JPH0862043A - Thermometer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To obtain a thermometer for measuring the eardrum temperature accurately in a short time. CONSTITUTION: An infrared sensor 10 built in a probe part 5 detects infrared rays emitted from an eardrum continuously at a predetermined interval. The detected infrared rays are fed through a filter amplifier 13 and an A/D converting section 14 to a control section 15 where a body temperature is determined through processing. A peak value of body temperature is held in a memory section 16 and compared sequentially with measured values. When a measurement exceeds the peak value, the peak value is updated and stored in the memory section 16. The stored value is then compared with a peak value determined through a predetermined number of continuous measurements. If it is not updated, the peak value is regarded as a highest body temperature and the measurement is ended. The highest body temperature is presented on an indicating part 2 by driving an indication driving section 17.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a thermometer, and more particularly to a non-contact thermometer for measuring infrared rays.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, it has been useful to quickly and accurately read the temperature of the human body for the diagnosis and monitoring of many diseases. From this viewpoint, recently, the eardrum and / or the vicinity of the eardrum,
That is, infrared thermometers have been developed that measure body temperature by detecting infrared rays from the eardrum substantially in a non-contact manner.

The eardrum temperature includes body temperature information that is important as brain temperature because it shares blood flow with the hypothalamus, which is called the body temperature control center.

On the other hand, the temperature of the ear canal is essentially different from the eardrum temperature because it is due to venous blood cooled on the surface of the head.

As a typical device for measuring the eardrum temperature,
It is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,797,840. In this device, in order to measure the temperature of the human body, a probe is inserted into the ear canal of the human body, infrared rays emitted from the eardrum are detected, and the body temperature is measured in a short time without contact.

[0006]

However, the shape of the external auditory meatus of the human body, including the inner diameter and the length thereof, varies greatly among individuals due to differences in race, sex, age, etc., and the field of view is limited within a very short time. In order to detect the temperature in the ear at the probe tip, it is difficult to measure the actual eardrum temperature accurately, and there is a problem that the measured values vary widely during intermittent repeated measurement. .

Further, when the probe part and the main body part are integrated, there is a problem that it is not possible to confirm whether or not the temperature during measurement has a peak value.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional example, and searches the inside of the ear by the continuous measurement function to obtain the eardrum temperature considered to be the maximum temperature in the ear for a short time (for example, several seconds to several tens of seconds). ) Provides a thermometer that can be accurately measured.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a thermometer capable of notifying a person of measurement of a body temperature value during measurement by sounding different tones.

[0010]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention for achieving the above object is a thermometer for substantially detecting infrared radiation from an eardrum, the detecting means detecting infrared radiation from the eardrum, and the detecting means. A means for converting the infrared rays detected by the body temperature value into a body temperature value, a judgment means for judging whether the body temperature value is the highest temperature or not, and a thermometer for terminating the body temperature measurement based on the judgment result by the judgment means.

In a preferred aspect of the present invention, the determination means updates the peak value during continuous measurement at predetermined intervals, and after the peak value is updated, at least the peak value is predetermined for a predetermined number of continuous measurements. This is a thermometer that determines this peak value as the maximum temperature and finishes the measurement when it is not updated more than the number of times.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the judgment of the measurement end by the judgment means is a thermometer which continuously measures at a predetermined interval while the measurement switch of the thermometer is turned on and turns off to finish the measurement.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the thermometer is provided with a sound generating means for perceiving body temperature values during measurement in continuous measurement by audible sounds having different frequencies.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A thermometer according to an embodiment will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a thermometer according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing an algorithm for measuring body temperature.

<Fixed search time> After the power is turned on by the power switch 4 in the thermometer, the probe unit 5
The measurement start switch 3 is turned on (step S2) and the measurement is started (step S3) by inserting the tip part of the into the ear of the subject (in the ear canal) and clicking the measurement switch 3.

By the infrared sensor 10 provided in the probe unit 5, infrared rays from the eardrum and / or the external auditory meatus near the eardrum, that is, substantially the eardrum, are separated at predetermined intervals (for example, about 0.2 to 0.5 seconds). Is continuously detected, and is arithmetically processed by the control unit 15 via the filter amplifier 13 and the A / D conversion unit 14 to obtain a body temperature value (step S4).

The determination of the peak of the body temperature value is performed by holding the calculated peak value of the body temperature value in the storage unit 16 and comparing it with the sequentially measured values by the comparing means. This peak value is updated and stored in the storage unit 16 (steps S5 and S6).

In the algorithm of the present invention, there are two judgments that lead to the end of measurement, one is the judgment of the end of measurement by the judgment of the validity that the highest value has been captured, which is the start of measurement or the peak value. After updating, a certain number of consecutive times (for example, 2 to
When the peak value is not updated by the measurement of about 5 times), the peak value is set as the maximum body temperature, the measurement is ended, the display drive unit 17 is driven, and the display unit 2 displays the value (steps S7 and S9).

In the present embodiment, after the peak value is updated, if the peak value is not updated in two consecutive measurements after that, the measurement is ended (step S9).

The other one is the end of the measurement under the condition of the maximum number of times of measurement, and the maximum value is not captured within a predetermined time due to the condition (the number of times of maximum measurement) preset in the initial setting (step S1). In both cases, the control unit 15 ends the measurement (steps S8 and S9). By doing this, the maximum number of measurements (the interval between consecutive measurements is 0.2 to
(About 0.5 seconds) or the maximum measurement time can be limited.

In the present embodiment, the maximum number of times of measurement is set to 45 times (interval of continuous measurement is 1/3 seconds), which corresponds to the maximum measurement time of 15 seconds, and the body temperature can be measured in an extremely short time. Is.

The function is completely stopped by turning off the power switch 4 or turning off the auto power.
After turning on the power switch 4, auto power off
It is set to 5 minutes and is updated every measurement.

Even if the power switch 4 is turned off or turned off automatically, the maximum body temperature is stored in the storage unit 16 together with the measurement date and time for each subject, and thereafter the external output unit 20 is used. It can also be printed out.

It is also possible to store the maximum body temperature in the storage unit 16 together with the measurement date and time for each subject, and then display it as a trend graph on the display unit 2 as a display means.

<Search Time Variable Function> FIG. 3 is a flow chart of the measurement algorithm of the thermometer according to the present invention in which the search time is variable.

When the power switch 4 is turned on, the control unit 1
Initial setting is performed in step 5 (step S11).

The measurement switch 3 is turned on by inserting the tip of the probe 5 into the ear of the subject (in the ear canal) and clicking the measurement switch 3 (step S1).
2), measurement is started (step S13).

By the infrared sensor 10 provided in the probe unit 5, infrared rays from the eardrum and / or the ear canal in the vicinity of the eardrum, that is, substantially the eardrum, are separated at predetermined intervals (for example, about 0.2 to 0.5 seconds). Is continuously detected, and the control unit 15 performs arithmetic processing via the filter amplifier 13 and the A / D conversion unit 14 to obtain a body temperature value (step S14).

The determination of the peak of the body temperature value is performed by holding the calculated peak value of the body temperature value in the storage unit 16 and comparing it with the values sequentially measured by the comparing means. This peak value is updated and stored in the storage unit 16 (steps S15 and S16).

When the measurement switch 3 is off (step S17), the measurement is ended (step 20), the display drive section 17 is driven, and the body temperature value is displayed on the display section 2 (step S21). If the number of measurements is less than the initially set minimum number of measurements, the process returns to the measurement (steps S19 and S13).

In the present embodiment, the minimum number of times of measurement is set to 9, and once the measurement switch 3 is clicked, a minimum of about 3 times.
It is designed to measure body temperature in seconds.

As another measurement termination condition, the measurement termination by the maximum number of measurements (step S18, step S2)
0) is present, the measurement is forcibly ended after 45 measurements as in the case of <fixed search time>, and the body temperature value is displayed (step S21). However, in this case, it is not always necessary to set the maximum number of measurements as an initial setting condition.

The flow of the basic operation is the same as in the case of <fixed search time>, but during the time when the measurement switch 3 is turned on until the end of measurement, the search is continued and the measurement switch is turned on. The measurement ends when 3 is turned off. To completely stop the function, turn off the power switch 4 (OFF
F) or auto power off.

Even if the power switch 4 is turned off or turned off automatically, the maximum body temperature is stored in the storage unit 16 together with the measurement date and time for each subject, and then the external output unit 20 is used. It can also be printed out.

It is also possible to store the maximum body temperature in the storage unit 16 together with the measurement date and time for each subject, and then display it as a trend graph on the display unit 2.

<Sound Output Function> The thermometer according to the present embodiment outputs a plurality of types of audible sounds by the buzzer 19 as a sound generating means with different timbre, sound quality, frequency, etc. depending on the measured body temperature value.

The frequency of the output sound is controlled by, for example, the number of pulses within a unit time. FIG. 4 is an example of the waveform. In the figure, the sound corresponding to 37.0 ° C. is a pulse waveform having a frequency of about 2 kHz and a DUTY ratio of 0.5. At 42.0 ° C., it becomes 4 KHz, which is one octave higher. Between 37 and 42 ° C, body temperature values are assigned at 0.1 ° C intervals at almost equal intervals. The distribution for each body temperature may be even intervals on a logarithmic scale, and the DUTY ratio may be 0.1 to 0.9.
Any value may be set as long as it is within the range.

In addition to the above, as the sound output method, a pattern beeping when the peak value is updated and a sound of a substantially constant frequency is modulated to produce a beeping, low-temperature, It is also possible to adopt a system such as "pi, pi, pi, pi ..." at high temperature.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the outer surface of the thermometer 100 of the present invention.

The main body 1 and the probe 5 have a so-called pen-shaped straight shape, and have a central axis X in the longitudinal direction of the probe 5 and a central axis X'in the longitudinal direction of the main body 1.
Are formed so as to substantially coincide with each other.

As the material of the probe portion 5, a relatively hard synthetic resin such as ABS resin, polyurethane, polycarbonate, polypropylene, a soft vinyl chloride resin, a relatively soft synthetic resin such as a silicone resin, aluminum, an aluminum alloy. , Metal materials such as titanium, titanium-based alloys, brass, and copper are appropriately used.

The main body 1 includes a control unit 15 for processing temperature information and the like from the infrared sensor 10, a power supply unit 11, a storage unit 16 for storing temperature information and the like shown in FIG. A measurement switch 3 for starting temperature measurement and a power switch 4 are provided on the outer surface of the main body 1.

The measurement switch 3 is formed of a button switch such as a tact switch, and the power switch 4 is formed in a concave shape so that the power is not turned off accidentally, and a switch button is provided therein.

A display unit 2 such as liquid crystal for displaying temperature, error, etc. is provided at the end 1b opposite to the end 1a provided with the probe unit 5.

FIG. 6 shows a so-called separate type thermometer, which includes a main body 1 having a probe portion 5 at one end thereof.
Among the components built in the main body 1 shown in FIG. 1, at least the temperature processing unit 8 including the temperature display unit 2 is separated. Also in this case, the central axis in the longitudinal direction of the main body 1 having the grip portion 6 and the central axis in the longitudinal direction of the probe 5 provided at the end of the main body 1 are substantially in the same direction. It is formed as there is.

The temperature processing unit 8 includes a control unit 15 for processing temperature information and the like from the infrared sensor 10 provided in the probe unit 5 as shown in FIG. 1, a power supply unit 11, and a storage unit for storing temperature information and the like. 16 etc. are built in.

The probe section 5 and the temperature processing section 8 are connected to the signal line 7.
Etc., and is detachably connected. Further, the temperature information or the like for each subject may be printed out such as a trend display if necessary. Further, since the display unit 2 can be made larger than that of the integrated type, temperature information and the like for each subject can be trend-displayed on the display unit 2 as necessary.

The temperature information obtained by the infrared sensor can be wirelessly transmitted by a so-called telemeter method. In this case, the main body 1 is provided with a measuring circuit power supply unit, a storage unit for storing temperature information and the like, temperature information and the like. An output unit for outputting to the temperature processing unit 8 is provided.

At the time of use (at the time of temperature measurement), a probe cover (not shown) formed of a synthetic resin thin film (thickness of about 30 to 70 μm) of polypropylene, polyethylene or the like which substantially transmits infrared rays is used for the probe part. 5 covers the tip 5a.

The material of the main body 1 may be the same as that of the probe 5, or a relatively hard synthetic resin such as ABS resin, polyurethane, polycarbonate, polypropylene,
A metal material such as aluminum, an aluminum-based alloy, titanium, or a titanium-based alloy is used as appropriate.

The thermometer of the present invention can be applied to any type of thermometer such as a bolometer type and a pyroelectric type.

[0053]

As described in detail above, the thermometer according to the present invention is a thermometer that substantially detects infrared radiation from the eardrum, and includes a detection means for detecting infrared radiation from the eardrum and a detection means. Since the means for converting the detected infrared rays into a body temperature value, the judgment means for judging the validity of the body temperature value whether it is the maximum temperature, and the means for terminating the body temperature measurement based on the judgment result by the judgment means, Accurate eardrum temperature can be measured with time.

In a preferred aspect of the present invention, the determining means updates the peak value during continuous measurement at predetermined intervals, and after the peak value is updated, at least the peak value is predetermined for a continuous predetermined number of measurements. If it is not updated more than a certain number of times, this peak value is judged as the maximum temperature and the measurement is completed, so it is possible to easily capture the peak value and measure the accurate body temperature (eardrum temperature) in a short time. be able to.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the judgment of the measurement end by the judgment means is a thermometer which continuously measures at predetermined intervals when the measurement switch of the thermometer is turned on and turns off the thermometer to end the measurement. The accurate body temperature (eardrum temperature) can be measured in a short time without erroneous operation.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the thermometer is provided with a sound generating means for perceiving a body temperature value during measurement in continuous measurement by an audible sound having a different frequency. Can be perceived by
More accurate body temperature (tympanic temperature) can be measured in a shorter time.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, since the thermometer is equipped with a display means for displaying the body temperature value during the continuous measurement, the change in the body temperature (tympanic temperature) value during the measurement can be easily visually recognized.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a thermometer according to the present invention.

2 is a diagram showing a flowchart of the thermometer of FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a flowchart of another function of the thermometer of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a sound output waveform of a thermometer according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an external perspective view of a thermometer according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an external perspective view of a separate type of the thermometer according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Main body part 2 ... Display part 3 ... Measurement start switch 4 ... Power supply switch 5 ... Probe part 6 ... Grip part 8 ... Temperature processing part 10 ... Infrared sensor 11 ... Power supply part 13 ... Filter amplifier 14 ... A / D conversion part 15 Control unit 16 Storage unit 17 Display drive unit 19 Buzzer

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A thermometer for detecting infrared radiation, comprising:
Infrared detecting means for detecting infrared radiation, means for converting infrared rays detected by the infrared detecting means into a body temperature value, judging means for judging whether or not the body temperature value is the maximum temperature, and the judging means. A thermometer, characterized in that the body temperature measurement is completed based on the judgment result by 2. The determination means updates the peak value during continuous measurement at predetermined intervals, and after the peak value is updated,
The thermometer according to claim 1, wherein the peak value is determined to be the maximum temperature and the measurement is terminated when the peak value is not updated at least a predetermined number of times for a predetermined number of consecutive measurements. 3. The determination of the end of measurement by the determination means is that continuous measurement is performed at predetermined intervals when the measurement switch of the thermometer is turned on, and the measurement is ended by turning off the measurement. The thermometer according to claim 1 or 2. 4. A body temperature value during measurement in continuous measurement,
The thermometer according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising sound generating means for making different audible sounds perceive. 5. A display means for displaying a temperature value during measurement in continuous measurement is provided.
The thermometer according to any one of 1 to 4.