Ear-attaching type electronic device and biological information measuring method in ear-attaching type electronic device

• US 20050141729A1
• Filed: 12/20/2004
• Published: 06/30/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 12/26/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Casio Computer Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Casio Computer Company Limited
• Inventors: Niimi, Masazumi, Kanzaki, Takashi
• Application Number:
  US11/018,140
• Publication Number:
  US 20050141729A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 381/67
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/02438 with portable devices, e.g. worn by the patient
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6815 Ear
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6816 Ear lobe

Abstract

An ear-attaching type electronic device includes: a body part supported in a vicinity of a lower part of an occipital part when the device is attached; a pair of arm parts extending from the body part, to which a connecting member is placed therein; and a pulse sensor section for detecting pulse by being attached to an earlobe, wherein advice is outputted according to a comparison between a detected pulse rate and a previously-set pulse rate range.

Claims

1. An ear-attaching type electronic device comprising:

a body part which is supported in a vicinity of a lower part of an occipital part when the device is attached;

a pair of arm parts extending from the body part;

a pair of speakers respectively supported at edge parts of the arm parts;

a detecting section fixed to one of a left earlobe and a right earlobe, for detecting biological information and for outputting the detected biological information to the body part;

a sound outputting section for outputting a sound signal to the pair of speakers; and

a measuring section for measuring the biological information outputted from the detecting section.

2. The device according to claim 1, wherein

the body part comprises a biasing mechanism for biasing each arm part in a direction in which each of the edge parts comes close, and

the biasing mechanism determines a posture of the device when the device is attached, by establishing a pivot shaft which is a line passing through left and right ears, according to a bias by the biasing mechanism transmitted to each of the speakers through each of the arm parts.

3. The device according to claim 1, wherein a vibration detecting section is incorporated in the body part, and

the vibration detecting section measures walking pitch or jogging pitch.

4. An ear-attaching type electronic device comprising:

a body part supported in a vicinity of a lower part of an occipital part when the device is attached;

a pair of arm parts extending from the body part;

a pair of speakers respectively supported at edge parts of the arm parts;

a detecting section fixed to one of a left earlobe and a right earlobe, for detecting biological information and for outputting the detected biological information to the body part; and

an operation instructing section placed at a side of an arm part corresponding to another one of the left earlobe and the right earlobe, for performing an operation instruction regarding a measurement of the biological information.

5. An ear-attaching type electronic device comprising:

a body part supported in a vicinity of a lower part of an occipital part when the device is attached;

a pair of arm parts extending from the body part;

a pair of speakers respectively supported at edge parts of the arm parts;

a detecting section fixed to one of a left earlobe and a right earlobe, for detecting pulse and for outputting a wave form of the detected pulse to the body part;

a sound outputting section for outputting a sound signal to the pair of speakers;

a measuring section for measuring the wave form of the pulse outputted from the detecting section; and

an operation instructing section placed at a side of an arm part corresponding to another one of the left earlobe and the right earlobe, for performing an operation instruction regarding a measurement of the biological information.

6. An ear-attaching type electronic device comprising:

a body part supported in a vicinity of a lower part of an occipital part when the device is attached;

a pair of arm parts extending from the body part;

a pair of speakers respectively supported at edge parts of the arm parts;

a sound outputting section placed in the body part, for outputting a sound signal to the pair of speakers;

a connecting member placed inside of each of the arm parts, for electrically connecting the sound outputting unit and each of the speakers;

a rotation mechanism portion for rotating each of the arm parts with respect to the body part; and

a rotation stopping mechanism portion for stopping a rotation of each of the arm parts by the rotation mechanism portion.

7. The device according to claim 6, wherein the rotation stopping mechanism portion stops the rotation of each of the arm parts at a device attaching position and a device housing position.

8. The device according to claim 7, further comprising:

a device position stopping portion for stopping the rotation of each of the arm parts at the device attaching position;

a housing position stopping portion for stopping the rotation of each of the arm parts at the device housing position; and

a first body case member and a second body case member each of which is formed in a convex shape so as to make an opening side thereof face each other,

wherein the attaching position stopping portion is provided in one of the first body case member and the second body case member and the housing position stopping member is provided in another one of the first body case member and the second body case member.

9. The device according to claim 6, wherein the rotation mechanism portion comprises a sliding guide for guiding the rotation of each of the arm parts so as to slide an external surface against an internal surface of the body part.

10. The device according to claim 9, wherein

a rib which protrudes from the internal surface, is provided inside of the body part, and

a groove which is engaged with the rib, is formed along a sliding direction on an external surface of the sliding guide.

11. The device according to claim 9, wherein the rotation mechanism portion comprises a shaft member which has a rotation shaft of each of the arm parts at a position inside of the body part by being attached to the body part of the arm part, and

the sliding guide is provided in the shaft member, has an external surface formed in approximately an arc shape, extends in a radial direction from the rotation shaft, and comprises a rotation stopping surface for stopping the rotation of each of the arm parts by using the rotation stopping mechanism portion.

12. The device according to claim 6, wherein the rotation mechanism portion comprises a shaft member which has a rotation shaft of the arm parts at a position inside of the body part by being attached to the body part of the arm part, and

the shaft member comprises a flange member which is formed so that the flange member becomes thicker as coming close to the rotation shaft.

13. The device according to claim 12, wherein the flange member comprises an external surface which is formed in a curved shape so as to dent toward a side of the rotation shaft and to follow an internal wall of the body part.

14. An ear-attaching type electronic device comprising:

a body part supported in a vicinity of a lower part of an occipital part when the device is attached;

a pair of arm parts extending from the body part;

a pair of speakers respectively supported at edge parts of the arm parts;

a detecting section fixed to one of a left earlobe and a right earlobe, for detecting biological information and for outputting the detected biological information to the body part;

a calculating section for calculating a bloodstream state value indicating a bloodstream state according to the biological information detected by the detecting section;

a range setting section for previously setting a range of a bloodstream state value to be targeted;

a comparing section for comparing the range of the bloodstream state value set by the range setting section with the bloodstream state value calculated by the calculating section; and

a reporting section for reporting advice corresponding to a comparison result by the comparing section, with sound.

15. The device according to claim 14, wherein

the detecting section for detecting the biological information is provided at a position being appropriate to be fixed to one of a left earlobe and a right earlobe, and

an operation button for performing an operation with respect to calculation of the bloodstream state value is provided at a supporting member of a speaker corresponding to another one of the left earlobe and the right earlobe.

16. The device according to claim 14, further comprising:

a sound outputting section for outputting sound; and

a volume controlling section for controlling the sound outputting section so that, when the reporting section reports the advice while the sound outputting section is outputting the sound, an output volume of the sound being outputted by the sound outputting section is temporarily lowered down to let the reporting section report the advice.

17. The device according to claim 14, further comprising:

a vibration detecting section;

a pitch measuring section for measuring pitch of walking or jogging according to vibration detected by the vibration detecting section; and

a pitch sound adjustment outputting section for adjusting pitch sound corresponding to the pitch measured by the pitch measuring section according to the comparison result by the comparing section to be outputted.

18. The device according to claim 14, further comprising:

a vibration detecting section;

a pitch measuring section for measuring pitch of walking or jogging according to vibration detected by the vibration detecting section;

a pitch sound adjustment outputting section for adjusting pitch sound corresponding to the pitch measured by the pitch measuring section according to the comparison result by the comparing section to be outputted; and

a pitch sound interval adjusting section for controlling an interval of pitch sound so that the interval of the pitch sound is shortened when the comparing section judges that the bloodstream state value calculated by the calculating section is less than the range of the bloodstream state value set by the range setting section, and the interval of the pitch,sound is widened when the comparing section judges that the bloodstream state value calculated by the calculating section is more than the range of the bloodstream state value set by the range setting section

19. A biological information measuring method in an ear-attaching type electronic device which comprises a body part supported in a vicinity of a lower part of an occipital part when the device is attached;

a pair of arm parts extending from the body part; and

a pair of speakers respectively supported at edge parts of the arm parts, comprising;

detecting biological information of one of a right earlobe and a left earlobe;

calculating a bloodstream state value indicating a bloodstream state according to the detected biological information;

setting previously a range of a bloodstream state value to be targeted

comparing the set range of the bloodstream with the calculated bloodstream state value; and

reporting advice corresponding to a result of the comparing, with sound.

20. A biological information measuring method in an ear-attaching type electronic device which comprises a body part supported in a vicinity of a lower part of an occipital part when the device is attached;

a pair of arm parts extending from the body part; and

a pair of speakers respectively supported at edge parts of the arm parts, comprising;

detecting biological information of one of a right earlobe and a left earlobe;

calculating a bloodstream state value indicating a bloodstream state according to the detected biological information;

setting preliminarily a range of a bloodstream state value to be targeted

comparing the set range of the bloodstream with the calculated bloodstream state value; and

reporting pitch sound when the calculated bloodstream state value is not included in the set range, the pitch sound corresponding to the calculated bloodstream state value.