WO2016052515A1

WO2016052515A1 - Notification device, wearable device provided with notification device, notification device control method and control program

Info

Publication number: WO2016052515A1
Application number: PCT/JP2015/077534
Authority: WO
Inventors: 慶二廣澤
Original assignee: シャープ株式会社
Priority date: 2014-09-30
Filing date: 2015-09-29
Publication date: 2016-04-07

Abstract

This notification device (1) is provided with a balloon (40) which inflates to convey a sense of urgency to the user, an outside pressure sensor (22) which detects the outside pressure that acts on the balloon (40) from outside, and a first internal pressure adjustment unit (13) which controls the internal pressure of the balloon (40) in accordance with the aforementioned outside pressure.

Description

Notification device, body-worn device provided with notification device, control method of notification device, and control program

The present invention relates to a technique for adjusting the internal pressure of an inflating portion that is inflated by a fluid by external pressure.

¡If the balloon is inflated in contact with or near the person's skin, the person's skin is compressed. For example, Patent Literature 1 discloses a blood pressure information measuring device that measures blood pressure as a technique that utilizes this.

The blood pressure information measuring device described in Patent Document 1 detects a cuff, a compressor, a tank, a supply valve and an exhaust valve arranged in a supply path from the tank to the cuff, and an air pressure of the cuff. A pressure sensor; and control means for controlling the supply valve and the exhaust valve. The air compressed by the compressor is filled in the tank, and when the supply valve is opened, the air filled in the tank is supplied to the cuff. The blood pressure information measuring device controls the opening and closing time of the supply valve and the exhaust valve, and exceeds a prescribed pressure optimum for obtaining blood pressure until the internal pressure (air pressure) of the cuff reaches a preset target value. Do not.

Japanese Patent Publication “Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2010-99386 (published on May 6, 2010)”

However, the prior art as described above only keeps the internal pressure of the cuff constant by repeatedly opening and closing the supply valve and the exhaust valve while monitoring the internal pressure of the cuff for a certain target value. Therefore, variable control according to the pressure applied from the outside cannot be performed. Therefore, when a strong pressure is applied to the cuff from the outside when air is sent from the compressor to the tank, the pressure at which the air is returned from the cuff and the tank to the compressor is higher than the pressure at which the air is sent from the compressor. This causes a problem that air flows backward from the cuff to the compressor, leading to a failure of the compressor.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and the purpose of the present invention is to supply the fluid from the expansion section to the injector that injects fluid into the expansion section when an excessive pressure is applied to the expansion section. An object of the present invention is to provide a notification device that prevents backflow.

In order to solve the above-described problem, a notification device according to one aspect of the present invention is provided in a body-worn device so as to come into contact with a part of the user's body, and expands to give the user a feeling of pressure And an external pressure sensor for detecting an external pressure applied to the expansion portion from the outside, and an internal pressure control portion for controlling the internal pressure of the expansion portion according to the external pressure detected by the external pressure sensor. It is characterized by.

According to one aspect of the present invention, when a pressure higher than a predetermined pressure is detected in the inflating portion, the internal pressure of the inflating portion is reduced, so that the fluid from the inflating portion to the injector for injecting fluid into the inflating portion There is an effect that it is possible to provide a notification device that prevents the backflow of the water.

It is a functional block diagram which shows schematic structure of a wristwatch-type communication apparatus provided with the notification apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a functional block diagram which shows an example of schematic structure of an external communication apparatus. It is an external view of the notification apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. (A) And (b) is a schematic block diagram of a micro blower. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the internal pressure control process performed with the said notification apparatus. It is an external view which shows the modification of the said notification apparatus. It is a functional block diagram which shows schematic structure of a wristwatch-type communication apparatus provided with the notification apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a graph explaining the synthetic | combination pressure in the said notification apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the internal pressure control process performed with the said notification apparatus. It is a functional block diagram which shows schematic structure of a wristwatch-type communication apparatus provided with the notification apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 3 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the specific example of a state change notification table. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the internal pressure control process performed with the said notification apparatus.

[Embodiment 1]
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail. For convenience of explanation, members having the same functions as those shown in the embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted as appropriate.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In the following embodiments, the description will be made assuming that the notification device 1 is provided in a wristwatch-type body-worn device that can be worn on a user's wrist as a part of the body. Note that the notification device 1 may be provided in all wearable communication devices such as a headphone type, a glasses type, a belt type, and a ring type.

[Watch communication equipment]
FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a wristwatch-type communication device 100 including a notification device 1 according to the present embodiment. When the state change occurs in the external communication device 200, the wristwatch type communication device 100 notifies the user of the state change of the external communication device 200 by the notification device 1.

As shown in FIG. 1, the wristwatch type communication device 100 includes a notification device 1 and a transmission / reception unit 101. The wristwatch type communication device 100 has a wireless communication function, and when the state change occurs in the external communication device 200, the transmission / reception unit 101 receives the state change information regarding the state change transmitted from the external communication device 200. When the state change information is received from the external communication device 200, the transmission / reception unit 101 transmits a reception signal indicating that the state change information has been received to the information reception unit 11 described later. The received signal may include the type of state change of the external communication device 200 as necessary. Details of the notification device 1 will be described later.

Note that as the wireless communication that enables connection between the wristwatch-type communication device 100 and the external communication device 200, short-range wireless communication such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) is used, and long-distance wireless communication such as wireless LAN is used. May be.

[External communication equipment]
An outline of the external communication device 200 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of the external communication device 200. When the state change occurs, the external communication device 200 transmits the state change information to the wristwatch type communication device 100 by wireless communication. In addition to the external factors such as incoming voice calls, incoming emails, and gripping of the external communication device 200 by the user, internal factors such as alarms, TV playback, and low battery level can be considered in the state change of the external communication device 200. In the present embodiment, a case where the external communication device 200 receives an external signal will be described as an example.

The external communication device 200 includes a receiving unit 50 and a transmitting unit 51. When external communication device 200 receives a signal from the outside via receiving unit 50 via an antenna, state indicating that external communication device 200 has undergone a state change (in this case, an external signal has been received) The change information is transmitted to the wristwatch-type communication device 100 via the antenna. The state change information may include the type of state change of the external communication device 200 as necessary. As the external communication device 200, a smartphone, a foldable mobile phone, a portable game machine, the wearable communication device, or the like can be used.

[Notification device]
An overview of the notification device 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 3. FIG. 3 is an external view of the notification device 1 according to the present embodiment.

When the transmission / reception unit 101 receives state change information indicating that the external communication device 200 has undergone a state change, the notification device 1 has a balloon 40 (an inflating unit) provided so as to come into contact with the user's wrist by the reception. Is inflated to give the user a feeling of pressure, thereby notifying the user of the state change.

As shown in FIG. 1, the notification device 1 includes a control unit 10, an internal pressure sensor 21, an external pressure sensor 22, a display unit 23, an operation input unit 24, a battery unit 25, a micro blower 30, and a balloon 40. As shown in FIG. 3, the notification device 1 includes a main body unit 20 and a wristband 26.

The control unit 10 controls the various components in the notification device 1 in an integrated manner. Details of the control unit 10 will be described later. The display unit 23 receives display data from the control unit 10 and performs display on the display screen based on the received display data. The operation input unit 24 generates operation data and transmits it to the control unit 10 when a user operates an input device such as a button switch provided in the notification device 1. Examples of input devices include a touch panel in addition to button switches. The battery unit 25 supplies power to the micro blower 30 via the power supply control unit 15 described later.

The main unit 20 is a housing, and stores therein a processor such as a CPU that constitutes the micro blower 30 and the control unit 10. The main body 20 is provided in a part of the wristband 26, and the wristband 26 penetrates the main body 20. Further, the transmission / reception unit 101 described above may be provided in the main body unit 20 or may be provided outside the notification device 1. The wristband 26 is a belt-like member, and can be wound around the wrist so that the balloon 40 contacts the user's wrist by joining the ends of the belt-like member with buttons or hooks, for example. The present embodiment is not limited to this, and the wristband 26 may be a ring-shaped member having no end portion. When the wristband 26 is a ring-shaped member, the balloon 40 contacts the user's wrist. It is preferable that it can be expanded and contracted.

The balloon 40 (inflatable part) is a balloon-shaped member that can be inflated and deflated, presses the wrist by inflating from a state in contact with the user's wrist, and changes the state of the external communication device 200 to the user. Notify The balloon 40 is provided on one surface of the main body 20 so as to come into contact with the wrist of the user when the user wears the wristband 26 on the wrist. The balloon 40 is inflated when air (fluid) is injected by the micro blower 30. The fluid injected into the balloon 40 may be a gas or a liquid as long as the balloon 40 can be inflated by being injected into the balloon 40. The balloon 40 can be made of a material that can be inflated to such an extent that the user can sense that it has been inflated.

The internal pressure sensor 21 is a sensor for detecting the internal pressure of the balloon 40. The internal pressure sensor 21 is installed on the surface of the main body 20 on the wrist side of the user so as to be sandwiched between the main body 20 and the balloon 40 with the wristband 26 attached to the wrist. The internal pressure sensor 21 detects the pressure applied to the internal pressure sensor 21 by the inflated balloon 40 and transmits it to the internal pressure acquisition unit 16 described later.

The external pressure sensor 22 detects an external pressure applied to the balloon 40 from the outside. The external pressure sensor 22 is installed on the outer surface of the main body 20 on the side opposite to the wrist side of the user when the user wears the wristband 26 on the wrist. The external pressure sensor 22 transmits the detected external pressure to the external pressure acquisition unit 17 described later. As a factor of the external pressure applied to the balloon 40 from the outside, the notification device 1 may be grasped, hit, or contacted with clothes worn by the user due to the expansion of the balloon 40. The internal pressure sensor 21 and the external pressure sensor 22 detect the pressure in an analog manner, in other words, continuously. Therefore, when the control unit 10 performs processing using the sensor, processing according to the strength of pressure can be performed.

[Details of micro blower]
The outline of the micro blower 30 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of the micro blower 30. FIG. 4A shows a state in which the power of the micro blower 30 is ON, and FIG. 4B shows a state in which the power of the micro blower 30 is OFF. Show. The micro blower 30 injects air into the balloon 40 or discharges air from inside the balloon 40. As shown in FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B, the micro blower 30 (injector) includes a valve portion 31 and a pump portion 32.

The pump unit 32 is, for example, a housing including a compressor, and injects air into the balloon 40 based on electric power supplied from the power supply control unit 15 described later. Specifically, when power is supplied to the micro blower 30 from the power supply control unit 15 to be described later and the power of the micro blower 30 is turned on, the pump unit 32 is supplied with air from the intake port 36 penetrating to the outside. The air is compressed and air is compressed. The pump unit 32 sends out the compressed air from the injection valve 35 and injects the air into the balloon 40 via the valve unit 31 and the flow valve 33.

The valve unit 31 includes a flow valve 33, an exhaust valve 34, and an injection valve 35. The valve part 31 is located between the pump part 32 and the balloon 40 and is adjacent to the pump part 32. The circulation valve 33 connects the balloon 40 and the valve part 31 and enables air to flow between the balloon 40 and the valve part 31. The flow valve 33 is always open. The injection valve 35 connects the valve unit 31 and the pump unit 32, and enables the injection of air from the pump unit 32 to the balloon 40 via the valve unit 31 and the flow valve 33. The injection valve 35 is opened when the power of the microblower is turned on and closed when the power is turned off. The exhaust valve 34 connects the valve portion 31 and the outside, and allows the air in the balloon 40 to be discharged through the valve portion 31. The exhaust valve 34 is closed when the power of the micro blower is turned on, and is opened when the power is turned off.

Here, the movements of the pump unit 32, the exhaust valve 34, and the injection valve 35 accompanying the turning on and off of the power source of the micro blower 30 will be summarized. When the power of the micro blower 30 is turned on, the pump unit 32 is operated, the injection valve 35 is opened, and the exhaust valve 34 is closed. This allows air to flow from the pump unit 32 to the balloon 40. Therefore, if the pressure of the air sent from the pump unit 32 is higher than the internal pressure of the balloon 40, the air from the pump unit 32 to the balloon 40 Is injected. On the other hand, when the power of the micro blower 30 is turned off, the pump unit 32 stops, the injection valve 35 is closed, and the exhaust valve 34 is opened. This allows air to flow from the balloon 40 to the exhaust valve 34. As a result, the air inside the balloon 40 is exhausted from the exhaust valve 34 via the valve portion 31, and the internal pressure of the balloon 40 is reduced.

[Details of control unit]
As shown in FIG. 1, an information receiving unit 11, an expansion control unit 12, a first internal pressure adjustment unit 13, a duration determination unit 14, a power supply control unit 15, an internal pressure acquisition unit 16, and an external pressure acquisition unit 17 are provided. It is a configuration.

The information reception unit 11 detects reception of state change information from the external communication device 200 in the transmission / reception unit 101. Specifically, when receiving a reception signal indicating that the transmission / reception unit 101 has received state change information from the transmission / reception unit 101, the information reception unit 11 performs an inflation control on an expansion start signal indicating an instruction to start inflation of the balloon 40. To the unit 12.

The internal pressure acquisition unit 16 acquires the pressure detection value detected by the internal pressure sensor 21 as the detected internal pressure of the balloon 40, and transmits the acquired internal pressure to the expansion control unit 12 described later. The external pressure acquisition unit 17 acquires the detected pressure value detected by the external pressure sensor 22 as the detected external pressure applied to the balloon 40 from the outside, and transmits the external pressure to the first internal pressure adjustment unit.

The inflation control unit 12 (excess inflation adjustment unit) inflates the balloon 40 until the internal pressure of the balloon 40 becomes equal to or higher than a first predetermined pressure (for example, a pressure at which the user can sense inflation of the balloon 40). Specifically, when receiving the expansion start signal from the information receiving unit 11, the expansion control unit 12 transmits an instruction to turn on the power of the micro blower 30 to the power control unit 15. When the power of the micro blower 30 is turned on, the pump unit 32 is operated, the injection valve is opened, and the exhaust valve is closed, so that air is injected into the balloon and the balloon 40 is inflated. When the internal pressure of the balloon 40 reaches the first predetermined pressure, the inflation control unit 12 generates a predetermined pressure arrival signal indicating that the internal pressure of the balloon 40 has reached the first predetermined pressure (predetermined pressure). 13 and the duration determination unit 14.

Further, when the internal pressure of the balloon 40 becomes equal to or higher than the fourth predetermined pressure, the expansion control unit 12 transmits an instruction to turn off the power of the micro blower 30 to the power control unit 15 to reduce the internal pressure. It may also serve as an expansion adjustment function. Accordingly, for example, the fourth predetermined pressure (predetermined pressure) is set to a pressure that serves as a reference for determining that the balloon 40 is inflated too much (for example, inflation that the user feels too tight). 40 can be prevented from expanding too much (for example, too tight a user's wrist).

The first internal pressure adjustment unit 13 (internal pressure control unit) changes the internal pressure of the balloon 40 according to the external pressure detected by the external pressure sensor 22 (for example, air flow from the balloon 40 to the micro blower 30). Adjust the pressure so that it does not become higher than the pressure at which backflow may occur. Specifically, when an excessive external pressure is applied to the balloon 40 in a state in which air is being injected into the balloon 40 from the micro blower 30, the balloon is applied with an external pressure rather than the pressure of the air injected from the micro blower 30. The internal pressure of 40 is higher and air backflow occurs. There is a possibility that the micro-blower 30 may be broken by this backflow. For this reason, the first internal pressure adjustment unit 13 monitors the external pressure with the external pressure sensor 22, and when an excessive external pressure is detected, the internal pressure of the balloon 40 is reduced to prevent the backflow of air. Therefore, when the first internal pressure adjustment unit 13 receives the predetermined pressure arrival signal from the expansion control unit 12, the first internal pressure adjustment unit 13 determines whether or not the external pressure detected by the external pressure sensor 22 is equal to or lower than the second predetermined pressure (predetermined pressure). To do. When the external pressure is higher than the second predetermined pressure (when the external pressure sensor 22 detects an external pressure with a value larger than the predetermined pressure), the first internal pressure adjustment unit 13 turns off the power of the micro blower 30. An instruction is transmitted to the power supply control unit 15. When the power of the micro blower 30 is turned off, the pump unit 32 stops, the injection valve 35 is closed, and the exhaust valve 34 is opened. Thereby, the air inside the balloon 40 is discharged from the exhaust valve 34, and the internal pressure of the balloon 40 is lowered. Thus, by setting the second predetermined pressure as the backflow start pressure, the internal pressure rises higher than the backflow start pressure even when the balloon 40 is applied with an external pressure higher than the second predetermined pressure. Can be prevented. As a result, failure of the micro blower 30 due to the backflow of air from the balloon 40 to the micro blower 30 can be prevented.

Note that the first internal pressure adjustment unit 13 controls the opening and closing of the exhaust valve 34 and the injection valve 35 only to control the opening and closing of the exhaust valve 34 and the injection valve 35 regardless of whether the power of the micro blower 30 is turned on or off. You may control so that it may not become a pressure.

The duration determination unit 14 determines whether the time during which the internal pressure of the balloon 40 is equal to or higher than the first predetermined pressure is equal to or longer than the predetermined duration. Specifically, when receiving the predetermined pressure arrival signal from the first internal pressure adjustment unit 13, the duration determination unit 14 measures the time during which the internal pressure of the balloon 40 is in a state equal to or higher than the first predetermined pressure. When the time during which the internal pressure of the balloon 40 is equal to or higher than the first predetermined pressure is equal to or longer than the predetermined duration, the duration determination unit 14 transmits an instruction to turn off the power of the micro blower 30 to the power control unit 15. To do. Thereby, the air inside the balloon 40 is discharged from the exhaust valve 34. The predetermined duration can be arbitrarily set, and is preferably set to a time sufficient for the user to sense the inflation of the balloon 40. Moreover, the duration determination part 14 stops the said time measurement, when the power supply of the microblower 30 is turned off by the 1st internal pressure adjustment part 13. FIG.

The power supply control unit 15 supplies power from the battery unit 25 to the micro blower 30 based on instructions from the expansion control unit 12, the first internal pressure adjustment unit 13, and the duration determination unit 14. In the present embodiment, the power control unit 15 turns on / off the power of the micro blower 30 based on the above instruction.

[Internal pressure control processing]
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the flow of the internal pressure control process executed by the notification device 1 having the above configuration. When the activation of the notification device 1 is completed, as illustrated in FIG. 5, the information reception unit 11 until the transmission / reception unit 101 receives state change information indicating that the external communication device 200 has undergone a state change by the transmission / reception unit 101. Wait (NO in S1). When the transmission / reception unit 101 receives the state change information (YES in S1), the information reception unit 11 instructs the inflation control unit 12 to start inflation of the balloon 40. The inflation control unit 12 turns on the power of the micro blower 30 and injects air from the micro blower 30 to the balloon 40 to inflate the balloon 40 (S2, inflation step). When air is injected into the balloon 40 until the internal pressure of the balloon 40 becomes equal to or higher than the first predetermined pressure (YES in S3), the first internal pressure adjustment unit 13 determines whether or not the external pressure is equal to or lower than the second predetermined pressure. Determine (S4, external pressure detection step, internal pressure control step). When the external pressure is equal to or lower than the second predetermined pressure (YES in S4), the duration determination unit 14 determines whether or not the time during which the internal pressure of the balloon 40 is equal to or higher than the first predetermined pressure is equal to or longer than the predetermined duration. Determine (S5). When the time is equal to or longer than the predetermined duration (YES in S5), the duration determination unit 14 turns off the micro blower 30 and discharges air from the balloon 40 (S6). Then, it returns to step S1 and repeats the said operation | movement.

On the other hand, after inflating the balloon 40, until the internal pressure of the balloon 40 becomes equal to or higher than the first predetermined pressure (NO in S3), the air injection from the micro blower 30 to the balloon 40 is continued.

When the external pressure is higher than the second predetermined pressure (NO in S4), the first internal pressure adjustment unit 13 turns off the micro blower 30 and discharges air from the balloon 40 (S6).

When the time during which the internal pressure of the balloon 40 is equal to or higher than the first predetermined pressure is shorter than the predetermined duration (NO in S5), the process returns to S4.

[Modification]
The notification device 1 may include a balloon 41 as shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is an outline view showing a modified example of the notification device 1 according to the first embodiment. The balloon 41 is different in arrangement and shape from the balloon 40, and the other configurations are the same. The balloon 41 is a ring-shaped member and contacts not only one surface of the main body 20 but also the inner periphery of the wristband 26. As described above, the balloon 40 may be arranged and shaped so that the user can sense the inflation of the balloon 40.

[Embodiment 2]
A second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 7 is a functional block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a wristwatch communication device 100A including the notification device 1A according to the second embodiment. The watch-type communication device 100A is different from the watch-type communication device 100 in that a notification device 1A is provided instead of the notification device 1, and the other configurations are the same. Further, the notification device 1 </ b> A is different from the notification device 1 in that a control unit 10 </ b> A is provided instead of the control unit 10.

[Details of control unit]
The control unit 10A is different from the control unit 10 in that a second internal pressure adjustment unit 18 is provided instead of the first internal pressure adjustment unit 13, and the other configurations are the same.

The second internal pressure adjustment unit 18 (internal pressure control unit) has a combined pressure that is based on a combined pressure (added pressure) obtained by adding the internal pressure detected by the internal pressure sensor 21 to the external pressure detected by the external pressure sensor 22. The internal pressure of the balloon 40 is adjusted so as not to become higher than the third predetermined pressure (predetermined pressure). In other words, the second internal pressure adjusting unit 18 controls the internal pressure of the balloon 40 to keep the combined pressure below the third predetermined pressure. The third predetermined pressure can be set, for example, as a backflow start pressure.

Specifically, when the second internal pressure adjusting unit 18 receives a predetermined pressure arrival signal from the expansion control unit 12, the second internal pressure adjusting unit 18 determines whether or not the combined pressure is equal to or lower than the third predetermined pressure. When the combined pressure is higher than the third predetermined pressure, the second internal pressure adjustment unit 18 transmits an instruction to reduce the voltage applied to the micro blower 30 to the power supply control unit 15.

Here, the amount of air injected from the microblower 30 into the balloon 40 is proportional to the voltage applied to the microblower 30. For this reason, by lowering the voltage applied to the micro blower 30, the amount of air injected from the micro blower 30 to the balloon 40 decreases, and the pressure of the air sent from the micro blower 30 to the balloon 40 decreases. On the other hand, when the voltage applied to the micro blower 30 is increased, the amount of air injected from the micro blower 30 to the balloon 40 increases, and the pressure of the air sent from the micro blower 30 to the balloon 40 increases. Therefore, by controlling the voltage applied to the micro blower 30, the pressure at which air is sent from the micro blower 30 to the balloon 40 can be controlled.

By reducing the voltage applied to the micro blower 30, the pressure of the gas sent from the micro blower 30 to the balloon 40 becomes lower than the internal pressure of the balloon 40, and a part of the gas inside the balloon 40 is balloon 40. To the valve portion 31 (see FIG. 4). Thereby, the internal pressure of the balloon 40 falls. At this time, the internal pressure of the balloon 40 is lowered so that the combined pressure is equal to or lower than the third predetermined pressure. Therefore, the internal pressure of the balloon 40 is not lowered excessively. In other words, the internal pressure of the balloon 40 is reduced without exhausting all the air in the balloon 40. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the internal pressure of the balloon 40 while maintaining the bulge of the balloon 40 to some extent, and to keep the combined pressure below the third predetermined pressure. Thus, by setting the third predetermined pressure as the backflow start pressure, it is possible to prevent the failure of the microblower due to the backflow of air from the balloon 40 to the microblower 30 while maintaining the expansion of the balloon 40. Moreover, it is possible to prevent the balloon 40 from being excessively inflated by setting the third predetermined pressure (predetermined pressure) as a reference pressure for determining that the balloon is excessively inflated.

Note that the amount of air injected from the microblower 30 into the balloon 40 is also proportional to the current supplied to the microblower 30. Therefore, the second internal pressure adjusting unit 18 may be configured to adjust the internal pressure of the balloon 40 by adjusting the current supplied to the micro blower 30.

(Composite pressure)
The control of the combined pressure will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a graph for explaining the combined pressure in the notification device 1A. The vertical axis represents pressure, the horizontal axis represents time, the solid line represents the combined pressure when the second internal pressure adjusting unit 18 controls the combined pressure, the dotted line represents the combined pressure when not controlled, and the two-dot chain line represents the external pressure. Show. Further, it is assumed that an external pressure is applied to the notification device 1A at time T, and the external pressure applied to the notification device 1A is a value exceeding the third predetermined pressure when added to the internal pressure.

Since the notification device 1A is not pressurized from the outside until time T, the combined pressure is equal to the internal pressure until time T. When the combined pressure is not controlled by the second internal pressure adjusting unit 18, when the external pressure is applied at time T, the combined pressure increases with the passage of time and exceeds the third predetermined pressure as shown by the dotted line. End up. When the combined pressure is controlled by the second internal pressure adjusting unit 18, if an external pressure is applied at time T, the combined pressure exceeds the third predetermined pressure, so the second internal pressure adjusting unit 18 has a combined pressure of the third predetermined pressure. The voltage applied to the micro blower 30 is lowered so as not to exceed the pressure, and the internal pressure of the balloon 40 is lowered. Specifically, the second internal pressure adjustment unit 18 reduces the internal pressure of the balloon 40 by the amount that the combined pressure exceeds the third predetermined pressure. At this time, since the internal pressure of the balloon 40 decreases, the combined pressure decreases once after the time T has elapsed as shown by the solid line. Thereafter, the synthesis pressure increases with time. However, the internal pressure of the balloon 40 is lowered by the amount by which the combined pressure exceeds the third predetermined pressure by the second internal pressure adjusting unit 18. For this reason, as for the internal pressure of the balloon 40, a synthetic | combination pressure does not exceed a 3rd predetermined pressure. Further, the internal pressure of the balloon 40 is not excessively lowered, and all of the air in the balloon 40 is not exhausted unless the pressure exceeding the third predetermined pressure of the combined pressure becomes equal to or higher than the internal pressure.

[Internal pressure control processing]
FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the flow of the internal pressure control process executed by the notification device 1A having the above configuration. When the activation of the notification device 1A is completed, as illustrated in FIG. 9, the information reception unit 11 until the transmission / reception unit 101 receives state change information indicating that the external communication device 200 has undergone a state change by the transmission / reception unit 101. Wait (NO in S21). When the transmission / reception unit 101 receives the state change information (YES in S21), the information reception unit 11 instructs the inflation control unit 12 to start inflation of the balloon 40. The inflation control unit 12 turns on the power of the micro blower 30, injects air from the micro blower 30 into the balloon 40, and inflates the balloon 40 (S22). When air is injected into the balloon 40 until the internal pressure of the balloon 40 becomes equal to or higher than the first predetermined pressure (YES in S23), the second internal pressure adjustment unit 18 determines whether the combined pressure is equal to or lower than the third predetermined pressure. Determine (S24). When the combined pressure is equal to or lower than the third predetermined pressure (YES in S24), the duration determination unit 14 determines whether the time during which the internal pressure of the balloon 40 is equal to or higher than the first predetermined pressure is equal to or longer than the predetermined duration. Determine (S25). When the above time is equal to or longer than the predetermined duration (YES in S25), the duration determination unit 14 turns off the microblower 30 and discharges air from the balloon 40 (S26). Then, it returns to step S21 and repeats the said operation | movement.

On the other hand, from the start of the inflation of the balloon 40 until the internal pressure of the balloon 40 becomes equal to or higher than the first predetermined pressure (NO in S23), the air injection from the micro blower 30 to the balloon 40 is continued.

When the combined pressure is higher than the third predetermined pressure (NO in S24), the second internal pressure adjustment unit 18 reduces the voltage applied to the micro blower 30 and reduces the amount of air injected from the micro blower 30 to the balloon 40. (S27), the pressure inside the balloon 40 is reduced. Thereafter, the process returns to S24.

When the time during which the internal pressure of the balloon 40 is equal to or higher than the first predetermined pressure is shorter than the predetermined duration (NO in S25), the process returns to S24.

[Embodiment 3]
A third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 10 is a functional block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a wristwatch communication device 100B including the notification device 1B according to the third embodiment. The watch-type communication device 100B is different from the watch-type communication device 100 in that a notification device 1B is provided instead of the notification device 1, and the other configurations are the same.

[Notification device]
As compared with the control unit 10, the control unit 10 </ b> B is provided with a control unit 10 </ b> B instead of the control unit 10, and further includes a storage unit 28.

The storage unit 28 stores various data and programs, and includes a storage element such as a RAM (Random Access Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), and a flash memory. The storage unit 28 stores a state change notification table 281.

In the present embodiment, the inflation method of the balloon 40 is changed according to the type of state change of the external communication device 200. Therefore, the transmission / reception unit 101 receives state change information including the type of state change of the external communication device 200 from the external communication device 200, and the received information transmitted from the transmission / reception unit 101 to the information reception unit 11B is also included in the external communication device 200. The state change type is included.

[Details of control unit]
Compared with the control unit 10, the control unit 10B is provided with an information reception unit 11B and an expansion control unit 12B instead of the information reception unit 11 and the expansion control unit 12, and further includes an expansion method determination unit 19. In other respects, other configurations are the same.

The information receiving unit 11B detects reception of state change information from the external communication device 200 in the transmitting / receiving unit 101. Specifically, when the information reception unit 11B receives a reception signal indicating that the transmission / reception unit 101 has received the state change information from the transmission / reception unit 101, the information reception unit 11B outputs a state type signal indicating the type of state change of the external communication device 200, It transmits to the expansion method determination unit 19.

When the inflation type determination unit 19 receives the state type signal from the information reception unit 11, the inflation type determination unit 19 refers to the state change notification table 281 to determine the pressure increase rate and the first predetermined pressure of the balloon 40 corresponding to the state change type. To do.

Here, the state change notification table 281 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 11 shows a specific example of the state change notification table. The state change notification table 281 is a data table showing a correspondence relationship between the state change of the external communication device 200, the pressure increase speed of the balloon 40, and the first predetermined pressure. The pressure increase speed is an increase amount of the internal pressure per unit time in the balloon 40. The state change of the external communication device 200 is associated with the pressure increase rate and the first predetermined pressure according to, for example, the degree of necessity of user correspondence to the state change of the external communication device 200. Specifically, for example, when a voice call is received as a change in the state of the external communication device 200, the inflation method determination unit 19 acquires the pressure increase speed V1 and the first predetermined pressure P1 of the balloon 40, and the inflation control unit 12B. Send to.

The inflation control unit 12B inflates the balloon 40 at the pressure increase rate received from the inflation method determining unit 19 until the internal pressure of the balloon 40 becomes equal to or higher than the first predetermined pressure received from the inflation method determining unit 19. Specifically, for example, when the pressure increase rate V1 and the first predetermined pressure P1 are received from the expansion method determination unit 19, the expansion control unit 12 adjusts the voltage applied to the micro blower 30 and adjusts the internal pressure at the pressure increase rate V1. The balloon 40 is inflated until the pressure reaches the first predetermined pressure P1. When the internal pressure of the balloon 40 reaches the first predetermined pressure P1, the inflation control unit 12B sends a predetermined pressure arrival signal indicating that the internal pressure of the balloon 40 has reached the first predetermined pressure P1 to the first internal pressure adjustment unit 13. Send.

[Internal pressure control processing]
FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the flow of the internal pressure control process executed by the notification device 1B having the above configuration. When the activation of the notification device 1 is completed, as illustrated in FIG. 12, the information reception unit 11 until the transmission / reception unit 101 receives state change information indicating that the external communication device 200 has undergone a state change by the transmission / reception unit 101. Wait (NO in S31). When the transmission / reception unit 101 receives the state change information (YES in S31), the information reception unit 11 transmits a state type signal to the expansion method determination unit 19. The inflation method determination unit 19 determines the pressure increase rate and the first predetermined pressure of the balloon 40 corresponding to the state change of the external communication device 200 based on the state type signal and the state change notification table 281 (S32). The inflation control unit 12B adjusts the voltage applied to the micro blower 30 and injects air from the micro blower 30 to the balloon 40 so that the balloon 40 is inflated at the pressure increase rate determined in S32, thereby inflating the balloon 40. (S33). When air is injected into the balloon 40 until the internal pressure of the balloon 40 becomes equal to or higher than the first predetermined pressure determined in S32 (YES in S34), the first internal pressure adjustment unit 13 causes the external pressure to be the second predetermined pressure. It is determined whether or not (S35). When the external pressure is equal to or lower than the second predetermined pressure (YES in S35), the duration determination unit 14 determines that the time during which the internal pressure of the balloon 40 is equal to or higher than the first predetermined pressure determined in S32 is equal to or longer than the predetermined duration. It is determined whether or not there is (S36). When the time is equal to or longer than the predetermined duration (YES in S36), the duration determination unit 14 turns off the microblower 30 and discharges air from the balloon 40 (S37). Then, it returns to step S31 and repeats the said operation | movement.

On the other hand, from the start of the inflation of the balloon 40 until the internal pressure of the balloon 40 becomes equal to or higher than the first predetermined pressure determined in S32 (NO in S34), the micro blower at the pressure increase rate determined in S32 The air injection from 30 to the balloon 40 is continued.

When the external pressure is higher than the second predetermined pressure (NO in S35), the first internal pressure adjustment unit 13 turns off the power of the micro blower 30 and discharges air from the balloon 40 (S37).

When the time during which the internal pressure of the balloon 40 is equal to or higher than the first predetermined pressure is shorter than the predetermined duration (NO in S36), the process returns to S35.

In each of the above embodiments, a case has been described in which a notification device is applied to a device having a communication function and a user is notified of a change in the state of an external communication device. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a notification device is provided. You may comprise so that it may notify about the state change of the apparatus which has it. In this case, it is not necessary to have a communication function, and a configuration in which the state change that occurs in the device provided with the notification device by the control unit 10 is notified to the user by inflating the balloon 40 to give the user a feeling of pressure. The present invention is applied to these devices.

[Example of software implementation]
Control block (notably

information receiving units

11 and 11B,

expansion control units

12 and 12B, first internal pressure adjustment unit 13, duration determination unit 14, power supply control unit 15 and second internal pressure adjustment The unit 18 and the expansion method determination unit 19) may be realized by a logic circuit (hardware) formed in an integrated circuit (IC chip) or the like, or may be realized by software using a CPU (Central Processing Unit). Also good.

In the latter case, the notification devices 1, 1 A, and 1 B include a CPU that executes instructions of a program that is software that realizes each function, and a ROM (Read that records the above program and various data so that the computer (or CPU) can read them. Only Memory) or a storage device (these are referred to as “recording media”), RAM (Random Access Memory) for expanding the program, and the like. And the objective of this invention is achieved when a computer (or CPU) reads the said program from the said recording medium and runs it. As the recording medium, a “non-temporary tangible medium” such as a tape, a disk, a card, a semiconductor memory, a programmable logic circuit, or the like can be used. The program may be supplied to the computer via an arbitrary transmission medium (such as a communication network or a broadcast wave) that can transmit the program. The present invention can also be realized in the form of a data signal embedded in a carrier wave in which the program is embodied by electronic transmission.

[Summary]
The notification device (1 · 1A · 1B) according to aspect 1 of the present invention is provided on a body-worn device (watch-type communication device 100 · 100A · 100B) so as to come into contact with a part of the user's body and expands. An expansion part (balloon 40) that gives the user a feeling of pressure, an external pressure sensor (22) that detects external pressure applied to the expansion part from the outside, and the expansion according to the external pressure detected by the external pressure sensor Internal pressure control units (first internal pressure adjustment unit 13 and second internal pressure adjustment unit 18) for controlling the internal pressure of the unit.

According to the above configuration, the internal pressure of the expansion part is controlled by the internal pressure control part according to the external pressure detected by the external pressure sensor. Thereby, for example, when an external pressure having a value larger than a predetermined pressure is detected, the internal pressure of the expansion section can be reduced by the internal pressure control section. For this reason, even if an excessive external pressure is applied to the expansion portion, for example, by setting the predetermined pressure as the backflow start pressure, the internal pressure of the expansion portion is prevented from rising higher than the backflow start pressure. Can do. As a result, it is possible to prevent the failure of the injector due to the backflow of fluid from the expansion portion to the injector.

The notification device (1) according to aspect 2 of the present invention is the notification apparatus (1) according to aspect 1, wherein the internal pressure control unit (first internal pressure adjustment unit 13) is set to a predetermined pressure (second predetermined pressure) by the external pressure sensor (22). If a larger value is detected, the internal pressure may be reduced.

According to the above configuration, when an external pressure having a value larger than a predetermined pressure is detected by the external pressure sensor, the internal pressure of the expansion unit is reduced by the internal pressure control unit. Thereby, for example, by setting the predetermined pressure as the backflow start pressure, it is possible to prevent the internal pressure of the expansion portion from rising higher than the backflow start pressure. As a result, it is possible to prevent the failure of the injector due to the backflow of fluid from the expansion portion to the injector.

In the notification device (1) according to aspect 3 of the present invention, in the aspect 2, the inflating part (balloon 40) is inflated by injecting fluid, and the internal pressure control part (first internal pressure adjusting part 13) is The internal pressure may be reduced by discharging the fluid from the expansion part.

According to the above configuration, when an external pressure having a value larger than a predetermined pressure is detected by the external pressure sensor, the fluid is discharged from the expansion portion. Thereby, the internal pressure of an expansion part can be reduced.

The notification device (1) according to aspect 4 of the present invention is the notification apparatus (1) according to aspects 1 to 3, wherein the internal pressure sensor (21) that detects the internal pressure of the inflatable part (balloon 40) and the internal pressure sensor that detects the internal pressure are detected. An excess expansion adjustment unit (expansion control unit 12) that controls the internal pressure of the expansion unit according to pressure, and the excess expansion adjustment unit is larger than a predetermined pressure (fourth predetermined pressure) by the internal pressure sensor. If a value is detected, the internal pressure is reduced.

According to the above configuration, when the internal pressure sensor detects an internal pressure having a value larger than the predetermined pressure, the fluid is discharged from the expansion portion. Thereby, for example, by setting the predetermined pressure to be a reference pressure for determining that the balloon is excessively inflated, it is possible to prevent the internal pressure of the inflating portion from rising above the pressure. As a result, it is possible to prevent the inflating part from being excessively expanded.

The notification device (1A) according to aspect 5 of the present invention further includes an internal pressure sensor (21) that detects an internal pressure of the inflating part (balloon 40) in the aspect 1, and further includes the internal pressure control part (second internal part). The pressure adjusting unit 18) may control the internal pressure so that the added pressure of the external pressure and the internal pressure does not become higher than a predetermined pressure (third predetermined pressure).

According to the above configuration, the internal pressure of the expansion unit is controlled by the internal pressure control unit such that the external pressure detected from the external pressure sensor and the internal pressure sensor and the added pressure of the internal pressure are equal to or lower than a predetermined pressure. Thereby, for example, by setting the predetermined pressure as the backflow start pressure, it is possible to prevent the added pressure of the expansion portion from rising higher than the backflow start pressure. As a result, it is possible to prevent the failure of the injector due to the backflow of fluid from the expansion portion to the injector.

In the notification device (1A) according to Aspect 6 of the present invention, in the Aspect 5, the inflating part (balloon 40) is inflated by the fluid injected from the injector (micro blower 30), and the internal pressure control part ( The second internal pressure adjusting unit 18) may change the amount of fluid injected into the expansion unit by changing the voltage or current applied to the injector.

According to the above configuration, the fluid injection amount is controlled by changing the voltage or current applied to the injector by the internal pressure control unit. Therefore, for example, when the added pressure is higher than a predetermined pressure, the voltage is lowered to reduce the amount of fluid, for example, gas, sent from the injector to the expansion unit, and the gas sent from the injector to the expansion unit. The pressure drops. Thereby, the pressure of the gas sent from the injector to the expansion section is lower than the internal pressure of the expansion section, a part of the gas in the expansion section moves from the expansion section, and the internal pressure of the expansion section decreases. Therefore, the internal pressure of the inflating part can be reduced without exhausting all of the gas in the inflating part, so that the internal pressure of the inflating part can be lowered while maintaining the swelling of the inflating part to some extent. As a result, it is possible to prevent a failure of the injector due to the backflow of gas from the expander to the injector while maintaining the swelling of the expander.

In the notification device (1.1A / 1B) according to aspect 7 of the present invention, in the aspects 1-6, the external pressure sensor (22) may continuously detect the external pressure.

According to the above configuration, the external pressure applied to the expansion portion is continuously detected by the external sensor. Therefore, it is possible to control the decrease in the internal pressure of the inflating portion according to the strength of the detected external pressure.

A control method according to aspect 8 of the present invention is a control method of a notification apparatus for controlling the notification apparatus (1 · 1A · 1B) in the above aspect 1, and is a body-worn device (watch-type communication device 100 · 100A · 100B). The external pressure is detected by an expansion step (S2) that is provided so as to come into contact with a part of the user's body and gives the user a feeling of pressure and an external pressure sensor that detects external pressure applied to the expansion portion from the outside. An external pressure detecting step (S4), and an internal pressure control step (S4) for controlling the internal pressure of the expansion portion in accordance with the external pressure detected by the external pressure sensor.

According to said structure, there exists an effect similar to the said aspect 1.

The body-worn device (watch-type communication device 100 / 100A / 100B) according to the ninth aspect of the present invention may include any one of the notification devices according to the first to seventh aspects.

According to the above configuration, it is possible to realize a body-worn device that exhibits the same effect as in the first aspect.

The notification device according to each aspect of the present invention may be realized by a computer. In this case, the notification device is controlled by causing the computer to realize the notification device by causing the computer to operate as each unit included in the notification device. A program and a computer-readable recording medium on which the program is recorded also fall within the scope of the present invention.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope shown in the claims, and embodiments obtained by appropriately combining technical means disclosed in different embodiments. Is also included in the technical scope of the present invention. Furthermore, a new technical feature can be formed by combining the technical means disclosed in each embodiment.

The present invention can be used for all communication devices having a wireless communication function.

1 · 1A · 1B notification device, 12 · 12B expansion control unit (excess expansion adjustment unit), 13 first internal pressure adjustment unit (internal pressure adjustment unit), 14 duration determination unit, 15 power supply control unit, 18 second internal Pressure adjusting part (internal pressure adjusting part), 21 internal pressure sensor, 22 external pressure sensor, 30 micro blower (injector), 40 balloon (inflating part), 100 / 100A / 100B wristwatch type communication device (body wearable device)

Claims

An inflatable part provided on the body-worn device to come into contact with a part of the user's body and inflating to give the user a feeling of pressure;
An external pressure sensor for detecting an external pressure applied to the expansion portion from the outside;
An internal pressure control unit that controls an internal pressure of the expansion unit according to the external pressure detected by the external pressure sensor.
The notification device according to claim 1, wherein the internal pressure control unit reduces the internal pressure when a value larger than a predetermined pressure is detected by the external pressure sensor.
The inflatable part is inflated by injecting fluid,
The notification device according to claim 2, wherein the internal pressure control unit reduces the internal pressure by discharging the fluid from the expansion unit.
An internal pressure sensor for detecting the internal pressure of the expansion part;
An overexpansion adjusting unit that controls the internal pressure of the expansion unit according to the internal pressure detected by the internal pressure sensor,
4. The notification device according to claim 1, wherein the excessive expansion adjusting unit reduces the internal pressure when a value larger than a predetermined pressure is detected by the internal pressure sensor. 5.
An internal pressure sensor for detecting the internal pressure of the inflating portion;
The notification device according to claim 1, wherein the internal pressure control unit controls the internal pressure so that an added pressure of the external pressure and the internal pressure does not become higher than a predetermined pressure.
The expansion part is expanded by a fluid injected from an injector,
The notification device according to claim 5, wherein the internal pressure control unit changes an injection amount of a fluid injected into the expansion unit by changing a voltage or a current applied to the injection machine.
A notification device control method for controlling the notification device according to claim 1,
An inflating step that is provided on the body-worn device in contact with a part of the user's body and inflates to give the user a feeling of pressure;
An external pressure detection step of detecting an external pressure by an external pressure sensor for detecting an external pressure applied to the expansion portion from the outside;
An internal pressure control step of controlling an internal pressure of the expansion portion in accordance with the external pressure detected by the external pressure sensor.
A body-worn device comprising the notification device according to any one of claims 1 to 6.
A control program for causing a computer to function as an internal pressure control unit in the notification device according to any one of claims 1 to 6.