JP3391937B2 - Urine sampling device - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

[Object of the Invention]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for sampling urine excreted by an individual in a house, office or other toilet in the case of urine analysis.
More specifically, the present invention relates to an improvement of a swing arm that carries a urine collection container.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A sampling device has been proposed which is designed to sample urine excreted from a subject sitting on a toilet seat in a toilet (for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 60-85133 by Toto Kikai Co., Ltd .; JP-A-62-187253 of Inax; 1-136573 Mitsukaihei, Matsushita Electric Works, Ltd.
No .; NOKAI Co., Ltd. No. 5-30764).

The urine collection container is carried on the tip of a swing arm, and the swing arm is swung to move the urine collection container in the bowl space to collect urine. The collected urine sample is sent to the urine analyzer.

[0004]

In order to transfer the urine sample sampled in the urine collection container to the analyzer, a fluid pipe such as a urine sample transfer tube must be arranged on the swing arm. Also, in order to enable the pump of the analyzer to automatically aspirate the urine sample as urine collects in the urine collection container,
It is preferable to provide an optical or other type of urine detection sensor. In this case, it is necessary to arrange the signal line of the sensor on the swing arm.

These pipes and signal lines are preferably arranged so that the urine sampling device can be easily assembled, installed, and maintained and inspected. The prior art urine sampling device is not yet sophisticated in this respect and there is room for improvement.

An object of the present invention is to realize a practical urine sampling device in which the swing arm and the urine collection container can be easily assembled, mounted, and maintained and inspected.

[0007]

[Constitution of the invention]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, an enlarged diameter portion is formed in a swing arm of a urine sampling device, and a fluid pipe or signal line connector or a fluid pipe or signal line is formed in the enlarged diameter portion. It is characterized by containing slack.

When the swing arm is attached to the urine sampling device, the pipe or the signal line is inserted into the swing arm in a state where the pipe or the signal line is slackened, and then the slack is rolled up and accommodated in the expanded diameter portion. A swing arm can be attached to the sampling device. For maintenance and inspection, the swing arm can be easily removed while taking out the slack portion of the pipe from the expanded diameter portion and extending the slack.

When a connector is used in the middle of a fluid pipe or a signal line, when the swing arm is attached, the pipe and the signal line are inserted into the swing arm with the connector separated, and then the connector is connected to the swing arm. The swing arm can be attached to the sampling device while being accommodated in the expanded diameter portion of For maintenance and inspection, the swing arm can be easily removed by taking out the connector from the expanded diameter portion and separating it.

Since the connector and the slack are accommodated by utilizing the space of the expanded diameter portion of the swing arm in this manner, the swing arm can be easily attached and detached, and the piping and signal lines can be routed and the outer shape of the swing arm can be simplified. To be done.

In a preferred embodiment, the swing arm is divided into upper and lower portions at the expanded diameter portion and is separably connected by a screw or the like.

The above-mentioned features and effects of the present invention, as well as other features and advantages, will be made clear by the description of the following embodiments.

[0013]

1 to 8 show a first embodiment of the urine sampling apparatus of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1, a toilet 10 has a flush toilet bowl 12 and a flush water supply cistern 14, and a housing 16 accommodating a urine analyzer (not shown) is attached to the toilet bowl 12. The toilet seat 18 and the toilet lid 20 are rotatably attached to the housing 16. Toilet seat 1
The urine sampling device 22 of the present invention is attached to the device 8 as described later. Control unit 2 for controlling the urine sampling device 22 and the urine analyzer and outputting the analysis result
4 can be installed on the side wall of the toilet.

Referring to FIG. 2, the urine sampling device 2
2 includes a frame or case 26, which is appropriately attached to the lower surface of the toilet seat 18 with screws or the like. A swing arm 28 is rotatably supported on the frame 26, and is swingable by a motor 30 such as a stepping motor. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3, the upper end of the swing arm 28 is detachably attached to the spindle 32, and the spindle is pivotally supported by the frame 26 by a pair of bearings 34. The spindle 32 is driven by the motor 30 via an electric belt mechanism. Therefore, the driven gear 36 is attached to the spindle 32.
Is provided and the toothed belt 38 is engaged.

As shown in FIG. 4, the output shaft of the motor 30 is splined to a spindle 40, which is fixed to the frame 26 by a bearing block 42.
Is rotatably supported by a pair of bearings 44. A drive gear 46 is provided on the spindle 40, and a belt 38 is engaged with the drive gear 46. Therefore, when the motor 30 is rotated in either direction, the swing arm 28 is swung.

As shown in FIGS. 2, 5 and 6, a urine collecting container 48 is provided at the lower end of the swing arm 28. As can be seen from FIG. 6, the urine collection container 48 has a shallow ship bottom shape, and a urine reservoir 50 is formed at the bottom thereof. The urine collection container 48 is provided with an L-shaped urine collection tube 52 that opens toward the bottom of the urine reservoir 50.

A pair of urine detecting electrodes 5 is provided in the urine reservoir 50.
4 is projected, and the conductivity of the fluid existing in the electrode gap is detected to detect that urine has accumulated in the urine reservoir 50. Instead of the electrode 54, a photoelectric sensor or other sensor may be used. In order to prevent foreign matter from entering the urine collection container 48 and urine from scattering, the inlet opening of the urine collection container 48 is covered with a wire mesh 56 made of stainless steel or the like.

As shown in FIG. 6, the swing arm 28
Is hollow and has a D-shaped cross section. A flexible transport tube 58 is provided inside the hollow of the swing arm 28.
Is arranged, and the L-shaped tube 52 is connected to one end of the carrier tube 58. The tube 58 passes through the hollow inside of the spindle 32 and then, as shown in FIG.
It is taken out rearward from the window 60 of No. 2 and guided to the rear part of the frame 26 as shown in FIG. The other end of the transfer tube 58 is connected to a syringe pump (not shown) arranged inside the housing 16 of the toilet. Urine detection electrode 54
Is likewise connected to the control unit 24 via a lead wire 62 extending through the hollow interior of the swing arm and the spindle 32.

As can be seen from FIGS. 5 and 7,
An expanded diameter portion 64 is formed on the hollow swing arm 28. The swing arm is divided into upper and lower portions at the expanded diameter portion, and the upper portion 28A and the lower portion 28B of the swing arm are separably connected to each other by a screw 66 or the like. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 7, a hook portion 68 is formed on one portion of the swing arm, and is engaged with a notch 70 formed on the other portion of the swing arm. Upper part of swing arm 28A
The inclined end surface 28C contacts the frame 26 and acts as a stopper that regulates the rotation angle of the swing arm.

As shown in FIG. 7, the transfer tube 58 and the lead wire 62 are also divided at the enlarged diameter portion 64 corresponding to the division of the swing arm, and a pair of tube connection connector 72 and wiring connection are respectively provided. A connector 74 is used for connection. These connectors 72 and 74 can be housed inside the hollow of the expanded diameter portion 64.

With such a structure, when the urine sampling device 22 is assembled or the swing arm 28 is attached to the frame 26, the transfer tube 58 and the lead wire 62 are attached to the spindle 3 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.
After passing through the inside of 2, the swing arm upper part 28A is fixed to the spindle 32. Next, connectors 72 and 7
4, the slack of the tube 58 and the lead wire 62 is pushed into the expanded diameter portion 64 while engaging the hook portion 68 with the notch 70 as shown by the broken line in FIG. Connect with screws 66.

Urine collection container 4 for maintenance and inspection, cleaning and replacement
8 and the swing arm 28, the swing arm lower part 28B can be easily removed together with the urine collecting container 48 by loosening the screw 66 to separate the swing arm upper part 28A and the lower part 28B and disconnecting the connectors 72 and 74. You can

To briefly explain the mode of use of the urine sampling device 22, the urine collection container 48 is shown in FIG.
As indicated by the solid line in FIG. 5, the toilet seat 18 is housed in the housing cleaning chamber 76 formed in the frame 26 below the front portion of the toilet seat 18. Toilet seat 1 by subject when sampling and analyzing urine
8 is pressed and the analysis start button provided on the control unit 24 is pressed, the motor 30 is driven and the urine collection container 48 is moved to an appropriate urine collection position in the bowl 78 of the toilet bowl as shown by the phantom line in FIG. Be brought. The maximum rotation angle of the swing arm 28 is regulated by the stopper 28C.

When the subject urinates toward the urine collection container 48, urine accumulates in the urine reservoir 50. The accumulation of urine can be detected by monitoring the conductivity of the electrode gap of the urine detection electrode 54. When urine is accumulated in the urine reservoir 50, a syringe pump (not shown) in the housing 16 is operated,
Urine in the urine reservoir 50 is sucked through the L-shaped urine collecting tube 52 and the urine transport tube 58, transported to an analyzer (not shown) in the housing 16, and subjected to analysis. The analysis result is displayed on the control unit 24 and output.

When the urine collection is completed, the swing arm 28 is rotated to return the urine collection container 48 into the storage and washing chamber 76 as shown by the solid line in FIG. Since the urine collection container 48 is formed in a shallow ship bottom shape, it can be easily stored in the storage and cleaning chamber 76 even when the storage and cleaning chamber 76 is formed narrow in the front and rear. As shown in FIG. 2, the storage cleaning chamber 7
An injection nozzle 80 is directed to the nozzle 6, and the cleaning water under pressure is supplied from a hose 82 via a solenoid valve (not shown). When the electromagnetic valve is operated to inject the wash water from the nozzle 80, the urine collection container 48 and the swing arm 28 are washed, and the used wash water falls into the bowl 78.

FIG. 9 shows a second embodiment of the urine sampling device of the present invention. The same components as those of the first embodiment described above are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.
The main structural difference from the first embodiment is that the storage cleaning chamber 76
Is formed on the frame 26 at the rear of the toilet bowl 12, and the urine collection container 48 is swung forward when collecting urine, and the swing arm 28 is directly connected to the motor 30 without the transmission belt 38. As in the first embodiment, the swing arm 28 is formed with the enlarged diameter portion 64, and the slack of the tube connecting connector 72, the wiring connecting connector 74, the tube 58 and the lead wire 62 is accommodated in the enlarged diameter portion 64. I am doing it.

FIG. 10 shows a third embodiment of the urine sampling device of the present invention. Similarly, the components common to the components of the above-described embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted. This embodiment is characterized in that the urine analysis unit 84 including the urine sampling device 22 and the urine analysis device is hooked on the rim 86 of the toilet bowl for use.

Referring to FIG. 10, the urine analysis unit 84
Has a housing 88, which can be formed of two upper and lower halves that are snap-fitted together. The housing 88 is formed with vertical lugs 90 that act as hooks to allow the housing to be hooked to the sides of the rim 86 of the toilet bowl.

A syringe pump 9 is provided in the housing 88.
2 and an analyzer (not shown) are stored. A swing arm 28 carrying a urine collection container 48 is axially supported on the upper part of the housing 88, and is swingable by a motor (not shown) housed in the housing. On the upper part of the housing 88, an analysis start button 94 and a display section 96 for displaying the analysis result are provided. The swing arm 28 is similarly formed with an enlarged diameter portion 64, and the slack of the tube connection connector 72, the wiring connection connector 74, the tube 58, and the lead wire 62 is also accommodated in the enlarged diameter portion 64. .

Since the urine analysis unit 84 is a self-contained unit, it can be attached to the toilet very easily, and can be easily removed and stored in an appropriate place when not in use. In the third embodiment, the storage and cleaning chamber 76 is arranged in the front part of the rim 86 as in the first embodiment, but as in the second embodiment shown in FIG.
8 may be stored in the rear portion of the rim 86.

FIG. 11 mainly shows a variation of the above-mentioned swing arm and joint division and connection structure shown in FIG. The same components as those described above are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted. Explaining only the differences, the swing arm 28 is similarly divided into an upper portion 28A and a lower portion 28B along the dividing surface 100 at the hollow expanded portion 64. Joint plates 102 and 104 are fixed to the respective portions 28A and 28B of the swing arm by welding or the like. One joint plate, for example, the plate 104 of the lower portion 28B, is formed with a pair of flexible hooks 68 including the operating piece 106, and the upper portion 28
It is adapted to engage the notch 70 of A.

One joint plate, eg plate 10
4 is a fluid coupling 7 for connecting the carrier tube 58.
Two male members 72A are formed, and the other plate 102 is formed with a female member 72B that cooperates with the male member 72A. Similarly, for each lead wire 62,
An electrical joint is configured by the pins 74A and the sockets 74B that cooperate with each other.

Due to this structure, when assembling the swing arm 28, the pin 74A and the socket 74 are assembled.
The lead wire 62 is soldered to B, the carrying tube 58 is connected to the male member 72A and the female member 72B of the fluid coupling, and the lead wire 62 and the slack of the carrying tube 58 are accommodated in the expanded diameter portion 64, and then the plate 102 is inserted. Swing arm portions 28A and 28B by welding and so on
You can fix it to.

For maintenance, inspection, or replacement of the urine collection container 48, push the operation piece 106 with a finger to swing the swing arm lower part 2
8B can be easily removed from the upper portion 28A. After inspection or replacement, swing arm lower part 28B and upper part 28
If A is pressed against each other and the hook portion 68 is engaged with the notch 70, the lower portion 28B and the upper portion 28A are mechanically connected by a one-touch operation, and at the same time, the fluid coupling 72 and the electric coupling 74 are connected. It

[0035]

As described above, according to the present invention, the swing arm 28 is formed with the enlarged diameter portion 64, and the slack of the conveying tube 58 and the wiring 62 or their connectors 72 and 74 are formed in the enlarged diameter portion 64. Since it is accommodated, the swing arm 28 and the urine collection container 48 can be easily attached and detached, assembled and maintained.

In addition, piping and wiring and their connectors 72
And 74 are housed inside the swing arm 28, and the outer shape of the swing arm is simplified, so that deposits such as urine stones are less likely to adhere to the swing arm 28, and
The deposit can be easily removed by cleaning with the spray nozzle 80.

When the swing arm is divided up and down at the expanded diameter portion 64 according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the slack of the transfer tube 58 and the wiring 62 and the connector can be easily put in and taken out.

If the male and female members of the fluid coupling and / or the electrical coupling are fixed to the upper and lower portions of the swing arm, the coupling can be connected by a one-touch operation.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a urine sampling device according to a first embodiment of the present invention attached to a toilet.

2 is a perspective view of the urine sampling device shown in FIG.
It is shown with a part cut away.

3 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG.

4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a side view of the swing arm shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged perspective view of the urine collection container shown in FIG. 2, with a part cut away.

FIG. 7 shows the swing arm shown in FIG. 5 separated.

8 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 8-8 of FIG.

FIG. 9 is a partially cutaway perspective view of a urine sampling device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing a urine analysis unit equipped with a urine sampling device according to a third embodiment of the present invention, which is attached to a toilet bowl.

FIG. 11 is a view similar to FIG. 7, showing a variation of the swing arm with a part cut away.

[Explanation of symbols]

22: Urine sampling device 28: Swing arm 48: Urine collection container 64: Expanding part of swing arm 72: Fluid coupling 74: Electric coupling

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (58) Fields surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G01N 33/493 A47K 13/00 E03D 9/00 G01N 1/10 G01N 33/48

Claims (7)

(57) [Claims] 1. A urine collecting container supported by a swing arm is provided, and the urine excreted in the bowl is sampled by swinging the swing arm to bring the urine collecting container into the bowl space of the toilet bowl. In the urine sampling device, an enlarged diameter portion is formed on the swing arm, and the related portion of the urine collection container is accommodated in the enlarged diameter portion. 2. The urine sampling device according to claim 1, wherein the component accommodated in the expanded diameter portion is a fluid coupling. 3. The urine sampling device according to claim 1, wherein the component housed in the expanded diameter portion is an electrical connector. 4. The urine sampling device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the expanded diameter portion accommodates a urine sample transport tube or a slack of electric wiring. 5. The urine sampling apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the swing arm is divided into upper and lower portions at the expanded diameter portion, and an upper portion and a lower portion of the swing arm are separably connected. 6. The swing arm is vertically divided so that it can be connected at the expanded diameter portion, and the component housed in the expanded diameter portion of the swing arm is a joint for fluid or electrical connection. The female member is fixed to either one of the upper part and the lower part of the swing arm, and the male member is fixed to the other part, so that the upper part and the lower part of the swing arm are connected at the same time as the joint is connected. The urine sampling device according to claim 1, characterized in that 7. The urine sampling device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the swing arm has a D-shaped cross section.