JPH07255686A - Cuff of finger sphygmomanometer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a cuff for a finger sphygmomanometer capable of pressing a finger of the examined with sufficient pressure regardless of the thickness of the finger. CONSTITUTION:A cuff 10 of a finger sphygmomanometer comprises a case 12 and a bladder 14 made of such material with light penetrability and non- stretching properties as a polyurethane sheet. The bladder 14 in a region 38 except at both ends 34 in its axial direction is attached fixedly to the case 12 such that pressurized air, when supplied, cause the both ends of the bladder to make radial displacement inwardly from the case 12.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

[Object of the Invention]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a finger sphygmomanometer capable of measuring blood pressure by detecting a pulse wave of a finger artery. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method of fixing a bladder of a cuff of a finger sphygmomanometer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional blood pressure measuring method is to measure blood pressure by the Korotkoff method by blocking the arteries of the arm with a cuff (manchette) equipped with an air bladder.
However, today, a finger sphygmomanometer capable of easily measuring blood pressure at home has been developed.

The principle of the finger sphygmomanometer can be roughly classified into a volume vibration method and an oscillometric method. In the volume vibration method, blood pressure is measured by detecting the volume pulse wave of the finger artery with a photoelectric sensor. A cuff with an air bladder is used to compress the finger arteries and prevent ischemia. In the oscillometric method, similarly, the finger artery is compressed by the cuff, and the blood pressure is converted by detecting the pressure pulse wave of the air bag of the cuff with the pressure sensor.

As described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 54-58987 and Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 4-12964, in the conventional cuff of a finger sphygmomanometer, the air bag is formed of a stretchable material such as rubber. There is. In such a conventional cuff, FIG.
As shown in, both ends of this air bag 1 are cuff case 2
It is folded back to the outside so that the air bag does not come off from the case when putting in or taking out fingers.

[0005]

The problem of the air bag made of rubber is that it is easily damaged (punctured) because the elasticity of the rubber is lowered due to deterioration over time. In addition, since vulcanized rubber does not transmit light, when measuring blood pressure by the volume vibration method, a photoelectric sensor is arranged on the inner surface of the air bag as disclosed in JP-A-63-309241. However, the manufacturing process of the cuff becomes complicated and the cost becomes high.

Therefore, it has been proposed to form the bladder with a flexible material such as a polyurethane sheet. Polyurethane sheets are more durable than rubber and have the advantage of transmitting light.

However, since polyurethane does not have elasticity like rubber, the air bag made of rubber expands while increasing its volume like a rubber balloon, whereas the air bag made of polyurethane does not have the elasticity of a paper balloon. Only inflates. That is,
The polyurethane bladder inflates from its relaxed state until taut, but does not increase in volume thereafter. Therefore, when the end portion of the air bladder is restrained by the case as shown in FIG. 1, only the central portion of the air bladder expands inward in the radial direction. As a result, when the cuff size is set according to a thick finger as shown in FIG. 2, and when the finger is thin as in a woman as shown in FIG. Inadequate, incomplete ischemia.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a cuff for a finger sphygmomanometer capable of pressing a finger with sufficient pressure regardless of the size of the finger of the subject.

[0009]

[Constitution of the invention]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, an air bag (bladder) of a cuff is made of a non-stretchable material such as a polyurethane sheet, and a case is formed in an area excluding its axial end portion. It is characterized by being fixed to. In this way, the end of the air bag is free from the case, so when pressurized air is supplied to the air bag,
The end of the bladder can float radially inward from the case. Therefore, even if the air bag is made of a non-stretchable material, the inner sheet of the air bag can be pressed against the finger over a sufficient area.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the air bag is detachably fixed to the case by a fixing band. The fixing band is made of polyurethane or the like, and is joined to the air bag by welding or the like in the central region in the axial direction.

[0011]

FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 show a cuff according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The cuff of this example is designed for use in a finger sphygmomanometer by the oscillometric method, and therefore does not have a photoelectric sensor. Referring to the drawings, the cuff 10 has a cylindrical case 12 formed of a rigid material such as plastic, and an air bladder 14 fixed inside the case 12.

As shown in FIG. 5, in the air bag 14, a single rectangular polyurethane sheet is folded along the fold line 16, and the edges of the outer sheet 18 and the inner sheet 20 are three sides 22, 24 of the rectangle. It can be formed by high frequency welding along 26. Outer sheet 18 of air bag 14
An air joint 28 for connecting an air hose (not shown) from the air pump of the finger sphygmomanometer is welded to this. The air bag 14 is rolled as shown by an arrow and a chain line in FIG. 5, then inserted into the case 12 as shown in FIG. 4, and bonded to the case 12 as described later.

The outer sheet 18 and the inner sheet 20 are further welded along, for example, four seams 30 that are shorter than the axial length of the bladder, and a plurality of elongated air chambers 32 are provided when pressurized air is introduced. The bladder is inflated while forming the.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the air bladder 14 has a region 36 excluding an axial end region 34 of the air bladder 14.
It is fixed to the case 12 by the adhesive 38 applied to the. Thus, the bladder 14 is fixed to the case 12 exclusively by the central region 36, and the end region 34 is the case 1.
When the pressurized air is introduced, the end region 34 floats inward in the radial direction from the case 12 while shortening the axial length of the air bladder when the pressurized air is introduced. . Therefore, even if the air bag 14 is formed of a non-stretchable polyurethane sheet, it is possible to inflate the inner sheet 20 of the air bag sufficiently inward as shown in FIG. However, the artery can be blocked successfully.

Air bag 14 made of polyurethane sheet
It is preferable that the inner sheet 20 of FIG.
By doing so, it is possible to prevent the air bag from sticking to the sweated finger.

7 and 8 show an embodiment of a cuff suitable for use in a finger sphygmomanometer using the volume vibration method. The components common to the first embodiment described above are designated by the same reference numerals. Referring to FIG. 7, in this embodiment as well, the air bag 14 of the cuff 40 is formed by folding one rectangular polyurethane sheet and performing high frequency welding along three sides of the rectangle. The outer and inner sheets are the first
Similar to the embodiment, for example, it is welded along the plurality of seams 30.

The air bag 14 is further welded with three flexible fixing bands 42 made of a polyurethane strip. As can be seen from FIG. 7, these fixing bands 4
2 is welded to the outer sheet of the air bag along a welding line 44 that is shorter than the axial length of the air bag. Each fixing band 42 is provided with a hole 46 to allow the case 4 of the cuff 40 to be
The air bag 14 can be detachably attached to the device 8.

In the second embodiment, the cuff case 48 has a half cylinder 50A and a half cylinder 50B.
And fixing rings 52A and 52B at both ends. Each half has a hole 4 in the bladder fixing band 42.
A protrusion 54 corresponding to No. 6 is provided. As shown by the chain line in FIG. 8, the ends of the fixing band 42 are folded back, the holes 46 of the fixing band 42 are engaged with the protrusions 54, the two halves are tied together, and the fixing rings are snap-fitted at both ends. By assembling, the case 48 is assembled and
The air bag 14 is detachably fixed to the case 48.

The case 48 thus assembled is
It can be mounted on a base 60 having a light emitting element 56 such as a near infrared light emitting diode and a light receiving element 58 such as a photo sensor, and can be fixed by a cover 62 snap-fitted to the base 60. Emitter / receiver window 64A on the case half
And 64B are formed so that light from the light projecting element 56 passes through an air bag made of a translucent polyurethane sheet and is applied to the finger, and reflected light is made incident on the light receiving element 58. The signal from the light receiving element 58 is sent to a photoelectric pulse wave meter (not shown), and the blood pressure is measured by the conventional volume vibration method.

Since the fixing band 42 is welded to the outer sheet of the air bag by a welding line 44 shorter than the length of the air bag 14, both ends of the air bag are not restrained by the case 48. Also in the example, when pressurized air is introduced from the air joint 28, the air bag 14 expands inward in the radial direction, and even a thin finger can effectively block blood.

FIG. 9 shows a modified form of the air bag 14 shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. In this variation, the cuff bladder 70 is formed by high frequency welding two separate polyurethane sheets 72 and 74 along the four sides of the outer sheet 74. The outer sheet 74 is rectangular, but the inner sheet 72 is further formed with, for example, six protrusions 78 having holes 76. These protrusions 7
8 acts similarly to the fixing band 42 in the embodiment of FIGS. 7 and 8, and the air bag 70 is attached to the cuff case 48 by engaging the hole 76 of the projection 78 with the projection 54 of the cuff case 48.

The inner sheet 72 and the outer sheet 74 are further welded to each other by, for example, three welding seams 80. Similar to the seam 30 of FIG. 7, these seams 80 are formed only over the region of the air bag 70 excluding the axial end region. Also, the seam 80 is aligned with the protrusion 78.

Compared to the embodiment shown in FIG. 7, in this variation, the air bag 70 can be manufactured by welding in one step, so that the manufacturing process can be simplified and the manufacturing cost of the air bag can be reduced. . Further, the weld seam 80 has the projection 7
8 are aligned so that the respective air chambers of the bladder can be inflated substantially without being constrained by the cuff case 48.

[0024]

As described above, in the finger sphygmomanometer cuff of the present invention, since the axial end portion 34 of the air bag 14 is released from the restraint by the case, a non-stretchable material such as a polyurethane sheet is used. Even when it is formed by the above method, the air bag 14 can be sufficiently inflated and the finger can be pressed with a sufficient pressure regardless of the size of the finger. Therefore, the blood pressure measurement accuracy can be improved.

Further, since the air bag 14 can be formed of the light-transmitting polyurethane sheet as described above, the cuff of the present invention can be used for a blood pressure monitor by the volume vibration method.

A bladder 1 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
When 4 is detachably fixed to the case 48 by the fixing band 42, it can be easily replaced even when the air bag is damaged.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a conventional fixing method of a cuff air bag.

FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an inflated state of an air bag when a conventional cuff is engaged with a thick finger.

FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an inflated state of an air bag when a thin finger is engaged with a conventional cuff.

FIG. 4 is a partially cutaway enlarged perspective view of the cuff according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

5 is an exploded perspective view of the air bag of the cuff shown in FIG.

6 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 3, showing an inflated state of the air bag when a thin finger is engaged with the cuff shown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of a cuff air bag according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of a cuff according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged perspective view of a modified form of the air bladder shown in FIGS. 7 and 8.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10, 40: Cuff 12, 48: Cuff case 14: Air bag

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Yoshiki Echida 2-1-1 Nakajima, Kokurakita-ku, Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture Totoki Kikai Co., Ltd. (72) Kentaro Todoroki, Nakajima, Kitakyushu, Kitakyushu, Fukuoka 2 1st-1st Totoki Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Keisuke Kanzaki 2-1, 1-1 Nakajima, Kokurakita-ku, Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture (72) Totokiki Co., Ltd. (72) Teruhiko Takahashi Yushima, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 2-17-4 Ueda Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Akira Ono 2-17-4 Yushima, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo Ueda Manufacturing Co., Ltd.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A finger sphygmomanometer including a rigid cylindrical case and an air bag arranged inside the case and inflated by supply of pressurized air, wherein the air bag is made of a non-stretchable material. In the cuff, the air bag is fixed to the case in a region excluding its axial end portion so that the end portion of the air bag is displaced radially inward from the case when pressurized air is supplied to the air bag. A finger blood pressure cuff that is characterized by having done. 2. The cuff includes an elongated fixing band joined to the air bag in a region other than an axial end portion of the air bag, and the air bag is detachably fixed to the case by the fixing band. Finger blood pressure cuff based on. 3. The finger sphygmomanometer cuff according to claim 1, wherein the inner surface of the air bag is pear-textured. 4. A finger sphygmomanometer including a rigid cylindrical case and an air bag arranged inside the case and inflated by supply of pressurized air, the air bag being formed of a non-stretchable material. In a cuff, the bladder comprises an outer sheet and an inner sheet welded together by an axially welded seam extending over a region excluding its axial end, the end of the bladder being aligned with the seam to form a circle. A finger sphygmomanometer cuff, characterized in that a plurality of protrusions spaced in the circumferential direction are formed, and the air bag is detachably fixed to the case by the protrusions.