JPH05309085A - Active mass measuring instrument - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To facilitate pluralization of the number of sensors so that many positions are measured simultaneously, and also, to improve an examinee's constraint sense, and to improve portability. CONSTITUTION:In a detecting part, an active quantity detecting sensor generates a pulse signal in accordance with an active quantity of each part of an examinee. The pulse signal is modulated, and thereafter, transmitted as a radio wave to a measuring instrument main body 20. This radio wave is received by a receiving part 21 of the measuring instrument main body 20, and thereafter, transmitted to a demodulating part 22, in which an active quantity detecting signal is demodulated. The demodulated active quantity detecting signal is fed to a CPU 24. The CPU 24 converts the active quantity detecting signal from each detecting part outputted from a demodulating part 22 to data at every unit time, and writes it in a recording part 23.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an activity amount measuring device for measuring the activity amount of each part of a subject's waist, limbs and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Recently, as a monitor system for home patients and the like, it has been desired to develop a system for measuring the time change of the activity of the patient's waist, limbs and the like. Currently, as a general activity measurement device applicable to such a system,
There is a pedometer (pedometer). This pedometer detects the walking state and integrates the number of walks to know the degree of activity.

However, the conventional pedometer can only know the total number of steps during the measurement time, and is not suitable for measuring the time change of the degree of activity. Therefore, there is a method in which this pedometer is applied, a plurality of accelerometers and an electrocardiograph are combined, and the measured data is recorded in an analog manner on a cassette tape recorder.

[0004]

However, in the system for recording analog measurement data on the cassette tape recorder as described above, when the number of sensors such as the accelerometer is increased, the number of recording tracks is increased. Therefore, the number of sensors is increased. However, there is a problem that the measurable site is limited. Further, the signal line connecting the sensor and the recording unit is an obstacle to the subject, and there is a problem that it is very troublesome when the number of sensors is increased.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to easily increase the number of sensors,
It is an object of the present invention to provide an activity amount measuring device which can measure many parts at the same time, improve the feeling of restraint of the subject, and have excellent portability.

[0006]

An activity amount measuring apparatus according to the present invention detects an activity amount of a subject and outputs a pulse signal, and a detection signal of this activity amount sensor wirelessly. A plurality of detecting units having a transmitting unit for transmitting, a receiving unit for receiving the detection signals transmitted from each of these detecting units, and a detection signal of each activity amount detection sensor received by the receiving unit for each unit time. And a measuring device main body having a recording means for recording as data.

In this activity amount measuring apparatus, a plurality of detecting portions are attached to respective portions of the subject's waist, both hands, both legs and the like. The activity amount of each of these parts is output as a pulse signal by the activity amount detection sensor, and this pulse signal is wirelessly transmitted to the measuring device body as a radio wave. In the main body of the measuring device, the receiving unit receives the transmission wave transmitted from each detecting unit, and records the output signal of each activity amount detecting sensor received by this receiving unit in the recording unit as data per unit time.

As the recording unit, specifically, a DRAM
A digital recording type semiconductor memory such as (dynamic random access memory) is used. Further, the recording control is performed by the CPU (central processing unit), so that the number of activity amount detection sensors can be easily increased. In addition, since the signal detected by the activity amount detection sensor is wirelessly transmitted to the measuring device main body side having a recording unit, a signal line connecting the two is not required, which does not bother the subject. It is possible to measure stably over a long period of time.

The conversion of the detection signal of each activity amount detection sensor into data per unit time may be performed by the CPU of the measuring apparatus main body side or may be performed by the detection unit side. When the calculation is performed on the detection unit side, the detection signal can be transmitted at unit time intervals, so that power consumption can be reduced.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a state in which an activity measuring device according to an embodiment of the present invention is attached to a subject 1. This device is attached to the waist, both hands, and feet of the subject 1 5
Each of the detection units 10 and an activity amount detection sensor 20 mounted on the waist of the subject 1 are configured.

The five detectors 10 have the same structure and each have an activity amount detection sensor 11 for detecting the activity amount of the subject, as shown in FIG. As the activity amount detection sensor 11, for example, an acceleration sensor that generates a pulse signal when a constant impact acceleration is detected is used. The pulse signal output from the activity amount detection sensor 11 is sent to the modulator 12, where it is FM-modulated (frequency-modulated) to a frequency suitable for transmission. The modulation frequency of each detection unit 10 is different for each channel (each detection unit 10) for identification.

The modulated signal output from the modulator 12 is supplied to the transmitter 13 and transmitted from the transmitter 13 as a radio wave toward the measuring device body 20. In addition, the activity amount detection sensor 11, the modulation unit 12, and the transmission unit 1
Each unit of 3 is supplied with necessary power from a power supply unit 14 composed of a primary battery or a secondary battery.

The radio wave transmitted from the transmitting section 13 of each detecting section 10 is received by the receiving section 21 of the measuring device main body 20. The radio wave received by the receiver 21 is sent to the demodulator 22. The demodulation unit 22 demodulates the activity amount detection signal from the received radio wave. The demodulated activity amount detection signal is supplied to the CPU (central processing unit) 24.

The CPU 24 controls the entire system and converts the activity amount detection signal output from the demodulation unit 23 into data for each unit time. C
A recording unit 23 and a ROM (Read Only Memory) 25 are connected to the PU 24. ROM25 has C
Various programs for controlling the operation of the PU 24 are stored. The CPU 24 converts the activity amount detection signal output from the demodulation unit 23 into data for each unit time based on the control program of the ROM 25, and then records this data in the recording unit 2
Write to 3. The recording unit 23 is composed of a semiconductor memory such as a DRAM. CPU
A communication unit 27 is also connected to 24, and after the measurement is completed, the recording data is supplied to an external display unit (not shown) via the communication unit 27.

Receiving unit 21, demodulating unit 22, recording unit 23, C
Similar to the detection unit 10, each unit of the PU 24 and the ROM 25 is supplied with necessary power from a power supply unit 26 including a primary battery or a secondary battery.

FIG. 4 is a view showing the internal structure of the activity amount detecting sensor 11. The activity amount detection sensor 11 includes a semi-arched metal spring 40. A power supply terminal 41 for supplying a DC power supply is connected to the base end side of the metal spring 40. On the other hand, a metal weight 42 is attached to the tip. A metal plate 43 is arranged below the metal weight 42. The metal plate 43 is grounded via a current limiting resistor 44 and connected to a detection signal output terminal 45.

In this activity amount detection sensor 11, the subject 1
The metal weight 42 elastically moves downward due to the activity of each part such as both hands and feet, and contacts the metal plate 43 when a certain amount of movement, that is, when an acceleration of a certain value or more is obtained. As a result, a current instantaneously flows through the power supply terminal 41, and this is output from the detection signal output terminal 45 as a pulse signal.

Next, the operation of the activity amount measuring apparatus of the present embodiment thus constructed will be described.

First, the subject 1 mounts the detection unit 10 on both hands,
The belt 10a provided with the detection unit 10 is attached to both feet, and the belt 2 is directly attached to the waist. In addition, the measuring device body 20
Attach to the waist with belt 2 or pochette.

In this state, when the power switch (not shown) of each detecting unit 10 and the measuring device main body 20 is turned on, the detecting unit 10 detects the activity amount detecting sensor 11 according to the activity amount of each unit of the subject 1. Generates a pulse signal. The pulse signal output from the activity amount detection sensor 11 is sent to the modulator 12, where it is modulated to a frequency suitable for transmission. The modulated signal output from the modulator 12 is supplied to the transmitter 13 and transmitted from the transmitter 13 as a radio wave toward the measuring device body 20.

The radio wave transmitted from each detection unit 10 is received by the reception unit 21 of the measuring device main body 20 and then sent to the demodulation unit 22, where the detection signal of each detection unit 10 is demodulated.
The demodulated detection signal is supplied to the CPU 24. CPU
Reference numeral 24 converts the detection signal from each detection unit 10 output from the demodulation unit 23 into data for each unit time, which is recorded by the recording unit 2
Write to 3. When the writing of the data to the recording unit 23 is completed, the CPU 24 supplies the recording data to the external display unit via the communication unit 27.

Next, the data write operation by the CPU 24 will be further described with reference to the timing chart of FIG. Here, the signal transmitted from the detection unit 10 attached to the waist is signal 1, the signals transmitted from the detection unit 10 attached to both hands are the signals 2 and 3, and the detection unit 10 attached to both feet is transmitted. The signals to be generated are signals 4 and 5. The pulse widths of these signals 1 to 5 are each 200 msec.
And

The CPU 24 is always on standby for an interrupt due to a detection signal pulse, and any one of the signals 1 to 5 is the CPU.
If it is input to 24, interrupt processing is performed. For example, when the signal 1 is input, the CPU 24 increments the data recording counter of the built-in signal 1 by "1", and the signal 1 is slightly longer than 200 msec, for example, 250 msec so that the counting is not repeated. To mask. Then, the CPU 24 writes the value of the counter for each of the signals 1 to 5 in the recording unit 23 at a unit time, for example, at 1 minute intervals,
The operation of clearing each counter is repeated.

FIG. 6 shows an example of the result of measurement for 24 hours, and the total count number is displayed for each part.

In the activity amount measuring apparatus of this embodiment, the detecting unit 1
0 has a transmitter 13 incorporated therein, and the measuring device main body 20 has a receiver 21 incorporated therein, so that a detection signal is transmitted wirelessly.
A signal line for connecting the detection unit 10 and the measuring device main body 20 is unnecessary. Therefore, the device 1 can be mounted and measured without annoying the subject 1. Further, since there is no signal line, stable measurement can be performed.

Further, in this embodiment, since different transmission frequencies are assigned to the respective detectors 10 and the receivers 21 are identified, radio wave interference does not occur.

In the above embodiment, different transmission frequencies are assigned to the respective detectors 10, but FIG.
Also, with the configuration shown in FIG. 8, each detection unit 10 can transmit at the same frequency. Here, the same components as those in FIGS. 2 and 3 are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted.

In this embodiment, a control unit 15 is provided between the activity amount detection sensor 11 and the modulation unit 12 of each detection unit 10, and a reception unit 16 for receiving a trigger signal is connected to the control unit 15. Has been done. On the other hand, a transmitter 28 is added to the measuring device main body 20 side to wirelessly transmit a trigger signal as shown in FIG.

In the activity amount measuring apparatus of this embodiment, the transmitter 28 on the side of the measuring apparatus 20 transmits the trigger signals at regular intervals, and the signals are simultaneously received by the receivers 16 of the respective detectors 10. The trigger signal received by the receiver 16 is sent to the controller 15 of each detector 10. When the trigger signal is input, each control unit 15 delays the detection signal of the activity amount detection sensor 11 with a different delay time and outputs the delayed detection signal to the modulation unit 12. The delay signal output from the control unit 15 is frequency-modulated to the same transmission frequency between the detection units 10 in the modulation unit 12, and then transmitted as a radio wave via the transmission unit 13. 9B to 9F show transmission timings of pulses transmitted from the respective detection units 10.

These radio waves are received by the receiver 2 of the measuring device body 20.
1 is received, and then demodulated as an activity amount detection signal, then analyzed by the CPU 24 and recorded in the recording unit 23 as data for each unit time, as in the above-described embodiment.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the detection signals from the respective detection units 10 are transmitted at different timings for each detection unit 10, so that even the same frequency can be transmitted without causing radio wave interference.

In the above embodiment, the trigger signal is transmitted from the transmitter 28 on the measuring device main body 20 side, but instead of this, an ID signal (identification signal) is assigned to each detector 10, and The ID signal may be transmitted from the transmission unit 28, and only the detection unit 10 corresponding to this ID signal may transmit the detection signal. Even with such a configuration, transmission can be performed with the same frequency without causing radio wave interference.

Further, in the above embodiment, the data conversion of the detection signal per unit time is performed by the CP of the measuring device main body 20 side.
Although it is performed in U24, this may be performed in the control unit 15 on the detection unit 10 side shown in FIG. Collecting data for each unit time on the detection unit 10 side,
If this data is transmitted at unit time intervals, the power consumption of the power supply unit 14 can be reduced.

The present invention has been described with reference to the examples.
The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, but can be variously modified without departing from the scope of the invention.

For example, although the number of the activity amount detecting sensors 11 is five in the above embodiment, the number is arbitrary, and the number can be increased or decreased. Moreover,
This change is easy because a digital recording type semiconductor memory is adopted as the recording medium and the recording control is performed by the CPU 24.

In the above embodiment, only the activity amount detecting sensor 11 which generates a pulse signal is used for description, but other sensors such as an electrocardiogram sensor, a heartbeat sensor, a blood pressure sensor, etc. have amplitude and frequency dependence. By using the sensor with the same function at the same time, it becomes a composite activity amount measuring device.

Further, in the above embodiment, the case where all the detection signals are transmitted by the wireless system has been described, but a part of this transmission may be performed by the wired system.

Further, in the above embodiment, the case where a radio wave is used as a transmission wave has been described, but it goes without saying that it is also possible to transmit by using ultrasonic waves or infrared rays.

[0040]

As described above, according to the activity amount measuring apparatus of the present invention, the activity amount detecting sensor that detects the activity amount of the subject and outputs the pulse signal, and the detection signal of this activity amount detecting sensor. A plurality of detection units having a transmission unit for wirelessly transmitting, a reception unit that receives the detection signals transmitted from each of these detection units, and a detection signal of each activity amount detection sensor received by this reception unit Since it is configured by the main body of the measuring device having a recording means for recording as data per unit time, it is easy to increase the number of sensors, it is possible to measure many parts at the same time, There is an effect that the feeling of restraint is improved and the portability is excellent.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing a state in which a subject wears an activity amount measuring device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of a detection unit in the activity amount measuring device of FIG.

3 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of a measuring device main body in the activity amount measuring device of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram showing an internal structure of an activity amount detection sensor.

5 is a timing chart for explaining the operation of the activity amount measuring device in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of measurement data of the activity amount measuring device of FIG. 1.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of a detection unit according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of a measuring device main body according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a timing chart for explaining the operation of another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 detection unit 11 activity amount detection sensor 12 modulation unit 13 transmission unit 15 control unit 16 reception unit 20 measurement device main body 21 reception unit 22 demodulation unit 23 recording unit 24 CPU (central processing unit) 25 ROM (read only memory)

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An activity amount detection sensor that detects an activity amount of a subject and outputs a pulse signal, and a plurality of detection units having a transmission unit that wirelessly transmits the detection signal of the activity amount detection sensor, and these. And a measuring device main body having receiving means for receiving the detection signals transmitted from the respective detecting portions, and recording means for recording the detection signals of the respective activity amount detection sensors received by the receiving means as data per unit time. An activity measuring device characterized by being provided.