Sleep detecting apparatus

• US 5,479,939 A
• Filed: 04/06/1994
• Issued: 01/02/1996
• Est. Priority Date: 03/09/1990
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Ogino, Hiroyuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Pellegrino, Stephen C.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Tucker, Guy V.
• Application Number:
  US08/224,104
• Time in Patent Office: 636 Days
• Field of Search: 128/721, 128/722, 128/774, 128/782, 600/26-28, 340/573, 340/575, 5/658
• US Class Current: 600/595
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1102 Ballistocardiography
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1116 Determining posture transitions
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1118 Determining activity level
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/113 occurring during breathing
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4809 Sleep detection, i.e. determining whether a subject is asleep or not
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6887 mounted on external non-worn devices, e.g. non-medical devices
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6891 Furniture
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6892 Mats
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7239 using differentiation including higher order derivatives

Abstract

Movement of a person in bed is detected without contacting the body, and time measurement is reset and started newly by a timer every time a detected movement exceeds a predetermined set value. When the measurement time of the timer exceeds a set time predetermined, it is judged that the body has fallen asleep on the bed. Meanwhile, absence or presence in bed and rough body movement are judged by detecting the fine body movement propagated by the functioning of heart and breathing of the body.

Claims

1. An apparatus which operates to sense a condition indicative of sleep, comprising:

an infrared ray emitter and sensor assembly for radiating infrared rays over a bed on which a human body is located, and for detecting a characteristic of infrared rays and for outputting a detection signal which is generated by said characteristic and indicative of moving of said human body, said detection signal being proportional to an amount of movement of said human body;

a comparator for comparing said detection signal to a predetermined value indicative of rough body movement;

a timer for measuring a time interval during which said human body is in a substantially motionless condition on the basis of said detection signal, said time interval being interrupted when a level of said detection signal exceeds said predetermined value, said substantially motionless condition indicating that said human body is asleep, and

sleep judging means for outputting an electrical signal indicating that said human body is asleep when said time interval exceeds a predetermined time period.

2. A sleep detecting apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein

said assembly is mounted on one of said bed and a wall.

3. A sleep detecting apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein said predetermined time period is between 10 and 15 minutes.

4. A sleep detecting apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein said detection signal is representative of infrared light reflected from said human body to said assembly.