JPH10314202A - Paper diaper with built-in moisture sensor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To properly change a diaper when necessary by arranging a moisture quantity detecting sensor to detect a change in capacitance caused by a moisture quantity adsorbed to a high polymer film just near to the high polymer film in the paper diaper. SOLUTION: A moisture sensor is composed of a pair of interdigital electrode plates 1, a flexible laminated resin on which the interdigital electrode plates 1 are printed, a base board 2 by covering the electrode plates 1 similarly with the laminated resin, a conductor 3 to impress high frequency voltage on a pair of interdigital electrode plates 1 and a collector 4 to be connected to a high frequency oscillating circuit through the conductor 3. This moisture sensor is installed so as to contact with a moisture adsorbing high polymer film in a paper diaper. Since this high polymer film does not hold more than a very low dielectric constant in a dry condition, capacitance of the sensor near to it is extremely small. However, when the high polymer film takes in water having a large dielectric constant, the capacitance of the sensor also increases in proportion to its quantity.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[Industrial application] When nursing a bedridden elderly person, dementia, or a human plant, the diaper changing work cannot be expected from the patient, and the intuition and experience of the attendant and caregiver or the nurse, etc. are determined. Done according to the time. If a moisture sensor can be installed in a disposable diaper that is widely used at present, and if the service life of the diaper can be known or the appropriate replacement time can be known, the labor saving of attendants and nurses will be greatly reduced, and the number of persons using the diaper will increase. Comfort can be guaranteed and economical losses due to unnecessary replacement can be avoided. The moisture sensor according to the present invention can convert the amount of moisture into an electric signal, and the obtained electric signal can be expected to be applied as follows. 1. The replacement time can be easily recognized by lighting the alarm.
2. By transmitting it as a telemeter signal, it is possible to directly inform the nurse center of the replacement time from the bed. 3. By precisely measuring the moisture content data from the moisture sensor,
If the urination is based on the absolute amount or time of urination, the state of change over time in urination can be recorded.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, the following method is used to determine the amount of urine excreted in a disposable diaper and determine the time of replacement. 1. According to the suit of the person wearing the diaper. 2. Direct observation by attendant or nurse. 3. Remove the diaper and weigh. 4. Know excretion with odor sensor.

[0003]

It is a very difficult task to properly determine when to change diapers. In other words, the excretion behavior always varies and is not constant due to the physical condition of the person wearing the diaper, a change in the environment, and the like. They rely on their intuition and experience, or work at offices and other places like hospitals at regular intervals determined based on their empirical experience.
However, as a result, not only the mental burden of the person wearing the diaper, but also the mental and physical burdens of the caregiver's necessity, unnecessary consumption of physical strength and energy, and unnecessary consumption of disposable diapers It leads to physical, physical and economic losses. The moisture sensor according to the present invention measures the actually excreted urine as the amount of water, and enables appropriate diaper replacement as needed.

[0004]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION A disposable diaper has a built-in polymer film, and absorbs the moisture of excrement into the polymer film to form a gel so that water does not flow out directly. Water itself has a very large dielectric constant (ε ≒ 80) compared to other substances, so the dielectric constant of a gelled polymer film that absorbs water is directly proportional to the amount of water. Change. The electrodes are installed so as to contact the gelled polymer film by absorbing moisture,
If this electrode is connected to a high-frequency oscillator circuit, the electrode functions as a variable capacitor, and the increase in water content can be replaced by a proportional change in capacitance, which changes the resonance frequency and ultimately changes the electrical signal. Can be taken out as The moisture detection sensor is designed to prevent direct contact with the chemical composition that affects the electrical properties of the excrement, such as salts, acids, alkalis, and ammonia. Is designed to detect only the change in capacitance due to The sensor is thin and small so that it can be installed in close proximity to the polymer film inside the disposable diaper.When the diaper is attached to the human body, it has a flexible structure that traces the shape change of the diaper and can change the shape freely. The disposable diapers are made of a material that is inexpensive so that it can be discarded at the same time as disposable disposables, and that does not generate harmful gases or the like even when incinerated.

[0005]

[Operation] FIG. 1 shows an example of the moisture sensor S in the present invention. In this example, the sensor includes a pair of comb-shaped electrode plates 1, a flexible laminated resin (laminated resin) on which the comb-shaped electrode plates 1 are printed, a substrate 2 that also covers the electrode plates 1 with the laminated resin, and a pair of electrodes. FIG. 2 shows a state of a moisture detection sensor including a conductor 3 for applying a high-frequency voltage to the comb-shaped electrode plate 1 and a connector 4 for connecting the high-frequency transmission circuit to the comb-shaped electrode plate 1 through the conductor 3. FIG. 2 shows a state in which the moisture sensor S of FIG. In FIG. 2, the moisture sensor S is attached in contact with the moisture absorbing polymer film 5 in the paper diaper D. Since the polymer film 5 retains only a very low dielectric constant in a dry state, the capacitance of the sensor S approaching the polymer film 5 is extremely small. However, when the polymer film 5 takes in water having a large dielectric constant, the capacitance of the sensor S increases in proportion to the amount of water. That is, the polymer film 5 becomes a dielectric substance by taking in water, and forms a capacitor by the pair of comb-shaped electrode plates 1 of the sensor S. The capacitance of the capacitor is determined by the amount of water taken in. FIG. 3 shows a transmission circuit for applying a high-frequency voltage to the moisture sensor S, a conversion circuit that functions as a capacitor and converts a change in resonance frequency due to a change in capacitance into a voltage signal, and power to these circuits. 1 shows an amplifier A for accommodating a power supply battery or the like for supplying power. AL in FIG. 3 indicates an alarm, and has a function of turning on the red LED 7 when the durable diaper is approaching the service limit or notifying the caregiver of the time to change the diaper with a chime or the like. The amplifier A has a cable 5 and a connector 6 for supplying a high-frequency voltage to the moisture sensor S, and can be connected to the connector 4 of the moisture sensor S. When replacing the paper diaper D and discarding it, remove the connectors 4 and 6. The amplifier A can be repeatedly attached to a new disposable diaper and used. The amplifier A can be fixed to the disposable diaper D with a hook or a magic tape.

[0006]

FIG. 4 shows a state in which a disposable diaper D containing a moisture sensor S and an amplifier A are attached to the disposable diaper, and an alarm AL is output from the amplifier A. Although each circuit in the amplifier A is driven by a battery, each circuit is designed to minimize power consumption. Further, since the circuits are programmed to be driven at timings of several minutes to several tens of minutes, the power consumption is reduced. Consumption is extremely low. The amount of water can be measured by detecting a time difference by a comparison circuit and calculating a potential difference by an integration circuit. When the amount of water in the disposable diaper exceeds a certain standard, an alarm is turned on or a chime is used to notify the outside of the time of replacement. The attendant or caregiver switches off the amplifier to stop the alarm, removes the connector, replaces the disposable diaper, connects the new disposable diaper sensor to the removed amplifier with the connector again, and switches on the moisture detection system. It can be put into operation. FIG. 5 shows an example of an application in which the time for changing a diaper is transmitted to the outside by a telemeter. In this example, it is sufficient that the service area of the telemeter is about 100 m indoors such as a hospital. That is, signal transmission between the bed and the nurse center can be performed. With this system, the nurse center can know which bed patient needs to change the diaper while staying there, and a great amount of labor can be saved.

[0007]

According to the present invention, an extremely inexpensive moisture sensor having a simple structure is incorporated in a disposable disposable diaper, and it is possible to know an appropriate time for changing the diaper by operating this sensor. It is expected that the attendant, nursing, and nursing staff will be able to save a great deal of labor and to avoid wasteful use of disposable disposable diapers.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an outline of a moisture sensor S used in the present invention, in which a pair of comb-shaped electrode plates 1 and a flexible laminated resin substrate 2 are provided.
It consists of. Usually, a pair of comb-shaped electrode plates are printed on a laminated resin substrate, and are again covered with a laminated resin for the purpose of protecting the electrode plates, and sealed by high frequency or electric heat welding. If the moisture sensor S is disposed so as to cover the entire area of the moisture-adsorbing polymer film, highly accurate moisture detection can be performed. The thickness is 0.
It is about 3 to 0.5 mm. Reference numeral 3 denotes a conductor, and 4 denotes a connector.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a state in which the moisture sensor S of FIG. The moisture sensor S is attached in contact with the moisture absorbing polymer film 5 in the paper diaper D.

FIG. 3 shows a change in capacitance detected by a moisture sensor, which is converted into an electric signal by a conversion circuit. This circuit is composed of a high-frequency oscillator circuit, a reference one-shot timer, a measurement one-shot timer, a circuit board including a time difference detection and integration circuit, an amplifier circuit, a stabilized power supply, and the like, and a power supply battery, and is housed in a case. In this figure, the amplifier is called an amplifier A. An alarm AL for notifying the service limit of the disposable diaper is located at a position away from the amplifier A so that the lighting of the lamp can be easily confirmed. 8 is a power switch.

FIG. 4 shows a state in which a disposable diaper D (containing a moisture sensor S), an amplifier A are attached thereto, and an alarm AL is output from the amplifier A;

[Description of sign]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 pair of comb-shaped electrode plates 2 laminated resin substrate 3 conductor 4 moisture sensor side connector 5 polymer film 6 amplifier side connector 7 red LED 8 power switch A amplifier AL alarm D paper diaper S moisture sensor

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A disposable diaper has a structure in which a polymer film is built in, and the polymer film absorbs moisture of excrement to form a gel so that water does not flow out directly. A moisture sensor for monitoring the increase in the amount of water due to excretion is placed in close proximity to the polymer membrane,
A disposable diaper structure in which a signal from the moisture sensor is used to detect a service limit of the diaper or an appropriate replacement time. 2. The dielectric constant of water is very large compared to other substances (ε ≒ 80). By utilizing this characteristic, the amount of moisture contained in the substance can be known. Since the dielectric constant of the gelled polymer film that has absorbed water changes directly in proportion to the amount of water, it corresponds only to the molecular weight of water, and contains salts, acids, alkalis, ammonia, etc. If you use a capacitance-type moisture sensor that does not directly touch the chemical composition that affects the electrical characteristics of the device, you can replace the change in the amount of absorbed moisture with the change in capacitance. it can.
This sensor is thin and small enough to be installed in a disposable diaper. When the diaper is attached to a human body, it can trace the shape change of the diaper and change the shape freely. Furthermore, the disposable diaper itself is discarded (disposable) The structure of the capacitance type moisture sensor is characterized by being made of a material which is inexpensive so that it can be discarded at the same time as the process, and which does not generate harmful gas or the like even if it is incinerated. 3. A capacitance-type moisture sensor changes capacitance in direct proportion to the amount of moisture, and the capacitance change is converted into a voltage signal that can be easily handled by a transmitter. The capacitance type moisture sensor described in claim 2 and the signal conversion transmitter are connected by a lead wire. However, when the disposable diaper is replaced, the signal conversion transmitter includes a connector that can be easily disconnected from the sensor. Construction. [0001]