Patent Description:
Body temperature is one of the four vital signs that has significant clinical significance. A body temperature sensor may be applied to various applications, such as detecting infections in patients, monitoring thermal side effects of medications, or tracking ovulation time in women, and the like.

Body temperature sensors may be classified into contact type sensors and non-contact type sensors. Examples of the contact type sensor may include a sensor for detecting a change in electrical resistance, such as a Resistance Temperature Detector (RTD), a thermistor, etc., a thermocouple for detecting electromotive force, and the like. Further, examples of the non-contact type sensor may include a thermopile, a micro-bolometer, etc., which measure body temperature by detecting infrared rays radiating from a body surface.

Generally, measuring core body temperature accurately with portable devices like wearable devices is challenging. This is because changes in environment factors, such as external temperature, air flow, humidity, etc., affect heat transfer, resulting in differences between skin temperature and core body temperature. <CIT> relates to the field of human body parameter monitoring, in particular to a core temperature measurement probe technique. The technique investigates and measures various parameters related to the core temperature, obtains a more stable temperature and heat flow at the skin through the development of a new sandwich structure, and uses machine learning to combine the BMI index and blood oxygen, heart rate, perfusion index PI, skin temperature and heat flow into the core temperature prediction process, making the predicted core temperature value more accurate. <NPL> states that monitoring core body temperature (TC) during training and competitions, especially in a hot environment, can help enhance an athlete's performance, as well as lower the risk for heat stroke. Accordingly, a non-invasive sensor that allows reliable monitoring of TC would be highly beneficial in this context. <NPL> uses combinations of observations of skin temperature, heat flux, and heart rate to accurately estimate core body temperature using a Kalman filter. <NPL> aims to compare the validity of an existing and two novel multi-parameter rectal temperature prediction models. <CIT> relates to techniques for monitoring heat stress, wherein the technique includes a skin surface temperature probe and heart rate probe that do not require direct physical contact to a user's skin. <CIT> relates to techniques for detecting body temperature. <CIT> relates to a biological data measurement device that has patches. A patch to be mounted on the human body basically includes first and second heat insulators, first and second temperature measurement circuits, and a belt-shaped wiring film (bus wire).

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, an electronic device may include: a first sensor configured to measure a skin temperature of skin of a user; a second sensor configured to measure heat flux transmitted from the skin to a main body of the electronic device; a third sensor configured to measure a heart rate of the user; and a processor configured to estimate a rate of core body temperature change based on the skin temperature measured at a first time and a second time, the heat flux, the heart rate, and the skin temperature.

The processor may be further configured to: estimate a rate of skin temperature change based on the skin temperature measured at the first time and the second time; estimate energy metabolism based on the heart rate; and estimate the rate of core body temperature change based on the rate of skin temperature change, the energy metabolism, and the heat flux.

In response to the rate of core body temperature change being greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold value, the processor may be further configured to provide notification information about risk of abnormal body temperature.

The processor may be further configured to generate a trend graph showing the rate of core body temperature change over a predetermined period of time.

The processor is further configured to generate a graphic object at a position corresponding to a time point, at which the rate of core body temperature change is greater than or equal to the threshold value, on the trend graph to provide the user with a warning.

Based on a core body temperature being determined to be abnormal, the processor may be further configured to provide notification information requesting the user to stop an outdoor activity by using a text message or a voice message.

The first time precedes the second time, and the processor may be further configured to estimate a core body temperature at the second time by applying the rate of core body temperature change to the core body temperature measured at the first time.

In response to the estimated core body temperature falling outside a predetermined threshold range, the processor may be further configured to provide notification information about a risk of abnormal body temperature.

The second sensor may be a heat flux sensor configured to measure the heat flux.

The electronic device may further include a temperature sensor spaced apart from the first sensor, and configured to measure an internal temperature inside the main body and measure the heat flux based on the skin temperature and the internal temperature inside the main body.

At least one of the first sensor and the temperature sensor may be a thermistor.

A vertical distance between the contact surface and the first temperature sensor is <NUM> in a thickness direction of the main body.

The third sensor may be at least one of a photoplethysmography (PPG) sensor and an electrocardiography (ECG).

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a method of estimating a rate of core body temperature change in an electronic device is provided. The method may include: measuring a skin temperature of skin of a user; measuring heat flux transmitted from the skin to a main body of the electronic device; measuring a heart rate of the user; and estimating the rate of core body temperature change based on the skin temperature measured at a first time and a second time, the heat flux, the heart rate, and the skin temperature.

The estimating of the rate of core body temperature change may include: estimating a rate of skin temperature change based on the skin temperature measured at the first time and the second time; estimating energy metabolism based on the heart rate; and estimating the rate of core body temperature change based on the rate of skin temperature change, the energy metabolism, and the heat flux.

The method may further include, in response to the rate of core body temperature change being greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold value, providing the user with notification information about risk of abnormal body temperature through an output interface.

The providing of the notification information about the risk of abnormal body temperature may include generating a trend graph showing the rate of core body temperature change over a predetermined period of time.

The first time precedes the second time, and the method may further include: estimating a core body temperature by applying the rate of core body temperature change to the core body temperature measured at the first time.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a wearable device may include: a main body; a strap connected the main body; a skin temperature sensor configured to measure a skin temperature of a user at a first time and a second time; a heat flux sensor configured to measure a heat flux between a skin of the user and the main body; a heart rate sensor configured to measure a heart rate of the user; and a processor configured to estimate a rate of core body temperature change based on the skin temperature measured at the first time and the second time, the heat flux, and the heart rate.

According to a further aspect of the present disclosure, a wearable device may include a main body, a strap connected to the main body, and the electronic device according to the present disclosure.

The wearable device may further include a display, wherein in response to the rate of core body temperature change being greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold value, the processor may be further configured to provide notification information about a risk of abnormal body temperature through the display.

It will be understood that, although the terms "first," "second," etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. Any references to singular may include plural unless expressly stated otherwise. In addition, unless explicitly described to the contrary, an expression such as "comprising" or "including" will be understood to imply the inclusion of stated elements but not the exclusion of any other elements. Also, the terms, such as 'unit' or 'module', etc., should be understood as a unit that performs at least one function or operation and that may be embodied as hardware, software, or a combination thereof.

An electronic device according to various embodiments of the present disclosure which will be described below may include, for example, at least one of a wearable device, a smartphone, a tablet PC, a mobile phone, a video phone, an electronic book reader, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a netbook computer, a workstation, a server, a PDA, a portable multimedia player (PMP), an MP3 player, a medical device, and a camera. The wearable device may include at least one of an accessory type wearable device (e.g., wristwatch, ring, bracelet, anklet, necklace, glasses, contact lens, or head mounted device (HMD)), a textile/clothing type wearable device (e.g., electronic clothing), a body-mounted type wearable device (e.g., skin pad or tattoo), and a body implantable type wearable device. However, the wearable device is not limited thereto and may include, for example, various portable medical measuring devices (antioxidant measuring device, blood glucose monitor, heart rate monitor, blood pressure measuring device, thermometer, etc.), magnetic resonance angiography (MRA), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT), imaging system, ultrasonic system, etc.), and the like. However, the electronic device is not limited to the above devices.

<FIG> is a block diagram illustrating an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. <FIG> and <FIG> are diagrams illustrating structures of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to <FIG>, an electronic device <NUM> includes a sensor <NUM> and a processor <NUM> which are mounted in a main body <NUM>. The sensor <NUM> includes a plurality of sensors and may obtain data for estimating a rate of change in core body temperature. The processor <NUM> is configured to estimate a rate of change in core body temperature of a user by using the data obtained by the sensor <NUM>.

The sensor <NUM> includes a first sensor <NUM> that measures a user's skin temperature, a second sensor <NUM> that measures heat flux, and a third sensor <NUM> that measures a user's heart rate. The first sensor <NUM>, the second sensor <NUM>, and the third sensor <NUM> are referred to as a temperature sensor, a heat flux sensor, and a heat rate sensor, respectively.

Referring to <FIG>, for example, the first sensor <NUM> may be a temperature sensor capable of measuring temperature of a user's skin at a contact surface of the main body <NUM> when an object (e.g. user's wrist) comes into contact with the contact surface of the main body <NUM>. To increase the accuracy of the measured skin temperature,, the first sensor <NUM> may be placed at a shortest possible distance from the contact surface of the main body <NUM>. For example, a vertical distance between the contact surface and the first sensor <NUM> may be less than or equal to <NUM> in a thickness direction of the main body <NUM>. Temperature sensors such as thermistor, thermocouple, silicon temperature sensor, infrared temperature sensor, and the like may be used as the first sensor <NUM>, but the types of temperature sensors are not limited thereto.

The second sensor <NUM> may be a sensor for measuring heat flux vertically transmitted from the skin to the main body <NUM>, and may be a heat flow sensor that includes a thermopile, a thermocouple, or a resistance thermometer that measures temperature differences across a surface and a heat flux transducer that converts temperature differences into a heat flux value. The heat flux may indicate a rate of heat transfer from the skin to the main body <NUM>. In this case, the heat flux may be measured by vertically mounting another temperature sensor without providing a separate heat flux sensor. For example, referring to <FIG>, the second sensor <NUM> may be a temperature sensor spaced apart from the first sensor <NUM> that measures the skin temperature and configured to measure temperature inside the main body, and heat flux may also be measured based on a difference between the skin temperature measured by the first sensor <NUM> and the temperature inside the main body which is measured by the second sensor <NUM>. In this case, thermistor, thermocouple, silicon temperature sensor, and the like may also be used as the second sensor <NUM>.

The third sensor <NUM> is a sensor for measuring a user's heart rate, and may be, for example, a Photoplethysmography (PPG) sensor or an electrocardiography (ECG) sensor. In this case, the third sensor <NUM> may be placed at a position as close to the contact surface as possible to improve the measurement accuracy.

The processor <NUM> may be electrically connected to the sensor <NUM> and may control the sensor <NUM> in response to a request for estimating a rate of core body temperature change.

The processor <NUM> may estimate a rate of change in core body temperature based on the skin temperature measured by the first sensor <NUM> at a previous time, the heat flux measured by the second sensor <NUM> at a previous time, the heart rate measured by the third sensor <NUM> at a previous time, and skin temperature measured at a current time. In this case, compared to the current measurement time, the previous time may vary according to a setting of an electronic device, and the previous time compared to the current time may be set to, for example, one minute or less.

First, the processor <NUM> may estimate a rate of skin temperature change based on the skin temperature measured at the previous time and skin temperature measured at the current time. For example, by setting an interval between a current time t2 and a previous time t1 to one minute, the first sensor <NUM> may continuously measure the first temperature over time, and the processor <NUM> may estimate the rate of skin temperature change based on the measured values.

Then, the processor <NUM> may estimate energy metabolism based on the heart rate measured at the previous time.

For example, the processor <NUM> may obtain the heart rate at the previous time by analyzing cycles of a pulse wave signal (e.g., PPG signal) measured by the third sensor <NUM>. For example, upon obtaining a PPG signal with <NUM> cycles over one minute, the processor <NUM> may determine the heart rate to be <NUM>.

The processor <NUM> may estimate the energy metabolism based on the obtained heart rate. For example, the processor <NUM> may estimate energy metabolism M by using the obtained heart rate HRwm according to the following Equation <NUM>.

Herein, M<NUM> denotes resting metabolism, e.g., metabolism at rest or basal metabolism, and is generally <NUM> W/m<NUM> for adult men. HR<NUM> denotes a resting heart rate, e.g., heart rate at rest. Maximum work capacity in watts (MWC) denotes metabolism at maximum work capacity, and HRmax denotes a maximum heart rate. In this case, M<NUM> and HR<NUM> may be values previously measured and stored, and MWC and HRmax may be values that can be estimated for each age and gender, and the processor <NUM> may estimate the values by receiving age and gender input by a user through an interface by using a display device or by using previously stored values.

Then, the processor <NUM> may measure the heat flux at the previous time. For example, if the second sensor <NUM> is a temperature sensor disposed in the main body, the processor <NUM> may measure the heat flux based on a difference between the skin temperature at the previous time and the temperature inside the main body at the previous time. In this case, if the second sensor <NUM> is a heat flux sensor, the measured heat flux value may be used directly.

Subsequently, the processor <NUM> may estimate a rate of core body temperature change based on the estimated rate of skin temperature change, the estimated energy metabolism, and the heat flux measured at the previous time, which may be represented by the following Equations <NUM> and <NUM>. <MAT><MAT>.

Herein, <MAT> denotes the rate of core body temperature change, <MAT> denotes the rate of skin temperature change, Csk denotes a predetermined specific heat of the skin, Ccr denotes a predetermined specific heat of the core, Wsk denotes a predetermined mass of skin, Wcr denotes a predetermined mass of the core, M denotes energy metabolism, HF denotes heat flux, qres denotes a predetermined heat loss resulting from respiration, qloss denotes a predetermined heat loss resulting from skin and perspiration, Cbl denotes a predetermined specific heat of blood, Vbl denotes a predetermined volume of blood flowing to the skin per unit body surface area, Kmin denotes a predetermined heat conductivity between the skin and core, Tcr denotes a predetermined core body temperature, and Tsk denotes the skin temperature measured at the previous time. In this case, normal core body temperature of <NUM>. <NUM> may be used as the core body temperature Tcr during the initial measurement, or a user's core body temperature measured by an external source may also be used.

Then, if the estimated rate of core body temperature change is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold value, the processor <NUM> may generate a notification message through an output interface, alerting the user about the potential risk of abnormal body temperature through an output interface. In this case, if the core body temperature is indeed determined to be abnormal, the processor <NUM> may send a text message or a voice message requesting the user to discontinue outdoor activities.

<FIG> is a diagram illustrating an example of providing notification information about the risk of abnormal body temperature by a wristwatch-type wearable device. Referring to <FIG>, for example, if the estimated rate of core body temperature change is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold value (e.g., <NUM>/<NUM>), the processor <NUM> may output a text message <NUM>, "WARNING! HIGH BODY TEMPERATURE," and "it is advised to stop outdoor activities and move to cool area," via a display device <NUM>.

In this case, the processor <NUM> may also output a voice message requesting to stop outdoor activities, or may output the text message and the voice message at the same time. In addition, the processor <NUM> may also output a warning alarm through the output interface. Upon providing the notification information about the risk of abnormal body temperature, if the estimated rate of core body temperature change remains at a level greater than or equal to the threshold value, the processor <NUM> may communicate with an electronic device (e.g., smartphone) to directly call the <NUM> emergency center. The method of providing the notification information about the risk of abnormal body temperature is not limited thereto.

In another embodiment, the processor <NUM> may generate a trend graph showing a rate of core body temperature change over a predetermined period of time, and may output the graph through the output interface. In this case, in order to provide a user with a warning, the processor <NUM> may output a predetermined graphic object at a position corresponding to a time point, at which the rate of core body temperature change is greater than or equal to the threshold value, on the graph.

<FIG> is a diagram illustrating a trend graph showing absolute value of a rate of core body temperature change according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Referring to <FIG>, it can be seen that a rate of core body temperature change passes <NUM>/<NUM> when <NUM> minutes elapse after measurement. Assuming that a threshold value is <NUM>/<NUM> , the processor <NUM> may determine that a sudden change in core body temperature occurs <NUM> minutes after the measurement, and the processor <NUM> may separately output a star-shaped (☆) graphic object <NUM> to the display device to provide a user with a warning about the sudden change in the core body temperature.

Warning of a sudden change in core body temperature to the user not only notifies the user of a risk of abnormal body temperature such as fever or hypothermia, but also provides health care services to the user. For example, if a sudden change in core body temperature occurs during exercise, the user may be notified of this, and the user may adjust the exercise intensity. A service provided using the core body temperature change rate is not limited thereto.

Generally, it is difficult to accurately estimate the core body temperature based on only the skin temperature by using a portable device such as a wearable device. However, according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, without directly estimating the core body temperature, the rate of core body temperature change may be estimated by using the rate of skin temperature change which may be easily measured by using a wearable device, and notification information about the risk of abnormal body temperature may be provided rapidly to a user.

The processor <NUM> may also directly estimate core body temperature by applying core body temperature at a previous time to the estimated rate of core body temperature change. In this case, if the previous time is an initial measurement time, normal core body temperature of <NUM> may be used as the core body temperature, or a user's core body temperature measured by an external source may also be used.

<FIG> is a graph illustrating a relationship between an actual core body temperature and an estimated core body temperature that is estimated using a rate of core body temperature change. As observed in <FIG>, the estimated core body temperature <NUM> fluctuates more than the actual core body temperature <NUM> over time, while the actual core body temperatures <NUM> and the actual core body temperature <NUM> change in a similar trend, and thus are highly correlated.

In this case, if the estimated core body temperature falls outside a predetermined threshold range, the processor <NUM> may provide a user with notification information about the risk of abnormal body temperature. For example, if the estimated core body temperature falls outside a range of <NUM> to <NUM>, the processor <NUM> determines that the core body temperature is abnormal, and may provide the user with the notification information about the risk of abnormal body temperature. As the method of providing the notification information, a method similar to the above method used in the case where the rate of core body temperature change is greater than or equal to the threshold value (e.g. <FIG>) may be used, but is not limited thereto.

<FIG> is a block diagram illustrating an electronic device according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to <FIG>, an electronic device <NUM> includes a sensor <NUM>, a processor <NUM>, a storage <NUM>, an output interface <NUM>, and a communication interface <NUM> which are mounted in a main body <NUM>. In this case, the sensor <NUM> and the processor <NUM> are the same as the sensor <NUM> and the processor <NUM> in the embodiment of <FIG>, such that a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The storage <NUM> may store information related to estimating a rate of core body temperature change. For example, the storage <NUM> may store temperature data, heat flux, and heart rate which are obtained by the sensor <NUM>, processing results of the processor <NUM>, e.g. a rate of skin temperature change, energy metabolism, a rate of core body temperature change, and the like.

The storage <NUM> may include at least one storage medium of a flash memory type memory, a hard disk type memory, a multimedia card micro type memory, a card type memory (e.g., an SD memory, an XD memory, etc.), a Random Access Memory (RAM), a Static Random Access Memory (SRAM), a Read Only Memory (ROM), an Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EEPROM), a Programmable Read Only Memory (PROM), a magnetic memory, a magnetic disk, and an optical disk, and the like, but is not limited thereto.

The output interface <NUM> may provide a user with processing results of the processor <NUM>.

For example, the output interface <NUM> may display a rate of core body temperature change, which is estimated by the processor <NUM>, in a graph and the like on a display, and if the rate of core body temperature change is greater than or equal to a threshold value, the output interface <NUM> may provide a user with a warning message about abnormal body temperature by using a text message or a voice message in order to provide the user with a warning.

The communication interface <NUM> may communicate with an external device to transmit and receive various data related to estimating the rate of core body temperature change. The external device may include an information processing device, such as a smartphone, a tablet PC, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, and the like. For example, the communication interface <NUM> may transmit the estimated rate of core body temperature change to an external device such as a smartphone and the like, and a user may monitor the rate of core body temperature change over time by using, e.g., the smartphone.

The communication interface <NUM> may communication with the electronic device by using various wired and wireless communication techniques including Bluetooth communication, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) communication, Near Field Communication (NFC), WLAN communication, Zigbee communication, Infrared Data Association (IrDA) communication, Wi-Fi Direct (WFD) communication, Ultra-Wideband (UWB) communication, Ant+ communication, WIFI communication, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) communication, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM> communications, and the like. However, the communication techniques are not limited thereto.

<FIG> and <FIG> are flowcharts illustrating a method of estimating a rate of core body temperature change according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. <FIG> and <FIG> are an example of a method of estimating a rate of core body temperature change performed by the electronic devices <NUM> and <NUM>, which are described in detail above, and thus will be briefly described below in order to avoid redundancy.

Referring to <FIG>, the electronic device may measure a user's skin temperature by using the first sensor in operation <NUM>, may measure heat flux vertically transmitted from the skin to the main body by using the second sensor in operation <NUM>, and may measure a user's heart rate by using the third sensor in operation <NUM>.

Then, the electronic device may estimate a rate of core body temperature change based on the skin temperature measured by the first sensor at a previous time, the heat flux measured by the second sensor at a previous time, the heart rate measured by the third sensor at a previous time, and skin temperature measured at a current time in operation <NUM>. In this case, compared to the current measurement time, the previous time may vary according to a setting of an electronic device, and the previous time compared to the current time may be set to, for example, one minute or less.

<FIG> is a flowchart illustrating in detail the estimating of the rate of core body temperature change in operation <NUM>.

Referring to <FIG>, the electronic device may estimate a rate of skin temperature change based on the skin temperature measured at the previous time and the skin temperature measured at the current time in operation <NUM>. For example, by setting an interval between the current time t2 and the previous time t1 to one minute, the first sensor may continuously measure the first temperature over time, and the electronic device may estimate the rate of skin temperature change based on the measured values.

Then, the electronic device may estimate energy metabolism based on the heart rate measured at the previous time in operation <NUM>. For example, the electronic device may obtain a heart rate based on a signal obtained by the PPG sensor or the ECG sensor, and may estimate the energy metabolism by using the obtained heart rate according to Equation <NUM>.

Subsequently, the electronic device may estimate a rate of core body temperature change based on the estimated rate of skin temperature change, the estimated energy metabolism, and the heat flux measured at the previous time according to Equations <NUM> and <NUM> in operation <NUM>.

Next, if the estimated rate of core body temperature change is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold value, the electronic device may provide a user with notification information about the risk of abnormal body temperature through the output interface in operation <NUM>. In this case, the electronic device may generate a trend graph showing a rate of core body temperature change over a predetermined period of time, and may output the graph through the output interface. In this case, in order to provide a user with a warning, the electronic device may output a predetermined graphic object at a position corresponding to a time point, at which the rate of core body temperature change is greater than or equal to the threshold value, on the graph. Further, upon determining that the core body temperature is abnormal, the electronic device may also provide notification information requesting to stop outdoor activities by using a text message or a voice message.

In addition, the electronic device may directly estimate core body temperature by applying the estimated rate of core body temperature change to the core body temperature at the previous time, and if the estimated core body temperature falls outside a predetermined threshold range, the electronic device may provide the user with notification information about the risk of abnormal body temperature.

<FIG> are diagrams illustrating examples of structures of an electronic device.

Referring to <FIG>, the electronic device may be implemented as a smart watch wearable device <NUM> including a main body MB and a wrist strap ST.

The main body MB may be formed in various shapes. A battery may be embedded in the main body MB and/or the strap ST to supply power to various components of the wearable device. The strap ST may be connected to both ends of the main body to allow the main body to be worn on a user's wrist, and may be flexible so as to be wrapped around the user's wrist. The strap ST may be composed of a first strap and a second strap which are separated from each other. One end of each of the first strap and the second strap may be connected to both sides of the main body MB, and the first and second straps may be connected to each other via a fastening means formed at the other ends thereof. In this case, the fastening means may be formed as magnetic fastening, Velcro fastening, pin fastening, etc., but is not limited thereto. Further, the strap ST is not limited thereto, and may be integrally formed as a non-detachable band.

The main body MB may include a sensor <NUM>, a processor, an output interface, a storage, and a communication interface. However, some of the output interface, storage, and the communication interface may be omitted depending on the size and shape of a form factor and the like.

The sensor <NUM> may include a first sensor for measuring a user's skin temperature, a second sensor for measuring heat flux vertically transmitted from skin to the main body, and a third sensor for measuring a user's heart rate. In this case, the sensor <NUM> may be disposed on a rear surface of the main body MB, so that when the main body MB is worn on the user's wrist, the sensor <NUM> may come into contact with an upper part of the user's wrist to estimate a rate of core body temperature change.

The processor mounted in the main body MB may be electrically connected to various components as well as the sensor <NUM>. The processor may estimate a rate of core body temperature change based on the skin temperature measured by the first sensor at a previous time, the heat flux measured by the second sensor at a previous time, the heart rate measured by the third sensor at a previous time, and skin temperature measured at a current time.

A display may be provided on a front surface of the main body MB and may display various application screens, including information on the rate of core body temperature change, time information, received message information, and the like. In addition, if the rate of core body temperature change is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold value, the processor may provide a user with notification information about the risk of abnormal body temperature through a display. Information that may be displayed on the display is not limited thereto.

Referring to <FIG>, the electronic device may be implemented as an ear-wearable device <NUM>.

The ear-wearable device <NUM> may include a main body and an ear strap. A user may wear the ear-wearable device <NUM> by hanging the ear strap on the user's auricle. The ear strap may be omitted depending on the shape of the ear-wearable device <NUM>. The main body may be inserted into the external auditory meatus. A sensor device <NUM> may be mounted in the main body. The ear-wearable device <NUM> may provide a user with an estimation result of a rate of core body temperature change or core body temperature estimated based on the rate of core body temperature change as sound, or may transmit the values to an external device, e.g., mobile device, tablet PC, etc., through a communication module provided in the main body.

Referring to <FIG>, the electronic device may be implemented as a mobile device <NUM> such as a smartphone.

The mobile device <NUM> may include a housing and a display panel. The housing may form an outer appearance of the mobile device <NUM>. The housing has a first surface, on which a display panel and a cover glass may be disposed sequentially, and the display panel may be exposed to the outside through the cover glass. A sensor <NUM>, a camera module and/or an infrared sensor, and the like may be disposed on a second surface of the housing.

For example, a plurality of temperature sensors for obtaining data from a user may be disposed on a rear surface of the mobile device <NUM>, and a fingerprint sensor disposed on the front surface of the mobile device <NUM>, a power button or a volume button disposed on a side surface thereof, sensors disposed at other positions of the front and rear surfaces of the mobile device <NUM>, and the like may be provided to estimate a rate of core body temperature change or to estimate core body temperature by using the estimated rate of change.

For example, when a user transmits a request for estimating a rate of core body temperature change by executing an application and the like installed in the mobile device <NUM>, the mobile device <NUM> may obtain data by using the sensor <NUM>, and may estimate the rate of core body temperature change and provide the estimated value and/or notification information about the risk of abnormal body temperature to the user as image and/or sound by using the processor in the mobile device <NUM>.

Referring to <FIG>, the electronic device may be implemented as a combination of a wristwatch-type wearable device and a mobile device such as a smartphone. For example, a memory, a communication interface, and a processor for estimating a rate of core body temperature change may be mounted in a main body of a mobile device <NUM>. Upon receiving a request for estimating a rate of core body temperature change, the processor of the mobile device <NUM> may control the communication interface to communicate with a communication module mounted in a main body of the wearable device <NUM>, to obtain data through the communication interface. Further, upon receiving data, such as skin surface temperature, heat flux, heart rate, and the like from the wearable device, the processor may estimate a rate of core body temperature change, and if the estimated rate of core body temperature change is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold value, the processor may output notification information about the risk of abnormal body temperature to the display of the mobile device through an output interface as illustrated herein.

Claim 1:
An electronic device (<NUM>) comprising:
a first sensor (<NUM>) configured to measure a skin temperature of skin of a user;
a second sensor (<NUM>) configured to measure heat flux transmitted from the skin to a main body of the electronic device;
a third sensor (<NUM>) configured to measure a heart rate of the user; and
a processor (<NUM>) characterised in that the processor (<NUM>) is configured to estimate a rate of core body temperature change
based on the skin temperature measured at a first time and a second time, the heat flux, the heart rate,
and in that the processor is further configured to:
estimate a rate of skin temperature change based on the skin temperature measured at the first time and the second time;
estimate energy metabolism based on the heart rate; and
estimate the rate of core body temperature change based on the rate of skin temperature change, the energy metabolism, and the heat flux.