JP2002288757A - Bath room safety device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To discriminate fluctuation of a water face caused by movement of a body of a person at bathing from fluctuation of the water face caused by disturbance such as hot water supply and a jet bath. SOLUTION: In this bath room safety device, a signal by a water level sensor 4 caused by the movement of the body of the person 1 at bathing is discriminated from a signal by the level sensor 4 generated by a hot water supplying faucet, hot water supply by a shower, an operation of the jet bath, and continuous shaking of the water face thereby, using a control means 6, so as to detect accurately only the movement of the body of the person at bathing, and a notification signal is issued by a notification signal generation means 7 when the movement of the person at bathing is not detected over an unusual long period.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for detecting the movement of a bather using a water level sensor,
Technical field that can be applied to bathroom safety devices that prevent unexpected accidents occurring in the bathtub and promptly notify the outside by monitoring the presence or absence of body movement of bathers due to changes in the water level in the bathtub Things.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a bathroom safety device of this kind, a panel provided with a call button in a bathroom is installed on a wall.
There have been proposed a system in which a bather himself / herself informs the outside by pressing a button when an accident occurs, and a system in which a pendant-type submergence sensor worn by a bather automatically emits a notification signal when submerged.

[0003] However, the push-button method has problems that the button cannot be pressed at the time of syncope due to a rapid drop in blood pressure, and that the submergence sensor method has a problem that it is troublesome to remove or forget to attach.

[0004] For this reason, fluctuations in the bathtub water surface caused by human motion are detected using a water level sensor to monitor the presence of body movement, and when the bather's motion stops for a certain period of time, the light is turned off. There has been proposed a method of notifying a bather or a family living together with a buzzer or a buzzer sound. In particular, the water heater is equipped with a water level sensor in advance for applications such as an automatic hot water filling function, and is used for remote control from inside a house such as a kitchen.
Since a remote control with a notification means such as D and buzzer is provided, it is considered that a commercial effect is great if a method of realizing these functions in combination is adopted.

[0005]

However, fluctuations in the water surface are caused by various disturbance factors besides human movement. For example, fluctuations in hot water supply from a hot water supply or hot water from a shower can be considered, and fluctuations in the water surface when entering or leaving a bathtub continue as a continuous wave for several minutes even if the body stops moving. In some cases. In addition, recently, jet baths and the like that generate foam to promote a massage effect have become widespread, and there is fluctuation of the water surface due to the jet water flow.
According to the literature, the survival rate at the time of a submersion accident is greatly reduced in a few minutes, and in the case of an emergency bathroom safety device, the signal generated by such disturbance and the signal generated by body movement are compared. Accurate and quick discrimination is an essential issue.

[0006]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a bathroom safety device of the present invention discriminates a signal of a water level sensor according to a frequency to thereby obtain a component of a body movement frequency range caused by body movement. Is determined only, or a component of a disturbance frequency range other than the body motion is excluded.

[0007] As described above, by judging only the component of the body motion frequency range of the water surface fluctuation caused by the body motion, it is possible to distinguish only the presence or absence of the body motion of the bather from the water surface fluctuation caused by the disturbance. A bathroom safety device that accurately detects and emits an alarm signal when a bather does not move for an unusually long time has been realized.

[0008]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The invention according to claim 1 is a water level sensor means for detecting a water level fluctuation in a bathtub, a control means for judging a body movement of a bather based on a water level signal from the water level sensor means, Notification signal generation means for notifying the determination result of the control means, wherein the control means determines the intensity of the frequency component in a predetermined body movement frequency range included in the water level signal, and supplies hot water by a hot water supply curan or a shower or a water surface. This is to determine the disturbance such as the continuous wave of fluctuation and the body movement of the bather, and this embodiment makes it possible to accurately detect the presence or absence of the body movement of the bather.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a water level sensor means for detecting a water level fluctuation in a bathtub, a control means for judging a body movement of a bather based on a water level signal from the water level sensor means, and Notification signal generating means for notifying a determination result, wherein the control means removes a component of a predetermined disturbance frequency range such as hot water supply by a hot water supply curl or a shower included in the water level signal or a continuous wave of water surface fluctuation. A signal is used to determine disturbances such as hot water supply by a hot water supply or shower and continuous waves of water surface fluctuations and body movements of the bather. Can be accurately detected.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in addition to the first and second aspects, the control means controls a predetermined disturbance frequency range such as hot water supply by a hot water supply curl or a shower contained in the water level signal and a continuous wave of water level fluctuation. Based on the intensity of the frequency component of the predetermined body motion frequency range included in the water level signal from which the water component has been removed, the body motion of the bather and disturbance such as hot water supply by hot water supply or shower and continuous wave of water surface fluctuation are determined. By using this configuration as an embodiment, it is possible to accurately detect the presence or absence of body motion of a bather.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first or the third aspect of the present invention, particularly, the body motion frequency range is 1 to 5 Hz.
By setting from within the range, the signal component due to the body motion is to be detected more remarkably.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the invention of the second or third aspect, by setting the disturbance frequency range from 1 Hz or less or 5 Hz or more, the signal component due to the disturbance can be more efficiently obtained. To be removed.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in accordance with the first or third aspect of the present invention, the control means controls the predetermined body movement in accordance with the bathtub surrounding conditions such as the shape and structure of the bathtub and the method of installing the water heater. By changing the frequency range, a signal component due to body movement is optimized for individual bathtub surrounding conditions, and more prominent detection is to be performed.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in accordance with the second or third aspect of the invention, the control means controls the predetermined disturbance frequency in accordance with the bathtub surrounding conditions such as the shape and structure of the bathtub and the method of installing the water heater. By changing the area, the signal component due to the disturbance is optimized for the individual bathtub surrounding conditions, and more efficient removal is attempted.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the first or the third aspect of the present invention, a pseudo body movement is actually generated under bathing conditions to set a body movement frequency range. It is intended to more accurately detect a signal component due to body movement.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the invention of the second or third aspect, a signal component due to disturbance is set by setting a disturbance frequency range in which disturbance is actually generated under bathing conditions. It is intended to remove more efficiently.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the first to third aspects, the water level sensor means for detecting a change in the water level is performed by using the existing water level sensor means in the water heater. Accordingly, a bathroom safety device can be realized without laying new equipment.

According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, in the first or the third aspect of the present invention, a condition set by a user such as a bathroom condition or water level setting information for a water heater at the time of automatic hot water filling is used. By determining the body motion frequency range, the signal component due to the body motion is optimized by simple setting to the surrounding conditions of the individual bathtubs, and is intended to be remarkably detected.

According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, in the second or third aspect, conditions set by a user such as bathroom conditions and water level setting information for a water heater at the time of automatic hot water filling are used. By determining the disturbance frequency range, the signal components due to the disturbance are optimized with simple settings to the surrounding conditions of the individual bathtubs, and the removal is efficiently performed.

According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, at least one of the start and the end of the processing for judging the body movement of the bather is determined by the operation signal of the water heater, so that it is operated only during the bathing period. It is intended to realize a longer life of power and devices.

According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, at least one of the start and end of the detection for judging the body movement of the bather is determined by:
By judging the rise or fall of the bathtub water level based on the water level signal, the operation is performed only during the bathing period, thereby achieving further power saving and longer life of the device.

According to a fifteenth aspect of the present invention, the notification signal generating means according to any one of the first to third aspects of the present invention is constituted by a sound heater or a visual display device provided in the water heater and / or its remote controller. This eliminates the need to add a new specific notification device, and is extremely effective commercially.

[0023]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically illustrating a bathroom safety device according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a bather, 2 is a bathtub, and 3 is a circulation port for connecting to a water heater or the like. The water level sensor 4 in the water heater is generally installed in a pipe connected to the circulation port 3, and in this embodiment, a description will be given of a configuration in which the water level sensor 4 is installed in this path. Reference numeral 5 denotes a sensor circuit unit that performs amplification and filtering processing of a signal from the water level sensor 4, and 6 denotes a control unit that reads a voltage value corresponding to the water level from the sensor circuit unit 5 and detects a body movement. Reference numeral 7 denotes a notification signal generating means 7 for generating a notification signal such as a buzzer sound, lighting or blinking of the visual display device, and a communication signal to an indoor family in accordance with the determination of the control means 6. The sensor circuit 5, the control means 6, and the notification signal generating means 7 can also be used as the control means provided in the water heater by changing a program of a microcomputer of the water heater.

FIG. 2 is a graph showing an example of a signal input from the sensor circuit section 5 to the control means 6, wherein the horizontal axis indicates the elapsed time and the vertical axis indicates the output voltage of the sensor circuit section 5. Assuming that the bather 1 moves his body from time t1 to time t2 from a state in which the water surface is quiet, a signal waveform 10 representing body movement indicating fluctuation of the water surface is detected as shown in FIG.

However, even if such a change in the signal waveform is caused by various disturbances other than the body movement of the bather 1, a signal such as the signal waveform 11 representing the disturbance or the connection wave in FIG. 2 may be detected. is there. For example, as shown in a section between t3 and t4 in FIG. 2, a bath is supplied while hot water is supplied into the bathtub with a hot water supply or shower, a bath is used while using a jet bath, or when a person enters or exits the bathtub. , The water surface continues to fluctuate immediately after that, as shown after t4.

In the present invention, a method for discriminating between such disturbance and body movement of the bather will be described with reference to FIGS.
Now, a signal component as shown in FIG. FIGS. 3 and 4 are examples showing the results of the frequency component analysis. In each graph, the horizontal axis represents the frequency, and the vertical axis represents the signal strength of the signal component at that frequency. FIGS. 3A and 3B are results of frequency component analysis of a section where the water surface is calm like t0 to t1 in FIG. 2 and a section where the body motion of t1 to t2 in FIG. 2 is respectively. As shown in FIG. 3 (a), from the state in which each frequency appears gradually from the DC component at the left end of the graph, the body movement frequency range fms to fme as shown in FIG. Increase.

FIGS. 4A and 4B respectively show a section where the water surface is settled as shown at t0 to t1 in FIG. 2 and a section where the water surface fluctuations occur due to the disturbance from t2 to t3 in FIG. Are the results of frequency component analysis of
As shown in FIG. 3 (a), from the state where each frequency appears gradually from the DC component at the left end of the graph, a component in a frequency range different from the frequency range of body motion due to disturbance, FIG. 4 (b)
In the example, the component below the frequency fms increases.

As described above, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the control means 6 compares the component intensity in the body motion frequency range with a threshold value, and when the threshold value is exceeded, determines that there has been a body motion. With this method, it is possible to determine the presence or absence of body motion even when there is an influence of disturbance.

In the experiment, it was found that the body motion frequency range was remarkable in the range of 1 to 5 Hz, the sustained signal was 1 Hz or less, and the disturbance signal such as jet bath or hot water was remarkably displayed in the frequency range of more than 5 Hz. Therefore, it is considered that more accurate determination can be made by setting each frequency range to these frequency ranges.

As shown in another embodiment of the present invention in FIG. 5, instead of performing the frequency component analysis by the signal processing in the control means 6, a filter circuit section 8 for passing only a signal in a specific frequency range is provided. Can also be configured. Examples of the configuration of the filter circuit unit 8 include a band-pass filter that passes only components in the body motion frequency range and a notch filter that blocks only signals in the frequency range that causes disturbance. By adding such a filter circuit section 8 to the preprocessing to the control means 6, the processing time and labor for performing a load-intensive processing such as frequency component analysis by a microcomputer or the like constituting the control means 6 can be omitted.

The frequency band caused by the body motion frequency and the disturbance depends on factors such as the positional relationship between the water heater and the bathtub, the length and material of the pipe, the diameter of the bath, the water level at the time of bathing, and the shape and material of the bathtub. It is conceivable that a displacement occurs. For example, this wavelength is related to the length of the bathtub, as a continuous wave is a fluctuation that is stationary and persistent in the bathtub. Therefore, the configuration in which means for optimizing the body motion frequency range and the disturbance frequency range in accordance with the surrounding conditions of the bathtub of each house is very effective.

For example, if some embodiments of optimization are given, the following example can be considered. For example, a “learning mode” is provided, and during the period in which the “learning mode” is selected, hot water is supplied in a state where the apparatus is actually installed to cause body movement, and a frequency range in which the signal strength is large during this period is set. There is a method of storing a body motion frequency range in a microcomputer or the like. In addition, a table for estimating a body motion frequency range from a combination of parameters such as a normal water level, installation conditions, and a bath shape type is stored in the remote control of the water heater in advance, and parameters suitable for the home at the time of installation are set by the user. It is also possible to have the user input the information and change it to the optimal body motion frequency.

As a general notification signal, a notification means for sounding a buzzer or flashing light to notify other family members in the kitchen can be considered, but a water heater can be remotely operated from a kitchen or the like. Many models have a remote controller for control. If the function of such a remote controller is also used as a means for generating a notification signal, its commercial effect is very large. Of course, the notification signal may include a means for notifying an external hospital or emergency service business by a communication function, or contacting a separated family member or acquaintance by e-mail or the like.

In the above description, the configuration in which the existing water level sensor is used also for the water heater is described. However, a configuration in which a water level sensor dedicated for this application is installed outside and connected to the water heater,
The entire bathroom safety device may be configured separately from the water heater.

[0036]

As described above, according to the present invention, by detecting only the component intensity of the frequency component caused by body movement from the signal of the water level sensor, or by removing the signal of the frequency component due to disturbance, Can accurately detect the presence or absence of body movements of bathers without being affected by disturbance signals such as hot water supplied by showers or hot water supplied by showers or continuous waves, and emits an alert signal when there is no movement for an unusual long time Bathroom safety device can be realized.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a bathroom safety device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a graph showing an example of an output signal of a sensor circuit unit according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a graph showing a frequency analysis result according to the presence or absence of body movement in the example of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a graph showing a frequency analysis result according to the presence or absence of a disturbance in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing another example of the bathroom safety device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 bather 2 bathtub 4 water level sensor (water level sensor means) 5 sensor circuit section (water level sensor means) 6 control means 7 notification signal generating means 8 filter circuit section

Continued on front page F term (reference) 2D032 GA00 4C094 AA01 BB20 DD14 EE20 FF09 FF17 GG03 5C086 AA22 BA04 CB08 DA08 DA40 EA13 EA45

Claims (15)

[Claims] 1. A water level sensor means for detecting a water level fluctuation in a bathtub, a control means for judging a body movement of a bather based on a water level signal from the water level sensor means, and a notification signal for notifying a judgment result of the control means. Generating means, wherein the control means uses the intensity of the frequency component of a predetermined body motion frequency range included in the water level signal to control disturbances such as hot water supply by hot water supply or shower and continuous wave of water surface fluctuation and the bather A bathroom safety device that distinguishes between body movements. 2. A water level sensor means for detecting a water level fluctuation in a bathtub, a control means for judging a body movement of a bather based on a water level signal from the water level sensor means, and a notification signal for notifying a judgment result of the control means. Generating means, wherein the control means is configured to remove the component of a predetermined disturbance frequency range such as hot water supply by a hot water supply curl or a shower included in the water level signal or a continuous wave of water level fluctuation, and the water level signal removes the bather. Bathroom safety device to determine body movement. 3. A water level sensor means for detecting a water level fluctuation in a bathtub, a control means for judging a body movement of a bather based on a water level signal from the water level sensor means, and a notification signal for notifying a judgment result of the control means. Generating means, wherein the control means removes components in a predetermined disturbance frequency range such as hot water supply by a hot water supply curl or a shower included in the water level signal and a continuous wave of water level fluctuation, and a predetermined body included in the water level signal. A bathroom safety device configured to determine the body movement of the bather based on the intensity of a frequency component in a movement frequency range. 4. The bathroom safety device according to claim 1, wherein the body motion frequency range is set within a range of 1 to 5 Hz. 5. The bathroom safety device according to claim 2, wherein the disturbance frequency range is set within a range of 1 Hz or less or 5 Hz or more. 6. The bathroom safety according to claim 1, wherein the control means changes a predetermined body motion frequency range according to the bathtub surrounding conditions such as the shape and structure of the bathtub and the method of installing the water heater. apparatus. 7. The bathroom safety device according to claim 2, wherein the control means changes a predetermined disturbance frequency range according to a bathtub surrounding condition such as a shape and a structure of the bathtub and a method of installing a water heater. . 8. The bathroom safety device according to claim 1, wherein a body motion frequency range is set by a signal during a period in which body motion is artificially generated under bathing conditions. 9. The bathroom safety device according to claim 2, wherein a disturbance frequency range is set by a signal during a period in which disturbance occurs under bathing conditions. 10. The bathroom safety device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the water level sensor means for detecting a change in water level is performed by using an existing water level sensor means in the water heater. 11. The bathroom safety device according to claim 1, wherein the body motion frequency range is determined using conditions set by the user such as water level setting information for the water heater. 12. The bathroom safety device according to claim 2, wherein the disturbance frequency range is determined using conditions set by the user such as water level setting information for the water heater. 13. The bathroom safety device according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the start and the end of the processing for judging the body movement of the bather is determined by an operation signal of the water heater. . 14. The method according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the start and the end of the detection for judging the body movement of the bather is judged by the rise or fall of the bathtub water level based on the water level signal. Bathroom safety device as described. 15. The bathroom safety device according to claim 1, wherein the notification signal generating means is constituted by a sounding device or a visual display device provided in the water heater and / or its remote control device.