JPH03102251A - Apparatus for continuous measurement of quantity of local sweat - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable computation and display of an absolute quantity of sweat which is irrelevant to the temperature of air moisture by measuring simultaneously the relative humidity and temperature of the mixed air moisture of moisture (sweat) and air by providing a relative humidity detecting means and a temperature detecting means inside a capsule. CONSTITUTION:An opening of a front chamber 3 of a capsule is so formed as to come into close contact with the surface of a skin 2. A humidity sensor 4 in a rear chamber 6 is sensitive to the relative humidity in air moisture diffused and mixed in the front chamber 3 and a corresponding change in an electrostatic capacity appears as a change in a frequency of an oscillator 7 and is converted 12 and subjected to sensitivity adjustment by an amplifier 13. An oscillator 8 is formed on the same substrate as an oscillator 7 and its oscillation frequency changes in the same way as the oscillation frequency of the oscillator 7 which depends on a temperature. An output of the oscillator 8 is supplied, together with an output of the amplifier 13, to a differential amplifier 17 through a converter 15 and the amplifier 16 and computed therein. An output voltage of the amplifier 17 corresponding to the air moisture evaporated from the skin wherefrom a change in the temperature is removed is processed in a digital computation circuit 18 together with an output voltage of an amplifier 14 corresponding to the temperature of the air moisture measured by a sensor 5, and then the quantity of sweat and others are displayed and recorded by a pen recorder 19 and a printer 20.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention (Field of Medical Application) The present invention measures the amount of psychological and thermal sweating using humidity as an index, which is useful for quantitative autonomic nerve function tests and thermoregulatory sweating ability tests. The present invention relates to a continuous measuring device for measuring local sweat amount.

(Prior Art) The applicant of the present invention has previously proposed a differential compensation type continuous local sweat measurement device using humidity as an index (Japanese Patent Application No. 188895/1989), which is useful for quantitative autonomous function testing, etc. Continuous measuring device for local sweat amount using dehumidified air inflow method (Patent application 1986-200)
No. 333) and an intracapsular air diffusion type local sweat rate continuous measuring device (Japanese Patent Application No. 63-066832) have been filed.

The former two devices are for electrically compensating the moisture contained in the air supplied to the capsule in which the humidity detection means is installed, and for dehumidifying the air, while the latter is for dehumidifying the air. Formation of moisture from the skin (sweat)
This relates to the structure of a capsule for diffusing and mixing dehumidified air and dehumidified air, and all three were equipped with calculation means and display means for calculating the amount of perspiration.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, the above-mentioned conventional local perspiration rate relationship is low! In the fixed @ position, in order to detect the relative leakage of the mixture between the moisture (sweat) dissipated from the skin and the air supplied to the capsule using the humidity detection means built into the capsule, the temperature of the moisture mixture is adjusted. There was a problem in that the amount of perspiration displayed after undergoing training required calibration based on concentration.Furthermore, the humidity detection oscillator, whose circuit constant was the humidity detection means fixed to the back of the capsule, Since the oscillation frequency fluctuates in response to changes in the environmental temperature, there was the problem that the output of the device fluctuated over time in addition to the original problem.

Therefore, in the present invention, by installing a relative humidity detection means and a temperature detection means in the vicinity of the capsule, the relative humidity and temperature of the air humidity can be measured simultaneously, and based on the two signals of relative humidity and temperature. The first technical problem is to solve the problems of the conventional local sweat rate measurement device by calculating and displaying the absolute sweat rate independent of the temperature of the air and humidity. .

Furthermore, in order to compensate for fluctuations in the oscillation frequency of the moisture detection oscillator caused by changes in the capsule temperature and environmental temperature, a dummy oscillator having the same temperature characteristics as the moisture detection oscillator was configured, and The second technical problem is to solve the humidity fluctuation of the electric circuit attached to the capsule of the conventional local sweating IA reach R measuring device by differentially compensating the voltage change based on the frequency fluctuation. be.

(Means for solving problem A front chamber for expanding and mixing dehumidified air flowing in through the air inflow hole and a rear chamber communicated with the front chamber through a small hole are formed, and the rear chamber is provided with the air flowing through the small hole. A leakage detection means for detecting the relative humidity of the diffused air humidity between the moist moisture and the clarified air and a temperature detection means for measuring the temperature of the diffusion air lagoon are provided, and the humidity detection means is further provided. Based on both the detection signal corresponding to the relative lagoon detected by the temperature detecting means and the detection signal corresponding to the temperature detected by the temperature detecting means, the amount of perspiration dissipated from the skin surface is determined by the temperature of each diffused air and humidity. Absolute sweat glands unrelated to relative humidity and absolute 2! The idea is to shift to a system equipped with arithmetic display means for deducing and displaying calculations using the relationship between degrees.

The technical means for solving the second problem is to form a moisture detection oscillator and a dummy oscillator for temperature compensation on the same substrate on the back of the capsule, so that the humidity changes are the same, and the two oscillator outputs are The present invention is to provide a configuration that includes means for converting the voltage into a voltage and then supplying it to a differential amplifier for differential extraction.

(Function) According to the local sweat amount continuous measurement device configured as described above, after the moisture (sweat) radiating from the skin and the dehumidified air flowing in from the air inflow hole are diffused and mixed in the front chamber of the skin-attached capsule, the moisture The moisture (sweat) and temperature contained in the equalized air humidity are detected by the 9 degree detection means and the temperature detection means in the rear chamber, and the humidity is further detected based on the signals output from both detection means. The absolute amount of perspiration that is independent of temperature is expressed and displayed.In addition, the i degree of both oscillators is determined based on the outputs of a humidity detection oscillator directly connected to the humidity detection means and a dummy oscillator formed on the same substrate. By calculating the difference in the amount of change, the temperature fluctuation of the moisture detection oscillator can be removed, and only the original sweat sensor can measure it.

(Example) An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the local sweat amount continuous measurement device of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a detailed block diagram of the digital calculation circuit of the block diagram shown in Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 shows the structure of the capsule. FIG.

In FIG. 1, a capsule 1 formed into a small size has a front chamber 3 in which moisture (sweat) released from the skin 2 and dehumidified air are diffused, a humidity sensor 4, and a temperature sensor 5. An oscillator 7 is electrically connected to the humidity sensor 4. The front chamber 3, humidity sensor 4, temperature sensor 5, rear chamber 6, and oscillator 7 contain sweat and! ! This constitutes the degree detection section. Further, an oscillator 8 formed on the same substrate as the oscillator 7 constitutes an i degree compensation section of the oscillator 7. The air passage 9, the dehumidifying section 10 containing silica gel, and the compressor 11 constitute a dehumidified air supply section. Also, F/V connected to the oscillator 7
The converter 12 and amplifier 13 constitute a sweat detection signal processing section. In addition, additional #A connected to the degree of perturbation sensor 5
The device 14 constitutes an air/humidity temperature measuring section. Furthermore, the F/V converter 15 and amplifier 16 connected to the oscillator 18 constitute a temperature compensation signal processing section. After the differential amplifier 17, differential calculation, data processing, and recording sections are configured, respectively.

The front opening 13 formed in the capsule 1 is formed so as to be in close contact with the surface of the skin 2. In addition, the capacitive humidity sensor 4 installed in the rear chamber 6 is sensitive to the relative humidity 1 (i moisture (sweat)) in the air and humidity diffused and mixed in the front chamber 3, and the detected relative humidity 3jFf The corresponding capacitance change immediately appears as a frequency change in the oscillator 7, which is converted into a frequency response voltage by the F/V converter 12 and guided to the amplifier 13 for sensitivity adjustment. The output voltage is superimposed on moisture (sweat) emitted from the skin and temperature changes in the electrical circuit of the oscillator 7.The oscillator 8 is formed on the same substrate as the oscillator 7, and the oscillation 2s7 and the electrical circuit of the oscillator 8 are Since the circuit constants are selected so that the temperature characteristics of 16, and is supplied to the differential amplifier 17 together with the output of the amplifier 13 of the signal system of the oscillator 7 for differential calculation. The output voltage of the differential lIl amplifier 17 corresponding to The recorder 19 records the sweat amount and changes in capsule temperature, and the printer 20 records the total sweat amount within a certain test time, the average sweat rate per unit time, and the printer 20.
The sweating frequency is digitally printed.

Next, the operation nIl of the digital arithmetic circuit 18 shown in FIG.
The control method will be explained with reference to FIG.

A microprocessor CPU21 is used at the core of the digital calculation circuit rB18, and the analog signals corresponding to the relative humidity of the air and humidity outputted from the differential amplifier i517 and the temperature of the air and humidity outputted from the amplifier 14 are A. /D
It is converted into a digital chain by a converter 22 and recorded as measurement data in a random access memory RAM 23. The measurement data recorded in the RAM 23 is corrected and linearized to an absolute amount of sweat that is unrelated to temperature by using the calculation table and calculation table written in the programmable read-only memory P-ROM 24. amount of sweating,
The average sweat amount per unit time, sweat frequency, capsule temperature, etc. are calculated by the CPU 21 and stored in the RAM 2 as performance data.
Recorded in 3. The calculation data of sweat rate and capsule temperature recorded in the RAM 23 are recorded in the pen recorder 19 via the D/A converter 25. Other calculation data are sent to an output port 26 and a printer interface 27, and finally the printer 20 digitally prints the respective calculation results. Note that all data can be supplied to an external general-purpose computer via a serial interface 28 connected to a data bus. The timer 29 is used for time management of measurement time and year, month, and day.

Next, the humidity/moisture (sweat) detection section shown in FIG. 1 will be explained with reference to FIG. 3. The capsule 1, the front chamber 3, the humidity sensor 4, the rear chamber 6, and the oscillator 7 absorb moisture (
Sweat> An air inflow hole 30 formed in the capsule 1, a small hole 31 connecting the front chamber 3 and the rear chamber 6, which constitute the sweat detection section.
The air outlet hole 32 and the air supply passage 9 constitute an air circuit. Moisture (sweat) released from the skin 2 fills the front chamber 3, but the air inflow hole 30 is filled with the air supply passage 9.
The small hole 31 is mixed with the dehumidified air flowing in through the small hole 31.
After being guided into the rear room 6 through the air outlet hole 32, the air is discharged to the outside air from the air outlet hole 32. Changes in moisture (sweat) radiated from the skin 2 result in changes in the capacitance of the stroke sensor 4 installed in the rear chamber 6, and appear as changes in the frequency of the oscillator 7. This is passed through the electric wire 33 to the F/V converter 12,
The output voltage led to the amplifier 13 corresponds to the relative temperature of the indoor air humidity (sweat) in the rear chamber 6. The output voltage obtained by guiding the resistor-voltage conversion signal of the temperature sensor 5 installed in the rear chamber 6 to the amplifier 14 through the electric wire 34 corresponds to the indoor temperature of the rear chamber 6. The output voltage obtained by guiding the frequency change due to temperature fluctuation of the electric circuit of the oscillator 8 formed on the same substrate as the oscillator 7 to the F/V converter 15 and the amplifier 16 through the electric wire 35 is the output voltage of the amplifier 13. It changes in the same way as the voltage corresponding to the frequency change due to the temperature fluctuation of the electric circuit of the oscillation station 7 superimposed on the oscillation circuit.

(Effects of the Invention) As is clear from the above explanation, according to the present invention, moisture (sweat) and dehumidified air released from the skin are diffused in the front chamber of a small capsule attached to the skin, and then guided to the rear chamber and installed inside the small capsule. Based on the humidity sensor and the electrical output signal of the 4 degree sensor, continuous measurement of perspiration regardless of capsule temperature can be performed with high precision and ease. In other words, the moisture (sweat) dissipated from the skin in the front chamber of the capsule and the diffused air of dehumidified air are guided to the rear chamber, and the internal humidity sensor and lagoonal temperature sensor respond to the relative humidity and 4 degrees Celsius of the expanded air. However, in order to correct the temperature dependence of relative humidity using the relationship between relative humidity and absolute humidity in the subsequent digital arithmetic circuit, the problem with conventional local sweat continuous measurement devices, that is, the device based on relative humidity detection by a humidity sensor, is corrected. The temperature dependence of the output is removed, and the humidity drift of the oscillator's electrical circuit that is directly connected to the humidity sensor is also compensated for, making it possible to measure the absolute amount of sweat regardless of fluctuations in capsule temperature and body temperature. In addition, by adopting a microprocessor as the center of the digital calculation circuit, it is possible to not only correct the relative intensity, but also display sweat amount in a format tailored to the purpose and connect to an external general-purpose computer, making the device systematized. It is also easy to expand.

The present invention can be applied not only to clinical medicine and physical fitness sports medicine as an autonomic nerve function testing device and a thermoregulatory function testing device, but also as a means of testing daily necessities, such as the influence of moisture evaporation in cosmetics, moisture movement in clothing, etc. It can also be used in the field of daily necessities, and has great social significance.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings relate to embodiments, and FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a continuous local sweat measurement device, FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the configuration of the digital arithmetic circuit section of the block diagram shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a capsule diagram. This is a diagram showing the structure of . 1... Turnip sensor 2... Skin 3... Front chamber 4... Humidity sensor 5... Lagoon sensor 6... Rear chamber 7... Oscillator 8... Oscillator 9... Air passage 10... Dehumidifying section 11... Compressor 12... F/V converter 13... Amplifier 14... Amplifier 15... F/V converter 16... Amplifier 17... Differential Amplifier 18...Digital arithmetic circuit 19...Pen recorder 20...Printer 21...Microprocessor 22...A/D converter 23...Random access memory 24...Programmer read-only memory 25・・・
・D/A converter 26...Output boat 27...Printer interface 28...Serial interface 29...Timer 30...Air inflow hole 31...Small hole 32...Air outflow hole 33・...Electric wire 34...Electric wire 35...Electric wire

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) Inside the capsule that is attached to the skin surface, there is a front chamber that communicates with the front chamber through a small hole for diffusing and mixing the moisture dissipating from the skin surface and the dehumidified air flowing in from the outside through the air inflow hole. The rear chamber includes a humidity detecting means for detecting the relative humidity of the diffused air between the humid water and the dehumidified air flowing through the small hole, and the diffused air. Temperature detection means for detecting the humidity of the humidity is provided therein, and further, based on a detection signal corresponding to the relative temperature detected by the humidity detection means and a detection signal corresponding to the temperature detected by the temperature detection means, the A continuous measurement device for local sweat amount, characterized in that it is equipped with a calculation display means for calculating and displaying the absolute amount of sweat dissipated from the skin surface, which is independent of the temperature of the diffused air and humidity. (2) On the back of the capsule, a moisture detection oscillator having the humidity detection means as a circuit constant and a dummy oscillator for temperature compensation of the oscillator are formed on the same substrate, and the humidity detection oscillator and the dummy oscillator are formed on the same substrate. The humidity detecting oscillator and the dummy oscillator perform differential calculations on temperature fluctuations in the humidity detecting oscillator and the dummy oscillator due to changes in capsule temperature based on the output signal of the humidity detecting means, and displaying the amount of perspiration based on the signal output from the humidity detecting means. The local sweat amount continuous measuring device according to claim 1.