Biological information measurement device

Abstract

Provided is a biological information measurement device capable of detecting changes in biological information of a wearer (finger movement, flexion and extension of an arm or a foot, posture changes when the wearer sits, changes in length of a body surface due to breathing, and changes in surface moisture content). The present invention relates to a biological information measuring device and a garment provided with the same, the biological information measuring device comprising a fiber base material including a sensing member and being disposed in contact with a predetermined position of a living body, the sensing member has at least two core-sheath structure yarns in which a high-resistance fiber as a coating material is disposed around a linear conductor as a core material, and two of the core-sheath structure yarns are disposed close to each other. Thus, a change in resistance and / or a change in capacitance between the linear conductors of the two core-sheath structured yarns can be read, and the biological information or a change thereof can be measured on the basis of the change.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a biological information measuring device. More specifically, the present invention relates to a biological information measuring device which is composed of a fiber substrate including a sensing member having a core-sheath structure yarn obtained by arranging high-resistance fibers as a coating material around a linear conductor as a core material, and is arranged in contact with a predetermined position of a human body, wherein the sensing member has at least two core-sheath structure yarns obtained by arranging high-resistance fibers as a coating material around a linear conductor as a core material, wherein the two core-sheath structure yarns are arranged close to each other, so that the change in resistance and / or the change in electrostatic capacitance between the linear conductors of the two core-sheath structure yarns can be read, and the biological information can be measured by detecting the change in the predetermined position of the biological body and the change in the amount of moisture on the surface of the biological body according to the change. Background Art

[0002] In the past, a smart textile technology has been proposed in which electrical functional elements are provided on a soft and stretchable fiber substrate. With regard to these textiles, functional elements such as sensors, batteries, heaters, and Peltier elements are provided on a soft fiber substrate, which can realize very thin and flexible products, and therefore will be particularly important in the future IoT (Internet of Things) society.

[0003] As one of the above sensors, the following has been proposed in the past: Figure 1 The piezoelectric processed yarn and piezoelectric sensor shown in the figure are used as fiber components with a contact sensing function. As described in the following patent documents 1 to 5, generally speaking, the piezoelectric processed yarn (also called piezoelectric yarn, piezoelectric fiber) has a structure in which the periphery of the conductive fiber is covered with a piezoelectric material such as polylactic acid and polyvinylidene fluoride, and the periphery is then covered with a conductor such as a metal plating layer. Polylactic acid is a crystalline helical chiral polymer, and its uniaxially stretched film has piezoelectricity. Piezoelectricity refers to the property of generating an electric charge when stress is applied. Thus, between the conductive fiber (1) on the inner layer side and the conductive fiber (3) on the outer layer, for example Figure 1 As shown, the (1) side generates a [-] charge, and the (3) side generates a "+" charge. In addition, there is also a reverse situation. In this case, the piezoelectric material needs to be oriented, which makes it difficult to improve productivity in the plating process. Therefore, the current situation is that the processed yarn costs about 1,000 to 5,000 yen per 1m, which is very expensive. In addition, in Figure 1In the case of the structure shown, it is currently difficult to produce a long processed yarn of more than 10,000 m, so it is very difficult to use piezoelectric yarn as a warp yarn for woven fabrics and warp knitting. In addition, there is also the following problem: due to the rigidity of polylactic acid as a piezoelectric material, the piezoelectric yarn has a poor feel and lacks flexibility as a fiber.

[0004] In addition, as described in the following patent documents 6 and 7, a contact sensing fiber component is known that senses contact or load by detecting the change in electrostatic capacitance when contact or load is applied between two close electrodes. In addition, a technology for detecting the change in electrostatic capacitance when a conductor (human body, etc.) approaches one electrode is also known. However, in the prior art, insulators such as polyurethane and silicone are mainly used as insulators between two electrodes, and it is difficult to significantly change the distance between the electrodes, so the output (sensitivity) is small, and the cost is high and the feel is not good. In addition, as described in patent document 8, when using one electrode, the change in electrostatic capacitance is very small, so it is necessary to use a high-level signal processing circuit for detecting the tiny signal, but the current situation is that only sensors with low contact sensitivity and low sensitivity as proximity sensors can be obtained.

[0005] On the other hand, as described in the following Patent Documents 9 and 10, there are known technologies related to covered yarns with excellent density and high productivity and high quality, but there is no record or suggestion of using these technologies related to covered yarns as sensing fiber components.

[0006] Patent Document 11 below describes a device for monitoring breathing that can be worn by a user, such as clothing. The described device is a device for monitoring the breathing of a user, comprising a fabric support and at least one breathing sensor, wherein the fabric support comprises a cylindrical portion formed by weaving a ground yarn that occupies a large part and is electrically insulating, the cylindrical portion being capable of covering the chest of the user, the at least one breathing sensor being formed by weaving a detection yarn, the detection yarn being formed with a plurality of meshes, the detection yarn comprising at least one inner core made of an electrically insulating material and an outer sheath surrounding the inner core, the outer sheath being made of a conductive material in a manner that forms electrical contacts between the meshes of the detection yarn, the breathing sensor forming a conductive strip having a first end and a second end arranged at a distance from each other, the ends being capable of being connected to a device for measuring the resistance of the conductive strip, the conductive strip being arranged in the cylindrical portion in a manner that the conductive strip alternately expands and contracts due to the breathing of the user when the chest of the user is covered by the fabric support, the expansion and contraction of the conductive strip having an effect of changing the electrical contacts between the meshes of the detection yarn in the conductive strip to cause a change in the resistance of the conductive strip.

[0007] Patent document 11 states the following: conventional elastic conductive yarns are obtained by wrapping a core composed of a non-conductive elastic yarn with a non-stretchable conductive yarn, that is, the conductive yarn is spirally wound around the non-conductive elastic yarn; if the elastic conductive yarn is stretched, the yarn stretches, and adjacent turns of the coil move away from each other, causing a measurable change in resistance that depends on the elongation of the elastic conductive yarn; in addition, wrapping the conductive yarn with a non-conductive yarn increases the total diameter of the conductive yarn, which increases the manufacturing cost of the clothing and may cause discomfort to the user wearing the clothing.

[0008] Patent document 12 below describes a biological information measuring garment, a biological information measuring system, a biological information measuring device, and a device control method that can measure biological information of a subject with high accuracy even with a simple structure. The resistance value sensor described detects the change in resistance value of a chest respiratory information sensor and (or) an abdominal respiratory information sensor at the shirt portion of a biological information measuring shirt. The analysis device CPU calculates the change cycle of resistance based on the data of the resistance value, and outputs the respiratory value based on the result. A biological information measuring garment is formed of a non-conductive material having a degree of elasticity that fits closely with the upper body of the subject, and the biological information measuring garment is characterized in that the biological information measuring garment is provided with a respiratory information measuring sensor unit, and the respiratory information measuring sensor unit includes a conductive member, and the conductive member changes in shape with the physique change caused by the breathing action of the subject, so that the resistance value of the conductive member changes in the energized state, and the respiratory information measuring sensor unit can transmit electrical information based on the change in resistance value to the respiratory information analysis device. Regarding the biological information measurement shirt, a chest electrode portion and a limb electrode portion formed of a conductive material are woven into the shirt portion. In an embodiment, as an example of the chest electrode portion and the limb electrode portion, a conductive fiber woven into the inner side (skin contact side of the subject) of the shirt portion is used. In Patent Document 12, as an example of conductive fiber, a fiber (for example, organic conductive fiber (Thunderon) (registered trademark) of Nippon Silkworm Dyeing Co., Ltd.) to which metal particles (for example, silver particles, copper particles, or copper sulfide particles, etc.) are attached (for example, by chemical bonds, etc.) is used as an embodiment. The respiratory information measurement sensor portion described is characterized in that it is also arranged in at least the chest circumference or the waist circumference of the biological information measurement clothing, and the cross-sectional area or length of the conductive member is changed by the expansion and contraction caused by the physique change caused by the breathing action of the subject, thereby changing the resistance value. According to these features, the respiratory information measuring sensor unit can directly detect physical changes in the circumference of the chest or the circumference of the waist caused by the breathing action of the subject, for example, and can stabilize the detection sensitivity of the respiratory information. The respiratory information measuring sensor unit described is characterized in that the electrical influence on the subject caused by the energized state is reduced by covering the opposing surface of the conductive member facing the subject's body surface and the opposite surface thereof with a non-conductive material.

[0009] Patent document 13 below describes a posture detection garment, wherein at least the main fabric constituting the front body region and the back body region of the posture detection garment is composed of a stretchable fabric covering the body surface, and the posture detection garment is provided with a belt-shaped stretchable member for posture detection, which is arranged integrally with the main fabric constituting the back body region in a manner intersecting the center of the back and symmetrically, and is used to convert the change of the stretch state of the main fabric into the change of electrostatic capacitance, and is configured to be able to detect the hunchback posture of the wearer based on the change of electrostatic capacitance detected by the stretchable member for posture detection, and the stretchable member for posture detection is composed of a posture detection knitted fabric, and the posture detection knitted fabric has at least two strands arranged at intervals in a horizontal posture on the back of the back body region, and the electrostatic capacitance is changed by stretching in accordance with the stretch state of the main fabric, and the stretchable member for posture detection is integrally woven with the main fabric or joined to the main fabric. The invention described herein aims to provide a posture detection garment that can be worn daily and can objectively detect and evaluate the degree of deviation of the wearer's posture. "Conductive thread" refers to a bare material with metal components exposed on the thread surface. In addition, "elastic yarn" refers to a material that maintains a contracted state when there is no load of tensile force (when not stretched = normal state), freely stretches according to the tensile force when subjected to a load of tensile force, and returns to the original contracted state (contracted) from the stretched state when the tensile force is released and the load is restored to no load. It is preferable to use a metal-adhered wire (plated wire) obtained by the following method: resin fiber, natural fiber or metal wire is used as a core, and the core is wet or dry coated, plated, vacuum film-formed, or other appropriate adhesion methods are used to adhere a metal component. Each loop of the conductive wire is deformed into a shape that shrinks in the coil row direction and maintains the deformed shape. The conductive wire is a conductive bare material, so the more the number of contact points generated by the loops is, and the larger the contact area is due to compression in the coil row direction, the more the number of conductive contacts, that is, the conductive area, the shorter the current path, and the smaller the resistance between the two parts separated in the coil row direction.

[0010] The following patent document 14 describes a wearable device for detecting human motion, which is worn on a part of the human body to detect the motion of the human body being worn, and the wearable device for detecting human motion is characterized in that it comprises: a motion detection sensor unit, which includes a conductive wire, and the electrical characteristics of which change when stretched and when not stretched; and a warning information generating unit, which generates information related to the warning based on the detection information from the motion detection sensor unit, wherein the motion detection sensor unit includes a conductive stretch knitted fabric whose electrical characteristics change when stretched and when not stretched, and a stretchable fabric on which the conductive stretch knitted fabric is installed, and the fabric is configured so that the elongation resistance of the fabric is greater than the elongation resistance of the conductive stretch knitted fabric, and the fabric is formed into a long strip and is configured to be separable along its long side direction into a first base area for configuring the warning information generating unit and a second base area for installing the conductive stretch knitted fabric, and the first base area and the second base area are configured to be freely loaded and unloaded by connecting components. The purpose of the described invention is to provide a wearable device for detecting human motion that can detect human motion of parts of the body including bendable parts such as joints and spine with high precision using a simple structure, or detect body motion information including the presence or absence of breathing, respiratory information such as breathing cycle, etc.

[0011] The above-mentioned conductive stretch knitted fabric is a knitted fabric that has excellent stretchability and softness and also has the ability to recover when repeatedly stretched, and has the property that the resistance changes when stretched and when not stretched, and can also obtain air permeability, moisture permeability, water absorption, etc., and can therefore be suitable for use as a wearable material. In addition, in the above-mentioned conductive stretch knitted fabric, a conductive stretch yarn is used that has a simple structure and whose resistance changes according to the elongation.

[0012] Patent document 15 below describes a wearable article for detecting human motion using a conductive wire harness utilizing knitted fabric. The work gloves described as an example of clothing for detecting human motion are worn by a person on his or her hand to detect the movement of the fingers of the human body. The work gloves include: a gyro sensor module, which is disposed on the back of the hand of the work glove corresponding to a first part of the human body, and is used to detect a first physical quantity (angular velocity, angular acceleration) related to the first part; an acceleration sensor module, which is disposed on the thumb and index finger of the work glove corresponding to a second part separated from the first part by a joint, and is used to detect a second physical quantity (velocity, acceleration) related to the second part; and a conductive wire harness, in which signals output from these sensors flow in an electrically conductive wire harness, wherein the conductive wire harness is attached to the work glove as clothing. The purpose of the described invention is to provide clothing for detecting human motion, which is an example of a good application of a conductive wire harness using a conductive stretch knitted fabric, wherein the conductive stretch knitted fabric has excellent stretchability and softness and also has the ability to recover after repeated stretching, and has the characteristic that the resistance change is completely non-existent or suppressed after repeated stretching.

[0013] Patent Document 16 below describes a fabric with a strain sensor that is unlikely to interfere with the movement of a wearer and is unlikely to break due to the movement of the wearer.

[0014] The described fabric with strain sensor is a fabric with strain sensor having a stretchable fabric body and a strain sensor attached to the fabric body and capable of following the stretching of the fabric body, and the fabric with strain sensor has a wiring portion, which is electrically connected to the strain sensor, and is integrally provided with the fabric body and deforms following the stretching of the fabric body. The wiring portion is preferably formed by sewing a conductive filament to the fabric body. Alternatively, the wiring portion is preferably formed by weaving or spinning a conductive filament together with a non-conductive filament when the fabric body is knitted or spun. The attachment portion is preferably formed by a strip-shaped member attached to one surface of the fabric body. The purpose of the described invention is to provide a fabric with strain sensor in which the wiring is not likely to interfere with the action of stretching the fabric body, etc., and the wiring is not likely to break, and in addition, to provide a piece of clothing that is not likely to interfere with the actions of the wearer and is not likely to break due to the actions of the wearer.

[0015] The strain sensor-equipped cloth can adopt a structure in which the wiring portion is formed by sewing a conductive filament to a cloth main body. Thus, the wiring portion can be easily and reliably formed by sewing the filament.

[0016] The following patent document 17 describes a motion measuring device, which is intended to eliminate the influence of the size (depth) or periodic changes of breathing and accurately detect the posture or movement of the wearer such as hunchback. The motion measuring device is set on a sheet worn on the human body to measure the wearer's movement. The motion measuring device has a conductive stretchable material composed of a plurality of linear bodies along the deformation direction of the sheet, and the linear bodies are woven into the sheet in a manner parallel to each other. The motion measuring device also has: a calculation unit that calculates the difference in resistance values ​​of the linear bodies whose respective resistances change according to the deformation in the surface direction of the sheet; and a measuring unit that measures the wearer's movement based on the calculation result of the calculation unit.

[0017] In the clothing using the above-mentioned conductive stretchable material, when the person wearing it is breathing, the resistance value also changes according to the size (depth) of breathing, and its period changes greatly according to the breathing speed. Therefore, in the above-mentioned clothing, even if it is set to take the average value of the resistance value of the conductive stretchable material, a certain time of sampling time for averaging must be ensured, which lacks real-time performance. In addition, in the above-mentioned clothing, if the size of breathing is subjected to periodic changes, the correct resistance value cannot be detected, and it is difficult to detect the degree of posture at each stage. The described invention was completed in view of the above-mentioned situation, and provides a motion measuring device, method and program that can accurately detect the wearer's hunchback and other postures by eliminating the influence of the size (depth) or periodic changes of breathing through a simple structure.

[0018] The motion measuring device comprises: a conductive stretchable material having a plurality of linear bodies, each of which has a resistance that changes according to the deformation of the linear bodies; a calculation unit that calculates the difference in resistance values ​​of the linear bodies from the conductive stretchable material; and a measuring unit that measures the motion of the wearer according to the calculation result of the calculation unit. The linear bodies of the conductive stretchable material are woven into the clothes in a manner parallel to each other along the deformation direction of the sheet, and each resistance changes according to the deformation in the surface direction of the sheet. At this time, the lengths of the linear bodies of the conductive stretchable material are made different to make the resistance of the initial state (the state not deformed by external force) of each linear body different, thereby being able to detect resistances of different levels. In the above-mentioned motion measuring device, by calculating the difference in resistance values ​​of a pair of linear bodies from the conductive stretchable material, it is possible to eliminate the influence of the size (depth) or periodic changes of breathing, and accurately detect the posture of the wearer, such as hunchback.

[0019] The following patent document 18 describes a sensor system, which includes: a plurality of sensors, the plurality of sensors being formed by a polymer material in which a conductive granular material is dispersed at a first dispersion density; a port, which is configured to communicate with an electronic module; and leads, which are a plurality of conductive leads formed by the polymer material in which the conductive granular material is dispersed at a second dispersion density, connected between the sensors and the ports, wherein each of the sensors is configured to increase resistance when deformed by pressure, and the second dispersion density is higher than the first dispersion density, thereby each of the leads has sufficient conductivity so that the leads are configured to transmit electronic signals between each sensor and the port regardless of the deformation state of the leads.

[0020] The described invention generally relates to clothing with a sensor system. The described invention relates to a sensor system that includes one or more sensors formed of a polymer material having a conductive particulate material dispersed therein, and conductive leads connected to the sensors. The leads can also be formed of a polymer material having a conductive particulate material dispersed therein. The sensors and leads can have the same or different polymer materials and / or conductive particulate materials.

[0021] According to another mode, the data obtained by communicating with the external device can be used in more than one different purposes. Such purposes can also include, among other purposes, the use of data as a control input for a program executed by an external device such as a game program or for motion performance monitoring. Motion performance monitoring can especially include the monitoring of more than one performance measurement benchmark such as speed, distance, lateral movement, acceleration, jump height, body center of gravity transfer, ground contact pattern, balance, foot pronation or foot eversion, leg lift time measurement in running, lateral cutting force, ground contact time, center of pressure, throwing arm speed / force, kicking speed / force, body center of gravity distribution and / or impact force.

[0022] The sensor described can be considered to be a piezoresistive material with conductivity (and resistivity) that changes based on deformation and applied force. The action of the sensor is to change the resistance or conductivity of the material by increasing or decreasing the distance between particles of the conductive material due to deformation of the base material.

[0023] Patent document 19 below describes a device for detecting and monitoring physiological parameters such as respiratory and cardiac parameters (e.g., including but not limited to clothes such as shirts and shorts). The device described is a physiological parameter monitoring garment having a sensor formed by printed conductive ink on compression clothing, which is arranged and constructed for secure sensing and comfortable wearing. In particular, the described clothing (e.g., shirts, shorts, underwear) is configured to enable secure sensing of one or more physiological parameters using a conductive ink sensor, and the conductive ink sensor may be directly printed on the clothing, connected to an interface area of ​​the clothing via a conductive track (which may or may not be enhanced on the clothing), and the interface area is connected to an analysis unit such as a microprocessor, which is configured to measure, store, process and / or transmit one or more recorded parameters.

[0024] The conductive ink described has not only conductivity but also stretchability, and thus can function appropriately in compression clothing.

[0025] Typically, these respiration sensors include strain gauges on a woven fabric and / or conductive ink substrate. For example, the strain gauges can be formed from the described stretchable conductive ink and / or conductive elastic band.

[0026] The following patent document 20 describes a sensing garment that can detect body displacement, i.e., movement of limbs, body shape, posture, breathing, chewing, swallowing, pulse, fetal movement, body electrical potential, i.e., electrocardiogram, electromyography, etc., simultaneously or successively in a substantially non-destructive manner.

[0027] A living body information measuring device is obtained, the living body information measuring device comprising: a capacitor type element having a structure in which at least a first stretchable conductor layer (2), a stretchable dielectric layer (3), and a second stretchable conductor layer (4) are stacked in this order; and a skin contact type electrode, at least the skin contact surface of the skin contact type electrode being the stretchable conductor layer. The living body information measuring device has a measuring section for a living body displacement and a living body potential which is integrated, thereby being able to simultaneously measure the living body displacement and the living body potential without any sense of incongruity even within a limited area.

[0028] A biological information measuring device has been completed. The biological information measuring device is integrally equipped with a stretchable capacitor that can be detected as a change in electrostatic capacitance and a skin contact type that contacts the skin of the living body. This device can reduce the area required for mounting the sensor to alleviate the wearer's discomfort, while measuring multiple biological information simultaneously or successively.

[0029] The biological information measuring device used in the described invention has a high elongation in the planar direction and can therefore be well used to measure the deformation strain in the planar direction. It does not require the use of gel, paste, adhesive tape, etc. between the skin contact electrode and the skin surface, and can measure biological displacement and biological potential during walking and exercise.

[0030] The stretchable conductor layer of the stretchable capacitor used in the described invention can be obtained by plasticizing and kneading the conductive particles and the flexible resin to form a film or sheet.

[0031] Patent Document 21 below describes a vest equipped with a motion sensor, wherein the vest has an outside air side fabric and a skin side fabric, and the sensor is disposed between the outside air side fabric and the skin side fabric.

[0032] The motion sensor disposed in the pocket is fixed in the pocket by a hook and loop fastener.

[0033] Patent Document 22 below describes a breathing sensor and sensing clothing that uses a stretchable capacitor that has a 1:1 correspondence between stretch and capacitance and is highly sensitive and free of hysteresis.

[0034] The described capacitor is a capacitor having a layer structure in which at least a stretchable conductor layer, a stretchable dielectric layer, and a stretchable conductor layer are stacked in this order. The stretchable conductor layer and the stretchable dielectric layer are used to obtain a stretchable capacitor, wherein the stretchable conductor layer is characterized in that it is a composition containing metal particles, the resistivity when not stretched is less than 3×10-3Ωcm, and the resistivity when stretched by 100% is within 100 times the resistivity when not stretched. The stretchable dielectric layer has a small amount of inorganic components, and the Poisson's ratio is preferably greater than 0.28. The obtained stretchable capacitor is mounted on a belt, a shirt, etc., and breathing sensing can be performed according to changes in clothing. In addition, if it is arranged in an indirect part of clothing, the wearer's movements can be read.

[0035] Patent Document 23 below describes a device capable of evaluating the mobility of a joint.

[0036] The flexible transducer is a conductive elastomer that provides a change in electrical output signal when stretched or flexed. The conductive material is a homogeneous mixture of a non-conductive elastomer and conductive particles dispersed therein.

[0037] The following Patent Document 24 describes a device for monitoring physiological parameters of a human body.

[0038] The monitoring device comprises smart clothing, a processing unit and a docking station, wherein the docking station enables the processor to be connected / disconnected quickly and easily. A plurality of knitted fabric sensors are connected to the docking station.

[0039] As such, as a sensing member of the prior art, there is disclosed a member made of a conductive material such as conductive fiber or conductive ink, whose resistance value changes according to the application of external force, but since the resistance value of these sensors is a low resistance such as several Ω to several hundred Ω, they are easily affected by contact resistance, and there is a problem that the power consumption in the readout circuit increases. In addition, there is a problem that the reproducibility of the output change in response to external forces such as tension and load is low, and it is difficult to obtain a stable output.

[0040] When using a stretchable wiring as a conductive material constituting a sensing member to detect changes in resistance values ​​corresponding to its expansion and contraction, the sensor response performance is determined by the specifications of the conductive particles mixed with the physical properties of the rubber elastic body, and has poor linearity and hysteresis, so it is difficult to accurately detect external forces, and the responsiveness and repeatability when returning to the original state are poor. In addition, when using a stretchable capacitor as a sensing member, there are also problems such as poor linearity of the output in response to its expansion and contraction, poor response performance and repeatability, and insufficient weather resistance, so it cannot withstand long-term use.

[0041] Furthermore, when using piezoelectric materials as contact sensing components, it is difficult to improve productivity due to the need to orient the piezoelectric materials and the need for a plating process for forming electrodes. As a result, it is difficult to produce processed yarns longer than 10,000 m. In addition, the cost is about 1,000 to 5,000 yen per 1 m of processed yarn, which is very expensive. In addition, there is the following problem: due to the rigidity of polylactic acid and fluororesin as piezoelectric materials, the feel of the piezoelectric yarn deteriorates, making it difficult to embed into knitted fabrics and woven fabrics, and lacking the softness of a fiber.

[0042] Prior art literature

[0043] Patent Literature

[0044] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent No. 6025854

[0045] Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent No. 6689943

[0046] Patent Document 3: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2020-090768

[0047] Patent Document 4: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2020-036027

[0048] Patent Document 5: Japanese Patent No. 6107069

[0049] Patent Document 6: Japanese Patent No. 5754946

[0050] Patent Document 7: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2006-234716

[0051] Patent Document 8: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2016-173685

[0052] Patent Document 9: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-25635

[0053] Patent Document 10: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2013-231246

[0054] Patent Document 11: Japanese Patent Application No. 2018-507081

[0055] Patent Document 12: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2011-98214

[0056] Patent Document 13: Japanese Patent No. 6960725

[0057] Patent Document 14: Japanese Patent No. 698667

[0058] Patent Document 15: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2018-21270

[0059] Patent Document 16: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2014-25180

[0060] Patent Document 17: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2017-123911

[0061] Patent Document 18: Japanese Patent Application No. 2016-509635

[0062] Patent Document 19: Japanese Patent Application No. 2017-512542

[0063] Patent Document 20: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-72048

[0064] Patent Document 21: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2022-55855

[0065] Patent Document 22: International Publication No. 2018 / 056062

[0066] Patent Document 23: U.S. Patent No. 4444205

[0067] Patent Document 24: U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2016 / 0113581 Summary of the invention

[0068] Problem that the invention aims to solve

[0069] In view of the above-mentioned technical level, the problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a biological information measuring device, which is composed of a fiber substrate including a sensing component and is configured in a manner of contacting a specified position of a biological body. The sensing component can be processed in a long size and has excellent mass productivity. It can also be used as a warp yarn for woven fabrics and warp knitting. It is soft and has an excellent hand feel. Compared with the conventional contact sensing fiber components (piezoelectric yarns) for contact using piezoelectric materials, the cost is extremely low. Moreover, compared with the conventional sensing components, the specific load elongation is low, so the linearity is good, there is almost no hysteresis, the responsiveness when returning to the original state is fast, and the repetitive characteristics are good.

[0070] Solutions for solving problems

[0071] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present inventors conducted intensive studies and repeated experiments, and unexpectedly found that the above-mentioned problems can be solved by setting the following structure, thereby completing the present invention.

[0072] That is, the present invention is as follows.

[0073] [1] A biological information measuring device, comprising a fiber substrate including a sensing member, and arranged in contact with a predetermined position of a biological body, wherein the sensing member comprises at least two core-sheath structure yarns obtained by arranging high-resistance fibers as a coating material around a linear conductor as a core material, wherein the two core-sheath structure yarns are arranged close to each other, so that changes in resistance and / or changes in electrostatic capacitance between the linear conductors of the two core-sheath structure yarns can be read, and the biological information or its changes can be measured based on the changes.

[0074] [2] The biological information measuring device according to [1] above,

[0075] The sensing member is a plied structural yarn formed by further twisting two core-sheath structural yarns.

[0076] [3] The biological information measuring device according to [1] or [2] above,

[0077] The high resistance fiber disposed in the sensing member is composed of a fiber having a carbon-based conductive material provided on at least a portion of its surface, and is capable of reading a change in resistance between the linear conductors.

[0078] [4] The living body information measuring device according to any one of [1] to [3] above,

[0079] The specific load elongation of the sensing member is 5% or less.

[0080] [5] The living body information measuring device according to any one of [1] to [4] above,

[0081] The biological information is a posture change of the biological body.

[0082] [6] The living body information measuring device according to any one of [1] to [4] above,

[0083] The biological information is biological information caused by breathing.

[0084] [7] The biological information measuring device according to any one of [1] to [4] above,

[0085] The biological body information is a change in the moisture content of the biological body surface.

[0086] [8] The biological information measuring device according to [3] above,

[0087] A change in sensor output relative to a change in moisture content at a portion of the sensing member measuring biological information is 1 / 20 or less of a change in sensor output for biological information measurement.

[0088] [9] The biological information measuring device according to any one of [1] to [8] above,

[0089] At least one of the core-sheath structured yarns is a core-sheath structured yarn obtained by winding a high-resistance fiber as a covering material in one direction around a linear conductor as a core material.

[0090]

[10] The living body information measuring device according to any one of [1] to [8] above,

[0091] At least one of the core-sheath structured yarns is a core-covered yarn obtained by winding high-resistance short fibers as a covering material in random directions and covering the periphery of a linear conductor as a core material.

[0092]

[11] The biological information measuring device according to [1] above,

[0093] Two or more of the core-sheath structured yarns are arranged in a partially contacting manner in the fiber base material.

[0094]

[12] a kind of clothing,

[0095] A living body information measuring device as described in any one of [1] to

[11] is provided.

[0096]

[13] a kind of clothing,

[0097] The living body information measuring device described in

[11] above is provided.

[0098] Effects of the Invention

[0099] The sensing member used in the biological information measuring device according to the present invention can be processed in a long size, has excellent mass production, can be used as a warp yarn of a woven fabric or a warp knitting, is soft and has an excellent hand feel, and has a very low cost compared to a conventional contact sensing fiber member (piezoelectric yarn) for contact using a piezoelectric material. That is, the sensing member can use polyester, nylon, etc., which are common fiber materials, to sense load or tensile force, so that the sensing fiber can be realized at a very low cost. In addition, by using a mature fiber processing technology including core-spun yarn, i.e., a coating technology, it is possible to realize a processed yarn that can be processed in a long size, has excellent mass production, and has a very good hand feel compared to a piezoelectric yarn, so that the processing of fiber members such as woven fabrics and knitted fabrics becomes easy.

[0100] The electrostatic capacitance and / or resistance value of the sensing member used in the biological information measuring device according to the present invention changes, thereby being able to detect a state in which a load or a tensile force is continuously applied.

[0101] In addition, in the sensing component used in the biological information measuring device involved in the present invention, when the core-sheath structure yarn (also generally referred to as covering yarn) obtained by winding high-resistance short fibers as a covering material in random directions and covering the periphery of a linear conductor as the core material is a core-spun yarn, it is easy to use natural fibers and biodegradable yarns, and it is easy to give functionality to the sheath yarn.

[0102] In addition, the sensing member of the prior art mainly uses the sensor output such as resistance or electrostatic capacitance for the elongation of the stretchable wiring determined by the physical properties of the rubber elastic body, and has poor linearity, hysteresis, and slow responsiveness when returning to the original state, so it cannot be said that the repeatability is good. On the contrary, the specific load elongation of the sensing member used in the biological information measuring device involved in the present invention is lower than the specific load elongation of the conventional sensing member, so the linearity is good, there is almost no hysteresis, the responsiveness when returning to the original state is high, and the repeatability is good.

[0103] Therefore, in the biological information measuring device according to the present invention, for example, a piece of clothing (T-shirt, underwear, vest, belt, etc.) including a sensing fiber member (yarn) having a plied structure yarn formed by further twisting two core-sheath structure yarns can be used to detect displacement or movement of the body surface such as slight stretching, body pressure such as foot pressure or finger pressure, or changes in water content. Thus, for example, changes in breathing, posture, movement of wrists, ankles, fingers, etc., movement of muscles (pelvic floor muscles, brachioradialis muscles, calves, etc.), wearing pressure of stretch clothing or socks, etc., pressure on the sole of the foot or foot pressure distribution, swallowing activity, analysis of walking or running movements (for rehabilitation purposes, preventive health care, etc.), and changes in water content caused by sweating, excretion, etc. can be detected. In particular, in the biological information measuring device according to the present invention, multiple signal detections can be performed, such as simultaneous detection of the presence or absence of breathing and the quality of posture, simultaneous detection of the degree of hand opening (clenching and loosening of fists) and wrist bending. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0104] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of a conventional piezoelectric processed yarn.

[0105] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of one method of sensing components.

[0106] Figure 3 The following is an appearance and an enlarged photograph of a sensing member as a twisted structure yarn.

[0107] Figure 4 is a photograph of a narrow woven fabric into which the sensing member is woven as a plied structural yarn.

[0108] Figure 5 This is a photograph of a sensing component in the form of a plain woven fabric using core-sheath structure yarn in the warp and weft yarns. The core-sheath structure yarn is a core-sheath structure yarn obtained by winding a high-resistance fiber as a covering material in one direction and covering it around a linear conductor as a core material.

[0109] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of an apparatus system for measuring resistance changes between two core-sheath structure yarns, wherein the core-sheath structure yarn is obtained by winding a high-resistance fiber as a sheath material in one direction and covering the periphery of a linear conductor as a core material.

[0110] Figure 7 This is a graph showing an example of output current values ​​(sensor output) when a load or the like is applied to the sensing member as the twisted structure yarn according to the present embodiment.

[0111] Figure 8Graph showing the relationship between the applied load and the current value (sensor output) change rate of the sensing member as the twisted structure yarn according to the present embodiment.

[0112] Fig. 9 This is a graph showing an example of the output current value (sensor output) when a load or tensile force is applied to a sensing component in the form of a plain woven fabric (narrow woven fabric) using core-sheath structure yarn in the warp and weft. The core-sheath structure yarn is a core-sheath structure yarn obtained by winding a high-resistance fiber as a covering material in one direction and covering it around a linear conductor as a core material.

[0113] Fig.10 This is a schematic diagram of a manufacturing apparatus for core-sheath structured yarn.

[0114] Fig.11 Schematic diagram of the core-sheath structure yarn obtained by using the above-mentioned manufacturing device.

[0115] Fig.12 This is a diagram for explaining the principle of measuring the electrical properties between paired core-sheath structure yarns.

[0116] Fig.13 This is a schematic diagram of a conventional piezoelectric processed yarn.

[0117] Fig.14 The following are the appearance and enlarged photograph of the sensor member which is a twisted structure yarn using short fibers.

[0118] Fig.15 This is a graph showing an example of output current values ​​(sensor output) of a sensing member using a twisted structure yarn of short fibers.

[0119] Fig.16 This is an explanatory diagram of Example 1.

[0120] Fig.17 is a graph showing the sensing results of Example 1.

[0121] Fig.18 This is an explanatory diagram of Example 2.

[0122] Fig.19 is a graph showing the sensing results of Example 2.

[0123] Fig. 20 This is an explanatory diagram of Example 3.

[0124] Fig.21 : is a graph showing the sensing results of Example 3.

[0125] Fig. 22 This is an explanatory diagram of Example 4.

[0126] Fig.23 : is a graph showing the sensing results of Example 4.

[0127] Fig.24 This is an explanatory diagram of the state in which the sensing yarn is knitted into the central part of the wristband of Example 4 using the smooth weaving method. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0128] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail.

[0129] One embodiment of the present invention is a biological information measuring device, which is composed of a fiber substrate including a sensing component and is configured to contact a specified position of a biological body. The sensing component has at least two core-sheath structure yarns obtained by arranging high-resistance fibers as a covering material around a linear conductor as a core material. The two core-sheath structure yarns are arranged close to each other, so that changes in resistance and / or changes in electrostatic capacitance between the linear conductors of the two core-sheath structure yarns can be read, and the biological information or its changes can be measured based on the changes.

[0130] In this specification, the term "biological information" refers to changes in movement or posture of a living body such as a human body or an animal, changes in position due to breathing, body pressure, changes in the amount of water on the surface of the living body, etc. The biological information measuring device of the present invention can measure such biological information with high accuracy in a simple method.

[0131] The living body information measuring device of this embodiment can be appropriately selected in accordance with the type of living body information to be measured. For example, in the case of measuring respiration, the body movement due to respiration is caused by the movement of the lungs, and therefore the sensing member is mounted on the fiber base material of the living body in such a manner that the sensing member is located at least one of the positions of the chest, abdomen, neck, and the upper part of the chest corresponding to the lungs, which are located near the diaphragm and correspond to the fourth to fifth ribs from the bottom of the ribs.

[0132] Alternatively, when measuring the posture of a living body, in order to detect the so-called hunchback state, it is preferable to detect the horizontal length of the back part of the body, especially between the shoulder blades, so it is desirable to set a fiber base material with a sensing member installed in the horizontal direction of the back part. Alternatively, when detecting the action of clenching a fist or opening the hand as biological information, the activity of the forearm muscle group increases, so, for example, the sensing member is located in the brachioradialis part or the wrist part. Alternatively, when measuring the activity of a finger, it can be set as a fiber base material with a sensing member arranged in a direction parallel to the long side direction of the finger.

[0133] The fiber substrate may be in the form of a woven fabric or a knitted fabric, and the structure of the fiber substrate is not limited. Alternatively, nonwoven fabrics and paper may be used. In addition, the shape may be any form such as underwear, T-shirts, work clothes, vests, wristbands, protective gear, gloves, finger cots, belts, etc., depending on the object of measurement. In particular, when measuring the activities of the entire body such as breathing and posture, it is preferred to use a shirt or a sleeveless shirt that fits the body comfortably, based on the fact that it can easily take into account both good wearing comfort and good accuracy.

[0134] Regarding the number of sensing components, one may be installed at a location where the body movement of the object to be measured is the largest, or more than one may be installed at multiple locations. For example, in the case of measuring respiration, if the activities of multiple locations such as the chest, abdomen, and neck are measured, it is preferable in the following aspects: not only can a simple number of respirations be measured, but also information related to the quality of respiration can be obtained, such as distinguishing between so-called abdominal respiration and thoracic respiration, whether it is shallow respiration, and whether it is possible to achieve respiration using the entire body. For example, in the case of deep breathing in which the diaphragm can move greatly, both the sensing components located in the diaphragm and the abdomen can obtain large output changes, but in the case of shallow respiration, it can be judged by the fact that the change in the abdomen becomes relatively small.

[0135] In addition, it is also possible to install more than two sensing components at the target measurement site. For example, for the purpose of respiration measurement, two or more sensing components are inserted near the diaphragm, and the sum or difference of their outputs is calculated, thereby enabling a measurement with higher accuracy, high reliability and no measurement omissions. In the case of taking the sum of the outputs of multiple sensing components installed in close parts, there is an advantage that a larger output can be easily obtained and measurement omissions can be significantly reduced. In addition, in the case of taking the difference between these outputs, there are the following advantages: the influence of output changes unrelated to respiration, such as noise and the influence of vibrations generated around the biological body, is eliminated, and a more accurate measurement can be performed.

[0136] The output of the sensing member is read out using a readout circuit electrically connected to the sensing member. As a readout circuit, for example, a readout circuit having a current-voltage conversion circuit, an analog-to-digital conversion circuit, a filter circuit, an amplifier, and an interface unit can be used. A communication unit may also be provided as needed to read out the output of the sensing member in an external device through wireless communication. In the case of wired communication, it is sufficient to directly electrically connect to an external signal device via an interface unit. For the output of the sensing member, either wireless communication or wired communication may be used, but wireless communication, such as Bluetooth (registered trademark), BLE (Bluetooth (registered trademark) Low Energy: Low Power Bluetooth), Zigbee, WiFi, NFC, LPWA, etc., is more preferred based on the ability to measure biological information in a state where the biological body is free to move around. In the case of using wired communication, it is preferred in that it is easy to achieve accurate measurement with higher accuracy and prevent communication leakage. The calculation of the output from multiple sensing members can be performed on the readout circuit or in an external device after output communication.

[0137] An embodiment of the sensing component used in the biological information measuring device of the present embodiment is characterized in that it has at least two core-sheath structure yarns obtained by winding high-resistance fibers as covering materials in one direction and covering them around a linear conductor as a core material, wherein the two core-sheath structure yarns are arranged close to each other, and the sensing component is used to read the change in resistance and / or the change in electrostatic capacitance (i.e., the change in impedance) between the linear conductors of the two core-sheath structure yarns arranged close to each other.

[0138] Another embodiment of the sensing component is characterized in that it has at least two core-sheath structure yarns obtained by arranging high-resistance fibers as covering materials around a linear conductor as a core material, wherein the two core-sheath structure yarns are arranged close to each other, and at least one of the core-sheath structure yarns is a core-covered yarn obtained by winding high-resistance short fibers as covering materials in random directions and covering them around a linear conductor as a core material, and the sensing component is used to read the change in resistance and / or the change in electrostatic capacitance between the linear conductors of the two core-sheath structure yarns arranged close to each other.

[0139] As the linear conductor (core yarn) of the core material, there is no particular restriction as long as it has conductivity. It can be a linear conductor of conductive fiber, such as carbon fiber, metal fiber, etc., which has conductivity in itself, or a linear conductor of conductive fiber without conductivity. As the former, the carbon fiber obtained by fiberizing carbon has high durability in the moisture sensing described later, which is preferred. In addition, if it is a conductive fiber obtained by fiberizing SUS raw material, it is preferred in terms of ensuring rust resistance and being able to easily perform terminal processing connected to circuits, etc. As the latter, from the viewpoint of improving the feel and softness, it is preferred to use a conductive fiber obtained by implementing metal plating of silver, copper, etc. around fibers such as nylon, a conductive fiber obtained by processing a metal foil into a strip shape and winding it on the fiber, and a conductive fiber obtained by spraying the fiber so that an aerosol-like conductor is attached to the fiber surface. In this case, from the aspect of obtaining good conductivity and from the aspect of improving strength, it is preferred that the conductive fiber is formed by multifilament. If high-strength fibers such as polyarylate and aromatic polyamide are used instead of nylon, the tensile strength can be further improved. Alternatively, a linear conductor obtained by using a retractable metal ink to impart conductivity to the periphery of an elastomer such as polyurethane or silicone can be used. In this case, a retractable fiber component can be obtained. In addition, as a linear conductor, a linear conductor obtained by forming a mixture of a conductive material and an insulating material into a linear shape can also be used. For example, if a material obtained by mixing a carbon-based conductive material and a metal in a resin such as nylon or polyester and processing it into a linear shape is used, a linear conductor with poor conductivity but extremely low cost can be obtained. In addition, from the perspective of low cost although the feel is deteriorated, the linear conductor can be one or more metal wires. For example, if a metal wire with a diameter of about 30μm to 1mm is used, the strength can be significantly improved.

[0140] From the viewpoint of being easy to obtain a good feel, the fineness of a linear conductor, such as a conductive fiber, is preferably 10 dtex to 15000 dtex, and more preferably 20 dtex to 5000 dtex. In addition, in the case of a multifilament, from the viewpoint of being easy to obtain a good feel and easy to obtain high conductivity, the fineness of a single fiber is preferably 1 dtex to 30 dtex, and more preferably 2 dtex to 10 dtex. For the number of filaments, it is more preferably set to 10 to 200. In terms of being easy to obtain a good feel and easy to ensure good conductivity, it is preferred to set the number of filaments to more than 10. However, if the number of filaments is too large, the cost increases, and the rigidity also further increases, so the feel sometimes decreases. Taking all these into consideration, it is preferably set to the above-mentioned range of the number of filaments.

[0141] The conductive material forming the linear conductor can be the same material or different types of materials between the two paired core-sheath structure yarns, and any combination of materials can be used. In the case of contact, load, and stretch sensing applications, it is preferred to use the same conductive material in terms of efficient production. In the case of sensing liquids such as moisture, if different types of materials are used as the linear conductors of the two paired core-sheath structure yarns, when liquid is attached by bridging between the different types of materials, voltage and current are generated by the electrochemical action called the so-called galvanic action, so that liquid sensing can be performed even without a power supply. As a combination of different types of materials, for example, any combination of iron and copper, iron and silver, aluminum and copper, silver and copper, etc. can be used.

[0142] In this specification, the term "high resistance fiber" as a coating material (also called covering yarn or sheath yarn) is not particularly limited as long as it can form a high resistor or capacitor between two linear conductors, except for fibers that can electrically insulate the two paired linear conductors in the above-mentioned core material, and includes substantially insulating insulating fibers, piezoelectrics such as polylactic acid (PLA), and ferroelectrics such as polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF). Among them, the coating material (covering yarn) can cover the above-mentioned linear conductor as the core material without gaps in a static state and is not prone to electrical short circuits. Therefore, from the perspective of coating properties, sensing performance, and feel, it is preferred to include any of a multifilament high resistance fiber that can make the coating thickness uniform without unevenness and a high resistance spun yarn (short fiber), and it is most preferred to be composed of a multifilament high resistance fiber or a high resistance spun yarn. The material of high resistance fiber can ensure more than a certain insulation in the state (no-load state) of sensing action such as contact, stretching, contact of liquid, etc., without special restrictions, but from the viewpoint of cost and ease of getting started, preferably polyester (PE), nylon (Ny, polyamide), epoxy, acrylic and other synthetic fibers, can also be natural fibers such as cellulose fiber, semi-synthetic fibers, copper ammonia fiber and other regenerated fibers. In addition, as the material of high resistance fiber, piezoelectrics such as polylactic acid (PLA), polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), ferroelectrics, biodegradable resins can be used. If it is a piezoelectric body, insulation can be maintained in the no-load state, and an output signal corresponding to its piezoelectric characteristics is also obtained when stress is applied, so the sensor sensitivity increases. However, from the aspects of cost, the feel when forming a woven fabric or a knitted fabric, it is preferred to use polyester, nylon, acrylic and other fibers for clothing purposes.

[0143] In addition, when sensing is performed based on changes in resistance values, a material obtained by slightly imparting conductivity to insulating fibers may be used as a covering yarn (sheath yarn) of a high-resistance fiber. The range of the conductivity of the sheath yarn in this case is sufficient as long as the range of changes in the resistance between the linear conductors of the two core-sheath structure yarns arranged close to each other can be read. Specifically, it is preferred that the value of the resistance (sensor resistance) between the linear conductors of the core-sheath structure yarns arranged close to each other is in the range of 0.5 kΩ to 5 GΩ, and the sensor resistance value is 20 times to 1×10 9 times. Thus, when a voltage is applied between two linear conductors constituting two core-sheath structure yarns close to each other, no electrical short circuit occurs. Since the sensor resistance value is large enough relative to the wiring resistance value, the load, tensile force, etc. can be detected correctly without being affected by the wiring resistance. In terms of simplifying the readout circuit, it is further preferred that the sensor resistance value is in the range of 0.5 kΩ to 100 MΩ. As the range of the resistivity of the sheath yarn material, it is preferred that 10 4 Ω·m~5×10 9 Ω·m.

[0144] As the material of the sheath yarn that is slightly endowed with conductivity, a material obtained by adding a conductivity-imparting material such as a carbon-based conductive material, metal particles, metal sulfides such as copper sulfide, tin oxide, metal oxides such as zinc oxide, etc., to an insulating material such as polyester, nylon, acrylic, etc. can be used. Alternatively, as the sheath yarn, both insulating fibers and conductive fibers can be appropriately mixed and used. For example, carbon-based fibers having carbon provided on at least a portion of the surface, such as KURACARBO (manufactured by Kuraray Co., Ltd., a registered trademark) and Belltron (manufactured by KBSEIREN, a registered trademark) sold as antistatic fibers, and fibers plated with metal compounds, such as Thunderon (manufactured by Japan Silkworm Dyeing Co., Ltd., a registered trademark), can be selected and used in such a way that the desired sensor resistance value is obtained.

[0145] Furthermore, by using the core-spun yarn (CSY) described later, natural fibers and biodegradable fibers that are difficult to use in long fibers can be easily used, and their respective advantages can be brought out.

[0146] The material of the covering material (covering yarn) used as the sensing component is preferably a combination of faster-drying fibers. In particular, in the case of sensing moisture, ethanol, etc., by using quick-drying fibers in the covering yarn, it can be dried in a short time once it comes into contact with moisture, etc., so it can be restored to its original state more quickly. As quick-drying fibers, synthetic fibers with low moisture content can also be used, but in order to take into account both water absorption and quick-drying properties, it is particularly preferred to combine synthetic fibers and cellulose fibers. At this time, as synthetic fibers, polyester, nylon, acrylic acid, etc. are preferred, and as cellulose fibers, natural cellulose fibers such as cotton and linen, rayon, tiger cotton, lyocell, cuprammonium fibers, modal fibers, and other regenerated cellulose fibers, acetate fibers, etc. are preferred, and multifilament long fibers are particularly preferred. Regarding the combination of the two fibers, the two fibers can also be mixed in the covering yarn, and in the double covering described later, they can also be covered separately with synthetic fibers and cellulose fibers.

[0147] From the viewpoint of easily preventing electrical short circuits between two linear conductors, the fineness of the multifilament high-resistance fiber used as a covering material (covering yarn) is preferably 15 dtex to 25000 dtex, and more preferably 30 dtex to 8000 dtex. In addition, from the viewpoint of more easily obtaining a good hand feel, the single fiber fineness of the multifilament high-resistance fiber is preferably 1 dtex to 10 dtex, and more preferably 2 dtex to 8 dtex.

[0148] From the viewpoint of easily ensuring insulation properties, the fineness of the high-resistance spun yarn used as the covering material (covering yarn) is preferably 60-5 count, more preferably 30-10 count.

[0149] The method for manufacturing the core-sheath structure yarn obtained by arranging high-resistance fibers as a covering material around a linear conductor as a core material in the sensing member of this embodiment is not particularly limited, and the following method described in Patent Document 9 is cited as an example.

[0150] Fig.10 This is a schematic diagram showing a state where a bobbin wound with a covering yarn (covering material) (14) is installed on a covering device equipped with a double-leg flyer (12) and the device is operated. Fig.11 Shows Fig.10 The enlarged view of the B part. The core yarn (core material) 9 passes through the hollow part of the hollow spindle 10, and is wound onto the winding roller (not shown) through the upper pigtail wire guide hook (not shown). The covering yarn 14 passes through the foot guides 15 and 16 of the double-foot flyer 12, and is unwound from the bobbin by the rotation of the hollow spindle (the series connection of the bobbins). The covering yarn 14 is wound around the core yarn 9 while being wound through the pigtail wire guide hook. The reason for setting the number of feet of the flyer 12 to two is to achieve the balance of the flyer 12 when the flyer rotates.

[0151] It is also possible to perform so-called double covering in which the above-mentioned covering device is arranged in two stages in the longitudinal direction and two types of covering yarns (which may be the same type or different types) are sequentially covered from two bobbins. In this case, if the respective covering yarns are covered in the same direction (both covering yarns are S-twisted or Z-twisted), the thickness can be made uniform and the gaps between the insulating fibers can be reliably buried, which can improve the sensing performance and is particularly preferred.

[0152] From the viewpoint of improving the hand feel and the covering property, the covering yarn may be a false twisted yarn (wool-like yarn).

[0153] exist Figure 2 , Figure 3 In the figure, as a sensing member of one mode of the present embodiment, an example of a yarn formed by further twisting two core-sheath structure yarns (7) is shown. In the present invention, the yarn of this structure is recorded as a twisted structure yarn (8) or a twisted yarn. In the twisted structure yarn, the relationship between the winding direction of the covering material (covering yarn) in each core-sheath structure yarn and the twisting direction when the two core-sheath structure yarns are further twisted is not particularly limited, but it is preferred that the winding direction of the covering material (covering yarn) (6) arranged around the linear conductor (5) as the core material in the two core-sheath structure yarns (7) arranged close to each other is the same, and the two core-sheath structure yarns are twisted in the opposite direction to the winding direction of the covering yarn (covering yarn). Since the twisted structure yarn is twisted in the opposite direction to the winding direction of the covering, the torque of the manufactured yarn is weakened, and the handling in the manufacturing process becomes easy. In the case of the above-mentioned plied structure yarn, the two core-sheath structure yarns are of course arranged close to each other, and the two core-sheath structure yarns have contact points that cross each other.

[0154] The core-sheath structure yarn has the following formula:

[0155] Twist coefficient K = (SS + SC) 1 / 2 ×R

[0156] {wherein, SS is the fineness (dtex) of the linear conductor as the core material, SC is the total fineness (dtex) of the coating material, and R is the number of windings (twists) of the coating material (times / m).}, the twist coefficient K represented by this formula is preferably 7000 or more and 30000 or less. If the twist coefficient K is 7000 or more, electrical short circuits between two linear conductors are less likely to occur. On the other hand, if the twist coefficient K is 30000 or less, it is easier to obtain a large sensor output. In addition, in the case of double coating, the twist coefficients when covering the first layer and the second layer are calculated and the average value is taken.

[0157] Another embodiment of the core-sheath structure yarn in the sensing member is a structure obtained by winding high-resistance short fibers as a sheath material in random directions and covering the periphery of a linear conductor as a core material. Preferably, the core yarn is inserted into the sheath yarn during the spinning of the short fibers to form the sheath yarn to form a core-covered yarn (CSY).

[0158] The inventors of the present application conducted research on using core-spun yarn as a core-sheath structure yarn and found that it is possible to ensure the insulation of the core yarn and exhibit sensing performance. However, it is known that under normal conditions, the insulation is partially degraded and the sensing performance is reduced due to the deviation of the covering state. By setting specific covering conditions, it is possible to produce a core-spun yarn that can continuously exhibit excellent sensing performance.

[0159] Specifically, it is important to set the weight ratio of the core yarn to the sheath yarn to a specific range. In the case of a conventional core-spun yarn, the mixing ratio of the core yarn is 15% to 30% by weight, but in the present invention, the mixing ratio of the core yarn is preferably 5% to 12% by weight, and particularly preferably less than 10% by weight.

[0160] In this embodiment, at least one of the two or more core-sheath structure yarns needs to be a core-sheath structure yarn obtained by winding high-resistance short fibers as a covering material in a random direction and covering them around a linear conductor as a core material. The core-sheath structure yarn is preferably a core-spun yarn.

[0161] The type and fineness of the core material may be the same as those of the core-sheath structure yarn described above. From the viewpoint of easily ensuring insulation, the single fiber fineness of the high-resistance short fibers randomly wound as a sheath material (covering material) is preferably 30 cotton to 5 cotton, more preferably 20 cotton to 5 cotton. The winding amount may be adjusted so that the mixing ratio of the core yarn is within a preferred range.

[0162] As in Figure 4 As shown in one example, the sensing member can be configured as a narrow woven fabric shape in which the above-mentioned twisted structure yarn exists continuously in one direction of the woven fabric. Figure 4In the example, the twisted structural yarn is woven into the central part of the narrow woven fabric in the width direction as the warp yarn, but the twisted yarn can also be used for one or both of the warp yarn and the weft yarn, and can be configured in any number according to the number of parts to be sensed. From the viewpoint of continuous production, it is preferred to configure the twisted structural yarn as a part of the warp yarn. Thus, it is possible to sense the contact or load applied by an object to the part woven into the twisted structural yarn, and / or the contact of a liquid, or the change in humidity. In the case where the twisted structural yarn is woven into a part of the narrow woven fabric, the shape of the fiber component becomes a belt-like shape, so it has the advantage of being easy to install on fiber products such as clothing and bags compared to the case of only the twisted structural yarn. The width of the woven fabric configured with the twisted structural yarn is preferably 1 mm to 200 mm, and more preferably 5 mm to 30 mm. The use of yarns other than the twisted structural yarn is not particularly limited, and there is no particular limitation on the weaving structure. In addition, in order to deal with static electricity of the fiber substrate etc. on which the fiber sensing member of this embodiment is arranged, an antistatic thread mixed with a conductive material may be wound around the above-mentioned twisted structure yarn, and the yarn may be embedded in the woven fabric. As the antistatic thread, a resistance value of 10 6 Ω / cm~10 10 Antistatic wires with a resistance of about Ω / cm include, for example, "Belltron (registered trademark)" Carbon Belltron type and White Belltron type produced by KB SEIREN, and "KURACARBOR (registered trademark)" produced by Kuraray. Alternatively, in a fiber substrate on which the fiber sensing member of the present embodiment is arranged, the same effect can be obtained by arranging the antistatic wire near the member or between a plurality of the members arranged.

[0163] In addition, it is also possible to configure a woven fabric shape in which a plurality of the above-mentioned twisted structural yarns are arranged in matching warp and weft (see Figure 5 ).exist Figure 5 In the embodiment, five warp yarns are arranged in parallel and weft yarns are arranged in a manner of being woven in the left and right directions, but the shape of the woven fabric like the thread tape is not limited to the above structure. If a sensing member woven with a plurality of twisted structure yarns is used, the application of external forces such as load and tensile force at the positions of each twisted structure yarn can be measured simultaneously, so the position of the applied external force can be mapped and measured.

[0164] Alternatively, the core-sheath structure yarn can be configured as a woven fabric with the warp and weft yarns. In this case, since the two core-sheath structure yarns are arranged close to each other at the intersection of the warp and weft yarns, the sensing function described above is exhibited in this portion, and it can be used as a sensing fiber component. As the shape of the woven fabric, any shape can be used.

[0165] The sensing member based on these cloth shapes of the present invention is different from the existing elongation sensor of the stretchable wiring, and has the following characteristics: due to the low elongation (not easy to stretch), the linearity is good, there is almost no hysteresis, the responsiveness when returning to the original state is fast, and therefore the repetitive characteristics are good. Specifically, it is characterized in that the elongation (specific load elongation) when a repeated load of 1N is applied to a sample with a width of 1cm described later is low, preferably less than 5%, more preferably less than 3%. The lower limit is not specifically limited, but in order to ensure the tracking of biological information, it is preferably 0.1% or more, and more preferably 0.5% or more.

[0166] Alternatively, the above-mentioned twisted yarn can be arranged in a knitted fabric. Alternatively, two or more of the above-mentioned core-sheath yarns can be arranged so as to partially approach or cross each other to exhibit a sensing function.

[0167] In addition, the fiber base material provided with the sensing member can be set to have an appropriate stretchability according to the application. For example, in a form in which a plied yarn is used as a part of the knitting yarn constituting the knitted fabric and the sensing member is knitted into the fiber base material, the stretchability of the fiber base material can be set to 20% or more or 50% or more.

[0168] In addition, there is also a method of using the core-sheath structure yarn as the top thread and bottom thread of a sewing machine when sewing a fiber base material or embroidering. Thus, a core-sheath structure yarn is arranged above and below the fiber base material, and the above-mentioned sensing function is exhibited at the approach point of the core-sheath structure yarn, which can be used as a sensing member.

[0169] In the case of constituting the fiber substrate such as the woven fabric or knitted fabric described above, the linear conductors of the two paired core-sheath structure yarns are preferably led out in one direction to the surface side of the fiber substrate and in the other direction to the back side of the fiber substrate at the electrode lead-out portion (the portion mounted on the circuit). It is particularly preferred that all the linear conductors for voltage application are led out to the same side of the fiber substrate and the linear conductors for signal output are led out to the opposite side. In this preferred example, when the linear conductors of a plurality of core-sheath structure yarns are electrically connected and voltage is applied, and each signal is read out independently, there are advantages such as being able to prevent electrical short circuits or short circuits in a more space-saving manner and improving productivity due to simple installation.

[0170] Figure 6This is a schematic diagram of an apparatus system for measuring the resistance change between two core-sheath structure yarns obtained by winding a multifilament high-resistance fiber as a covering material in one direction and covering the core material as a linear conductor, but it is not particularly limited to the above-mentioned apparatus system. The conductive fibers can be disconnected at the ends of the two paired core-sheath structure yarns, and a source meter (SMU, source measurement unit) that can measure voltage, current, and resistance while supplying voltage and current is connected to them, thereby measuring the resistance between the paired core-sheath structure yarns. Alternatively, instead of using the above-mentioned measuring equipment, a readout circuit composed of an analog / digital conversion circuit, a current-voltage conversion circuit, an amplifier circuit, etc. can be prepared, and the resistance can be measured using the readout circuit.

[0171] The principle of sensing is based on the fact that the impedance between linear conductors changes with the shape change of the core yarn and the sheath yarn by applying load, stretching, etc. Several principles are cited as the principle of impedance change. Since these phenomena occur simultaneously, no specific mechanism is limited. One of the principles of impedance change is that by applying external force, the distance between the core yarns and the width of the electrodes facing each other in the core yarns change, thereby changing the electrostatic capacitance and resistance value between the core yarns. In addition, as another principle, the following principle is considered: due to the change in the shape of the sheath yarn caused by the application of external force, the yarns constituting the sheath yarn are more closely attached to each other, thereby forming multiple conductive paths and reducing the resistance value.

[0172] For example, in one example of this embodiment, an insulator is used to cover an area of ​​8.75 mm 2 A load of about 3N (equivalent to a pressure of 3.43×10 5 In the case of 1.5 GΩ (Pa), R changes from 3.5 GΩ to 1.5 GΩ, and a very large change of ΔR / R of -57% is obtained. In addition, the electrostatic capacitance C at this time changes from 3.31 pF to 3.53 pF, and ΔC / C is 6.7%. In the case of such a large change in resistance value, it is believed that in addition to the impedance change caused by the simple shape change between the core yarns, the microcurrent flowing in the sheath yarn increases due to the closer contact between the sheath yarns. Regarding the insulating fiber constituting the sheath yarn, if it is an ideal insulator, no current will flow between the two linear conductors. In contrast, it is known that the resistivity of a real insulator is 10 6 Ω·m~10 9Ω·m. The conduction mechanism in insulating polymers is known to be hopping conduction in which electrons or ions shuttle between localized states. Ideally, there are no charged particles in insulating polymers, but actual polymer materials contain impurities such as catalysts and moisture introduced during the manufacturing process. The fragmented ions caused by these impurities react with the applied electric field and move to generate a weak current. In addition, in the method of the present invention, in order to be able to read out using a simpler circuit, it is preferred to mix a conductive material such as a carbon material into the sheath yarn to generate extremely weak conductivity. When a load or tensile force is applied to a structure in which a sheath yarn with extremely weak conductivity is arranged between two adjacent linear conductors, the multiple fibers constituting the sheath yarn are in closer contact with each other, thereby increasing the number of electrical contact points and increasing the value of the weak current. This is the principle that the sensor resistance value becomes lower and load and stretch can be detected.

[0173] As a principle of impedance change, another theory that space charge limited current changes with the change of the distance between linear conductors can be cited. In addition, as described later, when the object in contact is conductive, parasitic capacitance is added to the change of electrostatic capacitance, so the contribution caused by the change of parasitic capacitance is also superimposed on the change of electrostatic capacitance caused by the shape change.

[0174] Can Figure 2 , Fig.12 The principle of measuring the electrical characteristics between a pair of core-sheath structure yarns is considered in an equivalent circuit composed of a resistor (R) and a capacitor (C).

[0175] In the case of using the change in resistance value to read the sensing signal, a DC power supply can be used as Fig.12 Power supply shown.

[0176] In the case of reading the change of electrostatic capacitance, an AC power supply is used as a power supply, an AC of frequency f is applied between the linear conductors in the paired core-sheath structure yarn, and the impedance change between the linear conductors is detected. In order to measure the electrostatic capacitance, a very common measuring instrument and circuit can be used, for example, an LCR meter, an impedance analyzer and other measuring instruments can be used. Alternatively, a phase-locked amplifier circuit can be used in combination, which prepares an AC signal as a reference signal and performs frequency analysis by multiplying the output signal with the reference signal. In this case, there is an advantage of being able to measure small changes in electrostatic capacitance with higher accuracy. Alternatively, in order to read the change of electrostatic capacitance, the following method can also be used: a DC power supply is used as a power supply, a voltage is applied between two linear conductors, and the impedance change between the linear conductors over time is read (the change in current value is monitored). When a DC power supply is used, there is an advantage of being able to measure with a very cheap circuit. Here, the electrostatic capacitance between the two electrodes can be described by the following formula:

[0177] C=ε(S / L)

[0178] {where ε is the dielectric constant between the two electrodes, S is the electrode area, and L is the distance between the electrodes.}.

[0179] According to the above formula C = ε (S / L), the electrostatic capacitance C is inversely proportional to the distance L between the conductors and is proportional to the electrode area. In the case where the object to be detected for contact is an uncharged insulator, the distance between the paired linear conductors becomes smaller, and the electrode area hardly changes, so the electrostatic capacitance increases, thereby enabling the detection of the contact of the object. In addition, in the case where the contacted object is conductive, the parasitic capacitance caused by the contact of the object is also added, resulting in a change in electrostatic capacitance. For example, in an example of the present embodiment described previously (an example in which ΔR / R is -57%), when a load of about 3N is applied using an insulator, C changes from 3.31pF to 3.53pF, and ΔC / C is 6.7%, but when a load of about 3N is applied using a grounded conductive material, C changes from 3.31pF to 3.01pF, and ΔC / C is -8.9%.

[0180] In the case where the object being contacted is conductive, the electrostatic capacitance on the surface becomes smaller due to the addition of parasitic capacitance and the increase in charge leakage to the ground. In this way, by reading the change in electrostatic capacitance caused by contact or load, it is also possible to detect contact or load, tensile force. In addition, in the present embodiment, there is a covering yarn and external gas (external gas: atmosphere in the case of atmosphere, vacuum in the case of vacuum, replacement gas in the case of replacement gas, etc.) between the two linear conductors as an insulator, and the principle of the current flowing between the linear conductors is different depending on the distance between the electrodes, the applied voltage, the humidity of the external gas and other conditions. For example, in addition to the space charge limited current already described, various principles such as leakage current and ion conduction can also be used, and one or both of the change in resistance value and the change in electrostatic capacitance can also be read as an output signal.

[0181] The impedance between the two linear conductors of the sensing member used in the biological information measuring device of this embodiment can be changed by external action, so that the external action can be detected. For example, by applying contact and load, the distance between the two linear conductors and most of the electrical contacts between the sheath yarns change, thereby changing the resistance value and / or electrostatic capacitance (i.e., impedance) between the two linear conductors, so that the contact and load can be detected. In addition, when the external action is tensile force or bending stress, the distance between the linear conductors also changes, and the impedance also changes, so the external action can be detected. By using this sensing member, it is possible to obtain sensor outputs corresponding to displacements or activities such as slight elongation of the body surface, breathing, changes in posture, activities of wrists, ankles, fingers, etc., activities of muscles (pelvic floor muscles, brachioradialis muscles, calves, etc.), wearing pressure of pressure clothing or socks, pressure on the soles of the feet, foot pressure distribution, swallowing activities, walking, running movements, etc.

[0182] Alternatively, the presence of a substance that may cause a change in impedance between the two linear conductors can be detected when the substance is contained between the two linear conductors. For example, when tap water or other water that is not ultrapure water, salt water, ionized beverages, a mixture of water and ethanol, etc. is dripped between the two linear conductors, the resistance value between the linear conductors is greatly reduced, thereby increasing the current value between the linear conductors, so the presence of these liquids can be detected. In addition, when the humidity changes, the impedance changes, so it can be used as a humidity sensor.

[0183] In addition, when detecting a liquid that is extremely weakly conductive, such as tap water or human sweat, a material with a lower conductivity than the liquid to be detected is used as the material of the covering yarn. As a result, the impedance of the sensor changes before and after the liquid enters, and the liquid can be detected. For example, when carbon-based fibers are used as the covering yarn, the sensor resistance value becomes slightly lower, and carbon-based fibers are more likely to allow current to flow than water, so it is impossible to detect water, etc.

[0184] Alternatively, it is also possible to simultaneously detect the application of external forces such as contact, load, and tensile force, and the contact of liquids such as water. The resistance value change when an external force is applied and when water is dripped is more than 5 times different. In addition, as the water dries, the output changes moment by moment, so it is possible to distinguish their detection based on the behavior of the output value. In the above embodiment, for example, the amount of sweat of the human body and its change over time, water immersion, urine leakage, etc. can be detected simultaneously.

[0185] Alternatively, the following method can be adopted: although the application of external force is detected, the sensor sensitivity is very low (substantially no sensor sensitivity) for contact with liquids such as moisture and sweat. For example, by using a material with a higher conductivity than the liquid that is not to be detected as the material of the covering yarn, the sensor can be made highly sensitive to the application of external force and insensitive to contact with the liquid. For example, the following method can be adopted: by using a fiber having a carbon-based conductive material provided on at least a portion of its surface as a high-resistance fiber as a covering material (sheath yarn), the change in resistance between linear conductors can be read, the breathing of a living body, changes in posture, and the activities of the wrist and fingers can be detected, and the sensor output does not change for sweating or immersion in water. At this time, it is preferred that the output change of the sensor relative to the change in moisture content at the portion measuring the biological information is less than 1 / 20 of the output change of the sensor relative to the measurement of the biological information such as the external force to be detected, and more preferably less than 1 / 100.

[0186] exist Figure 7In the example, as an example of the sensing member involved in the present invention, the following example is shown: a conductive fiber composed of a multifilament obtained by silver-plating nylon 66 fiber is used as a linear conductor, and an insulating fiber composed of polyester is used as a sheath yarn to produce a double core sheath structure yarn, and a ply structure yarn obtained by further twisting two of the obtained double core sheath structure yarns is used to measure the load sensing characteristics. In this example, as a linear conductor, a linear conductor with a nylon fiber fineness of 220 dtex, a fineness of 300 dtex after silver plating, and 68 filaments is used. In addition, regarding the covering conditions of the sheath yarn, the following conditions are used: a wool-like yarn of polyester 252 dtex / 108 filaments is Z-twisted as a sheath yarn using two bobbins, and the twist number is Z732 T / m. When the two obtained double core sheath structure yarns are wound and further twisted, a ply structure yarn twisted in the S direction with a twist number of S170 T / m is produced. The fineness of the plied yarn is 2000 dtex. The twist coefficient of the plied yarn is K = (300 + 252 × 2) 1 / 2 ×732=20756.

[0187] Here, the resistance value between two linear conductors of two adjacent core-sheath structure yarns is measured in the following manner: the two linear conductors are electrically disconnected at one end of the core-sheath structure yarn, and a source meter (SMU: source measurement unit, Keithley's 2614B) is connected that can supply voltage and current between the two linear conductors at the other end while measuring voltage, current, and resistance. A voltage of 3V is applied between the two linear conductors, and a self-made program that always monitors the current value output by the source meter is used to measure the current value before and after the load and tensile force are applied. In the case of a twisted structure yarn, a sample is made in which the length of the paired linear conductor part (sensing effective length) is set to 10 cm to measure the sensing characteristics.

[0188] exist Figure 8 The relationship between the applied load and the current value change rate when a load is applied to the plied structure yarn obtained above is shown in FIG. Here, the current value measurement conditions are set to Figure 7 The sensing fiber component is placed on a flat workbench, and a load is applied from above using a force gauge (manufactured by IMADA, full range 20N). The load value is actually measured while the load is applied. The indenter uses a round and The pressure head is 12.5mm. Figure 8 The results shown show that the twisted structure yarn is useful as a sensing fiber member that can also detect the magnitude relationship of load.

[0189] As an example of a woven fabric using the core-sheath structure yarn obtained above, five of the core-sheath structure yarns are used as warp yarns, and one of the core-sheath structure yarns is used as a weft yarn. Figure 5 The woven fabric structure shown above produces a narrow woven fabric with a width of 1 cm x length of 10 cm and a thickness of 850 μm. Fig. 9 The figure shows the change in current value (sensor output) over time when a load is applied to the cross section of the core-sheath structure yarn of the native fabric by a finger and then a tensile force is applied. This shows that the native fabric is useful as a sensor fiber member for sensing load and tensile force.

[0190] exist Fig.14 In the figure, as an example of the sensing member involved in the present invention, a conceptual diagram of an example of a sensing member in which the sheath yarn is set as CSY is shown. Fig.13 Compared with the conventional piezoelectric sensing yarn shown above in which electrodes are provided on the inner and outer sides in contact with the piezoelectric body, the present sensing yarn can be produced at a much lower cost.

[0191] exist Fig.15 In the figure, as an example, the sensing characteristics related to the sensing member of the ply-twisted yarn are shown. The ply-twisted yarn is obtained as follows: a conductive fiber composed of a multifilament obtained by silver-plating nylon 66 fiber is used as a linear conductor, and a cuprammonium fiber sliver (produced by Asahi Kasei Corporation, with a cotton count of 10 / 1) is used as a sheath yarn to perform CSY processing, and two obtained core-spun yarns are further twisted to obtain the ply-twisted yarn. Here, a linear conductor with a nylon fiber fineness of 33 dtex, a fineness of 40 dtex after silver plating, and 7 filaments is used as a linear conductor, and a micro lyocell (Lenzing "Lyocell Micro", with a cotton count of 15 / 1) is used as a sheath yarn, and CSY (core-spun yarn) processing is performed at a spinning speed of 300 m / min using a VORTEX spinning machine of Murata Machinery. The weight mixing ratio of the core yarn / sheath yarn is 8 / 92 (the core yarn mixing ratio is 8 weight %). The two obtained core-spun yarns were subjected to S-twisting to produce a plied yarn with a twist number of 163 T / m. The fineness of the plied yarn was 1180 dtex. Fig.15 The following table shows the change in the current value (sensor output) when a load is applied to the strand obtained above. After changing the position and repeating the load application-removal operation 5 times twice, the change in the current value accompanying the load application and removal can be confirmed at any measurement point. Fig.15 It can be seen that the sensing component is capable of detecting load.

[0192] In the following embodiments, as examples of the biological information measuring device of this embodiment, a human breathing measuring device, a simultaneous breathing and posture measuring device, a finger bending measuring device, and a palm opening and closing and wrist bending movement measuring device are described.

[0193] Example

[0194] Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described with reference to Examples, but the present invention is not limited to these Examples.

[0195] Here, the specific load elongation of the sensing member, clothing, etc. in the following examples was measured as follows.

[0196] <Specific load elongation (%)>

[0197] A cloth-shaped sample was cut into a size of 1 cm in width and 25 cm in length, and attached to a tensile tester with both ends clamped by 5 cm each so that the test length was 15 cm under an initial load of 10 g (0.1 N).

[0198] The following steps were repeated 75 times: elongation at a tensile speed of 80 mm / min until the load reached 1 N, and then restoration to the original state. The elongation at each elongation was measured, and the elongation at the 75th elongation (elongation relative to the initial length) was defined as the specific load elongation of the present invention.

[0199] [Example 1: Breathing Sensing Using Narrow Woven Fabric Embedded with Sensing Yarn]

[0200] like Fig.16 As shown on the left side of the figure, a sensing suit is prepared in which a narrow woven fabric with sensing yarn (sensing member) woven into it is sewn on the back side of a sleeveless shirt, and a person wears the sensing suit to sense breathing. The position of the sensing yarn is adjusted so that when the sensing suit is worn, the sensing yarn comes near the diaphragm, that is, near the fourth to fifth ribs from the bottom. As the fabric of the sleeveless shirt, a material of 60% cotton, 30% polyester, and 10% polyurethane is used, and the size that fits the body comfortably is used. In other words, it is set as a piece of clothing that makes the body surface and the sensing suit fit tightly.

[0201] As a linear conductor constituting the sensing yarn, the following linear conductor was used: a conductive fiber composed of a multifilament obtained by silver-plating nylon-6,6 fiber, the fineness of the nylon fiber was 66 dtex, the fineness after silver plating was 80 dtex, and the number of filaments was 14. Belltron B31 (registered trademark) (fineness 240 dtex) produced by KB SEIREN, a high-resistance fiber as a covering material (sheath yarn), was covered around the linear conductor to produce a core-sheath structure yarn, and a plied structure yarn obtained by combining and further twisting two of the core-sheath structure yarns was used as the sensing yarn. The fineness of the sensing yarn is 1284 dtex. The covering conditions are as follows: First, double covering is performed using two sheath yarns at a twist number of 653 T / m (twist coefficient = 15258) in the Z direction. When the two sheath-core structure yarns are further twisted, a plied structure yarn is produced at a twist number of 250 T / m (twist coefficient = 8344) in the S direction. A narrow woven fabric is produced by weaving the sensing yarn into the central part of the warp yarn of a narrow woven fabric (woven fabric belt). The woven fabric structure is set to plain weave, and polyester wool-like yarns with a fineness of 167T are used for both the warp and weft yarns in the narrow woven fabric except for the sensing yarn. The obtained narrow woven fabric has a width of 10 mm, a thickness of 430 μm, and a weight of 2.14 g per 1 m of woven fabric length. An enlarged photograph of the narrow woven fabric used is shown in Fig.16 The black part in the center of the photo is the sensing yarn, which is woven into the narrow woven fabric with a plain weave structure. By sewing a 25 cm long woven fabric of this sensing narrow woven fabric into the back side of the tank top, a Fig.16 The sensing garment shown on the left. The specific elongation under load for the tank top fabric is 9% and the specific elongation under load for the narrow woven fabric is 1.8%.

[0202] The evaluation of the breathing sensing characteristics was performed as follows. Two adjacent linear conductors were electrically disconnected at one end of the core-sheath structure yarn, a voltage of 1.0 V was applied to the other end, and the output current at this time was monitored. The voltage application and current value were measured using a source meter (SMU: source measurement unit, Keithley's 2614B), and the output current value was always monitored using a self-made program. The results at this time were recorded in Fig.17 According to Fig.17As a result, the output value changes were observed, which were changes linked to breathing, such as the output current value increased during the inhalation action and decreased during the exhalation action. In addition, the output current value was fixed when breathing stopped. Thus, it can be seen that the change of the sensor output linked to breathing was observed using this sensing suit. At this time, the length of the body surface corresponding to breathing changed by about 3.9% in the 25cm length of the back part of the human body to which the sensing yarn was closely attached. In addition, the above measurements were performed on a female with a height of 152cm.

[0203] [Example 2: Simultaneous sensing of breathing and posture using a narrow woven fabric embedded with sensing yarn]

[0204] A narrow woven fabric with sensing yarn woven in the same manner as in Example 1 was prepared, and a T-shirt with the narrow woven fabric sewn in such a manner as to reach the position near the shoulder blade was made as a sensing garment ( Fig.18 Left side). As the fabric of the T-shirt, a fabric with 89% polyester and 11% polyurethane was used. The specific elongation under load of the T-shirt fabric is 11%, and the specific elongation under load of the narrow woven fabric is 1.8%.

[0205] Wearing this sensing suit, the following conditions were measured: Figure 8 As shown on the right, the current value when the operation is performed in a state where the back muscles are stretched is "0" for a good posture and a so-called hunchback state is "x" for a bad posture.

[0206] exist Fig.19 The example of the current value monitoring result at this time is shown in FIG. The subject at this time is a male with a height of 178 cm. The subject adopts a good posture from 0s to 42s, is slightly hunched over from 42s to 55s, and then temporarily recovers to a good posture. Then, the subject is in a state of 60s to 78s. Fig.18 As shown in the photo on the right, the hunched posture is in a rather bad condition. Fig.19 The results showed that the baseline level of the current value was not linked to the posture, and that the current value changed in conjunction with breathing regardless of the posture. When compared with the results obtained by measuring the respiratory rate based on the movement of the ribs, it was confirmed that Fig.19 The change of output current is completely linked with exhalation and inhalation.

[0207] [Example 3: Sensing of bending of fingers in finger protectors / gloves]

[0208] As a linear conductor constituting the sensing yarn, a conductive fiber composed of a multifilament obtained by silver-plating nylon-6,6 fiber was used. A conductor having a nylon fiber fineness of 66 dtex, a fineness of 80 dtex after silver plating, and 14 filaments was used as the linear conductor. A core-sheath structure yarn was produced by covering the high-resistance fiber (sheath yarn) produced by Asahi Kasei, keto-ammonia yarn (registered trademark) (fineness of 220 dtex), which is a covering material (sheath yarn), around the linear conductor, and a plied structure yarn obtained by combining and further twisting two of the core-sheath structure yarns was used as the sensing yarn. The fineness of the sensing yarn is 1255 dtex. The covering conditions are as follows: First, double covering is performed using two sheath yarns with a twist number of 1042 T / m (twist coefficient = 23439) in the Z direction. When the two sheath-core structure yarns are further twisted, a plied structure yarn is produced in the S direction with a twist number of 204 T / m (twist coefficient = 6490).

[0209] Use the fully-fledged computerized flat knitting machine (MACH2XS15S) to produce Fig. 20 The finger protector shown here uses the present sensing yarn. The yarn used to knit the front surface of the protector and the base yarn (ground yarn) used to knit the back surface are 168dtex / 36f polyester wool-like yarns. The yarns of the front surface and the back surface are folded and knitted respectively to form a structure with holes for fingers to pass through at both ends of the knitted part in the horizontal direction (the tube extends in the longitudinal direction of the knitted fabric). The front surface and the back surface are knitted in a way that each has 46 horizontal rows of coils, a total of 92 horizontal rows of coils, and the length direction is extended by 60 longitudinal rows of coils. Fig. 20 The loop length at this time was 5.5 mm.

[0210] During the knitting, on the back side of the center of the front surface, the sensing yarn is knitted into 4 horizontal rows of loops in the width direction of the tube using the needle bag knitting method, and into 38 vertical rows of loops with a loop length of 5 mm in the length direction.

[0211] Put this finger protector (refer to Fig. 20 )like Fig.21 The sensor was worn on the middle finger as shown in the left photo, and the sensor output current value was monitored while flexing and extending the finger using the same measurement method as in Example 1, except that the applied voltage was set to 3.0 V. The results are shown in Fig.21 Right. During the time in the shaded parts marked as B and C, perform actions B and C respectively, and at other times return to the state of A with the fingers stretched out. Fig.21The results of the graph on the right show that when the finger is bent, the sensor output current becomes larger, and the greater the bend, the greater the change in the current value. At the beginning of the actions of B and C, overshoot is observed in the current value. This is because the knitting structure of this embodiment is slightly difficult to follow the shape change, and the structure is loose. High responsiveness is obtained in the case of a different knitting structure of Example 4 described later. (That is, the sensing yarn itself has high responsiveness.) Here, after actually measuring the length of the outer surface of the finger during the flexion and extension movement, it is 4.0 cm in the state A where the finger is stretched, 4.8 cm in the state B, and 5.0 cm in the state C. That is, in the states B and C, compared with the state A as a reference, they are stretched by 20% and 25%, respectively. This means that the sensing yarn in the finger guard is stretched in accordance with the elongation of the finger surface in the state where the finger is bent, so that the current value increases.

[0212] [Example 4: Simultaneous sensing of opening and closing of the palm (clenching and loosening of the fist) and bending of the wrist in the wristband]

[0213] As a linear conductor constituting the sensing yarn, a conductive fiber composed of a multifilament obtained by silver-plating nylon-6,6 fiber was used. A conductor having a nylon fiber fineness of 66 dtex, a fineness of 80 dtex after silver plating, and 14 filaments was used as a linear conductor. A core-sheath structure yarn was produced by covering the high-resistance fiber (sheath yarn) produced by Asahi Kasei, which is a keto-ammonia yarn (registered trademark) (fineness of 220 dtex) as a covering material (sheath yarn), around the linear conductor, and a plied structure yarn obtained by combining two of the core-sheath structure yarns and further twisting them was used as the sensing yarn. The fineness of the sensing yarn is 1255 dtex. The covering conditions are as follows: First, double covering is performed using two sheath yarns with a twist number of 1042 T / m (twist coefficient = 23439) in the Z direction. When the two sheath-core structure yarns are further twisted, a plied structure yarn is produced in the S direction with a twist number of 204 T / m (twist coefficient = 6490).

[0214] Use the fully-fledged computerized flat knitting machine (MACH2XS15S) to produce Fig. 22 The wristband shown here uses the present sensing yarn. The base yarn (ground yarn) of the wristband body uses 168T72 polyester wool-like yarn, and has a structure with holes for the arms to pass through at both ends in the vertical direction of the knitting part (the tube extends in the direction of the knitted fabric's coil rows). The front surface and the back surface are 96 coil rows each, and the front and back surfaces are 52 coil rows each, a total of 104 coil rows, to form a circle, to make it Fig. 22 The loop length at this time is 6 mm.

[0215] When knitting, use Fig.24In the smooth knitting method shown in FIG. 1 , two rows of the present sensing yarn are knitted in parallel along the longitudinal direction of the main body tube by knitting four rows of stitches into one row of stitches.

[0216] Put this wristband (refer to Fig. 22 )like Fig.23 The sensor was worn on the wrist as shown in the photo on the left, and the sensor output current value was monitored while flexing and extending the five fingers using the same measurement method as in Example 1, except that the applied voltage was set to 3.0 V. The results are shown in Fig.23 On the right. Fig.23 As shown in the photo on the left, A is the state of stretching the hand, B is the state of making a fist, and C is the state of making a fist and bending the wrist. Fig.23 In the right graph, actions B and C are performed during the time in the shaded parts marked as B and C, respectively, and the hand is restored to the extended state of A during the rest of the time. Fig.23 The results of the chart on the right show that when the fingers are bent, the sensor output current becomes larger, and the greater the bend, the greater the change in the current value. At the beginning of the actions of B and C, overshoots were observed in the current values. This is because the knitting structure of this embodiment is slightly difficult to follow the shape changes, and the structure is loose. High responsiveness is obtained in the case of a different knitting structure of Example 4 described later. (That is, the sensing yarn itself has high responsiveness.) Here, after actually measuring the length of the arm around the action, it is 18.0cm in the state of A with the hand stretched out, 17.7cm in the state of B, and 17.0cm in the state of C. That is, in the states of B and C, compared with the state of A as a reference, they are reduced by 1.7% and 5.6%, respectively. The output current value during the actions of B and C is reduced, and the sensing yarn that is initially stretched contracts, thereby being able to detect the action of clenching a fist.

[0217] [Example 5]

[0218] As a linear conductor constituting the sensing yarn, a conductive fiber consisting of a multifilament obtained by silver-plating nylon-6,6 fiber was used. A conductor having a nylon fiber fineness of 99 dtex, a fineness of 120 dtex after silver plating, and 21 filaments was used as a linear conductor. KURACARBOR (produced by Kuraray, KC-782R B20T4) with a fineness of 500 dtex was used as a high-resistance fiber for the covering material (sheath yarn) to make a sheath-core structure yarn, and three plied structure yarns formed by further twisting two of the sheath-core structure yarns were directly sewn to the sleeveless shirt. For other conditions, a breathing sensing suit was made in the same manner as in Example 1. The twist number when covering the sheath yarn is set to 838T / m (twist factor = 28045), and the twist number when the two sheath-core structure yarns are further twisted is set to 280T / m (twist factor = 13252). The fineness of the completed plied structure yarn is 2865dtex. The sutured parts are set to the upper chest (the position at the height of the armpit), the lower chest (the position of the chest circumference), and the abdomen (the part with the greatest activity during abdominal breathing). The three parts are sewn using an overlock sewing machine. The sensor resistance of the 30cm long sensing yarn is 9.0kΩ, and the wiring resistance value of the core yarn as a linear conductor is 23Ω. In addition, the results of fully immersing the sensing yarn in tap water and artificial sweat and measuring the sensor resistance value are exactly the same as when dry, which is 9.0kΩ.

[0219] In this case, the result obtained by wearing the sensing suit and reading the sensor output is that the change in the sensor output linked to breathing is also found. In addition, in the case of chest breathing and abdominal breathing, the changes in the upper chest, lower chest, and abdomen become larger, respectively, and the difference between chest / abdominal breathing can be distinguished by naked eyes. In addition, even when tap water is immersed in the sensing component and the measurement is performed, the same sensor output as when it is dry can be obtained. In addition, the above measurement was performed on a male with a height of 175 cm.

[0220] Industrial Applicability

[0221] The sensing member used in the biological information measuring device according to the present invention can be processed in a long size, has excellent mass production, can be used as a warp yarn of a woven fabric or a warp knitting, is soft and has an excellent hand feel, and has a very low cost compared to a conventional contact sensing fiber member (piezoelectric yarn) for contact using a piezoelectric material. That is, the sensing member can use polyester, nylon, etc., which are common fiber materials, to sense load or tensile force, so that the sensing fiber can be realized at a very low cost. In addition, by using a mature fiber processing technology including core-spun yarn, i.e., a coating technology, it is possible to realize a processed yarn that can be processed in a long size, has excellent mass production, and has a very good hand feel compared to a piezoelectric yarn, so that the processing of fiber members such as woven fabrics and knitted fabrics becomes easy.

[0222] The electrostatic capacitance and / or resistance value of the sensing member used in the biological information measuring device according to the present invention changes, and it is possible to detect a state where a load or tensile force is continuously applied, and it is also possible to detect a change in the amount of water.

[0223] In addition, in the sensing component used in the biological information measuring device involved in the present invention, when the core-sheath structure yarn obtained by winding high-resistance short fibers as the covering material in random directions and covering the periphery of the linear conductor as the core material is the core-covered yarn, it is easy to use natural fibers and biodegradable yarns, and it is easy to give functionality to the sheath yarn.

[0224] Therefore, the biological information measuring device according to the present invention can be widely used in smart textile applications in which an electric functional element is provided on a fiber base material having flexibility and stretchability.

[0225] In addition, the sensing member of the prior art mainly uses the sensor output of resistance, electrostatic capacitance, etc. relative to the elongation of the stretchable wiring determined by the physical properties of the rubber elastic body, and has poor linearity, hysteresis, and slow responsiveness when returning to the original state, so it cannot be said that the repeatability is good. On the contrary, the specific load elongation of the sensing member used in the biological information measuring device involved in the present invention is lower than the load elongation of the conventional sensing member, so it has good linearity, almost no hysteresis, high responsiveness when returning to the original state, and thus good repeatability.

[0226] Therefore, in the living body information measuring device according to the present invention, for example, a garment (T-shirt, underwear, vest, belt, etc.) including a sensing fiber member (yarn) having a plied structure yarn obtained by further twisting two core-sheath structure yarns can be used to detect displacement such as slight stretching of the body surface, movement, or change in water content, thereby, for example, it is possible to detect changes in breathing, posture, movement of the wrist, ankle, finger, etc., movement of muscles (pelvic floor muscle, brachioradialis, calf, etc.), swallowing movement, analysis of walking and running movements (for rehabilitation purposes, preventive health care, etc.), and changes in water content caused by sweating, excretion, etc. In particular, in the living body information measuring device according to the present invention, it is also possible to simultaneously detect the presence or absence of breathing and the quality of posture, and simultaneously detect the degree of hand opening (clenching and loosening of fists) and the bending of the wrist, etc.

[0227] Furthermore, the biological information measuring device involved in the present invention can be applied to smart textiles that use wireless communications such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) to communicate between posture-improving underwear and external devices such as smartphones, and display the number of times a good posture is achieved each day together with the target value through a sensor on the back.

[0228] Description of Reference Numerals

[0229] 1: conductive fiber; 2: piezoelectric material; 3: conductor; 4: piezoelectric wire of the prior art; 5: linear conductor as core material; 6: high-resistance fiber (long fiber or short fiber yarn) as covering material (covering yarn); 7: core-sheath structure yarn; 8: plied structure yarn obtained by further twisting two core-sheath structure yarns; 9: core yarn (core material); 10: spindle; 11: bobbin; 12: spindle wing; 13: spindle wing gap; 14: covering yarn; 15: spindle wing foot guide; 16: spindle wing foot guide; 17: spindle wing foot guide; 18: spindle wing foot guide.

Claims

1. A biological information measuring device, which is composed of a fiber substrate including a sensing member and is arranged in contact with a specified position of a biological body, wherein the sensing member has at least two core-sheath structure yarns obtained by arranging high-resistance fibers as a covering material around a linear conductor as a core material, wherein the two core-sheath structure yarns are arranged close to each other, so that changes in resistance and / or changes in electrostatic capacitance between the linear conductors of the two core-sheath structure yarns can be read, and changes in the biological information or changes thereof can be measured based on the changes.

2. The biological information measuring device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The sensing member is a plied structure yarn formed by further twisting two core-sheath structure yarns.

3. The biological information measuring device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The high-resistance fiber disposed in the sensing member is composed of a fiber having a carbon-based conductive material provided on at least a portion of its surface, and is capable of reading a change in resistance between the linear conductors.

4. The biological information measuring device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The specific load elongation of the sensing member is 5% or less.

5. The biological information measuring device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The biological information is a posture change of the biological body.

6. The biological information measuring device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The biological information is biological information caused by breathing.

7. The biological information measuring device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The biological body information is a change in the moisture content of the biological body surface.

8. The biological information measuring device according to claim 3, characterized in that: A change in sensor output relative to a change in moisture content at a portion of the sensing member measuring biological information is 1 / 20 or less of a change in sensor output for biological information measurement.

9. The biological information measuring device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: At least one of the core-sheath structured yarns is a core-sheath structured yarn obtained by winding a high-resistance fiber as a covering material in one direction around a linear conductor as a core material.

10. The biological information measuring device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: At least one of the core-sheath structured yarns is a core-covered yarn obtained by winding high-resistance short fibers as a covering material in random directions and covering the periphery of a linear conductor as a core material.

11. The biological information measuring device according to claim 1, characterized in that: Two or more of the core-sheath structured yarns are arranged in a partially contacting manner in the fiber base material.

12. A kind of clothing, A living body information measuring device according to claim 1 or 2 is provided.

13. A kind of clothing, The living body information measuring device according to claim 11 is provided.

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