U.S. patent application number 17/079726 was filed with the patent office on 2022-04-28 for biological detection device and method for toilet water solution.
The applicant listed for this patent is Taiwan RedEye Biomedical Inc.. Invention is credited to Chen-Chung Chang, Tsung-Jui Lin, I-Hua Wang, Shuo-Ting Yan.
Application Number | 20220128465 17/079726 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 1000006269441 |
Filed Date | 2022-04-28 |
View All Diagrams
United States Patent
Application |
20220128465 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Yan; Shuo-Ting ; et
al. |
April 28, 2022 |
BIOLOGICAL DETECTION DEVICE AND METHOD FOR TOILET WATER
SOLUTION
Abstract
A biological detection device for a toilet water solution
includes a mounting portion, a main system, an adjustable support
portion and a detection portion. The main system is connected to
the mounting portion. The adjustable support portion can be
adjusted for its movement in both horizontal and vertical
directions and is connected to the mounting portion. The detection
portion is connected and linked to the adjustable support portion
and includes a light emitting source and an optical sensor. The
biological detection device for a toilet water solution is a home
healthcare device capable of automatically detecting whether there
is blood in stool or urine without adding any chemical reagent or
collecting any stool or urine specimen.
Inventors: |
Yan; Shuo-Ting; (Hsinchu
City, TW) ; Wang; I-Hua; (Hsinchu City, TW) ;
Chang; Chen-Chung; (Hsinchu City, TW) ; Lin;
Tsung-Jui; (Hsinchu City, TW) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Taiwan RedEye Biomedical Inc. |
Hsinchu City |
|
TW |
|
|
Family ID: |
1000006269441 |
Appl. No.: |
17/079726 |
Filed: |
October 26, 2020 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
E03D 9/00 20130101; G01N
21/51 20130101; G01N 21/65 20130101; G01N 33/493 20130101; G01N
21/59 20130101; G01N 21/6486 20130101; G01N 33/49 20130101 |
International
Class: |
G01N 21/51 20060101
G01N021/51; G01N 21/65 20060101 G01N021/65; G01N 21/64 20060101
G01N021/64; G01N 21/59 20060101 G01N021/59; G01N 33/49 20060101
G01N033/49; G01N 33/493 20060101 G01N033/493; E03D 9/00 20060101
E03D009/00 |
Claims
1. A biological detection device, comprising: an adjustable
supporting arm; a lighting element, being disposed on a first end
of the adjustable supporting arm; a mounting device, being
connected to a second end of the adjustable supporting arm, and
being adopted to be connected to a bowl of a toilet, such that the
adjustable supporting arm is therefore positioned over the bowl,
and the lighting element being positioned in the bowl; and an
electronic device, being disposed to be near to one side of the
bowl by being connected to the mounting device, and comprising a
light sensor and a processor; wherein the processor is coupled to
the lighting element and the light sensor, and comprising at least
one embedded program including instructions for: controlling the
lighting element to emit a detection light to pass through an
excrement and/or a urine existing in a toilet water solution
contained by the bowl of the toilet; controlling the light sensor
to collect a transmitted light of the detection light from the
excrement and/or the urine via a photoconductive tube; and
conducting a biological analysis by applying at least one signal
process to an electric signal that is received from the light
sensor, thereby generating at least one biological data.
2. The biological detection device as claimed in claim 1, wherein
the electronic device further comprises an input/output interface
and a display coupled to the processor.
3. The biological detection device as claimed in claim 1, wherein
the processor is coupled to the lighting element through an
electroconductive tube.
4.-5. (canceled)
6. The biological detection device as claimed in claim 1, wherein
the biological data comprises level of blood, level of uric acid,
level of urine protein, and/or level of urine sugar.
7. (canceled)
8. The biological detection device as claimed in claim 1, wherein
the mounting device is connected to the bowl by a way of clamping,
suspending, sucking, pasting, binding, socketing, latching,
buckling, magnetic attracting, riveting, screwing, or locking.
9. The biological detection device as claimed in claim 1, wherein
the adjustable supporting arm comprises spiral tube, a serrated
structure, a telescopic sleeve, a universal shaft, a link rod, or a
keel structure.
10. The biological detection device as claimed in claim 1, wherein
the electronic device is combined with a washlet.
11. A biological detection method, being conducted by a biological
detection device that comprises an adjustable supporting arm, a
lighting element disposed on a first end of the adjustable
supporting arm, a mounting device connected to a second end of the
adjustable supporting arm, and an electronic device that is
connected to the mounting device and comprises a light sensor and a
processor coupled to the light sensor and the lighting element; the
biological detection method comprising the steps of: (1) disposing
the adjustable supporting arm over a bowl of a toilet by connecting
the mounting device to the bowl, thereby making the first end of
the adjustable supporting arm be positioned in the bowl; and (2)
transmitting a start instruction to the processor, such that the
processor controls the lighting element to emit a detection light
to pass through an excrement and/or a urine existing in a toilet
water solution contained by the bowl of the toilet, subsequently
controlling the light sensor to collect a transmitted light of the
detection light from the excrement and/or the urine via a
photoconductive tube, and eventually conducting a biological
analysis by applying at least one signal process to an electric
signal that is received from the light sensor, thereby generating
at least one biological data.
12. The biological detection method as claimed in claim 11, wherein
the electronic device further comprises an input/output interface
and a display coupled to the processor.
13. The biological detection method as claimed in claim 11, wherein
the processor is coupled to the lighting element through an
electroconductive tube.
14. (canceled)
15. The biological detection method as claimed in claim 11, wherein
the biological data comprises level of blood, level of uric acid,
level of urine protein, and/or level of urine sugar.
16. (canceled)
17. The biological detection method as claimed in claim 11, wherein
the mounting device is connected to the bowl by a way of clamping,
suspending, sucking, pasting, binding, socketing, latching,
buckling, magnetic attracting, riveting, screwing, or locking.
18. The biological detection method as claimed in claim 11, wherein
the adjustable supporting arm comprises spiral tube, a serrated
structure, a telescopic sleeve, a universal shaft, a link rod, or a
keel structure.
19. The biological detection method as claimed in claim 11, wherein
the electronic device is combined with a washlet.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to a biological detection
device and method, and more particularly to the biological
detection device and method for a toilet water solution.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The initial symptom of colorectal/rectal cancer is fecal
occult blood, and the initial symptom of bladder cancer is urine
occult blood, and both are related to occult blood. In the United
States, the incidence of colorectal cancer accounts for 8% of the
total incidence of cancers has a fourth rank in incidence rate and
a second rank in mortality rate. In China, the incidence of
colorectal cancer accounts 18.6% of the world, and the death toll
accounts for 20.1% of the world, and both of the incidence and
death toll ranks number one in the world. In Taiwan, the colorectal
cancer is the top one of cancers in twelve consecutive years, and
the incidence rate of colorectal cancer is the top one in the
world. The journal "NATURE" presented in Nov. 9, 2017 that there
was no universal screening method for bladder cancer. Only when
people visually see blood in urine, they start knowing that there
is a need for invasive endoscopic diagnosis and treatment, and
approximately 10% of the patients having the symptom of blood in
urine will be diagnosed with bladder cancer. It is feasible to use
a non-invasive method for a urine test and can reduce the
discomfort caused by the endoscopy.
[0003] A conventional immune occult blood test requires patients to
collect a stool specimen by themselves, send the specimen to a
hospital for testing, and wait for the test result. Such test is
lack of immediate response and convenience. During the process of
collecting the stool specimen, the occult blood in the stool is not
uniformly distributed, occult blood may not be collected during the
testing process to give a false negative result and cause a
misjudgment. In some cases, a tumor or polyp bleeds intermittently,
but not continuously, so that the tumor or polyp may not bleed on
the same day or a day before collecting the stool specimen to give
a false negative result and cause a misjudgment.
[0004] Japan Patent No. 1998339728 disclosed a stool composition
examination device, wherein the device requires a stool collection
step, a diluent addition step, and a washing step, and thus the use
of such device is very inconvenient.
[0005] In addition, other conventional detection methods require
adding chemicals that combine with the blood in the stool or urine,
so that the additional step makes the test more inconvenient and
the consumption of chemicals incurs a higher cost.
[0006] Therefore it is an important subject for related
manufacturers to provide a device or method to meet the
requirements of a quick and convenient biological detection while
taking the cost and accuracy of the detection into
consideration.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] In view of the aforementioned drawbacks of the conventional
detection method, the present invention provides a biological
detection device for a toilet water solution to overcome the
drawbacks of the prior art.
[0008] To achieve the aforementioned and other objectives, the
present invention discloses a biological detection device for a
toilet water solution, which is used for a biological detection,
and the biological detection device comprises: a mounting portion,
for mounting the biological detection device onto a toilet; a main
system, including an operation control unit, and coupled to the
mounting portion; an adjustable support portion, capable of being
movably adjusted in a horizontal direction or a vertical direction,
and coupled to the mounting portion; and a detection portion,
placed in a toilet water solution containing an excrement, and
comprising a light emitting source, and the detection portion being
coupled and linked to the adjustable support portion, and the light
emitting source being electrically coupled to the operation control
unit; wherein, the operation control unit controls a light emitted
from a light emitting source to pass through the toilet water
solution containing the excrement and enter into an optical sensor
which is electrically coupled to the operation control unit, and
the optical sensor transmits a sensing signal to the operation
control unit which is electrically coupled to the optical sensor,
and the operation control unit determines whether or not there is a
biological detection signal and outputs a detection result.
[0009] The present invention further discloses a biological
detection method for a toilet water solution, provided for a
biological detection, and applied to a biological detection device
for a toilet water solution, and the device comprises a mounting
portion, a main system, an adjustable support portion and a
detection portion, and the device is mounted onto a toilet by the
mounting portion, and the main system includes an operation control
unit and is coupled to the mounting portion, and the adjustable
support portion can be movably adjusted in a horizontal direction
or a vertical direction and is coupled to the mounting portion, and
the detection portion is placed into a toilet water solution
containing an excrement and includes a light emitting source, and
the detection portion is coupled and linked to the adjustable
support portion, and the light emitting source is electrically
coupled to the operation control unit. The biological detection
method for a toilet water solution comprises the steps of: linking
the adjustable support portion to the detection portion in a
horizontal direction or a vertical direction; receiving a start
detection instruction through an input unit; driving the light
emitting source to shoot a light that passes through the toilet
water solution containing the excrement and enters into an optical
sensor; and determining whether or not there is a biological
detection signal and sending a detection result to a display unit
by the operation control unit.
[0010] The present invention can achieve the aforementioned
objectives of the biological detection and meet the requirements
for convenience, comfortability, quickness, accuracy and
cost-effectiveness.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0011] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a biological detection
device for a toilet water solution in accordance with a preferred
embodiment of the present invention;
[0012] FIG. 2 is a side view of a biological detection device for a
toilet water solution in accordance with a preferred embodiment of
the present invention;
[0013] FIG. 3 is a first schematic view of a biological detection
device for a toilet water solution installed to a toilet in
accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present
invention;
[0014] FIG. 4 is a second schematic view of a biological detection
device for a toilet water solution installed to a toilet in
accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present
invention;
[0015] FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a biological detection method
for a toilet water solution in accordance with a preferred
embodiment of the present invention
[0016] FIG. 6 is a schematic view showing the principle of a
biological detection for a toilet water solution of the present
invention;
[0017] FIG. 7 is a graph of a blood absorption spectrum of a
preferred embodiment of the present invention;
[0018] FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a biological detection device
for a toilet water solution in accordance with a first embodiment
of the present invention;
[0019] FIG. 9 is a schematic view of a light transmission in
accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention;
[0020] FIG. 10 is a block diagram of a biological detection device
for a toilet water solution in accordance with a second embodiment
of the present invention;
[0021] FIG. 11 is a schematic view of a light transmission in
accordance with the second embodiment of the present invention;
[0022] FIG. 12 is a block diagram of a biological detection device
for a toilet water solution in accordance with a third embodiment
of the present invention;
[0023] FIG. 13 is a schematic view of a light transmission in
accordance with the third embodiment of the present invention;
[0024] FIG. 14 is a block diagram of a biological detection device
for a toilet water solution in accordance with a fourth embodiment
of the present invention;
[0025] FIG. 15 is a schematic view of a light transmission in
accordance with the fourth embodiment of the present invention;
and
[0026] FIG. 16 is a flow chart of a biological detection method for
a toilet water solution in accordance with an exemplary embodiment
of the present invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0027] With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 for the perspective view and
side view of a biological detection device for a toilet water
solution in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present
invention respectively, the biological detection device for a
toilet water solution 100 comprises a mounting portion 101, a main
system 103, an adjustable support portion 105 and a detection
portion 107. The main system 103 is coupled to the mounting portion
101, and the adjustable support portion 105 includes a spiral tube
that can be movably adjusted in three-dimensional directions and is
coupled to the mounting portion 101. The detection portion 107 is
coupled and linked to the adjustable support portion 105. The
mounting portion 101 includes two opposite rubbers 109 and a screw
111, wherein the screw 111 is turned clockwise or counterclockwise
to reduce the distance between the two opposite rubbers 109, so as
to clamp a toilet and this method can be used to mount the
biological detection device for a toilet water solution 100 onto
the toilet.
[0028] In another embodiment of the present invention, the
adjustable support portion comprises a spiral tube, a serrated
structure, a telescopic sleeve, a universal shaft, a link rod
and/or a keel structure that drives the adjustable support portion
to move, twist, slide, displace and/or rotate within a specific
range in an X-axis, Y-axis and/or Z-axis direction by an external
force or an internal electromechanical control, so that the
detection portion coupled to the adjustable support portion is
submerged and fixed to an appropriate detection position in a
toilet water solution. However, the structure of the adjustable
support portion of the present invention is not limited to the
aforementioned arrangement only, but numerous modifications and
variations could be made thereto by those skilled in the art
without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.
[0029] With reference to FIG. 3 for the first schematic view of a
biological detection device for a toilet water solution in
accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a
toilet cover 212 of a toilet 210 is situated in a lift-open status.
The biological detection device for a toilet water solution 200
comprises: a mounting portion 201, a main system 203, an adjustable
support portion 205 and a detection portion 207. The mounting
portion 201 is provided for mounting the biological detection
device for a toilet water solution 200 onto the toilet 210. In this
preferred embodiment, the biological detection device for a toilet
water solution 200 is clamped onto the toilet 210 by the mounting
portion 201. The adjustable support portion 205 can be moved in
three-dimensional directions and linked to the detection portion
207. The detection portion 207 is placed into a toilet water
solution (not shown in the figure) containing an excrement (such as
urine and/or stool) in the toilet 210, and the detection portion
207 is linked by the adjustable support portion 205 and can be
adjusted and fixed to an appropriate detection position in the
toilet water solution containing the excrement in the toilet 210.
With reference to FIG. 4 for the second schematic view of a
biological detection device for a toilet water solution in
accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention,
the biological detection device 200 is mounted onto the toilet 210,
and the toilet cover 212 of the toilet 210 is situated in a closed
status. The biological detection device for a toilet water solution
200 is mounted onto the toilet 210 by the mounting portion 201, and
when the toilet cover 212 is closed onto the toilet 210, the main
system 203 is exposed from the toilet 210 to facilitate users to
operate the functions of the main system and view the displayed
messages.
[0030] In another embodiment of the present invention, the
biological detection device for a toilet water solution can be
mounted, fixed, or installed on a toilet (or a toilet cover) or to
a side of the toilet (or the toilet cover) by using the mounting
portion by a clamping, suspending, sucking, pasting, binding,
socketing, latching buckling, magnetically attracting, riveting,
screwing, or locking method, and the structure of the mounting
portion corresponding to the aforementioned method includes but not
limited to a clamp, an adhesive, a strap, a screw, a nut, a snap, a
magnet, a rivet or a sucking disc, etc. However, the present
invention is not limited to the aforementioned arrangement only,
but numerous modifications and variations could be made thereto by
those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and
spirit of the invention.
[0031] With reference to FIG. 5 for a block diagram of the
biological detection device for a toilet water solution in
accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention,
the main system 303 comprises an operation control unit 302, an
input unit 313, a display unit 316 and a power supply 319. The
detection portion 307 comprises a light emitting source 321 and an
optical sensor 320. The operation control unit 302 is electrically
coupled to the input unit 313, the display unit 316, and the power
supply 319, and the operation control unit 302 is electrically
coupled to the light emitting source 321 and the optical sensor 320
of the detection portion 307.
[0032] In the present invention, the operation control unit such as
a MCU or a CPU is a unit with operating, processing, controlling
and/or analyzing functions. The power supply can be a battery
(either a replaceable or rechargeable battery) or an external
alternate current, and when the power supply is the external
alternate current, then the power supply includes a DC/AC
conversion circuit. The input unit can be a physical button, a
voice control module, or an LCD touch display device for receiving
a detection instruction or an instruction of controlling the
adjustable support portion. When the input unit is the LCD touch
display device, the input unit includes a user interface. The input
unit comes with different options for different detection objects
(such as blood, uric acid, urine protein and urine sugar). The
display unit can be an LCD touch display device or an LED lamp for
displaying detection results and information. The light emitting
source can be an LED lamp or a laser and has a controller, and the
light emitting source can shoot out light beams of different
wavelengths. The optical sensor can be a spectrophotometer, a
photodiode, a CMOS sensor or a CCD sensor with a controller.
However, the present invention is not limited to the aforementioned
arrangements.
[0033] In another embodiment, the main system is combined with an
(external) washlet, or the power of the main system can even be
supplied by the washlet. Further, the main system can be integrated
with the washlet to share the operation control unit, the input
unit, the display unit, and the power supply
[0034] The biological detection device for a toilet water solution
of the present invention is used for a biological detection. In the
following preferred embodiment of the present invention, the
biological detection of blood is used as an example for
illustrating the invention, and the biological detection of other
embodiments can be a biological detection of uric acid, urine
protein or urine sugar. In different embodiments, the principle of
the biological detection includes but not limited to the detection
based on absorption, fluorescence, scattering, or Raman spectrum
property.
[0035] With reference to FIG. 6 for a schematic view showing the
principle of a biological detection for a toilet water solution of
the present invention, the operation control unit controls the
light emitting source 621 to shoot out a light beam 613 with a
specific wavelength (such as 250.about.650 nm), and the light beam
613 enters and passes through the toilet water solution containing
an excrement 615 (or an object to be tested) and becomes a
penetrating light 617 that enters into the optical sensor 620, and
a sensing signal is generated after the optical sensor 620 receives
the penetrating light 617, and the sensing signal is transmitted to
the operation control unit.
[0036] With reference to FIG. 7 for a blood absorption spectrum of
a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the operation
control unit receives the sensing signal and then determines
whether or not there is a biological detection signal (which is an
occult blood signal in this embodiment), and if it is determined
that the sensing signal has a characteristic absorption peak value
of 415 nm, 541 nm or 577 nm as shown in FIG. 7, then it will be
decided that there is an occult blood (heme) signal. The operation
control unit outputs a detection result (containing the occult
blood signal) to a display unit and controls the display unit to
display the detection result. In another embodiment, the operation
control unit controls the light source to emits a light beam with a
different wavelength according to the object of the biological
detection (such as uric acid, urine protein or urine sugar), and
the spectral determination method varies (according to clinical
trial results and statistics of data.
[0037] The foregoing preferred embodiment mainly uses the
biophysics of blood to perform the detection. Besides detecting a
trace amount of blood, the biological detection device for a toilet
water solution in accordance with the present invention can also
adopt the biological detection of uric acid, urine protein, or
urine sugar, etc.
[0038] With reference to FIG. 8 for the block diagram of a
biological detection device for a toilet water solution in
accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention, only
the difference between the biological detection devices of the
first embodiment and the preferred embodiment will be described
below and their same technical characteristics will not be
repeated. The difference between the first embodiment and the
preferred embodiment resides on that the main system 803 of the
first embodiment comprises an operation control unit 802, an input
unit 813, a display unit 816, a power supply 819 and an optical
sensor 820, and the detection portion 807 comprises a light
emitting source 821. The light emitting source 821 is electrically
coupled to the operation control unit 802 through an
electroconductive tube 822, and the light emitting source 821 and
the optical sensor 820 transmit light beams to each other through a
photoconductive tube 824 (including but not limited to an optical
fiber). With reference to FIG. 9 for a schematic view of a light
transmission of the first embodiment of the present invention, the
operation control unit controls a light emitting source 921 to
shoot out a light beam that passes through the toilet water
solution containing the excrement through a planar transparent
glass 928 and becomes a penetrating light, and the penetrating
light enters into a photoconductive tube 924 through a transparent
glass 929 and passes through the photoconductive tube 924 to reach
the optical sensor 920. The two pieces of transparent glass 928,
929 are arranged in the toilet water solution, and the distance
between the two pieces of transparent glass 928, 929 is
approximately equal to 4.about.25 mm.
[0039] With reference to FIG. 10 for the block diagram of a
biological detection device for a toilet water solution in
accordance with the second embodiment of the present invention,
only the difference between the biological detection devices of the
first embodiment and the preferred embodiment will be described
below and their same technical characteristics will not be
repeated. The difference between the second embodiment and the
preferred embodiment resides on that a main system 1003 of the
second embodiment comprises an operation control unit 1002, an
input unit 1013, a display unit 1016, a power supply 1019 and a
light emitting source 1021, and a detection portion 1007 comprises
an optical sensor 1020. The optical sensor 1020 is electrically
coupled to the operation control unit 1002 through an
electroconductive tube 1022, and the light emitting source 1021 and
the optical sensor 1020 transmit light beams to each other through
a photoconductive tube 1024. With reference to FIG. 11 for a light
transmission in accordance with the second embodiment of the
present invention, the operation control unit controls a light
emitting source 1121 to shoot a light beam through toilet water
solution containing an excrement through a photoconductive tube
1124 and a planar transparent glass 1128 and becomes a penetrating
light, and the penetrating light enters into an optical sensor
1120.
[0040] With reference to FIG. 12 for the block diagram of a
biological detection device for a toilet water solution in
accordance with the third embodiment of the present invention, only
the difference between the biological detection devices of the
third embodiment and the preferred embodiment will be described
below and their same technical characteristics will not be
repeated. The difference between the third embodiment and the
preferred embodiment resides on that a main system 1203 of the
third embodiment comprises an operation control unit 1202, an input
unit 1213, a display unit 1216, a power supply 1219, an optical
sensor 1220 and a light emitting source 1221, and the optical
sensor 1220 and the light emitting source 1221 are electrically
coupled to the operation control unit 1202. The detection portion
1207 comprises a mirror 1225. The light emitting source 1221 and
the optical sensor 1220 transmit light beams to each other through
a photoconductive tube 1224 and a photoconductive tube 1226. With
reference to FIG. 13 for the schematic view of a light transmission
in accordance with the third embodiment of the present invention,
the operation control unit controls a light emitting source 1321 to
shoot a light beam that passes through toilet water solution
containing an excrement through a photoconductive tube 1324 and a
transparent glass 1328 and becomes a penetrating light, and the
penetrating light is returned to the transparent glass 1328 and the
photoconductive tube 1326 by the reflection of the mirror 1325 and
transmitted to an optical sensor 1320.
[0041] With reference to FIG. 14 for the block diagram of a
biological detection device for a toilet water solution in
accordance with the fourth embodiment of the present invention,
only the difference between the biological detection devices of the
fourth embodiment and the preferred embodiment will be described
below and their same technical characteristics will not be
repeated. The difference between the fourth embodiment and the
preferred embodiment resides on that a main system 1403 of the
fourth embodiment comprises an operation control unit 1402, an
input unit 1413, a display unit 1416, a power supply 1419, an
optical sensor 1420 and a light emitting source 1421, and the
detection portion 1407 is placed into a toilet water solution and
coupled to a photoconductive tube 1424 and a photoconductive tube
1426, so that a light beam transmitted by the photoconductive tube
1424 can be transmitted to the photoconductive tube 1426. An end of
the photoconductive tube 1424 and an end of photoconductive tube
1426 are placed into a toilet water solution, and an end of the
photoconductive tube 1424 is configured to be corresponsive to an
end of the photoconductive tube 1426, so that the light beam
transmitted from an end of the photoconductive tube 1424 can be
passed through the toilet water solution and transmitted to an end
of the photoconductive tube 1426. Both of the light transmission by
the light emitting source 1421 and the light reception by the
optical sensor 1420 use the photoconductive tube, and such
arrangement is different from the third embodiment and does not use
a mirror to change the light path direction. Light beam is
transmitted between the light emitting source 1421 and the optical
sensor 1420 by the photoconductive tube 1424 and the
photoconductive tube 1426. With reference to FIG. 15 for the
schematic view of a light transmission in accordance with the
fourth embodiment of the present invention, the operation control
unit controls a light emitting source 1521 to shoot out a light
beam that passes through a toilet water solution containing an
excrement through a photoconductive tube 1524 and a transparent
glass 1528 and becomes a penetrating light, and the penetrating
light is transmitted to the optical sensor 1520 through the
transparent glass 1529 and the photoconductive tube 1526.
[0042] With reference to FIG. 16 for the flow chart of a biological
detection method for a toilet water solution in accordance with an
exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the present
invention provides a biological detection method for a toilet water
solution to perform a biological detection, this exemplary
embodiment uses the biological detection of blood as an example to
illustrate the present invention, and the biological detection is
other embodiments includes a biological detection of uric acid,
urine protein or urine sugar, etc. The principle of the biological
detection of other embodiments includes but not limited to the use
of absorption, fluorescence, scattering, or Raman spectrum
property.
[0043] The biological detection method for a toilet water solution
in accordance with the present invention is applied to a biological
detection device for a toilet water solution, wherein the related
content of the biological detection device for a toilet water
solution in accordance with the preferred embodiment and the first
to fourth embodiments of the present invention have been described
above and illustrated by FIGS. 1 to 5 and 8 to 15. The biological
detection device for a toilet water solution comprises a mounting
portion, a main system, an adjustable support portion and a
detection portion. The biological detection device for a toilet
water solution is mounted onto a toilet by the mounting portion.
The adjustable support portion can be moved in three-dimensional
directions and linked to the detection portion. The detection
portion is placed into a toilet water containing an excrement (such
as urine and/or stool) in the toilet and linked by the adjustable
support portion, so that the detection portion can be adjusted and
fixed to an appropriate detection position in the toilet water
solution containing the excrement in the toilet. The main system
comprises an operation control unit, a display unit, an input unit
and a power supply coupled to the mounting portion. The light
emitting source and the optical sensor is electrically coupled to
the operation control unit.
[0044] The biological detection method for a toilet water solution
in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention comprises
the following steps S1601 to S1604:
[0045] S1601: An adjustable support portion is adjusted to link a
detection portion in a horizontal direction and/or a vertical
direction. The adjustable support portion is adjusted by an
external force or an internal electromechanical control to move,
twist, slide, displace and/or rotate in an X-axis, Y-axis and/or
Z-axis direction, so that the adjustable support portion coupled
and linked to the detection portion can be submerged and then fixed
to an appropriate detection position in the toilet water
solution.
[0046] S1602: An input unit receives a start detection instruction,
wherein the input unit receives the start detection instruction
inputted by users to start performing detection. The input unit
such as a physical button, a voice control module or an LCD touch
display device is provided for the users to input the start
detection instruction or an instruction for controlling the
adjustable support portion to make adjustments. When the input unit
is the LCD touch display device, the input unit includes a user
interface. The input unit has options for different detection
objects (such as blood, uric acid, urine protein and urine sugar).
It is noteworthy that the sequence of the aforementioned steps
S1601 and S1602 is not restricted.
[0047] S1603: The light emitting source electrically coupled to an
operation control unit is driven to shoot out a light beam that
passes through a toilet water solution containing an excrement and
becomes a penetrating light, and the penetrating light enters into
an optical sensor, and the optical sensor generates a corresponding
sensing signal, and the operation control unit receives the sensing
signal transmitted from the optical sensor. With reference to FIG.
6 and the related content of FIG. 6 as described above, the input
unit receives the start detection instruction and then generates
the start signal, so that the operation control unit controls the
light emitting source 621 to shoot out a light beam 613 with a
specific wavelength (such as 250.about.650 nm), and the light beam
613 is shot and passed through the toilet water solution containing
an excrement 615 (or an object to be tested) to become a
penetrating light 617, and the penetrating light 617 enters into
the optical sensor 620, and the optical sensor 620 receives the
penetrating light 617 to generate the corresponding sensing signal
and transmits the sensing signal to the operation control unit.
[0048] S1604: The operation control unit determines whether or not
there is a biological detection signal and sends a detection result
to a display unit.
[0049] With reference to FIG. 7 and the content related to FIG. 7,
the operation control unit receives a sensing signal and then
determines whether or not there is a biological detection signal
(such as an occult blood signal in this embodiment), and if it is
determined that the sensing signal has a characteristic peak value
of approximately 415 nm, 541 nm, or 577 nm as shown in FIG. 7, then
it will be decided that there is an occult blood (heme) signal. The
operation control unit outputs a detection result (containing the
occult blood signal) to a display unit and controls the display
unit to display the detection result. In another embodiment, the
operation control unit controls the light source to emits a light
beam with a different wavelength according to the object of the
biological detection (such as uric acid, urine protein or urine
sugar), and the spectral determination method varies (according to
clinical trial results and statistics of data.
[0050] In addition, the biological detection device for a toilet
water solution is mounted, fixed, or installed on the toilet by the
mounting portion by a clamping, suspending, sucking, pasting,
binding, socketing, latching, buckling, magnetic attracting,
riveting, screwing, or locking method, and the structure of the
mounting portion corresponding to the aforementioned methods
includes a clamp, an adhesive, a strap, a screw, a nut, a snap, a
magnet, a rivet or a sucking disc.
[0051] In another embodiment, the adjustable support portion
comprises a spiral tube, a serrated structure, a telescopic sleeve,
a universal shaft, a link rod or a keel structure that drives the
adjustable support portion to move, twist, slide, displace and/or
rotate within a specific range in an X-axis, Y-axis and/or Z-axis
direction by an external force or an internal electromechanical
control, so that the detection portion coupled to the adjustable
support portion is submerged and fixed to an appropriate detection
position in a toilet water solution.
[0052] In another embodiment, the main system can be combined with
an (external) washlet, or the power of the main system can even be
supplied by the washlet. Further, the main system can be integrated
with the washlet to share the operation control unit, the input
unit, the display unit, and the power supply.
[0053] The basic detection principle of the aforementioned
embodiment of the present invention is based on the measurement of
blood absorption spectrum, but the detection principle should be
limited to blood absorption only, and any property of fluorescence,
scattering, or Raman spectrum used for measuring the general blood
spectrum can be used as a basis for detecting whether or not there
is a trace of blood in the toilet water solution containing the
excrement.
[0054] In summation, the present invention provides a biological
detection device for a toilet water solution (which is a home
healthcare device) and a biological detection method for a toilet
water solution capable of automatically detecting whether or not
there is blood, uric acid, urine protein or urine sugar in the
excrement without requiring any biological/chemical agents,
diluents, or test paper, or the collection of any stool or urine
specimen, or any stool or urine collection procedure, and thus the
invention is suitable for home operation by ordinary people. Using
a non-invasive method to detect whether the excrement is abnormal
can reduce the discomfort caused by traditional endoscopic
examination and achieve the purpose of the biological detection of
the present invention.
[0055] While the invention has been described by means of specific
embodiments, numerous modifications and variations could be made
thereto by those skilled in the art without departing from the
scope and spirit of the invention as set forth in the claims.
* * * * *