JPH04193256A - Non-contact clinical thermometer for oral cavity - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To perform rapidly and with high accuracy thermometry by providing movably in a light path a calibrated aiming member forming a reflective surface reflecting a visible light emitted from a light source emitting the visible light for aiming to a measured position on the back surface side of a calibrated standard surface. CONSTITUTION:A calibrated aiming member 35 forms a calibrated standard surface 35a wherein a blackening treatment is performed on a face facing an infrared sensor 32 when a light path 33 for thermometry is stopped and provides a reflective surface 35b reflecting a visible light for aiming and emitting it to a measured position on the back surface side of this calibrated standard surface 35a. In addition, just below the calibrated aiming member 35, a light path 38 for aiming being at approximately right angle is provided. A light source 39 for emitting a visible light for aiming is placed at the end part of this light path 38 for aiming to emit the visible light on a measured position by reflecting the visible light emitted from this light source 39 for emitting the visible light for aiming by a reflective plate 40 set at a corner of the light path 38 and emitting the reflected light on the reflective surface 35b of the calibrated aiming member 35 through a condenser 41.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a non-contact oral thermometer that measures temperature by detecting infrared rays emitted from the inside of the oral cavity using an infrared sensor.

(Prior Art and Problems to be Solved by the Invention) Conventionally, in order to quickly and hygienically measure the body temperature deep within the human body, non-contact thermometers that measure temperature by detecting infrared rays emitted from the oral cavity have been used, for example. A small electronic thermometer as shown in Figure 12 is known, but when measuring the temperature in the oral cavity, the temperature in the oral cavity drops rapidly due to the influence of outside air as soon as the mouth is opened, so it is necessary to measure the temperature quickly.

However, with conventional systems, after the infrared sensor is aligned, a calibration process is performed to eliminate errors in the infrared sensor, which increases the time required for temperature measurement due to the calibration process and reduces measurement accuracy. The problem was that it was low.

An object of the present invention is to provide a non-contact oral thermometer that can measure temperature quickly and with high accuracy.

(Means for Solving the Problems) In order to achieve the above object, the non-contact oral thermometer according to the present invention measures temperature by detecting infrared rays emitted from the inside of the oral cavity with an infrared sensor. A calibration reference surface is formed on the surface facing the infrared sensor when the optical path from the measurement site in the oral cavity to the infrared sensor is blocked, and - a visible light emitting source for aiming is emitted on the back side of this calibration reference surface. A calibration aiming member formed with a reflective surface that reflects the visible light rays reflected at the measurement site is provided so as to be removable in and out of the optical path.

(Operation and Effect of the Invention) Therefore, according to the present invention, when the calibration aiming member blocks the optical path for temperature measurement, the infrared sensor can be calibrated and at the same time the infrared sensor can be aimed at the measurement site. become.

Therefore, the time required for the calibration process of the infrared sensor can be saved, and the temperature can be measured quickly, which has the effect of improving measurement accuracy.

(Embodiments) Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings of FIGS. 1 to 11.

The non-contact oral thermometer according to this embodiment is of a separate type in which a thermometer main body part 10 and a sensor probe part 30 are connected by a cord 50, as shown in FIG.

The thermometer body section 10 has a display section 11 such as a liquid crystal display for displaying the measured body temperature, a power switch 12, and a mirror surface section 13 for confirming whether or not the temperature is being measured at a predetermined measurement site on the same surface. It is arranged in

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the sensor probe section 30 has a temperature measuring optical path 33 formed between a hood 31 and an infrared sensor 32 to prevent infrared rays from entering from other than the measurement site. , the inner peripheral surface 3 of this optical path 33 for temperature measurement
3a and 33b are subjected to blackening treatment, and the emissivity ε is ε#1
In addition, a condensing lens 34 made of BaFt or the like that also transmits aiming visible light, which will be described later, is arranged in the middle of the temperature measuring optical path 33.

The element of the infrared sensor 32 may be a thermal type, such as a thermopile, thermistor/porometer, or pyroelectric sensor, which outputs changes in conductivity or generation of electromotive force caused by infrared irradiation as an electrical signal. and P b
There are quantum types such as S e and P bS that detect infrared photons and directly output electrical signals. The infrared sensor 32 has a can package shape such as TO5, and is made of a window material made of silicone, germanium, etc., or a window material subjected to a band-pass filter treatment that transmits only infrared rays around a wavelength of 7 to 12μ. The infrared transmitting window is sealed.

On the other hand, a calibration aiming member 35 is removably disposed between the infrared sensor 32 and the condensing lens 34, and by pressing and releasing a push button 37 via a coil spring 36, the calibration aiming member 35 can be adjusted. It is provided so that the optical path 33 for temperature measurement can be blocked.

That is, when the calibration aiming member 35 blocks the temperature measurement optical path 33 by pushing down against the spring force of the coil spring 36, the surface facing the infrared sensor 32 is blackened and the calibration reference surface 35a is At the same time, a reflecting surface 35b is provided on the back side of the calibration reference surface 35a to reflect visible light for aiming, which will be described later, and to irradiate it onto the measurement site.

Furthermore, an aiming optical path 38 bent at a substantially right angle is provided directly below the calibration aiming member 35. This aiming optical path 38
A visible light emitting source 39 for aiming made of an LED, a semiconductor laser, etc. is arranged at the end of the visible light emitting source 39 for aiming. Visible light is reflected on the reflective surface 35b of the calibration aiming member 35 through the condensing lens 41 made of glass or acrylic material, so that visible light is irradiated onto the measurement site via the condensing lens 34. It has become.

Note that a thermistor is provided near the infrared sensor 32.

A reference temperature measurement sensor 42 made of a temperature sensor such as a diode is embedded. This reference temperature measurement sensor 42
By detecting the ambient temperature of the infrared sensor 32, a reference temperature is measured when calculating body temperature based on temperature data obtained by detecting infrared rays from a measurement site in the oral cavity.

However, the reference temperature measurement sensor 42 is not limited to the vicinity of the infrared sensor 32, and may be built into the infrared sensor 32.
Alternatively, it may be built into the calibration aiming member 35.

Therefore, when the pushbutton 37 is pushed down against the spring force of the coil spring 36 (FIG. 3), the calibration aiming member 35 blocks the temperature measuring optical path 33, and the infrared rays from the infrared sensor 32 or the calibration reference surface 35a are blocked. At the same time that the light is received and the calibration process is performed, the visible light emitted from the visible light emitting source 39 is reflected by the reflector 40 in the aiming optical path 38. The light is reflected by the reflective surface 35b of the calibration aiming member 35 via the condenser lens 41, is condensed by the condenser lens 34, passes through the hood 31, and is irradiated onto the measurement site. For this reason, the person to be measured can place his or her oral cavity on the main body 10.
By reflecting the image on the mirror surface 13 of the infrared sensor 32, the person to be measured can confirm the measurement area to be measured by the infrared sensor 32, and can use this to aim at the measurement area.

Next, FIG. 4 shows a block diagram of the non-contact oral thermometer according to this embodiment.

That is, the infrared sensor 32 of the sensor probe section 30
and the reference temperature measurement sensor 42 are respectively amplified by the amplification section 43.
This analog cedar 1 sochi 14 is connected to a central control unit (hereinafter referred to as rcPUj) 16 that controls the operation of the thermometer via an A-D converter 15. . This CPU 16 has a read-only memory (hereinafter referred to as rROMJ) that stores its own system program and data necessary for executing the previous system program. Random access memory (hereinafter referred to as r
It's called RAMJ. ) 18, and a reference signal generating section 19 that generates a reference signal.

Further, the CPU 16 is connected to a display section 11 for displaying the measured body temperature, a power supply section 20 via a power switch 12, and a buzzer 21 for notifying the end of temperature measurement. A visible light emission source 39 and a mode changeover switch 45 are connected.

Next, a method of operating the thermometer according to this embodiment will be explained.

First, hold the thermometer main body part 10 with one hand, hold the sensor probe part 30 with the other hand, and hold the thermometer main body part IO.
Power switch! 2 and turn on the mirror surface part 13.
position so that the oral cavity image is reflected. Next, by bringing the sensor probe section 30 close and pressing down the mode selection switch 45 to set the calibration aiming mode, the visible light beam for aiming is irradiated to the oral cavity, and the presence of a light marker in the oral cavity is confirmed using the mirror surface section 13. By doing so, the sensor probe section 30 is positioned. At this time, a reference temperature is measured inside the thermometer, and the infrared sensor 32 is calibrated.

Then, while exhaling the breath, the sensor probe section 30
After confirming that the sensor probe part 30 is accurately facing the measurement part in the oral cavity using the mirror surface part 13, the mode selection switch 45 of the sensor probe part 30 is released from the press. Switch to temperature measurement mode.

Then, the temperature value measured in temperature measurement mode or PeakHo
The ld value is displayed on the display unit 11, and the buzzer 2I sounds to notify the end of the temperature measurement. Thereafter, by turning off the power switch 12, the display on the display section 11 disappears.

Next, the operation will be explained according to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 5 to 7.

First, turn on the iI source switch I2 and start.
It is initialized in step Sl, and in step S2, the mode selection switch 45 is turned on to determine whether or not it is in the calibration aiming mode.If it is determined that it is in the calibration aiming mode, in step S3, the aiming visible light emitting source 32 is turned on and the process proceeds to step s5. If it is determined that the mode is not the calibration aiming mode, the aiming visible light emitting source 32 is turned off in step S4 and the process proceeds to step S5. In step S5, it is determined whether or not it is the sampling timing. If it is not the sampling timing, it waits. If it is the sampling timing, the analog switch 14 selects the reference temperature measurement sensor 42 in step S6. In step S7, the reference temperature measurement sensor 42 is selected. This reference temperature data (Do) is imported.
) is converted into a temperature value (To) in step s8, and this temperature value (To) is stored in step S9. Next, in step SIO, the analog switch 14 or the infrared sensor 32 is selected, and in step Sll, the mote selection switch 45 is turned OFF.
If it is determined that the calibration aiming mode is in the calibration aiming mode, in step 512 of the calibration process, infrared data (Da) is acquired with the optical path for temperature measurement in a state of interruption. A temperature difference value (ΔTC) is calculated from the infrared data (Dc) in SI3, this temperature difference value (ΔTc) is stored in step S14, a predetermined time elapse timer is reset in step S15, and the process returns to step S2. .

On the other hand, if it is determined in step Sll that the calibration reference mode is not set, infrared data (Dlr) is fetched in step SI6, and from this infrared data (Dx) step S1
7, calculate the temperature difference value (△Tx), and calculate this temperature difference value (△Tx).
x) is calibrated in step S1B, the temperature value (Tx) of the part to be measured is calculated in step S19, and step S20
Perform PeakHold processing to obtain the PeakHold value (
T'x max) is obtained, and the process proceeds to step S21. In addition,
The PeakHold process is a process in which the temperature value of the calculation result is compared with the previous temperature value, and the larger value is set as the PeakHold value. However, during initial processing, the temperature value (TO) based on the reference temperature data is
ld value (Txmax).

Next, in step S21, it is determined whether or not there is an update of the PeakH○1d value, and if it is determined that the value has been updated, step S
At step 22, the predetermined time elapse timer is reset, and at step S
23 and store the P eakHold value (Txmax),
After displaying the PeakHold value on the display unit 11 in step S24, the process returns to step S2.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S21 that there is no update of the PeakHold value, a predetermined time elapsed timer is integrated, and in step S25 it is determined whether a predetermined time (1), for example, 2 seconds has elapsed. If not, step S
23, and if it has elapsed, Pea
The kHold value is displayed on the display unit 11, the displayed value is locked, and the buzzer 2I is sounded in step S28 to notify the end of the temperature measurement, and the temperature measurement work is completed.

According to the above-mentioned operation, after the start of temperature measurement, PeakH
Since the old value is locked and the temperature measurement is avoided from ending, there is an advantage that temperature measurement can be performed quickly and with high accuracy without being affected by external influences.

Note that the operation of the thermometer is not limited to that described above, and may follow, for example, the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 8 to 10. Only points different from those described above will be explained.

That is, when the power switch 12 is turned on to start, it is initialized in step Sl, and the flag F in the flowchart is reset to "0". Then, in step S2, it is determined whether or not the mode is the calibration aiming mode, and if it is determined that the mode is the calibration aiming mode, the visible light emitting source 39 for aiming is turned on in step S3, and in step S3
After resetting the temperature measurement flag F to "0" in step 1, the process proceeds to step S5.If it is determined in step S2 that the mode is not the calibration aiming mode, the aiming visible light emitting source 39 is turned off, and the temperature measurement flag F is reset to "0". F is set to "1" and the process advances to step S5. Thereafter, the process proceeds in the same manner as the operation based on the above-described flowchart.

If it is determined in step Sll that the mode is the calibration aiming mode, in step SI2 the infrared data (D c) is taken in with the optical path for temperature measurement being blocked, and in step S14 the temperature difference value (△Tc) is obtained from the infrared data (DC). Calculate,
After storing the temperature difference value (ΔTc) in step S14, the process immediately returns to step S2.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step Sll that it is not the calibration aiming mode, it is determined in step 5llll whether or not the temperature measuring flag F is "1", and if it is determined that the flag F is "1'", in step 5l12, the predetermined time elapsed timer is integrated, and the process proceeds to step S16. If it is determined that the flag F is not "BI" in step SIL+, the process proceeds to step S5.
At step S113, the predetermined time elapse timer is reset and the process proceeds to step S16. Thereafter, the process proceeds in the same manner as the operation based on the above-described flowchart.

Further, the process proceeds from step S20 to step 5201 to store the PeakHor value (Tx may,), and in step S26 it is determined whether a predetermined time (1) has elapsed. If the elapsed time has not elapsed, the PeakHold value is displayed on the display section +1 in step S24, and the process immediately returns to step S2. - On the other hand, if it is determined in step S26 that the predetermined time has elapsed, the process advances to step S27.

The subsequent operations are the same as those based on the flowchart described above, so a description thereof will be omitted.

Note that the sensor probe section 30 is not limited to a push-button type, and may be configured so that the calibration aiming member 35 can be taken in and out using a lever 49, as shown in FIG. 11, for example.

Moreover, it is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to a separate type thermometer, and may be applied to a thermometer in which the main body part and the sensor probe part are integrated.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 to 11 show an embodiment of the non-contact oral thermometer according to the present invention, FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view showing usage conditions, and FIGS. 2 and 3 are cross-sections of main parts showing before and after operation. figure,
FIG. 4 is a block diagram, FIGS. 5 to 7 are flowcharts showing operations, FIGS. 8 to 10 are flowcharts showing other operations, and FIG. 11 is a sectional view of main parts showing an embodiment of the pond. FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing how a conventional non-contact oral thermometer is used. 32... Infrared sensor, 33... Optical path for temperature measurement, 35
・・Calibration aiming member, 35a・Calibration reference plane, 35b...
Three reflective surfaces: Visible light emitting source for aiming. Patent applicant: OMRON Co., Ltd. Agent
Patent attorney, former 18th younger brother, 11 Figure 5 Figure 7 Figure lO

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) In a non-contact oral thermometer that measures temperature by detecting infrared rays emitted from the oral cavity with an infrared sensor, when the optical path from the measurement site in the oral cavity to the infrared sensor is blocked, the surface facing the infrared sensor A calibration aiming member that forms a calibration reference plane and has a reflective surface formed on the back side of the calibration reference plane that reflects visible light emitted from an aiming visible light emission source to the measurement site is inserted into and removed from the optical path. A non-contact oral thermometer characterized by being able to be used.