JP2005265652A - Toilet seat - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a toilet seat having a urine component measuring function, and to solve the problem wherein the measurement of a urine component requires expendables such as reagent, standard liquid or buffer solution with a troublesome maintenance and high running cost, and that the use of a maintenance free optical measuring system requires an extremely high measuring precision, because urine sugar or the like to be measured is very small in amount and measurement precision is lowered by the changes in the temperature. <P>SOLUTION: The toilet seat has a measuring optical unit for measuring urine components, a urine sampling unit and an operation/display unit. The measuring optical unit and the urine sampling unit are controlled to a temperature close to the bodily temperature by a temperature control function; and only when the urine component is measured, is the urine sampling unit protruded. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a toilet seat, and relates to an apparatus for optically measuring the concentration of urine substances such as sugars, amino acids, proteins, vitamins and the like in a non-contact manner optically. In particular, paying attention to the optical rotation of the measurement substance, the concentration of a desired component is measured by measuring the optical rotation of the sample. In particular, the present invention relates to a toilet seat having a urine component measurement function for measuring urine sugar and making it useful for health management of a diabetic reserve army.

  Conventionally, as a method for inspecting urine components, a method using a test paper is generally performed. This uses a test paper coated with a reagent according to the test item, urine is collected in a paper cup, etc., and the test paper is immersed in this, and the urine component is analyzed from the change in the color of the reagent due to the chemical reaction. It is. There are two methods for detecting a color change: visual detection and detection using an optical sensor.

  In addition, the enzyme electrode method is used to measure urine sugar, glucose in urine undergoes a chemical reaction with glucose oxidase (GOD), the current generated at that time is measured, and the urine sugar value is quantified. It is.

  Furthermore, a method for measuring a urine component using an optical measurement method has also been proposed. For example, it is disclosed that a urine component is detected by irradiating light to urine, measuring its optical rotation, measuring spectral absorbance, and the like (see, for example, Patent Document 1). A toilet seat using an optical measurement method has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

JP-A-9-145605 (FIG. 6) JP 2000-258411 A (FIG. 6)

  When detecting urine components by chemical reaction as in the test paper method or the enzyme electrode method, there are consumables such as reagents, standard solutions, and buffer solutions, and there are problems that maintenance is troublesome and running cost is high.

  In addition, when optical measurement methods are used, the amount of urine sugar to be measured is very small, so very high measurement accuracy is required, and measurement accuracy decreases due to the influence of environmental changes such as temperature and atmospheric pressure. There is a problem.

  In particular, in the case of the optical rotation measurement method, there is a problem that the temperature dependence of the optical characteristics of the optical components constituting the measurement optical system affects the measurement value, and the measurement value changes due to a change in temperature.

  One possible method is to measure a calibration substance having no optical rotation before or after the measurement of the sample, determine the optical rotation of the sample from the difference, and cancel the influence of fluctuations other than the sample. As a calibration substance, for example, water is conceivable, and in the case of a toilet seat, it can be routed relatively easily. Thereby, a relatively slow change in the environmental temperature or the like can be canceled, and the measurement accuracy can be improved. However, immediately after excretion, the sample urine is almost the same as body temperature, around 36 ° C, and may be 10 ° C higher than room temperature. By simply introducing urine into the sample cell, a temperature change occurs, and the measured value There is a problem of bringing about fluctuations.

  It is possible to install a temperature sensor in the measurement optical unit of the toilet seat, detect the temperature, and correct the measurement value, but the temperature change due to urine is abrupt, and the temperature gradient of the measurement optical unit is also considered to change depending on the conditions. In order to perform sufficient correction, there is a problem that the apparatus becomes complicated, such as providing a plurality of temperature sensors.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the toilet seat of the present invention includes a measurement optical unit for measuring a urine component, a urine collection unit, and a calculation / display unit, and the measurement optical unit and the urine collection unit have a temperature control unit. The temperature is adjusted to the vicinity of the body temperature by the function, and the urine collection unit protrudes and measures the urine component only when measuring the urine component.

  Further, the toilet seat of the present invention has a measurement optical unit for measuring the urine component and a calculation / display unit, and the measurement optical unit is temperature-controlled near the body temperature by the temperature adjustment function, and only when measuring the urine component, The measurement optical unit protrudes to measure urine components.

  Moreover, it is preferable that the toilet seat of this invention temperature-controls a measurement optical unit and a urine collection unit using the temperature control function of a toilet seat base part.

  Moreover, it is preferable that the toilet seat of this invention temperature-controls a measurement optical unit using the temperature control function of a toilet seat base part.

  Moreover, it is preferable that the toilet seat of this invention measures the optical rotation of urine, and measures the density | concentration of the desired component in urine.

  In addition, the toilet seat of the present invention measures the optical rotation of the calibration material before measuring the urine component, obtains the optical rotation of the sample from the difference between the two optical rotation measurement results, and when not measuring, the sample cell is the calibration material. It is preferable that the temperature is satisfied and the temperature is controlled near the body temperature.

  In the toilet seat of the present invention, it is preferable to adjust the temperature of the measurement optical unit and the urine collection unit within the range of body temperature ± 1 ° C.

(Function)
An outline of the principle of optically detecting urine components, here, the principle of detecting urinary components having optical activity (glucose, vitamins, proteins, etc.) will be described. Since the rotation angle of the polarization plane, that is, the optical rotation angle is proportional to the concentration of the sample and the optical path length, when the optical path length is known, the component concentration of the optical rotatory substance can be determined by measuring the optical rotation angle. A linearly polarized light is incident on the sample, a light beam transmitted through the sample is incident on the analyzer, photoelectrically converted by a photodiode, and an optical rotation angle can be obtained from a signal intensity obtained when the analyzer is rotated.

If the inclination of the analyzer transmission axis with respect to the transmission axis of the polarizer is θ and the optical rotation angle by the sample is α, the light intensity I received by the photodiode is I = T × I ₀ cos ² (θ-α) ( Equation 1). Here, T represents the transmittance in consideration of all attenuation due to reflection and absorption of the sample, polarizer and analyzer, and I ₀ represents the intensity of incident light. As can be seen from Equation 1, a minimum point is obtained for each rotation angle π (rad) as the analyzer rotates. The angle of rotation can be obtained from the angle of the analyzer at this minimum point. The polarization plane vibration method is used for high accuracy and high sensitivity, and will be described below with reference to FIG. The monochromatic light emitted from the light source 121 is incident on the polarizer 122 oscillating with the frequency f and the angular amplitude θ by the polarizer driving circuit 129, and becomes linearly polarized light whose polarization plane rotates and oscillates. When this light beam is incident on the sample 125 and transmitted through the analyzer 123, a signal having a frequency f is obtained from the photodiode 124. At this time, if the polarization plane is rotated by α depending on the optical rotation of the sample 125, the phase inversion depends on whether the sample 125 is right-handed or left-handed if the polarizer 122 and the analyzer 123 are arranged orthogonally. Signal is obtained. The signal obtained from the photodiode 124 is amplified by the amplifier circuit 126, synchronized and rectified by the rectifying / filtering circuit 127, the phase is obtained, and the analyzer 123 is forward and reverse via the analyzer driving circuit 128 according to the phase. The analyzer angle is determined by the optical null method so that the amount of transmitted light is minimized. The analyzer angle at the equilibrium point corresponds to the optical rotation angle of the sample.

  As a method of vibrating and rotating the polarization plane, there are a method of using a Faraday rotator utilizing a Faraday effect and a method of using a liquid crystal element, in addition to a method of mechanically rotating a polarizer.

  Here, a modulation method combining a homogeneous liquid crystal element and a quarter-wave plate will be described as a method of vibrating and rotating the polarization plane using the liquid crystal element. When viewed in the cross-sectional direction, the homogeneous liquid crystal has the long axis of the liquid crystal molecules parallel to the transparent substrate that sandwiches the top and bottom, and since it does not have a twisted structure, it is parallel to the top and bottom substrates when viewed in the plane direction. Is oriented. Liquid crystal molecules have a refractive index difference Δn between the major axis and the minor axis. When an electric field is applied to the liquid crystal molecules, the liquid crystal molecules rise along the electric field and are refracted by polarized light that vibrates in the major axis direction. The rate changes. Thereby, it can function as a variable wavelength plate for electric field control.

  When linearly polarized light inclined by 45 degrees with respect to the liquid crystal molecule major axis is incident on the homogeneous liquid crystal element, the phase difference of 2πΔn · d / λ (d: Thickness, λ: wavelength) occurs, the polarization state changes, and linearly polarized light becomes elliptically polarized light. At this time, the azimuth angle of the elliptically polarized light is parallel (or orthogonal) to the incident linearly polarized light. Therefore, by passing through a quarter-wave plate in which the polarization axis and the optical axis of incident linearly polarized light are combined, linearly polarized light is obtained. The change in the polarization axis at this time is proportional to the phase difference received by the liquid crystal element. That is, the phase modulation amount can be controlled by the voltage applied to the liquid crystal element, and thus the optical rotation angle can be controlled.

  When such a measurement method is used, the measurement optical system is mainly composed of a light emitting element, a polarizer, an optical rotatory modulation element, a wave plate, a sample cell, and a light receiving element, and all the optical elements have temperature characteristics. The temperature change causes the fluctuation of the measured value.

  Therefore, the constant temperature of the measurement optical system is effective in improving the stability of the measurement value and, in turn, improving the measurement accuracy.

  On the other hand, the temperature of the urine immediately after excretion is the same as the body temperature, and is usually higher than the room temperature. When the temperature is not adjusted, the temperature of the measurement optical unit is caused by the temperature difference between the measurement optical system and the urine. It causes changes and causes fluctuations in measured values. Therefore, if the measurement optical unit and calibration substance are temperature-controlled before or after measurement, the temperature change at the time of introduction of the measurement sample can be minimized, and the fluctuation of the measurement value is minimized. be able to.

  According to the present invention, the measurement optical unit and the urine collection unit are controlled at a constant temperature by using the temperature control function of the toilet seat, and the measurement value does not fluctuate due to a change in the environmental temperature. .

  Further, the temperature control function of the toilet seat can be used, and it is not necessary to add a new temperature control device, so that the device can be prevented from becoming complicated and large.

Further, by setting the temperature adjustment range to body temperature ± 1 ° C., it can be made almost equal to the temperature of urine, no temperature change occurs when urine is collected, and a decrease in measurement accuracy can be prevented. Furthermore, by adjusting the temperature in a state where water is put in the sample cell, the influence of temperature change can be minimized in the calibration using water, and the decrease in measurement accuracy can be prevented.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(First embodiment)
A first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1: has shown the front view of the toilet seat which shows 1st Embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the measurement optical unit 13 is held inside the toilet seat, and the urine collection unit 12 is also held inside the toilet seat during non-measurement, and is adjusted to a temperature close to body temperature by the temperature control function of the toilet seat. Has been. Toilet seats generally dislike the cold feel when sitting, and are provided with a heater 20 and are provided with a temperature control function. With this temperature control function, the temperature control of the urine collection unit 12 and the measurement optical unit 13 is controlled. It can be carried out.

  The procedure for measuring urine components will be described with reference to FIG. First, by pressing a measurement start switch provided on the arm 15 of the toilet seat, the urine collection unit 12 protrudes from the toilet seat. The urine collection unit 12 has a recess for receiving urine, and a urine detection sensor is installed in the recess, and urine collection starts when urine is collected in the urine receiver. Urine collection is performed by being sucked by the pump 18, passes through the urinary channel 17, is guided to the optical measurement unit 13, and fills the sample cell 14. After sucking a predetermined amount, measurement of optical rotation is started. After the measurement is completed, the measured value is displayed on the display unit of the calculation / display unit 16 provided in the toilet seat arm 15.

  The urine collection unit 12 is provided with another water channel (not shown) and is used for cleaning after urine collection. After completion of the measurement, the urine collection unit 12 is housed inside the toilet seat, and at the same time, tap water is supplied from the water channel, sucked by the pump 18, and the urinary channel 17 and the sample cell 14 are washed and drained into the toilet bowl.

  At this time, if the tap water is set to remain in the sample cell 14, the water in the sample cell can be adjusted to the vicinity of the body temperature by the temperature adjustment function of the toilet seat until the next use. Calibration with non-rotational water is effective for high-precision optical rotation measurement, and calibration using water conditioned near the body temperature minimizes fluctuations in measured values due to temperature changes. Measurement with higher accuracy is possible.

  That is, immediately before the urine measurement is performed, the optical rotation of hot water is measured for calibration. It is conceivable that the measurement start button is pushed and the urine collection unit protrudes, and at the same time, the optical rotation measurement is started. After calibration is completed, water is discharged and urine collection is started. In addition, the opening and closing of doors and the movement of people in the toilet are detected, the lid of the toilet seat is opened and closed, and the lighting in the toilet is turned on and off. It is also possible to start calibration in conjunction with these devices. It is done.

  Here, a desirable temperature control range will be described in detail. FIG. 4 shows an example of temperature characteristics of the measurement optical unit. The horizontal axis represents temperature, and the vertical axis represents the measured value converted to the concentration of sugar, which is the main measurement target in the urine component. In this example, a fluctuation of less than 30 mg / dl per 1 ° C. is observed. On the other hand, generally used test paper is identified in units of 50 mg / dl, and up to about ± 1 ° C. is allowed in order to achieve the same accuracy as the test paper. Actually, since the temperature change of the measuring optical unit is smaller than the temperature difference from the sample, a temperature difference of about 5 ° C is allowed, but for a more accurate measurement, the temperature difference is about ± 1 ° C. It is desirable to control the temperature.

(Second Embodiment)
A second embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 2: has shown the figure which looked at the toilet seat which shows 2nd Embodiment from the top. In the second embodiment, there is no independent urine collection unit, the measurement optical unit 13 is movable, and the measurement optical unit protrudes during urine measurement to collect urine. In FIG. 2, the urine collection unit 21 is provided with a recess, and when urine is applied and accumulates to some extent, the urine collection unit 21 sucks the urine and guides it to the sample cell 14 to start measurement.

  Similar to the first embodiment, the measurement optical unit 13 is adjusted to almost the body temperature by the temperature adjustment function of the toilet seat 11. For this reason, the temperature change due to the urine can be minimized, and the fluctuation of the measured value can be eliminated.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the measurement optical unit 13 can integrate the urine collection unit and the sample cell, and urine is directly applied to the sample cell 14 via a mesh-like filter 35 that prevents foreign matter from entering. Can be collected. In this case, there is an advantage that suction to the sample cell 14 becomes unnecessary.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the measurement optical unit 13 has a structure in which an optical element is arranged in a hollow pipe-shaped housing, and the light emitted from the light emitting unit 31 is polarized by the modulation unit 32. Modulation is performed, the sample cell 14 is transmitted, a desired polarization state is taken out by the polarizer 33, and light intensity is converted into an electric signal by the light receiving element 34. By calculating this electrical signal, the optical rotation can be obtained. Various methods are conceivable for the optical system and the calculation method for measuring the optical rotation, and can be applied to the present invention.

It is the figure which looked at the toilet seat explaining the 1st Embodiment of this invention from the top. It is the figure which looked at the toilet seat explaining the 2nd Embodiment of this invention from the top. It is sectional drawing which shows the measurement optical unit explaining the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a graph which shows an example of the temperature characteristic of a measurement optical unit. It is a block diagram explaining the method of quantifying a urine component using an optical rotation.

Explanation of symbols

12 Urine Collection Unit 13 Measurement Optical Unit 14 Sample Cell 16 Arithmetic / Display Unit 20 Heater

Claims (8)

A measurement optical unit for measuring urine components, a urine collection unit, and a calculation / display unit. The measurement optical unit and the urine collection unit are temperature-controlled near the body temperature by a temperature adjustment function, Only the toilet seat from which the urine collection unit protrudes. It has a measurement optical unit for measuring urine components and a calculation / display unit. The measurement optical unit is temperature-controlled near the body temperature by the temperature adjustment function, and the measurement optical unit protrudes only when measuring urine components. Toilet seat. 2. The toilet seat according to claim 1, wherein the temperature of the measurement optical unit and the urine collection unit are controlled by using a temperature control function of a toilet seat base. The toilet seat according to claim 2, wherein the temperature of the measurement optical unit is controlled using a temperature control function of a toilet seat base. The toilet seat according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the optical rotation of urine is measured and the concentration of a desired component in urine is measured. Before measuring the urine component, measure the optical rotation of the calibration substance, determine the optical rotation of the urine from the difference in the measurement results of the optical rotation of the calibration substance and the urine and measure the urine component. The toilet seat according to claim 5, wherein the toilet seat is filled with the calibration substance and is temperature-controlled near the body temperature. The toilet seat according to claim 1, 3, 5, or 6, wherein the temperature of the measurement optical unit and the urine collection unit is adjusted to a range of body temperature ± 1 ° C. The toilet seat according to claim 2, 4, 5, or 6, wherein the temperature of the measuring optical unit is adjusted to a range of body temperature ± 1 ° C.

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