JPH11326316A - Toilet device with function of analyzing urine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To suppress errors associated with the fluctuations in the amount of excreted urine in the case that the function of analyzing urine is provided. SOLUTION: A toilet 10 is constituted by replacing the stool seat of an existent Western-style stool with a urine analyzing unit 14. The urine analyzing unit 14 is formed of a housing 22 housing a urine analyzing device and a urine transferring pump and a stool seat assembly 28 in which a urine sampling device 26 is incorporated. Excreted urine is sampled by the urine sampling device 26 and is analyzed on sugar in urine and the amount of other components at the housing 22. The urine sampling device 26 is provided with electrodes for detecting the amount of sampled urine. As the transferring and analysis of urine is performed only in the case that a predetermined amount of urine or more is sampled, it is possible to perform analysis on the basis of a specific amount of urine regardless of the fluctuations in the amount of excretion.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a toilet apparatus having a urine analysis function capable of sampling urine excreted by an individual at home or in an office or other toilet and performing urine analysis on the spot.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art With the longevity and aging of people, interest in health care is increasing. Urine is an important source of information about an individual's health.Quantitative analysis of urinary sugar, urine protein, urobilinogen, occult blood, and other urine components allows for pancreatic disorders such as diabetes, liver disorders, kidney disorders, and other functions. Disorders can be tested in a non-invasive manner.
Therefore, there has been proposed a toilet having a urine analysis function capable of performing sampling and analysis of urine using a toilet at home or at a workplace or the like to support an individual's health check.

For example, JP-A-59-217844, JP-A-63-18
No. 4057, JP-A-63-290961, JP-A-1-178866 and JP-A-4-191660, a urine collecting section is formed on the bowl surface of a Western-style toilet bowl, and urine excreted on the bowl surface is supplied to the urine collecting section. It has been proposed to collect and sample. The collected urine sample is analyzed by a liquid chromatography method, a test strip method, or a polarographic method (voltammetry method).

[0004] Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 5-30764 proposes that urine be sampled by modifying a toilet seat.
Therefore, the arm supporting the cup-shaped urine collector is pivotally attached to the existing toilet seat. Urine sampled by the urine collecting mechanism is sent to the measuring unit by a manual syringe or an automatic sampling syringe, and subjected to urine analysis. A measuring part comprising a reaction solution container, a pump and an absorptiometer is arranged on the side of the toilet seat.

[0005]

However, the conventional toilet with a urine analysis function has a problem that the accuracy of the analysis result is not sufficiently guaranteed. In order to accurately analyze components in urine, it is necessary to accurately collect a specified amount of urine required for detection. Reagents and the like used in each method for analyzing urine are set for a specified amount of urine. Therefore, when the amount of urine used for analysis deviates from the specified amount, the reagent or the like becomes excessive or insufficient, and the detection result includes an error.

It is empirically known that the amount of excreted urine greatly varies depending on various factors such as the amount of water taken in and the interval of excretion. In a conventional toilet with a urine analysis function, such a change in urine volume has not been sufficiently considered.
Therefore, an error due to the above-described cause may be included, and the accuracy of the analysis result has not been sufficiently guaranteed.

[0007] Further, the conventional toilet with a urine analysis function has a structural problem as described below. JP 59
-217844, JP-A-63-184057, JP-A-63-290961,
In the apparatuses described in JP-A-1-178866 and JP-A-4-191660, a urine collecting section is formed on the bowl surface. Such special toilets must be specially manufactured separately from the standard toilets, and therefore it is difficult to reduce the cost by mass production, so that they are too expensive to spread to ordinary households, workplaces and offices. Also, when modifying an existing toilet equipped with a normal bowl-shaped standard toilet, the existing toilet must be removed first, and then a special toilet dedicated to urine analysis must be installed. It requires enormous cost and trouble, and causes disposal of existing equipment.

An object of the present invention is to provide a toilet apparatus which realizes the above-mentioned urine analysis function while utilizing existing toilet facilities. Another object of the present invention is to provide a technique for suppressing an error caused by a change in urine volume and improving analysis accuracy in such a toilet apparatus.

[0009]

Means for Solving the Problems and Their Functions and Effects In order to solve at least a part of the above problems, the present invention employs the following constitutions. The toilet device of the present invention is a toilet device with a urine analysis function configured to be able to be installed on a standard Western-style toilet, collecting excreted urine, and analyzing the urine, by being attached to the toilet. A collection unit capable of collecting the excreted urine, an analysis unit configured to analyze the collected urine to obtain data regarding an amount of a predetermined component in the urine, and to collect the collected urine from the collection unit. Conveying means for conveying to the analyzing means, urine amount detecting means for detecting whether or not the amount of the collected urine has reached a predetermined amount set in advance in relation to the urine amount required for the analysis; When it is detected that the amount of urine reached the predetermined amount,
It is a gist of the present invention to provide a transport control unit that controls the transport unit and transports urine.

[0010] Since such a toilet apparatus is configured as a unit separate from the toilet body, a urine analyzer can be realized by utilizing existing toilet equipment. In the unit, the whole may be configured as a unit composed of a single part, or may be configured as a unit composed of a plurality of parts. In this specification, a toilet device refers to a device that performs a predetermined function by being attached to an existing standard toilet.

According to the toilet apparatus of the present invention, the analysis is performed only when the amount of urine collected reaches a predetermined amount. Therefore, even if the amount of excreted urine fluctuates, the amount of urine required for analysis, that is, a specified amount of urine can be reliably transported to the analysis means. As a result, urine analysis can be appropriately performed. That is, an error due to a change in urine volume can be suppressed, and the accuracy of the analysis result is improved.
In this case, the transporting means may be a means for transporting an amount corresponding to a specified amount of the collected urine, or the transporting means may once transport the urine of the specified amount or more, and then may transfer the surplus exceeding the specified amount. It may be a means for discharging urine. The predetermined amount can be arbitrarily set to an appropriate value depending on which mode the transport means is configured.

In the toilet apparatus of the present invention, the urine amount detecting means can apply various methods, but the urine amount detecting means performs the detection by conduction between electrodes provided in the sampling means. Preferably, it is a means.

According to such means, the amount of urine can be detected relatively easily and accurately. The electrodes can be provided in various ways. As an example, a first electrode is provided in the vicinity of an extraction unit where the transport means extracts urine from the collection means, and a second electrode is provided at a position corresponding to a liquid level when a predetermined amount of urine is accumulated in the collection means. An example in which an electrode is provided is given. With this configuration, it is possible to detect whether or not urine has accumulated by a predetermined amount or more by conducting between the first electrode and the second electrode.

[0014] In the toilet apparatus of the present invention, it is preferable that the toilet apparatus further includes a discharging means for discharging urine analyzed by the analyzing means to the toilet. This eliminates the need to separately dispose of the urine after the analysis, thereby improving the convenience of the toilet device. Moreover, it becomes easy to maintain the toilet device in a clean state.

[0015] It is preferable that the toilet apparatus of the present invention is provided with storage means for storing the data obtained by the analysis means a plurality of times.

This allows the user to know the trend of the analyzed data based on the data stored a plurality of times. Such a trend can be used for self-health checks. Note that data can be stored in various modes. For example, a mode in which the analyzed data itself is stored can be adopted.
Further, a mode in which a deviation from the previous analysis result is stored may be adopted. In addition, it is possible to store data in various modes in which a meaningful trend can be obtained for a health check.

Further, various structures can be applied to the storage means. Naturally, a memory such as a RAM usually provided in a microcomputer may be used, but it is preferable that the storage means is a nonvolatile storage medium. The non-volatile storage medium generally means a memory such as a so-called flash memory capable of storing data without power supply. By applying such a memory, analysis data can be retained even when the power is turned off. As a nonvolatile storage medium, a portable storage medium such as a flexible disk may be applied. This makes it possible to utilize the analysis results in various ways, for example, by processing the analysis results by a computer that has been made easier.

Although the present invention can be applied to various components in urine, the predetermined component is preferably at least one of urine sugar, urine protein and occult blood. These are components closely related to lifestyle-related diseases such as diabetes. By analyzing these components, it is possible to use the toilet device with a urine analysis function in a meaningful manner for a health check on lifestyle-related diseases that progress slowly without subjective symptoms.

Further, the toilet device of the present invention preferably includes at least one of a bidet device, a hot air drying device, and a deodorizing device. These functions are useful in recent years as functions that allow the user to use the toilet comfortably. Therefore, by providing these functions, the toilet can be used comfortably, and the convenience of the toilet apparatus of the present invention is improved.

[0020]

FIG. 1 shows the urine analysis unit of the present invention attached to an existing toilet, FIG. 2 shows the urine analysis unit housing disassembled, and FIG.
Shows a disassembled assembly of the toilet seat and urine sampling device of the urine analysis unit.

Referring to these drawings, the toilet 1
0 has a flush toilet 12, which is placed on the floor. After removing an existing toilet seat (not shown), the urine analysis unit 14 of the present invention is attached to the toilet 12 as described later. Urine analysis unit 14 of the present invention
The can be mounted on vortex, siphon, siphon jet, washdown and other types of commercially available standard toilets. Standard toilet 12
Has a normal bowl (toilet bowl) section 16 and a washing water supply section 18. In the embodiment shown, the wash water supply comprises a cistern mount 18 to which a conventional cistern 20 is mounted in a known manner. The present invention can also be applied to a standard toilet bowl of a type in which cleaning water is supplied from a cleaning pipe provided with a cleaning valve instead of a cistern.

The urine analysis unit 14 includes a housing 22 fixed to the toilet bowl 12 and an assembly 28 (hereinafter referred to as a toilet seat assembly) manufactured in advance by incorporating a urine sampling device 26 into a special toilet seat 24 for exclusive use. ). The toilet seat assembly 28 is rotatably mounted on the housing 22 as described later. A conventional toilet lid 30 can be attached to the housing 22 so as to be openable and closable. A control unit 32 for controlling the urine analysis unit 14 and outputting an analysis result can be installed on a wall on the side of the toilet.

The housing 22 of the urine analysis unit 14
For example, as shown in FIG. 2, it can be composed of a frame 34, an upper casing 36, and left and right lower casings 38 and 40. These components of the housing 22 can be manufactured by injection molding of a resin, and are integrally fastened to each other by screws or the like.
Form 2 As shown in FIG. 2, the standard toilet bowl 12
Between the bowl part 16 and the washing water supply part 18
A pair of toilet seat mounting holes 42 are provided, and an existing toilet seat (not shown) is mounted in a well-known manner using these toilet seat mounting holes 42. The frame 34 of the housing 22
After removing the existing toilet seat, two T-bolts 44 are attached to the lower surface of the frame 34 by fitting in T-grooves as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 63-6291, and these T-bolts are inserted into the toilet seat mounting holes 42.
By inserting the bolts 44 and fastening the corresponding nuts 46, it can be fixed to the upper surface 48 of the toilet bowl 12 between the bowl portion 16 and the cistern mounting portion 18.

As can be clearly seen from FIG.
Has a central portion extending transversely to the toilet bowl 12 and side portions extending forward from both ends of the central portion, respectively. The upper casing 36 also has a shape corresponding to the frame 34. Accordingly, the frame 34, the upper casing 36, and the left and right lower casings 38 and 40 cooperate with each other to form the center portion 22C and the left side portion 22L of the housing.
And a right side portion 22R (FIG. 1). As shown in FIG. 2, an analyzer 50 for analyzing a urine sample sampled by the toilet seat assembly 28 and an electric syringe pump for transporting the urine sample from the toilet seat assembly 28 to the analyzer 50 are provided on the left side portion 22L of the housing. 52, a buffer tank 54, and a calibration tank 56 can be accommodated. In the left side portion 22L of the housing,
In addition, a finger sphygmomanometer unit 58 is disposed, and the second left
The blood pressure may be measured by engaging with a finger. In the embodiment shown, the housing central part 22C
Includes a conventional bidet device 62 with a washing nozzle 60.
And a conventional hot air drying device 64 and a conventional deodorizing device 66 comprising an ozonizer, which provide respective functions when the toilet 10 having the urine analysis unit 14 is used for normal purposes. It is supposed to. But,
These additional features are not essential and can be omitted. The power supply device 68 of the unit 14 and the operation panel 70 of the bidet device can be housed in the right side portion 22R of the housing.

A toilet seat assembly 28 comprising the toilet seat 24 and a urine sampling device 26 incorporated therein will be described mainly with reference to FIGS. The toilet seat 24 is designed and manufactured for the purpose of incorporating the urine sampling device 26, and has a structure suitable for incorporating the urine sampling device 26. 3, the toilet seat 24 can be formed by joining the upper half 24A and the lower half 24B made of an impact-resistant resin or the like by, for example, ultrasonic welding.
An electric heater wire 72 for warming the toilet seat can be wired as needed. The toilet seat 24 can be rotatably mounted on the housing 22 using an arbitrary hinge. Preferably, the hinge portion 74 is mounted on the bearing portion of the housing 22 by using a retainer block disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Application No. 5-19341. 76 (FIG. 2).

In order to adapt to the firing distortion generated when the toilet 12 is fired, it is preferable that the toilet seat 24 be supported at four points on the upper surface of the rim 78 of the toilet 12 as in the conventional toilet seat. For this reason, as shown by the broken line in FIG.
Can be provided with two cushioned legs 80 in the same manner as before. In the other two points, the toilet seat 24
Are two leg portions 84 provided on a urine collection case 82 described later.
Supported by As can be clearly seen from FIG. 8, the presence of the legs 80 or 84 provides an annular gap between the upper surface 86 of the toilet rim 78 and the lower surface 88 of the toilet seat 24 with a height of about 1.5 to 2 cm. You. By utilizing a part of this annular gap, a part of the urine sampling device 26 is arranged and stored. As can be clearly seen from FIGS. 3 and 8, recesses 90 and 92 are formed on the lower surface of the toilet seat 24 and open downward, and a part of the urine sampling device 26 is further housed in these recesses as described later. It is supposed to be.

The urine sampling device 26 collects a sample of urine excreted in the bowl 16 of the toilet bowl 12 by using a urine collection container in the air in the bowl space, and after sampling, stores the urine collection container in a storage position below the toilet seat 24. The urine collection container can be configured to be automatically cleaned. An example of an embodiment of the urine sampling device 26 will be described with reference to FIGS. In the illustrated embodiment, the urine sampling device 26 includes a swing arm 94 having a substantially crank shape, an elongated urine collection container 96 detachably attached to a free end of the swing arm, and a driving unit 98 for driving the swing arm 94. And a urine collection unit case 82. The swing arm 94 includes a central elbow 100 and an end elbow 102, as shown in FIGS.
, A pipe 104 connecting the two, and a spindle 106
And can be composed of

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the urine collection container 96 has an elongated upper opening 108 and a gutter-shaped recess 110.
, And a large-diameter base 114, and can be attached to the end elbow 102 with an O-ring 116 in a liquid-tight and detachable manner. The recess 110 of the main body is inclined toward the base 114 so that the recess 11
The urine that has fallen into the space 0 accumulates in the urine pool 118 formed by the base 114 and the elbow 102. By covering the outer periphery of the main body 112 with a wire mesh 120 or the like, it is possible to prevent the urine excreted from the subject from colliding with the urine collection container 96 and scattered around, and to be able to effectively collect a urine sample. preferable. Urine pool 1
The urine collected in the urine analyzer 18 in the housing 22 is sucked and pumped by the syringe pump 52 through the internal passage of the elbow 102, the swing arm 94 and the flexible tube 122 extending inside the spindle 106 thereof.
Sent to 0. The elbow 102 is preferably provided with an L-shaped tube 124 that opens at the bottom of the urine reservoir 118 in order to aspirate and send only urine containing no air bubbles to the urine analyzer. In addition, a pair of electrodes 126 and 128 vertically separated from each other can be provided on the elbow 102 to detect that a sufficient amount of urine has accumulated in the urine reservoir 118. These electrodes can be connected to the control circuit of the urine analyzer 50 arranged in the side housing 22L via the lead wire 130.

Briefly, in the illustrated embodiment,
As can be clearly understood from FIG. 8, the drive unit 98 for driving the swing arm 94 provides the swing arm 94 with a rotational motion and a translational motion to move the urine collection container 96 from the storage position below the front part of the toilet seat into the bowl space. To various different urine collection locations (and vice versa). However, the urine collection container 96 may be moved only by the rotation of the swing arm 94.

More specifically, referring to FIGS. 3 to 5, the drive unit 98 is stored in a urine collection unit case 82 which is appropriately fixed to the lower surface of the toilet seat 24 with screws or the like. Drive unit 9
8 is a slider 13 slidably mounted on a case 82.
The slider 132 is guided by a pair of guides 134 fixed to the urine collection case 82 so as to slide substantially parallel to the long axis of the toilet 12. A rack 136 is fixed to the slider 132.
A pinion 140 of an output shaft of a stepping motor 138 with a reduction gear fixed to the case 82 is engaged with 36. Therefore, if the motor 138 is rotated in either direction, the slider 132 performs a translational movement back and forth.
The motor 138 is controlled by a control circuit (described later) in the side housing 22L.

The swing arm 94 is rotatable, and
Slider 13 to move with slider 132
It is supported by two. Therefore, as can be clearly understood from FIG. 5, the slider 132 has a pair of trunnion bearings 14 attached thereto.
2 is provided, and the spindle 10 of the swing arm 94 is provided.
6 is supported. A shaft hole is formed in the spindle 106, and a flexible tube 122 and a lead wire 130 are passed through the shaft hole.

The driving section 98 further includes a swing arm 94.
And a lever / cam mechanism 144 for controlling the rotation angle position of the urine collecting container 96 when the slider 132 is displaced back and forth by the motor 138. That is, as can be clearly understood from FIG. 5, a lever 146 is fitted to the spindle 106 of the swing arm 94 so as to rotate integrally with the spindle 106 between the two bearings 142, and a tip of the lever 146 has a cam follower in the form of a roller. 148 are supported. The cam follower 148 cooperates with a cam plate 150 appropriately fixed to the urine collection case 82 with screws or the like.
50 has two stepped horizontal cam surfaces 152 and 15
4 and an inclined cam surface 156 are formed. One end of a return coil spring 158 is fixed to the spindle 106 of the swing arm 94, and the other end of the spring is fixed to a bearing 142. The preload of the return spring 158 is set to urge the swing arm 94 to rotate clockwise in FIG.

The urine sampling case 82 on which the swing arm 94 of the urine sampling device 26 and the drive unit 98 described above are mounted is firmly fixed to the toilet seat 24 with screws or the like, and the urine sampling device-integrated toilet seat assembly 28 is mounted. It is formed. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 8, a recess 90 having a shape corresponding to the driving portion 98 is formed on the lower surface of the toilet seat 24.
Are formed in advance, the components of the drive unit 98, for example, the motor 138, the pinion 140, the cam plate 1
The lever 50, the lever 146, and the cam follower 148 are partially stored in the recess 90. Since the toilet seat 24 specially designed to incorporate the urine sampling device 26 is used and the components of the urine sampling device are housed by effectively utilizing the space in the toilet seat 24, the components of the urine sampling device are used. Can be designed to have a robust structure. This special toilet seat 24 can be mass-produced using a molding die, and the toilet seat assembly 28 is assembled in advance by incorporating the urine sampling device 26. To convert an existing toilet equipped with a standard toilet into a toilet having a urine analysis function, a toilet seat assembly 28 must be used.
Is mounted on the housing 22 at any convenient time before or after securing the housing 22 to the toilet bowl 12.

Next, the operation of the urine sampling device 26 will be described mainly with reference to FIG. 8. When not in use, the slider 132 is in the forward position,
48 is engaged with the first horizontal cam surface 152 of the cam plate 150. Therefore, the swing arm 94 returns
The urine collecting container 96 is lifted up by the action of the spring 158, and the urine collecting container 96 is located below the toilet seat 24.
In the storage position (position A). In this state, the toilet seat assembly 28 can be opened and closed, and the toilet can be used for ordinary toilet purposes.

In sampling and analyzing urine, when the subject sits on the toilet seat 24 and presses a switch provided on the control unit 32, the motor 138 rotates and the slider / pinion mechanism 140/136 starts moving the slider 132 backward. First, the urine collection container 96 is pulled out horizontally backward from the storage position. The cam follower 148 is the cam plate 150
The lever 146 starts rotating the swing arm 94 (position B). As the cam follower 148 further rides on the inclined cam surface 156, the swing arm rotates while retreating, and the urine collection container 9
6 is displaced along the curved trajectory shown in FIG. When the motor 138 further rotates, the cam follower 148 comes into engagement with the second horizontal cam surface 154 of the cam plate 150 (position C). Thereafter, the posture of the swing arm 94 is maintained to the rear end position D. Translate. Generally, there is a gender difference in the urination direction. In the case of a man, the urinary column falls relatively forward, and in the case of a woman, it falls backward and there is an individual difference. Therefore, the control switch and the control circuit of the motor 138 automatically stop the urine collection container 96 between the positions B and C in the case of a man and the positions C through D in the case of a woman.
It is preferable to make a configuration so that the subject can finely adjust the position as well as to stop between the positions. The subject can urinate toward the urine collection container 96 when the urine collection container 96 is brought to an appropriate position.

The urine that has fallen into the urine collection container 96 flows down along the trough-shaped recess 110 and accumulates in the urine reservoir 118. The urine sampled in this manner is suctioned by the syringe pump 52 provided in the housing 22 through the L-shaped tube 124 and the flexible tube 122, and the urine analyzer 50
And subjected to quantitative analysis. The aspiration of a urine sample can be performed automatically when it is detected from the signals from the electrodes 126 and 128 that urine has accumulated in the urine reservoir 118 to the level of the electrode 126.

When the urine is sampled and transported to the analyzer, the motor 1 is moved in a direction to move the slider 132 forward.
When the swing arm 38 is rotated, the urine collection container 96 returns to the position B with the forward movement and the upward rotation of the swing arm 94, and then the urine collection container 96 returns to the storage position A by the translational movement of the swing arm. Wait in position. Since the urine collection container 96 is formed in an elongated shape, as shown in FIG.
4 can be easily stored in a narrow space between the lower surface 88 of the toilet 4 and the upper surface 86 of the toilet rim 78.

After the urine sampling, it is preferable to wash the urine collection container 96 that has become soiled with urine. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3 and FIG.
It is preferable that the cleaning nozzle 162 be disposed facing the cleaning chamber 160 while forming 0. Cleaning nozzle 162
Can be supplied with pressure washing water from the cistern 20 via a hose 164 and an electromagnetic valve (described later). Alternatively, the hose 164 may be connected to a water supply valve of the bidet device 62. As shown in FIG. 3, the urine collection unit case 82 is provided with an openable / closable cover 166, and by closing the washing chamber 160 during washing, scattering of washing water can be prevented. This opening / closing cover 166 is provided with a suitable link (not shown).
When the urine collection container 96 moves in and out of the washing chamber 160, the cover 166 is connected to the lever / cam mechanism 144 through the cover 166.
Can be opened, and the cover 166 can be closed when the urine collection container 96 returns to the storage position in the washing room.
As can be clearly understood from FIG.
A recess 92 opening toward 66 is formed, and the opening / closing cover 166 performs an opening / closing motion using the space in the recess 92. Such a dent 9
2 can be formed by specially designing the toilet seat 24.

It is preferable that the used washing water is surely discharged into the bowl 16. Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a pair of drain gutters 168 extending rearward from the cleaning chamber 160 along the left and right rims 78 of the toilet bowl can be formed in the urine collection case 82. . These drain gutters 168 are inclined downward toward the rear as can be clearly seen from FIG. 8, and the rear ends of these drain gutters 168 communicate with inclined drain pipes 170 attached to the case 82. Therefore, when the toilet seat assembly 28 is in the horizontal position, the washing water injected from the washing nozzle 162 flows backward along the slope of the drain gutter 168 and is discharged from the drain pipe 170 into the bowl 16. Since the drain pipe 170 is inclined, when the toilet seat assembly 28 is flipped up,
Drops of washing water remaining in the drain gutter 168 fall from the drain pipe 170 into the bowl 16.

As shown in FIG. 3, a cutout 172 is formed at the rear of the urine collection case 82 so that the flexible tube 122, the lead wire and the washing water supply hose 164 from the swing arm 94 can be inserted. Adapter 174 is engaged. Because there is this adapter 174,
It is possible to simplify the arrangement of the piping and wiring between the urine sampling device 26 and the housing 22, and to prevent the piping and wiring from being damaged when the toilet seat assembly 28 is rotated.

Next, an example of an embodiment of the electric syringe pump 52 will be described with reference to FIGS. In the illustrated embodiment, this electric syringe pump 52
Functions as a main part of a transport system for transporting the urine sample collected by the urine sampling device 26 to the urine analyzer 50, and performs various functions described later necessary for urine analysis. Also, in the illustrated embodiment, the electric syringe pump 52 incorporates an electric rotary valve 202, so that one
Although 0 is formed, the syringe pump 52 and the rotary valve 202 may be formed separately.

The syringe pump 52 has a main body 206 in which a cylinder hole 204 is formed. A piston 210 provided with a seal ring 208 is slidably fitted in the cylinder hole 204, so that the volume of the pump chamber is variable. 212 are formed. The piston 210 is driven reciprocally by a stepping motor 214. A lead screw 216 is connected to an output shaft of the motor 214, and a nut 218 is fitted to the lead screw. Piston 21
A pair of diametrically opposed detent pins 220 penetrate the 0 skirt, and the tips of these pins 220 are screwed into nuts 218. Detent pin 22
0 is a pair of axial slots 22 formed in the body 206
2 is engaged. Therefore, if the motor 214 is rotated in either direction, the piston 21 and the nut 218 are rotated together.
0 is driven up and down to suck the liquid into the pump chamber 212 or to send the liquid. The pump chamber 212 communicates with a central port 224 through which liquid enters and exits the rotary valve 202.

The rotary valve 202 has a disk-shaped rotor 228 which is driven to rotate by a stepping motor 226 with a reduction gear. The rotor 228 is rotatably mounted on a cylindrical recess 230 formed in the head of the module 200. Mated. Lower surface and recess 2 of rotor 228
The bottom of 30 is flat and precision machined, and the rotor 2
28 is urged by the coil spring 232 against the bottom surface of the recess 230, so that the lower surface of the rotor 228 contacts the bottom surface of the recess 230 in a liquid-tight manner. The rotor 228 has a central port 234 aligned and opposed to the central port 224 of the syringe pump 52, and has an outer port 236 offset radially outward from the central port 234. And 2
36 are connected to each other by a horizontal internal passage 238.

The bottom surface of the recess 230 has, for example, six ports 2 equally spaced in the circumferential direction at the same radial offset distance as the outer port 236 of the rotor 228.
40A to 240F are open and these ports 2
40A to 240F are nipples 244A to 24F formed by internal passages 242A to 242F formed in the module head.
They are in communication with the 4th floor. These nipples 244A-
As described later with reference to FIG. 18, hoses and conduits extending from the components of the urine analysis unit 14 are connected to the 244F, respectively.

Since the rotary valve 202 has such a configuration, by driving the motor 226,
By rotating the rotor 228 until the 28 outer ports 236 are aligned with any of the ports 240A-240F,
The pump chamber 212 of the syringe pump 52 has a nipple 244
A to 244F. If the syringe pump 52 is operated in this position, the ports 240A to 240A
The liquid can be aspirated from any of the OFs or delivered to any of the ports.

Next, referring to FIGS. 12 to 17,
An example of an embodiment of the urine analyzer 50 of the urine analysis unit 14 will be described. In the illustrated embodiment, the urine analyzer 5
Numeral 0 is configured to quantitatively analyze urine sugar (glucose) in a urine sample by polarographic analysis.
However, the urine analysis unit 14 of the present invention can use a urine analyzer based on liquid chromatography, absorption spectroscopy, spectroscopy, or other methods instead of the polarographic analyzer. Can also be performed on urine protein, occult blood, and other urine components.

As shown in FIG. 12, the urine analyzer 50
For example, a mounting board 250 fixed to the frame 34 of the housing 22, a socket member 252 appropriately fixed to the board by screws or the like, and the socket 252
Polarographs that are detachably and interchangeably fitted to
And a cell 254, and the mounting substrate 250
A circuit board 258 on which the control circuit 256 of the urine analysis unit 14 is mounted can be arranged on the back side of the device.

As can be clearly understood from the exploded view of FIG. 13, the polarographic cell 254 includes a substrate 260 made of plastic or the like and a ceramic substrate 262 carrying electrodes.
And a spacer 264 made of silicone rubber or the like and an upper plate 266 made of plastic or the like are integrally and liquid-tightly fastened to each other with screws or the like. The ceramic substrate 262 is made of, for example, alumina ceramic, and a working electrode 268 of platinum, a counter electrode 270 of platinum, and a reference electrode 272 of silver / silver chloride are formed by printing and firing a metal paste. Terminal 27 is connected to each electrode.
4 are formed, and these terminals 274 are connected to the upper plate 266.
Are provided in electrical contact with each other. An opening 278 is cut out in the region of the electrode in the spacer 264 so as to form an electrolytic chamber 280 as shown in FIG. A pair of nipples 282 communicating with the electrolysis chamber 280 are formed on the upper plate 266 to supply a urine sample and a buffer to the electrolysis chamber. An O-ring 284 is fitted around the outer periphery of these nipples 282. When the polarographic cell 254 is mounted on the socket member 252, the connection hole 2
86, the nipple 282 is fitted in a liquid-tight manner,
The urine sample and buffer are passed through the electrolysis chamber 280 via 88 and 290. Socket member 2
52 is also provided with a pin hole 292 which engages with the pin 276 so that three kinds of electrodes 268, 270, 272 are connected to the lead wire 294, respectively.

As shown in FIG. 15, the working electrode 26 of platinum
8 is a permselective membrane 296 made of a substance that selectively permeates hydrogen peroxide, such as albumin or cellulose acetate.
And glucose oxidase (GOD) immobilized membrane 29
8 and is coated. The GOD immobilization film 298 is made of GO
D (for example, SIGMA G7141) and albumin are dissolved in water at a ratio of 4: 1, and the solution is dropped on the permselective membrane 296 and then exposed to a glutaraldehyde atmosphere for about 30 minutes. Can be. When glucose in the urine sample in the electrolysis chamber 280 comes into contact with the GOD-immobilized membrane, GOD oxidizes glucose (C ₆ H ₁₂ O ₆ ) to form gluconolactone (C ₆ H ₁₀ O ₆ ) as follows. Generates hydrogen peroxide (H ₂ O ₂ ).

C ₆ H ₁₂ O ₆ + O ₂ → C ₆ H ₁₀ O ₆ + H ₂ O ₂ (1) The generated H ₂ O ₂ passes through the permselective membrane 296 and reaches the working electrode 268 of platinum. Then, H ₂ O ₂ is decomposed into water and oxygen while giving electrons to the working electrode 268 by the catalytic action of platinum. The presence of the permselective membrane 296 prevents interfering substances having a molecular weight greater than H ₂ O ₂ from reaching the working electrode 268.

As shown in FIG. 16, during the quantitative analysis of glucose in the urine sample, the potential of the working electrode 268 with respect to the reference electrode 272 is set to a positive constant value (for example, +0.6 V) by a potentiostat. Working electrode 268
The voltage applied between and the counter electrode 270 is variably controlled. The current flowing between the working electrode 268 and the counter electrode 270 changes according to the amount of generated hydrogen peroxide. Therefore, working electrode 2
The current flowing between the counter electrode 270 and the counter electrode 270
As a result, the amount of generated hydrogen peroxide can be detected, and the glucose concentration in the urine sample can be calculated based on the detected amount.

FIG. 17 shows an example of the configuration of the control unit 32 and the control circuit 256. The control unit 32 installed on the toilet wall includes a programmed microcomputer 300, a plurality of operation switches 302, a liquid crystal display panel 304 for displaying instructions to a user and urine analysis results, and urine analysis results and data trends. And a flash memory 308 for storing urine analysis data. As the operation switch 302, a male urine analysis start switch 302a and a female start switch 302b can be separately provided, and when the male switch 302a is pressed, the urine collection container 96 is set to a predetermined male urine collection position ( For example, the urine collection container is automatically brought to the appropriate position between positions BC in FIG. 8) and the urine collection container is placed in the female urine collection position (appropriate position between CD and D) when the female switch 302b is pressed. Can be brought to you. Further, the operation switch 302 can be provided with fine adjustment switches 302c and 302d for finely moving the urine collection container 96 back and forth according to individual differences by manipulating the subject from a preset urine collection position for men or women. .

The control circuit 256 has a microcomputer 310 programmed to control the components of the urine analysis unit 14 as shown in the flowchart below. Working electrode 268 and counter electrode 270 of polarographic cell 254
Is amplified by the amplifier circuit 312 and then input to the A / D conversion circuit of the microcomputer 310. The urine detection sensor 314 detects whether or not urine has accumulated in the urine reservoir 118 of the urine collection container 96 by detecting the electric resistance of the gap between the urine detection electrodes 126 and 128 of the urine collection container 96. It is input to the A / D conversion circuit of the microcomputer 310. The microcomputer 310 includes a swing arm driving motor 138, a rotary valve driving motor 226, a piston driving motor 214,
Further, an electromagnetic valve 316 for supplying cleaning water to the cleaning nozzle 162 is driven. The microcomputers 300 and 310 are connected by a communication cable 318, and transmit data by serial communication via the transceivers 320 and 322.

Next, one mode of operation of the urine analysis unit 14 will be described with reference to the schematic diagram of FIG. 18 and the flowchart of FIG. The subject starts urine analysis switch 3
When the user presses 02a or 302b, the microcomputer 3
10 rotates the swing arm drive motor 138 to move the urine collection container 96 to a preset urine collection position, and positions the urine collection container 96 at a desired position according to the fine adjustment switch 302c or 302d. When the positioning of the urine collection container is completed, the subject can urinate toward the urine collection container and start sampling urine. Urine pool 11 of urine collection container 96 based on a signal from urine detection sensor 314
When it is detected that urine has accumulated in the microcomputer 8, the microcomputer 310 drives the rotary valve driving motor 226 to rotate the rotor 22 until the central port 224 of the syringe pump 52 is aligned with the second port 240B of the rotary valve.
By rotating the pump 8, the pump chamber 212 of the syringe pump 52 is connected to the urine collection container 96. In this state, the microcomputer 310 drives the piston drive motor 214 of the syringe pump 52 to lower the piston 210, and for example, a urine sample of about 2 ml is supplied to the syringe pump 5
2 to suck.

Next, the syringe pump 52 is connected to the discharge line 324 (FIG. 18) by driving the rotary valve again and aligning the center port 224 with the third port 240C of the rotary valve. In this position, the piston drive motor 214 is driven to raise the piston of the syringe pump 52, and a part of the urine sample in the pump chamber is discharged to the bowl of the toilet 12 via the discharge line 324. As a result, air is evacuated from the pump chamber, so that bubbles are prevented from being sent to the polarographic cell 254 even if air is sucked into the pump chamber together with the urine sample.

Next, the rotary valve is driven again, the center port 224 is aligned with the first port 240A of the rotary valve, and the pump chamber 212 is connected to the polarographic cell 25.
Connect to 4. At this position, the piston of the syringe pump 52 is further raised, and about 10 to 20 μl of a urine sample is driven into the transfer tube 288. The pump chamber is connected to the discharge line 324 by driving the rotary valve again, and the excess urine in the pump chamber is discarded in the bowl by raising the piston to the top dead center.

When the urine sample has been injected, the pump chamber of the syringe pump 52 is washed with washing water. This is because the rotary valve is rotated and the syringe pump 52
After connecting the pump chamber to the cistern 20, the piston is lowered to draw the cistern wash water into the pump chamber, and then the rotary valve is driven to connect the pump chamber to the discharge line 324, This is done by raising Washing of the syringe pump can be performed one or more times.

Next, by rotating the rotary valve again and aligning the center port 224 of the syringe pump 52 with the fifth port 240E of the rotary valve, the syringe pump 52 is connected to the buffer tank 54 via the line 326. Let it. The buffer solution in the tank 54 provides a buffer function necessary for stable operation of the polarographic cell.
It consists of an aqueous solution to which a pH regulator such as H2PO4 or Na2HPO4 or a chloride ion strength regulator such as KCl is added. The buffer further acts as a carrier fluid for transporting the urine sample to the polarographic cell 254, and
It also serves to dilute the urine sample sent to the cell. As described above, the syringe pump 52 is connected to the buffer tank 5.
4, the syringe pump 52 is operated, the buffer is sucked from the buffer tank 54 into the pump chamber 212, and then the rotary valve is switched again, the piston 210 is raised and the buffer is discharged to the first position. Inject to port 240A. As a result, about 10 to 20 μl of the urine sample previously injected into the transport tube 288 is sent to the polarographic cell 254 while being mixed and diluted with the buffer solution in the transport tube 288, and the mixture passes through the cell while passing through the cell. It is discharged from the transfer tube 290 into the toilet bowl. The injection speed of the buffer should be at least about 3 for urine samples.
It can be chosen to be diluted 0-fold before passing through the polarographic cell. The injection amount of the buffer solution can be, for example, about 2 to 4 ml. With this amount,
After the mixture of urine sample and buffer has passed through the polarographic cell, the delivery tube 288 and polarographic cell 254 are again filled with fresh buffer.

As the mixture of the urine sample and the buffer passes through the polarographic cell 254, the amount of the urine glucose in the mixture is increased at the GOD immobilized membrane 298 of the working electrode 268 according to the above equation (1). Hydrogen oxide is generated and the working electrode 26 of the polarographic cell is
A current corresponding to the amount of generated hydrogen peroxide flows between the counter electrode 8 and the counter electrode 270. This current is amplified by the amplifier circuit 312, input to the A / D conversion circuit of the microcomputer 310, and converted into a current value. Microcomputer 3
10 transmits the obtained current value data to the microcomputer 300 of the control unit 32 by serial communication. The microcomputer 300 calculates the urine sugar value based on the current value data, and displays it on the display panel 304. The urine sugar value data is also stored in the flash memory 308. The microcomputer 300 can calculate the trend of the urine sugar value according to the instruction of the subject, and can output the trend from the printer unit 306.

After the urine analysis or urine sampling is completed,
The microcomputer 310 drives the swing arm drive motor 138 to return the urine collection container 96 to the storage position A (FIG. 8). Next, the electromagnetic valve 316 is opened, and the urine collection container 96 is washed by supplying pressure washing water to the washing nozzle 162.

As the urine analysis is repeated, the glucose oxidase activity of the enzyme-immobilized membrane 298 of the polarographic cell 254 may gradually decrease, and the output of the cell may decrease over time. Therefore, it is preferable to periodically calibrate the cell output. For this purpose, a glucose standard solution (calibration solution) of a given known concentration is stored in the calibration solution tank 56, and this calibration solution is sent to the cell instead of the urine sample, and the cell output for the glucose standard solution is adjusted. The urine sugar level can be calculated by periodically measuring and correcting the cell output at the time of urine analysis based on the cell output for the glucose standard solution in the actual urine analysis. Once the polarographic cell 254 has been used for a predetermined lifetime, the old cell 254 can be removed from the socket 252 and easily replaced with a new cell.

The toilet of the present embodiment described above is
It is configured by installing a separately prepared urine analysis unit 14 or the like on an existing Western style toilet. As described above, by using the urine analysis unit 14 separate from the toilet body, the urine analysis function can be realized by utilizing the existing toilet equipment.

According to the toilet of this embodiment, the electrode 12
It is possible to determine whether or not the liquid level of the collected urine volume has reached the position of the electrode 126 based on the conduction between 6 and 128. In this embodiment, a urine sample is sucked when a urine volume corresponding to the position of the electrode 126 is secured. Therefore,
Even if the amount of excreted urine fluctuates, the amount of urine required for analysis,
That is, it is possible to surely transport a predetermined amount of urine to the analysis means, and to appropriately perform urine analysis.

In this embodiment, as described above, the syringe pump 52 sucks the collected urine sample of about 2 ml. Of these, the prescribed amount required for actual analysis is
About 10-20 μl. In the present embodiment, a predetermined amount of a urine sample to be collected is set to about 2 ml as an amount capable of reliably sending a specified amount of urine to the polarographic cell 254 after bleeding the pump chamber or the like. The predetermined amount can be arbitrarily set to a value that can secure the specified amount necessary for the analysis. Of course, the predetermined amount and the specified amount may be the same value.

The toilet of this embodiment has the following advantages in addition to the advantages described above. In the toilet of this embodiment, the urine after analysis can be discharged to the bowl of the toilet 12 by the transfer tube 290. Therefore, there is no need to separately dispose of urine after analysis, which is advantageous in that the device is highly convenient and that the device can be easily maintained in a clean state.

Further, in the toilet of the present embodiment, since the data obtained as the analysis result can be stored in the flash memory 308, the user can know the trend of the analyzed data. Such a trend can be used for self-health checks. Needless to say, data is stored in the flash memory 308 over a plurality of analyzes in order to calculate a trend. Since the storage of such statistical data is a well-known technique, detailed description is omitted in the embodiments, but it goes without saying that data can be stored in various modes. For example, a mode in which the analyzed data itself is stored or a mode in which a deviation from the previous analysis result is stored may be used. Of course, it is also possible to adopt a mode of storing only the calculated trend.

The data storage destination is not limited to the flash memory. For example, a memory such as a RAM normally provided in the microcomputer 300 may be used. Of course, it is preferable to use a non-volatile storage medium such as a flash memory in view of the advantage that data can be stored and held without power supply. As a nonvolatile storage medium, a portable storage medium such as a flexible disk may be applied. This way,
It can be used in various ways, such as processing the analysis results on a computer that is easily facilitated.

Although a specific embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to this, and various design changes can be made. For example, although the urine analyzer 50 has been described as having the polarographic cell 254, a urine analysis method based on liquid chromatography, absorption spectroscopy, spectroscopy, or other methods can be adopted. Furthermore, urine analysis can be performed on urine components other than urine glucose. In addition, urine sampling device 2
Although 6 is described as having a swing arm, a different urine collection structure may be used as long as it can be incorporated in the toilet seat 24. Further, instead of the syringe pump 52, a rotary pump or another urine transport device can be adopted.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an attached state of a urine analysis unit.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a housing of the urine analysis unit shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing a part of the toilet seat assembly of the urine analysis unit shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the urine sampling device of the toilet seat assembly.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged exploded perspective view of a part of a swing arm drive part, which is partially cut away.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a top view of a urine collection container mounted on a swing arm.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along the line VII-VII in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a schematic sectional view taken along line VIII-VIII in FIG.

FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view of a syringe pump with a rotary valve.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken along line XX of FIG. 9;

11 is a plan view taken along the line XI-XI in FIG. 10 and is an explanatory view showing a state where a rotor is removed.

FIG. 12 is an exploded perspective view of a partly cutaway portion of the urine analyzer.

FIG. 13 is an enlarged exploded perspective view of a polarographic cell.

FIG. 14 is a sectional view of the polarographic cell taken along the line XIV-XIV in FIG. 13;

FIG. 15 is an enlarged sectional view of a working electrode taken along line XV-XV in FIG. 13;

FIG. 16 is a wiring diagram showing a state where a potentiostat and an amplifier circuit are connected to electrodes of a polarographic cell.

FIG. 17 is a block diagram of a control unit and a control circuit.

FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram showing a transport system of the urine analysis unit.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing the operation of the urine analysis unit.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Toilet 12 ... Standard type toilet 14 ... Urine analysis unit 16 ... Toilet bowl 18 ... Toilet flush water supply part 22 ... Urine analysis unit housing 24 ... Toilet seat 26 ... Urine sampling device 28 ... Toilet seat assembly 50 ... Urine analyzer 52 urine transport pump (syringe pump) 96 urine collection container

Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Toshio Oguro 2-1-1 Nakajima, Kokurakita-ku, Kitakyushu-shi, Fukuoka Touchi Kiki Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Hiroyuki Tsuboi 2-1-1 Nakajima, Kokurakita-ku, Kitakyushu-shi, Fukuoka No. 1 Toto Kiki Co., Ltd.

Claims (7)

[Claims] Claims: 1. A standard Western-style toilet bowl,
What is claimed is: 1. A toilet device with a urine analysis function for collecting excreted urine and analyzing the urine, wherein the collection device is capable of collecting the excreted urine by being attached to the toilet, Analyzing means for obtaining data relating to the amount of a predetermined component in urine, conveying means for conveying the collected urine from the collection means to the analysis means, and A urine volume detecting means for detecting whether or not a predetermined volume set in advance in relation to the urine volume required for the analysis is reached, and when it is detected that the collected urine volume has reached the predetermined volume, A toilet device comprising: a transport control unit that controls the transport unit to transport urine. 2. The toilet apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said urine amount detecting means is means for performing said detection by conduction between electrodes provided on said sampling means. 3. The toilet apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising discharging means for discharging urine analyzed by the analyzing means to the toilet. 4. The toilet apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising storage means for storing data acquired by said analysis means a plurality of times. 5. The toilet apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said storage means is a nonvolatile storage medium. 6. The toilet apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined component is at least one of urine sugar, urine protein, and occult blood. 7. The toilet device according to claim 1, further comprising at least one of a bidet device, a hot air drying device, and a deodorizing device.