JP3767869B2 - Body scale with body fat meter - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
[Technical field to which the invention belongs]
The present invention relates to a bioimpedance measuring apparatus for a body weight meter with a body fat meter that calculates and estimates body fat mass by simultaneously measuring body impedance and body weight.
[0002]
[Prior art]
It is possible to estimate the fat mass of the human body using bioimpedance (The Ameri-can Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 41 (4) 810-817 1985 "Assessment of fat-free mass using bioelectrical impedance measurement of the human body") Utilized body fat meter has been proposed (USP. 4,008,721, Japanese Patent Publication No. 5-49050, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-51242, etc.), and the proposed products have been commercialized.
[0003]
Among them, the product related to Japanese Patent Publication No. 5-49050 is the factor for estimating the amount of fat in the body. Is the method that can estimate the amount of fat in the body most easily and is commercialized as a weight scale with a fat meter. However, this scale with a fat meter is presumed to be placed on a measuring instrument with bare feet, and accurate measurement is impossible when wearing heavy footwear such as thick socks. It has a configuration.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a weight scale with a body fat meter that can easily estimate the amount of body fat even when wearing footwear with great resistance.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In addition to the device that uses the impedance between both feet to measure body weight impedance at the same time as the body weight measurement and calculates the amount of fat in the body, a device (electrode and calculation formula) that uses the impedance between both hands is also provided, When it is determined that the device using the impedance of the above is an unreasonable value, the device using the impedance between both hands is applied.
[0006]
[Action]
The body fat mass calculation formula using bioimpedance determines the details of the coefficient based on a lot of data so that there is no difference from the fat mass measured by DEXA etc., but each impedance measurement place Even if you can obtain a calculation formula that has a good correlation with the DEXA value, such as wearing a large resistance footwear, you can get the impedance at the same time as the weight measurement, even if you do not get the exact impedance between both feet, By using a measurement device for both hands, substantially the same body fat mass can be calculated.
[0007]
Embodiment
1) As a device for measuring the impedance between both feet, the tip of the foot touches the electrode that applies a weak constant current from the high-frequency current generator to the body when placed on the measuring device. A pair of potential measurement electrodes and a device for measuring the impedance between both hands at a position where the heel in the high-frequency weak current path is in contact with the two sides of the measuring instrument. When the measuring instrument is lifted, a pair of electrodes that apply a weak constant current from the high-frequency current generator to the body are in contact with the finger, and the palm in the high-frequency weak current path is in contact with the palm. There are provided two end-to-end impedance measuring devices for potential measuring electrodes.
[0008]
2) A calculation formula that estimates the amount of fat in the body using the impedance between both legs, which operates when a load exceeding the specified level is applied to the measuring instrument (when a person rides on the measuring instrument), and a measuring instrument Prepare two formulas for calculating the amount of fat in the body using the impedance between the two hands that operate when lifted with both hands (when the weight scale is not loaded).
[0009]
3) A contact resistance measurement device is provided for each foot electrode, and the weight value when each contact resistance satisfies the regulation and the impedance between both feet are taken in. If the contact resistance does not meet the regulation within a certain time, the body weight Instructs to capture the value only and measure the impedance between both hands. In order to determine the contact state between the electrode for the foot and the sole of the foot, the body fat mass obtained by the formula for the foot based on the acquired body weight, impedance between both feet and the body data, and the BMI method from the body data It is also an effective method to compare with a value roughly predicted by, for example.
[0010]
【Example】
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention, where the surface of a mounting base (1) of an electronic balance (weight scale) is covered with an insulator such as a resin, and the weight of the foot impedance measuring electrode (4) is measured. For this purpose, it is installed at the position where the soles of both feet come into contact with each other, and on the other hand, a hand grip (2) is attached to the side that does not affect weight measurement, and a hand impedance measurement electrode (5) is placed on this hand grip. To do.
[0011]
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 3 is a flowchart of the measurement, and FIGS. 4 and 5 are a block diagram and a flowchart of another embodiment. When a voltage is applied to the device, it prompts the input of the physical characteristics of the subject that does not change with each measurement of gender, age, height, etc., among the factors necessary to estimate body fat mass. After confirming the input, save it in the memory, read the output of the weight sensor, and when the value stabilizes, determine the weight of the person to be measured and save it in the memory. Regarding the input of the physical characteristics of the measured person, registering and placing the code number and physical characteristics unique to the measured person, inputting the code number at the time of measurement, reading the stored contents, etc., simplify the measurement. It is effective.
[0012]
The impedance measuring device is connected to the foot electrode in order to measure the impedance between both feet when the weight sensor detects a load exceeding a specified value. When a load greater than the specified value is not applied, it is connected to a hand electrode that measures the impedance between both hands.
[0013]
After measuring / storing the body weight, it is determined whether or not the measurer's foot is securely in contact with the impedance measuring electrode. In this embodiment, the resistance between the current supply terminal and the voltage detection terminal that are in contact with the soles of the feet is measured. When the resistance is larger than the specified value or the resistance value changes (becomes larger), It is judged that the sole of the foot and the measurement electrode are not securely in contact with each other, and an instruction is given to measure the impedance with the hand electrode. At this time, it is possible to measure the impedance between both hands by getting out of the measuring instrument (3), holding the side grip (2) firmly with both hands, extending the hand and lifting the scale to the front of the eyes. It has become.
[0014]
As a method for determining the contact state between the impedance measurement electrode and the sole of the foot, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, a determination formula for obesity calculated from a conventionally known height and weight. kg) / estimated body fat calculated using the value obtained by the square of height (m) (BMI method) and predicting an approximate range of possible body fat mass, and using this value and the impedance obtained by measurement. When the amounts are compared and become an irrational value, it can be determined that the contact between the impedance measurement electrode and the sole of the foot is insufficient.
[0015]
When the impedance measurement electrode and the back of both feet are in reliable contact, the impedance between both feet is measured, and when the contact resistance does not meet the requirements, the impedance between both hands is measured and applied. Since the impedance values measured in the two paths are different, prepare the calculation formulas corresponding to each measurement position, select the calculation formula corresponding to the impedance measurement position, and the physical characteristics, body weight, and end-to-end Calculate / estimate body fat mass from impedance.
[0016]
【The invention's effect】
Even when the contact between the foot and the measurement electrode is not perfect, such as wearing thick socks, the accurate body fat mass can be estimated very easily by lifting the measuring instrument to the eye level with both hands.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a configuration of an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a measurement flow chart of an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a measurement flowchart of another embodiment of the present invention.
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Mounting stand 2 Grasping hand 3 Measuring instrument 4 Foot impedance measuring electrode 5 Hand impedance measuring electrode

Claims (4)

A weight scale with a body fat meter that measures the impedance and body weight between the body ends and calculates the body fat content of the subject from body data such as height, sex, and age that are input separately. A weight sensor for measuring the body weight of the measurer, a foot electrode for measuring the impedance between both feet of the subject, a hand electrode for measuring the impedance between both hands of the subject, and An impedance measuring device having a switch for switching between a foot electrode and a hand electrode, and when it is determined that the contact between the foot electrode and the foot of the subject is insufficient, the foot electrode A body weight scale with a body fat meter, wherein the body fat mass is calculated using the impedance between both hands measured by switching to the hand electrode. The impedance measuring device measures a resistance value between the current supply electrode and the voltage detection electrode of the foot electrode when the weight sensor detects a load exceeding a specified value, and the measured resistance value is larger than a specified value. When the resistance value changes, it is determined that the contact between the foot electrode and the foot is insufficient. The impedance measuring device is configured to predict a body fat mass value calculated from the body weight data and body data such as height, sex, age, etc. input separately from the measured body weight and impedance between both feet. The weight scale with a body fat meter according to claim 1, wherein when the value is significantly different from the value of fat mass, it is determined that the contact between the foot electrode and the foot is insufficient. For the calculation of the amount of fat in the body, there are two calculation formulas, a calculation formula corresponding to the impedance between both feet and a calculation formula corresponding to the impedance between both hands, in accordance with the impedance measured by the impedance measuring device. The weight scale with a body fat meter according to claim 1, wherein the calculation formula is properly used.

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