WO1991014160A1

WO1991014160A1 - Self-contained apparatus for measuring or counting, processing and remote transmission of data

Info

Publication number: WO1991014160A1
Application number: PCT/CH1991/000055
Authority: WO
Inventors: Denis Rochat
Original assignee: Bioself Development S.A.
Priority date: 1990-03-13
Filing date: 1991-03-12
Publication date: 1991-09-19

Abstract

The apparatus is self-contained and comprises a device for analog data reception (1) and digital transformation (2) of said data. A microprocessor (3) receives the data in digital form for processing; it contains memories (4), a device (6) for reading memories (4) and a binary modulator device (7). A loud-speaker (8) receives, in the form of modulated electrical signals, the results of the data processing by the microprocessor (3) and transmits them, when desired, by acoustic means to the microphone (13) provided for their remote transmission over a telephone network to which said microphone is connected, when said loud-speaker (8) is placed in close proximity to the microphone (3). The apparatus is simple, cheap and enables data to be transmitted in one direction by different users to a computer centre.

Description

Autonomous device for measuring or counting data, processing data and remote transmission

There are known measuring or counting devices in which the results are represented in digital form, which makes it possible to store them in memories and to restore them at the appropriate time. In many cases, in fact, it is not an isolated measurement which interests the user, but the evolution over time of several successive measurements which the memory makes it possible to restore in order to be compared or adequately processed. These measurements can relate to quantities such as physical quantities: weight, force, temperature, tension, etc.

Sometimes the means of processing the content of the memory are more important than the measuring or counting device itself. This is particularly the case for small devices for personal use, most often having a certain autonomy of supply so that the user does not have the constraint of connecting to the network during use, and comprising this makes for fairly simple electronics, low-consumption one chip microprocessors currently allowing remarkable performance at a very low volume.

For example, there are autonomous and small electronic thermometers capable of memorizing several successive temperature measurements. If one wishes to print the temperature curve as a function of time, it will not only be necessary to read the contents of the memory, but to process this information so that it can be printed, which implies processing software and a printer. In the case of this example. it is quite clear that the processing software and the printer will cost considerably more than the thermometer itself, and that the use of the entire system will be much more complex than the use of the thermometer alone. These two elements are not very restrictive when used in a professional environment which requires adequate training of users, but can become very dissuasive when it comes to measuring or metering devices for individual use in a domestic environment. .

Thus, the measurement and storage of temperature mentioned above could be very useful in medical or paramedical applications, for monitoring at home the evolution of the body temperature over time. The same could be true in the same area for pulse, blood pressure, etc. However, it is difficult to see patients without any knowledge of electronics or computers acquiring a printer and the necessary information processing device.

It therefore appears obvious, in this kind of applications, that these costly elements which require a certain amount of learning are centralized in the hands of properly trained persons serving several individual users. Consequently, the problem will be the remote transmission of the information contained in the measuring or metering device used individually at home, to the processing center suitably equipped to use this information. A first solution would be to carry or send the measuring or counting instrument to the information processing center. This way of doing things would force the user or a third person to move around and could only be considered if the βe processing center was nearby. Otherwise, the instrument should be sent by post, hence the risk of loss or significant damage. Furthermore, the user would be deprived of his instrument for a time which could be quite long.

A second solution would consist in using a modem coupled to an acoustic transmission module making it possible to transmit the information directly by telephone to the processing center. With the means currently known, we fall back into the same problem as above. Indeed, the user should obtain a commercial modem as well as an acoustic transmission module, which not only would cause him a high additional expense, but would oblige him to learn the operation of devices with which he is not not necessarily familiar.

The object of the present invention is to provide an autonomous device for measuring or counting data and processing it and transmitting the result of this processing remotely, avoiding these drawbacks. It relates to an apparatus which conforms to claim 1.

The accompanying drawings show, by way of example, an embodiment of the device which is the subject of the invention.

Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing the constituent elements of this embodiment.

Fig. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the apparatus according to fig. 1. Fig. 3 is another diagram relating to the transmission of a message.

Fig. 4 shows a view of the interior of this device. The device shown comprises a sensor 1 delivering an electrical signal which is a function of the value of a parameter to be measured.

For temperature measurement, for example, it will be a temperature sensitive element such as an NTC resistor. For the measurement of a force, it will be, for example, a strain gauge, etc. These various sensors make it possible to measure physical quantities and generally work in an analog manner. To this end, the device comprises means 2 for measuring this analog signal, which will amplify the signal and convert it into digital form so that it can be stored.

In variants it is also possible to measure quantities or numbers, number of pieces, angular position given by an encoder, etc., where the signal is given directly in logical form and can be processed by a simple counting system, a typical case is the frequency measurement where the sensor is a simple probe delivering a logic signal at the frequency to be measured and where the value of the frequency is represented by the number of signals in a determined period of time.

In the example shown in figs. 1 and 4, the sensor 1 and the measuring means 2 are incorporated in the device. However, it is possible that the sensor is outside and is only connected during the measurement time. It is also possible, now that many sensors are produced using semiconductor technology, that part of the measurement means are integrated directly into the sensor.

The device shown comprises a microprocessor 3, this term being taken here in a general sense, that is to say that it may be a microprocessor proper, which is found commercially, either a commercial microcontroller, which can be programmed to generate different work phases as needed, or in some special cases, a circuit on demand (ASIC) fully configured according to the needs of the application concerned. The microprocessor 3 has a certain amount of memories 4 for storing the measurement results. They are most often RAM memories which can easily be written, read and erased electrically. Currently, most microprocessors have some internal RAM memory capacity. This capacity can always be increased by adding additional external memories.

The apparatus also includes a time base 5, on the one hand, for generating the acoustic signals for transmission by telephone (as will be seen below) and, on the other hand, in most cases, for setting the chronology of stored measurements.

The microprocessor 3 comprises means 6 for reading the memories 4 and means 7 for modulating the electrical signals representing results of the processing by the microprocessor 3 of the data it has received from the measurement means 2.

The electrical signals modulated in digital form by the means 7 are amplified by an amplifier 9 and transmitted to a loudspeaker 8 incorporated in the device.

The block diagram shows a number of elements. With microprocessors it is possible to perform many functions by programming using hardware, for example one or more of the programmable inputs / outputs. Thus the sensor, the speaker, the microprocessor, the time base, the memories, as well as part of the measurement means (amplifiers for example) are hardware, that is to say that it acts of components having certain physical dimensions to be incorporated into the device. In modern one chip microprocessors, all or part of the last three elements are installed on the same integrated circuit. On the other hand, the reading of the memory, the modulation of the acoustic signals, as well as the processing of the signals of the measurement means can be obtained directly by programming the microprocessor, programming making it possible to obtain the desired functions on inputs / outputs of the microprocessor. Thus, in practice, the speaker will be connected either directly or via a simple amplifier to one of the inputs / outputs of the microprocessor.

Of course, the data transmission should not be done continuously, but only on request, when the user so desires. To this end, the device includes transmission control means shown here in the form of a pusher 10 which allows, by separate manipulations, to control other operations than the transmission of data.

Thus, by incorporating into the microprocessor analysis and recognition procedures, by manipulating the pusher 10, it will be possible to trigger different distinct operations such as taking the measurement, checking the battery, transmitting data, etc. When several separate operations are possible, it is useful to indicate to the user which mode the device is in. It is indicated schematically in FIG. 1 that the sounds emitted by the speaker 8 of the device described are transmitted to the microphone 13 of a telephone device connected to a public telephone network.

In Figure 1, there is no indication of display means such as LCD, LED or others. In practice this will rarely be the case, and Figure 4 shows that the device has an LCD display 11 and two LEDs 12. But in the particular case it is not possible to display the mode used. A simple method consists in using the loudspeaker 8 to emit well differentiated acoustic signals which the user can easily recognize and interpret. Thus the loudspeaker and the modulation means 7 are combined to generate both the acoustic signals for telephone transmission and the acoustic recognition signals for the use of the user.

FIG. 2 illustrates by way of example a mode of data transmission corresponding to the V23 standard. However, unlike conventional modems, communication is one-way and can only be done in the patient / data center direction and not the reverse. It is therefore a simplified transmission procedure which uses two basic frequencies, 1300 Hz for state 1 and 2100 Hz for state 0. This system, intended for the transmission of a relatively small number of information at a speed lower than 800 baud, in this example

256 baud, requires only very simple means, which allows 1 ^{• to} integrate inexpensively into small instruments. Figure 2 shows a succession of 1 and 0 where the frequencies of 1300 Hz and 2100 Hz follow each other every 3.91 ms. It also shows the transmission of the binary number 1010.

The configuration of a memory content transmission is as follows (fig. 3). At the start of the transmission, the microprocessor generates a HEADER 14 which allows the receiver to synchronize with the transmitter. Then the microprocessor generates the actual message 15 whose sequences of 1 and 0 correspond to the content of the memory. Then the microprocessor generates a control message (CHECK SOM) 16, that is to say that it gives for example a number corresponding to the sum of the number of 1 contained in the message. This control message is used to check whether the reception of the message was correct. Finally, the microprocessor generates an end of transmission message 17. FIG. 4 shows the device in concrete terms, in the case of an autonomous thermometer for measuring body temperature. This thermometer particularly allows the measurement of the fertility periods of women according to the Ogino / Knaus method and the temperature method (basal body temperature). In this type of application it is necessary not only to measure the temperature with precision, but to compare the temperatures of several successive days, hence the need to memorize these values. It is recognized in Figure 4 the temperature sensor 1 and the miniature loudspeaker _8.. The thermometer is contained in a plastic case of form 18 comprising a protective cover of the sensor 19. This temperature sensor is an NTC resistance mounted inside a metal tube 20 forming the temperature probe.

The shape of the device shown in fig. 4 has been particularly studied so that the device can be easily held in one hand, the display 11 and the speaker 8 being turned outwards.

The electronic components are mounted on a printed circuit 21. The electronic components described in FIG. 1 are not shown because they are mounted in a known manner and their arrangement on the printed circuit does nothing for the. description of the invention. Compared to Figure 1 we can notice the digital display type LCD 11, the two LEDs 12 and the battery 22. Indeed, many one chip microcontrollers currently allow to manage a display type LCD without the addition of external elements . This LCD display allows measurement values to be displayed. messages, etc. This part of the instrument is not affected by the invention, except in the particular case where, during transmission, a message directly concerning it is displayed. Thus the microprocessor can generate the display of the message "transmission" (TRSM) for the duration of the transmission 15. Likewise, a particular arrangement of the display of the LEDs could be generated at the start or during the transmission.

Claims

claims

1. Autonomous device for taking measurements, processing them and transmitting the results of this processing remotely, comprising a device for measuring and / or counting physical quantities (1) and transformation (2) of these measurements as electrical signals, and a microprocessor (3) with memories (4), for processing these electrical signals in the form of data, characterized in that this microprocessor comprises a modulator device (7) for modulating electrical signals representing results of the data processing by the microprocessor itself, and in that it comprises a loudspeaker (8) controlled by the modulated signals of the microprocessor (3), this loudspeaker (8) being designed to transmit acoustically the sounds it generates under the control of these modulated electrical signals, to a microphone (13) provided to ensure remote transmission by a telephone network to which it is connected, when this loudspeaker rleur (8) is placed a very short distance from this microphone (13).

2. Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that it is arranged to ensure the unidirectional acoustic transmission of messages from the loudspeaker to the telephone network at a speed less than 800 Bauds.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the microprocessor is arranged so as to be able to transmit via the same speaker acoustic signals for the use of the user.

4. Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises at least one push button, the microprocessor being arranged so as to be able to analyze and recognize manipulations characteristics of said pusher, and trigger the acoustic transmission of the data in response to said characteristic manipulations.

5. Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises an LCD display, the microprocessor being arranged so as to generate a message on the LCD at the time of the acoustic transmission of the data.

6. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that its ergonomic shape makes it possible to hold the device in one hand, the loudspeaker being turned outwards.