KR20190119562A - Excrements detection device and reader for diaper - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an excreta detection device capable of detecting excreta present in a diaper and an excreta detection reader which signals to the diaper excreta detection device and informs a user of the presence of the excreta. The excreta can be reliably detected because a circuit structure is changed by a switch which operates correctly in response to the excreta. Reliability and durability for excreta detection are high due to a simple structure compared to a conventional excreta detection device.

Description

Diaper Manure Detection Device and Manure Detection Reader {EXCREMENTS DETECTION DEVICE AND READER FOR DIAPER}

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a diaper manure detection device and a manure detection reader. The present invention relates to a manure detection device for detecting presence of manure and a manure detection reader for informing a user of information about manure.

Infants, the elderly, and patients with poor mobility who do not handle the stool on their own usually wear diapers to solve the bowel problem. Most of the infants wearing diapers are not able to wear new diapers themselves because they have poor cognitive, conversational or physical ability, and it is often difficult to inform the guardian or the like of defecation. If a new diaper is not worn, diseases such as skin erythema and soreness are caused by the manure left in the diaper.To prevent this, the guardian or the like frequently observes the outside of the diaper through tactile, visual or smell to check for defecation. You should check for yourself. However, it is difficult for a guardian to check the condition of the diaper at any time, and it is very time-consuming for one guardian to check the bowel condition of several infants. Moreover, in recent years, as the diaper has been improved, it is more difficult to check the bowel movement without removing the diaper. In order to solve this problem, an apparatus for electronically confirming bowel movement by detecting a change in temperature, humidity, capacitance, dielectric constant, etc. of the diaper pad has been invented, but commercialized due to the complicated structure, high manufacturing cost, and difficulty in detecting bowel movement. There is not. In addition, the conventional technique using the resonant frequency detects the manure by using the fact that when the manure detection device is exposed to the manure, the dielectric constant of the capacitor changes and ultimately the resonant frequency is different before and after the manure is exposed. However, even when exposed to manure, there is a limit that the dielectric constant continuously changes, there is a limit in technically detecting the manure by using the resonant frequency difference before and after exposure to the manure.

Compared with the existing manure detection device, since it has a simple structure, it is possible to provide a manure detection device and a manure detection reader having high reliability, price competitiveness and durability.

It is possible to provide a manure detection device and a manure detection reader having improved manure detection performance by detecting a change in resonance frequency when manure is present in the diaper by including a switch switched by manure in the resonant circuit.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a diaper manure detecting device includes: a first resonant circuit including at least one inductance element and at least one capacitance element and having a first resonant frequency; And a switching unit configured to change the structure of the first resonance circuit to a second resonance circuit having a second resonance frequency by performing switching in response to the manure.

The switching unit may include both terminals fixed in a spaced or bonded state; And a deformation part that expands, contracts, or decomposes when reacted with the manure.

Furthermore, when the two terminals are fixed in a spaced state, the switching unit may perform switching in such a manner that both terminals are joined by expanding, contracting or disassembling in response to the manure.

Furthermore, both terminals fixed in the spaced apart state have elasticity to be joined and may be joined by restoring force when they are out of fixing by the deforming part.

Further, when the two terminals are fixed in a state where both terminals are bonded, the switching unit may perform switching in such a manner that the two terminals are spaced apart by expanding, contracting or decomposing in response to the manure.

Furthermore, both terminals fixed in the bonded state have elasticity to be spaced apart and may be spaced apart by a restoring force when they are out of the fixing by the deformable portion.

The first resonant circuit has a first resonant frequency, and when the switching unit performs a switching to change the structure of the first resonant circuit, a value of inductance or capacitance that determines the first resonant frequency is changed discontinuously so as to generate a first resonant frequency. It can be changed to a second resonant circuit having a second resonant frequency.

Manure detection reader according to an embodiment of the present invention, the power supply unit for generating a first alternating magnetic field frequency is changed to induce electromotive force in the manure detection device according to any one of the embodiments of the present invention; A sensor unit for sensing a parameter related to a second alternating magnetic field generated by the manure detection device by inducing the electromotive force; A controller configured to determine whether manure is present based on a parameter related to a second alternating magnetic field sensed by the sensor unit; And an output unit for notifying the user of the presence of the manure.

The power supply unit may generate a first alternating magnetic field whose frequency changes within a frequency band including a first resonance frequency and a second resonance frequency.

The parameter may be an amplitude of induced current or induced voltage for each frequency.

The controller may determine a resonance frequency based on the parameter value, and determine whether manure is present by comparing the resonance frequency with a first resonance frequency or a second resonance frequency.

Compared with the existing manure detection device, it has a simple structure, so it can have high reliability, price competitiveness and durability.

By including a switch to be switched by the manure in the resonant circuit can detect the change in the resonant frequency when the manure is present in the diaper can improve the manure detection performance.

1 is a view illustrating a manure detection device and a manure detection reader according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is an example of a graph showing parameter values detected by a sensor unit of a manure detection reader.
3A to 3D are circuit diagrams for describing a resonance circuit according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a view for explaining an example of a switching unit.
5 is a view for explaining the manure detection device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
6 is a view for explaining the use of the manure detection device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, specific embodiments of the various embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, these specific embodiments do not limit or limit the present invention. Regardless of the reference numerals in the drawings, the same reference numerals denote the same components, and redundant descriptions are omitted.

1 is a view illustrating a manure detection device and a manure detection reader according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the manure detection device 100 may include a resonant circuit 110, and the resonant circuit 110 may be switched by an inductance element 131, capacitance elements 132 and 133, and manure. It may include a portion 120.

The switch display of the switching unit 120 shown in the drawing is symbolic, and may be any structure in which whether the current flows between both ends of the switching unit depends on whether the manure has been exposed. In order to increase the switching performance by the manure, the switching unit 120 may include a deformation part (not shown) that is decomposed, expanded or contracted by the manure.

The number of inductance elements and capacitance elements may differ from that shown in FIG. 1. Since the combination of inductance elements and capacitance elements for obtaining a desired resonance frequency may vary, the number of inductance elements and capacitance elements may vary depending on the design.

The manure detection reader 130 may include a power supply unit 140, a sensor unit 150, a control unit 160, and an output unit 170.

The power supply unit 140 may generate a first alternating magnetic field 161 having a specific frequency band by flowing a current through the coil. The frequency band may be set to a band including the resonance frequency of the resonance circuit 110. An alternating magnetic field is a magnetic field generated by a coil in which an alternating current flows, and is a magnetic field whose magnitude and direction change with time. An alternating magnetic field can be generated by allowing a sinusoidal alternating current to flow in the coil.

Under the influence of the first alternating magnetic field 161, the number of magnetic fluxes that link to the inductance element 131 of the resonance circuit 110 changes, and an induced current flows through the resonance circuit 110. When an induced current flows in the resonant circuit 110, the inductance element 131 may generate a second alternating magnetic field 162 different from the first alternating magnetic field 161.

Although the amplitude of the first alternating magnetic field 161 is constant in all frequency bands, since the impedance of the resonant circuit 110 varies from frequency to frequency, the amplitude of the current also varies from frequency to frequency, and ultimately, the amplitude of the second alternating magnetic field 162 It is not constant. In addition, since the resonant circuit 110 has the lowest impedance at the resonant frequency, the largest induced current flows, and the amplitude of the second alternating magnetic field generated by the induced current is largest. That is, when the amplitude of the first alternating magnetic field 161 is constant in all frequency bands, if the frequency band of the first alternating magnetic field 161 is swept and the second alternating magnetic field 162 is sensed, the second alternating frequency at the resonance frequency is sensed. It can be seen that the amplitude of the magnetic field 162 is the largest.

In this case, in order to determine the resonance frequency by measuring only the amplitude change of the second alternating magnetic field 162, the amplitude of the first alternating magnetic field 161 may be constant. In addition, by increasing the selectivity (Quality Factor, Q) of the resonant circuit 110, it is possible to reliably confirm the characteristic that the amplitude changes in the vicinity of the resonant frequency.

The coil of the sensor unit 150 senses the second alternating magnetic field 162, and a current is induced in the sensor unit 150 by the second alternating magnetic field 162. When the amplitude of the first alternating magnetic field 161 is constant, since the resonance frequency can be found only by the amplitude of the second alternating magnetic field 162, the resonance circuit 110 is analyzed by analyzing the current induced by the second alternating magnetic field 162. We can figure out what resonance frequency is). A detailed embodiment is described in FIG. 2. As a parameter for determining the resonance frequency, it may be a voltage as well as a current.

For convenience of description, the coils of the power supply unit 140 and the sensor unit 150 are different from each other, but the power supply unit 140 and the sensor unit 150 may have the same coil.

In an embodiment, when the resonant circuit when the switching unit 120 is in the off state is referred to as the first resonant circuit, the first resonant frequency of the first resonant circuit may include one inductance element 131 and one capacitance element ( 132). At this time, when the power supply unit 140 generates the first alternating magnetic field 161 having a constant bandwidth, the resonance circuit 110 generates a second alternating magnetic field 162 in response thereto, and the sensor unit 150 generates a first alternating magnetic field 162. The two alternating magnetic fields 162 may be sensed, and the controller 160 may determine the first resonant frequency.

When the resonant circuit when the switching unit 120 is turned on by the manure present in the diaper is called the second resonant circuit, the second resonant frequency of the second resonant circuit is one inductance element 131 and two It is different from the first resonant frequency because it is determined by the capacitance element 132. That is, the capacitance value is discontinuously changed at the first resonant frequency to become the second resonant frequency.

The controller 160 may determine the second resonance frequency based on the information received from the sensor unit 150. Since the second resonant frequency is sensed that manure is present in the diaper, the output unit 170 may provide a manure detection alarm to the user.

In order to detect the first resonant frequency and the second resonant frequency, the first resonant frequency and the second resonant frequency may be included in the frequency band of the first alternating magnetic field 161.

2 is an example of a graph showing parameter values detected by a sensor unit of a manure detection device.

Specifically, the sensor unit 150 shows a graph 210 of parameter values detected through the first resonant circuit and a graph 220 of parameter values detected through the second resonant circuit.

The graph 210 of the parameter value detected by the sensor unit 150 through the first resonant circuit may confirm that the parameter value in f ₁ of the specific frequency band B is the smallest. The controller can obtain the frequency where the parameter value is the smallest. As shown in Figure 2, f1 can be obtained when there is no manure, f2 can be obtained when manure is present.

The controller 160 may determine that there is no manure in the diaper by determining that f ₁ is equal to the first resonant frequency of the first resonant circuit. In another embodiment, the controller 160 may determine the frequency where the parameter value is the smallest, and then compare it with a preset frequency threshold to determine whether manure is present. For example, in FIG. 2, it may be determined that f1 is smaller than a threshold of a preset frequency, and thus, it may be determined that there is no manure.

The output unit 170 may provide the user with information indicating that there is no manure through a display or a sound.

If manure is present in the diaper and the control unit 160 obtains the frequency f ₂ , the control unit 160 may determine that manure is present in the diaper by determining that f ₂ is equal to the second resonant frequency of the second resonant circuit. . In addition, the controller 160 may determine that the manure is present by determining that f2 is greater than a threshold of a preset frequency.

The output unit 170 may provide the user with information indicating that the manure is present through a display or a sound.

In FIG. 2, the controller 160 determines the frequency of the place where the parameter value is the smallest and determines whether manure exists based on this. However, depending on the parameter, the derivative of the frequency where the parameter value is the largest or the derivative in the graph as shown in FIG. 2. The frequency where the value is zero can be determined and based on this, the presence of manure can be determined. In addition, although FIG. 2 shows f1 <f2, it may be f1> f2 depending on the design of a resonance circuit.

In addition to the above method, an embodiment of determining whether a manure is present using a change in resonance frequency corresponds to an embodiment of the present invention.

3A to 3D are circuit diagrams for describing a resonance circuit according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3A, the first resonant frequency f ₁ of the first resonant circuit in which the switching unit 120 is open may be represented by Equation (1). When the switching unit 120 is short-circuited by manure, the first resonant circuit is changed in structure and the second resonant circuit is connected to a capacitance element having a capacitance C ₂ . That is, it can be seen that the capacitance value is discontinuously changed at the first resonance frequency to become the second resonance frequency. At this time, the second resonant frequency f ₂ can be expressed as Equation (2).

If the difference between f ₁ and f ₂ is small, the controller 160 may incorrectly determine f ₁ and f ₂ as the same value, so that an error may occur. Therefore, the difference between f ₁ and f ₂ may be large.

3B to 3D may be understood based on the same principle as that of FIG. 3A. In addition, any circuit structure designed as a combination of an inductance element and a capacitance element and whose resonance frequency is changed by the switching unit 120 may be an embodiment of the present invention. .

4 is a view for explaining an example of a switching unit.

Referring to FIG. 4, the switching unit 120 may have a structure in which the deformation unit 410 and both terminals 420 are housed by the terminal cover 430. In one embodiment, the deformable portion 410 may be a material that expands in response to the manure. For example, the deformable portion 410 may be a kind of super absorbent polymer (SAP) for absorbing manure in the diaper. The switching unit 120 may include a terminal cover 430 in order to prevent both terminals from being joined by a physical impact. In addition, since the current is not flowed between both terminals by being switched by the deforming unit 410, the manure permeated into the terminal cover may serve as an electrolyte so that both terminals 420 may be electrically connected. The cover 430 may be a waterproof material. However, since the deformable portion 410 needs to absorb a certain amount of manure to deform, the terminal cover 430 may have a hole 440 for receiving manure. When the manure is not present in the diaper, the right terminal of both terminals 420 is fixed with elasticity on one wall surface of the space in which the deformation part 410 is contained so as not to contact the left terminal. Since both terminals 420 are spaced apart from each other, the first resonant circuit refers to a case where the switching unit 120 is in an off state. When the manure is present in the diaper, a certain amount of manure penetrates into the hole 440 of the terminal cover and is absorbed by the deformation part 410. The deformation part 410 absorbing the manure expands and pushes the right terminal fixed to the wall upward. The right terminal pushed out of the fixed wall surface is restored to its original position by the elastic force. At this time, the left terminal and the right terminal are physically bonded so that a current flows between both terminals 420. That is, as the switching unit 120 is turned on, the first resonant circuit is changed into a second resonant circuit. Although not illustrated in the drawings, the deformable portion 410 may be a material that expands in response to manure and may be a material that contracts or decomposes. The structure of the switching unit 120, which may be designed with the deformable portion 410 expanded, contracted or decomposed, may have various structures in addition to the structure shown in FIG. 4, and corresponds to an embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a view for explaining the manure detection device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5, the inductance element 131 may be represented by a spiral conductor having a smaller or larger radius on a plane. Capacitance elements 132 and 133 may be represented as structures facing each other with a thin conductor plate spaced apart with an intermediate material 520 therebetween. Since the intermediate material 520 between the conductor plates determines the dielectric constant of the capacitance element, it may be a different material depending on the capacitance value of the desired resonance frequency. The upper cover 530 and the lower cover 510 housing the inductance element 131 and the capacitance elements 132 and 133 may be waterproof materials so that the elements are not exposed to manure. In addition, since the lower cover 510 should be firmly attached to the diaper pad, an adhesive material may be applied to the bottom of the lower cover.

In one embodiment, the area of the intermediate material 520 may be smaller than the areas of the top cover 530 and the bottom cover 510, and the top cover 530 and to not expose the intermediate material 520 to the external environment. The lower cover 510 may completely surround the intermediate material 520.

Since the switching unit 120 needs to be exposed to the manure to change the structure of the resonant circuit, the switching cover 540 may be a material capable of absorbing the manure. For example, the manure absorbed by the switching cover 540 may enter the hole 440 of the terminal cover 430 to expand the deformable portion 440 as illustrated in FIG. 4.

6 is a view for explaining the use of the manure detection device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 6, the manure detection device 100 may be attached to a diaper. The manure detection device may be attached to the top of the diaper which is not affected by the manure, and only the switching unit 120 may be attached to a position that can be directly affected by the manure. As shown in Figure 6, by changing the attachment position of the switching unit 120, it is possible to distinguish whether the type of manure is urine or feces.

Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the limited embodiments as described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments. Those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains can see and change the claims and the description of the invention, and can be easily changed, modified and carried out to the implementation within the scope of the claims of the present invention.

Claims (11)

In the device attached to the diaper to detect the manure,
A first resonant circuit comprising at least one inductance element and at least one capacitance element and having a first resonant frequency; And
Switching unit for changing the structure of the first resonant circuit to the second resonant circuit having a second resonant frequency by performing switching in response to the manure
Manure detection device comprising a. The method of claim 1,
The switching unit,
Two terminals fixed in a spaced or joined state; And
Deformation that expands, contracts, or breaks down when reacted with manure
Manure detection device comprising a. The method of claim 2,
The switching unit,
When the two terminals are fixed in a spaced apart state, the manure detection device, characterized in that for performing the switching in such a way that the two terminals are joined by expansion, contraction or decomposition in response to the manure. The method of claim 3,
Both terminals fixed in the spaced state,
The manure detection device having elasticity to be bonded and bonded by a restoring force when it is out of fixing by the deformation part. The method of claim 2,
The switching unit,
And when both terminals are fixed in a bonded state, the deforming unit reacts with the manure to expand, contract or decompose so that the switching is performed in such a manner that both terminals are spaced apart. The method of claim 5,
Both terminals fixed in the bonded state,
It has elasticity to be spaced apart, the manure detection device, characterized in that spaced apart by a restoring force when it is out of the fixed by the deformation. The method of claim 1,
The first resonant circuit,
Has a first resonant frequency,
When the switching unit performs a switching to change the structure of the first resonant circuit, the value of inductance or capacitance that determines the first resonant frequency is discontinuously changed to a second resonant circuit having a second resonant frequency. A manure detection device. A power supply unit for generating a first alternating magnetic field whose frequency changes in order to induce electromotive force to the manure detection device according to any one of claims 1 to 7;
A sensor unit for sensing a parameter related to a second alternating magnetic field generated by the manure detection device by inducing the electromotive force;
A controller configured to determine whether manure is present based on a parameter related to a second alternating magnetic field sensed by the sensor unit; And
Output unit for notifying the user of the presence of the manure
Manure detection reader comprising a. The method of claim 8,
The power supply unit,
And a first alternating magnetic field in which a frequency is changed within a frequency band including the first resonant frequency and the second resonant frequency. The method of claim 8,
The parameter is
Manure detection reader, characterized in that the amplitude of the induced current or induced voltage for each frequency. The method of claim 8,
The control unit,
And a resonant frequency based on the parameter value, and comparing the resonant frequency with a first resonant frequency or a second resonant frequency to determine whether manure is present.

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