WO2007148516A1 - Pedometer - Google Patents

Abstract

A pedometer has lighting sections (LEDs)(7), and each lighting section (7) is associated with time of day. The pedometer counts the number of steps for each time of day, and when the counted number of steps is more than or equal to a predetermined level, a lighting section (7) corresponding to this time of day is lit. The pedometer can present the amount of walking (extent of walking) for each time of day as information effective for improvement of living and behavior patterns of the user. Also, the user can intuitively understand the amount of waling by only looking at a state of lighting of the lighting means.

Description

 Specification

 Pedometer

 Technical field

 [0001] The present invention relates to a pedometer.

 Background art

 A pedometer is a device that measures the number of steps by detecting vibrations of the human body, and is mainly used as a health device. Recently, some pedometers have the function of calculating and displaying walking distance, walking speed, calorie consumption, etc. from the counted number of steps. For example, Patent Document 1 proposes a pedometer having a function of displaying the total number of steps per day and the number of remaining steps up to a target number of steps. Patent Document 2 proposes a pedometer that has a function of displaying a change in walking speed as a bar graph.

 Patent Document 1: JP 2005-92496 A

 Patent Document 2: JP-A-5-164571

 Disclosure of the invention

 Problems to be solved by the invention

[0003] In order to prevent lifestyle-related diseases and achieve a diet, rather than doing special exercise menus, it is necessary to acquire a habit of walking in daily life, that is, to change lifestyle patterns. Improvement is simpler and more effective.

[0004] However, since the conventional pedometer only displays the total number of steps for one day and the walking speed, the user has a problem with his / her own living behavior pattern (for example, the time zone for walking is biased). And there are times when there is almost no walking.)

 [0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a pedometer capable of presenting information effective for improving a user's daily behavior pattern.

[0006] A further object of the present invention is to provide an interface that can easily present the walking amount (degree of walking) for each time zone as information effective for improving the user's daily behavior pattern. It is to provide a pedometer to do.

 Means for solving the problem

 In order to achieve the above object, the present invention adopts the following configuration.

 [0008] The pedometer according to the present invention includes a step count measuring means for measuring the number of steps for each time zone, a plurality of lighting means associated with each time zone, and a step count in a certain time zone being a predetermined value or more. Lighting control means for lighting the lighting means corresponding to the time zone.

 [0009] According to this configuration, the user can immediately grasp which time zone the walking amount is small simply by looking at the lighting state of each lighting means. This will make it easier to work on improving lifestyle patterns because it will be clear when you should try to walk.

 As a lighting means, various devices can be used. From the viewpoint of cost, it is advantageous to use an LED (Light Emitting Diode).

 [0011] If a plurality of lighting means are arranged in a circle, it is preferable because the correspondence between the time zone and the lighting means can be easily grasped.

 [0012] It is also preferable to use a lighting means that can take a plurality of types of lighting states. In this case, the lighting control means may change the lighting state of the lighting means according to the number of steps. According to this configuration, it is possible to roughly check the amount of walking for each time period, so that it is possible to more accurately grasp the problems of the daily behavior pattern.

 [0013] It is also preferable that the pedometer further includes designation means for allowing the user to designate a time zone, and display means for displaying the number of steps in the time zone designated by the designation means. According to this configuration, it is possible to check even the number of steps for each time zone, which is more detailed information.

 [0014] As the designation means, it is said that the user selects any one of the plurality of lighting means. According to this configuration, the time zone can be specified intuitively.

 The invention's effect

 [0015] According to the present invention, it is possible to present the walking amount (degree of walking) for each time zone as information effective for improving the user's daily behavior pattern. According to the present invention, the walking amount for each time zone can be intuitively grasped only by looking at the lighting state of the lighting means.

 Brief Description of Drawings

[0016] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the appearance of a pedometer. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of the pedometer.

 FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of step count data.

 FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a modification of the pedometer.

 Explanation of symbols

[0017] 1 Control unit

 2 Operation section

 3 I / F

 4 Walking detector

 5 memory

 6 Display section

 7 Lights

 8 Report section

 9 Time zone indicator

 9a Instruction mark

 BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0019] Configuration of pedometer>

 Fig. 1 is a diagram showing the external appearance of the pedometer, and Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the pedometer. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the pedometer of this embodiment includes a control unit 1, an operation unit 2, an I / F 3, a walking detection unit 4, a memory 5, a display unit 6, a plurality of lighting units 7, and a report. It has a sound unit 8, a power supply (not shown), and so on.

[0020] The control unit 1 is composed of a microcomputer or the like, and measures the number of steps (counting), date and time management and other various arithmetic processes, and controls the display unit 6, the lighting unit 7, and the sounding unit 8. It is responsible for. The operation unit 2 includes a plurality of buttons, and is a user interface for resetting the number of steps and changing various setting values. I / F3 is an external interface for data communication with external devices such as personal computers and body composition analyzers. The walking detection unit 4 has a function of detecting walking, for example, an acceleration sensor. This consists of a vibration sensor and a pendulum. The memory 5 is a non-volatile storage medium that stores data such as various setting values and steps. The display unit 6 is composed of an LCD (liquid crystal display) or the like, and displays information such as the total number of steps per day and the number of steps per time zone. The sound reporting unit 8 is a function for sounding an operation sound and a warning sound according to the control of the control unit 1.

 In the present embodiment, the plurality of lighting sections 7 are each constituted by separate LEDs (light emitting diodes). There are 24 lighting sections 7. Each lighting section 7 has a time of 0 to 1 o'clock, 1 o'clock to 2 o'clock, ..., 22 o'clock to 23 o'clock, 23 o'clock to 24 o'clock. It is associated with 24 time zones that divide a day into 1 hour units.

 As shown in FIG. 1, these lighting parts 7 are arranged in a circle around the display part 6.

 This arrangement makes it possible to intuitively understand the correspondence between the lighting unit 7 (LED) and the time zone.

 [0023] <Operation of pedometer>

 First, the step count measurement process by the control unit 1 will be described. When the user walks while carrying or wearing a pedometer, the vibration is detected by the walking detector 4. The control unit 1 measures the number of steps based on the detection result of the walking detection unit 4.

 At this time, the control unit 1 counts the number of steps for each time zone (in this embodiment, every hour), and records the count result in the memory 5. FIG. 3 shows an example of the step count data recorded in the memory 5. In this example, the number of steps is recorded by date and time zone.

 Next, lighting control by the control unit 1 will be described. The lighting section 7 is off in the initial state. When the number of steps reaches a predetermined threshold value (for example, 1000 steps) during step counting, the control unit 1 turns on the lighting unit 7 corresponding to the time zone.

 FIG. 1 shows an example in which four of the 24 lighting sections 7 are lit. Users can easily look back on their daily behavioral patterns just by checking the LED lighting status of the pedometer at the end of the day. For example, from the lighting state in Fig. 1, it can be seen that there is a sufficient amount of walking during the morning and evening commuting hours, but there is little walking during the day and at night. As a result, the time zone in which the person should try and walk is clarified, and the user can easily improve the lifestyle behavior pattern.

The threshold value used in the lighting control is set in the memory 5. In addition The threshold value can be changed by the user according to the target walking amount.

[0028] The above embodiment is merely an example of the present invention. The scope of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the technical idea. Hereafter, a preferable modification is given.

[0029] <Modification 1>

 In the first modification, a device that can take two types of lighting states of the first color and the second color is used as the lighting unit 7. Then, the control unit 1 changes the lighting state of the lighting unit 7 according to the number of steps, such as lighting the first color at 500 steps or more and lighting the second color at 1000 steps or more.

[0030] According to such lighting control, it is possible to roughly check the amount of walking for each time zone simply by looking at the lighting state (lighting color, etc.) of the lighting part 7, so that the problem of the lifestyle behavior pattern can be further improved. It becomes possible to grasp accurately.

[0031] It should be noted that as the type of lighting state, it is possible to use only those with different colors but with different brightness or different flashing patterns. It is also preferable to use a device that can have more than two types of lighting states. It is preferable that the user can also set the threshold for the number of steps used to switch the lighting state.

[0032] <Modification 2>

 FIG. 4 shows the appearance of the pedometer according to the second modification. This pedometer is provided with a dial-type time zone indicating unit 9 around the lighting unit 7. The time zone instruction unit 9 is a designation means for allowing the user to designate a time zone.

[0033] When the user turns the time zone indicating unit 9 and aligns the indication mark 9a with the lighting unit 7 of a desired time zone, the time zone is designated. The control unit 1 reads the number of steps in the designated time zone from the memory 5 and displays it on the display unit 6. At this time, the lighting part 7 in the designated time zone may blink.

 [0034] According to this configuration, the number of steps in the time zone can be confirmed by an intuitive operation of turning the dial-type time zone indication unit 9 and selecting one of the lighting units 7.

[0035] Note that the specific configuration of the instruction means for allowing the user to specify the time zone is not limited to the dial type. It may be specified from the operation unit 2 or the lighting unit 7 itself You may be

 [0036] <Other variations>

 The lighting unit 7 is not limited to the LED, and other devices may be used. Further, the lighting unit 7 and the display unit 6 may be configured by one device.

 [0037] In the above embodiment, the lighting unit 7 is turned on when the number of steps reaches the threshold value, but the timing for executing the lighting control is not limited to this. For example, the lighting control may be executed at the timing when the time zone is switched. Or, to reduce power consumption, all the lighting sections 7 are normally in the off state, and when some user operation is performed, the number of steps in each time zone is checked and the lighting control is executed. .

 [0038] The method of determining the time zone is arbitrary. For example, the day may be divided into units of 2 hours or 3 hours, or it may be divided into four time zones, such as morning / daytime 'evening' night. Each time zone need not have the same duration. In addition, the user may be configured to change the time zone associated with each lighting unit 7. The number and arrangement of the lighting parts 7 can be designed as appropriate according to how the time zone is determined.

 [0039] When the date and time is specified by the operation unit 2, the control unit 1 may read the step count total data of the specified date and time from the memory 5, and use the data to switch the lighting state of each lighting unit 7. Yo! As a result, it is possible to look back on past life behavior patterns that are based only on the daily behavior patterns of the day.

Claims

The scope of the claims  [1] Step counting means for measuring the number of steps for each time zone;  A plurality of lighting means associated with each time zone;  A lighting control means for lighting a lighting means corresponding to the time zone when the number of steps in a certain time zone is a predetermined value or more;  Pedometer with.  [2] The lighting means is an LED  The pedometer according to claim 1. [3] The plurality of lighting means are arranged in a circle  The pedometer according to claim 1 or 2. [4] The lighting means can take a plurality of types of lighting states,  The pedometer according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the lighting control means changes a lighting state of the lighting means according to the number of steps. [5] A designation means that allows the user to designate a time zone,  Display means for displaying the number of steps in the time zone designated by the designation means;  The pedometer according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising: [6] The designating means causes the user to select any one of the plurality of lighting means.  The pedometer according to claim 5.