JP7352845B2 - excrement photography device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an excrement photographing device that is attached to a flush toilet and photographs images of excrement.

Conventional excrement imaging devices are known to take images of excrement when defecating in a toilet bowl and manage it in order to compare it with the clinically common Bristol scale. (For example, see Patent Document 1.).
In addition, in cases where one toilet is used by multiple patients, such as in a hospital, personal authentication data is collected to identify the person defecating, so that it can be managed to identify which patient the captured image data belongs to. There is also known a device that outputs the personal authentication data and excrement image data (for example, see Patent Document 2).

However, with conventional excrement imaging devices, it is necessary to install the device for photographing and collecting image data of excrement either with the toilet bowl or with other toilet seat devices. Toilet bowls and toilet seat devices sometimes had to be replaced to match the excrement imaging devices, which have a shorter lifespan than the devices themselves.

Patent No. 3204400 Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2014-031655

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and in the present invention, a toilet bowl/toilet seat device as sanitary equipment equipment with different product lifespans, and an excrement imaging device used for clinical application. The purpose is to arrange the functions appropriately.

In order to achieve the above object, according to the invention as set forth in claim 1, there is provided an excrement photographing device that is attached to a flush toilet and photographs an image of excrement, wherein a user defecates in the flush toilet. The plate part is attached to the upper rear surface of the bowl part, and the function box part hangs down from the left and right ends of the plate part, and the plate part has a photographing device for photographing excrement and generating image data. A means is provided to face the bowl part, and the function box part includes a control means for controlling the operation of the photographing means, and an output for outputting image data generated by the photographing means to the outside. It is characterized by containing a means and.
Therefore, when assembling a flush toilet and an excrement imaging device, which generally have different lifespans as products, each can be arranged separately and combined, so there is no excessive burden, and
It is possible to arrange the photographing means so that it does not enter the user's line of sight, and it is now possible to suppress the occurrence of mental problems due to the user being concerned about the presence of the photographing means.

Further, according to the invention as set forth in claim 2, the plate section further includes an excrement detection means for detecting excrement excreted into the bowl section, and the control means is configured to detect excrement excreted in the bowl section. The present invention is characterized in that the photographing means starts photographing after detecting excrement.
Therefore, it is now possible to reliably capture an image of excrement that is not obstructed by foreign objects such as toilet paper immediately after excretion is performed by the excrement detection means. In addition, users of excrement images can efficiently collect necessary information without requiring a long time to check excrement images.

Further, according to the invention as set forth in claim 3, the excrement detection means is capable of detecting both stool and urine as excrement, and the control means is configured to detect either stool or urine from the excrement detection means. The present invention is characterized in that based on this detection, the photographing means starts photographing.
Therefore, it is possible to obtain the status not only of the digestive system, which requires fecal status management, but also of urinary system diseases, which require urine excretion status management, and pre- and post-surgical status management, which requires metabolic management based on urine volume. Now you can. This also eliminates the need for the person excreting to specify whether the excretion was feces or urine, which also improves usability.

Further, according to the invention as set forth in claim 4, the control means further comprises personal identification means for acquiring personal identification data for identifying a user, and the control means controls the personal identification data acquired by the personal identification means and the photographing means. It is characterized in that the image data taken by the image data are integrated and outputted from the output means.
Therefore, image data of excrement and personal identification data can be used in combination.
Users of excrement images can check the condition of excrement without making mistakes about individuals.

According to the present invention, since the flush toilet and the excrement imaging device can be assembled separately and assembled together as products that generally have different lifespans, there is no excessive burden, and the imaging device can be assembled. It is possible to arrange the device so that it does not enter the user's line of sight, and this has the effect of preventing the user from developing mental problems due to being concerned about the presence of the photographing device. be.

1 is a perspective view showing a state in which an excrement imaging device according to an embodiment of the present invention is attached to a flush toilet; FIG. FIG. 1 is a system block diagram showing the configuration of an excrement imaging device in an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a sanitary cleaning device assembled to an excrement imaging device according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a water level change graph showing an example of excrement detection of the present invention. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the excrement imaging device in the embodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An excrement photographing device according to the present invention will be explained below based on the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a state in which an excrement imaging device according to an embodiment of the present invention is attached to a flush toilet.

As shown in FIG. 1, the excrement imaging device 1 is used by being attached to a flush toilet 100. The flush toilet 100 has a bowl portion 102 that is recessed into a bowl shape for the user to use to defecate. A rising conduit (not shown) extending diagonally upward is formed from the bottom of the bowl portion 102, and sealed water is collected at the bottom of the bowl portion 102 by this rising conduit. Also,
A wash water tank 104 is fixed above the rear part of the flush toilet 100 to store wash water to be supplied to the bowl portion 102. Excrement such as feces and urine discharged into the bowl part 102 is discharged to a drainage pipe (not shown) provided in the building by the flushing water supplied from the flushing water tank 104.

The excrement photographing device 1 includes a flat plate portion 2 placed on the top surface of the flush toilet 100;
The plate part 2 has a rough function box part 4 hanging downward from the left end thereof. The interior of the function box section 4 has a storage space that is longer in the front-rear direction than in the left-right direction, and a control means, etc., which will be described later, is stored in this storage space. Also,
A pair of through holes 5 are formed in the plate portion 2 and correspond to toilet seat mounting holes (not shown) formed in the flush toilet 100. By fixing the private parts cleaning device 200 (see FIG. 3) to the flush toilet 100 with the toilet seat mounting bolt (not shown) inserted into the through hole 5, the plate portion 2 can be attached to the top surface of the flush toilet 100 and the private parts. It is clamped and fixed between the cleaning device 200 and the bottom surface.

A photographing means 6 is fixed to the lower surface of the plate section 2 so as to face the bowl section 102. This photographing means 6 is a camera using a CCD, and the inside of the bowl part 102, in particular,
The water seal area is photographed to generate electronic image data. Also, next to the photographing means 6,
An excrement detection means 8 is fixed oppositely within the bowl part 102. This excrement detection means 8
is an ultrasonic sensor that detects excrement that has fallen into the sealed water by detecting changes in the water level of the sealed water at the bottom of the bowl part 102 based on changes in ultrasonic reflection time.

Further, a personal identification means 10 is provided on the wall of the toilet room. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the user is an inpatient at a hospital, and therefore, the personal identification means 10 is constituted by a barcode reader. The personal identification means 10 includes personal magazine identification data (I
D number), and the read data can be wirelessly transmitted to the function box section 4.

Next, the functions of the excrement photographing device 1 according to this embodiment will be explained based on FIG. 2.
FIG. 2 is a system block diagram showing the configuration of an excrement imaging device according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, the function box section 4 houses a control means 12 for controlling the operations of the photographing means 6 and the excrement detection means 8. Note that detailed control operations by the control means 12 will be described later.

Further, the function box section 4 houses a receiving means 14 for receiving a signal including personal identification data transmitted wirelessly from the personal identification means 10. The control means 12 integrates the image data of excrement photographed by the photographing means 6 with the personal identification data received by the receiving means 14, and outputs the data to the transmitting means 16 as one set of output data. The transmitting means 16 wirelessly transmits the set of output data to a router 50 installed in the toilet room.
This router 50 is a relay terminal for wireless communication, and can be used by installing a commercially available device in a toilet room (see FIG. 3).

The output data sent to the router 50 is sent to a server 54 installed at a predetermined location within the hospital via a LAN 52 installed within the hospital and is stored therein. This server 5
The output data stored in 4 can be used by an information terminal 56 such as a personal computer or a portable information terminal. The information terminal 56 uses a built-in program (application software) to specify the personal identification data (ID number) of a specific patient, and reads out that patient's data from the server 54 for confirmation. It is possible to narrow down the data to be read from the server 54 by specifying the period of time that the data was stored in the server 54.

Next, the usage condition of the excrement photographing device 1 will be explained.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a sanitary cleaning device assembled to an excrement imaging device according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 3, a private part cleaning device 200 as a toilet seat device is attached to the upper surface of the plate portion 2 of the excrement imaging device 1. The private parts cleaning device 200 has a built-in private part cleaning function section in a casing 202 that discharges cleansing water toward the user's private parts. Further, a toilet seat 204 is rotatably supported on the casing 202 . On the wall of the toilet room, a private part cleaning remote control 206 for operating the private part cleaning device 200 is installed along with a barcode reader as the personal identification means 10.

In this way, since the plate part 2 is flat, the private part cleaning device 2 is placed on the top surface of the plate part 2.
00, the installation height of the private parts cleaning device 200 hardly changes. can be retrofitted. In addition, the excrement photographing device 1 includes a private part cleaning device 20.
Since it is attached to the flush toilet bowl 100 independently from the toilet bowl 100, when the photographing means 6 deteriorates over time and reaches the end of its lifespan, only the excrement photographing device 1 is replaced without replacing the private parts cleaning device 200. be able to. Note that the photographing means 6 fixed to the plate portion 2 is hidden by the casing 202 of the private part cleaning device 200, making the presence of the photographing means 6 less noticeable to the user.

A cabinet 210 is provided behind the flush toilet 100 so as to cover the flush water tank 104. A backrest portion 21 having cushioning properties is provided on the front surface of the cabinet 210.
2 is provided. Furthermore, a router 50 is provided above the cabinet 210. The router 50 is a relay terminal for transmitting output data output from the excrement imaging device 1 to a LAN within the hospital.

Built in the cabinet 210 is a urine amount measuring device 300 that measures biological information such as the amount of urine excreted by the user (subject) and the urine flow rate (urine amount excreted per unit time). This urine amount measuring device 300 is connected to a water level measuring pipe (not shown) that communicates with the water seal of the flush toilet 100.
The urine volume and urine flow rate can be measured based on changes in the water level in the water level measurement pipe during urination. A urine amount measuring remote control 302 is provided on the wall of the toilet room above the private part cleaning remote control 206. The urine volume measurement remote control 302 is equipped with a measurement start switch for instructing the start of urine volume measurement, a urine volume measurement end switch for instructing the end of urination, and the like.

Next, the operation of the excrement detection means 8 in this embodiment will be explained. FIG. 4 is a water level change graph showing an example of excrement detection according to the present invention. In FIG. 4, the rate of change in the water level of the seal water formed at the bottom of the bowl portion 102 is graphed to show changes over time for feces and urine (urine), respectively. Since feces, which have a large volume, are submerged in water in a short period of time, the water level change rate is large and the period of time is generally short. On the other hand, since urine is excreted through the long urethra, the rate of change in the water level of the sealed water is suppressed, and on the contrary, the rate of change in water level generally continues for a long time. The excrement detection means 8 detects changes in the water level of the sealed water by changes in the reflection time of ultrasonic waves, and based on this water level change, excreta is detected whether it is stool or urine. It is possible to detect the timing when

Next, the operation of the excrement photographing device 1 will be explained. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the excrement imaging device according to the embodiment of the present invention, and specifically shows the control flow by the control means 12 of the excrement imaging device 1.
When the excrement photographing device 1 is powered on and the control means 12 is energized, a control sequence is started (S100). Note that in this state, the control means 12 is in a standby state, and the photographing means 6
The receiving means 14 is energized, and the receiving means 14 is not energized.
It is now waiting for a signal from 4.

In this standby state, it is determined whether a signal from the personal identification means 10 has been received by the receiving means 14 (S101). Specifically, the user (patient) holds up a wristband on which a barcode containing personal identification data is printed, which is worn around the wrist, over a barcode reader of the personal identification means 10, and the barcode information is received by the receiving means. 14 has been received. If the receiving means 14 does not receive barcode information (S101N), the control means 12
repeats the process of S101. When the receiving means 14 receives barcode information (S1
01Y), the control means 12 starts energizing the photographing means 6 and the excrement detection means 8 in order to start them (S102).

Subsequently, in S103, the excrement detection means 8 determines whether or not excretion has occurred.
When the excrement detection means 8 does not detect the excretion of either stool or urine (S103N
), the control means 12 repeatedly performs the process of S103. When the excrement detection means 8 detects the excretion of either feces or urine (S103Y), the photographing means 6 starts photographing in S104. The start of excretion is detected at the time when the water level changes due to either feces or urine as shown in FIG. 4.

Subsequently, the process of S105 is executed, and after the process of S105, in the process of S106, the control means 12 determines whether or not excretion has ended. Specifically, the control means 12 monitors the water level change signal from the excrement detection means 8, and determines the end of excretion when the water level remains unchanged for a predetermined period of time.
While the excretion continues (S106N), the control means 12 returns to the process of S105 and continues photographing, and the processes of S105 and S106 are repeatedly executed until the excretion is completed.
Note that the photographing by the photographing means 6 does not necessarily have to be a moving image, and it is preferable to photograph still images at intervals of several seconds in order to reduce the amount of image data and to confirm the excrement.
If it is determined that excretion has ended (S106Y), the photographing by the photographing means 6 is finished, and the image data photographed after the start of photographing (S104) and the identification for identifying the user (patient) transmitted from the personal identification means 10 are Output data in which the barcode signal including the signal (see S101) is integrated is transmitted from the transmitting means 16 to the router 50. Subsequently, in S108, the power supply to the photographing means 6 and the excrement detecting means 8 is stopped, the process shifts to a standby state, and the process returns to S101.

In the excrement imaging device 1 in this embodiment, since imaging starts immediately after excrement detection (S103Y), it is possible to capture an image of excrement free from obstacles such as toilet paper immediately after excretion. Furthermore, since the imaging period is limited to the period from the start of excretion to the end of excretion, excrement can be reliably photographed and the data capacity of image data can be prevented from increasing unnecessarily. In addition, in order to send the captured image data and output it externally,
By accessing the server 54 where the image data is stored, medical personnel can view excrement image data in a timely manner without having to go to the toilet room and directly access the excrement imaging device 1 installed there. This can improve work efficiency. Medical workers do not have to interrupt their work just to see excrement, and above all, patients do not suffer from the mental pressure of having to see excrement directly.

The embodiments of the present invention have been described above. However, the invention is not limited to these descriptions. Appropriate design changes made by those skilled in the art with respect to the above-described embodiments are also included within the scope of the present invention as long as they have the characteristics of the present invention.
For example, the excrement detection means 8 may be in various forms instead of detecting the change in the water level of the sealed water using the reflection time of ultrasonic waves as described above. For example, gas generated due to excrement may be detected. If the target is stool, carbon dioxide, hydrogen, methyl mercaptan, trimethylamine, etc. are recommended, and if the target is abnormal urine, ketone bodies such as acetoacetic acid, 3-hydroxybutyric acid, acetone, etc. are recommended.
Further, as another aspect of the excrement detection means 8, attention may be paid to the temperature of the excrement itself, and the excrement may be detected by temperature changes inside the bowl portion 102 or the sealed water.

Furthermore, instead of photographing from the time when the excretion detection means 8 determines the start of excretion to the end of excretion, the photographing period of the photographing means 6 may be set to a predetermined period of time from the time when the excretion start is determined. Alternatively, the user may input the start and end of shooting.
In addition, instead of the output data being wirelessly transmitted from the transmitting means 16 as an output means to the router 50, a storage means for storing the output data is provided inside the function box unit 4, so that medical personnel can An output port may be provided as an output means for a person to access the storage means and output data, or the storage means itself may be a card-type memory, and this card-type memory can be used as an output means. It may also be possible to take it out from an output slot.

In addition, instead of installing the personal identification means 10 on the wall of the toilet room, the function box section 4
It may be built in. Further, the personal identification means 10 does not need to be a barcode reader, and the user may input an ID number to identify the individual.
Further, the photographing means 6 is provided with an electric shutter that opens and closes the lens part of the camera, and the shutter is closed when the photographing means 6 is in a standby state in which no photographing is performed, and the shutter is opened when not on standby. The lens may be prevented from becoming soiled by splashed water when the private parts are cleaned by the private parts cleaning device 200 after photographing or when the flush toilet 100 is cleaned.
Further, a cleaning means for wiping the lens surface when opening and closing the shutter may be provided to automatically clean the photographing means 6, which is likely to be contaminated with excrement droplets due to its arrangement.

1...Excrement photographing device 2...Plate part 4...Function box part 6...Photographing means 8...Excrement detection means 10...Personal identification means 12...Control means 14...Reception means 16...Transmission means (output means)
50...Router 52...LAN
54... Server 56... Information terminal 100... Flush toilet 102... Bowl part 104... Washing water tank 200... Private part cleaning device (toilet seat device)
202...Casing 204...Toilet seat 206...Private cleaning remote control 210...Cabinet 212...Backrest part 300...Urine amount measuring device 302...Urine amount measuring remote control

Claims (4)

An excrement imaging device that is attached to a flush toilet provided with a toilet seat device above,
a photographing means for photographing excrement ;
a control means that controls the operation of the photographing means and into which data acquired by the photographing means is input;
The photographing means is provided and a plate part is attached to the flush toilet ,
The plate portion is fixed between the top surface of the flush toilet and the bottom surface of the toilet seat device so as to be located behind the bowl portion of the flush toilet ,
The photographing means is connected to the plate section so as to be located below the plate section and on the rear inside of the bowl section of the flush toilet, while the control means is connected below the plate section. An excrement photographing device , characterized in that it is disposed on the side and outside of the bowl portion of the flush toilet . 2. The excrement photographing device includes a function box in which the control means is housed, and the function box is arranged outside the flush toilet. excrement imaging device. The excrement photographing device further includes personal identification means for acquiring personal identification data for identifying a user, and the control means transmits the personal identification data acquired by the personal identification means to a function box. The excrement imaging device according to claim 1 or 2. The plate portion is provided with the photographing means and an excrement detection means for detecting excrement , and the excrement detection means is fixed to the side of the photographing means. 2. The excrement imaging device according to 2.