Patent Grant
11890110
This application claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No. 2019-216389, filed on Nov. 29, 2019, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein.
This application relates generally to an electronic device which measures and displays biological information of a user such as a pulse rate, a method, and a storage medium.
For example, Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2018-007887 discloses an electronic device which is worn on a wrist, and measures and displays the pulse rate.
The present embodiment is an electronic device including:
a biological information acquirer that acquires biological information of a target;
an error factor detector that detects a factor that cases an error in the biological information;
a display; and
at least one processor, wherein
the error factor detector includes a motion detection sensor that detects a direction of motion of the electronic device, and
the processor
determines whether the factor is detected, based on the direction of the motion of the electronic device; and
causes, when the processor determines that the factor is detected, the display not to display the biological information acquired by the biological information acquirer, or cause the biological information acquirer to stop acquisition of the biological information, in a first period determined based on a timing when the factor is detected, and
causes, when the processor determines that the factor is not detected, the display to display the biological information acquired by the biological information acquirer.
A more complete understanding of this application can be obtained when the following detailed description is considered in conjunction with the following drawings, in which:
Hereinafter, the present embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that identical or corresponding parts in the drawings are denoted by identical reference signs.
An electronic device 100 according to Embodiment 1 is a so-called wearable terminal, and is a device which can display time and date, a pulse rate of a user who wears the electronic device 100, and the like. Hereinafter, a description will be given by taking a pulse rate as an example of biological information of the user.
In Embodiment 1, as illustrated in
Blood includes oxyhemoglobin with such properties as to absorb light. When the light emitted from the light emitter 19a is radiated on the blood vessel, part of the light is absorbed in the blood. Thus, the light quantity of reflective light from the blood vessel varies in accordance with a blood flow rate which varies in accordance with the pulsation of the heart. Hence, the pulse of the user can be detected by receiving the reflective light from the blood vessel by the light receivers 19b.
In addition, the electronic device 100 includes therein a motion detection sensor 20 which detects motion of the user wearing the electronic device 100; a storage 21 which stores various data, programs, and the like; a clock 22 which measures time; and a controller 25 which controls various functions that are executed by the electronic device 100.
Next, circuit blocks of the electronic device 100 will be described. As illustrated in
The light emitter 19a of the pulse sensor 19 can be constituted by a light emitting diode (LED) which can radiate light such as infrared, red light, or the like. In addition, the light receivers 19b can be constituted by using, for example, light receiving elements such as photodiodes, phototransistors, or the like. The motion detection sensor 20 can judge the motion of an action of the user who wears the electronic device 100, based on the detected acceleration and the direction of movement of the electronic device 100. The motion detection sensor 20 can be constituted by, for example, a gyro sensor, an acceleration sensor, or the like.
The operator 23 is a function of accepting an operation from the user. Hereinafter, the rotary bezel 11, crown 12, push buttons 13 and 14, and touch panel 10b are comprehensively referred to as the operator 23. The storage 21 is a memory device which stores various data, programs, and the like, and can be constituted by, for example, a nonvolatile memory element such as a read-only memory (ROM), a flash memory, or the like.
The clock 22 measures time, for example, by using a reference signal by an oscillation signal of a quartz oscillator or the like. The time measured by the clock 22 is displayed on the display 10 illustrated in
The controller 25 controls various functions which are executed by the electronic device 100. The controller 25 includes a central processing unit (CPU) which executes programs stored in the storage 21, a random-access memory (RAM) for reading in the programs stored in the storage 21, an interface for acquiring various data from the pulse sensor 19, the motion detection sensor 20 and the operator 23, and a graphic processing unit (GPU) for display control.
By executing the programs stored in the storage 21, the controller 25 functions as a pulse data acquirer 251 which acquires pulse data of the user; a motion information acquirer 252 which acquires information relating to the motion of the user; an operation information acquirer 253 which acquires information relating to an operation from the user; a determiner 254; and a display controller 255 which controls display of the display 10.
The pulse data acquirer 251 acquires the pulse data of the user wearing the electronic device 100 from the pulse sensor 19, and calculates a pulse rate from the acquired pulse data of the user. The motion information acquirer 252 acquires data of acceleration and data of a direction of motion of the electronic device 100 from the motion detection sensor 20. The operation information acquirer 253 acquires data relating to an operation from the user, which is detected by the operator 23. Based on the pulse rate calculated by the pulse data acquirer 251, and the data acquired by the motion information acquirer 252 and operation information acquirer 253, the determiner 254 determines whether or not to display the pulse rate, which is calculated from the pulse data acquired by the pulse data acquirer 251, as such on the display 10, as the pulse rate that is to be displayed on the display 10. The determination in the determiner 254 will be described later in detail. The display controller 255 generates display data that is to be displayed on the display 10, in accordance with the determination result of the determiner 254, and causes the display 10 to display the display data. Note that the determiner 254 is an example of determination means in the patent claims. In addition, the display controller 255 is an example of a display controller in the patent claims. Besides, the user is an example of a target in the patent claims.
In the electronic device 100, as described above, the pulse of the user wearing the electronic device 100 is detected by the pulse sensor 19, and the pulse rate calculated from the detected pulse data can be displayed on the display 10. In the pulse sensor 19, the light emitted from the light emitter 19a is radiated on the blood vessel of the user, and reflective light from the blood vessel is received by the light receivers 19b. The reflective light from the blood vessel, which is received by the light receivers 19b, varies in accordance with the blood flow of the user.
For example, as illustrated in
Then, at time T1, for example, it is assumed that the user twists the arm in order to confirm the present time, and moves the electronic device 100 to the front of the eyes. In this case, since the amount of blood flowing in the blood vessel greatly varies in accordance with the twist of the arm, the value detected by the pulse sensor 19 becomes greater than the value detected before, as indicated by a waveform A in
In addition, at time T1, immediately after the user twists the arm, the value of data of acceleration, which is detected by the motion detection sensor 20, becomes a greater value than while the user is running, as indicated by a waveform a. Then, if the user does not move, the value of data of acceleration, which is detected by the motion detection sensor 20, becomes equal to the value detected while the user is running. Subsequently, when the user further moves the arm, for example, by moving the display 10 of the electronic device 100 to an easier-to-view position, the motion detection sensor 20 detects data of acceleration, which has a greater value than while the user is running, as indicated by a waveform b.
Thereafter, at time T2, for example, it is assumed that the user ends the confirmation of the present time, and restores the arm to the position before twisting the arm, that is, to the position while the user is running. In this case, the amount of blood flowing in the blood vessel greatly varies in accordance with the motion of restoring the arm. Thus, the value of the pulse data detected by the pulse sensor 19 becomes greater than the value detected before, as indicated by a waveform B in
In addition, when the user ends the confirmation of the present time and restores the arm to the position before twisting the arm, that is, to the position while the user is running, the motion detection sensor 20 detects the value of data of acceleration, which has a greater value than while the user is running, as indicated by a waveform c. Then, if no motion occurs, the value of data of acceleration, which is detected by the motion detection sensor 20, becomes equal to the value detected while the user is running. After time T3, if the user does not move the arm, such as by twisting and restoring the arm, no great variation occurs in the value of data of acceleration detected by the motion detection sensor 20. Note that the direction of motion of the electronic device 100, which is detected by the motion detection sensor 20 when the arm is twisted at time T1, is opposite to the direction of motion of the electronic device 100, which is detected by the motion detection sensor 20 when the arm is restored at time T2.
In this manner, when the user twists the arm and then restores the arm, the value detected by the pulse sensor 19 greatly varies only immediately after the motion of twisting the arm and the motion of restoring the arm. The value of pulse data detected by the pulse sensor 19 in this case is not a value which is to be normally detected, but a value including an error occurring in accordance with the motion. When the pulse rate generated based on the pulse data including the error is displayed on the display 10 of the electronic device 100, the user will view the pulse rate including the error.
However, as described above, if the amount of blood flowing in the blood vessel does not greatly vary in the state in which the arm is twisted and in the state in which the arm is restored, the pulse data detected by the pulse sensor 19 becomes substantially equal to the value immediately before the motion of twisting the arm and the motion of restoring the arm. The value of pulse data detected by the pulse sensor 19 in this case is a value which is to be normally detected, and a value including no error which occurs in accordance with the motion. Thus, there is a possibility that, shortly after the user views the pulse rate including an error on the screen of the display 10, the user views the pulse rate including no error. It is thus possible that the user doubts whether the displayed pulse rate is correct or not.
When the pulse data detected by the pulse sensor 19 includes an error, the motion detection sensor 20 also detects data of acceleration having a greater value than while the user is running, as described above. Specifically, the motion detection sensor 20 can detect data of acceleration, which is a factor of the error included in the pulse data. Thus, in Embodiment 1, when a pulse rate calculated from pulse data detected by the pulse sensor 19 is equal to or greater than a threshold, an acceleration by motion of a user and a direction of the motion are detected by the motion detection sensor 20, and when the determiner 254 of the controller 25 illustrated in
In Embodiment 1, as the dummy pulse rate, use is made of the pulse rate calculated from the pulse data that was detected by the pulse sensor 19 immediately before, for example, time T1 or time T2 illustrated in
In addition, when the dummy pulse rate is displayed on the display 10 illustrated in
Referring to a flowchart of a display control process illustrated in
The pulse data acquirer 251 of the controller 25 illustrated in
The determiner 254 determines whether the value of the data of acceleration acquired by the motion information acquirer 252 is equal to or greater than a threshold (step S12). When the determiner 254 determines whether the value of the data of acceleration is equal to or greater than the threshold (step S12; YES), the display controller 255 acquires data of the pulse rate, which was stored immediately before and includes no error, from the storage 21, that is, data of a dummy pulse rate (step S13). Subsequently, the display controller 255 acquires set data for dummy display from the storage 21. The display controller 255 generates data for display, based on the data of the dummy pulse rate and the acquired set data for dummy display (step S14). For example, as illustrated in
The display controller 255 causes the display 10 illustrated in
When the determiner 254 determines that the period for acquiring the pulse rate has ended (step S17; YES), the controller 25 terminates the display control process program. On the other hand, when the determiner 254 does not determine that the period for acquiring the pulse rate has ended (step S17; NO), the controller 25 returns to step S10 and executes step S10 onwards.
In step S16, when the determiner 254 does not determine that the predetermined period has elapsed (step S16; NO), the motion information acquirer 252 of the controller 25 illustrated in
Here, it is assumed that the user restored the state of the arm wearing the electronic device 100 from the state in which the arm is twisted to the state before twisting the arm, that is, to the state at the time when the user is running, for example, at time T2 illustrated in
In addition, if the determiner 254 determines in step S11 that the pulse rate, which is calculated from the pulse data acquired by the pulse data acquirer 251 of the controller 25, is not equal to or greater than the threshold (step S11; NO), or if the determiner 254 determines in step S12 that the value of the data of acceleration acquired by the motion detection sensor 20 is not equal to or greater than the threshold (step S12; NO), the display controller 255 generates data for display, based on the pulse rate calculated from the pulse data of the user acquired from the pulse data acquirer 251 (step S20). The display controller 255 causes the display 10 illustrated in
As described above, according to the electronic device 100 of Embodiment 1, the acceleration by motion of the user and the direction of the motion are detected by the motion detection sensor 20. Thereby, in the electronic device 100 that is worn, the pulse rate including no error due to the motion of the user, that is, the biological information including no error, can be displayed. Hence, a great variation does not occur in the value of the biological information displayed on the display 10 of the electronic device 100, and the possibility can be lowered that the user doubts whether the value of the displayed biological information is correct or not. In Embodiment 1, it is assumed that the acceleration by motion of the user and the direction of the motion are detected by the motion detection sensor 20, but Embodiment 1 is not limited to this. For example, the twisting of the arm may be detected by detecting only the acceleration by motion of the user. Besides, the twisting of the arm may be detected by detecting only the direction of motion of the user.
In Embodiment 1 described above, when the pulse rate, which is calculated from the pulse data detected by the pulse sensor 19, is equal to or greater than the threshold, it is determined whether the dummy pulse rate is to be displayed on the display 10 of the electronic device 100, in accordance with the value of data of acceleration by motion of the user, the acceleration being acquired from the motion detection sensor 20. The reason for this is that, for example, immediately after the motion of twisting the arm wearing the electronic device 100 and the motion of restoring the twisted arm, the blood flow in the blood vessel of the arm varies, and thus the value of the pulse data detected by the pulse sensor 19 includes an error.
However, the blood flow in the blood vessel of the arm also varies in motion other than the motion of twisting and restoring the arm. For example, when the rotary bezel 11 of the electronic device 100 illustrated in
In addition, also when the crown 12, or the push button 13, 14, illustrated in
As described above, when an operation from the user is performed on the operator 23 illustrated in
Thus, in Embodiment 2, when the pulse rate, which is calculated from the pulse data detected by the pulse sensor 19, is equal to or greater than the threshold, it is determined whether or not to cause the display 10 of the electronic device 100 to display the dummy pulse rate, according to whether an operation from the user is accepted by the operator 23 illustrated in
An operation of a display control process for operation time in Embodiment 2 will be described with reference to a flowchart illustrated in
The pulse data acquirer 251 of the controller 25 illustrated in
The determiner 254 determines whether or not the data acquired from the operation information acquirer 253 is data indicating that an operation from the user was performed (step S32). When the determiner 254 determines that the data acquired from the operation information acquirer 253 is data indicating that an operation from the user was performed (step S32; YES), the display controller 255 acquires data of the pulse rate, which was stored immediately before and includes no error, from the storage 21, that is, data of a dummy pulse rate (step S33). Subsequently, the display controller 255 acquires set data for dummy display from the storage 21. The display controller 255 generates data for display, based on the data of the dummy pulse rate and the acquired set data for dummy display (step S34). For example, as illustrated in
The display controller 255 causes the display 10 illustrated in
When the determiner 254 determines that the period for acquiring the pulse rate has ended (step S37; YES), the controller 25 terminates the display control process program. On the other hand, when the determiner 254 does not determine that the period for acquiring the pulse rate has ended (step S37; NO), the controller 25 returns to step S30 and executes step S30 onwards.
In addition, if the determiner 254 determines in step S31 that the pulse rate, which is calculated from the pulse data acquired by the pulse data acquirer 251 of the controller 25, is not equal to or greater than the threshold (step S31; NO), or if the determiner 254 determines in step S32 that the data acquired from the operation information acquirer 253 is not data indicating that an operation from the user was performed (step S32; NO), the display controller 255 generates data for display, based on the pulse rate calculated from the pulse data of the user acquired from the pulse data acquirer 251 (step S40). The display controller 255 causes the display 10 illustrated in
As described above, according to the electronic device 100 of Embodiment 2, an operation from the user on the operator 23 is detected. Thereby, in the electronic device 100 that is worn, the pulse rate including no error due to the operation of the user, that is, the biological information including no error, can be displayed. Hence, a great variation does not occur in the value of the biological information displayed on the display 10 of the electronic device 100, and the possibility that the user doubts whether the value of the displayed biological information is correct or not can be lowered.
The present disclosure is not limited to Embodiments 1 and 2 described above, and, needless to say, various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure.
In Embodiment 1, the determination as to whether or not to cause the display 10 of the electronic device 100 to display the dummy pulse rate is executed in accordance with the acceleration detected by the motion detection sensor 20, and, in Embodiment 2, this determination is executed according to whether or not the operation from the user was performed on the operator 23. Aside from this, the determination as to whether or not to cause the display 10 of the electronic device 100 to display the dummy pulse rate may be executed in accordance with the acceleration detected by the motion detection sensor 20, and/or according to whether or not the operation from the user was performed on the operator 23.
In Embodiments 1 and 2, it is assumed that the data of the pulse rate, which is stored in the storage 21 immediately before and includes no error, is used as the data of the dummy pulse rate. Aside from this, use may be made of an average value of the data of pulse rates which are stored in the storage 21 and include no error, or data of a dummy pulse rate stored in advance in the storage 21. Further, the next pulse rate may be estimated by calculating a differential value from the data of the pulse rate of the user, and the dummy pulse rate may be displayed. In addition, the number of dummy pulse rates is not limited to one, and, for example, a plurality of dummy pulse rates may be displayed, while being varied, in accordance with vibration occurring when the user is running.
In Embodiments 1 and 2, when the dummy pulse rate is displayed, a pulse rate that is measured in real time is not displayed. Both the pulse rate measured in real time and the dummy pulse rate may be displayed at the same time.
In Embodiments 1 and 2, when the dummy pulse rate is displayed, the data of the pulse rate continues to be acquired, but the data of the pulse rate may not be acquired at least during the period in which the dummy pulse rate is displayed.
In Embodiments 1 and 2, it is assumed that the pulse rate of the user is used as the biological information. Aside from this, various pieces of information detected from the user, such as the body temperature, blood pressure and brain wave, may be used as the biological information. In addition, in Embodiments 1 and 2, it is assumed that the pulse sensor 19 is used as biological information acquisition means. Aside from this, as the biological information acquisition means, a temperature sensor, a blood pressure measuring device, a brain wave measuring device, or the like may be used, in accordance with biological information to be acquired. Note that the biological information acquisition means, such as the pulse sensor 19, the temperature sensor, the blood pressure measuring device, or the brain wave measuring device, is an example of a biological information acquirer in the patent claims.
Furthermore, in Embodiments 1 and 2, it is assumed that the electronic device 100 is used the wearable terminal which can be worn on, for example, the wrist, arm or the like of the user. Aside from this, the wearable terminal may be changed in accordance with the kind of biological information to be acquired. For example, use may be made of terminals of various forms in accordance with biological information to be measured, such as an eyeglass-type terminal in the case of detecting the brain wave, or a finger-ring-type terminal in the case of measuring the body temperature.
In Embodiments 1 and 2, the determination as to whether or not to cause the display 10 of the electronic device 100 to display the dummy pulse rate is executed based on the data detected by the motion detection sensor 20 or the operator 23. Aside from this, the determination may be executed based on data detected from a solar panel, a geomagnetism sensor, a microphone, or the like.
In addition, methods of application of the display control process program and the display control process program for operation time in Embodiments 1 and 2 can be freely chosen. For example, each program can be applied by being stored in a computer-readable storage medium, such as a flexible disc, a compact disc (CD)-ROM, a digital versatile disc (DVD)-ROM, or a memory card. Further, a program can be superimposed on a carrier wave, and can be applied via a communication medium such as the Internet. For example, a program may be delivered by being posted on a bulletin board system (BBS) on a communication network. Besides, such a configuration may be adopted that the above-described process can be executed by starting and executing this program under the control of an operating system (OS), like other application programs.
The foregoing describes some example embodiments for explanatory purposes.
Although the foregoing discussion has presented specific embodiments, persons skilled in the art will recognize that changes may be made in form and detail without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the specification and drawings are to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense. This detailed description, therefore, is not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the invention is defined only by the included claims, along with the full range of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-216389 | Nov 2019 | JP | national |
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
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| 20190268771 | Seo | Aug 2019 | A1 |
| Number | Date | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 106510676 | Oct 2019 | CN |
| 1894521 | Mar 2008 | EP |
| H8-317912 | Dec 1996 | JP |
| 2005-095653 | Apr 2005 | JP |
| 2005095653 | Apr 2005 | JP |
| 2016-198554 | Dec 2016 | JP |
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| WO-2011010244 | Jan 2011 | WO |
| Entry |
|---|
| JPO; Application No. 2019-216389; Notice of Reasons for Refusal dated Nov. 24, 2021. |
| CNIPA; Application No. 202011357614.7; Office Action dated May 11, 2023. |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20210161468 A1 | Jun 2021 | US |
