JP2010115235A - Vital sign sensor - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vital sign sensor capable of retaining a user's interest after the repeated use by increasing functions within the same device, and capable of highly accurate sensing. <P>SOLUTION: The vital sign sensor includes: a casing 50 which is made of an elastic material and which can be held by the user; a finger insertion part 58 formed in the casing 50 for inserting a fingertip of the user into the casing 50; a photoelectric pulse wave sensor 5 having an LED 11 and a pulse wave sensor body 12 and disposed within the finger insertion part 58 for detecting the pulse wave of the user; an acceleration sensor 6 disposed within the casing 50 for detecting the acceleration of the casing 50; and a control unit 10 for integrally controlling the photoelectric pulse wave sensor 5 and the acceleration sensor 6. The control unit 10 includes a pulse wave operating part for measuring the degree of relaxedness of the user based on the result of detection by the photoelectric pulse wave sensor 5, and an acceleration operating part for determining the posture of the casing 50 based on the result of detection by the acceleration sensor 6. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a vital sign sensor.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a photoelectric pulse wave sensor that includes a light emitting element and a light receiving element and can obtain various biological information such as a pulse rate and a heart rate based on pulse information of a user (subject) is known. In this photoelectric pulse wave sensor, light is emitted from a light emitting element toward a fingertip, and light transmitted through the fingertip or reflected light is received by a light receiving element. Information on pulse waves can be obtained by data processing of light received by the light receiving element.

Such photoelectric pulse wave sensors are used in various fields such as medical equipment and game machines. As such a configuration, the user's pulse wave measured by the photoelectric pulse wave sensor is analyzed to calculate an index indicating the user's stress level (tension state), and the stress level content is calculated together with the calculated stress level value. A configuration in which a corresponding message is displayed on a display unit is known (for example, see Patent Document 1).
JP 2007-267845 A

By the way, in patent document 1 mentioned above, since it is the structure which only calculates a stress degree based on a pulse wave, there exists a possibility that a user may get bored by using repeatedly many times.
Moreover, since the photoelectric pulse wave sensor calculates the pulse wave by detecting the light emitted from the light emitting element by the light receiving element, there is a problem that the photoelectric pulse wave sensor is vulnerable to disturbance light. In this case, in the configuration of Patent Document 1 described above, since the photoelectric pulse wave sensor is exposed to the outside when measuring the pulse wave, for example, when sensing in the field, accurate sensing may not be possible.
Furthermore, since the photoelectric pulse wave sensor is detected by a minute optical signal, in order to perform highly accurate sensing, the relative positional relationship between the light irradiation position of the light emitting element, the light receiving element, and the fingertip varies from measurement to measurement. It is difficult to hold as little as possible.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and by increasing the number of functions in the same device, the user's interest can be maintained even when repeatedly used, and high accuracy is achieved. The present invention provides a vital sign sensor that can perform accurate sensing.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, the invention described in claim 1 is made of an elastic material, and is formed in a case that can be gripped by a user and the case, and the user's fingertip is inserted into the case. And a photoelectric pulse wave sensor that has a light emitting element and a light receiving element and is provided in the finger insertion part to detect the pulse wave of the user, and an acceleration of the casing. And a control unit that comprehensively controls the photoelectric pulse wave sensor and the acceleration sensor, the control unit based on a detection result of the photoelectric pulse wave sensor, the tension state of the user And a pulse wave calculation unit for measuring the acceleration and an acceleration calculation unit for determining the attitude of the housing based on the detection result of the acceleration sensor.

  The invention described in claim 2 is characterized in that the casing is made of a light-shielding material.

  The invention described in claim 3 is characterized in that the finger insertion portion is covered with an elastic material.

  The invention described in claim 4 is characterized in that the casing is filled with a filler having a heat insulating property.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the pulse wave calculation unit compares the signal intensity of the low frequency component and the signal intensity of the high frequency component among the frequency components detected by the photoelectric pulse wave sensor. It is characterized by comprising a matching part and a relaxation degree judging means for judging the tension state of the user based on a comparison result by the pulse wave pattern matching part.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, the acceleration calculation unit includes: a first acceleration waveform pattern matching unit that determines whether or not the acceleration detected by the acceleration sensor exceeds a preset first acceleration threshold value; The first acceleration waveform pattern matching unit includes posture determination means for determining that the variation of the posture of the housing is severe when the acceleration detected by the acceleration sensor exceeds the first threshold. It is characterized by.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, the acceleration calculation unit includes: a second acceleration waveform pattern matching unit that determines whether or not an acceleration detected by the acceleration sensor exceeds a preset second threshold value of acceleration; The second acceleration waveform pattern matching unit includes a counting unit that counts the number of times the acceleration detected by the acceleration sensor exceeds the second threshold value.

  The invention described in claim 8 is characterized in that the casing is provided with a display unit for displaying a determination result of the pulse wave calculation unit and the acceleration calculation unit.

  The invention described in claim 9 is characterized in that the casing is provided with an output unit for allowing the user to recognize the determination result of the pulse wave calculation unit and the acceleration calculation unit.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the photoelectric pulse wave sensor and the acceleration sensor are provided in the housing, for example, the degree of relaxation of the user is measured based on the user's pulse wave, or the posture of the housing Based on the above, it is possible to measure the number of steps of the user who is walking, the driving roughness during traveling of the vehicle, and the like. That is, it becomes possible to achieve multiple functions in the same device, and the user's interest can be maintained even when used repeatedly.
Moreover, since the housing | casing which a user can hold | grip is comprised with the elastic material, when a user grasps a housing | casing, a housing | casing elastically deforms according to a user's hand, and fits a user's hand. Thereby, while grasping a housing | casing itself, while being able to attract a user's interest with respect to the touch, a user can carry with an accessory sense. In addition, since the user's hand can be stably held by measuring the pulse wave while grasping the housing, there is little variation in the relative positional relationship between the photoelectric pulse wave sensor and the fingertip, and high accuracy. Sensing can be performed.

  According to the invention described in claim 2, since the casing is made of a light-shielding material, it is possible to prevent disturbance light from entering the casing by blocking disturbance light from outside the casing. it can. Thereby, since only the light of a light emitting element can be detected with a light receiving element, highly accurate sensing can be performed and a user's pulse wave can be measured with high precision.

  According to the invention described in claim 3, since the finger insertion portion is covered with the elastic material, the fingertip and the photoelectric pulse wave sensor can be comfortably adhered. In other words, since the fingertip can be stably held only by inserting the fingertip into the finger insertion portion, there is less variation in the relative positional relationship between the photoelectric pulse wave sensor and the fingertip while improving operability. , High-precision sensing can be performed.

  According to the invention described in claim 4, since the heat-insulating filler is provided in the housing, the housing maintains a constant temperature state due to heat generated by various electronic devices and the like. Radiant heat can be blocked. Therefore, when the fingertip is inserted into the finger insertion portion, the measurement can be performed in a state where the temperature is maintained at the same level as the body temperature without reducing the temperature of the fingertip.

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the change in the tension state of the user appears in a low frequency component of 0.5 Hz or less as a fluctuation component of the heart rate and the pulse rate. Specifically, the low-frequency component variation is due to blood pressure variability and is related to the user's sympathetic activity, and the high-frequency component variation is due to respiratory variation and is considered to be related to the user's parasympathetic activity. It is done. In the case of a normal living body, the sympathetic nervous system and the parasympathetic nervous system are balanced by antagonism, and the ratio between the low frequency component and the high frequency component is the same (this state is called a steady state). That is, in the comparison result comparing the low frequency component and the high frequency component, if the value of the low frequency component is large, it is determined that the sympathetic nerve activity is dominant and the user is in a tension state. On the other hand, when the value of the high frequency component is large with respect to the steady state, it can be determined that the parasympathetic nerve activity is dominant and the user is in a relaxed state. Thereby, the tension state based on a pulse wave can be determined and a user's interest can be attracted.

  According to the sixth aspect of the invention, when the acceleration detected by the acceleration sensor exceeds the first threshold value, it is determined that the change in the posture of the housing is severe, for example, the housing is mounted on the vehicle. In this case, it is possible to determine the driving roughness when the vehicle is traveling. This makes it possible to achieve multiple functions within the same device, and maintain the user's interest even when used repeatedly.

  According to the seventh aspect of the invention, by counting the number of times when the acceleration detected by the acceleration sensor exceeds the second threshold, for example, by carrying the user while walking, the user's You can count the number of steps or hand gestures. This makes it possible to achieve multiple functions within the same device, and maintain the user's interest even when used repeatedly.

  According to the invention described in claim 8, since the measurement result (relaxation level display, driving roughness display and step count / hand gesture count display) by the photoelectric pulse wave sensor or the acceleration sensor is displayed by a figure or a character, the user can The measurement results in various modes can be recognized visually.

  According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, the measurement result by the photoelectric pulse wave sensor or the acceleration sensor is output to other than the display unit, so that the user can recognize the measurement result in various modes by a sense other than vision. , Can attract more user interest.

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
First, as shown in the block diagram of FIG. 1, a sensor ball (vital sign sensor) 1 includes a photoelectric pulse wave sensor 5, an acceleration sensor 6, an operation button 7, a display unit 8, and an output unit 9. The control unit 10 mainly controls each electronic device. The sensor ball 1 of the present embodiment can be used by switching between three modes, a relaxing mode, a driving mode, and a walking mode (pedometer), using the photoelectric pulse wave sensor 5 and the acceleration sensor 6.

  Here, the relaxing mode is a mode for measuring the degree of relaxation of the user U (see FIG. 5) based on the detection result of the photoelectric pulse wave sensor 5. The driving mode is to measure the riding comfort (driving roughness) of the vehicle based on the detection result of the acceleration sensor 6 when the sensor ball 1 is mounted on the vehicle. When walking, the number of steps or the number of hand gestures of the user U is measured based on the detection result of the acceleration sensor 6.

The photoelectric pulse wave sensor 5 includes an LED (light emitting element) 11 and a pulse wave sensor main body (light receiving element) 12 including a photoelectric conversion element. Light such as red light or infrared light is suitably used for the LED 11 and emits light toward the abdomen of the fingertip of the user U. Since red light and infrared light used for the LED 11 have wavelengths that easily enter the human body, a clear pulse wave signal can be collected. Further, since red light is visible, it is easy to determine a failure when it is not lit.
On the other hand, the pulse wave sensor body 12 receives the reflected light emitted from the LED 11 and passes through the fingertip of the user U to generate a square wave pulse signal, and responds to fluctuations in the brightness of the reflected light. The frequency of the pulse signal changes. Note that the photoelectric conversion element used in the pulse wave sensor main body 12 may be a photodiode that detects a change in reflected light by current, a phototransistor that detects a change in reflected light by voltage, or the like.

  The acceleration sensor 6 is a so-called triaxial acceleration sensor 6 that detects acceleration in three axial directions in the X, Y, and Z directions. Specifically, the acceleration sensor 6 has a weight portion suspended and supported by, for example, a flexible beam portion, and the weight portion is displaced when any mechanical amount is applied to the weight portion from the outside. Thus, the displacement of the weight portion is detected as an analog voltage waveform.

The control unit 10 includes a microcomputer 13 and an information processing unit 14.
The microcomputer 13 includes a light amount control unit 17, a switch recognition and mode selection unit 18, a pulse wave calculation unit 19, and an acceleration calculation unit 20.
The switch recognition and mode selection means 18 is constituted by a switch matrix, and sends a mode selection signal to the light quantity control means 17, the pulse wave calculation unit 19, the acceleration calculation unit 20, and the display unit 8 based on the input of the operation buttons 7. It is possible to output and switch the various modes described above, start the measurement, and display the mode on the display unit 8.
The light quantity control means 17 controls the current flowing through the LED 11 and adjusts the light quantity of the LED 11 by arbitrarily changing the duty ratio of the PWM (pulse modulation width) signal in the above-described relaxing mode.

The pulse wave calculation unit 19 receives the mode selection signal of the relaxation mode from the switch recognition and mode selection unit 18 and measures the degree of relaxation of the user U. The pulse wave analysis unit 22, the pulse wave pattern matching unit 23, a relax degree discriminating means 24.
The pulse wave analysis means 22 receives a detection signal of the pulse wave frequency (that is, the pulse rate) detected by the pulse wave sensor main body 12 as a pulse signal, and analyzes the fluctuation component of this frequency. Specifically, the waveform of the frequency of the pulse wave output from the pulse wave sensor main body 12 is data in which noise or undulation due to body movement or the like is superimposed. This time-series waveform is analyzed by fast Fourier transform (FFT), and a power spectrum with respect to frequency is calculated. Then, the analysis result signal is output to the pulse wave pattern matching unit 23 via the buffer (buffer amplifier) 25.

  From the waveform of the power spectrum analyzed by the pulse wave analysis means 22, the pulse wave pattern matching unit 23 converts the signal intensity in the 0.1 Hz band into the LF (Low Frequency) component and the signal intensity in the 0.3 Hz band into the HF (High Frequency). ) Remove ingredients. Further, the pulse wave pattern matching unit 23 has a map having a degree of relaxation relationship with respect to the ratio between the LF component and the HF component, and the LF component and the HF component analyzed by the pulse wave analysis means 22 are included in the map. Compare the signal strength ratio. Then, the comparison result signal is output to the relaxation degree determination means 24.

  The relaxation degree determination means 24 is for determining the degree of relaxation of the user U based on the comparison result of the pulse wave pattern matching unit 23. In addition, when the value is high, the user is in a tension state when the value is high, and when the value is low, the user is in a relaxation state. Then, the relaxation degree determination unit 24 outputs the determination result of the relaxation degree to the display unit 8, the output unit 9, and the information processing unit 14.

The acceleration calculation unit 20 includes an acceleration analysis unit 27, a driving mode calculation unit 28 used for driving mode measurement, and a walking mode calculation unit 29 used for walking mode calculation.
The acceleration analyzing means 27 performs A / D conversion on the analog voltage waveforms in the three axis directions of the X, Y, and Z axes (front and rear, left and right, and vertical directions) output from the acceleration sensor 6 to obtain digital voltage waveform signals. In the driving mode, the noise of the A / D converted waveform is removed and output to the driving mode calculation unit 28. In the walking mode, the A / D converted acceleration waveform composite values in the X, Y, and Z axis directions are calculated, and noise is removed from the calculated acceleration composite values. Is output to the walking mode calculation unit 29.

The driving mode calculation unit 28 includes a first acceleration waveform pattern matching unit 31 and a driving roughness determination unit (attitude determination unit) 32 through a buffer 30 between the driving mode calculation unit 28 and the acceleration analysis unit 27.
In the first acceleration waveform pattern matching unit 31, driving roughness threshold values (first threshold values) are set in advance for the accelerations in the X, Y, and Z axis directions, respectively. Then, the first acceleration waveform pattern matching unit 31 determines whether or not the acceleration analyzed by the acceleration analyzing unit 27 exceeds the driving roughness threshold value, and outputs the determination result to the driving roughness determining unit 32.
The driving roughness discriminating means 32 discriminates the driving roughness based on the determination result by the first acceleration waveform pattern matching unit 31, and the determination result is directed to the display unit 8, the output unit, and the information processing unit 14. Output.

The walking mode calculation unit 29 includes a second acceleration waveform pattern matching unit 35 and a count unit 36 via a buffer 33 between the walking mode calculation unit 29 and the acceleration analysis unit 27.
The second acceleration waveform pattern matching unit 35 has a predetermined acceleration measurement threshold (second threshold). In addition, the case where the sensor ball 1 of this embodiment is carried on the user's U waist etc., the case where it carries with the user's U hand, etc. can be considered. In this case, a difference occurs in the peak value of the waveform of the acceleration sensor 6 and the vibration direction. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, as described above, the acceleration analysis unit 27 calculates a waveform of a composite value of acceleration in the three-axis directions, and measures whether or not the calculation result of the composite value exceeds a threshold value. Accordingly, whether or not the analysis result exceeds the measurement threshold in consideration of both the case where the user U carries the sensor ball 1 on the waist (number of steps) and the case where the user U carries the sensor ball 1 by hand (number of hand gestures). Can be determined.
The counting unit 36 counts the number of times that the analysis result of the acceleration analyzing unit 27 exceeds the measurement threshold based on the determination result of the second acceleration pattern matching unit 35 described above. The count result is output to the display unit 8, the output unit 9, and the information processing unit 14.

  The display unit 8 displays a selection screen and a determination screen for the mode selected by the operation button 7 as described above, and displays the measurement results obtained by the pulse wave calculation unit 19, the driving mode calculation unit 28, and the walking mode calculation unit 29. Based on this, the measurement results in various modes are displayed with graphics, characters, etc. (relaxation level display, driving roughness display, step count / hand gesture count display). Thus, the user U can visually recognize the measurement results in various modes.

The output unit 9 includes a vibration output unit 38 including a vibration motor and a sound output unit 39 including a piezoelectric buzzer.
The vibration output unit 38 vibrates the sensor ball 1 itself by being rotationally driven. The sensor ball 1 vibrates on the basis of the measurement results of the various modes described above. The measurement result can be recognized.
The sound output unit 39 generates a sound wave by applying a voltage to the piezoelectric element. Based on the measurement results of various modes, the operation results of the operation buttons 7 and the like, Generate sound. Thereby, the user U can recognize the measurement result and operation result of various modes by hearing.

The information processing unit 14 includes an information storage unit 41 and a wireless communication unit 42.
The information storage unit 41 is configured such that a recording medium such as a memory card or a USB (Universal Serial Bus) flash memory is attached and detached, receives signals of measurement results in various modes, and records the measurement results on the information medium. It can be done.
The wireless communication unit 42 is configured by Bluetooth (registered trademark) or the like, and performs wireless communication in real time between the sensor ball 1 and an external device 43 such as a personal computer (hereinafter referred to as a PC), a mobile phone, or various information terminals. It can be done. In other words, signals of measurement results in various modes can be received and the measurement results can be output to the external device 43.

  The sensor ball 1 is equipped with a DC battery 44 so that power is stably supplied to each electronic device such as the photoelectric pulse wave sensor 5, the acceleration sensor 6, and the control unit 10 via the regulator 45. Yes. Thus, in this embodiment, since the electric power is supplied to the sensor ball 1 by the DC battery 44, the sensor ball 1 can be easily carried.

Here, the external configuration of the sensor ball 1 described above will be described.
As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the sensor ball 1 includes a housing 50 in which each electronic device such as the photoelectric pulse wave sensor 5, the acceleration sensor 6, and the control unit 10 described above is built.
The housing 50 is a hollow spherical body made of an elastic material such as rubber or sponge, and is rotated via the hinge portion 52 to the sensor portion 51 and the lower portion of the sensor portion 51 (lower portion in FIG. 2). The operation unit 53 is detachably configured. In other words, the operation unit 53 is configured to be rotatable with respect to the sensor unit 51 from the open position P1 (see FIG. 2) to the close position P2 (see FIG. 3). When 51a and the upper surface 53a of the operation part 53 are put together, it becomes spherical.

The outer size of the housing 50 is configured so that the user U (see FIG. 5) can hold it with one hand, specifically, can be placed on a drink holder or the like of a vehicle (not shown) without rattling and has cushioning properties. is doing. That is, the housing 50 is elastically deformed according to the shape of the fingertip when the user U holds it with a hand. In addition, a strap or the like (not shown) may be provided on the housing 50 so that it can be carried around the user's U waist, bag, or the like. In addition, it is preferable to use the material which has light-shielding property for the housing | casing 50, and among the constituent materials of the housing | casing 50 mentioned above, colored rubber is used suitably in this embodiment. Further, a non-transmissive material having a light shielding property may be attached to the inner peripheral surface or the outer peripheral surface of the housing 50.
The casing 50 is filled with a heat insulating resin material, for example, a filler (heat insulating member) 55 made of silicone resin or the like.

  A finger insertion port 56 is formed on the outer surface of the sensor unit 51 of the housing 50. The finger insertion port 56 is a round hole that penetrates the casing 50 in the thickness direction, and has an inner diameter into which a user U's fingertip can be inserted. A finger insertion hole 57 communicating with the finger insertion port 56 is formed in the sensor unit 51, that is, in the filler 55. The finger insertion hole 57 is penetrated from the inner peripheral surface of the housing 50 toward the inside in the radial direction, and is curved downward in accordance with the finger shape of the user U. The finger insertion port 56 and the finger insertion hole 57 form a finger insertion portion 58 through which the user U's finger can be inserted up to about the second joint. In this case, the inner peripheral surface of the finger insertion portion 58 is configured by the filler 55 described above.

  In addition, the photoelectric pulse wave sensor 5, the acceleration sensor 6, the control unit 10, the vibration output unit 38, the sound output unit 39, and the DC battery 44 are embedded in the filler 55 of the sensor unit 51.

A plurality of (for example, two) LEDs 11 of the photoelectric pulse wave sensor 5 are embedded in the filler 55 at the tip portion of the lower inner peripheral surface of the finger insertion portion 58. Specifically, the LEDs 11 are arranged at the distal end portion of the finger insertion portion 58 along the longitudinal direction or the perpendicular direction, and emit light toward the abdomen of the fingertip of the user U inserted into the finger insertion portion 58. It is like that.
On the other hand, the pulse wave sensor main body 12 is disposed between the two LEDs 11 and receives reflected light emitted from the LED 11 and passing through the finger of the user U. The LED 11 and the pulse wave sensor main body 12 can transmit measurement light, but cannot pass water or foreign matter, and shield members (not shown) in order to prevent the finger from touching the LED 11 and the pulse wave sensor main body 12 directly. It is covered with.
The acceleration sensor 6 is disposed opposite to the photoelectric pulse wave sensor 5 with the finger insertion portion 58 interposed therebetween. The photoelectric pulse wave sensor 5 and the acceleration sensor 6 are connected to the DC battery 44 and the control unit 10 via wiring not shown.

  Further, on the lower surface 51a of the sensor unit 51, a card insertion unit 60 into which the above-described memory card or the like is inserted and a USB insertion unit 61 into which a USB flash memory is inserted are formed. The card insertion unit 60 and the USB insertion unit 61 are formed upward from the lower surface 51a of the sensor unit 51, and are connected to the control unit 10 via a wiring (not shown).

On the other hand, the operation unit 53 is provided with a display unit 8 for displaying the measurement results in the various modes described above. The display unit is configured by an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) or the like, and is disposed at the center of the upper surface 53 a of the operation unit 53.
A plurality of (for example, three) operation buttons 7 for performing operations such as selection and determination of various modes are arranged adjacent to the display unit 8. The operation buttons 7 are arranged side by side along the longitudinal direction of the display unit 8 and have functions such as a mode selection button, a determination button and a cancel button, and start and stop. The display unit 8 and the operation button 7 are exposed to the outside at the open position P1 of the operation unit 53 so that the user U can recognize the measurement result displayed on the display unit 8 and can operate the operation button 7. It is like that. The display unit 8 and the operation buttons 7 are connected to the DC battery 44 and the control unit 10 through wiring not shown.

Next, the operation of the sensor ball of this embodiment will be described.
The relaxing mode will be described.
First, as shown in FIG. 1, the user U sets the operation unit 53 to the open position P1, and operates the operation button 7 of the operation unit 53 to set the relaxation mode. Then, the switch recognition and mode selection unit 18 outputs a mode start signal to the light amount control unit 17 and the buffer 25 of the pulse wave calculation unit 19 based on the input of the operation button 7. Further, the switch recognition and mode selection means 18 outputs a mode display signal to the display unit 8 to display the mode of the relaxation mode. In order to perform highly accurate sensing in the relaxing mode, it is preferable to use in a resting state.

Next, the user U inserts the index finger of the gripped hand from the finger insertion port 56 of the finger insertion portion 58 while lightly grasping the housing 50 with the hand. Specifically, a finger is inserted to the tip side of the finger insertion part 58, and the photoelectric pulse wave sensor 5 and the abdomen of the fingertip are brought into close contact with each other. At this time, since the inside of the finger insertion part 58 is covered with the filler 55, it fits the fingertip of the user U.
Accordingly, the fingertip can be stably held in the finger insertion portion 58, and variations in the relative position between the photoelectric pulse wave sensor 5 and the fingertip can be suppressed regardless of the user U, the number of times of measurement, and the measurement environment. Moreover, since the filler 55 of this embodiment has heat insulation, the inside of the housing 50 is maintained at a constant temperature state by the heat generated by the DC battery 44 or the like, and blocks radiant heat from the fingertips. be able to. Thereby, when the fingertip is inserted into the finger insertion portion 58, the measurement can be performed in a state where the temperature is maintained at the same level as the body temperature without lowering the temperature of the fingertip. Therefore, highly accurate sensing can be performed.

  Next, the light quantity control means 17 outputs a PWM signal to the LED 11 based on the mode selection signal from the switch recognition and mode selection means 18, and the LED 11 uses a light of a predetermined light quantity based on the PWM signal to the fingertip. It emits toward. Then, the light emitted from the LED 11 is reflected after passing through the fingertip, and this reflected light is detected by the pulse wave sensor main body 12.

  The pulse wave sensor main body 12 outputs a detection signal of the detected pulse wave frequency to the pulse wave analysis means 22, performs frequency FFT analysis in the pulse wave analysis means 22, and uses the analysis result signal as a pulse wave pattern matching. Output to the unit 23.

Here, FIG. 6 is a graph showing the waveform of the frequency power spectrum obtained by the pulse wave analyzing means 22. First, the pulse wave pattern matching unit 23 extracts the LF component (D1 in FIG. 6) and the HF component (D2 in FIG. 6) from the waveform of the power spectrum analyzed by the pulse wave analyzing means 22, and these LF components The ratio with the HF component is calculated.
In this case, the change in the degree of relaxation of the user U appears in a low frequency component of 0.5 Hz or less as a fluctuation component of the heart rate and the pulse rate. Specifically, the fluctuation of the LF component is due to blood pressure variability and is related to the sympathetic nerve activity of the user U, and the fluctuation of the HF component is due to respiratory fluctuation and is related to the parasympathetic nerve activity of the user U. Conceivable. In the case of a normal living body, the sympathetic nervous system and the parasympathetic nervous system are balanced by antagonism, and the ratio between the LF component and the HF component is the same (this state is referred to as a steady state). That is, the LF component and the HF component are compared, and if the value of the LF component is large, it is determined that the sympathetic nerve activity is dominant and the user is in a tension state. On the other hand, when the value of the HF component is large with respect to the steady state, it can be determined that the parasympathetic nerve activity is dominant and the user U is in a relaxed state.
Then, the calculation result in the pulse wave pattern matching unit 23 is output toward the relaxation degree determination means 24.

  Next, the relaxation degree determination means 24 determines the degree of relaxation of the user U by comparing the calculation result by the pulse wave pattern matching unit 23 with the map, and the determination result is displayed on the display unit 8 or the output unit 9 (vibration). The output unit 38 and the sound output unit 39) output to the information processing unit 14.

  As a result, characters and figures corresponding to the determination result of the relaxation degree are output to the display unit 8, and sound and sound corresponding to the determination result of the relaxation degree are output from the sound output unit 39, thereby allowing the user to U can recognize the degree of relaxation. Further, according to the determination result of the degree of relaxation, for example, in an extreme tension state or a relaxed state, the casing 50 vibrates due to the vibration output unit 38 vibrating. This also allows the user U to recognize the degree of relaxation. Note that the measurement time in the relaxing mode is about several minutes.

  The relaxation degree determination result is output to the information processing unit 14, and is recorded on a recording medium such as a memory card or a USB flash memory, or transmitted to an external device by wireless communication means or the like. It is like that.

Next, the driving mode will be described.
First, as shown in FIG. 1, the user U operates the operation button 7 to set the mode of the sensor ball 1 to the driving mode. Then, the switch recognition and mode selection means 18 outputs a measurement start output signal to the buffer 30 of the driving mode calculation unit 28 based on the input of the operation button 7. Further, the switch recognition / mode selection means 18 outputs a mode display signal to the display unit 8 to display the driving mode.
When the setting of the driving mode is completed, the user places the sensor ball 1 on the drink holder or the like of the vehicle and causes the vehicle to travel.

And the acceleration sensor 6 detects the brake, acceleration, turning, etc. at the time of vehicle travel as a voltage waveform.
Here, as shown in FIG. 7, when the X axis of the acceleration sensor 6 is the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, the Y axis is the horizontal direction, and the Z axis is the vertical direction, voltage waveforms as shown in FIGS. . FIG. 8 shows fluctuations in acceleration detected during normal driving (careful driving), and FIG. 9 shows fluctuations in acceleration detected during rough driving.
First, fluctuations in the X axis (front-rear direction) and Z axis (vertical direction) of the acceleration sensor 6 change according to acceleration, deceleration, etc. of the vehicle, and the acceleration is greater during rough driving than during normal driving. The peak value of the fluctuation is large, and the fluctuation of the acceleration is steep.
Further, the fluctuation of the acceleration sensor 6 in the Y-axis (left-right direction) varies according to the turning of the vehicle and the like, and during the rough driving as compared with the normal driving as described above in the X-axis direction. The peak value of acceleration fluctuation is large, and the fluctuation of acceleration is steep.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the acceleration sensor 6 performs A / D conversion on the detection result thus detected and outputs the result to the acceleration analysis means 27. The acceleration analyzing unit 27 removes noise from the voltage signal detected by the acceleration sensor 6 and then outputs the analysis result to the first acceleration waveform pattern matching unit 31 of the driving mode calculation unit 28.

Then, the first acceleration waveform pattern matching unit 31 determines whether or not the acceleration analyzed by the acceleration analyzing means 27 exceeds a driving roughness threshold (for example, symbol R in FIG. 9), and the determination result is determined as driving roughness. Output toward the discriminating means 32.
The driving roughness determination means 32 determines driving roughness information corresponding to the waveform pattern based on the determination result in the first acceleration waveform pattern matching unit 31, and displays the determination result on the display unit 8 or the output unit 9 (vibration output). Unit 38 and sound output unit 39) and output to the information processing unit 14.

  As a result, characters and figures corresponding to the driving roughness of the user U are output to the display unit 8, and voices and sounds corresponding to the driving roughness are output from the sound output unit 39, so that the user U can drive You can recognize roughness. Further, according to the determination result of the driving roughness, for example, during sudden braking or sudden turning, the vibration output unit 38 vibrates and the housing 50 vibrates. This also allows the user U to recognize the driving roughness.

  In addition, the determination result of the driving roughness is output to the information processing unit 14, and is recorded on a recording medium such as a memory card or a USB flash memory, or transmitted to an external device by a wireless communication unit or the like. It is like that.

Next, the walking mode will be described.
First, the user U operates the operation button 7 to set the mode to the walking mode. Then, the switch recognition and mode selection means 18 outputs a measurement start output signal to the buffer 33 of the walking mode calculation unit 29 based on the input of the operation button 7. Further, the switch recognition and mode selection means 18 outputs a mode display signal to the display unit 8 to perform the mode display of the walking mode.
When the setting of the walking mode is completed, the user U returns the operation unit 53 to the closed position P2, and starts walking (or running) by carrying the sensor ball 1 by hand or carrying it on the waist.

When the user U starts walking, the acceleration sensor 6 vibrates and the voltage waveform detected by the acceleration sensor 6 changes. Then, the acceleration sensor 6 outputs the detection result to the acceleration analysis means 27.
FIGS. 10A and 10B are graphs showing fluctuations in the combined value of accelerations in the three-axis directions with respect to time. FIG. 10A shows before noise removal, and FIG. 10B shows after noise removal (after low-pass filter processing).
As shown in FIG. 10, the acceleration analyzing means 27 first calculates a composite value of the voltage signals in the three-axis directions detected by the acceleration sensor 6 (see FIG. 10A), and then removes the noise of the calculation result. (See FIG. 10B). Then, the calculation result is output toward the second acceleration waveform pattern matching unit 35 of the walking mode calculation unit 29.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the second acceleration waveform pattern matching unit 35 uses a threshold value (FIG. 1) in which the combined value of the acceleration waveforms calculated by the acceleration analyzing unit 27 is set in the second acceleration waveform pattern matching unit 35. It is determined whether or not 10 (b) medium code Q) has been exceeded. When it is determined that the acceleration waveform exceeds the threshold value, a signal indicating the determination result is output to the counting means 36. The counting unit 36 counts the signal output from the second acceleration waveform pattern matching unit 35 and outputs the count information to the display unit 8, the output unit 9, and the information processing unit 14.

  Then, the display unit 8 outputs and displays the count number, that is, a value considering both the number of steps and the number of hand movements, and the user U can recognize the number of steps he has walked. Each time the counting means 36 counts, a sound is output from the sound output unit 39 and the casing 50 vibrates by the vibration output unit 38. Thereby, the user U can confirm whether the walking mode is operating normally.

  In addition, the walking mode measurement result is output to the information processing unit 14, and is recorded on a recording medium such as a memory card or a USB flash memory, or transmitted to an external device by a wireless communication unit or the like. It is like that.

Therefore, according to the above-described embodiment, since the photoelectric pulse wave sensor 5 and the acceleration sensor 6 are provided in the housing 50, various modes of the relaxing mode, the driving mode, and the walking mode described above can be measured. Can do. That is, it becomes possible to achieve multiple functions in the same device, and the user's interest can be maintained even when used repeatedly.
Further, since the casing 50 that can be gripped by the user U is made of an elastic material, when the user U grips the casing 50, the casing 50 is elastically deformed following the user's hand, and the user U Fits your hand. Thereby, the user U's interest can be attracted to the touch by grasping the housing 50 itself. Moreover, since it is easy and has good design, the user U can carry the sensor ball 1 as if it were an accessory.

  Here, by measuring the pulse wave while grasping the housing 50, the hand of the user U can be stably held. Furthermore, since the inner peripheral surface of the finger insertion part 58 is formed of the filler 55, the fingertip and the photoelectric pulse wave sensor 5 can be comfortably brought into close contact with each other via the shield member. That is, since the fingertip can be stably held only by inserting the fingertip into the finger insertion portion 58, the operability is improved and the relative positional relationship between the photoelectric pulse wave sensor 5 and the fingertip is improved. There is little variation and high-precision sensing can be performed.

  Further, since the housing 50 is made of a light-shielding material, it is possible to block disturbance light from the outside of the housing 50 and prevent the disturbance light from entering the housing 50. As a result, only the light of the LED 11 can be detected by the pulse wave sensor main body 12, so that even when used outdoors, more accurate sensing can be performed, and the pulse wave of the user U can be measured with high accuracy. Can do.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and includes various modifications made to the above-described embodiment without departing from the spirit of the present invention.
For example, in the above-described embodiment, a case where a spherical housing is used has been described. However, if the user U can hold it and can place it on a drink holder or the like of a vehicle, an elliptical shape, a cylindrical shape, etc. Design changes can be made as appropriate.
Further, in the above-described embodiment, the sensor unit 51 and the operation unit 53 are configured to be separable, but a housing integrally formed in a spherical shape or the like may be used. In this case, a display unit, operation buttons, and the like can be arranged on the surface of the housing.

In addition, the above-described driving mode calculation unit 28 may have in advance a map of acceleration waveform patterns obtained for rough driving such as during normal driving or during sudden braking, sudden turning, or sudden acceleration. Then, the state of the driving roughness may be determined by comparing these maps with the signal of the voltage waveform of the acceleration analyzed by the acceleration analyzing means 27.
Further, the walking mode calculation unit 29 may measure how many times the vibration has occurred within a predetermined time from the voltage waveform detected by the acceleration sensor 6 and count the number of vibrations as the number of steps.

Further, a dry battery or the like may be used instead of the DC battery 44.
Alternatively, a target step count or the like may be set in the control unit 10 so that it can be recognized by the display unit 8 or the output unit 9 when the target step count is reached.

It is a block diagram of a sensor ball in an embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view in the closed position of the sensor ball in an embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view in the open position of the sensor ball in the embodiment of the present invention. It is sectional drawing which follows the AA line of FIG. It is a perspective view of a sensor ball at the time of a user wearing. It is a graph which shows the waveform of the power spectrum of the frequency obtained by a pulse wave analysis means. It is a perspective view of a sensor ball for explaining driving mode. It is a graph which shows the voltage waveform detected by the acceleration sensor at the time of careful driving. It is a graph which shows the voltage waveform detected by the acceleration sensor at the time of rough driving. It is a graph which shows the fluctuation | variation of the synthesized value of the acceleration in 3 axis directions with respect to time, (a) shows before noise removal, (b) has shown after noise removal.

Explanation of symbols

1 ... Sensor ball (Vital sign sensor)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 5 ... Photoelectric pulse wave sensor 6 ... Acceleration sensor 8 ... Display part 9 ... Output part 10 ... Control unit 11 ... LED (light emitting element)
12 ... Pulse wave sensor body (light receiving element)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 19 ... Pulse wave calculating part 20 ... Acceleration calculating part 23 ... Pulse wave pattern matching part 24 ... Relaxation degree determination part 31 ... 1st acceleration waveform pattern matching part 32 ... Driving roughness determination means (attitude determination part)
35 ... 2nd acceleration waveform pattern matching part 36 ... Counting means 50 ... Housing 55 ... Filler 58 ... Finger insertion part U ... User

Claims (9)

A case made of an elastic material, which can be gripped by the user,
A finger insertion portion formed in the housing for inserting the user's fingertip into the housing;
A photoelectric pulse wave sensor that has a light emitting element and a light receiving element, and is provided in the finger insertion portion to detect the pulse wave of the user;
An acceleration sensor provided in the housing for detecting acceleration of the housing;
A control unit that comprehensively controls the photoelectric pulse wave sensor and the acceleration sensor,
The control unit, based on the detection result of the photoelectric pulse wave sensor, a pulse wave calculation unit that measures the tension state of the user,
A vital sign sensor, comprising: an acceleration calculation unit that determines an attitude of the housing based on a detection result of the acceleration sensor.   The vital sign sensor according to claim 1, wherein the casing is made of a light-shielding material.   The vital sign sensor according to claim 1, wherein the finger insertion portion is covered with an elastic material.   The vital sign sensor according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the casing is filled with a heat-insulating filler. The pulse wave calculation unit is a pulse wave pattern matching unit that compares a signal intensity of a low frequency component and a signal intensity of a high frequency component among frequency components detected by the photoelectric pulse wave sensor,
5. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a relaxation degree determination unit that determines a tension state of the user based on a comparison result by the pulse wave pattern matching unit. Vital sign sensor. A first acceleration waveform pattern matching unit that determines whether or not the acceleration detected by the acceleration sensor exceeds a first acceleration threshold value;
The first acceleration waveform pattern matching unit includes posture determination means for determining that the variation of the posture of the housing is severe when the acceleration detected by the acceleration sensor exceeds the first threshold. The vital sign sensor according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: A second acceleration waveform pattern matching unit that determines whether or not an acceleration detected by the acceleration sensor exceeds a second threshold value of a preset acceleration;
The said 2nd acceleration waveform pattern matching part is provided with the counting means which counts the frequency | count that the acceleration detected by the said acceleration sensor exceeded the said 2nd threshold value. The vital sign sensor described in any one of the items.   8. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the casing is provided with a display unit that displays a determination result of the pulse wave calculation unit and the acceleration calculation unit. Vital sign sensor.   The output from the said housing | casing is provided with the output part for making the said user recognize the determination result of the said pulse wave calculating part and the said acceleration calculating part. The vital sign sensor according to item 1.

Images