WO2011030532A1

WO2011030532A1 - Ear thermometer

Info

Publication number: WO2011030532A1
Application number: PCT/JP2010/005460
Authority: WO
Inventors: 井尻朋応
Original assignee: テルモ株式会社
Priority date: 2009-09-11
Filing date: 2010-09-06
Publication date: 2011-03-17
Also published as: JP2011056137A; TW201108990A

Abstract

An ear thermometer which can be easily used by both the subject and the measuring person. An ear thermometer for measuring the body temperature of a subject, provided with an instruction section (103) which instructs the start of the measurement of the body temperature, a rotation section (105) which is configured so as to pivot along the surface shape of the housing of the ear thermometer, at a position facing the position at which the instruction section (103) is provided, and a probe (102) which is connected to the rotation section (105) at a predetermined angle relative to the direction normal to the surface along which the rotation section (105) pivots and which has mounted to the tip position thereof an infrared sensor and a thermistor.

Description

Ear thermometer

The present invention relates to an ear thermometer for measuring the body temperature of a subject.

As one of the electronic thermometers, an ear thermometer that inserts a probe into the ear canal and measures the body temperature using infrared rays emitted from the temperature measurement unit in the ear cavity (hereinafter referred to as an infrared ear thermometer) is known. (For example, see Patent Documents 1 and 2). In general, an infrared ear thermometer is composed of a main body and a probe, and the subject inserts the probe into the ear canal while supporting the main body and presses the measurement switch in that state. Perform body temperature measurements.

JP 2008-241364 A JP-A-11-123179

Here, in the case of the above-described infrared ear thermometer, the main body and the probe are fixed at a predetermined angle (an angle at which the subject can easily maintain the state where the probe is inserted into the ear canal while supporting the main body). Has been. This is because the angle suitable for maintaining the state in which the probe portion is inserted into the ear canal while supporting the main body portion does not change between subjects in a standard body shape subject. This is because there is no problem even if the angle between the probe portion and the probe portion is fixed.

On the other hand, when the subject and the measurer are different people, the measurer is supported at an angle suitable for maintaining the state in which the probe portion is inserted into the ear hole of the subject while supporting the main body portion. The angle suitable for maintaining the state where the examiner has inserted the body into the ear canal while supporting the main body is not necessarily the same.

For this reason, when the angle formed between the main body and the probe is fixed as in the case of the above-described infrared ear thermometer, there is a problem that it is difficult for a measurer other than the subject to measure the body temperature. For example, when measuring the body temperature of a subject during sleep using an infrared ear thermometer, it is difficult for the measurer to insert the probe portion straight into the ear hole of the subject and maintain the state. Therefore, the measurer is forced to take an unreasonable posture.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and is used in both cases where the measurer himself / herself measures body temperature as a subject and when the subject measures body temperature by a measurer such as an infant. An object is to provide an easy ear thermometer.

In order to achieve the above object, an ear thermometer according to the present invention has the following configuration. That is,
An ear thermometer that measures the temperature of a subject with the subject's ear cavity as a measurement target,
An instruction unit for instructing the start of body temperature measurement;
A rotating part configured to rotate along the surface shape of the housing at a position on the housing of the ear thermometer and facing the position where the indicating part is disposed;
A probe unit connected to the rotating unit at a predetermined angle with respect to a normal direction of a surface on which the rotating unit rotates is provided with a probe unit on which an infrared sensor and a thermistor are mounted. .

According to the present invention, both the case where the measurer himself / herself measures the body temperature as the subject and the case where the subject measures the body temperature by the measurer such as an infant, etc., for both the subject and the measurer. It becomes possible to provide an ear-type thermometer that is easy to use.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the accompanying drawings, the same or similar components are denoted by the same reference numerals.

The accompanying drawings are included in the specification, constitute a part thereof, show an embodiment of the present invention, and are used to explain the principle of the present invention together with the description.
It is a figure which shows the external appearance structure of the ear-type thermometer 100 concerning one Embodiment of this invention, 1A represents the back surface, 1B represents the front surface, and 1C represents the side surface, respectively. It is a figure which shows the internal structure of a probe part and a rotation part. It is a figure which shows the internal structure of a detection element container. It is a figure which shows a mode that a probe part moves with rotation of a rotation part. It is a figure for demonstrating the minimum angle A and the maximum angle B of a main-body part and a probe part at the time of seeing the ear-type thermometer 100 from the side. It is a figure (block diagram) which shows the function structure of the ear-type thermometer 100. It is a figure which shows the usage example of the ear-type thermometer.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[First Embodiment]
<1. External configuration of ear thermometer>
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an external configuration of an ear thermometer 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 101 denotes a main body. As will be described later with reference to FIG. 7, various components necessary for performing a body temperature measurement process are accommodated in the housing. The subject or the measurer measures the temperature of the subject while supporting the main body 101.

102 is a probe part which is inserted into the ear canal when measuring body temperature. The probe unit 102 incorporates an infrared sensor and a thermistor (details will be described later). In addition, the probe part 102 shall be comprised with the flexible material (elastic material) so that it may not give a pain to a subject, even if it hits an ear wall when it inserts in an ear canal.

An opening (not shown in FIG. 1) is provided at the distal end of the probe unit 102, and infrared rays emitted from the measurement target (preferably the eardrum) in the ear cavity reach the infrared sensor through the opening. To do. The diameter of the opening is such that the infrared sensor can detect only infrared rays emitted from the measurement target (that is, the eardrum that is the measurement target located in front of the infrared sensor and the ear canal in the vicinity thereof). (As limited to only).

103 is a measurement switch (instruction unit) for instructing the start of measurement. When pressed by the subject or the measurement person, the ear thermometer 100 starts measuring the body temperature. Since the measurement switch 103 is provided at a position opposite to the position where the probe 102 is disposed, the subject easily presses the measurement switch 103 even when the probe 102 is inserted into the ear hole. be able to.

104 is a power switch, and when pressed by a subject or a measurer, power is supplied to each part of the ear thermometer 100.

In the example of FIG. 1, the measurement switch 103 and the power switch 104 are separately provided. However, the present invention is not limited to this, for example, when the measurement switch 103 is continuously pressed for a predetermined time or more. In addition, the ear thermometer 100 may be configured such that the power supply is removed or disconnected (that is, the measurement switch 103 may function as a power switch).

105 is a rotating part. The surface shape of the rotating portion 105 is formed on the housing of the main body portion 101 so as to be integrated with the surface shape, and rotates an overhead line (details will be described later) extending in the normal direction at the center position of the rotating portion 105. The shaft is configured to rotate in the circumferential direction. The rotation mechanism of the rotation unit 105 is not particularly limited. For example, the rotation of the outer peripheral surface of the rotation unit 105 provided on the main body unit 101 side is approximately equal to the outer dimension of the rotation unit 105. It may be configured to rotate by sliding with respect to the inner peripheral surface of a part fixing hole (a hole in which the rotating part 105 is fitted and supporting the rotating part 105 (not shown in FIG. 1)).

By forming in this way, the integrated surface shape of the main body 101 and the rotating part 105 can be maintained even when the rotating part 105 rotates.

As will be described later, the rotating unit 105 supports the probe unit 102 at a predetermined angle with respect to the rotation axis and at a position shifted from the center position of the rotating unit 105.

106 is a display unit comprising a liquid crystal screen or the like, and displays the measurement results.

<2. Internal structure of probe and rotating part>
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an internal configuration of the probe 102. As shown in FIG. 2, the probe 102 is configured by a hollow cylindrical body 202 made of an elastic material having an opening 201 formed at the distal end position thereof. In the vicinity of the distal end position of the hollow cylindrical body 202, an infrared ray is formed. A detection element housing 203 in which a sensor and a thermistor are housed is mounted.

An opening 204 is provided at a position where the hollow cylindrical body 202 is connected in the rotating unit 105, whereby the cable 205 of the detection element housing 203 is connected to the substrate 206 provided in the main body 101. Connected directly. An adapter 102a for defining the insertion depth of the probe 102 may be detachably screwed or fitted to the base of the base of the hollow cylindrical body 202.

A groove 207 is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the rotating part 105, and the rotating part 105 is connected to the convex part 210 provided on the inner peripheral surface 209 of the rotating part fixing hole 208 of the main body part 101. The rotating part fixing hole 208 of the part 101 is supported rotatably.

<3. Configuration of sensing element container>
FIG. 3 is an external perspective view in which a part of the detection element housing 203 is broken. As shown in FIG. 3, the detection element housing 203 includes an attachment base member 301. On the attachment base member 301, a thermistor 302 that is a temperature detection element for detecting an environmental temperature, and a measurement object in the ear cavity. An infrared detecting element 303 for detecting the emitted infrared light is fixed.

The thermistor 302 is adjusted so that the absolute temperature, which is the operating environment temperature, can be measured. Further, the mounting base member 301 is made of a good heat conductor such as an aluminum material so that the outside air temperature is transmitted to the thermistor 302, and the thermistor 302 has a mounting surface area that increases the surface area of the mounting surface. It is fixed to.

Furthermore, an electrode lead 304 is attached to the thermistor 302, and the measurement result is output via the electrode lead 304.

On the other hand, the infrared detecting element 303 for detecting the infrared IR is adjusted so as to detect the relative temperature.

As described above, in the ear thermometer 100, the body temperature of the subject is calculated by adding the detection temperature detected by the infrared detection element to the detection temperature detected by the temperature detection element. The details of this calculation process are described in detail in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-123179, and the description thereof is omitted here.

In the ear thermometer 100 according to the present embodiment, a thermocouple type (thermopile type) detection element is used as the infrared detection element 303. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 3, on the wafer carrier 301c fixed on the pedestal 301b of the mounting base member 301, a hot junction 303a and a cold junction 303b formed in a petal shape are formed. Each hot junction 303a and cold junction 303b are made of different metals and connected in series, and an electrode lead 305 is attached to each contact.

Note that the region surrounded by the hot junction 303a is painted black to facilitate absorption of infrared rays.

Under such a configuration, the infrared detection element 303 detects the relative temperature based on the electromotive force generated between the contacts.

The detection element housing 203 includes a cylindrical container member 306 formed so as to surround the two detection elements, and the container member 306 includes an outer peripheral surface 306 a and a ceiling surface having a hole 307. .

The container member 306 is also formed of a good heat conductor such as an aluminum material or a stainless material like the attachment base member 301, and is configured to easily transmit the outside air temperature to the thermistor 302. A window member 308 made of a ceramic material that transmits infrared rays is fixed to the hole 307.

<4. Relationship between rotation of rotating part and probe angle>
Next, the relationship between the rotation of the rotating unit 105 and the angle of the probe unit 102 in the ear thermometer 100 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5.

Unlike the conventional ear thermometer in which the probe portion is directly fixed to the main body portion, in the ear thermometer 100 according to the present embodiment, the probe portion 102 has a rotation axis (in the normal direction at the center position of the rotation portion 105). It is connected to the rotating unit 105 at a predetermined angle with respect to the extending overhead line 105A. For this reason, the probe part 102 moves by rotating the rotation part 105, and the angle between the main-body part 101 and the probe part 102 can be changed.

4A and 4B are diagrams illustrating how the probe unit 102 moves by rotating the rotating unit 105. 4A in FIG. 4 is a front view of the

ear thermometer

100, and 4B in FIG. 4 is an ear thermometer. 100 side views are shown respectively.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a state in which the angle of the probe unit 102 with respect to the main body unit 101 is changed by the rotation of the rotating unit 105.

As shown to 4A of FIG. 4, the angle with respect to the rotating shaft 105A of the probe part 102 in the short axis direction (X-axis direction) of the ear-type thermometer 100 is adjusted by rotating the rotating part 105 to the circumference direction. be able to. For example, when the probe unit 102 is at the position 401 or the position 403, the angle of the probe unit 102 in the X-axis direction with respect to the rotation axis 105A is 0 degree. When the probe unit 102 is at the position 402, the angle of the probe unit 102 in the X-axis direction with respect to the rotation axis 105A is −θ degrees. On the other hand, when the probe unit 102 is at the position 404, the angle in the X-axis direction with respect to the rotation axis 105A of the probe unit 102 is + θ degrees.

Further, as shown in 4B of FIG. 4, the angle of the probe unit 102 with respect to the rotation axis 105A in the major axis direction (Y-axis direction) of the ear thermometer 100 is adjusted by rotating the rotation unit 105 in the circumferential direction. can do. For example, when the probe unit 102 is at the position 401 or the position 403, the angles of the probe unit 102 in the Y-axis direction with respect to the rotation axis 105A are + θ degrees and −θ degrees, respectively. Further, when the probe unit 102 is at the position 402 or the position 404, the angle of the probe unit 102 in the X-axis direction with respect to the rotation axis 105A is 0 degree.

FIG. 5 shows the angle change in the Y-axis direction of the probe unit 102 with the rotation of the rotating unit 105 described with reference to 4B of FIG.

In FIG. 5, reference numeral 501 denotes the long axis of the main body 101. When the angle between the rotation axis 105A of the rotation unit 105 and the long axis 501 is Θ, when the probe unit 102 is at the position 401, the angle of the probe unit 102 with respect to the long axis 501 is (Θ + θ) degrees. When the probe unit 102 is at the position 403, the angle of the probe unit 102 with respect to the long axis 501 is (Θ−θ) degrees.

That is, as the rotating unit 105 rotates, the probe unit 102 changes with respect to the long axis 501 of the main body unit 101 in a range from (Θ−θ) degrees to (Θ + θ) degrees. When Θ is 120 to 130 degrees and θ is 30 to 45 degrees, when the subject himself / herself measures body temperature, (Θ + θ) is 140 to 160 degrees, and the subject himself This is an angle suitable for maintaining the state of being inserted into the ear canal while supporting the main body, and (Θ-θ) is about 100 degrees when the subject is an infant and the subject is an infant. The angle is suitable for the measurer to maintain the state in which the probe portion is inserted into the ear hole of the subject while supporting the main body portion.

As shown in 5A of FIG. 5, in the ear thermometer 100 according to the present embodiment, when the probe unit 102 is at the position 401, the probe unit 102 is substantially perpendicular to the long axis 501 of the main body unit 101. For example, it is easy to use when the subject himself / herself measures the body temperature.

5B, in the ear thermometer 100 according to the present embodiment, when the probe unit 102 is at the position 403, the probe unit 102 is substantially parallel to the long axis 501 of the main body unit 101. Therefore, for example, when a measurer different from the subject measures the temperature of the subject (that is, when there is a certain distance between the subject and the measurer), usability is improved.

In the above description, the case where the probe unit 102 is located at any one of the positions 401 to 404 has been described. However, the rotation of the rotating unit 105 of the ear thermometer 100 can be stopped at an arbitrary position in the circumferential direction. Therefore, the subject or the measurer can set the probe unit 102 at a desired angle by rotating the rotating unit 105.

That is, the ear thermometer 100 according to the present embodiment is configured to be able to cope with various positional relationships between the subject and the measurer.

<5. Functional configuration of ear thermometer>
FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the ear thermometer 100. As shown in FIG. 6, the main body 101 of the ear thermometer includes a control unit 610, two

amplification units

622 and 632, a display unit 640, and a power source 650. The ear thermometer probe 102 includes an infrared sensor 621 and a thermistor 631.

The control unit 610 included in the main body unit 101 includes a CPU 611 that controls the entire ear thermometer 100, and a ROM 612 and a RAM 613 that store programs used for body temperature measurement, measurement results, and the like.

Also, the

amplification units

622 and 632 included in the main body unit 101 amplify the signals output from the infrared sensor 621 and the thermistor 631, respectively, and transfer them to the control unit 610. The signal transferred to the control unit 610 is converted into a temperature value by the control unit 610 and displayed on the display unit 640.

On the other hand, the probe unit 102 includes an infrared sensor 621 that detects infrared rays from a measurement target, and a thermistor 631 that detects a use environment temperature. The infrared sensor 621 and the thermistor 631 are connected to the amplification unit 622 and the amplification unit 632 of the main body unit 101 via cables, respectively. The absolute temperature can be detected by using these two sensors.

<6. Example of ear thermometer usage>
Next, a usage example of the ear thermometer 100 according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 7 shows two different usage examples of the ear thermometer 100. Reference numeral 7A in FIG. 7 shows a usage example when the rotating unit 105 is rotated and the probe unit 102 is set to the position 401. 7B shows usage examples when the rotating unit 105 is rotated and the probe unit 102 is set to the position 403, respectively.

As shown to 7B of FIG. 7, the ear-type thermometer 100 provides the angle suitable for a subject's own body temperature measurement similarly to the conventional ear-type thermometer by setting the probe part 102 to the position 403. be able to.

Furthermore, as shown to 7A of FIG. 7, the ear-type thermometer 100 sets the probe part 102 to the position 401, so that an angle that cannot be realized by a conventional ear-type thermometer (the measurer is the subject's An angle suitable for measuring body temperature).

Further, although not shown in FIG. 7, the probe unit 102 can be set to an arbitrary angle within the range of (Θ−θ) degrees to (Θ + θ) degrees with respect to the major axis 501 of the main body 101. The most appropriate angle can be freely selected in various situations. That is, it is possible to provide an ear-type thermometer that is easy to use for both the subject and the measurer, corresponding to any relative positional relationship between the subject and the measurer.

As is clear from the above description, the ear thermometer 100 according to the present embodiment is configured to be capable of adjusting the angle of the main body 101 of the probe 102 with respect to the long axis 501 by providing the rotating unit 105. As a result, it is possible to realize an ear thermometer that is easy to use for both the subject and the measurer.

[Second Embodiment]
In the first embodiment, a groove 207 is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the rotating portion 105 and is fitted to the convex portion 210 provided on the inner peripheral surface 209 of the rotating portion fixing hole 208 of the main body 101. 105 is configured to be rotatable within the rotating portion fixing hole 208 of the main body 101, but the present invention is not limited to this.

For example, a rail may be provided on the substrate 206, and the bottom surface of the rotating unit 105 may be configured to slide along the rail. Or you may comprise so that the rotation part 105 may be rotatably supported using another method.

In the first embodiment, the rotating unit 105 is configured to be able to rotate a plurality of times. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the rotating unit 105 is configured to limit the angle at which the rotating unit 105 can rotate. Also good.

In the first embodiment, the cable 205 of the detection element housing 203 is directly connected to the substrate 206. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, the substrate 206 via a slip ring. You may comprise so that it may be connected to.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, in order to make the scope of the present invention public, the following claims are attached.

This application claims priority on the basis of Japanese Patent Application No. 2009-2111018 filed on Sep. 11, 2009, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Claims

An ear thermometer that measures the body temperature of a subject with the subject's ear cavity as a measurement target,
An instruction unit for instructing the start of body temperature measurement;
A rotating part configured to rotate along the surface shape of the housing at a position on the housing of the ear thermometer and facing the position where the indicating part is disposed;
An ear that includes a probe that is connected to the rotating unit at a predetermined angle with respect to a normal direction of a surface on which the rotating unit rotates, and has an infrared sensor and a thermistor mounted at a tip position thereof. Expression thermometer.
The ear-type thermometer according to claim 1, wherein the probe is connected to the rotating unit at a position shifted from a center position of the rotating unit.
The ear-type thermometer according to claim 1, wherein the probe is made of an elastic material.