Patent Publication Number: US-2007118189-A1

Title: Heart beat measuring transmitter and heart beat measuring apparatus

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      1. Field of the Invention  
      The present invention relates to a heart beat measuring transmitter for transmitting by wireless from a transmitting antenna based on a cardiographic signal detected by a pair of chest electrodes attached to a chest belt, and a heart beat measuring apparatus having the heart beat measuring transmitter.  
      2. Description of the Prior Art  
      JP-A-10-155753 discloses a heart beat measuring apparatus constituted by a pair of chest electrodes attached to a chest belt, a heart beat measuring transmitter for transmitting by wireless from a transmitting antenna based on a cardiographic signal detected by the chest electrodes, and a heart beat measuring receiver for receiving a wireless signal of heart beat number data transmitted from the heart beat measuring transmitter by a receiving antenna and calculating to display a heart beat number per 1 minute by carrying out a predetermined processing by a signal processing portion.  
      According to the heart beat measuring transmitter of the background art, a battery containing portion is provided on a back side of a transmitter case. Further, the battery containing portion is contained with a button battery, and an opening portion thereof is sealed by ensuring a liquid tight state by an openable/closable battery lid. The liquid tight state is realized to be ensured by a waterproof packing contained at a packing containing portion provided at the opening portion of the battery containing portion.  
      When the heart beat measuring transmitter of the background art is mounted to the chest of a user by the chest belt, the battery lid is always brought into contact with the human body. Therefore, the battery lid is always exposed to sweat of the user and therefore, a deterioration of the waterproof packing is significantly accelerated by the sweat. Therefore, there poses a problem that a waterproof function of the heart beat measuring transmitter of the background art can be maintained only by a short period of time.  
      Further, according to the heart beat measuring transmitter of the background art, when the user swims while being mounted therewith, there poses a problem that a sufficient waterproof function cannot be maintained by the waterproof packing. Because the waterproof packing cannot deal with a water pressure increased in proportion to a water depth and an increase in a pressure by movement in swimming.  
      It is a first problem to be resolved by the invention in a heart beat measuring transmitter used by being attached to a chest belt by constituting a power source by a button battery for preventing a waterproof packing of a battery lid from being deteriorated by sweat of a user to maintain waterproof performance of the apparatus over a long period of time.  
      It is a second problem to be resolved by the invention in a heart beat measuring transmitter used by being attached to a chest belt by constituting a power source by a button battery to be able to ensure waterproof performance of the apparatus even in swimming.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      In order to resolve the above-described first problem, there is provided a heart beat measuring transmitter for transmitting by wireless from an antenna based on a cardiographic signal detected by a pair of chest electrodes attached to a chest belt, the heart beat measuring transmitter including a cardiographic signal detecting portion and a wireless transmitting portion and a battery containing portion for containing a battery constituting a power source thereof on a top side of a transmitter case and an openable/closable battery lid for sealing an opening of the battery containing portion in liquid tight.  
      In order to resolve the above-described first and second problems, in the heart beat measuring transmitter for transmitting by wireless from the antenna based on the cardiographic signal detected by the pair of chest electrodes attached to the chest belt, the heart beat measuring transmitter includes the cardiographic signal detecting portion and the wireless transmitting portion and the battery containing portion for containing the battery constituting the power source on the top side of the transmitter case and the openable/closable battery lid for sealing the opening of the battery containing portion in liquid tight, further, the openable/closable battery lid cover for covering the battery lid is provided on the top side of the transmitter case.  
      Further, in order to resolve the above-described first and second problems, in the heart beat measuring transmitter for transmitting by wireless from the antenna based on the cardiographic signal detected by the pair of chest electrodes attached to the chest belt, the heart beat measuring transmitter includes the cardiographic signal detecting portion and the wireless transmitting portion and the battery containing portion for containing the battery constituting the power source on the top side of the transmitter case and the openable/closable battery lid for sealing the opening of the battery containing portion in liquid tight, the openable/closable battery lid cover for covering the battery lid is provided on the top side of the transmitter case, further, the waterproof elastic member is provided between the inner face of the battery lid cover and the upper face of the transmitter case to surround the outer side of the outer periphery of the battery lid.  
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS  
      A preferred form of the present invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:  
       FIG. 1  is a sectional view of a heart beat measuring transmitter of Embodiment 1 cut along a center line in a longitudinal direction of a case;  
       FIG. 2  is a plane view of the heart beat measuring transmitter of Embodiment 1 viewed from a back side of the case. However, the plane view is shown by removing a case back and almost all of electronic parts contained at inside of the case;  
       FIG. 3  is a plane view of the heart beat measuring transmitter of Embodiment 1 viewed from a top side of the case;  
       FIG. 4  is a sectional view of the heart beat measuring transmitter of Embodiment 1 cut along a center line orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the case;  
       FIG. 5  is a sectional view of a heart beat measuring transmitter of Embodiment 2 cut along the center line orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of a case;  
       FIG. 6  is a sectional view of a heart beat measuring transmitter of Embodiment 3 cut along the center line orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of a case; and  
       FIG. 7  is a sectional view of the heart beat measuring transmitter of Embodiment 3 cut along the center line in the longitudinal direction of the case.  
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
      The invention is characterized in a heart beat measuring transmitter for transmitting by wireless from an antenna based on a cardiographic signal detected by a pair of chest electrodes attached to a chest belt, the heart beat measuring transmitter including the cardiographic signal detecting portion and a wireless transmitting portion and a battery containing portion for containing a battery constituting a power source thereof on a top side of a transmitter case and openable/closable battery lid for sealing an opening of the battery containing portion in liquid tight. Further, although a detailed description will be given of a case of using a button type battery for the battery according to an embodiment of the invention, other battery of a cylindrical type or the like will naturally do.  
      A heart beat measuring transmitter of Embodiment 1 is a heart beat measuring transmitter for transmitting by wireless from an antenna  6  based on a cardiographic signal detected by a pair of chest electrodes  2  and  3  respectively attached to chest belts  4  and  5  as shown by a sectional view of  FIG. 1  cut along a center line in a longitudinal direction of a case, a plane view of  FIG. 2  viewed from a back side of the case, a plane view of  FIG. 3  viewed from a top side of the case, and a sectional view of  FIG. 4  cut along a center line orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the case.  
      The transmitter case is constituted by an upper case  8  and a lower case  9 , coupled by the chest belt  4  and a coupling portion  8   a  and coupled by the chest belt  5  and a coupling portion  8   b . An electrode  2   a  of the chest electrode  2  is connected to one circuit side electrode  7   a  of a circuit block  7  by a connecting portion  16 . Further, an electrode  3   a  of the chest electrode  3  is connected to one circuit side electrode  7   b  of the circuit block  7  by a connecting portion  17 .  
      The circuit block  7  contained in the transmitter case constitutes the cardiographic signal detecting portion and the wireless transmitting portion. A button battery  10  constituting a power source of the cardiographic signal detecting portion and the wireless transmitting portion is contained at inside of a battery containing portion  11  provided on a top side of the transmitter case, that is, a top side of the upper case  8 , and an opening portion of the battery containing portion  11  is sealed by a an openable/closable battery lid  12  by way of a waterproof packing  13 .  
      The top side of the transmitter case, that is, the top side of the upper case  8  is further attached with a battery lid cover  14  while being made to be openable/closable by a hinge  14   a  at one end thereof. The battery lid cover  14  is a cover having a size of completely covering the battery lid  12  in the transmitter case and occupies substantially a half of the top side of the transmitter case. As shown by  FIG. 4 , the battery lid cover  14  includes an engaging portion  14   b  vertically folded to bend at an end portion opposed to a side of the hinge  14   a . Further, a front end of the engaging portion  14   b  is formed with an engaging projection  14   c . A side face of the upper case  8  opposed to the engaging projection  14   c  is formed with an engaging recess portion  8   c . When the battery lid cover  14  is closed, the engaging projection  14   c  of the battery lid cover  14  is engaged with the engaging recess portion  8   c  at the side face of the upper case  8  to thereby hamper the battery lid cover  14  from being opened.  
      A waterproof elastic member  15  is arranged between an lower face of the battery lid cover  14  and an upper face of the upper case  8  to surround an outer periphery of the battery lid. The waterproof elastic member  15  is a part of an elastic member of rubber or the like substantially in a rectangular shape constituting a center thereof the same as that of the battery lid  12  in a circular shape. The upper cover  8  is formed with an attaching groove  8   d  substantially in a rectangular shape for attaching the waterproof elastic member  15  to a predetermined position. Further, a lower face of the battery lid cover  14  is formed with an engaging groove  14   d  substantially in a rectangular shape to be engaged with the waterproof elastic member  15  attached to the attaching groove  8   d . When the waterproof packing  13  of the battery lid  12  is referred to as first waterproofing means, the waterproof elastic member  15  functions as second waterproofing means.  
      As described above, the heart beat measuring transmitter of Embodiment 1 is provided with the cardiographic signal detecting portion and the wireless transmitting portion and the battery containing portion  11  for containing the button battery  10  constituting a power source thereof on the top side of the transmitter case and the openable/closable battery lid  12  for sealing the opening in liquid tight, the openable/closable battery lid cover  14  for covering the battery lid  12  is provided on the top side of the upper case  8 , further, the waterproof elastic member  15  is provided between the inner face of the battery lid cover  14  and the upper face of the upper case  8  to surround the outer periphery of the battery lid  12 .  
      The heart beat measuring transmitter of Embodiment 1 is constructed by the above-described constitution and therefore, always the battery lid  10  is not brought into contact with the human body, contact to a corrosion causing substance of sweat or the like is minimized and therefore, the waterproof function of the apparatus can be maintained over a long period of time. Further, by providing the battery lid cover  14 , an outlook in mounting can maintain an outlook similar to that of a background art product, even when a person swims while being mounted therewith, an amount of a pressure generated by moving the human body in a pressure applied on the waterproof packing  13  of the battery lid  12  can be prevented from being directly applied on the battery lid  10  and therefore, an amount of pressure applied on the battery lid  10  is restrained, as a result, the waterproof performance can be ensured even in swimming. Furthermore, by providing the waterproof elastic member  15  functioning as the second waterproofing means, the waterproof performance of the heart beat measuring transmitter of Embodiment 1 is significantly promoted in comparison with that of the background art apparatus.  
      A heart beat measuring transmitter of Embodiment 2 is constituted by omitting the waterproof elastic member  15  constituting the second waterproofing means from the heart beat measuring transmitter of Embodiment 1.  
      That is, as shown by a sectional view of  FIG. 5  cut along the center line orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the case, the heartbeat number calculating portion and the wireless transmitting portion and the battery containing portion  11  contained with the button battery  10  constituting the power source on the top side of the transmitter case and the openable/closable battery lid  12  for sealing the opening in liquid tight are provided, and the openable/closable battery lid cover  14  for covering the battery lid  12  is provided on the top side of the upper case  8 .  
      The heart beat measuring transmitter of Embodiment 2 is constructed by the above-described constitution and therefore, always the battery lid  10  is not brought into contact with the human body, contact to a corrosion causing substance of sweat or the like is minimized and therefore, the waterproof function of the apparatus can be maintained over a long period of time. Further, by providing the battery lid cover  14 , an outlook in mounting can maintain an outlook similar to that of the background product, even when a person swims while being mounted therewith, the amount of the pressure generated by moving the human body in the pressure applied on the waterproof packing  13  of the battery lid  12  is prevented from being applied directly on the battery lid  10  and therefore, the amount of the pressure applied on the battery lid  10  is restrained, as a result, the waterproof function can be maintained even in swimming.  
      A heart beat measuring transmitter of Embodiment 3 is constituted by omitting the battery lid cover  14  and the waterproof elastic member  15  from the heart beat measuring transmitter of Embodiment 1.  
      That is, the heart beat measuring transmitter of Embodiment 3 is a heart beat measuring transmitter for transmitting by wireless from the antenna  6  based on the cardiographic signal detected by the pair of chest electrodes  2  and  3  respectively attached to the chest belts  4  and  5  as shown by the sectional view of  FIG. 6  cut along the center line orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the case, and a sectional view of  FIG. 7  cut along the center line in the longitudinal direction of the case.  
      The transmitter case is constituted by the upper case  8  and the lower case  9 , coupled by the chest belt  4  and the coupling portion  8   a  and coupled by the chest belt  5  and the coupling portion  8   b . The electrode  2   a  of the chest electrode  2  is connected to the one circuit side electrode  7   a  of the circuit block  7  by the connecting portion  16 . Further, the electrode  3   a  of the chest electrode  3  is connected to the one circuit side electrode  7   b  of the circuit block  7  by the connecting portion  17 .  
      The circuit block  7  contained at inside of the transmitter case constitutes the cardiographic signal detecting portion and the wireless transmitting portion. The button battery  10  constituting the power source of the cardiographic signal detecting portion and the wireless transmitting portion is contained at inside of the battery containing portion  11  provided on the top side of the transmitter case, that is, the top side of the upper case  8 , and the opening portion of the battery containing portion  11  is sealed by the openable/closable battery lid  12  by way of the waterproof packing  13 .  
      The heart beat measuring transmitter of Embodiment 3 is constructed by the above-described constitution and therefore, always the battery lid  10  is not brought into contact with the human body, contact to a corrosion causing substance of sweat or the like is minimized and therefore, the waterproof function of the apparatus can be maintained over a long period of time.  
      According to the invention, in the heart beat measuring transmitter used by being attached to the chest belt by constituting the power source by the battery, the battery lid is not directly brought into contact with the skin of a user and therefore, a packing of the battery lid is prevented from being deteriorated by sweat, and the waterproof function of the apparatus can be maintained over a long period of time. Further, a double waterproof structures can be adopted on the top side of the transmitter case and therefore, the waterproof function of the apparatus can be ensured even in swimming.