JPH11174149A - Device for recognizing person to be nursed - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a low-cost device for recognizing a person to be nursed for enabling a detection medium and clothes of the person to be nursed to be washed without causing the person to notice that he or she is being controlled, without the need for a power supply, and without any need for exchanging or charging a power supply battery. SOLUTION: A device is provided with a resonance tag 1 that moves along with a person to be nursed and where a resonance circuit is formed on an insulation sheet, antennas 2 and 3 that are arranged near the traveling path of the person to be nursed, a transmission part 4 for transmitting an electronic wave with a constant frequency from the antenna 2, a reception part 5 for receiving a transmission electronic wave via the antenna 3, an identification part 20 for identifying a reflection signal due to the resonance of the resonance tag 1 from the reception signal of the reception part 5 when the resonance tag 1 exists within transmission and reception areas using antennas 2 and 3 and for outputting a signal, and an alarm part 21 for generating an alarm due to a signal from the identification part 20.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for recognizing a cared person who can confirm the location of a cared person, for example, a person with dementia due to Alzheimer's disease.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A person with dementia due to Alzheimer's disease roams regardless of location, and the caregiver must always be aware of where the person is. However, it is impossible to monitor the demented person all the time, and there is a human rights problem in keeping the depressed person indoors. Therefore, it has been considered that a transmitter is put in a pocket of a deaf person's clothes or the like, and the location of the deaf person is known by tracking radio waves emitted from the transmitter.

[0003] However, even if the transmitter is made into a card type, for example, it will have a certain thickness and weight, and if it is put in the pocket of the clothes of the deaf person who is the care receiver, The person immediately notices that the transmitter is present and may throw it away. Even if the transmitter is stored in clothes, carrying around a thick and heavy transmitter will eventually become noticed by the existence of the transmitter, and the deaf person will realize that he / she is being managed, Is unpleasant, and when washing clothes, the transmitter must be removed and washed each time. In addition, the transmitter requires a power supply to operate, cannot be tracked if the power is depleted, and must be replaced or charged before the power is depleted. However, from this point, there is a problem that handling is complicated. Cost is high.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and it is only necessary to attach a thin seal-shaped detection medium to clothes of a cared person. Can detect the movement of the cared person, so that the cared person does not realize that the cared person is being managed. It is an object of the present invention to provide a low-cost cared person recognizing device that can wash a cared person's clothes together with a detection medium.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is characterized in that a resonance tag which is attached to a cared person, moves with the cared person, and has a resonance circuit formed on an insulating sheet is used as a detection medium. According to the first aspect of the present invention, an antenna disposed in the vicinity of a moving path of a care receiver, a transmitting unit for transmitting a radio wave of a fixed frequency from the antenna, and receiving the transmitted radio wave via the antenna A receiving unit, an identification unit that identifies a reflection signal due to resonance of the resonance circuit from a signal received by the reception unit and outputs a signal when the resonance tag is present in a transmission / reception area of the antenna, And an alarm unit that operates in response to a signal from the unit and issues an alarm.

As in the invention according to claim 2, in the invention according to claim 1, a plurality of types of resonance tags having different resonance frequencies of the resonance circuit are prepared, and the resonance tags have different resonance frequencies for each cared person. , The transmitting unit may transmit radio waves of a plurality of different frequencies in time series, and the identifying unit may identify the cared person by identifying the resonance frequency of the resonance circuit. Alternatively, as in the invention according to claim 3, in the invention according to claim 1, the resonance tag is provided with a plurality of resonance circuits having different resonance frequencies, and each resonance tag has a different combination of the plurality of resonance circuits. The transmitting unit may transmit radio waves of a plurality of different frequencies in time series, and the identifying unit may identify the resonance frequency of the resonance circuit and specify the care receiver by a combination of the resonance frequencies.

[0007] As in the fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the light detecting means is disposed in front of and behind the moving path of the cared person toward the moving path, and the resonance tag exists in the transmission / reception area. When the identification unit identifies that the cared person has entered or exited from the temporal order of the detection signal by the preceding and following light detection means.

[0008] According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the receiving section receives an attenuation signal of a reflected signal due to resonance of the resonance tag, and the identification section transmits and receives the signal based on the presence or absence of the attenuation signal. The presence or absence of a resonance tag in the area may be identified. Further, like the invention according to claim 6, in the invention according to claim 2 or 3, the receiving unit includes:
The identification unit may receive the attenuation signal of the reflection signal due to the resonance of the resonance tag, identify the presence or absence of the resonance tag in the transmission / reception area based on the presence or absence of the attenuation signal, and identify the resonance frequency of the resonance circuit. .

[0009]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a cared person recognition apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The major feature of the present invention is the use of a resonance tag in which a resonance circuit including a coil and a capacitor is formed on an insulating sheet. First, the resonance tag will be described. As shown in FIG. 3, the resonance tag 1 has an insulating sheet 31 as a base, and electrodes 32 and 33 are formed on both front and back surfaces thereof. The electrodes 32 and 33 constitute a capacitor. The electrodes 32 and 33 are formed in a predetermined pattern by a method such as etching, and one or both of the electrodes 32 and 33 are formed in a coil pattern. As shown in FIG. 4, a capacitor 34 formed by the electrodes 32 and 33 is formed.
And the coil pattern 35 are electrically connected in parallel to form a resonance circuit that resonates at a specific frequency. Although the resonance tag 1 is thin and flexible like a flexible circuit board, in FIG. 3, the insulating sheet 31, the electrodes 32, and 33 are drawn thicker than they actually are for convenience of explanation. Resonance tag 1
An adhesive is applied to one side of the device so that it can be attached to any location. Therefore, it can be attached to the care-receiver's shoes or slippers, but since the care-receiver can wander barefoot, it is preferable to attach it to pants or pajamas.

The operation principle of the care receiver recognition device using the resonance tag 1 is as follows. As shown in FIG. 4A, when a radio wave of a constant frequency generated by the transmission unit 4 is transmitted from the transmission antenna 2, if the transmission frequency is the same as the resonance frequency of the resonance tag 1, the resonance circuit of the resonance tag 1 Resonates with the above-mentioned radio wave and emits a reflected signal due to the resonance from the resonance circuit of the resonance tag 1 as shown in FIG. By receiving the reflected signal by the receiving unit 5 via the receiving antenna 3, it is possible to recognize that the resonance tag 1 exists in the transmission / reception area of the transmitting antenna 2 and the receiving antenna 3. An identification device using such a resonance tag 1 is a known technology as described in Japanese Patent Application No. 2-198382.

In the care receiver recognition device according to the present invention, the resonance tag 1 is attached to the care receiver's clothes at an arbitrary position so that the resonance tag 1 is attached to the care receiver and the care receiver together with the care receiver. Move the antenna and place the transmitting and receiving antennas at key points such as the entrance and exit of the cared person's room. When the carousel enters and exits the transmitting and receiving area, such as when the cared person enters and exits the room, Detected and issued an alarm. FIG. 1 shows the embodiment. In FIG. 1, a resonance tag 1 is a seal-like member having a resonance circuit, and is attached to clothes or the like of a care receiver. The transmitting antenna 2 and the receiving antenna 3 are arranged to face each other, for example, at the entrance of the living room of the care receiver. The antenna 2,
3 may be embedded in the walls on both sides of the entrance. The resonance tag 1 may be provided, for example, in a turn of a collar or in a pocket so that it cannot be seen at a glance, and even in a place where it can be seen, a bar code pattern or a quality display is provided. If such information is printed, it can be camouflaged that the tag is a resonance tag.

In FIG. 1, a transmitting section 4 includes a timing generating circuit 6 for outputting a timing signal at a constant cycle, an oscillating circuit 7 for transmitting a signal of a constant frequency, in the illustrated example, a signal of 10 MHz, And a high-frequency amplifier 9 for amplifying the burst signal from the AND gate 8 by using the 10 MHz signal as a burst signal, that is, a signal in which an output and a non-output appear alternately by the ebble pulse signal from 6. It becomes. 10 MHz from the high-frequency amplifier 9 via the transmitting antenna 2
Is transmitted as a radio wave.

The receiving section 5 includes a receiving amplifier 10 for amplifying a radio wave from the transmitting antenna 2 received by the receiving antenna 3 and a reflected signal due to resonance of the resonance tag 1, a timing generating circuit 6, and a timing generating circuit. 6 and an AND gate 11 that opens the gate by the pulse signal from 6 and allows the reception signal from the reception amplifier 10 to pass therethrough. The timing generation circuit 6 inputs the inverted signal of the signal input to the AND gate 8 of the transmission unit 4 to the AND gate 11 and passes the signal received by the reception antenna 3 when the radio wave from the transmission antenna 2 is cut off. It is made to let.

The radio wave transmitted from the transmitting antenna 2 is shown in FIG.
FIG. 5A shows a reflected signal from the resonance tag 1 which is resonated and reflected by the radio wave. As shown in FIG. 5A, a 10 MHz radio wave is transmitted at a predetermined timing for a predetermined time. At this time, if the resonance tag 1 resonating with the 10 MHz radio wave enters the transmission / reception area, the transmission antenna 2
The resonance tag 1 starts to resonate with the radio wave transmitted from. Even if the radio wave from the transmitting antenna 2 is interrupted, the resonance circuit of the resonance tag 1 resonates while being attenuated, as indicated by the circle indicated by the symbol E in FIG. 5B. Since the opening timing of the AND gate 11 of the receiving unit 5 is opposite to that of the AND gate 8 of the transmitting unit 4, the AND gate 11 passes the attenuating resonance wave.

The output of the AND gate 11 is input to a charge pump circuit 12. The charge pump circuit 12 detects the presence or absence of a resonance wave. The charge pump circuit 12 detects the output from the AND gate 11 a plurality of times, eliminates a malfunction, and removes a PIO (programmed input output) 17 of the identification unit 20. Is input to The charge pump circuit 12 rectifies and integrates the received signal extracted by the AND gate 11, and then determines whether or not there is a resonance wave from the resonance tag 1. The identification unit 20 mainly includes the CPU 13
The above-mentioned PIO17 for exchanging signals with U13, R
It has an OM 14, a RAM 15, and an SIO 16. ROM1
4 records an operation program of the CPU 13;
M15 records various data.

The CPU 13 monitors the PIO 17, and when a detection signal of the resonance tag 1 is input from the charge pump circuit 12 through the PIO 17, a signal is input to the external alarm circuit 18 via the PIO 17 to activate the external alarm circuit 18. The speaker 21 as an alarm unit issues an audio alarm. Also, the CPU 13 is the SIO1
6 through the RS-232C driver / receiver 19 to transmit information to an external personal computer or the like, and the personal computer or the like may operate an alarm unit or perform various information processing.

FIG. 2 shows the concept of cared person recognition according to the embodiment described above. The resonance tag 1 is attached to an arbitrary place on the clothes of the care receiver 25 so as to move with the care receiver 25. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 24 is
5 shows a caregiver recognition device main body including the transmission unit 4, the reception unit 5, and the identification unit 20 described in the above. FIG. 2 illustrates an example in which the transmitting antenna 2 and the receiving antenna 3 are arranged so as to sandwich a passage through which the care receiver 25 passes, and an example in which the antenna 23 serving as the transmitting antenna and the receiving antenna is used. .
Various arrangements of the antenna 23 are conceivable, and the antenna 23 may be arranged in an upright position facing the passage through which the cared person 25 like the antennas 2 and 3, but in the example of FIG. They are laid down along the floor of the passageway. A burst wave is transmitted from the antenna 23. Antenna 23
Functions as a receiving antenna when radio waves are not being transmitted. The care receiver 25 is within the transmission / reception area of the antenna 23.
Has entered, the resonance tag 1 resonates with the transmission radio wave,
When the transmission radio wave is cut off, the resonance signal of the resonance tag 1 can be received by the antenna 23, which can be used for recognition of the care receiver. In the example shown in FIG. 2, a personal computer 30 is connected to the caregiver recognition device main body 24, and the personal computer 30 is connected to the speaker 2 as an alarm unit by a detection signal from the caregiver recognition device main body 24.
A light emitting device 22 called a patrol light 1 or a patrol light is driven to issue an alarm by sound or light.

The transmitting antenna 2, the receiving antenna 3, and the antenna 23 can be formed into a circuit board by forming an antenna pattern on the board. It is installed on the walls, floors, under floors, ceilings, or dedicated gates of important places, such as entrances to the places used in. The antenna in the form of a circuit board may be combined into a plurality of antennas to form one antenna. The personal computer 30 and the alarm unit are installed in another room that is invisible to the care receiver.

According to the above-described embodiment, the resonance tag 1 having the resonance circuit formed on the insulating sheet is attached to the clothes or the like of the care receiver so as to move with the care receiver and transmitted. A radio wave having the same frequency as the resonance frequency of the resonance tag 1 is transmitted from the unit 4, and a reflected signal due to resonance of the resonance tag 1 is received by the reception unit 5, thereby detecting that the care receiver has entered the transmission / reception area. Since the alarm is issued from the alarm unit in response to this detection signal, the movement of the cared person can be known by the alarm without constantly monitoring the cared person. In addition, the resonance tag 1 only needs to form the coil pattern and the electrode constituting the capacitor on a thin flexible substrate, and it is not bulky even when it is attached to the care receiver's clothes, etc. Since the cared person does not realize that the resonance tag 1 has been attached, and the resonance tag 1 is not removed by the cared person, the movement of the cared person is reliably recognized. can do. Further, since the resonance tag 1 does not require a power supply, there is no need to worry that the care receiver cannot recognize the cared person due to exhaustion of the power supply, and the tag can be washed together with the clothes.

Antennas are installed not only at the entrance and exit of the care recipient's living room, but also at a plurality of places such as entrances and exits of toilets, entrances, and the like. When approaching, it is better not only to issue an alarm but also to identify and display in which transmitting / receiving area the vehicle has entered. In order to identify which transmission / reception area has entered, at least the receiving unit 5 is provided for each antenna, and it is sufficient to identify which receiving unit 5 is outputting the detection signal. The transmission / reception area only needs to be about 1.5 m from the antenna, and a weak radio wave is sufficient.

In the embodiment described above, the radio wave transmitted from the transmission unit 4 is one type of radio wave of a specific frequency,
The resonance frequency of the resonance tag 1 also resonated only at the transmission frequency. Even in such an embodiment, since it is known that the cared person has entered the transmission / reception area, an appropriate measure can be taken, and the original purpose can be sufficiently achieved. In particular, if only one cared person is recognized in the home, there is no need to identify each cared person, so there is no problem with the device according to the above embodiment.

However, in order to recognize the movements of a large number of cared persons in a hospital or the like, it is desirable that each cared person can be identified. In such a case, a plurality of types of resonance tags having different resonance frequencies of the resonance circuit are prepared, and a resonance tag having a different resonance frequency is assigned to each cared person. From the transmission unit 4 shown in FIG. The radio waves of the frequency corresponding to the resonance frequency of the resonance tag are sequentially transmitted in time series. When one or more cared persons enter the transmission / reception area, when a radio wave having the same frequency as the resonance frequency of the resonance tag assigned to the cared person is transmitted, the resonance tag resonates and receives the reflected signal. Since the unit 5 receives the information, the identification unit 20 identifies the resonance frequency of the resonance circuit, displays the identification result on the display of the personal computer, or turns on or blinks a lamp corresponding to each care receiver. This makes it possible to identify which care receiver has entered the transmission / reception area.

According to the above example, there is an advantage that the individual cared person can be identified, but a resonance tag of a kind corresponding to the number of cared persons to be recognized is required, and transmission is required. It is necessary to transmit a radio wave of a frequency corresponding to the number of cared persons from the unit 4. Therefore, when the number of cared persons increases, it is difficult to accurately identify the cared person, and it is necessary to prepare many types of resonance tags, and the transmitting unit 4 transmits many types of frequency signals. However, there is a problem that the cost is high because it is necessary to be able to perform the operation.

In order to solve such difficulties, a limited number of resonance tags are combined and coded, and the identification unit 20 is coded.
Then, the code may be identified to identify the care receiver. FIG. 8 shows an example of a resonance tag coded as described above.
Shown in In FIG. 8, the resonance tag 1 is configured by forming four resonance circuits 1a, 1b, 1c, and 1d on one flexible substrate. Each resonance circuit 1
a, 1b, 1c, and 1d have different resonance frequencies. The combination of the resonance frequencies follows a predetermined code, and a large number of resonance tags can be individually identified by the combination of the resonance frequencies.

On the other hand, the transmitting unit 4 shown in FIG.
Radio waves of a plurality of types, such as types or 16 types, are repeatedly transmitted in time series in order. When the care receiver having the resonance tag 1 as shown in FIG. 8 enters the transmission / reception area, the resonance frequencies of the four resonance circuits 1a, 1b, 1c, and 1d of the radio waves of the plurality of types of frequencies are set. The above four resonance circuits 1 using radio waves of the same frequency.
a, 1b, 1c, and 1d resonate, respectively. The receiving unit 5 receives the reflected signals from the respective resonance circuits 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, and the identification unit 20 identifies which frequency of the reflected signal is received and decodes it to determine which resonance tag it is. In other words, the cared person is specified. Thereafter, an alarm is issued from the alarm unit, and the cared person is displayed on a display or the like based on the identification result.

According to the above-described embodiment, a plurality of resonance circuits having different resonance frequencies are provided in the resonance tag, and each resonance tag can be specified by a combination of the resonance frequencies. From among a plurality of types of radio waves of different frequencies, a reflection signal due to resonance of the resonance circuit is received by a reception unit and identified by an identification unit so that a resonance tag is specified. It is possible to specify more resonance tags and thus more care receivers for the number of types.

The embodiment described so far detects whether the cared person has entered the transmission / reception area by detecting whether the resonance tag has entered the transmission / reception area. It is not possible to determine whether the caregiver has gone out of or into the living room or the like. FIGS. 6 and 7 show an embodiment that enables such a determination. In FIG. 6, reference numeral 2 denotes a transmitting antenna, 3 denotes a receiving antenna, and 24 denotes a recognition device body. Reference numeral 37 denotes a power supply device for driving each unit. In FIG. 6, it is assumed that the antennas 2 and 3 are arranged on both sides of the entrance to the living room, and the arrow I pointing diagonally upward to the right points toward the living room and diagonally downward to the left. Arrow O is the outside.
6, two light emitting elements 4A on the left side in FIG.
4B are arranged. The light emitting elements 4A and 4B are arranged at predetermined intervals in the order of the light emitting elements 4A and 4B from the living room side to the outside so that the light beam is emitted horizontally across the entrance. On the right side of the entrance in FIG. 6, light receiving elements 5A and 5B are arranged at predetermined intervals in this order from the living room side to the outside. The light beam from the light emitting element 4A is received by the light receiving element 5A.
Receives the light beam from the light emitting element 4B and the light receiving element 5B
Are designed to receive light. The light emitting element 4A and the light receiving element 5A constitute one light detecting means, and the light emitting element 4B and the light receiving element 5B constitute another light detecting means. One light detecting means and another light detecting means are antennas 2 and 3
May be arranged before and after. The light beams emitted from the light emitting elements 4A and 4B are not limited, and may be, for example, visible light or infrared light.

When the cared person, the caregiver, the wheelchair, and everything else pass through the entrance, the light beam is blocked, and the light beams are temporarily cut off from the light receiving elements 5A and 5B. , The detection signal from 5B is temporarily interrupted. Then, when the cared person or the like goes out of the living room, first, the detection signal of the light receiving element 5A temporarily stops, and then the detection signal of the light receiving element 5B temporarily stops. Conversely, when the care receiver enters the living room from the outside, first, the detection signal of the light receiving element 5B temporarily stops,
Next, the detection signal of the light receiving element 5A is temporarily interrupted. Therefore, by determining which of the light-receiving elements 5A and 5B is interrupted first, the cared person has gone out of the living room or came into the living room from outside. Can be determined. The case where an alarm is required is when the cared person goes out of the living room and does not need to give an alarm when the cared person comes into the living room from outside. Also, it is not necessary to issue an alarm when something other than the care receiver enters or leaves. Therefore,
The recognition device 24 may be operated as shown in FIG.
Hereinafter, this operation will be described.

When the power is turned on, each part starts to operate, a radio wave is transmitted from the transmitting antenna 2 and the light emitting element 4
Light beams are emitted from A and 4B toward light receiving elements 5A and 5B. Here, A detection detects that the light beam from the light emitting element 4A is blocked and the detection signal of the light receiving element 5A is interrupted, and B detection detects that the light beam from the light emitting element 4B is blocked and the detection signal of the light receiving element 5B is interrupted. Then, it is first determined whether or not the detection is A, if it is not A detection, it is determined whether it is B detection, and if it is not B detection, the process returns. When the A detection is performed in the A detection determination step, the process waits for the B detection. Here, B detection is performed when somebody is going to go out of the living room. B
When the detection is performed, next, the detection of the resonance tag is waited. If the resonance tag is not detected, it is considered that something other than the care receiver is going out of the room, and the process returns. When the resonance tag is detected in the above-described resonance tag detection step, it is considered that the care receiver is going out of the living room, so that an alarm signal is output, and an alarm is generated by sound or light. When it is possible to specify that the person is a specific cared person among a plurality of cared persons, the name of the specific cared person may be displayed. After the alarm or display is performed for a certain period of time, the output of the alarm signal is stopped.

If not the A detection in the A detection judging step but the B detection in the B detection judging step next, the A detection is waited for next. Here, A detection is performed when someone is trying to enter the living room from outside. After the detection of A, the detection of the resonance tag is awaited.
If the resonance tag is not detected, it is considered that something other than the care receiver has entered the living room from the outside, and the process returns. When the resonance tag is detected in the resonance tag detection step, it is considered that the care receiver has entered the living room from the outside, so a return signal is output, and the care receiver returns by the return signal. Display for a certain period of time. There is no need to alert when the care receiver returns from outside.

Since the time required to enter the toilet and return to the office and return is different depending on personal habits, etc., the care receiver who entered the toilet is specified as described above, and the alarm is issued. The time up to may be set for each cared person. In recent years, a motion sensor capable of recognizing whether or not a target is moving by detecting infrared rays has been developed. Therefore, a new function may be provided by adding the motion sensor. For example, if the cared person detects that the cared person has entered the toilet, the motion sensor recognizes whether the cared person is moving, and if the cared person does not move for a certain period of time, there is a high probability that an accident has occurred. It is good to make an alarm.

According to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, when an alarm is required, that is, when the cared person goes out of the living room or the like and when the alarm is not required,
That is, when the cared person returns to the living room, an alarm is issued only when the cared person leaves the living room, and when the cared person returns to the living room, an alarm is issued. The advantage that the caregiver does not need to check whether the cared person has gone out or returned has been eliminated because the warning is not issued, and the burden on the caregiver is reduced. There is. Further, the identification means of whether the cared person has left or returned operates without distinction between the cared person and the other person. However, according to the above embodiment, the detection target is the living room. The alarm is issued only when the user goes out of the room and detects the resonance tag attached to the cared person, so that only the cared person is identified and the alarm is issued only when necessary. This also has the advantage of reducing the burden on the caregiver.

The above-described embodiment, which can identify the incoming and outgoing of the cared person, has the following beneficial use.
That is, for example, an antenna and an optical detecting means as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 are installed at the entrance and exit of the toilet, and timing is started from the time when the cared person is detected to have entered the toilet, and a certain time has elapsed. If it is not detected that the cared person has left the toilet, an alarm is issued to the effect that help is needed. The timing operation may be performed using an independent timer, or a timing function of a personal computer may be used. In addition, the care recipient may enter the toilet, the elapsed time since entering the toilet, the exit from the toilet, and the like may be managed by a personal computer and displayed on a display.

Also in the case of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, a plurality of types of resonance tags having different resonance frequencies of the resonance circuit are prepared, and resonance tags having different resonance frequencies are assigned to the care receivers. The cared person may be identified based on the difference in the resonance frequency, and the resonance tag has a plurality of resonance circuits having different resonance frequencies, and each resonance tag has a different combination of the plurality of resonance circuits, and the resonance tag has a different resonance frequency. The care receiver may be specified based on a difference in frequency combination.

[0035]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a resonance tag having a resonance circuit formed on an insulating sheet is attached to a care receiver so as to move with the care receiver,
A radio wave having the same frequency as the resonance frequency of the resonance tag is transmitted from the transmission unit, and a reflection signal due to resonance of the resonance tag is received by the reception unit, thereby detecting that the care receiver has entered the transmission / reception area. Alarm from the alarm unit, so that you do not need to constantly monitor the cared person,
The movement of the care receiver can be known by the alarm. In addition, the resonance tag only needs to form a resonance circuit on a flexible thin substrate, for example, and is not bulky even if it is attached to a care receiver's clothes or the like. The cared person does not realize that the tag has been attached, and the cared person does not remove the resonance tag, so that the movement of the cared person can be reliably recognized. Further, since the resonance tag does not require a power supply, there is no need to worry that the care receiver cannot recognize the wearer due to exhaustion of the power supply, and the tag can be washed together with clothes.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, a plurality of types of resonance tags having different resonance frequencies of the resonance circuit are prepared, the resonance tags having different resonance frequencies are assigned to the cared person, and a plurality of resonance tags are transmitted from the transmission unit. Radio waves of different frequencies are transmitted in time series, and when a radio wave having the same frequency as the resonance frequency of the resonance tag assigned to the cared person is transmitted, the resonance tag resonates, and the reflected signal is received by the receiver. Because the identification unit identifies the resonance frequency and identifies the care receiver,
It is possible to identify which cared person has entered the transmission / reception area.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, a plurality of resonance circuits having different resonance frequencies are provided in the resonance tag, and the individual resonance tags can be identified by a combination of the resonance frequencies, and transmitted from the transmission unit. From among a plurality of types of radio waves of different frequencies, a reflection signal due to resonance of the resonance circuit is received by a reception unit and identified by an identification unit so that a resonance tag is specified. For the number of types, more resonant tags,
As a result, it is possible to specify more care receivers.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the light detecting means is arranged before and after the moving path of the cared person toward the moving path, and the identification section has identified that the resonance tag exists in the transmission / reception area. When it is necessary to provide an alarm in order to detect whether the cared person has entered or exited from the temporal order of the detection signal by the preceding and following light detecting means, Identify cases where the cared person goes out of a room, etc., and cases where a warning is not required, that is, when a person other than the cared person enters and exits and the cared person returns to the living room. Since an alarm is issued only when the user goes out of the office, there is an advantage that a useless alarm is not issued and the burden on the caregiver is reduced.

According to the fifth or sixth aspect of the present invention, the receiving section receives the attenuation signal of the reflected signal due to the resonance of the resonance tag, and the identification section determines whether the resonance tag in the transmission / reception area has the attenuation signal based on the presence or absence of the attenuation signal. Since the presence / absence is identified and the resonance frequency of the resonance circuit is identified, there is an advantage that the identification of the presence / absence of the resonance tag is easy and reliable, and the configuration of the receiving circuit is simplified.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a circuit block diagram illustrating an embodiment of a care receiver recognition device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram showing a state of recognition of a cared person according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of the resonance tag according to the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram illustrating transmission of a radio wave and reception of a reflected signal from a resonance tag according to the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a waveform chart showing an example of a transmission radio wave and a reflected signal from a resonance tag according to the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view conceptually showing another embodiment of the care receiver recognition device according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an operation example of the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a front view showing another example of a resonance tag that can be used in the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Resonant tag 2 Transmitting antenna 3 Receiving antenna 4 Transmitting part 5 Receiving part 20 Identification part 21 Speaker as an alarm part 23 Antenna 25 Cared person 31 Insulating sheet 4A Light emitting element constituting light detecting means 4B Light emitting constituting light detecting means 4B Element light emitting element 5A Light receiving element constituting light detecting means 5B Light receiving element constituting light detecting means

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (71) Applicant 597019539 Tetsuya Hayashiguchi 2-24-5 Koyamadai, Sakae-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture 71) Applicant 597173657 Noboru Tanaka 3-1-9 Tamagawa, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo (71) Applicant 597173668 Kazuhiko Numao 3-105-5 Nodai, Zama City, Kanagawa Prefecture 3-23-7 Hashido (72) Inventor Shigeo Endo 78-13, Tokiwadai, Hodogaya-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa Prefecture (72) Inventor Kenichi Takei 3--18, Awakunishi, Seya-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa Prefecture 14 (72) Inventor Tetsuya Hayashiguchi 2-24-5 Koyamadai, Sakae-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa Prefecture (72) Inventor Kiyoshi Nishizawa 2-46-8, Akuhigashi, Seya-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa Prefecture (72) Noboru Tanaka, Inventor 3-1-9 Tamagawa, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo (72) Inventor Kazuhiko Numao 3-105-5 Nodai, Zama City, Kanagawa Prefecture

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A resonance tag which is attached to a cared person and moves together with the cared person and has a resonance circuit formed on an insulating sheet; an antenna arranged near a moving passage of the cared person; A transmitting unit that transmits a radio wave from the antenna; a receiving unit that receives the transmitted radio wave via the antenna; and a signal received by the receiving unit when the resonance tag is present in a transmission / reception area of the antenna. And a warning unit that recognizes a reflected signal due to resonance of the resonance circuit and outputs a signal, and an alarm unit that operates by a signal from the identification unit and issues an alarm. 2. A plurality of types of resonance tags having different resonance frequencies of a resonance circuit are prepared. Resonance tags having different resonance frequencies are assigned to each of the cared persons, and the transmission unit transmits a plurality of radio waves of different frequencies in time series. The identification unit identifies the resonance frequency of the resonance circuit to identify the cared person.
The care receiver recognition device according to the above. 3. A resonance tag includes a plurality of resonance circuits having different resonance frequencies, and each resonance tag has a different combination of a plurality of resonance circuits. The transmitting unit transmits a plurality of radio waves having different frequencies in time series. The care receiver recognition device according to claim 1, wherein the identification unit identifies the care receiver based on a combination of the resonance frequencies and the resonance frequency of the resonance circuit. 4. A light detecting means is disposed before and after the moving path of the cared person toward the moving path, and when the identification section identifies that a resonance tag exists in the transmission / reception area, the light detecting means before and after the moving path. From the temporal context of the detection signal by
2. The care receiver recognition device according to claim 1, wherein the care receiver recognizes whether the care receiver has entered or left. 5. The receiving unit according to claim 1, wherein the receiving unit receives an attenuation signal of the reflected signal due to resonance of the resonance tag, and the identification unit identifies the presence or absence of the resonance tag in the transmission / reception area based on the presence or absence of the attenuation signal. Caregiver recognition device. 6. A receiving section receives an attenuation signal of a reflected signal due to resonance of a resonance tag, and an identification section identifies presence / absence of a resonance tag in a transmission / reception area based on presence / absence of the attenuation signal. 4. The care receiver recognition device according to claim 2, wherein the frequency is identified.