Electronic thermometer

• US 7,637,657 B2
• Filed: 03/14/2006
• Issued: 12/29/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 03/29/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Citizen Watch Co Limited (Citizen Electronics Company Limited)
• Original Assignee: Citizen Holdings Co., Ltd. (Citizen Electronics Company Limited)
• Inventors: Yamamoto, Tetsuya, Kobayashi, Isamu
• Primary Examiner(s): KAPLAN VERBITSKY, GAIL
• Application Number:
  US11/909,762
• Publication Number:
  US 20090074029A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,386 Days
• Field of Search: 374100-104, 374/141, 374/163, 374/169, 374/170, 374/178, 374/179, 374/183, 374/185, 374171-172, 702130-131, 600/474, 600/549
• US Class Current: 374/169
• CPC Class Codes: G01K 13/20 Clinical contact thermometers for use with humans or animals
• CPC Class Codes: G01K 7/42 Circuits effecting compensation of thermal inertia; Circuits for predicting the stationary value of a temperature

Abstract

An electronic thermometer includes a temperature sensing means for sensing a temperature of a part to be measured, and a prediction means for calculating an equilibrium temperature according to the temperature being sensed. The prediction means includes a parameter determination unit for calculating parameters of a prediction function having three parameters to obtain an equilibrium predicted temperature, and an equilibrium predicted temperature calculation means for calculating an equilibrium temperature during a period of the thermal equilibrium time, based on the parameters determined by the parameter determination unit. The parameter determination unit determines parameters held by the prediction function, based on three (or two) sensed temperatures and the measuring times thereof. According to the prediction function, the equilibrium temperature can be predicted with a small number of samplings, and the parameters are determined based on the sensed temperature and the measuring time of the sensed temperature. Consequently, the number of samplings to predict the equilibrium temperature is reduced, as well as solving a problem that the equilibrium temperature may be varied due to an external factor, individual difference, and the like.

Claims

1. An electronic thermometer comprising,

a temperature sensing means for sensing a temperature of a part to be measured, and

a prediction means for calculating an equilibrium temperature in accordance with the temperature being sensed, wherein,

the prediction means further comprising,

a parameter determination unit to determine parameters for a prediction function having three parameters for obtaining an equilibrium predicted temperature:

Tu=c·

(C−

t)+a·

t^b

wherein

Tu;

thermal equilibrium predicted temperature,

t;

measuring time from starting of measurement,

a, b, and c;

parameters,

C;

time constant, and

^;

exponentiation, and

a thermal equilibrium predicted temperature calculation means for calculating an equilibrium temperature during a period of the thermal equilibrium time, based on the parameters determined by the parameter determination unit.

2. The electronic thermometer according to claim 1, wherein,

the parameter determination unit determines the parameter a, parameter b, and parameter c, based on three sensed temperatures and measuring times thereof,

the parameter c is set to zero, and the parameter b is determined and the parameter a is tentatively determined, by using a first sensed temperature and the measuring time thereof and a second sensed temperature and the measuring time thereof,

the measuring time of a third sensed temperature is substituted into the prediction function using the parameter a and the parameter b being obtained, and setting the parameter c to zero, thereby calculating the thermal equilibrium predicted temperature,

the parameter c is determined by using a difference between the thermal equilibrium predicted temperature being calculated and the third sensed temperature, and

the parameter a is redetermined by substituting the parameter b, the parameter c, the third sensed temperature, and the measuring time of the third sensed temperature into the prediction function.

3. The electronic thermometer according to claim 1, wherein,

the parameter determination unit determines the parameter a, the parameter b, and the parameter c according to tree simultaneous equations, obtained by substituting three sensed temperatures and the measuring times thereof into the prediction function.

4. The electronic thermometer according to claim 2, wherein,

the prediction means further comprises a temperature gradient calculation unit for calculating a temperature gradient based on a temperature sensed by the temperature sensing means, wherein,

the temperature gradient calculation unit assumes the sensed temperature and the measuring time of the sensed temperature as the first point, at a timing when a temperature gradient of the sensed temperature falls in a predetermined range, among the three sensed temperatures and the measuring times thereof.

5. The electronic thermometer according to claim 4, wherein,

the prediction means further comprises a timer unit, and the timer unit keeps time from a temperature sensing at the first point, and sets each of the second measuring time and the third measuring time, after a lapse of a predetermined time from the measuring time at the first point.

6. The electronic thermometer according to claim 1, wherein,

the parameter determination unit determines the parameter a, the parameter b, and the parameter c, based on two sensed temperatures and the measuring times thereof,

the parameter c is set to zero, and the parameter b is determined and the parameter a is tentatively determined, by using the two sensed temperatures;

the first sensed temperature and the second sensed temperature, and the measuring times thereof,

the parameter c is determined according to a relationship among the parameter b, the first sensed temperature, and the parameter c,

the parameter a is redetermined by substituting the parameter b, the parameter c, and the second sensed temperature and the measuring time of the second sensed temperature into the prediction function.

7. The electronic thermometer according to claim 6, wherein,

the prediction means further comprises a temperature gradient calculation unit for calculating a temperature gradient based on the temperature sensed by the temperature sensing means, and

the temperature gradient calculation unit assumes the sensed temperature and the measuring time of the sensed temperature as the first point, at a timing when a temperature gradient of the sensed temperature falls in a predetermined range, among the two sensed temperatures and the measuring times thereof.

8. The electronic thermometer according to claim 7, wherein,

the prediction means further comprises a timer unit, and the timer unit keeps time from the temperature sensing at the first point, and assumes the measuring time after a lapse of a predetermined time from the measuring time at the first point, as the measuring time at the second point.

9. The electronic thermometer according claim 1, wherein,

the thermal equilibrium predicted temperature calculation means calculates a thermal equilibrium predicted temperature by substituting the thermal equilibrium prediction time into the measuring time t of the prediction function determined by the parameter a, the parameter b, and the parameter c.

10. The electronic thermometer according to claim 2 wherein,

the thermal equilibrium predicted temperature calculation means calculates a thermal equilibrium predicted temperature by substituting the thermal equilibrium prediction time into the measuring time t of the prediction function determined by the parameter b and the parameter a tentatively determined.

11. The electronic thermometer according to claim 2, wherein,

the thermal equilibrium predicted temperature calculation means calculates a first thermal equilibrium predicted temperature by substituting the thermal equilibrium prediction time into the measuring time t of the prediction function determined by the parameter b and the parameter a being tentatively determined, and calculates a second thermal equilibrium predicted temperature by substituting the thermal equilibrium prediction time into the measuring time t of the prediction function determined by the parameter a, the parameter b, and the parameter c.

12. The electronic thermometer according to claim 1, wherein,

the time constant C is the thermal equilibrium prediction time.