| 摘要 |
An instrument for measuring saliva viscoelasticity to determine a woman's fertile period comprised of a sheath, a cap, and an escapement. The includes a barrel with a pair of elongated slots, a piston within the barrel with protrusion that extend into and beyond the slots, and a sleeve over the barrel with a pair of spiral groove into which the protrusions fit. As the sleeve rotates about the barrel, the grooves spiral up or down, causing the piston to move axially within the barrel. A central cavity within the barrel includes a constricted throat near the top end. The escapement is a U-shaped strip of plastic that fits into the cavity and attaches at its cross portion to the piston. The ends of the escapement arms have mating surfaces that are roughened so that the saliva sample will fracture before it separates from the surfaces. As the escapement is pulled into the cavity, the throat operates to press the mating surfaces together. After the throat is passed, the escapement cross portion acts as a spring to pull the mating surfaces apart against the viscoelasticity of the saliva. The amount of time it takes for the saliva to fracture under pressure from the spring is measured, adjusted based on the temperature of the saliva, and used to indicate whether the user is in her fertile period or not.
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