Body composition data acquiring apparatus

• US 20050059902A1
• Filed: 08/18/2004
• Published: 03/17/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 09/12/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Tanita Corporation (Tanita)
• Original Assignee: Tanita Corporation (Tanita)
• Inventors: Itagaki, Shuji
• Application Number:
  US10/920,393
• Publication Number:
  US 20050059902A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/547
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0537 Measuring body composition by impedance, e.g. tissue hydration or fat content
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1072 measuring distances on the body, e.g. measuring length, height or thickness A61B5/1076 takes precedence

Abstract

A body composition data acquiring apparatus has a main unit comprising: bioelectrical impedance measuring means, body weight measuring means, leg length measuring means, and body composition data calculating means wherein the bioelectrical impedance measuring means measures a bioelectrical impedance between both feet by use of a group of electrodes which make contact with the bottoms of the feet of a subject, the bodyweight measuring means measures the body weight of the subject, the leg length measuring means measures the leg length of the subject, and the body composition data calculating means calculates the body composition data of the subject based on at least the bioelectrical impedance, body weight and leg length measured by these measuring means.

Claims

1. A body composition data acquiring apparatus having a main unit comprising:

bioelectrical impedance measuring means,

body weight measuring means,

leg length measuring means, and

body composition data calculating means

wherein

the bioelectrical impedance measuring means measures a bioelectrical impedance between both feet by use of a group of electrodes which make contact with the bottoms of the feet of a subject,

the body weight measuring means measures the body weight of the subject,

the leg length measuring means measures the leg length of the subject, and

the body composition data calculating means calculates the body composition data of the subject based on at least the bioelectrical impedance, body weight and leg length measured by these measuring means.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the leg length measuring means measures the length from the crotch to the bottoms of the feet of the subject.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the leg length measuring means measures the length from the knees to the bottoms of the feet of the subject.

4. The apparatus of claims 1 to 3, wherein the leg length measuring means comprises:

a pole which is positioned nearly perpendicularly to the main unit,

a cursor which is slidably attached to the pole, and a position sensor which detects the position of the cursor.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 or 2, wherein the leg length measuring means comprises:

an ultrasonic wave transmitter which is provided on the top surface of the main unit and transmits an ultrasonic wave upward, and

an ultrasonic wave receiver which is provided on the top surface of the main unit and receives an ultrasonic wave from above.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 or 2, wherein the leg length measuring means comprises:

a light emitter which is provided on the top surface of the main unit and emits light upward, and

a light receiver which is provided on the top surface of the main unit and receives light from above.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 or 2, wherein the leg length measuring means comprises:

a flexible member which can be pulled out of the main unit and has a grip at one end, and

a pulled length sensor which detects the pulled length of the flexible member.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the grip of the flexible member has a group of electrodes for measuring a bioelectrical impedance.