Measurement device, control method, and control program

Abstract

The invention provides a measurement device, a control method, and a control program capable of reducing the processing load of a processor and suppressing the delay of processing such as measurement. A measurement device according to one aspect of the present invention is provided with: a main MCU (18) that performs measurement on the basis of biological data obtained by a sensor; a communication IC (14) that wirelessly communicates with an information terminal (5); and a non-volatile memory (14a) connected to the communication IC (14). Furthermore, the main MCU (18) specifies the address of the write destination in the nonvolatile memory (14a) to the communication IC (14), causes the communication IC (14) to write the biological data into the nonvolatile memory (14a), specifies the address of the read source in the nonvolatile memory (14a) to the communication IC (14), and causes the communication IC (14) to read the biological data from the nonvolatile memory (14a) and transmit the biological data to the information terminal (5).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a measuring device, a control method and a control program. Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, there is known a biological information measuring device that includes a communication unit for wirelessly communicating with an external device such as a personal computer and can transmit measured biological information to the external device (Patent Document 1). In addition, there is known a blood pressure meter that can store a pulse wave detected by a blood pressure estimation unit and a blood pressure value calculated based on the pulse wave in a storage unit in association with the measurement year, month, day and time, output the stored data to the outside from an output terminal, and display the signal level of the pulse wave through a timing curve graph (Patent Document 2).

[0003] Prior art literature

[0004] Patent Literature

[0005] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2008-061663

[0006] Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2007-098003 Summary of the invention

[0007] Problems to be solved by the invention

[0008] According to the biological information measuring device of Patent Document 1, the measured biological information can be sent to an external device. In addition, according to the blood pressure meter of Patent Document 2, it can be clearly displayed what kind of pulse wave the blood pressure estimation unit detects and what characteristic point of the detected pulse wave is used to estimate the blood pressure value, so that the subject himself can confirm whether the blood pressure value is estimated normally. However, in Patent Documents 1 and 2, there is no description about reducing the processing load of the processor, wherein the processor writes the measured biological information to the memory or reads the measured biological information from the memory and sends it to the external device.

[0009] In one aspect, the present invention has been made in view of such actual circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a measuring device, a control method, and a control program that can reduce the processing load of a processor and suppress delays in processes such as measurement.

[0010] Solutions for solving problems

[0011] The present invention adopts the following configuration in order to solve the above-mentioned problems. (1)

[0013] A measuring device, comprising:

[0014] A first processor performs measurement based on biological data obtained by the sensor;

[0015] A second processor for wirelessly communicating with the information terminal; and

[0016] a memory connected to the second processor,

[0017] In the first processor,

[0018] specifying the address of a write destination in the memory to the second processor so that the second processor writes the biological data into the memory,

[0019] Furthermore, the address of the read source in the memory is specified to the second processor, so that the second processor reads the biological data from the memory and transmits the biological data to the information terminal.

[0020] According to (1), by providing a second processor for wireless communication separately from the first processor for performing measurements based on biological data, the processing load for sending biological data such as pulse wave data to the information terminal can be distributed to the second processor, thereby reducing the processing load of the first processor. As a result, the delay of the measurement and other processing performed by the first processor can be suppressed. In addition, the first processor specifies the address of the memory connected to the second processor to instruct the second processor to write, read and send the biological data, so there is no need to perform flow control and delivery confirmation in the interface between the first processor and the second processor (UART: Universal Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter, etc.), which can increase the transmission speed of the biological data to the information terminal. In addition, the second processor only needs to be able to write information to the specified address in the memory, read and send information from the specified address in the memory, so a simple structure can be adopted for the second processor. In addition, the first processor can flexibly write biological data to the memory, read biological data from the memory, and send the read biological data by instructing the second processor. However, since the first processor itself need not perform heavy processing such as writing, reading, and sending of biological data, the processing load of the first processor can be reduced as described above. It should be noted that the pulse wave may be a pressure pulse wave obtained by measuring changes in pressure applied to a blood vessel, or a volume pulse wave obtained by measuring changes in the amount of blood in a blood vessel. (2)

[0022] The measuring device according to (1), wherein:

[0023] The memory has an area allocated for the biological data,

[0024] The address of the write destination and the address of the read source are addresses in the area.

[0025] According to (2), by providing an area in the memory where no information other than vital data is written, interference between writing of vital data based on an instruction from the first processor to the second processor and writing of other information by the second processor can be suppressed. (3)

[0027] The measuring device according to (1) or (2), wherein:

[0028] The memory is inaccessible from the first processor.

[0029] According to (3), compared with a configuration in which the first processor and the second processor share one memory, access processing can be dispersed and accelerated. (4)

[0031] The measuring device according to any one of (1) to (3), wherein:

[0032] The biological data is pulse wave data.

[0033] As described in (4), the biological data measured by the measurement device is preferably pulse wave data, for example. (5)

[0035] The measuring device according to (4), wherein:

[0036] The first processor outputs a blood pressure measurement result based on the pulse wave data.

[0037] According to (5), the first processor can wirelessly transmit the pulse wave data to the information terminal and output the blood pressure measurement result. (6)

[0039] The measuring device according to any one of (1) to (5), wherein:

[0040] The memory is a non-volatile memory.

[0041] According to (6), a large amount of biological data can be stored with an inexpensive structure. (7)

[0043] A control method is a control method for a measuring device, the measuring device comprising: a first processor for performing a measurement based on biological data obtained by a sensor; a second processor for wirelessly communicating with an information terminal; and a memory connected to the second processor, wherein:

[0044] In the first processor:

[0045] specifying the address of a write destination in the memory to the second processor so that the second processor writes the biological data into the memory,

[0046] The address of the read source in the memory is specified to the second processor, so that the second processor reads the biological data from the memory and transmits the biological data to the information terminal.

[0047] According to (7), by providing a second processor for wireless communication separately from the first processor for performing measurements based on biological data, the processing load for sending biological data such as pulse wave data to the information terminal can be distributed to the second processor, thereby reducing the processing load of the first processor. As a result, the delay of the measurement and other processing performed by the first processor can be suppressed. In addition, the first processor specifies the address of the memory connected to the second processor to instruct the second processor to write, read and send the biological data, so there is no need to perform flow control and delivery confirmation in the interface (UART, etc.) between the first processor and the second processor, which can increase the transmission speed of the biological data to the information terminal. In addition, the second processor only needs to be able to write information to the specified address in the memory, read and send information from the specified address in the memory, so a simple structure can be used for the second processor. In addition, the first processor can flexibly write biological data to the memory, read biological data from the memory, and send the read biological data by instructing the second processor. However, since the first processor itself does not need to perform heavy-load processing such as writing, reading, and sending of biological data, the processing load of the first processor can be reduced as described above. (8)

[0049] A control program is a control program of a measuring device, the measuring device comprising: a first processor for performing measurement based on biological data obtained by a sensor; a second processor for wirelessly communicating with an information terminal; and a memory connected to the second processor, the control program being used to cause the first processor to perform the following processing:

[0050] specifying the address of a write destination in the memory to the second processor so that the second processor writes the biological data into the memory,

[0051] The address of the read source in the memory is specified to the second processor, so that the second processor reads the biological data from the memory and transmits the biological data to the information terminal.

[0052] According to (8), by providing a second processor for wireless communication separately from the first processor for performing measurements based on biological data, the processing load for sending biological data such as pulse wave data to the information terminal can be distributed to the second processor, thereby reducing the processing load of the first processor. As a result, the delay of the measurement and other processing performed by the first processor can be suppressed. In addition, the first processor specifies the address of the memory connected to the second processor to instruct the second processor to write, read and send the biological data, so there is no need to perform flow control and delivery confirmation in the interface (UART, etc.) between the first processor and the second processor, which can increase the transmission speed of the biological data to the information terminal. In addition, the second processor only needs to be able to write information to the specified address in the memory, read and send information from the specified address in the memory, so a simple structure can be used for the second processor. In addition, the first processor can flexibly write biological data to the memory, read biological data from the memory, and send the read biological data by instructing the second processor. However, since the first processor itself does not need to perform heavy-load processing such as writing, reading, and sending of biological data, the processing load of the first processor can be reduced as described above.

[0053] Effects of the Invention

[0054] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a measuring device, a control method, and a control program that can reduce the processing load of a processor and suppress delays in processing such as measurement. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0055] Figure 1 This is a diagram showing an information management system including a measuring device of the invention and an information terminal that wirelessly communicates with the measuring device.

[0056] Figure 2 This is a diagram showing a sphygmomanometer as an example of a measurement device.

[0057] Figure 3 This is a diagram showing an example in which information terminals are connected to a network.

[0058] Figure 4 This is a block diagram showing the structure of a measuring device.

[0059] Figure 5 This is a block diagram showing the structure of an information terminal.

[0060] Figure 6 This is a sequence diagram showing the operations of the main MCU, communication IC, and nonvolatile memory in the measurement device.

[0061] Figure 7 This is a diagram showing an example of biological data measured by a measurement device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0062] Hereinafter, an embodiment of one aspect of the present invention will be described based on the drawings.

[0063] §1 Application Examples

[0064] <Information Management System 100 to Which the Present Invention is Applied>

[0065] Figure 1 The present invention is an information management system 100 including a measuring device 1 of the present invention and an information terminal 5 that wirelessly communicates with the measuring device 1 .

[0066] The measuring device 1 includes a biological data measuring device for measuring biological data such as weight, body composition, blood pressure, pulse, heart rate, body temperature, blood sugar or blood oxygen saturation. The measuring device 1 includes a measuring sensor for measuring the measurement object quantity. The measurement object quantity of the measuring sensor includes biological data such as weight, body fat percentage, blood pressure value, pulse rate, heart rate, body temperature, blood sugar value or blood oxygen saturation corresponding to the measuring device 1. In addition, the measuring device 1 is a non-wearable measuring device. A non-wearable measuring device refers to a measuring device that is not wearable. A wearable measuring device refers to a measuring device (such as an activity meter) that is carried by being worn on the user's body. For example, the measuring device 1 (non-wearable measuring device) is a measuring device such as a weight scale, a body composition meter, a weight and body composition meter, a blood pressure meter, etc. that is used in a state of being set on the ground or on a table. The measuring device 1 sends the measured biological data to the information terminal 5 as the measured biological data of the user through wireless communication.

[0067] The information terminal 5 stores the measured biological data received from the measuring device 1 in the data storage unit in the information terminal 5. In addition, the information terminal 5 can also wirelessly communicate with external devices other than the measuring device 1, and store the information obtained from the external device in the data storage unit in the information terminal 5. The information terminal 5 is an information processing device that analyzes various information obtained from the measuring device 1 and other external devices. The information terminal 5 is, for example, a terminal with a display such as a smartphone, a tablet terminal, a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a wearable terminal, etc. The information terminal 5 can also be set to obtain the measured biological data from a specific measuring device 1. The specific measuring device 1 that obtains the measured biological data can also be pre-registered in the data storage unit of the information terminal 5.

[0068] Figure 2 1 is a diagram showing a sphygmomanometer 1A as an example of a measuring device 1. The sphygmomanometer 1A is an example of a biological data measuring device, and measures the blood pressure (pressure pulse wave data) of a user and outputs the measurement result to the user. In addition, the sphygmomanometer 1A transmits the measurement result as the user's measured biological data to an information terminal 5 via wireless communication. For example, the sphygmomanometer 1A includes: a main body 21; a cuff 22 that can be wrapped around the user's upper arm; and an air tube 23 that connects the main body 21 and the cuff 22. Figure 2 In the example shown in FIG. 2 , the cuff 22 and the main body 21 are separate bodies, but the cuff 22 and the main body 21 may be integrated.

[0069] Figure 3 1 is a diagram showing an example of an information terminal 5 being connected to a network. Figure 3 As shown, the information terminal 5 can be connected to the cloud server 90 via a wide area network N such as the Internet. The information terminal 5 can also send the measured biometric data stored in the information terminal 5 to the cloud server 90 via the wide area network N, and manage the measured biometric data of the user W in the form of a database in the cloud server 90. In addition, the information terminal 5 can also obtain the measured biometric data managed in the cloud server 90 via the wide area network N and use the obtained measured biometric data.

[0070] §2 Example of composition

[0071] <Configuration of Measurement Device 1>

[0072] Figure 4 1 is a block diagram showing the structure of the measuring device 1. The measuring device 1 includes: a display unit 11 that can display various information; an operation unit 12 that can be operated by the user; a measuring unit 13 that measures biological data, etc.; a communication IC (Integrated Circuit) 14 that communicates with external devices; a non-volatile memory 14a connected to the communication IC 14; and an antenna 14b for communication. In addition, the measuring device 1 includes: a RAM (Random Access Memory) 16 that temporarily stores information; a main MCU (Micro Controller Unit) 18 that controls the operation of the entire device; and a non-volatile memory 18a that is connected to the main MCU 18. The main MCU 18 is an example of the first processor of the present invention. The communication IC 14 is an example of the second processor of the present invention. The communication interface between the main MCU 18 and the communication IC 14 uses an interface such as a UART.

[0073] The display unit 11 is composed of, for example, a liquid crystal display or an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display. The operation unit 12 is a user interface such as buttons or a touch panel that accepts user operations. The buttons include buttons physically provided on the measurement device 1 and virtual buttons displayed on the display unit 11 .

[0074] The measurement unit 13 includes sensors for measuring biological data such as weight, body composition, blood pressure, pulse, heart rate, body temperature, blood sugar, and blood oxygen saturation. What is measured varies depending on the measurement target of the measurement device 1 .

[0075] The nonvolatile memory 14a is a recording medium that stores parameters and control programs required to realize a predetermined function, and the biological data measured by the measuring unit 13. The nonvolatile memory 14a is composed of, for example, a flash memory. The nonvolatile memory 14a is provided with a biological data area allocated for storing biological data. The biological data stored in the nonvolatile memory 14a is managed by the communication IC 14.

[0076] The communication IC 14 implements the specified functions by executing the control program. For example, the communication IC 14 can perform short-range wireless communication by executing the communication program stored in the non-volatile memory 14a. The communication IC 14, for example, communicates in accordance with the BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy (registered trademark): Bluetooth Low Energy) standard. The communication IC 14 sends a notification signal for wireless communication to multiple unspecified external devices during a periodic period through broadcast communication. For example, the communication IC 14 includes the name and attribute information of the measuring device 1 in the notification signal and sends it. The BLE communication performed by the communication IC 14 is, for example, communication using a 2.4 GHz frequency.

[0077] Furthermore, the communication IC 14 can manage the biological data by executing, for example, a management program stored in the nonvolatile memory 14 a . The biological data is the biological data of the user measured by the measurement unit 13 .

[0078] For example, the communication IC 14 performs a write process of writing the measured biological data into the non-volatile memory 14a. In addition, the communication IC 14 performs a read process of reading the biological data from the non-volatile memory 14a. The communication IC 14 writes the biological data into the non-volatile memory 14a according to the write instruction signal sent from the main MCU 18 to the communication IC, and reads the biological data from the non-volatile memory 14a according to the read instruction signal. The communication IC 14 performs a write process and a read process of the biological data on the biological data area of ​​the non-volatile memory 14a. No information other than the biological data written according to the write instruction signal from the main MCU 18 is written into the biological data area. The biological data area is a dedicated area that can be used by the main MCU 18 and is located in the area of ​​the non-volatile memory 14a.

[0079] The communication IC 14 performs a transmission process of transmitting the biological data read from the nonvolatile memory 14a to, for example, the information terminal 5 by wireless communication using the antenna 14b. The communication IC 14 performs the transmission process of the biological data in accordance with a transmission instruction signal transmitted from the main MCU 18 to the communication IC 14.

[0080] The RAM 16 is constituted by a semiconductor device such as a DRAM (Dynamic RAM) or an SRAM (Static RAM), and temporarily stores information, and also operates as a work area of ​​the main MCU 18 .

[0081] The nonvolatile memory 18a is a recording medium that stores parameters and control programs required to realize a predetermined function, and address information of a biological data area in the nonvolatile memory 14a connected to the communication IC 14. The nonvolatile memory 18a is composed of, for example, an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory). It should be noted that in this example, the nonvolatile memory 14a is a separate structure from the communication IC 14, but, for example, the nonvolatile memory 14a may also be a module with the communication IC 14.

[0082] The main MCU 18 implements a predetermined function by executing a control program. For example, the main MCU 18 can perform measurement based on the biological data acquired by the measurement unit 13 by executing a measurement program stored in the nonvolatile memory 18 a.

[0083] In addition, the main MCU 18 can perform management instructions on the measured biological data by executing, for example, a management instruction program stored in the non-volatile memory 18a. For example, the main MCU 18 specifies the address of the write destination in the biological data area of ​​the non-volatile memory 14a and sends a write instruction signal to the communication IC 14 to write the biological data into the non-volatile memory 14a. The main MCU 18 sends the biological data obtained in the measurement performed by the measurement unit 13 to the communication IC 14 in sequence together with the write instruction signal. The main MCU 18 does not receive a response signal from the communication IC 14 for sending the biological data to the communication IC 14, that is, the biological data is sent to the communication IC 14 in sequence without confirming the delivery of the biological data. The sequential transmission of biological data refers to dividing the biological data as time series data at a fixed time and sending it in sequence. When the main MCU 18 sends the biological data divided at a fixed time in sequence, it sends it in a manner without confirming the delivery each time (for example, sending it in a streaming manner). The main MCU 18 adds flag information indicating that delivery confirmation of whether the biological data has been delivered is not performed to the biological data, and transmits the biological data to the communication IC 14. For example, the main MCU 18 transmits the biological data to the communication IC at 18 bytes every 32 milliseconds (msec).

[0084] In addition, the main MCU 18 sends a read instruction signal to the communication IC 14, which specifies the address of the read source in the biological data area of ​​the non-volatile memory 14a and reads the biological data from the non-volatile memory 14a. It should be noted that the address designation for writing and reading can be, for example, the designation of the start address for writing and reading in the biological data area of ​​the non-volatile memory 14a and the designation of the size of the write information and the read information, or the designation of the start address and the end address for writing and reading.

[0085] In addition, the main MCU 18 can instruct the communication IC 14 to perform a transmission process by executing, for example, a transmission instruction program stored in the nonvolatile memory 18a. For example, the main MCU 18 sends a transmission instruction signal for sending a notification signal for wireless communication (BLE communication) during a periodic period and a transmission instruction signal for sending the biological data read from the nonvolatile memory 14a to an external device such as the information terminal 5 to the communication IC 14. The main MCU 18 only sends an instruction signal including an address designation of the nonvolatile memory 14a to the communication IC 14 when writing the measured biological data to the nonvolatile memory 14a, reading the biological data, and sending the biological data to an external device. Moreover, the communication IC 14 that receives the instruction from the main MCU 18 is configured to perform the writing process of the biological data to the nonvolatile memory 14a, the reading process of the biological data, and the sending process to the external device. That is, the main MCU 18 is configured to be able to indirectly access the nonvolatile memory 14a via the communication IC 14 but cannot directly access the nonvolatile memory 14a.

[0086] In addition, the main MCU 18 sends a signal indicating the start of saving the biological data to the non-volatile memory 14a to the communication IC 14 before the sensing of the biological data. In addition, the main MCU 18 sends a signal indicating the end of saving the biological data to the non-volatile memory 14a to the communication IC 14 after the sensing of the biological data. In addition, the main MCU 18 receives result information related to the writing of the biological data to the non-volatile memory 14a from the communication IC 14 after the sensing of the biological data is completed. The result information is sent in a response signal from the communication IC 14 to the main MCU 18 for the indication of the end of saving. The result information includes information indicating the number of biological data received by the communication IC 14 from the main MCU 18 and information indicating the number of failures of the biological data that the communication IC 14 failed to write to the non-volatile memory 14a. It should be noted that the result information may also be information indicating the number of successes of the biological data that was successfully written to the non-volatile memory 14a.

[0087] In addition, the main MCU 18 outputs the biological measurement results based on the measured biological data, such as the blood pressure measurement results based on the pressure pulse wave data, by executing, for example, the information output program stored in the non-volatile memory 18a. The main MCU 18 displays the blood pressure measurement result screen on, for example, the display unit 11 of the measurement device 1. In addition, the main MCU 18 can also output the blood pressure measurement result from the measurement device 1 in the form of voice, and can also send it to the information terminal 5 wirelessly.

[0088] <Configuration of Information Terminal 5>

[0089] Figure 5 : is a block diagram showing the structure of the information terminal 5. The information terminal 5 includes: a display unit 51 that can display various information; an operation unit 52 that can be operated by the user; a GPS (Global Positioning System) sensor 53 for detecting a position; and a first wireless communication unit 54 and a second wireless communication unit 55 for communicating with external devices. In addition, the information terminal 5 includes a RAM 56 for temporarily storing information, a data storage unit 57 for storing information and programs, and a controller 58 for controlling the operation of the entire terminal.

[0090] The display unit 51 is composed of, for example, a liquid crystal display or an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display. The operation unit 52 is a user interface that accepts user operations such as buttons or a touch panel. The buttons include buttons physically provided on the information terminal 5 and virtual buttons displayed on the display unit 51. The GPS sensor 53 is a sensor for detecting the current position of the information terminal 5.

[0091] The first wireless communication unit 54 is a communication unit for cellular communication, for example, a circuit (module) that can communicate in accordance with standards such as 4G (fourth generation mobile communication technology), 5G (fifth generation mobile communication technology), LTE (Long Term Evolution: registered trademark), etc. In addition, the first wireless communication unit 54 is a communication unit for wireless LAN (Local Area Network) communication, for example, a circuit (module) that can communicate in accordance with standards such as Wi-Fi (registered trademark). The second wireless communication unit 55 is a communication unit for short-range wireless communication, for example, a circuit (module) for communicating in accordance with the BLE standard.

[0092] The second wireless communication unit 55 acquires the biological data of the user measured by the measuring device 1, for example, by performing BLE communication with the communication IC 14 of the measuring device 1. The second wireless communication unit 55 receives the notification signal sent from the communication IC 14 of the measuring device 1 by scanning. The second wireless communication unit 55 identifies the measuring device 1 based on the received notification signal, and sends a connection request to the measuring device 1 when a communication connection is desired. It should be noted that in the measuring device 1, after sending the notification signal, the connection request is waited for within a prescribed time, and when the connection request is received within the prescribed time, the sending of the notification signal is stopped, and the one-to-one connection communication with the connection request party is switched.

[0093] The RAM 56 is composed of a semiconductor device such as a DRAM or an SRAM, and temporarily stores information, and operates as a work area of ​​the controller 58 .

[0094] The data storage unit 57 is a recording medium that stores parameters and control programs required to realize predetermined functions, and measured biological data acquired from the measurement device 1 . The data storage unit 57 is composed of, for example, a hard disk drive (HDD) or a semiconductor storage device (SSD).

[0095] The controller 58 implements a predetermined function by executing a control program. It should be noted that, in the present embodiment, the data storage unit 57 is pre-installed with, for example, a management application software for an information terminal as a control program, and the controller 58 implements a predetermined function by executing the management application software. For example, the controller 58 controls the second wireless communication unit 55 in such a manner that when the management application software for the information terminal is started, the notification signal is received by scanning. The controller 58 controls the second wireless communication unit 55 in such a manner that, when receiving a notification signal from the measurement device 1, a connection request is sent to the measurement device 1, and the measurement biological data is acquired from the measurement device 1.

[0096] §3 Action Examples

[0097] <Operation Example of Measurement Device 1>

[0098] Next, refer to Figure 6 , an operation example of the measuring device 1 is described. Figure 6 This is a sequence diagram showing the operation of the main MCU 18, the communication IC 14, and the nonvolatile memory 14a in the measurement device 1. In this example, the measurement device 1 is set as the sphygmomanometer 1A, and the biological information measured by the sphygmomanometer 1A is set as the pressure pulse wave data.

[0099] It is assumed that the user attaches the cuff 22 of the blood pressure monitor 1A to the upper arm and presses the measurement start switch.

[0100] First, the main MCU 18 receives the pressing of the measurement start switch (step S11 ). Next, the main MCU 18 transmits a storage start instruction signal for instructing preparation for starting writing to the communication IC 14 (step S12 ).

[0101] Next, the communication IC 14 performs a save start process for starting writing to the nonvolatile memory 14 a in response to the save start instruction signal received in step S12 (step S13). Next, the communication IC 14 sends a response signal notifying that the save start process has been completed to the main MCU 18 (step S14). The response signal includes a result code indicating that the save start process has been completed.

[0102] Next, when receiving the response signal in step S14 , the main MCU 18 transmits an erase instruction signal for erasing data in the nonvolatile memory 14 a to the communication IC 14 (step S15 ). The erase instruction signal includes the address of the area to be erased in the nonvolatile memory 14 a and the designation of its size.

[0103] Next, in response to the erase instruction signal received in step S15, the communication IC 14 performs a process of, for example, erasing the data of the indicated area for each sector (step S16). The communication IC 14 repeatedly performs the erase process for each sector according to the size of the erase area indicated. The erase process for each sector means, for example, when viewed from the communication IC 14 side, that the communication IC 14 first sends an erase instruction for each sector to the non-volatile memory 14a, and receives a response indicating the content corresponding to the erase instruction (a response that one sector has been erased) from the non-volatile memory 14a. Next, the communication IC 14 sends a read request to read out one erased sector to the non-volatile memory 14a, and after receiving a response corresponding to the read request (a read data of one sector) from the non-volatile memory 14a, it performs verification and ends. Next, the communication IC 14 sends a response signal notifying the completion of the erase process to the main MCU 18 (step S17). The response signal includes a result code indicating completion of the erasing process, the address of the erased data in the nonvolatile memory 14a, and the data size.

[0104] Next, when the response signal is received in step S17, the main MCU 18 pressurizes the cuff 22 and starts measuring the pressure pulse wave data (step S18). Next, the main MCU 18 sends a write instruction signal for writing the measured pressure pulse wave data into the biological data area of ​​the non-volatile memory 14a to the communication IC 14 (step S19). The write instruction signal includes a flag indicating that the delivery confirmation of whether the pressure pulse wave data is delivered is not sent (for example, the delivery in the streaming mode), the address of the non-volatile memory 14a where the pressure pulse wave data is to be written and its data size, and the pressure pulse wave data to be written. The transmission of the pressure pulse wave data in the write instruction is performed sequentially by dividing the pressure pulse wave data measured by the measuring unit 13 into fixed time periods.

[0105] Next, in response to the write instruction signal received in step S19, the communication IC 14 performs a write process of writing the pressure pulse wave data sequentially sent from the main MCU 18 into the designated address in the biological data area of ​​the non-volatile memory 14a for each of the pressure pulse wave data sequentially sent (step S20). The write process of each of the pressure pulse wave data sequentially sent means, for example, when viewed from the communication IC 14 side, first, the communication IC 14 sends a write instruction for each of the pressure pulse wave data sequentially sent from the main MCU 18 to the non-volatile memory 14a, and receives a response indicating the content corresponding to the write instruction (a response that the pressure pulse wave data has been written) from the non-volatile memory 14a. Next, the communication IC 14 sends a read request for reading the written pressure pulse wave data to the non-volatile memory 14a, and after receiving a response corresponding to the read request (the pressure pulse wave data that has been read) from the non-volatile memory 14a, it performs verification and ends.

[0106] Next, when the measurement of the pressure pulse wave data is completed (step S21 ), the main MCU 18 transmits a storage completion instruction signal for instructing the completion of the writing process to the communication IC 14 (step S22 ).

[0107] Next, the communication IC 14 performs a process of ending the writing to the non-volatile memory 14 a in response to the saving end instruction signal received in step S22 (step S23). Next, the communication IC 14 sends a response signal notifying the completion of the saving end process to the main MCU 18 (step S24). The response signal includes a result code indicating the completion of the saving end process, the number of pressure pulse wave data received by the communication IC 14 from the main MCU 18, and the number of pressure pulse wave data failures in writing to the non-volatile memory 14 a.

[0108] The sending process for sending the pressure pulse wave data written in the non-volatile memory 14a from the sphygmomanometer 1A to the external information terminal 5 is performed, for example, after the above-mentioned measurement of the pressure pulse wave data is completed. In this case, the main MCU18 sends a sending instruction signal for sending the pressure pulse wave data to the communication IC14. The sending instruction signal includes the address of the pressure pulse wave data to be sent in the non-volatile memory 14a and the size thereof. Then, the communication IC14 reads the pressure pulse wave data from the non-volatile memory 14a according to the sending instruction signal received from the main MCU18, and sends the read pressure pulse wave data to the information terminal 5 through wireless communication. The communication IC14 sends the result information related to the writing of the pressure pulse wave data (the number of receptions, the number of failures, etc.) to the information terminal 5 together with the pressure pulse wave data.

[0109] §4 Measurement data example

[0110] <Measurement Data of Measurement Device 1>

[0111] Figure 7 1 is a diagram showing an example of biological data measured by the measuring device 1. In this example, an example of pressure pulse wave data measured by the sphygmomanometer 1A is shown. Figure 7 As shown, the pressure pulse wave data 40 is measured as a continuous transmission wave with a substantially fixed periodicity. The measured pressure pulse wave data 40 is sent from the main MCU 18 to the communication IC. The main MCU 18 divides the measured pressure pulse wave data 40 into fixed time periods and sends them to the communication IC 14 in sequence.

[0112] As described above, the main MCU 18 of the measurement device 1 specifies the address of the write destination in the biological data area of ​​the nonvolatile memory 14a to the communication IC 14, and causes the communication IC 14 to write the biological data into the nonvolatile memory 14a, specifies the address of the read source in the biological data area of ​​the nonvolatile memory 14a, and causes the communication IC 14 to read the biological data from the nonvolatile memory 14a, and transmits the biological data read from the nonvolatile memory 14a to an external device such as the information terminal 5 by wireless communication. According to this configuration, by providing the communication IC 14 that performs wireless communication separately from the main MCU 18 that performs measurement based on the biological data, the processing load for transmitting the biological data such as the pressure pulse wave data to the information terminal 5 can be distributed to the communication IC 14, and the processing load of the main MCU 18 can be reduced. As a result, the delay of the measurement process such as the measurement performed by the main MCU 18 can be suppressed. In addition, the main MCU 18 specifies the address of the non-volatile memory 14a connected to the communication IC 14 and instructs the communication IC 14 to write, read and send the biological data. Therefore, there is no need to perform flow control and delivery confirmation at the interface between the main MCU 18 and the communication IC 14, which can increase the transmission speed of the biological data to the information terminal 5. In addition, as long as the communication IC 14 can write the biological data to the specified address in the non-volatile memory 14a, read and send the biological data from the specified address in the non-volatile memory 14a, a simple structure can be adopted for the communication IC 14. In addition, the main MCU 18 can flexibly write the biological data to the non-volatile memory 14a, read the biological data from the non-volatile memory 14a, and send the read biological data by instructing the communication IC 14. However, the main MCU 18 itself does not need to perform heavy processing such as writing processing, reading processing, and sending processing of biological data, so the processing load of the main MCU 18 can be reduced as described above.

[0113] In addition, the measuring device 1 has a biological data area allocated for storing biological data in the non-volatile memory 14a. Moreover, the biological data stored in the biological data area is configured to be managed by the communication IC 14 and cannot be accessed from the main MCU 18. According to this configuration, information other than the biological data is not written in the biological data area, so that the interference between the writing of biological data based on the instruction from the main MCU 18 to the communication IC 14 and the writing of other information by the communication IC 14 can be suppressed. In addition, compared with the configuration in which the main MCU 18 and the communication IC 14 share a non-volatile memory, the access processing can be dispersed and the speed can be achieved.

[0114] §5 Variations

[0115] Above, the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail, but the above description is only an example of the present invention in all aspects. Various improvements and modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, the following changes can be made. It should be noted that, below, the same reference numerals are used for the same components as the above-mentioned embodiments, and the description of the same points as the above-mentioned embodiments is appropriately omitted. The following modifications can be appropriately combined.

[0116] In the above embodiment, when writing the measured biological data into the non-volatile memory 14a, the main MCU 18 sequentially sends and writes the biological data obtained in the measurement by the measurement unit 13 to the communication IC 14 without performing delivery confirmation, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the main MCU 18 may sequentially send the biological data to the communication IC 14 to perform delivery confirmation of the biological data. In this case, the result information related to the writing of the biological data into the non-volatile memory 14a can be obtained through the delivery confirmation, so the result information may not be received from the communication IC 14 after the sensing is completed.

[0117] In the above embodiment, the biological data is pulse wave data and the configuration of acquiring pressure pulse wave data as the pulse wave data has been described. However, the measurement device 1 may also adopt a configuration of measuring volume pulse wave data as the pulse wave data.

[0118] In the above embodiment, the nonvolatile memory 14 a is described as the memory connected to the communication IC 14 (second processor). However, the memory connected to the communication IC 14 (second processor) is not limited to the nonvolatile memory 14 a and may be a volatile memory or the like.

[0119] Various embodiments have been described above, but the present invention is certainly not limited to the examples described. It is obvious that those skilled in the art can think of various variations or modifications within the scope described in the claims, and it should be understood that these variations or modifications certainly also belong to the technical scope of the present invention. In addition, the various constituent elements in the above embodiments may be arbitrarily combined within the scope of the gist of the invention.

[0120] It should be noted that the present application is based on the Japanese patent application (Japanese Patent Application No. 2023-017653) filed on February 8, 2023, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0121] Description of Reference Numerals

[0122] 1: Measurement device;

[0123] 1A: Sphygmomanometer;

[0124] 5: Information terminal;

[0125] 11, 51: display unit;

[0126] 12, 52: operation unit;

[0127] 13: Measurement unit;

[0128] 14: Communication IC (second processor);

[0129] 14a, 18a: non-volatile memory;

[0130] 14b: Antenna;

[0131] 16, 56: RAM;

[0132] 18: Main MCU (first processor);

[0133] 21: Main body;

[0134] 22: Cuff;

[0135] 23: Air pipe;

[0136] 40: pressure pulse wave data;

[0137] 53: GPS sensor;

[0138] 54: a first wireless communication unit;

[0139] 55: second wireless communication unit;

[0140] 57: data storage unit;

[0141] 58: Controller;

[0142] 90: cloud server;

[0143] 100: Information management system.

Claims

1. A measuring device, comprising: A first processor performs measurement based on biological data obtained by the sensor; A second processor for wirelessly communicating with the information terminal; and a memory connected to the second processor, In the first processor, specifying the address of a write destination in the memory to the second processor so that the second processor writes the biological data into the memory, The address of the read source in the memory is specified to the second processor, so that the second processor reads the biological data from the memory and transmits the biological data to the information terminal.

2. The measuring device according to claim 1, wherein The memory has an area allocated for the biological data, The address of the write destination and the address of the read source are addresses in the area.

3. The measuring device according to claim 1, wherein The memory is inaccessible from the first processor.

4. The measuring device according to claim 1, wherein The biological data is pulse wave data.

5. The measuring device according to claim 4, wherein: The first processor outputs a blood pressure measurement result based on the pulse wave data.

6. The measuring device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein The memory is a non-volatile memory.

7. A control method, the control method being a control method of a measuring device, the measuring device comprising: a first processor for performing a measurement based on biological data obtained by a sensor; a second processor for wirelessly communicating with an information terminal; and a memory connected to the second processor, wherein: In the first processor: specifying the address of a write destination in the memory to the second processor so that the second processor writes the biological data into the memory, The address of the read source in the memory is specified to the second processor, so that the second processor reads the biological data from the memory and transmits the biological data to the information terminal.

8. A control program, the control program being a control program of a measuring device, the measuring device comprising: a first processor for performing measurement based on biological data obtained by a sensor; a second processor for wirelessly communicating with an information terminal; and a memory connected to the second processor, the control program being used to cause the first processor to execute the following processing: specifying the address of a write destination in the memory to the second processor so that the second processor writes the biological data into the memory, The address of the read source in the memory is specified to the second processor, so that the second processor reads the biological data from the memory and transmits the biological data to the information terminal.

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