TWI858742B - Diaper urine reading warning device - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention is a diaper urine reading warning device, which is installed on a diaper to detect the adsorption and excretion status of the diaper sanitary material. It is provided with a shell, a near-infrared transmitter, a near-infrared receiver, a processor and a warning output device. After the near-infrared transmitter outputs a plurality of near-infrared beams with a wavelength of 1400~2000nm to the absorption layer of the diaper, the near-infrared receiver records each of the near-infrared beams reflected back from the absorption layer, and the processor calculates the attenuation of each of the recorded near-infrared beams to obtain the urine content value of the corresponding absorption layer, and uses at least one preset reference value, 50~85% of the urine content, to compare the urine content value of each absorption layer, and drives the warning output device to output a warning signal when at least one of the urine content values of the absorption layer is greater than the preset reference value.

Description

Diaper urine reading warning device

The present invention relates to a diaper humidity reading auxiliary device, and in particular to a diaper urine reading warning device.

Common disposable diapers on the market can generally be divided into three layers: the skin-contact layer, the absorbent layer and the waterproof layer. The skin-contact layer can be made of polyolefin materials with good water and sweat absorption to ensure that urine does not seep back and keep the diaper dry; the absorbent body uses superabsorbent polymer (SAP) to absorb large amounts of urine; the waterproof layer is used to prevent urine from seeping out after exceeding the load capacity of the absorbent body. This type of disposable diaper is convenient to use and is widely used to take care of excretion problems of infants or disabled elderly people. However, this type of disposable diaper has no active warning function. Whether the total urine absorption volume reaches the critical point or is overflowing, the caregiver needs to observe it on his own to know the diaper's moisture absorption level. This passive moisture detection method by the caregiver often causes the diaper user's buttocks to be covered in bacterial high-humidity diapers for a long time, inducing skin lesions, and causing physical discomfort and a low diaper experience.

Based on the above problems, relevant companies have developed diapers with urine wetness warning functions in the market. For example, the Republic of China's new patents M361327 and M390779 propose disposable diapers with sensing elements fixed on the surface of the absorbent by printing, pasting or sewing, so that the sensing element can sense the degree of urine wetness and transmit real-time sensing signals to a remote receiver for warning, so that the assistant caregiver can change the diaper in time and help reduce the user's skin disease rate. However, this kind of sensing element is combined with the absorbent, making the cost of a single diaper higher than that of ordinary disposable diapers, resulting in such consumables that need to be replaced several times a day being affected by the price difference and difficult to be accepted and popularized by users. In view of this, how to provide a reusable diaper humidity diaper urine reading warning device to improve the above-mentioned deficiencies in the known technology is the subject that the present invention intends to explore.

The main purpose of the present invention is to provide a diaper humidity status diaper urine reading warning device to assist caregivers in determining the need for diaper replacement in a non-direct contact manner to avoid eczema and bacterial infection, which are easily caused by wearing diapers for a long time.

To achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the present invention discloses a diaper urine reading warning device, which is installed on a diaper to detect the absorption and excretion status of the diaper sanitary material, and the diaper is provided with a skin-contacting layer, an absorption layer and a waterproof layer, the front side of the skin-contacting layer contacts the skin of a user, the absorption layer is placed on the back side of the skin-contacting layer and is used to absorb biological urine, and the waterproof layer covers the absorption layer to prevent the leakage of biological excrement. The diaper urine reading warning device is installed in a designated range and is provided with a shell, a near infrared (Near Infrared) The invention relates to a near infrared (NIR) transmitter, a near infrared receiver, a processor and an alarm output device, wherein the processor is connected to the near infrared transmitter, the near infrared receiver and the alarm output device in a communication manner; after the near infrared transmitter outputs a plurality of near infrared beams with a wavelength of 1400-2000nm to the absorption layer at a range of angles, the near infrared receiver sequentially receives, filters and records each of the near infrared beams reflected back from the absorption layer, and the processor compares the reflected near infrared beams with the near infrared beams reflected back. The receiving time is calculated to obtain the corresponding diaper area. At the same time, the processor calculates the attenuation of each recorded near-infrared beam to obtain the urine content value of the absorbent layer corresponding to each diaper area, and then further uses the preset reference value corresponding to each diaper area to compare the urine content value of each absorbent layer. When at least one urine content value of the absorbent layer is greater than the corresponding preset reference value, the warning output device is driven to output a warning signal, and each preset reference value is 50~85% of the urine content.

The diaper urine reading warning device is further provided with a gas sensor for outputting a solid excretion message to the processor when at least one of methane, methyl mercaptan and hydrogen sulfide is detected to be continuously higher than a preset time value and a preset concentration value, so as to drive the warning output device to output the warning signal. An assembly structure is provided on an outer side of the shell for assembly with the diaper so that the diaper urine reading warning device is connected and fixed to the designated range of the front, rear or side of the diaper. The assembly structure is a Velcro, a clamp or a buckle, so that the diaper urine reading warning device can be movably disassembled and installed on the diaper. The warning output device outputs the warning signal in the form of sound or flashing light and/or through an external device connected by telecommunication. The diaper urine reading warning device is further provided with a power supply device, which is electrically connected to the near-infrared transmitter, the near-infrared receiver, the gas sensor, the processor, the warning output device and the gas sensor to provide power for data operation.

In summary, the present invention uses the absorption spectrum of the urine molecules in the absorption layer to the near-infrared beams with a wavelength of 1400-2000nm to accurately detect the amount of urine in the absorption layer. That is, after the near-infrared emitter emits the near-infrared beam, the near-infrared receiver and the processor measure the intensity of the reflected near-infrared beam to calculate the urine content in the absorption layer, thereby ensuring the accuracy and reliability of reminding the caregiver to replace the diaper, and effectively preventing the user from developing skin diseases due to the dampness and heat of the diaper, so as to achieve the effect of achieving a comfortable diaper wearing experience.

Furthermore, through the arrangement of the shell and the assembly structure, the diaper urine reading warning device has flexible assembly and disassembly functions, so that the present invention can have a real-time humidity sensing function without printing a sensing circuit on the diaper, thereby achieving the benefit of reducing production costs. At the same time, the diaper urine reading warning device can be repeatedly installed on different diapers to achieve an environmentally friendly effect. Furthermore, the processor uses the reception time difference reflected by the near-infrared beams to calculate the technical means of each diaper area and its corresponding urine content, which further improves the output suitability of the warning signal. That is, when the preset benchmark value corresponding to each diaper area is set slightly lower, it can be set to send out the warning signal when the urine content values of the absorbent layer of multiple diaper areas are detected to be higher than the corresponding preset benchmark value. According to this, by adjusting the number of diaper areas with excessive urine content and the preset benchmark value, the diaper urine reading warning device can present different warning sensitivities to adapt to the different needs of different age groups for diaper wearing comfort.

1: Diaper urine reading warning device

10: Shell

100: Assembly structure

11: Near infrared transmitter

12: Near infrared receiver

13: Processor

14: Warning output device

15: Gas sensor

16: Power supply

2: Diapers

20:Contact layer

21: Absorption layer

22: Waterproof layer

23: Diaper area

23a: First area

23b: Second area

23c: Third area

3: External devices

S1~S9: Steps

Figure 1 is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 3 is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the second preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 4 is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of the second preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the urine absorption intensity spectrum of the absorbent layer of the second preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of the reading method process of the second preferred embodiment of the present invention.

In order to enable people with general knowledge in this field to clearly understand the content of the present invention, please refer to the following description with diagrams.

Please refer to Figures 1 and 2, which are schematic diagrams of a preferred embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the diaper urine reading warning device 1 is provided with a housing 10, a near infrared transmitter 11, a near infrared receiver 12, a processor 13 and a warning output 14, so as to be installed on a diaper 2 and detect the state of the diaper 2's hygienic material adsorption and excretion through the near infrared transmitter 11, the near infrared receiver 12 and the processor 13. The diaper 2 is provided with a skin-contacting layer 20, an absorption layer 21 and a waterproof layer 22. The front side of the skin-contacting layer 20 contacts the skin of a user, the absorption layer 21 is placed on the rear side of the skin-contacting layer 20 and is used to absorb urine in biological excrement, and the waterproof layer 22 covers the absorption layer 21 to prevent the biological excrement from leaking out. The near-infrared transmitter 11, the near-infrared receiver 12, the processor 13 and the warning output 14 are arranged in the housing 10, and the processor 13 is connected to the near-infrared transmitter 11, the near-infrared receiver 12 and the warning output 14 by telecommunication.

After the near-infrared transmitter 11 outputs a plurality of near-infrared beams with a wavelength of 1400-2000nm to the absorption layer 21, the near-infrared receiver 12 records each of the near-infrared beams reflected back from the absorption layer 21, and the processor 13 respectively calculates the attenuation of each of the recorded near-infrared beams to obtain a corresponding urine content value of the absorption layer, and compares each urine content value of the absorption layer with at least one preset reference value in the memory, and drives the warning output 14 to output a warning signal when at least one urine content value of the absorption layer is greater than the preset reference value.

Please refer to Figures 3 to 6, which are schematic diagrams of two preferred embodiments of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the diaper urine reading warning device 1 for monitoring the adsorption and excretion status of diaper hygiene materials is provided with a housing 10, a near-infrared transmitter 11, a near-infrared receiver 12, a gas sensor 15, a processor 13, a warning output 14 and a power supply 16. The housing 10 covers the near-infrared transmitter 11, the near-infrared receiver 12, the gas sensor 15, the processor 13, the warning output 14 and the power supply 16. The power supply 16 is electrically connected to the near-infrared transmitter 11, the near-infrared receiver 12, the gas sensor 15, the processor 13 and the warning output 14 to provide power for data operation; the processor 13 is electronically connected to the near-infrared transmitter 11, the near-infrared receiver 12, the gas sensor 15 and the warning output 14 to calculate the sensing data and trigger the warning.

The housing 10 may be in a rectangular shape with a length of 6 to 16 cm and one of its outer sides may be provided with a connecting structure 100, such as a Velcro, a clamp or a buckle, etc., which can implement an installation assembly procedure, so that the diaper urine reading warning device 1 can be movably connected, fixed or detached from the diaper 2, so that the diaper urine reading warning device 1 can detect the state of the diaper 2's hygienic material adsorption and excretion through the near-infrared transmitter 11, the near-infrared receiver 12 and the processor 13. Generally speaking, the diaper 2 comprises a skin-contacting layer 20, an absorbent layer 21 and a waterproof layer 22. The front side of the skin-contacting layer 20 contacts the skin of a user, the absorbent layer 21 is disposed at the rear side of the skin-contacting layer 20 and is used to absorb urine in biological excreta, and the waterproof layer 22 covers the absorbent layer 21 to prevent the biological excreta from leaking out. Moreover, near infrared refers to electromagnetic waves with a wavelength between 780nm and 2520nm, and urine absorbs specific wavelengths within the near infrared spectrum. This absorption is called "urine absorption band", so near infrared detection of urine is based on the absorption characteristics of urine molecules within the near infrared spectrum: when near infrared irradiates the diaper 2 containing urine molecules, the urine molecules absorb part of the energy of the near infrared, and the amount of urine is determined by measuring the difference between the near infrared entering the absorption layer 21 of the diaper 2 and the near infrared reflecting off the absorption layer 21 of the diaper 2. The reading method of the diaper urine reading warning device 1 may include the following steps.

First, during the programmed manufacturing process, the diaper urine reading warning device 1 is installed in a designated range on the diaper 2, such as the front surface, the back surface or the side surfaces of the diaper 2, in step S1, and a plurality of diaper areas 23 are divided and constructed according to the designated range and a preset reference value corresponding to each diaper area 23 is set, such as 50-85% urine content, to form at least one reading comparison table and store it in the processor 13 in step S2. For example, when the diaper urine reading warning device 1 is installed at the central upper edge of the rear surface of the diaper 2, the diaper area 23 can be divided into a first area 23a adjacent to the entire central area of the diaper 2, a second area 23b extending from the first area 23a to the outer edges of the front and rear sides of the diaper 2, and a third area 23c corresponding to the outer edge of the diaper 2, and the preset reference value of the first area 23a can be 80%, the preset reference value of the second area 23b can be 70%, and the preset reference value of the third area 23c can be 50%.

Next, when a user wears the diaper 2 and actually uses the diaper urine reading warning device 1, in step S3, the near-infrared emitter 11 outputs a plurality of near-infrared beams with a wavelength of 1400-2000nm to the absorption layer 21 at a range angle, for example, an emission angle of 270 degrees, and in step S4, the near-infrared receiver 12 receives the reflected near-infrared beams in sequence to filter out the near-infrared beams not reflected from the absorption layer 21, and records each of the near-infrared beams reflected from the absorption layer 21. In step S5, the processor 13 uses the reading comparison table to calculate the reception time of each of the near-infrared beams reflected back to obtain the diaper area 23 corresponding to each of the near-infrared beams. At the same time, in step S6, the processor 13 respectively calculates the attenuation of each of the recorded near-infrared beams to obtain a urine content value of an absorbent layer corresponding to each of the diaper regions 23, and in step S7, uses the preset benchmark values corresponding to each of the diaper regions 23 to compare the urine content values of each of the absorbent layers, so as to generate a urine content too high message when at least one of the urine content values of the absorbent layer is greater than the corresponding preset benchmark value. Continuing with the above example, when the user discharges 150 ml of urine and the processor 13 detects that the urine content in the first area 23a is 85%, the urine content in the second area 23b is 68%, and the urine content in the third area 23c is 40%, the processor 13 generates the excessive urine content message because the urine content in the first area 23a of 85% is higher than 80%. Furthermore, the inventor poured 150 ml of urine into the diaper 2 for newborns, and then used the near-infrared beams with a wavelength of 1400-2000 nm of the diaper urine reading warning device 1 to detect the urine amount of the absorption layer 21. When the absorption intensity A.U. is from 0.2 to 0.6, it means that there is urine in the absorption layer 21 of the diaper 2. When the absorption intensity A.U. is below 0.2, it means that the urine does not absorb near-infrared rays. The energy of the emitted near-infrared rays is roughly equal to the energy reflected by the near-infrared rays, and its attenuation is low. The diaper urine reading warning device 1 judges that there is no urine and does not warn. The urine absorption intensity of each diaper area 23 can be shown in FIG. 5. It can be seen that the absorption intensity of the absorption layer 21 is The urine intensity decreases from the first area 23a corresponding to the central area of the diaper 2 toward the third area 23c, and the near-infrared beams of different wavelengths also present different detection sensitivities. In this regard, the diaper urine judgment and warning device 1 can correspond to the near-infrared beams of 1400-2000nm and adopt a judgment mechanism that outputs a warning when multiple areas meet the standards; in other words, the preset reference values of the first area 23a, the second area 23b and the third area 23c can be set lower to 70%, 50% and 20% respectively, and when the urine content of the absorbent layer detected by at least two of the areas meets the standards, the urine content is too high and the warning is output. In this way, the diaper urine reading warning device 1 can have multiple models or multiple usage mode settings to provide users of different age groups with the best replacement time and the best comfortable wearing quality of the diaper 2, so that the diaper urine reading warning device 1 can achieve the best practical effect and meet the consumer's expectations.

It should be noted that the preset reference value can be set in advance, or it can be defined when used by converting the near infrared beam emitted by the near infrared emitter 11 for the first time and reflected by the absorption layer 21 into its reference. In addition, the near infrared receiver 12 can be a near infrared photoresistor, which uses resistance to correspond to the intensity of the incident near infrared light. When the intensity of the near infrared light increases, the resistance decreases; when the intensity of the near infrared light decreases, the resistance increases. The resistance value of the near-infrared photoresistor before being reflected by near-infrared rays is 5,000~10,000 ohms. In this embodiment, it is measured to be 5,000 ohms (no near-infrared rays are incident on the near-infrared photoresistor). When near-infrared rays are reflected and incident on the near-infrared photoresistor, the electrons in the near-infrared photoresistor that were originally in a stable state are excited and become free electrons. When there is no urine in the diaper, the near-infrared rays are absorbed very little and the energy of the near-infrared reflection is very strong, so more free electrons are generated, and the resistance will be extremely small. Its resistance value is also greatly reduced from the initial 5,000 ohm~10,000 ohm range to the 1,001 ohm~100 ohm range. The embodiment is 800 ohms. When the urine volume reaches 150 ml, the near-infrared rays are absorbed more and weaker, and the resistance will increase greatly to the range of 1,000 ohms to 2,000 ohms. The embodiment is 1,750 ohms and a warning is given. When the urine volume increases to 250 ml, the near-infrared rays are absorbed more and weaker, and the resistance increases further to the range of 2,001 ohms to 4,999 ohms. The embodiment is 3,100 ohms and frequent additional warnings are given. The above are only illustrative values and do not limit the resistance value. The resistance value will vary due to the distance, reflection angle, light source size and type of near-infrared photoresistor model. After the above resistance is converted and compared with the preset reference value, the difference can be used to obtain the amount of urine in the absorption layer 21 and give a warning. Alternatively, the near-infrared receiver 12 can be a spectrophotometer as in the above embodiment, which emits various near-infrared rays. When the near-infrared rays pass through the diaper absorption layer, the near-infrared wavelength is absorbed by the urine, thereby causing the intensity of the reflected near-infrared rays to weaken. By comparing the intensity of the near-infrared rays before and after the diaper absorption layer, the difference in urine absorption of near-infrared rays can be calculated, thereby inferring the amount of urine as above and giving a warning.

In step S8, the gas sensor 16 detects and outputs a solid excretion message to the processor 13 when it is found that at least one of methane, methyl mercaptan and hydrogen sulfide is continuously higher than a preset time value and a preset concentration value. In this way, even if the user excretes solid feces, the diaper urine reading warning device 1 can still notify the caregiver to change the diaper 2 as soon as possible through the real-time detection signal of the gas sensor 16 to ensure the comfort and freshness of the user. Step S9, when the processor 13 determines that it has received at least one of the high urine content message and the solid excretion message, it drives the warning output device 14 to output a warning signal in the form of sound or flashing light and/or through an external device 3 connected by telecommunications, so as to inform the caregiver to replace the diaper 2 immediately to improve the comfort of diaper use.

However, the above is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the scope of implementation of the present invention; therefore, all equivalent changes and modifications made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention should be included in the patent scope of the present invention.

1: Diaper urine reading warning device

10: Shell

11: Near infrared transmitter

12: Near infrared receiver

13: Processor

14: Warning output device

2: Diapers

20:Contact layer

21: Absorption layer

22: Waterproof layer

Claims (6)

A diaper urine reading warning device is installed on a diaper to detect the absorption and excretion status of the diaper sanitary material, and the diaper is provided with a skin-contacting layer, an absorption layer and a waterproof layer. The front side of the skin-contacting layer contacts the skin of a user, the absorption layer is placed on the back side of the skin-contacting layer and is used to absorb urine in biological excrement, and the waterproof layer covers the absorption layer to prevent the biological excrement from leaking out. The diaper urine reading warning device is installed in a designated range and is provided with a housing, a near infrared transmitter, a near infrared receiver, a processor and a warning output device. The processor is connected to the near infrared transmitter, the near infrared receiver and the warning output device by telecommunication. The near infrared transmitter outputs a wavelength of 1400~ at a range angle. After a plurality of near-infrared beams of 2000nm reach the absorption layer, the near-infrared receiver sequentially receives, filters and records each of the near-infrared beams reflected back from the absorption layer. The processor compares the reception time of each near-infrared beam reflected back and calculates and obtains a corresponding diaper area. At the same time, the processor calculates the attenuation of each recorded near-infrared beam to obtain a urine content value of an absorption layer corresponding to each diaper area, and further uses a preset reference value corresponding to each diaper area to compare the urine content value of each absorption layer. When at least one urine content value of the absorption layer is greater than the corresponding preset reference value, the warning output device is driven to output a warning signal, and each preset reference value is 50~85% of the urine content. The diaper urine reading warning device as described in claim 1 is further provided with a gas sensor for outputting a solid excretion message to the processor when at least one of methane, methyl mercaptan and hydrogen sulfide is detected to be continuously higher than a preset time value and a preset concentration value, so as to drive the warning output device to output the warning signal. As described in claim 2, the diaper urine detection warning device, wherein an assembly structure is provided on an outer side of the shell for assembling the diaper so that the diaper urine detection warning device is connected and fixed to the designated area on the front side, back side or side of the diaper. As described in claim 3, the diaper urine reading warning device, wherein the assembly structure is a Velcro, a clamp or a buckle, so that the diaper urine reading warning device can be movably disassembled and installed on the diaper. The diaper urine reading warning device as described in claim 3, wherein the warning output device outputs the warning signal in the form of sound or flashing light and/or through an external device connected by telecommunications. The diaper urine reading warning device as described in claim 5 is further provided with a power supply, which is electrically connected to the near-infrared transmitter, the near-infrared receiver, the gas sensor, the processor, the warning output and the gas sensor to provide power for data operation.