Patent Publication Number: US-2019175034-A1

Title: Measurement device and measurement method

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/311,158 filed Nov. 14, 2016, which is the U.S. National Phase of International Application No. PCT/JP2015/002707 filed May 28, 2015, which claims priority to and the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No. 2014-110248 filed May 28, 2014, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     This disclosure relates to a measurement device and a measurement method. 
     BACKGROUND 
     A biological information measurement device that measures the biological information, such as pulses or the like, of the user has been known. The biological information is measured by various methods by using a biological information measurement device. 
     SUMMARY 
     According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, a measurement device includes, an ear canal connection, a shaft a biological sensor and a controller. The ear canal connection is configured to be inserted into an ear canal. The shaft is extending from the ear canal connection along an insertion direction. The biological sensor is configured to be turnable about the shaft relative to the ear canal connection. The controller is configured to measure biological information based on a biometric output obtained from the biological sensor. 
     According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, a measurement device includes a biosensor having a light-receiving part to receive measuring light from a region to be tested and configured to obtain a biometric output based on the measuring light, and a controller configured to determine whether or not to perform measurement of biological information based on the biometric output and a predetermined threshold. 
     As described above, although a solution of this disclosure has been explained as devices, this disclosure can be realized as methods substantially corresponding to the devices, and it will be appreciated that the scope of this disclosure includes them. 
     For example, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a measurement method includes obtaining a biometric output by a biosensor, and determining, by a controller, whether or not to perform measurement of biological information based on the biometric output and a predetermined threshold. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       In the accompanying drawings: 
         FIG. 1  is a functional block diagram of a measurement device according to one embodiment of this disclosure; 
         FIG. 2  is a diagram illustrating a cross-sectional schematic configuration of an insertion part according to one embodiment of this disclosure; 
         FIG. 3  is a diagram illustrating a state where the insertion part in  FIG. 2  is inserted into an ear canal; 
         FIG. 4  is a flow chart illustrating an example of a process performed by an earphone controller illustrated in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 5A  and  FIG. 5B  are a diagram illustrating one example of the pulse wave data obtained by a biological sensor illustrated in  FIG. 1 ; and 
         FIG. 6  is a functional block diagram of main parts of the measurement device in the case where a predetermined control for position adjustment is performed by a mobile phone controller  220 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     In the pulse measurement device, the measurement accuracy varies depending on the positional relationship between the pulse wave sensor and the blood vessel located on a measurement point of the pulse wave. However, in the conventional pulse measurement device, in some cases, the biological information could not be measured accurately for a difficulty in adjusting the position of the pulse wave sensor. 
     The present embodiment has been conceived in light of the above considerations and provides a measurement device and a measurement method capable of improving the measurement accuracy of the biological information. 
     The following describes embodiments of this disclosure with reference to the drawings. 
       FIG. 1  is a functional block diagram of main parts of the measurement device according to one embodiment of this disclosure. The measurement device according to this disclosure is realized by an earphone  100 . The earphone  100  includes an insertion part  110 , an earphone controller  120 , a storage  130 , a communication interface  140  and a notification unit  150 . The earphone  100  measures the biological information by using a biological sensor  111  mounted on the insertion part  110  with the insertion part  110  inserted to an ear canal of the user. When the earphone  100  according to this embodiment is used, the user may adjust the position of the biological sensor  111  beforehand. After adjusting the position once, the user does not need to adjust the position again unless the position of the biological sensor  111  is changed, for example. 
     The biological information is any information that can be measured by using the biological sensor  111  provided in the insertion part  110 . As one example, the following explanation is given assuming that the earphone  100  measures the pulse of the user in this embodiment. 
     When the user measures pulse, he/she wears the insertion part  110  in his/her ear.  FIG. 2  is a diagram illustrating a cross-sectional schematic configuration of the insertion part  110  according to one embodiment of this disclosure. In  FIG. 2 , the insertion part  110  is inserted into the user&#39;s ear canal to the left. The insertion part  110  includes the biological sensor  111 , a sensor disposing part  112 , a sound guide tube  113  as a shaft, a vibration plate  114 , a driving unit  115  and an ear canal connection  116 . 
     The biological sensor  111  is a pulse wave sensor and obtains pulse wave data, as a biometric output, from the user (living body). The biological sensor  111  includes a light-emitting element such as a LED (Light emitting diode) or the like and a light-receiving element such as a PT (Phototransistor) or a PD (Photodiode) or the like, for example. The biological sensor  111  measures the pulse wave data by allowing the light-emitting element to irradiate the measuring light to a region to be tested in an ear canal of the user and allowing the light-receiving element to receive the reflected light from the region to be tested. In the case of such measurement by the light, the biological sensor  111  does not always have to be in contact with the ear canal. 
     The biological sensor  111  is disposed on the outer periphery of the cylindrical sensor disposing part  112 . In the earphone  100  according to this embodiment, the sensor disposing part  112  is disposed on the outer periphery side of the sound guide tube  113 . The sensor disposing part  112  has a turn adjusting part  117  on the opposite side of the side inserting to the ear canal. 
     A part of the sensor disposing part  112  except for the turn adjusting part  117  is covered with the ear canal connection  116 . The sensor disposing part  112  is configured to be turnable about the sound guide tube  113  relative to the sound guide tube  113  and the ear canal connection  116 . The sensor disposing part  112  may be configured to be turnable clockwise/counterclockwise 180 degrees, respectively. The sensor disposing part  112  may include a lock mechanism with respect to each predetermined rotating angle (e.g. 10 degrees) and be configured to be turnable in stages. As illustrated in  FIG. 3 , for example, the user may pinch the turn adjusting part  117  with his/her fingers to turn it with the insertion part  110  inserted into his/her ear canal, thereby allowing the sensor disposing part  112  to be turned. As a result of this, the position of the biological sensor  111  disposed on the sensor disposing part  112  is changed. Thus, the region to be tested to which the biological sensor  111  irradiates the measuring light in the ear canal is changed. The user adjusts the position of the biological sensor  111  by turning the biological sensor  111 . 
     The sound guide tube  113  is cylindrical and extends along the direction inserting to the ear canal. The sound guide tube  113  serves as a rotating shaft when the sensor disposing part  112  turns relative to the ear canal connection  116 . The sound guide tube  113  transmits the sound generated by the sound generator (speaker unit) configured with the vibration plate  114  and the driving unit  115  in the insertion direction of the ear canal connection  116  to the ear canal, that is, transmits the sound into the ear of the user. The driving unit  115  causes the vibration plate  114  to vibrate based on a sound signal of the sound generated by a mobile telephone  200  as a sound source device. The vibration plate  114  vibrates based on the driving of the driving unit  115  to reproduce sound. Driving of the driving unit  115  is controlled by the earphone controller  120 , for example. 
     The ear canal connection  116  covers a part of the insertion part  110  and contacts the ear canal when the insertion part  110  is inserted into the ear canal. The ear canal connection  116  is formed from a material that allows the measuring light irradiated from the biological sensor  111  and the reflected light from the region to be tested to transmit easily. For example, when the measuring light and the reflected light are infrared rays, the ear canal connection  116  may be formed from silicon. 
     With reference to  FIG. 1  again, the earphone controller  120  is a processor that controls overall operation of the earphone  100 . When the user measures the biological information, the earphone controller  120  measures pulse as the biological information based on the pulse wave data obtained from the biological sensor  111 . 
     When the user adjusts the position of the biological sensor  111 , the earphone controller  120  performs a predetermined control. For example, the earphone controller  120  determines whether or not the pulse wave data, which is the biometric output, is within the allowable range that can be used for measurement of the biological information. When the earphone controller  120  determines that the pulse wave data is not within the allowable range, it allows the notification unit  150  to indicate that the biological sensor  111  is needed to be turned. On the other hand, when the earphone controller  120  determines that the pulse wave data is within the allowable range, it adjusts the intensity of the measuring light irradiated from the biological sensor  111  to the region to be tested. The predetermined control performed by the earphone controller  120  when the user adjusts the position of the biological sensor  111  will be described in detail below with reference to  FIG. 4 . 
     The storage  130  can be configured with a semiconductor memory, a magnetic memory or the like, for example, and stores various kinds of information and a program for operating the earphone  100 , or the like. The storage  130  stores the information (threshold) relating to the allowable range that is a criterion for determining whether or not the pulse wave data obtained by the biological sensor  111  can be used for the measurement of the biological information. 
     The communication interface  140  is connected to the sound source device wired or wirelessly by Bluetooth® or the like to communicate with each other. The sound source device can be any one of miscellaneous sound source devices such as, for example, a mobile telephone, a mobile music player, a laptop computer, a tablet terminator, a game machine, or the like. In this specification, explanation is give on the assumption that the sound source device is a mobile telephone  200 . The earphone  100  transmits the biological information measured by the earphone controller  120 , for example, to the mobile telephone  200  via the communication interface  140 . The earphone  100  receives the information relating to a sound signal of the sound reproduced from the mobile telephone  200 , for example, via the communication interface  140 . 
     The notification unit  150  notifies the user that the biological sensor  111  is needed to be turned, based on the control by the earphone controller  120 , by a visual method with images, characters, light emission or the like, an auditory method such as sound or the like, or a combination thereof. In the case of notification by an auditory method, the notification unit  150  provides a notification by displaying images or characters on a display device configured with a liquid crystal display, an organic EL display, an inorganic EL display or the like, for example. The notification unit  150  may notify by light emission of a light-emitting element such as a LED or the like that is configured separately from the biological sensor  111 , for example. In the case of notification by an auditory method, the notification unit  150  provides a notification by outputting alarm sound, sound guide, or the like, from the sound generator provided in the insertion part  110 , for example. It should be noted that the notification provided by the notification unit  150  is not limited to an auditory or visual notification, and the notification may be provided in any method that can be recognized by the user. 
     It should be noted that the earphone controller  120  may provide a notification by displaying images or characteristics on a display  260  of the mobile telephone  200  connected via the communication interface  140 , for example. In this case, the earphone  100  does not need to include the notification unit  150 . 
     The mobile telephone  200  can be a smartphone, for example, and is connected to the earphone  100 . The mobile telephone  200  includes a mobile telephone controller  220 , a communication interface  240 , a display  260  and an input interface  270 . 
     The mobile telephone controller  220  is a processor that controls overall operation of the mobile telephone  200 . The mobile telephone controller  220  allows the display  260  to display the biological information measured by the earphone  100 , for example. The mobile telephone controller  220  generates a sound signal of the sound reproduced from the insertion part  110  of the earphone  100 , for example. 
     The communication interface  240  is connected wired or wirelessly to the earphone  100  to communicate with each other. The mobile telephone  200  receives the biological information measured by the earphone  100  via the communication interface  240 , for example. The mobile telephone  200  transmits the information relating to the sound signal of the sound reproduced from the insertion part  110  of the earphone  100  to the earphone  100  via the communication interface  240 , for example. 
     The display  260  is a display device such as, for example, a liquid crystal display, an organic EL display, an inorganic EL display, or the like. The display  260  displays the biological information measured by the earphone  100 . The user can know his/her own biological information by confirming the display on the display  260 . 
     The input interface  270  accepts an operation input from the user, and is configured with operation buttons (operation keys), for example. The input interface  270  may be configured with a touch screen, and an input region that accepts an operation input from the user may be displayed on a portion of the display  260  so that a touch operation input by the user can be accepted. 
     Next, the control performed by the earphone controller  120  when the user adjusts the position of the biological sensor  111  is described in detail below.  FIG. 4  is a flowchart illustrating one example of a process performed by the earphone controller  120  illustrated in  FIG. 1  when it adjusts the position. When the user measures the biological information by using the earphone  100  according to this embodiment, he/she adjusts the position of the biological sensor  111  beforehand. When the user adjusts the position, he/she performs a predetermined input to the input interface  270  of the mobile telephone  200 , for example, to allow the earphone controller  120  to start the flow illustrated in  FIG. 4 . 
     First, the earphone controller  120  obtains the pulse wave data by using the biological sensor  111  (step S 101 ). In particular, the earphone controller  120  obtains the pulse wave data by allowing the biological sensor  111  to irradiate the measuring light to the region to be tested and receive the reflected light from the region to be tested. At this time, the intensity of the measuring light to be irradiated is any intensity that allows the earphone controller  120  to determine whether the position of the biological sensor  111  should be changed or not. The intensity of this measuring light may be constant and may not change each time the flow in  FIG. 4  is executed. 
     The earphone controller  120  determines whether or not the obtained pulse wave data is within the allowable range that can be used for measurement of the biological information (step S 102 ). 
     Here, the method performed by the earphone controller  120  to determine whether or not the pulse wave data is within the allowable range is described in detail. The earphone controller  120  determines whether or not the obtained pulse wave data is within the allowable range according to the threshold relating to the allowable range stored in the storage  130 . The threshold relating to the allowable range is, for example, a threshold relating to the number of peaks in a predetermined period of time, for example, and the earphone controller  120  determines whether or not the pulse wave data is within the allowable range based on whether or not the number of peaks of the pulse wave data is within the range of the threshold. 
       FIG. 5A  and  FIG. 5B  are a diagram illustrating an example of the pulse wave data obtained by the biological sensor  111  illustrated in  FIG. 1 . When comparing  FIG. 5A  and  FIG. 5B , the number of peaks of the pulse wave data in  FIG. 5A  is greater than that of the pulse wave data in  FIG. 5B . For example, when the number of peaks of the pulse wave data in  FIG. 5A  is out of the range of the threshold stored in the storage  130 , the earphone controller  120  determines that the pulse wave data includes a lot of noise and the pulse wave data is not within the allowable range. On the other hand, when the number of peaks of the pulse wave data in  FIG. 5B  is within the range of the threshold stored in the storage  130 , for example, the earphone controller  120  determines that the pulse wave data is within the allowable range. 
     It should be noted that the threshold relating to the allowable range is not limited to this example. The threshold relating to the allowable range can be any threshold that allows the earphone controller  120  to determine whether or not the pulse wave data is within the allowable range. For example, the threshold can be those relating to variation in the heights of peaks of the pulse wave data. The variation in the heights of peaks is defined by the standard deviation, for example. In this case, when the standard deviation of the height of peak is larger than the predetermined threshold, the earphone controller  120  determines that the pulse wave data has a lot of noise and the pulse wave data is not within the allowable range. On the other hand, in the case where the variation in the heights of peaks is smaller than the predetermined threshold, the earphone controller  120  determines that the pulse wave data is within the allowable range. 
     With reference to  FIG. 4  again, in step S 102 , when the earphone controller  120  determines that the obtained pulse wave data is not within the allowable range (No in step S 102 ), it displays an instruction to the user indicating that the position of the biological sensor  111  is needed to be changed (step S 103 ). The earphone controller  120  can allow the notification unit  150  to notify the instruction indicating that the position of the biological sensor  111  is needed to be changed, for example. The earphone controller  120  can allow the display  260  of the mobile telephone  200  to display the instruction indicating that the position of the biological sensor  111  is needed to be changed, for example. Based on the instruction to change the position, the user changes the position of the biological sensor  111  by turning the turn adjusting part  117 . 
     The earphone controller  120  uses the biological sensor  111  and obtains the pulse wave data again (step S 101 ). At this time, the position of the biological sensor  111  has been changed based on the instruction of the earphone controller  120  in step S 103 , thus the region to be tested from which the biological sensor  111  obtains the pulse wave data has been changed. Since the pulse wave data varies depending on the positional relationship between the region to be tested and the biological sensor  111 , it is assumed that the pulse wave data to be obtained by the earphone controller  120  is different from the pulse wave data that has been obtained earlier. 
     The earphone controller  120  determines whether or not the newly obtained pulse wave data is within the allowable range that can be used for measurement of the biological information (step S 102 ). 
     When the earphone controller  120  determines that the obtained pulse wave data is not within the allowable range (No in step S 102 ), it displays an instruction indicating that the position of the biological sensor  111  is needed to be changed again to the user (step S 103 ). In this manner, the earphone controller  120  repeats steps S 101  to S 103  until it determines that the obtained pulse wave data is within the allowable range. 
     When the earphone controller  120  determines that the obtained pulse wave data is within the allowable range (Yes in step S 102 ), it adjusts the measured intensity of the biometry information in the biological sensor  111  (step S 104 ). For example, the earphone controller  120  adjusts the intensity of the measuring light outputted from the light-emitting element of the biological sensor  111 . As a result of this, the earphone controller  120  can adjust the light receiving intensity of the reflected light in the pulse wave data obtained by the biological sensor  111  to the intensity suitable for measurement of the biological information. In this manner, the earphone controller  120  finishes control for adjusting the position of the biological sensor  111 . After adjusting the position of the biological sensor  111 , the user can measure the biological information. 
     It should be noted that, once adjusting the position of the biological sensor  111 , for example, the user can repeatedly measure the biological information without adjusting the position again unless there is a change in the position of the biological sensor  111  in the insertion part  110 , for example. 
     As explained above, in the earphone  100 , the position of the biological sensor  111  is adjusted before the biological information of the user is measured. Since the biometric output obtained by the biological sensor  111  varies depending on the positional relationship between the biological sensor  111  and the region to be tested, in the earphone  100 , the biological sensor  111  can be disposed on a position where the biological information can be measured with a high accuracy by adjusting the position before measuring the biological information. Thus, according to the earphone  100 , the measurement accuracy of the biological information can be improved. 
     In the earphone  100 , the user can change the position of the biological sensor  111  by pinching the turn adjusting part  117  with his/her fingers to turn it, and thus the user can adjust the position easily. Besides, even if the position of the biological sensor  111  is changed by the turn adjusting part  117 , the ear canal connection  116  being in contact with the ear canal of the user does not move in the ear canal of the user, and as a result, the wearing feeling of the earphone  100  does not change. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 2 , when the biological sensor  111  is disposed in the sensor disposing part  112  that is different from the sound guide tube  113  and the sensor disposing part  112  is disposed on the outer periphery side of the sound guide tube  113 , the biological sensor  111  is less influenced by the vibration of the sound transmitted through the sound guide tube  113 . That is, the biological sensor  111  is less vibrated by the vibration of sound. As a result, the biological sensor  111  can obtain the biometric output with a high accuracy. 
     It should be noted that this disclosure is not limited to the above described embodiment, and a variety of modifications or changes are possible. For example, the functions or the like included in each component, step or the like may be reordered in any logically consistent manner, and a plurality of components, steps or the like may be combined into one or divided. 
     For example, in the above described embodiment, the earphone controller  120  performs a predetermined control when the user adjusts the position of the biological sensor  111 . However, the control is performed not only by the earphone controller  120 . The control may be performed by the mobile telephone controller  220 , for example. 
       FIG. 6  is a functional block diagram of main parts of the measurement device in the case where the mobile telephone controller  220  performs a predetermined control when the position is adjusted. In this case, the earphone  100  includes the insertion part  110  having the biological sensor  111  and the communication interface  140  that connects to the mobile telephone  200  wired or wirelessly to communicate with each other. The user operates the input interface  270  of the mobile telephone  200  and starts the application for measurement of the biological information, for example, to measure the biological information by using the earphone  100 . The biological sensor  111  obtains the pulse wave data in the same manner as that of the above described embodiment. The communication interface  140  transmits the pulse wave data obtained by the biological sensor  111  to the mobile telephone  200 . 
     When adjusting the position of the biological sensor  111 , the user uses the position adjustment function of the above described application for measurement of the biological information. When the mobile telephone  200  obtains the pulse wave data from the earphone  100  via the communication interface  240 , it performs a predetermined control to adjust the position in the mobile telephone controller  220 . For example, the predetermined control is the control illustrated by the flow in  FIG. 4 . When performing the predetermined control, the mobile telephone controller  220  refers to the information relating to the allowable range that can be a criterion for determining whether the pulse wave data can be used or not for measurement of the biological information. The information relating to the allowable range is stored in the storage  230  of the mobile telephone  200 , for example. When the mobile telephone controller  220  instructs to change the position of the biological sensor  111  in the step S 103  in  FIG. 4 , it may instruct to change the position by providing a notification from the notification part  250  of the mobile telephone  200 . 
     The user measures the biological information after the position of the biological sensor  111  is adjusted by controlling the mobile telephone controller  220 . In this case, the pulse wave data obtained by the biological sensor  111  is transmitted from the earphone  100  to the mobile telephone  200  via the communication interface  140 . In the mobile telephone  200 , the mobile telephone controller  220  measures the biological information based on the obtained pulse wave data. The measurement results are displayed on the display  260  of the mobile telephone  200 . 
     In the above described embodiment, although the insertion part  110  was explained as it includes the sensor disposing part  112  and the sound guide tube  113 , the insertion part  110  is not limited to that described in this embodiment. The insertion part  110  may have any structure if the biological sensor  111  is configured to be turnable relative to the ear canal connection  116 . For example, the insertion part  110  includes the sensor disposing part  112  in which the biological sensor  111  is disposed, and the sensor disposing part  112  may serve as a sound guide tube that transmits sound. That is, in this case, unlike the above described embodiment, the insertion part  110  includes only one cylindrical member. As a result of this, the insertion part  110  can be configured in more simplified structure. 
     In the insertion part  110 , as a mechanism to apply electrical signals to the biological sensor  111  and the driving unit  115 , a slip ring may be used.