JP6334907B2 - Scratch detection notification device with band - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an apparatus for measuring the scratching behavior of an atopic dermatitis patient or the like worn on an arm or finger, and more specifically, detecting and warning the scratching behavior unconsciously performed by an atopic dermatitis patient or the like. The present invention relates to a scratch detection notification device having a function of issuing a notification or transmitting detection data to an external device by wireless communication.

Patent Document 1 describes a small and light meat conduction microphone to be worn on a human body, which is unlikely to be worn out or dropped due to human movement, mixed with noise, etc., and is adaptable to individual differences such as body type. An invention for a meat conduction microphone having a high height is disclosed.
The meat conduction microphone is composed of a meat conduction sound propagation part made of a soft member that is in close contact with the skin surface and propagates the meat conduction sound, and a microphone that converts the meat conduction sound into an electric signal.

In addition, this meat conduction microphone collects voices conducted in the living body such as vocal cords, breathing sounds, heart and pulse sounds, but devised a structure to avoid collecting external noise and noise caused by wearing as much as possible. ing.
However, since the prior art of Patent Document 1 does not measure the scratching sound generated by a person's scratching behavior, it is used for measuring sounds, vibrations, and the like that are generated when a patient with atopic dermatitis scratches the affected area with a fingertip. Not suitable for.

Patent Document 2 focuses on sounds and vibrations generated when animals including humans perform specific body movements, and uses a microphone to transmit sounds and vibrations (hereinafter referred to as body movement sounds) that are conducted through the body. A body motion sound measuring device that determines whether the collected body motion sound is a specific body motion sound by comparing with a standard pattern signal of the specific body motion sound collected and stored in advance in a magnetic recording device or the like An invention that outputs the determination result to the outside through an output device is disclosed.
Patent Document 2 also discloses a conceptual diagram of a body movement inspection device that is worn on a person's arm and measures and displays the number of scratches. A specific configuration of a wristwatch-type scratch detection notification device is also disclosed. Not disclosed.

JP2008-42741 JP-A-2005-261315

The scratching action performed by a person is usually performed using fingers and hands. Therefore, it is important for securing the data detection sensitivity to observe the sound and vibration generated by the scratching behavior by installing the sensor of the scratch detection notification device on the hand or finger close to the generation source.
However, when the sensor is installed on the hand or finger, the hand or finger performs various actions that are not related to the scratching behavior. There is a problem that the sensor collects various noises such as sound, deformation sound, and friction sound.

Further, wrist thickness and shape vary depending on the person, and it is not easy to fit the scratch detection notification device to the wrists of many people.
Furthermore, it is desirable that the shape and size of the scratch detection notification device attached to the wrist is small and light as long as the natural scratching behavior of a person is not restricted.
However, in the form of attaching only the sensor part to the wrist, it is necessary to transmit body motion sound signals collected by the sensor to the main body of the inspection device, and in the wired method using the cable, the cable itself is disconnected or scratched. There are concerns about inhibition.

When all the device components other than the sensor are attached to the wrist, the weight of the entire device increases, so that it is easily affected by acceleration, and operation noise other than the scratching behavior is mixed.
The technical problem of the scratching inspection apparatus cannot be easily solved only by combining or diverting conventional techniques such as Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2.

The present invention is a banded scratch detection notification device that collects scratching sounds generated on fingers and hands due to scratching behavior that is unconsciously performed when a person goes to sleep or wakes up, and is used by being worn on an arm or finger. Scratch detection notification that can suppress the noise caused by these to the limit even if it is in strong contact and friction with the surroundings, and also has excellent anti-electromagnetic noise from the outside, ensuring reliable measurement data The purpose is to provide a device.

The invention described in claim 1 is a banded scratch detection notification device that has a communication function that is worn on the arm or finger of a measurement subject, detects scratching behavior, and notifies the detection data to the outside.
The person to be measured wears this banded scratch detection notification device on the wrist or finger.
In addition, this banded scratch detection notification device includes at least a sensor element, a sensor amplifier, an AD conversion unit, a data processing unit, a wireless unit, an antenna, a warning component, a battery, and a casing. Made by resin mold integration.

Thereby, in this scratch detection notification device, even when the arm or finger is worn and swung, or even when the arm or finger collides with an external object, the individual components mounted inside move together, A relative positional shift does not occur, and the generation of noise associated with human movement can be minimized.

As the sensor element, any one of a piezoelectric element, an acceleration sensor, a strain gauge, and a condenser microphone is selected according to the application.
The sensor element is molded in a highly flexible second resin that is surrounded by a highly rigid casing in five directions excluding the surface facing the skin, and that maintains a predetermined distance from the casing and is not in direct contact. Therefore, the impact conducted even when the arm or finger comes into contact with an external object is alleviated, and the structure is excellent in noise resistance in both mechanical noise and electromagnetic noise.

In addition, since the sensor element is also molded with the second resin on the pressure-sensitive surface side, when the measurement subject wears this banded scratch detection notification device on the arm or finger, the sensor element is measured by the pressure-sensitive surface with the mold resin in between. Since the second resin is in close contact with the skin of the person and in close contact with the skin of the person to be measured, body motion sounds generated by the scratching behavior can be collected with high sensitivity.

  In the second aspect of the present invention, the first resin used in the mold is a plastic having a rubber hardness of 30 to 80 degrees, and typically silicon rubber is used. The second resin is urethane rubber having a rubber hardness of 5 to 15 or silicon rubber having a rubber hardness of 5 to 10 degrees. There are various types of urethane rubber, but urethane rubber that is kind to human skin is used, and silicon rubber that is kind to human skin is also used for silicone rubber.

In general, urethane rubber has a higher affinity for the skin than silicon rubber, and urethane rubber is more preferable as the mold resin used for the pressure-sensitive surface of the sensor element. In addition, by using urethane rubber having a rubber hardness range of 5 to 15 degrees and a low rubber hardness range, it is possible to fit the measurement subject's arm and fingers well and collect body motion sounds with high sensitivity.

In the third aspect of the present invention, a conductive material is used for a housing for mounting an electronic component or the like. Metal, carbon fiber, conductive plastic, or the like can be used as the conductive material. When using a metal for the conductive material, use a metal that is gentle to human skin, such as stainless steel and titanium.
Further, by directly contacting the casing with the wrist or finger skin of the subject, electromagnetic wave noise from the outside can be absorbed by the casing, and the subject's human body can be released as ground. This enables highly reliable data collection with excellent electromagnetic noise resistance.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the sensor element and the sensor amplifier, the AD conversion unit, the data processing unit, and the wireless unit are arranged in five directions except for the facing direction to the skin surface of the measurement subject. It is an invention that surrounds the body. As a result, the electronic components mounted on this scratch detection notification device are electromagnetically shielded by the housing in 5 out of 6 directions and electromagnetically shielded by the human body in the remaining 1 direction, thus reliably blocking electromagnetic noise from the outside. can do.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the board on which the electronic component is mounted has a wireless communication function, and transmits and receives wirelessly. The sound and vibration analog data detected by the sensor element is A / D converted in this banded scratch detection notification device, and various data processing is performed in the data processing unit, and these data processing results are alerted by warning parts. Emitted or transmitted wirelessly to an external device via an antenna.

Therefore, this banded scratch detection notification device not only transmits the data processing result to the built-in warning device, but also transmits data of various processing levels to an externally installed device such as a computer. Data such as control commands can be obtained from external equipment.

  The invention according to claim 5 is a wristwatch type wristband detection notification device with a wristband which is mounted on an arm and used by a wireless unit and an antenna mounted on the scratch detection notification device having a data transmission / reception function by wireless communication. It is. When this banded scratch detection notification device is worn on the wrist in the same manner as a wristwatch, urethane rubber with low rubber hardness fits well to individuals with different wrist shapes and collects sound and vibration conducted through the body with high sensitivity. Therefore, highly reliable data can be collected. Moreover, since it is a wristwatch type, it is easy and reliable to wear and can stably collect scratching vibrations and scratching sounds.

  Chronic skin inflammatory diseases, such as atopic dermatitis, perform unintentional scratching behavior even when sleeping or awake. The action of scratching is not preferable from the viewpoint of treatment, and it is necessary to make the person aware and stop it. This banded scratch detection notification device can collect highly reliable scratching data with little mechanical noise and electromagnetic noise, so it is sure that the collected data is a scratching behavior pattern and certified as a scratching behavior pattern. If this happens, the person can be warned to stop the scratching action, or in the case of a small child, the parent can be notified via a wireless communication line, and the parent can stop the child's scratching action. Furthermore, all or a part of the examination action data can be registered in a hospital server via a wireless communication line to be used for diagnosis or treatment.

Sectional view of a scratch detection notification device according to the present invention Wearing status of wrist-worn wrist notification device with wristband on wrist Wearing status of finger-worn banded scratch detection device on fingers Surface appearance of wrist-mounted wristband scratch detection device Rear view of scratch detection device with wrist-worn wristband Difference in output waveform with and without mold resin 1 Simple shield structure 2-layer shield structure Output wave of simple shield structure Output wave of electromagnetic shielding structure of the present invention Output waveform of electromagnetic wave shield and two-layer electromagnetic wave shield structure of the present invention

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
A configuration and a manufacturing method of the arm wearing type scratch detection notification device of the present invention will be described with reference to a cross-sectional view of the arm wearing type scratch detection notification device shown in FIG.

The sensor preamplifier 12 is mounted insulated from the housing 19 at a substantially central portion of the stainless steel housing 19 having an electromagnetic shielding function. Further, the sensor element 11 is wired to the sensor preamplifier 12 inside the wrist side of the casing 19 and potted with urethane rubber (second resin) 20. On the upper surface of the housing 19, an AD conversion unit 13, a data processing unit 14, and a wireless unit 15 that are surface-mounted on an insulating substrate are mounted and wired. One end of an antenna 16 for wireless communication is attached to the wireless unit 15, and the other end of the antenna 16 is insulated from the housing 19 through a hole provided in the housing 19 and pulled out of the housing.

In addition, the warning component 17 is arranged on the right side of the casing 19 and the battery 18 is arranged on the left side of the casing 19 so that the balance of the center of gravity as a whole is at the center. Further, after all these parts are assembled together, they are housed in a separately prepared mold for molding and are integrally molded with a mold (second resin) 21. The material of the mold 21 is made of hard silicone rubber that is cured by adding a catalyst to the main agent, and is made by a potting method. Connection rings 25 for connecting the pair of bands 22 are provided at both left and right ends of the mold 21.
In addition, about the whole arrangement | positioning of the components mounted in the arm mounting | wearing-type scratch detection notification apparatus 10, each component was arrange | positioned so that the gravity center of the whole apparatus might approach on the central axis of an apparatus.

In the integration work by the mold 21, masking tape is applied to the lower surface of the casing 19 and the lower surface of the urethane rubber 20 to perform potting. After the potting resin is cured, the masking tape is removed, and the casing 19 The lower surface and the lower surface of the urethane rubber 20 are exposed. Thereby, when the wrist-worn-type scratch detection notification device 10 is attached to the wrist, the lower surface of the housing 19 and the lower surface of the urethane rubber 20 can be reliably brought into contact with the skin of the wrist.

The pair of bands 22 is formed by aligning connecting holes with connecting rings 25 provided at two positions on the right and left sides of the mold 21 and penetrating the connecting pins 24 for integration. The pair of bands 22 is provided with a hook-and-loop fastener structure, and the hook-and-loop fasteners are overlapped and joined. The hook-and-loop fastener may be replaced with a belt structure or a button structure.

FIG. 4 is an external view of the arm-mounted scratch detection / notification device 10 that has been assembled, as viewed from diagonally upward on the front side, and FIG. 5 is an external view from the back side. As shown in FIG. 2, the arm-worn-type scratch detection notification device 10 is used by being worn and fixed on the arm 23 of the subject.
FIG. 3 shows a finger-worn scratch detection notification device 30 that is worn on a finger and used. The finger wearable scratch detection notification device 30 is used by being worn on a finger 31 and has the same basic structure as the arm wearable scratch detection notification device 10. However, since it is mounted on the finger 31 and used, the size can be reduced, and the portion corresponding to the band 22 can be a ring like a normal ring.

Next, the reason why the rubber hardness of the urethane rubber (second resin) 20 is set to 5 to 15 degrees will be described.
Four types of commercially available rubber urethane rubbers of a two-component mixed type, a room temperature curable type, and a rubber hardness of 5, 10, 15, and 20 were prototyped, and the following (1) and (2) evaluations were performed.
In addition, the following evaluations (1) and (2) were performed on four types of commercially available silicon rubbers having rubber hardnesses of 5, 10, 15, and 20.
(1) Slip resistance test: Relatively evaluate the difficulty of slipping when worn on the arm (sensitivity test).
(2) Detection sensitivity test: Relative evaluation of the detection performance of scratching vibration and scratching sound (qualitative evaluation).
All of these were subjective evaluations, but the evaluation results are shown in Table 1.

From Table 1, the following can be concluded.
(1) In the case of urethane rubber, a rubber hardness in the range of 5 to 15 degrees is preferable in terms of both misalignment resistance and detection sensitivity.
(2) In the case of silicon rubber, a rubber hardness of 5 to 10 degrees is preferable from the viewpoints of anti-slip properties and detection sensitivity.
The difference between urethane rubber and silicon rubber is that the surface of the urethane rubber has tackiness and is well adapted to the skin. Therefore, characteristics superior in displacement resistance and detection sensitivity can be obtained in a wider rubber hardness range than silicon rubber.
Moreover, considering the vibration propagation characteristics, it is considered that a material having a rubber hardness similar to the rubber hardness of human skin is suitable for the detection sensitivity of the scratching vibration and scratching sound. The rubber hardness of human skin is about 10 degrees, and is included in the preferred rubber hardness range.

Next, the effect of fixing the component mounted on the housing by the mold resin will be described.
FIG. 6 shows test data comparing the difference in mechanical shock resistance depending on whether or not the mold resin 1 is molded with respect to the arm wearing type scratch detection notification device 10 shown in FIG. The X axis is time, and the Y axis is the peak value of the noise waveform. A is the case without mold resin 1 and B with mold resin. The noise caused by the impact is reduced by the molding effect of the molding resin, and it can be confirmed that the mechanical impact resistance is improved by the molding resin.

Next, the shielding effect against external electromagnetic noise will be described.
The evaluation for the external electromagnetic noise is based on the simple shield structure arm-worn type scratch detection notification device 27 of the simple shield structure shown in FIG. 7 from which a part of the shield structure by the casing 19 is removed, and the shield structure of the present invention shown in FIG. Three types were implemented: an arm-mounted scratch detection notification device 10 and a two-layer shield arm-mounted scratch detection notification device 28 having a two-layer shield structure in which an internal seal member 26 is added to the present invention shown in FIG.

FIG. 9 is a spectrum diagram of an output waveform for the simple shield structure arm wearing type scratch detection notification device 27, where the X-axis is the frequency and the Y-axis is the spectrum intensity. FIG. 10 is a spectrum diagram of an output waveform of the arm-worn-type scratch detection / notification device 10, and the X axis is the frequency and the Y axis is the spectrum intensity as in FIG.
9 and 10, when the magnitude of the background noise relative to the sensor output is evaluated relative to the seal structure of the simple shield-structure arm-mounted scratch detection notification device 27, the arm-mounted scratch detection notification device 10 of the present invention has the following structure. It can be confirmed that the background noise is greatly reduced in the shield structure.

In addition, in the two output waveforms shown in FIG. 11, A is the spectrum of the output waveform of the arm wearing type scratch detection notification device 10, and B is the spectrum of the output waveform of the two-layer shield structure arm wearing type scratch detection notification device 28. is there. The X axis is time, and the Y axis is the peak value of the noise waveform. The electromagnetic wave noise peak value of FIG. 11B is further reduced compared with A, and it is clear that the external electromagnetic noise can be further blocked by adopting the two-layer shield structure.

Itching may appear as a side effect of drugs used to treat various diseases, as well as chronic skin inflammatory diseases such as atopic dermatitis. The banded scratch detection notification device of the present invention can easily detect a scratching action, and thus can be used in various medical fields and daily life without being limited to chronic skin inflammatory diseases.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Arm wearing type scratch detection notification apparatus 11 Sensor element 12 Sensor preamplifier 13 AD conversion unit 14 Data processing unit 15 Wireless unit 16 Antenna 17 Warning component 18 Battery 19 Case 20 Urethane rubber 21 Mold 22 Band 23 Arm 24 Connection pin 25 Connection ring 26 Internal seal member 27 Simple shield structure arm wearing type scratch detection notification device 28 Two-layer shield structure arm wearing type scratch detection notification device 30 Finger wearing type scratch detection notification device 31 Finger

Claims (5)

A banded scratch detection notification device that is worn on the arm or finger of a measurement subject and detects scratches and notifies the outside.
Used on wrist or finger,
At least the sensor element, the sensor amplifier, the AD conversion unit, the data processing unit, the wireless unit, the antenna, the warning component, the battery, and the housing are molded and integrated with the first resin,
The sensor element is any one of a piezoelectric element, an acceleration sensor, a strain gauge, and a condenser microphone;
The sensor element has a pressure sensitive surface facing the measurement subject's skin surface, maintains a predetermined distance from the housing within the housing, and is a urethane rubber having a flexible rubber hardness of 5 to 15 degrees without direct contact. , Molded with a second resin that is silicon rubber with a rubber hardness of 5 to 10 degrees ,
The casing is made of a conductive material, and at least the sensor element and the sensor amplifier are surrounded by the casing in five directions excluding the facing direction of the skin surface of the measurement subject. Detection notification device. The banded scratch detection notification device according to claim 1, wherein the first resin is a plastic having a rubber hardness of 30 to 80 degrees. The banded scratch detection according to any one of claims 1 to 2, wherein the casing is made of a conductive material and has a structure in which the casing is directly brought into contact with a wrist or finger skin of the measurement subject. Notification device. In addition to the sensor element and the sensor amplifier, the AD conversion unit, the data processing unit, and the wireless unit are surrounded by the casing in five directions excluding the facing direction of the measurement subject's skin surface. The banded scratch detection notification device according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The wireless unit and the antenna have a communication function of transmitting and receiving wirelessly, and the banded scratch detection notification device is a wristwatch type used by being worn on an arm. The banded scratch detection notification device according to claim 1.