Method of displaying communication status in glucose monitoring system

Abstract

To accurately determine the off state in which the communication module is turned off and to display the communication status in a timely manner.SOLUTION: According to an embodiment, provided is a method of displaying a communication state by a blood glucose measurement system including steps of: displaying a communication status of a communication module in a terminal configured to transmit and receive data with a sensor transmitter; when the communication module is turned off, delaying a display of a communication module turn-off for one period of time by the terminal; and if the turn-off of the communication module persists for the one period of time, displaying the communication module turn-off.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 12

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present embodiment relates to a method for displaying a communication status in a blood glucose measurement system, and more particularly to a technology for displaying the communication status to notify when a communication module is turned off. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, advances in medical technology have led to the development and sale of various medical devices that can be attached to the user's body. Medical devices that can be attached to the skin of a patient with a chronic disease can be useful for monitoring biological information and providing treatment.

[0003] For example, chronic diseases such as diabetes require continuous management, and medical devices attached to the skin to measure blood glucose levels can be used to monitor diabetic patients' blood glucose levels. Diabetes is characterized by almost no noticeable symptoms in the early stages, but as the disease progresses, specific symptoms of diabetes appear, such as excessive drinking, excessive eating, excessive urination, weight loss, general fatigue, itchy skin, and slow healing of wounds on the hands and feet. As diabetes progresses, complications such as vision impairment, high blood pressure, kidney disease, stroke, periodontal disease, muscle spasms, neuralgia, and gangrene appear. Diagnosing diabetes and managing it to prevent complications requires systematic blood glucose monitoring and treatment.

[0004] Various medical device manufacturers offer a variety of blood glucose monitors for people with diabetes and those who do not have diabetes but have higher than normal levels of sugar in their blood.

[0005] There are two types of blood glucose monitors: one in which the user draws blood from the tip of a finger and measures blood glucose one time, and one in which the monitor is attached to the user's abdomen or arm and measures blood glucose continuously.

[0006] Diabetic patients generally experience alternating periods of hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia, and emergency situations occur during hypoglycemia, which can lead to loss of consciousness or even death if the hypoglycemic state continues for a long period without a sugar supply. Therefore, it is extremely important for diabetics to detect hypoglycemia immediately, but blood glucose meters that measure blood glucose intermittently have limitations in their ability to accurately detect this.

[0007] Recently, to overcome these limitations, a continuous glucose monitoring system (CGMS) has been developed and is being used, which is inserted into the body and measures blood glucose levels every few minutes.To minimize the pain and discomfort felt by users when drawing blood, a continuous glucose monitoring system measures blood glucose continuously by inserting a needle-shaped transcutaneous sensor into areas such as the abdomen or arm where pain is relatively less.

[0008] The continuous blood glucose monitoring system comprises a sensor transmitter that is inserted into the user's skin to measure blood glucose inside the body and transmit the measured blood glucose level, and a terminal that outputs the transmitted blood glucose level.

[0009] Meanwhile, a terminal can be connected to a sensor transmitter and communicate with the sensor transmitter. The terminal can also visually output the communication status to a user. Since the terminal must provide a user with a blood glucose level in real time and continuously receive biological information for the blood glucose level from the sensor transmitter, it is essential to ensure a stable communication status. Therefore, the terminal classifies the communication status into various cases and displays it in various ways to notify the user of the communication status and enable the user to immediately deal with any communication problems. In recent years, the communication status has been visually provided to the user through an application provided by the terminal. However, it is particularly necessary to accurately determine when a communication module is turned off and to promptly notify the user of the communication module's off status through the application. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0010] In this context, one object of the present embodiment is to accurately determine the off state in which the communication module is turned off and to display the communication status in a timely manner.

[0011] In this context, another object of this embodiment is to display the communication status after a certain period of time that allows the user to determine whether to turn off the communication module. [Means for solving the problem]

[0012] In order to achieve the above object, one embodiment can provide a method for displaying a communication status in a blood glucose measurement system, including the steps of: displaying a communication status of a communication module in a terminal that transmits and receives data to and from a sensor transmitter; if the communication module is turned off, delaying an indication by the terminal that the communication module has been turned off for a certain period of time; and if the communication module continues to be turned off for the certain period of time, displaying that the communication module has been turned off.

[0013] In the method, the communication status may indicate a Bluetooth communication connection between the terminal and the sensor transmitter.

[0014] In the method, the one period of time may be preset or may be input by a user.

[0015] The method further includes a step of determining whether a turn-off of the communication module has been indicated, and the step of indicating the turn-off of the communication module can indicate the turn-off of the communication module depending on the result of the determination.

[0016] In the method, the step of determining whether or not the turn-off of the communication module has been displayed determines whether or not the turn-off of the communication module has been displayed based on whether or not a communication failure has continued in the terminal for the one period of time, and the step of displaying the turn-off of the communication module can display the turn-off of the communication module if the communication failure has continued for the one period of time.

[0017] In the method, the communication failure may include a case where the communication connection between the terminal and the sensor transmitter is disconnected, or a case where data reception from the sensor transmitter to the terminal is interrupted while the communication connection is established.

[0018] The method includes a step in which the terminal receives biometric information in response to an advertisement transmitted by the sensor transmitter, and the step of delaying the indication of turning off the communication module for the one period of time can delay the indication of turning off the communication module for the one period of time from one advertisement timing after the time the communication module is turned off.

[0019] The method may include a step in which the terminal receives biometric information in response to an advertisement transmitted by the sensor transmitter, and the step of delaying the indication of turning off the communication module for the one period of time may delay the indication of turning off the communication module for the one period of time from the time the communication module is turned off. [Effects of the Invention]

[0020] As described above, according to this embodiment, the terminal waits for a certain period of time to defer displaying that the communication module has been turned off, and determines whether the communication module has been turned off, thereby making it possible to accurately determine whether the communication module has been turned off and provide a timely notification to the user. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0021] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram for schematically illustrating a blood glucose measurement system according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating an applicator for attaching a sensor transmitter to a human body according to an embodiment. [Figure 3] 10A to 10C are diagrams illustrating a process of attaching a sensor transmitter to a human body using an applicator according to an embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a sensor transmitter according to an embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a terminal according to an embodiment. [Figure 6] 10 is an exemplary diagram illustrating generation of biometric information in a sensor transmitter according to an embodiment. FIG. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is an exemplary diagram illustrating the generation of a data packet in a sensor transmitter according to one embodiment. [Figure 8] 10 is a flowchart illustrating a method for transmitting and receiving biological information between a sensor transmitter and a terminal according to an embodiment. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example in which a terminal according to an embodiment displays a communication status. [Figure 10] 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating another example in which a terminal displays a communication status according to an embodiment. [Figure 11] 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a user interface provided by a terminal for displaying a communication status according to an embodiment; [Figure 12] 10 is a flowchart illustrating a method for displaying a communication status by a terminal according to an embodiment. [Figure 13] 10 is a flowchart illustrating a method for displaying a communication status by a terminal according to an embodiment; [Figure 14] 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating a method for displaying a communication status when a terminal receives an advertising message from a sensor transmitter according to an embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0022] When describing the present invention, detailed descriptions of related publicly known functions will be omitted if it is determined that such descriptions would be obvious to a person skilled in the art and would unnecessarily obscure the gist of the present invention.

[0023] The terms used in this application are merely used to describe specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present invention. The singular expressions include the plural expressions unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. It should be understood that in this application, terms such as "comprise" or "have" are intended to specify the presence of features, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof described herein, and do not preclude the possibility of the presence or addition of one or more other features, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof.

[0024] The terms "first," "second," etc. are merely identifiers for distinguishing between identical or corresponding components, and the identical or corresponding components are not limited by the terms "first," "second," etc.

[0025] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. When describing with reference to the accompanying drawings, the same or corresponding components will be given the same drawing numbers, and duplicate descriptions thereof will be omitted.

[0026] FIG. 1 is a diagram for schematically explaining a blood glucose measurement system according to one embodiment.

[0027] Referring to FIG. 1, a blood glucose measuring system 10 (hereinafter referred to as the “system”) according to one embodiment may include a sensor transmitter 100 and a terminal 200.

[0028] The sensor transmitter 100 is attached to the human body B, and when the sensor transmitter 100 is attached to the human body B, one end of the sensor of the sensor transmitter 100 is inserted into the skin and can periodically extract body fluids from the human body to measure blood glucose.

[0029] The terminal 200 can receive a biological signal including blood glucose information from the sensor transmitter 100, generate blood glucose information from the biological signal, and output the information to a user. The terminal 200 may include various devices such as, but is not limited to, a smartphone, a mobile phone, a tablet PC, a desktop, or a laptop, and may include a device that has a communication interface capable of communicating with the sensor transmitter 100 and on which programs and applications can be installed.

[0030] The sensor transmitter 100 can transmit the measured biosignal to the terminal 200 at the request of the terminal 200 or periodically at set times. To perform data communication between the sensor transmitter 100 and the terminal 200, the sensor transmitter 100 and the terminal 200 may be connected to each other by a wired connection such as a USB cable, or may be connected wirelessly by infrared communication, NFC communication, Bluetooth, or the like.

[0031] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an applicator for attaching a sensor transmitter to a human body according to one embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the process of attaching a sensor transmitter to a human body using an applicator according to one embodiment.

[0032] 2 and 3, an applicator 300 according to one embodiment includes a sensor transmitter 100 therein, and is operated by a user to eject the sensor transmitter 100 to the outside and attach it to a specific part of the user's body. The applicator 300 is formed in a shape with one open side, and the sensor transmitter 100 is attached to the applicator 300 via the open side of the applicator 300.

[0033] When attaching the sensor transmitter 100 to a part of the body using the applicator 300, in order to insert one end of the sensor provided in the sensor transmitter 100 into the skin, the applicator 300 may include a needle (not shown) formed to surround one end of the sensor inside, a first elastic member (not shown) that pushes both the needle and one end of the sensor into the skin, and a second elastic member (not shown) that withdraws only the needle. With this configuration of the applicator 300, the needle and one end of the sensor can be inserted into the skin simultaneously by releasing the compression of the first elastic member (not shown) that is arranged in a compressed state inside the applicator 300. Once the one end of the sensor is inserted into the skin, the compressed second elastic member (not shown) is released, thereby withdrawing only the needle. A user can safely and easily attach the sensor transmitter 100 to the skin using the applicator 300.

[0034] Considering the process of attaching the applicator 300 to the human body B in detail, with the protective cap (not shown) removed, the open side of the applicator 300 is brought into close contact with the skin S of a specific part of the human body B. When the applicator 300 is operated with the applicator 300 in close contact with the skin S of the human body B in this manner, the sensor transmitter 100 is discharged from the applicator 300 and attached to the skin S. Here, one end of the sensor 101 is disposed at the bottom of the sensor transmitter 100 so as to be exposed from the sensor transmitter 100, and a portion of the one end of the sensor 101 is inserted into the skin S via a needle provided on the applicator 300. In this way, the sensor transmitter 100 can be attached to the skin S with one end of the sensor 101 inserted into the skin S.

[0035] Here, the surface of the sensor transmitter 100 that comes into contact with the human body B may be provided with adhesive tape so that the sensor transmitter 100 can be fixedly attached to the skin S of the human body B. In this way, when the applicator 300 is separated from the skin S of the human body B, the sensor transmitter 100 is fixedly attached to the skin S of the human body B by the adhesive tape.

[0036] Thereafter, when power is applied to the sensor transmitter 100, the sensor transmitter 100 communicates with the terminal and can transmit a biological signal including blood glucose information to the terminal. The sensor transmitter 100 can generate various types of biological information in addition to blood glucose information, and the following description will be given assuming that blood glucose information is measured as an example of biological information.

[0037] FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of a sensor transmitter according to an embodiment.

[0038] Referring to FIG. 4, a sensor transmitter 100 according to an embodiment may include a sensor module 110, a sensor communication unit 120, a sensor control unit 130, and a sensor storage unit 140.

[0039] The sensor module 110 may include at least one sensor that is inserted into the human body to sense a bio-quantity. The at least one sensor can measure the bio-quantity and generate a bio-signal. The bio-signal may include a current value as an analog signal.

[0040] The sensor communication unit 120 can transmit and receive data or information to and from the terminal. For example, the sensor communication unit 120 can transmit a biological signal transmitted from the sensor module 110 or data (e.g., biological information) stored in the sensor storage unit 140 to the terminal.

[0041] The sensor control unit 130 can control the overall configuration of the sensor transmitter 100, including the sensor module 110, the sensor storage unit 140, and the sensor communication unit 120. For example, the sensor control unit 130 can receive a control signal from a terminal and control the configuration of the sensor transmitter 100 in response to the control signal. The sensor control unit 130 can also process the biosignal. For example, the sensor control unit 130 can convert the biosignal into an analog or digital form, or perform processing to remove noise as necessary.

[0042] The sensor storage unit 140 can store data or information. For example, the sensor storage unit 140 can store data on a biological quantity measured by the sensor module 110 (e.g., a current value of a biological signal or its digital data) or data received from a terminal (e.g., a command value of a control signal).

[0043] FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of a terminal according to an embodiment.

[0044] Referring to FIG. 5, a terminal 200 according to an embodiment may include an output unit 210, a communication unit 220, a control unit 230, and a storage unit 240.

[0045] The output unit 210 can output bioinformation (e.g., blood glucose information) included in the biosignal so that the user can check it. For example, the output unit 210 can display the blood glucose information as a numerical value (value) or even a graph processed from the numerical value. The output unit 210 can also output the communication status between the sensor transmitter 100 and the terminal 200. The communication status can be visually displayed differently depending on the type of status. For example, a state in which communication is smooth (when a communication connection is established and bioinformation is also received) is displayed in blue, a state in which the terminal cannot receive bioinformation for a certain period of time (when a communication connection is established but bioinformation is not received) is displayed in red, and a state in which the communication module is turned off or is not connected to the sensor (when a communication connection is not established) is displayed in gray.

[0046] The communication unit 220 can communicate with the sensor communication unit of the sensor transmitter to transmit and receive data or information. For example, the communication unit 220 can receive a biosignal including information (biometric information) on a biometric quantity measured by the sensor transmitter. Here, the communication unit 220 can receive a biosignal that has been primarily processed from the sensor transmitter. Preferably, the processed biosignal may include discrete data (discontinuous data) in which a current value, which is an analog signal, is digitally converted. When the current value is sampled every cycle, digital discrete data can be generated. Alternatively, the communication unit 220 can transmit a control signal for controlling the sensor transmitter to the sensor transmitter.

[0047] The communication unit 220 may also include a communication module 221 therein. The communication module 221 may be configured to perform an independent function together with other components of the communication unit 220. The communication module 221 may also include a configuration for implementing a specific communication interface. For example, the terminal 200 may communicate with the sensor transmitter 100 via USB, infrared, NFC, Bluetooth, or the like, and the communication module 221 may be a functional configuration specialized for each communication interface. Preferably, the communication module 221 may be a Bluetooth module for supporting Bluetooth-based communication. The communication unit 220 basically includes an antenna, a DSP (digital signal processor), and the like required for communication, and the communication module 221 can support Bluetooth-based communication together with these components.

[0048] The storage unit 240 can store data or information. For example, the storage unit 240 can store data (e.g., biological information) received from a sensor transmitter. Here, the biological information includes blood glucose information and may also include digital data communication indicating a current value. Alternatively, the storage unit 240 can store data input by a user or environment setting data for setting the operating environment of the terminal.

[0049] The control unit 230 may include at least one processor that executes a program that displays the communication status in the blood glucose measurement system, and at least one memory that stores the program. The memory and processor included in the control unit 230 may be integrated on a single chip or may be physically separated.

[0050] The memory may be implemented as a non-volatile memory element such as a ROM (read only memory), a PROM (programmable ROM), an EPROM (erasable programmable ROM), an EEPROM (electrically erasable programmable ROM) or a flash memory, or a volatile memory element such as a RAM (random access memory) to store various programs, data and / or information.

[0051] The control unit 230 can also generate a blood glucose level, which is blood glucose information digitized from the biological information. To this end, the control unit 230 can acquire biological information in the form of a current value from the sensor transmitter and preprocess and / or process the current value of the biological information. The control unit 230 may first calculate a sensitivity and generate a blood glucose level according to this sensitivity.

[0052] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a first example of how biological information is generated in a sensor transmitter according to an embodiment.

[0053] Referring to FIG. 6, a sensor transmitter according to an embodiment can generate biological information. Specifically, the sensor transmitter can acquire an analog (continuous) biological signal indicating a current value at predetermined intervals and generate digital (discontinuous) data indicating the current value by sampling the biological signal. The generated data can be processed by the sensor transmitter to generate biological information. In the following description, the sensor transmitter will be described as generating and processing digital data from the biological signal to generate biological information, but this is not limited thereto, and some or all of this processing may be performed by the sensor transmitter depending on the embodiment.

[0054] For example, the sensor transmitter may acquire an analog biosignal (e.g., a current value), measure the biosignal every 10 seconds, and process the measured biosignal to generate a single piece of first data. Specifically, the sensor transmitter may measure (sample) the biosignal 30 times every 10 seconds to generate digital data. The sensor transmitter may remove the highest and lowest data from the 30 pieces of data, calculate an average value A1 of the remaining data, and determine this average value A1 as the single piece of first data. The first data, which is the data of the average value A1 calculated in this way, is generated every 10 seconds, and as shown in the figure, six average values ​​A1 to A6, i.e., six pieces of first data, may be generated per minute.

[0055] Furthermore, the sensor transmitter can process 30 pieces of first data for 300 seconds (5 minutes).

[0056] The sensor transmitter can again generate an average value B1 using the six first data (average values ​​A1 to A6). When generating the average value B1, the terminal can also remove the higher and lower data from the six average values ​​A1 to A6 and generate an average value B1 of the remaining data. The second data, which is the data of the average value B1 calculated in this way, is generated in one-minute increments, and as shown in the figure, one average value B1, i.e., one second data, can be generated per minute.

[0057] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a second example in which biological information is generated in the sensor transmitter according to an embodiment.

[0058] Referring to FIG. 7, in a sensor transmitter according to one embodiment, second data can be processed to generate biometric information. In the example described above, the sensor transmitter can obtain five second data B1 in one-minute increments from six first data in ten-second increments. The sensor transmitter can also generate an average value C1 using the five second data (average values ​​B1 to B5). When generating the average value C1, the terminal can also remove the higher and lower data from the five average values ​​B1 to B5 and generate an average value C1 of the remaining data. The third data, which is data of the average value C1 calculated in this way, is generated in five-minute increments, and one average value C1, i.e., one piece of third data, can be generated every five minutes as shown in the figure.

[0059] Here, the terminal generates second data B1 to B5 in order during the blood glucose level biological information generation cycle Tp, and can generate one piece of third data C1 during the blood glucose level biological information generation cycle Ts. During the blood glucose level biological information generation cycle Ts, the blood glucose level is calculated from the third data C1 through sensitivity, and during the biological information generation cycle Tp, the terminal can generate second data B1 to B5 that form the basis of the third data C1. In the above example, the biological information generation cycle Tp corresponds to 1 minute, and the blood glucose level biological information generation cycle Ts corresponds to 5 minutes.

[0060] The third data generated every 5 minutes can be filtered to remove noise, and the filtered third data can be converted into biometric information including blood glucose levels by applying sensitivity, and the biometric information can be output to the user.

[0061] FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a method for transmitting and receiving biological information between a sensor transmitter and a terminal according to an embodiment.

[0062] 8, the sensor transmitter 100 and the terminal 200 according to an embodiment may be connected to each other for communication to transmit and receive data including biometric information. After the communication connection is established, data can be transmitted and received. The sensor transmitter 100 and the terminal 200 may be connected to each other via wired or wireless communication, and may be connected to each other via USB communication, infrared communication, Bluetooth communication, or the like.

[0063] Specifically, the sensor transmitter 100 and the terminal 200 may transmit and receive data differently depending on whether a new communication connection is established after communication is interrupted (initial communication connection) or only data is transmitted and received after the initial communication connection. First, when the sensor transmitter 100 and the terminal 200 establish a new communication connection in a communication interrupted state, the sensor transmitter 100 may advertise to the terminal (step S801). The sensor transmitter 100 may generate a certain signal for advertising and transmit such advertising signal to the terminal. Alternatively, the sensor transmitter 100 may advertise by periodically transmitting an advertising message to the terminal 200. The process of transmitting such advertising signal or advertising message may be called advertisement. The terminal 200 may receive the advertising signal or advertising message and perform authentication with the sensor transmitter 100 (step S803). For example, the sensor transmitter 100 and the terminal 200 may authenticate that they are valid devices through a hash value. Furthermore, the sensor transmitter 100 and the terminal 200 can establish a communication connection (step S805). A communication connection is a state in which data can be sent and received immediately without going through an initial communication process such as authentication, and the sensor transmitter 100 and the terminal 200 can send and receive data at any time in response to an advertisement while the communication connection is established. The terminal 200 can send an information request signal or an information request message to the sensor transmitter 100 to obtain data including biometric information (e.g., 30 first data items) (step S807). In response to receiving the information request signal or the information request message, the sensor transmitter 100 can send data including biometric information (e.g., 30 first data items) to the terminal 200 (step S809).

[0064] Once the initial communication is established, data can be transmitted and received in the established communication connection state without going through a separate authentication process. The sensor transmitter 100 can repeatedly advertise to the terminal 200 in the next operation period (step S811). The repeated advertisement can be performed by periodically or aperiodically transmitting an advertisement signal or an advertisement message to the terminal 200.

[0065] The terminal 200 may transmit an information request message requesting data transmission in response to the advertisement to the sensor transmitter 100 (step S813). The sensor transmitter 100 may transmit data in response to the information request signal or the information request message (step S815).

[0066] Here, the terminal 200 may receive data from the sensor transmitter 100 at any time, and may receive data in response to the advertisement only if the sensor transmitter 100 performs advertising. The sensor transmitter 100 may transmit this advertising signal or advertising message to the terminal 200 periodically or aperiodically, allowing the terminal 200 to request and receive data accordingly. The sensor transmitter 100 may also transmit the advertising signal or advertising message only in an active mode, i.e., while awake, rather than continuously. Therefore, data transmission and reception between the sensor transmitter 100 and the terminal 200 may also be performed only during this active mode period Tact. The sensor transmitter 100 may wait without transmitting any data during an inactive mode, i.e., a period when not in an active mode.

[0067] FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example in which a terminal according to an embodiment displays a communication status.

[0068] 9 shows an example of a terminal displaying a communication status according to an embodiment. In this example, when a communication module is turned off, the terminal may delay displaying that the communication module has been turned off for a period of time and wait to display the turn-off of the communication module.

[0069] Specifically, the communication module may be turned off at point X1 during communication between the sensor transmitter and the terminal. Turning off refers to a state in which the communication module stops functioning, and may be intentionally set by the user or caused by an internal error. The control unit of the terminal can detect whether the communication module is turned off. The terminal can also wait for a period T1 without immediately indicating that the communication module has been turned off. After the period T1 has elapsed, the terminal can indicate that the communication module has been turned off (DISP). However, in order for the terminal to indicate that the communication module has been turned off, a communication failure may be required to continue for the period T1. If the terminal receives data from the sensor transmitter for some reason during the period T1, it can display the original communication state (communication module turned on) without indicating that the communication module has been turned off.

[0070] Here, a communication failure may refer to a state in which a communication module (e.g., a Bluetooth communication module) is turned off, or a state in which data cannot be received even if the communication module (e.g., a Bluetooth communication module) is turned on due to some kind of failure (e.g., the distance between the sensor transmitter and the terminal becomes too great). The former example corresponds to a case in which the communication connection between the sensor transmitter and the terminal is cut off, and the latter example corresponds to a case in which data reception by the terminal from the sensor transmitter is interrupted even when the communication connection is established. The terminal can determine whether a communication failure exists based on the operating state of the communication module and whether data is received. Therefore, the terminal can determine whether such a communication failure continues for one period T1, and if the communication failure continues, can display that the communication module has been turned off after one period T1.

[0071] In addition, the terminal can receive biometric information from the sensor transmitter in response to an advertisement transmitted by the sensor transmitter. If a communication failure occurs, even if the sensor transmitter transmits a signal or message for advertisement to the terminal, the terminal may not receive the signal or message. Alternatively, even if the signal or message reaches the terminal, the terminal may not be able to transmit an information request message or may not be able to receive data including biometric information in response to the information request message. At the time when the sensor transmitter performs advertisement, i.e., at advertisement timings AD1, AD2, AD3, and AD4, each terminal may not be able to receive data from the sensor transmitter as described above.

[0072] In principle, when no communication failure occurs, the advertisement timings AD1, AD2, AD3, and AD4 may have the following characteristics. The advertisement timings AD1, AD2, AD3, and AD4 may be periodic or aperiodic. If the advertisement timings AD1, AD2, AD3, and AD4 are periodic, they may be formed at one-minute intervals. At the advertisement timings AD1, AD2, AD3, and AD4, i.e., at one-minute intervals, the sensor transmitter may advertise to the terminal and transmit a signal or message for this advertisement to the terminal. In addition to the advertisement, the sensor transmitter may transmit data containing biometric information to the terminal at the advertisement timings AD1, AD2, AD3, and AD4. Strictly speaking, if the sensor transmitter collects data from the sensor over a certain period of time, it may transmit the collected data to the terminal at any of the advertisement timings AD1, AD2, AD3, and AD4. As in the above example, the sensor transmitter may collect and process data for 300 seconds (5 minutes) and transmit the data to the terminal. The sensor transmitter continuously collects first data in 10-second increments, generates second data in 60-second (1-minute) increments from the first data, and generates third data in 300-second (5-minute) increments from the second data. When 300 seconds (5 minutes) of data (third data) is completed at any of the advertising timings AD1, AD2, AD3, and AD4, the sensor transmitter can transmit 300 seconds (5 minutes) of data to the terminal at once. For example, if the sensor transmitter has already completed 300 seconds (5 minutes) of data at advertising timing AD1, it can perform advertising only without transmitting data at advertising timings AD2, AD3, and AD4. If the sensor transmitter was required to complete 300 seconds (5 minutes) of data at advertising timing AD1 but was unable to do so, it can complete 300 seconds (5 minutes) of data and transmit it to the terminal by the next advertising timing AD2, AD3, or AD4. The advertisement timings AD1, AD2, AD3, and AD4 are repeated, and other advertisement timings may be formed thereafter at one-minute intervals.

[0073] Here, the advertisement timings AD1, AD2, AD3, and AD4 may be referred to as the first to fourth advertisement timings, respectively. Here, the one period T1 may proceed immediately from the point at which the communication module is turned off, regardless of the advertisement timings AD1, AD2, AD3, and AD4, and if a communication failure continues for the one period T1, the turn-off of the communication module may be indicated after the lapse of the one period T1.

[0074] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating another example in which a terminal according to an embodiment displays a communication status.

[0075] 10 illustrates another example of a terminal displaying a communication status according to an embodiment. In the example described above, the one period T1 may start from the time X1 at which the communication module is turned off. Meanwhile, in another example, the one period T1 may start from the first advertisement timing after the time X1, and the terminal may display the communication module turn-off only after the one period T1 has elapsed from the advertisement timing. Therefore, the period during which the terminal postpones the display of the communication module turn-off may be longer than the one period T1.

[0076] For example, if the communications module is turned off at time X1, the terminal may delay indicating that the communications module has been turned off and wait for the indication until the first second advertisement timing AD2 after time X1, i.e., during a period a(Ta). Furthermore, the terminal may delay indicating that the communications module has been turned off and wait for the indication during a period T1 starting from the second advertisement timing AD2. Therefore, if a communication failure continues throughout the period a(Ta) and the period T1, the terminal may only indicate that the communications module has been turned off after the period a(Ta) and the period T1.

[0077] The period T1, which is the period during which the terminal suspends display as described above, may be preset when the terminal is shipped or may be set by user input. The user can set the start point, end point, start and end conditions, etc. of the period T1.

[0078] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a user interface provided by a terminal for displaying a communication status according to an embodiment.

[0079] 11 illustrates an example of a user interface implemented to display a communication status in an application according to an embodiment. A control unit of a terminal executes the application, and an output unit visually displays the user interface implemented by the application. The output unit may acquire biometric information from the control unit and display the biometric information on the user interface.

[0080] The user interface may include an icon 1101 indicating a communication status (e.g., Bluetooth communication connection). The icon 1101 may visually display different communication statuses depending on the type. For example, the icon 1101 may be displayed in blue when communication is smooth (when a communication connection is established and biometric information is also received), in red when the terminal is unable to receive biometric information for a certain period of time (when a communication connection is established but biometric information is not received), and in gray when the communication module is turned off or is not connected to the sensor (when a communication connection is not established). Thus, when the communication module is turned off, the icon 1101 turns gray.

[0081] FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a method for a terminal to display a communication status according to an embodiment.

[0082] 12 illustrates a method for displaying the communication status of a terminal according to an embodiment. When a communication module is turned off, the state of the communication module is detected, a grace period is set for displaying the turn-off of the communication module, and the turn-off of the communication module is displayed after determining whether the communication failure continues.

[0083] Specifically, the control unit of the terminal executes the application, and the output unit can display the communication status through a user interface (step S1201). The output unit can visualize the communication status in various ways, such as when the communication module is turned on or off, when the communication module is turned on but no data is received, when the communication module is turned on but not connected to the sensor transmitter, etc.

[0084] When the communication module is turned off, the control unit of the terminal can detect the turning off of the communication module (step S1203).

[0085] Furthermore, the control unit of the terminal can delay, for a certain period of time, the display indicating that the communication module will be turned off (step S1205). The control unit of the terminal can cause the terminal to wait while the display is delayed. Furthermore, the control unit of the terminal can determine whether the communication failure continues. If the communication failure continues for a certain period of time, the control unit of the terminal can delay the display indicating that the communication module will be turned off while the communication failure continues, and cause the terminal to wait.

[0086] If a period of time has elapsed while the communication failure continues, the control unit of the terminal can control the output unit to modify the display of the communication status (step S1207). For example, the control unit of the terminal can modify an icon of a user interface that displays the communication status so that the icon indicates that the communication module is turned off. Furthermore, the output unit of the terminal can display the modified icon (step S1209).

[0087] FIG. 13 is a flowchart specifically illustrating a method for a terminal to display a communication status according to an embodiment.

[0088] 13, a method for a terminal to display a communication status according to an embodiment is shown in detail. The terminal may delay and wait for a grace period to display the turn-off of a communication module. During the grace period, the terminal may determine whether it is necessary to display the turn-off of the communication module, and may make this determination during the grace period. This figure focuses on the determination made by the terminal during one period.

[0089] The control unit of the terminal may determine whether the communication module has been turned off (step S1301). If it is determined that the communication module has not been turned off, the control unit may display the currently maintained communication state (steps S1301, NO, and S1313).

[0090] If it is determined that the communication module has been turned off, the terminal may determine whether the turn-off of the communication module has been indicated for a certain period of time. To this end, the control unit of the terminal may first delay the indication of the turn-off of the communication module (step S1303). The control unit of the terminal may cause the terminal to wait for the indication of the turn-off of the communication module (step S1305). The control unit of the terminal may also determine whether the turn-off of the communication module has been indicated (step S1307). If it is determined that the communication failure is not continuing, the terminal may display the existing communication state that is currently being maintained (NO in step S1307 and S1313).

[0091] If it is determined that the communication failure continues, the control unit of the terminal can control the output unit to modify the display of the communication status (YES in step S1307 and step S1309). The communication status indicates that the communication module is turned off, and the output unit of the terminal can output a display indicating that the communication module is turned off (step S1311).

[0092] FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a method for displaying a communication status when a terminal receives an advertisement message from a sensor transmitter according to an embodiment.

[0093] Referring to FIG. 14, a method for displaying a communication status in a situation where a terminal receives biometric information from a sensor transmitter in response to an advertisement according to one embodiment is illustrated.

[0094] The terminal may periodically receive advertisements from the sensor transmitter (step S1401). The terminal may request and establish a communication connection with the sensor transmitter through an advertisement signal or message, and may request biometric information based on the connection (steps S1403 and S1405). The terminal may receive biometric information from the sensor transmitter in response to the request (step S1407). The terminal may display a communication status to indicate that data transmission and reception is proceeding smoothly (step S1409).

[0095] The communication module is turned off, and the terminal can detect that the communication module has been turned off (step S1411). The terminal can delay the indication of the communication module being turned off for a period of time that begins from the time the communication module is turned off or a subsequent advertisement timing (step S1413). The terminal can wait for the period of time and determine whether the communication failure continues.

[0096] If a period of time has elapsed during which a communication failure has occurred, i.e., the communication module has been turned off or has been turned on but is unable to receive data, the terminal may modify the indication of the communication status to indicate that the communication module has been turned off (step S1415).The terminal may also output the modified indication of the communication status (indication that the communication module has been turned off) (step S1417).

[0097] Aspects of the subject matter described herein may be described in the context of computer-executable instructions, such as program modules, being executed by a computer. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc., that perform particular tasks or perform particular abstract data types.

[0098] Alternatively or additionally, the functionality described herein may be performed, at least in part, by one or more hardware logic components. By way of example and not limitation, exemplary types of hardware logic components that may be used include field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), program-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), application-specific standard products (ASSPs), system-on-a-chip systems (SOCs), complex programmable logic devices (CPLDs), etc.

[0099] Meanwhile, the disclosed embodiments may be embodied in the form of a recording medium storing a program and / or instructions executable by a computer. The instructions are stored in the form of program code, and when executed by a processor, they may generate program modules to perform the operations of the disclosed embodiments. The recording medium may be embodied as a computer-readable recording medium.

[0100] The computer-readable recording medium includes any type of recording medium that stores computer-readable instructions, such as a read only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic tape, a magnetic disk, a flash memory, an optical data storage device, etc.

[0101] Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, a person having ordinary skill in the art may modify and change the present invention in various ways by adding, changing, or deleting components within the scope of the concept of the present invention as set forth in the claims, and this also falls within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. displaying a communication status of a communication module in a terminal that transmits and receives data to and from the sensor transmitter; If the communication module is turned off, the terminal delays an indication of turning off the communication module for a period of time; If the communication module continues to be turned off for the period of time, indicating that the communication module has been turned off; A method for displaying communication status in a blood glucose measurement system, comprising:

2. The communication state indicates a Bluetooth communication connection between the terminal and the sensor transmitter. A method for displaying a communication status in the blood glucose measurement system according to claim 1.

3. The period of time is preset or input by a user. A method for displaying a communication status in the blood glucose measurement system according to claim 1.

4. further comprising determining whether a turn-off of the communication module is indicated; The step of indicating a turn-off of the communication module comprises: indicating a turn-off of the communication module according to the result of the determination; A method for displaying a communication status in the blood glucose measurement system according to claim 1.

5. The step of determining whether a turn-off of the communication module is indicated includes: determining whether to indicate a turn-off of the communication module based on whether a communication failure has continued in the terminal for the one period of time; The step of indicating a turn-off of the communication module comprises: If the communication failure continues for the period of time, indicating a turn-off of the communication module. The method for displaying a communication status in the blood glucose measurement system according to claim 4.

6. The communication failure includes a case where a communication connection between the terminal and the sensor transmitter is disconnected, or a case where data reception from the sensor transmitter to the terminal is interrupted while the communication connection is established. A method for displaying a communication status in the blood glucose measurement system according to claim 1.

7. receiving biometric information by the terminal in response to an advertisement transmitted by the sensor transmitter; The step of delaying the indication for turning off the communication module for a period of time comprises: delaying the display of the communication module being turned off for the one period of time from one advertisement timing after the communication module is turned off; A method for displaying a communication status in the blood glucose measurement system according to claim 1.

8. receiving biometric information by the terminal in response to an advertisement transmitted by the sensor transmitter; The step of delaying the indication for turning off the communication module for a period of time comprises: delaying an indication of the communication module being turned off for the period of time from the time the communication module is turned off; A method for displaying a communication status in the blood glucose measurement system according to claim 1.

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