JP5696493B2 - Electronic thermometer - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic thermometer.

  The thermometer measures the body temperature of the person being measured while being sandwiched between the armpit or the tongue. Various types of thermometers are known as disclosed in Patent Documents 1 to 5 below.

  Patent document 1 is disclosing the electronic thermometer in which the probe part was formed with the film-shaped member. Patent document 2 is disclosing the thermometer which provided the tactile sense part in the main body constriction part near the temperature detection part. Patent document 3 is disclosing the electronic thermometer which provided the slip prevention part which consists of unevenness | corrugations near the sensor part of the main body case.

  Patent Document 4 discloses an electronic thermometer in which the assembly direction of each component is one vertical direction with respect to the wide surface of the sub case, and internal components are assembled as a sub case unit by automatic assembly. Patent Document 5 discloses an area in which an opening provided in a housing for attaching a temperature sensor and internal components to the interior of the housing includes a region from the placement region of the temperature sensor to the placement region of the internal components along the longitudinal direction. Disclosed is an electronic thermometer divided to be formed in an open size.

Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 61-40636 Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 1-167635 Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 60-104738 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-48060 JP 2009-300310 A

  In the inventions disclosed in the above Patent Documents 1 to 3, no consideration is given to the viewpoint of reducing the manufacturing cost of the electronic thermometer. In the invention disclosed in Patent Document 4, the assembly direction of components to the sub case is one direction, and the sub case is configured to be assembled by automation. However, the insertion direction of the thermistor with respect to the main body case is a direction orthogonal to the assembly direction of the sub case. The assembly direction of the electronic thermometer as a whole is not one direction. In the invention disclosed in Patent Document 5, there is room for further improvement in terms of reducing manufacturing costs.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide an electronic thermometer capable of further reducing manufacturing costs.

An electronic thermometer according to the present invention is an electronic thermometer that measures the body temperature of a subject, and includes a built-in device that measures the body temperature, and a housing that arranges the built-in device in a space formed therein, The housing includes a bottom body portion extending along a longitudinal direction of the electronic thermometer, a case body having an annular wall portion standing up from a peripheral edge of the bottom surface portion, and a distal end of the annular wall portion in the standing direction. The sheet-like member joined to the side is joined, and the sheet-like member is joined to the case body, whereby the space for arranging the built-in device is formed. The case body includes a support portion that supports the built-in device on the sheet-like member side. The built-in device includes an operation unit operated to drive the electronic thermometer to start measurement of the body temperature, and the support unit supports the operation unit on the sheet-like member side.

  Preferably, the built-in device is fixed to the sheet-like member side in the space, and a gap is formed between the built-in device and the housing.

  Preferably, the built-in device includes a thermistor having a temperature sensing part for measuring the body temperature and a lead wire having one end connected to the temperature sensing part, and the housing slides the lead wire in the space. A recess is provided for holding it movably.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the electronic thermometer which can further reduce manufacturing cost can be obtained.

It is a perspective view which decomposes | disassembles and shows the electronic thermometer in embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows the state which the electronic thermometer in embodiment assembled. It is arrow sectional drawing regarding the III-III line in FIG. It is arrow sectional drawing regarding the IV-IV line | wire in FIG. It is a figure which shows the functional block of the electronic thermometer in embodiment. It is sectional drawing which shows the electronic thermometer in the 1st modification of embodiment. It is sectional drawing which shows the electronic thermometer in the 2nd modification of embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows the state which the electronic thermometer in the 3rd modification of embodiment decomposed | disassembled. It is sectional drawing which shows the electronic thermometer in the 3rd modification of embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows the state which the electronic thermometer in the 4th modification of embodiment decomposed | disassembled.

  Embodiments based on the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the description of the embodiments, when referring to the number, amount, and the like, the scope of the present invention is not necessarily limited to the number, amount, or the like unless otherwise specified. In the description of the embodiments, the same parts and corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description may not be repeated. Unless there is a restriction | limiting in particular, it is planned from the beginning to use suitably combining the structure shown to the structure shown to embodiment.

[Embodiment]
An electronic thermometer 100 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an exploded state of the electronic thermometer 100. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an assembled state of the electronic thermometer 100. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line III-III in FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG. FIG.
These are figures which show the functional block of the electronic thermometer 100. FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the electronic thermometer 100 includes a thermistor 10, a control board 20, a display unit 30, an operation unit 36, a power supply unit 40, and a housing 50. As shown in FIG. 2, in a state where the electronic thermometer 100 is assembled, a probe portion 82 is formed on one end side (tip end side) of the electronic thermometer 100.

  Referring again to FIG. 1, the control board 20, the display unit 30, the operation unit 36, and the power supply unit 40 are mounted on a substrate 29 that is rectangular in plan view. The thermistor 10, the control board 20, the display unit 30, the operation unit 36, the power supply unit 40, and the board 29 constitute a built-in device 18 that measures the body temperature of the measurement subject.

  The thermistor 10 is a so-called radial lead type, and includes a temperature sensing part 11 for measuring the body temperature of the measurement subject and a lead wire 12 having one end connected to the temperature sensing part 11. The other end of the lead wire 12 is connected to the control board 20.

  The control board 20 has a control unit (the control unit 22 in FIG. 5), a memory unit (the memory unit 23 in FIG. 5), and a notification unit (the notification unit 24 in FIG. 5) at predetermined positions.

  The display unit 30 is electrically connected to the control board 20 by the board 29. The display unit 30 includes a display panel 31 such as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display). The display panel 31 displays the body temperature of the subject measured by the thermistor 10.

  The operation unit 36 disposed on the substrate 29 along with the display unit 30 is also electrically connected to the control substrate 20 by the substrate 29. The operation unit 36 includes a push button 38 that can be pressed from the outside. As shown in FIG. 1, the push button 38 may be configured as a so-called flat switch type.

  The power supply unit 40 includes a button battery 42 and an electrode terminal 41 disposed to face the button battery 42. The electrode terminals 41 arranged to face each other are positioned with respect to each other by the resin 43. The electrode terminal 41 is also connected to the control board 20 by the board 29. The button battery 42 is arranged between the electrode terminals 41, and supplies power to the control board 20 and the display unit 30 connected to the control board 20 through the electrode terminals 41 and the board 29.

  In the electronic thermometer 100, the thermistor 10, the control board 20, the display unit 30, the operation unit 36, and the power supply unit 40 are arranged in this order along the longitudinal direction of the electronic thermometer 100 (housing 50). This order may be changed as appropriate.

  The housing 50 includes a sheet-like member 51 and a case body 52. The sheet-like member 51 includes, for example, a base material layer made of paper or a polyethylene film, a sealant layer disposed on the lower surface side of the base material layer, and a PET layer (Polyethylene Terephthalate layer disposed on the upper surface side of the base material layer. ) And are stacked.

  The thickness of the sheet-like member 51 is, for example, 0.1 mm to 0.3 mm. A predetermined name plate 37 can be affixed or printed on the surface of the PET layer on the base material layer side. The nameplate 37 can function as a mark indicating, for example, a position where the push button 38 is pressed in a state where the electronic thermometer 100 is assembled.

  The sheet-like member 51 can be manufactured by cutting or the like. The sheet-like member 51 is configured to be substantially tapered so that the width gradually decreases toward the side where the thermistor 10 is disposed (probe portion 82 side).

  The sheet-like member 51 is provided with an opening 51H for visually recognizing the display panel 31 from the outside. A transparent protective member 56 made of resin or the like is disposed in the opening 51H. In addition, when the sheet-like member 51 has transparency, the opening 51H and the transparent protective member 56 are unnecessary. The opening 51H for visually recognizing the display panel 31 from the outside may be provided in the case body 52 described below. In this case, the display panel 31 of the display unit 30 is arranged toward the case body 52 side (arranged as shown on the opposite side of FIG. 1).

  The case body 52 is formed in a container shape from, for example, vacuum molding by using a thermoplastic member such as PET, PVC (polyvinyl chloride), PE (polyethylene), or PP (polypropylene). The thickness of the case body 52 is, for example, 0.5 mm to 1.0 mm.

  Referring to FIGS. 1, 3, and 4, case body 52 includes an annular wall portion 52 </ b> U that rises from the bottom surface portions 52 </ b> S and 52 </ b> R extending along the longitudinal direction of electronic thermometer 100 and the periphery of bottom surface portions 52 </ b> S and 52 </ b> R. , And an upper end 52K provided at the tip of the annular wall 52U in the standing direction. The upper end portion 52K in the present embodiment extends in a flange shape from the tip in the standing direction of the annular wall portion 52U toward the outside of the case body 52, and has an annular shape as a whole.

  The bottom surface portion 52S is located on one end side (tip side) of the electronic thermometer 100. The bottom surface portion 52R is continuous with the bottom surface portion 52S and is located on the other end side (rear end side) of the electronic thermometer 100. The bottom surface portion 52S is formed shallower than the bottom surface portion 52R so that the electronic thermometer 100 can be easily inserted toward the measurement subject's armpit or tongue.

  A concave portion 52T is provided in a groove shape along the longitudinal direction of the electronic thermometer 100 at the approximate center of the bottom surface portion 52S. In the state where the electronic thermometer 100 is assembled, the thermistor 10 (the temperature sensing part 11 and the lead wire 12) is accommodated in the recess 52T. In this case, the lead wire 12 is preferably slidable with respect to the inner peripheral surface of the recess 52T.

  The annular wall 52U and the upper end 52K of the case body 52 form an opening toward the side where the internal device 18 is accommodated so that the internal device 18 can be accommodated in one direction with respect to the case body 52. .

  When the electronic thermometer 100 is assembled, the built-in device 18 is accommodated in the case body 52. The built-in device 18 may be accommodated in the case body 52 in a state where the built-in device 18 is fixed to the sheet-like member 51 by means such as adhesion. In this case, the built-in device 18 is attached to the sheet-like member 51 so that the transparent protective member 56 provided in the opening 51H and the display panel 31 face each other (see FIG. 3).

  Further, the built-in device 18 is attached to the sheet-like member 51 so that the push button 38 and the sheet-like member 51 (the region where the name plate 37 of the sheet-like member 51 is formed) in the operation unit 36 face each other (see FIG. 4). In a state where the built-in device 18 is attached to (attached to) the sheet-like member 51, the periphery of the sheet-like member 51 is joined to the upper end portion 52 </ b> K of the case body 52.

  By the bonding, a space 53 (see FIGS. 3 and 4) in which the built-in device 18 (the thermistor 10, the control substrate 20, the display unit 30, the power supply unit 40, and the substrate 29) is sealed in a substantially airtight manner is formed. . By attaching the display unit 30 and the operation unit 36 to the sheet-like member 51 side, a gap S (see FIGS. 3 and 4) is formed between the built-in device 18 (substrate 29) and the bottom surface part 52R. Good.

  In order to join the sheet-like member 51 and the upper end portion 52K to each other, the sheet-like member 51 and the upper end portion 52K of the case body 52 are arranged to face each other. In this state, ultrasonic waves are applied to the contact portion between the sheet-like member 51 and the upper end portion 52K. The sheet-like member 51 (such as a sealant layer) is temporarily dissolved by the applied ultrasonic waves. By the melting, the sheet-like member 51 is welded (crimped) to the upper end portion 52K of the case body 52. The sheet-like member 51 and the upper end portion 52K of the case body 52 may be joined by heat welding or an adhesive.

  As described above with reference to FIG. 5, the electronic thermometer 100 includes a temperature sensing unit 11, a control unit 22, a memory unit 23, a notification unit 24, a display unit 30, an operation unit 36, and a power supply unit 40. Include as. The control unit 22, the memory unit 23, and the notification unit 24 are provided on the control board 20. The operation unit 36 may be provided on the control board 20 (may be attached to the control board 20 as a part of the control board 20).

  The temperature sensing unit 11 detects the body temperature of the measurement subject by being sandwiched between measurement target sites such as the armpit or the tongue. The operation unit 36 includes, for example, a push button 38 (see FIG. 1), receives an operation by a person to be measured (or a user of the electronic thermometer 100), and sends an external command to the control unit 22 or the power supply unit 40. input. The control part 22 is comprised from CPU (Central Processing Unit), for example, and controls the whole electronic thermometer 100. FIG.

  The memory unit 23 is constituted by, for example, a ROM (Read-Only Memory) or a RAM (Random-Access Memory), and stores a program for causing the control unit 22 to execute a processing procedure for measuring body temperature, and a measurement result. Or remember. The notification unit 24 is configured by a buzzer, for example, and notifies the measurement subject that the measurement has been completed or that the measurement subject's operation has been accepted. The alerting | reporting part 24 is good to be provided as needed.

  The display unit 30 includes a display panel 31 (see FIG. 1) such as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), for example, and displays measurement results and the like. The power supply unit 40 includes, for example, a button battery 42 (see FIG. 1) and supplies power as a power source to the control unit 22.

  The control unit 22 includes a processing circuit for performing body temperature measurement, and measures body temperature based on a program read from the memory unit 23. At that time, the control unit 22 calculates the body temperature as the measurement result by processing the temperature data input from the temperature sensing unit 11. The control unit 22 displays the calculated body temperature on the display unit 30, stores the calculated body temperature in the memory unit 23, or notifies the measurement subject that the measurement is completed using the notification unit 24. Next, the electronic thermometer 100 is controlled.

(Action / Effect)
The housing 50 of the electronic thermometer 100 is simply composed of a sheet-like member 51 and a case body 52. The sheet-like member 51 is an extremely thin member made of PET or the like. Since the sheet-like member 51 is thin and manufactured by cutting or the like, it can be prepared at low cost. Since the case body 52 is also an extremely thin member made of PET or the like by vacuum molding or the like, it can be prepared at a low cost. According to the electronic thermometer 100, the manufacturing cost can be reduced compared to a general so-called pencil-type electronic thermometer in which the entire casing is made of molded resin.

  Since the electronic thermometer 100 is manufactured at low cost, the electronic thermometer 100 is suitable for being used as a so-called disposable type. If it is a disposable type, it is discarded every time the electronic thermometer 100 is used (or every predetermined number of times of use), for example, at a medical site. According to the electronic thermometer 100, it is possible to reduce the cost burden on the user side or the person to be measured that occurs at each disposal.

  In the electronic thermometer 100, the annular wall portion 52U and the upper end portion 52K of the case body 52 are opened toward the side where the built-in device 18 is accommodated in the unidirectional direction with respect to the case body 52. Forming. With respect to the opening, the built-in device 18 (or the built-in device 18 attached to the sheet-like member 51) can be easily assembled in one direction. According to the electronic thermometer 100, it is possible to automate the assembling work and further reduce the manufacturing cost.

  When the electronic thermometer 100 is assembled, the sheet-like member 51 is disposed on the lowermost side in the direction of gravity, the built-in device 18 is bonded and fixed thereon, and the case body 52 is seated on the built-in device 18. You may make it mount on the shaped member 51. FIG.

  As described above, the lead wire 12 is preferably slidable (not fixed by bonding or the like) with respect to the inner surface of the recess 52T in a state where the lead wire 12 is disposed in the space 53. In this case, even if the electronic thermometer 100 is repeatedly bent or twisted, the life of the lead wire 12 can be extended. In addition, as the recessed part 52T which accommodates the lead wire 12, you may be provided in the sheet-like member 51 side.

  Further, as described above, when the display unit 30 and the operation unit 36 are attached to the sheet-like member 51 side, a gap S (see FIGS. 3 and 4) is provided between the built-in device 18 (substrate 29) and the bottom surface portion 52R. ) Is formed. By forming the gap S, the impact on the built-in device 18 when the electronic thermometer 100 is dropped is mitigated, and failure of the built-in device 18 is suppressed.

[Modification of Embodiment]
(First modification)
The upper end portion 52K in the above-described embodiment extends in a flange shape from the front end of the annular wall portion 52U in the standing direction toward the outside of the case body 52.

  Referring to FIG. 6, upper end portion 52 </ b> K may be extended in a flange shape so as to be bent from the front end of annular wall portion 52 </ b> U toward the inside of case body 52. Also with this configuration, the same operations and effects as those of the above-described embodiment can be obtained.

(Second modification)
The upper end portion 52K in the above-described embodiment extends in a flange shape from the front end of the annular wall portion 52U in the standing direction toward the outside of the case body 52.

  Referring to FIG. 7, when the annular wall 52U is formed to be relatively thick, for example, when the width of the annular wall 52U is equal to or greater than a predetermined width, the upper end 52K is flat at the tip of the annular wall 52U in the standing direction. It may be formed into a flat surface. Also with this configuration, the same operations and effects as those of the above-described embodiment can be obtained.

(Third Modification)
FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing an exploded state of the electronic thermometer 101 in the present modification. FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing the electronic thermometer 101, and corresponds to FIG. 4 in the electronic thermometer 100.

  Like the electronic thermometer 101, on the bottom surface portion 52R of the case body 52, a support portion 68 that supports the built-in device 18 on the sheet-like member 51 side is preferably provided in a projecting manner. A plurality of support portions 68 are preferably provided. When a plurality of support portions 68 are received, the support portions 68 are preferably arranged so as to be symmetrical with respect to the width direction of the built-in device 18 (see FIG. 8). The upper end of the support portion 68 may be in contact with the lower surface of the substrate 29 in a state where the electronic thermometer 101 is assembled (the state shown in FIG. 9), or may be slightly separated from the lower surface of the substrate 29.

  When the built-in device 18 is affixed to the sheet-like member 51 side due to the arrangement of the support portion 68, the built-in device 18 is prevented from being peeled off from the sheet-like member 51 due to pressing to the operation unit 36 or the like. .

  Further, even when the built-in device 18 is not attached to the sheet-like member 51 side, the support portion 68 opposes the pressing to the operation portion 36 (push button 38), and the operational feeling of the push button 38 is improved. To do. From the viewpoint of improving the operational feeling, when more support portions 68 are disposed on the back side of the substrate 29 on which the operation portion 36 is mounted (on the opposite side of the operation portion 36 across the substrate 29). Good. In order to prevent the display function of the display panel 31 from being affected, a support unit 68 is provided on the back side of the substrate 29 on which the display unit 30 is mounted (on the opposite side of the display unit 30 with the substrate 29 in between). It is preferable not to be.

(Fourth modification)
In the electronic thermometer 102 shown in FIG. 10, one support portion 68 that supports the back surface on the front end side of the substrate 29, and the back surface side of the substrate 29 on which the operation portion 36 is mounted (the operation portion 36 is sandwiched between the substrates 29). On the opposite side), three support portions 68 are disposed. In the electronic thermometer 102, more support portions 68 (or different arrangement configurations from other regions) are provided on the back side of the substrate 29 on which the operation unit 36 is mounted.

  With the arrangement of the three support portions 68, three recesses are recessed in the surface of the case body 52 located on the back side of the operation portion 36 (see FIG. 9). According to the electronic thermometer 102, the person to be measured can determine (find) the position of the operation unit 36 by groping using the three depressions formed on the back side of the operation unit 36 by the formation of the support unit 68 as a mark. It becomes.

  According to the electronic thermometer 102, the operation unit 36 can be easily pressed even when the electronic thermometer 102 is used in a dark place at night or when the electronic thermometer 102 is sandwiched between armpits. It becomes possible. Since the control board 20 or the power supply unit 40 or the like is prevented from being accidentally pressed, the life of the electronic thermometer 102 can be extended. In consideration of use of the electronic thermometer 102 in a dark place at midnight, the display panel 31 may be provided with a so-called backlight function or the like.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment based on this invention was described, embodiment disclosed this time is an illustration and restrictive at no points. The technical scope of the present invention is defined by the terms of the claims, and is intended to include any modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the terms of the claims.

  10 Thermistor, 11 Temperature sensing section, 12 Lead wire, 18 Built-in device, 20 Control board, 22 Control section, 23 Memory section, 24 Notification section, 29 Board, 30 Display section, 31 Display panel, 36 Operation section, 37 Name plate, 38 push button, 40 power supply part, 41 electrode terminal, 42 button battery, 43 resin, 50 housing, 51 sheet-like member, 51H opening, 52 case body, 52K upper end part, 52R, 52S bottom part, 52T recess, 52U annular Wall part, 53 space, 56 transparent protective member, 68 support part, 82 probe part, 100-102 electronic thermometer, S gap.

Claims (3)

An electronic thermometer that measures the body temperature of a subject,
A built-in device for measuring the body temperature;
A housing that arranges the built-in device in a space formed therein,
The housing is
A bottom body extending along the longitudinal direction of the electronic thermometer, and a case body having an annular wall standing up from the periphery of the bottom;
A sheet-like member joined to the front end side in the standing direction of the annular wall portion,
By joining the sheet-like member to the case body, the space for arranging the built-in device is formed ,
The case body has a support portion for supporting the built-in device on the sheet-like member side,
The built-in device includes an operation unit that is operated to start the measurement of the body temperature by driving the electronic thermometer,
The support portion supports the operation portion on the sheet-like member side,
Electronic thermometer. The built-in device is fixed to the sheet-like member side in the space,
A gap is formed between the built-in device and the housing.
The electronic thermometer according to claim 1. The built-in device includes a thermistor having a temperature sensing part for measuring the body temperature and a lead wire having one end connected to the temperature sensing part,
The housing is provided with a recess for slidably holding the lead wire in the space.
The electronic thermometer according to claim 1 or 2.

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