Thermal measuring and testing – Temperature measurement – In spaced noncontact relationship to specimen
Reexamination Certificate
2000-07-21
2003-03-04
Fulton, Christopher W. (Department: 2859)
Thermal measuring and testing
Temperature measurement
In spaced noncontact relationship to specimen
C374S141000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06527439
ABSTRACT:
FIELD AND BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an infrared thermometer.
Specifically, the subject thermometer finds application both in the home sector and in the health care or veterinary sectors for measuring the temperature of the human or animal body.
As is well known, in order to effect thermometric measurements on the human or animal body, infrared thermometers have recently found widespread use, replacing the different types of mercury—or in any case liquid column—or digital thermometers.
Infrared thermometers are able to determine the temperature of a body based on the intensity of the infrared radiation emitted by the body itself It should be noted that all bodies emit a radiation proportional to their current thermal condition.
On the basis of this principle, currently traded infrared thermometers detect the intensity of the infrared radiation emitted by particular areas of the human or animal body and, from such a measurement, determine with sufficient precision the temperature of the body being measured.
In greater detail, it should be noted that in order to obtain a reliable thermal measurement it is necessary to perform the measurement positioning the thermometer in such a way that the infrared radiation sensor is exposed solely to irradiation from part of the body or better stated from the part of the body to be subjected to the measurement and is not instead influenced by other bodies around it. Moreover, the distance whereat the infrared radiation sensor is positioned must be known perfectly, thereby allowing to correlate the radiation intensity detected with the heat level of the body being measured.
For the reasons summarily discussed above, infrared thermometers have currently found widespread use which are set up to detect the temperature of the human body by measuring the radiation emitted by the ear drum membrane. For this purpose a probe is appropriately inserted in the patient's ear thereby enabling to measure the temperature in the correct position where the thermal state is substantially constant and influenced by irradiation coming solely from the eardrum membrane. In practice the thermometers described above are provided with a probe of such shape and dimensions as to be fit for insertion in the patient's auditory canal. Such probe is internally provided with a waveguide to convey the infrared radiation adequately to the sensor housed in the thermometer.
Although the technical solution described above certainly allows to have sufficiently reliably measurements, the need has arisen to provide the probe associated to the infrared thermometer described above with protective sheaths or caps whose function is hygienic, sheaths which clearly need to be replaced or sterilized every time one moves from a patient to another.
Obviously, this sort of situation causes drawbacks both in terms of ease of use of the thermometer, and in terms of intrinsic costs since it is necessary to provide for the serialization of the protective sheath or in any case for its replacement.
Also from the standpoint of employment, it should be noted that the infrared thermometer briefly analyzed above being active on the ear creates a certain discomfort to the patient and at times, when operating on children, it may even be very difficult to obtain a reliable temperature measurement, as can easily be intuited.
More in general, the accuracy of the measurement is linked to unpredictable factors such as the correct and precise positioning of the probe and/or the possible presence of dirt or ear wax in the auditory canal.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is also known from doc WO 8801730 an infrared thermometer wherein two converging visible beams are used for placing the IR sensor at the correct distance from the area to be measured. Also in this case the applicant verified that improvements may be accomplished both in term of reliability of the measure and in term of ease of temperature reading.
Given such premises, the fundamental aim of the present invention is to make available a new infrared thermometer which is able to perform in an extremely reliable manner the measurement of a patient's temperature with no need for parts of the thermometer itself to come in contact with the body undergoing the measurement.
In addition to this fundamental aim, another important aim of the invention is to offer an infrared thermometer which can be used without causing the patient any discomfort and whose employment can be found extremely practical and intuitive even by absolutely inexperienced personnel.
Not least, yet another aim of the invention is to offer an infrared thermometer which can be simply structured, easy and economical to manufacture and which allows an easy-to-read and instantaneous temperature display system.
These and other aims besides are substantially reached by an infrared thermometer according to the description provided in the accompanying drawings. Further features and advantages will be more readily apparent from the detailed description of some preferred, but not exclusive, embodiments of an infrared thermometer according to the present invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIGS. 1
a
and
1
b
schematically show a first embodiment of control means associated to the subject thermometer and set to define a condition of correct positioning of the thermometer itself;
FIGS. 2
a
and
2
b
show a second embodiment of control means able to be associated to a terminal portion of the infrared thermometer constituting the subject of the present invention;
FIG. 2
c
schematically shows the operation of the means in
FIG. 2
a
and
2
b;
FIG. 3
shows a variation with respect to
FIGS. 2
a
and
2
b
of the control means able to be terminally associated to an infrared thermometer according to the invention;
FIG. 4
shows a possible coding of the signal emitted by the transmitter comprised in the control means as per
FIGS. 2
a
,
2
b
and
3
;
FIG. 5
is a block diagram schematically showing the operation of the control means as per
FIGS. 2
a
,
2
b
and
3
;
FIG. 6
shows in greater detail, also by means of a block diagram, some typical operative phases in the operation of the control means in
FIGS. 2
a
and
2
b,
FIG. 7
shows schematically and in detail, also with a block diagram, some typical operative phases of the control means as per
FIG. 3
;
FIG. 8
schematically shows a third embodiment of the control means tasked with defining the correct positioning of the subject thermometer;
FIG. 9
is a fourth embodiment of the control means associated with the subject infrared thermometer;
FIG. 10
schematically shows a focusing lens solution usable with the devices as per
FIGS. 8 and 9
;
FIG. 11
is a diagram showing a measuring organ set to be employed in the control means as per
FIGS. 8 and 9
;
FIGS. 12 through 18
show examples of primary and secondary figures transmitted on the patient to effect the positioning of the subject thermometer in accordance with a fifth embodiment of the control means;
FIGS. 19 through 21
pertain to some variations of the fifth embodiment of the control means.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5172978 (1992-12-01), Nomura et al.
patent: 5388907 (1995-02-01), Aoyama et al.
patent: 5626424 (1997-05-01), Litvin et al.
patent: 5639162 (1997-06-01), Sai
patent: 5839829 (1998-11-01), Litvin et al.
patent: 6196714 (2001-03-01), Bellifemine et al.
patent: 6234669 (2001-05-01), Kienitz et al.
patent: 6290389 (2001-09-01), Schmidt et al.
Fulton Christopher W.
Gonzalez Madeline
La Tecnica S.r.l.
Pearne & Gordon LLP
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