JPH053307B2 - - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention [Object of the Invention] <Industrial Application Field> The present invention relates to a snoring detection method and a snoring prevention device using the snoring detection method.

<Prior art> Various anti-snoring devices have been proposed in the past, which suppress snoring by detecting snoring sound using a sound-collecting microphone and stimulating the user to wake him up. An example of this is disclosed. In such snoring prevention devices, the occurrence of snoring is determined by detecting a relatively loud sound in a predetermined frequency band.

However, there has been a problem of malfunctions in which sudden or continuous external noises are judged to be snoring and irritate the user. Therefore, it has been proposed to add the period of sound generation as a judgment criterion, but since the period of breathing (snoring) is not necessarily constant, it is not necessarily possible to prevent malfunctions. It was not possible to detect so-called reciprocating snoring, which produces snoring sounds.

On the other hand, in the past, after detecting the occurrence of snoring, the user of the device was required to use a light source to stop the snoring.
Since the user is completely awakened by applying sound or electrical stimulation, the sound of snoring to the surroundings is reduced, but it may not ensure the user's own sleep or cause new snoring, and the snoring It was not always possible to fundamentally suppress the occurrence of

<Problems to be Solved by the Invention> In view of the problems of the prior art, a first object of the present invention is to provide a snoring detection method that can reliably detect the occurrence of snoring. . A second object of the present invention is to provide an anti-snoring device that can ensure comfortable sleep for both the user and those around him.

[Structure of the Invention] <Means for Solving the Problems> According to the present invention, the first object is to detect the point in time when the sound pressure level changes from a state lower than a predetermined value to a state higher than the predetermined value, and when the sound pressure level changes from the state to the above predetermined value again. a point in time when the sound pressure level becomes lower than a predetermined value is detected by a sound pressure level measuring means, and the continuous time of the sound pressure level state higher than the predetermined value is equal to or longer than a first predetermined time, and a second
A counter means is used to count only when the sound pressure level is less than a predetermined time, and after the count of the counter means reaches a predetermined value, snoring is detected when the sound pressure level becomes higher than the predetermined value. This is achieved by providing a snoring detection method characterized by determining that snoring is occurring. Also, the second
The purpose of this is to use a sound pressure level measuring means to detect the point in time when the sound pressure level changes from a state lower than a predetermined value to a state higher than the predetermined value, and the point in time when the sound pressure level becomes lower than the predetermined value again from the above state. , the counter means counts only when the continuous time of the sound pressure level higher than the predetermined value is longer than the first predetermined time and less than the second predetermined time; a snoring detection means that determines that snoring occurs when the sound pressure level becomes higher than the predetermined value after the count reaches a predetermined number; a movable support member supported by a fixed member so as to be swingable around an axis extending in a horizontal direction; and selectively swinging the movable support member based on a detection result of the detection means. This is achieved by providing an anti-snoring device characterized by having means for causing snoring.

<Function> By doing so, it is possible to reliably detect snoring with irregular periods and reciprocating snoring that generates snoring sounds at the time of inhalation and exhalation of breath, and to prevent erroneous detection of other noises. Furthermore, after detecting the occurrence of snoring, the user tilts their head to change their posture and secure the necessary airway, thereby making it possible to stop snoring without disturbing the user's sleep.

<Examples> Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 shows a snoring prevention device 1 to which the present invention is applied.
FIG. This anti-snoring device 1 includes a box-shaped fixed casing 2 that is placed on a floor (not shown) and a movable casing 3 that covers the upper surface of the fixed casing 2. The movable casing 3 has a bracket 4 projecting upward from the center of the front and rear ends of the fixed casing 2, a bracket 5 provided at a position corresponding to the above-mentioned bracket 4 of the movable casing 3, and both brackets 4 and 5 are connected to each other. It is supported by a pivot pin 6 which is pivotally attached to the fixed casing 2 so as to be swingable about an axis extending in the direction shown by the arrow, that is, in the front-rear direction.

A pair of bearing members 7 are provided inside the fixed casing 2 and are laterally spaced apart and facing each other.
A transverse shaft 8 is rotatably supported between both bearing members 7. A pair of eccentric cam members 9 that are eccentric in opposite directions are provided near both ends of the transverse shaft 8, respectively. As clearly shown in Figure 2, which is a cross-sectional view of the main part seen from the front direction of Figure 1,
The upper ends of these eccentric cam members 9 abut from below a contact surface 21 of a contact member 20 erected on the lower surface of the movable casing 3 . A worm gear 10 is provided at the center of the horizontal shaft 8, and the worm gear 10 is attached to a vertical shaft 13 that extends in the front-rear direction of the fixed casing 2 and is supported by bearing members 11 at both ends. It meshes with the worm 12. A worm gear 14 is also provided on the vertical shaft 13 and meshes with a worm 18 attached to a drive shaft 17 extending from a motor 16 supported by a support member 15 in the lateral direction of the fixed casing 2. ing.

Therefore, when the drive shaft 17 of the motor 16 rotates, both eccentric cam members 9 rotate via the worm 18, the worm gear 14, the vertical shaft 13, the worm 12, the worm gear 10, and the horizontal shaft 8, and come into contact with each other. The movable casing 3 can be swung at a relatively slow speed within a predetermined angular range via the member 20.

Note that the upper surface of the movable casing 3 is covered with a foam material 19 that serves as a cushion material between the movable casing 3 and the user's head.

On the other hand, the motor 16 is connected to a control circuit 23 having a snoring detection circuit and a motor drive circuit. This control circuit 23 is connected to a pair of sound collecting microphones 24 provided at appropriate positions on the fixed casing 2 and a power source 25 which may be a battery provided in the center of the fixed casing 2. Further, as clearly shown in FIG. 3, the control circuit 23 controls the sound collection microphone 2
4 and a motor drive circuit 23b for driving the motor 16. Therefore, when a power switch (not shown) is turned on, the sound from the sound collecting microphone 24 is used in the snoring detection circuit 23a to determine whether or not snoring is occurring, and if snoring is occurring, the motor drive circuit The movable casing 3 is oscillated by driving the motor 16 by the motor 23b for, for example, two seconds.

In fact, in addition to the sound collecting microphone 24, an external sound collecting microphone may be connected via a connection terminal to intensively collect only the user's snoring sound. Also,
A volume may be provided between the sound collecting microphone and the snoring detection circuit, and a predetermined sound pressure level L0, which will be described later, may be changed depending on the surrounding noise, the state of the user, and the like.

The operation of this embodiment will be explained in detail below with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6. Figure 4 shows the relationship between time and sound pressure level when snoring noise occurs only during inhalation, and Figure 5 shows the relationship between time and sound pressure level when snoring noise occurs during inhalation and exhalation. Indicates the relationship with the level. Further, FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a procedure for detecting the occurrence of snoring using the sound collecting microphone 24 and the snoring detection circuit 23a.

First, when the power is turned on, the snoring detection circuit 23
At step a, the process proceeds to step ST1 of the flowchart shown in FIG. 6, where 0 is assigned to the counter flag F and time variable ta as initial settings. Next step
Proceed to ST2 and repeat this step until the sound from the sound collection microphone 24 reaches a sound pressure level L higher than the predetermined sound pressure level L0. When the sound pressure level L becomes higher than L0, the process advances to step ST3, and in this step and step ST4, the counter flag F changes from 0 to
2, and if it is 0,
Proceeding to step ST5, the time t of the timer built in the control circuit 23 is set to 0. And the steps
The process advances to ST6, and this step and step ST7 are repeated until the sound pressure level L becomes lower than a predetermined level L0, and when the sound pressure level L becomes lower, the process proceeds to step ST8. At this time, if the second predetermined time t2 (2.5 seconds) has elapsed while the sound pressure level L remains higher than L0, it is determined that snoring is not occurring and the process returns to step ST2.

If the sound pressure level L is shorter than the first predetermined time t1 (0.8 seconds) in step ST8, it is determined that snoring is not occurring and the process returns to step ST2. Also, step
If the time during which the sound pressure level L was higher than L0 in ST8 was longer than the first predetermined time t1, that is, t1
If ≧t≧t2, proceed to step 9, add 1 to counter flag F, and set counter flag F=
1 and the current time t is assigned to the time variable ta. Then, the process proceeds to step ST10, and the process waits at this step until a fourth predetermined time t4 (0.6 seconds) has elapsed from the time when the sound pressure level L becomes lower than L0, and no change in the sound pressure level L is sensed. When t≧t4, return to step ST2 and increase the sound pressure level L again.
Repeat this step until it is higher than L0.

After that, at steps ST3 and ST4 when the sound pressure level L becomes higher than L0 again, the counter flag F is set.
It is determined that 1 is 1, and the process proceeds to step ST11, where the current time t is substituted for the time variable ta, and the process proceeds to step ST6. Similarly to the above, the state where the sound pressure level L is higher than L0 is ta+t1>t>ta
If it is within the range of +t2, 1 is added to the counter flag F in step ST9 to set the counter flag F=2, and the process proceeds to step ST2 via step ST10.
Return to

After that, when the sound pressure level L becomes higher than L0 again, it is determined in steps ST3 and ST4 that the counter flag F is 2, and the process proceeds to step ST12.
It is determined whether the time t has not passed the third predetermined time t3, and if it has, the interval between the occurrences of the sound is too long and it is determined that it is not snoring, and the process returns to step ST1. Furthermore, if the time t has not passed the third predetermined time t3 in step ST12,
Determine that snoring is occurring and proceed to step ST13.
Then, the movable casing 3 is tilted by driving the motor 16 for a predetermined time, which may be 2 seconds, to change the head posture of the user who snores (turn the head to the side). ), which helps keep the airway open and suppresses snoring.

If the occurrence of snoring is detected in this way, not only the snoring sound that occurs only during inhalation as shown in Fig. 4, but also the snoring sound that occurs both during inhalation and exhalation as shown in Fig. 5. Reciprocating snoring can also be easily detected. Furthermore, by performing the tilting operation of the movable casing 3 every time snoring occurs, snoring can be suitably suppressed without awakening the user.

7 and 8 are cross-sectional views of a modified embodiment of the above-mentioned embodiment, viewed from the axial direction of the transverse shaft 8. FIG. In FIG. 7, the contact surface 21' of the contact member 20 that contacts the upper end of the eccentric cam member 9 fixed to the transverse shaft 8 has an uneven shape. Further, in FIG. 8, an eccentric cam 9' fixed to the transverse shaft 8 has a polygonal cross section with corners. Therefore,
As the transverse shaft 8 rotates, the movable casing 3 vibrates slightly, giving slight stimulation to the user's head, thereby making it possible to suppress snoring more favorably.

[Effect of the invention] As described above, according to the present invention, the intensity of snoring sound,
Since the occurrence of snoring is detected by counting the number of snoring sounds based on the continuous time and the interval between the next snoring sound, sudden sounds or continuous noises are falsely detected as snoring. Not only does this prevent snoring from occurring, but even relatively irregular snoring, such as snoring that occurs when breathing in and out, can be easily and reliably detected. In addition, based on this detection result, the user tilts the user's head to change their posture and secures the airway, suppressing snoring, thereby disturbing not only those around them but also the user's own sleep. It becomes possible to suppress snoring without any noise. From the above, the effects of the present invention are extremely large.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing the configuration of a snoring prevention device to which the present invention is applied. FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of the main part of FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the snoring prevention device shown in FIG. 1. FIGS. 4 and 5 are graphs showing the relationship between time and sound pressure level when snoring occurs. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operating procedure of the snoring prevention device shown in FIG. 7th
8 are side sectional views schematically showing an eccentric cam member and an abutment member showing a modified example of the first embodiment. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Anti-snoring device, 2... Fixed casing, 3... Movable casing, 4, 5... Bracket, 6... Pivot pin, 7... Bearing member, 8... Lateral axis, 9... Eccentricity Cam member, 10... Worm gear, 11... Bearing member, 12... Worm, 1
3... Vertical axis, 14... Worm gear, 15...
...Support member, 16...Motor, 17...Drive shaft,
18... Worm, 19... Foaming material, 20... Contact member, 21... Contact surface, 23... Control circuit, 2
3a...Snoring detection circuit, 23b...Motor drive circuit, 24...Sound collecting microphone, 25...Power source.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. Sound pressure level measuring means is provided to measure the point in time when the sound pressure level changes from a state lower than a predetermined value to a state higher than the predetermined value, and the point in time when the sound pressure level returns to a state lower than the predetermined value from said state. Detecting the sound pressure level by using a counter means, and counting only when the continuous time of the sound pressure level higher than the predetermined value is longer than the first predetermined time and less than the second predetermined time; A snoring detection method comprising: determining that snoring is occurring when the sound pressure level becomes higher than the predetermined value after the count of the counter means reaches a predetermined value. 2. From the time when the sound pressure level first becomes higher than the predetermined value until the sound pressure level becomes higher than the predetermined value after the count number of the counter means reaches the predetermined number. 2. The snoring detection method according to claim 1, wherein the count number is set to 0 when a predetermined period of time has elapsed. 3. Claims 1 or 2, characterized in that it is not detected that the sound pressure level has become higher than the predetermined value before a fourth predetermined time has elapsed from the time counted by the counter means.
The snoring detection method described in section. 4 The first predetermined time is 0.8 seconds, the second predetermined time is 2.4 seconds, and the third predetermined time is 11.1 seconds.
4. The snoring detection method according to claim 3, wherein the fourth predetermined time is 0.6 seconds. 5. Using a sound pressure level measuring means, detect the time when the sound pressure level changes from a state lower than a predetermined value to a state higher than the predetermined value, and the time when the sound pressure level becomes lower than the predetermined value again from the above state, and counting by a counter means only when the continuous time of the sound pressure level state higher than the value is longer than the first predetermined time and shorter than the second predetermined time;
snoring detection means that determines that snoring is occurring when the sound pressure level becomes higher than the predetermined value after the count of the counter means reaches a predetermined value; a movable support member supported by a fixed member so as to be swingable about an axis extending in a substantially horizontal direction; 1. A snoring prevention device comprising means for swinging a member. 6. A drive shaft on which the tilting means is perpendicular to a swing axis of the movable support member and extends in a horizontal direction;
6. The anti-snoring device according to claim 5, further comprising an eccentric cam member that is provided on the drive shaft and abuts the movable support member, and an actuator that rotates with the drive shaft.