JP2023095010A - Distance measurement radio device and radio tag - Google Patents

Abstract

To avoid leaving behind of a slave unit and measure a position of the slave unit with high accuracy in a nurse call system.SOLUTION: A nurse call slave unit 14 constituting a nurse call system 100 operates as a distance measurement radio device. The nurse call slave unit 14 comprises: an IR-UWB radio part 30 that performs radio communication of an IR-UWB system; a slave unit radio part 38 that transmits information to a master unit 16; and a slave unit controller 32 that controls the IR-UWB radio part 30 and the slave unit radio part 38. The slave unit controller 32 performs radio communication with the master unit 16 to measure a distance from the master unit 16, or executes distance measurement processing for causing the master unit 16 to measure the distance together with the IR-UWB radio part 30. The slave unit controller 32 executes processing for transmitting an uplink signal including the distance from the master unit measured by the distance measurement processing to the master unit 16 together with the slave unit radio part 38.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

The present invention relates to a distance measuring radio and a radio tag, and more particularly to technology using IR-UWB radio communication.

Research and development is being carried out on a nurse call system in which a patient in a hospital room operates a wireless device to inform the management device of the staff room of the patient's condition. For example, information indicating that an abnormality has occurred in the patient is transmitted from the wireless device to the management device, and the management device displays the information on the display. Nurses in the staff room grasp the condition of the patient by referring to the information displayed on the display.

In a nurse call system, a wireless device (slave device) carried by a patient transmits information to, for example, a master device installed in a hospital room. Upon receiving the information from the child device, the parent device transmits the information to the management device. Patent Documents 1 to 3 below describe a nurse call system using a child device having a wireless communication function.

Non-Patent Document 1 describes the IR-UWB system as a technique related to the present invention. The IR-UWB system is a communication system that conforms to the UWB standard and transmits signals by pulses without using carrier waves. Non-cited document 1 refers to IEEE 802.15.4z, which is a standard for the IR-UWB system.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-6202 JP 2010-172555 A JP 2012-49623 A

Petr Sedlacek, Martin Slanina, and Pavel Masek, “ An Overview of the IEEE 802.15.4z Standard and its Comparison to the Existing UWB Standards “, 2019 29th International Conference Radioelektronika (RADIOELEKTRONIKA)

Since the handset of the nurse call system is portable, there is a possibility that the patient will misplace the handset somewhere. To address this problem, in the nurse call system described in Patent Document 2, a patient wearing a patient band to which a patient IC tag is attached carries a nurse call slave device. The nurse call child device includes an IC tag for child device. If the non-contact IC reader/writer on the wall unit installed near the bed reads information from both the patient's IC tag and the child's IC tag, it is determined that the patient is carrying a nurse call child's device. be done. On the other hand, if the non-contact IC reader/writer reads information only from the patient's IC tag, it is determined that the patient has left the nurse call slave device behind.

Further, in the nurse call system described in Patent Document 3, the calling handset is connected by a string to the handset plate installed on the wall surface, thereby preventing the calling handset from being lost. In the nurse call systems described in these documents, it is difficult for the user to grasp the position of the child device with high accuracy when the patient leaves the child device behind.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to avoid misplacement of a wireless device in a nurse call system and to measure the position of the wireless device with high accuracy.

The present invention controls an IR-UWB radio section that performs IR-UWB wireless communication, a child device radio section that transmits information to a parent device or a relay device, and the IR-UWB radio section and the child device radio section. and a child device controller that performs wireless communication with the parent device to measure the distance to the parent device or to the parent device to measure the distance. distance measurement processing performed together with the IR-UWB radio unit, and processing for transmitting an uplink signal including the distance between the parent devices measured by the distance measurement processing to the parent device or the relay device is performed by the child device wireless It is characterized by executing together with the department.

Desirably, notification processing to the user is executed based on the distance between the parent devices.

Preferably, the slave unit controller measures a distance to the wireless tag by performing wireless communication with the wireless tag, or performs wireless tag distance measurement processing for causing the wireless tag to measure the distance. , the process of transmitting an upstream signal including the distance between tags measured by the wireless tag distance measurement process to the parent device or the relay device, executed together with the IR-UWB radio section, together with the child device radio section. .

Further, the present invention provides an IR-UWB radio unit that performs IR-UWB wireless communication, a slave unit radio unit that transmits information to a base unit or a relay device, the IR-UWB radio unit and the slave unit radio unit. and a child device controller that controls the wireless tag, and the child device controller measures the distance to the wireless tag by performing wireless communication with the wireless tag, or transmits the distance to the wireless tag. A process of performing wireless tag distance measurement processing to be measured together with the IR-UWB radio unit, and transmitting an uplink signal including the distance between tags measured by the wireless tag distance measurement processing to the parent device or the relay device, It is characterized in that it is executed together with the slave unit radio unit.

Desirably, the slave unit controller executes notification processing for the user according to the inter-tag distance.

Preferably, the child device controller performs pairing with the parent device together with the child device wireless unit, and performs pairing with the parent device that has completed pairing among the plurality of parent devices. Communicate via the slave unit wireless unit.

Further, the present invention includes an IR-UWB radio unit that performs IR-UWB wireless communication, and a tag controller that controls the IR-UWB radio unit, and the tag controller wirelessly communicates with a radio device. By performing communication, a distance measurement process is performed together with the IR-UWB radio unit to measure a distance with the wireless device or cause the wireless device to measure the distance, and the distance measurement process is performed. and transmitting an uplink signal including the inter-radio device distance to the radio device together with the IR-UWB radio unit.

Preferably, the tag controller performs processing for generating an uplink call signal based on a user's operation, and performs processing for transmitting the uplink call signal to the radio device together with the IR-UWB radio unit.

Further, the present invention includes an IR-UWB radio unit that performs IR-UWB wireless communication, and a base unit controller that controls the IR-UWB radio unit, and the base unit controller communicates with a radio device. by performing wireless communication with the IR-UWB radio unit to measure the distance to the wireless device or cause the wireless device to measure the distance, and the distance measurement processing performs It is characterized by executing a process of transmitting an uplink signal including the measured distance between wireless devices to the management device.

Advantageous Effects of Invention According to the present invention, it is possible to avoid misplacement of a wireless device in a nurse call system and to measure the position of the wireless device with high accuracy.

It is a figure showing composition of a nurse call system concerning a 1st embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the specific structural example of a nurse call system. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing specific configurations of a nurse call slave device, a parent device, and a wireless tag; FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the structure of a data symbol of an IR-UWB radio signal; FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a packet of a ranging signal transmitted by a ranging device and a packet of a ranging response signal received by a target device; FIG. 10 is a diagram showing determination contents for each combination of a first child device/parent device condition to a fourth child device/parent device condition and a first child device/tag condition to a third child device/tag condition; . It is a figure which shows the structure of the nurse call system which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the specific structural example of a nurse call system. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing specific configurations of a nurse call slave device, a parent device, and a wireless tag; It is a figure which shows the structure of the nurse call system which concerns on 3rd Embodiment of this invention.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to each drawing. The same reference numerals are given to the same items shown in a plurality of drawings, and the description thereof is omitted.

FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a nurse call system 100 according to the first embodiment of the invention. A nurse call system 100 includes a management device 20 , a parent device 16 , a nurse call slave device 14 and a wireless tag 18 . The nurse call handset 14 is usually carried by the patient. Also, the wireless tag 18 is fixed to the patient's body with a wristband or the like. The base unit 16 is installed in the hospital room 10 . The management device 20 is installed in a staff room 12 which is a room different from the hospital room 10 . In the staff room 12, staff such as nurses and caregivers are waiting to watch over patients. The management device 20 is wired to the master device 16 .

The management device 20 and the nurse call slave device 14 communicate via the master device 16 . That is, management device 20 transmits a downlink signal to master device 16 . The base unit 16 receives the downstream signal and wirelessly transmits the downstream signal to the nurse call slave unit 14.例文帳に追加Similarly, the nurse call slave unit 14 wirelessly transmits an upstream signal to the master unit 16 . Base unit 16 receives the upstream signal and transmits the upstream signal to management device 20 .

The term "uplink signal" does not indicate a signal that transmits specific information, but a signal that is transmitted from the nurse call handset 14 or wireless tag 18 to the management device 20 via the base unit 16. It is an all-inclusive term. Similarly, the term "downlink signal" does not indicate a signal that transmits specific information, but a signal that is transmitted from the management device 20 to the nurse call slave device 14 or the wireless tag 18 via the master device 16. is a comprehensive term for

When calling a staff member, the patient operates the nurse call slave device 14 to transmit staff call information to the nurse call slave device 14.例文帳に追加That is, the nurse call slave unit 14 transmits an uplink signal (uplink call signal) including the patient ID identifying the patient and staff call information to the management device 20 via the base unit 16 . The management device 20 performs a call operation to notify the staff that the patient identified by the patient ID has called, according to the patient ID and staff call information included in the upstream call signal. The calling operation includes, for example, displaying the patient ID on the display and emitting a ringing tone.

The nurse call slave device 14 according to the present embodiment measures the distance between the parent device 16 and the parent device 16 by wireless communication with the parent device 16 . Further, the nurse call slave unit 14 measures the distance between the wireless tags 18 by wireless communication with the wireless tags 18 . The nurse call slave device 14 transmits an upstream signal including the distance between the parent devices and the distance between the tags to the management device 20 . The management device 20 determines the position of the nurse call slave device 14 and whether or not the patient carries the nurse call slave device 14 according to the inter-parent device distance and the inter-tag distance.

For example, when the inter-parent device distance exceeds a predetermined threshold value, the management device 20 determines that the nurse call slave device 14 has been taken out of the designated hospital room 10 . If the tag-to-tag distance exceeds a predetermined threshold, the management device 20 determines that the patient is not carrying the nurse call slave device 14 . The management device 20 may make the following determination by combining the determination on the distance between the parent devices and the determination on the distance between the tags.

When the distance between parent devices exceeds a predetermined threshold and the distance between tags exceeds a predetermined threshold, the management device 20 determines that the patient has taken the nurse call slave device 14 out of the hospital room and left it somewhere. can be determined.

When the distance between parent devices exceeds a predetermined threshold value and the distance between tags is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold value, the management device 20 determines that the patient is carrying the nurse call slave device 14 outside the hospital room 10. You can

When the distance between the parent devices is equal to or less than the predetermined threshold and the distance between the tags exceeds the predetermined threshold, the management device 20 moves the nurse call slave device 14 out of the hospital room 10 even though the patient is in the hospital room 10. It may be determined that the item is misplaced.

When the distance between the parent devices is equal to or less than the predetermined threshold and the distance between the tags is equal to or less than the predetermined threshold, the management device 20 determines that the patient is in the hospital room 10 and the nurse call slave device 14 is carried. It can be determined that

The management device 20 may display the determination result based on the inter-parent device distance, the determination result based on the inter-tag distance, or the determination result based on the inter-parent device distance and the inter-tag distance on the display.

Similar to the management device 20, the nurse call slave device 14 determines the position of the nurse call slave device 14 and whether or not the patient is carrying the nurse call slave device 14 according to the distance between the parent devices and the distance between the tags. You can judge. In addition, when the patient is in the hospital room 10 but the nurse call slave device 14 determines that the patient has left the nurse call slave device 14 outside the hospital room 10, or when the patient is outside the hospital room and the nurse call slave device 14, the nurse call slave device 14 may perform notification processing to the user. For example, the nurse call slave device 14 may perform processing such as emitting light or emitting sound according to the determination result.

The wireless tag 18 may directly transmit an up call signal including the patient ID and staff call information to the master device 16 and transmit the up call signal to the management device 20 via the master device 16 . In this case, the patient operates the wireless tag 18 to cause the wireless tag 18 to transmit an upstream call signal. That is, the wireless tag 18 transmits an upstream call signal to the management device 20 via the master device 16 . The management device 20 performs a calling operation according to the patient ID and staff calling information included in the upstream calling signal.

FIG. 2 shows a specific configuration example of the nurse call system 100. As shown in FIG. Each of the sickrooms 10-1 to 10-N is provided with a base unit 16 and a wall-embedded device 22. As shown in FIG. In addition, the base unit 16 and the wall-embedded device 22 are also installed in the shared space 10-S such as the toilet. The wall-embedded device 22 is fixed to the wall, and the master unit 16 is connected to the wall-embedded device 22 by wire. The wall-embedded device 22 and the parent device 16 may be detachable by a connector or the like. The wall-embedded devices 22 installed in each of the patient rooms 10-1 to 10-N and the common space 10-S are connected by wires to the corridor lights 24-1 to 24-N and 24-S installed in the corridor, respectively. It is Each corridor light 24-j (j is an integer from 1 to N) and 24-S are wired to the management device 20 installed in the staff room 12. FIG.

Corridor lights 24 - j and 24 -S receive upstream signals transmitted from base unit 16 via wall embedded device 22 and transmit them to management device 20 . Further, the corridor lights 24-j and 24-S receive downlink signals transmitted from the management device 20 via the wall embedded device 22 and transmit them to the base unit 16. FIG. The corridor lights 24-j and 24-S determine whether the nurse call slave unit 14 is in the hospital room 10-j (j is any integer from 1 to N) based on the information contained in the downstream signal. Information such as whether the patient carries the nurse call handset 14 may be displayed.

As a general rule, the nurse call slave device 14 is paired with the master device 16 installed in the patient's room for using the nurse call slave device 14 . The nurse call slave device 14 performs wireless communication with the master device 16 that has completed the pairing, and communicates with the management device 20 via the master device 16 and the corridor light 24-j. However, when the patient carrying the nurse call slave unit 14 moves to the shared space 10-S or another hospital room, the nurse call slave unit 14 performs pairing with the master unit 16 installed at the destination, It communicates with the management device 20 via the parent device 16 and the corridor light 24-j that have completed the pairing.

Pairing will be explained in detail. Nurse call child device 14, which is the device on the side requesting pairing, transmits a pairing request signal including its own ID (hereinafter referred to as child device ID). Upon receiving the pairing request signal, the parent device 16 extracts the child device ID from the pairing request signal and stores it as the first registration ID, and also sends a pairing response signal containing its own ID (hereinafter referred to as the parent device ID). to the nurse call slave unit 14. When the quality of the pairing request signal is not good, such as when the level of the pairing request signal is insufficient, master device 16 does not store the first registration ID and does not transmit the pairing response signal.

Upon receiving the pairing response signal, the nurse call slave device 14 extracts the master device ID from the pairing response signal and stores it as the second registration ID. When the quality of the pairing response signal is not good, such as when the level of the pairing response signal is not sufficient, the nurse call slave device 14 does not store the second registration ID. Note that the child device ID and the parent device ID may be the MAC addresses of the nurse call child device 14 and the parent device 16, respectively.

Pairing is completed when the first registration ID is stored in the master device 16 and the second registration ID is stored in the nurse call slave device 14 . After the pairing is completed, wireless communication is performed between the master device 16 and the nurse call slave device 14 using the first registration ID and the second registration ID.

Each nurse call slave unit 14 includes in an uplink signal to be transmitted to the management device 20 a master unit ID specifying the ID of the master unit 16 with which pairing has been completed together with the patient ID. The management device 20 that has received the upstream signal extracts the patient ID and the parent device ID from the upstream signal, and stores the patient ID and the parent device ID in association with each other. The staff can grasp the patient's whereabouts by referring to the patient ID stored in the management device 20 and the parent device ID stored in the management device 20 in association therewith.

When communicating with the nurse call slave device 14, the management device 20 uses the master device ID of the master device 16 with which the nurse call slave device 14 has completed pairing, via the master device 16. communicate. That is, the nurse call slave unit 14 transmits a downstream signal via the master unit 16 with which pairing has been completed. Further, the nurse call slave unit 14 transmits an upstream signal to the management device 20 via the master unit 16 that has completed the pairing.

In this way, the nurse call slave unit 14 performs wireless communication with the master unit 16 for which pairing has been completed, so that the patient carrying the nurse call slave unit 14 can move from the patient's room 10-j to the shared space. 10-S, etc., the nurse call slave unit 14 communicates with the management device 20 via the master unit 16 installed in the other room. This increases the range in which the patient can move.

3A to 3C show specific configurations of the nurse call slave unit 14, master unit 16 and wireless tag 18, respectively. The nurse call child device 14 includes an IR-UWB radio section 30, a child device controller 32, a push button 34, a display 36, a child device radio section 38, a speaker 40 and a microphone . The child device controller 32 may be configured by a processor that executes each process by executing a program.

The slave unit controller 32 performs wireless communication with the master unit 16 using the slave unit wireless unit 38, performs pairing with the master unit 16, and communicates with the master unit 16 that has completed the pairing. wireless communication.

The child device controller 32 performs IR-UWB wireless communication with the parent device 16 using the IR-UWB radio section 30 and measures the distance between the parent device 16 and the parent device 16 . Here, the IR-UWB system is a communication system that conforms to the UWB standard and transmits signals by pulses without using carrier waves. The UWB standard is a communication standard that widens the frequency spectrum of signals and suppresses the power per unit frequency. IR-UWB wireless communication will be described later. The slave device controller 32 further uses the IR-UWB radio unit 30 to perform IR-UWB wireless communication with the wireless tag 18 and measures the distance between the wireless tags 18 .

The handset controller 32 generates an upstream signal including the inter-parent device distance, an upstream signal including the inter-tag distance, or an upstream signal including the inter-parent device distance and the inter-tag distance, and outputs them to the handset wireless section 38 . The slave unit radio unit 38 wirelessly transmits the upstream signal output by the slave unit controller 32 to the master unit 16 that has completed the pairing.

The push button 34 is operated, for example, when the patient calls the staff. In response to the operation of the push button 34 , the handset controller 32 generates an uplink call signal including staff call information and outputs it to the handset radio section 38 . The microphone 42 generates an audio signal based on ambient sounds and outputs the signal to the child device controller 32 . Ambient sounds include the patient's vocalizations. The slave unit controller 32 generates an upstream signal including an audio signal and outputs it to the slave unit radio section 38 . The slave unit radio unit 38 wirelessly transmits the upstream signal output by the slave unit controller 32 to the master unit 16 that has completed the pairing.

The slave unit radio unit 38 receives the downlink signal wirelessly transmitted from the master unit 16 that has completed the pairing, and outputs the signal to the slave unit controller 32 . If the downstream signal contains an audio signal, the slave unit controller 32 outputs the audio signal to the speaker 40 . A speaker 40 generates sound based on the audio signal. The handset controller 32 emits a ringing tone (up-call signal A confirmation sound indicating that the has been transmitted may be generated by the speaker 40 . The indicator 36 may be composed of a light source such as an LED. The light source may emit light in a mode according to the operation of the push button 34 or in a mode according to information included in the downstream signal.

Base unit 16 includes an IR-UWB radio unit 44 , a base unit controller 46 , a display 48 , a base unit radio unit 52 , and an embedded wall interface (I/F) unit 56 . The master controller 46 may be configured by a processor that executes each process by executing a program. The wall-embedded I/F unit 56 is fixed to a wall or the like of the hospital room 10-j, the shared space 10-S, or the like. The wall-embedded I/F section 56 is wired to each corridor light 24-j. The wall-embedded I/F unit 56 may be directly connected to the management device 20 by wire.

The master unit controller 46 performs wireless communication with the nurse call slave unit 14 using the master wireless unit 52, performs pairing with the nurse call slave unit 14, and performs pairing with the nurse call slave unit 14. Wireless communication is performed with the machine 14 .

The master unit controller 46 uses the IR-UWB radio unit 44 to perform IR-UWB wireless communication with the nurse call slave unit 14, and causes the nurse call slave unit 14 to measure the distance between the master units. Note that the parent device controller 46 may measure the parent device distance and transmit the parent device distance to the nurse call slave device 14 using the IR-UWB radio unit 44 .

The master unit radio unit 52 receives an upstream signal wirelessly transmitted from the nurse call slave unit 14 that has completed pairing, and outputs the signal to the master unit controller 46 . Master unit controller 46 outputs an upstream signal to wall-embedded I/F unit 56, and wall-embedded I/F unit 56 transmits an upstream signal to the communication line leading to management device 20 via corridor light 24-j. Send. Note that when the master unit controller 46 measures the distance between the master units, the master unit controller 46 outputs an upstream signal including the distance between the master units to the wall-embedded I/F unit 56 , and transmits the upstream signal to the management device 20 . You may send a signal.

The wall-embedded I/F unit 56 receives a downstream signal from the communication line and outputs it to the master controller 46 . Base unit controller 46 outputs a downlink signal to base unit radio section 52 . The base unit radio unit 52 transmits a downstream signal to the nurse call slave unit 14 that has completed the pairing. The base unit controller 46 may cause the display 48 to display images, characters, etc. based on the information contained in the downstream signal. This information may be, for example, information included in the downlink signal by the management device 20 according to the staff's operation.

Note that the master device 16 may obtain power from a commercial power outlet. The master device 16 may supply power to the nurse call slave device 14 by a wireless power feeding method such as a magnetic resonance method.

The radio tag 18 has an IR-UWB radio section 58, a tag controller 60, a push button 62 and a display 64. FIG. The tag controller 60 uses the IR-UWB radio section 58 to perform IR-UWB wireless communication with the nurse call child device 14, and causes the nurse call child device 14 to measure the distance between the tags. Note that the tag controller 60 may measure the distance between tags and transmit the distance between tags to the nurse call slave device 14 using the IR-UWB radio unit 58 .

When the nurse call slave unit 14 is left outside the patient's room or when the nurse call slave unit 14 is not near the wireless tag 18, the following processing is executed between the wireless tag 18 and the base unit 16. be done. The push button 62 is operated, for example, when the patient calls the staff. In response to the operation of the push button 62 , the tag controller 60 generates an upstream signal containing the patient ID and staff call information, and outputs the upstream signal to the IR-UWB radio section 58 . The IR-UWB radio unit 58 transmits an upstream signal to the base unit 16 by radio communication of the IR-UWB system. The IR-UWB radio section 44 of the parent device 16 receives the upstream signal and outputs it to the parent device controller 46 . Master unit controller 46 outputs an upstream signal containing the patient ID and staff call information to wall-embedded I/F section 56 . The wall-embedded I/F unit 56 transmits upstream signals.

Base unit controller 46 outputs the downstream signal received by wall-embedded I/F section 56 and output from wall-embedded I/F section 56 to IR-UWB radio section 44 . The IR-UWB radio unit 44 transmits downlink signals. The IR-UWB radio section 58 of the radio tag 18 receives the downstream signal and outputs it to the tag controller 60 . The tag controller 60 causes the display 64 to display according to the downstream signal. The indicator 64 may emit light from a light source such as an LED. In this case, the tag controller 60 causes the indicator 64 to emit light in a manner corresponding to the information contained in the downstream signal.

Wireless communication of the IR-UWB system will be described. FIG. 4 shows the structure of a data symbol of an IR-UWB radio signal (Non-Patent Document 1). A data symbol is composed of two half-symbols 68 that are consecutive on the time axis, and each half-symbol 68 is composed of a burst train 70 and a guard interval 72 . The burst train 70 is made up of multiple bursts 74 and each burst 74 is made up of multiple pulses 76 . For example, one burst 74 may include eight pulses 76 and a burst train 70 may include eight bursts 74 . Pulse 76 has an impulse-like waveform. The duration of one pulse 76 may be on the order of less than ns. The length of time is defined, for example, as the time from when the magnitude of the signal rises to half of its peak value to when it falls to half of its peak value. The information contained in burst 74 is represented by the polarity of each of the plurality of pulses 76 contained in burst 74 .

In the upper part of FIG. 5, a packet 78 of a ranging signal transmitted by a wireless device (ranging device) that measures the distance to a device to be measured (target device), and a ranging signal packet 78 received by the ranging device. A packet 78 of response signals is shown. The distance measuring device is the nurse call slave unit 14, the base unit 16, or the wireless tag 18. FIG. When the nurse call slave device 14 is a distance measuring device, the target device is the master device 16 or the wireless tag 18 , and when the master device 16 is a distance measuring device, the target device is the nurse call slave device 14 . Also, when the wireless tag 18 is a rangefinder, the target device is the nurse call slave device 14 .

The lower part of FIG. 5 shows a ranging signal packet 78 received by the target device and a ranging response signal packet 78 transmitted by the target device. Each packet 78 is made up of data symbols shown in FIG. Each packet 78 contains a ranging pulse train 80 at a fixed relative position within the packet. The ranging pulse train 80 is a plurality of pulses representing a predetermined multi-digit reference code.

The ranging device transmits the ranging signal and stores the transmission time t1 of the ranging pulse train 80 included in the ranging signal. The target device that has received the distance measurement signal recognizes the distance measurement pulse train 80 by comparing the reference code stored by itself with the code indicated by the distance measurement pulse train 80 included in the distance measurement signal. The target device measures the time t2 at which the ranging pulse train 80 is received and the time t3 at which the ranging pulse train 80 included in the ranging response signal is transmitted, and obtains the response time tr. The response time tr is the time from reception of the ranging pulse train 80 to transmission of the ranging pulse train 80, and is obtained according to tr=t3-t2. The target device transmits a ranging response signal including information indicating the response time tr.

Note that if the response time tr is a constant value unique to the target device, the response time tr may be stored in advance in the target device. In this case, the target device transmits a ranging response signal including information indicating the pre-stored response time tr.

Upon receiving the ranging response signal, the ranging device compares the reference code stored by itself with the code indicated by the ranging pulse train 80 included in the ranging response signal, thereby determining the ranging included in the ranging response signal. A pulse train 80 is recognized. The ranging device measures and stores the time t4 at which the ranging pulse train 80 included in the ranging response signal is received.

The distance measuring device obtains the separation distance D from the target device according to the following (Equation 1).

(Formula 1) D = (t4-t1-tr) c/2

Here, c is the propagation speed of the electromagnetic wave. (Formula 1) is derived by multiplying half of the round-trip propagation time t4-t1-tr between the distance measuring device and the target device by the propagation speed c of the electromagnetic wave.

Note that the target device may transmit a ranging response signal including information indicating times t2 and t3 to the ranging device. In this case, the ranging device extracts information indicating times t2 and t3 from the ranging response signal, and obtains response time tr from times t2 and t3. The distance measuring device may obtain the separation distance D based on a formula having the same meaning as (Formula 1), such as a formula in which tr in (Formula 1) is replaced with t3-t2.

In the nurse call system 100 according to this embodiment, the distance between the ranging device and the target device is obtained based on the propagation time of the ranging pulse train 80 included in each of the ranging signal and ranging response signal. Ranging pulse train 80 may be on the order of less than ns in duration. Therefore, the distance to the target device is measured with high resolution in the vicinity of the distance measuring device.

Thus, the nurse call slave device 14 that constitutes the nurse call system 100 operates as a distance measuring radio device. The nurse call slave unit 14 includes an IR-UWB radio unit 30 that performs IR-UWB wireless communication, a slave unit wireless unit 38 that transmits information to the base unit 16, an IR-UWB wireless unit 30 and a slave unit wireless unit. 38 and a slave unit controller 32 for controlling 38 . The child device controller 32 performs wireless communication with the parent device 16 to measure the distance to the parent device 16 or perform distance measurement processing for causing the parent device 16 to measure the distance. Executes with unit 30 . The child device controller 32, together with the child device radio section 38, performs a process of transmitting an upstream signal including the distance between the parent devices measured by the distance measurement process to the parent device 16. FIG.

In addition, the slave unit controller 32 performs wireless communication with the wireless tag 18 to measure the distance to the wireless tag 18, or performs wireless tag distance measurement processing for causing the wireless tag 18 to measure the distance. , together with the IR-UWB radio unit 30 . The slave unit controller 32, together with the slave unit wireless unit 38, executes processing for transmitting an upstream signal including the distance between tags measured by the wireless tag distance measurement process to the master unit 16. FIG.

Further, the radio tag 18 constituting the nurse call system 100 includes an IR-UWB radio section 58 that performs IR-UWB radio communication, and a tag controller 60 that controls the IR-UWB radio section 58 . The tag controller 60 performs wireless communication with the nurse call slave device 14 (wireless device) to measure the distance to the nurse call slave device 14, or to the nurse call slave device 14 to measure the distance. distance measurement processing to be performed together with the IR-UWB radio unit 58 . The tag controller 60, together with the IR-UWB radio section 58, performs a process of transmitting an uplink signal including the distance between tags (distance between wireless devices) measured by the distance measurement process to the parent device 16. FIG.

Also, the master device 16 that constitutes the nurse call system 100 operates as a distance measuring radio device. The base unit 16 includes an IR-UWB radio unit 44 that performs IR-UWB wireless communication, and a base unit controller 46 that controls the IR-UWB radio unit 44 . The master unit controller 46 performs wireless communication with the nurse call slave unit 14 (wireless device) to measure the distance to the nurse call slave unit 14, or to transmit the distance to the nurse call slave unit 14. Distance measurement processing to be measured is executed together with the IR-UWB radio unit 44 . Base unit controller 46 executes a process of transmitting an uplink signal including the distance between base units (distance between wireless devices) measured by the distance measurement process to management device 20 .

In the above, when the distance between the parent devices exceeds a predetermined threshold, the management device 20 determines that the nurse call slave device 14 has been taken out of the hospital room, and when the distance between the tags exceeds the predetermined threshold, the patient calls the nurse. An embodiment has been described in which the management device 20 determines that the call slave device 14 is not carried. The management device 20 may make more detailed determinations as described below.

In the following description, the distance between parent devices is dp, and the distance between tags is dt. Regarding the distance dp between the parent devices, the condition between the first child device and the parent device that satisfies 0<dp≤D1, the condition between the second handset and the parent device that satisfies D1<dp≤D2, and the condition of D2<dp≤D3 are satisfied. A third handset-parent device condition that holds and a fourth handset-parent device condition that satisfies D3<dp are defined. Here, the threshold D1, the threshold D2 and the threshold D3 are determined in advance according to the size of the hospital room 10-j in which the parent device 16 is installed.

When the condition between the first slave unit and the master unit is satisfied, the management device 20 determines that the nurse call slave unit 14 is positioned adjacent to the master unit 16 . When the condition between the second child device and the parent device is established, the management device 20 determines that the nurse call child device 14 is in the vicinity of the parent device 16 . If the third child device/parent device condition is established, the management device 20 determines that the nurse call child device 14 is not in the vicinity of the parent device 16 . When the fourth handset/master handset condition is established, the management device 20 determines that the nurse call handset 14 is outside the hospital room 10-j. The management device 20 may display, on the display, the conditions that are satisfied for the current distance between the parent device among the conditions between the first child device and the parent device to the conditions between the fourth child device and the parent device.

Regarding the inter-tag distance dt, the first inter-tag condition where 0<dt≦D11 holds, the second inter-tag condition where D11<dt≦D12 holds, and the third inter-tag condition where D12<dt holds. The condition between child device and tag is defined. Here, the threshold D11 and the threshold D12 are predetermined according to the patient's physique and behavioral tendencies.

When the condition between the first handset and the tag is established, the management device 20 determines that the patient carries the nurse call handset 14 . When the condition between the second handset and the tag is established, the management device 20 determines that the patient has placed the nurse call handset 14 near the patient. When the condition between the third child device and tag is established, the management device 20 determines that the patient does not carry the nurse call child device 14 . The management device 20 may display, on the display, the condition that is established for the current inter-tag distance among the conditions between the first child device and tags to the conditions between the third child device and tags.

The slave unit controller 32 of the nurse call slave unit 14 executes the same processing as the management device 20, and determines the distance dp between the first slave unit and the master unit to the condition between the fourth slave unit and the master unit. A determination may be made as to which condition is satisfied. The child device controller 32 may cause the display device 36 to display the conditions that are established for the current distance between the parent devices among the conditions between the first child device and the parent device to the conditions between the fourth child device and the parent device. . Further, when the condition between the second child device and the parent device to the condition between the fourth child device and the parent device is established, the child device controller 32 causes the speaker 40 to generate a notification sound of a different pattern according to these conditions. may Here, the pattern refers to a pattern of change in pitch or change in rhythm. For each of the conditions between the second child device and the parent device to the condition between the fourth child device and the parent device, a period of time from when the condition is established until the notification sound is generated may be determined. When any one of the conditions between the second child device and the parent device to the condition between the fourth child device and the parent device is established, the child device controller 32 determines when the time set for the satisfied condition has elapsed. In addition, the speaker 40 may generate a notification sound of a pattern corresponding to the established condition.

Further, the child device controller 32 of the nurse call child device 14 executes the same processing as the management device 20, and determines the distance dt between tags from any of the first child device/tag conditions to the third child device/tag conditions. It may be determined whether or not the condition of is established. The child device controller 32 may cause the display device 36 to display the conditions that are established for the current inter-tag distance among the conditions between the first child device and the tags to the conditions between the third child device and the tags. Further, when the second child device/tag condition and the third child device/tag condition are established, the child device controller 32 may cause the speaker 40 to generate notification sounds of different patterns according to these conditions. good. For each of the second child device-tag condition and the third child device-tag condition, a time period from when the condition is established until the notification sound is generated may be determined. When either the second child device/tag condition or the third child device/tag condition is established, the child device controller 32, when the time set for the established condition elapses, The speaker 40 may generate a notification sound of a pattern corresponding to the established condition.

FIG. 6 shows the judgment results for each combination of the condition between the first child device and the parent device to the condition between the fourth child device and the parent device and the condition between the first child device and the tag and the condition between the third child device and the tag. It is shown. Determination for each condition may be performed by the management device 20 or the child device controller 32 . The management device 20 may display the determination result on the display. The handset controller 32 may cause the display 36 to display the determination result.

When executing determination corresponding to the following items (i) to (vi), the handset controller 32 may perform notification processing according to the determination result. That is, the slave device controller 32 may cause the speaker 40 to generate different patterns of notification sounds according to the determination result. Further, the handset controller 32 may cause the display 36 to display the determination result. Further, when the nurse call slave device 14 is provided with a light source such as a light emitting diode, the slave device controller 32 may turn on the light source in a manner according to the determination result.

(i) When either the first child device/parent device condition or the second child device/parent device condition is established and the second child device/tag condition is established, the child device controller 32 determines that ``the patient is in the hospital room.

(ii) When the condition between the third child device and the parent device is established and the condition between the second child device and the tag is established, the child device controller 32 outputs the message "There is a high possibility that the patient is in the hospital room. Patient does not carry the nurse call slave unit 14, but puts it near the patient."

(iii) When the condition between the fourth child device and the parent device is established and the condition between the second child device and the tag is established, the child device controller 32 outputs the message, "There is a high possibility that the patient is outside the patient's room. The patient does not carry the nurse call slave unit 14, but puts it near the patient."

(iv) When either the first child device/parent device condition or the second child device/parent device condition is established and the third child device/tag condition is established, the child device controller 32 determines that "the patient is outside the patient's room. The patient has left the nurse call handset 14 in the patient's room."

(v) When the condition between the third child device and the parent device is satisfied and the condition between the third child device and the tag is also satisfied, the child device controller 32 outputs "the patient is likely to be outside the patient's room. The patient does not carry the nurse call handset 14."

(vi) When the condition between the fourth child device and the parent device is established and the condition between the third child device and the tag is established, the child device controller 32 outputs "the patient is likely to be outside the patient's room. The patient does not carry the nurse call handset 14."

The determination result of item (vi) has the highest urgency or importance of notification. The urgency or importance of notification is higher in the order of the determination results of items (v), (iv), (iii), (ii), and (i). That is, the determination result of item (i) has the lowest urgency or importance of notification. The child device controller 32 may cause the speaker 40 to generate the notification sound in a more prominent manner as the degree of urgency or importance increases.

If the condition between the first child device and the tag is met, the child device controller 32 does not have to perform the process of causing the speaker 40 to generate the notification sound because the possibility of a problem occurring is low.

In addition, in preparation for the case where the nurse call slave unit 14 is left behind outside the hospital room, the wireless tag 18 performs IR-UWB wireless communication and measures the distance between the tag and the master unit 16 to the master unit 16. good. Alternatively, the wireless tag 18 may cause the parent device 16 to measure the distance between the tag and the parent device and acquire the distance between the tag and the parent device from the parent device 16 . In this case, the tag controller 60 in the wireless tag 18 uses the IR-UWB radio unit 58 to directly transmit an upstream signal including the distance between the tag and the parent device to the parent device 16 . Base unit 16 receives the upstream signal using IR-UWB radio section 44 and outputs the upstream signal to wall embedded I/F section 56 . The wall-embedded I/F unit 56 transmits an upstream signal to the communication line leading to the management device 20 via the corridor light 24-j. Through such processing, the tag-parent device distance is transmitted from the wireless tag 18 to the management device 20, and the management device 20 acquires the tag-parent device distance. Further, wall-embedded I/F unit 56 receives a downstream signal from the communication line and outputs it to base unit 16 . The base unit 16 uses the IR-UWB radio section 44 to directly transmit the downstream signal to the radio tag 18 . The radio tag 18 uses the IR-UWB radio section 58 to receive the downstream signal.

FIG. 7 shows the configuration of a nurse call system 102 according to a second embodiment of the invention. The nurse call system 102 includes a management device 20, an access point 90, a parent device 16A, a nurse call slave device 14A and a wireless tag 18. The nurse call system 102 differs from the nurse call system 100 according to the first embodiment in that an access point 90 is provided as a relay device between the nurse call slave device 14A and the management device 20 . The access point 90 is wired or wirelessly connected to the management device 20 . The access point 90 may be installed in a hospital room, a hallway outside a common space, or the like. Direct communication does not have to be performed between master device 16A and management device 20 .

The nurse call slave device 14A wirelessly transmits an upstream signal to the access point 90. FIG. The access point 90 that has received the uplink signal transmits the uplink signal to the management device 20 by wire or wirelessly. Management device 20 receives an uplink signal transmitted from access point 90 . The management device 20 transmits a downlink signal to the access point 90 by wire or by radio. The access point 90 that has received the downlink signal wirelessly transmits the downlink signal to the nurse call slave unit 14A. The nurse call slave device 14A receives the downlink signal transmitted from the access point 90. FIG.

FIG. 8 shows a specific configuration example of the nurse call system 102. As shown in FIG. A master unit 16A is installed in each of the hospital room 10-1 and the common space 10-S. In the example shown in FIG. 8, the patient is initially in hospital room 10-1 with wireless tag 18 and nurse call handset 14A, and moves to common space 10-S with wireless tag 18 and nurse call handset 14A. The nurse call slave device 14A communicates with the management device 20 via the access point 90 before and after movement. The nurse call system 102 may be provided with multiple access points 90 at different locations. In this case, the nurse call slave device 14A communicates with the management device 20 via the access point 90 with which the communication state is good.

The nurse call system 102 includes wireless corridor lights 92-1 and 92-S corresponding to the patient room 10-1 and common space 10-S. Wireless hallway lights 92-1 and 92-S may be provided near patient room 10-1 and common space 10-S, respectively. Wireless corridor lights 92 - 1 and 92 -S receive downlink signals transmitted from management device 20 to access point 90 and further transmitted from access point 90 . The wireless corridor lights 92-1 and 10-S determine whether the patient is in the hospital room 10-1 or the common space 10-S or whether the patient is carrying the nurse call handset 14 based on the information contained in the downstream signal. information such as whether the

9(a) to (c) show specific configurations of the nurse call slave unit 14A, master unit 16A and wireless tag 18, which constitute the nurse call system 102, respectively. Nurse call slave unit 14A differs from nurse call slave unit 14 shown in FIG. Further, the base unit 16A differs from the base unit 16 shown in FIG. 3 in that the base unit wireless unit 52 and the wall-embedded I/F unit 56 are not provided. The base unit 16A is fixed in a hospital room or common space. The wireless tag 18 has the same configuration as the wireless tag 18 shown in FIG.

FIG. 10 shows a specific configuration of a nurse call system 104 according to the third embodiment of the invention. Nurse call system 104 is a combination of nurse call system 100 shown in FIG. 1 and nurse call system 102 shown in FIG. Master unit 16 placed in sickrooms 10-1 and 10-2, wall-embedded device 22, corridor light 24-1 connected to wall-embedded device 22 of sickroom 10-1, wall of sickroom 10-2 A corridor light 24 - 2 connected to the embedded device 22 and the management device 20 constitute a nurse call system 100 . Master unit 16A, access point 90 and management device 20 arranged in shared space 10-S constitute nurse call system 102. FIG.

Here, an embodiment in which the nurse call system 104 is configured in the hospital room 10-1, the hospital room 10-2, the common space 10-S and the staff room 12 is shown. The number of hospital rooms and common spaces in which the nurse call system 104 is configured is arbitrary. It is also arbitrary in which room a part of the nurse call system 100 is configured and in which room a part of the nurse call system 102 is configured.

According to the nurse call system 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention, misplacing of the nurse call handset 14 is avoided. Further, according to the nurse call system 102, misplacing of the nurse call handset 14A is avoided, and according to the nurse call system 104, misplacement of the nurse call handset 14 and 14A is avoided. Since the distance between parent devices and the distance between tags are determined using IR-UWB wireless communication, the positions of nurse call slave device 14, nurse call slave device 14A, and wireless tag 18 can be determined with high accuracy. be done. Therefore, based on the information acquired by the management device 20, the staff can accurately ascertain the positions of the nurse call slave devices 14 and 14A.

Above, an embodiment was shown in which the nurse call system was installed in a hospital. The present invention may also be used in buildings of other facilities such as nursing homes.

10 10-1 to 10-N Hospital room, 10-S Shared space, 12 Staff room, 14, 14A Nurse call slave unit, 16, 16A Master unit, 18 Wireless tag, 20 Management device, 22 Wall embedded device, 24- 1 to 24-N, 24-S corridor light, 30, 44, 58 IR-UWB radio section, 32 child device controller, 34, 62 push button, 36, 48, 64 display, 38, 38A child device radio section, 40 speaker, 42 microphone, 46 base unit controller, 52 base unit wireless unit, 56 wall-embedded I/F unit, 60 tag controller, 68 half symbol, 70 burst train, 72 guard interval, 74 burst, 76 pulse, 78 packet , 80 ranging pulse train, 90 access point, 92-1, 92-S wireless corridor light, 100, 102, 104 nurse call system.

Claims (9)

an IR-UWB radio unit that performs IR-UWB wireless communication;
a slave unit radio unit that transmits information to a master unit or a relay device;
a child device controller that controls the IR-UWB radio unit and the child device radio unit;
The slave unit controller
By performing wireless communication with the parent device, the distance to the parent device is measured, or a distance measurement process for causing the parent device to measure the distance is executed together with the IR-UWB radio unit. ,
A distance-measuring wireless device, which performs, together with the slave-device wireless unit, a process of transmitting an uplink signal including the distance between the master devices measured by the distance-measuring process to the master device or the relay device. The distance measuring radio of claim 1, wherein
A distance-measuring wireless device that executes notification processing to a user based on the distance between the parent devices. In the distance measuring radio according to claim 1 or claim 2,
The slave unit controller
By performing wireless communication with a wireless tag, a wireless tag distance measurement process is performed together with the IR-UWB wireless unit to measure the distance to the wireless tag or cause the wireless tag to measure the distance. death,
A distance-measuring wireless device, which performs a process of transmitting an upstream signal including the distance between tags measured by the wireless-tag distance measurement process to the parent device or the relay device together with the slave device wireless unit. an IR-UWB radio unit that performs IR-UWB wireless communication;
a slave unit radio unit that transmits information to a master unit or a relay device;
a child device controller that controls the IR-UWB radio unit and the child device radio unit;
The slave unit controller
By performing wireless communication with a wireless tag, a wireless tag distance measurement process is performed together with the IR-UWB wireless unit to measure the distance to the wireless tag or cause the wireless tag to measure the distance. death,
A distance-measuring wireless device, which performs a process of transmitting an upstream signal including the distance between tags measured by the wireless-tag distance measurement process to the parent device or the relay device together with the slave device wireless unit. In the distance measuring radio according to claim 3 or claim 4,
The slave unit controller
A distance-measuring wireless device, characterized in that it notifies a user according to the inter-tag distance. A distance measuring radio according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The child device controller performs pairing with the parent device together with the child device wireless unit,
A distance-measuring wireless device, wherein communication is performed via the slave device wireless unit with the master device that has completed pairing among the plurality of the master devices. an IR-UWB radio unit that performs IR-UWB wireless communication;
a tag controller that controls the IR-UWB radio unit;
The tag controller
performing wireless communication with a wireless device to measure a distance to the wireless device or to cause the wireless device to measure the distance, together with the IR-UWB wireless unit;
A wireless tag that performs, together with the IR-UWB radio unit, a process of transmitting an upstream signal including the distance between wireless devices measured by the distance measurement process to the wireless device. In the wireless tag according to claim 7,
The tag controller
Execute processing for generating an uplink call signal based on a user's operation,
A wireless tag characterized by executing processing for transmitting the uplink call signal to the wireless device together with the IR-UWB wireless unit. an IR-UWB radio unit that performs IR-UWB wireless communication;
a parent device controller that controls the IR-UWB radio unit,
The master controller is
performing wireless communication with a wireless device to measure a distance to the wireless device or to cause the wireless device to measure the distance, together with the IR-UWB wireless unit;
A distance-measuring wireless device that transmits an uplink signal including the distance between wireless devices measured by the distance-measuring process to a management device.

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