JP2001134726A - Sensor system for sanitary - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a sensor system for sanitary capable of detecting the soiling of sanitary goods such as diaper or urine absorbing pad. SOLUTION: A sheet-shaped LC resonance tag 5 formed of a coil pattern and a capacitor pattern is embedded inside the sanitary goods such as urine absorbing pad 6. A flexible antenna 4 is connected to a reflected wave scanner 1 provided with a transmitter and a receiver for detecting the resonance frequency of the LC resonance tag by comparing a transmitted waveform with a received waveform. The urine absorbing pad 6 is mounted inside underwear, the flexible antenna 4 is mounted on the surface of underwear, and the reflected wave scanner 1 is stored in the pocket or the like. When the urine absorbing pad 6 gets wet, the received waveform is changed by a change in the resonance frequency characteristics of the LC resonance tag 5 in contact with the liner of the pad, the vibrator of the reflected wave scanner 1 is driven and a user can know the incontinence of urine without being noticed by anyone.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sanitary sensor system for detecting wetness of a diaper or the like, and more particularly to a radio wave type sanitary sensor system.

[0002]

For example, in a sick person or an elderly person using a diaper who is difficult to get up or walk, the symptoms are so severe that it is not possible to inform a nurse or caregiver of excretion. There is a person who is physically handicapped. In such a case, a long time may elapse before the caregiver or the like notices and changes the diaper.

[0003] In addition, although some people suffer from incontinence in a small amount of urinary incontinence and use a urine absorbing pad for this purpose, the liner of the urine absorbing pad prevents backflow so as not to cause discomfort to the user. Because it is made so that it hardly feels wet, there is a case that the person does not notice even if incontinence.

However, it is desirable for hygiene that the diaper or urine absorbing pad that has absorbed excrement be replaced as soon as possible. Then, there arises a technical problem to be solved in order for the caregiver or the person to be able to recognize dirt on the diaper and the urine absorbing pad, and an object of the present invention is to solve the above problem.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been proposed to achieve the above object, and has an LC resonance circuit in which a conductor spiral pattern is formed on one or both surfaces of a dielectric film to constitute an LC resonance circuit. A sweep wave is transmitted from the tag and the frequency sweep transmitter, and the waveform received by the receiver is compared with the transmission waveform. Based on the comparison result, the presence or absence of the LC resonance tag in the transmission electric field and the resonance frequency of the LC resonance tag are determined. A sensor system comprising a reflected wave scanner for detection and a flexible antenna in which a transmitting antenna and a receiving antenna are formed in one sheet, wherein an LC resonance tag is attached to a sanitary article such as a urine absorbing pad, and the reflected wave scanner is used. The sanitary ware wearer carries a reflected wave scanner, and moves near the sanitary ware such as a urine absorption pad worn by himself. A sanitary sensor equipped with a sibble antenna and a means for driving a vibration device to notify the person when a change in the frequency characteristics of the LC resonance tag is detected due to absorption of excrement by a urine absorbing pad or the like. System.

[0006] In addition, an LC resonance tag is mounted on a diaper, and a flexible antenna is arranged on the back of a diaper or bed sheet mounted on a human body, and the frequency characteristics of the LC resonance tag are changed by the diaper absorbing excrement. It is an object of the present invention to provide a sanitary sensor system including a means for driving a notifying means such as a warning light or a horn when detected.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a sensor system for detecting urine leakage, a reflected wave scanner 1 having a transmitting function and a receiving function, and a sheet-shaped flexible antenna 4 in which a transmitting antenna 2 and a receiving antenna 3 made of metal foil are formed on a resin film. And a urine absorption pad 6 having a built-in LC resonance tag 5.

The LC resonance tag 5 has a circuit pattern provided on one side or both sides. FIG.
3 shows a C resonance tag. The LC resonance tag 5 is formed in a thin sheet shape by bonding metal conductors 9 and 10 to both surfaces of a dielectric film 7 via an adhesive 8. FIGS. 3A and 3B
As shown in (c), the conductors 9 and 10 on both sides of the LC resonance tag 5 are rectangular spiral coil pattern portions 9.
Capacitor pattern portions 9b and 10b having a relatively large area are continuous with the outer end portions of a and 10a. The inner peripheral ends of the coil pattern portions 9a and 10a on the front and back are the conductors 1 shown in FIG.
1, an LC series resonance circuit is formed by the inductance of the coil pattern portions 9a and 10a and the capacitance of the capacitor pattern portions 9b and 10b opposed to each other with the dielectric film 7 interposed therebetween.

The resonance frequency of the LC resonance tag 5 varies depending on the number of turns of the coil pattern portions 9a and 10a and the area of the capacitor pattern portions 9b and 10b. Create and use resonant tags. The conductors 9 and 10 are formed by means such as etching or printing of a conductor paste. The dielectric film 7 is made of polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate, polyimide, or the like. Rate material is desirable.

[0010] As shown in FIG.
The LC resonance tag 5 to be built in is formed in a vertically long shape according to the shape of the pad 6, and is sandwiched between the water-absorbing liner and the waterproof sheet on the lower surface to cover.

FIG. 4 shows the configuration of the reflected wave scanner 1,
The transmission transmission output of the VCO 13 controlled by the control unit 12 is amplified by the transmission amplifier 14 and transmitted from the transmission antenna 2. Here, an arbitrary frequency band from a short wave band to an ultra high frequency band is used, and scanning of a set frequency band is continuously performed at a constant scan interval.

When the transmission radio wave is reflected by the LC resonance tag that resonates at a certain frequency in the sweep frequency band, it enters the receiving antenna 3 as an echo wave of the LC resonance tag. The reception wave is amplified by the reception amplifier 15 and input to the phase comparator 16 together with the output of the transmission amplifier 14. Phase comparator 1
6 is sampled by the A / D converter 17 in synchronization with the reference clock, noise removal and binarization processing are performed, and the binarized received waveform data is converted to the control unit 12.
Written to memory.

The memory of the control section 12 stores sweep frequency band data, scan interval data, a waveform pattern analysis program, and the like. The control unit 12 has a comparison analysis function based on pattern matching that is common in the field of image processing, and collates the reference waveform pattern data with the received waveform pattern data.

The mode key can be operated to select either the monitoring mode or the reference waveform pattern data update mode. When the mode is switched to the reference waveform pattern data update mode, the received waveform pattern data at that time is changed to the reference waveform pattern data. Is written in the memory of the control unit 12, and the reference waveform pattern data is updated.

In the monitoring mode, if the comparison result between the received waveform pattern data and the reference waveform pattern data does not match, the control unit 12 drives the motor of the vibrator device 18 to vibrate the reflected wave scanner 1.

Next, the operation of the sensor system will be described.
When limiting the combination of the reflected wave scanner and one type of specific LC resonance tag, the transmission / reception channel and LC
Although only one type of resonance tag is required, here, the transmission frequency band of the reflected wave scanner 1 is divided into 10 channels, and a frequency approximately halfway between the bands of each channel is set as the resonance frequency.
A case in which different types of LC resonance tags are used will be described.

The reflected wave scanner 1 is provided with the CH shown in FIG.
The frequency band from -1 (1 channel) to CH-10 (10 channels) is sequentially scanned. Each channel has, for example, 17 stages (fn00 to fn16) as shown in FIG.
(N = 1, 2,..., 10)), and is controlled by the control unit 12 so as to be 5.00 MHz, 5.01 MHz,
The frequency is changed stepwise, such as 5.02 MHz, 5.03 MHz, ‥, 5.16 MHz, and 17 steps of sweeping are performed for each channel.

Further, as shown in the figure, each of the 17 levels of the frequency fn (i) is transmitted for a fixed time T2 (several microseconds), and a fixed repetition timing T1 (several tens of seconds) in order to ensure noise immunity. After the transmission is intermittently repeated a plurality of times in (μsec), the transmission shifts to the transmission of the next frequency fn (i + 1).

FIG. 1 shows the timing of the transmission output gate, A shows the waveform of a radio wave transmitted from the transmission antenna, and B shows the reception antenna input waveform when no LC resonance tag exists in the sensing area of the reception antenna.

On the other hand, when an LC resonance tag that resonates at the frequency of the transmission radio wave is present in the sensing area of the reception antenna, the radio wave directly arriving at the reception antenna 3 from the transmission antenna 2 includes the LC resonance tag 5 The echo wave is superimposed and is incident on the receiving antenna 3 to have a waveform like C.

At this time, within the transmission time (P1), the phase difference with respect to the transmission waveform indicated by A differs between B and C (A-
B ≠ AC). In C, an echo wave delayed by the LC resonance tag is observed even after the transmission wave stops (P2).

A delay portion (P) of only a delayed echo wave at the same frequency and transmitted a plurality of times at a fixed timing
When the reception levels of 2) are integrated, and the echo wave reception levels at each frequency (fn00 to fn16) in one channel are A / D converted and sampled, a resonance level pattern as illustrated in FIG. 6 is obtained. .

The reflected wave scanner 1 has the same frequency fn (i)
Is repeated to remove white noise and impulse noise, a phase difference of C with respect to B is observed in a section P1 like C, and a resonance level pattern in a section P2 after transmission is stopped is shown in FIG. When a predetermined numerical value is satisfied in the resonance sharpness based on d1 and d2 and the allowable error range with respect to the design frequency indicated by d3, the resonance frequency of the LC resonance tag is specified.

In the above example, it is possible to identify ten types of LC resonance tags. However, when a plurality of LC resonance tags are combined and attached to the urine absorption pad, the types of urine absorption pads that can be identified are identified. The number can be further extended.

FIG. 7 shows a method of using the sensor system, wherein 21 is a human body, 22 is underwear such as shorts, and the urine absorbing pad 6 is inserted between the human body 21 and the underwear 22 and held by the underwear 2. The flexible antenna 4 is mounted on the surface of the underwear 22. At this time, the whole or a part of the flexible antenna 4 is made to overlap the LC resonance tag 5 in the urine absorption pad 6. Further, fixing means such as Velcro tape may be provided on one surface of the flexible antenna 4 so that the flexible antenna 4 can be attached to the underwear 22. The reflected wave scanner 1 is stored in an arbitrary place such as a pocket or a waist according to clothes.

As described above, when the mode key of the reflected wave scanner 1 is operated to select the reference waveform pattern data update mode, the LC
The resonance waveform pattern of the resonance tag 5 is read and written as reference waveform pattern data, and thereafter, when the mode is switched to the monitoring mode, the monitoring state is set.

When urine leakage occurs, the urine absorption pad 6 absorbs urine, so that the resonance frequency characteristic of the LC resonance tag 5 in contact with the liner changes, and the received waveform pattern data and the reference waveform pattern data are changed. When they no longer match, the vibrator device 18 of the reflected wave scanner 1 is driven,
The user can know the occurrence of urine leakage without being noticed by others due to the vibration.

FIGS. 8 and 9 show another embodiment.
Has a built-in LC resonance tag 5 and a flexible antenna 4 having a large area is arranged on the back side of a bed sheet 24 as shown in FIG. The reflected wave scanner 1 can be installed in a place other than the bedroom, such as a waiting room for a caregiver, and when excretion is detected, a warning light or a buzzer is driven to notify the caregiver. The description is omitted because it is the same as the sensor system for detecting urine leakage.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. For example, the technical scope of the present invention is such that an LC resonance tag can be attached to a conventional diaper or urine absorbing pad with an adhesive or the like. Various modifications are possible within the scope of the present invention, and it goes without saying that the present invention extends to those modifications. Description

[0030]

As described above, the sanitary sensor system of the present invention provides a diaper and a urine absorbing pad with an LC.
Since the excretion is detected by the built-in resonance tag and the echo wave of the LC resonance tag, there is no malfunction due to vibration, light or sound. Further, the LC resonance tag can be mass-produced at extremely low cost as compared with other humidity sensors and the like, and the operating cost is low, so that the economic burden is reduced. In addition, since it is a non-contact type sensor system using a reflected wave scanner and an LC resonance tag, the LC resonance tag can be disposable together with the sanitary tool, so that it is sanitary.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a urine leak sensor system according to the present invention, in which (a) is a perspective view of a urine absorption pad having a built-in LC resonance tag, and (b) is a perspective view of a reflected wave scanner and a flexible antenna.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of an LC resonance tag.

3A and 3B show an LC resonance tag, FIG. 3A is a plan view showing a conductor pattern on a front surface, FIG. 3B is a plan view showing a conductor pattern on a back surface, and FIG. FIG.

FIG. 4 is a circuit block diagram of a reflected wave scanner.

FIG. 5 is a timing chart of a scanning operation of the reflected wave scanner.

FIG. 6 is a graph showing a waveform pattern obtained by sampling an echo wave of the LC resonance tag.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory view showing a use state of the urine leak sensor system.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of a diaper incorporating an LC resonance tag.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory view of a bed provided with a flexible antenna.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 reflected wave scanner 4 flexible antenna 5 LC resonance tag 6 urine absorption pad 7 dielectric film 9, 10 conductor 18 vibrator device 23 diaper

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An LC resonance tag in which a conductor spiral pattern is formed on one or both sides of a dielectric film to form an LC resonance circuit, and a sweep wave transmitted from a frequency sweep transmitter and received by a receiver. And the transmitted waveform,
Based on the comparison result, a sensor system consisting of a reflected wave scanner that detects the presence or absence of the LC resonance tag in the transmission electric field and the resonance frequency of the LC resonance tag, and a flexible antenna in which the transmission antenna and the reception antenna are formed in one sheet. Attach the LC resonance tag to a sanitary article such as a urine absorption pad, and incorporate a vibration device in the reflected wave scanner.
The frequency of the LC resonance tag caused by the wearer of the sanitary ware carrying the reflected wave scanner, wearing a flexible antenna in close proximity to the sanitary ware such as the urine absorption pad worn by himself, and the urine absorption pad absorbing the excrement A sanitary sensor system including means for driving a vibration device to notify a person when a change in characteristics is detected. 2. An LC resonance tag in which a conductor spiral pattern is formed on one or both sides of a dielectric film to constitute an LC resonance circuit, and a sweep wave transmitted from a frequency sweep transmitter and received by a receiver. And the transmitted waveform,
Based on the comparison result, a sensor system consisting of a reflected wave scanner that detects the presence or absence of the LC resonance tag in the transmission electric field and the resonance frequency of the LC resonance tag, and a flexible antenna in which the transmission antenna and the reception antenna are formed in one sheet. Then, the LC resonance tag was attached to the diaper, and a flexible antenna was arranged on the back of the diaper or bed sheet attached to the human body, and a change in the frequency characteristics of the LC resonance tag due to the diaper absorbing excrement was detected. A sanitary sensor system including means for driving an alarming device such as a warning light or a horn.