Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02429443 2003-05-20
BRACELET THERMOMETER
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
i
Fie1_d of the invention .
People are more and more concerned about their
body temperature variations in view of possible
l0 infections trnrough West Niles and SARS. It is
therefore desirable that there be convenient measuring
the..rmometers ttnat can consistently display their body
temperatures.
l;
Brief descri~ation of prior arts
Various temperature-measuring de~rices are
available in the market, but generally are not designed
2u to conveniently adhere to human body so as to
consistently display body temperature.
Also, most existing thermometers are destined for
measuring temperature of specific parts of the human
2s body and need disinfecting prior to and after use.
OBJECT OF THE INVENTION
Object of present invention is therefore to
,0 provide thermometers in form of bracelets to be worn in
wrist, arm, armpit or leg so that body temperature can
be displayed consistently.
Another cr~bject of present invention is to provide
3s alert anc_~ alarm to the wearer when body temperature
exceeds specific limits.
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SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention of bracelet thermometer
consists of .
a contai.nir~g means constituting part of a
bracket,
temperature se~~sing means,
display means to display temperature detected
by said temperature sensing means,
II -:ruaracteri~ed in that said containing means
is heat conducting, and said temperature sensing means
is positioned to be in contact with said containing
means.
is In a;~~c~~rdance with preferred embodiments of the
bracelet tbe_rmomet.er according to present invention:
- the temperature sensing means comprises temperature
sensitive liquid crystalchemicals;
2U - the temperature sensing means comprises mercury;
- the temperature sensing means comprises alcohol;
- the temperature sensing means comprises a temperature
sensitive ~uimetallic spring coil;
- the temperature sensing means further comprising
2s ele:~tronic: temperature interpreting means;
- the electronic temperature interpreting means further
comprises alert means to issue alarm signal when a
temperature exceeding a predetermined value is
detected;
.,(I - the bracelet thermometer further comprising timing
means;
- the bracelet thermometer further comprises selective
switch to sE.1_ect display among temperature and time. --
- the containing means comprises part of a buckle of a
bracelet.
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BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS .
Fig. 7_ illustrates a preferred embodiment of the
bracelet thermometer with electronic sensing circuitry
and LCD display;
Fig. % illustrates a preferred embodiment with
liquid cry°stal digital temperature display;
1!) Fig. 3 illustrates a preferred embodiment with
mercury in coiled tubing;
Fig. 4 illustrates a preferred embodiment with
alcohol iru co i led tubing;
1;
Fig. 5 illustrates a preferred embodiment with
bimetallic spring indicator;
Fig. 6 illustrates a preferred embodiment with
2!) electronic circuitry capable of displaying both
temperature and time;
Fig. % illustrates a preferred embodiment with
sensing element located at buckle of bracelet.
2s
s0
3j
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DETAILED DEc~r;;RIPTTON OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS ;
A preferred embodiment of the bracelet thermometer
of the present invention i.s illustrated in Fig. l, and
s is generally identified by the reference 1.
Bracelet 2 includes a metallic containing case 3
with a generally flat bottom surface 4 for good contact
with humam wr.i.st. As shown in Fig. 1A, which shows a
to cross-sectional side view, a temperature sensing
thermistor 5 is attached to inside bottom of case 3.
Body temperature transmitted through metallic case 3 is
thus picked up by thermistor 5. Thermistor 5 is
connected t.o an electronic circuitry 6, which in turn
l~ is connectec.~ to a LCD 7 to display the temperature
measured. A small battery cell 8, also housed inside
the case supplies power to the electronic circuitry.
To alert the bearer of any abnormal body
2( temperature, the bracelet thermometer is preferably
equipped wino an alarm feature. Beeper 9, controlled
by electronic circuitry 6, will produce an alarm sound
wheYi an abncormally high temperature is detected.
25 Sinr_.e wrist, leg, armpit and different body parts
may show different 'body temperatures normally, it is
desirable ~:hat the alarm temperature can be preset by
the wearer. F'or this purpose, alert setting switch IO
is provided as shown. Choice of Centigrade or
30 Fahrenheit may also be effected by Switch 10, or by
another separate switch as desired (not shovan) .
Another preferred embodiment is shown in Fig. 2.
In this e~r_bodiment, a sheet of temperature sensitive
3s liq~.id cr~~°stai digital display 11 is attached to inside
bottom of metallic case 1~~ of bracelet 13. Both
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display 11 ar-Ld case 12 are preferably rectangular, so
that display 11 can be sectioned into a serious of
bracl~~ets to show consecutive temperature readings. When
body temperature is transmitted through the metallic
i case 12 to display 11, the bracket corresponding to the
specific temperature becomes visible. The brackets are
numbered with digits showing the correct temperatures,
and preferably different background colours are
employed for' different brackets for easy perception.
to
Fig. 3 shows another preferred embodiment in which
mercury is employed as sensing element. A small
conventional. mercury thermometer with glass bulb 14 and
a coil tubing 15 is placed in metallic case 16 of
15 bracelet 17. Beneath coil tubing 15 is a circular
scale sheet 18 graduated with proper temperature
readings. Bulb 14 containing proper amount of mercury
is embedded to inside bottom of case 16 so that body
temperaturE~ can be easily transmitted to bulb 14.
2t)
Fig. 4 shows a preferred embodiment similar to
Fig. 3, ex_c:ept that alcohol is used instead of mercury.
A glass bulb 19 with coil tubing 20 containing proper
amount of coloured alcohol is placed inside metallic
2s case 21 of bracelet 22. Beneath coil tubing 20 is a
scale sheen ~'3 to provide proper temperature reading.
Bulb 19 is in direct contact with bottom of case 21,
and therefore measures body temperature transmitted
through case 21.
:30
Another preferred embodiment as shown in Fig. 5
employs bimetallic spring for temperature measuring.
Fig. 5A shows a cross-sectional side view. A
temperature sensitive bimetallic spring 25 is connected
3i to inside bottom of metallic case 24 of bracelet 26.
Bimetallic spring 25 controls movement of pointer 27
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which travels on circular locus above a circular scale
sheet 28 with proper temperature graduations. Body
temperature transmitted through case 24 effects bias to
bimetallic spring 25, which in turn acts on pointer 27
to settle on its proper position to indicate correct
body temperature.
Fi.g. E~ shows another preferred embodiment capable
of displaying both temperature and time simultaneously.
With a temperature/timing dual function electronic
circuitry, body temperature and real time is displayed
by upper display 29 and lower display 30 respectively.
Selective switch 31 is for choice of timer function and
real time cJlock. It is of course possible that only
IS one display is used. In this latter case, switch 31 is
for sequential selection of body temperature, clock and
timer.
To measure temperature of body parts that cannot
be easily visible, e.g. armpit, it may be desirable
that. the display is farther away from the point of
measurement. Fig. 7 shows another preferred embodiment
where bracelet 39 consists of buckles 32. Thermistor
33 is embedded inside buckle 32, and connected by wires
34 to electronic circuitry 35 which is inside circular
case 36 together with battery 37 and display 38. With
buc~_le 32 located in the armpit, armpit temperature can
thus be easily seen from display 38 on the outside arm.
It is her eby recapitulated that above embodiments
are for illustrations only. Thus whilst metallic cases
are cited becal.zse of generally good heat conduction,
any material good for the purpose may be substituted.
Similarly, any proper temperature sensing elements and
3> displays capable of serving the purposes may also be
substituted and are within scope of this invention.
