JPS63133030A - Electronic thermometer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make the thermometer fit well to a desired part of the surface of a human body, by carrying a power battery and a circuit element on a flexible substrate, the top of which is covered with a pliable and heat insulating cover material. CONSTITUTION:Electronic components of an electronic thermometer is covered with a pliable and heat insulating cover member 1 to hold a flexible construction as a whole. An electronic circuit 4 is an LSI which houses an electronic circuit in one chip and contains a temperature measuring means and a memory means. Changes in the resistance value of a chip thermistor 5 are converted into a temperature data by the temperature measuring means to be stored into the memory means. A flexible substrate 6 keeps the portion softly between electronic parts. The temperature data is read outside through a connector 2.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Field of Application] The present invention relates to an electronic thermometer, and particularly to an electronic thermometer that is flexible enough to conform to the body surface.

[Prior Art] A conventional electronic thermometer has a temperature-sensing part in the form of a rod, and the temperature is measured by inserting and fixing the temperature-sensing part into a specific region such as the armpit, rectum, or mouth. Therefore, in addition to lacking in flexibility, when measuring the temperature of areas other than those mentioned above, such as the body surface, it is difficult to fix the temperature sensing part to the body surface due to its shape.

Furthermore, conventional electronic thermometers are not suitable for long-term body temperature measurement due to their inflexible structure.

[Purpose of the Invention] The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned drawbacks of the prior art, and its purpose is to provide an electronic thermometer that can fit on any part of the body surface.

[Summary of the Invention] In order to achieve the above object, the electronic thermometer of the present invention includes a flexible substrate, a power battery and a circuit element mounted on the flexible substrate, the flexible substrate, the power battery, and the circuit. The outline of the method is to provide a flexible and heat-insulating covering material that covers the element except for the temperature sensing part.

Preferably, at least the output means for temperature measurement data is provided facing the outer surface through the covering material.

Preferably, one aspect thereof is that the outer surface of the covering material is provided with an adhesion means for fixing the electronic thermometer.

Preferably, the circuit element includes a temperature sensing portion that is sensitive to body temperature;
One aspect thereof is to include a temperature measuring means for measuring body temperature based on body temperature information from the temperature sensing section.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[First embodiment] Figure 1(a) is a top view of the electronic thermometer of the first embodiment.
Figure (b) is a sectional view taken along line (b)-(b) of Figure 1(a),
Figure (C) is a bottom view of the electronic thermometer of the first embodiment.

In FIG. 1(a), reference numeral 1 denotes a flexible and heat-insulating covering member, which covers the electronic components of the electronic thermometer and maintains the flexible structure of the thermometer as a whole. As such, polyurethane is used. 2 is a connector for taking out the temperature data accumulated by the thermometer, and 3 is a power source, which is preferably a replaceable or rechargeable one, such as a film-type lithium battery (
LB) is preferred.

In FIG. 1(b), numeral 4 is an LSI (C-MOS) in which an electronic circuit, which will be described later, is housed in one chip, and includes temperature measuring means and storage means. 5 is a chip thermistor (Rth) that changes its resistance value according to temperature changes, 6 is a flexible board that flexibly holds and electrically connects each electronic component, and 7 is a disposable type that can be attached directly to the skin on the body surface. This is double-sided tape. Flexible substrates include polyamide, polyester, polyparabanic acid,
Glass epoxy is used. The double-sided tape 7 is in a shape that allows the thermometer, which has a generally flexible structure consisting of the flexible substrate 6 and the covering member 1, to be attached to the body surface while conforming to the shape of the desired temperature measurement site.

In FIG. 1(C), the temperature sensing portion of the chip thermistor 5 comes into contact with the body surface through an opening 7a provided at approximately the center of the adhesive surface 7, and detects the temperature.

At that time, the heat insulating covering member 1 effectively blocks external temperature,
Enables accurate temperature measurement of the body surface. Furthermore, various diameters of electronic thermometers can be manufactured in consideration of the temperature measuring part, handling of the connector, etc.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the electronic thermometer according to the embodiment, and FIG. 3 is an operation timing chart thereof. Furthermore, Figure 1 (a
) to (C) are given the same numbers and explanations will be omitted. In FIG. 2, 41 is the reference clock signal F
42 is an oscillation circuit that generates a temperature data sampling signal SG and a memory write pulse signal WP by dividing the reference clock signal Fs. , 43 is an A/D converter that detects the temperature sensitive resistance Rth of the chip thermistor 5 at the timing of each sampling signal SG and converts it into digital temperature write data WD, and 44 is external measurement start time data and Temperature data W sampled after that
Random access memory (RAM) that stores a predetermined number of D
, 45 is an address counter that controls read/write addresses of the RAM 44.

In FIG. 3, when the lithium battery 3 is inserted, the oscillation circuit 41 oscillates and outputs the reference clock signal Fs. The timing circuit 42 divides the reference clock signal Fs,
For example, a sampling signal SG of a predetermined pulse width is outputted once every minute, and a write pulse signal wp of temperature data WD is outputted in synchronization with this. The temperature detection circuit of the A/D converter 43 includes a capacitor C1, a resistor R, and a chip thermistor 5.
, a multivibrator consisting of an inverter circuit. The oscillation clock frequency Fth is determined by the chip thermistor 5.
It changes depending on the change in the resistance value Rth, and is generally given by: Fth=KX1/(C-Rth). The counter circuit 431 counts the oscillation clock signal Fth of the multivibrator for a predetermined pulse width time of the sampling signal SG. Therefore, the counter circuit 431 outputs temperature data W proportional to the detected temperature.
D is obtained. The temperature data WD is input to R according to the address signal ADD (for example, n) of the address counter 45
It's outdated by AM44. Write pulse WP is RAM44
The temperature data WD can be written to the pulse W.
At the falling edge of P, the contents of the address counter 45 are incremented by 1. In this way, each temperature data WD is stored in the RAM.
44 in sequence. Then, when the storage in the RAM 44 reaches its maximum (the contents of the address counter 45 reach a predetermined value), a gate signal FULL is output.
stops the operation of the timing circuit 42. This is to prevent addresses from being recycled and destroying previously stored data. Therefore, the contents of RAM 44 are not lost until they are read externally.

Temperature data is read by connecting a cable to connector 2. When the external read gate signal RG is set to LOW level, the RAM 44 enters the read mode. A data line R/W-D connecting the connector 2 and the RAM 44 is connected by a bidirectional bus, and when the RAM 44 is in the read mode, the data read from the RAM 44 is valid. When a dummy pulse signal SP is sent from the outside, the contents of the address counter 45 are incremented by 1, and the address ADD becomes °゛0.As a result, the temperature data RD at address "0"
is output to the connector 2, so an external device (not shown) takes in this temperature data RD. Next, when the read pulse signal SP is sent from the outside, the contents of the address counter 45 increase by +1.
The address ADD becomes 1''. Similarly, the external device takes in this temperature data. At that time, the gate signal FULL is set by the dummy pulse signal SP.
However, since the period of the read pulse signal SP is much shorter than the period of the write pulse signal wp, the entire temperature data R is released sufficiently before the first write pulse signal WP is generated.
Finish reading D. Therefore, again the gate signal FU
When LL occurs, the timing circuit 42 is stopped and returned to the initial state.

Preferably, the temperature data at the start of measurement is always stored in the RAM 44.
The temperature data at the end of the measurement is stored at address 0 in the RAM.
It should be stored at the final address of 44. For this purpose, the gate signal FULL is normally set after all the temperature data RD has been read out, and the thermometer is left in this state when not in use. Generally, C-MOS ICs consume less power when not in operation, which is convenient for the lithium battery 3. When the thermometer is used after being left unused, the cable is connected and one dummy pulse signal SP is sent. Furthermore, when the thermometer is used immediately after reading without leaving it unattended, one extra reading pulse signal SP is sent at the time of reading. Gate signal FULL is turned off and timing circuit 42 is activated.

This embodiment has another measurement start method.

This is a method in which measurement start time data is externally written into, for example, address O of the RAM 44 at the time of starting measurement. First, when a dummy pulse signal SP is sent from the outside, the contents of the address counter 45 are incremented by 1, and the address ADD is
becomes 'O''. Next, read gate signal RG from the outside
When set to HIGH level, the RAM 44 enters the write mode.

As a result, the measurement start time data supplied from the outside becomes valid on the data line R/W-D. In this case, in order to invalidate the output from the counter circuit 431, a three-state circuit may be used for the output of the counter circuit 431, and the signal SG may be gated to this circuit. Next, when a write pulse signal SP is sent from the outside, measurement start time data is written to address 0, and at the falling edge of the pulse signal SP, the contents of the address counter 45 are incremented by 1, and the address ADD becomes "1".
become. Next, when the connector 2 is disconnected, the RAM 44 remains in the write mode due to the action of the pull-up resistor R, and temperature data is continuously written from address 1 as described above.

In this way, when reading temperature data from the outside,
It is only necessary to promise that measurement start time data is available at address 0.

It is easy to know how long the thermometer needs to be used before the RAM 44 becomes full. For example, the sampling period is 1
minute, and if the predetermined value of the address counter 45 is 3600, then 1
It is for 2 hours. You may remove it from the body surface midway through. Furthermore, if the measurement start time is known, or if measurement start time data is written, all temperature data corresponds one-to-one to the time at which the temperature data was detected. Therefore, it is well suited to be incorporated into diagnostic management systems such as hospitals.

In addition, a switch circuit may be provided in series with the lithium battery 3,
A signal circuit RS or the like may be provided that can reset the contents of the address counter 45 at any time. However, the electronic thermometer according to the present invention is more functional than
Its compactness, simplicity, and low cost, such as simultaneous multi-point measurement of the human body,
Or, it will demonstrate its power by being incorporated into a certain diagnostic management system.

[Second example FIG. 4 is a partial sectional view of the electronic thermometer of the second embodiment.

The difference from FIG. 1(b) is that optical communication is used in the connector section to receive and transfer data. In FIG. 4, 21 is a transparent glass member that allows optical signals to pass through and seals the connector part, 22 is a phototransistor that receives optical signals from the outside, 23 is an LED element that sends optical signals to the outside,
24 is an optical fiber cable. By doing this,
The thermometer itself can be made waterproof, allowing for easy and complete disinfection. Moreover, the connector part can be made smaller, and the size of the electronic thermometer can be reduced.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the electronic thermometer of the second embodiment, and FIG. 6 is an operation timing chart thereof. The difference from FIG. 2 is that, since an optical communication system is used, 8-bit parallel read data RD is serially converted by a PS interface 47 and serial data SRD is outputted to the outside. For this purpose, the timing circuit 42 outputs a shift clock signal Fc.

In FIG. 6, when a read pulse signal SP is manually input from the outside, the read data RD of the RAM 44 is latched into the PS interface 47 at the rising edge of the read pulse signal SP. Then, the shift clock signal Fc sequentially shifts out the latched contents. However, the read pulse signal SP and shift clock signal Fc are not synchronized. Therefore, the external device does not know when the first data bit will appear. Therefore, for example, “°1” is the serial bit that always appears first.
A start bit of “0” is attached to each temperature data. In this way, the external device can recognize the start bit at the first falling edge of the serial data after sending the read pulse signal SP, and subsequent synchronization can be achieved. By the way, since the first read pulse signal SP is a dummy signal, the external device first synchronizes with it, and then uses the shift clock signal Fc.
It is also possible to send a read pulse signal SP that is synchronized with.

[Third Embodiment] FIG. 7(a) is an external perspective view of an electronic thermometer according to a third embodiment. In FIG. 7(a), 101 is a flexible and heat-insulating covering member, and is a probe in which a chip thermistor is housed. 2 is a connector for taking out the temperature data accumulated by the thermometer, 3 is a lithium battery as a power source, and 4 is a circuit board, on which is a one-chip type SL.

FIG. 7(b) is a sectional view of the probe of FIG. 7(a). In the figure, the temperature sensing part of the chip thermistor 105 comes into contact with the body surface through an opening 107 provided in the center of the contact surface 108 to detect the temperature. At that time, the heat insulation covering member 1
06 effectively blocks external temperature and enables accurate temperature measurement of the body surface.

[Effects of the Invention] As described in detail above, the electronic thermometer according to the present invention is flexible enough to fit the temperature measurement site, and therefore the number of temperature measurement sites has been significantly increased. In addition, since such an electronic thermometer can be fixed to the measurement site using adhesive means such as double-sided tape,
Temperature measurements in areas that could previously only be measured at the bedside can now be measured under normal living conditions. Moreover, according to the embodiment, since the present electronic thermometer has a memory function, it is possible to measure a normal body temperature that is closer to the true value without placing an unnecessary psychological burden on the subject. For this reason, this electronic thermometer can be applied not only to health management but also to other fields such as psychology.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1(a) is a top view of the electronic thermometer of the first embodiment, Fig. 1(b) is a sectional view taken along line (b)-(b) of Fig. 1(a), and Fig. 1(C) is a top view of the electronic thermometer of the first embodiment. Figure 2 is a block diagram of the electronic thermometer of the first embodiment; Figure 3 is an operation timing chart of the electronic thermometer of the first embodiment; Figure 4 is the second embodiment. 5 is a block configuration diagram of the electronic thermometer of the second embodiment, FIG. 6 is an operation timing chart of the electronic thermometer of the second embodiment, and FIG. 7(a) is the third embodiment. FIG. 7(b) is a perspective view of the external appearance of the example electronic thermometer. FIG. 7(b) is a sectional view of the probe of FIG. 7(a). In the figure, 1... Covering member, 2... Connector, 3...
Film type lithium battery (LB), , 4...L
SICl3... Chip thermistor (Rth), 6...
- Flexible substrate, 7... Adhesive surface, 21... Transparent glass, 22... Phototransistor, 23... LE
D, 101... Probe, 102... Connector, 1
03...Lithium battery, 104...Circuit board, 10
5... Chip thermistor, 106... Heat insulating material. Patent applicant: Chillsen Co., Ltd. Figure 4 Figure 7 (b)

Claims (4)

[Claims] (1) A flexible substrate, a power battery and a circuit element mounted on the flexible substrate, and a flexible and insulating property that covers the flexible substrate, the power battery, and the circuit element except for the temperature sensing part. An electronic thermometer characterized by comprising a covering material having: (2) The electronic thermometer according to claim 1, wherein at least the output means for temperature measurement data is provided facing the outer surface through the covering material. (3) The electronic thermometer according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that an adhesive means for fixing the electronic thermometer is provided on the outer surface of the covering material. (4) The circuit element is characterized in that it comprises a temperature-sensing section that is sensitive to body temperature, and a temperature measuring means that measures the body temperature based on body temperature information from the temperature-sensing section. electronic thermometer.