JP3384091B2 - Urine sampling device - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

[Object of the Invention]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention broadly relates to a toilet having a urine analysis function. More specifically, the present invention relates to a urine sampling device for sampling urine when performing urine analysis using a toilet.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art With the aging of people's longevity, interest in health management is increasing. Urine is an important source of personal health information, and quantitative analysis of urinary sugar, urinary protein, urobilinogen, occult blood, and other urinary components enables pancreatic disorders such as diabetes, liver disorders, kidney disorders, and other functions. The disorder can be examined non-invasively.
Therefore, a toilet equipped with a urine analysis function has been proposed, which can support the individual's health check by sampling and analyzing urine using the toilet at home, workplace or the like.

For example, JP-A-59-217844 and JP-A-63-18
No. 4057, JP-A-63-290961, JP-A-1-178866, JP-A-4-191660, a urine collecting portion is formed on the bowl surface of a Western-style toilet bowl, and urine excreted on the bowl surface is collected in the urine collecting portion. It is proposed to collect and sample. The collected urine sample is designed to be analyzed by a liquid chromatography method, a test strip method, or a polarographic method. The advantage of this sampling method using the urine collecting part on the bowl surface is that urine excreted on the bowl surface can be collected and collected from a considerably large area regardless of the urination direction or the dropping position.

However, the difficulty of this sampling method is that it is not possible to use a standard toilet bowl or an existing toilet bowl, and a special toilet bowl for the purpose of urine sampling in which a urine collecting portion is formed on the bowl surface is required. . Such a special toilet is
Must be specially manufactured separately from the standard toilet bowl,
Therefore, it is difficult to reduce the cost by mass production, and it is too expensive to disseminate it in ordinary households, workplaces and offices. Also, when modifying an existing toilet equipped with a standard bowl-shaped toilet bowl, the existing toilet bowl must first be removed and then a special toilet bowl for urine analysis must be installed. It requires a great deal of expense and labor, and leads to the disposal of existing equipment. Further, after the toilet bowl is washed, wash water, old urine and excrement remain in the urine collecting portion on the bowl surface, dilute or contaminate new urine to be sampled, so that a good sample may not be sampled.

In Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 5-30764 and Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 1-136573, it is proposed to attach an arm to a toilet seat so that the arm can turn, and to sample urine by a urine collection container provided at the tip of the arm. This urine collection method has an advantage that it does not require a special toilet bowl for the purpose of urine sampling and can sample urine using a standard toilet bowl.

However, the problem with these proposals is that
This means that it is difficult to collect the urine of the subject sitting on the toilet seat because the turning position of the urine collection container is too high.
That is, in these devices, since the swivel arm is mounted on the toilet seat and is mounted so as to rotate about the vertical axis of rotation, the urine collection container is placed on a horizontal plane higher than the upper surface of the rim of the toilet bowl. You will turn inside. However, when the subject sat on the toilet seat,
Part of the subject's buttocks slightly protrudes below the toilet seat due to the body weight, so when the urine collection container is turned, the container collides with the subject's buttocks (particularly the urinary organs in the case of males). Therefore, in practice, it is difficult to avoid interference with the urine collection container unless the subject urinates while lifting his / her waist. For these reasons, these devices do not appear to be in practical use to date.

In FIG. 4 of JP-A-62-187253, a swing arm equipped with a waste collection container is swung along the bowl surface of a toilet bowl to collect urine and other wastes. A sampling device is disclosed. In this device, since the collection container moves in the vicinity of the bowl surface, there is no risk of the collection container interfering with the human body. However, this device is designed to form an inspection area at the rear of the toilet bowl and move the collection container to this inspection position to analyze the excrement. Therefore, since a special toilet bowl for the purpose of inspection is still required, there is an inconvenience that the standard toilet bowl cannot be used.

Further, since the excrement collection container makes only a simple circular motion about the horizontal axis of rotation, it is difficult to attach this excrement collection device to a commercially available standard type toilet bowl. That is, there are variations in the trajectories of the ureter due to differences between men and women and individual differences. For men, the ureters fall relatively forward of the bowl, and for women, they fall slightly rearward. .
Since the bowl surface shape of standard type toilet bowls on the market varies depending on the model, if the swing arm is lengthened so that the collection container moves to the front of the bowl according to male urine collection, the toilet bowl with a raised bowl surface shape In some cases, the collection container interferes with the bowl surface.

[0009]

The object of the present invention is to sample urine using a commercially available standard toilet bowl, and even when the subject sits on the toilet seat and urinates in a natural posture. It is an object of the present invention to provide a urine sampling device capable of easily sampling urine.

In another aspect, it is an object of the present invention to provide a urine sampling device which allows the trajectory of the urine collection container to be easily adapted to the various bowl surface shapes of standard commercial toilet bowls. .

[0011] In still another aspect, an object of the present invention is to provide a urine sampling device capable of easily collecting urine regardless of gender and individual differences.

[0012]

[Constitution of the invention]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Means for Solving the Problems and Outline of Action The sampling device of the present invention drives the urine collection container by a rotational movement about a horizontal axis and a translational movement in the front-rear direction, so that the urine collection container can be set to a desired one. It is characterized in that it is moved along the locus of.

Therefore, the urine sampling apparatus of the present invention is provided with a toilet seat which can be rotatably attached to a commercially available standard toilet bowl, a movable arm having a rotating shaft, and a urine collection container provided at the free end of this arm. And a drive device mounted on the toilet seat. This drive device horizontally supports the rotary shaft of the arm in the transverse direction with respect to the toilet seat, and rotationally drives the arm around the rotary shaft and translates it back and forth.

In the simplest embodiment of the invention,
The drive device rotates the urine collection container by a rotational motion between a storage position (first position) that is almost hidden by the front part of the toilet seat and a second position in the bowl space located behind and below the storage position. To move. This rotational movement causes the urine collection container to move along the rather steep bowl surface at the front of the toilet bowl. Preferably, the male subject is urine-collected by positioning the urine-collecting container by this rotational movement.

The driving device is further adapted to translate the urine collection container back and forth between the second position and an extreme position (third position) horizontally behind the second position. This translational movement causes the urine collection container to move horizontally along the bowl surface at the bottom of the bowl. During this period, the urine collection container is positioned and the female subject collects urine.

As described above, since the urine collecting container is moved by the rotational movement and the translational movement, it is possible to position the urine collecting container according to the gender difference of the trajectory of urine, and the trajectory of the urine collecting container can be changed by various commercially available toilet bowls. Can be adapted to different bowl surface shapes.

In another embodiment of the present invention, a translational movement is added to the rotational movement for rotating the urine collecting container between the storage position and the second position, so that the urine collecting container follows a more complex trajectory. To move. In yet another embodiment, the urine collection container is stored in a storage position between the toilet seat and the rim when not in use and is moved in and out of it by a translational movement.

Preferably, the drive device includes a slider that pivotally supports the rotary shaft of the movable arm to move back and forth, a lever that includes a cam follower and that interlocks with the movable arm, a cam that engages with the cam follower, and a slider that moves back and forth. This cam has a flat cam surface that allows only the translational movement of the movable arm, and an inclined cam surface that causes the movable arm to rotate as the slider moves back and forth. In this case, since the trajectory of the urine collection container can be changed simply by changing the shape of the cam, the sampling device can be easily adapted to various bowl surface shapes of commercially available standard toilet bowls.

Preferably, the translational driving mechanism for driving the slider is a pinion driven by a motor.
Uses a rack mechanism. In this case, a single motor can give both the rotational movement and the translational movement to the urine collection container, and the sampling device can be made compact.

The above-mentioned features and effects of the present invention, as well as other features and advantages, will be made clear by the description of the following embodiments.

[0021]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 shows a toilet having a urine analysis function provided with the urine sampling device of the present invention. The toilet 10 has a commercially available standard flush toilet bowl 12.
The toilet bowl 12 is of a standard type such as a vortex type, a siphon type, a siphon jet type, a washdown type, and has a normal bowl (bowl) portion 14.
The bowls 14 have different surface shapes depending on the type of toilet bowl.

A housing 16 accommodating a well-known bidet device (not shown) is attached to the toilet bowl 12, and a toilet seat 18 and a toilet lid 20 are rotatably attached to the housing 16. The housing 16 also houses a pump and a urine analyzer (not shown) for transporting a urine sample collected by the urine sampling device of the present invention. The control unit 22 that controls the urine sampling device, the transport pump, and the urine analyzer can be installed on the wall of the toilet.

As shown in FIG. 2, the toilet seat 18 can be formed by joining an upper half body 18A and a lower half body 18B made of impact resistant resin or the like by ultrasonic welding, for example. Electric heater wire 24 to warm the toilet seat
Can be wired as required. 2 and 3
As shown in, the toilet seat 18 is fitted with the urine sampling device 26 of the present invention.

To accommodate the firing strain that occurs when the toilet bowl 12 is fired, the toilet seat 18 is preferably supported at four points relative to the upper surface of the rim of the toilet bowl 12. For this reason, in the illustrated embodiment, the toilet seat 18 is provided on its lower surface with, for example, two conventional cushioned legs 28, as indicated by the dashed lines in FIG. In the other two points, the toilet seat 18 comprises two legs 3 provided on a frame 30 of the urine sampling device 26.
It can be supported by two. As can be seen from FIG. 7, these legs 28 or 32 provide a clearance between the upper surface 36 of the rim 34 of the toilet bowl and the lower surface 38 of the toilet seat 18 at a height of about 1.5-2 cm. To be done. By utilizing this gap, the frame 30 of the urine sampling device 26 is arranged and the urine sampling container of the urine sampling device 26 is accommodated as described later. Further, as can be seen from FIGS. 2 and 7, recesses 40 and 42 that open downward are formed in the lower surface of the toilet seat 18 so that some of the components of the urine sampling device 26 can be accommodated in these recesses. it can.

In the illustrated embodiment, the urine sampling device 26 collects a sample of urine excreted in the bowl 14 of the toilet bowl 12 in the air in the bowl space by the urine collection container, and after the sampling, the urine collection container is located below the toilet seat 18. It is designed to be automatically stored in the storage position for cleaning. Referring to FIGS. 2 to 7, the urine sampling device 26 includes
A swing arm 44 having a substantially crank shape, and a urine collection container 46 detachably attached to a free end of the swing arm.
And a drive unit 48 for supporting and driving the swing arm 44. The drive unit 48 is provided in the frame 30.
Is attached to. The swing arm 44 includes a central elbow 50 and an end elbow 5 as shown in FIGS.
2, a pipe 54 that connects the two, and a spindle 56.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, in this embodiment, the urine collection container 46 is composed of a main body 62 having a urine collecting trough 60 having an upper opening 58 and a large diameter base portion 64. And is elongated. However, the urine collection container 4
6 can be formed in a bowl shape or any other shape.
In the illustrated embodiment, the urine collection container 46 is liquid-tightly and detachably attached to the end elbow 52 by using an O-ring 66 so that the urine collection container 46 can be removed from the swing arm 44 for cleaning or replacement. It has become. The urine collection gutter 60 of the main body is inclined toward the base 64, and the gutter 6
The urine that has fallen into the 0 is accumulated in the urine reservoir 68 formed by the base portion 64 and the elbow 52.
By covering the outer periphery of the main body 62 with the wire netting 70 or the like, it is possible to prevent urine excreted from the subject from colliding with the urine collection container 46 and splashing around, and to effectively collect a urine sample. preferable.

As shown in FIG. 6, the elbow 52 is provided with a suction pipe 72 for sucking the urine sample accumulated in the urine reservoir 68. The suction tube 72 is connected to a suction pump in the housing 16 via a urine transport tube 74 extending in the internal passage of the elbow 52, the swing arm 44, and the spindle 56 thereof to analyze a urine sample in the housing 16. It is designed to be transported to the device. Only the urine that does not contain bubbles is sucked and sent to the measurement unit, and in order to stabilize the measurement accuracy, the suction tube 72 is opened at the bottom of the urine reservoir 68.

A pair of vertically spaced electrodes 76 and 78 are exposed in the urine reservoir 68, and these electrodes are connected to the control unit 22 via lead wires 80 and 82. The control unit 22 has electrodes 76
A predetermined voltage is applied between the electrodes 78 and 78, and the conductivity of the fluid existing between the electrodes 76 and 78 in the urine reservoir 68 is detected based on the voltage drop to collect fresh urine in the urine reservoir 68. It can be configured to determine whether or not.

Generally speaking, in the illustrated embodiment,
As can be seen clearly from FIG. 7, the drive unit 48 for driving the swing arm 44 gives the swing arm 44 a rotational movement and a translational movement so that the urine collection container 46 is moved from the storage position below the front of the toilet seat to the inside of the bowl space. To different urine collection positions (and vice versa).

More specifically, referring to FIGS. 2 to 4, the drive unit 48 is mounted on the frame 30 which is appropriately fixed to the lower surface of the toilet seat 18 with screws or the like. The driving unit 48 includes a slider 84 slidably mounted on the frame 30, and the slider 84 is guided by a pair of guides 86 fixed to the frame 30 so as to slide substantially parallel to the major axis of the toilet bowl 12. ing. A rack 88 is fixed to the slider 84, and the frame 3 is attached to the rack 88.
The pinion 92 of the output shaft of the stepping motor 90 with a reduction gear fixed to 0 meshes. Therefore, if the motor 90 is rotated in either direction, the slider 8
4 makes a translational movement back and forth. The motor 90 can be controlled by the control unit 22.

The swing arm 44 is rotatable and
The slider 84 is pivotally supported so as to move together with the slider 84. Therefore, as can be seen from FIG. 4, the slider 84 is provided with a pair of trunnion bearings 94, and the spindle 56 of the swing arm 44 is pivotally supported. A shaft hole is formed in the spindle 56, and a flexible tube 74 and lead wires 80 and 82 are passed therethrough.

The drive unit 48 further includes a swing arm 44.
A lever / cam mechanism 96 for restricting the rotation angle position of the urine collection container 46 is provided, and the position of the urine collection container 46 is controlled when the slider 90 is displaced back and forth by the motor 90. That is, as can be seen from FIG. 4, the two bearings 9
4, a lever 98 is fitted to the spindle 56 of the swing arm 44 so as to rotate integrally, and the tip of this lever 98 has a cam follower 100 in the form of a roller.
Is supported.

The cam follower 100 cooperates with a cam plate 102 which is appropriately fixed to the frame 30 with screws or the like. The cam plate 102 has two stepped horizontal cam surfaces 104 and 106 and an inclined cam surface 108.
Is formed. Swing arm 44 spindle 56
The return coil spring 110 has one end fixed to it, and the other end of this spring is fixed to the bearing 94. The preload of the return spring 110 is set to urge the swing arm 44 to rotate clockwise in FIG. The initial posture of the swing arm 44 is regulated by a stopper (not shown).

The frame 30 on which the drive portion 48 of the swing arm 44 is mounted is firmly fixed to the toilet seat 18 with screws or the like. As shown in FIG. 4, the frame 30 is provided with a washing chamber / combined storage chamber 112 so that the urine collection container 46 can be washed and stored when not in use. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 7, since a recess 40 having a shape corresponding to the drive portion 48 is formed on the lower surface of the toilet seat 18, components of the drive portion 48, such as the motor 90, the pinion 92, and the lever, are formed. 9
8, the cam follower 100 and the cam plate 102 are partially housed in the recess 40.

Next, the operation of the urine sampling device 26 will be described mainly with reference to FIG. 7. The slider 84 is in the forward position when not in use, and the cam follower 10 is in the forward position.
0 is engaged with the first horizontal cam surface 104 of the cam plate 102. Therefore, the swing arm 44 is flipped up to a horizontal posture by the action of the return spring 110, and the urine collection container 46 is stored in the storage position (position A) in the washing chamber / storage chamber 112 below the toilet seat 18. There is. In this state, the toilet seat 18 can be rotated to use the toilet for the purpose of normal toilet.

During urine sampling and analysis, the subject sits down on the toilet seat 18 and presses the start switch on the control unit 22. Generally, there is a difference between men and women in the direction of urination, and the urinary column falls relatively forward in the case of a male and backward in the case of a female. There are individual differences in the direction of urination. Therefore, the control unit 22 includes a start switch 114 for men and a switch 116 for women.
(FIG. 1) is provided, and the control unit 22 is programmed to automatically stop the urine collection container 46 at a preset position for each man and woman, and a fine adjustment switch 118 is provided to provide a urine collection container according to the will of the subject. It is preferable that the position of 46 can be finely adjusted back and forth.

The subject selects the start switch 114 or 1
When 16 is pressed, the motor 90 rotates and the rack and pinion mechanism 88/92 starts to retract the slider 84,
First, place the urine collection container 46 at a position B behind the storage position A.
Pull out horizontally (Fig. 7). When the cam follower 100 engages the inclined cam surface 108 of the cam plate 102, the lever 98 starts rotating the swing arm 44. As the cam follower 100 further rides on the inclined cam surface 108, the swing arm rotates while retracting, and the urine collection container 46 is displaced along a curved locus in which rotational movement and translational movement are combined as shown in FIG. Let Motor 90
When is further rotated, the cam follower 100 comes into engagement with the second horizontal cam surface 106 of the cam plate 102 (position C), and thereafter, the rotation angle position of the swing arm 44 is maintained until the rear end position D. Move in translation.

The locus of the urine collection container 46 is determined by the cam plate 10
It can be appropriately changed by changing the shape of the second cam. For example, when the toilet bowl 12 has a low bowl surface shape as shown by a chain line 12A in FIG. 7, the cam shape should be set so that the urine collecting container is sufficiently rotated and then the translational movement is performed as shown in the drawing. You can Alternatively, the chain line 1
In the case of the high bowl surface shape as shown in FIG.
The cam shape may be such that the stroke of the rotational movement is smaller than that of the locus shown in FIG. 3 and the stroke of the translational movement is larger than that of the locus. As described above, the locus of the urine collecting container 46 can be changed only by changing the cam plate 102, and thus the locus of the urine collecting container 46 can be easily adapted to any bowl surface shape of the toilet bowl. The sampling device 26 can be used with various standard toilet bowls on the market.

The control unit 22 includes a switch 11 for men.
When 4 is pressed, the urine collection container 46 is stopped at a predetermined position between positions B and C, and when the female switch 116 is pressed, the urine collection container is stopped at a predetermined position between positions C and D. Then, the motor 90 is controlled to move the urine collection container back and forth according to the operation of any of the fine adjustment switches 118.

Since the movement of the urine collecting container 46 between the positions B to C is mainly a rotational movement, the urine collecting container draws a locus along the relatively steep bowl surface shape in the front part of the rim 34 of the toilet bowl. Therefore, if the urine collection container 46 is positioned between the positions B to C,
It is possible to easily collect urine from a male subject. In addition, since the urine collection container makes a horizontal translational motion between positions C and D and draws a locus along the surface shape of the bottom of the bowl, it is suitable for collecting urine from a female subject. The subject can urinate toward the urine collection container 46 when the urine collection container 46 is brought to an appropriate position.

When urine hits the urine collection container 46, the urine flows down along the urine collection gutter 60 and collects in the urine reservoir 68. When detecting that fresh urine has accumulated in the urine pool 68 to the level of the upper electrode 78, the control unit 22 automatically operates the transfer pump arranged in the housing 16 to draw the urine sample from the urine pool 68. And send it to the urine analyzer. Since the urine reservoir 68 is provided with a suction tube 72 opened at the bottom thereof, only the urine sample containing no bubbles is sent to the analyzer. The urine sample is subjected to quantitative analysis by the urine analyzer, and the control unit 22 displays the analysis result on the display unit 1.
20 (FIG. 1) and outputs it to the printer 122 in response to a command from the subject.

After the urine is sampled and transported to the analyzer, the control unit 22 rotates the motor 90 in the direction of moving the slider 84 forward. Swing arm 44
The urine collection container 46 returns to the position B with the forward movement and the upward rotation of, and then the urine collection container 46 returns to the storage position A by the translational movement of the swing arm. In this position, the urine collection container 46 is stored in the storage chamber 112 existing between the lower surface 38 of the toilet seat 18 and the upper surface 36 of the toilet rim portion 34 as shown in FIG. 7.

In the illustrated embodiment, after the urine sampling, the urine-collected urine collection container 46 is automatically washed. For this reason, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the cleaning nozzle 124 is arranged facing the cleaning chamber / combined storage chamber 112 of the frame 30.
To this, tap water is supplied through a hose 126 and a solenoid valve (not shown). As shown in FIG.
The frame 30 is provided with an openable cover 128, and the cleaning chamber can be closed during cleaning to prevent scattering of cleaning water. The opening / closing cover 128 is interlocked with the lever 98 via an appropriate link (not shown), and the cover 128 is used when the urine collection container 46 enters and leaves the washing chamber 112.
The cover can be closed when the container is opened and the urine collection container returns to the storage position in the washing chamber. As can be seen from FIG. 7, the toilet seat 18 is formed with a recess 42, and the space inside the recess 42 is used to open and close the cover 1
28 is designed to open and close.

In the illustrated embodiment, the used wash water is discharged into the bowl 14. That is, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the frame 30 is formed with a pair of drain gutters 130 extending rearward from the cleaning chamber 112 along the left and right rims 34 of the toilet. As can be seen from FIG. 7, these drain gutters 130 are inclined downward toward the rear, and their rear ends communicate with inclined drain pipes 132 attached to the frame 30. Therefore, when the toilet seat 18 is in the horizontal posture, the cleaning water sprayed from the cleaning nozzle 124 flows backward along the inclination of the drain gutter 130, and the drain pipe 1
It is discharged from 32 into the bowl 14. When the toilet seat 14 is flipped up, drops of cleaning water remaining in the drain gutter 130 fall into the bowl 14 from the drain pipe 132.

In the above-described embodiment, the motor 90 and the pinion rack mechanism are used as the translational drive mechanism for imparting the translational motion to the slider 84 (and thus the swing arm 44), but as a variation, the pulley belt mechanism, The slider 84 may be translationally driven by a lead screw mechanism, a hydraulic cylinder mechanism, a hydraulic cylinder mechanism, or a solenoid mechanism. Further, instead of adding the rotary motion to the swing arm 44 by the lever / cam mechanism 96,
By mounting another motor for rotating the spindle 56 of the swing arm 44 on the slider 84, the urine collection container can be rotated. However, the use of the slider 84 driven by the motor 90 and the lever / cam mechanism 96 has an advantage that both the rotational movement and the translational movement can be generated in the urine collection container by only one motor 90.

8 to 10 schematically show another embodiment of the present invention. In the embodiment of FIG. 8, the urine collection container 4
When not in use, 6 is hidden under the toilet seat 18 and is stored in a storage position E located inside the inner edge of the rim 34. The urine collection container 46 is moved from the position E to the position F by rotational movement and translational movement, and
From the position G to the position G can be moved only by the translational motion. The first horizontal cam surface 104 of the cam plate 102 of the first embodiment.
If the urine collection container 46 is eliminated or invalidated, such movement of the urine collection container 46 can be given to the urine collection container 46.

In the embodiment of FIG. 9, the urine collection container 46 is moved only between the storage position H and the position I by a rotational movement, and between the position I and the position J by only a horizontal translational movement. . In this embodiment, as described above, the swing arm 44 is directly rotationally driven by another motor, and the slider 84 is driven by the pinion rack mechanism, the pulley belt mechanism, the lead screw mechanism, the hydraulic cylinder mechanism, the hydraulic cylinder mechanism, or the solenoid mechanism. By translating, the necessary movement can be given to the urine collection container 46.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 10, the urine collection container 46 is moved only between the storage and washing positions K and L by only a horizontal translation movement, and between the positions L and M by only a rotation movement. The position M and the position N are moved only by the translational motion. Such movement can be created by appropriately combining a rotary drive mechanism such as a motor and a translation drive mechanism such as a pinion rack mechanism.

FIG. 11 shows a modified form of the swing arm 44. In this variation, the swing arm is curved to follow the inner contour of the toilet seat. In this case, since the swing arm is hidden under the toilet seat 18 even when the swing arm is pulled backward from the storage / washing position to the rotation start position, there is no possibility of contacting the thigh of the subject. Absent.

Although specific embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to these, and various design changes can be made. For example, although the urine sampling device 26 has been described as being mounted on the lower surface of the toilet seat 18, it may be incorporated into the toilet seat. Further, the urine collection container 46 can have any shape.

[0051]

As described above, since the urine sampling device 26 of the present invention moves the urine collection container 46 by the combination of the rotational movement and the translational movement, it can be applied to any bowl surface shape. The urine collection container 46 can be moved along the locus. Therefore, the sampling device of the present invention can be attached to all kinds of standard toilet bowls on the market, and it becomes possible to sample urine using the standard toilet bowl.

Further, since the urine collecting container 46 can be moved in a wide range in the front and rear along the shape of the bowl surface as described above, the urine collecting container 46 can be brought to the optimum position regardless of gender, and the subject It is possible to reliably collect urine even when urinating in a natural posture.

Further, the urine collection container 46 is moved by horizontal translation.
Urine collection container 4 when not in use
Since 6 can be concealed below the toilet seat 18, it is convenient when the toilet is used for the purpose of normal toilet.

Further, as can be seen from FIGS. 7 to 10, since the change in the angular position of the urine collecting container 46 is minimized by adding the translational movement, the inlet opening 58 of the urine collecting container should be directed as high as possible. It is possible to collect urine efficiently.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the slider 84 is driven back and forth by a motor 90,
When the cam arm 96 is used to impart rotational movement to the swing arm 44, rotational movement and translational movement can be generated by only one motor 90, which makes the sampling device compact and minimizes the number of parts. can do.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a toilet with urine analysis function including a urine sampling device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the urine sampling device and the toilet seat shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the urine sampling device shown in FIG. 2, showing a state where a cam plate and an opening / closing cover are removed, a toilet seat is shown by a two-dot chain line, and a toilet bowl is shown by a three-dot chain line. There is.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged exploded perspective view of a part of the swing arm driving unit shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 shows the urine collection container shown in FIG. 2 as seen from above.

6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line VI-VI of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line VII-VII of FIG. 3, showing the swing arm and the urine collection container at various different positions.

8 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 7, schematically showing another embodiment of the urine sampling device.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 7, and schematically shows still another embodiment of the urine sampling device.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 7, and schematically shows still another embodiment of the urine sampling device.

FIG. 11 is a plan view showing a modified form of a swing arm.

[Explanation of symbols]

12: Standard toilet bowl 14: Standard toilet bowl 18: Toilet seat 26: Urine sampling device 34: Toilet rim 44: Swing arm (movable arm) 46: Urine collection container 48: Drive device 90: Motor 96: Lever / cam mechanism

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Hiroyuki Tsuboi, Inventor Hiroyuki Tsuboi 2-1-1, Nakajima, Kokurakita-ku, Kitakyushu-shi, Fukuoka Totoki Kiki Co., Ltd. (56) Reference JP-A-6-258315 (JP, A) JP 62-187253 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G01N 33/493

Claims (11)

(57) [Claims] 1. A sampling device for sampling urine using a standard toilet bowl, comprising: a toilet seat rotatably attached to the standard toilet bowl; a movable arm having a rotating shaft; and a free end of the arm. And a urine collection container provided in the toilet seat, the rotation shaft of the arm is supported horizontally in the transverse direction with respect to the toilet seat, the arm is rotationally driven about the rotation shaft, and the arm is translated back and forth. And a drive device for driving the drive device, wherein the drive device is provided between a first position that is substantially hidden by a front portion of the toilet seat and a second position in the bowl space that is located below and below the first position. A urine sampling device characterized by rotating the urine collection container to translate the urine collection container back and forth between the second position and a third position horizontally rearward of the second position. 2. A sampling device for sampling urine using a standard toilet bowl, comprising: a toilet seat rotatably attached to the standard toilet bowl, a movable arm having a rotating shaft, and a free end of the arm. And a urine collection container provided in the toilet seat, the rotation shaft of the arm is supported horizontally in the transverse direction with respect to the toilet seat, the arm is rotationally driven about the rotation shaft, and the arm is translated back and forth. And a driving device for driving the urine collection device, the driving device collecting urine between a first position substantially hidden by the front part of the toilet seat and a second position in the bowl space located behind and below the first position. A urine sampling device characterized in that the container is rotated while being translated, and the container for urine is translated back and forth between the second position and a third position which is horizontally behind the second position. 3. The urine collection of a male subject is performed when the urine collection container is located between the first position and the second position, and the urine collection container is located between the second position and the third position. The urine sampling device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a female subject is urine-collected. 4. A sampling device for sampling urine using a standard toilet bowl, comprising: a toilet seat rotatably attached to the standard toilet bowl, a movable arm having a rotating shaft, and a free end of the arm. And a urine collection container provided in the toilet seat, the rotation shaft of the arm is supported horizontally in the transverse direction with respect to the toilet seat, the arm is rotationally driven about the rotation shaft, and the arm is translated back and forth. A driving device that drives the driving device, the driving device including a first position that is substantially hidden by a front portion of the toilet seat, and a second position that is horizontally rearward from the first position and inside the inner edge of the rim of the toilet bowl. The urine collection container is translated back and forth between the two positions, and the urine collection container is rotated between the second position and a third position in the bowl space located behind and below the second position, Position and this third position Ri urine sampling device which comprises causing translating back and forth the collection container between a fourth position in the horizontal direction rearward. 5. A sampling device for sampling urine using a standard toilet bowl, comprising: a toilet seat rotatably attached to the standard toilet bowl, a movable arm having a rotating shaft, and a free end of the arm. And a urine collection container provided in the toilet seat, the rotation shaft of the arm is supported horizontally in the transverse direction with respect to the toilet seat, the arm is rotationally driven about the rotation shaft, and the arm is translated back and forth. A driving device that drives the driving device, the driving device including a first position that is substantially hidden by a front portion of the toilet seat, and a second position that is horizontally rearward from the first position and inside the inner edge of the rim of the toilet bowl. The urine collection container is translated back and forth between, and the urine collection container is rotated while being translated between the second position and a third position in the bowl space located behind and below the second position. , The third Location and urine sampling device which comprises causing translating the collection container back and forth between the fourth position in the horizontal direction rearward of the third position. 6. The urine collection of a male subject is performed when the urine collection container is located between the second position and the third position, and the urine collection container is located between the third position and the fourth position. The urine sampling device according to claim 4 or 5, wherein urine of a female subject is collected. 7. The urine sampling device according to claim 4, wherein the first position is located between the toilet seat and the rim. 8. The drive device includes a slider that moves forward and backward while rotatably supporting a rotary shaft of the movable arm, a lever that includes a cam follower and interlocks with the movable arm, a cam that engages with the cam follower, and the slider. And a translational drive mechanism for driving the movable arm back and forth, wherein the cam has a flat cam surface which allows only the translational motion of the movable arm, and an inclination which causes the movable arm to perform a rotational motion as the slider moves back and forth. And a cam surface.
A urine sampling device based on any of 1 to 7. 9. The translation drive mechanism includes a motor and a pinion.
The urine sampling device according to claim 8, wherein the urine sampling device comprises a rack mechanism, and the arm is driven by a single motor. 10. The urine sampling according to claim 8, wherein the translational drive mechanism has one mechanism selected from the group consisting of a pulley belt mechanism, a lead screw mechanism, a hydraulic cylinder mechanism, a hydraulic cylinder mechanism, and a solenoid mechanism. apparatus. 11. The urine sampling device according to claim 1, wherein the arm is curved along the inner contour of the toilet seat.