greater than a first threshold, and outputting measurement error alarm information; Determining means for determining that there is an abnormality in the irradiating means or the light receiving means when the amount of light received by the light receiving means is smaller than a second threshold value.

  The second information detector for solving the above-mentioned problem is an information detector for detecting information relating to a measurement object, an irradiation means for irradiating light, a reflection means having a reflectance different from that of the measurement object, A light receiving means for receiving the return light of the light emitted from the irradiating means and a light receiving amount in the light receiving means are determined to be a measurement error when the received light amount is smaller than the first threshold value and larger than the second threshold value. Measurement error alarm information is output, and when the amount of received light is smaller than the second threshold value, there is provided a determination unit that determines that the irradiation unit or the light reception unit is abnormal.

  An information detection method for solving the above-described problems includes an irradiating unit that irradiates light, a reflecting unit that has a reflectance different from that of the measurement target, and a light receiving unit that receives return light of the light irradiated from the irradiating unit. An information detection method in an information detector for detecting information related to the measurement object, wherein when the amount of light received by the light receiving means is larger than a first threshold, it is determined that there is a measurement error, and the light receiving means A determination step of determining that there is an abnormality in the irradiating means or the light receiving means when the amount of received light is smaller than a second threshold value.

It is a block diagram which shows the whole structure of the information measuring device which concerns on 1st Example. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of a probe part. It is a perspective view (the 1) which shows the structure of the probe part equipped with the clip part. It is a perspective view (the 2) which shows the structure of the probe part equipped with the clip part. It is a side view which shows the information measuring device at the time of biological measurement. It is a side view which shows the information measuring device at the time of living body non-measurement. It is a flowchart which shows a series of processes of the information measuring device which concerns on 1st Example. It is a block diagram which shows the whole structure of the information measuring device which concerns on 2nd Example. It is a flowchart which shows a series of processes of the information measuring device which concerns on 2nd Example. It is the elements on larger scale which show the structure of the information measuring device which concerns on 3rd Example. It is a flowchart which shows a series of processes of the information measuring device which concerns on 3rd Example.

  The information detector according to the present embodiment includes an irradiating unit that irradiates light, a reflecting unit that has a reflectance different from that of the measurement target, a light receiving unit that receives return light of the light emitted from the light emitting unit, and And a discriminating unit that discriminates whether the return light is the return light from the measurement object or the return light from the reflection unit based on the amount of light received by the light receiving unit.

  According to the information detector of the present embodiment, during the operation, the measurement target is irradiated with light from the light emitting means configured as, for example, a light emitting diode, and is also measured by the light receiving means configured as, for example, a photodiode. Return light from is received. The return light received by the light receiving means is processed as a signal indicating information relating to the measurement target, and for example, the blood flow velocity or pulse wave of the living body that is the measurement target is detected.

  Here, the measurement operation described above is executed in a state where the positions of the light receiving unit and the light emitting unit are set to appropriate positions with respect to the measurement target. For example, the information detector is used in a state where it is attached to a part of a living body to be measured. More specifically, for example, the information detector includes a clip member, and performs measurement in a state where a part of the living body is sandwiched between the clip members.

  However, the information detector may be removed from the measurement target during measurement depending on the mounting mode. In this case, since the light from the light emitting unit is not irradiated to the measurement target, or the light receiving unit cannot receive the return light from the measurement target, accurate measurement cannot be performed. For this reason, the information detector according to the present embodiment can execute a measurement determination operation for determining whether or not the apparatus can normally perform measurement of the measurement target in parallel or independently of the measurement operation described above. Has been.

  In order to execute the measurement determination operation, the information detector according to the present embodiment includes a reflection unit having a reflectance different from that of the measurement target. Note that “reflection” in the present embodiment is not only a reflection of light in one direction but also a broad concept including “scattering” in which the light travels in various directions. Therefore, the “reflecting means” in the present embodiment can be rephrased as “scattering means”. The “return light” in the present embodiment may include not only “reflected light” but also “scattered light”.

  The reflection means may be configured with a member having a smaller reflectance than the measurement target, or may be configured with a member having a higher reflectance than the measurement target. The reflecting means is disposed at a position where the light emitting means can irradiate light and a position where the light receiving means can receive the return light. Moreover, it is preferable that the reflecting means is arranged at a position that is isolated from the light emitting means and the light receiving means by a measurement object arranged at a normal position.

  According to the configuration described above, for example, when the light from the light emitting unit is reflected by the reflecting unit, not the measurement target, and the return light is received by the light receiving unit, the reflectance of the reflecting unit is different from the measurement target. Therefore, a measurement result different from the case where the measurement object is measured is obtained. That is, when the reflectance of the reflecting means is larger than the measurement target, the received light amount is measured as a relatively large value, and when the reflectance of the reflecting means is smaller than the measurement target, the received light amount is measured as a relatively small value. Is done. Using this, the determination means determines whether the received return light is the return light from the measurement object or the return light from the reflection means based on the amount of light received by the light reception means. Specifically, when the amount of received light is a value within the range corresponding to the reflectance of the measurement target, it is determined that the return light from the measurement target is received, and the amount of received light is the reflectance of the reflecting means. When the value is within the corresponding range, it is determined that the return light from the measurement target is not received.

  As a result of the above, according to the information detector according to the present embodiment, it can be suitably determined whether or not the apparatus is measuring the measurement target normally. Therefore, for example, it is possible to avoid that inappropriate measurement is continuously performed in a state where the apparatus is removed from the measurement target, and it is possible to more appropriately measure information related to the measurement target.

  In one aspect of the information detector according to the present embodiment, the reflection means is not irradiated with light from the light emitting unit when the measurement target is located at a position where the measurement target is to be arranged, and the measurement target is the arrangement. When it does not exist at the position where it should be, it is arranged at a position where the light from the light emitting unit is irradiated.

  According to this aspect, when the measurement target is present at the position where the measurement target is to be placed (that is, when the measurement target is placed at an appropriate position for measuring the information related to the measurement target), the reflecting means is provided from the light emitting unit. Is not irradiated. Therefore, in this case, the return light received by the light receiving means does not include the return light from the reflecting means. On the other hand, when the measurement target does not exist at the position where the measurement target should be placed (that is, when the measurement target is not placed at an appropriate position for measuring the information about the measurement target), the light from the light emitting unit is irradiated on the reflecting means. Is done. Therefore, in this case, the return light received by the light receiving means becomes the return light from the reflecting means.

  If the reflecting means is arranged as described above, the return light from the reflecting means is received only when the measurement target cannot be measured normally. Therefore, it can be more suitably determined whether or not the apparatus is measuring the measurement target normally.

  In another aspect of the information detector according to this embodiment, the determination unit further determines at least one of an irradiation state of the irradiation unit and a light reception state of the light reception unit based on the amount of light received by the light reception unit.

  In the irradiation means and the light receiving means described above, abnormalities due to failure or the like may occur in the irradiation state and the light receiving state. If an abnormality occurs in the irradiating means or the light receiving means, it is impossible to accurately irradiate or receive light, so that information relating to the measurement target cannot be detected accurately. For this reason, in addition to the measurement determination operation described above, the information detector according to this aspect can execute an abnormality detection operation for detecting an abnormality of the apparatus.

  Here, as the irradiation state abnormality of the irradiation unit, for example, a case where the amount of light irradiated due to a failure is extremely reduced can be cited. Further, as the light receiving state abnormality of the light receiving means, for example, a case where the light receiving sensitivity is extremely lowered due to a failure. Thus, it can be seen that when an abnormality occurs in the irradiating means or the light receiving means, the amount of received light detected by the light receiving means is greatly reduced compared to the normal time. Note that, depending on the type of abnormality, the amount of received light may increase significantly compared to normal times.

  By using this, the determination unit is configured such that the amount of light received by the light receiving unit is not a value within the range corresponding to the return light from the measurement target and is not a value within the range corresponding to the return light from the reflection unit. It is determined that an abnormality has occurred in the device. Therefore, it is possible to detect that an abnormality has occurred in the apparatus. Note that the abnormality detection operation according to this aspect is realized by irradiating the reflection means with light and receiving the reflected light, and thus can be performed in parallel with the above-described measurement determination operation.

  In the aspect of determining at least one of the irradiation state of the irradiation unit or the light reception state of the light receiving unit described above, a part of the light irradiated from the light emitting unit is transmitted to the measurement target and the reflection unit side, and the other one is transmitted. A transmissive reflecting means for reflecting the part to the light receiving means may be further provided.

  In this case, a transmission / reflection unit that transmits a part of the irradiated light and reflects the other part is disposed between the irradiation unit, the light receiving unit, and the reflection unit. For this reason, all the light irradiated from the irradiation means does not go to the reflection means side, but only a part of the light transmitted through the transmission reflection means goes to the reflection means side. On the other hand, the other part reflected by the transmissive reflecting means goes directly to the light receiving means without going to the reflecting means side.

  According to the above-described configuration, when performing the abnormality detection operation, it is possible to detect an abnormality appropriately even when the reflecting means is configured with a relatively low reflectance. Specifically, assuming that the reflectance of the reflecting means is lower than that of the object to be measured, if the amount of light received by the light receiving means is small, it is reduced due to reflection by the reflecting means or abnormally small. It is difficult to determine whether it is.

  However, in this aspect, since a part of the light emitted from the irradiating means is directly directed to the light receiving means by the transmission / reflection means, the light receiving means can expect a certain amount of received light. Therefore, even when the return light from the reflecting means is weak, it is possible to detect an abnormality of the apparatus suitably.

  In another aspect of the information detector according to the present embodiment, the light emitting unit is a laser light source.

  According to this aspect, the measurement determination operation and the abnormality detection operation can be more suitably executed by using the laser light source excellent in directivity, convergence, and controllability.

  The information measuring instrument according to the present embodiment includes the above-described information detector (including various aspects thereof), an abnormality detection unit that detects an abnormality of the information detector based on a determination result in the determination unit, And a warning stop means for executing at least one of a warning notifying that the abnormality is detected and a stop of measurement by the information detector when the abnormality is detected.

  According to the information measuring instrument of this embodiment, when the apparatus does not normally measure the measurement target by the above-described measurement determination unit, or when an abnormality has occurred in the irradiation unit and the light receiving unit, a warning or measurement is performed. A stop is made. Therefore, it is possible to suitably avoid that measurement continues to be performed while an abnormality has occurred.

  The information measuring method according to the present embodiment includes an irradiating unit that irradiates light, a reflecting unit that has a reflectance different from that of the measurement target, and a light receiving unit that receives return light of the light emitted from the light emitting unit. An information detection method in an information detector, wherein whether the return light is return light from the measurement object or return light from the reflection means is determined based on the amount of light received by the light receiving means. A discrimination step is provided.

  According to the information detection method of the present embodiment, it can be suitably determined whether or not the apparatus is measuring the measurement target normally, similarly to the information detector according to the present embodiment described above. Therefore, for example, it is possible to avoid that inappropriate measurement is continuously performed in a state where the apparatus is removed from the measurement target, and it is possible to more appropriately measure information related to the measurement target.

  Note that the information detection method according to the present embodiment can also adopt various aspects similar to the various aspects of the information detector according to the above-described embodiment.

  The operation and other gains of the information detector and the information detection method according to this embodiment will be described in more detail in the following examples.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of an information detector and an information detection method will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

<First embodiment>
An information measuring instrument according to the first embodiment will be described. In the following description, an example in which an information measuring instrument including an information detector is configured as a biological information detection device that detects information related to a living body (for example, blood flow, pulse wave, etc.) will be described.

<Device configuration>
First, the overall configuration of the information measuring instrument of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of the information measuring instrument according to the first embodiment.

  In FIG. 1, the information measuring instrument 100 according to the present embodiment includes a light emitting unit 110, a light receiving unit 120, an amplifier 130, an A / D converter 140, a biological information calculation unit 150, and a biological detection determination unit 160. Yes.

  The light emitting unit 110 is a specific example of “irradiation unit” and includes, for example, a laser light source. The light emitting unit 110 can irradiate light toward the living body 500 that is a measurement target.

  The light receiving unit 120 is a specific example of “light receiving means”, and includes, for example, a photodiode. The light receiving unit 120 can receive the return light from the living body 500 to be measured (that is, the light scattered from the living body 500 out of the light emitted from the light emitting unit 110) and output a signal corresponding to the amount of received light. It is said that.

  The amplifier 130 includes an amplifier circuit, and can amplify the signal input from the light receiving unit 120 and output it to the A / D converter 140.

  The A / D converter 140 converts a signal input as an analog signal from the amplifier 130 into a digital signal and outputs the digital signal. The A / D converter 140 can output the digitally converted signal to the biological information calculation unit 150 and the biological detection determination unit 160, respectively.

  Based on the signal input from the A / D converter 140, the biological information calculation unit 150 calculates and outputs information related to the biological object 500 that is the measurement target. The biological information calculation unit 150 calculates and outputs a blood flow velocity, a pulse wave, and the like of the living body 500, for example.

  The living body detection determination unit 160 is a specific example of the “determination unit”, and based on the signal input from the A / D converter 140, the light received by the light receiving unit 120 from the living body 500 that is the measurement target. It is determined whether or not the light is returning light. When the received light is a return light from the living body 500, the living body detection determining unit 160 instructs the living body information calculating unit 150 to perform the calculation of the living body information. On the other hand, when the received light is not the return light from the living body 500, the living body detection determining unit 160 outputs measurement error alarm information.

  Note that the information measuring instrument according to the present embodiment includes a reflecting portion which is a specific example of “reflecting means” in addition to the above-described members, but the illustration thereof is omitted here. The configuration of the reflector and the determination operation using the reflector will be described in detail later.

  Next, a specific configuration of the probe unit 200 including the light emitting unit 110 and the light receiving unit 120 described above will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating the configuration of the probe unit 200 according to the embodiment.

  In FIG. 2, the probe unit 200 is formed as a member including a detection element 250 including a light emitting unit 110 and a light receiving unit 120 (see FIG. 1) exposed on the surface, and a connection cable 300 is provided at an end thereof. Is connected. A connection terminal 310 is provided at the end of the connection cable 300 opposite to the probe unit 100. The connection terminal 310 can be connected to a main body (not shown) including the biological information calculation unit 150, the biological detection determination unit 160, and the like.

  Next, the structure of the clip part 400 attached to the probe part 200 mentioned above is demonstrated with reference to FIG.3 and FIG.4. 3 and 4 are perspective views showing the configuration of the probe unit 200 with the clip unit 400 attached thereto.

  3 and 4, the clip portion 400 is configured by connecting a first clip member 410 and a second clip member 420 at a clip connection portion 430. The first clip member 410 and the second clip member 420 can be opened and closed with the clip connecting portion 430 as a fulcrum, and a living body or the like to be measured can be held between them.

  The probe unit 200 is inserted into the first clip member 410 in the clip unit 400 described above. Specifically, the detection element 250 in the probe unit 200 is disposed so as to be exposed to the second clip member 420 side from the opening of the first clip member 410 (see FIG. 4). The connection cable 300 connected to the probe unit 200 can be held by the cable clamp 440 in the second clip member 420.

<Installation method>
Next, a method of mounting the information measuring instrument according to the present embodiment on a measurement target will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a side view showing the information measuring instrument at the time of biological measurement.

  In FIG. 5, the information measuring device 100 according to the present embodiment is used by being worn on a fingertip 510 of a living body, for example. Specifically, as shown in the drawing, the fingertip 510 of the living body is sandwiched between the first clip member 410 and the second clip member 420. In this way, the detection element 250 of the probe unit 200 inserted in the first clip member 410 is arranged so as to face the fingertip 510 of the living body. Therefore, the light emitting unit 110 can irradiate the measurement target with light, and the light receiving unit 120 can detect return light from the measurement target. Therefore, according to the information measuring instrument 100 according to the present embodiment, it is possible to suitably detect information related to the living body 500 that is a measurement target.

  In addition, about the detection of biological information, since various methods of the existing detection method (for example, laser Doppler flowmetry method etc.) can be used, detailed description here is abbreviate | omitted. Incidentally, the information measuring instrument 100 according to the present embodiment may be mounted so as to sandwich a part other than the fingertip 510 (for example, an earlobe) as long as the biological information can be detected.

<Structure of the reflection part>
Next, the configuration of the reflection unit provided in the information measuring instrument according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 6 in addition to FIG. FIG. 6 is a side view showing the information measuring instrument when the living body is not measured.

  5 and 6, in the information measuring instrument 100 according to the present embodiment, the reflecting portion 425 is disposed on the surface of the second clip member 430 that faces the first clip member 410. The reflecting portion 425 is a specific example of “reflecting means”, and is configured by a member having a relatively high reflectance such as metal or resin. In particular, the reflection unit 425 according to the present embodiment is set so that the reflectance is larger than the reflectance of the living body 500 that is the measurement target.

  In general, the reflectance when light is irradiated on human skin differs depending on the wavelength of light. For example, when light having a wavelength of 650 nm to 900 nm is used, the reflectance is about 50% to 70%. Therefore, a mirror having a reflectance exceeding 90%, white plastic, or the like may be used for the reflecting portion 425 here. As will be described in detail later, the reflectance of the reflecting portion 425 may be set to a value lower than the reflectance of the measurement target.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 5, when the biological fingertip 510 to be measured is sandwiched between the clip unit 400, the light from the light emitting unit 110 included in the detection element 250 is transmitted to the reflection unit 425. Not irradiated. That is, light emitted from the light emitting unit 110 is shielded by the fingertip 510 of the living body and is not irradiated to the reflecting unit 425.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 6, in a state where the measurement target is not sandwiched between the clip portions 400, the detection element 250 and the reflection portion 425 are arranged to face each other with nothing interposed therebetween. Therefore, the light emitted from the light emitting unit 110 is emitted to the reflecting unit 425, and the light reflected by the reflecting unit 425 is received by the light receiving unit 120.

  The measurement determination operation described later is executed by determining whether the light received by the light receiving unit 120 is the return light from the measurement target or the return light from the reflection unit 425 as described above. The

<Description of operation>
Next, the operation of the information measuring instrument according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a series of processes of the information measuring instrument according to the first embodiment.

  In FIG. 7, when the information measuring instrument 100 according to the present embodiment operates, first, laser light is emitted from the light emitting unit 110 (step S101). As shown in FIG. 5, the light emitted from the light emitting unit 110 is reflected by the measurement target when the measurement target exists, and as shown in FIG. 6, the reflection unit 425 when the measurement target does not exist. Is reflected by. The return light is received by the light receiving unit 120, and a light reception signal based on the amount of received light is generated (step S102).

  The light reception signal generated by the light receiving unit 120 is amplified by the amplifier 130 and digitally converted by the A / D converter 140 (step S103). Thus, the light reception signal is a signal indicating the magnitude of the amount of light received by the light receiving unit 120 as a digital value.

  When the light reception signal is digitized, the living body detection determination unit 160 determines whether or not the signal intensity of the light reception signal is smaller than a predetermined threshold A (step S104). Here, the “threshold A” is set based on the reflectance of the living body 500 that is the measurement target and the reflectance of the reflection unit 425, and the return light from the living body 500 that is the measurement target is determined from the signal intensity. It is used to determine whether the object is from the reflection unit 425 or not.

  Here, when the signal intensity is smaller than the threshold value A (step S104: YES), it is determined that the received return light is from the living body 500, and the living body information calculation unit 150 calculates the living body information from the received light signal. (Step S105). The calculated biological information is output to the outside of the apparatus (step S106) and displayed on, for example, a display.

  On the other hand, when the signal intensity is greater than or equal to the threshold A (step S104: NO), the received return light is from the reflection unit 425 (that is, the return light from the living body 500 is not received). The measurement error alarm information is output from the living body detection determination unit 160 (step S107). That is, since the light stronger than the return light from the living body 500 is received, the return light from the living body 500 to be measured is not obtained, and the return light from the reflecting portion 425 is obtained. It is determined.

  When the measurement error alarm information is output, a warning indicating a measurement error is executed. Therefore, when the apparatus is removed from the measurement target for some reason, it is possible to notify the user to that effect. In addition, when it determines with it being a measurement error, biometric information is not calculated from a received light signal.

  The series of processes described above ends when it is determined that all measurements have been completed (step S108: YES). If it is determined that all the measurements have not been completed (step S108: NO), the processes after step S102 are repeatedly executed.

  As described above, in the information measuring instrument 100 according to the first embodiment, whether or not the measurement of the living body 500 can be normally performed by including the reflecting plate 425 having a higher reflectance than the living body 500 that is the measurement target. Can be determined. Therefore, it is possible to prevent inappropriate measurement from being performed, and it is possible to realize a more preferable measurement environment.

<Second embodiment>
Next, the information measuring instrument 100b according to the second embodiment will be described. The second embodiment differs from the first embodiment described above only in part of the configuration and operation, and is substantially the same in many other parts. For this reason, below, a different part from the already described 1st Example is demonstrated in detail, and description is abbreviate | omitted suitably about the overlapping part.

<Device configuration>
First, the configuration of the information measuring instrument 100b according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of the information measuring instrument according to the second embodiment.

  In FIG. 8, the information measuring instrument 100b according to the second embodiment is configured to include an apparatus failure determination unit 170 in addition to the members included in the information measuring instrument 100 according to the first embodiment.

  The device failure determination unit 170 is a specific example of the “determination unit”, and determines whether or not a failure has occurred in the light emitting unit 110 and the light receiving unit 120 based on a signal input from the A / D converter 140. To do. When the device failure determination unit 170 determines that no failure has occurred in the light emitting unit 110 and the light receiving unit 120, the device failure determination unit 170 instructs the biological information calculation unit 150 to perform calculation of biological information. On the other hand, if the device failure determination unit 170 determines that a failure has occurred in the light emitting unit 110 and the light receiving unit 120, the device failure determination unit 170 outputs measuring instrument failure information.

  The configuration of the probe unit 200 in the information measuring instrument 100b according to the second embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment shown in FIGS.

<Description of operation>
Next, the operation of the information measuring instrument 100b according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a series of processes of the information measuring instrument according to the second embodiment.

  In FIG. 9, when the information measuring instrument 100b according to the second embodiment operates, first, the light emitting unit 110 emits laser light (step S201). As shown in FIG. 5, the light emitted from the light emitting unit 110 is reflected by the measurement target when the measurement target exists, and as shown in FIG. 6, the reflection unit 425 when the measurement target does not exist. Is reflected by. Then, the return light is received by the light receiving unit 120, and a light reception signal based on the amount of received light is generated (step S202).

  The light reception signal generated by the light receiving unit 120 is amplified by the amplifier 130 and digitally converted by the A / D converter 140 (step S203). Thus, the light reception signal is a signal indicating the magnitude of the amount of light received by the light receiving unit 120 as a digital value.

  When the light reception signal is digitized, the living body detection determination unit 160 determines whether the signal intensity of the light reception signal is smaller than the predetermined threshold A and larger than the predetermined threshold B (step S204). Note that the “threshold A” here is set based on the reflectance of the living body 500 to be measured and the reflectance of the reflecting portion 425 as in the first embodiment, and the return light is determined from the signal intensity. It is used to determine whether the measurement object is from the living body 500 or the reflection unit 425. On the other hand, the “threshold value B” is set based on the reflectance of the living body 500 to be measured and the amount of light received that is estimated to be received when the device fails, and determines the failure of the device from the signal intensity. Used for.

  Here, when the signal intensity is smaller than the threshold value A and larger than the threshold value B (step S204: YES), it is determined that the received return light is from the living body 500, and the living body information calculation unit 150 determines the living body from the received light signal. Information is calculated (step S205). The calculated biological information is output to the outside of the apparatus (step S206) and displayed on, for example, a display.

  On the other hand, when the signal strength is not smaller than the threshold value A and larger than the threshold value B (step S204: NO), it is further determined whether or not the signal strength is equal to or higher than the threshold value A (step S207). That is, it is determined whether the signal intensity is greater than or equal to threshold A or less than or equal to threshold B.

  Here, if it is determined that the signal intensity is greater than or equal to the threshold A (step S207: YES), the received return light is from the reflection unit 425 (that is, the return light from the living body 500 cannot be received). The measurement error alarm information is output from the living body detection determination unit 160 (step S208). That is, since the light stronger than the return light from the living body 500 is received, the return light from the living body 500 to be measured is not obtained, and the return light from the reflecting portion 425 is obtained. It is determined.

  When the measurement error alarm information is output, a warning indicating a measurement error is executed. Therefore, when the apparatus is removed from the measurement target for some reason, it is possible to notify the user to that effect. In addition, when it determines with it being a measurement error, biometric information is not calculated from a received light signal.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the signal intensity is equal to or less than the threshold value B (step S207: NO), it is determined that either the light emitting unit 110 or the light receiving unit 120 has failed. Specifically, the amount of light received by the light receiving unit 120 is not a value corresponding to the return light from the living body 500 to be measured, and is not a value corresponding to the return light from the reflection unit 425. Therefore, it is determined that the irradiation amount has decreased or the light receiving sensitivity has decreased due to the failure of the light receiving unit 120. As described above, when it is determined that the device has failed, the failure information is output from the device failure determination unit 170 (step S209). Note that even when it is determined that the device is out of order, biometric information is not calculated from the received light signal, as in the case of a measurement error.

  The series of processes described above ends when it is determined that all measurements have been completed (step S210: YES). If it is determined that all the measurements have not been completed (step S210: NO), the processes after step S202 are repeatedly executed.

  As described above, according to the information measuring instrument 100b according to the second embodiment, in addition to whether or not the apparatus is normally attached to the measurement target, it is possible to determine whether or not the apparatus has failed. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the inappropriate measurement from being performed more reliably. In particular, the above-described failure determination process can be realized without changing the physical configuration of the probe unit 200 or the like (that is, with the same configuration as in the first embodiment). Therefore, it is possible to prevent complication of the device configuration and increase in cost.

<Third embodiment>
Then, the information measuring device 100c which concerns on 3rd Example is demonstrated. The third embodiment differs from the second embodiment described above only in part of the configuration and operation, and is substantially the same for many other parts. Therefore, in the following, portions different from the second embodiment already described will be described in detail, and description of overlapping portions will be omitted as appropriate.

<Device configuration>
First, the configuration of the information measuring instrument 100c according to the third embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 10 is a partially enlarged view showing the configuration of the information measuring instrument according to the third embodiment.

  In FIG. 10, in the information measuring device 100 c according to the third example, the reflectance of the reflection unit 425 b is set to be lower than the reflectance of the living body 500 that is the measurement target. The reflection part 425b includes a silicon material or the like having a reflectance of 30% or less, for example.

  In addition, the information measuring instrument 100c according to the third embodiment includes the transmitted light adjusting plate 600 on the surface portion of the detection element 250 (that is, between the light emitting unit 110 and the light receiving unit 120 and the position where the measurement target is to be disposed). It has been. The transmitted light adjusting plate 600 is configured to transmit a part of the light emitted from the light emitting unit 110 and reflect the other part. Thereby, a part of the irradiated light is transmitted to the living body 500 and the reflector 425 that are the measurement target, and the other part is directly reflected to the light receiving unit 120 side.

  The transmitted light adjustment plate 600 is configured as an acrylic plate, for example. When an acrylic plate is used, the reflectance is about 7% when it is transparent, but the reflectance can be adjusted by coloring. As will be described later, the reflectance of the transmitted light adjusting plate 600 is a value that realizes a received light amount that can determine whether or not a device has failed even when the received light amount of reflected light from the reflecting portion 425b is small. Set as

<Description of operation>
Next, the operation of the information measuring instrument 100c according to the third embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a series of processes of the information measuring instrument according to the third embodiment.

  In FIG. 11, when the information measuring instrument 100c according to the third embodiment is in operation, first, laser light is emitted from the light emitting unit 110 (step S301). As shown in FIG. 5, the light emitted from the light emitting unit 110 is reflected by the measurement target when the measurement target exists, and as shown in FIG. 6, when the measurement target does not exist, the reflection unit 425b. Is reflected by. The return light is received by the light receiving unit 120, and a light reception signal based on the amount of received light is generated (step S302).

  The light reception signal generated by the light receiving unit 120 is amplified by the amplifier 130 and digitally converted by the A / D converter 140 (step S303). Thus, the light reception signal is a signal indicating the magnitude of the amount of light received by the light receiving unit 120 as a digital value.

  When the light reception signal is digitized, the living body detection determination unit 160 determines whether or not the signal intensity of the light reception signal is greater than a predetermined threshold C (step S304). Here, the “threshold value C” is set based on the reflectance of the living body 500 that is the measurement target and the reflectance of the reflection unit 425b, and the return light from the living body 500 that is the measurement target is determined from the signal intensity. It is used to determine whether the object is from the reflection unit 425b.

  When the signal intensity is greater than the threshold C (step S304: YES), it is determined that the received return light is from the living body 500, and the biological information calculation unit 150 calculates the biological information from the received light signal (step S305). ). The calculated biological information is output to the outside of the apparatus (step S306) and displayed on, for example, a display.

  On the other hand, when the signal strength is equal to or lower than the threshold C (step S304: NO), it is further determined whether or not the signal strength is greater than the threshold D (step S307). That is, it is determined whether the signal intensity is a value within the range from the threshold value C to the threshold value D or less than the threshold value D. Note that the “threshold D” here is set based on the reflectance of the living body 500 to be measured and the amount of light received that is estimated to be received when the device malfunctions. Used to discriminate.

  If it is determined that the signal intensity is greater than the threshold value D (step S307: YES), the received return light is from the reflection unit 425b (that is, the return light from the living body 500 is not received). Measurement error alarm information is output from the living body detection determination unit 160 (step S308). That is, light that is weaker than the return light from the living body 500 is received, but stronger light is received than in the case of a failure, and thus return light from the living body 500 to be measured is not obtained. First, it is determined that the return light from the reflection unit 425 is obtained.

  When the measurement error alarm information is output, a warning indicating a measurement error is executed. Therefore, when the apparatus is removed from the measurement target for some reason, it is possible to notify the user to that effect. In addition, when it determines with it being a measurement error, biometric information is not calculated from a received light signal.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the signal intensity is equal to or less than the threshold value D (step S307: NO), it is determined that either the light emitting unit 110 or the light receiving unit 120 is out of order. Specifically, the amount of light received by the light receiving unit 120 is not a value corresponding to the return light from the living body 500 to be measured, and is not a value corresponding to the return light from the reflection unit 425. Therefore, it is determined that the irradiation amount has decreased or the light receiving sensitivity has decreased due to the failure of the light receiving unit 120. As described above, when it is determined that the device has failed, the failure information is output from the device failure determination unit 170 (step S309). Note that even when it is determined that the device is out of order, biometric information is not calculated from the received light signal, as in the case of a measurement error.

  The series of processes described above ends when it is determined that all measurements have been completed (step S310: YES). If it is determined that all the measurements have not been completed (step S310: NO), the processes after step S202 are repeatedly executed.

  As described above, according to the information measuring instrument 100c according to the third embodiment, in the same way as in the second embodiment, in addition to whether or not the apparatus is normally attached to the measurement target, it is determined whether or not the apparatus has failed. it can. In the third embodiment, in particular, since the reflectance of the reflecting portion 425b is set lower than that of the living body 500, whether the amount of received light is small due to reflection by the reflecting portion 425b when the amount of received light is relatively small. Alternatively, it is difficult to determine whether the size is reduced due to a failure. On the other hand, in this embodiment, since the transmitted light adjustment plate 600 is provided, a part of the light emitted from the light emitting unit 110 is directed directly to the light receiving unit 120. Therefore, the light receiving unit 120 can expect a received light amount that is greater than a certain level. Therefore, even when the return light from the reflecting portion 425b is weak, it is possible to detect a failure of the apparatus suitably.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be appropriately changed without departing from the spirit or idea of the invention that can be read from the claims and the entire specification, and an information detector with such a change. In addition, an information detection method is also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Information measuring instrument 110 Light-emitting part 120 Light-receiving part 130 Amplifier 140 A / D converter 150 Biometric information calculating part 160 Biological detection judgment part 170 Device failure judgment part 200 Probe part 250 Detection element 300 Connection cable 310 Connection terminal 400 Clip part 410 1st Clip member 420 Second clip member 425 Reflecting portion 430 Clip connecting portion 440 Cable clamp 500 Living body 510 Fingertip 600 Transmitted light adjusting plate

Claims (4)

An information detector for detecting information about a measurement object,
Irradiating means for irradiating light;
Reflection means having a different reflectance from the measurement object;
A light receiving means for receiving a return light of the light emitted from the irradiation means;
When the amount of light received by the light receiving means is larger than a first threshold, it is determined that there is a measurement error and measurement error alarm information is output. When the amount of light received by the light receiving means is smaller than a second threshold, Discriminating means for discriminating that there is an abnormality in the irradiating means or the light receiving means;
An information detector comprising: The reflectance of the reflecting means is set larger than the reflectance of the measurement object,
The discrimination means includes
When the amount of received light is smaller than the first threshold and larger than the second threshold, it is determined that the return light is return light from the measurement target;
If the amount of received light is greater than the first threshold, it is determined that the return light is return light from the reflecting means;
The information detector according to claim 1, wherein when the amount of received light is smaller than the second threshold value, it is determined that there is an abnormality in the irradiation unit or the light receiving unit. An information detector for detecting information about a measurement object,
Irradiating means for irradiating light;
Reflection means having a different reflectance from the measurement object;
A light receiving means for receiving a return light of the light emitted from the irradiation means;
When the amount of light received by the light receiving means is smaller than the first threshold and larger than the second threshold, it is determined that there is a measurement error, measurement error alarm information is output, and the amount of received light is the second If it is smaller than the threshold value, the determining means for determining that the irradiation means or the light receiving means is abnormal, and
An information detector comprising: Detecting information related to the measurement object, comprising: an irradiation means for irradiating light; a reflection means having a reflectance different from that of the measurement object; and a light receiving means for receiving a return light of the light emitted from the irradiation means. An information detection method in an information detector,
When the amount of light received by the light receiving means is larger than the first threshold, it is determined that there is a measurement error, and when the amount of light received by the light receiving means is smaller than the second threshold, the irradiation means or the light receiving means is abnormal. An information detection method comprising: a determination step of determining that there is an image.

Images