Patent Issued for Information management system, and method for device registration of measuring device and information terminal (USPTO 11968484): OMRON Healthcare Co. Ltd.

2024 MAY 09 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- According to news reporting originating from Alexandria, Virginia, by NewsRx journalists, a patent by the inventor Kitamura, Takashi (Kyoto, Japan), filed on September 20, 2021, was published online on April 23, 2024.

The assignee for this patent, patent number 11968484, is OMRON Healthcare Co. Ltd. (Kyoto, Japan).

Reporters obtained the following quote from the background information supplied by the inventors: “BACKGROUND ART

“In recent years, it has become widespread to perform health management by: measuring personal health-related information (also referred to as “health information” hereinafter), such as weight, blood pressure value, and activity level, by a measuring device; and recording and analyzing the measurement results by an information terminal, such as a smartphone.

“When such health management is performed, preferably the measuring device and the information terminal are connected to each other and the result of measurement by the measuring device can be automatically acquired by the information terminal without a user having to input the result to the information terminal each time. Specifically, for example, a method can be considered in which an information terminal receives measurement information from a measuring device by near-field wireless communication, but under circumstances in which a plurality of measuring devices of the same type are used, it is necessary to prevent erroneous reception of information from measuring devices other than the device that has actually performed the measurement.

“In order to solve such problems, a predetermined measuring device may be device-registered in a predetermined information terminal, and information may be exclusively acquired from the device-registered measuring device. The device registration is performed by, for example, registering, in an information terminal, identification symbols identifying individual measuring devices, and conventionally a method has been adopted in which identification information printed on a housing of a device or on a seal attached to the housing is manually input to the information terminal.

“With such a method, the task is complex for the user and may result in erroneous input. In contrast, Patent Document 1 proposes that serial information provided on a measuring device be acquired by a receiving device by taking a picture or scanning a code and that the serial information acquired be used for device registration.

“Additionally, pairing (mutual authentication of devices) has spread that uses wireless communication based on Bluetooth (trade name) (for example, Patent Document 2). In a specific authentication method, pairing is performed such that one of the devices transmits, by advertisement, information indicating that the device is ready for pairing and such that the other device receives the information and designates the first device.”

In addition to obtaining background information on this patent, NewsRx editors also obtained the inventor’s summary information for this patent: “Technical Problem

“Nevertheless, even in the technology set forth in Patent Document 1 described above, the user must capture an image (or scan) the identification information and thus, in this regard, a complex task arises similarly to the related art. Furthermore, in the technology described in Patent Document 2, in a situation in which a plurality of devices of the same type transmit advertisement information indicating that the devices are ready for pairing, a user fails to determine which of candidates displayed on an information terminal is to be paired and fails to achieve proper pairing.

“In light of the related art such as described above, an object of the present invention is to provide a technology that reduces a burden on a user when the user device-registers a measuring device in an information terminal.

“Solution to Problem

“In order to accomplish the object described above, the present invention provides an information management system including one or more measuring devices and one or more information terminals, wherein the measuring device includes: an output means including an oscillation device capable of generating at least ultrasonic waves; and a control means for using the ultrasonic waves generated by the oscillation device to transmit measuring device information including identification information identifying the measuring device, the information terminal includes: an input means including a microphone capable of detecting the ultrasonic waves, output means including at least a display means, a storage means, and a control means, the control means of the information terminal: acquires, via the microphone, the identification information from the ultrasonic waves output from the measuring device, causes the display means of the information terminal to display the measuring device having transmitted the identification information acquired, receives, via the input means, an input indicating that the measuring device displayed on the display means of the information terminal is to be registered on the information terminal, and causes the storage means to store the identification information regarding the measuring device for which the input indicating registration of the measuring device on the information terminal has been provided.”

The claims supplied by the inventors are:

“1. An information management system comprising one or more measuring devices and one or more information terminals, wherein the measuring device includes: a measuring device output device including an oscillation device capable of generating at least ultrasonic waves in a unique pattern; and a measuring device processor configured to: use the ultrasonic waves generated by the oscillation device to transmit measuring device information including identification information identifying the measuring device, and cause the measuring device output device to generate a human-perceivable output in a pattern identical to the unique pattern, the information terminal comprises: an input device including a microphone capable of detecting the ultrasonic waves, an information terminal output device including at least a display, a storage, and an information terminal processor, the information termal processor configured to: acquire, via the microphone, the identification information from the ultrasonic waves in the unique pattern output from the measuring device, cause the display of the information terminal to display the measuring device having transmitted the identification information acquired, cause the information terminal output device to generate a human-perceivable output in a pattern identical to the pattern of the output from the measuring device displayed on the display of the information terminal, receive, via the input device, an input indicating that the measuring device displayed on the display of the information terminal is to be registered on the information terminal, use, as the input indicating the registration of the measuring device on the information terminal, reception, via the input device, of an input indicating that an occurrence pattern of the output from the measuring device displayed on the display of the information terminal is identical to an occurrence pattern of the output from the information terminal, and cause the storage to store the identification information regarding the measuring device for which the input indicating registration of the measuring device on the information terminal has been provided.

“2. The information management system according to claim 1, wherein the measuring device information includes a measurement value obtained by the measuring device.

“3. The information management system according to claim 1, wherein in a case of acquiring the identification information regarding a plurality of the measuring devices, the information terminal processor is further configured to cause, in response to acquisition of the identification information, the display to preferentially display the measuring device for which ultrasonic waves with a more intense sound pressure have been detected by the microphone.

“4. The information management system according to claim 1, wherein the measuring device output device includes a sound wave generator capable of outputting sound waves in an audible range, and the measuring device processor is further configured to cause the sound wave generator to output ultrasonic waves in the unique pattern and to generate the sound waves in the audible range in an identical pattern.

“5. The information management system according to claim 1, wherein the measuring device further includes a display, and the measuring device processor is further configured to cause the sound wave generator to generate the ultrasonic waves in the unique pattern, and vary display of the display in a pattern identical to the unique pattern.

“6. The information management system according to claim 1, wherein the information terminal processor is further configured to vary display of the display of the information terminal in a pattern identical to the unique pattern.

“7. The information management system according to claim 1, wherein the information terminal output device includes sound wave generator capable of generating sound waves in the audible range, and the information terminal processor is further configured to cause the sound wave generator of the information terminal to generate the sound waves in the audible range in a pattern identical to the unique pattern.

“8. The information management system according to claim 1, wherein the information terminal output device includes a vibration device vibrating the information terminal, and the information terminal processor is further configured to cause the information terminal to vibrate in a pattern identical to the unique pattern.

“9. The information management system according to claim 1, wherein the measuring device and the information terminal each include a wireless communication unit, including an antenna, capable of transmitting and receiving information from each other and device-register each other via the wireless communication unit.

“10. The information management system according to claim 1, wherein the measuring device is one of a scale, a body composition meter, a blood pressure monitor, a pulse meter, a thermometer, and an activity meter.

“11. The information management system according to claim 1, wherein the information terminal is a smartphone.

“12. A method for device registration of a measuring device on an information terminal, the method comprising the steps of: the measuring device generating ultrasonic waves in a unique pattern to transmit measuring device information including identification information identifying the measuring device; the measuring device outputting a human-perceivable output in a pattern identical to the unique pattern; the information terminal detecting the ultrasonic waves in a unique pattern; the information terminal acquiring the identification information from the ultrasonic waves in a unique pattern; the information terminal displaying the measuring device having transmitted the identification information acquired; the information terminal outputting the unique pattern, which is a human-perceivable output and is the same as that output from the displayed measuring device; the information terminal registering the displayed measuring device on the information terminal by receiving an input indicating that the unique pattern outputted from the displayed measuring device and the unique pattern outputted from the information terminal are the same; and the information terminal storing the identification information regarding the measuring device for which the input indicating registration of the measuring device on the information terminal has been provided.”

For more information, see this patent: Kitamura, Takashi. Information management system, and method for device registration of measuring device and information terminal. U.S. Patent Number 11968484, filed September 20, 2021, and published online on April 23, 2024. Patent URL (for desktop use only): https://ppubs.uspto.gov/pubwebapp/external.html?q=(11968484)&db=USPAT&type=ids

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