WO2010140990A1

WO2010140990A1 - Digital menstrual cycle meter

Info

Publication number: WO2010140990A1
Application number: PCT/TR2010/000073
Authority: WO
Inventors: Melike Ayse Kuroglu
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2009-06-03
Filing date: 2010-04-07
Publication date: 2010-12-09
Anticipated expiration: 2011-12-03

Abstract

The invention relates to a portable device that keeps track of the menstruation cycles of women comprising memory card (23), a restart key (18), a counter (1) that starts to count the days of the menstruation cycle once the restart key(18) is activated, a mini display containing a calendar indicator (4) on which the beginning date of each menstruation bleeding is marked once the restart key is activated, a second calendar indicator belonging to the following month (6), a counter (5) that counts the days that pass through one menstruation cycle to the next one so that a woman can easily monitor not only whether her menstruation cycles take place on a regular basis or not, but also the duration of each menstruation cycle.

Description

DIGITAL MENSTRUAL CYCLE METER

Description

Technical Field

The invention relates to a device that is designed to inform women about their menstrual cycle; it will keep track of duration of womens¹ menstrual cycles, include information regarding how long each menstruation bleeding lasts and on which day of her menstrual cycle a woman is on a given date, in that sense the device is suitable to use as a calendar for birth control.

Background Art

Women of reproductive age, biologically have their menstrual cycles each month. A regular menstrual cycle happens once every 28 to 31 days (period that starts from the first day of menstrual bleeding, until the first day of the next menstrual bleeding) and the menstrual bleeding lasts for approximately 3 to 7 days. The bleeding that is relatively more consistent in the first days will decline slowly and will end maximum on the 7th day. Any diversion from the pattern is called irregular period. Since every irregularity type has different reasons and cures, it is very important that a woman describes well the irregularity to her gynecologist during consultation.

It is of great importance, especially for the routine examination of gynecologist, that women keep a track of the information regarding the duration of each menstrual bleeding and on which day of menstrual cycle she is on a given day. The above mentioned data regarding her menstrual cycle are of great importance for determining the right birth control method for each woman. At the present circumstances, women obtain such important information by marking each and every month the starting day of their menstrual bleeding on a calendar and then by counting each passing day to find out which day of their menstrual cycle that given day is or whether that given day is favourable for getting pregnant in case of having unprotected sex. However, this old way of counting the days on the calendar is not a practical one, it could in fact be considered quite primitive given the fact that the calendar itself is needed to be carried away and in certain conditions in which monitoring the fertility of the woman is of great importance, it simply is not practical. Since the fertility of women of reproductive age is high in certain days and low in others, it is very important to have that information within arm's reach. For the first time a device is being designed not only to keep track of and save the most valuable information regarding womens' health which is the duration of each menstrual bleeding and menstrual cycle month by month throughout the year, but also to transfer the very personalized data to computer. Accordingly, there exists great need for such a device/apparatus that enables women to reach such important information regarding the monitoring of their menstrual cycles via modern and practical methods.

In conclusion, the need for such a device / apparatus and the inadequacy of the existing solutions has made it necessary to make an improvement in the related technical field.

The Brief Description of the Invention

The present invention relates to an apparatus/device that meets a much felt want, removes all the disadvantages and brings certain advantages all for the benefit of women by enabling them to keep track and save the very important information regarding their fertility periods.

The purpose of the invention is to introduce a device / apparatus that measures and saves to memory both the period of menstrual bleeding and counts and monitors the days passed after the previous menstrual bleeding.

Another purpose of the invention is to introduce a device / apparatus that via its reminder sign and warning light, will provide in a precise way the information needed regarding the menstrual cycles which are among the information that any gynecologist need during regular consultation.

Another purpose of the invention is to introduce a device / apparatus that measures and transfers the information regarding menstrual cycles that thanks to its USP, bluetooth and cable connection components, will transfer to and save the information on the PC.

Another purpose of the invention is to enable easy access to information simply by making the same device / apparatus portable so that the user can always monitor the personal information regarding her menstrual cycles anytime anywhere. To fulfill the above mentioned purposes, the invention relates to a device / apparatus that functions as a digital calendar that saves on its memory card the information regarding the menstrual cycles of women, the duration of each menstruation bleeding, on which day of her menstrual cycle a woman is on a given day (how many days have passed since the last menstrual bleeding). The features present on the portable device are; a restart key, once switched on, activates the menstrual cycle counter that starts counting the days starting from the first day of the menstruation bleeding, a calendar indicator on which the starting day of each menstruation bleeding is marked automatically, a calendar indicator that indicates the first month of the menstrual cycle and a calendar indicator that indicates the second month of the menstrual cycle (the same applies with all the 12 months of the year) on which the following cycle is marked, a menstrual cycle counter that indicates the total days passed between the menstrual bleedings, calendar indicator that displays the total number of days belonging to the first menstrual cycle and the second calendar indicator that displays the total number of days belonging to the second menstrual cycle (the same applies with all the 12 months of the year)

The present invention, due to it's above mentioned features and detailed following explanation, brings about many facilities.

The structural and characteristic features of the invention and all the advantages that it presents will be clear with the figures and their detailed descriptions, hence the invention should be evaluated taking into consideration the following figures and their detailed descriptions.

Brief Description of the Figures

In order to see the advantages the invention brings, it is necessary that the invention be evaluated together with the following figures whose descriptions are as follows: Figure 1 shows a two dimensional appearance of the Digital Menstruation Meter which is subject of the invention.

Reference Numbers

1. Menstrual cycle counter of the present month 2. Date indicator

3. Time indicator

4. Calendar indicator (1st month)

5. Menstrual cycle counter of the relevant month 6. Calendar indicator (2nd month)

7. Menstrual cycle counter of the relevant month

8. Calendar indicator (3rd month)

9. Menstrual cycle counter of the relevant month

10. Warning light 11. Battery reservoir

12. Connection output

13. Charger unit

14. Reminder indicator

15. Personal information indicator 16. Mini keyboard

17. Capslock key

18. Counter reset key / Restart key

19. Register key

20. Cursor movement key 21. Data transfer key

22. Key to activate the indicator for the moon's phases

23. Memory card

24. Indicator for moon's phases

Detailed description of the invention

In this detailed description, the characteristic functions of the Digital Menstrual Cycle Meter are detailed in order to make the invention understood better.

In figure 1, there is a two dimensional graphic of the Digital Menstrual Cycle Meter which is subject of the invention. On the given figure the Digital Menstrual Cycle Meter which is subject of the invention, there are counters, indicators and a key pad. The position of the components may vary. The functioning of the invention is as follows: The apparatus which is subject of the invention has a memory card (23) on which the calendar information of the present year and those to follow are loaded and on which the information entered can be registered. Once activated by switching on the counter reset key / restart key (18) on the beginning day of each menstrual bleeding, the time counter will start counting the days of menstrual cycle and display the number of days passed on the menstrual cycle counter of the present month(1) starting from the date indicated on the date indicator (2). And once the restart key (18)is switched on, the date on which the menstrual bleeding takes place will be automatically marked as underlined on the calendar indicator (4). The user of the apparatus can check the actual date and time looking at the date indicator (2) and time indicator(3). The menstrual cycle counter of the present month(1) will count each day that passes until the first day of the next menstrual cycle that will start with menstrual bleeding and inform the user about the days passed regarding the present menstrual cycle. To register the number of days each menstrual bleeding lasts, together with the restart key (18), the user should switch the register key (19) on, on the first day of each menstrual bleeding and switch again once the bleeding is over. Starting from the 1st month (the month indicated on the first line on the display) the user should switch on the menstrual cycle counter of the present month (1) each time the menstrual bleeding starts and repeat the same action for the following 12 months of the year. Each month with every menstrual bleeding, the menstrual cycle counter of the present month (1) is activated and once it's activated, the days counted by the counter will be marked and registered across the menstrual cycle counter of the relevant month (5,7,8) and the menstrual cycle counter of the present month(1) will automatically be reset and start counting the menstrual cycles of the following month once the menstrual bleeding takes place. Every month, by switching on the counter reset key / restart key (18) once the menstrual bleeding takes place, day by day, the duration of menstrual cycle of that month are being counted to be displayed on the menstrual cycle counter of the present month(1) until the menstrual bleeding of the following month initiates, when that takes place, the user should again switch on the counter reset key / restart key (18) and automatically the number of days regarding menstruation cycle of the previous month are marked across the relevant month, and the repeating series of actions take place for each and every following month. By using Digital Menstrual Cycle Meter, women create and have easy access to a very important and personal database which is the duration of their own menstrual cycles in a very modernized way. The personal information of the user such as name, age could be registered via a mini keyboard (16) and displayed on the personal information indicator(15). Taking into consideration the data regarding the previous months' menstrual cycles, the warning light(10) warns the user for any possible menolipsis (delay of menstrual bleeding) which could be the sign for an eventual pregnancy. Depending on the accuracy of the information that the woman will provide, which will be possible via Digital Menstrual Cycle Meter, it should always be a gynecologist to make the necessary diagnosis regarding the real reason of any menolipsis.

The energy of the device is renewable by battery, by solar energy or by charging. The device has a battery reservoir (11). And for battery charger, the device has a charger unit (13). The device has a connection output (12) through which the registered information can be transferred to computer and/or another media platform via technologies such as USB or bluetooth. By switching on the data transfer key (21), it is possible to activate data transfer. When needed, by switching on the key to activate the indicator for the moon's phases(22), it is possible to display the phases of the moon via the indicator for moon's phases(24) that exists just underneath the date indicator (2) and time indicator(3) on the display. Using the cursor movement key (20), it is possible to go to the month & day desired to monitor the numbers regarding the duration of the previous menstrual cycles. The reminder indicator(14) once switched on, warns the user about days on which there is high probability of getting pregnant, in case of having unprotected sex. The reminder indicator (14) is not designed to indicate whether the user is pregnant or not, it simply functions as a warning beforehand regarding the probability of getting pregnant in case of having unprotected sex during the days in which the fertility of women is high (e.g. for women whose menstrual cycle is every 30 days, the ovulation is on the 16th day of menstrual cycle and since the days starting from 5 days before the ovulation takes place are those on which there is high possibility of getting pregnant, the days from 11th-16th of the menstrual cycle are those most favorable for getting pregnant). With caps lock key (17), it is possible to activate the keyboard lockout, and with the same key it is possible to reactivate the functioning of the keys.

In an alternative restructure of the invention, it is possible to show on the display more than 3 calendar indicators (4,6,8) and/or menstrual cycle counter of the relevant month (5,7,9) as long as all the 12 months of the year can be displayed. The patent extent for this application has been specified in the Claims, and could not be limited with the above mentioned definitions made for sampling purposes. In case a technically specialized person applies the similar structure changing the segments of the innovation presented by this invention, it is obvious that such an attempt will definitely be lacking the criteria needed for innovation.

Claims

1. A device/apparatus that functions as a digital calendar that is designed to keep track of the duration of menstrual cycles/bleedings of women, displays information regarding which day of her menstrual cycle a woman is, comprising a memory card (23), characterized in that, comprising, at least one restart key (18), a menstrual cycle counter of the present month (1) that starts functioning once the restart key (18) is switched on and indicates which day of her menstrual cycle a woman is, a calendar indicator (first month) (4) on which the starting day of menstrual bleeding is marked as underlined, a calendar indicator (second month) (6) on which the menstrual bleeding day of the following month is marked as underlined, menstrual cycle counter of the relevant month

(5) that indicates the days passed between the menstrual bleeding of the relevant month which is indicated on calendar indicator (first month) (4) and the following menstrual bleeding which is indicated on the calendar indicator(second month) (6).

2. A device / apparatus according to claim 1 , comprising a calendar indicator (8) for the third month of the year that follows the calendar indicator (6) for the second month of the year.

3. A device / apparatus according to any of the above mentioned claims, comprising a menstrual cycle counter of the relevant month (9) which indicates the days passed between the menstrual bleeding day marked as underlined on the calendar of the relevant month and the previous month.

4. A device / apparatus that according to claim 1 , comprising a reminder indicator (14) that warns women during days on which there is high probability of getting pregnant in case of having unprotected sex.

5. A device / apparatus that according to claim 1, comprising a warning light (10) to remind the user of an eventual menolipsis.

6. A device / apparatus that according to claim 1 , comprising a date indicator (2).

7. A device / apparatus that according to claim 1 , comprising a time indicator (3).

8. A device / apparatus that according to claim 1, comprising a mini keyboard (16).

9. A device / apparatus that according to claim 1, comprising a personal information indicator on which it is possible to register and save personal information such as name, surname and age.

10. A device / apparatus that according to claim 1, comprising a battery reservoir (11) to put batteries in.

11. A device / apparatus that according to claim 1, comprising a connection output (12) through which, with the help of technologies such as USB or bluetooth, it is possible to transfer the information registered to a PC or another media platform.

12. A device / apparatus that according to claim 1, comprising a charger unit (13) to charge the battery.

13. A device / apparatus that according to claim 1, comprising a capslock key (17) that locks/unlocks all the keys.

14. A device / apparatus that according to claim 1 , comprising a register key (19).

15. A device / apparatus that according to claim 1 , comprising a cursor movement key (20).

16. A device / apparatus that according to claim 1, comprising a data transfer key (21).

17. A device / apparatus that according to claim 1, comprising a key to activate the indicator for the moon's phases (22).

18. A device / apparatus that according to claim 1, comprising an indicator for the moon's phases (24).