JP2005152061A - Body fat measuring apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To measure subcutaneous fat and visceral fat easily worn in a simple constitution without directly passing an electric current to the body in the body fat measuring apparatus. <P>SOLUTION: This body fat measuring apparatus 1 is provided with a plurality of insulating electrodes 21, a capacitance measuring means 23 impressing a voltage between one insulating electrode 21 and another insulating electrode 21 out of the insulating electrodes 21 and measuring the static capacitance between the respective electrodes, a computing part 32 calculating the body fat volume based on the measured capacitance, a display portion 4 displaying the calculated result. The insulating electrode 21 is disposed and used in a state insulated from the skin surface of a human body, or a part M to be measured. The capacitance measuring means 23 measures the static capacitance based on the oscillating frequency of an oscillating circuit 2 including the capacitance determined by the body tissue components between the insulating electrodes 21 in its circuit. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a body fat measurement device.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a technique for measuring body impedance by measuring the impedance of a part to be measured such as the human abdomen and based on the difference in electrical characteristics between body fat and other body compositions. The impedance is measured by passing a minute current through a human body to be measured using a pair of electrodes and measuring a voltage induced by the current using another pair of electrodes. The absolute amount or body fat percentage of body fat is determined by using a known correlation formula between body fat amount and impedance obtained by the underwater body weight method or CT method (computed tomography method). This technique is a technique applied to measurement of the distribution of blood, lungs, fats, and the like in a living body (for example, see Non-Patent Document 1).

  The above-described body fat measurement device based on impedance measurement includes, for example, a current path forming electrode pair and a voltage measurement electrode pair at substantially equal intervals, respectively, on the inner side of a band used by being wound around the abdomen, which is a measured part of a subject. It is provided and configured. An alternating current is passed using the selected current path forming electrode pair to form a current path, and the impedance in the formed current path is measured using the selected voltage measuring electrode pair. By appropriately selecting two electrode pairs for current and voltage, subcutaneous fat at the measurement site is mainly measured between adjacent electrode pairs, and visceral fat at the measurement site is mainly measured between the opposing electrodes.

There is also known an apparatus that obtains a body fat distribution in a cross section of a part to be measured and displays the distribution. This device generates an impedance matrix of a cross section of an electrode mounting site from the impedance between electrodes measured using a plurality of electrodes mounted on the body surface, and according to information on the body to be measured and the mounting site input from the input means A matrix product operation with the formed coefficient matrix is performed, and a body fat distribution of the target cross section is obtained from the operation result (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
The ME Society of Japan BME, Vol. 8, no. 8 (1994) p. 49 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-113870

  However, in the conventional body fat measuring device as described above, impedance measurement is performed by passing a minute current through the human body, so it is necessary to electrically contact the electrode with the human body. Therefore, there is an inconvenience that it takes time to mount the electrodes. In addition, there is a problem in that the moisture retention on the skin surface changes due to variations in individuals, body conditions due to measurement environment / measurement time, etc., and an error occurs in the current measurement value.

  An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems, and to provide a body fat measuring device that can be easily worn with a simple configuration and can measure subcutaneous fat and visceral fat without flowing current directly into the human body. And

  In order to achieve the above object, the invention of claim 1 is characterized in that a voltage is applied between a plurality of insulated electrodes and one insulated electrode of the insulated electrodes and the other insulated electrode, and the capacitance between the electrodes is increased. A capacitance measuring means for measuring; a calculation unit for calculating a body fat amount based on the measured capacitance; and a display unit for displaying the calculated result. The capacitance measuring means is based on the oscillation frequency of an oscillation circuit including a capacitance determined by the body composition between the insulating electrodes in the circuit. This is a body fat measurement device that measures capacitance.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the body fat measurement device according to the first aspect, the plurality of insulated electrodes are arranged in one or a plurality of rows around the portion to be measured, and the positive and negative polarities of the insulated electrodes are switched. It is what

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the body fat measuring device according to the second aspect, the capacitance measuring means selectively scans the insulating electrode in order to measure the capacitance between the electrodes.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the body fat measurement device according to the first aspect, any one or all of the outer peripheral length of the measured part of the measured body and the weight, height, age, and sex of the measured body An input means for inputting is further provided, and the calculation unit calculates a fat amount based on the measured capacitance value and the input outer peripheral length of the measured part.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the body fat measuring device according to the second aspect, when measuring the subcutaneous fat of the portion to be measured, a positive insulating electrode and a negative insulating electrode arranged adjacent to each other around the portion to be measured Are used.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the body fat measurement device according to the third aspect, the display unit displays the distribution of the body fat calculated by the calculation unit in a two-dimensional or three-dimensional manner.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the body fat measuring device according to the first aspect, the capacitance measuring means includes a temperature correction circuit for correcting the capacitance.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the body fat measuring device according to the seventh aspect, the temperature correction circuit performs correction based on the environmental temperature and / or the surface temperature of the part to be measured.

  A ninth aspect of the present invention is the body fat measuring device according to the second aspect, wherein the insulating electrode is formed on a sheet.

  According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the body fat measuring device according to the ninth aspect, the insulating electrode formed on the sheet is disposed on the measured portion by winding the sheet around the measured portion, Perimeter length measuring means for measuring the perimeter of the part to be measured when winding the part to be measured is further provided.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the capacitance determined by the body composition between the insulated electrodes is obtained from the oscillation frequency of the oscillation circuit, and the body fat amount is calculated based on the measured capacitance. Subcutaneous fat and visceral fat can be measured without flowing, so that it can be easily attached to the measurement site, and errors due to contact resistance during current measurement are eliminated.

  According to invention of Claim 2 and Claim 3, the electrostatic capacitance between arbitrary electrodes can be measured, switching the polarity of several insulated electrodes, and the body fat distribution in the cross section of a to-be-measured part can be calculated | required efficiently. it can.

  According to the invention of claim 4, a more accurate measurement result can be obtained based on the input information on the measured part.

  According to the invention of claim 5, the capacitance in the vicinity of the epidermis can be measured, and subcutaneous fat can be selectively measured. According to the invention of claim 6, the distribution of body fat can be visually grasped. The measurement results can be effectively used for body fat weight loss exercise.

  According to the seventh and eighth aspects of the invention, accurate body fat measurement can be performed by temperature correction without being affected by measurement conditions.

  According to the ninth and tenth aspects of the present invention, it is easy to attach the measuring device at the time of measurement, and since the circumference of the portion to be measured can be automatically measured, the measurement operation is also easy and easy.

  Hereinafter, a body fat measurement device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a block configuration of the body fat measurement device 1. The body fat measuring device 1 includes an oscillation circuit 2 for measuring the capacitance of the part to be measured, a control unit 3 for calculating the body fat amount based on the measured capacitance, and controlling the device. A display unit 4 for displaying the obtained results and an input means 5 for inputting measurement and calculation conditions are provided.

  The oscillation circuit 2 described above includes a plurality of insulating electrodes 21 arranged and used in one or a plurality of rows in a state of being insulated from the surrounding skin surface of the measurement target M of the human body, which is a measurement target, An electrode switching circuit 22 that switches between the positive and negative polarities, and a capacitance measuring means 23 that measures the capacitance between each pair of insulated electrodes 21 that are switched and selected by the electrode switching circuit 22 are provided. The capacitance measuring means 23 considers the capacitance determined by each selected pair of insulated electrodes 21 and the body composition therebetween as a circuit component of the oscillation circuit, and determines the frequency characteristics of the oscillation circuit. Measure the capacitance of body composition. A specific oscillation circuit will be described later.

  In addition, the above-described control unit 2 is constituted by, for example, a microprocessor and the like, and is measured by a central control unit CPU that performs data input / output management and switching measurement control by the electrode switching circuit 22, and a capacitance measurement unit 23. A calculation unit 32 that calculates body fat mass based on the capacitance between each insulated electrode that is input via the control unit CPU and the stored basic data, measurement / calculation condition data, and the like, for body fat calculation And a memory 33 for storing basic data and control parameters used. The basic data used for calculating body fat is, for example, a correlation formula between body fat mass and capacitance (impedance) obtained by the underwater weight method or CT method (computed tomography method).

  The central control unit CPU controls the display unit 4 and the input unit 5. Via the input means 5, the outer peripheral length of the part M to be measured by the outer peripheral length input means 51, the weight / height / age / gender of the measured object by the condition input means 52, or all measurement / Calculation conditions are input to the central control unit CPU. These condition data are used in the calculation unit 32. The central control unit CPU displays the distribution of the body fat calculated by the calculation unit 32 in a two-dimensional or three-dimensional manner through the display unit 4 in addition to numerical values. The capacitance measuring means 23 selectively scans the insulated electrodes switched by the electrode switching circuit 22 under the control of the central control unit CPU in order to measure the capacitance between the electrodes.

  Next, a specific structure of the body fat measuring device 1 will be described. 2A to 2D show an appearance and a cross section of the body fat measurement device 1. FIG. As shown in FIGS. 2A, 2B, and 2C, the body fat measuring device 1 includes an operating device 11 that includes an input button and a display unit, and a measuring belt 12 that includes the operating device 11 in a substantially central portion. As shown in FIG. 2 (d), the measurement belt 12 is wound around the measurement target M, for example, the abdomen. The operation device 11 incorporates circuits such as the above-described oscillation circuit and control unit. Height, weight, age, and sex are input by the condition input means 52 including push buttons of the operation device 11. Further, measurement control and condition clearing are performed by the button 53. While viewing the screen of the display unit 4, it is possible to perform button operations and check the measurement results displayed on the display unit 4. The display unit 4 displays the distribution of the body fat calculated by the calculation unit in a two-dimensional or three-dimensional manner, so that the user can visually grasp the distribution of the body fat and effectively use it for body fat weight loss exercises, etc. it can.

  The measurement belt 12 includes a base sheet 6, a plurality of insulating electrodes 21 formed on the sheet 6, a conductive wire (not shown) that connects each insulating electrode 21 to a measurement circuit portion inside the operation device 11, And a structure of a function for automatically measuring the outer peripheral length of the part to be measured, which will be described below. The insulating electrodes 21 are arranged in one or a plurality of rows along the length direction of the sheet 6. By forming the insulating electrode 21 on the sheet 6, a plurality of insulating electrodes 21 can be easily formed and can be stored thinly in the measuring belt 12, so that the wearing feeling is improved.

  The automatic outer peripheral length measurement function of the part to be measured by the above-described measurement belt 12 will be described. A contact detection conductor 62 is formed on a part of the front surface of the sheet 6, and a length measuring resistor 63 is formed on the back surface in a state in which electrical contact is possible. When the body fat measuring device 1 is mounted as shown in FIG. 2D, the point P on the length measuring resistor 63 and the point P1 on the contact detection conductor 62 are in contact with each other. As shown in FIG. 2C, the distance L between the point Q and the point P on the length measuring resistor 63, that is, the outer peripheral length of the part M to be measured is described above as a resistance value proportional to the outer peripheral length. Is read by the control unit. The resistance value input to the control unit is converted into the outer peripheral length, and is displayed on the display unit 4 together with the body fat amount obtained from the capacitance measured using the insulating electrode.

  As described above, in the body fat measurement device 1, when calculating the fat amount of the measurement target M, the calculation accuracy is improved in consideration of the measurement target circumference (peripheral length) and / or gender and / or age. Has been. As a literature on capacitance measurement of the human body, “Kimoto Satoshi, Nobuta Katsunori“ Estimation of temperature change distribution of brain phantom by capacitance measurement ”focusing on dielectric constant, which is information when living body is expressed by electrical equivalent circuit Journal of academic society C, Vol. 119-C, No. 8/9, PP. 998-1003 (1999. 8/9) ”.

  When attention is paid to the electrical conductivity σ among the electrical properties of the living body, the electrical conductivity σ has values as shown in Table 1 with respect to the frequency of the voltage applied between the electrodes and the body composition. The conductivity of fat has a value that is approximately an order of magnitude smaller (or higher resistance) than the conductivity of other body compositions. The method of investigating the body composition by passing an electric current is considered disadvantageous for investigating the distribution of fat with high resistance because it flows in a portion where the electric current easily flows. The plasma membrane of the cells that form the human body is composed of a lipid bilayer membrane and various proteins and carbohydrates, and is considered to function electrically as a capacitor. When the capacitance of the capacitor is constant, it becomes easy to conduct electricity in proportion to the frequency. When simplified, the electrical characteristics of a living body are equivalently represented by a parallel circuit of capacitance (related to relative permittivity ε) and resistance (related to conductivity σ). Therefore, the body fat distribution can be obtained with high accuracy by measuring the capacitance based on the oscillation frequency of the oscillation circuit including the capacitance determined by the body composition between the insulated electrodes in the circuit. .

  Next, a flow of body fat measurement using the body fat measuring device 1 will be described with reference to FIG. Reference is also made to FIG. 1 and FIG. The body fat measurement is started, for example, by winding the measurement belt 12 of the body fat measurement device 1 around the measurement target M such as the abdomen and thigh (S1). Thereafter, the condition input means 52 inputs weight, height, age, sex, etc. (S2). Subsequently, the central control unit 31 reads measurement control parameters, reference values for fat mass calculation, and basic data from the memory 33, and sets initial values for measurement (S3). Subsequently, oscillation frequency measurement (S4), insulation electrode switching (S5), and measurement completion determination (S6) are performed for each pair of insulation electrodes.

  When measurement is completed for all electrode pairs (Y in S6), the ambient temperature / human body temperature measured by the temperature sensor is read (S7), conversion from oscillation frequency to capacitance, and capacitance based on the measured temperature The body fat amount is calculated based on the temperature correction, basic data, measurement / calculation condition data, and the like (S8). Although the relative change in the body fat mass can be determined only by the oscillation frequency measurement, it cannot be calculated as the absolute value of the body fat mass, so the basic data and measurement / calculation condition data are referred to. These data are, for example, data stored in a memory using a calculated body fat value measured by CT scan as a measurement standard. These may be body fat values obtained by individual CT scans, or data obtained by presetting correlation equations based on body fat correlation obtained from the measurement results of oscillation frequencies and CT scan data for a plurality of persons. The result of the calculated body fat mass is displayed on the display unit 4, and the body fat mass measurement is completed (S9).

  Next, a specific oscillation circuit for obtaining the capacitance determined by the body composition between the insulating electrodes will be described. 4 to 6 show (a) the oscillation circuit 2 for measuring capacitance in the body fat measurement device, and (b) voltage change in each operation state in the circuit. The basic principle of measurement in the body fat measurement device is that the capacitance between a pair of insulated electrodes is determined by the body composition. A pair of insulating electrodes is made to correspond to the portion of the capacitor C1 in the transmission circuit 2 in FIG. That is, the capacitor C1 is a capacitor formed by inserting the body composition of the human body as a dielectric between the insulated electrodes. When the body composition of the human body changes, the capacitance changes. By incorporating this capacitor C1 as an element in the oscillation circuit, a difference in body composition can be recognized as a difference in output oscillation frequency, and an output oscillation frequency value can be made to correspond to a difference in capacitance. It is important to select a frequency band in which the oscillation frequency changes greatly with respect to changes in the body fat mass.

  The oscillation circuit 2 shown in FIG. 4A includes voltage comparators (comparators) CP1 and CP2, a flip-flop FF, and a discharge transistor TR as active elements. 4 (a) and 4 (b) show a state immediately after the power is turned on. The power supply voltage Vcc is divided into three by three resistors R1, R2 and R3 connected in series. A voltage V1 that is 1/3 of the power supply voltage Vcc is applied to the positive input terminal of the voltage comparator CP1, and a voltage V2 that is 2/3 of the power supply voltage Vcc is applied to the negative terminal of the voltage comparator CP2. The power supply voltage Vcc is connected to the capacitor C1 through a resistor Ra, a threshold terminal Y, a resistor Rb, and a trigger terminal X. When the voltage at the trigger terminal X is 1/3 or less (V1 or less) of the power supply voltage Vcc, the S terminal of the flip-flop FF becomes H level, and the flip-flop FF is set. When the threshold terminal Y becomes 2/3 or more (V2 or more) of the power supply voltage Vcc, the R terminal of the flip-flop FF becomes H level and the FF is reset.

  Immediately after power-on, the flip-flop FF has the Q terminal at the H level and the Q bar terminal at the L level, and the transistor TR is in the OFF state. The capacitor C1 is charged with a current flowing through the resistors Ra and Rb. As shown in FIG. 4B, the voltage of the trigger terminal X starts from 0V and increases with the charging of the capacitor C1. While the trigger terminal X has a positive input terminal voltage of the voltage comparator CP1 lower than V1, the S terminal of the flip-flop FF is in the H level state. On the other hand, since the positive input terminal voltage of the voltage comparator CP2 is lower than V2, the output of the voltage comparator CP2 becomes L, and the flip-flop FF is stable in this state.

  Subsequently, as shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, when the voltage at the trigger terminal X exceeds the positive input terminal voltage V1 of the voltage comparator CM1, the output of the voltage comparator CP1 becomes L level. When the voltage at the trigger terminal X further rises and reaches the positive input terminal voltage V2 of the voltage comparator CP2, the output of the voltage comparator CP2 becomes H level. As a result, the R terminal of the flip-flop FF becomes H level, and the output state of the flip-flop FF is inverted. The Q terminal is in the L level state and the Q bar terminal is in the H level state. At this time, the voltage at the output terminal OUT of the oscillation circuit 2 changes from H level to L level. When the Q bar terminal is in the H level state, the transistor TR is turned on. Then, the current that has been flowing to the capacitor C1 through the resistors Ra and Rb so far does not flow to the capacitor C1 because the threshold terminal Y that is the junction point of the resistors Ra and Rb is grounded. On the contrary, the electric charge accumulated in the capacitor C1 is discharged through the resistor Rb and the transistor TR. Due to this discharge, the voltage at the trigger terminal X drops, the positive input terminal voltage of the voltage comparator CP2 becomes V2 or less, and the R terminal of the flip-flop FF changes from H level to L level. Will not change. That is, the R terminal of the flip-flop FF is in the H level state for only a short time.

  Subsequently, as shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, the charge of the capacitor C1 continues to be discharged because the transistor TR is ON, and the voltage of the trigger terminal X drops. When the voltage at the trigger terminal X becomes equal to or lower than the positive input terminal voltage V1 of the voltage comparator CP1, the output of the voltage comparator CP1 is in the H level state, and the S terminal of the flip-flop FF is also in the H level state. As a result, the Q terminal of the flip-flop FF changes to the H level and the Q bar terminal changes to the L level. When the Q bar terminal is in the L level state, the transistor TR is turned off, and the discharging of the capacitor C1 performed so far is stopped, and the current flows again through the resistors Ra and Rb to the capacitor C1, Charge begins to accumulate. When charge starts to accumulate in the capacitor C1, the voltage at the trigger terminal X begins to rise, and the output of the voltage comparator CP1 immediately goes into the L level state.

  The above charging and discharging operations are repeated, and the voltage at the output terminal OUT of the oscillation circuit 2 is output as a rectangular wave signal. The repetitive period is such that current flows through the resistors Ra and Rb when the capacitor C1 is charged (accumulates electric charge), and only the resistor Rb flows when discharged (discharges electric charge), so that the charging time T2 and the discharging time T1 The length of is different. The charging time T2 and the discharging time T1 directly reflect the capacitance of the capacitor C1. Therefore, the charging time T1 and the discharging time T1 are measured, that is, the oscillation frequency of the oscillation circuit 2 is measured. Thus, the capacitance of the part M to be measured can be obtained.

  Next, the measurement of the partial fat amount existing inside the human body using the body fat measuring device 1 will be described with reference to FIG. For example, when the abdomen of the human body is the measurement target M, as shown in FIG. 7, subcutaneous fat 81 is present at the outer periphery of the cross section, and is accumulated around the internal organs along with the spine 83 and internal organs. Visceral fat 82 is present. One opposing negative insulating electrode 21b is arranged on the skin surface of the measurement target M with reference to the positive insulating electrode 21a, and the capacitance between the electrodes is measured using the capacitance measuring means 23. . The aforementioned oscillation circuit 2 is formed by the capacitor formed by the two insulating electrodes 21a and 21b and the capacitance measuring means 23 connected to the capacitor. The high-frequency output current (displacement or electric flux current) output from the oscillation circuit (capacitance measuring means 23) passes through the measured part M across the measured part M as indicated by the curve E. To do. Therefore, in the measurement based on the arrangement of the insulating electrodes 21a and 21b shown in FIG. 7, the total body fat mass including the subcutaneous fat 81 and the visceral fat 82 is measured.

  In the measurement described above, the insulated electrodes 21a and 21b and the human skin surface need to be in close contact with each other, but are electrically insulated, and therefore no conduction current flows. The electrostatic capacitance measuring means 23 causes an alternating current to flow between the positive insulating electrode 21a and the negative insulating electrode 21b, and generates a frequency corresponding to the electrostatic capacity therebetween. The control unit 3 includes a measuring unit that measures the frequency, and an arithmetic unit that calculates the fat mass of the measurement target M based on the measured frequency. The control unit 3 may be connected to input means for inputting physical information such as the outer circumference length (waist length) of the measurement person, sex, and age as necessary. The display unit 4 connected to the control unit 3 displays the input body information and the calculated fat amount. At this time, the calculation unit calculates the fat mass of the human body measurement portion using the measured frequency and the input measurement subject outer circumference length and gender (and age if necessary).

  In addition, since the capacitance corresponding to the body composition is generally also affected by the ambient temperature, as shown in FIG. 7, the environmental temperature and / or the human body temperature is measured by an environmental temperature sensor 71 formed of a thermistor or the like. Measurement is performed by the human body temperature sensor 72, and the correction value is presented to the control unit 3 by the temperature correction circuit 7, so that the measurement accuracy can be further improved.

  Next, selective measurement using the body fat measuring device 1 for partial fat amounts such as subcutaneous fat and visceral fat existing in the human body will be described with reference to FIG. In this measurement, the first insulating electrode Z1 is disposed on the surface of the measurement target M of the human body, and the capacitance between the first insulating electrode Z2 and the opposing second insulating electrode Z2 is measured. This is the same as the measurement described above. Next, the capacitance between the first insulating electrode Z1 and the fourth insulating electrode Z4 is measured. In this case, since the high-frequency current passes through the shortest distance, a measurement result reflecting the value of the subcutaneous fat 81 directly under the skin is obtained. That is, the measurement of the subcutaneous fat of the part to be measured is possible by using a positive insulating electrode and a negative insulating electrode which are arranged adjacent to each other around the part to be measured.

  Therefore, if the electrostatic capacitance between the first insulating electrode Z1 and the fourth insulating electrode Z4 is subtracted from the electrostatic capacitance between the first insulating electrode Z1 and the second insulating electrode Z2, the measurement result of the visceral fat mass can be obtained. In order to further increase the measurement accuracy, the capacitance between the first insulating electrode Z1 and the third insulating electrode Z3 is measured, and then the other insulating electrode is changed to see another insulating electrode from the second insulating electrode Z2. Thus, the capacitance can be measured by scanning one after another, and selective measurement can be performed on the partial fat amount such as subcutaneous fat and visceral fat.

  Next, a measurement in which the partial fat amount such as subcutaneous fat and visceral fat existing in the human body is regarded as position information and the accuracy is improved will be described with reference to FIG. This measurement method can be said to be a development of the above-described measurement method. First, considering the first insulating electrode Z1 as a center, the capacitance generated between the adjacent fourth insulating electrode Z4 is measured, and then the first and sixth, first and eighth,... The electrostatic capacitance between the insulated electrodes is measured as the oscillation frequency in the order of the first and sixteenth.

  Subsequently, with the fourth insulating electrode Z4 as a reference, scanning is sequentially performed counterclockwise as in the fourth and sixth,..., Fourth and first. In this example, 16 × 16 = 256 capacitance data can be collected when all scans are performed. If these data are processed as information of only the measurement values of the adjacent insulated electrodes, the data reflects the subcutaneous fat 81. Further, if the subcutaneous fat 81 is subtracted from the result of the measurement data in the direction crossing the internal fat 82, the measurement data reflecting the visceral fat 82 is obtained.

  Further, since there are intersecting portions in the measurement between the insulated electrodes, it is possible to capture the measurement data as a two-dimensional map in the cross section of the measurement target M, and it is also possible to measure a partial fat mass. . In this embodiment, the number of electrodes is 16; however, the measurement accuracy can be further improved by further increasing the number of electrodes and arranging the insulating electrodes on the surface of the portion M to be measured without gaps. Further, in this embodiment, the arrangement of the insulating electrodes is one row, but by making the number of rows plural, three-dimensional measurement of body fat and distribution display are possible.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 10, the insulated electrodes 21A and 21B in the body fat measurement device can be regarded as an antenna, and can be considered as a measurement system including the oscillation circuit 2A, the reception circuit 2B, and the control unit 31. That is, the radio wave EM formed by the transmission circuit 2A is radiated from the first insulating electrode (antenna) 21A and received by the second insulating electrode (antenna) 2B. Since propagation of radio waves varies depending on the composition in the body, body fat mass and its spatial distribution can be measured and calculated using parameters such as phase difference between transmitted radio waves and received radio waves and attenuation of radio wave intensity. The present invention is not limited to the above-described configuration, and various modifications can be made.

The block block diagram about the body fat measuring device which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. (A) is a front view of a body fat measuring device, (b) is a sectional view taken along line AA in (a), (c) is a sectional view taken along line BB in (b), and (d) is a use of the body fat measuring device. Sectional drawing which shows a state. The flowchart figure of the body fat measurement using a body fat measuring apparatus same as the above. (A) is a circuit diagram of an oscillation circuit for capacitance measurement in the upper body fat measurement device, (b) is a voltage change diagram showing the operating state in the same circuit. (A) is a circuit diagram of an oscillation circuit for capacitance measurement in the upper body fat measurement device, (b) is a voltage change diagram showing the operating state in the same circuit. (A) is a circuit diagram of an oscillation circuit for capacitance measurement in the upper body fat measurement device, (b) is a voltage change diagram showing the operating state in the same circuit. The block diagram explaining the body fat measurement using a body fat measuring apparatus same as the above. The block diagram explaining the body fat measurement using a body fat measuring apparatus same as the above. The block diagram explaining the body fat measurement using a body fat measuring apparatus same as the above. The block diagram explaining the body fat measurement using a body fat measuring apparatus same as the above.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Body fat measuring device 2 Oscillation circuit 3 Control part 4 Display part 5 Input means 6 Sheet | seat 7 Temperature correction circuit 21, 21a, 21b, Z1-Z19 Insulating electrode 23 Capacitance measuring means 32 Calculation part 81 Subcutaneous fat 82 Visceral fat M Object to be measured

Claims (10)

A plurality of insulated electrodes;
A capacitance measuring means for applying a voltage between one insulated electrode of the insulated electrode and the other insulated electrode to measure a capacitance between the electrodes;
An arithmetic unit that calculates body fat mass based on the measured capacitance;
A display unit for displaying the calculated result,
The insulated electrode is arranged and used in a state where it is insulated from the skin surface of the human body that is the measurement object,
The body fat measuring device, wherein the capacitance measuring means measures a capacitance based on an oscillation frequency of an oscillation circuit including a capacitance determined by a body composition between the insulating electrodes in the circuit. . The plurality of insulated electrodes are arranged in one or a plurality of rows around the portion to be measured,
The body fat measuring device according to claim 1, wherein the insulating electrode is switched between positive and negative polarities.   The body fat measuring device according to claim 2, wherein the capacitance measuring means selectively scans the insulating electrode in order to measure the capacitance between the electrodes. And further comprising an input means for inputting any or all of the outer peripheral length of the measured part of the measured object and the weight, height, age, and sex of the measured object,
The body fat measurement device according to claim 1, wherein the calculation unit calculates a fat mass based on the measured capacitance value and the input outer peripheral length of the measurement target.   3. The body fat measuring device according to claim 2, wherein a positive insulating electrode and a negative insulating electrode arranged adjacent to each other around the portion to be measured are used when measuring the subcutaneous fat of the portion to be measured.   The body fat measurement device according to claim 3, wherein the display unit displays the distribution of body fat calculated by the calculation unit in a two-dimensional or three-dimensional manner.   2. The body fat measuring device according to claim 1, wherein the capacitance measuring means includes a temperature correction circuit for correcting the capacitance.   8. The body fat measurement device according to claim 7, wherein the temperature correction circuit performs correction based on an environmental temperature and / or a surface temperature of a measured part.   The body fat measuring device according to claim 2, wherein the insulating electrode is formed on a sheet. The insulated electrode formed on the sheet is disposed in the measured portion by winding the sheet around the measured portion,
The body fat measuring device according to claim 9, further comprising a peripheral length measuring unit that measures a peripheral length of the measured part when the measured part of the sheet is wound.

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