JPS5918425A - Electronic clinical thermometer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To eliminate trouble, by providing two means by which bodily temperatures are estimated based on the increasing trend of the temperature, and selecting and displaying one temperature. CONSTITUTION:A digitalized bodily temperature is obtained by a temperature measuring circuit 5 based on the electric resistance value from a temperature sensing element 1. The maximum value of the intermittent measured results is recorded by a maximum value holding circuit 6. Estimated values are calculated by first and second estimating value calculating means 7 and 8 based on the temperature increasing trend from the circuit 5. One of the results is selected by a selecting means 9 and displayed by a liquid crystal display 3. At this time, the means 7 performs the calculation so that the result is made to agree with the temperature obtained by a conventional mercury type thermometer for 3-5min measurement. The means 8 is made to perform the calculation so that the result is made to agree with the temperature obtained by the conventional mercury thermometer for ample measurement of 20 or more minutes. In this way, misunderstanding, which is liable to be harbored by a person to be checked, can be avoided.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] The present invention relates to an electronic thermometer.

There are electronic thermometers on the market that use a thermometer as a thermosensor, convert the analog electrical signal obtained by the thermosensor into a soltal value, and display the temperature measurement result on a numerical display. Because of the image of the word "electronic," thermometers are viewed by the general public with the expectation that since they move at high speed, the amount of time it takes to measure temperature will be extremely short. However, in armpit temperature measurement, which is a common temperature measurement method in Japan, the time constant of the thermistor, A/
D-conversion time, more than a temporary drop in body surface temperature called drawdown, the underarm body surface wetness change close to the outside temperature is stored by heat transfer through the body's fat layer after the measurement starts. Because it takes a lot of time to reach body temperature, there are cases where temperature measurement is made possible in a short period of time by using a predictive wave based on the rate of increase, rather than waiting until the temperature converges. In the above-mentioned inferential temperature measurement, the technical problem is how to reduce the error with body temperature, and various calculation formulas have been devised to solve this problem.

However, when looking at the error between body temperature (actually measured value) and estimated body temperature (value obtained by calculation), it is necessary to be aware of software problems related to body temperature that are not well understood by general users. In other words, when general users take their temperature using the conventional mercury body temperature method, they often use incorrect terms such as "1-minute meter" or "3-minute meter," and are unable to grasp the temperature rise during use. Therefore, many people stop measuring their temperature 3 to 5 minutes after starting the measurement, recognize the temperature at this time as their body temperature, and remember it as their normal temperature. However, when we tracked the actual underarm temperature, we found that the temperature continued to rise slightly even 10 minutes after the start of the temperature measurement, and the temperature was 15 to 20 minutes after the start of the temperature measurement.
In minutes, it is saturated and the temperature is no longer 75! It turns out that it does not rise.

Even though it takes 20 minutes to accurately measure body temperature under the armpit, the temperature measurement is always interrupted after 3 to 5 minutes.
If a user who believes that this value is his or her own body temperature is shown an accurate body temperature after 20 minutes of measurement using guess calculations, he or she may suspect that the guess calculation is wrong. There were many users. This invention was developed in order to reduce the troubles caused by misunderstandings by users, and when performing inferential calculations, the temperature value measured within 3 to 5 minutes using a conventional mercury thermometer, which is the most familiar to users, is obtained. This method uses an arithmetic expression. At the same time, it is possible to calculate accurate body temperature, and by flipping a switch,
The aim is to help recognize accurate body temperature from incorrect temperature measurements taken within 3 to 5 minutes. In order to achieve the above purpose, there are two estimation calculation means, of which the first estimation calculation means is made to calculate the temperature measurement result 3 to 5 minutes after the start of temperature measurement, and the second estimation calculation means is made to calculate the temperature measurement result. The saturated body temperature was calculated 20 minutes after the start, and one of these results was displayed selectively.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1
This temperature sensing element consists of a thermistor and an aluminum cap to protect it, and is connected to the main body through a hollow plastic shaft. 2 is the power supply 0N-OF' that is operated when starting temperature measurement.
F slice slide switch 3 is a 3-1/2 digital liquid crystal display that displays the temperature measurement results. Reference numeral 4 denotes a main body case made of plastic, which houses circuit components such as a temperature measurement circuit and a button battery for power supply (removable). The display 3 is installed in the surface opening of the main body case.
and switch 2 are arranged in consideration of operability. 5
1 is a temperature measurement circuit for obtaining body temperature from the electrical resistance value of the temperature sensing element 1, which is composed of a linear section, an A/D converter, and a clock signal generation section, and performs measurements at regular intervals. A six-digit maximum value holding circuit records the maximum value of the intermittent measurement results digitized by the temperature measuring circuit 5. , 7 is the first estimated value calculation means, which, based on the temperature rise trend of the temperature measurement circuit 5, matches the temperature (somewhat lower than the accurate body temperature) when the temperature is measured for 3 to 5 minutes with a conventional mercury thermometer. Perform the calculation.

. . , 8 is a second estimated value calculating means, which performs a calculation based on the temperature rise trend of the temperature measurement circuit 5 to match the body temperature obtained by sufficient temperature measurement for about 20 minutes or more with a conventional mercury thermometer. Various methods of guess calculation have been devised, but in this example,
The system detects the gradient of temperature rise and adds a predetermined value when the gradient falls below a certain value. Therefore, each of the two estimated value calculation means 7.8 has a temperature gradient detector, an addition circuit, and a calculation result storage circuit therein.

Reference numeral 9 denotes a selection means for selecting one of the two estimated value calculation means, and is provided at a position close to the power switch 2 of the thermometer main body 4. 10 is a selector for displaying either the sequential temperature measurement result or the estimated body temperature on the display 3;
After energization, temperature measurement results are selected sequentially, and after the estimated value is determined (temperature increase gradient detected), either one of the estimated value calculation means 7.8 is displayed preferentially.

The operation of the electronic thermometer having the above configuration when in use will be described next. FIG. 3 is a graph showing the electronic thermometer display value and the temperature of the thermometer during temperature measurement, where the solid line is the display value and the broken line is the thermistor temperature. The graph shows temperature on the vertical axis and time on the horizontal axis. When temperature measurement is started, the temperature of the thermistor 1 increases over time, and the electronic thermometer sequentially displays the temperature until time t8. Visually, it looks like a curve reaching 11 degrees, but strictly speaking, it is a periodic sampling measurement, and is step-like from the smallest digital unit. t, force depending on the characteristics of the subject; 20 seconds to 90 seconds. , t, the temperature increase gradient force; detects that it has reached a predetermined value, the first estimated value calculating means 7 calculates T2, and the second estimated value calculating means 8 calculates T3. . When the selection means 9 selects the first estimated value calculation means 7, T is selected by the selector 10 and displayed on the display 3 instead of the sequential sampling highest value holding circuit 6. Ru. The subject can stop measuring the temperature and read T at any time after 11 hours have elapsed. If the subject does not remove the electronic thermometer from the armpit, the thermistor temperature will reach the T2 temperature after a time period <"t (3 to 5 minutes) has elapsed between the broken line in FIG.

The temperature rise characteristics of electronic thermometers and conventional mercury thermometers are basically the same, and even for mercury thermometers, the temperature rise characteristics are almost as shown by the broken line in Figure 3. In addition, the second estimated value calculation means 8 digits t7
T3 is calculated and held at the time. Therefore, selection means 9
When the second estimated value calculation means 8 is selected, the display 3 displays T. People who regularly take their armpit temperature for 10 minutes or more or users who understand accurate body temperature can use the calculation result T3 of the second estimated value calculation means 8. A user who has taken a temperature measurement for 5 minutes and recognizes it as his or her normal temperature, operates the selection means 9 to obtain the calculation result T of the first estimated value calculation means 7, which is the reached value of the temperature measurement for 3 to 5 minutes. If you select and display the temperature and use it, you can not only measure body temperature more quickly and accurately, but also have the same degree of error as conventional measurements, even for users who are accustomed to incorrect temperature measurements (temperature measurements that are too short). Body temperature (not fully saturated) can be known faster.

According to the present invention, it is not only possible to know the body temperature in a short period of time, but it is also possible to interrupt the temperature measurement after 3 to 5 minutes, which is useful for people who recognize a value lower than their true body temperature as their normal temperature. However, by providing the same level of measurement results, it is possible to eliminate problems when using an electronic thermometer.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an external view of the electronic thermometer, FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the electronic thermometer with estimation function of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a graph showing temperature rise and display values.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An electronic device that has the function of calculating and displaying the subject's body temperature from the temperature rise trend, such as the gradient of temperature rise or the change base of the temperature rise, and enables short-time temperature measurement. An electronic thermometer comprising two estimated value calculation means and a selection means for selecting and displaying one of the two estimated value calculation means. 2. Of the two estimated body temperature calculation means, the first estimation calculation means performs a calculation that matches the temperature measurement result 3 to 5 minutes after the start of measurement with the mercury glass thermometer, and the second estimation calculation means: The electronic thermometer according to claim 1, characterized in that the electronic thermometer performs calculations that match the saturation value of the mercury type glass thermometer approximately 20 minutes after the start of measurement.