Method and apparatus for biophilically promoting personal relaxation, for reducing physical and/or psychological personal stress and for expediting personal recovery

• US 20020038073A1
• Filed: 07/03/2001
• Published: 03/28/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 01/05/1996
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Joseph August
• Original Assignee: Joseph August
• Inventors: August, Joseph
• Granted Patent: US 6,641,522 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/27
• CPC Class Codes: A47C 21/00 Attachments for beds, e.g. sheet holders, bed-cover holders bed tables supported on the bedstead A47B23/02; for children's beds A47D7/00, A47D15/00; Ventilating, cooling or heating means in connection with bedsteads or mattresses
• CPC Class Codes: A47C 21/003 Lighting, radio, telephone or the like connected to the bedstead
• CPC Class Codes: A61G 7/05 Parts, details or accessories of beds devices for prevention against falling out A47C21/08, A47D7/00 ; mattresses A47C27/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2021/0016 by the smell sense
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2021/0033 subsonic
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2021/0044 by the sight sense
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2021/005 images, e.g. video
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 21/00 Other devices or methods to cause a change in the state of consciousness; Devices for producing or ending sleep by mechanical, optical, or acoustical means, e.g. for hypnosis
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 21/0094 Isolation chambers used therewith, i.e. for isolating individuals from external stimuli other treatment rooms or enclosures A61G10/00

Abstract

A method and apparatus for relaxing a person in a stressful environment, such as a health care, business, hospitality or educational setting, provides a person with a choice of selecting for viewing one or more high resolution spatially open, serene natural landscape scenes to which the person is believed to have an innate positive (biophilic) affinity, upon a fabric frame display member mounted upon a flexible wall partition, such as a hospital curtain, a ceiling, a stand or other display member. In one embodiment, the spatially open, serene natural landscape scene is a savanna-type landscape or a like scene to which humans are believed to have a biophilic affinity. The biophilic landscape picture is printed preferably on a flexible fabric by a high resolution sublimation printing process, wherein an image is first scanned into a computer and then transformed by state-of-the-art technology to the fabric herein. The image may also be printed directly on all or a portion of a curtain itself.

Claims

1. An apparatus for promoting personal relaxation and reducing stress in an environmentally stressful setting comprising:

a room containing an article of furniture adapted to support a person;

said room having a support structure facing said article of furniture within the room;

a visual display member of fabric construction to eliminate glare being mounted on said support structure;

said visual display member being located so that said visual display member is visible in the vicinity of said article of furniture within the line of vision of said person;

said visual display member having a pictorial display on a surface facing said person;

said pictorial display being of a landscape containing imagery designed to create relaxation and reduce stress of said person; and

,

means for attaching and permitting ready removal of said fabric visual display member to and from said support structure.

2. The apparatus for promoting personal relaxation and reducing stress in an environmentally stressful setting as in claim 1 wherein said fabric visual display is produced on a fire retardant fabric by a high resolution sublimation printing process resulting in said visual display and fire retardant fabric being washable and durable to heated washing standards of 160°

F. so that any infectious organisms thereon are eradicated.

3. The apparatus for promoting personal relaxation and reducing stress in an environmentally stressful setting as in claim 1 wherein said room is a hospital room and said article of furniture is one of a hospital bed, a chair, a recliner or a gurney.

4. The apparatus for promoting personal relaxation and reducing stress in an environmentally stressful setting as in claim 1 wherein said room is an institutional health care room and said article of furniture is one of a bed, a chair, a recliner or a gurney.

5. The apparatus for promoting personal relaxation and reducing stress in an environmentally stressful setting as in claim 1 wherein said room is a private residential room and said article of furniture is one of a bed, a chair, or a recliner.

6. The apparatus for promoting personal relaxation and reducing stress in an environmentally stressful setting as in claim 1 wherein said room is a business office room and said article of furniture is a chair.

7. The apparatus for promoting personal relaxation and reducing stress in an environmentally stressful setting as in claim 1 wherein said room is a hospitality accommodation room and said article of furniture is one of a bed, a chair, or a recliner.

8. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, said apparatus further comprising:

an audio player and a recording of nature imitating sounds which can be positioned so as to deliver nature-imitating sounds to said patient when said patient is in a reclining position on said article of furniture.

9. The apparatus as in claim 1, said apparatus further comprising a means for delivering aromas of aromatic materials to said patient.

10. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said support surface is a flexible curtain and said visual display fabric is removably attachable to a surface of said flexible curtain.

11. The apparatus as claimed in claim 10, wherein said visual display fabric is removably attachable to a surface of said flexible curtain by at least one fastener, which said at least one fastener is part of said means for attaching.

12. The apparatus as in claim 10 wherein said at least one fastener is a hook and loop fastener.

13. The apparatus as in claim 10 wherein said at least one fastener is a flexible flange having a plurality of grommets, through which each said grommet is insertable a curtain pin hook suspended from a curtain rod.

14. The apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein said visual display fabric includes a roll up-able and roll down-able curtain, and wherein said pictorial display is imprinted on said curtain.

15. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said support surface is a portable, self supporting mounting stand and said visual display fabric is removably attachable to said portable, self supporting mounting stand.

16. The apparatus as claimed in claim 15, wherein said portable self-supporting mounting stand further comprises an audio player.

17. The apparatus as claimed in claim 15, wherein said portable self-supporting mounting stand further comprises an aroma dispenser.

18. The apparatus as in claim 15 wherein said visual display fabric includes a hollow sleeve at an upper edge thereof, wherein further said self supporting mounting stand includes a rod through which said hollow sleeve said rod is insertable to drape said visual display fabric therefrom.

19. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said at least one biophilic spatially open natural landscape picture includes biophilic landscape imagery suggesting environments in which the evolutionary differentiation of Homo from ancestral paleoanthropoids is believed to have occurred.

20. The apparatus as claimed in claim 19, wherein said biophilic landscape imagery includes savanna-type imagery of vegetation dominated by a relatively low herbaceous understory and a relatively widely spaced tree canopy.

21. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein plurality of different spatially open natural landscape pictures are provided to the person for choosing at least one of said pictures.

22. An apparatus for promoting personal relaxation and reducing stress in an environmentally stressful setting comprising:

a room containing an article of furniture adapted to support a person;

said room having a ceiling structure facing said article of furniture within the room;

a visual display member of fabric construction to eliminate glare being mounted on said ceiling;

said visual display member being located so that said visual display member is visible in the vicinity of said article of furniture within the line of vision of said person;

said visual display member having a pictorial display on a surface facing said person;

said pictorial display being of a landscape containing imagery designed to is create relaxation and reduce stress of said person.

23. The apparatus as in claim 22 wherein said landscape is a biophilic spatially open natural landscape picture including biophilic landscape imagery suggesting environments in which the evolutionary differentiation of Homo from ancestral paleoanthropoids is believed to have occurred.

24. The apparatus as in claim 23 wherein said landscape includes imagery of vegetation dominated by a relatively low herbaceous understory and a relatively widely spaced tree canopy.

26. The method according to claim 25, said method further comprising the steps of:

providing an audio player means,

providing a recording which can be played by said audio player means, said recording including sounds conducive to causing patient relaxation, and

playing said recording by said audio player means so as to cause said sounds to be heard by said person and to contribute to relaxation of said person.

27. The method according to claim 25, said method further comprising the steps of:

providing therapeutic aromatic materials, and exposing said person to said therapeutic aromatic materials.

28. The method as claimed in claim 25, said method further comprising the step of providing said person with a plurality of different spatially open natural landscape pictures so as to allow said person to choose at least one picture from said plurality of pictures.

25. A method for promoting relaxation and for reducing stress of a person in a stressful environment, such as a hospital room, medical office, long term care institution, health care facility, hospitality accommodation or office, comprising the steps of:

supporting a person upon an article of furniture within a room,

placing upon a display member of non-glare fabric a visual image of a savanna-type landscape imagery designed to create relaxation, reduce stress and expedite recovery of said patient, said image being made of sufficient size to give the patient the perception of actually being in a natural setting, and,

removably mounting said display member to a support member in a location said room so that said display member is visible at the foot of said article of furniture within the line of vision of said person being supported in said article of furniture, and

exposing said person to said visual image for a period of time.

29. A method of treating a person in a stressful environment by exposing said person to selected visual stimuli comprising the steps of:

supporting the person in an article of furniture,

selecting a number of images of serene natural landscapes for viewing by said person in a room, said images each being placed on a display member of non-glare fabric by a high resolution sublimation printing process, said display and fabric being washable and durable to heated washing standards so that any infectious organisms thereon are eradicated, said image being made of sufficient size to give the person when the image is mounted the perception of actually being in a natural setting,

allowing said person to pick among the selected images an image the person would like to view,

selecting a number of audio programs which are appropriate for said person,

allowing said person to pick among said audio programs an audio program the patient would like to hear,

removably mounting said display member on support member in a location so that said display member is visible at the foot of said article of furniture within the line of vision of said person in said article of furniture, and,

loading the selected audio program into an audio playing device for playing the audio program within the room with said person.