CONTROL DEVICE, SENSOR DEVICE, AND METHOD

Abstract

A portable control device is provided that controls a sensor that measures the concentration of a target gas, the control device including an environmental information acquisition unit that acquires environmental information related to the sensor, a remaining amount information acquisition unit that acquires remaining amount information of a power supply unit that supplies power to the sensor, and a control unit that controls the timing of measuring the concentration of the target gas in the sensor based on the environmental information and the remaining amount information.A portable sensor device is provided that includes a sensor that measures the concentration of a target gas, a power supply unit that supplies power to the sensor, an environmental information acquisition unit that acquires environmental information related to the sensor, a remaining amount information acquisition unit that acquires remaining amount information of the power supply unit, and a control unit that controls the timing of measuring the concentration of the target gas in the sensor based on the environmental information and the remaining amount information.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a control device, a sensor device and a method. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 proposes a method for reducing power consumption of a carbon dioxide concentration measuring device by intermittently measuring the carbon dioxide concentration. [Prior art document] [Patent documents] Patent Document 1: JP 2012-2504 A Summary of the Invention

[0003] In a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a portable control device that controls a sensor that measures the concentration of a target gas, the control device comprising: an environmental information acquisition unit that acquires environmental information related to the sensor; a remaining amount information acquisition unit that acquires remaining amount information of a power supply unit that supplies power to the sensor; and a control unit that controls the timing of measuring the concentration of the target gas in the sensor based on the environmental information and the remaining amount information.

[0004] In the above control device, when the control unit detects that the value indicated by the environmental information is outside the first range and the remaining amount indicated by the remaining amount information is within the second range, the control unit may change the frequency of measuring the concentration of the target gas by the sensor.

[0005] In any of the above control devices, the environmental information acquisition unit may acquire environmental information including the concentration of the target gas measured by the sensor, and the control unit may control the timing of measuring the concentration of the target gas by the sensor based on the concentration and remaining amount information of the target gas.

[0006] In any of the above control devices, the environmental information acquisition unit may acquire environmental information including the concentration of the target gas measured by the sensor in a successive first period and a succession of second period, and the control unit may control the timing of measuring the concentration of the target gas by the sensor based on statistics of the concentration of the target gas in the first period and statistics of the concentration of the target gas in the second period.

[0007] Any of the control devices described above may further include an output unit that outputs a warning signal in response to the environmental information acquired by the environmental information acquisition unit.

[0008] In the above control device, when the control unit starts or ends the measurement of the concentration of the target gas in the sensor in response to the environmental information, the output unit may output a warning signal.

[0009] In any of the above control devices, the environmental information acquisition unit may acquire environmental information including at least one of gas concentration, temperature, humidity, pressure, wind direction, wind speed, illuminance, time information, acceleration, angular acceleration, azimuth angle, position information, dust, and biometric information related to the sensor.

[0010] In any of the above control devices, the control unit may start or end the measurement of the concentration of the target gas in the sensor in response to the environmental information acquired by the environmental information acquisition unit.

[0011] In any of the above control devices, the environmental information acquisition unit may acquire environmental information including position information related to the sensor, and the control unit may start or end concentration measurement of the target gas in the sensor based on the position information.

[0012] In the above-mentioned control device, when the control unit detects that the location indicated by the location information has moved from outdoors to indoors or from indoors to outdoors, it may start measuring the concentration of the target gas in the sensor, and when it detects that the location indicated by the location information has moved from indoors to outdoors or from indoors to outdoors, it may end measuring the concentration of the target gas in the sensor.

[0013] In any of the above control devices, the control unit may start or end the measurement of the concentration of the target gas in the sensor when it detects that the position indicated by the position information has moved and then stopped.

[0014] In any of the above control devices, the control unit may start or end concentration measurement of the target gas in the sensor when it detects that the position indicated by the position information has moved within an area to which the results of a previous concentration measurement of the target gas correspond.

[0015] In any of the above control devices, the control unit may detect that the position indicated by the position information has moved within an area to which the result of a previous target gas concentration measurement corresponds, and may start or end target gas concentration measurement in the sensor if the previous target gas concentration measurement was performed more than a predetermined period of time ago.

[0016] In any of the above control devices, the environmental information acquisition unit may acquire environmental information including a moving speed related to the sensor, and the control unit may control the timing of measuring the concentration of the target gas in the sensor based on the moving speed and remaining amount information.

[0017] In any one of the above control devices, the sensor is disposed in a wearable device; The environmental information acquisition unit acquires environmental information including wearing information regarding whether the wearable device is worn or not, and the control unit may control the timing of measuring the concentration of the target gas in the sensor based on the wearing information and remaining amount information.

[0018] In any of the above control devices, the environmental information acquisition unit may acquire environmental information including sound information around the sensor, and the control unit may control the timing of measuring the concentration of the target gas in the sensor based on the sound information and remaining amount information.

[0019] In any of the above control devices, the environmental information acquisition unit acquires environmental information including atmospheric pressure information surrounding the sensor, and when the control unit detects that the atmospheric pressure indicated by the atmospheric pressure information is lower than the atmospheric pressure threshold, it may control the timing of measuring the concentration of the target gas in the sensor.

[0020] In any of the above control devices, the sensor may be disposed in an external device separate from the control device.

[0021] In any of the above control devices, the environmental information acquisition unit may further acquire at least one of measurement information from an external sensor different from the sensor and positional information of the external sensor, and the control unit may control the timing of measuring the concentration of the target gas in the sensor based on at least one of the measurement information from the external sensor and the positional information of the external sensor, the environmental information, and the remaining amount information.

[0022] In any of the above control devices, the environmental information acquisition unit may acquire environmental information including biometric information of a user of the sensor, and the control unit may control the timing of measuring the concentration of the target gas in the sensor based on the biometric information and remaining amount information.

[0023] In any of the above control devices, the environmental information acquisition unit may acquire environmental information including public health information corresponding to the sensor, and the control unit may control the timing of measuring the concentration of the target gas in the sensor based on the public health information and the remaining amount information.

[0024] In a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a portable sensor device comprising a sensor for measuring a concentration of a target gas, a power supply unit for supplying power to the sensor, an environmental information acquisition unit for acquiring environmental information related to the sensor, a remaining amount information acquisition unit for acquiring remaining amount information of the power supply unit, and a control unit for controlling the timing of measuring the concentration of the target gas in the sensor based on the environmental information and the remaining amount information.

[0025] In a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for controlling a sensor that measures the concentration of a target gas by a portable control device, the method comprising the steps of acquiring environmental information about the sensor, acquiring remaining power information of a power supply unit that supplies power to the sensor, and controlling the timing of measuring the concentration of the target gas in the sensor based on the environmental information and the remaining power information.

[0026] In a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for measuring the concentration of a target gas using a portable sensor device, comprising the steps of measuring the concentration of the target gas using a sensor of the sensor device, supplying power to the sensor by a power supply unit of the sensor device, acquiring environmental information regarding the sensor, acquiring remaining capacity information of the power supply unit, and controlling the timing of measuring the concentration of the target gas in the sensor based on the environmental information and the remaining capacity information.

[0027] The above summary of the invention does not list all of the necessary features of the present invention. Also, subcombinations of these features may also be inventions. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0028] [Figure 1] A schematic diagram of a system 10 according to the present embodiment is shown. [Diagram 2] 1 shows a block diagram of a sensor device 100 included in a terminal 20a of the present embodiment. [Diagram 3] 1 shows an example of the flow of the operation of the control device 120 of this embodiment. [Figure 4] 11 shows another example of the flow of the operation of the control device 120 of the present embodiment. [Diagram 5] 4 shows the concentration of the target gas measured by the gas sensor 130 of the sensor device 100 of the present embodiment. [Figure 6] 22 illustrates an example computer 2200 in which aspects of the present invention may be embodied, in whole or in part. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0029] The present invention will be described below through embodiments of the invention, but the following embodiments do not limit the scope of the invention according to the claims. Furthermore, not all of the combinations of features described in the embodiments are necessarily essential to the solution of the invention.

[0030] 1 shows a schematic diagram of a system 10. The system 10 monitors the concentration of a target gas in a plurality of areas. The system 10 includes a plurality of terminals 20 and a server 30.

[0031] Here, in the system 10, the multiple terminals 20 and the server 30 may be connected to each other via a communication network 40. In FIG. 1, the multiple terminals 20 and the server 30 are connected to each other via a single communication network 40, but they may be connected to each other via separate communication networks 40. The multiple terminals 20 may be further connected to each other via a relay device or short-range wireless communication (not shown). The short-range wireless communication standard may include, for example, WiFi (registered trademark), Bluetooth (registered trademark), infrared, or NFC (Near Field Communication).

[0032] The communication network 40 may be configured to include various networks, such as the Internet, a wide area network (WAN), a local area network, or a combination thereof. For example, the communication network 40 may include a Long Term Evolution (LTE) or a fourth-generation or higher mobile communication system. The communication network 40 may include at least one of wired and wireless connection points. The communication network 40 may be realized by a dedicated line separated from a public line such as the Internet.

[0033] Each of the multiple terminals 20 measures the concentration of the target gas. As an example, the terminal 20a is a wearable device such as a smart watch including a portable sensor device that measures the concentration of the target gas. As an example, the terminal 20b is a portable terminal such as a smartphone including a portable sensor device that measures the concentration of the target gas. As an example, the terminal 20c is a stationary gas concentration measurement device that is fixed to a building or placed on a desk, etc., and measures the concentration of the target gas. Here, the term "portable" may mean a portable or mobile device, and includes a portable stationary gas concentration measurement device and a mobile gas concentration measurement device attached to a moving body such as a car or an airplane. Each of the multiple terminals 20 may further measure at least one of temperature, humidity, pressure, illuminance, time information, acceleration, angular acceleration, azimuth angle, position information, dust (pollen, PM2.5, etc.), and biological information related to the terminal 20. The terminal 20 may be mounted on an unmanned vehicle such as an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or an unmanned unmanned vehicle (UGV). Each of the multiple terminals 20 transmits the measurement results to the server 30 via the communication network 40.

[0034] Here, the target gases measured by the multiple terminals 20 may be at least one of carbon dioxide in the air, combustible gases (e.g., methane, propane, ethanol, hydrogen, ethylene, MCH (methylcyclohexane)), toxic gases (e.g., carbon monoxide, hydrogen sulfide, formaldehyde, ammonia), and greenhouse gases (e.g., nitrous oxide, refrigerant gases), and exhaled breath containing infectious substances.

[0035] The server 30 receives information including the measurement results from the multiple terminals 20. The server 30 may determine an abnormal gas concentration region or the like in accordance with the measurement results, and transmit the determined region or regions to the multiple terminals 20.

[0036] Fig. 2 shows a block diagram of a sensor device 100 included in the terminal 20a shown in Fig. 1. However, the sensor device 100 may be disposed in other terminals 20b and 20c. The sensor device 100 includes a detection unit 110 and a control device 120.

[0037] The detection unit 110 is connected to the control device 120. The detection unit 110 detects environmental information including the concentration of the target gas, and transmits the environmental information to the control device 120. The detection unit 110 includes a plurality of sensors 130 and a power supply unit 140.

[0038] Each of the multiple sensors 130-1 to 130-n (n>1) may measure environmental information related to the surrounding environment of the sensor device 100 and transmit the environmental information to the control device 120.

[0039] One of the multiple sensors 130 is a sensor 130 (hereinafter also referred to as a gas sensor 130) that measures the concentration of a target gas. The gas sensor 130 may detect the target gas by an optical method (Non-Dispersive Infrared Detection Method: NDIR method or Photoacoustic Method: PA method), a Tunable Diode Laser Absorption Spectroscopy (TDLAS) method, an electrochemical method, a semiconductor method, or the like. The optical gas sensor 130 has a longer lifespan than electrochemical and semiconductor sensors because the gas sensor 130 itself does not deteriorate due to exposure to the target gas, and is suitable for long-term operation. As an example, the gas sensor 130 may detect carbon dioxide, which is the target gas, by the NDIR method. For example, in the optical gas sensor 130, the size of a gas cell into which a measurement light for measuring the concentration of the target gas is irradiated is preferably 10 cm. 3 Less than 5cm, preferably 5cm 3 Less than 1 cm, more preferably 1 cm 3 By making the gas cell smaller, power consumption can be reduced. In addition, to ensure the measurement accuracy of gas concentration, the size of the gas cell is set to 0.1 cm or less. 3 The above is preferred.

[0040] At least one other of the multiple sensors 130 may measure at least one of the concentration of a type of gas different from the target gas, sound information, temperature, humidity, wind direction, wind speed, pressure, illuminance, time information, acceleration, angular acceleration, azimuth angle, position information, dust (pollen, PM2.5, etc.), and biological information as environmental information. The sensor 130 may measure at least one of the temperature, humidity, wind direction, wind speed, pressure (atmospheric pressure information), and illuminance of the surroundings (i.e., the surrounding environment of the sensor device 100). The sensor 130 may obtain time information including the measurement time of the environmental information in association with the environmental information. The sensor 130 may measure at least one of the acceleration and angular acceleration caused by the movement of the sensor 130. The sensor 130 may measure the azimuth angle from a reference azimuth by detecting a magnetic field. The sensor 130 may measure location information indicating the location of the sensor 130 on a map or a map inside a building (hereinafter, the map or the map inside a building may also be simply referred to as a map) using a global positioning system (GPS) or a beacon, etc. The location information may include altitude information. The sensor 130 may measure biometric information of the user of the terminal 20a, including at least one of the body temperature, blood pressure, pulse, respiration, brainwave, blood sugar, sleep state, motion state, posture state, and electrocardiogram of the user. The sensor 130 may measure sound information (sound pressure, etc.) around the sensor 130.

[0041] The power supply unit 140 is connected to the multiple sensors 130. The power supply unit 140 supplies power to the multiple sensors 130 for performing measurement operations. The power supply unit 140 may further supply power to the control device 120. The power supply unit 140 is, for example, a secondary battery such as a lithium ion battery or a nickel-metal hydride battery, or a primary battery such as a manganese dry battery, an alkaline dry battery, a nickel dry battery, or a lithium dry battery. The power supply unit 140 may additionally include a power generation unit such as a solar panel.

[0042] The control device 120 receives information including environmental information from the detection unit 110, and controls the detection unit 110 according to the received information. The control device 120 may include at least one processor. The control device 120 may include at least one of a general-purpose processor that loads a specific program to execute a specific function, or a dedicated processor specialized for a specific process. The control device 120 may include an MCU (Micro Controller Unit) as a general-purpose processor. The control device 120 may include an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) as a dedicated processor. The control device 120 may include a programmable logic device (PLD), and may include an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array) as an example. The control device 120 may also include at least one of an SoC (System-on-a-chip) and a SiP (System In a Package) in which one or more processors work together.

[0043] The control device 120 includes an environmental information acquisition unit 150 , a remaining amount information acquisition unit 160 , a control unit 170 , and an output unit 180 .

[0044] The environmental information acquiring unit 150 is connected to the multiple sensors 130. The environmental information acquiring unit 150 acquires environmental information related to each sensor 130 from the sensors 130.

[0045] The remaining amount information acquiring unit 160 is connected to the power supply unit 140. The remaining amount information acquiring unit 160 acquires, from the power supply unit 140, remaining amount information of the power supply unit 140 that supplies power to the sensor .

[0046] The control unit 170 is connected to the environmental information acquisition unit 150, the remaining amount information acquisition unit 160, and the detection unit 110. The control unit 170 controls the timing of the target gas concentration measurement in the gas sensor 130 based on at least one of the environmental information and the remaining amount information. Controlling the timing of the target gas concentration measurement may mean adjusting at least one of the measurement start time, the measurement end time, the measurement period, and the measurement frequency. The control unit 170 may determine the timing of the target gas concentration measurement according to at least one of the environmental information and the remaining amount information, and output control data to the gas sensor 130 so that the gas sensor 130 performs the measurement at the determined timing.

[0047] The output unit 180 is connected to the control unit 170 and the output device 190. The output unit 180 outputs a warning signal according to the environmental information acquired by the environmental information acquisition unit 150. The output unit 180 may receive information indicating the control data output by the control unit 170, and output a warning signal to the output device 190 for outputting a warning according to the control data. The output unit 180 may output a warning signal when the control unit 170 starts or ends the concentration measurement of the target gas in the gas sensor 130 according to the environmental information. The output unit 180 may output a warning signal to the output device 190 for executing an output that can be sensed by a person. Here, the output device 190 may be a display or speaker of the terminal 20a, a personal computer outside the terminal 20a, or a display or speaker of other terminals 20b and 20c.

[0048] 3 shows an example of the flow of the operation of the control device 120 of this embodiment. In this embodiment, the control device 120 controls the timing of the target gas concentration measurement by the gas sensor 130 in response to various information received from the detection unit 110. The control device 120 may start the control operation when the power of the terminal 20a is turned on.

[0049] In step S300, the control device 120 acquires information used to control the gas sensor 130. The control device 120 acquires information from at least one of the detection unit 110, the server 30, and an external server. The environmental information acquisition unit 150 acquires environmental information including at least one of public health information, wearing information, gas concentration related to the sensor 130, sound information, moving speed, temperature, humidity, wind direction, wind speed, pressure, illuminance, time information, acceleration, angular acceleration, azimuth angle, position information, dust (pollen, PM2.5, etc.), and biological information. The environmental information acquisition unit 150 may acquire at least one of the gas concentration of the target gas or other gases measured by the sensor 130, sound information, moving speed, temperature, humidity, wind direction, wind speed, pressure, illuminance, time information, acceleration, angular acceleration, azimuth angle, position information, dust (pollen, PM2.5, etc.), and biological information. Furthermore, the environmental information acquiring section 150 may calculate and acquire environmental information from measurements taken by the sensor 130. As an example, the environmental information acquiring section 150 may calculate a rate of change (moving distance / time) of the position indicated by the position information of the sensor 130 to acquire a moving speed.

[0050] The environmental information acquisition unit 150 may acquire environmental information including public health information corresponding to the sensor 130. The environmental information acquisition unit 150 may acquire public health information including at least one of infectious disease information and environmental hygiene information in a preset area or an area including the current location of the sensor 130 indicated by the location information. In response to transmitting the location information to the server 30 or an external server, the environmental information acquisition unit 150 may receive public health information corresponding to the location information from the server 30 or an external server.

[0051] The environmental information acquisition unit 150 may acquire environmental information including wearing information regarding whether the terminal 20a, which is a wearable device, is worn or not worn. The environmental information acquisition unit 150 may acquire the wearing information from the sensor 130, and may acquire the wearing information according to the environmental information including at least one of the sound information, acceleration, wind direction, wind speed, pressure, illuminance, acceleration, angular velocity, azimuth angle, position information, dust (pollen, PM2.5, etc.), and biological information acquired from the sensor 130. The environmental information acquisition unit 150 may acquire the wearing information that the terminal 20a is worn according to the value or change of at least one of the sound information, acceleration, wind direction, wind speed, pressure, illuminance, acceleration, angular velocity, position information, and biological information exceeding a predetermined threshold value or being within a predetermined range. The environmental information acquisition unit 150 may acquire wearing information that the terminal 20a is not being worn in response to at least one value or change of the sound information, acceleration, wind direction, wind speed, pressure, illuminance, acceleration, angular velocity, position information, azimuth angle, and biometric information being below a predetermined threshold or outside a predetermined range.

[0052] The environmental information acquiring unit 150 may further acquire at least one of measurement information of an external sensor different from the sensor 130 and position information of the external sensor. The environmental information acquiring unit 150 may acquire at least one of measurement information (for example, at least one of gas concentration of the target gas, sound information, acceleration, wind direction, wind speed, pressure, illuminance, acceleration, angular velocity, azimuth angle, and biological information) measured by an external sensor arranged on at least one of the terminals 20b and 20c, and position information indicating the position of at least one of the terminals 20b and 20c, as environmental information. As an example, the environmental information acquiring unit 150 may acquire information on an abnormal region of the gas concentration of the target gas measured by the external sensor, or an unmeasured region in which the gas concentration of the target gas has not been measured by the external sensor for a predetermined period of time. The environmental information acquiring unit 150 may receive at least one of the measurement information of the external sensor and the position information of the external sensor via the server 30 or directly from the external sensor (at least one of the terminals 20b and 20c).

[0053] The environmental information acquiring unit 150 may receive, together with the environmental information, a current measurement mode of the gas sensor 130. For example, the environmental information acquiring unit 150 receives a measurement mode indicating whether the gas sensor 130 is performing a measurement operation and the frequency of the measurement operation (for example, a measurement period).

[0054] The remaining amount information acquiring unit 160 receives remaining amount information of the power supply unit 140. As an example, the remaining amount information acquiring unit 160 may receive from the power supply unit 140, as the remaining amount information, a remaining amount indicating at least one of the current remaining capacity (kWh) of the power supply unit 140 and a ratio (%) of the current remaining capacity to the maximum storage capacity of the power supply unit 140.

[0055] In step S310, the control unit 170 determines the timing of measuring the concentration of the target gas in response to at least one of the received environmental information and remaining amount information. The control unit 170 may determine the timing of measuring the concentration of the target gas based on at least one of the remaining amount information, public health information, wearing information, gas concentration related to the sensor 130, sound information, moving speed, temperature, humidity, wind direction, wind speed, pressure, illuminance, time information, acceleration, angular acceleration, azimuth angle, position information, dust (pollen, PM2.5, etc.), and biological information.

[0056] The control unit 170 may allow a user or the like to set in advance a range of values ​​(hereinafter also referred to as a normal range) indicated by environmental information when the surrounding environment is normal for each of the gas concentration, sound information, temperature, humidity, wind direction, wind speed, pressure, illuminance, acceleration, angular acceleration, azimuth angle, position information, dust (pollen, PM2.5, etc.), and biological information measured by the multiple sensors 130. The control unit 170 may allow a user or the like to set in advance a range of remaining capacity (hereinafter also referred to as a power range) when a sufficient remaining capacity remains in the power supply unit 140. For example, the control unit 170 may determine the timing of the target gas concentration measurement (measurement mode, as an example) according to at least one of the comparison result between the value indicated by the environmental information and the normal range and the comparison result between the remaining capacity indicated by the remaining capacity information and the power range. When the comparison result for at least one of the environmental information and the remaining capacity information changes from the previous comparison result, the control unit 170 may determine to change the timing of the target gas concentration measurement from the current timing to a different timing.

[0057] When the control unit 170 detects that the value indicated by the environmental information falls outside the first range (normal range) and the remaining amount indicated by the remaining amount information is within the second range (power supply range), the control unit 170 may determine to change the frequency of the concentration measurement of the target gas in the gas sensor 130. In this case, the control unit 170 may determine to perform or start the concentration measurement of the target gas in the gas sensor 130 more frequently. For example, the control unit 170 may determine the timing of the concentration measurement of the target gas in the gas sensor 130 based on the concentration of the target gas in the environmental information and the remaining amount information. As an example, when the control unit 170 detects that the concentration of the target gas falls outside the normal range and the remaining amount indicated by the remaining amount information is within the power supply range, the control unit 170 may determine the frequency of the concentration measurement of the target gas in the gas sensor 130 to be higher. On the other hand, when the control unit 170 detects at least one of the following: the concentration of the target gas is within the normal range and the remaining amount indicated by the remaining amount information is outside the power supply range (i.e., the remaining amount of the power supply unit 140 is low), the control unit 170 may determine to measure the concentration of the target gas in the gas sensor 130 less frequently or to end the concentration measurement. The remaining amount of the power supply unit 140 being low may mean that the ratio of the current remaining capacity to the maximum storage capacity of the power supply unit 140 is 20% or less, or may be 10% or less.

[0058] The control unit 170 may determine the timing of measuring the concentration of the target gas in the gas sensor 130 based on the position information. When the control unit 170 detects that the position indicated by the position information has moved from outdoors to indoors or from indoors to outdoors, the control unit 170 may determine the timing of measuring the concentration of the target gas in the gas sensor 130. For example, when the control unit 170 detects that the position of the gas sensor 130 indicated by the position information has entered or left an area indicating a building on a map, the control unit 170 may change the frequency of measuring the concentration of the target gas to a higher or lower frequency.

[0059] When the control unit 170 detects that the position indicated by the position information has moved and then stopped, the control unit 170 may determine the timing of measuring the concentration of the target gas in the gas sensor 130. For example, when the control unit 170 detects that the distance from the abnormal gas concentration region to the position of the gas sensor 130 indicated by the position information has exceeded a predetermined threshold and then a predetermined period has elapsed since the position stopped, the control unit 170 may determine the frequency of the concentration measurement to be lower.

[0060] When the control unit 170 detects that the position indicated by the position information has moved into an area associated with a result of a previous concentration measurement of the target gas, the control unit 170 may determine the timing of measuring the concentration of the target gas in the gas sensor 130. For example, the control unit 170 may determine the frequency of measuring the concentration of the target gas in the gas sensor 130 to be higher in response to the result of the previous concentration measurement of the target gas associated with the area on the map including the position of the gas sensor 130 being in an abnormal range.

[0061] The control unit 170 may detect that the position indicated by the position information has moved into an area associated with the result of a previous concentration measurement of the target gas, and when the previous concentration measurement of the target gas was performed before a predetermined period of time, may determine the timing of the concentration measurement of the target gas in the gas sensor 130. For example, when the previous concentration measurement of the target gas was performed before a predetermined period of time (for example, one hour or more before) in an area including the position of the gas sensor 130 on the map, the control unit 170 may determine the frequency of the concentration measurement of the target gas in the gas sensor 130 to be higher.

[0062] The control unit 170 may determine the timing of the measurement of the concentration of the target gas in the gas sensor 130 based on the time information and the remaining amount information. As an example, the control unit 170 may determine the frequency of the measurement of the concentration of the target gas in the gas sensor 130 to be higher, or may start the measurement of the concentration of the target gas, depending on at least one of the time information of the gas sensor 130, which is the season, the day of the week, and the time. For example, at night or on a holiday, there are fewer people around the user and the possibility of inhaling breath containing infectious substances is low, so that the power consumption of the power supply unit 140 can be reduced by measuring less frequently. In addition, infectious diseases such as influenza are prevalent in winter, and there is a high possibility of inhaling breath containing infectious substances, so that by measuring more frequently, the user can quickly know the situation of the surrounding environment.

[0063] The control unit may determine, based on the public health information and the remaining amount information, the timing of measuring the concentration of the target gas in the gas sensor 130. As an example, the control unit 170 may determine the frequency of measuring the concentration of the target gas in the gas sensor 130 to be higher or may start measuring the concentration of the target gas in response to the public health information indicating an infectious disease alert or an environmental pollution alert for the current location of the gas sensor 130.

[0064] The control unit 170 may determine the timing of the target gas concentration measurement in the gas sensor 130 based on the moving speed and the remaining amount information. As an example, when the control unit 170 detects that the moving speed is equal to or lower than a predetermined threshold or within a predetermined range and the remaining amount indicated by the remaining amount information is within the power supply range, the control unit 170 may determine the frequency of the target gas concentration measurement in the gas sensor 130 to be higher or may start the concentration measurement of the target gas. On the other hand, when the control unit 170 detects at least one of the moving speed exceeding a predetermined threshold and the remaining amount indicated by the remaining amount information being outside the power supply range, the control unit 170 may determine the frequency of the target gas concentration measurement in the gas sensor 130 to be lower or may end the concentration measurement. Alternatively, when the control unit 170 detects at least one of the moving speed being outside the predetermined range and the remaining amount indicated by the remaining amount information being outside the power supply range, the control unit 170 may determine the frequency of the target gas concentration measurement in the gas sensor 130 to be lower or may end the concentration measurement. In this way, while the user is moving fast, the surrounding gas concentration has less effect on the user, so by measuring less frequently, it is possible to reduce power consumption of the power supply unit 140. Alternatively, while the user is moving fast, the user is in a closed space such as a train or car, where gas has a large effect on the user, so by measuring more frequently, the user can quickly learn the situation in the closed space.

[0065] The control unit 170 may determine the timing of measuring the concentration of the target gas in the gas sensor 130 based on the wearing information and the remaining amount information. As an example, when the control unit 170 detects that the wearing information indicates a wearing state and that the remaining amount indicated by the remaining amount information is within the power supply range, the control unit 170 may determine the frequency of measuring the concentration of the target gas in the gas sensor 130 to be higher, or may start measuring the concentration of the target gas. On the other hand, when the control unit 170 detects at least one of that the wearing information indicates a non-wearing state and that the remaining amount indicated by the remaining amount information is outside the power supply range, the control unit 170 may determine the frequency of measuring the concentration of the target gas in the gas sensor 130 to be lower, or may end the concentration measurement. In this way, while the user is not wearing the wearable device (terminal 20), the user is not near the wearable device and does not need to know the surrounding environment frequently, so that the power consumption of the power supply unit 140 can be reduced by measuring less frequently.

[0066] The control unit 170 may determine the timing of the target gas concentration measurement in the gas sensor 130 based on the sound information and the remaining amount information. As an example, when the control unit 170 detects that the sound pressure, etc. indicated by the sound information is outside the normal range (the sound pressure becomes larger) and the remaining amount indicated by the remaining amount information is within the power supply range, the control unit 170 may determine the frequency of the target gas concentration measurement in the gas sensor 130 to be higher, or may start the concentration measurement of the target gas. On the other hand, when the control unit 170 detects at least one of the sound pressure, etc. indicated by the sound information being within the normal range (the sound pressure becomes smaller) and the remaining amount indicated by the remaining amount information being outside the power supply range, the control unit 170 may determine the frequency of the target gas concentration measurement in the gas sensor 130 to be lower, or may end the concentration measurement. In this way, when the sound pressure, etc. indicated by the sound information is outside the normal range, there are many people around and the environment may be deteriorating, so by measuring more frequently, the user can quickly know the environmental situation.

[0067] The control unit 170 may determine the timing of the target gas concentration measurement in the gas sensor 130 based on at least one of the measurement information of the external sensor and the position information of the external sensor, the environmental information, and the remaining amount information. As an example, when the control unit 170 detects that the position indicated by the position information of the gas sensor 130 enters an abnormal region of the gas concentration of the target gas measured by the external sensor or an unmeasured region in which the gas concentration of the target gas has not been measured for a predetermined period of time, and the remaining amount indicated by the remaining amount information is within the power supply range, the control unit 170 may determine the frequency of the target gas concentration measurement in the gas sensor 130 to be higher, or may start the concentration measurement of the target gas. On the other hand, when the control unit 170 detects at least one of that the position indicated by the position information of the gas sensor 130 has left the abnormal region or the unmeasured region, and that the remaining amount indicated by the remaining amount information is outside the power supply range, the control unit 170 may determine the frequency of the target gas concentration measurement in the gas sensor 130 to be lower, or may end the concentration measurement.

[0068] The control unit 170 may determine the timing of the target gas concentration measurement in the gas sensor 130 based on the biological information and the remaining amount information. As an example, when the control unit 170 detects that the biological information is out of the normal range and the remaining amount indicated by the remaining amount information is within the power supply range, the control unit 170 may determine the frequency of the target gas concentration measurement in the gas sensor 130 to be higher, or may start the concentration measurement of the target gas. On the other hand, when the control unit 170 detects at least one of the biological information being within the normal range and the remaining amount indicated by the remaining amount information being out of the power supply range, the control unit 170 may determine the frequency of the target gas concentration measurement in the gas sensor 130 to be lower or to end the concentration measurement. This makes it possible to know the cause of abnormalities in the user's body temperature, blood pressure, pulse, breathing, brainwave, blood sugar, sleep state, movement state, posture state, and electrocardiogram, etc., indicated by the biological information, from the gas concentration. Or, as an example, when the user is in a sleeping state, the user does not need to know about the surrounding environment frequently, so that the power consumption of the power supply unit 140 can be reduced by measuring less frequently. Alternatively, when the user has a high respiratory rate, the gases in the surrounding environment have a large effect on the user, so by measuring more frequently, the user can be made aware of the environmental conditions more quickly.

[0069] The control unit 170 may determine the timing of measuring the concentration of the target gas in the gas sensor 130 based on a statistical amount obtained by statistically processing the concentration of the target gas in a first period and a statistical amount obtained by statistically processing the concentration of the target gas in a second period that is consecutive to the first period. The statistical processing may be to generate a statistical amount including at least one of an average value, a maximum value, a minimum value, a variance, a difference, a moment, and a histogram from the measurement data of the concentration of the target gas. As an example, when the control unit 170 detects that the difference or ratio between the average value of the concentration in the consecutive first period and the average value of the concentration in the second period falls outside the normal range and the remaining amount indicated by the remaining amount information is within the power supply range, the control unit 170 may determine the frequency of measuring the concentration of the target gas in the gas sensor 130 to be higher. On the other hand, when the control unit 170 detects at least one of the facts that the difference or ratio between the average concentration in the first period and the average concentration in the second period is within the normal range and the remaining amount indicated by the remaining amount information is outside the power supply range, the control unit 170 may determine to reduce the frequency of measuring the concentration of the target gas in the gas sensor 130 or to end the concentration measurement. This enables the control unit 170 to perform the concentration measurement more frequently as the change in the concentration of the target gas becomes greater.

[0070] For example, the control unit 170 may use the amount of change in the concentration of the target gas as a statistic. The control unit 170 may determine the timing of the concentration measurement of the target gas in the gas sensor 130 based on the amount of change in the concentration of the target gas in a first period and the amount of change in the concentration of the target gas in a second period that is successive to the first period. For example, when the control unit 170 detects that the difference or ratio between the amount of change in the concentration in the first period and the amount of change in the concentration in the second period is outside the normal range and the remaining amount indicated by the remaining amount information is within the power supply range, the control unit 170 may determine the frequency of the concentration measurement of the target gas in the gas sensor 130 to be higher. On the other hand, when the control unit 170 detects at least one of the difference or ratio between the amount of change in the concentration in the first period and the amount of change in the concentration in the second period being within the normal range and the remaining amount indicated by the remaining amount information being outside the power supply range, the control unit 170 may determine the frequency of the concentration measurement of the target gas in the gas sensor 130 to be lower or to end the concentration measurement. In this way, the control unit 170 can execute the concentration measurement more frequently as the change in the concentration of the target gas becomes larger.

[0071] When the control unit 170 detects that the atmospheric pressure indicated by the atmospheric pressure information is lower than a predetermined atmospheric pressure threshold, the control unit 170 may control the timing of measuring the concentration of the target gas in the gas sensor 130. For example, in an indoor or outdoor environment where the atmospheric pressure is high and controlled and ventilated at a positive pressure, the influence of the surrounding gas concentration on the user is small, so the control unit 170 can reduce the power consumption of the power supply unit 140 by making the gas sensor 130 perform measurements less frequently. In addition, when the atmospheric pressure is low, the user may be in a closed space such as an airplane, so the influence of the surrounding gas concentration on the user is large, and the control unit 170 can quickly know the environmental situation by making the gas sensor 130 perform measurements more frequently.

[0072] The control unit 170 may determine a measurement mode in which concentration measurement is performed at a measurement period corresponding to the comparison result from among a plurality of predetermined measurement periods. As an example, the plurality of measurement modes include a measurement mode in which concentration measurement is stopped, a measurement mode in which concentration measurement is performed at a shorter period (higher frequency), and a measurement mode in which concentration measurement is performed at a longer period (lower frequency). For example, a short period may be once every two seconds or more, and a long period may be once per minute or less.

[0073] In step S320, the control unit 170 controls the gas sensor 130 to measure the concentration of the target gas at the timing determined in step S310. The control unit 170 may transmit control data indicating a measurement mode to the gas sensor 130. The gas sensor 130 can measure the concentration of the target gas in the measurement mode indicated by the control data from the control unit 170. The control device 120 may monitor the gas concentration in the surrounding environment of the terminal 20a by repeating steps S300 to S320.

[0074] When the timing for measuring the concentration of the target gas is changed, the output section 180 may transmit a warning signal to the output device 190 to cause the output device 190 to output at least one of a character, a color, and a sound indicating that the timing is to be changed.

[0075] Fig. 4 shows another example of the flow of the operation of the control device 120 of this embodiment. In Fig. 4, the control device 120 determines the timing of the concentration measurement of the target gas in multiple stages. In the example of Fig. 4, at the start of the operation, the gas sensor 130 is in a measurement mode in which the concentration measurement is stopped. Each step of the operation of Fig. 4 may include at least a part of the steps of the operation of Fig. 3.

[0076] In step S400, similarly to step S300, the environmental information acquisition unit 150 acquires environmental information from at least one of the sensor 130, the server 30, and an external server.

[0077] In step S410, the control unit 170 may start the concentration measurement of the target gas in the gas sensor 130 in response to the environmental information acquired by the environmental information acquisition unit 150. The control unit 170 may determine whether or not to cause the gas sensor 130 to perform the concentration measurement of the target gas in response to the environmental information, and may control the gas sensor 130 when it is determined to perform the concentration measurement. The control unit 170 may determine whether or not to cause the gas sensor 130 to perform the concentration measurement of the target gas in response to environmental information other than the gas concentration of the target gas. The control unit 170 may start the concentration measurement by the gas sensor 130 when at least one of the environmental information is outside the normal range or when at least one of the environmental information changes by a predetermined threshold or more. For example, the control unit 170 may start the concentration measurement of the target gas when a predetermined period has passed since the previous concentration measurement of the target gas, or when the environmental information changes by a predetermined threshold or more within a predetermined period. The control unit 170 may start the concentration measurement of the target gas in response to the mounting information indicating that the gas sensor 130 is mounted. For example, immediately after putting on the wearable device (terminal 20), the user will immediately try to resolve the lack of information about the surrounding environment, so that the gas sensor 130 can measure more frequently to allow the user to know the environmental conditions more quickly.

[0078] The control unit 170 may start the concentration measurement of the target gas in the gas sensor 130 based on the position information regarding the gas sensor 130. The control unit 170 may start the concentration measurement according to the current position of the gas sensor 130 on the map. For example, the control unit 170 may start the concentration measurement when the current position of the gas sensor 130 approaches or enters an area on the map that indicates a well or a plant to a predetermined threshold or below. This makes it possible to quickly detect the timing when the concentration measurement of the target gas is required from the position information when the target gas is, for example, a toxic gas or a flammable gas.

[0079] When the control unit 170 detects that the position indicated by the position information regarding the gas sensor 130 has moved and then stopped, the control unit 170 may start the concentration measurement of the target gas in the gas sensor 130. For example, when the control unit 170 detects that the position of the gas sensor 130 indicated by the position information has changed by more than a predetermined threshold and then a predetermined period of time has elapsed since the change in the position stopped, the control unit 170 may start the concentration measurement.

[0080] The control unit 170 may start the concentration measurement of the target gas in the gas sensor 130 when it detects that the position indicated by the position information has moved from outdoors to indoors or from indoors to outdoors. For example, the control unit 170 may start the concentration measurement of the target gas when it detects that the position of the gas sensor 130 indicated by the position information has entered or left an area indicating a building on the map. Here, the control unit 170 may preset either a control to start the concentration measurement when the gas sensor 130 moves from outdoors to indoors or a control to start the concentration measurement when the gas sensor 130 moves from indoors to outdoors, depending on at least one of the type of building and the type of target gas in each area on the map. As an example, when the target gas is a toxic gas or the like, the control unit 170 may execute a control to start the concentration measurement in the gas sensor 130 when it detects that the gas sensor 130 has moved into the building of the plant.

[0081] When the control unit 170 detects that the position of the gas sensor 130 indicated by the position information has moved into an area to which a result of a previous concentration measurement of the target gas is associated, the control unit 170 may decide to start measuring the concentration of the target gas in the sensor 130. For example, the control unit 170 may decide to start measuring the concentration of the target gas in the gas sensor 130 in response to a result of a previous concentration measurement of the target gas associated with an area on the map including the position of the gas sensor 130 being in an abnormal range.

[0082] The control unit 170 may detect that the position of the gas sensor 130 indicated by the position information has moved into an area to which the result of a previous concentration measurement of the target gas corresponds, and when the previous concentration measurement of the target gas was performed before a predetermined period of time, may start the concentration measurement of the target gas in the gas sensor 130. For example, the control unit 170 may decide to start the concentration measurement of the target gas in the gas sensor 130 when the previous concentration measurement of the target gas was performed before a predetermined period of time (for example, one hour or more before) in an area including the position of the gas sensor 130 on the map.

[0083] The control unit 170 may receive at least one of the results of previous target gas concentration measurements stored in chronological order in the sensor device 100, the results of previous target gas concentration measurements stored in the server 30, and the results of previous target gas concentration measurements in external sensors (sensors of the other terminals 20b and 20c), and use them in determining the timing. For example, in step S400, the environmental information acquisition unit 150 may receive the results of concentration measurements and the measurement dates and times in an area including the position of the gas sensor 130 on the map in response to transmitting the position information of the gas sensor 130 to the server 30 and at least one of the other terminals 20b and 20c.

[0084] The control device 120 may specify a measurement period (measurement mode) to cause the gas sensor 130 to measure the concentration of the target gas. The control unit 170 may cause the gas sensor 130 to perform concentration measurement at a preset frequency (a measurement mode with a higher frequency of measurement periods or a measurement mode with a lower frequency of measurement periods) at the start. The control device 120 may transmit control data to the gas sensor 130 to cause the gas sensor 130 to perform the concentration measurement of the target gas.

[0085] When the control device 120 causes the gas sensor 130 to measure the concentration of the target gas (Yes in FIG. 4), the process proceeds to step S420, and when it is not determined to start the concentration measurement (No in FIG. 4), the control device 120 proceeds to step S400.

[0086] In step S420, the environmental information acquiring unit 150 acquires the concentration of the target gas measured by the gas sensor 130. The environmental information acquiring unit 150 may acquire the concentration of the target gas in the same manner as in step S300. The environmental information acquiring unit 150 may acquire environmental information including the concentration of the target gas measured by the gas sensor 130 in a first period and a second period that are successive. The environmental information acquiring unit 150 may acquire the measured gas concentration of the target gas from the gas sensor 130 together with time information indicating the date and time of measurement. The environmental information acquiring unit 150 may acquire the measured gas concentration of the target gas in chronological order.

[0087] In step S430, the remaining amount information acquiring section 160 acquires remaining amount information of the power supply section 140. The remaining amount information acquiring section 160 may acquire the remaining amount information in the same manner as in step S300.

[0088] In step S440, the control unit 170 determines the timing of the target gas concentration measurement by the gas sensor 130 according to the concentration of the target gas and the remaining amount information of the environmental information. As an example, when the control unit 170 detects that the concentration of the target gas is outside the normal range and the remaining amount indicated by the remaining amount information is within the power supply range (e.g., equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold), the control unit 170 may determine the frequency of the target gas concentration measurement by the gas sensor 130 to be higher. On the other hand, when the control unit 170 detects at least one of the fact that the concentration of the target gas is within the normal range and the fact that the remaining amount indicated by the remaining amount information is outside the power supply range, the control unit 170 may determine the frequency of the target gas concentration measurement by the gas sensor 130 to be lower or to end the concentration measurement.

[0089] The control unit 170 may determine the timing of measuring the concentration of the target gas by comparing the concentration of the target gas in the environmental information with a plurality of thresholds (for example, a first threshold and a second threshold greater than the first threshold). When the concentration of the target gas is equal to or less than the first threshold (for example, within a normal range), the control unit 170 may determine the frequency of measuring the concentration of the target gas in the gas sensor 130 to be lower or to end the concentration measurement, regardless of the remaining amount information. When the control unit 170 detects that the concentration of the target gas exceeds the first threshold and is equal to or less than the second threshold, and the remaining amount indicated by the remaining amount information is within the power supply range, the control unit 170 may determine the frequency of measuring the concentration of the target gas in the gas sensor 130 to be higher. When the control unit 170 detects that the concentration of the target gas exceeds the second threshold, the control unit 170 may determine the frequency of measuring the concentration of the target gas in the gas sensor 130 to be higher, regardless of the remaining amount information. The first threshold and the second threshold may be changed depending on the current measurement frequency (measurement mode) of the gas sensor 130. As an example, if the measurement frequency of the current gas sensor 130 is higher, smaller first and second thresholds may be set, and if the measurement frequency of the current gas sensor 130 is lower, larger first and second thresholds may be set.

[0090] The control unit 170 may determine the timing of the concentration measurement according to the concentration of the target gas, at least one of the environmental information other than the concentration of the target gas, and the remaining amount information. As an example, the control unit 170 may determine the timing of the concentration measurement according to the concentration, position information, and remaining amount information of the target gas. The control unit 170 can efficiently determine whether the concentration of the target gas is in the abnormal range and whether the remaining amount is sufficient by using a different threshold value for each area on the map. The control unit 170 may determine the timing of the concentration measurement in the same manner as in step S310.

[0091] In step S450, the control unit 170 controls the gas sensor 130 to measure the concentration of the target gas at the determined timing. The control unit 170 may transmit control data indicating a measurement mode to the gas sensor 130. The gas sensor 130 can measure the concentration of the target gas in the measurement mode indicated by the control data from the control unit 170. The control device 120 may monitor the gas concentration in the surrounding environment of the terminal 20a by repeating steps S400 to S450.

[0092] After step S450, during the measurement of the concentration of the target gas by the gas sensor 130, in step S400, the environmental information acquisition unit 150 may newly acquire environmental information including the concentration of the target gas measured by the gas sensor 130, and in step S410, the control unit 170 may determine whether to end the concentration measurement according to the newly acquired environmental information. In step S410 after the start of the concentration measurement, the control unit 170 may end the concentration measurement of the target gas in the gas sensor 130 according to the environmental information acquired by the environmental information acquisition unit 150. The control unit 170 may end the concentration measurement of the target gas in the gas sensor 130 according to the concentration of the target gas measured by the gas sensor 130 being within the normal range.

[0093] The control unit 170 may end the concentration measurement of the target gas in the gas sensor 130 based on the position information of the gas sensor 130 acquired by the environmental information acquisition unit 150. The control unit 170 may end the concentration measurement in response to the position of the gas sensor 130 on the map. For example, the control unit 170 may end the concentration measurement in response to detecting that the position of the gas sensor 130 has moved away from an area on the map indicating a well or a plant by more than a predetermined threshold. The control unit 170 may set in advance an area on the map where the concentration measurement is to start and an area where the concentration measurement is to end for each type of target gas.

[0094] The control unit 170 may terminate the concentration measurement of the target gas in the gas sensor 130 when it detects that the position indicated by the position information has moved from indoors to outdoors or from indoors to outdoors. For example, the control unit 170 may terminate the concentration measurement when it detects that the position of the gas sensor 130 indicated by the position information has entered or left an area indicating a building on the map. Here, the control unit 170 may be set in advance to execute either control to terminate the concentration measurement when the gas sensor 130 moves from outdoors to indoors or control to terminate the concentration measurement when the gas sensor 130 moves from indoors to outdoors, depending on at least one of the type of building and the type of target gas in each area on the map. As an example, when the target gas is a toxic gas or the like, the control unit 170 may execute control to cause the gas sensor 130 to terminate the concentration measurement when it detects that the position of the gas sensor 130 has moved outside the building of the plant.

[0095] When the control unit 170 detects that the position indicated by the position information has moved and then stopped, the control unit 170 may end the concentration measurement of the target gas in the gas sensor 130. For example, when the control unit 170 detects that the distance from the abnormal gas concentration region to the position of the gas sensor 130 indicated by the position information exceeds a predetermined threshold and then a predetermined period has elapsed since the position stopped, the control unit 170 may end the concentration measurement.

[0096] When the control unit 170 detects that the position indicated by the position information has moved into an area associated with a result of a previous concentration measurement of the target gas, the control unit 170 may end the concentration measurement of the target gas in the gas sensor 130. For example, the control unit 170 may decide to end the concentration measurement of the target gas in the gas sensor 130 in response to the result of the previous concentration measurement of the target gas associated with the area on the map including the position of the gas sensor 130 being within a normal range.

[0097] The control unit 170 may detect that the position indicated by the position information has moved into an area associated with the result of a previous concentration measurement of the target gas, and when the previous concentration measurement of the target gas was performed before a predetermined period of time, may end the concentration measurement of the target gas in the sensor 130. For example, the control unit 170 may decide to end the concentration measurement of the target gas in the gas sensor 130 when the previous concentration measurement of the target gas was performed before a predetermined period of time (for example, 30 minutes or more before) in an area including the position of the gas sensor 130 on the map.

[0098] The control unit 170 may determine whether or not to execute the concentration measurement of the target gas using the same environmental information as the environmental information used when determining to start the concentration measurement in the previous step S410. As an example, when the control unit 170 has determined to start the concentration measurement in accordance with public health information in the previous step S410, the control unit 170 may determine whether or not to end the concentration measurement of the target gas in accordance with the public health information in the current step S410.

[0099] The sensor device 100 of this embodiment can measure the concentration of the target gas at a frequency appropriate to the environment, and can monitor the concentration of the target gas for a long period of time while suppressing the power consumption of the power supply unit 140.

[0100] Fig. 5 shows the transition of the concentration of the target gas measured by the gas sensor 130 of the sensor device 100 of this embodiment. In Fig. 5, the vertical axis shows the concentration (ppm) of carbon dioxide, which is the target gas, and the horizontal axis shows time.

[0101] The control unit 170 can calculate the absolute value α of the change between measurement point A1 (measurement time T1, concentration P1) and measurement point A2 (measurement time T2, concentration P2) in Figure 5, and the absolute value β of the change between measurement point A2 and measurement point A3 (measurement time T3, concentration P3) using the following equations.

[0102] α=|P2-P1| / |T2-T1| β=|P3-P2| / |T3-T2|

[0103] The control unit 170 may determine the frequency of measuring the concentration of the target gas by the gas sensor 130 based on α, which is the absolute value of the amount of change in P2 relative to P1 per unit time, and β, which is the absolute value of the amount of change in P3 relative to P2 per unit time.

[0104] In the measurement period w1 (a measurement period with a lower frequency), the control unit 170 may determine to change the frequency of concentration measurement to a higher frequency when the value obtained by dividing β by α is equal to or greater than a third threshold value (e.g., 1.2). The control unit 170 may determine not to change the frequency of concentration measurement when the value obtained by dividing β by α is less than the third threshold value. In this way, by increasing the frequency of measurement of the carbon dioxide concentration by the gas sensor 130 when the amount of change in the carbon dioxide concentration is larger, it is possible to obtain timely measurement results in the early stage when the carbon dioxide concentration is increasing.

[0105] Similarly, the control unit 170 may calculate the absolute value α of the amount of change between the measurement point B1 and the measurement point B2 and the absolute value β of the amount of change between the measurement point B2 and the measurement point B3 in FIG. 5 using the above formula. In the measurement period w2 (a measurement period with a higher frequency), the control unit 170 may determine to change the frequency of the concentration measurement to a lower frequency when the value obtained by dividing β by α is less than a fourth threshold value (e.g., 0.8) that is smaller than the third threshold value. The control unit 170 may determine not to change the frequency of the concentration measurement when the value obtained by dividing β by α exceeds the fourth threshold value. In this way, by further reducing the frequency of measurement of the carbon dioxide concentration of the gas sensor 130 when the amount of change in the carbon dioxide concentration is smaller, the number of measurements can be reduced in situations where the measurement is less necessary, and the power consumption of the power supply unit 140 can be suppressed. The control unit 170 may combine the timing determination using the third threshold value and the timing determination using the fourth threshold value.

[0106] In FIG. 5, by controlling the timing of measuring the carbon dioxide concentration according to the amount of change described above, the control unit 170 controls the gas sensor 130 to measure the carbon dioxide concentration at a measurement period w1 until t1, a measurement period w2 from t1 to t2, a measurement period w1 from t2 to t3, a measurement period w2 from t3 to t4, a measurement period w1 from t4 to t5, a measurement period w2 from t5 to t6, a measurement period w1 from t6 to t7, a measurement period w2 from t7 to t8, and a measurement period w1 from t8 onwards.

[0107] The control device 120 may control the gas sensor 130 using only the environmental information without using the remaining amount information. This allows the target gas to be monitored while more fully considering the safety of users working in the plant when the target gas is a toxic gas or the like. The threshold value and range used by the control unit 170 to determine the timing may be preset by the user.

[0108] Furthermore, the gas sensor 130 may be disposed in an external device different from the control device 120. In this case, the external device may include the gas sensor 130 and a power supply unit 140. Furthermore, the external device may further include at least one sensor 130 other than the gas sensor 130. As an example, the portable control device 120 may be disposed in a portable terminal 20 such as a smartphone, a wearable device, or a head-mounted display, and the portable terminal 20 may further include at least one sensor 130 other than the gas sensor 130. The external device may be attached to the terminal 20 in which the control device 120 is disposed.

[0109] Various embodiments of the present invention may be described with reference to flow charts and block diagrams, where the blocks may represent (1) stages of a process in which operations are performed or (2) sections of an apparatus responsible for performing the operations. Particular stages and sections may be implemented by dedicated circuitry, programmable circuitry provided with computer readable instructions stored on a computer readable medium, and / or a processor provided with computer readable instructions stored on a computer readable medium. Dedicated circuitry may include digital and / or analog hardware circuitry and may include integrated circuits (ICs) and / or discrete circuits. Programmable circuitry may include reconfigurable hardware circuitry including logical AND, logical OR, logical XOR, logical NAND, logical NOR, and other logical operations, memory elements such as flip-flops, registers, field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable logic arrays (PLAs), and the like.

[0110] A computer-readable medium may include any tangible device capable of storing instructions that are executed by a suitable device, such that the computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon comprises an article of manufacture that includes instructions that can be executed to create means for performing the operations specified in the flowcharts or block diagrams. Examples of computer-readable media may include electronic storage media, magnetic storage media, optical storage media, electromagnetic storage media, semiconductor storage media, and the like. More specific examples of computer-readable media may include floppy disks, diskettes, hard disks, random access memories (RAMs), read-only memories (ROMs), erasable programmable read-only memories (EPROMs or flash memories), electrically erasable programmable read-only memories (EEPROMs), static random access memories (SRAMs), compact disk read-only memories (CD-ROMs), digital versatile disks (DVDs), Blu-ray disks, memory sticks, integrated circuit cards, and the like.

[0111] The computer readable instructions may include either assembler instructions, Instruction Set Architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions, machine-dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions, state setting data, or source or object code written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including object-oriented programming languages ​​such as Smalltalk®, JAVA®, C++, etc., and conventional procedural programming languages ​​such as the “C” programming language or similar programming languages.

[0112] Computer readable instructions may be provided to a processor or programmable circuitry of a programmable data processing apparatus, such as a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other computer, either locally or over a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN) such as the Internet, etc., to execute the computer readable instructions to create means for performing the operations specified in the flowcharts or block diagrams. Examples of processors include computer processors, processing units, microprocessors, digital signal processors, controllers, microcontrollers, etc.

[0113] 6 illustrates an example of a computer 2200 in which aspects of the present invention may be embodied in whole or in part. Programs installed on the computer 2200 may cause the computer 2200 to function as or perform operations associated with an apparatus or one or more sections of the apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and / or to perform a process or steps of the process according to an embodiment of the present invention. Such programs may be executed by the CPU 2212 to cause the computer 2200 to perform specific operations associated with some or all of the blocks of the flowcharts and block diagrams described herein.

[0114] The computer 2200 according to this embodiment includes a CPU 2212, a RAM 2214, a graphic controller 2216, and a display device 2218, which are connected to each other by a host controller 2210. The computer 2200 also includes input / output units such as a communication interface 2222, a hard disk drive 2224, a DVD-ROM drive 2226, and an IC card drive, which are connected to the host controller 2210 via an input / output controller 2220. The computer also includes legacy input / output units such as a ROM 2230 and a keyboard 2242, which are connected to the input / output controller 2220 via an input / output chip 2240.

[0115] The CPU 2212 operates according to a program stored in the ROM 2230 and the RAM 2214, thereby controlling each unit. The graphic controller 2216 retrieves image data generated by the CPU 2212 into a frame buffer or the like provided in the RAM 2214 or into the graphic controller 2216 itself, and causes the image data to be displayed on the display device 2218.

[0116] The communication interface 2222 communicates with other electronic devices via a network. The hard disk drive 2224 stores programs and data used by the CPU 2212 in the computer 2200. The DVD-ROM drive 2226 reads programs or data from the DVD-ROM 2201 and provides the programs or data to the hard disk drive 2224 via the RAM 2214. The IC card drive reads programs and data from an IC card and / or writes programs and data to an IC card.

[0117] The ROM 2230 stores therein a boot program or the like executed by the computer 2200 upon activation, and / or a program that depends on the hardware of the computer 2200. The input / output chip 2240 may also connect various input / output units to the input / output controller 2220 via a parallel port, a serial port, a keyboard port, a mouse port, and the like.

[0118] The programs are provided by a computer-readable medium such as a DVD-ROM 2201 or an IC card. The programs are read from the computer-readable medium, installed in the hard disk drive 2224, the RAM 2214, or the ROM 2230, which are also examples of computer-readable media, and executed by the CPU 2212. Information processing described in these programs is read by the computer 2200, and brings about cooperation between the programs and the various types of hardware resources described above. An apparatus or method may be constructed by realizing information manipulation or processing according to the use of the computer 2200.

[0119] For example, when communication is performed between the computer 2200 and an external device, the CPU 2212 may execute a communication program loaded in the RAM 2214 and instruct the communication interface 2222 to perform communication processing based on the processing described in the communication program. Under the control of the CPU 2212, the communication interface 2222 reads transmission data stored in a transmission buffer processing area provided in the RAM 2214, the hard disk drive 2224, the DVD-ROM 2201, or a recording medium such as an IC card, and transmits the read transmission data to the network, or writes reception data received from the network to a reception buffer processing area or the like provided on the recording medium.

[0120] Furthermore, the CPU 2212 may cause all or a necessary portion of a file or database stored in an external recording medium such as the hard disk drive 2224, the DVD-ROM drive 2226 (DVD-ROM 2201), an IC card, etc. to be read into the RAM 2214, and perform various types of processing on the data on the RAM 2214. The CPU 2212 then writes back the processed data to the external recording medium.

[0121] Various types of information, such as various types of programs, data, tables, and databases, may be stored in the recording medium and undergo information processing. The CPU 2212 may perform various types of processing on the data read from the RAM 2214, including various types of operations, information processing, conditional judgment, conditional branching, unconditional branching, information search / replacement, etc., as described throughout this disclosure and specified by the instruction sequence of the program, and write back the results to the RAM 2214. The CPU 2212 may also search for information in a file, database, etc. in the recording medium. For example, when a plurality of entries each having an attribute value of a first attribute associated with an attribute value of a second attribute are stored in the recording medium, the CPU 2212 may search for an entry that matches a condition, in which an attribute value of the first attribute is specified, from among the plurality of entries, read the attribute value of the second attribute stored in the entry, and thereby obtain the attribute value of the second attribute associated with the first attribute that satisfies a predetermined condition.

[0122] The above-described programs or software modules may be stored in a computer-readable medium on the computer 2200 or in the vicinity of the computer 2200. Also, a recording medium such as a hard disk or a RAM provided in a server system connected to a dedicated communication network or the Internet can be used as a computer-readable medium, thereby providing the programs to the computer 2200 via the network.

[0123] Although the present invention has been described above using the embodiments, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the scope described in the above embodiments. It is clear to those skilled in the art that various modifications and improvements can be made to the above embodiments. It is clear from the description of the claims that such modifications and improvements can also be included in the technical scope of the present invention.

[0124] It should be noted that the order of execution of each process, such as operations, procedures, steps, and stages, in the devices, systems, programs, and methods shown in the claims, specifications, and drawings is not specifically stated as "before," "prior to," etc., and may be realized in any order unless the output of a previous process is used in a later process. Even if the operational flow in the claims, specifications, and drawings is explained using "first," "next," etc. for convenience, it does not mean that it is essential to perform the process in this order. [Explanation of symbols]

[0125] 10. System 20 Terminals 30 Servers 40 Communication Network 100 Sensor device 110 Detection unit 120 Control device 130 Sensors 140 Power supply section 150 Environmental Information Acquisition Department 160 Remaining amount information acquisition unit 170 Control section 180 Output section 190 Output Device 2200 Computer 2201 DVD-ROM 2210 Host Controller 2212 CPU 2214 RAM 2216 Graphics Controller 2218 Display Device 2220 Input / Output Controller 2222 Communication Interface 2224 Hard Disk Drive 2226 DVD-ROM drive 2230 ROM 2240 Input / Output Chip 2242 Keyboard

Claims

1. A portable control device that controls a sensor that measures the concentration of a target gas, an environmental information acquisition unit that acquires environmental information including a concentration of the target gas measured by the sensor and position information related to the sensor; a remaining power information acquiring unit that acquires remaining power information of a power supply unit that supplies power to the sensor; a control unit that controls a timing of the measurement of the concentration of the target gas by the sensor based on the concentration of the target gas and the remaining amount information, The control unit starts or ends the measurement of the concentration of the target gas by the sensor based on the position information, and changes a timing of the measurement of the concentration of the target gas by the sensor depending on whether a result of the measurement of the concentration of the target gas is within an abnormal range. Control device.

2. The control unit detects that the position indicated by the position information has moved into an area to which a previous result of the concentration measurement of the target gas is associated, and changes a timing of the concentration measurement of the target gas by the sensor. The control device according to claim 1 .

3. The control unit changes a timing of the concentration measurement of the target gas in the sensor when the previous concentration measurement of the target gas was performed before a predetermined period of time. The control device according to claim 2.

4. The control unit changes a timing of measuring the concentration of the target gas in the sensor when detecting that the position indicated by the position information has moved from outdoors to indoors or from indoors to outdoors. The control device according to claim 1 .

5. the environmental information acquisition unit acquires the environmental information including a concentration of the target gas measured by the sensor during a first period and a second period that are consecutive; The control unit controls a timing of measuring the concentration of the target gas by the sensor based on a statistic of the concentration of the target gas in the first period and a statistic of the concentration of the target gas in the second period. The control device according to claim 1 .

6. an output unit that outputs a warning signal in response to the environmental information acquired by the environmental information acquisition unit; The control device according to claim 1 .

7. When the control unit starts or ends the concentration measurement of the target gas in the sensor in response to the environmental information, the output unit outputs the warning signal. The control device according to claim 6.

8. The environmental information acquisition unit acquires the environmental information including at least one of gas concentration, temperature, humidity, pressure, wind direction, wind speed, illuminance, time information, acceleration, angular acceleration, azimuth angle, position information, dust, and biological information related to the sensor. The control device according to claim 1 .

9. The control unit starts or ends the measurement of the concentration of the target gas in the sensor in response to the environmental information acquired by the environmental information acquisition unit. The control device according to claim 1 .

10. The control unit starts measuring the concentration of the target gas in the sensor when detecting that the position indicated by the position information has moved from outdoors to indoors or from indoors to outdoors, and ends measuring the concentration of the target gas in the sensor when detecting that the position indicated by the position information has moved from indoors to outdoors or from indoors to outdoors. The control device according to claim 1 .

11. The control unit starts or ends the measurement of the concentration of the target gas by the sensor when detecting that the position indicated by the position information has moved and then stopped. The control device according to claim 1 .

12. The control unit starts or ends the concentration measurement of the target gas in the sensor when detecting that the position indicated by the position information has moved into an area to which a previous result of the concentration measurement of the target gas is associated. The control device according to claim 1 .

13. The control unit detects that the position indicated by the position information has moved into an area to which a result of a previous concentration measurement of the target gas is associated, and if the previous concentration measurement of the target gas was performed before a predetermined period of time, starts or ends the concentration measurement of the target gas in the sensor. The control device according to claim 1 .

14. the environmental information acquisition unit acquires the environmental information including a moving speed related to the sensor; The control unit controls a timing for measuring the concentration of the target gas in the sensor based on the moving speed and the remaining amount information. The control device according to claim 1 .

15. The sensor is disposed on a wearable device; the environmental information acquisition unit acquires the environmental information including wearing information as to whether the wearable device is being worn or not; The control unit controls a timing for measuring the concentration of the target gas in the sensor based on the mounting information and the remaining amount information. The control device according to claim 1 .

16. the environmental information acquisition unit acquires the environmental information including sound information around the sensor; The control unit controls a timing for measuring the concentration of the target gas in the sensor based on the sound information and the remaining amount information. The control device according to claim 1 .

17. the environmental information acquisition unit acquires the environmental information including atmospheric pressure information around the sensor; The control unit controls a timing of measuring the concentration of the target gas by the sensor when the control unit detects that the atmospheric pressure indicated by the atmospheric pressure information is lower than an atmospheric pressure threshold value. The control device according to claim 1 .

18. The sensor is disposed in an external device different from the control device. The control device according to claim 1 .

19. the environmental information acquisition unit further acquires at least one of measurement information of an external sensor different from the sensor and position information of the external sensor; The control unit controls a timing of the concentration measurement of the target gas by the sensor based on at least one of the measurement information of the external sensor and the position information of the external sensor, the environmental information, and the remaining amount information. The control device according to claim 1 .

20. The environmental information acquisition unit acquires the environmental information including biological information of a user of the sensor, The control unit controls a timing for measuring the concentration of the target gas in the sensor based on the biological information and the remaining amount information. The control device according to claim 1 .

21. the environmental information acquisition unit acquires the environmental information including public health information corresponding to the sensor; The control unit controls a timing for measuring the concentration of the target gas by the sensor based on the public health information and the remaining amount information. The control device according to claim 1 .

22. A portable sensor device, A sensor for measuring the concentration of a target gas; A power supply unit for supplying power to the sensor; A control device according to any one of claims 1 to 21 for controlling the sensor. Sensor device.

23. A method for controlling a sensor for measuring a concentration of a target gas by a portable control device, comprising: acquiring environmental information including a concentration of the target gas measured by the sensor and location information regarding the sensor; acquiring remaining capacity information of a power supply unit that supplies power to the sensor; and controlling a timing of measuring the concentration of the target gas in the sensor based on the concentration of the target gas and the remaining amount information; The step of controlling includes a step of starting or ending the measurement of the concentration of the target gas by the sensor based on the position information, and changing a timing of the measurement of the concentration of the target gas by the sensor depending on whether a result of the measurement of the concentration of the target gas is in an abnormal range. method.

24. A method for measuring a concentration of a target gas by a portable sensor device, comprising: measuring a concentration of the target gas by a sensor of the sensor device; providing power to the sensor by a power supply of the sensor device; acquiring environmental information including a concentration of the target gas measured by the sensor and location information regarding the sensor; acquiring remaining capacity information of the power supply unit; and controlling a timing of measuring the concentration of the target gas in the sensor based on the concentration of the target gas and the remaining amount information; The step of controlling includes a step of starting or ending the measurement of the concentration of the target gas by the sensor based on the position information, and changing a timing of the measurement of the concentration of the target gas by the sensor depending on whether a result of the measurement of the concentration of the target gas is in an abnormal range. method.

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