JP2011110068A - Monitoring device and body support device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a monitoring device which allows deterioration of comfort when sleeping and being seated to be avoided and is attached to an existing body support device afterward. <P>SOLUTION: The monitoring device 4 includes: a transmission part 10 for transmitting radio waves toward a monitored person 100 on a bed 1; a receiving part 11 for receiving reflection waves of the radio waves; a detection part 12 for detecting a time fluctuation of signal intensity of a received radio wave S2 for every delay time of the received radio waves S2 received by the receiving part 11 for a transmitted wave S1 transmitted from the transmission part 10; and a state determination part 13 for determining a state of the monitored person 100 on the basis of a result of detection by the detection part 12. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a monitoring device, and more particularly, to a monitoring device that monitors the occurrence of an abnormality in a monitored person lying on a body support device. Furthermore, this invention relates to the body support apparatus provided with the said monitoring apparatus.

  For example, in Patent Document 1 below, a pressure-sensitive sensor is laid on the lower surface of a bed pad having a low-resilience urethane layer, and body motion associated with heartbeat and breathing of a human body lying on the bed is detected by the pressure-sensitive sensor. Techniques for detection are disclosed.

Japanese Patent No. 412265

  According to the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, when an abnormality such as breathing stop occurs when the monitored person is lying on the bed, the occurrence of the abnormality can be detected by the pressure sensor. It is. However, since it is necessary to lay a pressure-sensitive sensor on the lower surface of the bed pad, there is a problem that the sleeping comfort is deteriorated. In addition, since the device disclosed in Patent Document 1 is difficult to be retrofitted to an existing bed, when the device is introduced, a bed on which the device is mounted is newly purchased. The existing bed that had been used up to now must be removed. Therefore, there are problems that the introduction cost increases and the introduction work is complicated.

  The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and it is possible to avoid the deterioration of sleeping comfort and sitting comfort by eliminating the need for laying a pressure-sensitive sensor, and an existing body support apparatus. It is an object of the present invention to obtain a monitoring device and a body support device equipped with the monitoring device that can be retrofitted to the body.

  A monitoring device according to a first aspect of the present invention is a monitoring device attached to a body support device, wherein the monitoring device on the body support device transmits a radio wave to a person to be monitored, and the reflected wave of the radio wave. Receiving means for detecting the time variation of the signal strength of the received radio wave for each delay time of the received radio wave received by the receiving means with respect to the transmission radio wave transmitted from the transmitting means, And a first determination unit that determines a state of the monitored person based on a detection result by the detection unit.

  Here, the body support device includes furniture (for example, a bed or a chair) having a function of supporting the body (particularly the back surface) of the monitored person.

According to the monitoring apparatus according to the first aspect, the detecting means detects a time variation of the signal strength of the received radio wave for each delay time of the received radio wave received by the receiving means with respect to the transmitted radio wave transmitted from the transmitting means. To do. And a 1st determination means determines a to-be-monitored person's state based on the detection result by a detection means. As described above, since non-contact and high-precision detection and determination can be performed, it is not necessary to lay a pressure-sensitive sensor on the lower surface of the bed pad or the back of the chair, so that it is possible to avoid deterioration of the sleeping comfort and sitting comfort. It becomes possible. Moreover, since this monitoring apparatus can be retrofitted to an existing body support apparatus, the introduction cost can be reduced and the complexity of the introduction work can be eliminated.

  The monitoring device according to a second aspect of the present invention is the monitoring device according to the first aspect, in particular, the first determination means includes at least one of a sleep state and an inoperative state as the state of the monitored person. It is characterized by determining.

  According to the monitoring device according to the second aspect, the first determination means determines at least one of the sleep state and the inoperative state as the state of the monitored person. By detecting the sleep state, it is possible to manage sleep time and detect the occurrence of abnormalities during sleep. Further, the occurrence of a serious abnormality can be detected by detecting an inoperative state (including an apnea state).

  The monitoring apparatus according to the third aspect of the present invention is the monitoring apparatus according to the first or second aspect, in particular, the first determination means includes the signal intensity of the received radio wave detected by the detection means, The state of the monitored person is determined by comparison with a predetermined threshold value set for each delay time.

  According to the monitoring device of the third aspect, the first determining means compares the signal intensity of the received radio wave detected by the detecting means with a predetermined threshold set for each delay time. Determine the status of the observer. Therefore, the state of the monitored person can be determined by a simple method of comparison with the threshold value. Moreover, the threshold value is set for each delay time. When the delay time is small, the threshold is set large because the distance from the monitoring device is close and the signal strength of the received radio wave varies greatly due to the movement of the monitored person. When the time is large, the threshold is set small because the distance from the installation location of the monitoring device is long and the fluctuation of the signal intensity of the received radio wave due to the movement of the monitored person is small. Accordingly, it is possible to appropriately determine the state of the monitored person for various beds with different bed body thicknesses and mattress thicknesses or for various chairs with different backrest thicknesses.

  The monitoring device according to the fourth aspect of the present invention is the monitoring device according to the first or second aspect, further comprising storage means for storing a time variation pattern of signal intensity for each state of the monitored person. The first determination means collates the time variation pattern of the signal strength of the received radio wave detected by the detection means with the time variation pattern of the signal strength stored in the storage means. Thus, the state of the monitored person is determined.

  According to the monitoring apparatus according to the fourth aspect, the storage means stores a temporal variation pattern of the signal intensity for each state of the monitored person. The first determination means collates the time variation pattern of the signal strength of the received radio wave detected by the detection means with the time variation pattern of the signal intensity stored in the storage means, thereby The state of the person is determined. By performing pattern matching in this way, it becomes possible to determine the state of the monitored person in detail.

  The monitoring apparatus according to the fifth aspect of the present invention is the monitoring apparatus according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, in particular, the state of the monitored person determined by the first determination means is abnormal. Second determination means for determining whether or not the condition is not present, and notification means for notifying the occurrence of an abnormality when the second determination means determines that the state of the monitored person is abnormal. Furthermore, it is characterized by providing.

According to the monitoring device according to the fifth aspect, the second determination means determines whether or not the state of the monitored person determined by the first determination means is abnormal. The notifying means notifies the occurrence of abnormality when the second determining means determines that the state of the monitored person is abnormal. By notifying the occurrence of an abnormality by outputting an alarm sound from a speaker or the like, it is possible to notify a family member or the like living with the person being monitored that an abnormality has occurred.

  The monitoring device according to a sixth aspect of the present invention is the monitoring device according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, in particular, the state of the monitored person determined by the first determination means is abnormal. An abnormality notification for notifying the occurrence of an abnormality when the second determination means determines that the state of the monitored person is abnormal. Communication means for transmitting a signal to an external receiving terminal is further provided.

  According to the monitoring device according to the sixth aspect, the second determination means determines whether or not the state of the monitored person determined by the first determination means is abnormal. When the second determination unit determines that the state of the monitored person is abnormal, the communication unit transmits an abnormality notification signal for notifying the occurrence of the abnormality toward the external receiving terminal. Therefore, it is possible to notify a separate family member holding the receiving terminal, a contract security company, or the like that an abnormality has occurred in the monitored person.

  A body support device according to a seventh aspect of the present invention includes a body support device main body and a monitoring device attached to the body support device main body, and the monitoring device is provided to a person to be monitored on the body support device. A transmission means for transmitting a radio wave toward the receiver, a reception means for receiving a reflected wave of the radio wave, and a reception radio wave received from the transmission means for each delay time of the received radio wave received by the reception means. It has a detection means for detecting time fluctuations in the signal intensity of radio waves, and a determination means for determining the state of the monitored person based on the detection result by the detection means.

  According to the body support apparatus of the seventh aspect, the detecting means detects the time variation of the signal strength of the received radio wave for each delay time of the received radio wave received by the receiving means with respect to the transmitted radio wave transmitted from the transmitting means. To detect. Then, the determination unit determines the state of the monitored person based on the detection result by the detection unit. Thus, since non-contact and high-precision detection and determination can be performed, it is not necessary to lay a pressure-sensitive sensor on the lower surface of the bed pad or the back of the chair, so that it is possible to avoid deterioration in sleeping comfort and sitting comfort. It becomes possible.

  According to the present invention, since it is not necessary to install a pressure-sensitive sensor, it is possible to avoid deterioration of sleeping comfort and sitting comfort, and to obtain a monitoring device that can be retrofitted to an existing body support device. Can do.

It is a figure which shows the installation condition of the monitoring apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the function structure of a monitoring apparatus. It is a figure which shows an example of the waveform showing the time fluctuation | variation of signal strength. It is a figure which shows an example of the waveform showing the time fluctuation | variation of signal strength. It is a block diagram which shows the other function structure of the monitoring apparatus.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In addition, the element which attached | subjected the same code | symbol in different drawing shall show the same or corresponding element.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an installation state of the monitoring device 4 according to the embodiment of the present invention. The monitoring device 4 is attached to the bed 1 used by a monitored person 100 such as an elderly person requiring care. The bed 1 has a bed body 2 and a mattress 3 laid on the bed body 2. The monitoring device 4 is attached to the bottom surface of the bed main body 2, and preferably, the monitoring device 4 is located at a position directly below the chest of the monitored person 100 when the monitored person 100 lies on the bed 1. It is attached. 1A shows a bed 1 in which the bed body 2 and the mattress 3 are thin, and FIG. 1B shows the bed 1 in which the bed body 2 and the mattress 3 are thick. Yes.

  The monitoring device 4 includes a transmission antenna 5T that transmits radio waves from the installation location toward the monitored person 100 on the bed 1 and a reception antenna 5R that receives reflected waves of the radio waves on the outer surface of a common housing. It has an attached external structure. As the transmission radio wave, for example, an ultra-wideband microwave having a center frequency of several GHz (for example, 3.9 GHz) and a bandwidth of 100 MHz or more (for example, 1 GHz) is used. The monitoring device 4 detects the state of the monitored person 100 by measuring the change in the radio wave state due to the body movement of the monitored person 100 on the bed 1 by the power delay profile of the reflected wave, and thereby The monitor 100 monitors whether or not an abnormality has occurred.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the monitoring device 4. As shown in the connection relationship of FIG. 2, the monitoring device 4 includes a transmission unit 10, a reception unit 11, a detection unit 12, a state determination unit 13, an abnormality determination unit 14, a notification unit 15, and storage units 16 and 17. It is configured.

  The transmission unit 10 transmits the transmission radio wave S1 using the above ultra-wideband microwave from the transmission antenna 5T. The receiving unit 11 samples the received radio wave S2 that is a reflected wave of the transmitted radio wave S1 received by the receiving antenna 5R at a minute time interval. The waveform of the received radio wave S2 sampled by the receiver 11 is input to the detector 12 as a signal S3.

  Based on the signal S3, the detection unit 12 generates a power delay profile by detecting a time variation of the signal strength (for example, reception power) of the reception radio wave S2 for each delay time of the reception radio wave S2 with respect to the transmission radio wave S1. . The delay time of the reception radio wave S2 with respect to the transmission radio wave S1 increases in proportion to the distance between the installation location of the monitoring device 4 and the reflected wave generation source. Therefore, the delay time is obtained according to the distance between the set attention area and the installation location of the monitoring device 4, and the power delay profile corresponding to each delay time is generated, thereby detecting the time variation of the signal intensity with respect to the attention area. can do.

  In the example shown in FIG. 1A, the distance between the installation location of the monitoring device 4 and the chest of the monitored person 100 is the distance L1. Accordingly, the attention area X1 whose distance from the installation location of the monitoring device 4 is the distance L1 is set. In the example shown in FIG. 1B, the distance between the installation location of the monitoring device 4 and the chest of the monitored person 100 is the distance L2. Accordingly, the attention area X2 whose distance from the installation location of the monitoring device 4 is the distance L2 is set.

  A waveform representing the time variation of the signal intensity relating to the set attention areas X1 and X2 is input from the detection unit 12 to the state determination unit 13 as a signal S4.

In addition, threshold values relating to signal strength are set in advance for each area of interest X1 and X2 and stored in the storage unit 16. As threshold values, there are a relatively small threshold value corresponding to breathing motion (reciprocating movement of the chest) and a relatively large threshold value corresponding to whole body motion such as getting up on the bed 1. Are set for each of the attention areas X1 and X2. In the following example, threshold values TH11 and TH21 (TH11> TH21) are respectively set for the attention areas X1 and X2 as threshold values corresponding to the breathing motion, and as threshold values corresponding to the whole body motion, It is assumed that threshold values TH12 and TH22 (TH12> TH22) are set for the attention areas X1 and X2, respectively. The threshold setting information is input from the storage unit 16 to the state determination unit 13 as a signal S5.

  The state determination unit 13 determines the state of the monitored person 100 on the bed 1 based on the signal S4 and the signal S5.

  FIG. 3A is a diagram illustrating an example of a waveform representing the temporal variation of the signal intensity related to the attention area X1. The vertical axis represents signal strength (in the following example, it is referred to as reception power), and the horizontal axis represents elapsed time. The received power is not less than threshold value TH11 and less than threshold value TH12 before time T11, and is not less than threshold value TH12 after time T11. FIG. 3B is a diagram illustrating an example of a waveform representing the temporal variation of the signal intensity related to the attention area X2. The received power is greater than or equal to threshold value TH21 and less than threshold value TH22 before time T11, and greater than or equal to threshold value TH22 after time T11. In the case of (A) and (B) of FIG. 3, the state determination unit 13 indicates that the monitored person 100 is sleeping on the bed 1 before the time T11, and the monitored person 100 wakes up at the time T11. judge.

  FIG. 4A is a diagram illustrating an example of a waveform representing a temporal variation in signal intensity related to the attention area X1. The received power is greater than or equal to threshold value TH11 and less than threshold value TH12 before time T21, and less than threshold value TH11 after time T21. FIG. 4B is a diagram illustrating an example of a waveform representing a temporal variation in signal intensity related to the attention area X2. The received power is greater than or equal to threshold value TH21 and less than threshold value TH22 before time T21, and less than threshold value TH21 after time T21. In the case of (A) and (B) of FIG. 4, the state determination unit 13 indicates that the monitored person 100 is sleeping on the bed 1 before the time T21, and the respiratory operation of the monitored person 100 is performed at the time T21. It is determined that the operation has stopped (that is, a non-operation state in which neither the whole body operation nor the breathing operation is performed).

  The state determination unit 13 does not compare the received power with the threshold value, but compares the detected received power waveform pattern with various waveform patterns prepared in advance (pattern matching). 100 states and / or actions can also be determined. For example, in addition to breathing motion, sleeping state on the bed 3, and inactive state, it relates to entering the bed 3, getting out of the bed 3, turning over on the bed 3, coughing, yawning, vocalization, etc. A waveform pattern is created in advance and stored in the storage unit 16. And the state determination part 13 collates the waveform pattern of the received power input from the detection part 12 with the waveform pattern memorize | stored in the memory | storage part 16, and the state and / or operation | movement of the to-be-monitored person 100 are confirmed. judge. By performing the pattern matching, it is possible to determine in detail the state and / or operation of the monitored person 100.

  Information regarding the state of the monitored person 100 on the bed 1 determined by the state determination unit 13 is input to the abnormality determination unit 14 as a signal S6.

  An abnormality determination rule for determining whether or not the state of the monitored person 100 is abnormal is created in advance and stored in the storage unit 17. For example, a state in which the monitored person 100 lying on the bed 1 is not performing a breathing motion or a violent whole body motion that continues for a long time on the bed 1 is defined as abnormal. . Information regarding the abnormality determination rule is input from the storage unit 17 to the abnormality determination unit 14 as a signal S7.

The abnormality determination unit 14 determines whether or not the state of the monitored person 100 on the bed 1 is abnormal based on the signal S6 and the signal S7. For example, it is determined that neither the sleep state nor the wake-up motion shown in FIG. 3 is abnormal. Moreover, it determines with the sleep state shown in FIG. 4 not abnormal, and determines with a non-operation state being abnormal.

  If the abnormality determination unit 14 determines that the state of the monitored person 100 is abnormal, the abnormality determination unit 14 inputs a signal S8 to that effect to the notification unit 15. The notification unit 15 is, for example, a speaker built in the monitoring device 4, and outputs an alarm sound, a voice message, or the like for notifying the occurrence of an abnormality from the speaker when the signal S8 is input.

  FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating another functional configuration of the monitoring device 4. The monitoring device 4 and the external receiving terminal 19 constitute an abnormality notification system. The monitoring device 4 illustrated in FIG. 5 includes a communication unit 18 instead of (or in addition to the notification unit 15) the notification unit 15 in the functional configuration illustrated in FIG. If the abnormality determination unit 14 determines that the state of the monitored person 100 is abnormal, the abnormality determination unit 14 inputs a signal S8 to that effect to the communication unit 18. When the signal S8 is input, the communication unit 18 transmits an abnormality notification signal S9 for notifying the occurrence of abnormality to the receiving terminal 19. The receiving terminal 19 is, for example, a mobile phone of a family living together or separated, or a terminal installed in a contract security company, and a destination telephone number, an E-mail address, and the like are registered in the communication unit 18 in advance. . The abnormality notification system can also be constructed in a hospital, and the receiving terminal 19 in this case is a terminal installed in a nurse center, for example.

  In the above description, the example in which the monitoring device 4 is attached to the bed 1 has been described. That is, the example in which the body support device that is furniture having a function of supporting the body (particularly the back surface) of the monitored person is a bed has been described. Not limited to this example, the monitoring device 4 can be attached to another body support device, for example, a chair such as a reclining chair. In this case, the monitoring device 4 is attached to a portion of the back of the chair back that faces the back of the chest of the monitored person 100 when the monitored person 100 is seated on the chair.

  As described above, according to the monitoring device 4 according to the present embodiment, the detection unit 12 receives each delay time of the reception radio wave S2 received by the reception unit 11 with respect to the transmission radio wave S1 transmitted from the transmission unit 10. Time variation of the signal intensity of the radio wave S2 is detected. Then, the state determination unit 13 determines the state of the monitored person 100 based on the detection result by the detection unit 12. In this way, since non-contact and high-precision detection and state determination can be performed, it is not necessary to lay a pressure-sensitive sensor on the lower surface of the bed pad or the back of the chair, thereby avoiding deterioration of the sleeping comfort and sitting comfort. Is possible. Moreover, since the monitoring apparatus 4 can be retrofitted to an existing bed or chair, the introduction cost can be reduced and the complexity of the introduction work can be eliminated. Moreover, since the monitoring camera is not used, the privacy of the monitored person 100 can be protected. Furthermore, since it is possible to monitor the occurrence of abnormality in a non-contact and unconstrained manner with respect to the monitored person 100, it is possible to avoid a mental and physical load on the monitored person 100. Further, unlike the case where the monitoring device 4 is installed on the wall surface of the room, the distance between the monitored person 100 and the monitoring device 4 does not change even if the arrangement of the bed 1 or the chair is changed. Becomes easy.

  Moreover, according to the monitoring apparatus 4 which concerns on this Embodiment, the state determination part 13 determines at least one of a sleep state and a non-operation state as a state of the to-be-monitored person 100. FIG. By detecting the sleep state on the bed 1, it is possible to manage the sleep time and detect the occurrence of an abnormality during sleep. By detecting an inoperative state (including an apnea state) on the bed 1, occurrence of a serious abnormality can be detected.

Further, according to the monitoring device 4 according to the present embodiment, the state determination unit 13 calculates the signal intensity of the received radio wave S2 detected by the detection unit 12 and a predetermined threshold set for each delay time. The state of the monitored person 100 is determined by comparison. Therefore, the state of the monitored person 100 can be determined by a simple method of comparison with a threshold value. Moreover, the threshold value is set for each delay time. When the delay time is small, the distance from the installation location of the monitoring device 4 is short, and the fluctuation of the signal strength of the received radio wave S2 due to the movement of the monitored person 100 is large. In addition, when the delay time is large, the distance from the installation location of the monitoring device 4 is long, and the fluctuation of the signal intensity of the received radio wave S2 caused by the movement of the monitored person 100 is small. . Thereby, it is possible to appropriately determine the state of the monitored person 100 for various beds 1 having different thicknesses of the bed main body 2 and the mattress 3 or for various chairs having different backrest thicknesses. It becomes.

  Moreover, according to the monitoring apparatus 4 which concerns on this Embodiment, the abnormality determination part 14 determines whether the state of the to-be-monitored person 100 determined by the state determination part 13 is abnormal. And the alerting | reporting part 15 alert | reports generation | occurrence | production of abnormality, when the abnormality determination part 14 determines with the state of the to-be-monitored person 100 being abnormal. By notifying the occurrence of an abnormality by outputting an alarm sound from a speaker or the like, it is possible to notify the monitored person 100 that an abnormality has occurred to a family member living together.

  The embodiment disclosed this time should be considered as illustrative in all points and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined not by the above-mentioned meaning but by the scope of claims for patent, and is intended to include all modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the scope of claims for patent.

1 bed 2 bed body 3 mattress 4 monitoring device 5T transmitting antenna 5R receiving antenna 10 transmitting unit 11 receiving unit 12 detecting unit 13 state determining unit 14 abnormality determining unit 15 notifying unit 16, 17 storage unit 18 communication unit 19 receiving terminal 100 monitored Person

Claims (7)

A monitoring device attached to the body support device,
Transmitting means for transmitting radio waves toward the person to be monitored on the body support device;
Receiving means for receiving a reflected wave of the radio wave;
Detecting means for detecting a time variation of the signal strength of the received radio wave for each delay time of the received radio wave received by the receiving means with respect to the transmitted radio wave transmitted from the transmitting means;
A monitoring apparatus comprising: a first determination unit that determines a state of the monitored person based on a detection result by the detection unit.   The monitoring device according to claim 1, wherein the first determination unit determines at least one of a sleep state and an inoperative state as the state of the monitored person.   The first determination unit determines the state of the monitored person by comparing the signal intensity of the received radio wave detected by the detection unit with a predetermined threshold set for each delay time. The monitoring apparatus according to claim 1 or 2. A storage means for storing a temporal variation pattern of the signal intensity for each state of the monitored person;
The first determination unit collates the time variation pattern of the signal strength of the received radio wave detected by the detection unit with the time variation pattern of the signal strength stored in the storage unit. The monitoring device according to claim 1, wherein the state of the monitored person is determined. Second determination means for determining whether or not the state of the monitored person determined by the first determination means is abnormal;
5. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising notification means for notifying the occurrence of abnormality when the second determination means determines that the state of the monitored person is abnormal. Monitoring device. Second determination means for determining whether or not the state of the monitored person determined by the first determination means is abnormal;
Communication means for transmitting an abnormality notification signal for notifying the occurrence of an abnormality to an external receiving terminal when the second determination means determines that the state of the monitored person is abnormal; The monitoring apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: A body support device body;
A monitoring device attached to the body support device body,
The monitoring device
Transmitting means for transmitting radio waves toward the person to be monitored on the body support device;
Receiving means for receiving a reflected wave of the radio wave;
Detecting means for detecting a time variation of the signal strength of the received radio wave for each delay time of the received radio wave received by the receiving means with respect to the transmitted radio wave transmitted from the transmitting means;
A body support apparatus comprising: a determination unit that determines a state of the monitored person based on a detection result by the detection unit.

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