High-Sensitivity Sensors for Sensing Various Physiological Phenomena, Particularly Useful in Anti-Snoring Apparatus and Methods

• US 20080306396A1
• Filed: 06/09/2005
• Published: 12/11/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 06/10/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nexense Technologies USA Inc.
• Original Assignee: Nexense, Ltd.
• Inventors: Ravitch, Vladimir, Ariav, Arie, Nitsan, David, Meger, Guy
• Granted Patent: US 7,866,212 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/527
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/113 occurring during breathing
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4818 Sleep apnoea

Abstract

A mechanical vibration sensor adapted to be brought into contact with an object for sensing mechanical vibrations in the object, includes a body of a soft elastomeric material having high transmissivity and low attenuation properties with respect to a preselected type of energy waves; and a pair of transducers mounted, by mounting members having high attenuation properties with respect to the energy waves, in spaced relationship to each other to define a transmission channel between the transducers. Such sensor is particularly useful in a method and apparatus for controlling snoring by a person, by utilizing a stimulus device effective, when sensing snoring, to immediately produce a response in the person tending to interrupt the person'"'"'s snoring.

Claims

1. A mechanical vibration sensor adapted to be brought into contact with an object for sensing mechanical vibrations in said object, comprising:

a body of a soft elastomeric material having high transmissivity and low attenuation properties with respect to a preselected type of energy waves;

and a pair of transducers mounted in spaced relationship to each other in said body of soft elastomeric material to define a transmission channel between them, with one transducer acting as a transmitter of said energy waves and the other transducer acting as a receiver of said energy waves;

said body of soft elastomeric material having a face adapted to be brought into contact with said object such that the mechanical vibrations in the object are sensed by the changes produced thereby in the transit time of the energy waves through said transmission channel;

characterized in that each of said transducers mounted in said spaced relation to each other in said body of soft elastomeric material by a mounting member having high attenuation properties with respect to said energy waves.

7. A sensor assembly, comprising a sensor according to claim 1, and a pair of plates of larger size than said sensor and physically contacting the opposite sides of said sensor.

8. The sensor assembly according to claim 7, wherein said sensor is located centrally of said pair of plates;

and wherein said sensor assembly further comprises a plurality of resilient pads located between said sensor and the outer peripheries of said plates.

9. The sensor assembly according to claim 7, wherein said sensor is located centrally of said pair of plates;

and wherein said sensor assembly further comprises a plurality of elastic springs located between said sensor and the outer peripheries of said plates.

11. Sensor apparatus, comprising:

a sensor according to claim 1, and a processor for continuously changing the frequency of the energy waves through said transmission channel in order to maintain the number of waves in a loop including said transmission channel as a whole integer, and for utilizing the change in frequency to produce a measurement of said mechanical vibrations.

12. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein said sensor assembly is designed for sensing various body activities of a user as manifested by the sensed mechanical vibrations in an external part of the body of the user;

and wherein said apparatus further comprises a memory for recording data, regarding said body activities sensed during a selected time interval, in a manner enabling convenient analysis and readout of said recorded data.

13. The apparatus according to claim 12, wherein said memory is a removable memory unit permitting convenient removal thereof from said apparatus for analysis at another location than that of said sensor assembly.

14. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein said processor is designed or programmed to permit analysis of said recorded data for detecting the occurrence, and the time of occurrence, of one or more of the following body activities:

respiration activity;

heart beat;

REM sleeping;

non-REM sleeping;

restlessness, including restless leg syndrome (RLS);

apnea;

asthma attack;

epileptic attack;

snoring;

teeth grinding; and

nightmarish behavior.

15. The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein said apparatus further comprises a stimulus device actuated by said processor when detecting snoring, which stimulus device, when actuated, immediately produces a response in the person tending to interrupt the person'"'"'s snoring.

16. The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein said apparatus further comprises a wake-up alarm controlled by said processor to permit actuation of the wake-up alarm only during a comfortable wake-up period as determined by the sleeping condition detected by the processor.

2-6. -6. (canceled)

10. (canceled)

17. Apparatus for controlling snoring by a person, comprising:

a sensor for sensing a predetermined condition of the person while sleeping; and

for outputting a sensor signal corresponding to the sensed condition;

a stimulus device effective, when actuated, to immediately produce a response in the person tending to interrupt the person'"'"'s snoring; and

a processor for processing said outputted sensor signal to determine whether it indicates the person is snoring, and if so, for actuating said stimulus device to produce said response tending to interrupt the person'"'"'s snoring;

characterized in that said sensor is a mechanical vibrations sensor for sensing mechanical vibrations in an external part of the person'"'"'s body.

18. The apparatus according to claim 17, wherein said processor:

analyzes said sensor signal for frequency components within a predetermined frequency band;

accumulates the energy of the sensor signal within said predetermined frequency band for a preselected time interval;

compares said accumulated energy for each predetermined time interval with the average of the accumulated energy in a plurality of the preceding preselected time intervals;

and controls the actuation of said stimulus device as a results of such comparison.

20. The apparatus according to claim 18, wherein said processor controls the actuation of said stimulus device in accordance with a determination of whether or not the accumulated energy in the preselected time interval exceeds by a predetermined percentage the average of the accumulated energy in said plurality of preceding preselected time intervals.

21. The apparatus according to claim 20, wherein said processor actuates said stimulus device when the accumulated energy in each of at least two successive preselected time intervals exceeds by said predetermined percentage the average of the accumulated energy in the plurality of preceding preselected time intervals.

22. The apparatus according to claim 20, wherein said apparatus includes a manual control for varying said predetermined percentage, and thereby for varying the sensitivity of the apparatus.

23. The apparatus according to claim 17, wherein said preselected time interval is substantially less than the inhale and exhale half-cycle times of the person'"'"'s respiration cycle time such that the actuation of the stimulus device is closely time-coordinated with the sensed snoring condition during the person'"'"'s respiration cycle.

25. The apparatus according to claim 17, wherein said sensor senses said mechanical vibrations in the part of the person'"'"'s body by causing said mechanical vibrations sensor to change the transit time of an acoustic wave transmitted from a transmitter to a receiver in an acoustic channel, and by producing a measure of said changes of transit time.

26. The apparatus according to claim 17, wherein said apparatus comprises two of said mechanical vibration sensors for sensing mechanical vibrations in two different external body parts, and for outputting sensor signals corresponding to the vibrations sensed by each sensor, said processor processing both said outputted sensor signals to determine whether they indicate a snoring condition exists.

27. The apparatus according to claim 26,

wherein said two mechanical vibration sensors are coupled together for sensing mechanical vibrations in different external body parts of the same person, one body part producing more intense mechanical vibrations upon the occurrence of snoring by the person than the other body part;

wherein said apparatus includes a stimulus device;

and wherein said processor processes both said outputted sensor signals to determine whether they indicate a snoring condition exists in said person, and upon such a determination, actuates said stimulus device to produce said response tending to interrupt the snoring by the person.

30. The apparatus according to claim 17, wherein said processor further processes said outputted sensor signal to determine whether relatively large body movements are occurring in a part of said person'"'"'s body, and if so, to disable actuation of the stimulus device during the occurrence of such relatively large body movements.

19. (canceled)

24. (canceled)

28-29. -29. (canceled)

31-44. -44. (canceled)