United States Patent [19]
`Takenaka et al.
`
`llllllllllllllIllllllllllllllllllllllllllIlllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll
`5,539,706
`Jul. 23, 1996
`
`USO05539706A
`[11] Patent Number:
`[45] Date of Patent:
`
`[54] PULSIMETER PROVIDED WITH OR
`WITHOUT A PEDOMETER
`
`[75] lnventors: Masaaki Takenaka; Manabu
`Yoshimura, both of Kyoto; Tsutomu
`Yamasawa; Maki Hasegawa, both of
`Osaka; Masatsugu Hirano, Kyoto;
`Satoshi Nishida, Koriyama, all of Japan
`
`[73] Assignee: Omron Corporation, Kyoto, Japan
`
`[21] Appl. No.: 383,504
`[22] Filed:
`Feb. 2, 1995
`[30]
`Foreign Application Priority Data
`
`Feb. 3, 1994
`
`[JP]
`
`Japan .................................... .. 6-11434
`
`[51] Int. Cl.6 ............................ .. G04B 47/00; A61B 5/02
`[52] US. Cl. ............................. .. 368/10; 368/11; 128/677;
`128/690
`[58] Field of Search .............................. .. 368/11, 10, 276,
`368/278; 128/633, 664-667, 677—689
`
`[56]
`
`References Cited
`
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`4,305,401 12/1981 Reissrnueller ctal. . .............. .. 128/690
`4,353,152 10/1982 O’Connor eta].
`. 128/689
`4,407,295 10/1983 Steuer etal. ..... ..
`. 128/670
`4,425,921
`1/1984 Fujisaki etal.
`. 128/690
`5,218,966
`6/1993 Yamasawa ............................ .. 128/677
`
`Primary Examiner-Vit W. Miska
`Attorney, Agent, or Firm—Fish & Richardson
`
`[57]
`
`ABSTRACT
`
`A pulsirneter includes a main body having a front face and
`a back face that is opposite the front face. A ?nger insertion
`section, into which a ?nger may be inserted, is arranged on
`the back face of the main body. Also included is a pulse
`sensor which is con?gured to sense pulses from a user’s
`?nger that has been inserted into the ?nger insertion section.
`A display, which is arranged on the front face of the main
`body, is con?gured to display the pulses sensed by the pulse
`sensor. The display and the ?nger insertion section are
`arranged such that the display may be observed by the user
`while the user’s ?nger is inserted into the ?nger insertion
`section.
`
`3,858,574
`
`l/1975 Page .................................. .. 128/205T
`
`17 Claims, 8 Drawing Sheets
`
`W1
`
`4
`
`10
`
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`

`US. Patent
`
`Jul. 23, 1996
`
`Sheet 1 of 8
`
`5,539,706
`
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`

`

`US. Patent
`
`Jul. 23, 1996
`
`Sheet 2 of 8
`
`5,539,706
`
`FIG. 4
`
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`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Jul. 23, 1996
`
`Sheet 3 of 8
`
`5,539,706 |
` 21
`
`Jmi lawBN
`faeaeroy
`
`EN
`
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`

`US. Patent
`
`Jul. 23, 1996
`
`Sheet 4 of 8
`
`5,539,706
`
`5
`/
`
`PULSE
`SENSOR
`
`40
`I
`
`CONSTANT
`CURRENT
`
`45
`I
`
`.
`
`POWER
`SOURCE
`
`41
`f
`
`44
`I
`
`D'SPLAY
`
`42
`\
`
`CONTROLLER
`'
`
`43
`f
`
`7
`1
`
`AMPLIFIER
`
`COMPARATOR
`
`SWITCH
`
`FIG. 8
`
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`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Jul. 23, 1996
`
`Sheet 5 of 8
`
`5,539,706
`
`FIG. '10
`
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`

`

`US. Patent
`
`Jul. 23, 1996
`
`Sheet 6 of 8
`
`5,539,706
`
`6
`
`9
`
`\"III
`l..! O
`O
`O.
`
`7
`
`2
`
`“
`P’
`F|G.11a
`e
`
`7
`:11! ILL}: O 2
`Q
`o
`o
`
`FlG.11b
`6\
`
`‘
`
`1
`
`‘:3 o 2
`‘PULSE/M. O
`o
`r"
`
`"1
`
`FIG. 11c
`
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`

`US. Patent
`
`Jul. 23, 1996
`
`Sheet 7 of 8
`
`5,539,706
`
`/
`
`PULSE
`SENSOR
`
`45
`
`POWER
`SOURCE
`
`CONSTANT
`CURRENT
`
`I
`
`D'SPLAY
`
`42
`/
`
`43
`/
`
`\
`
`CONTROLLER
`
`7
`
`AMPLIFIER
`
`COMPARA
`__TOR
`
`‘
`
`SWITCH
`
`/81
`VIBRATION
`SENSOR
`
`.
`
`[82
`
`AMPLIFIER
`
`_l
`a3\ '
`COMPARATOR/
`COUNTER
`
`s4\
`
`SWITCH
`
`FIG. 12
`
`FIG. 13
`
`100 ~
`\
`@j 102
`
`I
`
`101
`
`/
`
`~
`FIG. 14a
`
`100
`
`FIG. 14b
`
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`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Jul. 23, 1996
`
`Sheet 8 of 8
`
`5,539,706
`
`FIG. 15a
`
`106
`
`FINGER 107
`
`106
`
`MW!
`//////I\/////1//
`
`I
`
`102
`
`105
`
`FIG. 15b
`
`FIG. 16
`
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`

`5,539,706
`
`1
`PULSIMETER PROVIDED WITH OR
`WITHOUT A PEDOMETER
`
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`
`1. Field of the Invention
`This invention relates to a pulsimeter for portable use, and
`more particularly to an improved pulsimeter provided with
`a pedometer.
`2. Discussion of the Related Art
`Referring to FIGS. 14 and 15, there are shown conven~
`tional pulsimeters. Such a pulsimeter 100 of FIG. 14(a) is a
`wristwatch provided with a pulse measuring function, which
`includes a display 101 on the face thereof for displaying a
`clock and the number of measured pulses, and a pulse sensor
`102 having light emitting and receiving elements to be
`touched by a ?nger. As the pulsimeter 100 is put on a wrist
`and a ?nger is put on the pulse sensor 103 as shown in FIG.
`14(b), a series of pulses are detected from the ?nger and the
`number of the detected pulses are displayed on display 101.
`A pulsimeter 110 shown in FIG. 15(a) on a front side
`thereof is provided with a display 111, providing a wrist
`watch and a pulsimeter. The pulsimeter is connected with a
`?nger cuff 112 wrapped around a ?nger so that pulses can be
`measured by a pulse sensor 113 disposed on the ?nger cuff
`112 in FIG. 15(b).
`The pulse sensor sections of pulsimeters 100 and 110 of
`FIGS. 14 and 15 have constructions as shown in FIGS. 16
`and 17, respectively. In FIG. 16, pulse sensor 102 is mounted
`on a board 108, and a housing 106 is provided with a
`dustproof and waterproof window 107 opposite to a detec
`tion surface of pulse sensor 102. A board 115 mounted by a
`pulse sensor 113 is sandwiched between external and inter
`nal cloths 116 and 117 forming ?nger cuff 112, exposing
`pulse sensor 113 through internal cloth 117.
`The pulsimeter 100 of FIG. 14, however, has the disad
`vantages that the insulliciency of shading due to the con
`struction of pulse sensor 102 disposed on the face makes the
`pulsimeter easily subject to external lights, such as sunlight
`and ?uorescent lamps, whereby the pulse number is mea
`sured erroneously or cannot be counted. The portion of
`?nger‘s touch including dustproof and waterproof window
`107 does not the con?gurations of the ?ngers, well and the
`sensitivity of pulse sensor 102 is lowered by window 107
`covering the detection surface of pulse sensor 102 to reduce
`light passing therethrough, resulting in inaccurate measure
`ment.
`The pulsimeter 110 of FIG. 15 in which pulse sensor 113
`is disposed on ?nger cuff 112 has good shading as compared
`with the pulsimeter of FIG. 14, but is still disadvantageous
`such that the shading is insufficient because the ?nger touch
`portion including pulse sensor 113 is hard to ?t a peripheral
`con?guration of a ?nger and sufficient contact area and
`pressure is not applied to pulse sensor 113 by the skin of
`?nger. Accordingly, the measurement by the pulsimeter is
`inaccurate or impossible to be executed because the obtain—
`able signal pulse is small. Moreover, since the ?nger is
`bound by ?nger cuff 112 during the measurement of pulse,
`the freedom of the ?nger is restricted and wrapping the cuff
`around ?nger is troublesome. The wire 114 connecting cuff
`112 with the main body is obstructive for carrying the cuif
`with pulsimeter 110, and separate carriage of ?nger cuff 112
`and wire 114 is also troublesome.
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`
`In view of the above-mentioned disadvantages, it is a
`primary object of this invention to provide a pulsimeter
`
`25
`
`30
`
`35
`
`45
`
`50
`
`55
`
`65
`
`2
`having good shading against external light with improving
`the accuracy of pulse measurement.
`It is another object of this invention to provide a pulsim
`eter additionally including a pedometer function for conve
`nience use.
`According to one aspect of this invention, there is pro
`vided a pulsimeter which includes a main body, a ?nger
`insertion section disposed on the main body in which a
`?nger is inserted, a pulse sensor for sensing pulses of a ?nger
`inserted into the ?nger insertion section, and a display for
`displaying the pulses sensed by the pulse sensor, the ?nger
`insertion section being disposed on a surface different from
`a surface provided with the display. Since the ?nger inser
`tion section is located on a surface different from a display
`surface on which the display is disposed and the display
`surface is directed to be located on the front face of the
`pulsimeter in a normal pulse measurement, the ?nger inser
`tion section is hard to be intruded by external light and
`lowering a pulse measurement accuracy is reduced.
`According to a ?lrther aspect of this invention, there is
`provided a pulsimeter which includes a main body, a ?nger
`insertion section disposed on the main body in which a
`?nger is inserted, a pulse sensor for sensing pulses of a ?nger
`inserted into the ?nger insertion section, and a display for
`displaying the pulses sensed by the pulse sensor, the ?nger
`insertion section being covered with an elastic hood. The
`hood covering the ?nger insertion section provides an
`improved shading against external light and makes a pulse
`value be sensed with accuracy. Moreover, the hood is elastic,
`whereby it is well ?tted with a ?nger in any size and the
`?nger is properly pressed to the detection surface of the
`pulse sensor.
`According to a still further aspect of this invention, there
`is provided a pulsimeter which includes a main body, a
`?nger insertion section disposed on the main body to be
`inserted by a ?nger, a pulse sensor for sensing pulses of a
`?nger inserted into the ?nger insertion section, a display for
`displaying the pulses sensed by the pulse sensor, the pulse
`sensor being airtightly held by an elastic pressing member
`and a sensing surface of the sensor being exposed to the
`?nger insertion section. Since the pulse sensor is airtightly
`held by an elastic pressing member and a sensing surface of
`the sensor is exposed to the ?nger insertion section, the main
`body can be free from entry of dust or water and the like and,
`upon insertion of a ?nger to the ?nger insertion section, the
`?nger comes into a direct contact with the detection surface
`of the pulse sensor to provide a su?icient sensitivity.
`As the ?nger insertion section is further so designed that
`the direction of insertion by a ?nger is in a vertical direction
`of the main body but oblique to a horizontal direction of the
`main body, the ?nger is easy to be inserted into the ?nger
`insertion section, unnecessary force is not applied to the
`?nger on measurement, and there is provided an excellent
`construction in view of human engineering, typically when
`the pulsimeter is attached to a belt of the user’s pants for
`convenient use, like a pedometer.
`The main body internally includes a printed circuit board
`mounted by various electronic components. By disposing
`the display on one surface of the board to provide a display
`unit and the pulse sensor directly on the opposite surface, a
`space or chamber within the main body can be fully utilized
`to reduce the pulsimeter in size. Such utilization of space can
`be performed by arranging the display on the front face and
`the ?nger insertion section on the different face of the main
`body.
`By designing the ?nger insertion section opposite to the
`hood to have a recessed cross-section, the ?nger inserted
`
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`

`5,539,706
`
`3
`into the ?nger insertion section is brought into a position
`such that the thick of the ?nger comes into contact with the
`recessed section in association with the elastic hood to
`improve tight contact between the ?nger and the recessed
`section. In other words, the thick portion of the ?nger is
`curved in a convex shape, so that employing con?guration
`in the ?nger insertion section along with the con?guration of
`the thick of ?nger can precisely ?t the ?nger into the ?nger
`insertion section until the tip of the ?nger, resulting in the
`improvement of contact between the ?nger and the detection
`surface of the pulse sensor disposed in the ?nger insertion
`section.
`When a construction for sandwiching a housing of the
`main body with the hood is employed, mounting the hood on
`the ?nger insertion section can be done only by sandwiching
`the housing with one end of the hood, resulting in easy
`assembling of the pulsimeter and su?‘icient shading in a
`mounting portion.
`For the purpose of easy insertion of ?nger, the hood made
`of a ?nger smooth material is desirable to insert the ?nger
`into the ?nger insertion section without any resistance.
`Typically, the ?exible material of hood may be a ?exible
`cloth or spandex.
`According to another aspect of this invention, there is
`provided a motor for counting pulses and steps which
`includes a pulse sensor for sensing pulses, a vibration sensor,
`a display, and a controller for displaying a counted value of
`output of the pulse sensor and/or output of the vibration
`sensor. As appreciated, a pedometer is often used by being
`attached to a belt of a skirt or pants. The meter according to
`this aspect serves as a pulsimeter and a pedometer, and is
`convenient when it is used like a pedometer.
`The use similar to a pedometer can be performed in this
`invention by employing a portable member (for example,
`buckle or clip) associated with the main body. Moreover, as
`the main body includes an open-and-close cover for pro
`tecting the display and the cover includes a portable mem
`ber, the convenience of use is further improved.
`As described above, the pulsimeter according to this
`invention may be not only a meter having a pulse measure
`ment function but also a meter having a pulsimeter function
`and a pedometer function. The meter having pulsimeter and
`pedometer functions houses components of a pedometer
`function within a main body and has a modi?ed arrangement
`of an internal circuit construction and a display design
`according to the additional pedometer function, while retain
`ing outlook of the meter.
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`
`Other objectives and advantages of this invention will be
`more readily apparent from the following detailed descrip
`tion provided in conjunction with the following ?gures, of
`which:
`FIG. 1 is a perspective- external view of a pulsimeter as a
`primary embodiment of this invention;
`FIG. 2 is a plane view of a reverse side of a main body of
`the pulsimeter of FIG. 1;
`FIG. 3 is a side view of the pulsimeter viewed from a
`direction marked by an arrow marked A in FIG. 2;
`FIG. 4 is a side view of the pulsimeter viewed from a
`direction marked by an arrow marked B in FIG. 2;
`FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the pulsimeter taken along
`the line C—-C shown in FIG. 2;
`FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the pulsimeter taken along
`the line D-D shown in FIG. 2;
`
`10
`
`20
`
`25
`
`35
`
`45
`
`55
`
`65
`
`4
`FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the pulsimeter taken along
`the line E—E shown in FIG. 2;
`FIG. 8 is a schematic circuit block diagram of the pul
`simeter;
`FIG. 9 shows one example of measurement of the pul‘
`simeter which is mounted;
`FIG. 10 shows another example of measurement by the
`pulsimeter;
`FIG. 11 shows an example of display modes in the display
`of the pulsimeter;
`FIG. 12 is a schematic circuit block diagram of a meter
`having both pulsimeter and pedometer functions as another
`embodiment;
`FIG. 13 typically shows an example of a step display in
`the display of the pulsimeter;
`FIG.‘ 14 shows a conventional pulsimeter and one
`example of use thereby;
`FIG. 15 shows another conventional pulsimeter and one
`example of use thereby;
`FIG. 16 is a sectional view of a pulse sensor portion of the
`pulsimeter of FIG. 14; and
`FIG. 17 is a sectional view of a pulse sensor portion of the
`pulsimeter of FIG. 15.
`
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE
`INVENTION
`
`Referring, now, to FIG. 1, there is shown a pulsimeter 1
`as a primary embodiment of this invention. FIG. 1 shows a
`perspective external view of the pulsimeter, FIG. 2 shows a
`plane view or a reverse side of a main body of the pulsim
`eter, FIG. 3 shows a side view of the pulsimeter viewed from
`a direction marked by an arrow mark A in FIG. 2, and FIG.
`4 shows a side view of the pulsimeter viewed from a
`direction marked by an arrow mark B in FIG. 2. The
`pulsimeter 1 includes a main body 2 and a cover 3. The main
`body 2 is provided with a ?nger insertion section 4 into
`which a ?nger, is inserted a pulse sensor 5 for sensing the
`pulses of the ?nger inserted into section 4, and a display 6
`for displaying the pulses sensed by the sensor 5. In FIG. 1,
`the display 6 is disposed on a front face of the main body 2,
`and a switch 7 is disposed by the side of the display 6. Cover
`3 is disposed to protect the front face (including display 6)
`of the main body, and engaged with the main body through
`a hinge connector 8 in a open and close relationship.
`Moreover, in this embodiment, a buckle 9, serving as a
`member for portable use is disposed on the face of cover 3
`to be attached to a belt of pants, skirt or the like to carry the
`pulsimeter 1.
`In FIG. 2, ?nger insertion section 4 is disposed on the
`reverse side of main body 3, viz., on the opposite side of
`body 2 to the display 6, and includes a hood 10 (see FIG. 3)
`made of a ?exible cloth (e.g., spandex) which is smooth
`against ?nger. As shown in FIG. 2, ?nger insertion section
`4 is disposed to have an insertion direction “a” slanting by
`an angle 0 with respect to a horizontal direction “b” of body
`2 and by an angle “90°-0” with respect to a vertical direction
`“b'”. In practice, angle 6 is recommended to be about 20° to
`50°, and in this embodiment about 45° is employed. This
`angle 9 is employed considering that slant insertion to ?nger
`insertion section 4 makes the insertion by of a ?nger much
`easier than parallel or vertical insertion about the horizontal
`direction “b” in view of human engineering when the
`pulsimeter 1 is assumed to be attached to a belt of pants or
`the like for its use like a pedometer.
`
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`5,539,706
`
`10
`
`25
`
`35
`
`5
`In FIG. 5 showing internal construction of body 2 (a
`sectional view along the line C——C shown in FIG. 2), FIG.
`6 (a sectional view along the line D—-D shown in FIG. 2)
`and FIG. 7 (a sectional view along the line E-E shown in
`FIG. 2), the main body 2 includes a lower housing 20 and an
`upper housing 21 which is engaged with lower housing 20
`and includes a battery cover 22 as a part of upper housing 21
`for an attachable-andremoval engagement therewith.
`A liquid crystal display (LCD) 31 is arranged on a front
`side (display side) of a board 30 disposed within body 2, and
`a pulse sensor 5 is arranged on an reverse side of the board.
`Thus, mounting electronic components on both sides of the
`board 30 efficiently utilizes a chamber within body 2. Pulse
`sensor 5 consists of a light omitting element (typically,
`infrared radiation LED) and a light receiving element (typi
`cally, phototransistor). Both elements are molded with syn
`thetic resin into a single unit, and airtightly held at a
`predetermined position of a holder base 35 providing ?nger
`insertion section 4 by a ?exible pressing member or a sponge
`33 having a predetermined proper rigidity. Sponge 33 is
`partially sandwiched with holder base 35 to be ?xed at a
`predetermined position and to hold sensor 5 airtightly. A
`detection surface of pulse sensor 5 is leveled with a surface
`of holder base 35, exposing through base 35. Thus, the pulse
`sensor 5 is airtightly held by elastic pressing member 33 and
`the sensing surface of sensor 5 is exposed to ?nger insertion
`section 4, the main body 2 can be free from entry of dust or
`water and, upon insertion of a ?nger to ?nger insertion
`section 4, the ?nger comes into a direct contact with the
`detection surface of pulse sensor 5 to provide a precise pulse
`measurement.
`As shown in FIG. 6 about ?nger insertion section 4, hood
`10 has a con?guration having a convex cross section and
`hold base 35 has recessed cross section, whereby upon
`inserting a ?nger into ?nger insertion section 4, the ?nger is
`properly pushed by hood 10 toward holder base 35, the thick
`portion of the ?nger is driven into a tight contact with a
`recessed portion of holder base 35, and the contact between
`the inserted ?nger and the detection surface of sensor 5 is
`ensured. Thus, a stable accuracy of pulse measurements is
`guaranteed for any size of ?ngers. One end of hood 10 is
`tightly sandwiched by upper housing 21 and holder base 35
`so as to avoid causing hood 10 to to come of such a sandwich
`construction. The construction for sandwiching hood 10 by
`housing 31 and base 35 makes hood 10 easily mountable in
`?nger insertion section 4 and provides satisfactory shading
`in attaching components.
`In FIG. 8 there is shown a circuit of the pulsimeter 1. A
`constant current circuit 40 supplies the light emitting ele
`ment of pulse sensor 5 with a current but is controlled by a
`control circuit 41. The control circuit 41 employs a micro
`computer and peripheral circuit components to control
`ON/OFF operation of the light emitting element, detection
`of pulse signals, computation of pulse number, display of the
`computed pulse number, and so forth. An ampli?er 42
`ampli?es signals sensed by the light receiving element of
`pulse sensor 5, and a computer 43 extracts pulse synchro
`nized signals from the ampli?ed pulse signals. A display
`circuit 44 is disposed to display the number of pulses
`obtained by this pulsimeter, and may also display the num
`ber of steps in case that the pulsimeter is required to further
`include a pedometer function. A power source circuit 45
`consists of a dry cell or the like, serving as a source for the
`pulsimeter 1. A switch 7 for power supply is disposed on the
`front face of body 2 (FIG. 1) to turn on and olf the
`pulsimeter.
`As shown in FIG. 9, thus constructed pulsimeter 1 is used
`by attaching buckle 9 disposed on cover 3 to belt 50 of pants
`
`45
`
`55
`
`6
`or skirt. In a pulse measurement, main body 2 is detached
`from cover 3 to fall forward, and typically a fore?nger of an
`operator is inserted into ?nger insertion section 4, support‘
`ing main body 2 with another hand. Then, switch 7 is pushed
`to turn on power source 45 though such pushing of the
`switch may be made prior to insertion of the ?nger. Upon
`pushing switch 7, pulses are automatically detected to be
`indicated on display 6. After completion of the pulse mea
`surement, switch 7 is pushed again to turn off the power
`source, and cover 3 is moved to return to main body 2 for
`closing. Though the portable member 9 is disposed on the
`cover 3 in this embodiment, it may be disposed on the main
`body 2. Moreover, the display 6 may be disposed on the
`cover 3 instead of the main body 2, if desired.
`Though pulsimeter 1 is attached to belt 50 in this embodi
`ment, it may be put into a breast pocket or carried by putting
`it into other pocket or a bag, if desired. Moreover, the pulse
`measurement may be executed without being attached to the
`belt, if desired. Typically, as shown in FIG. 10, the pulsim
`eter 1 may be held by one hand, and a ?nger of another hand
`may be inserted into ?nger insertion section 4.
`In FIG. 11, a display operation is exemplarily shown. In
`absence of a push operation to switch 7, the display shows
`a state of in FIG. ll-(a). Upon pushing switch 7, an
`indication “PULSE” meaning a stand-by state for measure
`ment is displayed on display 6 as shown in FIG. 11-(b).
`Upon inserting a ?nger into ?nger insertion section 4 in this
`stand-by state, pulses are sensed by pulse sensor 5 to display
`the number of pulses a minute as typically shown in FIG.
`11'(c). If switch 7 is pushed in the display state shown in
`FIG. 11-(b) or (c), the operation will be returned to the initial
`state shown in FIG. ll-(a).
`As mentioned above, the pulsimeter 1 of this embodiment
`may be modi?ed to include a pedometer function in addition
`to the pulsimeter function, if desired. For this modi?cation,
`the main body may enclose therewithin components for a
`step measurement, such as a vibration sensor and so forth,
`and the associated circuits and display may be modi?ed as
`shown in FIGS. 12 and 13 without changing the external
`con?guration of the main body. This modi?ed pulsimeter is
`shown in FIGS. 12 and 13.
`FIG. 12 shows a block diagram of the modi?ed pulsim
`eter, where the same components as those of FIG. 8 are
`represented by the same reference numerals and their expla
`nation is omitted for a simpli?ed explanation. The pulsim
`eter provided with a pedometer function further includes a
`vibration sensor 61, an ampli?er 62 for amplifying output
`signals from vibration sensor 61, a comparator and counter
`circuit 63 for comparing an output signal from ampli?er 62
`with a predetermined set value or discriminating the output
`signal by level to count the number of signals larger than the
`predetermined value. Power source circuit 45 supplies
`ampli?er 62 and circuit 63 with power. A control circuit 141
`has a pedometer function in addition to the pulsimeter
`function of the circuit 41 of FIG. 8. According to the
`pedometer function of circuit 141, upon actuating a mode
`switch 64, the number of steps represented by a counted
`value in the comparator and counter circuit 63 is applied to
`display circuit 44 instead of the number of pulses. Upon
`actuating the switch 64, the number of pulses is again
`applied to display circuit 44. Thus, on each actuation to
`switch 64, the numbers of walking steps and heart pulses are
`alternatively displayed. Though the switch 64 employs a
`push button switch, it may employ a slide switch to select
`pulsimeter or pedometer mode by sliding button of the
`switch, if desired. In this modi?cation, upon turning on the
`power by switch 7, control circuit 141 resets the counted
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`5,539,706
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`7
`value of the comparator and counter circuit 63. The counting
`and storing function executed by the circuit 63 may be
`executed by control circuit 141 by further modi?cation. The
`display alternatively indicating the numbers of pulses and
`steps may be modi?ed to simultaneously indicate both
`numbers.
`While the invention has been described and illustrated
`with respect to certain embodiments which give satisfactory
`results, it will be understood by those skilled in the art, after
`understanding the purpose of the invention, that various
`other changes and modi?cations may be made without
`departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, and it
`is therefore intended in the appended claims to cover all such
`changes and modi?cations.
`What is claimed is:
`1. A pulsimeter comprising:
`a main body having a front face and a back face opposite
`the front face,
`a ?nger insertion section disposed on the back face of said
`main body into which a ?nger is insertable,
`a pulse sensor for sensing pulses of a user’s ?nger inserted
`into said ?nger insertion section, and
`a display disposed on the front face of said main body and
`con?gured to display the pulses sensed by said pulse
`sensor, wherein said display and said ?nger insertion
`section are arranged such that said display may be
`observed by the user while the user’s ?nger is inserted
`into said ?nger insertion section.
`2. A pulsimeter according to claim 1, wherein said ?nger
`insertion section is arranged to have a ?nger insertion
`direction aligned in a vertical direction and slanted with
`respect to a horizontal direction of said main body.
`3. A pulsimeter according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said
`main body further includes a board therewithin, said display
`being mounted on one side of said board and said pulse
`sensor being directly mounted on an opposite side of said
`board.
`4. A pulsimeter according to claim 1, wherein said main
`body comprises a member that facilitates portable use of
`said pulsimeter.
`_
`5. A pulsimeter according to claim 2, wherein said main
`body comprises a member that facilitates portable use of
`said pulsimeter.
`6. A pulsimeter according to claim 3, wherein said main
`body comprises a member that facilitates portable use of
`said pulsimeter.
`7. A pulsimeter according to claim 1, wherein said ?nger
`insertion section is oriented with respect to said display such
`that said main body blocks ambient light from entering said
`?nger insertion section when the user holds said main body
`to observe said display.
`8. A pulsimeter comprising:
`a main body including a housing member, said main body
`having a front face and a back face opposite the front
`face,
`.'
`a ?nger insertion section disposed on the back face of said
`main body into which a ?nger is insertable,
`a pulse sensor for sensing pulses of a user’s ?nger inserted
`into said ?nger insertion section, and
`
`15
`
`25
`
`35
`
`45
`
`55
`
`8
`a display disposed on the front face of said main body and
`con?gured to display the pulses sensed by said pulse
`sensor, wherein said display and said ?nger insertion
`section are arranged such that said display may be
`observed by the user while the user’s ?nger is inserted
`into said ?nger insertion section.
`9. A pulsimeter according to claim 8, wherein a portion of
`said ?nger insertion section opposing to said hood has a
`con?guration having a recessed cross section.
`10. A pulsimeter according to claim 9, wherein said hood
`is sandwiched by said housing member of said main body.
`11. A pulsimeter according to claim 8, wherein said elastic
`material of said hood comprises a material having a smooth
`contact surface against which the ?nger rests.
`12. A pulsimeter according to claim 9, wherein the elastic
`material of said hood comprises a material having a smooth
`contact surface against which the ?nger rests.
`13. A pulsimeter according to claim 10, wherein the
`elastic material of said hood comprises a material having a
`smooth contact surface against which the ?nger rests.
`14. A pulsimeter according to claim 8, wherein said ?nger
`insertion section is oriented with respect to said display such
`that said main body blocks ambient light from entering said
`?nger insertion section when the user holds said main body
`to observe said display.
`15. A pulsimeter comprising:
`a main body having a front face and a back face opposite
`the front face,
`a ?nger insertion section disposed on the back face of said
`main body and con?gured to receive a ?nger,
`a pulse sensor con?gured to sense pulses of a user’s ?nger
`inserted into the ?nger insertion section,
`a display disposed on the front face of said main body and
`con?gured to display the pulses sensed by said pulse
`sensor, said pulse sensor being airtightly held by an
`elastic pressing member and a sensing surface member,
`wherein a sensing surface of said pulse sensor is
`exposed to said ?nger insertion section, and wherein
`said display and said ?nger insertion section are
`arranged such that said display may be observed by the
`user while the user’s ?nger is inserted into said ?nger
`insertion section.
`16. A pulsimeter according to claim 15, wherein said
`?nger insertion section is oriented with respect to said
`display such that said main body blocks ambient light from
`entering said ?nger insertion section when the user holds
`said main body to observe said display.
`17. A meter for counting pulses and steps, comprising:
`a pulse sensor for sensing pulses and for outputting a
`pulse count,
`a vibration sensor for sensing steps and for outputting a
`step count,
`a display, and
`a controller for displaying on said display at least one of
`(i) the pulse count outputted from said pulse sensor, and
`(ii) the step count outputted from said vibration sensor.
`
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