Electrode structure

047 774 U

DESCRIPTION

Electrode structure.

Background of the invention

This invention relates to an electrode structure for measuring a biosignal originating from a living body, the electrode structure of which comprises a contact surface intended to be placed against the body.

The invention is particularly applicable to an arrangement for measuring personal heart rate, with non-invasive measurement, on an electrode belt, or else on a so-called transmitter belt, of the arrangement for measuring the heart rate, the belt being in They connected wirelessly to a receiver unit, in most cases a wrist band unit. The electrode belt does not necessarily have to be a transmitter, but it can also be exactly a unit of measurement, if it is equipped with a display or a memory, for example.

In known electrode belt electrode structures, there are long continuous projections proximate to each other on the contact surface, and they are either direct or curved in the direction of the surface. In both known electrode structures, each protrusion is equally long, continuous, and thick.

Known solutions have drawbacks associated, in particular, with the quality of the contact produced by the electrode against the skin. Since a protrusion is continuous, each continuous protrusion only creates a long contact surface, and the contact between the long continuous protrusion and the skin is not especially strong. It is evident that a weak contact between the surface of the electrode structure and the skin can lead to errors in the measurement results.

Brief description of the invention

The object of the invention is therefore to provide a new electrode structure that avoids the problems and drawbacks associated with known solutions.

To achieve the above object, the electrode structure of the invention is characterized in that the contact surface comprises several adjacent wave fronts, the wave fronts of which comprise projections and valleys, which are located lower between the projections.

The invention is based on the idea that an electrode surface is configured in a way that improves the quality of contact between the surface of the electrode structure and the skin.

The electrode structure of the invention provides the advantage that it improves the contact between the electrode surface and the skin. The invention provides a large number of contact points with small surface areas for use, each of which contact points made stronger point contact. Through better contact, reliable, interference-free measurement results can be achieved. Preferred embodiments of the invention and other embodiments described below in greater detail make the advantages of the invention more significant. By advancing like a wave and by comprising at least to some extent curved projections and valleys, each wave front, and therefore the entity made up of several wave fronts, produces a pleasant sensation when resting against the skin, and that is why so much more easy to keep clean, since the projections change slowly to become valleys, and vice versa.

Brief description of the drawings

In the following, the invention will be described in greater detail, in relation to the preferred embodiments, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 illustrates a measuring and / or transmitter unit similar to an aural belt of an electrode by means of a graph illustrating the shape of an electrode contact surface,

Illustrated in Figure 2 is a belt-like transmitter unit on a person's chest, comprising two electrode structures, and a receiver unit on a person's wrist.

Figure 3 shows a sectional view from A to A of Figure 1,

Figure 4 shows a sectional view from B to B of Figure 1;

Figure 5 illustrates a perspective view of an aereal at an electrode contact surface, by means of a graph illustrating the shape of an electrode contact surface.

Detailed description of the invention

Referring firstly to Figures 1 and 2 in particular, it is to be said that the invention applies in particular to a non-invasive, personal heart rate measurement arrangement, 1, 2, which is used, by For example, by sports enthusiasts and athletes or others 3. The arrangement for measuring heart rate comprises two units: a heart rate information transmitter unit 1, generally of a type of transmitter belt, comprising EKG electrodes 11 to 12, that is, electrode structures 11 to 12, and a receiving unit 2 formed, for example, as a cone a wrist strap, which includes, for example, a microprocessor, a display and a user interface (not shown) and which is connected by telemetric induction or with an optical or other connection, for example in connection by RF (radio frequency), with the transmitter unit of the heart rate information. The transmitter belt 1 does not transmit a value of the heart rate, but information similar to bursts of the heart rate, and using that information the receiver 2 calculates by means of a microprocessor or some other calculation unit, the value of the heart rate. that has to be presented in the presentation.

The present invention therefore relates to a transmitter unit 1. On the other hand, if the calculation unit, such as a microprocessor, and possibly the display, were integrated into the same entity as that of the electrodes 11 to 12, It was no longer really a transmitter unit 1, but, expressed in more general terms, a unit of measurement.

ES 1 047 774 U

1. The invention is applicable to both prior versions, regardless of whether the arrangement for measuring a heart rate is one of the traditional type with two units, or whether it is integrated into one entity. With reference to Figures 1 and 2, an opening 5 is a locking box for a locking projection 7 at the end of the strap 6 of the electrode belt 1.

In the following, the electrode 11 is mainly analyzed, since the electrode 12 is exactly the same.

The invention therefore relates to an electrode structure 11 for measuring a biosenal, especially a heart rate, of a living body 3, the electrode structure 11 of which comprises a contact surface 20 intended to be positioned against the body 3, and the invention relates to the shape of the surfaces of that particular contact surface, since the contact surface 20 comprises several adjacent wave fronts R1 to R7, whose wavefronts R1 to R7 comprise projections H and valleys L, which are located lower between the projections H. The projections and valleys can be seen more clearly in Figures 3 to 5. The wavefronts R1 to R7 are such that each wavefront R1 to R7 is preferably a front formed by successive and alternating H overhangs and valleys L. In the figures, the wavefronts R1 to R7 advance preferably in the longitudinal direction of the transmitter belt, that is, also in the longitudinal direction of the electrode.

In a preferred embodiment, the contact surface 20 comprises wavefronts TR1 to TR32 with projections H and valleys L, the wavefronts being transverse to wavefronts R1 to R7. Consequently, the preferred embodiment of the contact surface 20 is such that the projections H and the valleys L of the wave fronts R1 to R7 are arranged such that the projections H and the valleys L of the wave fronts R1 to R7 they form wave fronts TR1 to TR32 transverse to wave fronts R1 to R7, in which the projections H and the valleys alternate L. Alternatively, the structure can be such that the H peaks of the wavefronts R1 to R7 are also the peaks of the transverse wavefronts TR1 to TR32, which is the case of the previous version, but the valleys L of the transverse wavefronts TR1 to TR32 would be different from the L valleys of wavefronts R1 to R7.

To illustrate the shape of the contact surface 20, a graph has been shown in Figures 1 and 5, which of course was not present in reality. The horizontal lines of the graph of Figure 1 and the lines of the graph that go in the direction of 2 to 8 o'clock in Figure 5, illustrate wave fronts R1 to R7 (in Figure 5, wave fronts R1 to R17) such that the lone follows the path of the wavefront from the peak of the H overhang to the bottom of the L valley, and back to the next H overhang peak, etc. Similarly, the vertical lines of the graph of Figure 1 and the lines of the graph in the direction of 10 to 4 o'clock in Figure 5, illustrate transverse wave fronts TR1 to TR32 (in Figure 5, the fronts TR1 to TR15) such that the lone follows the path of the transverse wavefront from the peak of the H overhang to the bottom of the L valley, and back to the peak of the next H overhang, etc.

In Figure 1, the transverse wavefronts R1 to R7 advance in the transverse direction of the transmitter belt, that is, also in the transverse direction of the electrode belt. In a preferred embodiment, the transverse wavefronts TR1 to TR20 are transverse in a direction perpendicular to the wavefronts R1 to R7, that is, they are at nearly 90 degrees.

In a preferred embodiment, the projections H of the adjacent wavefronts on the wavefronts R1 to R7, for example, the wavefronts R3, R4, do not face each other, that is, the projections H of adjacent wavefronts are not adjacent in the transverse direction of the wavefront. Similarly, the valleys L of the adjacent wavefronts, for example, the wavefronts R3, R4, are not opposite each other, that is, the valleys L of the adjacent wavefronts are not adjacent in the transverse direction of the wavefront. This means that there is a transition between the situation of the valleys L of the adjacent wave fronts R3, R4. This can be seen in Figure 3 in particular, and also in Figure 5. Such fact of not being in opposition, according to the preferred embodiments, improves the contact, since the contact points are more uniformly distributed, and are not precisely arranged in lines and columns. The transition is equal to a half wave.

In a preferred embodiment, the fact of not being in opposition, mentioned above, is materialized in such a way that there is a transition between adjacent wave fronts, for example, between wave fronts R2, R3, in such a way that the projections H of wavefront R2 lie opposite the valleys L of the adjacent wavefront R3.

The transverse wavefronts TR1 to TR32 have a similar structure. Consequently, the projections H of the adjacent transverse wavefronts, for example, the wavefronts TR16 and TR17, do not face each other s, that is, the projections H of the adjacent transverse wavefronts are not adjacent in the transverse direction of the transverse wave fronts. Similarly, the valleys L of the adjacent transverse wavefronts, for example, the wavefronts TR16 and TR17, do not face each other, that is, the valleys L of the adjacent transverse wavefronts are not adjacent in the transverse direction of the transverse wave fronts. This means that there is a transition between the locations of the valleys L of the transverse wave fronts TR16, TR17. Consequently, there is a transition between the adjacent transverse wavefronts, for example, the TR16 and TR17 wavefronts, such that the projections of the transverse wavefront TR16 face the valleys of the adjacent transverse wavefront TR17. . This can be seen in Figure 4 in particular, but also in Figure 5. The transition is equal to one half wave.

Said preferred embodiments of wavefronts R1 to R7 and of wavefronts trans3

ES 1 047 774 U vertical TR1 to TR32 make the location of the projections H symmetrical, which further improves the contact.

The contact surface 20 is made of an electrically conductive material.

It is obvious to a person skilled in the art that as technology develops the basic idea of ​​the invention can be realized in a variety of ways. Accordingly, the invention and the embodiments thereof are not restricted to the above examples, but may be modified without exceeding the scope of the Claims.