JP7193392B2 - Information communication device and information communication method - Google Patents

Description

The present disclosure relates to an information communication device and an information communication method.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been known a device that detects a user's exhalation and outputs a signal corresponding to the exhalation. By using the signal output from the device to control the external device, the user can operate the external device by exhalation.

For example, US Pat. No. 6,200,000 discloses a system in which a MEMS sensing and processing module senses kinetic energy produced by exhalation of a user's exhaled breath and generates one or more control signals responsive to the sensed kinetic energy. do.

Japanese translation of PCT publication No. 2013-542470

However, with the technique of Patent Document 1, there is a risk of erroneous detection due to a phenomenon having kinetic energy similar to the user's exhalation. For example, wind blowing into the MEMS sensing and processing module could erroneously generate control signals.

An object of the present disclosure is to provide an information communication device and an information communication method capable of accurately detecting user's exhalation and generating multiple patterns of control signals according to the detected exhalation in order to operate an external device. .

The information communication device of the present disclosure is
a first detection unit that detects a carbon dioxide concentration that changes based on the user's exhalation;
a second detection unit activated when the carbon dioxide concentration satisfies a first condition and detecting exhalation information contained in the exhalation of the user;
a signal generator that generates a control signal according to the expiration information, which is used to control the operation of an external device;
a communication unit that outputs the generated control signal,
The first condition includes that the carbon dioxide concentration that was less than the first threshold becomes greater than or equal to the first threshold.

The information communication method of the present disclosure includes:
detecting, by a first detection unit, a carbon dioxide concentration that changes based on the exhalation of the user;
a step of detecting exhalation information contained in the exhalation of the user by a second detection unit that operates when the carbon dioxide concentration satisfies a first condition;
generating a control signal responsive to the exhalation information for use in controlling the operation of an external device;
and outputting the generated control signal;
The first condition includes that the carbon dioxide concentration that was less than the first threshold becomes greater than or equal to the first threshold.

According to the present disclosure, to provide an information communication device and an information communication method capable of accurately detecting user's exhalation and generating multiple patterns of control signals according to the detected exhalation in order to operate an external device. can be done.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an example of an information communication device; FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a correspondence relationship between combinations of a plurality of breath information and generated control signals; FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating how to exhale when the mouth is wide open; FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating how to exhale when the mouth is pursed. FIG. 4 is a flow chart diagram for explaining a first example of the operation of the information communication device; FIG. 10 is a flow chart diagram for explaining a second example of the operation of the information communication device;

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an information communication device 10 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The information communication device 10 allows a user to operate an external device by exhalation. That is, the information communication device 10 functions as a user interface for operating an external device with breath. Here, the external device is a device or device different from the information communication device 10 . As will be described later, the user can control multiple operations of the external device by changing the way the user exhales.

(Information communication device)
The information communication device 10 includes a second detection section 20 , a first detection section 30 , a control section 50 , a storage section 70 and a communication section 100 . The second detection unit 20 includes a pressure sensor 21 that measures pressure, a temperature sensor 22 that measures temperature, and a humidity sensor 23 that measures humidity. The control section 50 includes a determination section 40 and a signal generation section 90 .

The information communication device 10 detects information contained in the user's breath (hereinafter also referred to as "breath information") and outputs a control signal corresponding to the detected breath information to an external device. A control signal is a signal used to control the operation of an external device. By using the information communication device 10, the user can control the operation of the external device by exhalation.

The external device may be, for example, a support device used by a patient to express his/her intention by exhalation at a medical site. The information communication device 10 may function as a control device that causes the support device to perform various displays according to how the patient exhales. As another example, the external device may be a game controller. The information communication device 10 may be wearable on the user's head, or may be provided as part of a game controller. The information communication device 10 may be able to perform an operation different from pressing a button by blowing on the user's breath. As another example, the external device may be an in-vehicle device such as an audio device provided in the vehicle. The information communication device 10 is worn, for example, on the user's head. The information communication device 10 may be capable of selecting songs and controlling the volume by blowing on the device without the user's contact. Here, the external device is not limited to these examples, and may be various devices that perform multiple operations. For example, the external device may be an imaging device such as a digital camera, an information processing device such as a computer or a smartphone, a sound collecting device such as a microphone, a display device such as a speaker, a panel display or a head-mounted display, or a medical device. good.

(First detection unit)
The first detection unit 30 includes a _CO2 sensor that detects the carbon dioxide concentration that changes based on the user's exhalation. Note that the carbon dioxide concentration "changes based on exhalation" means that the carbon dioxide concentration changes as the user exhales. The CO ₂ sensor is provided near the opening for taking in the outside air of the information communication device 10 and detects the carbon dioxide concentration of the outside air taken into the opening. When the user blows into the opening, the carbon dioxide concentration of the outside air taken into the opening increases. This means that it is possible to determine, for example, whether or not breath is blown in based on the detected value (carbon dioxide concentration) of the CO ₂ sensor. The _CO2 sensor operates all the time or at appropriate intervals (for example, 1 second intervals) so as not to miss changes in carbon dioxide concentration caused by the user blowing into the opening. The _CO2 sensor may be a gas sensor using, for example, non-dispersive infrared spectroscopy. The _CO2 sensor may use, for example, an electrochemical gas sensor. However, the _CO2 sensor is not limited to these sensors. The first detection unit 30 outputs the detected value of carbon dioxide concentration to the control unit 50 .

(Second detector)
The second detector 20 detects exhalation information contained in exhalation. The second detection unit 20 is activated when it is determined that breath has been blown in based on the carbon dioxide concentration detected by the first detection unit 30 . That is, since the second detection unit 20 does not operate until the breath is blown, power consumption can be suppressed. The second detector 20 may include a pressure sensor 21, for example. The second detector 20 may include a temperature sensor 22, for example. The 2nd detection part 20 may contain the humidity sensor 23, for example. In this embodiment, the second detection unit 20 includes a plurality of sensors, each of which detects different expiration information. Specifically, second detector 20 includes pressure sensor 21 , temperature sensor 22 and humidity sensor 23 . The second detection section 20 outputs the detection values of these sensors to the control section 50 . Detected values detected by these sensors while breathing in correspond to exhalation information contained in the exhalation. That is, the "breath information" is the detected values (for example, pressure, temperature and humidity) of each sensor when breath is blown. Here, the second detection unit 20 does not have to include some of these sensors. For example, the second detection section 20 may include only the pressure sensor 21 . Moreover, the second detection unit 20 is not limited to these sensors. For example, the second detector 20 may include a gas flow sensor instead of the pressure sensor 21 .

(pressure sensor)
The pressure sensor 21 is a sensor that detects pressure that changes according to how the breath is exhaled. When the user exhales strongly (for example, the user blows strongly), the pressure is higher than when the user exhales weakly (for example, blows weakly). This means that the intensity of expiration can be determined based on the detected value (pressure) of the pressure sensor 21 . For the pressure sensor 21, for example, a sensor based on a change in electrical resistance due to the piezoresistive effect may be used. The pressure sensor 21 may be a thin-film pressure sensor based on a change in electrical signal caused by strain of a metal gauge due to pressure. However, the pressure sensor 21 is not limited to these sensors.

(temperature sensor)
The temperature sensor 22 is a sensor that detects temperature that changes according to how the breath is exhaled. As will be described later, when the user opens the mouth wide and exhales, the temperature is higher than when the user puckers the mouth and exhales. This means that it is possible to determine how the user's mouth is opened (for example, whether the mouth is wide open or narrowed) based on the detected value (temperature) of the temperature sensor 22 . The temperature sensor 22 may be a platinum resistor whose resistance changes with temperature, for example. As the temperature sensor 22, for example, an IC (Integrated Circuit) temperature sensor that outputs an output voltage according to temperature may be used. However, the temperature sensor 22 is not limited to these sensors.

(humidity sensor)
Humidity sensor 23 is a sensor that detects humidity that changes according to how exhaled air is exhaled. As will be described later, when the user exhales with the mouth wide open, the humidity is higher than when the user exhales with the mouth pursed. As with the temperature sensor 22 described above, it is possible to determine how the user opens his/her mouth (for example, whether the mouth is wide open or closed) based on the detected value (humidity) of the humidity sensor 23. means that The humidity sensor 23 may be a polymer resistance humidity sensor based on a change in resistance between electrodes caused by a change in humidity. The humidity sensor 23 may be a polymer capacitance type humidity sensor based on the principle of change in capacitance between electrodes caused by changes in humidity. However, the humidity sensor 23 is not limited to these sensors.

(control part)
The control unit 50 controls the information communication device 10 as a whole. In this embodiment, the control section 50 functions as the determination section 40 and the signal generation section 90 . The control unit 50 is realized by, for example, a microprocessor, a microcontroller, or an arithmetic processing device such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit).

(Judgment part)
The determination unit 40 determines whether or not the breath is blown based on the carbon dioxide concentration detected by the first detection unit 30 . This determination is made based on whether the carbon dioxide concentration satisfies the first condition. Specifically, when the carbon dioxide concentration satisfies the first condition, the determination unit 40 determines that the breath has been blown in, and when the carbon dioxide concentration does not satisfy the first condition, the determination unit 40 determines that the breath has not been blown in. judge. In the present embodiment, the first condition includes, but is not limited to, that the carbon dioxide concentration, which was less than the first threshold th1, becomes equal to or greater than the first threshold th1. For example, the first condition is that after the carbon dioxide concentration that was less than the first threshold th1 becomes equal to or greater than the first threshold th1, the state of being equal to or greater than the first threshold th1 continues for a predetermined time. may contain.

Here, the first threshold th1 is greater than the reference value for the carbon dioxide concentration in the air (hereinafter also referred to as the “reference value in the air”), and the reference value for the carbon dioxide concentration in the exhaled breath (hereinafter referred to as It may be arbitrarily set within a range smaller than the reference value during exhalation). In this embodiment, the "reference value in air" is a value that can be regarded as the concentration of carbon dioxide in the air in a general human living environment. For example, the air reference value is any value of 250 ppm or more and 1000 ppm or less, which is considered to be a general carbon dioxide concentration in a ventilated room, but is not limited to this. can be any value that On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the “breath reference value” is a value that can be regarded as the carbon dioxide concentration in breath. For example, the breath reference value is an arbitrary value of 20000 ppm or more and 60000 ppm or less, which is a general carbon dioxide concentration in human breath, but is not limited to this, and can be regarded as the carbon dioxide concentration in breath in practice. can be any value possible. When the carbon dioxide concentration, which was less than the first threshold th1, becomes equal to or higher than the first threshold, it means that the user has breathed. In one example, the first threshold th1 may be set to be sufficiently larger than the reference carbon dioxide concentration in air. In this embodiment, the first threshold th1 may be set to 20000 ppm, for example. By setting the first threshold th1 to a value sufficiently higher than the in-air reference value, the determination unit 40 can reliably determine that breath has been blown.

The determination unit 40 generates an activation signal for activating the second detection unit 20 when the carbon dioxide concentration satisfies the first condition. The determination unit 40 outputs the generated activation signal to the second detection unit 20 . The pressure sensor 21, the temperature sensor 22, and the humidity sensor 23 included in the second detection unit 20 are activated by the activation signal. That is, the pressure sensor 21, the temperature sensor 22, and the humidity sensor 23, which have been in a non-operating state, are changed to an operating state by the activation signal, and detect exhalation information contained in the user's exhalation. Power consumption when the second detection unit 20 is in a non-operating state (that is, a stopped state) is smaller than that in an operating state (that is, a started state), or is zero.

After the carbon dioxide concentration detected by the first detection unit 30 satisfies the first condition (that is, after determining that the breath has been blown in), the determination unit 40 determines whether or not the blowing has ended. judge. This determination is made based on whether the carbon dioxide concentration satisfies the second condition. Specifically, if the carbon dioxide concentration satisfies the second condition, the determining unit 40 determines that the blowing has ended, and if the carbon dioxide concentration does not satisfy the second condition, the blowing has finished. judge not. In the present embodiment, the second condition includes, but is not limited to, that the carbon dioxide concentration that was equal to or higher than the second threshold th2 becomes less than the second threshold th2. For example, the second condition may further include that a predetermined period of time has elapsed after the carbon dioxide concentration, which was equal to or greater than the second threshold th2, became less than the second threshold th2.

Here, the second threshold th2 may be arbitrarily determined within a range that is larger than the reference value of carbon dioxide concentration in air and smaller than the reference value of carbon dioxide concentration in breath. When the carbon dioxide concentration, which was equal to or higher than the second threshold th2, becomes less than the second threshold th2, it means that the user has finished blowing. In one example, the second threshold th2 may be set to be greater than the reference value of carbon dioxide concentration in air and equal to or less than the first threshold th1. According to such a configuration, after the carbon dioxide concentration satisfies the first condition, the certainty that the second condition is satisfied by the end of blowing (that is, the accuracy of determining that the blowing is finished) is increased. improves. Conversely, after the carbon dioxide concentration satisfies the first condition, the second condition is not satisfied even if the blowing is finished (that is, the inconvenience that it cannot be determined that the blowing is finished). The probability of occurrence is reduced. In the present embodiment, the second threshold th2 may be set to 2000 ppm, which is 1/10 of the first threshold th1, for example. By setting the second threshold th2 to a value sufficiently lower than the first threshold th1, the determination section 40 can reliably determine that the blowing has ended.

The determination unit 40 generates a stop signal for stopping the second detection unit 20 when the carbon dioxide concentration satisfies the second condition. The determination unit 40 outputs the generated stop signal to the second detection unit 20 . The pressure sensor 21, the temperature sensor 22, and the humidity sensor 23 included in the second detection section 20 are stopped by the stop signal. That is, the pressure sensor 21, the temperature sensor 22, and the humidity sensor 23, which were in the operating state, are changed to the non-operating state by the stop signal, and stop detecting the breath information contained in the user's breath.

As described above, the second detector 20 (the pressure sensor 21, the temperature sensor 22, and the humidity sensor 23) intermittently operates according to the carbon dioxide concentration detected by the first detector 30. FIG. On the other hand, the first detection unit 30 operates all the time or at relatively short intervals so as not to miss changes in the carbon dioxide concentration caused by the user blowing into the opening. That is, the first detection section 30 has a longer operating time than the second detection section 20 . Therefore, by using a sensor with low power consumption as the first detection unit 30, the overall power consumption of the information communication device 10 can be reduced. In other words, the information communication device 10 does not need to operate the second detection unit 20 all the time or at relatively short intervals, so the power consumption of the entire information communication device 10 can be reduced.

(signal generator)
The signal generator 90 generates a control signal according to expiration information, which is used to control the operation of the external device. In this embodiment, the second detection unit 20 detects a plurality of mutually different expiration information (pressure, temperature and humidity). The signal generator 90 generates a control signal according to a combination of multiple pieces of breath information. Therefore, the signal generator 90 can generate a plurality of patterns of control signals according to a combination of a plurality of breath information. Here, multiple patterns of control signal candidates (hereinafter referred to as multiple patterns of candidate control signals) are stored in the storage unit 70 . The storage unit 70 also stores correspondence relationships between combinations of a plurality of breath information and generated control signals. In the example shown in FIG. 2, four patterns of candidate control signals (control signals A to D) corresponding to combinations of breath information "pressure" and "temperature or humidity" are shown. Specifically, "pressure", which is one of the expiration information, is classified into two patterns, "low" and "high", based on whether it is equal to or higher than a predetermined reference value, for example. Also, "temperature" or "humidity", which is one piece of breath information, is classified into two patterns of "low" or "high" based on whether it is equal to or higher than a predetermined reference value, for example. The candidate control signal corresponding to "pressure" being "low" and "temperature or humidity" being "low" is "control signal A". The candidate control signal corresponding to "pressure" being "low" and "temperature or humidity" being "high" is "control signal B". The candidate control signal corresponding to "pressure" being "high" and "temperature or humidity" being "low" is "control signal C". The candidate control signal corresponding to the case where the "pressure" is "high" and the "temperature or humidity" is "high" is "control signal D". However, the number of types of candidate control signals and the correspondence relationship between combinations of a plurality of breath information and generated control signals are not limited to the example shown in FIG. The details of the generation of the control signal by the signal generator 90 will be described later.

(storage unit)
Storage unit 70 stores data and programs used by control unit 50 . The storage unit 70 stores, for example, initial pressure, temperature, and humidity data before measurement (that is, the pressure, temperature, and humidity values detected by the second detection unit 20 before the breath is blown in). may Further, the storage unit 70 may store each measurement data, for example. The storage unit 70 is implemented by, for example, a storage device such as a memory. The storage unit 70 may be composed of one memory or may be composed of a plurality of memories. However, there is no particular limitation as long as measurement data is stored.

The storage unit 70 may store a program that causes the control unit 50, which is a CPU, to function as the determination unit 40, for example. Moreover, the storage unit 70 may store a program that causes the control unit 50 to function as the signal generation unit 90 . In other words, the processing of the determination unit 40 and the signal generation unit 90 may be executed as software by the control unit 50 reading a program from the storage unit 70 .

(communication department)
The communication unit 100 executes communication with an external device. In this embodiment, the communication unit 100 outputs the control signal generated by the signal generation unit 90 to an external device. The communication unit 100 includes, for example, an external memory interface, a universal asynchronous receiver transmitter (UART) interface, an extended serial peripheral interface (eSPI), a general-purpose input/output (GPIO) interface, Pulse Code Modulation (PCM) and/or Inter-IC Sound (I2S) interface, Inter-Integrated Circuit (I2C) bus interface, Universal Serial Bus (USB) via one or more of the following: a Bluetooth® interface, a ZigBee® interface, an IrDA (Infrared Data Association) interface, or a Wireless—Universal Serial Bus (W-USB) interface. Realized. The communication unit 100 may be connected to a device to be controlled (that is, an external device) either by wire or wirelessly. However, the communication unit 100 is not limited to these implementation means, and is not particularly limited as long as the signal generated by the signal generation unit 90 is output to the outside.

(Generation of control signal)
In this embodiment, a control signal is generated according to a combination of a plurality of pieces of exhalation information "pressure" and "temperature or humidity". The user can adjust "pressure" and "temperature or humidity" by exhaling. For example, the way to exhale is determined by two factors, ie, 'strength of exhalation' and 'how to open the user's mouth'. FIG. 3 is a diagram exemplifying how to exhale when the user opens his/her mouth wide. On the other hand, FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating how to exhale when the user is pursed. When the mouth is wide open as shown in Fig. 3, the amount of surrounding air entrained is smaller than when the mouth is pursed as shown in Fig. 4, resulting in higher exhaled air temperature and humidity. . In addition, the user can adjust the intensity of exhalation whether the mouth is wide open as shown in FIG. 3 or the mouth is pursed as shown in FIG. In other words, the user can adjust the intensity of exhalation regardless of the shape of the mouth. Specifically, when the breath is strong (that is, when the breath is blown strongly), the strength of the breath is stronger than when the breath is weak (that is, when the breath is blown weakly). Therefore, there are a total of four patterns of "how to exhale" depending on the combination of how to open the mouth and the strength of exhalation. The information communication device 10 detects exhalation with the pressure sensor 21, the temperature sensor 22, and the humidity sensor 23, and determines the magnitude of the detected values to generate a total of four patterns of control signals A to D as shown in FIG. can generate

For example, when one of the four patterns of control signals A to D is generated by detecting exhalation information with the pressure sensor 21 and the temperature sensor 22, the pressure threshold value and the temperature threshold value are stored in the storage unit 70 in advance. remembered. The signal generator 90 compares the detection value of the pressure sensor 21 with the pressure threshold. When the detected value of the pressure sensor 21 exceeds the pressure threshold, the signal generator 90 determines that the breath pressure is in the first state (for example, "high"). The signal generation unit 90 determines that the pressure of exhalation is in the second state (for example, “low”) when the detected value of the pressure sensor 21 is equal to or less than the pressure threshold. The signal generator 90 determines that the temperature of the breath is in the first state (for example, “high”) when the detected value of the temperature sensor 22 exceeds the temperature threshold. The signal generator 90 determines that the temperature of the breath is in the second state (for example, “low”) when the detected value of the temperature sensor 22 is equal to or less than the temperature threshold. The signal generator 90 generates a first control signal (control generate signal D). The signal generator 90 generates a second control signal (control generate signal C). The signal generator 90 generates a third control signal (control generate signal B). The signal generator 90 generates a fourth control signal (control Generate signal A). In this way, the signal generator 90 can generate multiple patterns of control signals in accordance with combinations of multiple pieces of breath information. Here, as another example, the pressure sensor 21 and the humidity sensor 23 may detect exhalation. At this time, the pressure threshold value and the humidity threshold value are stored in the storage unit 70 in advance, and the signal generation unit 90 can generate a plurality of patterns of control signals in the same manner as described above. Further, the signal generator 90 may also acquire the carbon dioxide concentration detected by the first detector 30 as "breath information". For example, the signal generation unit 90 may classify the way of exhaling according to the difference in time change of the carbon dioxide concentration. At this time, the signal generator 90 can generate more patterns of control signals.

(flowchart)
The control unit 50 of the information communication device 10 implements an information communication method capable of generating a plurality of control signals according to exhalation by executing the processing of the flowchart of FIG.

The information communication device 10 starts detecting carbon dioxide concentration by the first detection unit 30 (step S1). After step S1, for example, the carbon dioxide concentration is detected at regular intervals.

Step S2 is a step for determining whether or not breath is blown. Specifically, when the carbon dioxide concentration detected by the first detection unit 30 satisfies the first condition (YES in step S2), the information communication device 10 determines that breath has been blown, 2 is activated to enable detection of breath information (step S3). On the other hand, when the carbon dioxide concentration detected by the first detection unit 30 does not satisfy the first condition (NO in step S2), the information communication device 10 determines that breath is not blown, and performs step The processing of S2 is repeated.

The information communication device 10 detects a plurality of breath information (pressure, temperature and humidity) by the activated second detection unit 20 (pressure sensor 21, temperature sensor 22 and humidity sensor 23) (step S4). Information communication device 10 may selectively detect one of temperature and humidity. The detected data is stored in the storage unit 70 .

Step S5 is a step for determining whether or not the blowing has ended. Specifically, when the carbon dioxide concentration detected by the first detection unit 30 satisfies the second condition (YES in step S5), the information communication device 10 determines that the blowing has ended, The second detector 20 is stopped (step S6). On the other hand, when the carbon dioxide concentration detected by the first detection unit 30 does not satisfy the second condition (NO in step S5), the information communication device 10 determines that the blowing has not ended, The process of step S5 is repeated.

The information communication device 10 generates a control signal according to the breath information detected in step S4, and outputs it to the external device (step S7). Specifically, the information communication device 10 generates a control signal (for example, control signal A, B, C or D) according to the combination of the plurality of pieces of breath information (pressure, temperature and humidity) detected in step S4. Then, the information communication device 10 outputs the generated control signal from the communication section 100 to the external device. After that, the information processing apparatus 10 returns to the process of step S2.

As described above, the information communication device 10 according to the present embodiment includes the first detection unit 30 that detects the carbon dioxide concentration that changes based on the user's exhalation, and the carbon dioxide concentration satisfies the first condition. a second detection unit 20 that is activated when the device is activated and detects exhalation information contained in the user's exhalation; , and a communication unit 100 that outputs the generated control signal. Here, the first condition includes that the carbon dioxide concentration, which was less than the first threshold th1, becomes equal to or greater than the first threshold th1. According to such a configuration, it is possible to accurately detect the user's exhalation and generate a plurality of patterns of control signals according to the detected exhalation in order to operate the external device. Therefore, the user can control multiple operations of the external device by changing the way of exhaling.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the drawings and examples, it should be noted that various variations and modifications will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art based on this disclosure. Therefore, it should be noted that these variations and modifications are included within the scope of the present invention. For example, functions included in each means or each step can be rearranged so as not to be logically inconsistent, and multiple means or steps can be combined into one or divided. .

For example, in the above-described embodiment, a configuration has been described in which the second detection unit 20 is stopped when the information communication device 10 determines that the breath has ended (steps S5 and S6). Here, the information communication device 10 may stop the second detection unit 20 after detecting the “atmospheric information” using the second detection unit 20 . “Atmospheric information” corresponds to detection values detected by the sensors included in the second detection unit 20 after the blowing of breath is finished. That is, the second detection unit 20 detects the detection values (pressure, temperature, and humidity) of each sensor after blowing is finished as atmospheric information. The operation of the information communication device 10 having such a configuration will be described in detail with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Steps S11-S15 shown in FIG. 6 are the same as steps S1-S5 shown in FIG. 5, respectively, so description thereof will be omitted. When the carbon dioxide concentration detected by the first detection unit 30 satisfies the second condition (YES in step S15), the information communication device 10 determines that the blowing has ended, and the second detection unit 20 detects at least one atmospheric information (eg, at least one of pressure, temperature and humidity) (step S16). Here, the information communication device 10 may also acquire the carbon dioxide concentration detected by the first detection unit 30 after the end of breathing as atmospheric information. Accordingly, at least one atmospheric information corresponding to at least one of pressure, temperature, humidity, and carbon dioxide concentration, for example, is detected. When atmospheric information is detected, the information communication device 10 causes the determination unit 40 to generate a stop signal for stopping the second detection unit 20, and outputs the signal to the second detection unit 20 so that the second detection unit 20 is stopped (step S17). The information communication device 10 calculates the difference between the breath information and the atmosphere information (step S18). Then, the information communication device 10 generates a control signal corresponding to the difference by the signal generation section 90, and outputs it to the external device via the communication section 100 (step S19). In this way, it is possible to generate and output a control signal corresponding to the difference between the breath information and the atmosphere information instead of the breath information itself.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, a configuration has been described in which the information communication device 10 determines a total of four patterns of "how to exhale" in accordance with the combination of how the user's mouth is opened and the intensity of exhalation. However, the "how to exhale" determined by the information communication device 10 may be less than or more than four patterns. For example, the information communication device 10 classifies the pressure of breath into three patterns of "low", "medium" and "high", and the temperature or humidity of breath into three patterns of "low", "medium" and "high". can be classified into In such a case, the information communication device 10 can determine a total of 9 patterns of "how to exhale" according to the combination of how the user opens his/her mouth and the intensity of exhalation.

10 information communication device 20 second detection unit 21 pressure sensor 22 temperature sensor 23 humidity sensor 30 first detection unit 40 determination unit 50 control unit 70 storage unit 90 signal generation unit 100 communication unit

Claims (10)

a first detection unit that detects a carbon dioxide concentration that changes based on the user's exhalation;
a second detection unit activated when the carbon dioxide concentration satisfies a first condition and detecting exhalation information contained in the exhalation of the user;
a signal generator that generates a control signal according to the expiration information, which is used to control the operation of an external device;
a communication unit that outputs the generated control signal,
The information communication device, wherein the first condition includes that the carbon dioxide concentration, which was less than the first threshold, becomes equal to or greater than the first threshold. 2. The information communication device according to claim 1, wherein the first threshold is greater than a reference value for carbon dioxide concentration in air and less than a reference value for carbon dioxide concentration in exhaled breath. The second detection unit detects a plurality of pieces of exhalation information that are different from each other,
3. The information communication device according to claim 1, wherein said signal generator generates said control signal according to a combination of said plurality of breath information. 4. The information communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein said second detection unit includes a pressure sensor that detects, as said exhalation information, a pressure that changes according to how said exhalation is exhaled. 5. The information communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein said second detection unit includes a temperature sensor that detects, as said breath information, a temperature that changes according to said manner of exhalation. 6. The information communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein said second detection unit includes a humidity sensor that detects, as said breath information, humidity that changes according to said way of exhaling. The second detector stops the second detector when the carbon dioxide concentration satisfies a second condition after the carbon dioxide concentration satisfies the first condition. 7. The information communication device according to any one of 1 to 6. 8. The information communication device according to claim 7, wherein said second condition includes that said carbon dioxide concentration, which was equal to or greater than a second threshold, becomes less than said second threshold. 9. The information communication device according to claim 8, wherein said second threshold is greater than a reference value of carbon dioxide concentration in air and is equal to or less than said first threshold. detecting, by a first detection unit, a carbon dioxide concentration that changes based on the exhalation of the user;
a step of detecting exhalation information contained in the exhalation of the user by a second detection unit that operates when the carbon dioxide concentration satisfies a first condition;
generating a control signal responsive to the exhalation information for use in controlling the operation of an external device;
and outputting the generated control signal;
The information communication method, wherein the first condition includes that the carbon dioxide concentration that was less than the first threshold becomes equal to or greater than the first threshold.

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