Classifications

• • G—PHYSICS
  • G04—HOROLOGY
  • G04G—ELECTRONIC TIME-PIECES
  • G04G11/00—Producing optical signals at preselected times
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61M—DEVICES FOR INTRODUCING MEDIA INTO, OR ONTO, THE BODY; DEVICES FOR TRANSDUCING BODY MEDIA OR FOR TAKING MEDIA FROM THE BODY; DEVICES FOR PRODUCING OR ENDING SLEEP OR STUPOR
  • A61M21/00—Other devices or methods to cause a change in the state of consciousness; Devices for producing or ending sleep by mechanical, optical, or acoustical means, e.g. for hypnosis
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61M—DEVICES FOR INTRODUCING MEDIA INTO, OR ONTO, THE BODY; DEVICES FOR TRANSDUCING BODY MEDIA OR FOR TAKING MEDIA FROM THE BODY; DEVICES FOR PRODUCING OR ENDING SLEEP OR STUPOR
  • A61M21/00—Other devices or methods to cause a change in the state of consciousness; Devices for producing or ending sleep by mechanical, optical, or acoustical means, e.g. for hypnosis
  • A61M2021/0005—Other devices or methods to cause a change in the state of consciousness; Devices for producing or ending sleep by mechanical, optical, or acoustical means, e.g. for hypnosis by the use of a particular sense, or stimulus
  • A61M2021/0044—Other devices or methods to cause a change in the state of consciousness; Devices for producing or ending sleep by mechanical, optical, or acoustical means, e.g. for hypnosis by the use of a particular sense, or stimulus by the sight sense
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61M—DEVICES FOR INTRODUCING MEDIA INTO, OR ONTO, THE BODY; DEVICES FOR TRANSDUCING BODY MEDIA OR FOR TAKING MEDIA FROM THE BODY; DEVICES FOR PRODUCING OR ENDING SLEEP OR STUPOR
  • A61M21/00—Other devices or methods to cause a change in the state of consciousness; Devices for producing or ending sleep by mechanical, optical, or acoustical means, e.g. for hypnosis
  • A61M2021/0005—Other devices or methods to cause a change in the state of consciousness; Devices for producing or ending sleep by mechanical, optical, or acoustical means, e.g. for hypnosis by the use of a particular sense, or stimulus
  • A61M2021/0083—Other devices or methods to cause a change in the state of consciousness; Devices for producing or ending sleep by mechanical, optical, or acoustical means, e.g. for hypnosis by the use of a particular sense, or stimulus especially for waking up

Definitions

• the object of the invention is an equipment for regulating th level of natural activity of human beings appropriately accordin to day and night and permitting a more gentle and natur awakening.
• This equipment consists of a source of light wit necessary connecting wires and leads and devices to allow it t be suspended and a timer for controlling the switch-on time of th light source.
• auxiliary appliances used for regulating the level of natur activity of human beings have until no been based primarily on a stimulus aimed at the sense of hearin or feeling.
• alarm clocks which provide a sound signal
• wris watches which, after a set time, vibrate and let the individual know when it is time to wake up; such watches are used by peopl with defective hearing.
• Alarm clocks that are based on a sound or feeling signal, do no take into consideration those physiological facts which caus humans often to still feel tired and sleepy after waking up Drowsiness can lead to a loss in performance capability and als leads to increased risk of accident, especially traffic accidents Sleep deprivation lowers also motivation, for example, i performing tasks conscientiously.
• shift workers ma suffer from this disturbance. Nearly all shift workers have a some times sleep disturbances and about a quarter of the constantly complain about them. 80-90% of shift workers repor tiredness during the night shift. About one fifth of shift workers have been estimated to drowse during night shift because they cannot stop themselves falling asleep.
• Another group which suffer from the above mentioned inconvenience are those individuals suffering from seasonal affective disorder, typically occurring in the winter time.
• the vital functions of man have developed to follow a regular, slightly over twenty-four hour rhythm.
• body temperature and cortisol level in plasma the twenty-four hour rhythms of which are controlled by the suprachiasmatic nucleus in the anterior portion of the hypothalamus.
• the understanding of the location of the human biological clock has only been clarified in recent years.
• the suprachiasmatic nucleus is mainly regulated by the brightness of the environment.
• the aim of the invention is to bring forward an equipment for improving the above mentioned disadvantages.
• the aim of the invention is to bring forward an equipment for bringing about a natural awakening and providing light treatment.
• the equipment according to this invention consists of a directional device connected to a timer, favourably a voltage output device, for adjusting gradually the intensity of the light coming from a light source, when the source of light has been arranged to radiate light which is adjustable in its intensity and wavelength.
• a directional device previously known devices which are suitable for this purpose can be used.
• the invention acts as a "natural alarm clock", because it simulates the sunrise. With the help of the equipment, the intensity of light is gradually increased using such wavelengths of light which are necessary for the purpose of waking up.
• the sensitivity of the eye increases greatly and at the same time the wavelength at which the mechanism of the ocular sensitivity is located becomes shorter. At that time, the eye is extremely sensitive to the wavelengths of about 500 nanometres.
• the increasing light which penetrates the eyelid sends a stimulus to the hypothalamus which regulates the rhythm of sleep an wakefulness during day and night. This stimulus wakes up sleeper naturally and gently. After waking up, the person ma receive a period of light treatment if necessary.
• the waking up and light treatment can be combined and this can be attained by using the one device.
• the invention also raises the natural activity level of its user and alleviates the morning arousal which usually happens in the dark.
• the device according to the invention improves working motivation and accordingly the output, for example in such companies where the work has to be done in shifts.
• Figure 1 shows schematically the alarm clock which is connected via plug 1 to the electrical output or other voltage source.
• the current flows through the wire 2a to a timer 3 which can be adjusted by a button 3a to the desired time for switching on.
• the timer 3 connects the current through the wire 2b to a voltage output device 4 which automatically starts providing voltage from zero volts to a maximum amount of volts.
• the adjustable voltage the maximum value of which in this embodiment has been adjusted by the potentiometer 4a, and the adjusting time of which has been adjusted by the potentiometer 4b, flows through the wire 2c to a light panel 5 where the increasing voltage starts to elevate the intensity of light.
• the voltage can be directed in the light panel to lamps which radiate different wavelengths of light so that an optimal change in the spectrum for the awakening is obtained.
• the timers 3 and 4b have also bypass circuitry which makes it possible to use the equipment for ligh therapy.
• the timer 3 and the voltag output device 4 can be constructed of electronical components int a single unit. When desired, they can be built also together into th light panel 5. The security of operation can also be maximized b using a sound signal.
• the position of the light panel, its directio and distance, with respect to the sleeper, can also be arbitraril set depending entirely on the way the panel has been suspended. I the light panel, several lamps can be used which emit differen wavelengths of light, or to obtain the desired wavelengths also technique using colour filters can be used.
• the timer 3 can also b built in connection with an electronic clock face. It may contain several operational settings for dividing the voltage as needed to different places also outside the light panel through separate voltage sources. In one embodiment of the invention, the timer has many settings, so that it has a registering unit which recognizes the movements of the sleeper, and one setting has been arranged to operate directed by this registering unit.
• the above mentioned operations can be automated by using previously known different registering unit embodiments and/or other technical embodiments.
• the light source instead of a light panel, for example one or more different lamps, for instance, an incandescent lamp or equivalent can be used.

Landscapes

• Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Hematology (AREA)
• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Anesthesiology (AREA)
• Biomedical Technology (AREA)
• Heart & Thoracic Surgery (AREA)
• Acoustics & Sound (AREA)
• Psychology (AREA)
• Animal Behavior & Ethology (AREA)
• General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Public Health (AREA)
• Veterinary Medicine (AREA)
• General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Radiation-Therapy Devices (AREA)
• Electric Clocks (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=8533623

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (3)

Cited By (3)

Citations (6)

• 1991
  • 1991-12-05 FI FI915754A patent/FI91363C/sv not_active IP Right Cessation
• 1992
  • 1992-11-26 WO PCT/FI1992/000320 patent/WO1993010857A1/en active Application Filing
  • 1992-11-26 AU AU29468/92A patent/AU2946892A/en not_active Abandoned

Patent Citations (6)

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