JP2001083149A - Device for urinalysis - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a compact urine-analyzing device by stably driving a urine- receiving means with a simple configuration. SOLUTION: A pinion 24 that is rotated by a motor 23, a rack 25 that mates with the pinion 24 for flexing, and a urine-receiving means 20 for receiving urine by a drive means 22 with a rack guide 26 for guiding the rack 25 are driven nearly linearly between the inside and outside of a toilet stool bowl, thus stably driving the urine-receiving means with a simple, compact configuration.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a urine testing apparatus for testing urine discharged from a person into a toilet, and more particularly to a structure for driving urine receiving means.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Urine is an important source of information on the health of individuals, and various functional disorders can be examined by quantitative analysis of urine components. Therefore, when an individual urinates on a daily basis, a proposal has been made to add a function of analyzing a urine component to a toilet at home or at work in order to detect a functional disorder at an early stage by analyzing the urine. I have.

For example, an example described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-234218 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 6 shows a toilet seat with a urine sampling device, and FIG.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. In FIG. 6, reference numeral 1 denotes a toilet seat, and 2 denotes a urine sampling device incorporated in the toilet seat 1. The urine sampling device 2 includes a swing arm 3, a urine collection container 4 provided at a free end of the swing arm 3, and a drive unit 5 that supports and drives the swing arm 3. The drive unit 5 includes a slider 6 slidably mounted.
The slider 6 is guided by a guide 7 to slide substantially parallel to the long axis of the toilet seat 1. A rack 8 is fixed to the slider 6, and a pinion 10 of an output shaft of a motor 9 meshes with the rack 8. Therefore, if the motor 9 is rotated in either direction, the slider 6 performs a translational movement back and forth.

The swing arm 3 is rotatably supported by the slider 6 so as to move with the slider 6. Therefore, the slider 6 has a pair of bearings 11.
Are provided, and the spindle 12 of the swing arm 3 is pivotally supported.

Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the drive section 5 has a lever / cam mechanism for regulating the rotation angle position of the swing arm 3. That is, a lever 14 is fitted to the spindle 12 of the swing arm 3 so as to rotate integrally with the spindle 12 between the two bearings 11, and a cam follower 15 in the form of a roller is supported at the tip of the lever 14. The cam follower 15 cooperates with a cam plate 16, which has two stepped horizontal cam surfaces 17.
And 18 and an inclined cam surface 19 are formed.

Accordingly, when the slider 6 is displaced back and forth by the motor 9 by the lever / cam mechanism, the urine collection container 13 is displaced along a curved locus in which the rotational motion and the translational motion are combined.

[0007] The subject places the urine collection container 1 in an appropriate position.
At the time 3, urine is discharged toward the urine collection container 13. When the urine hits, the urine sample is sucked by the transport pump and sent to the urine analyzer. Then, the result analyzed by the urine analyzer is displayed.

[0008]

However, the above-mentioned conventional urine analyzer has a configuration in which the urine collection container 13 is driven by a combination of the translational motion by the rack and pinion mechanism and the rotational motion by the lever / cam mechanism, and therefore, the urine collecting mechanism. However, there is a problem that the driving is very complicated, and in particular, the driving stability is lacking because the driving is performed via a cam. In order to drive the swing arm 3, it is necessary to open a drive range facing the toilet 1.
There is a problem that the cam mechanism is very easy to become dirty and the cleaning property is poor, and the driving becomes unstable due to the contamination as the frequency of use increases.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems, that is, in a urine test apparatus for automatically analyzing urine components at the time of urination using a urinal, a urine sample is stably sampled with a simple configuration. It is intended to be.

[0010]

According to the present invention, there is provided a urine receiving means for receiving urine serving as a sample, and the urine receiving means being disposed substantially linearly between the inside and outside of a toilet bowl. It has a driving means for driving, wherein the driving means has a pinion which is rotated by a motor, a rack which can be engaged and bent with the pinion, and a rack guide which guides the rack.

According to the above invention, the urine receiving means is provided with a rack
Because it is configured to move almost linearly between the inside of the toilet bowl and the outside of the toilet bowl by the driving means consisting of the pinion mechanism,
The urine receiving means can be driven stably with a simple structure, with a small opening at the portion facing the toilet bowl and less contamination. Further, by making the rack bendable, the driving means can be made compact.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION A urine test apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention comprises a urine receiving means for receiving urine serving as a sample, and the urine receiving means being arranged substantially linearly between the inside and outside of the toilet bowl. It has a driving means for driving, and the driving means has a pinion which is rotated by a motor, a rack which can be engaged and bent with the pinion, and a rack guide which guides the rack.

[0013] Since the urine receiving means is moved substantially linearly between the inside of the toilet bowl and the outside of the toilet bowl by the driving means comprising a rack and pinion mechanism, the opening portion facing the toilet becomes small. It is hard to get dirty and has a simple configuration.
The urine receiving means can be driven stably. Further, by making the rack bendable, the driving means can be made compact.

A urine test apparatus according to a second aspect of the present invention comprises:
The rack is made of a soft material.

Since the rack is made of a soft material, the rack can be bent.

[0016] The urine test apparatus according to claim 3 of the present invention comprises:
The rack includes a plurality of rack members and a connecting member that connects the plurality of rack members.

Further, since the rack has a structure in which a plurality of rack members are connected by a plurality of connecting members, the connecting portion can be bent.

[0018] The urine test apparatus according to claim 4 of the present invention comprises:
The rack guide has a U-shaped curved configuration.

The rack can be bent along the U-shaped curved rack guide, and the driving means can be made compact.

[0020] The urine test apparatus according to claim 5 of the present invention comprises:
Urine receiving means for receiving urine as a sample, driving means for driving the urine receiving means substantially linearly between the inside and outside of the toilet bowl, and a bendable having a first end and a second end Arm, and an arm guide for guiding the arm,
Connecting the urine receiving means to a first end of the arm;
The driving means is connected to an end, and the moving direction of the first end is different from the moving direction of the second end.

The drive means is driven through the arm so that the urine receiving means moves substantially linearly between the inside of the toilet bowl and the outside of the toilet bowl. The urine receiving means can be driven stably with a simple structure, which is small and hard to become dirty. And a first arm connected to the urine receiving means of the arm.
Since the moving direction of the second end connecting the end and the driving means is different, the driving means can be made compact.

[0022] The urine test apparatus according to claim 6 of the present invention comprises:
The arm is made of a soft material.

Since the arm is made of a soft material, the arm can be bent.

[0024] The urine test apparatus according to claim 7 of the present invention comprises:
The urine receiving means is provided with a sensor for generating an output signal correlated with the concentration of a specific component contained in urine.

Since the urine receiving means is provided with a sensor for generating an output signal correlated with the concentration of the specific component contained in the urine, the concentration of the specific component contained in the urine is measured by the urine receiving means. It can be done directly.

[0026] The urine test apparatus according to claim 8 of the present invention comprises:
A sensor for generating an output signal correlated with the concentration of a specific component contained in urine is provided in the urine receiving means, the arm has a hollow tube structure inside, and an electric wire for taking out an output signal of the sensor inside the arm It is provided with.

Since the arm has a hollow tube structure, the weight of the arm is reduced, the friction is reduced, the sliding property of the arm is improved, and the sensor provided in the urine receiving means is provided inside the arm. Since an electric wire for extracting an output signal is provided, it is possible to prevent the electric wire from being directly stained with urine or the like.

[0028]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a urine test apparatus showing an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 20 denotes a urine receiving means for receiving urine serving as a sample, which holds a planar enzyme sensor 21 (hereinafter, referred to as an enzyme sensor). Reference numeral 22 denotes a driving means for driving the urine receiving means 20 substantially linearly between the inside of the toilet bowl and the outside of the toilet bowl, and includes a motor 23, a pinion 24, a rack 25, and a rack guide 26. The pinion 24 is rotated by the rotation shaft of the motor 23, and the rack 25 is made of a flexible soft material and provided so as to mesh with the pinion 24. The rack guide 26 is made of a hard material having a U-shaped cross section, and is bent into a U-shape.
Is provided so as to be in contact with. Reference numeral 27 denotes an arm made of a bendable soft material. The first end 27a of the arm 27 is connected to the urine receiving means 20, and the second end 27b is connected to the rack 25 of the driving means 22. Further, the arm 27 has a hollow tube structure, and has an electric wire for extracting an output signal of the enzyme sensor 21. Reference numeral 28 denotes a pulley which is arranged so that the arm 27 can move smoothly.

When the motor 23 rotates in this configuration, the rack 25 moves along a U-shaped curved guide 26, and the arm 27 moves through the rack 25. At this time, the second end 27b of the arm 27 moves in the direction of the arrow shown by the solid line in the figure, and the first end 27a moves in the direction of the arrow shown by the broken line in the figure. Here, by using a generally known stepping motor as the motor 23, the moving direction and the moving amount can be appropriately controlled.

Reference numeral 29 denotes a preservation liquid container which contains a preservation liquid therein and has two openings 30, and the opening 30 is provided with a sealing material 31. In the figure, the state shown by the solid line is a non-measurement state, and the enzyme sensor 21 is housed in the storage solution container, and is immersed in and contacts the storage solution. In addition, storage liquid container 2
Since the two openings 30 of 9 are sealed by the urine receiving means 20, the preservation liquid does not leak.

Reference numeral 32 denotes an arm guide for guiding the urine receiving means 20 and the arm 27 and leading the urine receiving means 20 and the arm 27 into the bowl bowl, and is a tube made of a hard material. In the drawing, the state shown by a broken line is a measurement state, in which the urine receiving means 20 and the enzyme sensor 21 are exposed from the storage solution container 29 and are led out along the arm guide 32. At this time, the arm 27 is
0, the enzyme sensor 21 and its own weight are led out just below the toilet. Then, in all states from the non-measurement state to the measurement state, the two openings 30 of the storage liquid container 29 are sealed by the urine receiving means 20 or the arm 27, and the storage liquid does not leak.

A washing pipe 33 is connected to a water supply through an electromagnetic valve 34. When the solenoid valve 34 is opened, tap water flows out of the washing pipe 33. Reference numeral 35 denotes a substrate for fixing the motor 23, the rack guide 26, the pulley 28, the storage liquid container 29, the arm guide 32, the cleaning pipe 33, and the electromagnetic valve 34, which is made of sheet metal. The board 33 is provided with two toilet mounting portions 36 and 37 by bending. The toilet mounting portions 36 and 37 are mounted and fixed on the rim of the toilet. The preservation liquid container 29 is provided in a hole 38 formed by bending to form the toilet mounting portion 37.
Is attached so that the volume of the storage liquid container can be made sufficiently large. Reference numeral 39 denotes a cleaning pipe outlet,
Is an outlet of the cleaning pipe 33 provided in the above.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state in which the above-described components are put in a case and attached to a toilet. That is, 40
Is a case in which components such as the preservation liquid container 29, the motor 23, and the substrate 35 are stored.
1 attached to the side of the rim. An operation unit 42 and a display unit 43 are provided on the upper surface of the case 40. The figure shows a state in which the toilet seat 44 is set up, and a state in which the urine receiving means 20 is exposed in the bowl of the toilet 41.

In general, a man stands in a standing position, stands on the toilet seat 38, and urinates. In this case, since the location of the enzyme sensor 21 provided in the urine receiving means 20 and the urination curve can be visually confirmed, it is easy to hit urine regardless of the location of the enzyme sensor 21. On the other hand, in general, a woman urinates in a sitting posture with the toilet seat 44 depressed. In this case, the location of the enzyme sensor 21 and the urination curve are not visible. Therefore, when a woman urinates in a sitting position, it is desirable that the enzyme sensor 21 be protruded to a place where urine naturally hits the enzyme sensor 21 and protruded so as to be located slightly behind the center of the toilet. .

The structure of the enzyme sensor 21 will be described with reference to the sectional view of FIG. This is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 304330, which discloses a polyimide film (PI film) 45, a pair of metal electrodes 46 as hydrogen peroxide electrodes, a two-layer polymer film 47, and a two-layer polymer film. Immobilized enzyme film 48, polymer adhesive film 49, and polymer film 5
0 coated with a polycarbonate film (PC film) 51.

The pair of metal electrodes 46 formed on the PI film 45 captures an increase or decrease in oxygen or hydrogen peroxide accompanying an enzyme reaction in the enzyme film 48 as a change in oxidation current. Polymer film 47 formed on metal electrode 46
Is formed by coating the metal electrode 46 and heating it further. By this heat treatment, the permeability of the electrode interfering substance can be sufficiently restricted while maintaining the permeability of hydrogen peroxide as compared with the case of only the coating, and the inherent properties of the material are improved. Therefore, even if urine comes into direct contact with the enzyme sensor 21, urine components can be analyzed.

As the immobilized enzyme film 48 formed on the polymer film 47, glucose oxidase is used. In this case, the enzymatic reaction becomes Glucose + O ₂ → gluconic acid + H ₂ O ₂ , and along with the decomposition of glucose, oxygen is consumed to generate hydrogen peroxide and gluconic acid.

The hydrogen peroxide generated here is supplied to the metal electrode 46.
Is decomposed into water and oxygen while emitting electrons by the catalytic action of. By measuring the emitted electrons as a current, the sugar concentration in urine can be measured.

Next, the operation will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The subject first stands in front of the toilet 41 (mainly male) or sits on the toilet seat (mainly female). Here, when the measurement switch 42 is pressed, the motor 23 rotates clockwise by a predetermined amount, and the enzyme sensor 21 moves slightly backward in the center of the bowl of the toilet 41 and stops. Here, the subject starts urinating, and the enzyme sensor 21 provided in the urine receiving means 20 receives the urine discharged from the subject.

The output of the enzyme sensor 21 starts to change when it comes into contact with urine, which indicates that urine has been received. Further, the sugar concentration contained in urine is calculated from the change in the output, and is displayed on the display unit 43. Next, the electromagnetic valve 34 is opened, and the washing water flows out from the washing pipe 33. The arm 27 exposed in the toilet 41 can be washed by the outflow of the washing water. While the washing water continues to flow, the motor 23
Is rotated counterclockwise. Here, the urine receiving means 20 starts to move toward the arm guide 32, and the urine receiving means 20 and the enzyme sensor 21 are sequentially washed from the arm 27.

Here, the higher the concentration of sugar contained in urine, the longer it takes to remove substances attached to the enzyme sensor 21 by washing. Therefore, before the enzyme sensor 21 enters the arm guide 32, the motor 23 is temporarily stopped, the enzyme sensor 21 is immersed in washing water, and the completion of the washing is detected from the output of the enzyme sensor 21 and the electromagnetic valve 34 is closed. . It is preferable that the motor 23 is further rotated counterclockwise by a predetermined amount to store the enzyme sensor 21 in the storage solution container 29. By doing so, the enzyme sensor 21 can be cleaned without excess or shortage.

The immobilized enzyme film 48 of the enzyme sensor 21
The substance inside can be removed by washing, but the substance adhering to the metal electrode 46 cannot be removed sufficiently by washing, so that the enzyme sensor 21 is brought into contact with urine to complete the measurement, and then the next measurement is permitted. It is preferable to provide a predetermined time before the operation. For this purpose, the timer is started when the washing is completed or when the storage solution is stored, and the input of the measurement switch 42 is not accepted for a predetermined time. When the measurement switch is pressed again after a predetermined time has elapsed, the above operation is repeated.

Although the rack 25 is made of a flexible material in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, a plurality of rack members 52 and a plurality of connecting members 53 for connecting the plurality of rack members 52 are provided. The same effect can be obtained by using a structure that can be bent at the connecting portion.

In this embodiment, the enzyme sensor 21 is provided in the urine receiving means 20. However, the enzyme sensor 21 is provided in another place, and the urine received by the urine receiving means 20 is provided in the enzyme sensor 21. By transporting the urine to a place, the same effect can be obtained even when the concentration of sugar contained in urine is measured.

Although an enzyme sensor is used as a sensor for detecting the concentration of a specific component contained in urine, the same effect can be obtained by using an optical sensor.

[0046]

As described above, the urine test apparatus of the present invention has the following effects.

According to the urine test apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, the urine receiving means for receiving urine as a sample is substantially linear between the inside of the toilet bowl and the outside of the toilet bowl by driving means comprising a rack and pinion mechanism. The urine receiving means can be stably driven with a simple configuration by reducing the size of the opening facing the toilet and preventing contamination with urine or the like. Further, by making the rack bendable, the driving means can be made compact.

According to the urine test apparatus according to the second aspect of the present invention, the rack is made of a soft material, so that the rack can be bent, and the urine receiving means can be stably driven with a simple configuration. it can.

According to the urine test apparatus of the third aspect of the present invention, since the rack has a structure in which a plurality of rack members are connected by a plurality of connecting members, the connecting portion can be bent, and the urine can be easily configured. The receiving means can be driven stably.

According to the urine test apparatus of the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the rack guide is curved in a U-shape, the rack can be curved in a U-shape along the rack guide. The means becomes compact, and the urine receiving means can be driven stably with a simple configuration.

According to the urine testing apparatus of the fifth aspect of the present invention, the driving means drives the urine receiving means via the arm so as to move substantially linearly between the inside of the toilet bowl and the outside of the toilet bowl. As a result, it is possible to reduce the size of the opening facing the toilet and to prevent contamination with urine or the like, and to stably drive the urine receiving means with a simple configuration. The arm is bendable, and the moving direction of the first end of the arm connected to the urine receiving unit is different from the moving direction of the second end connected to the driving unit. Therefore, the driving unit is compact and has a simple configuration. Thus, the urine receiving means can be driven stably.

According to the urine test apparatus of the sixth aspect of the present invention, since the arm is made of a soft material, the arm can be bent, and the urine receiving means can be driven stably with a simple structure. Can be.

According to the urine test apparatus of the seventh aspect of the present invention, the urine receiving means is provided with a sensor for generating an output signal correlated with the concentration of the specific component contained in the urine. The measurement of the concentration of the specific component can be performed directly by the urine receiving means, and the measurement can be performed in a short time.

According to the urine test apparatus according to the eighth aspect of the present invention, since the arm has a hollow tube structure, the weight of the arm is reduced, the friction is reduced, and the slidability of the arm is improved. Since the electric wire for taking out the output signal of the sensor provided in the urine receiving means is provided inside the arm, it is possible to prevent the electric wire from being directly contaminated with urine or the like, and to stably drive the urine receiving means with a simple configuration. be able to.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a urine test apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state where the urine test apparatus of the embodiment is attached to a toilet bowl.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing the sensor of the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of a rack of the urine test apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram of a conventional urine test apparatus.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the conventional urine test apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 20 urine receiving means 21 sensor 22 driving means 23 motor 24 pinion 25 rack 26 rack guide 27 arm 27a first end 27b second end 32 arm guide 52 rack member 53 connecting member

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) G01N 1/20 G01N 27/46 338 (72) Inventor Tadashi Mika 1006 Kazuma, Kazuma, Kazuma, Osaka Matsushita Electric Industrial Inside (72) Inventor Toshiaki Miyaji 1006 Kazuma Kadoma, Osaka Pref.Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Hideki Ohno 1006 Okadoma Kadoma, Kadoma, Osaka Pref. Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Shunichi Nagamoto 1006 Kazuma Kadoma, Kadoma City, Osaka Prefecture F-term (reference) 2G045 AA16 AA36 CB03 DA31 DB21 FA34 FB01 FB05 GC30 HA06 HA14 HA17 JA01 JA07

Claims (8)

[Claims] A urine receiving means for receiving urine as a sample; and a driving means for driving the urine receiving means substantially linearly between the inside and outside of a toilet bowl, wherein the driving means is rotated by a motor. A urine test apparatus having a pinion that moves, a rack that can engage and bend with the pinion, and a rack guide that guides the rack. 2. The urine test apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the rack is made of a soft material. 3. The urine test apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the rack comprises a plurality of rack members and a connecting member for connecting the plurality of rack members. 4. The urine test apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the rack guide has a U-shaped curve. 5. A urine receiving means for receiving urine as a sample, a driving means for driving said urine receiving means substantially linearly between the inside and outside of a toilet bowl, a first end and a second end. A bendable arm having an arm guide for guiding the arm, the first end of the arm connected to the urine receiving means, the second end connected to the driving means, A urine testing apparatus, wherein the moving direction of the first end is different from the moving direction of the second end. 6. The urine test apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the arm is made of a soft material. 7. The urine test apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the urine receiving means is provided with a sensor for generating an output signal correlated with the concentration of a specific component contained in urine. 8. A urine receiving means is provided with a sensor for generating an output signal correlated with the concentration of a specific component contained in urine, the arm has a hollow tube structure, and the sensor is provided inside the arm. 7. The urine test apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising an electric wire for extracting an output signal.