MXPA98000848A

MXPA98000848A - Portable tester of fertili

Info

Publication number: MXPA98000848A
Application number: MXPA/A/1998/000848A
Authority: MX
Original assignee: Rausnitz Gerald J
Priority date: 1995-11-08
Filing date: 1998-01-30
Publication date: 1998-04-01

Abstract

The present invention relates to a portable fertility tester for identifying the days during the menstrual cycle in which a woman is very likely to conceive, the tester has a circular disc with transparent regions indicated for each day of the menstrual cycle.

Description

PORTABLE FERTILITY TESTER FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to devices to determine if a woman is at a time within her menstrual cycle in which she is likely to conceive. More specifically, the invention is directed to the construction of such an apparatus that is portable, cheap and easy to use, and that can be used by a woman to evaluate her fertility on any day of her menstrual cycle, without the intervention of a doctor. nor another health professional.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION It is known that there are some days within the menstrual cycle of a woman in which she is fertile and likely to conceive, and other days in which the conception is unlikely. The fertility period typically lasts around six days for each thirty day period. It is known in the art to measure the temperature of a woman's body to detect her fertile periods. A decrease in temperature is associated with the fertile part of the cycle. Another method to determine fertility is by the consistency of the mucus in the vagina. The viscosity of mucus increases when fertility is high.

Another technique to determine fertility is by visual examination of the woman's saliva. In the fertile periods, the microscopic observation of the saliva reveals a structure that resembles ferns. In infertile periods, the same inspection of the saliva reveals dotted structures. The saliva test offers a simple way to determine fertility. It is known in the art to assemble a stage and an amplifier in a cylindrical tube having a light source. One such device is described in Czech patent No. 23701, entitled "Fertility Tester", issued to Meopta Prerov, AS, in a request made on June 23, 1992 and published on October 20, 1992. In addition to the inconvenience of having to clean said device from the previous saliva sample before each use, the Czech device does not allow a comparison of the specimens of saliva from day to day, nor a comparison of specimens between several days in different months.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The aforementioned problems of the prior art are solved by means of the present invention which provides a fertility tester which includes a circular disk having a plurality of at least partially transparent regions arranged concentrically, supporting means in the form of a housing in which the disc is rotatably mounted, and cover means in the form of a cover mounted on the housing and covering a portion of the disc, thereby preventing the view of some of the transparent regions; the cover means also have a window to expose at least one transparent region on which a woman can deposit a specimen of her saliva; the disk may rotate in relation to the housing whereby any of the transparent regions may be exposed. The cover also has an eyepiece to observe one of the transparent regions of the disc under amplification. In the housing are mounted lighting means to illuminate reverse saliva on the disc. The disc is printed with an identification sign for each of the transparent regions. The cover has an opening to expose the indication that corresponds to the transparent region under observation. Therefore, an object of the invention is to provide a fertility tester that allows a woman to easily observe her saliva with amplification under reverse light. Another object of the invention is to provide a fertility tester that is cheap, portable and that can be easily carried by the person. Another object of the invention is to provide a fertility tester in which patterns of saliva can be stored and observed during the days of a complete menstrual cycle.

A further object of the invention is to provide a fertility tester with an automatic extinguishing light source. Other objects of the invention will be apparent from the following drawings and description of a preferred embodiment of the invention in which similar reference numerals are used to indicate similar parts in the different views.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a perspective view of separate parts of a portable fertility tester in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the invention. Figure 2 is a perspective view of a portable fertility tester in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the invention in a first arrangement. Figure 3 is a perspective view of a portable fertility tester in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the invention in a second arrangement. Figure 4 is a sectional plan view of a portable fertility tester in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the invention, taken along line 4-4 of Figure 2. Figure 5 is a plan view in section of a portable fertility tester in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the invention, taken along line 5-5 of Figure 3.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED MODALITY Referring now to Figure 1 of the drawings, a fertility tester 1 is shown having a lower housing 3, generally cylindrical, with a floor 5 and a cylindrical wall 11. Wall 11 extends upwardly from floor 5 and it has an inverse curvature 15 so as to form a notch in the circumference of the otherwise circular housing 3. The upper part of the wall 11 is stepped, it has an internally extending flange 17 from which a cylindrical edge 7 having an outer circumference flush with the outer circumference of the wall 11 extends. On the flange 17 is located seated a circular disk 19 having a circumferential rail 21 along which there are circular transparent regions 23 closely spaced. The disc 19 can be made of a plastic or glass material. If the disk 19 is made of a transparent material, the transparent regions 23 can be defined by printing margins surrounding each of the transparent regions 23 on the disk 19, as shown in the drawings. If the disc is formed of an opaque material, transparent regions can be provided by forming openings in the disc and mounting a transparent plate in each opening.

Each of the circular regions 23 of the transparent disc 19 serves as a stage for receiving the user's saliva on a given day. Adjacent to each circular transparent region, there is a clue in the form of an index number corresponding to the day in the cycle during which the saliva is examined to determine fertility. A data area 25 is provided in the central region of disk 19 to record the user's name and a date, eg, the one corresponding to the first day of the cycle recorded on disk 19. Preferably, each disk 19 is provided with thirty transparent circular regions 23 to cover the duration of most typical menstrual cycles. The indicia are printed on the disk 19 in the form of index numbers arranged in a circle within the lane 21, in which the transparent regions 23 are arranged, and concentric therewith. Each indicia or index number is in radial alignment with a corresponding circular transparent region 23 and radial lines extend between the indicia and circular transparent regions 23 to indicate correspondence. The outer diameter of the disk 19 is only slightly smaller than the internal diameter of the edge 7 on the housing 3, but larger than the internal diameter of the wall 11. When it sits on top of the flange 17, the disc 19 is free to rotate around its center while being confined against translational movement by means of the edge 7. With reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, as the disc 19 rotates, the transparent translucent regions 23 are inside. of the radius of the wall 11, except in the notch 9 in which the disc 19 extends beyond the inverse curvature 15 in the wall 11, thereby making accessible a circular transparent region 23 for depositing a specimen of saliva, as well as for observation, if desired. As best seen in FIGS. 4 and 5, a lighting unit 31 is mounted within the housing 3 in the form of a light-emitting diode (LED 33) having a battery compartment 35 for receiving two conventional button cells. The LED 33 is connected by means of a conductor, through a resistor 37, to a contact of a normally open switch 39 operated by a lever cam 41. When the switch 39 is operated (see Figure 5), it applies the voltage of the batteries to the LED 33 thereby causing the LED 33 to turn on. Mounted removably on top of the housing 3 is a cover 4 which serves as a cover to obscure most of the upper surface of the disk 19, allowing at the same time access or observation of a specimen and its identification sign for a selected day. The cover 4 has a cylindrical wall 6 with an internal diameter equal to, or slightly greater than, the external diameter of the wall of the housing 11, so that the cover 4 can be removably mounted on the housing 3 and held in place by friction between the wall of the cover 6 and the outer wall of the housing 11. The cover 4 and the housing 3 are preferably made of a material of substantially rigid plastic having some elasticity to facilitate the positioning and removal of the cover 4 on the housing 3, and to increase the friction between them. The circular cover 4 has a groove 8 in register with the notch 9 in the wall of the housing 11; the notches 8 and 9 in the cover 4 and the housing 3, respectively, define an open window 10 through which the rail 21 passes as the disk 19 rotates around its center, thereby allowing access to any circular transparent region. of disc 19 to allow the deposit of a specimen of saliva on it (see figures 2 and 3). Within the upper surface of the cover 4, adjacent the notch 8, is a circular opening in which a cylindrical protrusion 43 having a threaded hole is mounted. An eyepiece 45 has a threaded focusing tube with threads on its outer circumference and magnifying lenses 31 at its upper end surrounded by a collar 47. The focus tube of the eyepiece 45 is threaded towards the hole in the protrusion 43. There are axial grooves. 49 molded on the outer circumference of the collar 47 of the eyepiece 45 to increase the grip of the collar 47 to be able to rotate the eyepiece and focus an amplified image of the saliva on the transparent region 23 of the disc 19 in register with the eyepiece 45, which is illuminated of reverse when the lever cam 41 of the switch 39 is actuated. An elongated slot 53 is formed in the upper surface of the cover 4, adjacent the notch 8 and the eyepiece 45, in alignment with the indicia printed on the disc 19 to allow observation of the index number of each circular transparent region 23 on the disc 19 when in position for the deposit of a specimen of saliva in window 10 or in alignment with eyepiece 45 for observation. In use, the woman who seeks to determine if she is in the fertile period of her menstrual cycle, rotates the disc 19 until the transparent region 23 of the numbered disc corresponding to the day of her menstrual cycle is placed inside window 10. After , she applies a small amount of her saliva to the exposed surface of the transparent region 23 and allows it to dry for one to five minutes. Then, turn the disk 19 until the transparent region 23 for that day is in alignment with the ocular 45. Then the switch 39 can be operated to illuminate the specimen on the transparent region 23 of the disk. The fertility tester is then held with the lenses 51 near the eye. The eyepiece 45 is focused by turning the collar 47 until a clear pattern can be seen in the saliva. If the pattern is similar to a fern, the woman can conclude that she is fertile. If a dot pattern is seen, then it can be concluded that she is probably not fertile at that time. The same procedure is repeated daily throughout the menstrual cycle. At the end of each cycle, the disk 19 can be replaced with another by removing the cover 4 of the housing 3 and simply removing the disk 19. Data indicative of the user name and month of the cycle can be recorded on the disk 19 for later reference. Saliva patterns indicating fertility are known in the art and do not form part of the invention, which is directed to an apparatus for convenient saliva fertility testing for a woman to use on a daily basis during each menstrual cycle. It is to be appreciated that the foregoing is a description of a preferred embodiment of the invention, to which variations and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims

NOVELTY OF THE INVENTION CLAIMS

1. - A fertility tester comprising: a circular disk having an upper and a lower part and a plurality of at least partially transparent regions disposed concentrically along it; support means on which said disc is rotatably mounted; and cover means fixedly mounted in relation to said support means and covering a portion of said disc, thereby preventing the view of some of said transparent regions; said dial means also have an ing through which at least one of said transparent regions is exposed to allow a woman to place her saliva on it; said disc can be rotated in relation to said dial means with which any of said transparent regions can be exposed.

2. A fertility tester according to claim 1, characterized in that said support means comprise a housing, said disc is removably and rotatably mounted therein, and said cover means comprise a cover mounted removably on said housing, with said cover partially covers said disc when the cover is mounted on said housing, and said disc can be removed from said housing when said cover is removed therefrom.

3. A fertility tester according to claim 2, characterized in that said housing comprises a circumferential rim to support the external circumference of the lower part of said disc.

4. A fertility tester according to claim 2, characterized in that said cover has a notch in its outer circumference defining said ing.

5. A fertility tester according to claim 1, characterized in that said cover means have an ing to provide a view of one of said transparent regions.

6. A fertility tester according to claim 5, further characterized in that it comprises ocular means mounted on said dial means that to provide an amplified view of one of said transparent regions.

7. A fertility tester according to claim 5, further characterized in that it comprises lighting means mounted on said support means in alignment with said cover means, which to illuminate the saliva on said disc.

8. A fertility tester according to claim 5, characterized in that said disc is printed with an identification mark for each of said transparent regions and said dial means have an ing to expose the indication corresponding to the transparent region under observation.