CN118209153A - Determination system - Google Patents

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a determination system for determining a health state based on a toilet usage history and a stool shape at the time of excretion. The judgment system of the present disclosure is provided with: an acquisition unit that acquires use start information indicating that a user has started using the toilet device, and faeces falling information indicating that faeces have fallen into the toilet after the use has started; a detection unit that detects a defecation time required for the user to fall from the start of use of the toilet, based on the information acquired by the acquisition unit; and a determination unit that determines a health state of the user based on the defecation time detected by the detection unit.

Description

Determination system

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a system for determining health status based on toilet usage history and stool characteristics during excretion.

Background technique

Since defecation is considered to reflect the intestinal environment, many systems have been proposed in the past to determine health status based on defecation conditions.

In recent years, in the super-aged society, the proportion of elderly people complaining of subjective symptoms of constipation has increased. This is because as people age, intestinal activity declines, which makes them more likely to fall into constipation. On the other hand, there are large individual differences in how easily they are prone to self-perception of constipation, and there are also increasing cases of constipation that persists for a long time without them being aware of it, which worsens the condition and leads to hospitalization.

If the defecation status, such as whether the patient is constipated, can be objectively understood, it will not only give peace of mind to the patient himself, but also to family members and other caregivers.

For example, Patent Document 1 discloses the following technology: the time required from the start of using the toilet to the end is taken as the defecation time, and the length of the defecation time is assumed to be the degree of difficulty in defecation accompanied by pain such as holding back in order to promote defecation. If the defecation time is long, it is determined to be a constipated state.

Prior art literature

Patent Literature

Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2021-111268

Summary of the invention

In the technology of patent document 1, as a method of calculating defecation time, the start timing of toilet use is set to the timing of sitting on a toilet seat with warm water flushing, and the end timing of toilet use is set to the timing of the user using the shower function of the toilet seat with warm water flushing, and the time difference between these two timings is calculated as the defecation time.

However, the shower function of the warm water flush toilet seat is not limited to the limited function of performing local cleaning such as the anus at the timing of the completion of all defecation. As also widely emphasized in the instruction manual of the warm water flush toilet seat at hand, there are many cases where the shower function is used around the anus as a stimulus to promote defecation. That is, the method of deriving the defecation time by using the timing of the shower function lacks reliability, and further there is a problem of low accuracy in constipation judgment.

The present invention is proposed to solve the above-mentioned existing problems. Its purpose is to detect the exact defecation time without relying on the user's operation such as the shower function that requires the use of warm water to wash the toilet seat, thereby improving the accuracy of judging health conditions such as constipation.

The determination system of the present invention for solving the above-mentioned conventional problems comprises: an acquisition unit, which acquires use start information indicating that the user starts to use the toilet device, and feces drop information indicating that feces drops into the toilet bowl after the use starts; a detection unit, which detects the defecation time required for the user from the start of toilet use to the start of defecation based on the information acquired by the acquisition unit; and a determination unit, which determines the health status of the user based on the defecation time detected by the detection unit, and the determination system can use the feces drop information into the toilet bowl to detect the defecation time.

The judgment system according to the present invention has the following effects: it is not affected by the timing of the user's use of warm water to clean the toilet seat shower function. Even if the user does not use the shower function at all, the feces falling into the toilet can be used to detect the defecation time, thereby improving the judgment accuracy of health conditions such as constipation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an application example of the embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a determination system in the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the relationship between stool drop information and defecation time in an embodiment.

Description of Reference Numerals

1: toilet device; 2: toilet; 3: toilet seat; 4: toilet cover; 5: toilet seat box; 10: judgment system; 11: control unit; 12: acquisition unit; 13: sitting detection unit; 14: stool drop detection unit; 15: stool property detection unit; 16: measurement unit; 17: judgment unit; 18: storage unit.

Detailed ways

Hereinafter, a determination system according to an embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.

(Implementation method: structure)

As shown in FIG. 1 , the toilet device 1 includes, for example, a toilet bowl 2 , a toilet seat 3 , a toilet lid 4 , a toilet seat box 5 , a control unit 11 , and an acquisition unit 12 .

The toilet seat 3, the toilet cover 4, and the toilet seat box 5 are provided on the upper side of the toilet bowl 2. The control unit 11 is accommodated inside the toilet seat box 5, for example.

As will be described later, the acquisition unit 12 is composed of a plurality of detection units (ie, sensor modules). As shown in the figure, the acquisition unit 12 is mainly attached to the toilet seat 3 or the toilet seat box 5.

As shown in FIG. 2 , the determination system 10 is roughly composed of a control unit 11 and an acquisition unit 12 .

The acquisition unit 12 includes at least one detection unit for detecting the user's toilet usage status, defecation status, etc. The acquisition unit 12 includes a seat detection unit 13 and a stool drop detection unit 14. Preferably, the acquisition unit 12 further includes a stool property detection unit 15.

The seat detection unit 13 is a sensor that detects when a user sits on the toilet seat. Examples of the seat detection unit 13 include: (i) a unit that detects the presence of a person by mechanically moving a portion of the toilet seat to which the user's weight is applied and performing power-on detection using a mechanical switch; or (ii) a unit that detects the presence of a person by irradiating infrared light with a human sensor or the like disposed near the toilet seat and receiving reflected light from the human body.

The stool drop detection unit 14 is a sensor module that detects stool falling into the toilet during defecation. Examples of the stool drop detection unit 14 are (i) a unit that detects the falling of stool based on changes in the images of the inside of the toilet that are sequentially captured using a camera, or (ii) a unit that detects the falling of stool by irradiating at least one of infrared rays and radio waves based on the same principle as the above-mentioned human sensing sensor, and receiving at least one of reflected light and reflected waves from the falling stool.

The stool property detection unit 15 captures an image of the feces in the toilet (hereinafter referred to as a "stool image"). Examples of the stool property detection unit 15 are (i) a unit that captures a stool image using a general visible light camera, or (ii) a unit that uses an infrared camera that is advantageous for capturing images in the dark. The stool property detection unit 15 may also be configured using a device that is common to the stool drop detection unit 14.

The control unit 11 performs detection processing and determination processing based on the input information acquired by the acquisition unit 12. Furthermore, the control unit 11 performs sequential control of load operations such as generating warm water by operating a heater or performing a shower operation by operating a pump.

The control unit 11 includes a detection unit 16 and a determination unit 17. Preferably, the control unit 11 further includes a storage unit 18.

The detection unit 16 detects the defecation time based on the input information obtained from the acquisition unit 12, or detects the number of times the toilet is used, the time, the frequency of defecation, and the characteristics of the stool (for example, shape, color or amount) using an image obtained by photographing the condition inside the toilet.

The determination unit 17 determines a health condition such as constipation based on the information on the defecation time, defecation frequency, and stool characteristics detected by the detection unit 16 .

The storage unit 18 stores information on the defecation time, defecation frequency, and stool type detected by the detection unit 16 , and health conditions such as constipation determined by the determination unit 17 .

(Implementation method: action and function)

Next, the operation and effects of the determination system 10 will be described.

When a user uses the toilet device 1 to defecate, as shown in the positional relationship shown in FIG1 , the user opens the toilet lid 4 and sits on the toilet seat 3 located on the toilet bowl 2. After the user sits down, the control unit 11 detects the first moment as the timing of the seat detection unit 13 detecting the seat, and in parallel, the control unit 11 sequentially starts to detect the condition of the inside of the toilet bowl 2 as an image through the stool property detection unit 15 (as an example, a visible light camera). Here, as a general tendency, the user starts to hold back from this timing to promote defecation.

Thereafter, when defecation starts for the first time, the control unit 11 detects the second time point, which is the timing when feces falls to the inside of the toilet 2 (ie, the toilet bowl), through the feces drop detection unit 14 .

After that, the user repeatedly performs holding force and defecation several times. The user finishes the last defecation and leaves the toilet seat 3, and the seat detection unit 13 detects the user's leaving the seat. At the same time, the control unit 11 detects the third moment as the timing of the last feces falling to the inside of the toilet 2 (i.e., the toilet bowl) through the stool drop detection unit 14. In addition, the control unit 11 stops the image detection of the inside of the toilet 2 by the stool property detection unit 15. The control unit 11 stores the time information detected by the acquisition unit 12 and the stool image information in the storage unit 18. The time information and the stool image information include date information of the year, month, and day.

The detection unit 16 detects the defecation time, stool characteristics and defecation frequency by the following method.

First, the method of detecting the defecation time is explained.

The defecation time includes three types of defecation time using the first time to the third time detected by the acquisition unit 12. These three types of defecation time are output by the detection unit 16 as detection values.

The first defecation time is the detection time from the first time to the second time. That is, the first defecation time is the time required from the timing when the user sits on the toilet device 1 to the start of defecation.

The second defecation time is the detection time from the second moment to the third moment, that is, the time required from the timing when the user starts defecation to the timing when the user finishes defecation.

The third defecation time is the detection time from the first time to the third time, that is, the time required from the timing when the user sits in the toilet device 1 to the timing when the last defecation is completed.

Next, the method for measuring stool properties is described.

The stool property detection unit 15 (as an example, a visible light camera) always captures the falling stool image on the inside of the toilet 2. The falling stool is scattered in the air while falling, which is likely to contain more water (i.e., diarrhea stool). Therefore, the stool property detection unit 15 outputs at least an image that can distinguish whether it is diarrhea stool. It is also possible to output an image that can distinguish whether it is hard stool similar to rabbit stool (i.e., hard ball stool) that is unique to constipation based on the image of the stool that has fallen to the bottom of the toilet 2. That is, based on the stool image captured by the camera, at least three levels of diarrhea stool, normal defecation, and hard stool are distinguished and output as measurement values.

Here, although there is no deep contact, the stool properties indicate the state of stool such as the shape, color, and amount of stool. The detection unit 16 recognizes bloody stool by recognizing the color from the stool image of the stool property detection unit 15, or outputs the amount of stool obtained by comparing the size of the toilet bowl with the size of the stool image by pre-knowing the size of the toilet bowl as a detection value.

Next, the method for measuring the frequency of defecation is described. A series of defecation behaviors in which the user sits on the toilet seat 3 of the toilet device 1 and defecates and then leaves the toilet seat 3 (i.e., exits the toilet) is counted as one defecation. The defecation frequency, which is the number of defecations per week, is output as a detection value. In addition to the defecation frequency (e.g., the number of defecations per week), the situation in which the stool property of the defecation obtained by the above-mentioned stool property detection is hard stool is also stored in the storage unit 18. In this way, the frequency of hard stools (e.g., the proportion of hard stools in the content of bowel movements per week) is output as a measurement value.

In this way, the detection unit 16 can output the defecation time, defecation frequency, stool type, and the frequency of hard stool based on the stool type as detection values.

The determination unit 17 determines a health condition such as constipation by combining the following three methods based on the values detected by the detection unit 16 (for example, defecation time, defecation frequency, stool type, and frequency of hard stool).

In the first method, first, the determination unit 17 determines any one of the first to third defecation times detected by the detection unit 16 as a defecation time suitable for determining a health condition such as constipation, taking into account the reliability of each of the first to third defecation times detected by the detection unit 16 .

In most cases, the third defecation time is used (i.e., the time required from the time when the user sits down on the toilet device 1 to the time when the last defecation is completed). This is because the length of the third defecation time is significantly longer than the lengths of the first to second defecation times, and the premise of the present invention is that the length of the defecation time is roughly proportional to the degree of difficulty in defecation accompanied by the user's pain of holding back in order to promote defecation. For example, the threshold value for judging the time to be in a constipated state is set to "more than 30 minutes", and the threshold value for judging the time to be prone to constipation is set to "more than 20 minutes and less than 30 minutes", and the amplitude of the threshold is set to a relatively large value (for example, 10-minute intervals). Even if there is some deviation in the defecation time each time, the influence on the judgment accuracy is small, so it is advantageous.

Furthermore, in order to confirm the reliability of the third defecation time measured this time, the determination unit 17 compares the third defecation time measured last time and the third defecation time this time stored in the storage unit 18. For example, when the difference between them is within 10 minutes, the determination unit 17 determines the health condition such as constipation by using the value of the third defecation time detected this time by confirming that it is a stable value that is not greatly different from the third defecation time detected most recently.

On the other hand, in recent years, due to the diversification of the way users use the toilet space, for example, there are cases where users bring smartphones into the toilet and read or browse the WEB and are interested in behaviors other than defecation. In this case, although the third defecation time is 30 minutes on a certain day, it is 15 minutes on other days, which is not a stable value. Therefore, the first defecation time is used (that is, the time required from the timing when the user sits on the toilet device 1 to the start of defecation). Most users tend to hold their strength in order to promote defecation during the period from the start of the use of the toilet device 1 to the start of defecation, and are not easily affected by the use of smartphones.

In this way, the determination unit 17 can determine the most suitable defecation time for determining a health condition such as constipation based on the first to third defecation times, and compare it with a preset threshold to determine the constipation state.

In the second method, the frequency of bowel movements is used to determine a health condition such as constipation.

As described above, a series of defecation behaviors of the user sitting on the toilet seat 3 of the toilet device 1 and leaving the toilet seat 3 (i.e., exiting the toilet) after defecation are counted as one defecation count, and the count value is stored in the storage unit 18 together with the date and time information, thereby the determination unit 17 grasps the number of defecations per week as the defecation frequency.

The premise of the present invention is that the frequency of defecation is roughly proportional to the degree of difficulty of defecation accompanied by the user's pain of holding back in order to promote defecation. For example, by setting the threshold of the frequency of defecation that is judged to be in a constipated state to "less than once a week" and the threshold of the frequency of defecation that is judged to be constipated tendency to "more than once a week and less than twice a week", it is possible to judge the three levels of defecation: constipation state, constipation tendency, and non-constipation.

In the third method, the frequency of hard stools is used to determine a health condition such as constipation.

As described above, the detection unit 16 distinguishes whether the current defecation is diarrheal, normal defecation, or hard stool based on the stool image captured by the stool characteristic detection unit 15 at each defecation, and stores the current defecation characteristic information together with the date and time information in the storage unit 18. In this way, the determination unit 17 obtains the proportion of hard stools in all the stools in the past week, that is, the frequency of hard stools.

The premise of the present invention is that the frequency of hard stools is roughly proportional to the degree of difficulty in defecation, which is accompanied by the user's painful effort to promote defecation. Therefore, for example, by setting the threshold of the frequency of hard stools that are already in a constipated state to "25% or more" and the threshold of the frequency of hard stools that are prone to constipation to "16% or more and less than 25%", it is possible to determine the three levels of defecation: constipation state, constipation tendency, and non-constipation.

In this way, the determination unit 17 can determine health conditions such as constipation with higher accuracy by combining the three methods based on the values detected by the detection unit 16 (such as defecation time, defecation frequency, stool type, and frequency of hard stool).

As for the issues of the prior art, the timing of the shower function of flushing the toilet seat with warm water is not affected by the user. Even if the user does not use the shower function at all, the feces falling into the toilet can be used to detect the defecation time. Therefore, no user operation is required, which can greatly improve convenience.

Possibility of industrial application

As described above, the determination system of the present invention improves the accuracy of determining health conditions such as constipation by detecting the defecation time with high precision. The defecation time is one of the main parameters for determining the defecation conditions, etc., and can be applied not only to defecation management, but also to the health management system based on vital data of livestock or pets.

Claims (8)

1. A judgment system, wherein the judgment system comprises:

An acquisition unit that acquires use start information indicating that a user has started using the toilet device and faeces falling information indicating that faeces have fallen into the toilet after the use has started;

A detection unit that detects a defecation time required for the user to fall from the start of use of the toilet, based on the information acquired by the acquisition unit; and

A determination unit that determines a health state of the user based on the defecation time detected by the detection unit.

2. The decision system of claim 1, wherein,

The use start information is information related to sitting on a toilet seat in the toilet apparatus,

The stool-drop information is information related to dropping of the stool originally generated in the toilet apparatus into the stool.

3. The decision system of claim 1, wherein,

The use start information is information related to the dropping of the feces originally generated in the toilet device into the toilet,

The stool-drop information is information related to dropping of the stool finally generated in the toilet apparatus into the stool.

4. The decision system of claim 1, wherein,

The use start information is information related to sitting on a toilet seat in the toilet apparatus,

The stool-drop information is information related to dropping of the stool finally generated in the toilet apparatus into the stool.

5. The decision system according to any one of claim 2 to 4, wherein,

When the defecation time is longer than a predetermined time, the determination unit determines that the subject person is in a constipation state.

6. The decision system of claim 5, wherein,

The determination unit compares the bowel movement time with at least one or more threshold values to determine the health state.

7. The decision system according to claim 5 or 6, wherein,

The determination means determines the health state of the subject based on at least one piece of information selected from the group consisting of (i) a defecation frequency, (ii) the number and time of use of the toilet, (iii) an image obtained by photographing the condition in the toilet, and (iv) a determination result obtained by determining the property of excrement using the photographed image in the toilet, in addition to the defecation time of the user.

8. The decision system according to any one of claims 5 to 7, wherein,

The determination system further includes a storage unit that stores the defecation time,

The determination unit determines the health state of the subject based on the information stored in the storage unit.