System, medium, and method to conduce a user's breathing

• US 20070167855A1
• Filed: 11/22/2006
• Published: 07/19/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 01/04/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Shin, Sang Hoon, Kim, Kyung Ho, Han, Wan Taek, Hong, Sun Gi
• Granted Patent: US 8,491,489 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/533
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/08 Detecting, measuring or recording devices for evaluating the respiratory organs A61B5/0205 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0878 using temperature sensing means
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/486 Bio-feedback A61B5/375 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7405 using sound
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/742 using visual displays A61B5/339 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 7/003 Detecting lung or respiration noise

Abstract

A system, medium, and method conducing a user'"'"'s breathing, in which a sound generated during a user'"'"'s exhale and/or an ambient temperature change occurring during the exhale is sensed to measure a respiratory waveform of the user. Respiratory information of the user may then be produced from the respiratory waveform, and when the respiratory information of the user is different from normal respiratory information of the user, breathing information according to the normal respiratory information may be provided to the user so the user can use the same to modify their breathing.

Claims

1. A system for conducing a user'"'"'s breathing, comprising:

a breathing monitoring device to detect a user'"'"'s breathing;

a respiratory information generator to generate current respiratory information of the user based on the user'"'"'s breathing, with the current respiratory information including a current respiratory cycle and/or current respiratory rate of the user; and

a breathing-conducing unit to compare the current respiratory information with predefined respiratory information of the user, and to display and/or represent the predefined respiratory information to the user through a display and/or audio output if the current respiratory information and the predefined respiratory information are different,

wherein, when the current respiratory information and the predefined respiratory information are different, the respiratory information generator continues to review the user'"'"'s breathing while the predefined respiratory information is displayed and/or represented to the user through the display and/or audio output, and

wherein the breathing-conducing unit further provides visual and/or audio feedback to the user to indicate a progression of the user'"'"'s breathing in matching the predefined respiratory information.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising a memory to store the predefined respiratory information, the predefined respiratory information being a normal respiratory cycle and/or normal respiratory rate of the user, with the normal respiratory cycle and/or normal respiratory rate representing a breathing state of the user that does not indicate stress.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the normal respiratory cycle and normal respiratory rate are previously generated by the respiratory information generator.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the breathing monitoring device is a microphone to detect a sound generated and/or a temperature sensor to detect an ambient temperature change during an exhale.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the system is a portable device.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the portable device includes at least one of a mobile communication terminal, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a handheld gaming device, an MP3 player, a PMP (Portable Multimedia Player), a digital multimedia broadcasting (DMB) terminal, and a notebook computer.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein a period of the user'"'"'s breathing is determined to be an exhale period based on a magnitude of the user'"'"'s breathing being greater than a predetermined threshold value, wherein a period of the user'"'"'s breathing during which the magnitude of the user'"'"'s breathing is not greater than the predetermined threshold value is determined to be an inhale period of the user'"'"'s breathing, and wherein the comparison of the current respiratory information with the predefined respiratory information by the respiratory information generator is based on the exhale period and the inhale period.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the predetermined threshold represents a change in a detected ambient temperature and/or a detected sound level.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein the respiratory information generator adds the exhale period and the inhaled period to calculate the current respiratory cycle, divides the exhale period by the inhale period to calculate the current respiratory rate, and uses the current respiratory cycle and/or the current respiratory rate in the comparison of the current respiratory information with the predefined respiratory information.

10. The system of claim 7, wherein the breathing-conducing unit displays and/or represents detected exhale information and/or detected inhale information of the user'"'"'s breathing in the providing of the visual and/or audio feedback to the user through the display and/or the audio output together with predefined exhale information and/or predefined inhale information of the predefined respiratory information.

11. A method of conducing a user'"'"'s breathing, the method comprising:

detecting a user'"'"'s breathing;

generating a current respiratory information of the user based on the user'"'"'s breathing, with the current respiratory information including a current respiratory cycle and/or current respiratory rate of the user; and

comparing the current respiratory information with predefined respiratory information of the user, and displaying and/or representing the predefined respiratory information to the user through a display and/or an audio output if the current respiratory information and the predefined respiratory information are different,

wherein, when the current respiratory information and the predefined respiratory information are different, the generating of the current respiratory information continues while the predefined respiratory information is displayed and/or represented to the user through the display and/or audio output, and

wherein the comparing of the current respiratory information further comprises providing visual and/or audio feedback to the user to indicate a progression of the user'"'"'s breathing in matching the predefined respiratory information.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising maintaining the predefined respiratory information in a memory, the predefined respiratory information being a normal respiratory cycle and/or normal respiratory rate of the user, with the normal respiratory cycle and/or normal respiratory rate representing a breathing state of the user that does not indicate stress.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the normal respiratory cycle and normal respiratory rate are previously generated by the generating of the current respiratory information when the user'"'"'s breathing was the breathing state of the user that does not indicate stress.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the detecting of the user'"'"'s breathing is performed by detecting an audible aspect of the user'"'"'s breathing and/or by detecting an ambient temperature change during an exhale.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the comparing of the current respiratory information, the displaying and/or representing of the predefined respiratory information to the user, and providing of visual and/or audio feedback to the user are performed by a portable device includes at least one of a mobile communication terminal, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a handheld gaming device, an MP3 player, a PMP (Portable Multimedia Player), a digital multimedia broadcasting (DMB) terminal, and a notebook computer.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein a period of the user'"'"'s breathing is determined to be an exhale period based on a magnitude of the user'"'"'s breathing being greater than a predetermined threshold value, wherein a period of the user'"'"'s breathing during which the magnitude of the user'"'"'s breathing is not greater than the predetermined threshold value is determined to be an inhale period of the user'"'"'s breathing, and wherein the comparison of the current respiratory information with the predefined respiratory information is based on the exhale period and the inhale period.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the predetermined threshold represents a change in a detected ambient temperature and/or a detected sound level.

18. The method of claim 16, further comprising adding the exhale period and the inhaled period to calculate the current respiratory cycle, dividing the exhale period by the inhale period to calculate the current respiratory rate, and using the current respiratory cycle and/or the current respiratory rate in the comparison of the current respiratory information with the predefined respiratory information.

19. The method of claim 16, further comprising displaying and/or representing detected exhale information and/or detected inhale information of the detected user'"'"'s breathing in the providing of the visual and/or audio feedback to the user through the display and/or the audio output together with predefined exhale information and/or predefined inhale information of the predefined respiratory information.

20. At least one medium comprising computer readable code to implement the method of claim 11.