JP4228468B2 - Body fat measuring device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a body fat measurement device that measures body fat percentage based on the impedance inside the body.
[0002]
[Prior art]
A conventional body fat measuring apparatus of this type is generally as shown in, for example, JP-A-7-59744. This device has a gripping part that can be gripped with both hands on the device main body and an electrode on the foot electrode part, and the person to be measured grips the device main body with both hands and takes a determined posture on the foot electrode part for measurement. The impedance between the limbs is measured by the electrodes provided in the gripping part and the foot electrode part contacting the palm and the sole of the foot, and the body fat percentage can be measured by calculation.
[0003]
Similarly, in JP-A-7-12635, a gripping part to be gripped with both hands is mechanically fixed to a base part on which a person to be measured rides, and by switching the electrodes arranged in each part It was possible to measure the impedance between the limbs and thereby measure the body fat percentage. In all of these devices, the person to be measured can grasp the body fat percentage simply by holding the gripping part and riding on the foot electrode part or the base part, and can easily perform health care. It was.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the conventional body fat measuring device for example those of JP-A-7-59744 and JP-shape of just grip portion because it has a gripping portion on the apparatus main body includes an impedance measuring unit becomes large, after the body fat measurement At the time of storage, two parts, that is, a foot electrode part and a grip part having a size substantially equal to that of the foot electrode part are handled, and it is difficult to start storage and reuse. The measurement of the body fat rate in a general household can be started and ended easily as in the case of the body weight measurement, so that it can be managed daily. In addition, the one shown in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-12635 has a gripping portion that is mechanically fixed to the human body placement portion, so that the apparatus becomes large, the installation place is limited, and the storage is almost impossible. It was not particularly suitable for use in the home because it occupies volume when possible and unnecessary.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a foot electrode that comes into contact with a person's foot, a human body placement unit that includes the foot electrode and on which the person to be measured rides, and contacts the hand of the person to be measured A hand electrode that includes the hand electrode, a substantially cylindrical gripping portion that is gripped by a measurement person by hand during measurement, and an impedance between the foot electrode and the hand electrode in the human body placement portion. Impedance measuring means for measuring, input means for inputting measured person information representing physical characteristics of the measured person, calculating means for calculating a body fat percentage from the impedance and the measured person information, and the calculation result Informing means for informing, connecting the gripping part and the human body placing part with a cable, forming a box-shaped storage part connected to the human body placing part, and connecting the cable and the gripping part to the box The cable can be installed in the storage compartment, and the cable has a curled extension. The box-shaped storage part has a lower side space having walls at the bottom and the periphery, and an upper side space with an upper surface end, and when the gripping part is attached to the box-shaped storage part, The cable is stored in the lower space of the box-shaped storage portion, the gripping portion is detachably mounted in the upper space of the box-shaped storage portion, the cable is held at the lower portion of the gripping portion, and the gripping portion And the box-shaped storage portion are a convex portion having spring properties provided on one of a side surface portion of the gripping portion and an upper surface end portion of the box-shaped storage portion, a side surface portion of the gripping portion, and the box It is characterized by being detachable by a concave portion provided on either one of the upper end portions of the shape storage portion and engaged with the convex portion.
[0006]
According to the said invention, since a cable and a holding | grip part can be accommodated in a box-shaped accommodating part, at the time of accommodation, it integrates with a human body mounting part and can be accommodated simply. Moreover, since measurement can be performed by simply taking out the gripping part from the box-shaped storage unit and taking the measurement posture at the start of measurement, the burden on the subject is reduced. In addition, since the structure that mechanically supports the grip portion is not required, the entire apparatus can be configured compactly. In addition, when the gripping part is installed, the curled cable shrinks and is held by the gripping part in the box-shaped storage part, so that the cable does not protrude from the box-shaped storage part during storage or movement. At the time of re-measurement, the measurement can be started immediately by taking out the gripping portion from the box-shaped storage portion and simply taking the curled cable in the measuring posture. Further, the grip portion can be easily mounted on the box-shaped storage portion, and a separate member for locking is not necessary and can be securely mounted.
[0007]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a foot electrode that comes into contact with the subject's foot, a human body placement portion that includes the foot electrode and is carried by the subject during measurement, a hand electrode that comes into contact with the hand of the subject, and a hand electrode A measurement unit for measuring the impedance between the foot electrode and the hand electrode in the human body placement unit, and a target that represents the physical characteristics of the measurement subject. It has input means for inputting measurer information, calculation means for calculating body fat percentage from impedance and measured person information, and notification means for notifying the calculation result, and the gripping part and the human body placing part are connected by a cable. A box-shaped storage unit connected to the outside of the human body placement unit is formed so that the cable and the gripping unit can be attached to the box-shaped storage unit.
[0008]
Since the gripping part and the human body mounting part are connected with a cable, and the gripping part and the cable can be detachably attached to the box-shaped storage part, the gripping part and the cable have a sense of unity with the human body mounting part after the measurement is completed. Since it can be stored, it can be stored easily and can be measured simply by removing the gripping part from the box-shaped storage part and maintaining the measurement posture even when it is reused.
[0009]
In addition, the cable has a curl-like stretchable shape. When the gripping part is attached to the box-shaped storage part, the cable is stored on the lower side of the box-shaped storage part, and the gripping part is attached on the upper side of the box-shaped storage part. The curled cable is shrunk when the gripping part is attached, and the cable is pressed by the gripping part inside the box-shaped storage part, and the cable may protrude from the box-shaped storage part when stored or moved. In addition, the gripping part and the cable do not get in the way when stored or moved, and at the time of re-measurement, the measurement can be started immediately by simply removing the gripping part from the box-shaped storage part and taking the measuring posture of the curled cable.
[0010]
In addition, since the gripping portion has a substantially cylindrical shape and an uneven portion that engages the gripping portion and the box-shaped storage portion is formed on the side surface portion and the top end portion of the box-shaped storage portion, the attachment of the gripping portion to the box-shaped storage portion Can be easily installed, and there is no need for a separate member for locking.
[0011]
Further, since the box-shaped storage portion is formed as a member separate from the human body placement portion and is positioned on the human body placement portion by means of attachment such as screws, the box-shaped storage portion is removed from the human body placement portion, If the cable is not connected, there is no influence on the body weight measuring unit having the weight measuring mechanism, so that the same part can be easily developed only on the body scale.
[0012]
The hand electrode of the gripping part is composed of two electrodes that are electrically insulated from each other, and the foot electrode of the human body placing part is composed of a pair of electrically insulated electrodes separated on the heel side and toe side of the foot. Since both the heel side electrode and the toe side electrode are electrically connected to each other, it is possible to measure the impedance of the whole body between the hand and the foot simply by holding the gripping part in one hand and placing it on the human body placing part.
[0013]
In addition, since a convex portion is provided on the surface of the human body mounting portion between the heel side and the toe side of the foot electrode of the human body mounting portion up to a position higher than the foot electrode surface position, water or the like is provided between the electrodes. Even when the conductor is attached, the convex portion serves as a barrier and can prevent a short circuit between the electrodes.
[0014]
【Example】
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
[0015]
1 is an external view of a body fat measuring device according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram thereof, FIG. 3 is a state diagram at the time of measurement, FIG. 4 is a side view at the time of wearing, and FIG. FIG. The body fat measuring device of the present embodiment forms a human body placing portion 2 on the upper surface, and a foot electrode 1 is attached thereto. The human body placing unit 2 is provided with a key switch 6 as input means for inputting measurement subject information and a liquid crystal display 7 as notification means. A body weight measuring unit 3 having a weight measuring mechanism is formed below the human body placing unit 2, and the human body placing unit 2 and the gripping unit 5 are connected by a cable 8. In this embodiment, the grip portion 5 is made of resin, and the hand portion electrode 4 is made of a conductor such as thin plate stainless steel, and its weight is 35 g. At the time of measurement, the person to be measured 11 grips the grip portion 5 and rides on the human body placing portion 2 with bare feet as shown in FIG. At this time, the hand electrode 4 contacts the palm of the person to be measured 11 and the foot electrode 1 contacts the sole of the person to be measured 11. As shown in FIG. 2, the foot electrode 1 and the hand electrode 4 are connected to the impedance measuring means 9. The impedance measuring means uses a four-terminal method to pass a constant current between one electrode of the foot electrode 1 and one electrode of the hand electrode 2, and the other electrode of the foot electrode 1 and the other electrode of the hand electrode 2 The impedance is measured by measuring the voltage between them. In this embodiment, a weak current that is not felt by a human body of 50 kHz and 800 μA is used. The measured impedance is input to the microcomputer 10 as calculation means. The key switch 6 and the liquid crystal display 7 described above are connected to the microcomputer 10. A wall 15 is formed around the bottom 14 and the periphery so as not to come into contact with the floor 13 in the space between the back surface 12 of the human body placement unit 2 and connected to the outside of the human body placement unit 2 in the vicinity of the human body placement unit 2. The box-shaped storage portion 16 is configured so that the cable 8 and the grip portion 5 are detachably attached to the box-shaped storage portion 16 during storage and use.
[0016]
Next, the operation and action will be described. Prior to the measurement, the person to be measured 11 inputs the height and sex as the person to be measured information by the key switch 6. Since the key switch 6 is connected to the microcomputer 10, the microcomputer 10 is preliminarily inputted with the measurement subject information. Next, as shown in FIG. 3, the person to be measured 11 grips the grip portion 5 with the arm extended horizontally and gets on the human body placement portion 2. At this time, the weight measurement unit 3 measures the weight value, and the result is input to the microcomputer 10, the hand electrode 4 is on the palm of the person to be measured 11, and the foot electrode 1 is on the sole of the person to be measured 11. Contact. The hand electrode 4 and the foot electrode 1 are connected to the impedance measuring means 9 and measure the impedance between the limbs of the person to be measured 11. When the impedance from the impedance measuring means 9 is input to the microcomputer 10, the microcomputer 10 calculates the body fat percentage from the impedance and the measured person information by a program and outputs the result to the liquid crystal display 7. Various formulas for obtaining the body fat percentage are known, but in this example, Brozec's formula obtained from body density (reports of Brozec et al., J. Brozec, F. Grande, J. Anderson and A Key: “An NY Acad. Sci 110 (1963) 113-40). For example, in the case of a male, it is as follows.
[0017]
Body density = 1.1554. 0841 × weight × impedance / height ²
Body fat percentage (%) = (4.95 / body density−4.5) × 100
Note that this equation is an equation for men, but it can also be applied to women by changing the coefficient of each part, so the equations are switched based on the gender included in the measured person information. In addition, many other formulas have been reported for obtaining the body fat percentage, but any formula can be used as long as it is a formula for obtaining the body fat percentage from the impedance, and departs from the spirit of the present invention. It is not a thing.
[0018]
At this time, an important point for accurate measurement is that the person under measurement 11 needs to take a fixed posture as shown in FIG. This is because the body fat percentage is measured by measuring the impedance between the hand and the foot in the measurement using the impedance method as in the present embodiment, so that the impedance due to the contact area between the arm and the torso due to different postures. This is because the change in the value appears as a variation in the measured value. In general, the contact area between the arm and the body is small, and the posture shown in FIG. Therefore, it can be considered that the weight of the gripping part 5 is a burden on the person to be measured 11. If the weight increases, it becomes difficult to keep the arm level, and the measurement value varies. However, in the body fat measuring device of the present embodiment, the weight of the gripping part 5 is only 35 g, which is not a burden on the person to be measured, and it is easy to take a fixed posture. There is no variation in value. When the measurement is completed and stored, the grip portion 5 and the cable 8 can be stored in the box-shaped storage portion 16 and attached to the human body placement portion 2 with a sense of unity. Since the box-shaped storage unit 16 is configured to include the space on the back surface 12 of the human body mounting unit 2, the cable 8 can be stored in the space, and only the gripping unit 5 comes out on the front side, so that the human body mounting is performed. It has a sense of unity with part 2 and is also aesthetically pleasing. Further, since the box-shaped storage portion 16 has the bottom portion 14 and the wall 15, the stored cable 8 and the grip portion 5 do not protrude from the box-shaped storage portion 16, so that they may be disturbed during storage or movement. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the probability that the gripping part 5 breaks down without inadvertent kicking.
[0019]
In the present embodiment, the body fat percentage obtained from the impedance is displayed as it is, but the body fat weight, the slow fat weight, the slow fat percentage, etc. obtained from the body fat percentage may be displayed. Further, although the key switch 6 is used as the input means, other means can be used in the same manner as long as it is a method capable of inputting the intended person-to-be-measured person information. In addition, although a liquid crystal display is used as the notification means, other notification means, for example, a device using a light emitting diode, or a notification by voice is included in the scope. Moreover, the frequency and the magnitude of the current can be arbitrarily changed as long as the constant current is in a range that is not felt by the human body.
[0020]
In the present embodiment, the cable 8 is curled and expandable, and the cable 8 is stored in the lower space 17 of the box-shaped storage portion 16 when the grip portion 5 is attached to the box-shaped storage portion 16. The grip portion 5 is attached to the upper space 18 and the cable 8 is held at the lower portion of the grip portion 5. Since the cable 8 is extendable and retractable, the cable 8 contracts during storage so that it can be easily stored in the box-shaped storage portion 16. After storage, the cable 8 is stored on the back surface 12 of the human body placing portion 2 and the wall 15 and bottom of the box-shaped storage portion 16. 14 and the lower part of the gripping part 5, the cable 8 does not come out of the box-like storage part 16 during storage or movement, and it is aesthetically pleasing and does not get in the way during movement or storage. Further, at the time of reuse, the cable 8 is freely extended when the gripping part 5 is taken out and taken in a measuring posture, so that the measurement can be easily started without the need to take out the cable 8 from the box-shaped storage part 16.
[0021]
Further, in this embodiment, the grip portion 5 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape, and a concave portion 19 is formed on a side surface portion thereof, and a convex portion 21 that is engaged with the concave portion 19 is formed on an upper surface end portion 20 of the box-shaped storage portion 16. The convex portion 21 has a claw shape provided with a slit 22 so as to have a spring property, and has a feeling of attaching and detaching the grip portion 5. Since the gripping part 5 has a substantially cylindrical shape, the concave part 19 and the convex part 20 are locked only by pressing the gripping part 5 from above during storage, so that the gripping part 5 falls off the box-shaped storage part 16 due to storage or movement. At the time of re-use, the convex part has a claw-like shape and has a spring property, so that it can be easily detached by simply grasping the grip part 5 and pulling it upward, so that measurement can be easily started.
[0022]
In addition, although the convex part 21 was comprised in the recessed part 19 box-shaped accommodating part 16 in the holding | grip part 5, of course, it can implement similarly with the reverse structure.
[0023]
Further, in this embodiment, the box-shaped storage portion 16 is formed as a separate member from the human body placement portion 2 and is fixed to the back surface portion 12 of the human body placement portion 2 with screws. Since the box-shaped storage unit 16 is a separate member from the human body placement unit 2, the box-shaped storage unit 16 is configured only by the human body placement unit 2 without being attached to the human body placement unit 2, and the cable 8 and the gripping unit 5 are arranged. If it is not provided, since the weight measuring unit 3 is configured below the human body placing unit 2, the weight scale can be easily configured without forming a separate member as a weight scale having no body fat measuring function.
[0024]
Further, in this embodiment, the hand electrode 4 of the grip portion 5 is composed of two electrodes electrically insulated in the space 24, and the foot electrode 1 of the human body placing portion 2 is the foot heel side electrode 1a and the toe side. The heel side electrode 1a and the two toe side electrodes 1b are electrically connected to each other. Body fat measurement accuracy by holding the gripping part 5 with one hand and measuring the whole body impedance between the hand and the foot by contacting the hand electrode 4 and contacting the foot electrode 1 as much as the human body placement part 2 Rise. In addition, since the heel side electrode 1a and the toe side electrode 1b of the foot electrode 1 are electrically connected to each other, the human resistance between the toes and the torso is in parallel, so that the impedance is ½ compared to the one foot measurement. When the whole body impedance is measured, the impedance between the legs and the torso decreases, so that the torso impedance accuracy is improved and the whole body impedance accuracy is improved.
[0025]
Further, in this embodiment, a convex portion 25 having a height equal to or higher than the foot electrode 1 is provided on the surface of the human body placing portion 2 between the heel side electrode 1a and the toe side electrode 1b of the foot electrode 1. Is. The heel side electrode 1a and the toe side electrode 1b are electrically insulated, but even when water or the like adheres, for example, the convex portion 25 becomes a barrier, so the foot electrode 1 is not short-circuited and gives an error in the impedance value. There is nothing. Further, since the convex portion 25 is in the vicinity of the arch of the foot, it is possible to ride on the human body placing portion 2 and stimulate the sole of the foot at the time of measurement to give comfort.
[0026]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, the gripping portion having the hand electrode is separated from the human body placement portion, the weight is reduced, the gripping portion and the human body placement portion are connected by the cable, and the outside of the human body placement portion is connected. Since a box-shaped storage unit is formed and the gripping part and cable can be detachably attached to the box-shaped storage part, the gripping part and cable can be stored easily after the measurement is completed. Because it can be stored with a sense of unity, it is aesthetically pleasing without interfering with the grip and cable. Further, since the gripping part is not stepped on or kicked off, the gripping part and the cable are not damaged and the possibility of failure can be reduced. Even during reuse, measurement can be performed simply by removing the gripping part from the human body placing part and maintaining the measurement posture. Therefore, the burden of the apparatus set on the person to be measured is eliminated, and the apparatus can be configured in a small size.
[0027]
In addition, the cable has a curl-like stretchable shape. When the gripping part is attached, the cable is stored on the lower side of the box-like storage part, and the gripping part is attached on the upper side of the box-like storage part, and the cable is held at the lower part of the gripping part. Therefore, when the gripping part is installed, the curled cable shrinks and is held by the gripping part in the box-shaped storage part, and the cable does not protrude from the box-shaped storage part during storage or movement. The cable does not get in the way, and at the time of re-measurement, the measurement can be started immediately just by taking the gripping part out of the box-like storage part and the curled cable taking the measuring posture.
[0028]
In addition, since the gripping portion has a substantially cylindrical shape and an uneven portion that engages the gripping portion and the box-shaped storage portion is formed on the side surface portion and the top end portion of the box-shaped storage portion, the attachment of the gripping portion to the box-shaped storage portion Therefore, it is easy to install, and there is no need for a separate member for locking.
[0029]
Further, since the box-shaped storage portion is formed as a member separate from the human body placement portion and is positioned on the human body placement portion by means of attachment such as screws, the box-shaped storage portion is removed from the human body placement portion, Without a cable connection, the scale can be easily configured with the same parts.
[0030]
The hand electrode of the gripping part is composed of two electrodes that are electrically insulated from each other, and the foot electrode of the human body placing part is composed of a pair of electrically insulated electrodes separated on the heel side and toe side of the foot. Since both the heel side electrode and the toe side electrode are electrically connected to each other, it is possible to measure the impedance of the whole body between the hand and the foot simply by holding the gripping part in one hand and placing it on the human body mounting part. is there.
[0031]
In addition, since the convex portion is provided on the surface of the human body mounting portion between the heel side and the toe side of the foot electrode of the human body mounting portion up to a height equal to or higher than the foot electrode surface position, the electrode Even when a conductor such as water is provided between them, the convex portion serves as a barrier, preventing a short circuit between the electrodes and eliminating a measurement error.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an external view of a body fat measuring device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the body fat measuring device. FIG. 3 is a state diagram during measurement of the body fat measuring device. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the body fat measuring device when mounted.

Claims (4)

A foot electrode in contact with the measurement subject's foot, a human body placing portion on which the measurement subject rides during measurement, a hand electrode in contact with the measurement subject's hand, and the hand electrode. A substantially cylindrical gripping part to be gripped by a person at the time of measurement, impedance measuring means for measuring an impedance between the foot electrode and the hand part electrode in the human body placing part, Input means for inputting measured person information representing physical characteristics; calculating means for calculating body fat percentage from the impedance and the measured person information; and reporting means for notifying the calculation result; And the human body placement part are connected by a cable, and a box-like storage part is formed in a row with the human body placement part, and the cable and the grip part can be mounted in the box-like storage part. A telescopic shape,
The box-shaped storage unit has a lower side space having walls on the bottom and the periphery, and an upper side space having an upper surface end,
When attaching the gripping part to the box-shaped storage part, the cable is stored in the lower space of the box-shaped storage part, and the gripping part is detachably mounted in the upper space of the box-shaped storage part, The cable is held at the lower part of the gripping part,
The grip portion and the box-shaped storage portion are a convex portion having a spring property provided on one of a side surface portion of the grip portion and an upper surface end portion of the box-shaped storage portion, and a side surface portion of the grip portion. The body fat measuring device is detachable by a recess provided on the other end of the box-shaped storage unit and an upper surface end of the box-shaped storage unit. 2. The body fat measuring device according to claim 1, wherein the box-shaped storage part is formed as a member separate from the human body mounting part and is positioned on the human body mounting part by means of attachment means such as screws . The hand electrode of the gripping part is composed of two electrodes that are electrically insulated from each other, and the foot electrode of the human body placing part is a pair of electrically insulated electrodes separated into a heel side and a toe side of the foot. 2. The body fat measuring device according to claim 1, wherein both the heel side electrode and the toe side electrode are electrically connected to each other . Protrusions are provided on the surface of the human body placing portion between the electrodes separated from the heel side and the toe side of the foot electrode of the human body placing portion to a height equal to or higher than the foot electrode surface position. body fat measuring apparatus according to claim 3, wherein a.

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