POSITION-DETECTING DEVICE, RESPIRATION MEASUREMENT DEVICE AND HEART RATE MEASUREMENT DEVICE

• US 20150351694A1
• Filed: 07/15/2015
• Published: 12/10/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 02/12/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sumitomo Riko Company Limited.
• Original Assignee: Sumitomo Riko Company Limited.
• Inventors: SHIMIZU, Atsuki, MAEDA, Ichinosuke
• Granted Patent: US 9,592,011 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/0247 Pressure sensors
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/046 in a matrix array
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/02444 Details of sensor A61B5/02427 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0816 Measuring devices for examining respiratory frequency measuring frequency of electric signals G01R23/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/11 Measuring movement of the entire body or parts thereof, e.g. head or hand tremor, mobility of a limb for measuring pulse A61B5/02 ;A61B5/1038 takes precedence; motion detection to correct for motion artifacts in physiological signals A61B5/721
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1116 Determining posture transitions
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/113 occurring during breathing
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4806 Sleep evaluation A61B5/4821 takes precedence; devices for inducing sleep A61M21/02
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6891 Furniture
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6892 Mats

Abstract

A position-detecting device includes a body pressure distribution sensor including a plurality of pressure sensors that outputs pressure signals corresponding to pressure values respectively and are arranged in a matrix pattern, a specific pattern storage unit storing a range that pressure sensors can occupy and a condition of pressure values relating to the pressure sensors within the range as a specific pattern by sleeping posture and body part of a sleeper, a scanning unit applying the specific pattern to body pressure distribution information, which is a set of the pressure values, from a scan starting position to an adjacent position in sequence and to determine whether the condition is satisfied, and a body part position determining unit determining the position of the body part in the sleeping posture corresponding to the position of the specific pattern in the body pressure distribution information when the condition is satisfied.

Claims

1. A position-detecting device comprising:

a body pressure distribution sensor including a plurality of pressure sensors that are capable of outputting pressure signals corresponding to pressure values respectively and are arranged in a matrix pattern having rows and columns, the body pressure distribution sensor being placed on bedclothes;

a specific pattern storage unit configured to store a range that can be occupied by the pressure sensors corresponding to a predetermined body part in a state in which a user takes a sleeping posture on the bedclothes, and a condition of the pressure values of the pressure sensors within the range as a specific pattern relating to the sleeping posture and the body part;

a scanning unit configured to apply the specific patterns to body pressure distribution information, which is a set of the plurality of pressure values in accordance with the matrix arrangement, from a predetermined scan starting position to adjacent positions in a row direction or a column direction in sequence, and to determine whether the condition is satisfied in sequence; and

a body part position determining unit configured to determine the position of the body part or a related body part in the corresponding sleeping posture relating thereto on the basis of the position of the specific pattern in the body pressure distribution information in the case where the scanning unit determines that the conditions are satisfied.

2. The position-detecting device according to claim 1, wherein

the body part includes individual parts in pair of left part and right part or upper part and lower part of the user,

the related body part includes body parts relating to the pair of body parts;

the scan starting position of the individual parts is the left part or the right part, or the upper part or the lower part in the body pressure distribution information depending on a position of the body parts in pair, and

the range of application of the specific patterns in sequence in the body pressure distribution information is limited to the left part or the right part, or the upper part or the lower part in the body pressure distribution information depending on the position of the individual body parts in pair.

3. The position-detecting device according to claim 1, wherein

the condition is that the given pressure values corresponding to the number of the pressure sensors smaller than the number of the pressure sensors within a range which can be occupied by the pressure sensors is not smaller than a predetermined threshold value.

4. A respiration measurement device wherein at least one of the body part and the related body part is subjected to measurement of a chest respiration measurement value relating to chest respiration of the user on the basis of a chest position detected by the position-detecting device according to claim 1, which is the chest of the user.

5. The respiration measurement device wherein at least one of the body part and the related body part is subjected to measurement of an abdominal respiration measurement value relating to abdominal respiration of the user on the basis of a lower back position detected by the position-detecting device according to claim 1, which is the lower back of the user.

6. The respiration measurement device according to claim 4, further including a measurement value group autocorrelation securing unit configured to store a measurement value group in which the plurality of measurement values are accumulated for at least one of the chest respiration measurement value and the abdominal respiration measurement value, and exclude at least one of the chest respiration measurement value and the abdominal respiration measurement value, which has no autocorrelation with the measurement value group from the measurement value group.

7. The respiration measurement device according to claim 4, wherein

the pressure values are weighted depending on the arrangement of the pressure values at the detected chest position or lower-back position to measure the chest respiration measurement value or the abdominal respiration measurement value.

8. A heart rate measurement device wherein at least one of the body part and the related body part is subjected to measurement of a heart rate measurement value relating to heart rate of the user on the basis of a chest position detected by the position-detecting device according to claim 1, which is the chest of the user.

9. The heart rate measurement device according to claim 8, further including a heart rate measurement value group autocorrelation securing unit configured to store a heart rate measurement value group in which a plurality of heart rate measurement values are accumulated for the heart rate measurement value, and exclude the heart rate measurement value, which has no autocorrelation with the heart rate measurement value group from the heart rate measurement value group.

10. The heart rate measurement device according to claim 8, wherein pressure values are weighted depending on the arrangement of the pressure values at the detected chest position to measure the heart rate measurement value.