JPH0556932A - Tonometer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable a patient himself to measure his own intra-ocular pressure with ease at home, etc. CONSTITUTION:The patient holds an outside cylinder 1 and presses a contact member 5 to the eye E to be examined in such a manner that this member comes into contact with the eye by crossing the eyelid Ei. A spring 2 is contracted by pressing force. The light emitted from a light source 12 is made incident on a sensor 13 via a mirror 14 when the spring attains a prescribed value. This light acts as a signal to cause electromagnetic driving parts 8a, 8b to drive a press-fitting member 6 toward the eye to be examined. The moving quantity of the press-fitting member 6 of this time is detected by a light source 10 and an array sensor 11 and the intra-ocular pressure is measured from the driving force and moving quantity of the press-fitting member 6.

Description

【発明の詳細な説明】Detailed Description of the Invention

【０００１】[0001]

【産業上の利用分野】本発明は、家庭等においても簡便
に使用できる眼圧計に関するものである。BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a tonometer which can be easily used at home.

【０００２】[0002]

【従来の技術】疾病の原因が眼圧に由来する場合に、患
者の眼圧測定は重要な課題となる。眼圧は経時的変動が
大きいことが知られており、来院時の眼圧測定だけでは
十分とは云えないため、日に何回かの測定が必要とされ
る。2. Description of the Related Art When the cause of a disease is caused by intraocular pressure, measuring the intraocular pressure of a patient is an important subject. It is known that the intraocular pressure varies greatly with time, and it is not enough to measure the intraocular pressure at the time of visit, so several times of day measurement is required.

【０００３】[0003]

【発明が解決しようとする課題】しかしながら、従来の
眼圧計は眼圧測定に測定者を必要とし、被検者が自ら測
定することができないため、日常的に日に何度も眼圧を
測定することはなかなか困難である。However, the conventional tonometer requires a measurer to measure the intraocular pressure and cannot be measured by the subject. Therefore, the intraocular pressure is measured many times a day on a daily basis. It is very difficult to do.

【０００４】本発明の目的は、被検者自身が手軽に操作
でき、安全かつ確実に眼圧測定を実施できる眼圧計を提
供することにある。An object of the present invention is to provide a tonometer that can be operated easily by the subject himself and can safely and reliably measure tonometry.

【０００５】[0005]

【課題を解決するための手段】上述の目的を達成するた
めの本発明に係る眼圧計は、眼球に当接する当接部材を
前方に備えた筐体と、前記当接部材の略中央部から後方
に設けた孔間に摺動するように設け眼球を押圧する圧入
部材と、該圧入部材を駆動する駆動手段と、前記圧入部
材の移動変位量を検出する移動変位検出手段とを有し、
前記駆動手段の駆動力と前記圧入部材の移動変位量との
関係から眼圧を測定することを特徴とするものである。A tonometer according to the present invention for achieving the above-mentioned object comprises a housing provided with a contact member for contacting an eyeball in the front, and a substantially central portion of the contact member. A press-fitting member that presses the eyeball provided so as to slide between the holes provided at the rear, a driving unit that drives the press-fitting member, and a moving displacement detecting unit that detects a moving displacement amount of the press-fitting member,
It is characterized in that the intraocular pressure is measured from the relationship between the driving force of the driving means and the displacement amount of the press-fitting member.

【０００６】[0006]

【作用】上述の構成を有する眼圧計は、当接部材を眼球
上に当接し、押圧力検知手段によって所定の押圧を検知
すると眼球に圧入部材を押し出すことにより、眼圧測定
を行う。In the tonometer having the above-described structure, the contact member is brought into contact with the eyeball, and when the predetermined pressing force is detected by the pressing force detecting means, the press-fitting member is pushed out to the eyeball to measure the intraocular pressure.

【０００７】[0007]

【実施例】本発明を図示の実施例に基づいて詳細に説明
する。図１は第１の実施例の断面図であるり、検者が手
で保持でき、一方が開放された筒状の外筒１と、ばね２
によって外筒１の底面１ａと接続され、更にローラ３を
介して外筒１に移動自在に支持され、検出手段を有する
筐体４とから構成されている。筐体４の先端には、被検
眼Ｅの瞼Eiに当接し眼球面と合致するように、凹面上に
形成され中央部に孔５ａを有する当接部材５が設けら
れ、孔５ａには棒状で筐体４に比べてかなり軽い圧入部
材６が、筐体４、当接部材５に対してベアリング７によ
って前後に可動に支持されている。圧入部材６の中央部
付近及びこれに対向する筐体４には、コイルや磁石等か
ら構成され、圧入部材６を瞼Ei方向に駆動する電磁駆動
部８ａ、８ｂが設けられている。DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described in detail based on the illustrated embodiments. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of the first embodiment, in which an examiner can hold it by hand, and a cylindrical outer cylinder 1 with one open, and a spring 2.
Is connected to the bottom surface 1a of the outer cylinder 1, and is movably supported by the outer cylinder 1 via rollers 3 and is composed of a housing 4 having a detection means. An abutting member 5 having a hole 5a formed on a concave surface is provided at the tip of the housing 4 so as to come into contact with the eyelid Ei of the eye E to be matched with the eye spherical surface, and the hole 5a has a rod-like shape. The press-fitting member 6 that is considerably lighter than the housing 4 is movably supported by the bearing 7 in the front-back direction with respect to the housing 4 and the contact member 5. Electromagnetic drive units 8a and 8b that are configured by coils, magnets, and the like, and that drive the press-fitting member 6 in the eyelid Ei direction, are provided in the vicinity of the central portion of the press-fitting member 6 and the housing 4 that faces the central portion.

【０００８】圧入部材６の後端部６ａには、ばね９が取
り付けられ、このばね９の他端は筐体４と接続されてい
る。ばね９と圧入部材６の取付部分の筐体４内には、光
源１０とアレイセンサ１１が対向して設けられており、
圧入部材６の後端部６ａの位置を検出できるようになっ
ている。筐体４の後面４ａには光源１２とセンサ１３が
若干の距離をおいて配置され、外筐１の底面１ａの中央
にミラー１４が設けられており、後面４ａと底面１ａの
距離が所定の距離になったときに、光源１２からの光束
がミラー１４で反射されてセンサ１３に入射するように
なっている。A spring 9 is attached to the rear end portion 6a of the press-fitting member 6, and the other end of the spring 9 is connected to the housing 4. A light source 10 and an array sensor 11 are provided to face each other in the housing 4 where the spring 9 and the press-fitting member 6 are attached.
The position of the rear end portion 6a of the press-fitting member 6 can be detected. The light source 12 and the sensor 13 are arranged at a slight distance on the rear surface 4a of the housing 4, a mirror 14 is provided at the center of the bottom surface 1a of the outer housing 1, and the distance between the rear surface 4a and the bottom surface 1a is predetermined. When the distance is reached, the light flux from the light source 12 is reflected by the mirror 14 and enters the sensor 13.

【０００９】測定時には、検者は外筒１を手で持って、
当接部材５を瞼Ei越しに被検眼Ｅに当接する。少しずつ
力を加えてゆくとばね２が縮小し、瞼Eiは徐々に変化す
る当接部材５の押圧力により押圧されることになる。ば
ね２が所定の寸法まで押されると、つまり押圧力が所定
の大きさになると、光源１２からの光束がミラー１４を
介してセンサ１３で検知され、電磁駆動部８ａ、８ｂに
電流が流れて圧入部材６が被検眼Ｅの方向に押し出さ
れ、角膜Ecを変形させる。このとき、圧入部材６に対し
て筐体４は十分重いので圧入部材６の駆動の反作用によ
る当接部材５の押圧力の低下は殆どない。電磁駆動部８
ａ、８ｂによる駆動力を一定に保っておけば、眼圧は圧
入部材６の移動量として得られるので、圧入部材６の移
動量を光源１０とアレイセンサ１１で検出することによ
り眼圧が測定され、図示しない表示部に数値として表示
される。At the time of measurement, the examiner holds the outer cylinder 1 by hand,
The contact member 5 is brought into contact with the eye E through the eyelid Ei. When the force is applied little by little, the spring 2 contracts and the eyelid Ei is pressed by the gradually changing pressing force of the contact member 5. When the spring 2 is pressed to a predetermined size, that is, when the pressing force reaches a predetermined magnitude, the light flux from the light source 12 is detected by the sensor 13 via the mirror 14, and a current flows through the electromagnetic drive units 8a and 8b. The press-fitting member 6 is pushed toward the eye E to be deformed, and the cornea Ec is deformed. At this time, since the housing 4 is sufficiently heavy with respect to the press-fitting member 6, there is almost no reduction in the pressing force of the contact member 5 due to the reaction of the drive of the press-fitting member 6. Electromagnetic drive unit 8
If the driving force by a and 8b is kept constant, the intraocular pressure can be obtained as the moving amount of the press-fitting member 6, so the intraocular pressure can be measured by detecting the moving amount of the press-fitting member 6 with the light source 10 and the array sensor 11. Are displayed as numerical values on a display unit (not shown).

【００１０】図２は第２の実施例の断面図である。この
実施例では当接部材５の押圧力の測定のために、第１の
実施例で用いたばね２、光源１２、センサ１３、ミラー
１４の代りに、外筒１の底面１ａと筐体４の後面４ａ間
にストレインゲージ１５が設けられている。ストレイン
ゲージ１５に一定の圧力が加わると、第１の実施例と同
様に電磁駆動部８ａ、８ｂにより圧入部材６が駆動する
ようになっている。FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the second embodiment. In this embodiment, in order to measure the pressing force of the contact member 5, instead of the spring 2, the light source 12, the sensor 13 and the mirror 14 used in the first embodiment, the bottom surface 1a of the outer cylinder 1 and the housing 4 are replaced. A strain gauge 15 is provided between the rear surfaces 4a. When a constant pressure is applied to the strain gauge 15, the press-fitting member 6 is driven by the electromagnetic drive units 8a and 8b as in the first embodiment.

【００１１】なお、上述の実施例では電磁駆動部８ａ、
８ｂに一定の駆動力を与えて、このときの圧入部材６の
移動量から眼圧を測定しているが、圧入部材６を一定量
だけ押し出し、このときの駆動力から眼圧を測定しても
よい。この場合の実施例を第３の実施例として図３に示
している。この第３の実施例においては、第１の実施例
における外筒１を省略し、筐体４に圧入部材６の後端部
６ａの位置を光源１０とセンサアレイ１１によって検知
できるようになっており、圧入部材６の眼球接触面は当
接部材５の球面部からばね９が伸長した状態で僅かに突
出されている。In the above embodiment, the electromagnetic drive unit 8a,
8b is given a constant driving force, and the intraocular pressure is measured from the moving amount of the press-fitting member 6 at this time. Good. An embodiment in this case is shown in FIG. 3 as a third embodiment. In the third embodiment, the outer cylinder 1 in the first embodiment is omitted, and the position of the rear end portion 6a of the press-fitting member 6 in the housing 4 can be detected by the light source 10 and the sensor array 11. The contact surface of the press-fitting member 6 slightly protrudes from the spherical surface of the contact member 5 with the spring 9 extended.

【００１２】被検眼Ｅを圧入部材６により押圧してゆく
と、瞼Eiから圧力を受けてばね９が縮み、光源１０から
の光束は圧入部材６の後端部６ａで反射しセンサアレイ
１１に入射するので、後端部６ａの位置を検知できる。
ばね９が所定の縮み量つまり圧入部材６が所定位置まで
後退したとき、電磁駆動手段８ａ、８ｂにより圧入部材
６を眼球方向に駆動する。この駆動力を一定とし、光源
１０、センサアレイ１１により検知された圧入部材６の
圧入量から眼圧を求めることができる。或いは、一定の
圧入量になる駆動力から眼圧を求めてもよい。When the eye E to be inspected is pressed by the press-fitting member 6, the spring 9 contracts under pressure from the eyelids Ei, and the light flux from the light source 10 is reflected by the rear end portion 6a of the press-fitting member 6 to the sensor array 11. Since it is incident, the position of the rear end portion 6a can be detected.
When the spring 9 contracts by a predetermined amount, that is, when the press-fitting member 6 retracts to a predetermined position, the electromagnetic drive means 8a, 8b drive the press-fitting member 6 in the eyeball direction. With this driving force kept constant, the intraocular pressure can be obtained from the amount of press-fitting of the press-fitting member 6 detected by the light source 10 and the sensor array 11. Alternatively, the intraocular pressure may be obtained from the driving force that provides a constant press-fitting amount.

【００１３】このように、この眼圧計はスティック状の
本体を手で保持して、瞼Ei越しに被検眼Ｅを押圧すれば
自動的に眼圧が測定できるので、被検者が自ら眼圧を測
ることが可能となる。また、瞼Eiの上から眼圧を測定す
るので危険性はない。As described above, this tonometer can automatically measure the intraocular pressure by holding the stick-shaped main body by hand and pressing the eye E through the eyelid Ei. It becomes possible to measure. Also, there is no danger because the intraocular pressure is measured from above the eyelids Ei.

【００１４】一般に、瞼Eiの厚さには個人差があり、こ
れが測定値に誤差を与えることになるが、個人別に補正
ができるようにしておけば問題はなく、被検眼Ｅの治療
に眼圧の相対変化が必要なのであれば、補正値入力の機
能も必要ない。Generally, there are individual differences in the thickness of the eyelids Ei, which causes an error in the measured values. However, there is no problem if the individual eye Ei can be corrected, and the eye E can be used for treatment. If a relative change in pressure is required, the correction value input function is not required.

【００１５】[0015]

【発明の効果】以上説明したように本発明に係る眼圧計
は、被検眼に所定の押圧力が加わると自動的に眼圧が測
定されるため、被検者自身が測定を行っても確実な眼圧
測定ができ、継続的な眼圧管理に有効である。As described above, the tonometer according to the present invention automatically measures the intraocular pressure when a predetermined pressing force is applied to the eye to be inspected. It can measure various intraocular pressure and is effective for continuous intraocular pressure management.

【図面の簡単な説明】[Brief description of drawings]

【図１】第１の実施例の断面図である。FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a first embodiment.

【図２】第２の実施例の要部断面図である。FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a main part of a second embodiment.

【図３】第３の実施例の断面図である。FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a third embodiment.

【符号の説明】[Explanation of symbols]

１ 外筒 １ａ 底面 ２、９ ばね ４ 筐体 ４ａ 後面 ５ 当接部材 ６ 圧入部材 ８ａ、８ｂ 電磁駆動部 １０、１２ 光源 １１ アレイセンサ １３ センサ １４ ミラー １５ ストレインゲージ 1 Outer cylinder 1a Bottom surface 2, 9 Spring 4 Housing 4a Rear surface 5 Contact member 6 Press-fitting member 8a, 8b Electromagnetic drive unit 10, 12 Light source 11 Array sensor 13 Sensor 14 Mirror 15 Strain gauge

Claims (1)

【特許請求の範囲】[Claims] 【請求項１】 眼球に当接する当接部材を前方に備えた
筐体と、前記当接部材の略中央部から後方に設けた孔間
に摺動するように設け眼球を押圧する圧入部材と、該圧
入部材を駆動する駆動手段と、前記圧入部材の移動変位
量を検出する移動変位検出手段とを有し、前記駆動手段
の駆動力と前記圧入部材の移動変位量との関係から眼圧
を測定することを特徴とする眼圧計。1. A casing provided with a front contact member for contacting an eyeball, and a press-fitting member provided so as to slide between holes provided in a rear portion from a substantially central portion of the contact member to press the eyeball. A driving means for driving the press-fitting member and a moving displacement detecting means for detecting a moving displacement amount of the press-fitting member. A tonometer characterized by measuring.