JP3458039B2 - Body fat percentage measurement electrode - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a body fat percentage measuring device for measuring a body fat percentage by applying a weak electric current to a human body and measuring an electric resistance, and is used while being in close contact with the skin surface of a person to be measured. The present invention relates to an electrode for measuring body fat percentage.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In measuring the body fat percentage, it is necessary for the electrodes to be in close contact with the skin surface of the person to be measured in order to improve the reproducibility and minimize the variation in the measured values. Therefore, conventionally, a so-called adsorption type electrode, which is brought into close contact with the human body by suction, has been widely used.

However, in the usual measurement of the body fat percentage, one adsorption-type electrode is repeatedly used for each person to be measured, which may lead to hygiene problems and skin infections, and to the person to be measured during use. There was a problem of giving discomfort.
Similar problems occur in electrocardiogram measurement using similar electrodes, but so-called disposable electrodes tend to be used in electrocardiogram measurement.

Further, since the adsorption force of the adsorption type electrode is likely to change with time when the electrode is adsorbed on the skin, the contact area with the skin also decreases with time, and as a result, the body to be measured is Since the value of the fat percentage fluctuates, there is a problem that accurate measurement is difficult.

[0005]

Electrodes for measuring body fat percentage are required to have electrode performance as high as that of an electrocardiogram, but disposable electrodes used in electrocardiogram measurement are expensive, so It has been extremely difficult in terms of cost to use a disposable electrode for measuring body fat percentage that is not directly related to an action.

In measuring the body fat percentage, it is necessary to attach two electrode terminals to the skin surface at regular intervals in order to accurately measure the electric resistance in the living body. If the distance between the electrode terminals is not constant, data comparison cannot be performed at all, and an accurate body fat percentage cannot be obtained. Therefore, it has been difficult to accurately measure the body fat percentage by using the conventional electrocardiographic electrode.

[0007] As an electrode in which the distance between the electrode terminals is fixed and the measurement of the body fat percentage can be performed accurately,
-86705 and Utility Model Registration No. 300551
There is one disclosed in Japanese Patent No. However, although the electrodes disclosed in these publications are disposable, they have a drawback that they are expensive because of the large number of parts for manufacturing the electrodes and the complicated manufacturing.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above technical problems and to provide an electrode for measuring body fat percentage, which can be manufactured at low cost and has high electrode performance.

[0009]

The electrode for measuring body fat percentage of the present invention was completed in order to solve the above-mentioned problems and comprises a non-conductive base sheet and a surface of the base sheet. A pair of electrode element portions formed by using a conductive substance,
An electrode terminal portion integrally formed with the pair of electrode element portions and a conductive adhesive gel layer respectively provided on the pair of electrode element portions are provided, and the pair of electrode element portions are on the base sheet. They are formed at regular intervals in, and the electrode
Electrode element section side of the base material sheet where the terminal section is formed
Except for the notch, make a notch around the
The feature is that it can be pulled out to the back side .

As described above, the electrode of the present invention has a structure in which the electrode element portion and the electrode terminal portion are integrally formed on the base material sheet, and the conductive adhesive gel layer is further provided on the electrode element portion. Since the number of parts is substantially three and the structure is simple, it is suitable for mass production and can be manufactured at low cost. Therefore, the electrode of the present invention is also suitable as a disposable electrode.

It is desirable that the electrode element portion and the electrode terminal portion are integrally formed by printing. Since the pair of electrode element portions are provided at regular intervals, the body fat percentage can be accurately measured. The interval between the integrated electrode element portions is preferably 10 to 100 mm. This allows accurate measurements.

Furthermore, the base sheet of the site where the electrode terminals are formed, the notch provided around except the electrode element portion, by allowing the drawer electrode terminal portions on the back side of the substrate sheet, Since the lead wire of the body fat percentage measuring device can be directly connected to the extracted electrode terminal portion by using an appropriate gripping means, it is not necessary to provide a connecting means on the electrode, and the number of parts can be reduced.

[0013]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION In the present invention, examples of the base sheet include non-conductive films and the like, and although not particularly limited, a pair of electrode element parts at the time of sticking to a human skin surface In order to keep the distance constant, it is preferable to use a film having no elasticity and relatively high waist strength, for example, a film of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene, polypropylene or the like having a thickness of 50 μm or more. In particular, it is preferable to use a PET film having high waist strength and easy printing.

As the conductive material for forming the electrode element portion and the electrode terminal portion, for example, silver, a mixture of silver-silver chloride, a metal such as nickel or molybdenum, carbon black, graphite or the like may be used alone or in combination. An example of the conductive paste is a mixture of two or more species.
The electrode element part and the electrode terminal part can also be formed by laminating a metal foil such as silver.

As the conductive pressure-sensitive adhesive gel forming the conductive pressure-sensitive adhesive gel layer, any one can be used as long as it has conductivity and is less irritating to the skin and has an adhesive force. Although not particularly limited, examples thereof include those having a polyacrylic acid derivative such as acrylamide or the like, polyurethane or the like as a matrix and containing water, an electrolyte salt or the like therein.

Next, an embodiment of the electrode of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in these figures, the base material sheet 1 is formed in a strip shape, and electrode element portions 2 and 2 are formed at both ends thereof (see FIG. 2).
Electrode terminal portions 3 are extended inward from the electrode element portions 2 and 2, that is, in a direction facing each other. Further, conductive adhesive gel layers 4 and 4 are provided on the electrode element portions 2 and 2.

The pair of electrode element portions 2 and 2 are formed so that the distance d between them is constant in order to obtain accurate data of the body fat percentage. This distance d is usually 10
It is preferable to set it to about 100 mm. Each electrode element section 2
The electrode terminal portion 3 and the electrode terminal portion 3 are integrally formed by printing. Examples of printing include screen printing, but the type of printing is not particularly limited. Moreover, the thickness of the electrode element portion 2 and the electrode terminal portion 3 formed by printing is not particularly limited.

The conductive adhesive gel layer 4 is also not particularly limited, but is preferably used in the range of 0.5 to 1.5 mm. The conductive adhesive gel layer 4 covers the entire surface of the electrode element portion 2 to enhance the adhesion between the electrode element portion 2 and the skin. When measuring the body fat percentage using the electrodes shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a suitable connecting means (not shown) is attached to the tip of the electrode terminal portion 3, and the body fat percentage measuring device is attached to this connecting means. Connect the lead wire of. The connecting means may be attached to the electrode terminal portion 3 at the time of manufacturing the electrode. The connecting means is not particularly limited and, for example, a snap, a crocodile, a clip or the like which can be easily attached and detached can be preferably used. Such a snap or the like is made of a metal such as copper or brass or a surface of the metal plated with nickel or the like, and the head penetrates the base material sheet 1 and the back surface side (the electrode element portion 2, the terminal portion 3). From the surface opposite to the surface on which the
In addition, the end flange portion is configured to engage with the electrode terminal portion 3 on the surface of the base material sheet 1. At this time, in order to prevent the snap from coming off, the collar portion of the snap may be adhered to the surface of the electrode terminal portion 3 with an adhesive or the collar portion may be fixed to the terminal portion 3 with an appropriate adhesive film. You may

Another embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGS. The electrodes shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 are the same as the electrodes shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 except that a cut 5 is provided on the periphery of the base material sheet where the electrode terminal portion is formed except for the electrode element portion 2 side. Therefore, the same members are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted. By providing the notch 5, the electrode terminal portion 3 can be drawn out to the back surface side of the base material sheet 1 as shown by the arrow in FIG. 4. Therefore, the lead wire of the body fat percentage measuring instrument,
It becomes possible to directly connect to the electrode terminal portion 3 by using a gripping means (not shown) such as a simple clip without using the connecting means as described above.

Next, a method for manufacturing the electrode of the present invention will be described. The conductive adhesive gel forming the conductive adhesive gel layer 4 is
It is used in the form of a sheet in which an easily peelable surface protective sheet (for example, a polyester film, a polyolefin film, etc.) is attached in advance on both sides. On the other hand, base sheet 1
May be used in the form of a roll obtained by winding a long film, or may be used after being cut into a predetermined size. In either case, as shown in FIG.
A paste of a conductive substance is printed (screen printing, etc.) on the surface of the electrode element 2 to form a continuous repeating pattern of the electrode element portion 2 and the electrode terminal portion 3. Then, the protective sheet on one side of the surface protective sheet stuck on both sides of the sheet of the conductive adhesive gel is peeled off, and the sheet-shaped conductive adhesive gel is applied to the surface of the electrode element part 2 on the base sheet 1. Stick it. that time,
Since the conductive adhesive gel has adhesiveness, the conductive adhesive gel layer 4 can be easily formed on the electrode element portion 2 only by pressure bonding without using an adhesive or the like. In addition, the sheet of conductive adhesive gel is used for the electrode element part 2 before the attachment.
Is slit to a width substantially the same as the width W.

After forming the electroconductive pressure-sensitive adhesive gel layer 4, the electrode of the present invention is obtained by cutting the base material sheet 1 at regular intervals along a cutting line C shown by a chain line in FIG. In addition,
When the above-mentioned cut 5 is provided, the cut 5 may be continuously provided by punching or the like before cutting the base material 1. Further, in the cutting along the cutting line C, when only the surface protective sheet on the surface of the conductive adhesive gel layer 4 is left to be cut, the strip-shaped electrodes are peeled off in order from the surface protective sheet at the time of use. Since it can be done, the handling is improved.

In the present invention, a printing pattern as shown in FIG. 6 may be used instead of the printing pattern as shown in FIG.
In the print pattern shown in FIG. 6, the electrode terminal portions 3 ', 3'are made simpler than those shown in FIG. 5, so that the printing becomes easier and the print pattern becomes more suitable for mass production. There are advantages. Others are the same as those in FIG. 5, so the same reference numerals as those in FIG.

In the above description, the electrode element portions 2, 2
Although the electrode terminal portions 3, 3 are provided inward with respect to the above, it goes without saying that they may be provided outward.

[0024]

EXAMPLES Hereinafter, the electrodes of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to examples. PE with a thickness of 100 μm and a width of 80 mm
On one surface of the T film, a conductive material (silver-silver chloride mixture) paste was screen-printed using a screen and dried to form an electrode element portion 2 having a continuous and repeated printing pattern as shown in FIG. The electrode terminal portion 3 was formed integrally. At this time, the distance d between the pair of electrode element portions 2 and 2
Was 30 mm.

Then, a sheet of a conductive adhesive gel (conductive polymer gel, trade name “Technogel” manufactured by Sekisui Plastics Co., Ltd.) having the same width W as the electrode element portion 2 is attached to the electrode element portion 2, It was stuck on top of 2. Then, an electrode was obtained by cutting along the cutting line C shown in FIG. Using this electrode, a commercially available body fat meter (SS manufactured by Sekisui Chemical Co., Ltd.
-103 type) was used to measure the impedance value to determine the body fat percentage. The measurement was performed every one minute for 5 minutes for one person, and the change in impedance value with time was examined.

For comparison, the body fat percentage of the same person was measured in the same manner using the same commercially available body fat meter using a normal adsorption type electrode. The results are shown in Table 1. In Table 1, the coefficient of variation (%) was calculated by (standard deviation / average value) × 100.

[0027]

[Table 1]

It can be seen from Table 1 that the electrodes of the examples have a coefficient of variation of 1/2 or less as compared with the impedance value of the adsorption type electrode and little change over time, and thus accurate measurement is possible. .

[0029]

As described above, in the electrode of the present invention, the electrode element portion and the electrode terminal portion are integrally formed on the base sheet by printing or the like, and the conductive adhesive gel layer is further formed on the electrode element portion. Since the structure is provided, the number of parts is substantially only three, and the structure is simple, so that it can be manufactured at low cost. Therefore, it is also suitable as a disposable electrode suitable for measuring body fat percentage, conventionally, there is a problem of hygiene and skin infection when repeatedly using the same electrode for each subject, discomfort of the subject. Such problems can be solved. Moreover, since the pair of electrode element portions are provided on the base sheet at regular intervals, the body fat percentage can be accurately measured. Further, as compared with a normal adsorption type electrode, there is less change over time when it is worn on the skin surface, and therefore, more accurate measurement is possible than with the adsorption type electrode.

When the distance between the integrated electrode element portions in the present invention is 10 to 100 mm, more accurate measurement becomes possible. Further, when the base sheet of the portion where the electrode terminal portion is formed is provided with a notch around the electrode element portion side and the electrode terminal portion can be pulled out to the back surface side of the base sheet, the body fat percentage is It suffices to connect the lead wire of the measuring instrument to the extracted electrode terminal portion by using an appropriate gripping means. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide a connecting means on the electrode, and the number of parts is greatly reduced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a cross-sectional view of the electrode shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the electrode of FIG. 3 showing the electrode terminal portion pulled out to the back surface side of the base material sheet.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a printed pattern of a conductive substance on a base sheet in the production of the electrode of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing another example of a printed pattern of a conductive material on a base material sheet in the production of the electrode of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Base sheet 2 electrode element section 3 electrode terminals 4 Conductive adhesive gel layer 5 notches d Element interval

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (72) Inventor Kazutoshi Yamazaki 2-46-3 Nango, Otsu City, Shiga Prefecture (72) Inventor Yasuyuki Kubota 3-chome 8-26 Kasuga, Ibaraki City, Osaka (56) References -70552 (JP, U) Actual Kaihei 5-33704 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) A61B 5/05-5/053

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A non-conductive base sheet, a pair of electrode element portions formed on the surface of the base sheet using a conductive substance, and electrodes integrally formed with the pair of electrode element portions. A terminal portion and a conductive adhesive gel layer provided on the pair of electrode element portions are provided, the pair of electrode element portions are formed on the base sheet at regular intervals , and the electrode terminal portions are
The circumference of the formed base material sheet excluding the electrode element side
Make a notch in the enclosure and place the electrode terminal on the back side of the base sheet.
An electrode for measuring body fat percentage, which can be pulled out . 2. The body fat percentage measuring electrode according to claim 1, wherein the electrode element portion and the electrode terminal portion are integrally formed by printing. 3. The distance between the integrated electrode element portions is 10 to 1
The body fat percentage measuring electrode according to claim 1, which has a length of 00 mm.