JP6668500B2 - Biological information measuring electrode and method for manufacturing biological information measuring electrode - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a biological information measuring electrode and a method for manufacturing the biological information measuring electrode.

  2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, various biological information such as pulse waves, electrocardiograms, myoelectrics, body fat, and brain waves have been measured. In order to measure such biological information, unlike a normal electrode, an electrode for measuring biological information that can be stably brought into contact with a living body is required. Therefore, various electrodes for measuring biological information have been proposed. . In particular, for electrodes for measuring biological information that are pressed against a living body (skin) with hair or body hair, it is required that the electrode contact the skin while avoiding the hair that grows from the skin, and the stability of contact with the skin is required. Had been.

  As one of such biological information measuring electrodes, for example, a plurality of inverted U-shaped metal members are provided on a base plate, and a plurality of inverted U-shaped metal members are brought into contact with the skin to generate an electroencephalogram. An electroencephalogram detection electrode for performing measurement is disclosed (for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2006-94979 A

  However, the electroencephalogram detection electrode described in Patent Literature 1 is heavy because metal is used, and a step of forming an inverted U-shaped metal member by bending a metal rod, or cutting a metal rod. It is manufactured through a plurality of laborious processes such as a process of forming an inverted U-shaped metal member and a process of fixing a plurality of inverted U-shaped metal members on a base plate. Become.

  Therefore, there is a need for a biological information measuring electrode that is light and can be manufactured at low cost.

  According to one aspect of the present embodiment, an electrode for measuring biological information, comprising: an electrode leg; and a terminal portion electrically connected to the electrode leg, wherein one end of the electrode leg can contact a living body. A plurality of the electrode legs, provided with an annular base portion integrally formed with the plurality of the electrode legs, wherein the base portion and the other end of the electrode legs are The electrode legs are provided continuously, the one end portions of the electrode legs are aligned in one direction, and the electrode legs and the base portion are formed of a plurality of conductive carbon fibers made of a synthetic resin binding member. And the plurality of carbon fibers are laid so as to be aligned in the one direction.

  According to the disclosed electrode for measuring biological information, it can be manufactured lightly and at low cost.

Explanatory drawing of the structure of the biological information measuring electrode in the present embodiment. SEM image of one end of electrode leg of biological information measuring electrode in the present embodiment Explanatory diagram schematically showing the SEM image of FIG. SEM image of carbon fiber Illustration of carbon fiber Process diagram (1) of a method for manufacturing a biological information measuring electrode according to the present embodiment Process diagram (2) of a method for manufacturing a biological information measuring electrode according to the present embodiment Process diagram (3) of a method for manufacturing a biological information measuring electrode according to the present embodiment Process diagram (4) of a method for manufacturing a biological information measuring electrode in the present embodiment Process diagram (5) of a method for manufacturing a biological information measuring electrode according to the present embodiment Process diagram (6) of a method for manufacturing a biological information measuring electrode in the present embodiment

  An embodiment for carrying out the invention will be described below. Note that the same members and the like are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted. Also, in the following description, as an example, a case in which a biological information measurement electrode is brought into contact with skin having hair or body hair which is a part of a living body to measure biological information will be described. The measurement electrode may be one that is in contact with the skin (living body) other than the skin with hair or body hair as long as it is a part of the living body.

(Biological information measurement electrode)
The biological information measuring electrode according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1A is a side view of the biological information measurement electrode according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 1B is a bottom view.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the biological information measuring electrode according to the present embodiment has a circular and annular (annular) base portion 20 and a broken arrow A (see FIG. 1A) from the base portion 20. A plurality of electrode legs 10 extending in one direction shown in the drawing, and a terminal portion 30 connected to the other direction side opposite to the one direction side of the base portion 20 are configured. I have. In the electrode for measuring biological information according to the present embodiment, one end 10a on one side of the electrode leg 10 is capable of contacting with a living body, and performs measurement of biological information, for example, brain waves and the like, by being brought into contact with the living body. It can be used as an electrode.

  First, the electrode legs 10 and the base 20 of the electrode for measuring biological information according to the present embodiment are manufactured by bonding a plurality of conductive carbon fibers with a binding member made of a synthetic resin such as an epoxy resin. The electrode legs 10 and the base portion 20 are formed integrally. The binding member is formed by curing an uncured or semi-cured synthetic resin material. In addition, as the binding member, a relatively soft synthetic resin such as a urethane resin may be used in addition to the epoxy resin, or an elastic synthetic resin such as a rubber may be used.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the electrode leg 10 and the base portion 20 are configured such that the outer surface of the electrode leg 10 and the outer ring surface (ring-shaped outer surface) of the base portion 20 are flush with each other. I have. The plurality of electrode legs 10 extend from the base 20, and one end portions 10 a of the electrode legs 10 are aligned in one direction (the direction of the dashed arrow A shown in FIG. 1). Further, the electrode legs 10 and the base portion 20 have the same thickness as shown in FIG. The direction in which the carbon fibers forming the electrode legs 10 and the base portion 20 are aligned and laid (hereinafter referred to as the extending direction) is one direction indicated by a broken-line arrow A in which the electrode legs 10 are aligned. Matches.

  Further, the plurality of electrode legs 10 extended from the base portion 20 are configured to have another end portion 10b provided continuously to the base portion 20 and one end portion 10a capable of contacting a living body. I have. As shown in FIG. 1A, the electrode leg 10 is formed such that the width Wa of the one end 10 a in contact with the living body is smaller than the width Wb of the other end 10 b continuous with the base 20. I have. That is, in a side view of the electrode leg 10 and the base portion 20 (when the electrode leg 10 and the base portion 20 are viewed from the normal direction of the side surface of the base portion 20), the electrode leg 10 and the base portion 20 are continuous with the base portion 20 on the base portion 20 side. The width Wa of the one end 10a that is in contact with the living body is formed smaller than the width Wb of the other end 10b. By narrowing the width of the one end 10a of the electrode leg 10 as described above, the hair can be easily separated when the one end 10a of the electrode leg 10 is brought into contact with the skin. The contact with the body is ensured, and stable measurement of biological information can be performed. Although the one end 10a of the electrode leg 10 shown in FIG. 1A is formed in a flat shape, the tip (the one end 10a side) may have an acute angle shape or a curved surface shape. . This makes it easier to separate the hair.

  Further, in the biological information measurement electrode according to the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1B, a plurality of electrode legs 10 are provided at equal intervals on the base portion 20. By providing the electrode legs 10 at equal intervals in this manner, one end 10a of each electrode leg 10 can be brought into uniform contact with the skin, and accurate measurement of biological information can be performed.

  Here, the carbon fibers forming the electrode legs 10 and the base 20 and the characteristics thereof will be described in more detail. FIG. 2 is an SEM image of one end 10a of the electrode leg 10, and FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing positions of carbon fibers corresponding to the SEM image of FIG. FIG. 4 is an SEM image of carbon fibers, and FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram for explaining carbon fibers. In FIGS. 2 to 5, the carbon wire is designated by number CF, and in FIGS. 2 and 3, the binding member is designated by number BR.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the electrode leg 10 (one end 10 a) is hardened by an epoxy resin serving as a binding member (BR) penetrating into gaps between a plurality of carbon fibers (CF). A plurality of carbon fibers (CF) are bound by a cured epoxy resin as a member (BR). Note that the carbon fiber (CF) in FIGS. 2 and 3 is an end face of the carbon fiber (CF).

  Further, the carbon fiber (CF) has a circular cross section as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, and has a diameter of about 10 μm (9.68 μm in FIG. 4) as shown in FIG. )belongs to.

  The carbon fiber (CF) has a specific resistance in the fiber axis direction (dashed arrow B shown in FIG. 5) and a specific resistance in a direction perpendicular to the fiber axis direction (dashed arrow C shown in FIG. 5). Is very different. Specifically, the specific resistance of the carbon fiber (CF) in the fiber axis direction is about two to three digits lower than the specific resistance in the direction perpendicular to the fiber axis direction. Therefore, since the electrode legs 10 laid with the fiber axes of the carbon fibers aligned in the same direction extend from the base portion 20 in the extending direction, between the one end 10a of the electrode legs 10 and the end 20a of the base portion 20. (See FIG. 1A). For this reason, by contacting one end 10a of the electrode leg 10 with a living body such as the skin and passing through the electrode leg 10 and the base portion 20, information on the living body can be measured with low resistance. Thus, the biological information can be measured with an accuracy equal to or higher than that of the biological information measuring electrode made of metal.

  In the biological information measuring electrode according to the present embodiment, for example, the diameter D (shown in FIG. 1A) of the base 20 is preferably 15 mm to 25 mm. The number of the electrode legs 10 is 3 to 8 and provided at equal intervals, the length L of the electrode legs 10 (shown in FIG. 1A) is 8 mm to 20 mm, and one end 10a of the electrode legs 10 is provided. Is preferably 1 mm to 3 mm, and the width Wb (shown in FIG. 1A) of the other end 10b is preferably 1 mm to 3 mm.

  Lastly, the terminal portion 30 of the biological information measuring electrode in the present embodiment is formed of a conductive material such as a metal material, and as shown in FIG. 1, a disk-shaped base 30k and a base 30k. And a projection 30t protruding from the central portion of the projection.

  The terminal portion 30 has a base portion 30k of the terminal portion 30 and an end portion 20a of the base portion 20 opposite to the side where the electrode legs 10 are continuous, for example, a conductive adhesive (not shown) or a conductive material (not shown). They are fixed and connected by paste or the like. Thereby, the terminal portion 30 is electrically connected to the base portion 20 formed integrally with the electrode leg 10. Accordingly, one end face of the carbon fiber (CF) exposed at one end portion 10a of the electrode leg 10 is electrically connected to the terminal portion 30 via the other end face of the carbon fiber (CF) at the end portion 20a of the base portion 20. Will be connected. Note that the terminal portion 30 and the end portion 20a of the base portion 20 need not be directly connected but may be electrically connected. For example, the base portion 20 may be held by a holding member having conductivity, and the holding member and the terminal portion 30 may be connected via a lead wire or the like.

  The terminal unit 30 has a function of connecting to a measurement device (not shown), and transmits an electric signal from the skin obtained through the electrode legs 10 and the base unit 20 to the measurement device. Specifically, the terminal unit 30 is connected to a lead wire (not shown) and a terminal (not shown), and the terminal and the measuring device are connected.

  Since the biological information measuring electrode according to the present embodiment configured as described above is formed of a binding member such as an epoxy resin that binds a plurality of carbon fibers and a plurality of carbon fibers, the biometric information is formed of metal. Lighter than when the measurement electrode is formed. Therefore, for example, when a plurality of electrodes for measuring biological information are attached to the head in order to measure biological information, the electrodes for measuring biological information are lightweight, so the user does not care about the wearing feeling and feels discomfort much. Measurement of biological information can be performed without the need. That is, when a plurality of electrodes for measuring biological information are attached to the head, if the electrodes for measuring biological information are heavy, the head may feel heavy and may feel discomfort while measuring the biological information. . However, since the biological information measuring electrode in the present embodiment is light, the biological information measuring electrode can measure biological information without feeling such discomfort.

  In the above description, the case where epoxy resin or the like is used as the binding member has been described. However, when the binding member is made of rubber or a relatively soft resin material, the electrode legs 10 have elasticity. As described above, when the electrode legs 10 have elasticity, the contact with the skin can be ensured as compared with the case where the electrode legs 10 are formed of metal, and the electrode legs 10 can be elastically deformed when contacting the skin Therefore, the pressing force on the skin is alleviated, and the pain can be alleviated.

  Further, the biological information measuring electrode formed of metal cannot be used for a person with a metal allergy, but as in the present embodiment, if the biological information measuring electrode is formed of carbon fiber, It can also be used for people with metal allergies.

(Method of manufacturing electrodes for measuring biological information)
Next, a method for manufacturing the biological information measuring electrode according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 to 11, the direction (extending direction) in which the carbon fibers are aligned and laid is indicated by a dashed arrow D.

  The manufacturing method of the biological information measuring electrode according to the present embodiment mainly includes a winding step P2 of winding the sheet 110 around the core material 120 and a curing step of curing the synthetic resin material of the sheet 110 to form the annular band 111. P3 and a cutting step P5 for cutting the annular band 111 are provided. Further, in the present embodiment, a preparation step P1 for preparing a sheet 110 or the like having carbon fibers, a removal step P4 for removing the annular band 111 from the core material 120, and a connection step P6 for mounting the terminal portion 30 are also provided. And

  First, the method for manufacturing a biological information measuring electrode according to the present embodiment includes a sheet 110 (see FIG. 6A) in which carbon fibers are aligned in one direction and impregnated with a synthetic resin material. A core material 120 (see FIG. 6B) for winding the 110 is prepared (preparation step P1).

  In the preparation step P1, as the sheet 110, a base material called a so-called prepreg sheet in which a synthetic resin material is uncured or semi-cured is used. Specifically, in the present embodiment, for example, a prepreg sheet (UD prepreg, HyEJ28M80QD (manufactured by Mitsubishi Rayon Co., Ltd.)) in which a carbon fiber of coal pitch is impregnated with an epoxy resin may be used. The prepreg sheet contains 32% by weight of an uncured or semi-cured resin component. The thickness of the prepreg sheet is about several tens μm to several hundred μm.

  Further, although not shown in detail, as the core material 120, a cylindrical or cylindrical material is used, and a heat-resistant material that can withstand the hardening conditions of the hardening step P3 described later, for example, a metal material such as iron or the like is used. A heat-resistant synthetic resin such as polyphenylene sulfide resin (PPS, Poly Phenylene Sulfide) is used. Further, a core material 120 whose surface is coated with fluorine may be used. This makes it easier to remove the sheet 110 (annular band 111 described later; see FIG. 8) from the core material 120 in a removing step P4 described later.

  Further, since the diameter of the outer periphery of the core member 120 is a factor for determining the size of the biological information measuring electrode, it is preferable to use a desired size. Further, as shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, when the length (height) of the core material 120 is larger than the width (height) of the sheet 110, in the winding step P2 described later, the sheet 110 can be easily wound around the core 120. Although a columnar shape or a cylindrical shape is preferably used as the core material 120, the shape is not limited to this. For example, the cross-sectional shape may be a polygonal shape.

  Next, as shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, a winding step P2 of winding the sheet 110 around the core 120 is performed. FIG. 7A shows a state in which the sheet 110 is being wound around the core 120, and FIG. 7B shows a state in which the sheet 110 is completely wound around the core 120. The sheet 110 shown in FIGS. 6A and 7A shows a part of the sheet 110, and has a size longer than the length shown.

  In the winding step P2, the sheet 110 is wound around the core material 120 in an overlapping manner. At that time, as shown in FIG. 7, winding is performed so that the generatrix of the columnar (cylindrical) core material 120 and the extending direction of the carbon fibers in the sheet 110 (dashed arrow D) are parallel. . That is, the sheet 110 is wound around the core material 120 such that the carbon fibers aligned in one direction extend along one direction. The number of windings is determined according to the desired thickness of the electrode leg 10 and the base portion 20.

  Next, in a state where the sheet 110 is completely wound around the core material 120 (see FIG. 7B), a curing step P3 of curing the synthetic resin epoxy resin impregnated in the sheet 110 is performed.

In the curing step P3, the sheet 110 and the core material 120 shown in FIG. 7B are put into a heating furnace, and heated at, for example, 130 ° C. for one hour to thermally cure the epoxy resin (synthetic resin material). Is performed. As described above, by thermally curing the epoxy resin in the sheet 110 wound around the core material 120, an annular band 111 as shown in FIG. 8 is formed. That is, the annular band 111 is formed of a sheet 110 that has been cured in a cylindrical shape as shown in FIG. 8A, and a plurality of carbon fibers are bound by a cured synthetic resin material that is a binding member. . In addition, when this prepreg sheet is used, the specific resistance in the fiber axis direction after curing (which is also the extending direction indicated by the dashed arrow D shown in FIG. 8B) is 2.7 × 10 ⁻³ Ω · cm. is there.

  Next, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, a removing step P4 for removing the annular band 111 from the core material 120 is performed.

  In the removing step P4, the outside of the annular band is fixed, the core 120 located inside the annular band 111 is gripped by a jig or the like, and the core 120 is removed. Thereby, the annular band 111 shown in FIG.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 10, a cutting step P5 for cutting the annular band 111 is performed.

  In the cutting step P5, the annular band 111 formed by the cured sheet 110 shown in FIG. 9 is cut into a comb shape as shown in FIG. 10A, and along the cut line, FIG. Separation into two is performed as shown in b). Thereby, two electrodes each having the plurality of electrode legs 10 and the base portion 20 can be manufactured.

  Further, the cutting of the annular band 111 in the cutting step P5 is performed by laser processing by irradiation of laser light or mechanical processing. When a laser beam is used to cut the annular band 111, the cutting can be performed in a short time, so that the biological information measuring electrode can be manufactured at lower cost. The laser light source used at this time may be an excimer laser or the like. The step of irradiating the laser beam to cut and separate the annular band 111 may be performed before the epoxy resin is thermally cured.

  In this cutting step P5, a cut is made so as to intersect at a small angle with the extending direction of the carbon fiber. Accordingly, when the electrode leg 10 is separated into two parts along the cut line, the width Wa of the one end 10a of the electrode leg 10 (see FIG. 1A) is changed to the width Wb of the other end 10b of the electrode leg 10 (see FIG. 1). (See (a)), the electrode legs 10 formed to be narrower than those shown in FIG. In addition, by making the cut angles of the leg shapes of the respective electrode legs 10 uniform, the electrode legs 10 of the two obtained electrodes for measuring biological information can be easily made to have the same shape.

  Further, in the cutting step P5, the plurality of electrode legs 10 are cut so as to be at equal intervals. In addition, when the two pieces are separated along the cut line, the number of the electrode legs 10 of each (two) biological information measuring electrodes is set to be the same. With these features, it is possible to easily produce electrodes for measuring biological information having the same shape. In the present application, cutting the annular band 111 formed by the cured sheet 110 as shown in FIG. 10A and separating as shown in FIG. 10B is referred to as “separation cutting”. May be.

  Finally, as shown in FIG. 11, a connection step P6 for mounting the terminal unit 30 is performed.

  In this connection step P6, as shown in FIG. 11, the terminal portions 30 are bonded to the end portions 20a of the respective base portions 20 with a conductive adhesive. Thus, in the connection step P6, the terminal portions 30 are bonded and connected to the respective ends corresponding to both ends of the annular band 111 before being cut in the cutting step P5. Thereby, the terminal portion 30 and the plurality of electrode legs 10 are electrically connected via the base portion 20.

  In the connection step P6 of bonding the terminal portions 30 with the conductive adhesive, after the formation of the annular band 111 cured into a cylindrical shape or an annular shape, before the cutting step P5 of cutting and separating the annular band 111 is performed. It is also possible to do it.

  As described above, in the manufacturing method of the biological information measuring electrode according to the present embodiment, the sheet 110 (prepreg sheet) in which the carbon fiber is impregnated with the synthetic resin material is wound around the core material 120 (winding step P2) and cured ( The electrodes for measuring biological information can be easily produced by simple and few steps such as curing step P3) and separation and cutting (cutting step P5). Therefore, the number of steps is small, and the biological information measuring electrode can be manufactured at low cost.

  Although the embodiments have been described in detail, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments, and various modifications and changes can be made within the scope described in the claims.

  This international application claims priority based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2016-220053 filed on November 10, 2016, and the entire contents of the application are incorporated herein by reference.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Electrode leg 10a One end 10b Other end 20 Base part 20a End part 30 Terminal part 110 Sheet 111 Annular band 120 Core material BR Binding member CF Carbon fiber

Claims (10)

Having an electrode leg and a terminal portion electrically connected to the electrode leg,
One end of the electrode leg is a biological information measurement electrode capable of contacting a living body,
A plurality of the electrode legs are provided,
Having an annular base portion formed integrally with the plurality of electrode legs,
The base portion and the other end of the electrode leg are provided continuously,
The one end of the electrode leg is aligned in one direction,
The electrode legs and the base portion are formed by binding a plurality of conductive carbon fibers with a binding member of a synthetic resin,
A biological information measurement electrode, wherein the plurality of carbon fibers are laid so as to be aligned in the one direction.   The electrode for measuring biological information according to claim 1, wherein the electrode leg has elasticity.   The biological information measurement according to claim 1, wherein the width of the one end of the electrode leg is smaller than the width of the other end of the electrode leg in a side view of the electrode leg. Electrodes. An outer ring surface of the base portion and an outer surface of the electrode leg are formed flush with each other,
The biological information measurement electrode according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of electrode legs are provided at equal intervals on the one direction side of the base portion. 5.   The biological information measuring electrode according to claim 1, wherein the terminal portion is connected to the other side of the base portion opposite to the one direction side. An electrode leg, comprising a terminal portion electrically connected to the electrode leg, a method for manufacturing a biological information measurement electrode capable of contacting a living body at one end of the electrode leg,
A winding step of winding a sheet impregnated with a synthetic resin material in carbon fibers aligned in one direction around a core material along the one direction,
By curing the wound synthetic resin material, a curing step of forming an annular band formed by binding the carbon fibers by a binder of the cured synthetic resin material,
A cutting step of cutting the annular band to form an annular base portion and a plurality of the electrode legs continuous with the base portion;
A method of manufacturing an electrode for measuring biological information, comprising:   The method according to claim 6, wherein, in the cutting step, the annular band is irradiated with laser light to separate and cut the annular band into two.   7. The method according to claim 6, wherein, in the cutting step, the annular band is cut such that the width of the one end of the electrode leg is smaller than the width of the electrode leg when viewed from the side of the electrode leg. A method for manufacturing the biological information measuring electrode according to claim 7.   The biological information measuring electrode according to any one of claims 6 to 8, wherein, in the cutting step, the annular band is cut so that the plurality of electrode legs are at equal intervals. Production method. Having a connection step of mounting the terminal portion for electrical connection with the electrode leg,
The method according to any one of claims 6 to 9, wherein in the connecting step, the terminal is connected to ends corresponding to both ends of the annular band.