Electronic thermometer with progress indicator
An electronic thermometer with a progress indicator. A control circuit of the thermometer performs at least one temperature calculation as a function of a detected temperature and generates a temperature signal representative of the temperature of a subject based on the temperature calculation. A progress indicator visually indicates progress of the control circuit in performing the temperature calculation.
1 . An electronic thermometer comprising:
a probe adapted to be heated by a subject for use in measuring the temperature of the subject;
at least one temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the probe;
a control circuit responsive to the temperature sensor for performing at least one temperature calculation as a function of the detected temperature of the probe and generating a temperature signal representative of the temperature of the subject based on the temperature calculation; and
a progress indicator for visually indicating progress of the control circuit in performing the temperature calculation.
2 . The electronic thermometer of claim 1 , further comprising a screen on which the progress indicator is displayed.
3 . The electronic thermometer of claim 2 , wherein the progress indicator comprises a graphical user interface component representative of a progress bar displayed on the screen.
4 . The electronic thermometer of claim 2 , wherein the progress indicator comprises a graphical user interface component representative of a pie chart displayed on the screen.
5 . The electronic thermometer of claim 1 , wherein the progress indicator comprises a progress bar having a variable length indicative of a percentage of completion of the control circuit in performing the temperature calculation.
6 . The electronic thermometer of claim 5 , wherein the progress bar is oriented substantially vertically relative to a longitudinal axis of the thermometer.
7 . The electronic thermometer of claim 5 , wherein the progress bar is oriented substantially horizontally relative to a longitudinal axis of the thermometer.
8 . The electronic thermometer of claim 1 , wherein the progress indicator comprises a plurality of segments, each of said segments having a visual characteristic for representing a percentage of completion of the control circuit in performing the temperature calculation.
9 . The electronic thermometer of claim 8 , wherein the progress indicator comprises a segmented bar.
10 . The electronic thermometer of claim 8 , wherein the progress indicator comprises a pie icon having a plurality of pie-shaped segments.
11 . The electronic thermometer of claim 1 , wherein the progress indicator comprises a visual characteristic representative of an error condition.
12 . The electronic thermometer of claim 1 , wherein the progress indicator comprises a visual characteristic representative of a reset condition.
13 . The electronic thermometer of claim 1 , wherein the control circuit comprises a temperature prediction component configured to calculate a predicted temperature of the subject using an optimized temperature prediction algorithm.
14 - 28 . (canceled)