Abstract:
An ECG data acquisition device is provided, including a main housing, at least two electrodes, an ECG signal acquisition circuitry having a processor and a memory for storing acquired data, a connector for communication, and a movable housing, covering the connector and having at least an electrode mounted thereon, wherein as executing the ECG signal acquisition, the movable housing is in a first state, and as communicating with an external equipment, the movable housing is moved to a second state for exposing the connector and electrically disconnecting the electrode thereon from the ECG signal acquisition circuitry.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present invention is related to an ECG signal acquisition device, and more particularly to an ECG signal acquisition device which can provide electrical isolation and safety as transmitting the acquired data. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    Generally, the portable ECG signal acquisition devices, such as, HCG-801 (a portable electrocardiometer produced by Omron, and SCS-H10/H20 (an electrocardiogram recording device manufactured by TOSHIBA), have their electrodes mounted on the surface, so that the electrodes can be contacted with the skin as performing the measurement. 
         [0003]    It is common that the above-described portable ECG signal acquisition devices need to be connected with an external equipment, e.g., a personal computer, for configuration, signal/data output, and/or charging. To provide electric isolation of the device is an important issue if the external equipment is connected with the power distribution network, so as to protect not only the user but also the circuitries of the device and the equipment. 
         [0004]    Then, if the electric isolation design can cooperate with a changeable mechanical structure related to an intuitive operation for connecting the device to the external equipment, then the electric safety should be further assured. Moreover, if it can be designed to associate the changeable mechanical structure with the built-in connector of the device, the operation convenience can be further improved since the extra transmission cable is no more needed. 
         [0005]    Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide an ECG signal acquisition device whose design for electric isolation can be achieved by an intuitive changing of the mechanical structure. 
         [0006]    Another object of the present invention is to provide an ECG signal acquisition device with a movable housing, whose position, in accordance with different operation modes, can be varied to decide the conduction state of the data acquisition circuitry, thereby achieving the electric isolation as connecting with the external equipment. 
         [0007]    A further object of the present invention is to provide an ECG signal acquisition device which is furnished with a built-in connector for communication with the external equipment, so that the device configuration, data/signal output and/or charging can be performed without an extra transmission cable. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0008]    In an aspect of the present invention, an ECG signal acquisition device is provided, including a main housing, at least two electrodes, an ECG signal acquisition circuitry having a processor and a memory for storing acquired data, a connector for communication, and a movable housing, covering the connector and having at least an electrode mounted thereon, wherein as executing the ECG signal acquisition, the movable housing is in a first state, and as communicating with an external equipment, the movable housing is moved to a second state for exposing the connector and electrically disconnecting the electrode thereon from the ECG signal acquisition circuitry. 
         [0009]    Therefore, by changing the movable housing to decide the conduction state of the electrodes, the ECG signal acquisition device according to the present invention can provide the electric isolation in a more intuitive way. And, owing to the built-in connector, the inconvenience to use the cable for data transmission also can be eliminated. 
         [0010]    Here, the first state indicates that the movable housing is integrated with the main housing to form an entity and the device is capable of performing the ECG signal acquisition. The second state indicates that the connector is exposed, in which the movable housing can be completely separated from or still linked with the main housing, without limitation. 
         [0011]    In another aspect of the present invention, on the other hand, it is possible to design the movable housing without the electrodes mounted thereon. For example, the state of the movable housing can be related to the on/off of a switch, such as a tact switch, which decides the conduction of the circuitry for ECG signal acquisition, or it also can be that the circuitry is extended to the movable housing to achieve the electric disconnection. Therefore, the arrangement can be varied without limitation. 
         [0012]    In a preferred embodiment, the quantity of the movable housing can be implemented to be plural, each of which respectively has the electrode(s) of different positions, quantities and types. Thus, through exchanging the movable housing, the ECG signal acquisition device can obtain different electrode arrangements, such as, to increase the amount of electrodes, to change from a dry electrode to a wet gel electrode, and/or to replace the original electrodes, so as to perform different kinds of ECG signal acquisitions in accordance with various measurement purposes. Alternatively, the movable housing also can be connected with at least a sensor, e.g., an oximeter, to cooperate with the ECG signal acquisition, without limitation. Particularly, the movable housing can further contain therein the circuitry corresponding to the electrode(s)/sensor(s) connected thereto, so as to support the additional measurement(s). 
         [0013]    Advantageously, the electrodes can be all mounted on the surface of the device to provide a handheld operation, or a portion of the electrodes can be connected via lead-wires. And, an extension portion can be further provided to connect with at least an additional electrode/sensor, so as to widen the application range of the device. 
         [0014]    Consequently, the present invention provides an enhanced design to assure the electric isolation in an ECG signal acquisition device. First, a movable housing is provided to decide the electrical conduction of the electrodes by changing the state thereof, and then, a built-in connector for performing data/signal output and/or device configuration is covered by the movable housing to further ensure the safety. Accordingly, the additional benefit will be the need of the extra transmission cable can be eliminated. Furthermore, by providing plural movable housings, the electrode deployment can be varied, and also, the function of the device also can be expanded. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0015]    A more detailed understanding of the invention may be had from the following description of a preferred embodiment, given by way of example, and to be understood in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
           [0016]      FIG. 1  is an appearance view showing an ECG signal acquisition device according to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0017]      FIG. 2  is a schematic block diagram of the ECG signal acquisition device according to the first preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0018]      FIG. 3A-3C  are schematic views showing exemplary ECG signal acquisition devices according to the first preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0019]      FIGS. 4A-4C  are schematic block diagrams views of the ECG signal acquisition devices according to a second preferred embodiment of the present invention; and 
           [0020]      FIGS. 5A-5C  are schematic views showing exemplary ECG signal acquisition devices according to the second preferred embodiment of the present invention 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0021]    The present invention is to utilize the concept that a connector is necessary for the ECG signal acquisition device to perform data/signal transmission and/or device configuration, so that if a cover of the connector can be designed to decide the electrical conduction of the electrodes, then the electric isolation and safety for protecting the user and the circuitry of the device can be achieved in a more institutive way. On the other hand, if the connector can be a built-in connector, the need of the transmission cable can further be omitted. Accordingly, the present invention is related to an ECG signal acquisition device whose electric isolation is designed to associate with obtaining a built-in connector. 
         [0022]    Please refer to  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2  which respectively an appearance view and a schematic block diagram showing an ECG signal acquisition device according to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention. The ECG signal acquisition device  10  includes a main housing  12  and a movable housing  14 , and multiple electrodes  16  are respectively located on the main housing  12  and the movable housing  14  and also electrically connected to an ECG signal acquisition circuitry  122 . 
         [0023]    Here, the ECG signal acquisition circuitry  122  can include, but not limited, a processor, an analog signal processing module, an analog/digital (A/D) converter, and a memory, so as to perform all kinds of processes, such as, filtering, amplification, digitization, calculation, analysis, interpretation, and storage. Because these are the basics for physiological signal processing, the accompanying drawings only illustrate the processor  124  and the memory  126  which are related to the descriptions, and others are omitted for simplification. 
         [0024]    It should be noted that although the electrodes  16  illustrated in  FIG. 1  are implemented to mount on the surfaces of the housings  12 ,  14 , the electrodes also can be connected via wires, such as, cup electrodes, wet gel electrodes and hand-held electrodes, without limitation. 
         [0025]    Moreover, the ECG signal acquisition device  10  of the present invention is also furnished with a connector  18 . The connector  18  is connected to the ECG signal acquisition circuitry  122  and is responsible for the communication with an external equipment. Here, particularly, as shown in  FIG. 1 , the connector  18  is covered by the movable housing  14 . 
         [0026]    Generally, a physiological signal acquisition device may possess a connection port, and, for performing device configuration and/or data/signal transmission, the connection port should cooperate with a transmission cable to connect with the external equipment, e.g., a personal computer. Different from the conventional situations, in the present invention, the connector  18  is built in the ECG signal acquisition device  10  and covered by the movable housing  14 , so that when there is the need to connect to the external equipment, the connector  18  can be uncovered and directly used without the cable. 
         [0027]    In this embodiment, because the ECG signal acquisition device  10  performs the communication mainly via the connector  18  and at least an electrode  16  is mounted on the movable housing  14 , the electric isolation can be naturally achieved as the user detaches the movable housing  14  to utilize the connector  18 . That is, the electric conduction of the electrodes  16  and the ECG signal acquisition circuitry  122  can be decided by if the movable housing  14  is integrated with the main housing  12 . 
         [0028]    Accordingly, the movable housing  14  of the present invention is implemented to have two states. First, as the ECG signal acquisition is performed, the movable housing  14  is in a first state for integrating with the main housing  12  to form an entity, so that not only the electrode  16  thereon is located at a position capable of performing the ECG signal acquisition, but the ECG signal acquisition circuitry  122  is also electrically conducted and ready for ECG signal acquisition. Then, when there is the need to utilize the connector  18 , the movable housing  14  is moved to a second state to uncover the connector  18 , such that the electrode  16  and the ECG signal acquisition circuitry  122  can be electrically disconnected thereby. 
         [0029]    Here, it can be implemented that the movable housing  14  and the main housing  12  are completely separated (as shown in  FIG. 1 ), or disengaged but still linked (as shown in  FIG. 3A  and  FIG. 3B ), without limitation. That is, the point is to expose the connector and electrically disconnect the circuitry, and the method for achieving this is not restricted. 
         [0030]    As to the connector  18 , it can be, but not limited, USB, 1394, UART or other connectors commonly used for data/signal transmission, and should be correspondingly matched to the communication port of the external equipment. Further, in addition to the communication, the connector  18  also can be used for charging, such as, the USB connector. Or, alternatively, the ECG signal acquisition device  10  can additionally possess a charging port (not shown) that also covered by the movable housing  14 , so as to provide the electric protection. 
         [0031]    Moreover, the implementations of the movable housing  14  and the connector  18  can be varied in accordance with different demands. For example, the movable housing can be a lid (as shown in  FIG. 1 ) completely separable from the main housing  12 , a lid hinged on the main housing  12  (as shown in  FIG. 3A ), or a cover which can be slid and turned to expose the connector  18  ( FIG. 3B ). On the other hand, the connector  18  can be implemented to have a fixed position ( FIG. 1 ), be pushed out as the movable housing is moved ( FIG. 3A ), be manually pulled out by the user after the movable housing  14  is moved away ( FIG. 3C ), or be ejected by pressing a button/switch ( FIG. 5C ). Therefore, the implementations of the movable housing and the connector are not limited. 
         [0032]    Here, for utilizing the movable housing  14  to decide the conduction state of the electrodes  16  and the ECG signal acquisition circuitry  122 , a corresponding pair of electrical connection structures  20  are respectively provided in the movable housing  14  and the main housing  12 . For example, it can utilize pins ( FIG. 1 ), sheet metals ( FIG. 3A ), or even a connector ( FIG. 5C ) to achieve the electrical connection. Besides, the corresponding electrical connection structures  20  also can be directly mounted between two housings at the positions where the mechanical integration is performed. For example, the fastener structures, or the corresponding engagement structures (such as the sliding structures between the main housing and the movable housing shown in  FIG. 3B ). Hence, the main purpose is to achieve the electrical connection therebetween, without limitation. 
         [0033]    Furthermore, the ECG signal acquisition device according to the present invention also can be provided with a wireless communication module in addition to the connector  18 , so that during the ECG signal acquisition, the data/signals can further be transmitted to the external equipment in real time for monitoring and/or storage. 
         [0034]    The ECG signal acquisition device  10  can be further provided with a display  102 , such as, a LED or LCD, for showing the related information during/after the ECG signal acquisition, and an operation interface  104  for facilitating the user to perform the ECG signal acquisition. Plus, the memory  126  can be implemented to be removable, so that, in addition to performing data/signal transmission, the storage capacity also can be upgraded. Particularly, the slot for the removable memory also can be covered by the movable housing for safety. 
         [0035]    Besides, the quantity of electrodes also can be increased. For example, the reference electrode and/or ground electrode can be added to improve the accuracy, and/or more electrodes can be added to achieve the multi-lead ECG measurement or to provide different operation modes e.g., different holding manners. Hence, there is no limitation. 
         [0036]    Then, please refer to  FIGS. 4A-4C , which are schematic block diagrams showing the exemplary ECG signal acquisition devices according to a second preferred embodiment of the present invention, in which the movable housing  14  is implemented to not include the electrode  16 . In this embodiment, although the electrode is not mounted on the movable housing, the electric conduction of the electrodes on the main housing  12  and the ECG signal acquisition circuitry  122  still can be decided thereby. That is, when the movable housing  14  is separated from the main housing  12  and moved to the second state, the electric isolation still can be achieved thereby. 
         [0037]    The method to achieve the electrical disconnection, namely, the corresponding electrical connection structures  20 , can have many choices. For example, as shown in  FIG. 4A , a switch, whose on/off is respectively corresponding to the separation and the combination between the movable housing  14  and the main housing  12 , can be located in the circuit loop, so as to control the conduction state of the loop. Or, as shown in  FIG. 4B , it also can be the loop is extended into the movable housing  14 , so that the electric disconnection can be naturally achieved as the housing  14  is moved to the second state. Or, further, as shown in  FIG. 4C , the ECG signal acquisition circuitry  122  can be divided into two portions, a first ECG signal acquisition circuit portion  1221  and a second ECG signal acquisition circuit portion  1222 , for being respectively placed in the two housings  12 ,  14 , for example, to locate the analog signal processing module in the movable housing  14  and other electrical components in the main housing  12 . Thus, there is no limitation. 
         [0038]    Here, it should be noted that these electric disconnection methods also can be applied to the embodiment shown in  FIG. 2 , and it only needs to pay attention to the connection of the electrode mounted on the movable housing  14 . 
         [0039]    In another preferred embodiment, the quantity of the movable housing can be implemented to be plural, that is, the movable housing is designed to be exchangeable. By providing different movable housings to respectively combine with the main housing, not only the deployment of electrodes can be altered, the function of the device also can be updated. For example, the type, position and/or quantity of the electrodes  16  can be varied, and/or additional electrode(s) and/or at least a sensor can be employed to cooperate or replace the original electrode(s). Preferably, the movable housing  14  also can contain therein circuitry corresponding to the electrode(s)/sensor(s) connected thereto. Since the device  10  is mainly for ECG signal acquisition, the original circuitry might not be able to support the additional measurement(s), so that through exchanging the movable housing  14 , the related circuitry can be added thereto. For example, the movable housing can be implemented to connect an oximerter, and the movable housing can accordingly contain the related circuitry therein. Thus, the function of the device  10  can be expanded without limitation. 
         [0040]    Furthermore, the ECG signal acquisition device  10  according to the present invention also can further include an extension port  50  for additionally connecting to at least an electrode/sensor, as shown in  FIG. 5A , and even, a junction box  52  can be employed to manage a larger amount of electrodes  54 . Then,  FIG. 5B  shows that the extension port  50  is located on the movable housing  14 , and as described above, the circuit contained therein can be varied in accordance with the connected electrode(s)/sensor(s), e.g., an oximeter  56 . Alternatively, the extension port  50  also can be covered by the movable housing  14 , as shown in  FIG. 5C , and this will be more suitable for the situation that the connector  18  is pulled ( FIG. 3B ) or pushed out, in which it can be designed that the ECG signal acquisition circuitry  122  will be electrically conducted as the extension port  50  is used. Hence, there is no limitation. 
         [0041]    In the aforesaid, the present invention achieves the electric isolation for an ECG signal acquisition device by utilizing a movable housing which can decide the electric conduction of the electrodes. And, because the built-in connector for communication, e.g., data/signal output, device configuration and charging, is covered by the movable housing, the electric safety can be further ensured, and additionally, the need of the extra transmission cable also can be omitted. Besides, through providing plural movable housings of different requirements, it provides the possibility to alter the arrangement of the electrodes and also to expand the function of the device. 
         [0042]    The above examples and disclosure are intended to be illustrative and not exhaustive. These examples and description will suggest many variations and alternatives to one of ordinary skill in this art. All these alternatives and variations are intended to be included within the scope of the attached claims. Those familiar with the art may recognize other equivalents to the specific embodiments described herein which equivalents are also intended to be encompassed by the claims attached hereto.