Emissions Data Management System

Abstract

An emission data management system capable of more appropriately managing emission data is provided. [Solution] The discharge data management system 10 manages discharge data related to user waste obtained by an electric toilet seat-integrated toilet 20 used for waste treatment, and is equipped with a detection unit 22b that measures at least one of the shape and odor state of the waste based on sensor values ​​of the waste discharged by the user sensed in the electric toilet seat-integrated toilet 20, and detects two or more state parts where the measured states are different from each other within a single waste action by the user, and a transmission unit 22c that transmits discharge data related to a portion of the waste corresponding to at least one of the two or more state parts to an external device, distinguishing it from discharge data related to other portions of waste other than the portion of the waste.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an emission data management system for managing emission data relating to emissions. [Background technology]

[0002] There are known devices that estimate the properties of excrement via an image sensor or the like installed in a toilet device in order to manage the user's health condition, etc. Patent Document 1 discloses technology relating to a toilet device configured to acquire still images of fallen feces using an image sensor (camera) in order to estimate the properties of the feces. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2017-137707 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] An object of the present invention is to provide an emission data management system that can more appropriately manage emission data. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] An emission data management system according to one embodiment of the present invention is an emission data management system that manages emission data regarding a user's excrement obtained by a toilet device used to process excrement, and is equipped with a detection unit that measures the shape and quantity of the excrement based on sensor values ​​of the excrement sensed in the toilet device and detects two or more state parts where the states measured within a single excrement action by the user are different from each other, and a transmission unit that transmits emission data regarding the shape and quantity of a portion of the excrement corresponding to at least one of the two or more state parts to an external device, distinguishing it from emission data regarding the shape and quantity of other portions of excrement other than the portion of excrement, and the end point of the single excrement action is the point at which the user leaves the toilet seat of the toilet device or the point at which the user leaves the private room in which the toilet device is installed. [Effects of the Invention]

[0006] The emission data management system and the like of the present invention can manage emission data more appropriately. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of an emission data management system according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a flowchart of the operation of the emission data management system according to the embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of transmission data transmitted in the transmitting step according to the embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a flowchart of the operation of the transmission step according to the first modification of the embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a flowchart of the operation of the transmission step according to the second modification of the embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0008] Hereinafter, the embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that the embodiments described below are all comprehensive or specific examples. The numerical values, shapes, materials, components, component placement and connection forms, steps, and step order shown in the following embodiments are merely examples and are not intended to limit the present invention. Furthermore, among the components in the following embodiments, components not recited in independent claims will be described as optional components.

[0009] It should be noted that the drawings are schematic diagrams and are not necessarily strict illustrations. In addition, in the drawings, substantially the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and overlapping descriptions may be omitted or simplified.

[0010] (Embodiment) [composition] The following describes an emission data management system according to an embodiment: Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of an emission data management system according to an embodiment.

[0011] The discharge data management system 10 according to the embodiment includes an electric toilet seat-integrated toilet 20, a router 30, a server 40, and a mobile terminal 50.

[0012] In the discharge data management system 10, the electric toilet seat-integrated toilet 20 communicates with the server 40 by connecting to the wide area communication network 60 via the router 30. For example, the electric toilet seat-integrated toilet 20 transmits discharge data relating to the user's waste, obtained by the electric toilet seat-integrated toilet 20, to the server 40. This allows the server 40 to manage the user's discharge data. The user can monitor the discharge data through the mobile terminal 50 by accessing the server 40 using the mobile terminal 50 on which a dedicated application program has been installed.

[0013] For example, by monitoring the discharge data, a user can understand fluctuations in various parameters related to their own waste or that of family members who share the electric toilet seat-integrated toilet 20, and can understand changes in health status that appear in the waste. In this way, the discharge data management system 10 can function as, for example, a monitoring system and provide a monitoring service to users. Furthermore, if the discharge data management system 10 is installed in a nursing care facility, the health status of users using the nursing care facility can be understood by staff at the nursing care facility or doctors at affiliated medical institutions.

[0014] Here, the state of excretion may include multiple states in a single excretion action by a user. For example, if stool accumulates in the intestines due to conditions such as constipation, the stool excreted first may become hard and have all of its moisture absorbed. In such a situation, if stool containing a large amount of moisture due to food poisoning or the like flows down to the large intestine, stool with a hard shape and stool with a large amount of moisture may be excreted sequentially in a single excretion. As a change in health condition reflected in stool, there are cases where emphasis should be placed on the stool containing a large amount of moisture that is excreted later. However, in the above situation, both the hard stool and the stool containing a large amount of moisture may have an impact, making it impossible to appropriately monitor changes in health condition. Similarly, if two or more odorous stools are excreted in a single excretion, it may also be impossible to appropriately monitor changes in health condition. Therefore, in the present disclosure, two or more state portions where at least one of the shape and odor state of the excrement differ from each other are detected, and emission data relating to a portion of the excrement corresponding to at least one of the two or more state portions is sent to an external device such as server 40, distinguished from emission data relating to other portions of the excrement. This makes it possible to individually monitor each portion where at least one of the shape and odor state differs, thereby making it possible to more appropriately monitor changes in the user's health condition.

[0015] Below, each component of the excretion data management system 10 will be described. In the following description, feces excreted by a user will be used as an example of excretion, but the contents of this disclosure can also be applied to urine and menstrual blood excreted by a user as excretion. Note that excretion may also be called bodily waste.

[0016] The electric toilet seat-integrated toilet 20 is a multi-function toilet that has functions such as a toilet flushing function and a heated toilet seat function. The electric toilet seat-integrated toilet 20 is an example of a toilet device. The electric toilet seat-integrated toilet 20 specifically comprises a power supply module 21, an evacuation data management module 22, and a communication module 23. The power supply module 21, the evacuation data management module 22, and the communication module 23 are, for example, independent board modules. The power supply module 21, the evacuation data management module 22, and the communication module 23 are, for example, housed in a housing 24 attached to the main body of the electric toilet seat-integrated toilet 20.

[0017] The power supply module 21 is a board module that converts AC power obtained from a power plug (not shown) provided on the electric toilet seat-integrated toilet 20 into DC power and supplies the DC power to other components that require power for operation. The power supply module 21 is realized, for example, by mounting circuit elements on a board. These circuit elements include an AC-DC converter and a DC-DC converter. The power supply module 21 supplies power to, for example, a communication control unit included in the communication module 23. Although not shown in FIG. 1, the power supply module 21 also supplies DC power to other components other than the components of the discharge data management module 22 and the components of the communication module 23 (for example, components for the toilet flushing function and the heated water toilet seat function, which are the main functions of the electric toilet seat-integrated toilet 20).

[0018] The emission data management module 22 is a board module for generating emission data and transmitting (or outputting) it to an external device such as the server 40. Specifically, the emission data management module 22 is realized by a processor and memory mounted on the board executing a predetermined program. The emission data management module 22 has an acquisition unit 22a, a detection unit 22b, and a transmission unit 22c.

[0019] The acquisition unit 22a is a processing unit that acquires a sensor value obtained by sensing from the sensor 24a installed in the bowl. The acquisition unit 22a acquires the sensor value from the sensor 24a via a communication module (not shown) for communicating with the sensor 24a, converts the sensor value into a format that can be processed by the detection unit 22b, and outputs the converted value.

[0020] The sensor 24a will now be described. The sensor 24a is a device for sensing at least one of the shape of excrement and odor. For example, when sensing the shape of excrement, the sensor 24a is implemented using an image sensor (i.e., a camera). When sensing the odor of excrement, the sensor 24a is implemented using an odor sensor. The sensor 24a is implemented as an image sensor or an odor sensor depending on the excrement condition measured by the detection unit 22b in the excrement data management system 10 (either the shape of excrement or odor). The sensor 24a may also include other sensors described above. Furthermore, because the user sits on the toilet seat, the amount of external light reaching the bowl (for example, the illumination light in a stall in which the electric toilet seat-integrated toilet 20 is installed) is limited. Therefore, in this embodiment, a lighting device for sensing using an image sensor is provided in the bowl. This lighting device is turned on after the user sits down.

[0021] The detection unit 22b is a processing unit that measures at least one of the shape and odor state of the excrement discharged by the user based on the sensor values ​​of the excrement. The detection unit 22b measures the state of the excrement based on at least one of the image obtained from the image sensor and the odor intensity value obtained from the odor sensor. The detection unit 22b performs such measurements over time to detect changes in the state of the excrement. The detection unit 22b then detects two or more state portions where the measured states are different from each other within a single excretion action of the user. A state portion refers to a range in a time domain during which excrement in a certain state continues. In other words, the excrement discharged in this state portion is in a certain state.

[0022] When the sensor value is an image, the detection unit 22b measures the state of the excrement through image analysis. For example, the shape of the excrement is estimated based on the cross-sectional area of ​​the falling excrement and the falling speed of the excrement captured in the image. The measurement result of the excrement shape detected by the detection unit 22b is output as a numerical value indicating which level of a seven-level scale the shape corresponds to. This seven-level scale for evaluating the shape of excrement is known as the Bristol scale, which evaluates changes in stool shape corresponding to the length of time it takes to pass through the digestive tract using seven thresholds. On the Bristol scale, a smaller numerical value indicates harder stool that has taken a longer time to pass through the digestive tract, while a larger numerical value indicates stool that has passed through the digestive tract in a shorter time and contains a larger amount of water. The closer the Bristol scale numerical value is to the middle value (i.e., 4), the healthier the stool shape is.

[0023] On the other hand, when the sensor value measured by the detection unit 22b is an odor intensity value, the sensor value is standardized by applying it to a calibration curve or the like. For example, if the odorous substance is not specifically distinguished and the evaluation is based on its amount, a high level of odorous substance indicates an increase in odorous substances due to the long time it took for the odorous substance to pass through the digestive tract, resulting in the proliferation of intestinal bacteria, or an increase in odorous substances due to the short time it took for the odorous substance to pass through the digestive tract, resulting in a large amount of undigested food. Therefore, the fewer odorous substances present, the healthier the stool odor and flatulence. Furthermore, if a specific odorous substance is identified and the evaluation is based on the amount of that specific odorous substance, the amount of odorous substance generated by the proliferation of intestinal bacteria and the amount of odorous substance generated when there is a large amount of undigested food can be evaluated separately. The lower the amount of each of these odorous substances, the healthier the stool odor and flatulence can be.

[0024] In addition to these, any evaluation method for evaluating stool shape, stool odor, and flatulence may be applied.

[0025] The transmitter 22c is a processing unit that transmits emission data related to a portion of the discharge corresponding to at least one of the two or more state portions to an external device, distinguishing it from emission data related to other portions of the discharge. As described above, the transmitter 22c generates transmission data for transmitting the emission data, including at least one of the shape and odor measured in each of the two or more state portions, and transmits the generated transmission data to an external device via the communication module 23. For this purpose, the transmitter 22c also has a function of converting the generated transmission data into a format for transmission and reception. Whether the transmitter 22c transmits emission data of the discharge in each state portion is set in advance by an administrator of the emission data management system 10, for example. An example of the emission data transmitted by the transmitter 22c will be described later together with an explanation of the operation of the emission data management system 10. Some other examples of the emission data transmitted by the transmitter 22c will be described later in the modified examples.

[0026] The communication module 23 is a board module that enables the electric toilet seat-integrated toilet 20 to communicate with the server 40 via the router 30. Specifically, the communication module 23 is realized by mounting circuit elements on a board. The communication module 23 has a communication unit, a communication control unit, and a storage unit, none of which are shown in the figure.

[0027] The communication unit is a communication circuit including an antenna element and the like that enables the electric toilet seat-integrated toilet 20 to communicate via the router 30 .

[0028] The communication control unit executes a program stored in the storage unit to perform information processing for communication by the communication unit. The communication control unit is realized by, for example, a microcomputer, but may also be realized by a processor.

[0029] The storage unit is a storage device that stores programs executed by the communication control unit. For example, the startup process executed by the communication control unit when power is applied to the communication control unit is executed based on the startup program stored in the storage unit. The storage unit is realized by a semiconductor memory or the like.

[0030] The router 30 is a communication device that relays communication between the electric toilet seat-integrated toilet 20 and the server 40. The router 30 is installed in the same facility where the electric toilet seat-integrated toilet 20 is installed. The router 30 is an example of a gateway. Specifically, the router 30 is a wireless LAN (Local Area Network) router or the like.

[0031] The server 40 is a cloud server installed outside the facility where the electric toilet seat-integrated toilet 20 is installed. The server 40 is operated, for example, by the manufacturer of the electric toilet seat-integrated toilet 20, and provides the above-mentioned monitoring services by communicating with the electric toilet seat-integrated toilet 20.

[0032] The mobile terminal 50 is a mobile information terminal owned by the user (or their family, etc.) of the electric toilet seat-integrated toilet 20, and is specifically a smartphone or tablet terminal. As described above, the user can access the server 40 using the mobile terminal 50 to monitor discharge data records and the like through the mobile terminal 50. The user can also use the mobile terminal 50 as a user interface to make personal settings such as the temperature of the toilet seat and the strength of the shower.

[0033] [Operation] The operation of the discharge data management system 10 configured as above will be explained using Figures 2 and 3. Figure 2 is a flowchart of the operation of the discharge data management system according to the embodiment. Here, the operation of the discharge data management system 10 will be explained, focusing on the operation of the electric toilet seat-integrated toilet 20. As the method of use of the transmitted data differs depending on the operational purpose of the discharge data management system 10, an explanation will be omitted here.

[0034] First, a user's entry into a stall in which the electric toilet seat-integrated toilet 20 is installed is detected by a motion sensor or the like of the electric toilet seat-integrated toilet 20 (S101). Then, the electric open / close lid of the electric toilet seat-integrated toilet 20 opens, making the toilet seat available for sitting. When the user enters the stall, sensors for sensing waste, such as sensor 24a, are not activated, but as the toilet seat becomes available for sitting, these sensors are activated (S102). The activation timing of sensor 24a is not limited to this, and it may be activated when the user enters the stall, or it may be constantly activated. In the case of standing urination, the sensor may be activated when the toilet seat is opened. Furthermore, when the sensor is activated, a lighting device for sensing with the image sensor is turned on. Although not described in detail, the image sensor may also be used to determine the color of waste contained in the waste data. In such cases, a light source with a light color close to white is selected to suppress the effects of color shift in the image. Since the electric toilet seat-integrated toilet 20 may be used at night, a lighting device for illuminating the inside of the bowl may be provided in addition to the lighting device for sensing with the image sensor from the viewpoint of visibility, and may be turned on before the lighting device for sensing with the image sensor is turned on. For such a lighting device from the viewpoint of visibility, a light source with a warm color (low color temperature) is selected so as not to awaken the user. The lighting device may be the same lighting device that automatically changes from warm color to white.

[0035] Next, the electric toilet seat-integrated toilet 20 begins accepting authentication of the user (S103). For example, when the electric toilet seat-integrated toilet 20 is shared by multiple users, such as a family, it is necessary to store the discharge data in the server 40 linked to the user's authentication result (user ID) in order to manage the discharge data for each individual. In this embodiment, the electric toilet seat-integrated toilet 20 accepts authentication of the user in order to identify this user ID. The authentication acceptance here is performed by operating a dedicated operation panel (not shown). For example, the operation panel displays numbers assigned to each of multiple users in advance, and the user enters authentication information by pressing the number corresponding to the user.

[0036] When the transmitting unit 22c generates the transmission data, it identifies the user ID from the input authentication information and generates the transmission data including the user ID. In addition to the above, authentication may be performed simply by entering the toilet 20 using a terminal device (smartphone, tablet, or dedicated portable device) owned by each user through short-range wireless communication with the electric toilet seat-integrated toilet 20, or biometric authentication such as facial authentication using a camera installed in the toilet or fingerprint authentication using a fingerprint authentication device. Authentication continues until the user has finished discharging. This allows the user to input authentication information into the discharge data management system 10 at any time.

[0037] When the user sits on the toilet seat and starts to discharge, the acquisition unit 22a acquires a sensor value from the sensor 24a (S104). The acquisition of the sensor value is performed over time, and continuous sensor values ​​are acquired in the time domain. The detection unit 22b measures the state of the waste based on the sensor value (S105). The detection unit 22b measures the state of the waste over time, and continuous measurement results are output corresponding to the continuous sensor values. Then, the detection unit 22b detects state portions before and after a point in time when the continuous measurement results indicate a change in the state of the waste (i.e., the end of the previous state portion and the start of the next state portion). In this way, the detection unit 22b detects two or more state portions (detection step, S106). Then, the transmission unit 22c generates transmission data (S107). Here, it is assumed that the transmission unit 22c is preset to transmit discharge data of a portion of the waste corresponding to the state portion where the waste was last discharged. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 2, the transmitting unit 22c transmits discharge data relating to a part of discharged items corresponding to the state portion that was discharged last (transmitting step, S108).

[0038] When it is detected that the user has left the toilet seat or has left the room, it is determined that the user has finished urinating.

[0039] 3 is a diagram showing an example of transmission data transmitted in the transmission step according to the embodiment. As shown in FIG. 3, the transmission data transmitted by the transmission unit 22c in this embodiment includes multiple parameters: the user ID, the date and time of excretion, the type of excretion, the shape of the excretion, the amount of excretion, the color of the excretion, the odor of the excretion, the time required from sitting down to starting excretion, the time of posterior washing performed before excretion, and the time of posterior washing performed after excretion. Other parameters may include the thickness of the excretion, whether or not there was an interruption in the excretion, the time from entering the room to sitting down, the time from entering the room to opening the toilet seat, whether or not the toilet seat was opened or closed, the time from opening the toilet seat to starting urination, the time of the bidet wash, the odor components, and the odor intensity.

[0040] Among these, the parameters of the shape of the excrement and the odor of the excrement reflect the measurement results for the part of the excrement corresponding to the part that was last excreted, as described above. On the other hand, it is preferable that the amount of excrement is applied as the total amount (aggregate) as excretion data without considering changes in the state of the excretion. This is because the amount of excretion is ultimately appropriate for use in evaluating health status as the total amount within a predetermined period, such as one day or one week. As such, some parameters are distinguished between excretion data for some excretions and excretion data for other excretions, and some are aggregated across both the part and the other excretions.

[0041] Furthermore, the color of the discharged product is often used to evaluate whether there is an abnormality, and if there is an abnormal value, only that abnormal value is applied as the discharged data. For example, even if it is preset to transmit discharge data for a portion of the discharged product corresponding to the state portion discharged last as described above, if there is an abnormal value such as white, black, green, or red discharged product in the state portion discharged first, that color is applied to the discharged data.

[0042] In this way, for some parameters of the emission data, such as the color of the emission, emission data for some emissions may be sent but not for other emissions, whereas for parameters where the aggregate value is important, emission data for some emissions and emission data for other emissions may be sent in aggregate (i.e., both may be sent).

[0043] As described above, in this embodiment, even when there are multiple discharged items in a single discharge operation, it is possible to generate and transmit transmission data by selecting and selecting appropriate data for each parameter, for example. This makes it possible to more appropriately manage discharge data from the perspective of monitoring changes in the user's health condition, for example.

[0044] [Variations] Modified examples of the operation of the emission data management system 10 will be described below with reference to Figures 4 and 5. Note that in the modified examples described below, only the differences from the above embodiment will be described, and descriptions of the same or similar points will be omitted.

[0045] FIG. 4 is a flowchart of the operation of the transmission step according to the first modification of the embodiment. In this example, the discharge data transmitted in the transmission step is different from that in the above embodiment. That is, the transmission step S108 in the above embodiment is different. In this example, the transmission unit 22c is preset to transmit discharge data for a portion of the discharge corresponding to the state portion that was first discharged. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4, the discharge data transmitted in the transmission step S108a is discharge data related to a portion of the discharge corresponding to the state portion that was first discharged. For example, when a user has a subjective symptom such as constipation, such discharge data is useful in evaluating how long it takes for the discharge to pass through the digestive tract before the subjective symptom occurs. Furthermore, the transmission data generated in step S107 before reaching the above transmission step S108a includes discharge data related to a portion of the discharge corresponding to the state portion that was first discharged.

[0046] FIG. 5 is a flowchart of the operation of the transmission step according to the second modification of the embodiment. In this example, the discharge data transmitted in the transmission step is different from that in the above embodiment. That is, the transmission step S108 in the above embodiment is different. In this example, the transmission unit 22c is preset to transmit discharge data for a portion of the discharge corresponding to the portion of the state where the amount of discharge is large. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5, the discharge data transmitted in the transmission step S108b is data related to a portion of the discharge corresponding to the portion of the state where the amount of discharge is large. Here, this data is used to determine the discharge data to be transmitted before the amount of discharge is totaled. For example, when most of the discharge is hard and the final portion contains a trace amount of stool containing a large amount of water, it may be better to evaluate the user's health condition based on the predominant quantitative state. In this respect, the discharge data described above is useful. Furthermore, the transmission data generated in step S107 before the transmission step S108b includes data related to a portion of the discharge corresponding to the portion of the state where the amount of discharge is large. Note that this example can be combined with the above embodiment by setting a threshold value for the amount of discharge.

[0047] Furthermore, since this can also be applied to urine and menstrual blood excreted by the user as excretions, it is possible to transmit all of the data on bowel movements, urine, and menstrual blood that have occurred from the start to the end of the user's excretion. In this case, if the user has had multiple bowel movements, urine, or menstrual blood, it is possible to transmit some of the bowel movement data, some of the urine data, and some of the menstrual blood data. For example, it is possible to transmit the last bowel movement data, last urine data, and last menstrual blood data.

[0048] [Effects, etc.] As described above, the discharge data management system 10 is an discharge data management system that manages discharge data related to a user's waste obtained by the electric toilet seat-integrated toilet 20 used for processing waste, and is equipped with a detection unit 22b that measures at least one of the shape and odor state of the waste based on the sensor values ​​of the waste discharged by the user sensed in the electric toilet seat-integrated toilet 20, and detects two or more state parts where the states measured within a single discharge action of the user are different from each other, and a transmission unit 22c that transmits discharge data related to a portion of the waste corresponding to at least one of the two or more state parts to an external device, distinguishing it from discharge data related to other portions of waste other than the portion of waste.

[0049] Even when there are multiple states of discharge in one discharge operation, such discharge data management system 10 can generate and transmit transmission data by selecting and selecting appropriate data for each parameter, for example. Therefore, discharge data can be managed more appropriately from the perspective of monitoring changes in the user's health condition, etc.

[0050] Furthermore, for example, the transmission unit 22c may transmit emission data relating to the part of the emissions and emission data relating to the other part of the emissions.

[0051] This allows the discharge data of some of the excretion items to be used (independently) without being affected by the discharge data of other excretion items, and the discharge data of other excretion items to be used (independently) without being affected by the discharge data of some of the excretion items. As a result, changes in the health status appearing in some of the excretion items and changes in the health status appearing in other excretion items can be monitored without missing anything. Therefore, the excretion data can be managed more appropriately from the perspective of monitoring changes in the user's health status, etc.

[0052] Furthermore, for example, the transmission unit 22c may transmit the emission data relating to the part of the emissions, but may not transmit the emission data relating to the other parts of the emissions.

[0053] This allows the emission data of some waste products to be used (independently) without being affected by the emission data of other waste products. When the emission data is sent as transmission data, it is possible to avoid including emission data relating to other waste products, thereby reducing the amount of information, which is effective from the viewpoints of information processing and information transfer.

[0054] Furthermore, for example, the transmission unit 22c may transmit emission data relating to the part of emissions corresponding to a state part with a large amount of emissions among the two or more state parts.

[0055] This allows for the transmission of data on a portion of the excretion that corresponds to a portion of the state where the amount of excretion is large. The portion of the state where the amount of excretion is large can be said to contain the most information on the health condition in the entire excretion action, and is therefore useful for understanding the overall trend of changes in the health condition. This allows for more appropriate management of the excretion data from the perspective of monitoring changes in the user's health condition.

[0056] Furthermore, for example, the transmission unit 22c may transmit discharge data relating to the part of discharged items corresponding to the state part that was discharged first among the two or more state parts.

[0057] This allows for the transmission of discharge data for a portion of the discharged items corresponding to the condition portion that was first discharged. The condition portion that was first discharged may show signs of changes in health status that are difficult to detect in other condition portions. Therefore, the discharge data for the condition portion that was first discharged is useful for detecting signs of changes in health status. This allows for more appropriate management of discharge data from the perspective of, for example, monitoring changes in the user's health status.

[0058] Furthermore, for example, the transmission unit 22c may transmit discharge data relating to the part of discharged items corresponding to the state part that was discharged last among the two or more state parts.

[0059] This allows for the transmission of discharge data for a portion of the discharged items corresponding to the status portion most recently discharged. The status portion most recently discharged may reveal signs of changes in health status that are difficult to detect in other status portions. Therefore, the discharge data for the status portion most recently discharged is useful for detecting signs of changes in health status. This allows for more appropriate management of discharge data, such as for monitoring changes in the user's health status.

[0060] Further, for example, the transmitting unit 22c may transmit a first parameter corresponding to the state included in the emission data, which is a first parameter that distinguishes between emission data regarding the part of the emissions and emission data regarding the other part of the emissions, and a second parameter corresponding to a state other than the state included in the emission data, which is a second parameter that is totaled among the part of the emissions and the other part of the emissions.

[0061] According to this, the first parameter and the second parameter included in the discharge data can be handled separately. Specifically, the first parameter is distinguished between some discharges and other discharges, and each is used individually for monitoring health status, etc. On the other hand, the second parameter is aggregated between some discharges and other discharges and used as integrated information for monitoring health status, etc. Depending on the parameter of the discharge data, it may be more effective to aggregate rather than treat it as individual data, so the above-mentioned aspect makes it possible to distinguish between some discharges and other discharges only for appropriate parameters among the discharge data. Therefore, the discharge data can be managed more appropriately from the perspective of monitoring changes in the user's health status, etc.

[0062] Furthermore, for example, the waste may be feces excreted by the user.

[0063] This allows for more appropriate management of the user's feces discharge data.

[0064] Furthermore, for example, the waste may be urine discharged from the user.

[0065] This allows for more appropriate management of the user's urine excretion data.

[0066] Furthermore, for example, the discharge may be menstrual blood discharged from the user.

[0067] This allows for more appropriate management of discharge data relating to the user's menstrual blood.

[0068] In addition, the discharge data management method is a method for managing discharge data related to waste obtained by a toilet device used to process a user's waste, and includes a detection step of measuring at least one of the shape and odor state of the waste based on an image of the waste discharged by the user taken by the toilet device, and detecting two or more state parts in which the states measured within a single discharge action of the user are different from each other, and a transmission step of distinguishing discharge data related to a portion of the waste corresponding to at least one of the two or more state parts from discharge data related to other portions of waste other than the portion of waste and transmitting it to an external device.

[0069] Such an emission data management method can achieve the same effects as the emission data management system 10 described above.

[0070] (Other embodiments) Although the embodiments have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments.

[0071] The method of communication between the devices in the above-described embodiment is not particularly limited. For example, a relay device (not shown) may be used in the communication between the devices.

[0072] In the above-described embodiment, the processing performed by a specific processing unit may be performed by another processing unit. The order of multiple processing operations may be changed, or multiple processing operations may be performed in parallel.

[0073] In the above-described embodiments, each component may be realized by executing a software program suitable for that component, or by a program execution unit such as a CPU or processor reading and executing a software program recorded on a recording medium such as a hard disk or semiconductor memory.

[0074] Furthermore, each component may be realized by hardware. For example, each component may be a circuit (or integrated circuit). These circuits may form a single circuit as a whole, or each may be a separate circuit. Furthermore, each of these circuits may be a general-purpose circuit or a dedicated circuit.

[0075] Furthermore, the general or specific aspects of the present invention may be realized as a system, an apparatus, a method, an integrated circuit, a computer program, or a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM, or as any combination of a system, an apparatus, a method, an integrated circuit, a computer program, and a recording medium.

[0076] For example, the present invention may be realized as an information processing method (emission data management method) executed by a computer, or as a program for causing a computer to execute such an information processing method, or as a computer-readable non-transitory recording medium on which such a program is recorded.

[0077] In addition, the present invention also includes forms obtained by applying various modifications to each embodiment that a person skilled in the art would think of, or forms realized by arbitrarily combining the components and functions of each embodiment within the scope that does not deviate from the spirit of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0078] 10 Emissions Data Management System 20 Electric toilet seat integrated toilet (toilet equipment) 22b Detector 22c Transmitter

Claims

1. An excretion data management system for managing excretion data relating to user excretion obtained by a toilet device used for treating excretion, comprising: a detection unit that measures the shape and amount of waste based on sensor values ​​of the waste discharged by the user sensed in the toilet device, and detects two or more different state portions of the measured state within one discharge action of the user; a transmitting unit that transmits, to an external device, emission data relating to the shape and amount of a part of the emission corresponding to at least one of the two or more state parts, distinguished from emission data relating to the shape and amount of other part of the emission other than the part of the emission. The end point of the single discharge operation is the point in time when the user leaves the toilet seat of the toilet device, or the point in time when the user leaves the private room in which the toilet device is installed. Emissions data management system.

2. The start time of the single discharge action is the time when the user sits on the toilet seat of the toilet device, or the time when the user enters a private room in which the toilet device is installed. The emissions data management system of claim 1 .

3. The transmitting unit transmits the discharge data regarding the shape and amount of the part of the discharged products to the external device, distinguishing the data from the discharge data regarding the shape and amount of the other part of the discharged products, including the user ID of the user identified from the input authentication information. The emission data management system according to claim 1 or 2.

4. the toilet device has a user authentication reception function for identifying the user ID, The user authentication reception function is continuously executed until the discharge operation using the toilet device is completed. The emissions data management system of claim 3 .

5. The user authentication reception function is executed by short-distance wireless communication between a terminal device owned by each user and the toilet device. The emissions data management system of claim 4 .

6. The transmission unit transmits emission data relating to the part of the emissions and emission data relating to the other part of the emissions. The emission data management system according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

7. The transmission unit transmitting emission data relating to the portion of emissions; Do not transmit emission data related to the other part's emissions The emission data management system according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

Images