EP1758486A1

EP1758486A1 - Food intake controlling device

Info

Publication number: EP1758486A1
Application number: EP05769697A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Jacques Lepine
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2004-05-17
Filing date: 2005-05-04
Publication date: 2007-03-07
Anticipated expiration: 2025-05-04
Also published as: ATE377990T1; WO2005122847A1; EP1758486B1; DE602005003361T2; DE602005003361D1; US20120115111A1; ES2297741T3

Abstract

The invention concerns a food intake controlling device characterized in that it comprises a device for measuring food intake including measuring chewing and/or swallowing (20) and/or measuring the movement (10) involved for food intake, said measurements being then processed by a terminal (30) which returns an analysis thereof to the user.

Description

FEEDING CONTROL DEVICE

The present invention relates to a power regulation device

by taking measurements of different user movements during the

meal taking then by an educational restitution of these movements. The

measured movements being for example the gesture of the hand of

food in the mouth, chewing with the jaw, swallowing

with the throat.

There is no known effective device for regulating

the food which intervenes during the meal. Control of

food often goes either through diets with selection and

food assembly, either by repairing the damage with

interventions on the body by surgery or by electro stimulation. The

meal-taking phase during which the consumer will absorb the

food is critical. The kinetics of eating, duration,

quantity, frequency, quality of food chewing and

swallowing affect the health of the consumer.

A main object of the invention is to provide a device for

regulation which takes place by taking measurements at mealtime.

An object of the invention is to propose a device which restores the

consumer, during or after the meal, information on how to

eat during the meal, gestures, chewing and swallowing. An object of the invention is to offer the consumer a return

of experience on his way of eating so that he can better

grasp his faults and gradually progress in his way of

feeding. Feedback is obtained using software

expert who by means of either an alarm device or a comparison

behavior with other consumers makes it easier to situate oneself

and set a progression program towards a better way to

feeding.

An object of the invention is to propose a regulation device

which is light, mobile and which can be industrialized. The invention

finding both an application in a range of inexpensive products,

but also another application in a high price range of

range.

An object of the invention is to propose a device which is

communicating in such a way as to be able to correspond easily for monitoring

progress, with his tutor or with other users presenting the same

nutritional kinetics problematic profile.

An object of the invention is to respond to both issues

light and extra for fine weight control for a well-being of life,

more medical for cases of overweight or obesity, or finally totally

medical for cases of deformation of the digestive system, digestive tract and esophagus, such as in the case of hernia prevention

hiatus.

In a main aspect, the invention comprises a gripping device

that accompanies the user when taking the meal. In one aspect, the invention includes a device for measuring the

consumer chewing. This device being for example housed in

a headset that the consumer wears.

In one aspect, the invention includes a device for measuring the

swallowing. This device being for example housed in a headset that

carries the consumer.

In one aspect, the invention includes a device for measuring the

gesture of bringing food to the mouth. This device being for example

incorporated in the handle of the cutlery, fork, knife, spoon, or in

another version in a wrist watch. This device includes a

known type of dynamic location device, for example with a

miniature gyroscope, or an accelerometer that indicates both the position

in the canopy space, its acceleration of movement, but also

its angular declination compared to the vertical. The motion sensor

according to the invention can also be a geolocation device

according to known technologies, by triangulation or by satellite. In one aspect of the invention, both the measurement taking device

gesture, chewing or swallowing are equipped with a chip

data processing and a transmitter that transmits the data on a

remote terminal with software for processing this data. The

terminal allowing the user to analyze, during and at the end of

meal, how to eat, speed to eat, number

fork, quantity of food eaten, quality of the cut

and chewing food. This return can be made at

by means of a rendering by graphic table or by alarm, directly

through sensors or through the terminal or through an internet portal so

to provide human or software assisted analysis of how it

feeding.

In one aspect the invention also includes an alarm system

configurable triggered in real time to warn the user during

meal that he has returned to a critical area and that he must immediately

modify or slow down his fork, chewing or

swallowing.

The attached figures represent a particular embodiment of the invention

in which: - Figure 1 shows a device for measuring movements according to one aspect of the invention - Figure 2A shows a chewing measurement device according to one aspect of the invention

- Figure 2B shows a device for measuring chewing on a consumer according to one aspect of the invention - Figure 3 shows a data processing circuit according to the invention

- Figure 4 shows a principle of data restitution according to the invention

- Figures 5a, 5b and 5c show three more specific forms of connection between the measuring devices and the information processing device Figure 1 shows housed in a fork handle a device

wrist movement data processing (10) comprising a

motion sensor (11) of known type such as for example a

accelerometer, a data processing device (12) which is a chip

of known type with its data filtering software to store

relevant movement data and a transmission device (13) to

a processing terminal (30), FIG. 3. This assembly constituting a

movement data measurement and transmission device

bringing food (A) into the mouth (B) of the user. These measures

can also fit in a watch or in a peripheral specifically designed for this purpose. FIG. 2A represents a device for

treatment and measurement of chewing (20) according to one aspect of

the invention which comprises a known type of chewing sensor (21)

which can for example be a microphone, and a device for processing

data (22) which analyzes the data received, which filters them, to transmit

then the relevant data by a transmission device (23) to a

terminal (30), FIG. 3. FIG. 2B represents a device for measuring

chewing on a consumer according to one aspect of the invention or

the assembly is housed in an earpiece positioned in the ear (O). Being

so well understood that this position which is close to the area

chewing (D) allows to measure acutely the chewing as well as the

swallowing in the esophagus (E) of chewed food (Am). Microphone

therefore being positioned towards the inside of the body to record and measure

noises inside the mouth, while a traditional headset

for the hearing impaired she points the microphone outward

record the sounds and sounds of the surrounding outdoor life. Being good

understood that the chewing measurement device and the

swallowing measure can be positioned elsewhere as by

example on a pendant or necklace resting on the ribs of the chest,

the sounds or the vibrations being in this case in particular transmitted by the

bone system. FIG. 3 represents a data processing circuit according to the invention. The assembly comprising a measuring and

movement data processing (10) and a device for measuring and

treatment of chewing and swallowing (20) which transmit

movement and chewing measurement data, swallowing

terminal (30), which is for example a computer or a mobile telephone or

a personal assistant specifically designed for this purpose, equipped with a chip

and its operating software. In one case, figure

3, the terminal (30) being networked with an Internet portal (40) on which

other users (80) also come to analyze their kinetics

meal mechanics. All users who can participate

together at a course or a forum where they all share their data from

meal measurement and are then advised by a teacher and

supported by their classmate to modify their body movements

so as to progress in good gestural habits during the

meal taking. Figure 4 shows a principle of data restitution

according to the invention which notably comprises a first type of curve

movement analysis (41a, 41b) which represents for example gestures

bringing food to the mouth with the fork, a second type of

chewing analysis curve (42i) which captures chewing

users, and a third type of curve (43) which records the

swallowing. Each series of arm movements (100) or chewing swallowing (200) being shown separately but correlated one to

the other so that the user can correct one or the other of his

settings. A feature of the invention being the plurality of sockets

measures to offer better filtering of captured data. Indeed, it is

understood that a user moves his supply arm during the meal, both for

brought food to the mouth only for gestures of bodily expression

or seized s Objects, gestures that do not correspond to a gesture of bringing

food in the mouth. The invention by correlating the gestures of

movements of bringing (100) of the arm to those of chewing (200) allows

thus to filter the gestures by the processing software by not retaining as

gesture of bringing to the mouth that the gestures that are followed within a lapse of

time determined by chewing gestures. The terminal (30) can

be equipped with a configurable real-time alarm device which ensures that

the user is notified during the meal if his movements are not registered

in the admissible movement curve (100, 200) according to its program

progress. In this case the alarm which is visual or audible warns

the user that he must modify his movement, for example by slowing down

(411) his gestures or by increasing their repetition (42i). The alarm can

be positioned on the terminal (30) or on the devices for capturing

movements (11, 21) or on another remote device such as on a

specific object placed on the table during the meal. Figures 5a, 5b and 5c represent three more specific forms of connection between the

measurement and processing of movements (10, 20) and the terminal (30) of

processing and restoring movement data. Figures 5a, 5b

and 5 c representing in this case a fork, but the case

applying just as well to a headset or a pendant. Figure 5a

represents a fork handle (10) comprising a card on which

is mounted an accelerometer (11), a microcontroller (12) and a device

transmission (13) with its antenna (14) connected by wave according to a

known protocol such as WIFI, Bluetooth or simple radio frequency at

terminal (30) which in this case is a portable computer. Figure 5b

represents the same fork handle (10) as that of FIG. 5 a,

in this case with a wave connection as in Figure 5a, but with

in this case a terminal (30) which is not even equipped with the software for

processing, this being housed in a key (50), for example of the USB type,

of known type, which can be connected to any computer. This

solution giving even more mobility and lightness to the user. The

FIG. 5c represents a third type of solution in which the mode

transmission does not go through an antenna but according to an infra process

red (13) of known type which is housed in transmission on the cover (10) and in

reception on the terminal (30). The invention therefore relates to a power regulation device

characterized in that it comprises a movement capture device

(11, 21) of the user's body part when taking a meal, the

captured data being processed and filtered by a processing device (12,

22) transmitted by a transmission device (13, 23) to a terminal (30)

educational processing and restitution (100, 200) of this data

with the user to influence the movements and / or the kinetics of

his body when taking meals. The invention therefore relates to a device

of food regulation characterized in that it includes

in particular a device for measuring chewing and / or

swallowing (20). The invention therefore relates to a device for regulating

the power supply, characterized in that it comprises and a measuring device

of the power take-off (10) of the food-taking gesture. The invention

therefore relates to a power regulation device characterized by

what it includes a configurable real-time alarm device that follows

user progress. The invention therefore relates to a device for

feeding regulation characterized in that the capture of

chewing movement is used in filtering capture

movement of food intake gesture.

It is therefore clearly understood that many variants of the invention can

be part of the present invention.

Claims

1 - Power regulation device characterized in that it

includes a movement sensing device (11, 21) of part of the

body of the user when taking a meal, the data captured being

processed and filtered by a processing device (12, 22) transmitted by a

transmission device (13, 23) to a terminal (30) for processing and

educational feedback (100, 200) of this data to the user

to change the movements and / or the kinetics of his body during the

meal taking.

2 - power regulation device according to claim 1

characterized in that it which comprises in particular a device for measuring

chewing and / or swallowing (20)

3 - power regulation device according to claim 1

characterized in that it comprises and a device for measuring the taking of

movement (10) of the food intake gesture. 4 - Power regulation device according to claim 1

characterized in that it includes a real time alarm device

configurable and which follows the progress of the user.

5 - Power regulation device according to claim 1

characterized in that the chewing movement capture is used

in filtering movement capture of the food intake gesture.