Sensor device and walking information communication system
The sensor device optimizes battery life by controlling communication based on movement types, specifically powering down during walking to conserve energy, addressing the inefficiency in conventional footwear sensor devices.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- PCT/JP2024/022915
- Authority / Receiving Office
- WO · WO
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Priority Date
- 2023-06-27
- Filing Date
- 2024-06-24
- Publication Date
- 2025-01-02
AI Technical Summary
Conventional sensor devices attached to footwear face high battery consumption due to communication needs, as they require frequent data transmission to user terminals, which is inefficient and reduces device longevity.
A sensor device with a detection unit that identifies movement types, including walking and non-walking movements, uses a control unit to manage communication, enabling communication only during non-walking movements to conserve battery life by powering down the communication unit during walking.
This approach significantly reduces battery consumption by limiting communication to specific non-walking events, thereby extending the device's operational life and reducing power usage.
Smart Images

Figure JP2024022915_02012025_PF_FP_ABST
Abstract
Description
Sensor device and walking information communication system
[0001] The present invention relates to a sensor device that can be attached to footwear and a communication system for walking information collected by the sensor device.
[0002] Conventionally, footwear such as shoes has been known that includes a small sensor device incorporating a sensor and a communication device housed in a recess in the sole. The sensor device calculates various exercise-related parameter values (e.g., calorie consumption, running distance, etc.) based on data measured by the sensor, and can transmit walking information such as the data measured by the sensor and the calculated parameter values to a user's device such as a smartphone. The user can then use the various exercise-related parameter values to help manage their own health (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
[0003] Special Publication No. 2009-535157
[0004] The sensor device attached to the footwear must be small, and therefore the battery that drives the sensor must also be small. However, the walking information stored in the sensor device must be transmitted to a smartphone or other device, and battery consumption due to communication has been an issue.
[0005] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a sensor device and a walking information communication system that can reduce battery consumption due to communication.
[0006] One aspect of the present invention is a sensor device that is attached to a person's footwear and includes a detection unit that detects the person's movement, a communication unit that transmits walking information based on the detection information detected by the detection unit to an external terminal, and a control unit that uses the detection information to determine the person's movement and controls communication by the communication unit in accordance with the determined person's movement, where the control unit controls communication by the communication unit to enable communication, provided that the person's movement is different from human walking.
[0007] One aspect of the present invention is a walking information communication system that includes a terminal and a sensor device attached to a person's footwear, the terminal including a communication unit capable of communicating with the sensor device, the sensor device including a detection unit that detects the person's movement, a communication unit that transmits walking information based on the detection information detected by the detection unit to the terminal, and a control unit that determines the person's movement using the detection information and controls communication by the communication unit in accordance with the determined person's movement, and the control unit controls communication by the communication unit of the sensor device to enable communication, provided that the person's movement is different from human walking motion.
[0008] According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the battery consumption of the sensor device due to communication.
[0009] FIG. 1 is a left side view of a shoe 1 according to this embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a sole 10 and a sensor device 2, and is a plan view of the shoe 1 as seen from directly above (top view). FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the sensor device 2. FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram of the sensor device 2. FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a first movement. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a first type of second movement. FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining a second type of second movement. FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining slots in the memory unit 102. FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a walking information communication system according to this embodiment. FIG. 10 is an operation flowchart of the sensor device 2. FIG. 11 is an operation flowchart of the communication processing of the sensor device 2. FIG. 12 is a sequence diagram of the sensor device 2 and the wireless terminal 3 in the pairing processing (Step 203). FIG. 13 is a sequence diagram of the sensor device 2 and the wireless terminal 3 in the walking information communication processing (Step 204).
[0010] An embodiment of the present invention will be described.
[0011] <Embodiment> An embodiment of the present invention will be described. In this embodiment, a shoe 1 will be described as an example of footwear, but other footwear such as sandals may also be used. Also, the shoe 1 will be described as a right-foot shoe as an example, but it may also be a left-foot shoe. Furthermore, the present invention may be applied to both right-foot and left-foot shoes.
[0012] 1 is a left side view of a shoe 1 according to this embodiment. The shoe 1 has a sole 10 and a sensor device 2 that can be attached to and detached from the midfoot when the sole 10 is divided into three parts in the front-to-rear direction: a forefoot part, a midfoot part, and a heel part.
[0013] The sole 10 has a midsole 11 and an outer sole 12. Depending on the manufacturing method of the shoe 1, the two may be an integrated part in which there is no distinction between them. An inner sole 13 may also be provided as appropriate. The sole 10 has a fitting-shaped accommodation recess 14 on the upper surface side of the midsole 11 that can accommodate the sensor device 2.
[0014] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the sole 10 and the sensor device 2, and is a plan view of the shoe 1 as seen from directly above (top view).
[0015] The accommodating recess 14 has a fitting shape that corresponds to the external shape of the sensor device 2 in a housed state, in the midfoot portion of the midsole 11, as viewed from above. The midsole 11 is made of, for example, EVA resin (ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer resin). Because EVA resin is highly flexible, the accommodating recess 14 can fit tightly around and encase the sensor device 2 when the sensor device 2 is worn. The detailed shape of the accommodating recess 14 will be described later.
[0016] Next, the sensor device 2 will be described.
[0017] The sensor device 2 has a contour shape that is asymmetrical about an axis of symmetry A when housed in the housing recess 14 of the sole 10. The left and right of "asymmetrical" here refer to the left and right when the sensor device 2 is housed in the housing recess 14. In this embodiment, the shoe 1 is illustrated as being for a right foot, so the axis of symmetry A faces the front-to-back direction of the shoe 1, with the left corresponding to the inner side of the shoe and the right corresponding to the outer side of the shoe.
[0018] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the sensor device 2. As shown in FIG.
[0019] The sensor device 2 has a main body 21 that houses a battery and electronic components, a lid 22 that is removable from the main body 21, and a fastener 23 for fastening the lid 22 to the main body 21. The battery is, for example, a button battery that is classified as a coin type.
[0020] The electronic components include an electronic circuit board on which various electronic elements are mounted, and the electronic circuit board is equipped with a three-axis acceleration sensor, a microprocessor, an IC memory, a small wireless communication device, etc. Of course, other electronic components and circuit sections can also be mounted.
[0021] FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram of the sensor device 2.
[0022] The sensor device 2 includes a three-axis acceleration sensor 100 , a control unit 101 , a memory unit 102 , and a wireless communication unit 103 .
[0023] The triaxial acceleration sensor 100 detects acceleration in each of the three orthogonal axes X, Y, and Z. In the description of this embodiment, when the sensor device 2 is attached to the shoe 1 as shown in Figures 1 and 2, the direction of acceleration detected by the triaxial acceleration sensor 100 will be described as follows: the forward direction along the axis of symmetry A is defined as the X direction, the outward direction from the axis of symmetry A is defined as the Y direction, and the upward direction of the sensor device 2 attached to the shoe 1 is defined as the Z direction.
[0024] The control unit 101 is configured with a processor. The control unit 101 determines the user's movement in the shoes 1 from the measurement values of the three-axis acceleration sensor 100. The user's movement to be determined can be broadly divided into a first movement and a second movement. The first movement is a normal walking movement of a person, and the second movement is a movement other than the first movement, i.e., a movement other than a normal walking movement of a person.
[0025] FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the first movement. The first movement is a general walking motion of a user. In the case of general walking, such as walking or running, acceleration in the front-to-back direction of the shoe connecting the forefoot and heel is continuously detected. For example, acceleration with large values in the X direction is continuously detected. Such a user movement in which acceleration with large values in the X direction is continuously detected is referred to as the first movement.
[0026] The second movement can be of any type as long as it is a movement other than the first movement, i.e., a movement other than the user's general walking movement; however, in this embodiment, a first type of second movement and a second type of second movement are given as examples of the second movement.
[0027] 6 is a diagram illustrating a first type of second motion. The first type of second motion is a motion in which a user touches the forefoot (toes) of their shoe to the ground and then lifts it up again, repeating this motion a predetermined number of times. In this type of motion, a large acceleration and impact are detected in the X direction in a short period of time. Such a user motion in which a short, large acceleration and impact in the X direction are detected is defined as a first type of second motion. Note that the first type of second motion may not only be a motion in which a user touches the forefoot (toes) of their shoe to the ground and then lifts it up again, but may also be a motion in the opposite direction, i.e., a motion in which a user touches the heel of their shoe to the ground and then lifts it up again, repeating this motion a predetermined number of times.
[0028] 7 is a diagram illustrating a second type of second motion. The second type of second motion is a motion in which the user lifts the shoe on which the sensor device 2 is attached outward, then lowers it again and touches it to the other shoe, repeating this motion a predetermined number of times. In this type of motion, large accelerations and impacts in the Z and Y directions are detected in a short period of time. This type of user motion is referred to as a second type of second motion.
[0029] It should be noted here that the first movement is a normal walking movement of a person, whereas the first type second movement and the second type second movement are not a normal walking movement of a person. The above-described first type second movement and the second type second movement are only examples, and any other type of movement may be used as long as it is a movement other than the first movement, which is a normal walking movement of a person, and can be easily distinguished from the first movement.
[0030] The control unit 101 receives the measurement values from the triaxial acceleration sensor 100 and determines whether the user's movement is a first movement, a first type of second movement, or a second type of second movement. If the movement is the first movement, the control unit 101 calculates the user's walking information from the measurement values of the triaxial acceleration sensor 100 and stores the information in the memory unit 102. The walking information may be, for example, the number of steps taken for each speed category (walking, running, jogged).
[0031] On the other hand, when the user's movement is the first type second movement or the second type second movement, the control unit 101 controls the wireless communication unit 103 to enable communication with an external wireless terminal. The control method is, for example, to turn on the wireless communication unit 103 or to cancel the sleep state of the wireless communication unit 103. The control unit 101 also transmits various pieces of information to be transmitted by the wireless communication unit 103 to the wireless communication unit 103.
[0032] The memory unit 102 is a memory in which the user's walking information is recorded. The memory unit 102 has a plurality of slots (records). FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating the slots of the memory unit 102. In the example of FIG. 8, the memory unit 102 has 256 slots, and initially, each slot is assigned a slot identification number (SID) ranging from 0 to 255. Each slot has fields for walking (Walk), running (Run), and dash (Dash) according to the measurement date and time and the speed, and each field records the measurement date and time and the number of steps the user took.
[0033] The wireless communication unit 103 is a wireless device capable of communicating with a wireless terminal. The wireless terminal may be a smartphone carried by the user, or a wearable computer with a communication function, such as a smartwatch or smart glasses. The wireless communication method may be, for example, Bluetooth (registered trademark). The wireless communication unit 103 is controlled by the control unit 101 to be in a state in which it can communicate with the wireless terminal. Unless the control unit 101 controls the wireless communication unit 103 to be in a state in which it can communicate, the wireless communication unit 103 is powered off or in a sleep state, thereby reducing power consumption.
[0034] Next, the operation of the sensor device 2 for recording walking information and the operation of communication between the sensor device 2 and the user's terminal will be described.
[0035] Fig. 9 is a schematic diagram of a walking information communication system according to this embodiment. As shown in Fig. 9, the walking information communication system according to this embodiment comprises a sensor device 2 attached to a user's shoe 1, a wireless terminal 3 of the user, and a server 4 that records the user's walking information. The wireless terminal 3 and the server 4 are connectable to a communication line N and are capable of communicating with each other.
[0036] The communication line N refers to a communication path that allows data communication. That is, the communication line N includes a dedicated line (dedicated cable) for direct connection, a LAN such as Ethernet (registered trademark), a telephone communication network, a cable network, the Internet, and other communication networks, regardless of whether the communication method is wired or wireless.
[0037] The wireless terminal 3 is a wireless terminal that can acquire walking information of the user from the sensor device 2 by a proximity wireless method such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) and transmit the acquired walking information to the server 4. The wireless terminal 3 is, for example, a smartphone, a mobile phone, a personal computer, a tablet computer, or the like.
[0038] The server 4 is a server system configured to include one or more server devices, storage devices, etc. The server 4 provides a service for recording user walking information, manages data necessary for operating the service, and provides a walking information viewing service from the wireless terminal 3.
[0039] Next, we will explain the operation of the sensor device 2. Fig. 10 is a flowchart showing the operation of the sensor device 2. As shown in Fig. 8, the memory unit 102 has 256 slots, and initially, each slot is assigned a slot identification number (SID) ranging from 0 to 255 (Step 100).
[0040] First, the control unit 101 sets the slot number for recording walking information to N and sets the initial value to zero (Step 101).
[0041] The control unit 101 receives the measurement values from the three-axis acceleration sensor 100, detects the user's movement (Step 102), and determines the movement (Step 103).
[0042] If the user's movement is other than the first movement (second movement) (Step 104), the control unit 101 performs communication processing (Step 112). The communication processing (Step 112) will be described later.
[0043] If the user's movement is the first movement (Step 104), the control unit 101 acquires the detection date and time of the measurement information (Step 105). Then, it starts measuring the detection time (Step 106). If the detection time is within one hour (Step 107), the control unit 101 calculates the user's walking information from the measurement values acquired from the triaxial acceleration sensor 100 and records the user's walking information in the slot with slot number N (Step 113).
[0044] When the detection time exceeds one hour (Step 107), the control unit 101 adds 1 to the slot number N (Step 112). When the slot number N is smaller than 255 (Step 109), the control unit 101 records the user's walking information in the slot with slot number N (Step 113).
[0045] On the other hand, if the slot number N is greater than 255 (Step 109), the control unit 101 overwrites and records the user's walking information in the slot with the smallest slot number (Step 110).The control unit 101 then sets the slot number of the overwritten slot to N (Step 111) and continues motion detection (Step 102).
[0046] In this way, the sensor device 2 records the walking information of the user every day. Note that although the detection time written into one slot is one hour, this is merely an example and other times may be used.
[0047] Next, a description will be given of the communication process (Step 112) of the sensor device 2. FIG.
[0048] The control unit 101 of the sensor device 2 determines the movement from the measurement values from the three-axis acceleration sensor 100 (Step 200).
[0049] When the user's movement is the second movement of the first type (Step 201), the control unit 101 performs a pairing process (Step 203). The pairing process (Step 203) will be described later.
[0050] If the user's movement is the second movement of the second type (Step 202), the control unit 101 performs walking information communication processing (Step 204). The walking information communication processing (Step 204) will be described later.
[0051] Next, the pairing process (Step 203) will be described. Fig. 12 is a sequence diagram of the pairing process (Step 203) between the sensor device 2 and the wireless terminal 3.
[0052] First, the user starts an application (Step 400).
[0053] When the control unit 101 of the sensor device 2 detects a second motion of the first type (Step 300), the control unit 101 transitions the wireless communication unit 103 to a state in which it can communicate with the wireless terminal 3 (Step 301). For example, this is done by turning on the power of the wireless communication unit 103 or waking it from a sleep state. Then, the control unit 101 starts pairing with the wireless terminal 3 (Step 302). The information transmitted from the sensor device 2 to the wireless terminal 3 is the identification information of the sensor device 2.
[0054] The application of the wireless terminal 3 detects the identification information of the sensor device 2 received from the sensor device 2 (Step 401) and displays the identification information of the sensor device 2 (Step 402). When the user selects the displayed identification information of the sensor device 2 (Step 403), the application of the wireless terminal 3 stores the identification information of the sensor device 2 and transmits the identification information of the wireless terminal 3 to the sensor device 2, thereby performing pairing processing (Step 404).
[0055] The control unit 101 of the sensor device 2 receives the identification information of the wireless terminal 3, stores the identification information of the wireless terminal 3, and performs pairing processing (Step 303). Then, when the pairing processing is completed, the control unit 101 transitions the wireless communication unit 103 to a state in which communication with the wireless terminal 3 is not possible (Step 304). For example, this may involve turning off the power of the wireless communication unit 103 or transitioning to a sleep state.
[0056] Such an operation reduces the power consumption of the wireless communication unit 103 and reduces the battery consumption of the sensor device 2 .
[0057] Next, a description will be given of the operation of the walking information communication process (Step 204). Fig. 13 is a sequence diagram of the sensor device 2 and the wireless terminal 3 in the walking information communication process (Step 204).
[0058] In order to acquire walking information from the sensor device 2, the user starts up an application (Step 600) and selects acquisition of walking information (Step 601).
[0059] Meanwhile, when the user performs a second movement of a second type, the control unit 101 of the sensor device 2 detects the second movement of the second type (Step 500), and transitions the wireless communication unit 103 to a state in which it can communicate with the wireless terminal 3 (Step 501). For example, this is done by turning on the power of the wireless communication unit 103 or waking it from a sleep state. Then, when the control unit 101 receives a request to acquire walking information from the wireless terminal 3 (Step 502), it reads the walking information from the memory unit 102 and transmits the walking information to the wireless terminal 3 via the wireless communication unit 103 (Step 503).
[0060] The application of the wireless terminal 3 receives the walking information from the sensor device 2 (Step 602). Then, the wireless terminal 3 transmits a reception completion notification of the walking information to the sensor device 2 (Step 603). Furthermore, the wireless terminal 3 transmits the received walking information to the server 4.
[0061] The control unit 101 of the sensor device 2 that has received the reception completion notification transitions the wireless communication unit 103 to a state in which communication with the wireless terminal 3 is not possible (Step 504). For example, the control unit 101 powers off the wireless communication unit 103 and transitions it to a sleep state. Then, the control unit 101 resets the slot number in the memory unit 102 to its initial state (Step 505).
[0062] Such an operation reduces the power consumption of the wireless communication unit 103 and reduces the battery consumption of the sensor device 2 .
[0063] In this embodiment, communication via the wireless communication unit is controlled to be possible on the condition that the person's movement is a movement (second movement) different from walking movement (first movement), thereby making it possible to reduce battery consumption of the sensor device.
[0064] Furthermore, by defining a plurality of movements (e.g., a first type of second movement, a second type of second movement) that are different from the walking movement (first movement), and determining the communication process to be executed based on the movement, the sensor device can identify which communication process is being requested to be executed. <Modification of this embodiment> In the above-described embodiment, a first type of second movement and a second type of second movement are defined as movements other than the first movement, which is the walking movement of a person. However, it is also possible to define only one of the movements and control the communication process of both the pairing process and the walking information communication process to be enabled.
[0065] That is, when a first type of second movement is detected, both of the pairing process and the walking information communication process may be controlled to be enabled. Also, when a second type of second movement is detected, both of the pairing process and the walking information communication process may be controlled to be enabled.
[0066] By configuring in this way, the user will no longer be confused about which action to select.
[0067] Furthermore, some or all of the above-described embodiments can be described as, but are not limited to, the following supplementary notes.
[0068] [Supplementary Note 1] A sensor device to be attached to a person's footwear, comprising: a detection unit that detects the movement of the person; a communication unit that transmits walking information based on the detection information detected by the detection unit to an external terminal; and a control unit that determines the movement of the person using the detection information and controls communication by the communication unit in accordance with the determined movement of the person, wherein the control unit controls communication by the communication unit to enable communication on the condition that the movement of the person is different from human walking.
[0069] [Supplementary Note 2] The sensor device according to Supplementary Note 1, wherein the control unit uses the detection information to determine whether the movement of the person is a first movement that is a walking movement of the person or a second movement that is a movement other than the walking movement of the person, and controls the communication unit to enable communication on the condition that the movement of the person is the second movement.
[0070] [Supplementary Note 3] The sensor device described in Supplementary Note 2, wherein the second movement is at least one of a first type of second movement that is a movement of bringing a tip of the footwear to which the sensor device is attached into contact with the ground, and a second type of second movement that is a movement of bringing the inner surface of the footwear to which the sensor device is attached into contact with the inner surface of another shoe.
[0071] [Supplementary Note 4] The sensor device described in Supplementary Note 3, wherein the first type of second movement is an action of contacting a tip end of footwear to which the sensor device is attached with the ground multiple times, and the second type of second movement is an action of contacting an inner surface of the footwear to which the sensor device is attached with an inner surface of another shoe multiple times.
[0072] [Supplementary Note 5] The sensor device according to any one of Supplementary Note 2 to Supplementary Note 4, wherein the detection unit is capable of detecting acceleration of a person's movement, and the control unit determines that the movement is a first movement when it continuously detects acceleration in the person's walking direction, and determines that the movement is a second movement when it detects any other acceleration.
[0073] [Supplementary Note 6] The sensor device according to any one of Supplementary Note 2 to Supplementary Note 5, wherein the control unit determines that the movement is the second movement of the first type when it detects continuous acceleration and impact in an up-down direction relative to the person, and determines that the movement is the second movement of the second type when it detects continuous acceleration and impact in an outward direction relative to the person's walking direction.
[0074] [Supplementary Note 7] The sensor device according to any one of Supplementary Note 2 to Supplementary Note 6, wherein the control unit enables communication by the communication unit, and performs a pairing process with the terminal or a process of transmitting the walking information to the terminal, on condition that the movement of the person is the second movement.
[0075] [Supplementary Note 8] The sensor device described in Supplementary Note 7, wherein the control unit, on condition that the person's movement is the second movement of the first type, enables communication by the communication unit and performs a pairing process with the terminal, and, on condition that the person's movement is the second movement of the second type, enables communication by the communication unit and transmits the walking information to the terminal.
[0076] [Supplementary Note 9] The sensor device according to any one of Supplementary Note 1 to Supplementary Note 8, wherein the control unit controls the communication unit not to transmit walking information when the movement of the person is a walking movement.
[0077] [Supplementary Note 10] The sensor device according to any one of Supplementary Note 1 to Supplementary Note 9, wherein the walking information is at least one of step count information, speed information, and acceleration information.
[0078] [Supplementary Note 11] The sensor device according to any one of Supplementary Note 1 to Supplementary Note 10, wherein the sensor device is attached to only one of a pair of footwear.
[0079] [Supplementary Note 12] The sensor device according to any one of Supplementary Note 1 to Supplementary Note 10, wherein the sensor device is non-rotatably attached to a sole of one of a pair of footwear.
[0080] [Supplementary Note 13] A walking information communication system comprising: a terminal and a sensor device attached to a person's footwear, wherein the terminal comprises: a communication unit capable of communicating with the sensor device, wherein the sensor device comprises: a detection unit that detects human movement; a communication unit that transmits walking information based on detection information detected by the detection unit to the terminal, and a control unit that determines the human movement using the detection information and controls communication of the communication unit in accordance with the determined human movement, wherein the control unit controls communication by the communication unit of the sensor device to enable communication, on condition that the human movement is different from human walking. Although the present invention has been described above with reference to preferred embodiments, the present invention is not necessarily limited to the above embodiments and can be practiced in various modifications within the scope of its technical concept.
[0081] REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 shoe 2 sensor device 3 wireless terminal 4 server 10 sole 11 midsole 12 outer sole 13 inner sole 14 storage recess 21 main body 22 lid 23 fastening part 100 three-axis acceleration sensor 101 control part 102 memory part 103 wireless communication part
Claims
1. A sensor device to be attached to a person's footwear, comprising: a detection unit that detects the movement of the person; a communication unit that transmits walking information based on the detection information detected by the detection unit to an external terminal; and a control unit that uses the detection information to determine the movement of the person and controls communication by the communication unit in accordance with the determined movement of the person, wherein the control unit controls communication by the communication unit to enable communication on the condition that the movement of the person is different from human walking motion.
2. The sensor device described in claim 1, wherein the control unit uses the detection information to determine whether the person's movement is a first movement, which is a person's walking movement, or a second movement, which is a movement other than the person's walking movement, and controls communication by the communication unit to enable communication, provided that the person's movement is the second movement.
3. The sensor device described in claim 2, wherein the second movement is at least one of a first type of second movement which is a movement of bringing a tip portion of the footwear to which the sensor device is attached into contact with the ground, and a second type of second movement which is a movement of bringing the inner surface of the footwear to which the sensor device is attached into contact with the inner surface of another shoe.
4. The sensor device described in claim 3, wherein the first type of second movement is an action of contacting the tip of the footwear to which the sensor device is attached with the ground multiple times, and the second type of second movement is an action of contacting the inner surface of the footwear to which the sensor device is attached with the inner surface of another shoe multiple times.
5. A sensor device as described in claim 2 or claim 3, wherein the detection unit is capable of detecting the acceleration of a person's movement, and the control unit determines that the movement is a first movement when it detects continuous acceleration in the person's walking direction, and determines that the movement is a second movement when it detects any other acceleration.
6. The sensor device of claim 5, wherein the control unit determines that the movement is of the first type when it detects continuous upward and downward acceleration and impact with respect to the person, and determines that the movement is of the second type when it detects continuous outward acceleration and impact with respect to the person's walking direction.
7. A sensor device as described in claim 2 or claim 3, wherein the control unit enables communication by the communication unit, on condition that the person's movement is the second movement, and performs pairing processing with the terminal or transmission processing of the walking information to the terminal.
8. The sensor device described in claim 7, wherein the control unit, on condition that the person's movement is a second movement of the first type, enables communication by the communication unit and performs a pairing process with the terminal, and, on condition that the person's movement is a second movement of the second type, enables communication by the communication unit and transmits the walking information to the terminal.
9. The sensor device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls the communication unit not to transmit walking information when the movement of the person is a walking movement.
10. The sensor device according to claim 1, wherein the walking information is at least any one of step count information, speed information, and acceleration information.
11. The sensor device according to claim 1, wherein the sensor device is attached to only one of a pair of footwear.
12. The sensor device according to claim 11, wherein the sensor device is non-rotatably attached to a sole of one of a pair of footwear.
13. A walking information communication system comprising: a terminal; and a sensor device attached to a person's footwear, said terminal comprising: a communication unit capable of communicating with said sensor device, said sensor device comprising: a detection unit that detects human movement; a communication unit that transmits walking information based on the detection information detected by the detection unit to said terminal; and a control unit that determines the human movement using the detection information and controls communication of the communication unit in accordance with the determined human movement, said control unit controlling communication of the communication unit of the sensor device to enable communication on condition that the human movement is in a direction different from the direction of the person walking.
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