WO2016035754A1

WO2016035754A1 - Sensor device and sensor system

Info

Publication number: WO2016035754A1
Application number: PCT/JP2015/074711
Authority: WO
Inventors: 山本　正男
Original assignee: スカラ株式会社
Priority date: 2014-09-03
Filing date: 2015-08-31
Publication date: 2016-03-10
Also published as: CN107072585A; JP2016052385A; KR20170048490A

Abstract

In this invention, a sensor system in which a sensor device connects to a mobile telephone or other information processing device to sense the properties of an object is configured such that constant measurement values can be obtained regardless of whether or not the case of the information processing device is shorted to the ground (GND) of the information processing device. The sensor device (210) is provided with an output terminal (214) and is used by inserting the output terminal (214) into an audio input terminal (103) of the information processing device (100). The sensor device (210) is also provided with a moisture sensor (212) and a ground electrode (213) that are mutually flush. The ground electrode (213) is short circuited to the GND in the information processing device (100) via the output terminal (214) and audio input terminal (103). When the moisture sensor (212) directly contacts the skin of a user, the ground electrode (213) shorted to the GND also is in contact with the skin of the user.

Description

Sensor device, sensor system

The present invention makes it possible to input various data to a device having a voice input terminal such as a smartphone or other mobile phone or music player (this device is referred to as an “information processing device” for convenience in this application). The present invention relates to a technique for causing an information processing apparatus to function as a sensor system for sensing some property of an object.

There are various sensor devices in the world. For example, sensor devices such as a moisture meter, an electrocardiograph, a voltmeter, an elasticity meter, an oil content meter, a viscoelasticity meter, and a component analyzer are in practical use.
And most of these sensor devices are dedicated products for each sensing target.

Therefore, the sensor device described above is generally expensive. In addition, the widespread use of sensor devices is compared to their original use due to the availability of various sensor devices and the sparseness of understanding and using individual methods of using these various sensor devices. It is hard to say that it is enough.
For example, since a moisture meter is effective for examining skin properties, it can be explosive if it is cheaper and easier to use.
The same applies to the electrocardiograph. For example, when an electrocardiograph is used to detect arrhythmia, the arrhythmia has the property that it almost always occurs at least once a day. Therefore, it is difficult to detect arrhythmia just by sensing for several minutes in a facility such as a hospital. In consideration of such points, portable electrocardiographs that can be worn for a day and sense arrhythmia have been developed, but it cannot be said that they are sufficiently popular due to their high cost.

On the other hand, information processing apparatuses such as mobile phones are widely used. The inventor of the present application thought that it would be convenient if a sensor system for sensing various properties could be obtained by connecting sensors for sensing various properties to such an information processing apparatus.
Information processing apparatuses as described above are already widely used. Therefore, according to the combination of the information processing device and the external sensor device described above, there is a possibility that the sensor system can be explosively spread by using the information processing device as a platform.
In particular, if the hardware of the information processing device is used and the external sensor device is kept to a minimum, the cost of the sensor device is minimized, and the entire sensor system is the same as the conventional sensor device. Can be made possible, and if that is possible, the possibility that the explosive spread of the sensor system can be promoted becomes more and more likely.
In addition, if the information processing apparatus is portable, such as a mobile phone, it is not only easy, but it is also possible to wear the sensor system, for example, for one day. This is also advantageous when applied.
In order to realize such a sensor system, an output terminal is connected to an input terminal of an information processing apparatus having an input terminal, and the sensor is integrated with the information processing apparatus. What is necessary is just to use the sensor apparatus which comprises the sensor system which senses some property of an object, Comprising: The sensor provided with the sensor which senses some property of an object. The inventor of the present application has already prototyped such a sensor device.

However, the research of the present inventor has revealed that there are cases where the measurement values obtained as a result of sensing using a sensor system including such a sensor device are not accurate. This is particularly likely when the object is the user himself.
Such inaccuracy of the measurement value is caused by the following reasons.
The information processing apparatus usually includes a GND that determines a reference potential. Depending on the type of information processing apparatus, this GND may be short-circuited to the case of the information processing apparatus (metal case) and grounded to the case of the information processing apparatus. On the other hand, the GND may not be short-circuited to the case of the information processing apparatus (which may or may not be made of metal).
In the case of an information processing device whose GND is grounded to the case, when the sensor device is connected to the information processing device and the sensor for sensing some property of the user is brought into contact with the user's skin, the sensor device is physically connected to the information processing device. It is premised that the condition that the user is holding the case of the sensor device is connected, but the sensor, the skin of the user in contact with the sensor, and the user's hand holding the information processing device A series of circuits connected to the case of the information processing apparatus and GND are made.
On the other hand, in the case of an information processing device in which GND is not grounded to the case, even if the sensor device is connected to the information processing device and the sensor for sensing some property of the user is brought into contact with the user's skin, the sensor device is still in the information processing device. Even if the condition that the user is gripping the sensor device case is physically connected, the information processing device case and GND are not short-circuited or conducted. There is no circuit.
The above-mentioned circuit that occurs when sensing the user's properties using an information processing device whose ground is grounded to the case is unexpected, but some sense of the user's sensed on the assumption that it occurs. An accurate measurement value can be obtained by performing some compensation on the measurement value.
On the other hand, such compensation is not necessary for an information processing apparatus in which GND is not grounded to the case.
Therefore, if two types of sensor devices are prepared, a sensor system capable of obtaining a constant measurement value can be realized at least in theory using any information processing device. However, the two types of sensor devices described above correspond to only one of an information processing device in which GND is grounded to the case and an information processing device in which GND is not grounded to the case. Unless properly connected to the processing device, the measurements obtained using the sensor system are not guaranteed to be constant. If the user is forced to make a determination to realize a correct combination of such an information processing device and a sensor device, the user's effort increases. The information on whether the GND of the information processing device is grounded in the case is information that can be said to be insignificant in the specifications of the information processing device. In many cases, the manufacturer of the information processing device has not been clarified. The effort for making the above-mentioned judgment tends to increase more and more.

The present application is used by connecting an output terminal to an input terminal of an information processing apparatus having an input terminal, and senses some property of an object to be sensed integrally with the information processing apparatus. An information processing device that constitutes a sensor system, which includes a sensor that senses some property of an object, and that constitutes the sensor system together with the sensor device, may have its GND grounded to the case Even if it is not, it aims at improving so that the measured value obtained with the sensor system may become fixed.

The present inventor proposes the following invention in order to solve the above-mentioned problems.
The present invention is as follows.
The invention of the present application is used in a state in which the input terminal of an information processing apparatus having a GND for defining a reference potential and an input terminal is connected by contact of the output terminal, and is integrated with the information processing apparatus. It is a sensor device that constitutes a sensor system that senses some property in the user's body. The sensor device includes a sensor for sensing some property of the user by contact with the user's skin, and a ground electrode, and the ground electrode is brought into contact with the user's skin. In addition, it can be short-circuited to the GND so as to come into contact with the user's skin.
As described above, this sensor device includes a ground electrode. And when this sensor is brought into contact with the user's skin, this ground electrode is brought into contact with the user's skin and is short-circuited to the GND of the information processing apparatus.
When a sensor system in which the sensor device according to the present application is combined with an information processing device in which the GND is not grounded to the case, circuits such as a sensor, a user's skin, and a ground electrode are formed. Since the ground electrode is short-circuited to GND, this circuit is equivalent to the circuit of sensor, user's skin, and GND.
On the other hand, in the case of using a sensor system in which the sensor device according to the present application is combined with an information processing device of the type in which GND is grounded to the case, as in the case described above, circuits of the sensor, the user's skin, and the ground electrode are formed. The
Therefore, if the sensor device including the sensor device according to the present application is used, even if the information processing device used for configuring the sensor system together with the sensor device of the present application is grounded to the case, the GND Even when the sensor is not grounded, a constant measurement value is obtained even when the sensor of the sensor device is in contact with the skin and the user grasps the information processing device to measure some property of the user. Be able to.

The sensor device of the present application includes an output terminal, and the output terminal is attached to the input terminal of the information processing apparatus as described above. The type of the input terminal of the information processing apparatus is not particularly limited as long as information can be input. For example, the input terminal is an audio input terminal or a USB terminal.
When the input terminal of the information processing apparatus is an audio input terminal and the output terminal of the sensor apparatus is an audio output terminal, the sensor apparatus of the present application can be as follows, for example. The sensor device includes a conversion unit that converts an output signal from the sensor into a conversion signal that is a signal in a frequency band that is scheduled to be received by the audio input terminal. A converted signal is input to the audio input terminal.
Audio output terminals are provided in many mobile phones such as smartphones and music players, so a sensor system can be realized by connecting the sensor device and the information processing device and combining the sensor device and the information processing device. It is very convenient to use the audio input terminal when doing so. However, a general audio input terminal is limited in terms of hardware in the frequency band that can be received from the viewpoint that it receives an audio signal. Since the audible range of the human ear is 20 Hz to 20000 Hz, the frequency band of signals that can be received by the audio input terminal is often limited to this value or a range of values around this value. On the other hand, the frequency band of the output signal produced by the sensor of the sensor device often does not fall within the above-described frequency band that can be received by the audio input terminal limited in terms of hardware. Therefore, if there is the above-described conversion means, the conversion means can convert the input signal into a conversion signal that is a signal in a frequency band that can be received by the audio input terminal. Since the converted signal is a signal in a frequency band that can be received by the audio input terminal, the converted signal is not received by the input terminal as the audio input terminal of the information processing apparatus. In other words, by providing the conversion means as described above in the sensor device, the audio input terminal of the information processing device can be used as an input signal from the sensor device without any modification to the hardware on the information processing device side. It can be used as an interface for accepting a conversion signal based on it. That is, an output signal that is not a signal related to sound generated by the sensor of the sensor device is converted into a conversion signal that is a signal having the same property as the signal related to sound, and can be input from the audio input terminal of the information processing device. It is.
Note that the input terminal of the information processing apparatus may be a plug-in power type audio input terminal. The sensor device may require a power source, but if the input terminal of the information processing device is a plug-in power type audio input terminal having a power feeding terminal, the output terminal as the audio output terminal is a plug-in power type. Therefore, it is not necessary to load a battery or other power source on the sensor device. This is very advantageous for downsizing the sensor device. Electric power can be supplied to necessary ones of sensors, conversion means, etc. via the input terminals.

As described above, the ground electrode is short-circuited to the GND of the information processing apparatus. The ground electrode and the GND of the information processing apparatus may be short-circuited in any way, but the ground electrode is short-circuited to the GND via the output terminal and the input terminal. It does not matter if In this way, by connecting the output terminal of the sensor device to the input terminal of the information processing device in order to realize the sensor system, a short circuit between the ground electrode and GND is realized at the same time, which is convenient for the user.

As described above, the ground electrode comes into contact with the user's skin when the sensor is brought into contact with the user's skin. The ground electrode and the sensor are shaped so as to be able to do so, and are provided in the sensor in such a positional relationship that they can be done.
For example, a sensing surface that is a surface that senses some property of the user of the sensor may be a flat surface, and the ground electrode of the sensor device may include an electrode surface that is substantially flush with the sensing surface. In this way, if the sensing surface of the sensor is brought into contact with the user's skin, the electrode surface of the ground electrode is in contact with the user's skin at the same time. Of the electrode surface and the sensing surface, the electrode surface can be positioned just in front. By doing so, when the sensing surface is brought into contact with the skin, the electrode surface reliably comes into contact with the skin.
The electrode surface may be disposed around the sensing surface, for example, surrounding the sensing surface. By doing so, the electrode surface of the ground electrode comes into contact with the skin more reliably regardless of the angle of the sensing surface with respect to the skin when the sensing surface of the sensor is in contact with the skin. When the electrode surface surrounds the sensing surface, the electrode surface may be ring-shaped.

The sensor of the sensor device of the present application may be any sensor that detects some property of the user. For example, the sensor can sense any of moisture, heart electrical signals, pulse waves, elasticity, oil content, and elasticity.

The inventor of the present application is also used in an information processing apparatus including a GND for defining a reference potential and an input terminal, and in a state in which the input terminal of the information processing apparatus is connected by contact of the output terminal. And a sensor system that forms a sensor system that senses some kind of user's property in combination with the information processing apparatus, the sensor device being in contact with the user's skin A sensor for sensing some property of the sensor and a ground electrode, and the ground electrode is in contact with the user's skin when the sensor is in contact with the user's skin, and the GND. A sensor system is also provided which is adapted to be short-circuited.
The sensor device described above can be employed for this sensor system. The effect obtained by this sensor system is equal to the effect obtained by the sensor device described above.
The information processing apparatus in the present application is, for example, a smartphone.

1 is a perspective view schematically showing the overall configuration of an information processing apparatus according to the present invention. The figure which shows the hardware constitutions of the information processing apparatus shown in FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing functional blocks formed inside the information processing apparatus shown in FIG. 1. The perspective view of the 1st sensor apparatus which makes a sensor system in combination with the information processing apparatus shown in FIG. The figure which shows schematically the internal structure of the 1st sensor apparatus shown in FIG. The figure which shows how to combine the information processing apparatus shown in FIG. 1, and a 1st sensor apparatus. The figure which shows the state at the time of use of the sensor system which combines the information processing apparatus shown in FIG. 1, and a 1st sensor apparatus. The figure which shows notionally the circuit formed at the time of use of the sensor system containing a 1st sensor apparatus. The perspective view of the 2nd sensor apparatus which makes a sensor system in combination with the information processing apparatus shown in FIG. The top view which shows the modification of the earth electrode of a 1st sensor apparatus and a 2nd sensor apparatus.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in order with respect to an information processing apparatus and a sensor apparatus that form a sensor system by a combination thereof. As for the sensor device, a plurality of types of sensor devices will be described, but each sensor device can form a sensor system in combination with one type of information processing device described below.

≪Information processing equipment≫
FIG. 1 shows an example of an information processing apparatus 100 that forms a sensor system in combination with the sensor apparatus of this embodiment. Although not limited to this, the information processing apparatus 100 is portable and may be a music player such as iPod Touch (trademark) manufactured and sold by Apple Japan LLC. It is a mobile phone. More specifically, the information processing apparatus 100 may be a smartphone, and the information processing apparatus 100 of this embodiment is a smartphone. As an example of a smartphone, iPhone 5 (trademark) manufactured and sold by Apple Japan LLC can be cited.

Although not limited to this, the information processing apparatus 100 includes a casing 101 having a thin, substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape that is configured to have a size that can be held with one hand. A display 102 is provided on one surface of the housing 101. The display 102 can be constituted by a liquid crystal display, an organic EL display, or the like, but may be a known one.
Although not restricted to this, the audio | voice input terminal 103 as an example of the input terminal of this invention is provided in the upper surface of the housing | casing 101 in this embodiment. The audio input terminal 103 has a hole shape, is a plug-in power type having a power supply terminal for supplying power, and adopts the same structure as that which is extremely popular. The audio input terminal 103 includes a GND electrode that is short-circuited to a GND in the information processing apparatus 100 described later. Since the configurations of the power supply terminal and the GND electrode are also standardized, they are omitted from the illustration and description. Note that the input terminal included in the information processing apparatus 100 is not limited to the audio input terminal 103, but may be any terminal that can be connected to an output terminal (audio output terminal), which will be described later, and receive a signal from the input terminal. The input terminal may be a USB terminal, for example. Although not shown, the information processing apparatus 100 includes a USB terminal in addition to the audio input terminal 103.
The audio input terminal 103 can receive an input of a signal in a predetermined frequency band. Although not limited to this, the frequency band of the signal that can be received by the audio input terminal 103 in this embodiment substantially matches the frequency of the human audible range in terms of its hardware configuration, and is approximately 20 Hz to 20000 Hz. It is.
An operation button 104 for inputting information for operating the information processing apparatus 100 is provided on the surface of the housing 101 on which the display 102 is provided. As long as information can be input, the operation button 104 may employ another configuration such as a numeric keypad. In the information processing apparatus 100 of this embodiment, the operation button 104 has a simple configuration because the display 102 is a touch panel and input from the touch panel is possible.

In the casing 101, hardware having a configuration as shown in FIG. The hardware built in the housing 101 is a CPU 110A, a ROM 110B, a RAM 110C, an interface 110D, a GND 110E, and a bus 110F that connects them to each other.
The CPU 110A is an arithmetic device that performs arithmetic operations. CPU110A performs the process mentioned later, for example by executing the program recorded on ROM110B. The information processing apparatus 100 may execute various functions that can be normally performed by a smartphone, such as a call function and an e-mail function, and the information processing apparatus 100 according to this embodiment is also such. The program here is a program for causing the information processing apparatus 100 to function as an information processing apparatus constituting a part of the sensor system of the present invention. Of course, other programs are installed in the information processing apparatus 100 to execute various functions. Here, the information processing apparatus 100 is used as an information processing apparatus constituting a part of the sensor system of the present invention. Speak to the program to make it work. This program may be preinstalled in the information processing apparatus 100, or may be installed afterwards. The installation of the program into the information processing apparatus 100 may be performed via a predetermined recording medium such as a memory card, or may be performed via a communication line such as a LAN or the Internet.
The ROM 110B records programs and data necessary for the CPU 110A to execute processing to be described later. The RAM 110C provides a work area necessary for the CPU 110A to perform processing. The RAM 110C can record data generated as a result of processing performed by the CPU 110A.
The interface 110D exchanges data between the CPU 110A, the RAM 110C, and the like connected via the bus 110F and the outside. The above-described audio input terminal 103 is connected to the interface 110D, and the display 102 and the operation button 104 are connected. The interface 110D receives a conversion signal described later from the audio input terminal 103, sends image data described later to the display 102, and receives an operation signal described later from the display 102 and the operation button 104.
The GND 110E determines a reference potential. The GND 110E may or may not be grounded in the case of the information processing apparatus 100.

When the CPU 110A executes the program, a function block as shown in FIG. 3 is generated in the information processing apparatus 100. Note that the following functional blocks may be generated by the functions of the above-described program alone, or may be generated by the cooperation of the above-described programs and the OS and other programs installed in the information processing apparatus 100. .
Functional blocks generated in the information processing apparatus 100 are an operation signal analysis unit 112A, a control unit 112B, a conversion signal analysis unit 112C, and a display control unit 112D.

The operation signal analysis unit 112A has a function of analyzing operation signals input from the display 102 and the operation buttons 104 as a touch panel. The content of the analyzed operation signal is sent to the control unit 112B.
The control unit 112B has a function of controlling the information processing apparatus 100 when the information processing apparatus 100 functions as a part of the sensor system. The control performed by the control unit 112B is executed according to the content of the operation signal sent from the operation signal analysis unit 112A.
The control unit 112B generates a control signal and sends it to the conversion signal analysis unit 112C and the display control unit 112D. The conversion signal analysis unit 112C and the display control unit 112D perform the following processing based on the received control signal.

The conversion signal analysis unit 112C analyzes the content of a conversion signal described later received from the interface 110D. The conversion signal analysis unit 112C starts the processing when an instruction is given from the control unit 112B. The converted signal analysis unit 112C can uniquely determine the property of the object from the converted signal. For example, if the sensing target is the amount of moisture in the user's skin, the conversion signal analysis unit 112C uniquely determines that the moisture is OO% according to the conversion signal. Such a determination may be performed using a look-up table in which the converted signal and the property of the target object are associated one-to-one, or may be performed by calculation using some algorithm. As described later, the converted signal is obtained by performing conversion such as increasing the frequency band, decreasing the frequency band, or modulating the output signal. The converted signal analysis unit 112C converts the output signal before conversion. The unique determination described above may be made after returning to the output signal. In any case, the conversion signal analysis unit 112C can analyze the conversion signal sent from the sensor device paired with the information processing apparatus 100 including the conversion signal analysis unit 112C and perform the above-described unique determination. It has become. Data about the user's properties analyzed by the converted signal analysis unit 112C is sent to the display control unit 112D.
The display control unit 112D generates image data regarding an image to be displayed on the display 102 in response to an instruction by a control signal sent from the control unit 112B. The image displayed on the display 102 by the image data may be a moving image or a still image. The control signal sent from the control unit 112B may be instructed to display data about the properties of the object analyzed by the conversion signal analysis unit 112C on the display 102 or to stop the display. In some cases, switching between moving images and still images is required. For example, if the data about the property of the object analyzed by the conversion signal analysis unit 112C changes every moment, the control unit 112B changes the property of the object indicated by the data about the property of the object every moment. In some cases, the display control unit 112D may be instructed to display a moving image on the display 102, or the display control may be performed to display only the property of the object at a predetermined timing instructed by the operation signal. In some cases, the instruction is given to the unit 112D. In any case, the display control unit 112D generates an image signal for an image to be displayed on the display 102 and sends it to the display 102 via the interface 110D.

≪Sensor device≫
Next, the configuration of a sensor device that forms a sensor system in combination with the information processing device 100 described above will be described. There are two sensor devices exemplified below. These will be referred to as a first sensor device and a second sensor device for convenience, and will be described in order.
In the description of each sensor device, common reference numerals are used for common portions, and common descriptions are omitted depending on circumstances.

<First sensor device>
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the first sensor device 210, and FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the internal configuration thereof. The sensor system which the 1st sensor apparatus 210 comprises by the combination with the information processing apparatus 100 is a moisture meter.
The first sensor device 210 is not necessarily limited to this, but in this embodiment, it is a cylindrical body, more specifically, a cylindrical body portion 211, a disk-shaped moisture sensor 212 provided on one end side thereof, and a ground. An electrode 213 and an output terminal 214 provided on the other end side are provided.
The moisture sensor 212 is a sensor that detects moisture contained in an object that is an object to be measured. The moisture sensor 212 detects the amount of moisture contained in the object, and generates an output signal that is a signal regarding the amount of moisture contained in the object. A known sensor can be used as the moisture sensor 212. In this embodiment, the moisture sensor 212 is not limited to this, but detects moisture contained in the object by volume ratio (or weight ratio), and its plane. By pressing the surface of the moisture sensor 212 (upper surface in FIG. 4) configured on the skin, the moisture sensor 212 is suitable for detecting moisture on the skin. The moisture sensor 212 of this embodiment detects the amount of moisture contained in the skin by the capacitance between the surface of the moisture sensor 212 and the skin.
The ground electrode 213 touches the skin when the surface of the moisture sensor 212 touches the skin. The ground electrode 213 is disposed around the moisture sensor 212. More specifically, the ground electrode 213 has a circular ring shape and is disposed so as to surround the moisture sensor 212. The surface of the ground electrode 213 (the upper surface in FIG. 4) is a flat surface, and in this embodiment, is flush with the surface of the moisture sensor 212. However, when the surface of the moisture sensor 212 and the surface of the ground electrode 213 are brought into contact with the surface of the user's skin as the object, the surface of the ground electrode 213 comes into contact with the surface of the user's skin. If you are in a relationship, you don't need to be completely flush. For example, the surface of the ground electrode 213 may be disposed slightly on the front side (the upper side in FIG. 4) of the first sensor device 210 than the surface of the moisture sensor 212 (for example, about 0.5 to 1 mm). In this way, the surface of the ground electrode 213 is more likely to come into contact with the skin than the surface of the moisture sensor 212. Here, whenever the moisture content of the skin is measured, the surface of the moisture sensor 212 always comes into contact with the skin. Therefore, when the surface of the moisture sensor 212 is brought into contact with the skin for the measurement of the moisture content of the skin, the ground electrode 213 that is preferentially in contact with the skin due to its positional relationship over the surface of the moisture sensor 212. The surface is always in contact with the skin. Therefore, by disposing the surface of the ground electrode 213 slightly closer to the distal end side of the first sensor device 210 than the surface of the moisture sensor 212, the function of the ground electrode 213 described later can be surely exhibited.
The output terminal 214 adopts a well-known configuration as an audio output terminal combined with the plug-in power type audio input terminal 103, and has a rod shape that can be inserted into the hole-shaped audio input terminal 103. . The output terminal 214 is connected to the audio input terminal 103 in a state where it is inserted into the audio input terminal 103. In this state, the output terminal 214 can output a conversion signal to be described later to the audio input terminal 103. The output terminal 214 is provided with a power receiving terminal. Since the configuration of the power receiving terminal is well known, both illustration and description thereof are omitted. In addition, since this is well known, the illustration and description thereof are omitted, but the output terminal 214 also includes a terminal for connection with the GND electrode.

The main body 211 is cylindrical as described above, and both ends thereof are sealed. The main body 211 is hollow, and a conversion circuit 215, a power supply circuit 216, and an oscillation circuit 217 are provided therein.
The conversion circuit 215 is connected to the moisture sensor 212 and the output terminal 214 via connection lines 215A and 215B, respectively. The conversion circuit 215 receives the output signal output from the moisture sensor 212 via the connection line 212 </ b> A, converts it into a conversion signal, and then outputs it to the output terminal 214.
The power supply circuit 216 is connected to a power receiving terminal (not shown) of the output terminal 214 through a connection line 216A. The power supply circuit 216 sends the power received from the power receiving terminal via the connection line 216A to the moisture sensor 212, the conversion circuit 215, and the oscillation circuit 217 as necessary for the power. In this embodiment, the power supply circuit 216 sends power to the conversion circuit 215 and the oscillation circuit 217 via the connection lines 216B and 216C.
The oscillation circuit 217 is a circuit that transmits a signal of a predetermined frequency, and a known or well-known circuit can be adopted as long as it is possible. The oscillation circuit 217 is connected to the moisture sensor 212 via a connection line 217A, and a signal transmitted from the oscillation circuit 217 is sent to the moisture sensor 212.

As described above, the frequency band of the signal that the audio input terminal 103 can accept is limited. The conversion circuit 215 basically has a function of converting the frequency band of the output signal generated by the moisture sensor 212 so that the frequency band can be received by the voice input terminal 103. In other words, the converted signal obtained by converting the output signal by the conversion circuit 215 can be received by the audio input terminal 103 via the connection line 215B and the output terminal 214.
The conversion circuit 215 may include a circuit that reduces the frequency of the output signal, for example, a frequency divider. The conversion circuit 215 may also include a circuit that increases the frequency of the output signal, for example, a multiplier circuit. When the conversion circuit 215 includes these circuits, the output signal is simply converted into a converted signal by decreasing the frequency or increasing the frequency.
Further, the conversion circuit 215 may include a circuit that causes modulation of the output signal. In that case, the conversion circuit 215 converts the output signal into a modulated signal, converts the frequency band of the converted signal into a frequency band that can be received by the audio input terminal 103, converts the signal into a modulated signal, and converts the signal into a modulated signal. The conversion signal is obtained. The modulation performed by the conversion circuit 215 may be any of amplitude modulation, frequency modulation, and phase modulation. That is, the conversion circuit 215 is an amplitude modulation circuit (for example, known as an AM modulation circuit) that generates amplitude modulation in an output signal, and a frequency modulation circuit (for example, an FM modulation circuit) that generates frequency modulation in an output signal. And may include at least one of phase modulation circuits (for example, known as PM modulation circuits) that cause phase modulation in the output signal.
In addition, the ground electrode 213 is connected to the above-described terminal included in the output terminal 214 for connecting to the GND electrode of the audio input terminal 103 by the connection line 213A.

A conversion circuit 215 for reducing the frequency of the output signal, such as a frequency divider, a circuit for increasing the frequency of the output signal, such as a multiplier, an amplitude modulation circuit for causing amplitude modulation in the output signal of an AM modulation circuit, FM The frequency band of the output signal of the moisture sensor 212 depends on whether it includes a frequency modulation circuit that generates frequency modulation in the output signal of the modulation circuit or the like, and a phase modulation circuit that generates phase modulation in the output signal of the PM modulation circuit or the like. Appropriate selection is made depending on whether the output signal is a modulated signal in the first place, how much good response performance is required for sensing using a sensor system, and how much accuracy is required for sensing. Just do it. Two or more types of the three types of modulation circuits may be combined.
For example, when the frequency band of the output signal of the moisture sensor 212 is relatively higher than the frequency band in which the audio input terminal 103 is received, a circuit that reduces the frequency of the output signal, such as a frequency divider, is used. You can lower the bandwidth. Conversely, when the frequency band of the output signal of the moisture sensor 212 is relatively lower than the frequency band in which the audio input terminal 103 is received, a circuit that increases the frequency of the output signal, such as a multiplier circuit, is used. Just increase the bandwidth.
In general, if an amplitude modulation circuit is used, the sensing accuracy or resolution is lowered, but the occupied bandwidth can be reduced. If a frequency modulation circuit is used, the responsiveness deteriorates, but the sensing accuracy or resolution increases. If there is a situation where it is desired to reduce the occupied bandwidth of the conversion signal, it is preferable to use a phase modulation circuit. In consideration of such a situation, it is possible to determine which of the three modulation circuits described above is used. However, if the output signal is a modulation signal, the reason for using the modulation circuit may not be great.
Although the modulation described above mainly relates to analog modulation, the modulation is not limited to analog modulation, and may be digital modulation or pulse modulation. Digital modulation includes phase shift keying (eg, known as PSK), frequency shift keying (eg, known as FSK), amplitude shift keying (eg, known as ASK), quadrature amplitude. Modulation (eg, known as QAM) can be used. As pulse modulation, for example, pulse code modulation (PCM), pulse width modulation (PWM), pulse amplitude modulation (PAM), pulse position modulation (PPM), and pulse density modulation (PDM) can be used.
Of course, an analog-digital converter or a digital-analog converter may be provided in the conversion circuit as needed. The conversion signal may be an analog signal or a digital signal.
Since all the circuits described above are publicly known or well known, detailed description of each circuit is omitted.

Next, a usage method and operation of a sensor system configured by a combination of the information processing apparatus 100 and the first sensor apparatus 210 will be described.
In order to configure such a sensor system, the user inserts the output terminal 214 of the first sensor device 210 into the audio input terminal 103 of the information processing apparatus 100 as shown in FIG. Then, the audio input terminal 103 and the output terminal 214 become conductive, and the power supply terminal of the audio input terminal 103 and the power receiving terminal of the output terminal 214 become conductive. At this time, the GND terminal of the audio input terminal 103 is connected to the above-described terminal of the output terminal 214 connected to the GND terminal of the audio input terminal 103.
Power obtained by the power receiving terminal from the power feeding terminal is supplied from the power supply circuit 216 to the conversion circuit 215 and the oscillation circuit 217. Accordingly, the conversion circuit 215 and the oscillation circuit 217 can be driven. When the oscillation circuit 217 is driven, the moisture sensor 212 can detect the moisture content of the object. The ground electrode 213 of the first sensor device 210 is connected to the information processing device via the connection line 213A, the above-described terminal of the output terminal 214 connected to the GND terminal of the audio input terminal 103, and the GND terminal of the audio input terminal 103. 100 GND110E is short-circuited.

Next, the user starts a program in the information processing apparatus 100 for causing the information processing apparatus 100 to function as a part of the sensor system by touching the display 102 of the information processing apparatus 100 or the like. Thereby, the functional block shown in FIG. 3 is generated in the information processing apparatus 100.

Next, the user holds the information processing apparatus 100 as shown in FIG. 7, for example, and presses the moisture sensor 212 of the first sensor device 210 against the skin (for example, cheek skin) where the moisture content is to be examined. .
As a result, the moisture sensor 212 can detect the moisture content of the skin as the object. In addition to the circuit existing in the sensor system at this time, a circuit is also formed with the user's body. This is shown schematically in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 8, in this circuit, two capacitors are formed between the moisture sensor 212 and GND. Among these capacitors, what is included in A is considered as a capacitance between the moisture sensor 212 and the skin when the moisture sensor 212 touches the skin. On the other hand, the capacitor included in B is considered as a capacitance between the moisture sensor 212 and the skin and the ground electrode 213. The oscillation circuit 217 applies a predetermined voltage to the above two capacitors. Thereby, the current flowing while changing the magnitude of the voltage and the current flowing through the conversion circuit 215 via the resistor R becomes an output signal.
In the case where the ground electrode 213 does not exist, the capacitor included in B causes the moisture sensor 212, the skin, and the information processing device 100 to be connected when the case of the information processing device 100 is short-circuited to the GND 110 </ b> E in the information processing device 100. If the hand is gripped, the case of the information processing device 100, and the route of the GND 110E in the information processing device 100, but the case of the information processing device 100 is not short-circuited to the GND 110E in the information processing device 100, Does not occur. However, in the sensor system of this embodiment configured using the first sensor device 210 in which the ground electrode 213 is present, the case of the information processing device 100 is short-circuited to the GND 110E in the information processing device 100. , B capacitors are forcibly generated. Thereby, the measured value of the moisture content of the skin obtained by the sensor system including the first sensor device 210 is constant regardless of whether the case of the information processing device 100 is short-circuited to the GND 110E in the information processing device 100. Become.

As described above, the moisture sensor 212 generates an output signal that is a signal indicating the amount of moisture. The output signal is sent to the conversion circuit 215 via the connection line 215A and converted by the conversion circuit 215 to become a conversion signal. The converted signal reaches the output terminal 214 via the connection line 215B, and is received by the converted signal analysis unit 112C from the output terminal 214 via the voice input terminal 103.
The conversion signal analysis unit 112C analyzes the content of the received conversion signal, and uniquely determines the moisture content of the skin indicated by the conversion signal. The conversion signal analysis unit 112C sends the contents to the display control unit 112D.
The display control unit 112D generates image data for causing the display 102 to display an image corresponding to the content, and sends the image data to the display 102. The content may be, for example, only a numerical value indicating the amount of moisture in the skin, but in addition to a numerical value indicating the amount of moisture in the skin, a text or picture explaining the current skin state, or for improving the skin state It may contain text and pictures about advice.

FIG. 7 shows an example of a state of a sensor system that functions as a moisture meter in which the information processing apparatus 100 and the first sensor apparatus 210 are combined, and an image displayed on the display 102. In the wording “If this moisturizing cream,” you can embed a link to an Internet site that sells specific moisturizing cream, and the information processing device automatically clicks the user. Of course, it is possible to provide a mechanism in which the browser originally provided by 100 is launched and the user can be automatically guided to the linked Internet site.

<Second sensor device>
The sensor system configured by the second sensor device 220 in combination with the information processing apparatus 100 is an oil content meter.
The second sensor device 220 can have almost the same configuration as the first sensor device 210. The difference is that, as shown in FIG. 9, the oil sensor 222 is replaced with the oil sensor 222 in the first sensor device 210, and the oil sensor 222 is connected to the main body portion via the cord 221. It is attached to 211. The oil content sensor 222 is attached to the sensor body 223 which is cylindrical in this embodiment. The sensor body 223 is provided with a ground electrode 213 so that the positional relationship with respect to the oil sensor 222 is the same as the positional relationship with the moisture sensor 212 in the case of the first sensor 210. A known oil component sensor 222 can be used.
The oil sensor 222 measures the oil content of the skin.
In the main body 211 and the sensor main body 223, the conversion circuit 215, the power supply circuit 216, and the oscillation circuit 217 included in the first sensor device 210 are appropriately distributed.

The usage method and operation of the sensor system that functions as an oil meter as a whole, constituted by a combination of the information processing device 100 and the second sensor device 220, are the same as those of the above-described sensor system that functions as a moisture meter. The user holds the information processing apparatus 100 with one hand, the sensor body 223 with the other hand, and the sensor body 223 with the other hand, for example, measures the oil content of the skin by touching the skin of the user.
Note that the program for causing the information processing apparatus 100 to function as part of the sensor system that functions as an oil meter as a whole is the above-described program for causing the information processing apparatus 100 to function as part of the sensor system that functions as a moisture meter as a whole. The program may be the same or different.
A dedicated program for each of the first sensor device 210 and the second sensor device 220 can be prepared, or the program can be shared by them. In the latter case, a known mechanism for recognizing whether the sensor device having the output terminal 214 inserted into the audio input terminal 103 is the first sensor device 210 or the second sensor device 220 is generated by the program. For example, the control unit 112B of the functional block may be provided.

<Modification of sensor device>
The sensor of the first sensor 210 and the second sensor 220 is the moisture sensor 212 or the oil sensor 222, but the moisture sensor 212 and the oil sensor 222 are any one of an electrical signal, a pulse wave, elasticity, and elasticity of the heart. Can be replaced with a sensor for sensing.
Further, the ground electrodes 213 of the first sensor 210 and the second sensor 220 are both ring-shaped, but they are not necessarily ring-shaped.
For example, as shown in the plan view of FIG. 10, the ground electrode 213 can surround the moisture sensor 212 or the oil sensor 222 (in FIG. 10, these sensors are denoted by S). In (A), although the earth electrode 213 is substantially ring-shaped, a part thereof is cut away. In (B), the ground electrode 213 is a plurality of electrodes surrounding the sensor S. As long as the sensor S comes into contact with the user's skin when the sensor S comes into contact with the user's skin, the ground electrode 213 can be only one electrode in the example of (B).

Claims

It is used in a state in which the input terminal of an information processing apparatus having a GND for defining a reference potential and an input terminal is connected by contact of the output terminal. A sensor device constituting a sensor system for sensing some property in the body,
A sensor that senses some property of the user by contact with the user's skin;
An earth electrode;
With
The ground electrode is adapted to be short-circuited to the GND so as to contact the user's skin when the sensor is brought into contact with the user's skin.
Sensor device.
The input terminal of the information processing apparatus is an audio input terminal, the output terminal of the sensor apparatus is an audio output terminal,
Conversion means for converting an output signal from the sensor into a conversion signal that is a signal in a frequency band that is scheduled to be received by the audio input terminal;
From the audio output terminal, the converted signal is input to the audio input terminal.
The sensor device according to claim 1.
The ground electrode is configured to be short-circuited to the GND via the output terminal and the input terminal.
The sensor device according to claim 1 or 2.
The sensing surface, which is a surface that senses some property of the user of the sensor, is a plane,
The ground electrode of the sensor device includes an electrode surface that is substantially flush with the sensing surface.
The sensor device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.
The electrode surface is disposed around the sensing surface,
The sensor device according to claim 4.
The electrode surface has a ring shape,
The sensor device according to claim 5.
The sensor senses one of moisture, heart electrical signal, pulse wave, elasticity, oil content, elasticity,
The sensor device according to claim 1.
An information processing apparatus comprising a GND for defining a reference potential and an input terminal;
A sensor which is used in a state where the output terminal is connected to the input terminal of the information processing apparatus, and constitutes a sensor system that senses some property of the user together with the information processing apparatus Equipment,
A sensor system comprising:
The sensor device includes:
A sensor that senses some property of the user by contact with the user's skin;
An earth electrode;
With
The ground electrode is adapted to be short-circuited to the GND so as to contact the user's skin when the sensor is brought into contact with the user's skin.
Sensor system.
The information processing apparatus is a smartphone.
The sensor system according to claim 8.