JP6100228B2 - Activity detector - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an activity detection device that detects an activity of a wearer.

  When caring for an elderly person, it is necessary to always know where the elderly person living alone is alive and where there is an elderly person who may be hesitant. However, since it is difficult to attach a caregiver to each elderly person, an activity detection device for detecting the activity of the elderly person and a signal indicating that each activity is being detected from the activity detection device is wireless. A monitoring system is known in which a communication line is received to confirm and monitor the safety and current position of an elderly person.

  The action detection device for an action object disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-111990 has a vibration sensor or an inclination sensor attached to an action object such as a person or an animal. Based on the response of the tilt sensor in addition to the vibration sensor that always detects vibration, the signal from each sensor is comprehensively determined to determine whether the action body has bowed or collapsed.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-111990

  The vibration sensor of the motion detection device described above includes a bearing sensor. The bearing sensor is formed by incorporating a conductive bearing in a cylindrical casing provided with a plurality of contact pairs at predetermined intervals. By detecting the speed at which the bearings rolling in the cylinder connect between the pair of contacts, it is possible to detect "slow vibration" from "no vibration" or "vibration of a certain level". . As described above, a mechanical contact bearing sensor in which a bearing connects between contacts must keep a current flowing in order to quickly detect the presence or absence of vibration. The constant current is about several μA to several tens of mA, which is a major cause of battery consumption.

In addition to the bearing sensor as described above, if it is necessary to constantly energize the sensor for constant monitoring, power consumption may increase. As a result, the mounted battery is large and has a large capacity, and the device itself is large and heavy. Therefore, there is a possibility that it becomes a big burden for the wearer who wears such a detection device for a long time.
In addition, when the battery is heavily consumed, it is very troublesome for the caregiver or the person who manages the motion detection device such as a doctor or nurse to frequently replace or charge the battery. It becomes.

  Accordingly, the problem to be solved by the present invention is to detect the activity by reducing the burden on the wearer by reducing the power consumption, thereby reducing the burden on the wearer and extending the battery replacement period or the charging period. Is to provide a device.

The activity detection device according to claim 1 is an activity detection device that detects the activity of the wearer by attaching the apparatus main body to the wearer's body or in the vicinity of the wearer.
An operation detecting means for detecting the activity of the wearer and outputting a detection signal related to the detected activity;
Examples trigger input of the detection signal, and a feedback means which is adapted to flow momentarily feedback current to the sensor,
When the sensor detects the activity,
A starting current obtained by adding a feedback current larger than the steady current to a very small steady current flowing in the sensor is caused to flow to the sensor .

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to the first aspect, the feedback means includes a buffer having two stages of NOT gates connected in series, and an output end side and an input end side of the buffer. It is characterized by comprising a connected feedback circuit.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the activity detection device according to the first aspect, wherein the sensor is a vibration sensor.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the activity detection apparatus according to the first aspect, further comprising recording means for recording the activity data based on the detection signal.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the activity detecting apparatus according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, further comprising transmission means for transmitting the activity data to a base station through a wireless communication line.

According to the activity detection device of the present invention, when the sensor detects the activity of the wearer, the activation current obtained by adding the feedback current to the steady current flowing through the sensor is instantaneously supplied to the sensor. Furthermore, after feeding the feedback current, the feedback current was stopped immediately and the sensor was operated with a steady current.
As a result, since the current flowing through the sensor can be instantaneously increased and then quickly suppressed, the sensor can be operated with the minimum necessary current, and the power consumption of the activity detection device can be suppressed.
Therefore, since the battery of the activity detection device can be reduced in size, the burden on the wearer can be reduced. Further, since the battery replacement cycle or the charging cycle can be lengthened by suppressing the power consumption, it is possible to reduce the trouble of battery replacement or charging.

It is a block diagram which shows the outline of a structure of the activity detection apparatus which concerns on a present Example. It is a circuit diagram which shows the outline of the principal circuit structure of the activity detection apparatus which concerns on a present Example. It is a chart figure which shows the operation timing of each part about the activity detection apparatus which concerns on a present Example.

  Embodiments of the activity detection apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an outline of the configuration of the activity detection apparatus according to the present embodiment, and FIG.

The activity detection device 10 includes a detection unit 11 that detects the activity of the wearer, a recording unit 12 that records the detected activity, and an output unit 13 that outputs the recorded activity to the base station 1 through the wireless communication line 3. Become.
A monitoring system is composed of at least one, preferably a plurality of activity detection devices 10, and a base station 1 connected by a wireless communication line 3.
Here, the base station 1 having the receiving antenna 2 is formed so as to be able to identify at least one, preferably a plurality of activity detection devices 10. The base station 1 records which of the plurality of activity detection devices 10 has transmitted the activity status, which activity detection device 10 is activated, and which activity detection device 10 is activated. By discriminating whether there is any, it is possible to grasp whether or not the wearer of the activity detection device 10 is active.

The detection unit 11 detects an activity of the wearer and outputs a detection signal related to the detected activity, and an electric current related to the detection signal output from the operation detection unit 14 Feedback means 15 for feeding back to is provided.
The motion detection means 14 has a vibration sensor 14a as shown in FIG. The vibration sensor 14a is connected to a 3V Vcc power supply 25 through a 10MΩ resistor 14b.
The vibration sensor 14a includes a case formed in a cylindrical shape and a metal sphere having a diameter that is housed in the case and inscribed in the case. The case has a plurality of contacts formed at predetermined intervals on the inner wall. The contact is energized, and when the metal ball moves in the case, vibration can be detected by the metal ball electrically connecting the contact. In other words, the vibration sensor 14a is configured to detect vibration according to the state of the metal sphere in the case and output a detection signal when the contact is closed (on) or opened (off), respectively. . The current (hereinafter referred to as “contact current”) energized to the contact of the vibration sensor 14a in this embodiment is recommended to be 3 μA to 0.3 mA.
In the present embodiment, the vibration sensor 14a is employed, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a sensor using a liquid such as water or oil, an electrocardiographic sensor for detecting heart sounds, or a wearer Any device that can detect the activity of the wearer, such as a sensor that detects the occurrence of a loss, may be used. Further, the voltage value of the Vcc power supply 25 is not limited to the value of this embodiment, and an optimum arbitrary value can be set. The resistance value of the resistor 14b is several MΩ to suppress the power consumption of the operation detecting means 14. As described above, a high resistance of 10 MΩ or more is preferable.

  The feedback unit 15 includes a buffer 16 that outputs a high (hereinafter referred to as “H”) or low (hereinafter referred to as “L”) value in response to ON / OFF input of the detection signal, and an input terminal of the buffer 16. A feedback circuit 17 is connected to the output terminal and feeds back a current related to the detection signal from the output terminal side of the buffer 16 to the input terminal side.

As shown in FIG. 2, the buffer 16 is formed by connecting a first inverter 16a and a second inverter 16b each consisting of a NOT gate in series. The buffer 16 is connected to a Vcc power supply 25 and is also grounded. .
Here, when the contact of the vibration sensor 14a is open, it is off, and when it is closed, it is on. Therefore, when the motion detection means 14 inputs the detection signal to the buffer 16, the first inverter 16a Since L is output and the second inverter 16b outputs a value of H, the buffer 16 is configured to output H when the detection signal is OFF.
On the other hand, when the operation detection means 14 inputs the detection signal to the buffer 16, the first inverter 16a outputs a value of H and the second inverter 16b outputs a value of L, so that the buffer 16 is detected. When the signal is on, L is output.
As a result, the buffer 16 can convert the continuous contact ON / OFF signal output from the vibration sensor 14a into a binary detection signal indicating whether or not there is vibration.

As shown in FIG. 2, the feedback circuit 17 includes a diode 17a and a 10kΩ resistor 17b.
The input terminal of the diode 17a is connected to the output terminal of the inverter 16b of the buffer 16, and the output terminal of the resistor 17b is connected to the input terminal of the inverter 16a. Thereby, the feedback circuit 17 can feed back the current flowing through the buffer 16 to the vibration sensor 14a.

Here, the vibration sensor 14a according to the present embodiment is a switch that outputs a detection signal when a metal ball inscribed in one contact in the case moves to another contact according to the activity of the wearer. It is formed to perform a typical operation. In addition, in the case, it is manufactured so as to prevent continuity as much as possible, for example, grease or plastic dust or similar insulators, but a very small amount of the insulator adheres to the contact, and the contact is extremely thin. A film may be formed. A resistance is formed in the contact by the coating as an insulator and a gap between the contacts (hereinafter referred to as “contact resistance”). When the value of the current flowing through the contact resistance is small, the contact operation, that is, the operation of the vibration sensor 14a may become unstable. Therefore, it is preferable to pass a large current that can ignore the contact resistance.
On the other hand, if a large current that allows the contact resistance of the vibration sensor 14a to be neglected is constantly passed, the battery of the vibration sensor 14a becomes very exhausted. It is preferable to reduce the value of the current flowing through

Immediately before the metal ball of the vibration sensor 14a moves and the contact is closed, the detection signal is turned off to the buffer 16 by the Vcc power supply 25 and the resistor 14b of the operation detecting means. At this time, H is output on the output end side of the buffer 16. When the output end side outputs H, the feedback circuit 17 is formed so as to feed back a feedback current of 0.3 mA based on the Vcc power supply 25 (3 V) and the resistor 17 b (10 kΩ) of the buffer 16 to the operation detecting means 14. ing. That is, in addition to the very small current of 0.3 μA based on the Vcc power supply 25 and the resistor 14b (10 MΩ) of the operation detection means 14, the 0.3 mA feedback current flows through the vibration sensor 14a. Therefore, a sufficiently large current can be passed through the vibration sensor 14a to ignore the contact resistance of the vibration sensor 14a.
Then, at the moment when the contact of the vibration sensor 14a is closed, the detection signal is turned on to the buffer 16 and the vibration sensor 14a is grounded. Therefore, the output terminal of the buffer 16 via the feedback circuit 17 is L, That is, the voltage becomes 0 V, and the feedback current does not flow in the feedback circuit 17, so that only a very small current of 0.3 μA included in the operation detection unit 14 flows through the contact of the vibration sensor 14 a.
Accordingly, only when the contact of the vibration sensor 14a is closed, the feedback means 15 can feed back a large current to the vibration sensor 14a so that the contact resistance can be ignored, and then the current flowing through the vibration sensor 14a can be quickly reduced. it can.
As a result, the power consumption of the motion detection means 14 can be extremely reduced, so that consumption of the battery of the activity detection device 10 can be suppressed and a reduction in size and weight can be achieved. Therefore, the burden on the wearer can be reduced, and the battery replacement cycle or charging cycle can be lengthened.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the differentiation circuit 18 includes a capacitor 18a and a resistor 18b. The H or L constant voltage signal output from the feedback means 16 and input to the differentiating circuit 18 is formed so as to be converted into a pulse waveform by the differentiating circuit 18. Thereby, the detection signal output from the detection part 11 can be made into the voltage signal shape | molded by the pulse-shaped waveform.

The recording unit 12 includes a recording unit that can record the detection signal output from the detection unit 11. The recording means comprises a flip-flop circuit having two stages of C-MOS / NAND gates 12a and 12b. The flip-flop circuit is formed so as to hold either the on state in which the detection signal is input or the off state in which the detection signal is not input until the reset signal is input. Thereby, the activity state of the wearer of the activity detection device 10 can be recorded.
By periodically inputting a reset signal to the flip-flop circuit, whether or not the detection signal is input to the storage unit 12 at least once every predetermined period is sequentially recorded as activity data. When the detection signal is input at least once in a certain cycle, the activity data based on detecting the vibration in the one cycle is output to the output unit 13, and the detection signal is 1 in the other cycle. When no input is made, the activity data based on the fact that no vibration is detected in the other period is output to the output unit 13.
In the present embodiment, the activity state is recorded by the flip-flop circuit, but the present invention is not limited to this, and it is recorded on the RAM, hard disk drive (HDD), flash memory or similar external recording medium. You may do it. In this way, for example, the activity data for transmission is temporarily recorded by the flip-flop circuit, and the activity data is recorded as a backup on the external recording medium. Even if the activity status cannot be notified to the base station, the activity status of the wearer can be recorded.

The output unit 13 includes a data reading unit 19 that reads activity data from the recording unit 12, and a transmission unit 20 that transmits the read activity data to the base station 1 through the wireless communication line 3.
The data reading unit 19 includes a transistor 19a and resistors 19b, 19c, and 19d. The resistor 19d is connected to the Vcc power supply 25.
The transmission unit 20 includes a wireless module 20 a having an antenna 21, and is configured to transmit the read activity data to the base station 1 after encoding it in accordance with a predetermined communication standard.
The wireless module 20a is configured to send a read signal to the data reading unit 19 at a predetermined cycle to request a response of activity data. The data reader 19 requested for the activity data by the read signal reads the activity data based on the on / off state of the flip-flop circuit from the recording unit 12, and returns a response signal regarding the on / off state to the wireless module 20a. It is formed to do.
Further, the wireless module 20a is configured to transmit a reset signal to the flip-flop circuit at a predetermined cycle. When the reset signal is input to the flip-flop circuit, the flip-flop circuit held in the on state is reset to the off state.
After transmitting the reset signal, the wireless module 20a is configured to shift to a sleep mode in which it waits until the next reading signal is output with a minimum power consumption. The sleep mode is periodically visited according to the transmission of the periodic reading signal and the reset signal, so that the power consumption of the wireless module 20a can be suppressed.

  The activity detection apparatus having the above-described configuration operates as described below. The operation will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 3 is a chart showing the operation timing of each part of the active device according to the present embodiment.

The vibration sensor 14a mechanically formed so as to open and close between the contacts when the metal ball moves in the case outputs a detection signal when the contacts are closed (on) or opened (off). That is, the detection signal is a continuous contact ON / OFF signal.
When the wearer of the activity detecting device 10 moves and the vibration sensor 14a repeats on / off, the contact ON / OFF signal output by the vibration sensor 14a is H or L square wave in the buffer 16. It is converted into a digital detection signal having a pulse waveform. The detection signal is further shaped into a single-wave pulse waveform by the differentiating circuit 18 and output from the detection unit 11 to the storage unit 12. As described above, the contact ON / OFF signal continuously indicating from the weak vibration when the metal ball slowly moves in the case to the intense vibration when quickly moved is transmitted through the buffer 16 and the differentiation circuit 18. It is converted into a binary pulse detection signal indicating whether or not there was.

  When the first pulse detection signal is input to the flip-flop circuit of the storage unit 12, the flip-flop circuit held in the off state transitions to the on state. When the flip-flop circuit is once turned on, the on state is held until a reset signal is input from the wireless module 20a. Since the reset signal is periodically input from the wireless module 20a, the detection signal is input to the storage unit 12 having the flip-flop circuit at least once every predetermined period, or the detection signal is input once. Activity data indicating whether or not input has been made is stored. In this embodiment, the cycle for resetting the storage unit 12 is set to 2 seconds according to the cycle of a read signal to be described later.

On the other hand, the wireless module 20 a of the output unit 13 periodically transmits a reading signal to the data reading unit 19. In this embodiment, the period of the read signal is set to 2 seconds, but can be arbitrarily set.
If the flip-flop circuit is held in the ON state when the read signal is received, the data reading unit 19 to which the read signal is input returns a response signal related to the active data in the ON state to the wireless module 20a.
The wireless module 20a transmits an activity signal indicating that the wearer of the activity detection device 10 is active from the antenna 21 to the base station 1 through the wireless communication line 3 based on the response signal related to the activity data in the on state. Send.
On the other hand, when the flip-flop circuit is held in the off state, the data reading unit 19 returns a response signal related to the activity data in the off state to the wireless module 20a.
Based on the response signal related to the off-state activity data, the wireless module 20a transmits to the base station 1 an activity failure signal indicating that the wearer of the activity detection device 10 is not active.
As a result, the base station 1 can grasp whether or not the wearer is active.

According to the activity detection apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment, the detection signal output by the vibration sensor 14a detecting vibration is passed through the buffer 16 and the differentiation circuit 18 to perform simple binary processing as to whether or not there is vibration. After the current related to the detection signal is fed back and a current large enough to ignore the contact resistance is passed through the vibration sensor 14a, the feedback current is stopped and the vibration sensor 14a is operated with a very small steady current. As a result, it is possible to suppress an excess current from flowing through the vibration sensor 14a, and to shape the detection signal into a single pulse waveform. Therefore, power consumption of the detection unit 11 can be suppressed.
In the present embodiment, the vibration sensor 14a that operates mechanically is illustrated, but the present invention is not limited to this. Any sensor having a contact resistance or a sensor having a resistance similar to the contact resistance may be used. Power consumption can be reduced by applying the feedback means of the invention.
The wireless module 20a shifts to the sleep mode at a predetermined cycle. Thereby, the power consumption of the wireless module 20a can be suppressed. Further, the wireless module 20a periodically transmits an activity signal or an activity rejection signal to the base station 1. Thereby, the power consumption of the wireless module 20a can be suppressed.
As described above, the activity detection device 10 is configured to suppress power consumption in each unit. Thereby, the power consumption of the activity detection apparatus 10 can be suppressed. Therefore, since the battery mounted on the activity detection device 10 can be reduced in size, the burden on the wearer can be reduced. Further, since the battery replacement cycle or the charging cycle can be lengthened by suppressing the power consumption, it is possible to reduce the trouble of battery replacement or charging.

  In addition, although the wearing person of the activity detection apparatus 10 which concerns on a present Example assumes the elderly person who needs to always grasp | ascertain where he is or is healthy, it is not limited to this. For example, it can be worn on an infant and used by parents to see if the infant is awake or sleeping, or it can be worn on a pet such as a dog or cat and used by the owner to find out where the pet is. You may do it.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Activity detection apparatus, 11 ... Detection part, 12 ... Memory | storage part, 12a, 12b ... C-MOS * NAND gate, 13 ... Output part,
14 ... Motion detection means, 14a ... Vibration sensor, 14b ... Resistor,
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 15 ... Feedback means, 16 ... Buffer, 16a, 16b ... Inverter, 17 ... Feedback circuit, 17a ... Diode, 17b ... Resistor, 18 ... Differentiation circuit, 18a ... Capacitor, 18b ... Resistor,
19: Data reading unit, 19a: Transistor, 19b, 19c, 19d ... Resistor,
20 ... Transmission means, 20a ... Wireless module, 21 ... Antenna,
25 ... Vcc power supply.

Claims (5)

An activity detection device for detecting the activity of the wearer by attaching the apparatus body to the wearer's body or in the vicinity of the wearer,
An operation detecting means for detecting the activity of the wearer and outputting a detection signal related to the detected activity;
Examples trigger input of the detection signal, and a feedback means which is adapted to flow momentarily feedback current to the sensor,
When the sensor detects the activity,
An activity detection device , wherein a starting current obtained by adding a feedback current larger than the steady current to a very small steady current flowing in the sensor is caused to flow to the sensor .   2. The activity detection according to claim 1, wherein the feedback means includes a buffer having two stages of NOT gates connected in series, and a feedback circuit connecting the output end side and the input end side of the buffer. apparatus.   The activity detection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sensor is a vibration sensor.   The activity detection apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising recording means for recording activity data based on the detection signal.   The activity detection apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising a transmission unit configured to transmit the activity data to a base station through a wireless communication line.

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