JP7280580B2 - Measuring device and measuring method - Google Patents

Description

Application of Article 30, Paragraph 2 of the Patent Law On August 7, 2019, Shunji Moromai published the claimed invention on the web page at the following URL. https://shingi. jst. go. jp/kobetsu/toyo-sophia-chuo/2019_toyo-sophia-chuo/tech_property. html#pbBlock98699

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a measuring device and a measuring method for measuring the size of breathing of a person during sleep.

BACKGROUND ART In recent years, sleep apnea syndrome (SAS), in which breathing stops intermittently during sleep, has been regarded as one of the sleep disorders that impair health and quality of life. Therefore, devices have been proposed to secure the airway of sleeping humans. For example, Patent Literature 1 discloses an airway securing device that secures the airway by changing the posture of the head of the person to a posture that secures the airway when abnormal breathing of the person is detected. .

WO2014/030737

However, during sleep, the posture of the head that secures the airway and facilitates breathing differs from person to person. Therefore, it is desired to measure the magnitude of breathing of a person during sleep in a plurality of head postures, which can contribute to specifying the head posture that facilitates breathing during sleep.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention, which has been made in view of such circumstances, is to provide a measuring apparatus and a measuring method capable of measuring the magnitude of respiration of a person during sleep in a plurality of head postures.

The measuring device of the present invention is
A measuring device for measuring the size of breathing during human sleep,
a deformable support for supporting the human head;
a respiration sensor that measures the size of the human's respiration;
a control unit that deforms the support unit and measures the magnitude of respiration in a plurality of head postures using the respiration sensor.

The measuring method of the present invention is
A measuring method for measuring the size of respiration during sleep of a human by the measuring device described above,
The control unit
deforming the support;
measuring the magnitude of respiration in a plurality of head postures with the respiration sensor;
including.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a measuring device and a measuring method capable of measuring the magnitude of breathing of a person during sleep in a plurality of head postures.

1 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of a measuring device according to an embodiment; FIG. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a front view of a person wearing the measuring device 1 shown in FIG. 1 ; It is a schematic diagram showing an example of the height of a user's head and the inclination back and forth. 4 is a flow chart showing the flow of processing of the measuring device according to one embodiment. It is a schematic diagram which shows operation|movement of the measuring device which concerns on one Embodiment. It is an example of visualization information of respiration magnitude in a plurality of head postures.

A measuring device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings.

In each figure, the same reference numerals are given to the same or corresponding parts. In the description of this embodiment, the description of the same or corresponding parts will be omitted or simplified as appropriate.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of a measuring device 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, a person who is a user of the measurement device 1 wears the headgear 2 and sleeps in a supine posture lying on his back on a bed surface B such as a bed. The measuring device 1 deforms a deformable support 3 that supports a human head in a supine position. The measurement device 1 can change the posture of the user's head by deforming the support portion 3 . The measurement device 1 allows the user to assume a plurality of head postures by, for example, changing the height of the user's head and the front-rear inclination of the head. In this embodiment, rotating the head in the direction of moving the line of sight of the person in the supine posture to the side of the body is referred to as tilting the head forward. Rotating the head is referred to as tilting the head back. The measuring device 1 measures the magnitude of respiration in a plurality of head postures using the respiration sensor 6 . Thereby, the measuring device 1 can measure the magnitude of respiration in a plurality of head postures. The magnitudes of respiration in a plurality of head postures measured by the measuring device 1 are used as information for identifying a head posture in which the user is likely to breathe during sleep, for example.

(Measuring device)
The configuration of the measuring device 1 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. FIG. 2 is a schematic front view of a person wearing the measuring device 1 shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, in the present embodiment, the measuring device 1 includes a headgear 2, a support section 3, a pump 4, a posture sensor 5, a breathing sensor 6, a mask 7, a sleep sensor 8, a communication section 9, a display section 10, An input unit 11 , a storage unit 12 and a control unit 13 are provided. In this embodiment, the communication unit 9, the display unit 10, the input unit 11, the storage unit 12, and the control unit 13 may be mounted on a general-purpose computer 14 such as a mobile phone, a smartphone, and a personal computer. .

The headgear 2 is a fitting that is worn on the user's head and covers at least a portion of the head. In this embodiment, the headgear 2 is shaped to cover the user's frontal region, occipital region, and lower jaw. The headgear 2 is made of, for example, polyester mesh fabric with good ventilation or a material such as urethane foam. The headgear 2 may be made of a stretchable material so as to fit the user's head. A support portion 3 and a posture sensor 5 are fixed at predetermined positions on the headgear 2 . This makes it difficult for the support portion 3 and the posture sensor 5 to shift from the user's head when the user rolls over while sleeping.

The support part 3 supports the human head. Specifically, the support part 3 is fixed to the headgear 2 so as to support the head of the person wearing the headgear 2 . Furthermore, the support 3 is deformable. Accordingly, by deforming the support portion 3, the posture of the human head supported by the support portion 3 can be changed. The support portion 3 may be deformable by being supplied with fluid such as air by the pump 4, for example. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the support portion 3 is an airbag that is inflated with air. However, the method of deforming the support portion 3 is not limited to the supply of fluid by the pump 4, and any method may be used, such as raising and lowering the contact surface with the head using a motor or the like.

Furthermore, the support part 3 may be formed of a plurality of support members. In this embodiment, the support section 3 includes a first support member 3A that supports the human head from the back of the head and a second support member 3B that supports the human head from the lower jaw.

The first support member 3A is a deformable support member that supports the user's head from the back of the head. The first support member 3A is an airbag made of a synthetic resin material such as vinyl chloride resin. The first support member 3A is fixed to the headgear 2 so as to be positioned near the back of the head of the person wearing the headgear 2. As shown in FIG. In this embodiment, the first support member 3A is formed in a flat plate shape so as to stably support the head of the user lying supine on the bed surface B from the back of the head. Furthermore, the first support member 3A is shaped to extend from the back of the head to the neck of the user wearing the headgear 2 in order to attach a second support member 3B, which will be described later.

The first support member 3A is connected to the pump 4 so as to allow ventilation. The first support member 3</b>A expands when air is supplied by the pump 4 or contracts when air is released to the outside by the pump 4 . As a result, the first support member 3A can change the posture of the user's head placed on the first support member 3A. More specifically, the first support member 3A pushes up the head of the user lying on his back from the bed surface B to change the height of the user's head in the vertical direction.

The second support member 3B is a deformable support member that supports the user's head from the lower jaw. The second support member 3B is an airbag made of a synthetic resin material such as vinyl chloride resin. The second support member 3B is fixed to the headgear 2 so as to be positioned near the lower jaw of the user wearing the headgear 2 . In this embodiment, as an example, the second support member 3B has an L-shaped side surface as shown in FIG. 1 and a U-shaped front surface as shown in FIG. As a result, the second support member 3B can stably support the user's head from the lower jaw and can be easily worn by the user. In addition to the headgear 2, the second support member 3B is fixed near the portion of the first support member 3A that supports the user's neck.

The second support member 3B is connected to the pump 4 so as to allow ventilation. The second support member 3</b>B expands when air is supplied by the pump 4 or contracts when air is released to the outside by the pump 4 . Thereby, the second support member 3B can change the posture of the user's head placed on the second support member 3B. More specifically, the second support member 3B pushes the head of the user lying on his back from the lower jaw to change the tilt of the user's head in the front-rear direction with respect to the horizontal direction.

Pump 4 is, for example, an air pump. The pump 4 is connected to the first support member 3A and the second support member 3B via a rubber tube or the like so as to allow ventilation. In this embodiment, the pump 4 is configured to supply air independently to each of the first support member 3A and the second support member 3B. For example, air can be independently supplied from the pump 4 to each of the first support member 3A and the second support member 3B by providing a valve such as an electromagnetic valve in the rubber tube described above. Alternatively, the pump 4 may be separately prepared for each of the first support member 3A and the second support member 3B.

In this embodiment, the support section 3 is described as including the first support member 3A and the second support member 3B, but this is not the only option. The support portion 3 may be composed of one or more support members. For example, the second support member 3B may be further divided into two members that support the user's lower jaw from the right side or from the left side, respectively. Further, for example, the first support member 3A and the second support member 3B may be one bag-shaped support member. Alternatively, the support portion 3 may be composed of only the first support member 3A.

The posture sensor 5 measures the posture of the user's head. In this embodiment, the orientation sensor 5 is, for example, a three-dimensional position sensor that outputs three-dimensional coordinates of a point where the sensor itself is located. However, the attitude sensor 5 is not limited to a three-dimensional position sensor, and may be an acceleration sensor, an angular velocity sensor, a gyro sensor, or the like. As shown in FIG. 1, the measuring device 1 includes two attitude sensors 5A and 5B. The posture sensor 5A is attached to the headgear 2 so as to be positioned near the user's forehead, and measures the position of the user's forehead. The posture sensor 5B is attached to the headgear 2 so as to be positioned near the user's lower jaw, and measures the position of the user's lower jaw.

In this embodiment, the posture of the user's head measured by the posture sensor includes the height of the user's head in the vertical direction and the tilt of the head back and forth with respect to the horizontal direction. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the height of the user's head and the tilt in the front-rear direction. In the present embodiment, for example, the height and front-back tilt of the user's head may be the height and front-back tilt of the reference position P of the user's head. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, the control unit 13 calculates the position of the reference position P from the positions measured by the two posture sensors 5A and 5B, and calculates the bed surface of the calculated reference position P. The height relative to B can be the height H of the head in the vertical direction. The reference position P is defined by a line connecting the midpoint of a vertical line from the sleeping surface B to the position of the posture sensor 5A and the midpoint of a vertical line from the sleeping surface B to the position of the posture sensor 5B, and the positions of the posture sensors 5A and 5B. It is the point at which the perpendicular line passing through the midpoint in the horizontal direction intersects. In addition, the control unit 13 calculates the angle between the horizontal direction and the straight line connecting the positions measured by the two posture sensors 5A and 5B. can be an inclination L in the front-rear direction. The height and inclination of the user's head are not limited to the reference position P, but the position closest to the bed surface B among the human heads in the supine posture on the bed surface B, or the position of the posture sensors 5A and 5B in a straight line. Any position such as a connecting midpoint may be used.

In this embodiment, the measurement device 1 is described as having two attitude sensors 5A and 5B, but the present invention is not limited to this. Any number of one or more posture sensors 5 may be used to calculate the height of the user's head in the vertical direction and the tilt of the head back and forth with respect to the horizontal direction.

The respiration sensor 6 measures the size of respiration of the user. In this embodiment, the respiration sensor 6 is a flow sensor that measures the flow rate of at least one of the user's exhalation and inhalation as the magnitude of respiration. However, the respiratory sensor 6 is not limited to a flow rate sensor, and may be a temperature sensor or the like. If the respiration sensor 6 is a temperature sensor, the respiration sensor 6 measures the temperature of the sensor itself, which changes due to the user's exhalation blowing onto the sensor, as the magnitude of respiration. The respiration sensor 6 is provided near at least one of the user's mouth and nose, and measures the user's respiration volume such as respiration flow rate.

The mask 7 covers at least one of the user's nose and mouth. In this embodiment, the mask 7 is worn by the user so as to cover the user's nose and mouth. The respiration sensor 6 is installed at a position where the size of respiration in the mask 7 can be measured. The respiratory sensor 6 may be attached, for example, near the opening of the mask 7 to which a rubber tube or the like is connected.

The sleep sensor 8 measures information indicating whether the user is sleeping. The sleep sensor 8, for example, is worn on the user's wrist to measure information such as the user's pulse rate or heart rate, and uses the measured information as information indicating whether the user is sleeping. output as

The communication unit 9 includes a communication module compatible with standards such as a wired LAN (Local Area Network) or a wireless LAN. In this embodiment, the measuring device 1 can communicate with an external device via the communication unit 9 .

The display unit 10 displays information using images, sounds, and the like. The display unit 10 is, for example, a display. As will be described later, the display unit 10 displays visualization information of the magnitude of respiration in a plurality of head postures measured by the measuring device 1 .

The input unit 11 receives input operations. The input unit 11 is, for example, a button, a touch panel, or a microphone.

The storage unit 12 is, for example, a semiconductor memory, a magnetic memory, an optical memory, or the like. The storage unit 12 functions, for example, as a main storage device, an auxiliary storage device, or a cache memory. The storage unit 12 stores arbitrary information used for the operation of the measuring device 1 . For example, the storage unit 12 stores system programs, application programs, embedded software, and the like.

The storage unit 12 may store information relating to a plurality of head postures for measuring the size of the user's breathing, which is used in the processing of the measuring device 1 to be described later. A plurality of pieces of information about the postures of the head may be defined by a combination of the height of the head in the vertical direction and the tilt of the head in the horizontal direction. For example, in the information about a plurality of head postures, a total of n×m patterns of head postures may be defined by combining n heights and m tilts. In the present embodiment, the height in n stages and the inclination in m stages are set at equal intervals, but may not be at equal intervals. Also, the height of n steps and the slope of m steps may be defined as absolute values or as relative values with respect to some reference. Information stored in the storage unit 12 can be updated with information received via the communication unit 9 or the input unit 11 described above, for example.

Control unit 13 includes one or more processors. The processor may be, for example, a general-purpose processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), or a dedicated processor specialized for specific processing. The control unit 13 is not limited to a processor, and may include one or more dedicated circuits. The dedicated circuit may be, for example, an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array) or an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit). The control unit 13 is communicably connected to each function included in the measuring device 1 by wire or wirelessly. For example, the control unit 13 is communicably connected to each of the pump 4, the posture sensor 5, the respiratory sensor 6, the sleep sensor 8, the communication unit 9, the display unit 10, the input unit 11, and the storage unit 12 by wire or wirelessly. It is Thereby, the control unit 13 operates the measuring device 1 .

(Processing example of measuring device)
With reference to FIGS. 4, 5, and 6, an example of a process of measuring the size of breathing of a human being who is the user of the measuring device 1 during sleep, which is executed by the measuring device 1 according to the present embodiment, is shown. explain. In this process, the control unit 13 of the measuring device 1 deforms the support unit 3 based on the information measured by the posture sensor 5, and measures the magnitude of respiration in a plurality of head postures using the respiration sensor 6. do. FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing the flow of processing of the measuring device 1 according to one embodiment. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing the operation of the measuring device 1 according to one embodiment. FIG. 6 is an example of visualization information of respiration magnitude in a plurality of head postures.

Note that this process corresponds to the measurement method according to the present embodiment. This processing will be described assuming that the user wearing the headgear 2 of the measuring device 1 is lying face up on the bed surface B and is started. Also, the present process will be described on the assumption that the support portion 3 is not filled with air. In addition, in this processing, as a plurality of head postures, a total of n×m patterns of the head are obtained by combining n levels of the height of the head in the vertical direction and m levels of the front and back tilt of the head with respect to the horizontal direction. A description will be given assuming that the size of the user's breathing in the posture of the head is measured. In this embodiment, measuring the size of the user's respiration in the n×m pattern of head postures is referred to as one cycle.

In step S101, the control unit 13 performs initialization necessary for this process.

Specifically, the control unit 13 resets the internal counter for counting one cycle described above. Further, in the present embodiment, the control unit 13 measures the user's head posture while the support unit 3 is not filled with air, and stores it in the storage unit 12 as the user's initial head posture. do.

In step S<b>102 , the control unit 13 changes the height of the user's head in the vertical direction by changing the support unit 3 .

Specifically, the control unit 13 controls the pump 4 to deform the first support member 3A to change the height of the head in the vertical direction. The control unit 13 calculates the height H of the head in the vertical direction from the information measured by the posture sensor 5, and supplies air by the pump 4 so that the height H becomes a predetermined height of the head. or controlled release. As shown in FIG. 5, the controller 13 expands the first support member 3A to raise the height of the head in the vertical direction by one step, such as 1 cm.

In step S<b>103 , the control unit 13 changes the support unit 3 to change the front-rear inclination of the user's head with respect to the horizontal direction.

Specifically, the control unit 13 controls the pump 4 to deform the second support member 3B to change the front-rear tilt of the head with respect to the horizontal direction. Based on the information measured by the posture sensor 5, the control unit 13 measures the front and back tilt L of the head with respect to the horizontal direction, and supplies air by the pump 4 so that the tilt L becomes a predetermined tilt of the head. or controlled release. As shown in FIG. 5, the controller 13 inflates the second support member 3B to tilt the head forward and backward with respect to the horizontal direction by one step, such as 1 degree.

In step S104, the control unit 13 determines whether the user is sleeping.

Specifically, the control unit 13 uses the sleep sensor 8 to measure information indicating whether the user is sleeping. The control unit 13 determines whether the user is sleeping based on the measured information. The control unit 13 stores the determination result of whether or not the person is sleeping in the storage unit 12 in association with the posture of the head measured by the posture sensor 5 .

In step S<b>105 , the control unit 13 measures the size of respiration using the respiration sensor 6 .

Specifically, the control unit 13 uses the respiration sensor 6 to measure the flow rate of at least one of exhalation and inhalation as the magnitude of respiration. The control unit 13 associates the measured respiration magnitude with the posture of the head and stores it in the storage unit 12 . The control unit 13 may measure the magnitude of respiration a plurality of times in one head posture. Measurement accuracy can be improved by measuring a plurality of times and calculating their average value or representative value.

In this embodiment, the size of breathing is measured even when it is determined that the user is not sleeping, but this is not the only option. The control unit 13 may perform the process of step S105 only when it is determined in step S104 that the user is sleeping. As a result, the measuring device 1 can reduce power consumption and storage capacity of the device.

In step S<b>106 , the control unit 13 determines whether or not measurement has been completed while changing the front-rear tilt of the user's head at a predetermined head height.

Specifically, the control unit 13 determines to what stage the measurement has been performed among the m stages of the front-rear inclination of the head. When the control unit 13 determines that the measurement up to the m-th step is completed (step S106-Yes), the process proceeds to step 107, and the measurement of the breathing size of the user at the height of the head in the next step is performed. Start. On the other hand, when the control unit 13 determines that the measurement up to the m-th stage has not been completed (step S106-No), the front-rear inclination of the head in the next stage is set to a predetermined inclination of the head. , the process from step 103 is repeated.

In step S107, the control unit 13 determines whether or not the measurement with the height of the user's head changed has been completed.

Specifically, the control unit 13 determines up to which level the measurement has been performed, out of the n levels of head height included in the information on the plurality of head postures. When the control unit 13 determines that the measurement up to the n-th stage has been completed (step S107-Yes), the process proceeds to step . On the other hand, when the control unit 13 determines that the measurement up to the n-th step is not completed (step S107-No), the head height in the next step is set to a predetermined head height. , the process from step 102 is repeated.

In the present embodiment, the control unit 13 measures the size of the user's breathing in a total of n×m patterns of head postures for one cycle. good too. As a result, the control unit 13, for example, when the user's sleep becomes light during the measurement of a certain cycle, and the size of breathing during sleep cannot be correctly measured in some head postures. , can be measured correctly in the next cycle.

Further, in the present embodiment, the control unit 13 repeatedly deforms the support unit 3 and maintains the shape of the support unit 3 for a predetermined period of time, such as 30 seconds. As a result, even if the user's sleep becomes light temporarily due to the deformation of the support part 3 and the movement of the user's head posture, the control unit 13 can Then, again, the user can stably and correctly measure the size of respiration during sleep in that head posture. Additionally, the predetermined time may vary depending on the number of cycles performed during the user's sleep. Specifically, the predetermined time may be shortened if the number of cycles to be executed is increased.

In step S108, the control unit 13 generates measurement results.

Specifically, based on the respiration magnitudes in a plurality of head postures, which are measured by repeating the above-described processing, the control unit 13 outputs respiration magnitudes in a plurality of head postures as measurement results. generate visualization information for FIG. 6 shows an example of visualization information of respiration magnitude in a plurality of head postures. In FIG. 6, the vertical axis represents the height of the head and the horizontal axis represents the tilt of the head back and forth, and the size of the respiration in a plurality of head postures is represented as the size of a circle. Accordingly, by referring to FIG. 6, it is possible to identify the head posture that facilitates breathing during the user's sleep. The control unit 13 stores the generated visualization information in the storage unit 12 . The visualization information shown in FIG. 6 is an example, and the visualization method is not limited to the example in FIG.

The control unit 13 may generate, as a measurement result, information indicating a head posture that facilitates breathing during sleep, which is specified from the magnitude of respiration in a plurality of head postures. For example, the control unit 13 determines the head posture with the largest respiration magnitude or the head posture larger than a predetermined threshold from the respiration magnitudes in a plurality of head postures, and determines the head posture during sleep. It is also possible to adopt a head posture that facilitates breathing.

The measurement results such as the generated visualization information may be displayed on the display unit 10 by the control unit 13, or may be transmitted from the communication unit 9 to an external device, for example.

As described above, the measuring device 1 according to the present embodiment is a measuring device 1 that measures the size of respiration of a human being, who is a user, during sleep. The measuring device 1 includes a deformable support section 3 that supports a human head, a respiratory sensor 6 that measures the amount of breathing of a human being, and a plurality of and a control unit 13 that measures the size of respiration in the head posture. According to such a configuration, the measurement device 1 can measure the magnitude of breathing of a person during sleep in a plurality of head postures, which can contribute to specifying the head posture that facilitates breathing during sleep. can.

In the measuring device 1 according to the present embodiment, the respiration sensor 6 is preferably a flow rate sensor that measures at least one flow rate of human exhalation and inhalation. According to such a configuration, the measuring device 1 can easily measure the magnitude of a person's breathing without disturbing the person's sleep during the measurement.

The measuring device 1 according to the present embodiment preferably includes a mask 7 that covers at least one of the nose and mouth of a person, and the respiratory sensor 6 is preferably installed at a position that can measure the magnitude of breathing on the mask 7. . With such a configuration, the measurement apparatus 1 can reduce the influence of external factors such as wind strength in the measurement environment on the measurement results.

In the measuring device 1 according to the present embodiment, it is preferable that the control unit 13 repeatedly deforms the support unit 3 and maintains the shape of the support unit 3 for a predetermined period of time. According to such a configuration, the measuring device 1 deforms the support part 3 and moves the posture of the user's head, so that even if the user's sleep becomes light temporarily, In the course of time, the user can again stabilize and correctly measure the size of respiration during sleep in that head posture.

The measurement apparatus 1 according to this embodiment includes an orientation sensor 5 that measures the orientation of the human head. is preferred. According to such a configuration, the measuring device 1 can improve the accuracy of measuring the magnitude of respiration in a plurality of head postures.

In the measuring device 1 according to this embodiment, the control section 13 preferably deforms the support section 3 to change the height of the head in the vertical direction. Furthermore, in the measuring device 1 according to the present embodiment, the support section 3 includes a first support member 3A that supports the head from the back of the head, and the control section 13 deforms the first support member 3A to It is preferable to change the height of the head. According to such a configuration, the measuring device 1 can measure the magnitude of respiration at a plurality of head heights. can provide information for specifying the height of the head at which breathing is easy during sleep.

In the measuring device 1 according to the present embodiment, the control section 13 preferably deforms the support section 3 to change the front-rear inclination of the head with respect to the horizontal direction. Furthermore, in the measuring device 1 according to the present embodiment, the support section 3 includes a second support member 3B that supports the head from the lower jaw, and the control section 13 deforms the second support member 3B to move the head horizontally. It is preferable to change the fore-and-aft tilt of the head relative to the . According to such a configuration, the measuring device 1 can measure the magnitude of respiration at a plurality of front and back tilts of the head. It is possible to provide information for identifying the forward/backward tilt of the head that facilitates breathing.

The measuring device 1 according to this embodiment preferably includes a sleep sensor 8 that measures information indicating whether or not a person is sleeping. According to such a configuration, the measuring device 1 can determine in detail whether the measured respiration magnitude is during sleep, and measures the respiration magnitude during sleep. Accuracy can be improved.

In the measuring device 1 according to the present embodiment, the control unit 13 preferably generates visualization information of the magnitude of respiration in a plurality of head postures. According to such a configuration, the measurement device 1 can identify a head posture that allows the user to breathe easily during sleep, from the magnitudes of respiration in a plurality of head postures measured by the measurement device 1. can be made easier.

The measuring method according to the present embodiment is a measuring method for measuring the magnitude of breathing of a person during sleep using the measuring device 1 described above. The measurement method includes steps in which the control unit 13 deforms the deformable support unit 3 that supports the human head, steps in which the respiration sensor 6 measures the magnitude of respiration in a plurality of head postures, including. According to such a configuration, the measuring device 1 can measure the magnitude of breathing of a person during sleep in a plurality of head postures, which can contribute to specifying the head posture that facilitates breathing during sleep. can.

In the measuring method according to the present embodiment, it is preferable that, in the step of deforming the support portion 3, the control portion 13 repeats maintaining the shape of the support portion 3 for a predetermined time after deforming the support portion 3. . According to such a configuration, even if the user's sleep temporarily becomes light due to the deformation of the support portion 3 and the movement of the user's head posture by the measurement device 1, the predetermined time period is reduced. In the course of time, the user can again stabilize and correctly measure the size of respiration during sleep in that head posture.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to drawings and embodiments, it should be noted that various variations and modifications can be easily made based on the present invention by those skilled in the art. Therefore, it should be noted that these variations and modifications are included within the scope of the present invention. For example, configurations or functions included in each embodiment can be rearranged so as not to be logically inconsistent. In addition, the configurations or functions included in each embodiment can be used in combination with other embodiments. It is possible to

For example, in the above-described embodiment, the control unit 13 first maintains the height of the user's head, and at that height, repeatedly changes the tilt of the head back and forth to control the breathing of the user. Although the description has been given assuming that the size is measured step by step, this is not the only option. The control unit 13 first maintains the forward and backward inclination of the user's head, and repeats changing the height of the head at that inclination to measure the size of the user's respiration step by step. may

In the above-described embodiment, the communication unit 9, the display unit 10, the input unit 11, the storage unit 12, and the control unit 13 are installed in the general-purpose computer 14, but this is not the only option. At least part of these functions may be implemented in a computer dedicated to the measuring device 1 . In such a case, the computer dedicated to the measurement device 1 may be fixed to the headgear 2, the support 3, or the like.

Further, the functions of the measuring device 1 according to the present embodiment are realized by executing a program defining the functions of the measuring device 1 with a processor of a computer. That is, the functions of the measuring device 1 are realized by software. Therefore, by causing a computer to execute the processing of the steps included in the operation of the measuring device 1, it is possible to cause the computer to realize the functions corresponding to the processing of the steps.

A program defining the functions of the measuring device 1 can be recorded in a computer-readable recording medium. A computer-readable recording medium is, for example, a magnetic recording device, an optical disk, a magneto-optical recording medium, or a semiconductor memory. Programs are distributed, for example, by selling, assigning, or lending portable recording media such as DVDs (digital versatile discs) or CD-ROMs (compact disc read only memories) on which programs are recorded. Alternatively, the program can be distributed by storing the program in the storage of a predetermined server and transferring the program from the predetermined server to another computer. A program may be provided as a program product.

The computer, for example, once stores in memory a program recorded on a portable recording medium or a program transferred from a predetermined server. Then, the computer reads the program stored in the memory with the processor, and executes processing according to the read program with the processor. The computer may read the program directly from the portable recording medium and execute processing according to the program. The computer may execute processing according to the received program every time the program is transferred to the computer from a predetermined server. Processing may be executed by a so-called ASP (Application Service Provider) type service that implements a function only by executing an execution instruction and obtaining a result without transferring a program from a predetermined server to a computer. The program includes information that is provided for processing by a computer and that conforms to the program. For example, data that is not a direct instruction to a computer but that has the property of prescribing the processing of the computer corresponds to "things equivalent to a program."

1 Measuring device 2 Headgear 3 Supporting part 3A First supporting member 3B Second supporting member 4 Pump 5 Posture sensor 6 Breathing sensor 7 Mask 8 Sleep sensor 9 Communication part 10 Display part 11 Input part 12 Storage part 13 Control part 14 Computer B Bed Plane P Reference position H Height L Front-back tilt

Claims (13)

A measuring device for measuring the size of breathing during human sleep,
a deformable support for supporting the human head;
a respiration sensor that measures the size of the human's respiration;
a control unit that deforms the support unit, measures the magnitude of respiration in a plurality of head postures by the respiration sensor , and identifies a head posture that facilitates breathing during sleep. Device. 2. The measuring device according to claim 1, wherein the respiratory sensor is a flow rate sensor that measures the flow rate of at least one of exhalation and inhalation of the human. further comprising a mask covering at least one of the human's nose and mouth;
3. The measuring device according to claim 1, wherein said respiration sensor is installed at a position capable of measuring said respiration in said mask. 4. The measuring device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the control section repeats deformation of the support section and maintenance of the shape of the support section for a predetermined period of time. further comprising a posture sensor for measuring the posture of the human head;
The measuring device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the control section deforms the support section based on information measured by the attitude sensor. The measuring device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the control section deforms the support section to change the height of the head in the vertical direction. The support section includes a first support member that supports the head from the back of the head,
The measuring device according to claim 6, wherein the control section deforms the first support member to change the height of the head in the vertical direction. The measuring device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the control section deforms the support section to change the front-rear inclination of the head with respect to the horizontal direction. The support includes a second support member that supports the head from the lower jaw,
The measuring device according to claim 8, wherein the control unit deforms the second support member to change the front-rear tilt of the head with respect to the horizontal direction. The measuring device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, further comprising a sleep sensor that measures information indicating whether the human is sleeping. The measuring device according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the control unit generates visualization information of respiration magnitudes in the plurality of head postures. A measuring method for measuring the size of breathing during sleep of a human by the measuring device according to any one of claims 1 to 11,
The control unit
deforming the support;
a step of measuring the magnitude of respiration in a plurality of head postures by the respiration sensor and identifying a head posture that facilitates breathing during sleep ;
method of measurement, including 13. The measuring method according to claim 12, wherein, in the step of deforming the support portion, the control portion repeats, after deforming the support portion, maintaining the shape of the support portion for a predetermined period of time.

Images