Biological signal measuring equipment

• US 9,788,745 B2
• Filed: 06/28/2010
• Issued: 10/17/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 06/29/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Hayakawa, Tomohiro, Soma, Haruhiko, Wada, Seiji, Wang, Fan, Kimura, Natsuki, Nakamura, Mitsuhiro, Yamashita, Shiko, Nakashima, Yusaku, Yamamoto, Takuro
• Primary Examiner(s): Cohen, Lee S
• Assistant Examiner(s): Cardinal, Erin M
• Application Number:
  US13/379,954
• Publication Number:
  US 20150133762A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,668 Days
• Field of Search: 600372, 600382, 600383, 600390, 600544-545
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/291 for electroencephalography [EEG]
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/316 Modalities, i.e. specific diagnostic methods
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/389 Electromyography [EMG]
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/398 Electrooculography [EOG], e.g. detecting nystagmus; Electroretinography [ERG]
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4806 Sleep evaluation A61B5/4821 takes precedence; devices for inducing sleep A61M21/02
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4815 Sleep quality
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6814 Head
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6887 mounted on external non-worn devices, e.g. non-medical devices

Abstract

A biological signal measuring equipment used in a measurement of a biological signal in a head portion, has a jaw contact portion that comes into contact with a forehead; an occiput contact portion that comes into contact with an occiput; and a supporter that is interposed in a front and rear direction of the head portion and is supported by the head portion by using the jaw contact portion and the occiput contact portion as ends. The biological signal measuring equipment performs the measurement in the same manner as the case of measuring a wave motion of a short period, even in the case of measuring the wave motion of a long period generated in a head portion.

Claims

1. A biological signal measuring equipment, comprising:

a supporter including;

an arm;

a forehead contact portion configured to come into contact with a forehead of a head portion;

an occiput contact portion configured to come into contact with an occiput of the head portion; and

a fixing region, connected to the forehead contact portion,

wherein the supporter is configured to be positioned between the forehead contact portion and the occiput contact portion when the supporter is arranged on the head portion;

an attachment opening present in the fixing region and configured to attach the arm that extends from the supporter in a freely attachable and detachable manner;

a first electrode attached to a portion of the supporter situated on a median sagittal plane of the supporter;

a second electrode configured to be positioned at an earlobe and attached to the arm;

a plurality of magnets, wherein the plurality of magnets and the second electrode are configured to affix to the earlobe so that the earlobe is interposed between the plurality of magnets and the second electrode;

a case that protrudes from the supporter at the fixing region; and

an electronic device configured to interface with the first electrode and the second electrode.

2. The biological signal measuring equipment of claim 1,

wherein the electronic device includes an analog-based electronic circuit, which is present at the fixing region on the supporter, and a digital-based electronic circuit.

3. The biological signal measuring equipment of claim 1, further comprising:

a plurality of amplification portions that are present at the fixing region on the supporter,

wherein the plurality of amplification portions corresponds to the first electrode and the second electrode, and

wherein a ground of the plurality of amplification portions is concentrated at the fixing region on the supporter.

4. The biological signal measuring equipment of claim 1, further comprising:

a measurement portion configured to measure a potential difference between the first electrode and the second electrode as a biological signal of the head portion,

wherein the measurement portion is further configured to measure a level in biological signals for each of a plurality of periods and compare an average of the level in the biological signals for each of the plurality of periods with a threshold value, and based on a determination that the average is lower than the threshold value, the measurement portion is further configured to notify, via a speaker, that the first electrode and the second electrode need to be remounted.

5. The biological signal measuring equipment of claim 1,

wherein the supporter further comprises a supporter portion situated on the median sagittal plane of the supporter, and a pair of branching portions branched from the supporter portion, wherein the occiput contact portion comprises a first occiput contact portion which is configured to contact a first neck side slope portion of a right side external occiput ridge and a second occiput contact portion which is configured to contact a second neck side slope portion of a left side external occiput ridge, and

wherein the first occiput contact portion is connected to a first one of the pair of branching portions as a first rear end, and

wherein the second occiput contact portion is connected to a second one of the pair of branching portions as a second rear end.

6. The biological signal measuring equipment of claim 5,

wherein a position on the supporter portion from which the pair of branching portions is branched is a position nearer an occiput side of the head portion than a forehead side of the head portion from a center of the head portion.

7. The biological signal measuring equipment of claim 1, further comprising:

a plurality of grooves on the supporter at regular intervals in a lengthwise direction of the supporter; and

an adjuster section configured to slide in a lengthwise direction of the supporter,

wherein a portion of an inner surface of the adjuster section that faces the plurality of grooves has a claw configured to fit in each of the plurality of grooves.

8. The biological signal measuring equipment of claim 1, wherein the fixing region is positioned closer to the forehead contact portion than the occiput contact portion.