# US 12,217,619 B2 · Habit improving device, method and recording medium

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- Number: US 12,217,619 B2
- Document ID: US12217619B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 17/270,851
- Filed: 2019-03-08
- Published: 2021-08-05
- Granted: 2025-02-04
- Earliest claimed: 2018-11-14
- Assignees: OMRON Corporation
- Applicants: OMRON Corporation
- Inventors: Taisuke Nomura; Keiichi Obayashi; Seitaro Mura
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12217619B2

## CPC

- G09B 19/00: Teaching not covered by other main groups of this subclass (teaching or practice apparatus for gun-aiming or gun-laying F41G3/26)
- A61B 5/1118: {Determining activity level}
- G16H 50/70: for mining of medical data, e.g. analysing previous cases of other patients
- G01C 22/006: {Pedometers}
- G06Q 10/109: Time management, e.g. calendars, reminders, meetings or time accounting
- G16H 20/30: relating to physical therapies or activities, e.g. physiotherapy, acupressure or exercising
- G16H 20/60: relating to nutrition control, e.g. diets
- G16H 40/67: for remote operation
- G16H 50/20: for computer-aided diagnosis, e.g. based on medical expert systems
- G09B: EDUCATIONAL OR DEMONSTRATION APPLIANCES; APPLIANCES FOR TEACHING, OR COMMUNICATING WITH, THE BLIND, DEAF OR MUTE; MODELS; PLANETARIA; GLOBES; MAPS; DIAGRAMS (devices for psychotechnics or for testing reaction times A61B5/16; games, sports, amusements A63; projectors, projector screens G03B)
- A61B: DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION (usefulness limited to only animals A61D)
- G16H: HEALTHCARE INFORMATICS, i.e. INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR THE HANDLING OR PROCESSING OF MEDICAL OR HEALTHCARE DATA
- G01C: MEASURING DISTANCES, LEVELS OR BEARINGS; SURVEYING; NAVIGATION; GYROSCOPIC INSTRUMENTS; PHOTOGRAMMETRY OR VIDEOGRAMMETRY (measuring liquid level G01F; radio navigation, determining distance or velocity by use of propagation effects, e.g. Doppler effects, propagation time, of radio waves, analogous arrangements using other waves G01S)
- G06Q: INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR

## Abstract

This habit improving device is provided with: a first calculation unit which, for every first period, acquires an activity amount of the user totaled for each first period, and which calculates a distribution pattern that indicates the change over time in the activity amount during a second period, which includes a first period; a sorting unit which classifies multiple of the distribution patterns into one or more groups; a second calculation unit which, on the basis of attribute information relating to the user's attributes, and external factor information relating to external factors, which are factors affecting the user by matters outside of the user, calculates, and associates with the groups, a target pattern as a target for the user; and a presenting unit which presents advice information to the user on the basis of the current distribution pattern and the target pattern.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A habit improving device comprising:
an activity amount meter, comprising an acceleration sensor, configured to measure an activity amount of a user using the acceleration sensor;
a positional sensor, configured to locate position information of the user; and
a processor, configured to:
acquire an input comprising the activity amount of the user for each of a plurality of first periods from the activity amount meter and acquire the position information of the user for each of the plurality of first periods from the position sensor;
determine a distribution pattern to the input indicating change over time in the activity amount for each of the plurality of first periods within a second period;
sort the input that is expressed by the plurality of distribution patterns based on a similarity of the plurality of the distribution patterns into one or more groups of the distribution patterns;
determine a target pattern that becomes a target for the user for each of the groups, based on attribute information relating to an attribute of the user and external factor information relating to an external factor that is a factor affecting the user due to a matter other than the user, wherein the external factor information comprises position information of the user for each of the plurality of first periods and schedule information relating to a schedule of the user;
judge whether the user has deviated from a position scheduled in accordance with the schedule in the schedule information and change the target pattern in accordance with a deviated position when it is judged that the user has deviated, comprising to:
acquire a distribution of a plurality of vectors from the plurality of the distribution patterns, the vector having an activity amount for each of the plurality of first periods as a component, and one vector corresponding to one distribution pattern within the second period for each of the plurality of second periods; and
perform sorting by clustering a plurality of points into one or more groups based on positions of the plurality of points within a space laid in a basis determined from the component while the points within the space correspond to the vectors;
compare distances between a certain point and other points within the space to each other and perform grouping such that two points at the shortest distance belong to the same group; and
compare distances between a point belonging to a certain group and a plurality of points belonging to other groups and perform grouping of groups of the points at the shortest distance as the same group when the shortest distance of the distances is equal to or smaller than a threshold; and
output to a display an advice information together with the changed target pattern to the user relating to activity for the user to perform for achieving the changed target pattern based on the position information and the schedule information of the user as well as a difference between a current distribution pattern and the changed target pattern, wherein the advice information includes activity for the user to perform for achieving the target pattern, so as to improve habits of the user.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The habit improving device according to claim 1,
wherein the processor uses at least one of physical information, residence information, occupation, a workplace, hobbies, and favorite food and drink of the user as the attribute information.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The habit improving device according to claim 1,
wherein the processor is further configured to use weather forecast information based on the positional information as the external factor information.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The habit improving device according to claim 1,
wherein the processor is further configured to present the current distribution pattern and a target pattern corresponding to the current distribution pattern in a comparable state to the user as the advice information.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The habit improving device according to claim 1,
wherein the processor is further configured to use at least one of an amount of consumed energy consumed by the user and the number of steps of the user as the activity amount.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The habit improving device according to claim 1 further comprising:
the processor is further configured to generate, for each of the groups, one of the distribution patterns belonging to the groups as a model pattern that is a typical pattern of the groups.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The habit improving device according to claim 1,
wherein the processor is further configured to sort a plurality of the distribution patterns into the groups based on a plurality of the model patterns set in advance.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The habit improving device according to claim 1,
wherein the processor is further configured to sort a plurality of the distribution patterns into the groups based on whether an activity amount of the distribution pattern in a particular time zone is equal to or larger than a threshold.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

A non-transient computer-readable recording medium, recording a program for causing a computer to function as each unit included in the habit improving device according to claim 1.

### Claim 10

A habit improving method, applicable to a habit improving device comprising a processor, a positional sensor, and an activity amount meter having an acceleration sensor, comprising:
measuring, by using the acceleration sensor of the activity amount meter, an activity amount of a user;
locating, by using the positional sensor, position information of the user;
acquiring, by the processor, an input comprising the activity amount of the user for each of a plurality of first periods from the activity amount meter and acquiring, by the processor, the position information of the user for each of the plurality of first periods from the position sensor;
determining, by the processor, a distribution pattern to the input indicating change over time in the activity amount for each of the plurality of first periods within a second period;
sorting, by the processor, the input that is expressed by the plurality of distribution patterns based on a similarity of the plurality of the distribution patterns into one or more groups of the distribution patterns;
determining, by the processor, a target pattern that becomes a target for the user for each of the groups, based on attribute information relating to an attribute of the user and external factor information relating to an external factor that is a factor affecting the user due to a matter other than the user, wherein the external factor information comprises position information of the user for each of the plurality of first periods and schedule information relating to a schedule of the user;
judging, by the processor, whether the user has deviated from a position scheduled in accordance with the schedule in the schedule information and changing, by the processor, the target pattern in accordance with a deviated position when it is judged that the user has deviated, comprising:
acquiring, by the processor, a distribution of a plurality of vectors from the plurality of the distribution patterns, the vector having an activity amount for each of the plurality of first periods as a component, and one vector corresponding to one distribution pattern within the second period for each of the plurality of second periods;
performing, by the processor, sorting by clustering a plurality of points into one or more groups based on positions of the plurality of points within a space laid in a basis determined from the component while the points within the space correspond to the vectors,
comparing, by the processor, distances between a certain point and other points within the space to each other and performing, by the processor, grouping such that two points at the shortest distance belong to the same group; and
comparing, by the processor, distances between a point belonging to a certain group and a plurality of points belonging to other groups and performing, by the processor, grouping of groups of the points at the shortest distance as the same group when the shortest distance of the distances is equal to or smaller than a threshold; and
outputting, by the processor, to a display an advice information together with the changed target pattern to the user relating to activity for the user to perform for achieving the changed target pattern based on the position information and the schedule information of the user as well as a difference between a current distribution pattern and the changed target pattern, wherein the advice information includes activity for the user to perform for achieving the target pattern, so as to improve habits of the user.