Patent Description:
It is important to monitor environmental information for physical condition management, such as prevention of heat stroke in hot weather. For example, heat index meters conventionally used to prevent heat stroke measure black-bulb temperature, wet-bulb temperature, and dry-bulb temperature to obtain a heat index, and a method is used in which the heat index is used as a guide of behavior; e.g., avoiding going out or doing strenuous work when the heat index is relatively high (see NPL <NUM>).

A conventional heat index meter generally consists of a relatively large device, and it is difficult to place the device in any given location. For example, the heat index released by the Ministry of the Environment is a value that represents a wide area.

However, the actual heat load received by each individual is greatly influenced by the local environment. For example, the environment varies greatly depending on where each person is, such as outdoors or indoors, in the sun or in the shade, on the grass or on the concrete. In addition, even in the same location, the influence of radiation from the ground, for example, is greatly different between a tall adult and a short child. Moreover, the environment of the human body also varies greatly depending on the clothing worn, the state of movement, the state of perspiration, and so on.

<CIT> relates to electronic clocks for measuring the humidity by installing the humidity sensing element in the exterior finish.

<CIT> relates to a portable medical diagnostic apparatus.

<CIT>relates to an environmental heat stress monitor.

[NPL <NUM>] JuYoun Kwon, Ken Parsons, Evaluation of the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) Index for Digital Fashion Application in Outdoor Environments, Journal_Ergon_Soc_Korea <NUM> (<NUM>) <NUM>-<NUM>.

A method of carrying and wearing an environmental sensor is conceivable to monitor the environment in a desired place, particularly in the vicinity of a human body, but conventional WBGT meters or environmental sensors are too large in size to wear and inconvenient to carry, and there may be restrictions on the location where the sensor is worn. Moreover, a small wearable environmental sensor device has not been known that can be attached onto individual's clothing or to the inside thereof and measure the environment in the immediate vicinity of the individual's clothing or the environment within the clothing.

In addition, since the space for arranging a sensor element is limited due to the miniaturization of the environmental sensor, thermal insulation between the sensor element and a housing cannot be ensured depending on the manner of attaching the sensor element, and there is a problem that heat transmitted from the housing to the sensor element makes it difficult to accurately measure the surrounding environment.

There is also a problem that sweat or the like inside clothing is attached to the sensor surface, resulting in a high humidity value measured, for example.

An object of the present invention is to measure the environment in the vicinity of a human body or the like accurately, easily, and stably.

To solve the foregoing problems, a wearable environmental sensor device according to the present invention is defined by claim <NUM>.

With the wearable environmental sensor device according to the present, temperature, humidity, and environmental information can be measured accurately, easily, and stably.

Hereinafter, a wearable environmental sensor device (hereinafter referred to as an "environmental sensor device") <NUM> according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to <FIG>.

<FIG> shows external views of the environmental sensor device <NUM> according to the present embodiment. <FIG> is an external view of a front side <NUM> and a back side <NUM> of the environmental sensor device <NUM>. <FIG> is an external view of a right side face <NUM> and a left side face <NUM>. <FIG> is a perspective view.

The environmental sensor device <NUM> has, in a housing <NUM>, a temperature and humidity sensor <NUM> capable of measuring air temperature and relative humidity, and has, on a front face 101A of the housing <NUM>, a black-bulb temperature sensor <NUM> for measuring black-bulb temperature. A lid <NUM> for battery replacement is provided in a back face 101B of the housing <NUM>.

The environmental sensor device <NUM> includes a sealed section <NUM> and a protective structure (unsealed section) <NUM>. The sealed section <NUM> is sealed, and the sealed section <NUM> and the protective structure (unsealed section) <NUM> are separated by a housing wall 101C within the housing <NUM>.

The size of the environmental sensor device <NUM> is about <NUM> in length, about <NUM> in width, and about <NUM> in thickness.

The temperature and humidity sensor <NUM> is mounted on a substrate (hereinafter referred to as "sensor substrate") <NUM>, and the surface of the temperature and humidity sensor <NUM> on the side on which the temperature and humidity sensor <NUM> is mounted on the sensor substrate <NUM> is referred to as a "sensor surface" <NUM>. The temperature and humidity sensor <NUM> is arranged within the protective structure (unsealed section) <NUM>, and is covered by the protective structure (unsealed section) for protecting the temperature and humidity sensor <NUM>. The protective structure (unsealed section) has a function of preventing the temperature and humidity sensor <NUM> from colliding with an external object and being damaged, and preventing a human finger or the like from coming into contact with the surface (sensor surface <NUM>) of the temperature and humidity sensor <NUM> and making the sensor surface (sensor surface <NUM>) dirty.

The protective structure (unsealed section) <NUM> is provided with ventilating holes <NUM>. The ventilating holes, which have openings in a front face <NUM>, a back face <NUM>, a right side face <NUM>, a left side face <NUM>, and a lower end face <NUM> of the protective structure (unsealed section) <NUM>, penetrate so that each of all the openings is connected to the other openings. As a result, outside air favorably flows in through the ventilating holes, and thus the temperature and humidity sensor <NUM> can come into contact with the outside air and measure temperature and humidity of the surrounding air.

Although a configuration in which each of all the openings are connected to the other openings has been described here, alternatively, some of the openings may be connected to the other openings, and any configuration may be employed as long as outside air favorably flows in through the ventilating holes.

Although the description has been given of a configuration in which the openings are provided in the front face <NUM>, the back face <NUM>, the right side face <NUM>, the left side face <NUM>, and the lower end face <NUM> of the protective structure (unsealed section), the openings need only be provided in some of these faces, rather than all of the faces, and any configuration may be employed as long as outside air favorably flows in through the ventilating holes.

The temperature and humidity sensor <NUM> is arranged such that the sensor surface <NUM> faces the opening in the lower end face <NUM>. Accordingly, a structure in which the sensor surface <NUM> is easily exposed to airflow is formed. Here, although the temperature and humidity sensor <NUM> is arranged such that the sensor surface <NUM> faces the opening in the lower end face <NUM>, the sensor surface <NUM> may face the opening in any face other than the lower end face <NUM>, and the temperature and humidity sensor <NUM> need only be arranged such that the sensor surface <NUM> faces at least one of the openings.

The protective structure <NUM> also includes the openings of the ventilating holes <NUM> that oppose the left and right side faces <NUM> and <NUM>, and the temperature and humidity sensor <NUM> is arranged above upper ends of the openings of the ventilating holes <NUM> (on the sealed section side). Thus, a structure is formed in which changes in temperature and humidity due to ventilation can be perceived and that is not exposed to water droplets coming from sweat or the like. Accordingly, it is possible to suppress a degradation of measurement accuracy of the temperature and humidity sensor <NUM> due to water droplets being attached to the sensor surface <NUM> and adverse effects such as a humidity value being observed higher than the actual humidity value.

It is desirable that the housing <NUM> is lightweight since it is wearable. It is also desirable that the housing <NUM> has low heat conduction such that heat is not transferred between the black-bulb temperature sensor <NUM>, the housing <NUM>, and the temperature and humidity sensor <NUM>. For this reason, it is desirable that the material of the black bulb and the housing <NUM> is synthetic resin such as plastic, except for a region where metal needs to be used.

In the black-bulb temperature sensor <NUM>, the black bulb is formed of a synthetic resin such as plastic for weight reduction, and is firmly bonded to the housing <NUM> by means of welding using ultrasound or the like, for example, The black bulb and the housing <NUM> are sealed by means of welding to form a dustproof and waterproof structure.

It is desirable that the black bulb is matte black and has an average emissivity of <NUM>.

The black bulb is hollow inside, and a temperature sensor, such as a thermistor or a semiconductor temperature sensor, is inserted into the hollow portion to measure black-bulb temperature. The measured value may be corrected as required. In the present embodiment, the diameter of the black bulb is <NUM>, for example.

Only the battery lid <NUM> for inserting a button battery is provided in the back face of the housing <NUM> of the environmental sensor device <NUM> according to the present embodiment, and the environmental sensor device <NUM> can be worn by putting it into a pocket of clothing while operating the environmental sensor device <NUM> using a commercially available button battery.

As another mode, for example, a snap button, a clip, or the like may be provided on the back face of the housing <NUM> to attach the environmental sensor device <NUM> to clothing or the like.

<FIG> shows a mounting substrate <NUM> within the housing <NUM> of the environmental sensor device <NUM>. The mounting substrate <NUM> includes a rigid substrate <NUM> on which a CPU (not shown) and an electronic circuit (not shown) for processing measurement data, and a wireless communication device (wireless communication chip) <NUM> for transmitting data to an external device are mounted, the sensor substrate <NUM> on which the temperature and humidity sensor <NUM> is mounted, a flexible substrate <NUM>, and a battery (not shown) for operating the temperature and humidity sensor <NUM>. Of these parts, the rigid substrate <NUM> and the battery (not shown) for operating the temperature and humidity sensor <NUM> are arranged in the sealed section <NUM>, and water, sweat, rain, or the like is prevented from entering from the outside.

The sealing structure of the sealed section <NUM> may be constituted by a packing using an O ring or the like, and a screw or the like. If the housing <NUM> is formed of synthetic resin such as plastic, the sealing structure of the sealed section <NUM> may be formed by means of welding using ultrasound or the like, or may be formed of an adhesive.

Meanwhile, the sensor substrate <NUM> on which the temperature and humidity sensor <NUM> is mounted is arranged within the protective structure (unsealed section) <NUM>. The temperature and humidity sensor <NUM> is a sensor for measuring air temperature and relative humidity in the vicinity, is constituted by a semiconductor chip, for example, and includes a temperature sensor in which the resistance varies depending on temperature and a humidity sensor that absorbs moisture of surrounding gas and in which the capacity and resistance vary.

The temperature and humidity sensor <NUM> includes an AD conversion circuit, and the measured temperature and humidity are transmitted as digital data to the CPU in the sealed section <NUM>. The sensor substrate <NUM> of the temperature and humidity sensor <NUM> is entirely protected by a chemically inactive coating (coating agent) to form a dustproof and waterproof structure. Note that the temperature and humidity sensor <NUM> itself is also dustproof and waterproof.

The temperature and humidity sensor <NUM> on the sensor substrate <NUM> arranged in the protective structure (unsealed section) <NUM> and the CPU on the rigid substrate <NUM> arranged in the sealed section <NUM> are electrically connected to each other via the flexible substrate <NUM>. The flexible substrate <NUM> is arranged between the sealed section <NUM> and the protective structure (unsealed section) <NUM> such that the sealing property of the sealed section <NUM> can be maintained by the packing using an O ring or the like, and the screw or the like, at the periphery of the housing wall 101C. In the arrangement of the flexible substrate <NUM> at the housing wall 101C between the sealed section <NUM> and the protective structure (unsealed section) <NUM>, for example, these parts may alternatively be adhered to each other without gaps using an adhesion, in addition to the aforementioned packing using an O ring or the like, and the screw or the like, and thus dustproof and waterproof properties can be ensured.

As described above, the environmental sensor device <NUM> according to the present embodiment has a configuration in which the temperature and humidity sensor <NUM> that requires contact with outside air is arranged outside the sealed section (i.e., within the protective structure (unsealed section) <NUM>), the rigid substrate <NUM> on which the CPU, the electronic circuit, and so on for processing signals (digital data) obtained by the temperature and humidity sensor <NUM> are mounted is arranged in the sealed section <NUM> to ensure dustproof and waterproof properties, and the temperature and humidity sensor <NUM> within the protective structure (unsealed section) <NUM> and the rigid substrate <NUM> in the sealed section <NUM> are connected by the flexible substrate <NUM>. This configuration enables the temperature and humidity sensor <NUM> to come into contact with outside air and detect temperature and humidity with high sensitivity, and makes it possible to stably process the detected information (digital data) using the electronic circuit arranged in a sealed environment with excellent dustproof and waterproof properties.

<FIG> shows examples in which the environmental sensor device <NUM> is attached to outerwear and thus worn and used. The outerwear <NUM> has a pocket, and the housing <NUM> of the environmental sensor device <NUM> is inserted into the pocket with the black bulb facing outward. For example, the environmental sensor device <NUM> may be worn at the chest position as in a wearing form <NUM>, or may be worn at the back position as in a wearing form <NUM>. If a pocket is provided, it is desirable that the material of the pocket is a highly moisture-permeable material such as a mesh fabric, in order to improve the response to humidity.

According to the above mode, it is possible to easily wear the environmental sensor device <NUM> at the same time as wearing clothing such as a T-shirt or a polo shirt, and measure environmental information such as temperature and humidity in the vicinity of a human body <NUM> without disturbing the wearer's movement.

It is also possible to easily remove the environmental sensor device <NUM> when measurement is not performed, and wash the clothing.

As other attaching methods, the environmental sensor device <NUM> may be attached via a snap button, or a structure such as a clip may be formed on the housing <NUM> of the environmental sensor device <NUM> to wear the device by clipping the device onto clothing.

With the environmental sensor device <NUM> according to the present embodiment, the environment in the vicinity of a human body can be measured by measuring the influence of solar radiation on the human body using the black-bulb temperature sensor <NUM>, and measuring temperature inside clothing and humidity inside clothing using the temperature and humidity sensor <NUM>.

Although the present embodiment has described an example of measuring temperature and humidity inside clothing, the environmental sensor device can also be attached to the outside of outerwear and used as an external environmental sensor device attached to the immediate outside of a human body.

<FIG>, <FIG>, and <FIG> are diagrams illustrating the state where the temperature and humidity sensor <NUM> is attached to the housing <NUM> within the protective structure (unsealed section) <NUM>. <FIG> is a perspective view of the substrate (sensor substrate) <NUM> with the temperature and humidity sensor <NUM> mounted thereon, viewed from the back side. <FIG> is a perspective view of the sensor substrate <NUM> viewed from the front side. <FIG> is a cross-sectional view of an area where the temperature and humidity sensor <NUM> is attached to the housing <NUM>.

As shown in <FIG>, <FIG>, and <FIG>, the housing <NUM> has, on the front face 101A, a housing wall 101C that is in contact with the environment, and has attaching parts, namely L-shaped parts <NUM> and protruding parts <NUM> on an inner wall of the front face 101A. The sensor substrate <NUM> on which the temperature and humidity sensor <NUM> is mounted is arranged while being sandwiched or attached between the L-shaped parts <NUM> and the protruding parts <NUM>. As a result, the sensor substrate <NUM> comes into contact with the L-shaped parts <NUM> at side faces, which are end faces of the sensor substrate <NUM>, and at both edges of the sensor substrate <NUM>. Further, the sensor substrate <NUM> comes into contact with leading ends of the protruding parts <NUM> at portions of a back face at both edges of the sensor substrate <NUM>.

Attaching contact portions <NUM> are portions at which the aforementioned attaching parts abut against the sensor substrate <NUM>.

According to the above configuration, the contact area between the sensor substrate <NUM> and the attaching parts, namely the L-shaped parts <NUM> and the protruding parts <NUM> can be reduced, and the sensor substrate <NUM> can be arranged at a position away from the housing <NUM>.

Furthermore, since an air layer can be formed between the back face of the sensor substrate <NUM> and the housing <NUM>, it is possible to suppress heat conduction from the housing <NUM> and accurately measure local temperature and humidity. Air has thermal insulation that is about <NUM> times higher than that of ordinary plastic (synthetic resin), which is the material of the housing <NUM>, and about <NUM> times higher than that of a thermal insulator. Accordingly, it is possible to realize higher thermal insulation than that of a thermal insulation structure formed by increasing the thickness of the housing <NUM> or inserting a thermal insulator.

According to the present embodiment, thermal insulation can be improved and the sensor substrate <NUM> can be easily attached to the housing <NUM> by the structure in which the sensor substrate <NUM> is sandwiched or inserted, at the edges thereof, between the L-shaped parts <NUM> and the protruding parts <NUM>.

As mentioned above, the back face of the sensor substrate <NUM> comes into contact only with the protruding parts <NUM>, between both edges of the sensor substrate <NUM> and the housing <NUM>. In this configuration, a distance <NUM> between the back face of the sensor substrate <NUM> and the housing <NUM> is determined by the shape of the protruding parts <NUM>. Since a thermal insulator with a thickness of about <NUM> or more is effective in the thermal insulating effect, it is desirable that the distance <NUM> between the back face of the sensor substrate <NUM> and the housing <NUM>, i.e., the thickness of the air layer is <NUM> or more, considering that air has high thermal insulation that is about <NUM> times that of the thermal insulator. Further, considering the size of the environmental sensor device <NUM>, it is desirable that the distance <NUM> between the back face of the sensor substrate <NUM> and the housing <NUM> is <NUM> or less.

Next, variations of the first embodiment will be described. These variations have substantially the same configuration as the first embodiment, but are different in the mode of contact between the temperature and humidity sensor substrate <NUM> and the protruding parts <NUM> when the temperature and humidity sensor substrate <NUM> is attached to the housing <NUM> in the environmental sensor device <NUM>.

<FIG> and <FIG> show modes in which the environmental sensor device <NUM> according to the present variations comes into contact with the protruding parts <NUM> via guides provided in the temperature and humidity sensor substrate <NUM>. Guide holes <NUM> and cutout portions <NUM> are provided as the guides.

In <FIG>, <NUM> denotes an upper face of the temperature and humidity sensor substrate <NUM>, and <NUM> denotes a side face thereof. The guide holes <NUM> are provided in the sensor substrate <NUM>, and the protruding parts <NUM> are inserted into the sensor substrate <NUM> via the guide holes <NUM>.

Here, although each protruding part <NUM> has a tapered structure that is thinner at a leading end thereof so as to be able to be easily inserted into the corresponding guide hole <NUM>, any structure other than the tapered structure may be employed as long as the protruding part <NUM> can be inserted into the guide hole <NUM>.

Although the cross-sectional shape of the guide holes <NUM> and the protruding parts <NUM> is a circular shape, the cross-sectional shape of the guide holes <NUM> and the protruding parts <NUM> may be any other shape, such as a square shape, a rectangular shape, a polygonal shape, or an elliptical shape, as long as the guide holes <NUM> and the protruding parts <NUM> have corresponding shapes and sizes, and the protruding parts <NUM> can be inserted into the guide holes <NUM>.

In <FIG>, <NUM> denotes an upper face of the temperature and humidity sensor substrate <NUM>, and <NUM> denotes a side face thereof. The cutout portions <NUM> are provided in the sensor substrate <NUM>, and the protruding parts <NUM> are fitted to the sensor substrate <NUM> via the cutout portions <NUM>.

Although the shape of the cutout portions <NUM> is a semicircular shape, the cross-sectional shape of each cutout portion <NUM> may be any other shape, such as a square shape, a rectangular shape, a polygonal shape, or a semi-elliptical shape, as long as the cutout portions <NUM> and the protruding parts <NUM> have corresponding shapes and sizes, and the protruding parts <NUM> can be fitted to the cutout portions <NUM>.

An upper face at a leading end of each protruding part <NUM> of the first embodiment comes into contact with the sensor substrate <NUM> in a predetermined area. However, according to the present variation, the outer circumferential portion of each protruding part <NUM> simply comes into contact with an end face of an inner wall of the corresponding guide, and it is therefore possible to reduce the contact area between each protruding part <NUM> and the sensor substrate <NUM>. Furthermore, the effect of facilitating positioning when the sensor substrate <NUM> is attached to the housing <NUM> via the protruding parts <NUM> is also achieved.

According to the variations of the present embodiment, the sensor substrate <NUM> may be arranged in the housing <NUM> without using the L-shaped parts <NUM> of the first embodiment, or the L-shaped parts <NUM> may also be used.

Next, a wearable environmental sensor device <NUM> according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described.

<FIG> shows a front face <NUM> and a back face <NUM> of an environmental sensor device <NUM> according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The present embodiment has substantially the same configuration as the first embodiment, but is different in that a snap button is provided on the back face <NUM> of the housing, and in terms of the configuration of the sensor.

The environmental sensor device <NUM> is configured to be attached to a wear or a belt using a snap button <NUM> attached to the back face <NUM> of the housing <NUM>.

The snap button <NUM> also functions as an electrode, and can be electrically connected to an electrode for bioelectric potential measurement that is formed in the wear or the belt by being fitted to this electrode to measure bioelectric potential such as electrocardiogram.

The environmental sensor device <NUM> according to the present embodiment includes a rechargeable battery that is built in as an operating power source (not shown).

<FIG> shows a mounting substrate <NUM> within the housing <NUM> of the environmental sensor device <NUM> according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The mounting substrate <NUM> includes a rigid substrate <NUM>, a temperature and humidity sensor <NUM>, a sensor substrate <NUM>, a flexible substrate <NUM>, a wireless communication device (wireless communication chip) <NUM>, a CPU (not shown), and a circuit board (not shown). The mounting substrate <NUM> has substantially the same configuration as the mounting substrate <NUM> used in the first embodiment of the present invention, but is different in terms of sensors mounted.

The mounting substrate <NUM> includes an AFE (analog front end) <NUM> that serves as an electrocardiographic waveform sensor to measure and process waveforms, and an acceleration and angular velocity sensor (gyroscope sensor) <NUM>. Accordingly, biological information can be measured at the same time as the environment (temperature and humidity) at the location where the environmental sensor device <NUM> is worn. Further, a black-bulb temperature sensor can also be provided.

With the environmental sensor device <NUM> according to the present embodiment, the same effects as those of the first embodiment are achieved, and the environmental sensor device <NUM> can be easily attached to a wear or a belt and measure biological information at the same time as the environment (temperature and humidity) of the location where the environmental sensor device <NUM> is worn.

Although the temperature and humidity sensor is used in the environmental sensor device according to the present invention, only a temperature sensor may be used, or only a humidity sensor may be used, and any sensor (hereinafter referred to as an "environmental sensor") may be employed that comes into contact with the environment, such as outside air, to detect information regarding the environment, such as temperature and humidity.

Claim 1:
A wearable environmental sensor device comprising:
a housing (<NUM>) including a sealed section (<NUM>), a protective structure (<NUM>), and a housing wall (101C) which separates the sealed section (<NUM>) and the protective structure (<NUM>) from each other and which is configured to be in contact with an environment;
a sensor substrate (<NUM>);
an environmental sensor (<NUM>) mounted on a front face of the sensor substrate (<NUM>); and
an attaching part for attaching the sensor substrate (<NUM>) to the housing wall (101C),
wherein the environmental sensor (<NUM>) and the sensor substrate (<NUM>) are arranged within the protective structure (<NUM>),
the protective structure (<NUM>) includes a plurality of ventilating holes (<NUM>),
the environmental sensor (<NUM>) is arranged to face an opening of at least one of the plurality of ventilating holes (<NUM>), and
the attaching part comes into contact only with an edge and a portion of a back face of the sensor substrate (<NUM>).