JP7775956B2 - Measuring equipment - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a measuring device.

A technology is known that emits ultrasonic waves from a transmitter installed on the ceiling of a bathroom to measure the distance between the water surface of the bathtub and the subject's head, and determines the submerged state of the subject in the bathtub based on the measurement results (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2013-34763 A

Heat shock is one of the causes of a subject sinking in a bathtub. Heat shock can occur, for example, when a subject suddenly stands up from the bathtub. To detect the speed at which a subject stands up, it has been proposed to detect changes in the water depth in the bathtub. However, it is difficult to accurately detect the speed at which the head rises due to factors such as the uneven volume change of the body parts that leave the water when the subject stands up and the time it takes for the water surface to stabilize. Furthermore, there is a need for technology that can accurately detect the speed at which a subject's head rises when standing up, not only in the bathroom but also in other rooms.

The present invention has been made in view of the above, and aims to provide a measuring device that can accurately measure the head rising speed when a subject in a room stands up.

The measuring device of the present invention is installed on the ceiling of a room and comprises a transmitter that emits ultrasonic waves, a receiver that receives the ultrasonic waves reflected within the room, and a calculation unit that, if a subject is present in the room, calculates the head height position of the subject based on the reception result of the ultrasonic waves reflected by the subject's head, and calculates the rising speed of the head based on the calculation result.

According to the present invention, it is possible to accurately detect the head rising speed when a subject in a room stands up.

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically illustrating an example of a measuring device according to this embodiment. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram illustrating an example of the control unit. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a measurement operation by the measurement device. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a measurement operation by the measurement device. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a measurement operation by the measurement device. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the measurement device according to this embodiment. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the measurement device according to this embodiment.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of a measuring device according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. Furthermore, the components in the following embodiments include those that are easily replaceable by those skilled in the art, or those that are substantially identical.

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically illustrating an example of a measuring device 100 according to this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the measuring device 100 includes a transmitting unit 10, a receiving unit 20, a detecting unit 30, and a control unit 40. In this embodiment, the measuring device 100 is placed in, for example, a bathroom 50. The bathroom 50 includes a bathtub 51 and a ceiling 52. The bathtub 51 is attached to the wall of the bathroom 50.
A terminal 53 is attached to the bathtub 50, allowing various operations such as adjusting the water temperature inside the bathtub 50. The terminal 53 has a notification unit 53a such as a speaker that outputs sound.

The transmitter 10 is provided on the ceiling 52 in the bathroom 50. The transmitter 10 transmits ultrasonic waves S into the bathroom 50. The transmitter 10 transmits the ultrasonic waves S toward a subject P who is immersed in a bathtub 51, for example.

The receiving unit 20 is provided on the ceiling 52 in the bathroom 50 and receives ultrasonic waves S reflected in the bathroom 50.
The receiving unit 20 receives the ultrasonic waves S reflected by the head H of the subject P.
The receiving unit 20 receives the ultrasonic wave S and generates a reception signal.

The detection unit 30 detects whether or not the subject P is present in the bathroom 50. The detection unit 30 is, for example, an imaging device such as a camera that captures an image of the subject P. In this embodiment, the detection unit 30 is an imaging device that has a resolution that allows the subject P to be identified using the captured image of the subject P. Note that the detection unit 30 is not limited to the above configuration,
For example, a low-resolution imaging device may be used, or a measuring device such as an optical sensor may be used.

The control unit 40 controls the overall operation of the measurement device 100. The control unit 40 includes a CPU (C
A processing unit such as a central processing unit and a RAM (Random Access Memory)
The control unit 40 has a storage device such as a ROM (Read Only Memory) or a ROM (Access Memory). FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing an example of the control unit 40. As shown in FIG. 2, the control unit 40 has a transmission control unit 41, a signal acquisition unit 42, a calculation unit 43, a notification control unit 44, and a storage unit 45.

The transmission control unit 41 controls the operation of transmitting ultrasonic waves by the transmission unit 10. The transmission control unit 41 can cause the transmission unit 10 to transmit ultrasonic waves S, for example, about 10 times per second. The signal acquisition unit 42 acquires the reception signal of the ultrasonic waves S received by the reception unit 20.

The calculation unit 43 determines whether or not the subject P is present in the bathroom 50 based on the detection result of the detection unit 30. If the subject P is present in the bathroom 50, the calculation unit 43 calculates the head height position of the subject P based on the reception result of the ultrasonic waves reflected by the head H of the subject P. The calculation unit 43 calculates the rising speed of the head H based on the calculated head height position. Specifically, the calculation unit 43 calculates the head height position each time the ultrasonic waves S are transmitted, and calculates the rising speed of the head H based on the change over time in the calculated head height position.

If a subject is present in the bathroom 50 based on the detection result of the detection unit 30, the notification control unit 44 identifies the subject present in the bathroom 50 and acquires identification information. For example, if the detection unit 30 is a photographing device such as a camera, this identification information may be an image of the subject's face or the like captured in a photograph. The identification information is not limited to the above and may be other types of information. The notification control unit 44 determines whether the rising speed calculated by the calculation unit 43 exceeds a threshold. The threshold for the rising speed is set based on at least one of the temperature and temperature distribution in the bathroom 50.
The threshold value for the rate of rise can be changed based on at least one of the temperature and temperature distribution within bathroom 50. The temperature distribution within bathroom 50 may be, for example, the temperature distribution within one vertical section within bathroom 50, from ceiling 52 to the height of the upper edge of bathtub 51, or the temperature distribution within the entire vertical section within bathroom 50, from ceiling 52 to the floor of bathroom 50. If notification control unit 44 determines that the rate of rise exceeds the threshold value, it stores the calculated rate of rise and identification information of the person within bathroom 50 in memory unit 45.

Furthermore, the notification control unit 44 determines whether a subject (hereinafter referred to as a specific subject) whose ascending speed exceeds a threshold is present in the bathroom 50, based on the detection result of the detection unit 30 and the ascending speed and identification information stored in the memory unit 45. If it is determined that a specific subject is present in the bathroom 50, the notification control unit 44 notifies the specific subject of attention information via the notification unit 53a. In the present embodiment, if it is determined that the ascending speed of the head H of the subject P exceeds the threshold as described above, attention information is notified to the subject P the next time the subject P is present in the bathroom 50.

The warning information may be, for example, audio information urging the specific subject P to slow down the speed at which they stand up from the bathtub 51. If the notification unit 53a includes a display device, the warning information may be information in the form of text and/or images. In other words, if the subject P stands up too quickly from the bathtub 51, the subject P is more likely to experience heat shock when standing up. In this embodiment, by notifying the subject P of the warning information, the subject P can be informed in advance that the speed at which they will stand up from the bathtub 51 will be relatively fast, and the subject P can be encouraged to take appropriate action, such as standing up slowly.
Therefore, the occurrence of heat shock can be reduced.

The storage unit 45 stores various information. The storage unit 45 may be, for example, a hard disk drive,
The storage unit 45 has a storage such as a solid state drive. Note that an external storage medium such as a removable disk may be used as the storage unit 45. The storage unit 45 stores, for example, the rising speed exceeding a threshold and identification information of the subject P who raised his/her head at that rising speed.

The memory unit 45 stores a temperature measurement program that causes the computer to execute the following processes: acquiring the received signal generated by the receiving unit 20; if a subject P is present in the bathroom 50, calculating the head height position of the subject P based on the received signal of the ultrasound S reflected by the head H of the subject P; and calculating the rising speed of the head H based on the calculation result.

Next, the operation of the measurement device 100 configured as described above will be described.
Based on a predetermined input, the transmitting unit 10 transmits ultrasonic waves S. The transmitting unit 10 transmits ultrasonic waves, for example, at a cycle of m times per second, under the control of the transmission control unit 41.

3 is a diagram showing an example of a measurement operation by the measuring device 100. FIG. 3 shows a state in which a subject P is immersed in a bathtub 51. The emitted ultrasonic waves S are reflected by the head H of the subject P and received by the receiving unit 20. The receiving unit 20 receives the ultrasonic waves S and generates a received signal. The signal acquiring unit 42 acquires the received signal generated by the receiving unit 20.

The calculation unit 43 determines whether or not the subject P is present in the bathroom 50 based on the detection result of the detection unit 30. When the detection unit 30 detects the subject P as shown in FIG. 3 , the calculation unit 43 determines that the subject P is present in the bathroom 50. When the calculation unit 43 determines that the subject P is present in the bathroom 50, it calculates the head height position H1 of the subject P based on the reception result of the ultrasound reflected by the head H of the subject P. The calculation unit 43 calculates the head height position for each of the above-mentioned cycles transmitted from the transmission unit 10, and stores the calculated head height position in the memory unit 45. The calculation unit 43 calculates the rising speed of the head H based on the calculated head height position.
3, since the head height position of the subject is substantially constant at H1, the calculation unit 43 calculates the rising speed to be substantially 0. The calculation unit 43 stores the calculated rising speed in the storage unit 45.

4 is a diagram showing an example of a measurement operation by the measuring device 100. FIG. 4 shows a state in which the subject P has stood up from the bathtub 51. The ultrasonic waves S emitted, for example, n times from the transmitter 10 at the above-mentioned cycle are reflected by the head H of the subject P while the subject P is standing up, and are received by the receiver 20. The receiver 20 receives the ultrasonic waves S and generates a received signal. The signal acquirer 42 acquires the received signal generated by the receiver 20.

The calculation unit 43 calculates the head height position H2, H3, ..., Hn of the subject P for each of the above-mentioned periods based on the reception results of the ultrasonic waves reflected by the head H of the subject P. The calculation unit 43 stores the calculated head height position in the storage unit 45. The calculation unit 43 calculates the ascent speed of the head H based on the calculated head height position. In the example shown in FIG. 4 , the head height position of the subject changes from H1 to Hn. Therefore, the calculation unit 43 can calculate the ascent speed based on the time (n/m) until the ultrasonic waves S are emitted n times and the amount of change in the head height position of the subject (Hn-H1). The calculation unit 43 stores the calculated ascent speed in the storage unit 45.

3 and 4, the notification control unit 44 identifies a target person present in the bathroom 50 based on the detection result of the detection unit 30, and acquires the identification information.
The calculation unit 43 determines whether the rising speed has exceeded a threshold value.
If it is determined that the rising speed exceeds the threshold, the calculated rising speed and the identification information of the subject in the bathroom 50 are stored in the memory unit 45.

The notification control unit 44 determines whether a specific target person is present in the bathroom 50 based on the detection results of the detection unit 30 and the rising speed and identification information stored in the memory unit 45. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of an alert activation operation by the measurement device 100. As shown in FIG. 5, when it is determined that a specific target person P1 is present in the bathroom 50, the notification control unit 44 notifies the specific target person P1 of alert information I via the notification unit 53a. By notifying the specific target person P1 of the alert information, the specific target person P1 can be informed in advance that the rising speed when rising from the bathtub 51 will be relatively fast. This allows the specific target person P1 to take appropriate action, such as standing up slowly. This reduces the occurrence of heat shock.

Next, the flow of operation of the measuring device 100 according to this embodiment will be described. Fig. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of the measurement operation of the measuring device 100 according to this embodiment. As shown in Fig. 6, the transmission control unit 41 causes the transmitting unit 10 to emit ultrasonic waves S (step S10). The ultrasonic waves S are reflected in the bathroom 50 and received by the receiving unit 20 (step S20).
The signal acquisition unit 42 acquires the received signal. The calculation unit 43 determines whether or not the subject P is present in the bathroom 50 (step S30). If the calculation unit 43 determines that the subject P is not present (
If the calculation unit 43 determines that the subject P is present (Yes in step S30), it calculates the height position of the head H of the subject P based on the acquired received signal (step S40), and calculates the ascent speed of the head H based on the calculation result (step S50). The calculation unit 43 stores the calculated ascent speed in the storage unit 45.

The notification control unit 44 determines whether the rising speed exceeds the threshold value (step S60). When the notification control unit 44 determines that the rising speed does not exceed the threshold value (No in step S60),
If the notification control unit 44 determines that the rising speed exceeds the threshold (Yes in step S60), the notification control unit 44 stores the identification information of the specific target person P1, who is the target person P whose rising speed exceeds the threshold, and the rising speed in the storage unit 45 (step S70).

7 is a flowchart showing an example of an attention-calling operation of the measuring device 100 according to this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 7, the notification control unit 44 determines whether or not a specific target person P1 is present in the bathroom 50 (step S80). The notification control unit 44 determines whether or not a specific target person P1 is present in the bathroom 50.
If it is determined that the specific target person P1 does not exist (No in step S80), the process ends. The determination of No in step S80 includes a case where the identification information of the specific target person P1 is not stored because the rising speed does not exceed the threshold in the above measurement operation. If the notification control unit 44 determines that the specific target person P1 is present in the bathroom 50 (Yes in step S80), it causes the notification unit 53a of the terminal 53 to notify attention information (step S90), and the process ends.

As described above, the measuring device 100 of this embodiment is provided on the ceiling 52 in the bathroom 50 and comprises a transmitter 10 that emits ultrasonic waves S, a receiver 20 that receives the ultrasonic waves S reflected within the bathroom 50, and a calculation unit 43 that, when a subject P is present in the bathroom 50, calculates the head height position of the subject P based on the reception result of the ultrasonic waves S reflected by the head H of the subject P, and calculates the rising speed of the head H based on the calculation result.

According to this configuration, the head height position of the subject P is calculated based on the reception result of the ultrasound S reflected by the head H of the subject P, and the rising speed of the head H is calculated based on the calculation result. Therefore, compared to a configuration that detects changes in water depth, it is possible to accurately detect the rising speed of the head H when the subject P stands up in the bathroom 50.

The measuring device 100 according to this embodiment further includes a notification control unit 44, which is an identification unit that identifies a subject P present in the bathroom 50, a memory unit 45 that stores identification information of the subject P whose rising speed exceeds a threshold, and a notification unit 53a that issues warning information when a specific subject P1 whose rising speed exceeds a threshold is present in the bathroom 50, based on the identification result by the notification control unit 44 and the identification information stored in the memory unit 45. This configuration makes it possible to reliably notify warning information to subjects whose head rising speed exceeds the threshold.

In the measuring device 100 according to this embodiment, the threshold value for the rate of rise can be changed based on at least one of the temperature and temperature distribution in the bathroom 50. With this configuration, the threshold value is set according to at least one of the temperature and temperature distribution in the bathroom 50, so that the occurrence of heat shock can be more reliably reduced.

In measuring device 100 according to this embodiment, a bathtub 51 is placed in bathroom 50, and calculation unit 43 calculates the rising speed based on the reception results of ultrasound waves S reflected by head H of subject P when subject P stands up from a state of being immersed in bathtub 51. With this configuration, the rising speed of subject P when standing up from a state of being immersed in bathtub 51 can be efficiently measured.

In the measuring device 100 according to this embodiment, the attention-calling information is information that urges the subject P to reduce the speed at which he or she stands up when standing up in the bathtub 51. According to this configuration, by notifying the specific subject P1 of the attention-calling information, the occurrence of heat shock can be reduced.

The technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and appropriate modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the measuring device 100 is installed in the bathroom 50, but the present invention is not limited to this.
00 may be placed in a room other than the bathroom 50.

Furthermore, the measuring device 100 described in the above embodiment may also be used as a drowning detection device that, for example, when the detection unit 30 detects that a subject is immersed in a bathtub 51, emits ultrasonic waves S from the transmitter 10 toward the subject's head and the water surface in the bathtub 51, and receives the reflected waves with the receiver 20, thereby determining the distance between the subject's head and the water surface with the control unit 40, and based on the determined result, determines whether the subject is drowning.

Furthermore, the measuring device 100 described in the above embodiment is configured to issue a warning when the specific target person P1 is present in the bathroom 50 from the next time onward, but is not limited to this. For example, if it is detected that the rising speed of the target person P's head H exceeds a threshold, the warning information may be issued to the target person P at that time.

In the above embodiment, the measurement device 100 detects the subject P based on the detection result of the detection unit 30.
The above description has been given with reference to an example of a configuration in which the target person P is identified and the identification information of the target person P is acquired, but the present invention is not limited to this. The identification of the target person P and the acquisition of the identification information may be performed by a means other than the detection unit 30,
For example, the control unit 40 may be configured to input the identification information of the subject P via an input unit (not shown) or the like.

H...head, H1, H2, H3...position, I...attention information, P...target person, P1...specific target person, S...ultrasound, 10...transmitter, 20...receiver, 30...detector, 40...controller, 41...transmission controller, 42...signal acquirer, 43...calculator, 44...notification controller, 45...storage unit, 50...
Bathroom, 51... bathtub, 52... ceiling part, 53... terminal, 53a... alarm part, 100... measuring device

Claims (2)

a transmitter provided on the ceiling of the room and configured to emit ultrasonic waves;
a receiving unit that receives the ultrasonic waves reflected in the room;
a calculation unit that calculates a head height position of the subject based on a reception result of the ultrasonic waves reflected by the head of the subject when the subject is present in the room, and calculates a rising speed of the head based on the calculation result;
a notification control unit that determines whether the rate of increase has exceeded a threshold, and notifies the subject of attention-calling information when it is determined that the rate of increase has exceeded the threshold. The measurement device according to claim 1 , wherein the threshold value for the rate of increase is variable based on at least one of the temperature and temperature distribution in the room.