JP7650846B2 - Sphygmomanometer - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a blood pressure monitor.

Conventionally, electronic blood pressure monitors have been known in which a cuff housing is attached to the rear of a measuring body having a display unit, and a handle hole (grip) is drilled in the rear wall of the cuff housing (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2012-200401 A

In general, the center of gravity of an electronic blood pressure monitor is located at the front lower position near the measurement body where heavy objects such as a battery and a pump are placed. For this reason, in the electronic blood pressure monitor described in Patent Document 1, heavy objects such as a battery and a pump are placed forward of the handle hole opened in the rear wall of the cuff housing, so when the electronic blood pressure monitor is lifted by inserting a finger into the handle hole, the electronic blood pressure monitor tilts forward so that the center of gravity is located directly below the lifting position (position of the handle hole), resulting in an unstable state in which the finger may come off the handle hole.

The present invention was made in consideration of the above circumstances, and aims to provide a blood pressure monitor that can be carried in a stable position with reduced tilt.

The blood pressure monitor of the present invention has a main body part having a cuff storage space formed on the rear side for storing a cuff, a battery storage part for storing a battery in the bottom of the main body part, and a grip part for holding the main body part, the grip part being provided at an upper position on the rear side of the main body part and in a position overlapping vertically with the battery stored in the bottom of the main body part. The main body part has a display panel part for displaying information related to blood pressure measurement on the front side opposite the rear side where the cuff storage space is formed, and the display panel part is inclined so that the overlap width with the battery in the vertical direction increases from the lower side to the upper side. The grip part has a concave part recessed from the rear side of the main body part .

According to the blood pressure monitor of the present invention, it is possible to carry it in a stable posture with reduced tilt. In addition, when the grip part is lifted, the posture of the blood pressure monitor is stable with the center of gravity balanced, and the visibility of the information displayed on the display panel can be maintained.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which measurement is performed using the upper arm type electronic blood pressure monitor of the first embodiment. FIG. 1 is a front view showing a blood pressure monitor according to a first embodiment. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 2 showing the sphygmomanometer of the first embodiment. FIG. FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing an overall configuration of a sphygmomanometer according to a first embodiment. 3 is a perspective view showing a grip portion of the sphygmomanometer of Example 1 when viewed from the rear side. FIG. 4 is a detailed view of part B in FIG. 3 showing the grip portion of the sphygmomanometer of the first embodiment. FIG. 1A is an exploded perspective view showing the assembly of parts to a front cover, and FIG. 1A is an exploded perspective view showing the assembly of parts to a rear cover, and FIG. FIG. 13 is an overall perspective view (a) of the main board section with the board being transparent, and shows blood pressure measurement components that are assembled to the lower position of the display panel section of the rear cover, and an oblique view of the main board section (b). 1A is an exploded perspective view showing a battery holder part to be attached to the bottom of the rear cover, FIG. 1B is an assembled perspective view, and FIG. 1A is a front view of a blood pressure monitor of a comparative example, FIG. 1B is a vertical cross-sectional view taken along line D-D, and FIG. 1C is a detailed view of part E. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a first problem in the sphygmomanometer of the comparative example. 1A is an explanatory diagram of a lifting action without a cuff, illustrating the first problem-solving action in the blood pressure monitor of Example 1, and FIG. 1B is an explanatory diagram of a lifting action with a cuff. 13A and 13B are diagrams illustrating a rearward expansion problem and an upward expansion problem, respectively, illustrating a second problem in a blood pressure monitor of a comparative example. 13A is a diagram illustrating the action of ensuring a cuff storage volume, and FIG. 13B is a diagram illustrating the action of storing a hard cuff, which illustrates the action of solving the second problem in the blood pressure monitor of Example 1. 1A is a front view, FIG. 1B is a rear perspective view, and FIG. 1C is a vertical cross-sectional view taken along line FF, showing the configuration of a blood pressure monitor of Example 2.

Below, the embodiment for implementing the blood pressure monitor of the present invention will be described based on the first and second embodiments shown in the drawings.

The blood pressure monitor 1 in Example 1 is applied to an upper arm electronic blood pressure monitor (also called a "cuff-type electronic blood pressure monitor") that measures systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, heart rate, etc. by attaching and wrapping a cuff around the upper arm of a subject. In the following description, as shown in each figure, the left-right direction when the blood pressure monitor 1 is viewed from the front is the X-axis, the up-down direction is the Y-axis, and the front-back direction is the Z-axis.

First, an overview of the upper arm type electronic blood pressure monitor will be described with reference to Figure 1. Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing the state of measurement using the upper arm type electronic blood pressure monitor of Example 1.

As shown in FIG. 1, the upper arm electronic blood pressure monitor of Example 1 includes a blood pressure monitor 1, a cuff 2, a cuff tube 3, and a cuff plug 4 as a blood pressure measurement set.

The blood pressure monitor 1 has a main body 10 on the rear side of which a cuff storage space S for storing a cuff 2 is formed, and a cuff storage space component 20 that is provided on the rear side of the main body 10 and forms part of the cuff storage space S. At the front position of the main body 10, a display panel unit 30 is provided that displays information related to blood pressure measurement (systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, pulse rate, time, temperature, etc.), and at the lower position of the display panel unit 30, an operation button unit 60 is provided that is operated when measuring blood pressure, when checking blood pressure values previously measured and stored, when setting the clock, etc.

The cuff 2 is composed of a cover that is wrapped around the subject's arm U, an air bag (not shown) that is housed inside the cover, and male and female hook-and-loop fasteners (not shown) that are wrapped around and fixed to the arm U. Here, the cuff 2 can be a cuff with a core (hereinafter referred to as a "hard cuff") in which a core (core material) (not shown) is inserted inside the cover, or a cuff without a core (hereinafter referred to as a "soft cuff"). The core is made of an elastic plate material, for example made of polypropylene (PP), to facilitate wrapping around the arm U.

One end of the cuff tube 3 is connected to an air bag contained inside the cuff 2, and the other end is connected to the cuff plug 4. The cuff plug 4 is detachably attached to the cuff plug connection part 16 (see FIG. 5) provided on the main body 10 of the sphygmomanometer 1. The cuff plug connection part 16 is composed of a connector ring 13 and an air connector 56 (see FIG. 9(a)), and the cuff plug 4 is sealed when connected by an O-ring inserted inside the air connector 56.

Next, the overall configuration of the blood pressure monitor 1 of the first embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 2 to 4. Figure 2 is a front view showing the blood pressure monitor 1 of the first embodiment. Figure 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken along line A-A in Figure 2. Figure 4 is an exploded perspective view showing the overall configuration of the blood pressure monitor 1 of the first embodiment.

The main body 10 of the blood pressure monitor 1 includes a front cover 11 and a rear cover 12 as cover members that define the exterior of the main body, and an internal space in which various components are placed is formed by assembling the two covers 11 and 12. As shown in FIG. 3, the components that are attached to the cover members include a display panel 30, a main board 40, a blood pressure measurement component 50, an operation button section 60, and a battery storage section 70.

As shown in FIG. 4, the front cover 11 has a display opening 11a in which the display panel section 30 is provided, and an operation button panel recess 11b in which the operation button section 60 is provided below the display opening 11a.

As shown in FIG. 4, the rear cover 12 has, in order from top to diagonally downward, an upper flat surface cover portion 12a, an inclined connecting surface cover portion 12b, a protruding flat surface cover portion 12c, and an inclined bottom surface cover portion 12d.

As shown in FIG. 4, the cuff storage space component 20 of the blood pressure monitor 1 has its front end fixed to the rear cover 12 with two screws 21 and its bottom fixed to the rear cover 12 with four screws 29. The cuff storage space component 20 has a right side surface 22, a left side surface 23, a rear end inclined surface 24, and a bottom surface 25. The right side surface 22 and the left side surface 23 are formed with side holes 26, 27, respectively, which have the effect of giving the product a light image and can also be used as a grip.

When the main body 10 and the cuff storage space component 20 are combined, the depth dimension of the blood pressure monitor 1 is set to a depth dimension L that ensures compactness, as shown in FIG. 3. The outer surface of the main body 10 and the inner surface of the cuff storage space component 20 form a bottomed box-shaped cuff storage space S that is open at the top, and the cuff 2 (hard cuff) is stored in the cuff storage space S. Note that the cuff 2 can be stored in the cuff storage space S even when the cuff plug 4 is removed from the blood pressure monitor 1 and the cuff tube 3 is wrapped around the cuff 2.

Here, the outer surface of the main body 10 that forms the cuff storage space S is an outer surface formed by the protruding flat cover portion 12c and the inclined bottom cover portion 12d. In other words, the amount of protrusion on the rear side of the protruding flat cover portion 12c that forms the front surface of the cuff storage space S is set to an amount of protrusion slightly larger than the outer diameter of the pump 52 described below. Also, the bottom surface of the cuff storage space S is not the bottom surface portion 25 of the cuff storage space component 20, but the inclined bottom cover portion 12d of the rear cover 12. The rear inclination angle of the rear end inclined surface portion 24 of the cuff storage space component 20 is set to an angle that is approximately perpendicular to the inclined bottom cover portion 12d that is inclined downward to the rear side of the rear cover 12.

As shown in FIG. 4, the display panel unit 30 has a windshield 32 fixed to the outer periphery of the display opening 11a of the front cover 11 with four pieces of double-sided tape 31, and a flat LCD display 33 that is positioned and fixed to the rear cover 12, etc.

The main board section 40 is composed of a board 41 fixed to the rear cover 12, and a CPU 42 (short for "Central Processing Unit"), a pressure and temperature sensor 43, a quartz crystal oscillator 44, a short-range communication module 45, etc., which are mounted on the board 41 (see Figure 9). As shown in Figure 3, the board 41 is fixed to the rear cover 12 in a parallel arrangement with the back surface of the board adjacent to the back surface of the flat liquid crystal display 33 with a small gap between them. The electronic components such as the CPU 42 mounted on the board 41 are arranged to protrude toward the back side of the main body section 10 (the blood pressure measurement component 50 side).

The blood pressure measurement part 50 includes a pump 52 that creates air pressure when measuring blood pressure, and an electromagnetic slow leak 53 that reduces pressure when measuring blood pressure. As shown in Figures 3 and 4, the blood pressure measurement part 50 is attached to the rear cover 12. The pump 52 is attached to the rear cover 12 via a pump holder 51. The electromagnetic slow leak 53 is attached to the rear cover 12 with a sponge-backed double-sided tape (not shown). Here, the pump 52 is located above the operation button panel recess 11b, and is positioned so that it overlaps the operation button part 60 in the vertical direction.

As shown in FIG. 3, the operation button section 60 is disposed at the position of the operation button panel recess 11b formed in the front cover 11. The operation button section 60 has a plurality of buttons 61 attached to the front cover 11, a button holder 62 that holds the buttons 61, and a switch board 63 that is fixed to the rear cover 12 and has a switch circuit that is activated by button operation.

3 and 4, the battery storage section 70 has a battery holder 71 fixed to the rear cover 12, four batteries 72 attached to the battery holder 71, and a battery cover 73 that covers the battery attachment hole 28 opened in the cuff storage space component 20. The four batteries 72 have their cylindrical axes oriented in the left-right direction (X-axis direction).

3, the positional relationship between the display panel 30, the main board 40, the blood pressure measurement component 50, the operation button 60, and the battery storage 70 will be described. First, taking the display panel 30, which is inclined backward toward the rear side, as a reference, the main board 40, the blood pressure measurement component 50, and the operation button 60 are arranged in a vertical line from the lower part of the rear side of the display panel 30 to the bottom, in that order. The battery storage 70 is arranged at a position close to the rear side of the operation button 60 and at the bottom of the main body 10. That is, the main board 40, the blood pressure measurement component 50, the operation button 60, and the battery storage 70 are arranged in a concentrated manner in the intersecting space formed by the front cover 11, the rear cover 12, and the cuff storage space component 20. Here, the "intersection space" refers to the curved space between the opposing surfaces of the front cover 11, rear cover 12, and cuff storage space component 20, and is formed along the inner surfaces of the inclined connecting surface cover portion 12b, the protruding flat surface cover portion 12c, and the inclined bottom surface cover portion 12d of the rear cover 12.

Next, the detailed configuration of the grip portion 80 of the blood pressure monitor 1 of the first embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 3, 5, and 6. Figure 5 is a perspective view showing the grip portion 80 when the blood pressure monitor 1 of the first embodiment is viewed from the rear side. Figure 6 is a detailed view of part B in Figure 3.

As shown in FIG. 3, the grip 80 of the blood pressure monitor 1 of Example 1 is located at the top of the back side of the main body 10 and is located so as to overlap the four batteries 72 stored in the bottom of the main body 10 in the vertical direction (the direction of the dashed arrow in FIG. 3). The main body 10 has a display panel 30 on the front side opposite the back side where the cuff storage space S is formed. As shown in FIG. 3, the display panel 30 is inclined toward the back side at an inclination angle θ from the vertical direction (Y-axis direction) so that the vertical overlap width with the four batteries 72 increases from the lower side to the upper side. The inclination angle θ is set to an angle that makes it easy to view the contents displayed on the display panel 30 from the subject's viewpoint when the blood pressure monitor 1 is placed on a table or the like to measure blood pressure.

As shown in FIG. 3, the main body 10 has a pump 52 therein for pressurizing the air bag of the cuff 2. The pump 52 is disposed between the display panel 30 and the cuff storage space S, in a position that overlaps with the battery 72 in the vertical direction.

As shown in Figs. 5 and 6, the gripping portion 80 is configured by a concave portion recessed into a horizontally long rectangular shape from the cover surface of the rear cover 12, and is formed integrally with the rear cover 12. The gripping portion 80 has a finger hook surface 81 recessed vertically from the cover surface, an inclined surface 82 facing the finger hook surface 81 in the vertical direction, a bottom surface 83 vertically connecting the recessed ends of the finger hook surface 81 and the inclined surface 82, and a pair of side surfaces 84, 84 that close both left and right ends of the finger hook surface 81, the inclined surface 82, and the bottom surface 83. The inclined surface 82 is provided with a plurality of ventilation holes 85 for measuring air temperature. As shown in Fig. 6, the ventilation holes 85 are not holes whose hole axis is perpendicular to the inclined surface 82 and faces downward from the outside to the inside of the hole, but holes whose hole axis H faces upward from the outside to the inside of the hole with an elevation angle α from the horizontal axis. A black PET sheet 86 is attached to the back of the ventilation hole 85 so as not to impede the air flow, and the inside cannot be seen from the outside through the ventilation hole 85. A heat seal 14 is placed in the gap formed between the back of the PET sheet 86 and the back surface of the liquid crystal display 33, electrically connecting the liquid crystal display 33 and the main board 40.

Next, the parts to be assembled to the front cover 11 of the blood pressure monitor 1 of the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 7. FIG. 7 shows an exploded perspective view (a) and an assembly perspective view (b) showing the assembly of the parts to the front cover 11.

Two buttons 61, 61 and one double button 61' are attached to two button holes 11c and one double button hole 11c' in the operation button panel recess 11b of the front cover 11. A button holder 62 is attached to the back surface of the three buttons 61, 61, 61', and the button holder 62 is fixed to the operation button panel recess 11b with a screw 64. The switch board 63, which is activated by pressing the buttons 61, 61, 61', is fixed to a position corresponding to the buttons 61, 61, 61' on the rear cover 12, not the front cover 11 (see Figure 8). A connector ring attachment hole 11d is opened in the side wall of the front cover 11, and a connector ring 13 is attached to the connector ring attachment hole 11d.

Next, the parts to be assembled to the rear cover 12 of the blood pressure monitor 1 of the first embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 8 to 10. Figure 8 is an exploded perspective view (a) and an assembly perspective view (b) showing the assembly of the parts to the rear cover 12. Figure 9 is an overall perspective view (a) and a main board perspective view (b) showing the blood pressure measurement parts 50 assembled to the lower position of the display panel section 30 of the rear cover 12, with the board 41 of the main board section 40 displayed transparently. Figure 10 is an exploded perspective view (a), an assembly perspective view (b), and an enlarged view of part C (c) showing the battery storage section 70 assembled to the bottom of the rear cover 12.

As shown in FIG. 8, the liquid crystal display 33, the main board 40, the blood pressure measurement components 50, and the switch board 63 are attached to the upper flat cover portion 12a, the inclined connecting surface cover portion 12b, and the protruding flat cover portion 12c of the rear cover 12.

As shown in FIG. 8, the liquid crystal display 33 is fixed in position to four display support parts 12e formed on the back surface (front side in FIG. 3) of the upper flat cover part 12a of the rear cover 12 by four pieces of sponge-backed double-sided tape 34. The upper end and left and right side ends of the liquid crystal display 33 are positioned by multiple positioning protrusions protruding from the back surface of the upper flat cover part 12a. In addition, the lower end of the liquid crystal display 33 is positioned by a positioning protrusion 51a provided on the pump holder 51. Before attaching the liquid crystal display 33, a PET sheet 86 that hides the ventilation hole 85 is attached to the back surface of the upper flat cover part 12a so that the inside cannot be seen through the ventilation hole 85 from the outside.

As shown in FIG. 8, the main board 40 is fixed in parallel to the liquid crystal display 33 by three screws 47 to three board fixing legs 12f formed by protruding from the back surface of the protruding flat cover portion 12c of the rear cover 12. As shown in FIG. 9(b), the main board 40 is composed of a board 41, a CPU 42 mounted on the board 41, a pressure and temperature sensor 43, a crystal oscillator 44, a short-distance communication module 45, etc. The CPU 42 performs pump operation control processing and blood pressure value calculation processing based on pressure detection values. The pressure and temperature sensor 43 detects pressure and temperature. The crystal oscillator 44 serves as a signal source for a clock signal used as a reference signal or a timekeeping signal for the CPU 42. In addition, an electromagnetic slow leak exhaust hole 46 is opened in the board 41 above the electromagnetic slow leak 53. This electromagnetic slow leak exhaust hole 46 is for preventing the exhaust port opened in the electromagnetic slow leak 53 from being blocked.

As shown in FIG. 8, the blood pressure measurement component 50 is fixed to the rear surface of the protruding flat cover portion 12c of the rear cover 12 at a position overlapping the main board 40 in the front-rear direction (Z-axis direction). As shown in FIG. 9(a) where the main board 40 is transparently displayed, the blood pressure measurement component 50 has a pump 52 fixed via a pump holder 51, an electromagnetic slow leak 53, and an air connector 56 attached to a connector support portion 55 formed protruding from the rear surface of the protruding flat cover portion 12c. The pressure/temperature sensor 43 of the main board 40, the pump 52, the electromagnetic slow leak 53, and the air connector 56 are connected to each other by multiple piping tubes 57.

The pump holder 51 has two positioning protrusions 51a, two sponges 51b that are positioned between the two positioning protrusions 51a and support the liquid crystal display 33, and a piping tube guide section 51c that guides the piping tube 57. The piping tube guide section 51c guides and positions the piping tube 57 in a position where it does not come into contact with the quartz oscillator 44, since the accuracy of the quartz oscillator 44 is affected if the piping tube 57 comes into contact with the quartz oscillator 44. The pump 52 is an air pump that increases the pressure in the air bag contained inside the cover of the cuff 2 to a certain pressure value during blood pressure measurement. The electromagnetic slow leak 53 is a pressure reducing valve that creates the reduced pressure required to determine the blood pressure value during blood pressure measurement.

As shown in FIG. 10, the battery holder 71 is fixed by two screws 74 to two holder fixing legs 12g formed to protrude from the rear surface of the inclined bottom cover portion 12d of the rear cover 12. A DC jack mounting hole 12h is formed on the side surface of the inclined bottom cover portion 12d of the rear cover 12, and a DC jack 15 is attached to the DC jack mounting hole 12h. As shown in FIG. 10(c), the battery holder 71 is formed with a DC jack pressing portion 71a protruding in the left-right direction (X-axis direction) to prevent the DC jack 15 from coming off the rear cover 12 when the cuff storage space component 20 is assembled.

Next, the configuration of the blood pressure monitor of the comparative example will be described with reference to Figure 11. Figure 11 shows a front view (a), a vertical cross-sectional view along line D-D (b), and a detailed view of part E (c) of the blood pressure monitor of the comparative example.

As shown in FIG. 11(b), the handle (grip) of the blood pressure monitor of the comparative example is configured such that a cuff storage section is added to the rear of the main body section having a panel section, and a handle hole is drilled in the rear wall of the cuff storage section. The main board section, blood pressure measurement parts, operation button section, and battery storage section are arranged in a corner space at the bottom of the front side. Here, the "corner space" refers to the opposing space between the front cover and the rear cover, and is a rectangular space formed by the inner surfaces of the horizontal cover section and the vertical cover section of the rear cover. The layout of the parts is such that the main board section, blood pressure measurement parts, and battery storage section, which are each separately configured, are stacked vertically from top to bottom, and the operation button section is arranged at the front side of the blood pressure measurement parts and battery storage section. The cylindrical axes of the four batteries are oriented in the front-to-back direction (Z-axis direction).

Next, the first problem of the blood pressure monitor of the comparative example and the action of solving the first problem will be explained with reference to Figs. 12 and 13. Fig. 12 is a diagram for explaining the first problem, which shows the first problem in the blood pressure monitor of the comparative example. Fig. 13 is a diagram for explaining the lifting action without a cuff (a) and the lifting action with a cuff (b), which show the action of solving the first problem in the blood pressure monitor 1 of Example 1.

As shown in Figure 12, the center of gravity of the blood pressure monitor of the comparative example is located in a forward position near the main body, where heavy objects such as the battery storage section and the pump for measuring blood pressure are located at the bottom. Therefore, when the blood pressure monitor is lifted by inserting a finger into the handle hole opened in the rear wall of the cuff storage section, the electronic blood pressure monitor tilts forward so that the center of gravity is located directly below the lifting position (position of the handle hole), resulting in an unstable state in which the finger is likely to fall out of the handle hole. In addition, when the cuff is stored in the cuff storage section, the handle hole is blocked by the cuff, making it difficult to insert a finger all the way in, and the handle hole may not be usable.

To address the first problem with the blood pressure monitor of the comparative example, the blood pressure monitor 1 of the first embodiment is configured to provide the grip portion 80 at an upper position on the rear side of the main body portion 10 and in a position that vertically overlaps the battery 72 stored in the bottom of the main body portion 10, as shown in FIG. 13.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 13(a), the center of gravity G when the cuff 2 is not stored is located in a lower front position near the main body 10 where the heavy objects such as the blood pressure measurement parts 50 and the battery storage section 70 are placed. However, because the grip part 80 is located in an upper position on the back side of the main body 10, the positional relationship with the center of gravity G in the front-to-back direction (Z-axis direction) is such that the center of gravity G is only slightly forward of the grip part 80. Therefore, when the blood pressure monitor 1 is lifted by inserting a finger into the grip part 80 when the cuff 2 is not stored, the blood pressure monitor 1 is lifted in a stable position without the finger coming off the grip part 80, with only a slight forward tilt of the blood pressure monitor 1, as shown in FIG. 13(a), and the blood pressure monitor 1 can be carried in a stable position.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 13(b), the center of gravity G' when the cuff 2 is stored moves toward the rear side from the center of gravity G when the cuff 2 is not stored due to the weight of the cuff 2 being added. Therefore, the position of the center of gravity G' in the front-to-rear direction (Z-axis direction) almost coincides with the position of the grip part 80 that is located at the upper part of the rear side of the main body 10. Therefore, when the blood pressure monitor 1 is lifted by inserting a finger into the grip part 80 with the cuff 2 stored, the blood pressure monitor 1 is lifted in a stable position that maintains a nearly horizontal state as shown in FIG. 13(b), and the blood pressure monitor 1 can be carried in a stable position.

Furthermore, unlike the comparative example, in which the blood pressure monitor is lifted using a handle hole opened in the rear wall of the cuff storage section, the blood pressure monitor 1 is lifted using the grip part 80 located at the upper part of the rear side of the main body part 10. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 13(b), it is easy to form a space for inserting fingers between the grip part 80 and the cuff 2, and it is possible to prevent the handle hole from being blocked by the cuff, making it difficult to insert fingers or making it unusable, as in the comparative example.

Next, the second problem of the blood pressure monitor of the comparative example and the action of solving the second problem will be explained with reference to Figures 14 and 15. Figure 14 is an explanatory diagram (a) of the rear expansion problem and an explanatory diagram (b) of the upward expansion problem, which show the second problem in the blood pressure monitor of the comparative example. Figure 15 is an explanatory diagram (a) of the action of ensuring the cuff storage volume and an explanatory diagram (b) of the action of storing the hard cuff, which show the action of solving the second problem in the blood pressure monitor 1 of Example 1.

As shown in FIG. 14, the cuff storage space in the blood pressure monitor of the comparative example is formed by the outer surface of the vertical cover part of the rear cover and the inner surfaces of the bottom, rear and both sides of the cuff storage part. The rear protrusion of the vertical cover part, which forms the front of the cuff storage space, is slightly larger than the length of the battery in the cylindrical axial direction. The rear protrusion of the vertical cover part shortens the depth dimension of the cuff storage space, and although it can accommodate the storage of a soft cuff (solid line in FIG. 14(a)) by folding only, it cannot accommodate the storage of a hard cuff (phantom line in FIG. 14(a)), which has a larger storage shape. For this reason, if the depth dimension of the cuff storage part is expanded to accommodate the storage of a hard cuff, as shown in FIG. 14(a), the compactness of the product is lost. On the other hand, as shown in Figure 14(b), in order to accommodate the storage of hard cuffs without increasing the depth dimension of the cuff storage section, it is possible to make the horizontal cover part of the rear cover the bottom of the cuff storage space. In that case, however, the hard cuff would protrude above the display panel, compromising the compactness of the product.

In response to the second problem in the blood pressure monitor of the comparative example, the cuff storage space S in the blood pressure monitor 1 of the embodiment 1 is formed by the outer surface of the protruding flat cover portion 12c and the inclined bottom cover portion 12d of the rear cover 12, and the inner surface of the right side surface portion 22, the left side surface portion 23, and the rear end inclined surface portion 24 of the cuff storage space component 20, as shown in FIG. 15(a). Here, the protruding flat cover portion 12c has a small protruding amount by arranging the main board portion 40 and the blood pressure measurement component 50 in a compact layout parallel to the liquid crystal display 33. In addition, a configuration is adopted in which the rear inclination angle of the rear end inclined surface portion 24 of the cuff storage space component 20 is set at an angle that is approximately perpendicular to the inclined bottom cover portion 12d due to the inclination angle downward toward the rear side of the rear cover 12.

As a result, the depth dimension of the cuff storage space S can be secured to be sufficiently long, and it is possible to accommodate not only the storage of a soft cuff by folding, but also the storage of a hard cuff 2, which has a larger storage shape, as shown in FIG. 15(b). In other words, when the hard cuff 2 is stored, it is possible to prevent the hard cuff 2 from protruding above the display panel section 30, as shown in FIG. 3. This makes it possible to accommodate the storage of the hard cuff 2 without compromising the compactness of the product.

As described above, the blood pressure monitor 1 of Example 1 provides the effects listed below.

(1) In a blood pressure monitor 1 having a main body 10 in which a cuff storage space S for storing a cuff 2 is formed on the rear side, a battery storage section 70 for storing a battery 72 at the bottom of the main body 10, and a gripping section 80 for holding the main body 10, the gripping section 80 is provided at an upper position on the rear side of the main body 10 and at a position that overlaps vertically with the battery 72 stored at the bottom of the main body 10. This makes it possible to provide a blood pressure monitor 1 that can be carried in a stable position with reduced tilt.

(2) The main body 10 has a display panel 30 that displays information related to blood pressure measurement on the front side opposite the rear side where the cuff storage space S is formed, and the display panel 30 is tilted so that the vertical overlap with the battery 72 increases from the bottom to the top. Therefore, when the grip 80 is lifted, the position of the blood pressure monitor 1 is stable with the center of gravity balanced, and the visibility of the information displayed on the display panel 30 can be maintained.

(3) The main body 10 has a pump 52 for pressurizing the cuff 2 inside, and the pump 52 is disposed between the display panel 30 and the cuff storage space S at a position where it overlaps the battery 72 in the vertical direction. Therefore, the pump 52 is disposed on the front side from a position where it overlaps or does not overlap the grip 80 in the vertical direction. On the other hand, the cuff storage space component 20 and the cuff 2 are relatively heavy parts that extend rearward from the grip 80. In this way, the pump 52, the cuff storage space component 20, and the cuff 2 are disposed in a distributed manner on the front and rear sides of the main body 10. This makes it easy to position the vicinity of the grip 80 as the center of gravity in the front and rear directions of the main body 10, including other parts attached to the rear cover 12 and the front cover 11, i.e., other parts disposed in the vertical vicinity of the grip 80.

(4) The main body 10 has an internal temperature sensor (pressure and temperature sensor 43) that measures the outside air temperature, and the grip 80 has a recessed portion recessed from the back surface of the main body 10, with an air vent 85 for measuring air temperature provided in the recessed portion. Furthermore, the air vent 85 is not a hole whose axis is perpendicular to the inclined surface 82 and faces downward from the outside to the inside of the hole, but rather has an upward hole whose axis H has an elevation angle α from the horizontal axis and faces upward from the outside to the inside of the hole. This reduces the intrusion of foreign matter such as dust and water into the main body 10 through the air vent 85.

(5) In a blood pressure monitor 1 having a main body 10 in which a cuff storage space S for storing a cuff 2 is formed on the back side, a blood pressure measurement part 50 having a pump 52 for pressurizing the cuff 2, a battery storage section 70 in which a battery 72 is stored at the bottom of the main body 10, an operation button section 60 operated during blood pressure measurement, and a display panel section 30 for displaying information related to blood pressure measurement, the operation button section 60 is provided below the display panel section 30, the pump 52 is provided between the display panel section 30 and the operation button section 60, overlapping both of them, and located closer to the display panel section 30 than the cuff storage space S, and the cuff storage space S is formed by overlapping it on the battery storage section 70. Therefore, by ensuring a wide cuff storage space S, it is possible to accommodate the storage of a hard cuff 2 without compromising the compactness of the product. In addition, the buttons are easy to operate, and even if a cuff storage space component 20 that forms the cuff storage space S is provided on the back side of the main body 10, the depth dimension is short and compactness can be ensured. For example, if the button is located at the top of the front surface, such as on the top surface of the front cover 11, the display is likely to be hidden by the arm or hand operating the button, and depending on where the blood pressure monitor is placed, it may be necessary to look down at the button, but the button can be operated without this.

(6) The front cover 11 of the main body 10 has an operation button panel recess 11b below the display panel 30, the operation button section 60 is disposed in the operation button panel recess 11b formed in the front cover 11, and the pump 52 is provided above the operation button panel recess 11b in a position that overlaps with the operation button section 60 in the vertical direction. This allows the pump 52 included in the blood pressure measurement component 50 to be compactly disposed at the bottom of the front cover 11. This layout of the pump 52 is a major factor in minimizing the amount of protrusion toward the rear side of the rear cover 12 and ensuring a large cuff storage space S.

Example 2 is an improved example of Example 1 in which the position of the gripping portion 80 is set higher than in Example 1.

The configuration of the blood pressure monitor 1' of the second embodiment will be described with reference to Figure 16. Figure 16 shows a front view (a), a rear perspective view (b), and a vertical cross-sectional view along line F-F (c) of the configuration of the blood pressure monitor of the second embodiment.

In the blood pressure monitor 1' of the second embodiment, the height of the front cover 11', which forms the outer shape of the main body 10, and the height of the upper flat cover portion 12a' of the rear cover 12' are set higher than those of the first embodiment. The grip portion 80 formed on the upper part of the upper flat cover portion 12a' is configured to be positioned above the upper end position of the hard cuff 2 when the hard cuff 2 is stored in the cuff storage space S. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 16(a), the height dimension of the front cover 11' is also increased, and the display screen of the display panel portion 30 can be enlarged. Note that other configurations are similar to those of the blood pressure monitor 1 of the first embodiment, and therefore will not be described.

In the case of the blood pressure monitor 1' of Example 2, when lifting the blood pressure monitor 1' with the hard cuff 2 stored, instead of lifting it by inserting a finger through the finger insertion space between the grip part 80 and the hard cuff 2 as in Example 1, the finger can be inserted directly into the grip part 80 and lifted. Note that other operations are the same as in Example 1, so explanations are omitted.

In addition to the effects (1) to (6) of Example 1, the blood pressure monitor 1' of Example 2 has the following effects.

(7) When the cuff 2 is stored in the cuff storage space S, the grip portion 80 is positioned above the upper end position of the cuff 2. Therefore, when lifting the blood pressure monitor 1' with the cuff 2 stored, a finger can be inserted into the grip portion 80 without any obstacle, and the blood pressure monitor 1' can be easily lifted and carried.

The blood pressure monitor of the present invention has been described above based on Examples 1 and 2. However, the specific configuration is not limited to these examples, and design changes and additions are permitted as long as they do not deviate from the gist of the invention according to each claim in the scope of the claims.

In the first and second embodiments, the grip portion 80 is configured as a concave portion recessed into the cover surface of the rear cover 12 in a horizontally long rectangular shape, and is formed integrally with the rear cover 12. However, the grip portion is not limited to the configuration examples shown in the first and second embodiments. For example, the grip portion may be formed by protruding integrally with the rear cover. The grip portion may also be provided as a part separate from the rear cover. Furthermore, the grip portion may be formed by combining a convex portion and a concave portion.

In the first and second embodiments, an example is shown in which the grip portion 80 is provided with multiple air vents 85 for measuring air temperature. However, the present invention is not limited to the configuration examples shown in the first and second embodiments. For example, the grip portion and the multiple air vents for measuring air temperature may of course be provided in different positions.

In the first and second embodiments, the cuff storage space component 20 is an example of a component that constitutes part of the cuff storage space S (sharing three space partitioning surfaces: the rear surface and both left and right sides). However, the cuff storage space component is not limited to this example. For example, it may be an example of a container-type cuff storage space component that constitutes the entire cuff storage space (sharing five space partitioning surfaces: the front and rear surfaces, the left and right sides, and the bottom surface). For example, when constituting part of the cuff storage space, it may be an example of an open-type cuff storage space component that has a wall portion that holds the cuff between the rear surface of the main body and a support portion that supports the cuff from below, and that shares two space partitioning surfaces: the rear surface and the bottom surface.

In the first and second embodiments, the cuff storage space component 20 constituting all or part of the cuff storage space S is a separate component from the main body 10. However, the cuff storage space component constituting all or part of the cuff storage space S may be an integrated component that is provided integrally with the main body.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 sphygmomanometer 10 main body 20 cuff storage space component 30 display panel 40 main board 50 blood pressure measurement component 52 pump 60 operation button 70 battery storage 72 battery 80 grip S cuff storage space

Claims (4)

A main body portion having a cuff storage space formed on a rear side thereof for storing a cuff;
a battery storage section for storing a battery at a bottom of the main body;
A gripping portion for gripping the main body portion;
In a blood pressure monitor having
the grip portion is provided at an upper position on a rear side of the main body portion and at a position overlapping in a vertical direction with the battery housed in a bottom portion of the main body portion ,
the main body has a display panel section for displaying information related to blood pressure measurement on a front side opposite to a rear side on which the cuff storage space is formed,
the display panel unit is inclined so that a vertical overlapping width with the battery increases from a lower side to an upper side,
The blood pressure monitor according to claim 1, wherein the grip portion has a concave portion recessed from a rear surface of the main body portion . The main body portion has a pump therein for pressurizing the cuff,
The blood pressure monitor according to claim 1 , wherein the pump is disposed between the display panel unit and the cuff housing space and at a position overlapping the battery in a vertical direction. The main body has a temperature sensor therein for measuring an outside air temperature,
The blood pressure monitor according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the grip portion is provided with an air hole for measuring air temperature in the concave portion. The blood pressure monitor according to claim 1 , wherein the grip portion is disposed at a position above an upper end position of the cuff when the cuff is stored in the cuff storage space.