Device for controlling equipment by using signals from a living body

• US 6,895,269 B2
• Filed: 11/14/2001
• Issued: 05/17/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 12/07/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Yamamoto, Tsuyoshi, Maki, Atsushi, Ito, Yoshitoshi, Yamashita, Yuichi, Koizumi, Hideaki
• Primary Examiner(s): Casler, Brian L.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Jung, William C.
• Application Number:
  US09/987,334
• Publication Number:
  US 20020028997A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,280 Days
• Field of Search: 600/310, 600/473, 600/476, 600/477, 356/432, 356/39, 356/40, 356/41, 356/345, 250/339, 250/341, 250/351, 250/352, 250/345
• US Class Current: 600/476
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/015 Input arrangements based on nervous system activity detection, e.g. brain waves [EEG] detection, electromyograms [EMG] detection, electrodermal response detection

Abstract

A device for controlling equipment includes at least one light projector adapted to project light onto a head of a living body. A light collecting section for collecting the light having passed through the head, a light measuring section for measuring an intensity of the light collected by the light collecting section, a memory section for storing a previous history of changes of the intensity of the light measured, a signal judging section for judging if both the intensity of the light measured by said light measuring section and the previous history of changes of the intensity of the light satisfy a predetermined condition, a displaying section for displaying the intensity of the light measured and a result obtained by the signal judging section, and a control signal generating section for generating a control signal for external equipment.

Claims

1. A device for controlling equipment by a signal from a living body comprising:

at least one projector adapted to project light onto a living body,

a light detector for detecting an intensity of the light having passed through the living body from said at least one light projector,

a data processing section provided with at least three threshold values predetermined for signals corresponding to the intensity of the light from said light detector and set to store a history of changes of the signals defined by an event in which a signal from said light detector crosses two adjacent ones of said at least three threshold values in succession, and

a control signal generating section for generating an equipment control signal when the changes of the signals match a specified sequence of changes of the signals.

2. A device for controlling equipment by a signal from a living body according to claim 1, wherein said at least three threshold values are spaced from each other by a value greater than a maximum noise level anticipated.

3. A device for controlling equipment by a signal from a living body comprising:

a plurality of light projectors adapted to project light onto a head of a living body,

a plurality of light detectors for detecting intensity of the lights having passed through the head of the living body from said plurality of light projectors,

a data processing section provided with a plurality of predetermined signal levels for signals from said plurality of light detectors corresponding to the intensity of the light,

said data processing section being pre-engaged to generate an equipment control signal if a signal from said plurality of light detectors exceeds a first one of said plurality of predetermined signal levels, and then said data processing section generating the equipment control signal if the signal from said plurality of light detectors goes below the first one of said plurality of predetermined signal levels, and

an equipment control section for controlling external equipment in response to the equipment control signal from said data processing section.

4. A device for controlling equipment by a signal from a living body according to claim 3, wherein said data processing section is pre-engaged to generate the equipment control signal when the signal from said plurality of light detectors exceeds the first one of said plurality of predetermined signal levels, said data processing section then cancels the pre-engagement of generation of the equipment control signal if the signal from said plurality of light detectors exceeds a second one of said plurality of predetermined signal levels.