JPH10281885A - Sanitary protector for electronic thermometer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a sanitary protector for electronic thermometer in which the probe of a thermometer can be protected sufficiently against contamination, or the like. SOLUTION: The sanitary protector for electronic thermometer comprises a temperature measuring probe 11 formed at the front housing part 15 of a thermometer 1, a disposable wrapping film 2 applied to the front housing part 15 in order to protect the probe 11 and the front housing part 15, a stopper 3 of cup structure (or truncated hollow cone structure) arranged around the wrapping film 2 in order to secure the wrapping film 2 to the front housing part 15, and a dust shield 4 applied over the probe 11 in order to prevent dust from intruding into the probe of the thermometer and contaminating the probe.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sanitary protection device for an electronic thermometer, and more particularly to a sanitary protection device for an electronic thermometer for transmitting and receiving a signal modulated by a spread spectrum method using a wired private branch exchange communication line. is there.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an electronic thermometer, in order to protect the hygiene of a probe for temperature measurement, it is often practiced to cover the probe with a cover. U.S. Pat. No. 4,895,164
No. 4,911,559; U.S. Pat.
No. 872 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,410,032 both disclose a disposable probe cover used to cover and protect the measurement probe portion of a medical infrared thermometer. These probe covers protect the measurement probe portion of the thermometer or protect hygiene.

[0003]

However, the conventional disposable probe cover as described above is economically wasteful of money and has a problem of discarded waste. In home thermometers, electronic thermometers are used repeatedly by the same people in the home. If the protective probe cover is always discarded and replaced with a completely new probe cover after the body temperature is measured, this will increase the cost of the household and cause a waste problem.

In any case, once the protective probe cover is removed from the ordinary thermometer, the probe's radiation inlet tube is exposed to a dusty environment before the probe is again covered by the probe cover, The probe is contaminated and will have some effect on the measurement accuracy of the thermometer.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and a first object of the present invention is to provide a sanitary protection device for an electronic thermometer capable of sufficiently protecting a probe of a thermometer from contamination or the like. That is.

A second object of the present invention is to provide a sanitary protection device for an electronic thermometer at a reduced cost by using a cheaper protective cover for the probe.

[0007] A third object of the present invention is to provide a sanitary protection device for an electronic thermometer capable of realizing more environmental protection by using a readily disposable material for the protective cover.

[0008]

According to the present invention, there is provided a disposable wrapping film coated and mounted on a front housing portion of an infrared thermometer, and a truncated hollow conical structure. A thermometer having a probe mounted inside the front housing is disposed around a disposable wrapping film overlying the front housing portion when the front housing portion and the probe are inserted into a hole in a human ear. A locking member for preventing contamination, a thin film for shielding dust covered over the probe to cover and protect the radiation introducing tube of the probe and prevent the probe from being contaminated, A fixing ring to be fixedly mounted on the probe, and a thin film and a front cir- cuit arranged around the dust film and the dust film on the probe. A dust contact member held between the inner wall of the jig portion and an annular contact ring, the annular contact ring forming an annular air passage between the probe and the front housing portion; It is an object of the present invention to provide a sanitary protection device for an electronic thermometer, comprising:

With this configuration, the heat conduction between the front housing part and the probe is minimized, the temperature of the human ear hole whose temperature is to be measured is reliably measured, and the reliable and accurate temperature measurement is performed. Can do it.

[0010]

1 to 4 show an electronic thermometer equipped with a sanitary protection device according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in these drawings, an infrared thermometer 1 is taken as an example of an electronic thermometer according to the embodiment. The thermometer 1 includes a probe 11 for temperature measurement formed on a front housing portion 15 of the thermometer 1.
A disposable wrapping film 2 coated on the front housing portion 15 to protect the probe 11 and the front housing portion 15; and a wrapping film for fixing the wrapping film 12 to the front housing portion 15 of the thermometer 1. A locking member 3 having a cup structure (or a truncated hollow cone structure) disposed around the film 2 and a probe 11 for preventing dust from entering and contaminating the probe of the thermometer 1. And a dust blocking member 4 covered on the top.

The probe 11 of the thermometer 1 has a substantially conical structure, and has a tapered structure in which the diameter of the probe 11 gradually decreases toward the front (toward the tip) of the thermometer 1 inside the front housing portion 15. The thermometer 1 further includes a radiation introducing tube 12, a sensor 13, and a printed circuit board 1 connected to the sensor 13.
4, a trigger switch 16, and an annular gap 18. The radiation introducing tube 12 is formed to extend in the longitudinal direction inside the probe 11, and is configured to pass a wave of radiation such as infrared rays from an ear hole of a person (male or female) whose body temperature is to be measured. The sensor 13 is provided behind the probe 11 so as to detect a radiation wave, convert the radiation wave into an electric signal, and output the electric signal. The printed circuit board 14 is the sensor 1
Behind 3, it is fixedly supported by a plurality of shafts 141 formed inside the thermometer 1, and is electrically connected to the sensor 13 for processing an electric signal into a readable digital temperature value. ing. The temperature value is displayed on a window of a liquid crystal display (LCD) provided in the thermometer 1. The trigger switch 16 switches on the thermometer 1 so that the thermometer 1 measures the body temperature. The annular gap 18 is formed coaxially with the housing in the front housing portion 15, and as shown in FIG. 3, forms an inner wall 154 of the front housing portion 15 with the probe 11 covered with the dust blocking member 4. It is provided between them. The front housing part 15 also has a tapered structure that gradually decreases in diameter from the main body part of the thermometer 1 toward the front (toward the distal end), and surrounds the probe 11.

The disposable wrapping film 2 comprises:
Although the film itself is made of a thin and flexible transparent film such as a polyethylene (PE) film through which infrared radiation waves can pass, various other materials can be considered.

The wrapping film 2 has a size (area) sufficient to cover the front housing portion 15 of the thermometer 1. After the wrapping film 2 is attached to the front housing portion 15 of the thermometer 1, the wrapping film 2 is detachably fixed to the front housing portion 15 by the locking member 3 formed into a truncated hollow conical structure.

The locking member 3 includes a hollow frustoconical portion 31 forming a main body of the locking member 3, a distal end opening 32 formed at a distal end portion of the locking member 3, The base portion has a base concave portion 33 formed in a substantially annular shape. The truncated cone portion 31 is slidably mounted on a rear enlarged portion 152 formed at the rear of the front housing portion 15 of the thermometer 1. The distal opening 32 is formed at the distal end of the truncated cone portion 31 and is positioned adjacent to a distal taper 150 formed at the distal end of the front housing portion 15 of the thermometer 1. Base recess 33
Is formed in a substantially annular shape at the base end portion of the truncated cone portion 31 and can be engaged with a projection 153 provided at the rear end portion of the front housing portion 15 of the thermometer 1 and having a substantially triangular cross section. ing.

The wrapping film 2 covered on the front housing part 15 is the front housing part 1 of the thermometer 1.
5 seals the front end opening 151 formed at the front end of the front housing part 1 and
5 is also covered to prevent contamination of the probe 11 of the thermometer 1 by dust in the human ear hole.

The dust blocking member 4 includes a thin film 41 for blocking dust, a fixing ring 42 for fixing the thin film 41 on the probe 11, and a gap between the thin film 41 and the inner wall of the front housing portion 15. And an annular contact ring 43 held. Thin film 41
Is made of a film material that is transparent and capable of transmitting radiation waves (however, various other materials are conceivable), and is large enough to cover the radiation introduction tube 12 of the probe 11. (Area). Retaining ring 4
The dust blocking member 41 engages with an annular concave portion 111 formed in a circle around the probe at a relatively rear portion of the probe 11 covered with the thin film 41.
Is locked to the probe 11. The contact ring 43 extends circumferentially and is fixed between the inner wall 154 of the front housing portion 15 of the thermometer 1 and the thin film 41 covered on the probe 11, and is fixed in the annular space 18 in front of the fixing ring 42. Is positioned at

The contact ring 43 is provided on the front housing part 1.
Since it is provided as a packing fixed between the inner wall 154 of the thermometer 5 and the probe 11, it has a function of fixing or holding the probe 11 inside the front housing portion 15 of the thermometer 1. The contact ring 43 also has a contact surface such that the probe 11 and the front housing part 15 of the thermometer 1 are connected at one point (exactly in one linear contact) as shown in FIG. By restricting, a gap 18 is interposed between the front housing portion 15 and the probe so that the gap 18 serves as a sufficient heat insulating medium and minimizes heat transfer including heat conduction. I'm stopping. This allows
By reducing the influence of the ambient temperature outside the probe 11 and detecting the radiation wave arriving from the hole of the human ear through the radiation introducing tube 12 of the probe 11, a highly reliable and accurate body temperature measurement can be performed. it can.

After the body temperature has been measured by the thermometer 1 of the present invention, the locking member 3 is removed by removing the base recess 33 of the locking member 3 from the projection 153 of the front housing portion 15, and then the wrapping film. 2 is removed and discarded. Since the wrapping film 2 is cheaper than the locking member 3, the locking member 3 can be used repeatedly. In order to use the thermometer for home or personal use, the locking member 3 can be used repeatedly without being discarded in order to keep costs low and reduce waste.

The thin film 41 of the dust blocking member 4 realizes accurate body temperature measurement and the life of the thermometer 1 (service life).
The probe 11 is sealed at a high density in order to increase the length of the probe 13 so as to prevent dust from entering the sensor 13.

The infrared thermometer that has been used in the description of the present invention can also be used with other disposable wrapping films, locking members, or other thin films for blocking dust, as described above. It can be replaced with an electronic thermometer (thermometer). The present invention also provides more protection against contamination of the thermometer probe, and replaces disposable covers with less expensive disposable films to reduce costs and solve waste problems. It is superior to conventional electronic thermometers in that it achieves environmental protection. In the thermometer 1 according to the present invention, only the tip of the wrapping film 2 is contaminated by dust in the hole of the human ear, and the tip of the locking member 3 is formed into a hollow truncated cone structure. It is not contaminated, and the cost can be reduced by repeated use.

Various changes and modifications can be made to the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

[0022]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Since the probe of the thermometer is sufficiently protected from contamination, accurate temperature measurement can be realized and the life of the thermometer can be extended.

Further, since a cheaper disposable film member is used as the disposable cover, the cost can be reduced.

Further, since the disposable cover is made of a material which is easy to dispose, effects such as realizing environmental protection can be obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded view illustrating elements of an electronic thermometer provided with a sanitary protection device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing an assembled state of the electronic thermometer and the sanitary protection device according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged partial sectional view showing an internal structure of a front housing portion of the electronic thermometer in the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing a front housing portion of the electronic thermometer in the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Thermometer (thermometer) 2 Wrapping film 3 Locking member 4 Dust blocking member 11 Detector 12 Radiation introduction tube 13 Sensor 15 Front housing part 31 Truncated cone part 32 Tip opening 33 Base recess 41 Thin film 42 Fixing ring 43 Contact ring

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A sanitary protection device for an electronic thermometer having a probe for detecting a body temperature, wherein the sanitary protection device is disposed inside the front housing portion of the thermometer with a gap between the front housing portion and the front housing portion. A disposable wrapping film, which is made of a transparent, transparent, radiation-permeable film and is attached to the front housing of the thermometer, and is formed into a truncated pyramid structure at the tip. A locking member detachably attached to the base end of the front housing part to fix the disposable wrapping film covered and mounted on the front housing part, and to cover and protect the probe inside the front housing part of the thermometer. And a dust blocking member for preventing the inside of the probe from being contaminated. After the temperature is measured by the thermometer, the wrapping film is removed. While being is discarded, the locking member sanitary protection device for an electronic thermometer characterized in that it is repeatedly used. 2. A hollow truncated cone which forms a main body of the locking member and is slidably mounted on a rear enlarged portion formed at a rear portion of a front housing portion of the thermometer. Formed at the tip of the truncated cone part,
A distal opening positioned adjacent a distal taper formed at a distal portion of the front housing portion of the thermometer; and a substantially annular rear end of the front housing portion formed at a proximal end portion of the truncated pyramid portion. The sanitary protection device for an electronic thermometer according to claim 1, further comprising a base concave portion engageable with a projection provided on the portion. 3. A disposable wrapping film over the front housing portion seals a tip opening formed at a tip portion of the front housing portion of the thermometer and covers the front housing portion of the thermometer. 2. The sanitary protection device for an electronic thermometer according to claim 1, which has a sufficient area to prevent contamination of the probe of the thermometer. 4. The dust blocking member is made of a transparent film material through which a radiation wave can be transmitted, and has a sufficient area for sealing a radiation introducing tube formed on a probe. A fixing ring for fixing a dust blocking member to the probe by engaging with an annular concave portion formed around the probe at a relatively rear portion of the probe covered with the thin film film; and a thermometer. And a contact ring positioned circumferentially extending and fixed between the inner wall of the front housing portion and the thin film covered on the probe, and positioned in an annular gap in front of the fixed ring. The sanitary protection device for an electronic thermometer according to claim 1, wherein: 5. The contact ring has a contact portion such that a linear contact is made between the probe and the front housing portion of the thermometer, and a gap is provided between the front housing portion and the probe. 2. The sanitary protection device for an electronic thermometer according to claim 1, wherein the heat transfer between the front housing part and the probe is reduced by interposing.