JP2014023890A - In-bedding posture detection device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a device detecting a posture such as a supine position, a right side-lying position, a left side-lying position, a sitting position, a leaning position, or a standing position of a care receiver, and notifying a caregiver of the posture as quantitative information.SOLUTION: An in-bedding posture detection device includes: pressure-sensitive switches 30, 31, 32 and 33 for detecting at least a supine position, a right side-lying position, a left side-lying position, and a sitting position, respectively, which are disposed in the vicinity of the periphery of a pelvis outside a diaper of a care receiver; posture frequency counting means 41 for detecting the respective postures, a leaning position, and a standing position on the basis of a contact or shutoff state of each pressure-sensitive switch, and counting the number of posture changes of the care receiver; time totaling means 42 totaling, for each posture, an appearance time of each posture on the basis of the contact or shutoff state of each pressure-sensitive switch; and arithmetic display means 5 displaying, as care assistance information, the number of the posture changes counted by the posture frequency counting means and the total times totaled, for each posture, by the time totaling means.

Description

Title of invention

In-bedding posture detection device

Detailed Description of the Invention

The present invention relates to an apparatus for detecting a posture of a cared person in bedding mainly at a facility such as a home or a hospital and notifying the caregiver.

Conventionally, there has been a request from the care site regarding devices that detect postures such as the supine position, right-side-down position, left-side-down position, sitting position, leaning position, and standing position of the care recipient and notify the caregiver as quantitative information. Although there is something that has become widespread, I have not found it yet.

As a device for remotely detecting the posture of the care receiver in the bedding and notifying the caregiver, see, for example, IEICE Technical Report Vol. 101 no. As disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 524, it has been proposed that the state of a care recipient can be automatically detected by image processing and grasped by a mobile phone or the like in the current detailed state. However, this apparatus has a problem that posture determination by image processing is necessary to realize quantification, and the apparatus becomes complicated. Further, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 2002-224093, an apparatus for detecting an attitude using an acceleration sensor has been proposed. However, in this case, it is necessary to constantly monitor the information detected by the acceleration sensor, which increases the power consumption of the acceleration sensor and the processor that processes the output. Therefore, when the battery is attached to the diaper, the battery becomes large, so that there is a problem that the apparatus is enlarged and the weight is increased, and the cost is increased. Further, in Patent Publication No. 2002-224151, a posture detecting resonance body having a resonance frequency fixed to a predetermined frequency is attached to one end side (for example, the stomach side) in the longitudinal direction of a dedicated sheet attached to a diaper. A device in which the posture of a care receiver is determined based on the presence or absence of a reflected radio wave from a resonator is disclosed. However, in this case, there is a problem in that the accuracy of quantification is insufficient because it is difficult to determine the posture for each type.

The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and detects when the cared person takes each of the above postures, calculates the number of times each posture is taken and the time ratio of the posture. To inform caregivers. This makes it possible for caregivers to effectively change the posture of pressure ulcer prevention for care recipients, and for caregivers to quickly respond to wrinkle concerns when they fall from the bed It is an object of the present invention to provide an in-bedding posture detection device for assisting.

In order to solve the above problems, the device of the present invention according to claim 1 includes at least a supine position, a right recumbent position, a left recumbent position, and a sitting position disposed near the periphery of the pelvis on the outside of a diaper of a cared person. The number of postures to detect the posture of the care recipient and the number of posture changes of the care recipient based on the contact or disconnection state of each of these pressure sensitive switches Counting means, time accumulating means for accumulating the appearance time of each posture for each posture based on the contact or disconnection state of each pressure-sensitive switch, the number of posture changes counted by the posture number counting means, and the time accumulating means. The present invention is characterized by comprising a calculation display means for displaying the accumulated time for each posture as care support information.

The device of the present invention described in claim 2 is the device of the present invention described in claim 2, wherein all the pressure sensitive switches are connected in series in the in-bedding posture detecting device of claim 1, and each pressure sensitive switch Resistors having different resistance values are connected in parallel to both ends of the output terminal, and both ends of all the pressure-sensitive switches connected in series are connected to the posture number counting means and the time accumulating means.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the in-bedding posture detecting apparatus according to the first aspect, wherein a resistor having a resistance value different from each other is connected to one of the output terminals of each pressure sensitive switch. The other end of the output terminal of the pressure switch and the other end of all the resistors are collectively connected to each other, and the two collective connection points are connected to the posture number counting means and the time accumulating means.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the in-bedding posture detecting apparatus according to the first aspect, wherein the rear switch for detecting the supine position, the right switch for detecting the right lateral position and the left lateral position are detected. It is characterized by using a tilt switch in which a corresponding switch is disposed in the main body without disposing a left-side switch for the diaper around the pelvis.

The in-bedding posture detection apparatus according to claim 1 configured as described above includes a plurality of pressure-sensitive switches related to posture detection outside the diaper. The care receiver's posture is determined from the output of the pressure sensitive switch and information related to the position where the switch is disposed. By accumulating the number of times the determined posture changes and calculating the frequency of change within a certain time and providing it to the caregiver, the caregiver can roughly grasp the current situation of the cared person's activity, so conventional There is an effect that more appropriate nursing care can be performed compared to nursing care based on information only on the bedside. In addition, for each determined posture, for example, the caregiver can easily determine whether or not the posture of the care recipient is biased to a specific posture by calculating the proportion of appearance time in a day and providing it to the caregiver. Because it can, it has the effect of being able to respond appropriately to pressure ulcer prevention. In addition, the number of standing positions and the length of the standing position are useful for planning a warning against a cared person's bag or falling from a bed.

Since the in-bedding posture detection apparatus according to claim 2 is configured by using a plurality of ultra-small pressure-sensitive switches related to posture detection arranged outside the diaper, and all the pressure-sensitive switches are connected in series. As a result of the output information of all pressure-sensitive switches being supplied to the posture number counting means and the time accumulating means by two output lines, the wiring laid on the outside of the diaper is minimized, and the wearing feeling and reliability of the diaper are improved. This has the effect of contributing to manufacturing cost reduction.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the in-bedding posture detection apparatus is configured such that a plurality of pressure sensitive switches related to posture detection arranged outside the diaper are connected in parallel via resistors having different resistance values. The output information of the pressure switch is supplied to the posture number counting means and the time accumulating means by two output lines, and as a result, the same effect as the in-bedding posture detection apparatus according to claim 2 is obtained.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the in-bedding posture detecting apparatus according to the first aspect, wherein the rear switch in the main body, the right surface switch for detecting the right lateral position, and the left lateral position are detected. A tilt switch was used for the left side switch and only the bottom switch was placed outside the diaper. This minimizes the risk that the pressure-sensitive switch will irritate the skin and induce pressure ulcers, greatly reducing the number of electronic components and wiring placed outside the diaper, thereby reducing the size of the pressure-sensitive switch mounting part. As a result, the wearing feeling of the diaper is improved and the caregiver can easily attach the diaper.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

The apparatus for detecting posture in bedding having the functions according to claims 1 to 4 configured as described above detects the posture in the bedding of a care receiver accurately and promptly at a nursing facility or home care site, and each posture Separated and numerically provided to caregivers. Therefore, for example, if it is a home care site, display it with a small display device such as a laptop computer or smartphone, and in a multi-seat care facility, display a large number of people at once with a large display placed at a care station. It is effective. And if the display displays the pre-set caregiver's response to the caregiver and how to take care as necessary, the caregiver will remember the situation of all the caregivers and reduce the corresponding mental burden. It is possible to provide an excellent function of preventing the deterioration of the quality of care that occurs when the person in charge changes.

Embodiments to which the present invention is applied will be described below with reference to the drawings. Needless to say, the present invention is not limited to the following examples and can take various forms belonging to the technical scope of the present invention.

(First Embodiment) FIG. 1 is an explanatory view when the apparatus according to the first embodiment is arranged in a diaper. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a schematic configuration of the device of the present invention in the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the arrangement site of each pressure-sensitive switch in the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the relationship between the operation of each pressure-sensitive switch and the posture of the care recipient in the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the detailed configuration of the device of the present invention in the first embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 1, the device according to the first embodiment of the present invention comprises a sensor unit 3 and a main body 4 in which the pressure sensitive switches are arranged. The sensor unit 3 is connected to the body 4 by covering each sensor indicated by 30 to 33 on a flexible printed circuit board with protective clothing. The sensor unit 3 is attached to a predetermined position of the diaper 2 with a hook-and-loop fastener, and the main body 4 is attached to the vicinity of the upper edge of the diaper 2 with a clip. Here, the main body 4 is attached to the front side.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the schematic configuration of the device of the present invention in the first embodiment. The sensor unit 3a includes a rear switch 30 for detecting the supine position and a right switch for detecting the right lateral position. 31, a left surface switch 32 for detecting the left lateral position, and a bottom surface switch 33 for detecting the sitting position. Corresponding resistors 35 to 38 are connected in parallel to each of these switches. These resistors use different resistance values that are predetermined in the design stage. The pair of switches and resistors connected in parallel in this way are connected in series with each other in the manner of one stroke, and both ends are connected to the resistance value measuring means 40 accommodated in the main body 4a.

FIG. 3 shows an arrangement site suitable for arranging the switches on the outside of the diaper.
The position of p (back), q, r, s, and t around the pelvis is in the supine position, right-sided heel, left-sided heel, sitting position, and sitting position. To do.

FIG. 4 is a table showing the relationship between each posture and the operation of each switch. The contact position is determined when both the back switch 30 and the bottom switch 33 are turned on. The standing position is determined when all switches are turned off. Here, the leaning position refers to a posture in which the cared person raises his / her upper body slightly in a reclining bed or the like.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the detailed configuration of the first embodiment. Here, since the sensor unit 3a, the switches 30 to 33, and the resistors 35 to 38 have already been described in [0018] FIG. The main body 4a is connected to the output of the sensor unit 3a to measure the resistance value, and the resistance value measuring means 40 is connected to the resistance value measuring means 40 and the resistance value which is the measured value is different from the previous measured value. An attitude number counting means 41 that detects and counts for a predetermined time and a time accumulating means 42 that is connected to the resistance value measuring means 40 and accumulates appearance times for each resistance value for one day of the resistance value. . The length of the day is determined as appropriate according to the situation of the care recipient. The number of appearances, which is the output of the posture number counting means 41, and the appearance time accumulation, which is the output of the time accumulating means 42, are generally a remote nurse station using a wireless LAN or other appropriate wireless communication means (not shown because it is well known). And the like are transmitted to the arithmetic display device 5 installed. The calculation display device 5 displays, for example, a bar graph or a pie chart, and provides the caregiver with the number of appearances received by using a notebook personal computer, a smartphone, or the like, the accumulated time, and the appearance ratio of each posture calculated based on them. FIG. 6 is a detailed configuration diagram when the connections of the switches 30 to 33 and the resistors 35 to 38 arranged in the sensor unit 3a in the first embodiment shown in FIG. 5 are changed. In the case of FIG. 6, the same performance as that of FIG. 5 can be obtained. In addition, the use of pressure-sensitive rubber as the pressure-sensitive switch of the device of the present invention is effective because the feeling of touching the sensor through the diaper is softened and the feeling of wearing the diaper is improved and the risk of developing pressure ulcers is reduced. It is.

Next, the operation of the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. The first embodiment uses widely known elements such as semiconductors and microcontrollers in today's technology, but those skilled in the art can easily understand them, so description of those technologies is omitted. First, the first embodiment shown in FIG. 5 is provided with a power switch for turning off the power when the power is turned on by a one-minute timer and the main body 4a sends an output to the calculation display means 5 (for simplification). Not shown). That is, it is configured to extend the life of the battery to be used as much as possible by repeating a predetermined operation every minute. It should be noted that the length may be changed as necessary for the one minute. When the resistance values of the resistors 35 to 38 in FIG. 5 are R35 to R38 and the total resistance value obtained by adding them is RT, the resistance value between the terminal T1 and the terminal T2 corresponding to each posture shown in FIG. It becomes like the table.
The resistance value measuring means 40 measures the resistance value between the terminals T1 and T2, and outputs the measured value to the posture number counting means 41 and the time accumulating means 42. The posture number counting means 41 determines whether or not the measurement value is different from the measurement value one minute before, and advances the internal counter (not shown for simplification) by one if it is different. Further, the time accumulating means 4 corresponds to the postures 1 to 6 in the above table based on the measured values of the resistance value measuring means 40 provided with six internal counters (not shown for simplification). Advance the counter by 1. The counter value of the posture counting means 41 obtained in this way indicates the number of posture changes due to the caregiver turning over and others, and the counter value of the time accumulating means 42 is the cumulative time of each posture taken by the care recipient in minutes. Is shown. At the end of the series of operations described above, the contents of the counters of the posture number counting means 41 and all the counters of the time accumulating means 42 are wirelessly sent to the calculation display means 5, and then the power switch cutoff signal is issued. End.

(Second Embodiment) FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the detailed structure of the apparatus of the present invention in the second embodiment. The second embodiment shown in FIG. 6 is configured by changing the interconnection method of the pressure sensitive switches in the first embodiment shown in FIG. In FIG. 6, the sensor unit 3 b has the same shape and the same parts arrangement as the sensor unit 3 a in FIG. However, each of these switches has a corresponding resistor 35-38 connected in series. The four pairs of switches and resistors connected in series are connected in parallel at both ends, and the connection point is connected to the resistance measuring means 40 disposed in the main body 4a via terminals T1 and T2. At this time, the resistance value between the terminal T1 and the terminal T2 corresponding to each posture shown in FIG. 4 is as shown in the table below.
Since this can be easily understood by those skilled in the art, a detailed description thereof will be omitted. The structure of the main body 4a is not changed at all, and the same operation as that of the first embodiment shown in FIG.

(Third Embodiment) FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the schematic structure of the apparatus of the present invention in the third embodiment. FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the detailed configuration of the device of the present invention in the third embodiment. FIG. 9 is an explanatory view for explaining the attachment procedure of the tilt switch in the third embodiment.

In FIG. 7, the sensor unit 3b is provided with a bottom switch 33 for detecting the sitting position, and is connected to a posture determining means 64 (shown in FIG. 8) provided on the main body 4b. The main body 4b is provided with a rear surface tilt switch 61, a right surface tilt switch 62, and a left surface tilt switch 63, which are connected to the posture determination means 64 together with the bottom surface switch 33. Here, the bottom switch 33 disposed in the sensor unit 3b is the same pressure-sensitive switch as the bottom switch 33 shown in the first embodiment, and the disposed portion is also the same. The switches 61 to 63 arranged on the main body 4b are tilt switches.

In FIG. 8, the posture determination means 64 determines whether the position of the cared person is the posture shown in FIG. 4 already described based on the information from the four switches, and identifies and encodes it. The data is sent to the calculating means 41 and the time accumulating means 42. The posture number calculating means 41 and the time accumulating means 42 are the same as those shown in FIG. 5 of the first embodiment, and the calculation display means 5 for receiving the output is the same as that shown in FIG. 5 of the first embodiment. It is.

Next, the operation of the third embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 4, 5, 8 and 9. This third embodiment is also provided with a power switch configured to turn on the power by a one-minute timer and shut off the power when the output is sent from the main body 4b to the calculation display means 5 to end the predetermined operation. Similar to the first embodiment, the battery life is extended as much as possible by repeating a series of operations every minute. The back surface tilt switch 61, the right surface tilt switch 62, and the left surface tilt switch 63 of FIG. 8 are all constituted by ultra-small tilt switches and are disposed in the main body 4b. The tilt switch can be selected in various ways within an operating angle range of +/− 90 degrees, but in the third embodiment, the description will proceed with an operating angle of +/− 45 degrees. But there is no need to fix it. FIG. 9 shows how to set the operating angle when the tilt switch is disposed in the main body 4b. First, the operating angle θB of the back tilt switch 61 is 45 degrees above and below the front vertical surface of the main body 4b, the operating angle θR of the right surface tilt switch 62 is 45 degrees each up and down the right vertical surface toward the main body 4b, and finally Further, the mounting angle of the tilt switch is set so that the operating angle θL of the left surface tilt switch 63 is 45 degrees in the horizontal direction of the left vertical surface toward the main body 4b. By doing so, the tilt switch disposed in the main body 4b ensures the operation shown in FIG. In addition, since the operating angle of the leaning position detection tilt switch is selected to be +/− 45 degrees, the angle recognized as reclining is 45 degrees at the maximum. As is clear from FIG. 4, the posture information transmitted from each switch shown in FIG. 4 to the posture determination means 64 is as shown in FIG. Based on this attitude information, the attitude determination means 64 encodes ON as 1 and OFF as 0, for example, and sends them to the attitude number calculation means 41 and the time accumulation means 42. In this case, the codes corresponding to each posture are as shown in the table below.
However, the identification code generated by the posture determination means 64 is not limited to the above. Further, similar effects can be obtained by replacing the rear tilt switch 61, the right tilt switch 62, and the left tilt switch 63 shown in FIG. 8 with the rear switch 30, the right switch 31, and the left switch 32 shown in FIGS. Needless to say, it is within the scope of the present invention.

It is explanatory drawing at the time of arrange | positioning the apparatus of this invention of a 1st Example to a diaper. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the schematic structure of the apparatus of this invention in a 1st Example. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the arrangement | positioning site | part of each pressure sensitive switch in a 1st Example. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the relationship between operation | movement of each pressure-sensitive switch in a 1st Example, and a care receiver's attitude | position. It is a block diagram which shows the detailed structure of this invention apparatus in a 1st Example. It is a block diagram which shows the detailed structure of this invention apparatus in 2nd Example. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the schematic structure of the apparatus of this invention in a 3rd Example. It is a block diagram which shows the detailed structure of this invention apparatus in a 3rd Example. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the attachment point of the inclination switch in a 3rd Example.

2 ... Diapers 3, 3a, 3b ... Sensor units 4, 4a, 4b ... Body 5 ... Calculation display means 30, 31, 32, 33 ... Pressure sensitive switches 35, 36, 37, 38 ... resistor 40 ... resistance value measuring means 41 ... posture number calculating means 42 ... time accumulating means 61, 62, 63 ... tilt switch

Claims (4)

A pressure-sensitive switch for detecting at least the supine position, the right-side recumbent position, the left-side recumbent position, and the sitting position, which are disposed near the periphery of the pelvis on the outside of the care receiver's diaper, and contact or contact of each of these pressure-sensitive switches A posture number counting means for detecting each posture, a contact position and a standing position based on the disconnection state and counting the number of posture changes of the care recipient, and each posture based on the contact or disconnection state of each pressure-sensitive switch Time accumulating means for accumulating the appearance time of each posture, and a calculation display means for displaying the number of posture changes counted by the posture number counting means and the accumulated time accumulated by the time accumulating means for each posture as care support information. Bedding posture detection device characterized by In the bedding posture detection apparatus according to claim 1, all pressure sensitive switches are connected in series, and resistors having different resistance values are connected in parallel to both ends of the output terminals of each pressure sensitive switch, An in-bedding posture detection apparatus characterized in that both ends of all pressure-sensitive switches connected in series are connected to posture number counting means and time accumulation means. In the bedding posture detection apparatus according to claim 1, a resistor having a resistance value different from each other is connected to one of the output terminals of each pressure-sensitive switch, and the other end of the output terminal and the total resistance of all the pressure-sensitive switches. An apparatus for detecting an in-bedding posture, wherein the other ends of the bowl are connected to each other, and the two batch connection points are connected to the posture number counting means and the time accumulating means. 2. The apparatus for detecting posture in bedding according to claim 1, wherein a rear switch for detecting a supine position, a right face switch for detecting a right lateral position and a left face switch for detecting a left lateral position are not used. An in-bedding posture detection apparatus, characterized in that it is configured using an inclination switch disposed on the bedding.