Electronic thermometer

• US 6,837,618 B1
• Filed: 03/10/2000
• Issued: 01/04/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 03/11/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Citizen Holdings Co., Ltd. (Citizen Electronics Company Limited)
• Original Assignee: Citizen Watch Co Limited (Citizen Electronics Company Limited)
• Inventors: Tsukamoto, Yasushi, Yamamoto, Tetsuya
• Primary Examiner(s): VERBITSKY, GAIL KAPLAN
• Application Number:
  US09/700,449
• Time in Patent Office: 1,761 Days
• Field of Search: 374/163, 374/208, 374/170, 377/25, 377/54, 377/64
• US Class Current: 374/163
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 5/0022 for sensing the radiation of moving bodies
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 5/0025 Living bodies ear thermometers G01J5/0011; detecting, measuring or recording for diagnostic purposes A61B5/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 5/02 Constructional details
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 5/025 Interfacing a pyrometer to an external device or network; User interface
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 5/026 Control of working procedures of a pyrometer, other than calibration; Bandwidth calculation; Gain control
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 5/04 Casings
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 5/049 Casings for tympanic thermometers
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 5/064 Ambient temperature sensor; Housing temperature sensor; Constructional details thereof
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 5/16 Arrangements with respect to the cold junction; Compensating influence of ambient temperature or other variables
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 5/70 Passive compensation of pyrometer measurements, e.g. using ambient temperature sensing or sensing of temperature within housing
• CPC Class Codes: G01K 1/028 arrangements for numerical indication
• CPC Class Codes: G01K 13/20 Clinical contact thermometers for use with humans or animals

Abstract

An electronic thermometer includes a display device for displaying a temperature of an associated object under temperature measurement in a predetermined display digit number. A temperature measurement device generates a temperature measurement signal based on the temperature of the associated object. A computation device is provided for computing a temperature value of a digit number larger than the predetermined display digit number to be displayed on the display device on the basis of the temperature measurement signal. A control device controls the display device to display a first temperature value portion and a second temperature value portion. The first portion is displayed with a first set of predetermined digits and the second portion is displayed with a second set of predetermined digits, including any digit or digits other than the first predetermined digits.

Claims

1. An electronic thermometer comprising:

a display device (6) for displaying a measured temperature measurement in a predetermined display digit number;

a temperature measurement device (3) for generating a temperature measurement signal based on the temperature of an object under temperature measurement;

a computation device (5) for computing a temperature value of a digit number larger than the predetermined display digit number to be displayed on the display device (6) on the basis of the temperature measurement signal; and

a control device for controlling the display device to display a first temperature value portion and a second temperature value portion in such a manner that the second temperature value portion is not displayed while the first temperature value portion is displayed and vice versa;

wherein the first temperature value portion is defined as a portion of the temperature value having a first set of predetermined digit or digits, and the second temperature value portion is defined as another portion of the temperature value having a second set of predetermined digit or digits including all remaining digit or digits other than the first predetermined digit or digits.

2. The electronic thermometer according to claim 1, wherein the second temperature value portion is defined as a portion of the temperature value having all remaining digit or digits other than the first set of predetermined digit or digits.

3. The electronic thermometer according to claim 1, wherein the first temperature value portion is defined as temperature value expanding from the highest digit down to a predetermined lower digit and the second temperature value portion is defined as a temperature value expanding from the lowest digit up to a predetermined higher digit.

4. The electronic thermometer according to claim 1, wherein the first temperature value portion and the second temperature value portion are displayed on the display device alternately.

5. The electronic thermometer according to claim 1, wherein the first portion and the second portion are selected from the same temperature value computed by the computation device and are displayed on the display device.

6. The electronic thermometer according to claim 1, wherein the first portion and the second portion are selected from different temperature values computed by the computation device and are displayed on the display device.

7. The electronic thermometer according to claim 5, wherein the control device controls the display device to display the first and the second temperature value portions for every temperature measuring operation.

8. The electronic thermometer according to claim 6, wherein the control device controls the display device to display the first or the second temperature value portions in a single temperature measuring operation.

9. The electronic thermometer according to claim 1, wherein the control device controls the display device to display one of:

the first temperature value portion and then the second temperature value portion; and

,

the second temperature value portion and then the first temperature value portion.

10. The electronic thermometer according to claim 1, further including:

an operation switch that the control device changes on the basis of a predetermined operation of the operation switch the display of the first temperature value portion to the second temperature value portion or vice versa.

11. The electronic thermometer according to claim 2, wherein a temperature value computed by the computation device has four digits as expressed in one of Centigrade and Fahrenheit, the first temperature value portion consisting of a portion of the temperature value of higher three digits while the second temperature value portion consists of a portion of the temperature value of the lowest fourth digit.

12. The electronic thermometer according to claim 3, wherein a temperature value computed by the computation device has four digits as expressed in one of Centigrade and Fahrenheit, the first temperature value portion consists of a portion of the temperature value of higher three digits while the second temperature value portion consists of a portion of the temperature value of lower three digits.

13. The electronic thermometer according to claim 1, wherein the control device controls the display device to take different display modes for the first and the second temperature value portions.

14. The electronic thermometer according to claim 3, wherein the temperature value computed by the computation device has a decimal point and the control device controls the display device such that the decimal point is lighted when the first temperature value portion is displayed while the decimal point is not lighted when the second temperature value portion is displayed.

15. The electronic thermometer according to claim 1, wherein the display device displays the first temperature value portion in a lighting condition while the second temperature value portion in a blinking condition.

16. The electronic thermometer according to claim 1, further including:

an operation switch for initiating temperature measurement, wherein the control device switches a display of the first temperature value portion and the second temperature value portion on the basis of an operation pattern of the operation switch.

17. The electronic thermometer according to claim 16, wherein the control device detects an operation pattern of the operation switch at a time of initiation of temperature measurement.

18. A method of measuring temperature with an electronic thermometer, the method comprising:

generating a temperature measurement signal based on the temperature of an object under temperature measurement;

computing a temperature value of a digit number larger than a predetermined display digit number to be displayed on the display device (6) on a basis of the temperature measurement signal; and

controlling the display device to display a first temperature value portion and a second temperature value portion in such a manner that the second temperature value portion is not displayed while the first temperature value portion is displayed and vice versa;

wherein the first temperature value portion is defined as a portion of the temperature value having a first set of predetermined digit or digits, and the second temperature value portion is defined as another portion of the temperature value having a second set of predetermined digit or digits including all remaining digit or digits other than the first predetermined digit or digits.