JP6690166B2 - Toothbrush module and toothbrush support system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a toothbrush module for supporting a user's toothbrushing, and a toothbrushing assistance system including the toothbrush module.

  BACKGROUND ART Conventionally, there is known an electric toothbrush having a function of detecting a pulsating signal of a blood vessel of a user by gripping the casing and transmitting the detected information to a so-called smartphone by wireless communication. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1.).

WO2014 / 021335

  However, in the above technique, if the wireless communication cannot be normally executed for some reason, there is a risk that the information that the electric toothbrush attempts to transmit may be lost.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a toothbrush module that can improve the certainty that information obtained by a user's toothbrushing action can be transmitted to a wireless terminal device having a wireless communication function, and a toothbrush support system including the toothbrush module. It is to be.

  The toothbrush module according to the present invention is incapable of wirelessly communicating with the wireless terminal device, a sensor unit that detects a predetermined physical quantity related to the toothbrush, a wireless communication unit that wirelessly communicates with the wireless terminal device, a storage unit that stores information. At this time, the toothbrush information, which is information based on the physical quantity detected by the sensor unit, is cumulatively stored in the storage unit, and after the wireless communication with the wireless terminal device becomes possible, the toothbrush stored in the storage unit. A toothbrush information management unit that transmits information to the wireless terminal device by the wireless communication unit, a housing unit that houses the sensor unit, the wireless communication unit, the storage unit, and the toothbrush information management unit.

  According to this configuration, when the wireless communication with the wireless terminal device cannot be performed, the toothbrush information, which is information based on the physical quantity detected by the sensor unit, is cumulatively stored in the storage unit, and then the wireless communication with the wireless terminal device becomes possible. Since the toothbrush information stored in the storage unit is transmitted to the wireless terminal device at the time of performing, it is possible to improve the certainty that the information obtained by the user's tooth brushing action can be transmitted to the wireless terminal device having the wireless communication function. You can

  Further, it is preferable that a connection mechanism that detachably attaches the casing to the toothbrush is provided.

  According to this configuration, the user can attach the toothbrush module to the toothbrush provided with the substantially bar-shaped handle portion for gripping the toothbrush manually with the hand and detect the predetermined physical quantity of the toothbrush.

  Moreover, the start detection part which detects the start of a user's tooth brushing action is further provided, The said tooth-brush information management part is the wireless communication of the start information which shows the start of a tooth-brushing action when the said start is detected by the said start detector. When the wireless communication unit receives response information indicating a response to the start information from the wireless terminal device, the toothbrush information is transmitted by the wireless communication unit to the wireless terminal device. When the response information indicating the response to the start information from the wireless terminal device is not received by the wireless communication unit, the toothpaste information is cumulatively stored in the storage unit as being incapable of wireless communication with the wireless terminal device. And the start detection unit detects the start again, and the start information is sent to the wireless terminal device by the wireless communication unit. When the start response information indicating the response to the start information from the wireless terminal device is received by the wireless communication unit after being transmitted, the storage unit determines that wireless communication with the wireless terminal device is enabled. It is preferable that the wireless communication unit transmits the toothbrush information stored in section 1 to the wireless terminal device.

  According to this configuration, when the user starts brushing teeth, the toothbrush module transmits start information to the wireless terminal device, and when the toothbrush module does not receive response information from the wireless terminal device, wireless communication with the wireless terminal device cannot be performed. Therefore, the accuracy of determination as to whether or not wireless communication with the wireless terminal device is possible is improved.

  Further, the user further comprises a user identification information receiving unit for receiving setting of user identification information for identifying the user, wherein the toothbrush information management unit uses the wireless communication unit to transmit the user identification information received by the user identification information receiving unit. It is preferable to transmit the data to the wireless terminal device.

  According to this configuration, in the wireless terminal device, it is possible to specify, by the user identification information, which user the toothpaste information sent from the toothbrush module is. As a result, the wireless terminal device can handle tooth brush information of a plurality of users.

  Further, the wireless terminal device has a plurality of functions, and the toothbrush module has a switching operation receiving unit that receives a switching instruction that instructs switching of the plurality of functions, and the switching instruction that is received by the switching operation receiving unit. Is preferably further provided with a switching instruction transmission processing unit that causes the wireless communication unit to transmit to the wireless terminal device.

  According to this configuration, the user can switch the function of the wireless terminal device by operating the toothbrush module used when brushing teeth, which improves the convenience of the user.

  Moreover, it is preferable that the toothbrush information management unit further includes an attachment information acquisition unit that acquires attachment information that is information regarding a state of the toothbrush module, and the toothbrush information management unit causes the wireless communication unit to transmit the attachment information to the wireless terminal device. .

  According to this configuration, it is possible to transmit the attachment information indicating the state of the toothbrush module, for example, a state in which the toothbrush module is out of order, the battery is almost dead, or the operation is defective, to the wireless terminal device. In the terminal device, it is possible to execute processing according to the state of the toothbrush module.

  It is preferable that the toothbrush is further provided.

  According to this configuration, the toothbrush module includes the toothbrush.

  A toothbrush support system according to the present invention includes the above toothbrush module and the wireless terminal device, and the wireless terminal device notifies the user based on the attachment information transmitted from the toothbrush module. The toothbrush module includes a reception information processing unit that transmits notification information related to the determination to the wireless communication unit when it is determined to perform notification based on a predetermined determination criterion for determining whether or not to notify. Further includes a notifying unit for notifying the user, and a notification processing unit for causing the notification unit to notify information about the notification information when the notification information is received by the wireless communication unit.

  According to this configuration, the wireless terminal device transmits the notification information to the toothbrush module when there is a situation to inform the user about the toothbrush module based on the attachment information, and the toothbrush module with a high possibility of being at the user's hand , It becomes possible to inform the user of information regarding the notification information.

  In addition, the toothbrush module, after the information related to the notification information is notified by the notification unit, a recognition operation reception unit that receives a recognition operation indicating that the user has recognized the notified information, and the recognition operation reception unit. It is preferable that the wireless communication unit further includes a user recognition processing unit that causes the wireless communication unit to transmit the recognition confirmation information indicating the recognition by the user when the recognition operation is accepted by.

  According to this configuration, when the user recognizes the information regarding the notification information, the recognition confirmation information is transmitted from the toothbrush module to the wireless terminal device. Therefore, the wireless terminal device notifies the user about the information regarding the notification information. It is possible to confirm whether or not it was possible.

  In addition, the wireless terminal device further includes a confirmation response transmission processing unit that, when receiving the recognition confirmation information, transmits confirmation response information indicating that the recognition confirmation information has been received to the wireless communication unit, and the toothbrush module Is further provided with a start detection unit for detecting the start of the brushing action by the user, the user recognition processing unit, if the confirmation response information from the wireless terminal device is not received by the wireless communication unit, the start information next time. The wireless communication unit transmits the recognition confirmation information when response information indicating a response to the start information from the wireless terminal device is received by the wireless communication unit after being transmitted to the wireless terminal device by the wireless communication unit. It is preferable to execute a reservation process for making a reservation for transmission to the wireless terminal device.

  With this configuration, when the wireless terminal device does not receive the recognition confirmation information because the wireless communication cannot be performed normally, the wireless terminal device does not transmit the confirmation response information to the toothbrush module. In this case, in the toothbrush module, when the response information is transmitted from the wireless terminal device according to the start information transmitted from the toothbrush module when the user starts brushing the tooth next time, that is, the wireless communication can be normally executed. In this case, since it is reserved to transmit the recognition confirmation information to the wireless terminal device, the certainty of transmitting the recognition confirmation information to the wireless terminal device is improved.

  A toothbrushing support system according to the present invention includes the above toothbrush module and the wireless terminal device.

  According to this configuration, the toothbrush module and the wireless terminal device form a toothbrushing support system.

  Further, the wireless terminal device transmits to the wireless communication unit a program storage unit that stores a predetermined program and, when it is necessary to update the program, an update notification indicating that the program needs to be updated. An update notification transmission processing unit for further updating, wherein the toothbrush module notifies the user that the program of the wireless terminal device needs to be updated when the update notification is received by the wireless communication unit. When the update instruction is received by the notification unit, an update instruction receiving unit that receives an update instruction to instruct the user to update the program, and the update instruction is received by the update instruction receiving unit, the update instruction is transmitted by the wireless communication unit. It is preferable to further include an update instruction transmission processing unit for transmitting to the wireless terminal device.

  According to this configuration, when it becomes necessary to update the program of the wireless terminal device, the user operates the toothbrush module that is highly likely to be at hand when brushing the teeth, thereby causing the wireless terminal device to update the program. Since the update can be instructed, the convenience of the user is improved.

  The toothbrush module and the toothbrushing support system having such a configuration can improve the certainty of transmitting the information obtained by the toothbrush module to the wireless terminal device.

It is a block diagram which shows an example of a structure of the toothbrushing assistance system provided with the attachment for toothbrushes which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the external appearance of the attachment and wireless terminal device for toothbrushes shown in FIG. It is a top view which shows the state which removed the attachment for toothbrushes shown in FIG. 2 from the toothbrush. It is a top view which shows the state which attached the charger to the attachment for toothbrushes shown in FIG. 2, and set it as the toothbrush stand. It is a perspective view of the attachment for toothbrushes shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line VI-VI of the toothbrush attachment 2 shown in FIG. 5. It is a block diagram which shows an example of an electrical constitution of the attachment for toothbrushes shown in FIG. 1, and a wireless terminal device. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating an example of operation | movement of the toothbrush support system shown in FIG.

  Hereinafter, embodiments according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, in each of the drawings, the same reference numerals denote the same components, and the description thereof will be omitted. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a toothbrushing support system including a toothbrush attachment according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  The toothbrushing support system 1 shown in FIG. 1 includes a toothbrush attachment 2 (toothbrush module) and a wireless terminal device 3. The wireless terminal device 3 and the server device 6 can communicate with each other via, for example, a wireless base station 101 operated by a mobile phone operator and a network 102 such as the Internet.

  The wireless terminal device 3 is, for example, a portable wireless communication terminal device, and is preferably a so-called smartphone or tablet terminal. The wireless terminal device 3 may be, for example, a portable personal computer, a wearable terminal device such as glasses or wristbands, or a terminal device having a wireless communication function such as a mobile phone terminal device. The wireless terminal device 3 is not limited to a mobile terminal device, but may be a fixed wireless communication terminal device such as a desktop personal computer.

  FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of appearances of the toothbrush attachment 2 and the wireless terminal device 3 shown in FIG. 1. The toothbrush attachment 2 includes a brushing sensor portion 21a (sensor portion), a vital sensor portion 21b, a wireless communication portion 22, a liquid crystal display 211 (display portion), which will be described later, in a waterproof casing 201 (housing portion). The light emitting button switches 212, 213, 214 (display unit), the buzzer 216, the control unit 23, a battery (not shown), and the like are housed. The housing 201 is provided with a connecting mechanism 202 for connecting the housing 201 to the toothbrush 4. The toothbrush attachment 2 is configured to be attachable to and detachable from the toothbrush 4 by the connecting mechanism 202, as shown in FIG. 3. The toothbrush module may include the toothbrush 4 in a state where the toothbrush 4 is attached to the toothbrush attachment 2.

  The toothbrush 4 is configured such that a head portion 42 in which a bunch of hairs 421 is planted is provided at one end portion of a substantially rod-shaped handle portion 41. The connecting mechanism 202 is configured to grip the end portion 411 side of the handle portion 41 opposite to the head portion 42. When the connection mechanism 202 grips the end portion 411 side, the toothbrush 4 and the toothbrush attachment 2 are connected and attached. When the toothbrush attachment 2 is attached to the toothbrush 4, the attachment 2 moves together with the toothbrush 4 when the user brushes the teeth.

  The toothbrush attachment 2 has a substantially flat bottom surface 203. The bottom surface 203 is substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the handle portion 41 when the toothbrush attachment 2 is attached to the toothbrush 4. Therefore, by setting the toothbrush 4 upright and placing the bottom surface 203 on a table or the like, the toothbrush 4 to which the toothbrush attachment 2 is attached can be placed upright. Accordingly, the toothbrush attachment 2 can be used as a toothbrush stand.

  The operating power source of the toothbrush attachment 2 may be replaceable by using a small primary battery such as a button battery, or may be rechargeable by incorporating a secondary battery. When a secondary battery is used as a power source for operating the toothbrush attachment 2, for example, as shown in FIG. 4, the charger 5 can be attached to the bottom surface 203, and the toothbrush 4 is charged in a standing state by, for example, a non-contact charging method. You may do it.

  FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the toothbrush attachment 2 shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line VI-VI of the toothbrush attachment 2 shown in FIG. The housing 201 is made of, for example, a resin material and has a substantially columnar shape. A tubular portion 201a formed in a tubular shape for receiving the end portion 411 of the toothbrush 4 is disposed in a substantially central portion of the housing 201. The circuit block is, for example, resin-molded and housed in a waterproof state in a space sandwiched between the tubular portion 201a and the housing 201. A liquid crystal display 211 and light emitting button switches 212, 213, and 214 are provided on the side surface of the housing 201. The bottom surface 203 is provided with positioning holes, recesses, and the like for fitting with the protrusions formed on the charger 5.

  The outer peripheral portion of the housing 201 is cylindrically extended on the side opposite to the bottom surface 203 to form a cylindrical coupling frame 205. A plurality of, for example, eight elastic members 206 are attached to the inner peripheral portion of the connecting frame 205. The elastic member 206 is made of an elastic elastomer such as silicon rubber, natural rubber, or synthetic rubber. The connection frame 202 and the elastic member 206 form a connection mechanism 202. By inserting the end portion 411 of the handle portion 41 of the toothbrush 4 into the space surrounded by the plurality of elastic members 206, the end portions 411 of the handle portion 41 are gripped by the plurality of elastic members 206 and the housing 201 and The handle portion 41 is connected. The toothbrush 4 can be separated from the toothbrush 4 and the toothbrush attachment 2 by pulling out the toothbrush 4 from the coupling mechanism 202 against the gripping force of the coupling mechanism 202. As a result, the toothbrush attachment 2 is attachable to and detachable from the toothbrush 4.

  The toothbrush attachment 2 is not limited to the structure shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, and various structures in which the housing 201 can be attached to and detached from the end portion 411 of the toothbrush 4 can be adopted.

  FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an example of the electrical configuration of the toothbrush attachment 2 and the wireless terminal device 3 shown in FIG. The toothbrush attachment 2 includes a brushing sensor unit 21a (sensor unit), a vital sensor unit 21b, a wireless communication unit 22, a liquid crystal display 211 (display unit), light emitting button switches 212, 213, 214 (display unit, operation unit), A buzzer 216 (notification unit) and a control unit 23 are provided.

  The brushing sensor unit 21a detects a predetermined physical quantity related to the toothbrush 4. Specifically, an acceleration sensor that detects acceleration as a physical quantity can be used as the brushing sensor unit 21a. As the acceleration sensor, a triaxial acceleration sensor that detects acceleration in three directions can be preferably used.

  Since the toothbrush attachment 2 moves integrally with the toothbrush 4 while being attached to the toothbrush 4, the brushing sensor unit 21a detects the acceleration associated with the movement of the toothbrush 4 as a physical quantity related to the toothbrush 4.

  Further, the brushing sensor unit 21a detects a gravitational acceleration caused by the gravity of the earth. Since the toothbrush attachment 2 moves integrally with the toothbrush 4, the orientation of the toothbrush attachment 2 changes according to the orientation change of the toothbrush 4, and the direction of the gravitational acceleration detected by the brushing sensor unit 21a changes. Therefore, the posture of the toothbrush 4 can be detected from the direction of the gravitational acceleration detected by the brushing sensor unit 21a. In order to simplify the description below, detecting the posture of the toothbrush based on the direction of the gravitational acceleration detected by the brushing sensor unit 21a is simply referred to as detecting the posture of the toothbrush by the brushing sensor unit 21a. .

  In addition to the acceleration sensor, the brushing sensor unit 21a preferably includes a gyro sensor that detects the rotation angle and the angular velocity of the toothbrush 4, and further includes a pressure sensor that detects the brushing pressure applied to the toothbrush 4, particularly the bristle bundle 421. Is more preferable.

  According to the toothbrush attachment 2, the toothbrush attachment 2 can be attached to the manual toothbrush 4 by the connecting mechanism 202. When the toothbrush attachment 2 is attached to the toothbrush 4, the toothbrush 4 and the housing 201 of the toothbrush attachment 2 move integrally. Therefore, when the user brushes the teeth with the toothbrush 4, the movement of the toothbrushing operation is the housing. It is transmitted to the brushing sensor portion 21a stored in 201. Therefore, the brushing sensor unit 21a can acquire information regarding the user's tooth brushing behavior. Since the information about the user's tooth brushing behavior thus obtained can be transmitted to the outside by the wireless communication unit 22, even when the user uses the manual toothbrush 4, the information about the user's tooth brushing behavior. Can be obtained externally.

  The vital sensor unit 21b measures vital data (physiological information) such as blood pressure, blood flow, pulse, finger temperature, electrocardiogram, blood glucose, saturated oxygen concentration in blood, and sweat rate of the user. When the user holds the toothbrush 4 to which the toothbrush attachment 2 is attached when brushing teeth, a part of the user's hand touches the toothbrush attachment 2 as shown in FIG. Thus, by disposing the vital sensor portion 21b at a position where the user's hand touches the toothbrush attachment 2 when brushing teeth, it is possible to detect the vital data of the user when brushing teeth. .

  The wireless communication unit 22 uses, for example, a wireless communication circuit using electromagnetic waves such as Bluetooth (registered trademark), WiFi (registered trademark), ZigBee, and NFC (Near Field Communication), and various wireless communication systems such as infrared communication and visible light communication. Can be used. The wireless communication unit 22 executes wireless communication with the wireless terminal device 3.

  The liquid crystal display 211 displays character information and the like according to the control signal from the control unit 23. The buzzer 216 outputs a notification sound according to the control signal from the control unit 23.

  The light emitting button switches 212, 213, and 214 are display operation devices in which a light emitting element and a push button switch are integrally formed. Each of the light emitting button switches 212, 213, and 214 emits light according to a control signal from the control unit 23, and outputs an ON signal to the control unit 23 when pressed by the user.

  The control unit 23 stores, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) that executes predetermined arithmetic processing, a RAM (Random Access Memory) that temporarily stores data, a predetermined control program, toothbrush information and vital information that will be described later, and the like. Configured as a so-called microcomputer including a nonvolatile storage unit 246 such as a flash memory or an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory), a timer circuit for measuring time, an RTC (Real Time Clock), and peripheral circuits thereof. Has been done.

  By executing a predetermined control program, the control unit 23 executes the toothbrush information management unit 231, the start detection unit 232, the user identification information reception unit 234, the switching operation reception unit 236, the switching instruction transmission processing unit 237, and the attachment information acquisition unit. 238, the notification processing unit 239, the recognition operation reception unit 241, the user recognition processing unit 242, the update notification unit 243, the update instruction reception unit 244, and the update instruction transmission processing unit 245.

  The user identification information receiving unit 234 receives a setting for specifying a user who uses the toothbrush attachment 2, that is, a user who is about to brush their teeth. Since the toothbrush attachment 2 may be used by a plurality of people, it is necessary to specify who the information detected by the brushing sensor unit 21a and the vital sensor unit 21b is. Therefore, for example, user identification information of a user who may use the toothbrush attachment 2 is stored in advance in the storage unit 246 in association with a plurality of light emitting button switches 212, 213, and 214, for example, three persons.

  Then, each user presses the corresponding light emitting button switch 212, 213, 214 before using the toothbrush attachment 2. Accordingly, the user identification information receiving unit 234 receives the user identification information of the user who uses the toothbrush attachment 2 according to the pressed light emitting button switches 212, 213, and 214. For example, when the light emitting button switches 212, 213, and 214 are simultaneously pressed, the user identification information receiving unit 234 enters the user identification information receiving mode, and the user identification information is received according to the light emitting button switches that are pressed thereafter. May be.

  The light emitting button switches 212, 213, and 214 are not limited to the example provided for each user. For example, each user name is displayed on the liquid crystal display 211 in a list form or sequentially and the displayed user name is selected by the user operating the light emitting button switches 212, 213, and 214. The receiving unit 234 may receive the user identification information of the user who uses the toothbrush attachment 2.

  In the wireless terminal device 3, the update notification transmission processing unit 344, which will be described later, when the control program of the wireless terminal device 3 needs to be updated, it transmits an update notification to that effect to the toothbrush attachment 2.

  When the toothbrush attachment 2 receives the update notification, the update notification unit 243 causes the liquid crystal display 211 to display, as a message, for example, a message indicating that the control program of the wireless terminal device 3 needs to be updated, or a light emitting button switch. Notification is made by causing any one of 212, 213, and 214 to emit light or sounding the buzzer 216. Or you may notify using a vibrator.

  The update instruction receiving unit 244 receives the operation of the light emitting button switches 212, 213, and 214 by the user as an update instruction to instruct the update of the control program. When the update instruction receiving unit 244 receives the update instruction, the update instruction transmission processing unit 245 transmits the update instruction to the wireless terminal device 3.

  Upon receiving the update instruction, the wireless terminal device 3 updates the control program of the wireless terminal device 3 stored in the program storage unit 346 by the program update processing unit 345 described later.

  As described above, according to the update notification transmission processing unit 344, the update notification unit 243, the update instruction receiving unit 244, and the program update processing unit 345, the user operates the wireless terminal device 3 with the control program of the wireless terminal device 3. Even if it does not, since it can be updated only by operating the toothbrush attachment 2, convenience for the user is improved.

  The wireless terminal device 3 has, for example, a plurality of functions. Specifically, for example, the wireless terminal device 3 has a music playing function of playing music in accordance with toothbrushing information transmitted from the toothbrush attachment 2, a news notification function of notifying the news while brushing teeth, and a game by brushing teeth. Game functions to be executed.

  The switching operation receiving unit 236 receives a switching instruction that instructs switching of a plurality of functions of the wireless terminal device 3. For example, when the light emitting button switch 212 is operated, the instruction to switch to the music playing function is accepted, when the light emitting button switch 213 is operated, the instruction to switch to the news notification function is accepted, and when the light emitting button switch 214 is operated, the game is played. Accepts an instruction to switch to a function.

  The switching instruction transmission processing unit 237 transmits the switching instruction received by the switching operation receiving unit 236 to the wireless terminal device 3. Upon receiving the switching instruction, the wireless terminal device 3 is switched to the function according to the switching instruction. The functions of the wireless terminal device 3 that can be switched are not limited to the music playing function, the news notification function, and the game function, and various functions may be switchable.

  As described above, according to the switching operation receiving unit 236 and the switching instruction transmission processing unit 237, the toothbrush attachment 2 attached to the toothbrush 4 held by the user for brushing the tooth, that is, for the toothbrush at the user's hand By operating the attachment 2, the function of the wireless terminal device 3 can be switched, so that the convenience of the user is improved.

  The attachment information acquisition part 238 acquires the attachment information which is the information regarding the state of the toothbrush attachment 2. The attachment information acquisition unit 238 detects the battery voltage of the toothbrush attachment 2 and includes the battery voltage in the attachment information, for example. Alternatively, when the battery voltage is equal to or lower than the preset reference voltage, the attachment information acquisition unit 238 may include information to the effect that battery replacement or charging is urged in the attachment information.

  In addition, when the execution of the control program of the toothbrush attachment 2 fails, the attachment information acquisition unit 238 includes the information indicating that fact in the attachment information. This allows the wireless terminal device 3 to display the details of the failure, the solution method, and the like on the touch panel display 32.

  Further, the attachment information acquisition unit 238 detects whether the toothbrush 4 is correctly attached to the toothbrush attachment 2. When the toothbrush 4 is not properly attached to the toothbrush attachment 2, the attachment information acquisition unit 238 includes information indicating that fact in the attachment information and transmits it to the wireless terminal device 3. Whether or not the toothbrush 4 is properly attached to the toothbrush attachment 2 is determined by, for example, when the acceleration detected by the brushing sensor unit 21a in association with the brushing action is outside the preset reference range. It can be determined that the toothbrush attachment 2 is not properly attached.

  In addition, the attachment information acquisition unit 238 executes a self-diagnosis of the hardware of the toothbrush attachment 2. For example, the output data of the brushing sensor unit 21a and the vital sensor unit 21b are checked, and it is determined whether or not the output data is within a preset range of good fluctuations during normal operation. If the output data is not within the range of fluctuation during normal operation, the attachment information acquisition unit 238 determines that an abnormality has occurred in the sensor unit or that the function has deteriorated, and the information indicating that is included in the attachment information. It is included and transmitted to the wireless terminal device 3. Thereby, it becomes possible to inform the user that the hardware of the toothbrush attachment 2 is unnecessary, or that the function is deteriorated before the hardware failure occurs.

  The operations of the toothpaste information management unit 231, the start detection unit 232, the notification processing unit 239, the recognition operation reception unit 241, and the user recognition processing unit 242 will be described later.

  Although the toothbrush attachment 2 attached to the manual toothbrush 4 is shown as an example of the toothbrush module, the toothbrush module may be an electric toothbrush. That is, the toothbrush module is different from the configuration of the toothbrush attachment 2 shown in FIG. 7 in that it further includes an electric mechanism for electrically driving the toothbrush, and each of these components is integrally housed in, for example, a tubular casing. It may be.

  The wireless terminal device 3 includes wireless communication units 31 a and 31 b, a touch panel display 32 (display unit, operation unit), a speaker 33, a camera 35 (imaging unit), and a control unit 34. The wireless communication unit 31 a is a wireless communication circuit that transmits and receives a wireless signal by the same wireless communication method as the wireless communication unit 22, and executes wireless communication with the toothbrush attachment 2. The wireless communication unit 31b is a wireless communication circuit for performing wireless communication with the wireless base station 101. The wireless communication unit 31b can communicate with the server device 6 via the wireless base station 101 and the network 102.

  The touch panel display 32 is configured by combining, for example, a liquid crystal display device and a touch panel that detects a position where the user touches the display screen of the liquid crystal display device. The touch panel display 32 functions as a display unit and an operation unit. Instead of the touch panel display 32, a display unit such as a liquid crystal display device and an operation unit such as a mouse may be provided.

  The speaker 33 outputs sound according to the signal output from the control unit 34. The camera 35 is configured using an image pickup device such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) or a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor), and corresponds to an example of an image pickup unit.

  The control unit 34 includes, for example, a CPU that executes predetermined arithmetic processing, a RAM that temporarily stores data, a nonvolatile storage unit such as a flash memory or an EEPROM, a timer circuit, an RTC, and peripheral circuits thereof. Is configured. The storage unit described above is also used as a program storage unit 346 that stores a predetermined control program and a data storage unit 347 that stores information received from the toothbrush attachment 2.

  The control unit 34 functions as the communication processing unit 341, the reception information processing unit 342, the confirmation response transmission processing unit 343, the update notification transmission processing unit 344, and the program update processing unit 345, for example, by executing the control program described above. . The control program described above may be downloaded as an application or the like via the network 102, for example.

  By the way, it may be necessary to update the control program stored in the program storage unit 346. In such a case, for example, an update request for requesting program update is transmitted from the server device 6 to the wireless terminal device 3.

  When the wireless terminal device 3 receives the update request, the update notification transmission processing unit 344 transmits the update notification to the toothbrush attachment 2. When the wireless terminal device 3 receives the update instruction transmitted from the toothbrush attachment 2 as described above, the program update processing unit 345 downloads a new control program from the server device 6 and stores it in the program storage unit 346. Then, the control program is updated.

  The communication processing unit 341, the reception information processing unit 342, and the confirmation response transmission processing unit 343 will be described later.

  Communication among the toothbrush attachment 2, the wireless terminal device 3, and the server device 6 is performed via the wireless communication unit 22 and the wireless communication units 31a and 31b, but the description will be simplified. Therefore, in the following description of the communication, the description of the wireless communication unit 22 and the wireless communication units 31a and 31b will be omitted.

  Next, the operation of the toothbrushing support system 1 thus configured will be described. FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram for explaining an example of the operation of the toothbrushing support system 1. First, when the user starts brushing teeth using the toothbrush 4 to which the toothbrush attachment 2 is attached, the acceleration associated with the brushing action is detected by the brushing sensor unit 21a. When the acceleration detected by the brushing sensor unit 21a exceeds a preset start determination value, the start detection unit 232 determines that tooth brushing has started, and the start of the user's tooth brushing action is detected (step S1). ).

  The start detection unit 232 may determine that the toothbrushing is started, for example, when the toothbrush attachment 2 is removed from the charger 5, and for example, the toothbrush attachment 2 is provided with a power switch and the power switch is turned on. When brushing, it may be determined that brushing has started.

  When the start detection unit 232 detects the start of the tooth brushing action, the tooth brush information management unit 231 sends the start information indicating the start of the tooth brushing action and the user identification information received by the user identification information receiving unit 234 to the wireless terminal. The data is transmitted to the device 3 (step S2). When the wireless terminal device 3 receives the start information, the communication processing unit 341 transmits response information indicating a response to the start information to the toothbrush attachment 2 (step S3).

  As described above, the toothbrush attachment 2 and the wireless terminal device 3 perform wireless communication, but when the user brushes his / her teeth, the user must always place the wireless terminal device 3 in a location where wireless communication is possible. The wireless terminal device 3 is not necessarily turned on.

  That is, the toothbrush attachment 2 may not be able to perform communication even when trying to wirelessly communicate with the wireless terminal device 3. Therefore, the toothbrush attachment 2 transmits the start information to the wireless terminal device 3 in step S2 and receives the response information transmitted from the wireless terminal device 3, so that the wireless terminal device 3 wirelessly communicates with the toothbrush attachment 2. You can confirm that it is possible.

  Further, the toothpaste information management unit 231 acquires, as toothpaste information, information indicating a physical quantity such as acceleration detected by the brushing sensor unit 21a. The toothbrush information management unit 231 uses, for example, the posture of the toothbrush 4, the movement of the toothbrush 4 (movement distance, movement speed, movement path of the brush portion of the toothbrush) from the analysis result of the physical quantity detected by the brushing sensor unit 21a, Brushing angle (angle of contact of toothbrush brush teeth with teeth and gums), brushing position, brushing position (part of tooth where toothbrush filament is in contact), brushing pressure (stress value applied to tooth etc. from toothbrush brush surface and its value) It is also possible to generate information representing a brushing action including parameters such as (change) and use this as brushing information.

  Various known techniques can be used as a method of generating information representing tooth brushing behavior from the physical quantity detected by the brushing sensor unit 21a. For example, as a method of detecting the posture, motion, and brushing position of the toothbrush 4 from acceleration. The method described in JP2009-240759A can be used. For example, as a method for detecting the attitude of the toothbrush 4 from the detection value of the gyro sensor, JP2009-240760A and JP2009-285416A can be used. The method described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2009-291316 can be used. For example, the method described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-152217 can be used as a method for detecting the brushing pressure by a pressure sensor. As a method of determining, the special table 2011-524756 Publication (WO2009 / 141489), Japanese Patent No. 4543663, JP 2009-240760 JP (US2011010876), it is possible to use a method described in 2011-139844 JP (US2012266397), etc. JP.

  Next, the toothbrush information management unit 231 transmits the toothbrush information and the attachment information obtained as described above to the wireless terminal device 3 (step S4). At this time, the toothpaste information management unit 231 also transmits the toothpaste information and the attachment information stored in the storage unit 246 to the wireless terminal device 3 as described later. The transmitted toothpaste information and attachment information are deleted from the storage unit 246. In addition, when the reservation is made by the reservation process (step S12) described later, the toothpaste information management unit 231 transmits the recognition confirmation information to the wireless terminal device 3. It is preferable that the toothpaste information management unit 231 also transmits the vital information obtained by the vital sensor unit 21b to the wireless terminal device 3 in the same manner as the toothpaste information.

  Here, as described above, when the wireless communication cannot be normally performed between the toothbrush attachment 2 and the wireless terminal device 3, the response information in step S3 cannot be received by the toothbrush attachment 2. . Therefore, if the response information is not received by the toothbrush attachment 2 during the period from the transmission of the start information in step S2 until the preset communication monitoring time elapses, the toothbrush information management unit 231 determines that the wireless terminal It is determined that wireless communication with the device 3 is not possible, and the toothbrush information and the attachment information are stored in the storage unit 246 without executing the information transmission in step S4 (step S5).

  As a result, the information that could not be transmitted to the wireless terminal device 3 is also transmitted in step S4 when the user starts brushing teeth next time. Therefore, the information obtained by the user's tooth brushing action is transmitted to the wireless terminal device 3 as the information. It is possible to improve the certainty that can be transmitted to. When the user starts brushing the toothbrush next time and cannot wirelessly communicate with the wireless terminal device 3 again, the toothbrush information management unit 231 cumulatively stores the new toothbrush information and the attachment information in the storage unit 246. Remember.

  On the other hand, in the wireless terminal device 3 that has received the toothbrush information and the attachment information in step S4, the reception information processing unit 342 stores the received toothbrush information and the attachment information in the data storage unit 347. The reception information processing unit 342 also analyzes the received toothpaste information and attachment information (step S6).

  Examples of the method for analyzing the toothpaste information by the reception information processing unit 342 include the following methods. As a method of analyzing toothpaste information, for example, there is a method of comparing information of a single time (usually the latest) with a standard value, and as an analysis result, a score or ranking of cleaning degree, indication of improvement points, past The improvement points or deterioration points by comparison with the brushing result, the recent tendency of the brushing technique (for example, there is a tendency to improve little by little, no improvement, there is a tendency to deteriorate, etc.), etc. Further, by comparing the improvement points with the optimal brushing method for each cleaning portion, it may be determined whether the user's brushing method is appropriate or not for each portion.

  To explain the toothpaste information analysis method in more detail, for example, the following analysis method can be used. For example, standard values are set for various parameters that represent generally recommended brushing behavior, and analysis is performed by comparing the standard values with toothbrush information, which is a measured value. The standard value is set using, for example, statistical means from tooth brushing behavior information of an exemplary brushing instructor. For the comparison between the standard value and the measured value, not only the optimum value but also the allowable range and the difference from the optimum value are scored. For example, the measured value is scored at 100 to 0 points (the optimum value is 100) using a value representing the degree of distribution such as standard deviation. Alternatively, based on these scores, for example, 80 points or more may be ranked as Rank A, 79 to 70 points as Rank B, 69 to 60 points as Rank C, and 59 points or less as Rank D.

  The reception information processing unit 342 may display the analysis result thus obtained on the touch panel display 32, may store it in the data storage unit 347, or may transmit it to the server device 6. The reception information processing unit 342 may transmit the received toothbrush information to the server device 6, the server device 6 may perform analysis, and the analysis result may be received from the server device 6.

  In addition, the reception information processing unit 342 notifies the user of the received attachment information in step S6 based on a predetermined determination criterion for determining whether or not to notify the user. If it is determined to notify, the notification information regarding the determination is displayed on the touch panel display 32 and is transmitted to the toothbrush attachment 2 (step S7).

  As the notification information, for example, information for urging the battery of the toothbrush attachment 2 to be replaced, information for notifying the user that the toothbrush attachment 2 needs to be repaired, information for notifying that the toothbrush 4 is to be replaced, or the like is given. is there.

  In the toothbrush attachment 2, when the notification information is received, the notification processing unit 239 causes the liquid crystal display 211 to display a message indicating the notification information, or lights / sets in advance so as to correspond to the notification information. The light emitting button switches 212, 213, and 214 are turned on / blinking in a blinking pattern to notify (step S8). The notification may be performed by ringing the buzzer 216 or vibrating the vibrator.

  The user who confirms the notification indicates that the user has recognized the notified information by the recognition operation receiving unit 241 by performing an operation such as pressing any one of the light emitting button switches 212, 213, and 214. The recognition operation is accepted (step S9). When the recognition operation is received by the recognition operation reception unit 241, the user recognition processing unit 242 transmits the recognition confirmation information indicating the recognition by the user to the wireless terminal device 3 (step S10).

  When the wireless terminal device 3 does not receive the recognition confirmation information until the preset communication monitoring time elapses after the notification information is transmitted in step S7, the reception information processing unit 342 executes step S7 again. . Alternatively, if the recognition confirmation information is not received by the wireless terminal device 3 after the notification information is transmitted in step S7 until the preset communication monitoring time elapses, the reception information processing unit 342 transmits the notification information as data. It may be stored in the storage unit 347 and the notification information may be transmitted together with the response information in step S3 when the start information is received next time.

  When the wireless terminal device 3 receives the recognition confirmation information, the confirmation response transmission processing unit 343 transmits the confirmation response information indicating that the recognition confirmation information has been received to the toothbrush attachment 2 (step S11).

  The user recognition processing unit 242, when the confirmation response information is not received during the period from the transmission of the recognition confirmation information in step S10 until the preset communication monitoring time elapses, the next start information is the toothbrush attachment. When the toothbrush attachment 2 receives the response information indicating the response to the start information from the wireless terminal device 3 after being transmitted to the wireless terminal device 3 by 2, the cognitive confirmation information is transmitted from the toothbrush attachment 2 to the wireless terminal device 2. Reservation processing for reserving transmission to No. 3 is executed (step S12). As a result, the recognition confirmation information is transmitted to the wireless terminal device 3 in step S4 next time, so that the wireless terminal device 3 can reliably notify the user of the notification information.

  In the wireless terminal device 3, after transmitting the confirmation response information to the toothbrush attachment 2 in step S11, the functions switched by the above-described switching instruction and services such as various other applications are executed (step S13), and the processing is performed. To finish.

1 Toothbrush support system 2 Attachment for toothbrush (toothbrush module)
3 wireless terminal device 4 toothbrush 6 server device 21a brushing sensor unit (sensor unit)
21b vital sensor section 22, 31a, 31b wireless communication section 23, 34 control section 32 touch panel display 33 speaker 35 camera 41 handle section 42 head section 201 housing 202 connecting mechanism 211 liquid crystal display 212, 213, 214 light emitting button switch (notification) Part)
216 Buzzer (notification section)
231 Toothpaste information management unit 232 Start detection unit 234 User identification information reception unit 236 Switching operation reception unit 237 Switching instruction transmission processing unit 238 Attachment information acquisition unit 239 Notification processing unit 241 Recognition operation reception unit 242 User recognition processing unit 243 Update notification unit 244 Update instruction receiving section 245 Update instruction transmission processing section 246 Storage section 341 Communication processing section 342 Reception information processing section 343 Confirmation response transmission processing section 344 Update notification transmission processing section 345 Program update processing section 346 Program storage section 347 Data storage section 411 End section 421 hair bundle

Claims (11)

A toothbrush module including a sensor unit for detecting a predetermined physical quantity of a toothbrush,
A wireless communication unit for wirelessly communicating with the wireless terminal device,
A storage unit for storing information,
When the acceleration associated with the tooth brushing action detected by the sensor unit exceeds a preset start determination value, and when the toothbrush module is removed from the charger that charges the secondary battery of the operating power supply of the toothbrush module. In at least one of the cases described above, a start detection unit that detects the start of tooth brushing action by the user,
When the start detection unit detects the start, the wireless communication unit transmits start information indicating the start of a tooth brushing action to the wireless terminal device, and a response indicating a response to the start information from the wireless terminal device. When the information is received by the wireless communication unit, toothpaste information, which is information based on a physical quantity detected by the sensor unit, is transmitted to the wireless terminal device by the wireless communication unit, and the start information from the wireless terminal device is transmitted. When the response information indicating the response to the wireless communication unit is not received by the wireless communication unit, the toothbrush information is cumulatively stored in the storage unit as being incapable of wireless communication with the wireless terminal device, and the start is detected again by the start detection unit. After the start information is detected and transmitted to the wireless terminal device by the wireless communication unit, the opening information from the wireless terminal device is transmitted. When the start response information indicating the response to the information is received by the wireless communication unit, the wireless communication unit stores the toothpaste information stored in the storage unit as a wireless communication with the wireless terminal device. A toothpaste information management unit to be transmitted to the wireless terminal device,
A toothbrush module including the sensor unit, the wireless communication unit, the storage unit, and a housing unit that houses the toothpaste information management unit. A toothbrush module including a sensor unit for detecting a predetermined physical quantity of a toothbrush,
A wireless communication unit for wirelessly communicating with the wireless terminal device,
A storage unit for storing information,
As the attachment information, which is the information about the state of the toothbrush module, if there is a failure in the execution of the control program of the toothbrush module, information indicating that, the toothbrush, if not correctly attached to the toothbrush module, An attachment information acquisition unit that acquires at least one of the information indicating that and the information indicating the self-diagnosis result of the hardware of the toothbrush module,
When it is not possible to wirelessly communicate with the wireless terminal device, the toothbrush information and the attachment information, which are information based on the physical quantity detected by the sensor unit, are cumulatively stored in the storage unit, and wireless communication with the wireless terminal device is possible. After that, the toothpaste information management unit for transmitting the toothpaste information and the attachment information stored in the storage unit to the wireless terminal device by the wireless communication unit,
A toothbrush module including the sensor unit, the wireless communication unit, the storage unit, and a housing unit that houses the toothpaste information management unit.   The toothbrush module according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a connecting mechanism that detachably attaches the casing to the toothbrush. Further comprising a user identification information receiving unit for receiving setting of user identification information for identifying the user,
The toothpaste information management unit,
The toothbrush module according to claim 1, wherein the user identification information received by the user identification information receiving unit is transmitted to the wireless terminal device by the wireless communication unit. The wireless terminal device has a plurality of functions,
The toothbrush module is
A switching operation receiving unit that receives a switching instruction that instructs switching of the plurality of functions,
The toothbrush module according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising a switching instruction transmission processing unit that causes the wireless communication unit to transmit the switching instruction received by the switching operation receiving unit to the wireless terminal device. .   The toothbrush module according to claim 1, further comprising the toothbrush. A sensor unit that detects a predetermined physical quantity related to the toothbrush,
A wireless communication unit for wirelessly communicating with the wireless terminal device,
A storage unit for storing information,
When wireless communication with the wireless terminal device cannot be performed, toothbrush information, which is information based on a physical quantity detected by the sensor unit, is cumulatively stored in the storage unit, and after wireless communication with the wireless terminal device becomes possible, A toothpaste information management unit that causes the wireless communication unit to transmit the toothpaste information stored in a storage unit to the wireless terminal device;
A toothbrush module including the sensor unit, the wireless communication unit, the storage unit, and a housing unit that houses the toothpaste information management unit;
An attachment information acquisition unit that acquires attachment information, which is information related to the state of the toothbrush module,
Comprising the wireless terminal device,
The toothpaste information management unit causes the attachment information to be transmitted to the wireless terminal device by the wireless communication unit,
The wireless terminal device,
Based on the attachment information transmitted from the toothbrush module, it is determined based on a predetermined determination criterion for determining whether or not to notify the user, and if it is determined to notify, notification regarding the determination A reception information processing unit for transmitting information to the wireless communication unit,
The toothbrush module is
A notification unit for notifying the user,
The toothbrushing support system further comprising: a notification processing unit that causes the notification unit to notify information regarding the notification information when the notification information is received by the wireless communication unit. The toothbrush module is
After the information related to the notification information is notified by the notification unit, a recognition operation reception unit that receives a recognition operation indicating that the user has recognized the notified information,
The toothpaste according to claim 7, further comprising: a user recognition processing unit that causes the wireless communication unit to transmit recognition confirmation information indicating recognition by a user to the wireless terminal device when the recognition operation reception unit receives the recognition operation. Support system. When the wireless terminal device receives the recognition confirmation information, the wireless terminal device further includes a confirmation response transmission processing unit that transmits confirmation response information indicating that the recognition confirmation information has been received, to the wireless communication unit.
The toothbrush module further includes a start detection unit that detects the start of a user's tooth brushing action,
The toothpaste information management unit causes the wireless communication unit to transmit start information indicating the start of toothbrushing behavior to the wireless terminal device when the start is detected by the start detection unit,
The user recognition processing unit, when the confirmation response information from the wireless terminal device is not received by the wireless communication unit, the wireless terminal device after the start information is transmitted to the wireless terminal device by the wireless communication unit next time. Executing a reservation process for reserving transmission of the recognition confirmation information by the wireless communication unit to the wireless terminal device when response information indicating a response to the start information from the wireless communication unit is received by the wireless communication unit. Item 9. The toothbrushing support system according to Item 8. A toothbrush module according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
A toothbrushing support system including the wireless terminal device. The wireless terminal device,
A program storage unit that stores a predetermined program,
When it is necessary to update the program, an update notification transmission processing unit that transmits an update notification indicating that the program needs to be updated to the wireless communication unit,
The toothbrush module is
When the update notification is received by the wireless communication unit, an update notification unit that notifies the user that it is necessary to update the program of the wireless terminal device,
An update instruction receiving unit that receives an update instruction from the user for instructing to update the program,
The update instruction transmission processing unit that causes the wireless communication unit to transmit the update instruction to the wireless terminal device when the update instruction is received by the update instruction receiving unit. The toothbrush support system described in.

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