JPH0342918Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed explanation of the idea] (b) Industrial application fields This invention relates to an acupuncture point (acupoint) exploration device.

(B) Prior Art Generally, it is known that acupuncture points in a living body have lower skin impedance than other parts of the body, and devices that focus on this and explore acupuncture points have been conventionally implemented.

This acupuncture point exploration device brings at least two electrodes into contact with the skin, applies a constant voltage between these two electrodes, derives a voltage corresponding to the flowing current, that is, corresponds to the skin impedance, and then It is compared with quasi-voltage. At points where the skin impedance is low, such as acupuncture points, the current flowing becomes large,
Since the derived voltage exceeds the reference voltage, acupuncture points can be explored. This type of acupuncture point exploration device is designed to adjust the reference voltage using a manual regulator.

(c) Problems that the invention aims to solve Although it is said that the skin impedance of acupuncture points is smaller than that of other parts, this is only relative and actually varies depending on the person or region. Therefore, skin impedance varies from person to person, and it is necessary to determine the voltage (reference voltage) that the signal voltage exceeds to determine the acupuncture point, and to adjust the reference voltage depending on the person and body part. Conventionally, the reference voltage was adjusted using a knob on a manual regulator, and it was not easy to determine to what level the reference voltage should be set.
There was a problem that level adjustment was extremely troublesome.

In view of the above, the purpose of this invention is to provide an acupuncture point exploration device that can automatically set a reference voltage appropriately without bothering the person performing the measurement.

(d) Means and action for solving the problem The acupuncture point exploration device of this invention consists of a low-pass filter that receives a signal voltage that changes according to skin impedance, and a voltage divider circuit that divides the signal voltage into a predetermined ratio. and a comparison circuit that compares the output of the low-pass filter and the output of the voltage dividing circuit and outputs a signal indicating an acupuncture point when the output of the voltage dividing circuit is large.

In this acupuncture point exploration device, the high frequency component of the signal voltage is removed by a low-pass filter, and the direct current component and slow fluctuation component are input to the comparison circuit as a reference voltage. In other words, since the reference voltage follows gradual changes in the signal voltage, there is no need for the measurer to adjust the reference voltage. When a large signal voltage that changes rapidly is input, this signal voltage exceeds the reference voltage, and the comparison circuit outputs a signal indicating acupuncture point exploration.

(e) Examples This invention will be explained in more detail below using examples.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an acupuncture point exploration device in which this invention is implemented.

This acupuncture point exploration device has three electrodes called an indifferent electrode 1, an indifferent electrode 2, and a potential electrode 3, and these three electrodes move on the surface of the skin 4 at predetermined intervals. ing.

A series circuit including a DC power source 5 and a protective resistor 6 is connected between the indifferent electrode 1 and the indifferent electrode 2. The connection point between the positive side of the DC power supply 5 and the protective resistor 6 is grounded,
The related electrode 2 is connected to an amplification section 7 and a buffer section 8 . On the other hand, the potential electrode 3 is also connected to the input of the amplifier section 7. Since the skin impedance is high, the buffer section 8 is provided to suppress the influence on subsequent circuits.

The outputs of the amplifier section 7 and the buffer section 8 are given to the input of the calculation section 9, and the calculation section 9 calculates the ratio V 1 of the voltage drop V ₁ of the protective resistor 6 to the voltage drop V ₂ of the skin impedance _R. / _V2 , and the output is passed through a filter unit 10 that removes power supply noise to a comparison unit 1.
1 is added to one end of the input.

The comparison unit 11 outputs an output when the input signal voltage from the filter unit 10 is equal to or higher than the reference voltage.
In other words, it outputs a signal indicating that it is an acupuncture point,
The signal is added to the oscillating section 12, and the oscillating section 12 starts an oscillating operation based on this signal to drive the buzzer 13. That is, each time the signal voltage to the comparator 11 exceeds the reference voltage, the buzzer 13 emits a sound indicating an acupuncture point.

The comparison section 11 receives the signal voltage input from the filter section 10, and includes a low-pass filter 21 made up of a resistor R ₁ and a capacitor C, and resistors R ₂ and R that divide the signal voltage to the comparison section 11 into its resistance ratio. ₃ and the above-mentioned low-pass filter 21.
Receives the output of and the divided voltage of the voltage dividing circuit 22 as input,
It is composed of an operational amplifier (comparison circuit) 23 for comparison which outputs an output when the divided voltage of the voltage dividing circuit 22 is larger. This comparison section 11 is the feature of this invention.

Next, the operation of the acupuncture point exploration device according to the above embodiment will be explained.

First, three electrodes 1, 2, and 3 are brought into contact with four surfaces of the skin. During operation, a current I according to the skin impedance R flows through the protective resistor 6, the related electrode 2, and the indifferent electrode 1.
flows through. And skin impedance R
The larger V ₂ becomes, the smaller the ratio value V ₁ /V ₂ becomes, and the smaller the output signal of the calculation unit 9 becomes. Conversely, the smaller the skin impedance, the smaller V ₂ and the larger the ratio value V ₁ /V ₂ , and the output of the calculation section 9 at that point, and therefore the signal voltage input to the comparison section 11 through the filter section 10, becomes smaller. Becomes large.

As each electrode 1, 2, 3 moves on the skin 4, the signal voltage input to the comparison unit 11 changes greatly according to the fluctuation of the skin impedance.
At acupuncture point points, the voltage becomes large like an impulse. This signal voltage is divided by a predetermined ratio by the voltage dividing circuit 22 and applied to the + input terminal of the operational amplifier 23 . The waveform is shown in FIG. 2A.

On the other hand, the signal voltage input to the low-pass filter 21 (having the same waveform as in FIG. 2A) has its high frequency components removed by the low-pass filter 21, and is input to the negative input terminal of the operational amplifier 23. This voltage is shown in Figure 2B, with the sharp part removed compared to Figure 2A.
The waveform becomes smooth as shown in . In other words, only the DC component of the signal voltage, and the slow fluctuation component,
It is input as a reference voltage to the negative input terminal of the operational amplifier 23. The signal waveform in FIG. 2A and the reference voltage waveform in FIG. 2B are compared by the operational amplifier 23. At sites other than normal acupuncture points, the signal voltage is not very high and is lower than the reference voltage, so the output of the operational amplifier 23 is low level, but when the electrode reaches the acupuncture point, the signal voltage rises rapidly. , these are not reflected in the rise of the reference voltage because of the low-pass filter 21, and therefore, the signal voltage becomes larger than the reference voltage, and the operational amplifier 23 outputs a signal with a waveform as shown in FIG. 2C. . The pulse signal is a signal indicating that the acupuncture point has been explored, and with this signal,
The oscillator 12 is energized, and the buzzer 13 emits a sound notifying the acupuncture point exploration.

Although the above-mentioned example device uses three electrodes as an example, this invention is of course two-dimensional.
Needless to say, the present invention can be applied to an acupuncture point exploration device that employs individual electrodes.

Furthermore, instead of the buzzer, other means such as a display may be used as the means for notifying the acupuncture point exploration.

(f) Effects of the invention According to this invention, since the voltage obtained by passing the signal voltage through a low-pass filter is used as the reference voltage, the reference voltage changes to follow the slow change of the DC component of the signal voltage. Since the measurement operator does not need to adjust the reference voltage, it is very easy to handle. Furthermore, since level setting is performed automatically, setting errors are reduced. Moreover, the above-mentioned simplicity and reduction in setting errors can be achieved with a simple configuration of additionally installing a low-pass filter.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an acupuncture point exploration device in which this invention is implemented, and FIGS. 2A, B, and C are waveform diagrams for explaining the operation of the comparing section of the device. 21: Low pass filter, 22: Voltage dividing circuit, 2
3: Operational amplifier (comparison circuit).

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] Applying a predetermined voltage between at least two electrodes,
In an acupuncture point exploration device that explores acupuncture points by varying the level of a signal voltage derived according to the difference in impedance of the skin in contact with the electrode, a low-pass filter that receives at its input a signal voltage that changes according to the skin impedance, and A voltage dividing circuit that divides the signal voltage into a predetermined ratio, and comparing the output of the low-pass filter and the output of the voltage dividing circuit,
An acupuncture point exploration device comprising: a comparison circuit that outputs a signal indicating an acupuncture point when the output of the voltage dividing circuit is large.