JP2007195881A - Heat insulating device for container storing gelling material - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent an acoustical coupling agent being warmed from dripping from a container. <P>SOLUTION: The heat insulating device for insulating the heat of the container 70 having a discharging port 72 on a tip side and storing the acoustical coupling agent 71 is provided with: a movable cylinder 20 for holding the container; a heater 40 provided at the movable cylinder; an elastic body 30 which moves the movable cylinder up and down according to the amount of the acoustical coupling agent stored in the container while holding the container; and a power line 50 which varies a power-feeding range to the heater according to the up/down movement of the movable cylinder by the elastic body. Thus, according to the amount of the acoustical coupling agent stored in the container, a warming range is varied to avoid heating air in the container, so that the acoustical coupling agent is prevented from dripping from the container and power and energy are saved. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a heat retaining device for a container containing a gel-like material such as an acoustic binder used when performing ultrasonic diagnosis on a subject, for example.

  The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus transmits an ultrasonic wave to a subject, receives a reflected wave from the living body of the ultrasonic wave, and generates an ultrasonic image based on the received signal. Widely covers the heart, abdomen, mammary gland, urology, obstetrics and gynecology. An ultrasonic probe transmits and receives ultrasonic waves between an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus and a subject. Inside this ultrasonic probe, a piezoelectric vibrator that generates ultrasonic vibration, that is, an ultrasonic beam, is arranged, and on its upper surface, there is an acoustic matching layer for matching the acoustic impedance of the piezoelectric vibrator with the acoustic impedance of a living body. An acoustic lens that is stacked and further focuses the ultrasonic beam is disposed thereon.

By the way, when performing an ultrasonic diagnosis, the ultrasonic probe is brought into contact with the body surface of the subject. However, since it is the acoustic lens that directly touches the body surface, the acoustic impedance of this acoustic lens is set to the living body. It is designed to meet the acoustic impedance (1.5 to 1.6 × 10 ⁶ kg / m ² · s). The reason for this is that ultrasonic waves are reflected at the boundary surfaces with different acoustic impedances, so let's minimize the reflection of ultrasonic waves at the contact surface between the living body and the ultrasonic probe, and make maximum use of the transmitted and received ultrasonic energy. This is because.

  However, even if the acoustic impedance of the acoustic lens matches the acoustic impedance of the living body, if air exists between the body surface of the subject and the surface of the ultrasonic probe, the acoustic impedance of the air is almost zero. Nearly, since the difference in acoustic impedance at the boundary surface between the two becomes large, the reflection of the ultrasonic wave here becomes large, and it becomes difficult to form a good image. Therefore, a gel-like substance, usually called an acoustic binder, having an acoustic impedance equivalent to that of the living body is applied to the body surface of the subject or attached to the surface of the ultrasonic probe, and the subject is examined. When an ultrasonic probe is brought into contact with a person's body surface, air is prevented from intervening therebetween.

  This acoustic binder is usually contained in a cylindrical tube having elasticity, and when performing an ultrasonic diagnosis, the acoustic binder squeezed from the tube by the doctor or laboratory technician is used to examine the test site of the subject. It is applied to the surface of a nearby body or attached to the surface of the ultrasonic probe. However, the acoustic binder is in the form of a gel, and when applied to the body surface of the subject at a temperature equivalent to room temperature, the subject feels cold locally and feels uncomfortable. In addition, even when an acoustic binder is attached to the surface of the ultrasound probe instead of the body surface, if the ultrasound probe with the acoustic binder attached is suddenly applied to the body surface of the subject, , Was supposed to taste the same unpleasant cold feeling.

  Therefore, in order not to give such an unpleasant feeling to the subject, gel heating is performed by preheating a cylindrical tube containing an acoustic binder to an appropriate temperature (for example, equivalent to body temperature) with a heater. An apparatus has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1). This gel warming device is such that a cylindrical tube containing an acoustic binder is completely dropped into the storage tube of the gel warming device heated by a heater with its tip facing upward. It was. If the tube is dropped with the tip facing upward, it is difficult to remove the tube from the storage cylinder during use, or the tip of the tube, that is, the discharge port of the acoustic binder is facing upward. Problems such as dirty clothes have been pointed out.

  In order to eliminate such a problem, the present applicant has provided a heat insulating device for a container containing an acoustic coupling agent as shown in the longitudinal sectional views of FIGS.

  In this heat retaining device, a cylindrical housing 1 is formed in a double manner, and a heating element 2 is wound inside the inner cylinder 1a, and a receiving portion 4 is formed on the bottom 3 of the housing 1 so as to protrude downward. The heating element 2 is formed by connecting the commercial power source 5 to the heating element 2 to generate heat. Then, the discharge port 7 at the tip of the container (tube) 6 containing the acoustic binder is inserted into the housing 1 toward the receiving portion 4 formed on the bottom 3 of the housing 1. That is, the container 6 is inserted and held upside down in the hollow portion of the housing 1. At this time, the discharge port 7 of the container 6 is normally held without a cap. The reason is that the acoustic binder can be squeezed out and used immediately after the container 6 is taken out. In addition, there is no need for the troublesome work of removing or putting on the cap during the ultrasonic diagnosis, This is because the discharge port 7 does not get dirty by touching the clothes of the doctor or engineer when 7 is facing downward. In addition, since the viscosity of the acoustic binder is high, even if the container 6 is turned upside down, unless the pressure is applied to the container 6, there is normally no risk of leaking from the discharge port 7. It is accepted.

Here, FIG. 3 shows a state where the acoustic coupling agent 8 is sufficiently accommodated in the container 6, and FIG. 4 shows a case where the remaining amount of the acoustic coupling agent 8 accommodated in the container 6 is fully accommodated. The state is reduced to about 1/3 of that.
Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 2-45719

  Incidentally, the conventional heat retaining device shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 always heats the entire housing 1 regardless of the amount of the acoustic coupling agent 8 accommodated in the container 6. However, the acoustic coupling agent 8 accommodated in the container 6 becomes less as it is used, and the container 6 is divided into a portion where the acoustic coupling agent 8 remains and a portion containing the air 9 other than that. become. As the acoustic coupling agent 8 decreases, the portion of the air 9 increases, and the range of the air 9 warmed by the heating element 2 increases accordingly. Therefore, the expansion of the air 9 may cause the acoustic binder 8 to easily leak from the discharge port 7. Also, heating the air 9 portion wasted energy.

  The present invention has been made to solve such problems.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the invention according to claim 1 is a heat retaining device for a container containing a gel-like material for keeping a container containing the gel-like material having a discharge port on the tip side. A holding means for holding the container in which the gel-like material is stored, a heating means provided in the holding means, and a heating range of the heating means, the gel-like material being stored in the container And a heating range adjusting means for changing according to the amount.

  The invention according to claim 2 displays the remaining amount of the gel-like material in accordance with the operation of the heating range adjusting means in the heat retaining device for the container containing the gel-like material according to claim 1. And a remaining amount display means.

  The invention according to claim 3 is the heat retaining device for a container containing the gel-like material according to any one of claims 1 or 2, wherein the heating range adjusting means and the remaining amount display means. Is characterized in that it acts according to the weight of the container and the gel-like material contained in the container.

  As shown in the section of the means for solving the above problems, according to the invention of each claim described in the claims of the present invention, the following effects can be obtained.

  According to the invention described in claim 1, since the vicinity of the gel-like material is heated by changing the heating range of the heating means according to the amount of the gel-like material contained in the container, Provided is a heat insulating device for a container containing a gel-like material that can prevent dripping of the gel-like material and can contribute to power saving and energy saving.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the remaining amount of the heated gel-like material is displayed, it is possible to prevent a disadvantage that the gel-like material is insufficient during use.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a heat retaining device for a container containing a gel-like material that acts reasonably while having a simple structure.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of a heat retaining device for a container containing a gel-like material according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG.

  FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 show a longitudinal sectional view of one embodiment of a heat retaining device for a container containing a gel-like material according to the present invention, each of which holds a container containing a gel-like material. It shows the state that was made to. However, FIG. 1 shows a state in which the gel-like material is accommodated in the container held in the heat retaining device in a substantially full state, and FIG. 2 shows the gel accommodated in the container held in the heat retaining device. It shows a state in which the amount of the material is reduced to about 1/3 of the full state.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the heat retaining device for a container containing a gel-like material according to the present invention is capable of moving up and down inside the housing 10 formed in a cylindrical shape and inside the housing 10. A movable cylinder 20 inserted in the housing 10, an elastic body 30 such as a coil spring interposed between the bottom plate 11 of the housing 10 and the bottom 23 of the movable cylinder 20, and a heating element 40 provided on the movable cylinder 20. ing. Note that a receiving portion 12 is formed on the bottom plate 11 of the housing 10 so as to protrude downward.

  In addition, the movable cylinder 20 is formed in a double structure whose longitudinal section is substantially concave, but there is no bottom portion of the outer wall 21, and a through hole 24 is formed in the center portion of the bottom portion 23 of the inner wall 22. It is installed. The heating element 40 is provided on the inside of the inner wall 22 of the movable cylinder 20 or wound in a coil shape. Further, one end 51 of the power supply line 50 is fixedly connected to the lower end portion of the heating element 40, and the other end 52 of the power supply line 50 is connected to the heating element 40 at a predetermined height position from the bottom plate 11 of the housing 10, for example. It is designed to make sliding contact. Hereinafter, one end 51 of the power line 50 is referred to as a fixed end, and the other end 52 is referred to as a sliding contact end, and the heating element 40 between the fixed end 51 and the sliding contact end 52 is energized via the power line 50. Will be. Further, on the surface of the outer wall 21 of the movable cylinder 20, there is provided a scale plate 60 displaying, for example, 10 levels of scales with the upper end being full and the lower end being zero.

  Note that a discharge port 72 is formed at the tip of the container 70 that stores the gel-like material 71, and the discharge port 72 faces downward and is inserted toward the bottom 23 of the movable cylinder 20 of the housing 10. That is, the container 70 is inserted and held in the movable cylinder 20 so that the discharge port 72 of the container 70 protrudes from the through hole 24 at the center of the bottom 23 of the inner wall 22. Here, the container 70 has a diameter of about 60 mm and a length of about 200 mm, for example, and the depth of the inner wall 22 of the movable cylinder 20 is about 130 mm, for example. Therefore, in this case, the bottom side of the container 70 always protrudes about 70 mm out of the movable cylinder 20. This is because the container 70 can be easily put in and out of the movable cylinder 20.

  Next, an operation of one embodiment of the heat retaining device for a container containing the gel-like material according to the present invention configured as described above will be described. In addition, a gel-like thing is an acoustic binder used when implementing an ultrasonic diagnosis here, for example, and demonstrates a gel-like thing as an acoustic binder below.

  First, with reference to FIG. 1, the state in which the acoustic binder 71 is accommodated in the container 70 in a substantially full state will be described.

  The weight of the container 70 when the acoustic coupling agent 71 is accommodated in a substantially full state is about 300 g. When such a container 70 is inserted and held in the movable cylinder 20 of the housing 10 as shown in FIG. 1, the elastic body 30 is pressed and deformed due to the weight of the acoustic coupling agent 71. The movable cylinder 20 is in a sunk state, and approaches the bottom plate 11 of the housing 10 to the extent that the lower end of the outer wall 21 of the movable cylinder 20 contacts.

  As described above, power is supplied between the fixed end 51 of the power supply line 50 fixed to the lower end portion of the heating element 40 and the sliding contact end 52 of the power supply line 50 in sliding contact with the heating element 40. Therefore, in the state of FIG. 1, since the sliding contact end 52 is in contact with the substantially upper end of the heating element 40, almost all of the heating element 40 is energized and almost all of the heating element 40 generates heat, and the container 70. The range surrounded by the movable cylinder 20 is heated. In FIG. 1, the heating element 40 is shown with a thick diagonal line, but this portion represents a range where heat is applied to generate heat.

  Here, the temperature to be heated is controlled by a known temperature control means such as a thermostat so as to be about 40 degrees Celsius that is slightly higher than human skin. Therefore, the acoustic coupling agent 71 accommodated in the container 70 is always kept at a temperature that does not cause low-temperature burns, and when performing an ultrasonic diagnosis, the subject puts the acoustic coupling agent 71 on the body surface. When applied, it is prevented from receiving an unpleasant cold feeling.

  By the way, the acoustic binder 71 in the container 70 is consumed and the amount thereof is reduced as it is used. FIG. 2 shows a state in which the amount of the acoustic coupling agent 71 in the container 70 is reduced to about 1/3 with respect to the full state, and about 2/3 in the container 70 is air 73. . When the amount of the acoustic coupling agent 71 is reduced, the weight is reduced, and in the state shown in FIG. 2, the weight of the container 70 is reduced to about 100 g. Accordingly, the amount of deformation of the pressed elastic body 30 is reduced, and the container 70 is lifted upward together with the movable cylinder 20.

  However, at this time, the slidable contact end 52 of the power supply line 50 is fixed at a fixed position and the slidable contact end 52 that is slidably contacted with the heating element 40 as the movable cylinder 20 is raised, for example, because the height position from the bottom plate 11 of the housing 10 is constant. The distance to 51 becomes narrow, and the energization range to the heating element 40 becomes narrow. That is, in FIG. 2, the heating element 40 is not energized in the range indicated by the thin diagonal lines, but is energized only in the range of the heating element 40 indicated by the thick diagonal lines. Therefore, it is understood that the heating range becomes narrower as the movable cylinder 20 moves upward. As described above, by appropriately adjusting the relationship between the amount of the acoustic coupling agent 71 in the container 70 and the deformation amount of the elastic body 30, that is, the specific gravity of the acoustic coupling agent 71 and the strength of the elastic body 30, The acoustic coupling agent 71 can be heated by energizing only the range of the heating element 40 corresponding to the remaining amount of the acoustic coupling agent 71.

  As described above, according to the present invention, current is supplied only to the range of the heating element 40 corresponding to the portion where the acoustic coupling agent 71 remains, so that only the portion where the acoustic coupling agent 71 remains is heated. The part of the air 73 is not heated. Therefore, the thermal expansion of the air 73 in the container 70 can be suppressed, and the acoustic coupling agent 71 can be prevented from dripping from the extrusion port 72 due to the expansion of the air 73. . As a result, the vicinity of the housing 10 is not soiled and the acoustic coupling agent 71 is not wasted, and it is possible to contribute to energy saving without wasting power.

  A scale plate 60 is provided on the surface of the outer wall 21 of the movable cylinder 20 in the vertical direction. Therefore, when the movable cylinder 20 is lifted upward as the amount of the acoustic coupling agent 71 in the container 70 decreases, the scale plate 60 also moves upward together, and the housing displayed on the scale plate 60 The scale display at the top of 10 will gradually decrease. Therefore, by observing the scale plate 60, the remaining amount of the acoustic binder 71 can be known, and an ultrasonic diagnosis is performed without noticing that the acoustic binder 71 is not being heated. This can be surely prevented.

  It goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be implemented in various modes without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, the shape of the housing 10 or the movable cylinder 20 may be circular or square, and the elastic body 30 is not limited to a coil spring, and may be any one having a property that linearly displaces with respect to a load change, such as an air spring. . Further, the power supply to the heating element 40 may be a commercial power supply or a DC power supply. However, a switch for turning off the power is provided, and this switch is turned on prior to the ultrasonic diagnosis. It is desirable that the acoustic binder 71 is heated so as to have an appropriate temperature. Further, instead of providing the scale plate 60, the scale may be displayed on the surface of the outer wall 21 of the movable cylinder 20.

It is the longitudinal cross-sectional view of one Example of the thermal insulation apparatus of the container which accommodated the gel-like thing which concerns on this invention, and showed a mode that the gel-like thing was accommodated in the hold | maintained container in the almost full state It is. It is the same longitudinal cross-sectional view as FIG. 1, and shows a mode that the gel-like thing accommodated in the hold | maintained container is reducing. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the heat insulating apparatus of the container which accommodated the conventional gel-like thing, and shows a mode that the gel-like thing is accommodated in the hold | maintained container in the almost full state. FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view similar to FIG. 3, showing a state in which the gel-like material housed in the held container is decreasing.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Housing 11 Bottom plate 12 Receiving part 20 Movable cylinder 21 Outer wall 22 Inner wall 23 Bottom part 24 Through-hole 30 Elastic body 40 Heat generating body 50 Power supply line 51 Fixed end 52 Sliding contact end 60 Scale plate 70 Container 71 Acoustic coupling agent 72 Discharge port

Claims (3)

A heat retaining device for a container containing a gel-like material for keeping a container containing a gel-like material having a discharge port on the tip side,
Holding means for holding a container containing the gel-like material;
Heating means provided in the holding means;
A heating range adjusting means for changing the heating range of the heating means in accordance with the amount of the gel-like material contained in the container. Thermal insulation device. The heat retention of the container containing the gel-like material according to claim 1, further comprising a remaining amount display means for displaying the remaining amount of the gel-like material in accordance with the operation of the heating range adjusting means. apparatus. The said heating range adjustment means and the said remaining amount display means act according to the weight of the said gel-like thing accommodated in the said container and the said container, The Claim 1 or Claim characterized by the above-mentioned. 3. A heat retaining device for a container containing the gel-like material according to any one of 2 above.

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