Excretion Identification Device

Abstract

To provide an excretion identification apparatus capable of accurately identifying a fart and excretion.SOLUTION: An excretion identification apparatus comprises: a first sensor for detecting odorous gas; a second sensor for detecting odorless gas; and a processing part that is connected to the first and second sensors. The processing part determines whether excretion is a fart or not, on the basis of the result of detection by the first sensor and the result of detection by the second sensor.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an excretion identification device. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses an excretion detection sensor that determines whether an excrement is a fart or not based on the amount of change over time in the strength of the odor detected by an odor sensor. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2014-33745 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, the amount of change over time in the strength of odor detected by an odor sensor varies depending on the state of the living body and the environment. For this reason, with the excretion detection sensor disclosed in Patent Document 1, it is difficult to set an appropriate threshold value for the amount of change over time in the strength of odor, and there is a risk that it will not be possible to accurately identify whether or not an excreta is a fart. The present disclosure provides an excretion identification device that can more accurately identify whether or not an excreta is a fart. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] An excretion identification device according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes a first sensor for detecting odorous gas, a second sensor for detecting odorless gas, and a processing unit connected to the first and second sensors, the processing unit determining whether or not an excrement is a fart based on a detection result of the first sensor and a detection result of the second sensor.

[0006] This excretion identification device determines whether or not an excrement is a fart based on the detection results of odorous gas and odorless gas. The gas generated from excrement is primarily composed of odorous gas, whereas farts contain both odorless and odorous gas. Although the state of the excreting living organism and changes in the environment at the time of excretion affect the amount of change in odor intensity over time, they are unlikely to affect the determination of the gas type. For this reason, the excretion identification device can more accurately identify whether or not an excrement is a fart compared to when excretion is determined based on the amount of change in odor intensity over time.

[0007] According to one embodiment, the processing unit may determine the excrement to be feces when the first sensor detects an odorous gas and the second sensor detects no odorless gas. The processing unit may determine the excrement to be fart when the first sensor detects an odorous gas and the second sensor detects an odorless gas. In this case, the excrement identification device can distinguish between feces and fart.

[0008] The odorous gas may include at least one of acetone and hydrogen sulfide. The odorless gas may include at least one of methane, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, a noble gas, oxygen, and hydrogen.

[0009] According to one embodiment, the excretion recognition device may include a communication unit that communicates with a storage device. The storage device may store the detection result of the first sensor, the detection result of the second sensor, the judgment result of the processing unit, and information on whether the judgment result is true or false in association with each other. In this case, the storage device can configure a database in which the detection result of the first sensor, the detection result of the second sensor, the judgment result, and information on whether the judgment result is true or false are associated with each other. Effect of the Invention

[0010] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to distinguish whether or not excrement is a fart. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of use of the excretion recognition device according to an embodiment. [Diagram 2]1 is a block diagram showing an example of an excretion recognition device according to an embodiment; [Diagram 3] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a method for identifying whether or not excrement is a fart by the excrement identification device according to the embodiment. [Figure 4] Fig. 4(A) is a graph showing an example of the detection results of the first sensor and the second sensor, and Fig. 4(B) is a graph showing another example of the detection results of the first sensor and the second sensor. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0012] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the same or corresponding elements are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description will not be repeated. The dimensional ratios of the drawings do not necessarily correspond to those in the description.

[0013] The excretion identification device 1 can be worn by a living organism. The excretion identification device 1 can be worn on the human body, for example, and is used attached to a sanitary product such as a diaper. The excretion identification device 1 identifies excretion of a living organism using this sanitary product. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of an embodiment in which a human wears a diaper to which the excretion identification device 1 is attached. The sanitary product is not limited to a diaper. The sanitary product may be clothing such as underwear. The living organism may be an animal other than a human. In FIG. 1, the excretion identification device 1 is attached inside the diaper. The excretion identification device 1 may also be attached outside the diaper. The excretion identification device 1 identifies, for example, fart, urine, and feces as excreta.

[0014] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the excretion recognition device according to this embodiment. The excretion recognition device 1 includes a first sensor 10 and an A / D converter 11 connected to the first sensor 10. The first sensor 10 detects odorous gas. The odorous gas is a gas generated from excrement or fart of a living body. The odorous gas includes, for example, at least one of acetone, hydrogen sulfide, ammonia, and methyl mercaptan. As the first sensor 10, a semiconductor gas sensor, an electrochemical gas sensor, a quartz crystal resonator gas sensor, or the like is used. The first sensor 10 outputs the concentration of the odorous gas to be detected as a detection result. This detection result is input to the A / D converter 11 connected to the first sensor 10. The A / D converter 11 outputs the detection result of the first sensor 10 as a digital signal.

[0015] The excretion identification device 1 includes a second sensor 20 and an A / D converter 21 connected to the second sensor 20. The second sensor 20 detects odorless gas. The odorless gas includes, for example, at least one of methane, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, rare gas, oxygen, and hydrogen. As the second sensor 20, a semiconductor gas sensor, an electrochemical gas sensor, a quartz crystal oscillator gas sensor, or the like is used. The second sensor 20 outputs the concentration of the odorless gas to be detected as a detection result. This detection result is input to the A / D converter 21 connected to the second sensor 20. The A / D converter 21 outputs the detection result of the second sensor 20 as a digital signal.

[0016] The excretion recognition device 1 includes a processing unit 30 connected to the first sensor 10 and the second sensor 20. The processing unit 30 controls the excretion recognition device 1. The processing unit 30 is a controller including a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and memories such as a RAM (Random Access Memory) and a ROM (Read Only Memory). An A / D converter 11 and an A / D converter 21 are connected to the processing unit 30. The A / D converter 11 converts the detection result of the first sensor 10 into a digital format and outputs it to the processing unit 30. The A / D converter 21 converts the detection result of the second sensor 20 into a digital format and outputs it to the processing unit 30. The processing unit 30 determines whether the excretion is a fart or not based on the detection result of the first sensor 10 and the detection result of the second sensor 20.

[0017] 3 is a flowchart showing an example of a method for the excretion recognition device 1 according to the embodiment to recognize whether an excretion is a fart or not. First, the excretion recognition device 1 detects odorous gas (step S10). The processing unit 30 acquires the detection result of the first sensor 10. Next, the excretion recognition device 1 detects odorless gas (step S20). The processing unit 30 acquires the detection result of the second sensor 20.

[0018] Fig. 4(A) is a graph showing an example of the detection results of the first sensor 10 and the second sensor 20. Fig. 4(B) is a graph showing another example of the detection results of the first sensor and the second sensor. The horizontal axis of each graph indicates the time axis, and the vertical axis of each graph indicates the concentration of the detected gas. Fig. 4(A) shows a case where an odorous gas is detected by the first sensor 10 and an odorless gas is detected by the second sensor 20. Fig. 4(B) shows a case where an odorous gas is detected by the first sensor 10 and an odorless gas is not detected by the second sensor 20.

[0019] As shown in Fig. 4(A), when the first sensor 10 detects an odorous gas and the second sensor 20 detects an odorless gas, the processing unit 30 determines that the excrement is a fart (step S30). As shown in Fig. 4(B), when the first sensor 10 detects an odorous gas and the second sensor 20 does not detect an odorless gas, the processing unit 30 determines that the excrement is not a fart (step S30). A gas is detected, for example, when the concentration of the gas exceeds a threshold value determined for each type of gas. A gas may be detected when the amount of change in the concentration of the gas per unit time exceeds a threshold value determined for each type of gas.

[0020] The excretion recognition device 1 transmits the determination result obtained by the processing unit 30 in determining whether the excrement is a fart or not. As shown in Fig. 2, the excretion recognition device 1 includes a communication unit 40 connected to the processing unit 30. The processing unit 30 outputs the determination result to the communication unit 40. The communication unit 40 transmits the determination result acquired from the processing unit 30 to the alarm device 2. The communication unit 40 is configured, for example, to be capable of wireless communication, and transmits the determination result to the alarm device 2 that is separated from the excretion recognition device 1 (step S40).

[0021] When the determination result indicates that the excrement is not a fart, the notification device 2 notifies a caregiver or the like that excrement has been generated. The notification device 2 may, for example, notify the generation of excrement by displaying on a screen of a display terminal such as a display. The notification device 2 may, for example, notify the generation of excrement by audio output from a speaker or the like.

[0022] The communication unit 40 further communicates with the storage device 3. The communication unit 40 transmits the detection result of the first sensor 10, the detection result of the second sensor 20, and the judgment result to the storage device 3. The storage device 3 stores the detection result of the first sensor 10, the detection result of the second sensor 20, the judgment result, and the true / false result of the judgment result in association with each other. The storage device 3 is composed of a general-purpose computer having, for example, a calculation unit such as a CPU, a storage unit such as a ROM, a RAM, and a HDD (Hard Disk Drive), and a communication unit. The storage device 3 stores the results obtained from the communication unit 40. The storage device 3 may store results obtained from an external input means, etc.

[0023] The storage device 3 forms a database in which, for example, the detection result of the first sensor 10, the detection result of the second sensor 20, the judgment result, and the correctness or incorrectness of the judgment result are associated with each other. This allows the external learning device to learn to be able to judge whether the excrement is a fart with higher accuracy based on the database of the storage device 3. The excrement identification device 1 may judge whether the excrement is a fart based on the learning result of the learning device acquired via the communication unit 40. The learning device can learn, for example, appropriate thresholds for each of the first sensor 10 and the second sensor 20 that detect gas. For example, the learning device can learn that when the excrement includes both a fart and excrement other than a fart, the excrement is not a fart based on the detection result of the first sensor 10 and the detection result of the second sensor 20 when the excrement includes both a fart and excrement other than a fart. The judgment result based on the learning result may be notified by the notification device 2.

[0024] The learning device may, for example, learn to predict the time and probability of occurrence of excrement other than farts based on the database in the storage device 3. The excrement identification device 1 may predict the occurrence of excrement other than farts based on the learning results of the learning device acquired via the communication unit 40. For example, the learning device may predict the occurrence of excrement other than farts when a predetermined number of farts are detected consecutively. The prediction of the occurrence of excrement other than farts may be notified by the notification device 2.

[0025] The learning device may learn the detection results of the first sensor 10 and the second sensor 20 measured a certain time before the time when the excrement was determined to be feces (an example of excrement other than fart). For example, the learning device learns the concentration of odorous gas detected by the first sensor 10 and the concentration of odorless gas detected by the second sensor 20. The learning device may learn the number of times the excrement was determined to be fart a certain time before the time when the excrement was determined to be feces. The learning device may perform learning for each user. When the learning device performs learning for each user, the learning device can learn tendencies unique to each user.

[0026] (Summary of the embodiment) In the excretion identification device 1, the processing unit 30 determines whether the excretion is a fart or not based on the detection results of the odorous gas and the detection results of the odorless gas. Therefore, the excretion identification device 1 can accurately identify whether the excretion is a fart or not. When the amount of change over time in the odor intensity detected by the odor sensor is used, erroneous detection may occur in which feces is determined to be a fart, or a fart is determined to be feces. Such erroneous detection places an unnecessary burden on the caregiver. Since the excretion identification device 1 can accurately distinguish between feces and farts, it can notify the caregiver to assist with excretion only when necessary. Therefore, the excretion identification device 1 can reduce the burden on the caregiver.

[0027] The processing unit 30 determines the excrement to be feces when odorous gas is detected by the first sensor 10 and odorless gas is not detected by the second sensor 20. The processing unit 30 determines the excrement to be fart when odorous gas is detected by the first sensor 10 and odorless gas is detected by the second sensor 20. This excrement identification device 1 can identify whether the excrement is a fart or not based on the detection results of odorous gas and odorless gas.

[0028] The excretion recognition device 1 includes a communication unit 40 that communicates with the storage device 3. The storage device 3 stores the detection result of the first sensor 10, the detection result of the second sensor 20, the judgment result of the processing unit 30, and information on whether the judgment result is true or false, in association with each other. In this case, the storage device 3 can configure a database in which the detection result of the first sensor 10, the detection result 20 of the second sensor, the judgment result, and information on whether the judgment result is true or false are associated with each other. This database allows the device to learn to more accurately judge whether an excrement is a fart or not, and to learn to predict the time and probability that excrement that is not a fart will occur.

[0029] The excretion identification device 1 is worn by a living body. Odorable gas and odorless gas diffuse in the vicinity of the living body. Therefore, the excretion identification device 1 worn by a living body is unlikely to be affected by the environment. For example, the excretion identification device 1 is attached inside a diaper. Since odorous gas and odorless gas diffuse inside the diaper, the excretion identification device 1 can accurately measure the respective concentrations of odorous gas and odorless gas. The first sensor 10 and the second sensor 20 of the excretion identification device 1 are worn by the living body, and the processing unit 30 does not have to be worn by the living body. The excretion identification device 1 does not have to be worn by the living body, and may be provided on bedding such as a futon or a headband.

[0030] Although various exemplary embodiments have been described above, the present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications may be made.

[0031] The first sensor 10 and the second sensor 20 are not limited to being separate components. The first sensor 10 and the second sensor 20 may be included in one gas sensor. It is sufficient that one gas sensor has a function of detecting odorous gas and a function of detecting odorless gas.

[0032] The first sensor 10 may detect a plurality of gases having an odor. The second sensor 20 may detect a plurality of gases having no odor. When the first sensor 10 detects an increase in at least a portion of the plurality of gases and the second sensor 20 detects an increase in at least a portion of the plurality of gases, the processing unit 30 may determine that the excrement is a fart. When the first sensor 10 detects an increase in at least a portion of the plurality of gases and the second sensor 20 does not detect an increase in at least a portion of the plurality of gases, the processing unit 30 may determine that the excrement is not a fart.

[0033] The processing unit 30 may be included in the alarm device 2. For example, the detection result of the first sensor 10 and the detection result of the second sensor 20 may be transmitted to the processing unit 30 located away via the communication unit 40. The learning device may be provided in the excretion recognition device 1. [Explanation of symbols]

[0034] 1...excretion recognition device, 2...alarm device, 3...storage device, 10...first sensor, 20...second sensor, 30...processing unit, 40...communication unit.

Claims

1. a first sensor for detecting an odorous gas; a second sensor for detecting an odorless gas; a processing unit connected to the first sensor and the second sensor, and configured to determine whether or not the excrement is a fart based on a detection result of the first sensor and a detection result of the second sensor; Equipped with The processing unit includes: When the odorous gas is detected by the first sensor and the odorless gas is not detected by the second sensor, the excrement is determined to be feces; when the odorous gas is detected by the first sensor and the odorless gas is detected by the second sensor, the excrement is determined to be a fart. Excretion identification device.

2. The odorous gas contains at least one of acetone and hydrogen sulfide. The excretion identification device according to claim 1 .

3. The odorless gas includes at least one of methane, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, a noble gas, oxygen, and hydrogen; The excretion identification device according to claim 1 or 2.

4. a communication unit that communicates with a storage device that stores the detection result of the first sensor, the detection result of the second sensor, the determination result of the processing unit, and true / false information of the determination result in association with each other; The excretion identification device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

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