WO2013185419A1 - Intelligent incontinence alarm device - Google Patents

Description

 Intelligent incontinence alarm device

 Technical field

 The invention relates to an incontinence alarm device, in particular to an intelligent incontinence alarm device based on infrared detection.

 Background technique

With the advent of the aging era, China’s aging population is now close to 200 million, of which disability (that is, life cannot take care of itself by others), dementia (ie, progressive awareness caused by disease or brain injury) Functional degradation) 4000 10,000, and with the acceleration of the aging trend, the number of disabled and demented old people has a rapid growth trend. Therefore, the care of the elderly, especially the disabled and the demented elderly, has become an important social need. In various care work, the care of the elderly with large and urinary incontinence is particularly important. Because of the long-term leakage of urine in patients with large and urinary incontinence, the lower body is always in a damp state, so these patients are prone to eczema, dermatitis and itching, or complicated urinary tract infections, which may affect renal function. . In addition, incontinence of large and small incontinence not only causes physical pain and inconvenience to the patient, but also causes psychological problems for the patient. Patients often feel that they are dirty, smelly, and discriminated against, resulting in psychological damage to their body image and even guilt.

 traditional The incontinence alarm device mostly uses a humidity sensor to detect whether the patient has a large or incontinent incontinence by detecting a change in the internal humidity of the diaper or the diaper. When the internal humidity value is detected to be significantly increased, the patient is judged to be excreted. (that is, large and incontinent incontinence occurred) and an alarm was issued at the same time. Therefore, these conventional incontinence alarm devices often need to bury the humidity sensor (or the probe of the humidity sensor) in the diaper or the diaper inner layer, which brings inconvenience to replace the incontinence alarm device, and is also inconvenient. Clean and reuse the incontinence alarm device. Therefore, most of these incontinence alarm devices that use humidity sensors for detection are for one-time use, which brings great waste.

 At room temperature, the body surface temperature is generally 32 °C, and the body excrement is close to the body temperature when it leaves the body, about 37 °C. After the human excrement leaves the body, its temperature will slowly fall back to room temperature. can Seeing that there is a significant difference between these temperature values, the temperature of human excreta is higher than the surface temperature of the human body, and then lower than the body surface temperature, that is, the temperature of the human excrement shows a 'platform' relative to the body surface temperature. ' shape. Since the infrared radiation emitted by an object (including the human body) is related to the temperature of the object, the higher the temperature, the larger the infrared radiation, so the temperature can be characterized by measuring the infrared radiation. The measurement of infrared radiation is non-contact, that is, there is no need for the detecting element (or probe) to contact human skin or excrement.

A pyroelectric infrared sensor is a commonly used infrared sensor that detects and detects by using a detecting element made of a material having a high thermoelectric coefficient such as lead zirconate titanate ceramic, lithium niobate, triglycol sulfate, or the like. The received infrared radiation is converted into a voltage signal. The voltage signal is weak, so it needs to be amplified and then output to the outside world. The central wavelength of the body's infrared radiation For 9-10 μm, the center wavelength of the infrared radiation of human excreta is close to this (especially during the period when the excreta leaves the human body), and the wavelength sensitivity of the detecting element is in the range of 0.2-20 μm. The interior is almost constant, so pyroelectric infrared sensors are well suited for measuring infrared radiation from the human body and its excreta.

 Therefore, those skilled in the art are committed to developing an intelligence The incontinence alarm device detects the patient's large and urinary incontinence by non-contact detection of infrared radiation at the excretion site of the human body, and issues an alarm when incontinence occurs.

 Summary of the invention

In view of the above-mentioned drawbacks of the prior art, the technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to detect infrared radiation at a patient's body excretion site by using an infrared sensor, particularly a pyroelectric infrared sensor, and release excretion at the body excretion site. Alarm message when the object .

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an intelligent incontinence alarm device, which comprises an infrared sensor, a processing control module, an alarm module and a power module; the infrared sensor is facing the human body excretion site to receive excretion from the human body. Infrared radiation at a location, the infrared sensor is coupled to the process control module, the process control module is coupled to the alarm module, the power module and the infrared sensor, the process control module, and the The alarm module is connected to and supplies power to the infrared sensor, the processing control module and the alarm module; when an excrement occurs at the human excretion site, an electrical signal generated by the infrared sensor enters the processing control module and The process control module issues an alarm command, and the alarm module accepts the alarm command and issues an alarm message.

Further, the alarm module includes a wireless communication unit, and the alarm information includes remote alarm information sent by the wireless communication unit through a wireless network, and the wireless communication unit is a radio frequency chip.

 Further, the alarm module includes an audible alarm unit and/or a light alarm unit, and the alarm information includes the audible alarm unit and Or local alarm information sent by the light alarm unit.

 Further, the sound alarm unit is a buzzer, and the light alarm unit is an LED The carrier of the local alarm information sent by the audible alarm unit is a sound, and the carrier of the local alarm information sent by the optical alarm unit is light.

 Further, the infrared sensor is a pyroelectric infrared sensor, and the electrical signal is a voltage signal.

 Further, the process control module is a microcontroller.

Further, the infrared sensor, the processing control module, the alarm module, and the power module are disposed on a flexible circuit board to implement the infrared sensor, the processing control module, the alarm module, and the power source The connection between the modules, the infrared sensor, the process control module, the alarm module, the power module, and the flexible circuit board are housed in a flexible housing; when the smart incontinence alarm device is used, The flexible outer casing is attached to an outer surface of a carrier that covers the body excretion site to receive the excrement.

Further, the power module includes a power source, a charging unit, and a voltage stabilizing unit, and the power source is connected to the infrared sensor, the processing control module, and the alarm module through the voltage stabilizing unit, and the charging module and the charging module The power supplies are connected to effect charging of the power source.

Further, the present invention provides an intelligent incontinence alarm system including one or more of the intelligent incontinence alarm devices, a base station, a server, and one or more terminal display devices; and the one or more intelligent incontinence alarm devices Transmitting, by the wireless communication unit, the one or more remote alarm information to the base station, the base station transmitting the one or more remote alarm information to the server, the server placing the one or more remotes Alarm information is sent to the one or more terminal display devices.

 Further, the terminal display device is a display, an information board, a mobile phone or a palmtop computer.

 In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the intelligence of the invention The incontinence alarm device has a flexible outer casing that is attached to the outer surface of the diaper or diaper (or other carrier that covers the body's excretory site to receive excrement). Intelligent of the invention The incontinence alarm device includes an infrared sensor, a process control module, an alarm module, and a power module. Among them, the infrared sensor is a pyroelectric infrared sensor, which is used for receiving infrared radiation from the human body excretion site. The pyroelectric infrared sensor is connected with the processing control module, the processing control module is connected with the alarm module, and the power module is connected with the pyroelectric infrared sensor, the processing control module and the alarm module, and is a pyroelectric infrared sensor and a processing control module. And the alarm module is powered. The alarm module comprises a wireless communication unit, an audible alarm unit and a light alarm unit, wherein the audible alarm unit is a buzzer and the optical alarm unit is LED . When the excretion is released from the body excretion, the pyroelectric infrared sensor generates a large voltage signal because the temperature of the excrement exhibits a sudden rise relative to the body surface temperature of the human body. The signal passes through the amplifying circuit and the comparison circuit and enters the processing control module, and the processing control module performs validity verification on the incoming signal. After confirming that the signal is a valid signal, the processing control module issues an alarm command to the alarm module, so that the alarm module sends an alarm message to the outside world. The wireless communication unit in the alarm module performs remote alarm through the remote alarm information sent by the wireless network; the sound alarm unit emits an alarm message of the sound, and the light alarm unit emits an alarm message of the light to perform a local alarm. For remote alarms, the present invention provides an intelligent incontinence alarm system including one or more intelligent incontinence alarm devices, a base station, a server, and one or more terminal display devices. The base station has a wireless communication unit capable of receiving remote alarm information sent by the wireless communication unit of the intelligent incontinence alarm device in the intelligent incontinence alarm system through the wireless network. Server through wireless network, wired network or wired / Wireless hybrid network is connected to the base station, receiving remote alarm information from the base station, and then through the wireless network, wired network or wired / The wireless hybrid network transmits the remote alarm information to one or more terminal display devices. The terminal display device can be a staff member who cares for the patient and / Or the monitor, information board, mobile phone or handheld computer of the patient's family. In this way, the staff member and/or the patient's family member who receives the remote alarm information can perform necessary care for the patient.

 It can be seen that the intelligence of the present invention The incontinence alarm device does not require contact with human or human waste by using a non-contact infrared detection method. When using, just need to put the intelligence of the invention The incontinence alarm device is fixed on the outer surface of the carrier that covers the body excretion such as diaper or diaper to receive excrement, and can easily detect the occurrence of large and urinary incontinence and perform remote alarm and/or Or local alarm to remind the patient who cares for the patient and/or the family of the patient to clean the patient in time. Intelligent of the invention The incontinence alarm device not only eliminates the infection caused by incontinence patients due to the accumulation of excreta, but also improves the quality of life of the patients, and also reduces the labor intensity of the nursing staff, reduces unnecessary inspection and replacement, and also cares for patients. The friends and relatives in time obtained the warning information, truly let the filial piety advocated by China fall into practice, solved many social and family problems caused by incontinence, and played a substantial role in promoting the creation of a truly harmonious society. In addition, the present invention The intelligent incontinence alarm device has a flexible outer casing and a flexible circuit board, and can be well fitted after being fixed, has good comfort, and does not affect the detection of the posture of the patient wearing the device; the intelligent of the present invention The incontinence alarm device has ultra-low power consumption and can be used for a long time and can be recharged. It can be reused and has good stability.

The concept, the specific structure and the technical effects of the present invention will be further described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in order to fully understand the objects, features and effects of the invention.

 DRAWINGS

 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 is a schematic view showing the structure of an intelligent incontinence alarm device of the present invention.

 Figure 2 is a schematic illustration of the intelligent incontinence alarm device of the present invention attached to a carrier.

 Fig. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the intelligent incontinence alarm device of the present invention shown in Fig. 2 fixed to a carrier.

 Figure 4 is a block diagram showing the architecture of the intelligent incontinence alarm system of the present invention.

 detailed description

 As shown in FIG. 1, the intelligent incontinence alarm device 1 of the present invention comprises an infrared sensor 10, a processing control module 20, and an alarm module. 30 and power module 40. The infrared sensor 10 is opposite to the human body excretion site to receive and detect infrared radiation at the human body excretion site, and the infrared sensor 10 and the processing control module 20 Connected, the process control module 20 is connected to the alarm module 30, and the power module 40 is connected to the infrared sensor 10, the process control module 20, and the alarm module 30 and is an infrared sensor 10 The processing control module 20 and the alarm module 30 are powered.

 In the present embodiment, the infrared sensor 10 is a pyroelectric infrared sensor that receives infrared radiation from a human excretion site. And generate a voltage signal. When excretion is released from the excretion site of the human body, excretion occurs at the excretion site of the human body. As described above, the temperature of the excrement is relative to the excretion site of the human body (ie, the detection area of the pyroelectric infrared sensor) before the excretion occurs. The temperature shows a sudden rise, whereby the pyroelectric infrared sensor 10 generates a large voltage signal which is transmitted to the process control module 20 through the amplifying circuit and the comparing circuit. In this embodiment, a set of amplifiers and comparators are used, the front end of the amplifier and the pyroelectric infrared sensor 10 is connected, the output of the amplifier is connected to the comparator, and the output of the comparator is connected to the process control module 20. It should be noted that the amplifying circuit and the comparing circuit can be integrated in the pyroelectric infrared sensor 10 Medium, either integrated in the process control module 20 or as a separate circuit between the pyroelectric infrared sensor 10 and the process control module 20.

 After the processing control module 20 receives the voltage signal, it validates the signal. After confirming that the signal is a valid signal, the process control module 20 An alarm command is issued to the alarm module 30 to cause the alarm module 30 to send an alarm message to the outside. In this embodiment, the processing control module 20 uses a microcontroller (MCU), and the processing control module 20 The verification method used for the received voltage signal is: after receiving the voltage signal, the MCU delays detection after a period of time (about 2 seconds), if continuous 3 The voltage signal is detected every time, and the voltage signal is considered to be valid.

 The alarm module 30 includes a wireless communication unit 31, an audible alarm unit 32, and a light alarm unit 33. Receiving processing control module 20 After the alarm command is issued, the wireless communication unit 31 in the alarm module 30 transmits remote alarm information through the wireless network (including wireless internet, microwave radio frequency network, etc.) 201 , performing remote alarm; the sound alarm unit 32 emits an alarm message of the sound, and the light alarm unit 33 emits an alarm message of the light to perform a local alarm, that is, the sound alarm unit 32 The carrier of the local alarm information sent is the sound, and the carrier of the local alarm information sent by the light alarm unit 33 is light. In this embodiment, the wireless communication unit 31 uses a radio frequency chip, and the sound alarm unit 32 A buzzer is used, and the light alarm unit 33 uses an LED or a set of LEDs of different colors. In other embodiments, the wireless communication unit 31 It is also possible to use a radio frequency chip integrated in the microcontroller.

 The power module 40 includes a power source 42 , a charging unit 41 , and a voltage stabilizing unit 43 , and the power source 42 passes through the voltage stabilizing unit 43 . It is connected to the pyroelectric infrared sensor 10, the process control module 20 and the alarm module 30 to supply them separately. Charging module 41 is connected to power source 42, charging module 41 The interface has an external power source that can be connected to the charging module 41 through the interface to charge the power source 42 when needed.

 In the present embodiment, the intelligent incontinence alarm device 1 of the present invention has a flexible outer casing prepared of a flexible material (55m m × 40mm × 12mm) ), pyroelectric infrared sensor 10 , processing control module 20 , alarm module 30 and power module 40 Both are housed in the flexible outer casing. In addition, the flexible housing has a flexible circuit board, a pyroelectric infrared sensor 10, a process control module 20, an alarm module 30, and a power module 40. It is disposed on the flexible circuit board, and the connection between them is completed by the flexible circuit board.

 When using the intelligent incontinence alarm device 1 of the present invention, the intelligent incontinence alarm device 1 The flexible outer casing is fixed on the outer surface of the diaper worn by the patient or the diaper (or other carrier 110 covering the body excretion site to receive the excrement), and the pyroelectric infrared sensor 10 is facing the excretion part of the human body, as shown in the figure. 2 and 3 are shown. As can be seen from Fig. 3, the flexible outer casing of the intelligent incontinence alarm device 1 of the present invention is fixed to the carrier 110 by a double-sided tape 210. On the outer surface, but in other embodiments of the invention, other means of attachment, such as binding, etc., may be used. When the patient has large and urinary incontinence, the alarm module 30 of the intelligent incontinence alarm device 1 of the present invention Send remote and local alarm messages. Among them, the local alarm information is used to remind the staff or the family members of the patient in the vicinity of the patient so that they can perform the necessary cleaning for the patient in time. Sound alarm unit 32 A sound is emitted to indicate local alarm information. For example, when a buzzer is used as the audible alarm unit 32, the buzzer will beep after receiving an alarm command from the processing control module 20. In this embodiment, the utterance duration is about For 1-2 minutes, the interval between utterances is about 1-2 seconds, and each utterance is about 0.5 seconds. The light alarm unit 33 emits light to indicate local alarm information, for example, when an LED is used as the light alarm unit 33, The LED illuminates when it receives an alarm command from the processing control module 20. In this embodiment, the illuminating color is red, the illuminating duration is about 1-2 minutes, and the illuminating interval is about 1-2 seconds, and each illuminating time is about 0.5 seconds.

 Further, the audible alarm unit 32 and/or the optical alarm unit 33 of the intelligent incontinence alarm device 1 of the present invention It can also be used to indicate that the power supply is low. For example, when the amount of power in the power source 42 is insufficient, the process control module 20 issues a low battery command to the audible alarm unit 32 to cause the audible alarm unit 32. A sound is generated to indicate the low battery alarm message, that is, the carrier of the low battery alarm information is a sound, and the process control module 20 can also issue a low battery command to the light alarm unit 33 to cause the light alarm unit 33 The light is emitted to indicate the low battery alarm message, that is, the carrier of the low battery alarm information is light. The sound or light of the low battery alarm message should be different from the sound or light of the above local alarm message. For example, the sound of the low battery alarm message should have a different calling frequency and the sound of the local alarm message. / or tweet interval; the light of the low battery alarm message should have a different color and / or blinking frequency than the light of the local alarm message. For example, when a buzzer is used as the audible alarm unit 32, the buzzer accepts the processing control module. 20 A beep will sound after the low battery alarm command is issued. The buzzer will beep for about 240 minutes, the beep interval will be about 5 minutes, and the duration will be 0.2 seconds. The LED will be used as the light alarm unit. At 33 o'clock, the LED receives the low battery alarm command issued by the processing control module 20, and then emits light. In this embodiment, the illuminating color is red, the illuminating duration is about 240 minutes, and the illuminating interval is about 5 Minutes, each light is about 0.2 seconds long. After the user sees the low battery alarm message, the external power source can be connected to the interface of the charging module 41 to charge the power source 42.

The remote alarm information is used to remind the staff or the family members of the patient who are not in the vicinity of the patient, so that they can come in time to perform necessary cleaning for the patient. The present invention provides an intelligent incontinence alarm system, as shown in FIG. 4 . As shown, the intelligent incontinence alarm system of the present invention includes one or more intelligent incontinence alarm devices 1 , 2 , . . . , N having a wireless communication unit as described above, and further includes a base station 300 and a server 400. And one or more terminal display devices 501, 502, ..., 50N. As described above, N intelligent incontinence alarm devices 1 , 2 , ..., N are fixed at N The diaper worn by the patient or the outer surface of the diaper (or other carrier that covers the body excretion to receive excreta). Intelligent incontinence alarm device used by the first patient 1 For example, as described above, when the excretion occurs at the human excretion site of the first patient detected by the intelligent incontinence alarm device 1, the pyroelectric infrared sensor of the intelligent incontinence alarm device 1 10 A pulse voltage signal is generated, and the processing control module 20 causes the wireless communication unit 31 of the alarm module 30 to issue remote alarm information 201 to the outside via the wireless network. Base station 300 A wireless communication unit capable of accepting wireless signals (for example, a wireless communication unit with the intelligent incontinence alarm device 1) The radio frequency chip corresponds to the radio frequency chip, and the two radio frequency chips operate at the same frequency), so that the remote alarm information can be received through the wireless network. Server 400 is web The server is connected to the base station 300 through a wireless network, a wired network, or a wired/wireless hybrid network, and the base station 300 has 3G for the case of using a wireless network or a wired/wireless hybrid network connection. Module or GPRS module. The server 400 receives the remote alarm information 201 from the base station 300 and then transmits the remote alarm information over a wireless network, a wired network, or a wired/wireless hybrid network. 201 is transmitted to one or more terminal display devices 501, 502, ..., 50N. Terminal display devices 501, 502, ..., 50N It can be a display, a message board, a mobile phone or a palmtop computer, etc., for example, a display screen of a work computer that cares for the first patient's staff, an information board in the workplace where the patient is cared for, a staff member who has a remote alarm service function, or The first patient's family's cell phone or PDA, etc. Intelligent incontinence alarm device for the second patient 2. The intelligent incontinence alarm device 3 used by the third patient, the intelligent incontinence alarm device N used by the Nth patient, and the intelligent incontinence alarm device used by the first patient mentioned above 1 The work situation is similar and will not be described here.

 Thus, the intelligent incontinence alarm system of the present invention can work simultaneously on multiple patients. For example, the above N patients are in the same ward, N Each patient wears an intelligent incontinence alarm device 1 , 2 , . . . , N, and the base station 300 is set in the ward. . When one or more patients have large and incontinent incontinence, the intelligent incontinence alarm devices 1 , 2 , . . . , N worn by the one or more patients will issue remote alarm information 201 , 202 , . . . , 20N These remote alarm messages are first transmitted to the base station 300, then to the server 400, and finally to the terminal display devices 501, 502, ..., 50N. Remind the staff member who cares for the patient and/or the family member of the patient to perform the necessary cleaning of the patient. In addition, these N patients can also be in a nursing home or community, N Each patient wears an intelligent incontinence alarm device and sets up a base station 300 in a nursing home or community. When a patient has large or incontinent incontinence, the patient's remote alarm information is transmitted to the server through the base station 300. 400 nursing homes or community medical centers that remind medical center staff and/or patient families. Of course, these N patients can also belong to different nursing homes or communities, as long as the base station 300 is properly set up. Or set up multiple base stations to realize the transmission of remote alarm information.

 The patient's staff and/or the patient's family receive local warning information and / Or after remote alarm information, you can promptly go to the appropriate location to check the patient. If it is necessary to replace a carrier such as a diaper or diaper, the carrier is first removed from the patient, and then the intelligent incontinence alarm device of the present invention is peeled off, and after the simple cleaning of the intelligent incontinence alarm device of the present invention, it is re-fixed to Newly replaced carrier.

The above has described in detail the preferred embodiments of the invention. It will be appreciated that many modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the scope of the invention. Therefore, any technical solution that can be obtained by a person skilled in the art based on the prior art based on the prior art by logic analysis, reasoning or limited experimentation should be within the scope of protection determined by the claims.

Claims (10)

An intelligent incontinence alarm device, comprising: an infrared sensor, a processing control module, an alarm module and a power module; the infrared sensor is opposite to a human body excretion portion to receive infrared radiation from the human body excretion site, the infrared a sensor is connected to the processing control module, the processing control module is connected to the alarm module, and the power module is connected to the infrared sensor, the processing control module, and the alarm module, and is the infrared The sensor, the processing control module and the alarm module supply power; when an excrement occurs at the human excretion site, an electrical signal generated by the infrared sensor enters the processing control module and causes the processing control module to issue an alarm instruction. The alarm module accepts the alarm command and issues an alarm message. The intelligent incontinence alarm device of claim 1, wherein said alarm module comprises a wireless communication unit, said alarm information comprising remote alarm information sent by said wireless communication unit over a wireless network, said wireless communication unit being a radio frequency chip. The intelligent incontinence alarm device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said alarm module comprises an audible alarm unit and/or a light alarm unit, said alarm information comprising a local alarm issued by said audible alarm unit and/or optical alarm unit information. The intelligent incontinence alarm device according to claim 3, wherein said sound alarm unit is a buzzer, said light alarm unit is an LED; said carrier of said local alarm information issued by said sound alarm unit is sound, said The carrier of the local alarm information sent by the optical alarm unit is light. A smart incontinence warning device according to claim 1, 2 or 4, wherein said infrared sensor is a pyroelectric infrared sensor and said electrical signal is a voltage signal. The intelligent incontinence warning device of claim 5 wherein said processing control module is a microcontroller. The intelligent incontinence alarm device according to claim 6, wherein said infrared sensor, said processing control module, said alarm module, and said power supply module are disposed on a flexible circuit board to implement said infrared sensor, said process control The connection between the module, the alarm module, and the power module, the infrared sensor, the process control module, the alarm module, the power module, and the flexible circuit board are housed in a flexible housing When the intelligent incontinence alarm device is used, the flexible outer casing is fixed on an outer surface of a carrier that covers the human body excretion site to receive the excrement. The intelligent incontinence alarm device according to claim 1, 2, 6 or 7, wherein said power module comprises a power source, a charging unit and a voltage stabilizing unit, and said power source is connected to said infrared sensor through said voltage stabilizing unit The processing control module and the alarm module are connected to the power source to implement charging of the power source. An intelligent incontinence alarm system comprising one or more intelligent incontinence alarm devices, a base station, a server, and one or more terminal display devices according to claim 2; said wireless of said one or more intelligent incontinence alarm devices Transmitting, by the communication unit, the one or more remote alarm information to the base station, the base station transmitting the one or more remote alarm information to the server, the server transmitting the one or more remote alarm information Displaying the device to the one or more terminals. The intelligent incontinence warning device of claim 9, wherein said terminal display device is a display, an information board, a mobile phone or a palmtop computer.

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