Coded data generation or conversion – Bodily actuated code generator – For handicapped user
Reexamination Certificate
1997-11-25
2001-06-12
Zimmerman, Brian (Department: 2735)
Coded data generation or conversion
Bodily actuated code generator
For handicapped user
C341S173000, C340S575000, C340S870030, C607S007000, C128S903000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06246344
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
I. Field of the Invention
This invention is in the general field of methods and apparatus for communicating;
The invention is more particularly directed to a method and apparatus for silent communication;
The invention is even more particularly directed to a method and apparatus for using movement of a human eyelid to communicate messages;
The invention is even more particularly directed to a method of voluntary and involuntary communication of the physical, emotional and mental state of persons.
II. Description of the Prior Art
In the past there have been some attempts to use the human eyelid to detect drowsiness or the like. Examples of such devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,953,111; 4,836,219; 4,725,824; and 4,967,186.
I do know that there have been communication devices utilizing certain bodily functions for achieving the desired results. Examples of such communications are found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,925,779; 4,746,913; 4,408,192; 4,293,855; 4,298,863; 5,233,662; 3,986,030; and 4,109,145. Some of these involve the eye. U.S. Pat. No. 4,109.145 involves a line of sight apparatus directed toward predetermined positions and time; U.S. Pat. No. 3,986,030 involves light reflection of the eye to a number of keyboard sensors; U.S. Pat. No. 4,408,192 involves muscle movement of three muscles, including, possibly the eye; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,517,021 involves electrical signals generated by an individual in connection with eye movements.
There have been various other attempts to detect states of drowsiness and the like by measuring various eye movements.
However, to my knowledge there has never been an effective method to measure and, therefore, to respond to desired (or voluntary), as well as involuntary, communication of the needs of a person who has become disabled in some manner by reason of the reflectivity of the eye and the eyelid.
To my knowledge the present invention is totally novel and unique in that it uses the difference in reflectivity of the eye and the eyelid for a very easily understood method of communication which may be practiced by almost anyone. This is distinguished from all of the prior known art, including all of the above listed patents. The full extent of the distinguishing characteristics of the present invention will be clear upon a reading of the description of a preferred embodiment which follows.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
There are many circumstances under which persons may lose their ability to speak or to write. Such circumstances include, without limitation, persons who have had severe strokes, certain types of brain injury, certain types of other injuries, and the like which leaves such persons with no ability to speak or to use their limbs for writing or the like. Many of such persons, for example those in intensive care, or the like, do have brain functioning such that they wish to communicate to others, and others may wish to seek responses concerning various matters, but which cannot be provided by such persons as have been described. Additionally, persons may temporarily lose their ability properly to communicate by reason of injury, unconsciousness, sleep deprivation, drugs or the like.
I have observed that most individuals who have severe disorders of the type mentioned do have control of their eyelids even though they may not have control of any essential muscles, even including muscles that move their eyes.
Therefore, I have now conceived and perfected a method and apparatus which enables persons with disabilities as described to communicate with others willfully, involuntarily or unknowingly through the use of eyelid motion.
I have accomplished this by electronically sensing eyelid motion and converting this sensing of the eyelid motion into actual audible or visible messages. For example, in the simplest of terms a short blink of the eyelid can be used to indicate a dot and a long blink of the eyelid a dash, and then a person can communicate using dots and dashes as in the Morse Code, or to indicate zeros and ones in a binary code, and the like.
After having developed the method and apparatus which will described in more detail below, I discovered other uses which are not confined to disabled persons.
For example, my method and apparatus can be utilized as a silent alarm system by such persons as 1) bank tellers, police, and the like to communicate warnings during the commission of a crime or the like; 2) by the elderly person or epileptic individual who may have fainted, blacked out (epilepsy episode or the like), or is having a seizure epileptic episode or the like), or other emergency event. Its application include use as a: a) personal alarm and monitoring system; b) communication device; c) medical diagnostic biosensor; d) research biosensor; e) bio feed back device; f) security and military device; g) control device; h) educational device and toy.
Very importantly, my method and apparatus may now be used for a very comprehensive and important communication and diagnostic tool. As examples, my method and apparatus may be used for conscious communication by a totally disabled person. For example, well known French Author Jean Dominique Bauby describes his “locked-in” stroke in Reader's Digest October 1997 (“in the Blink of an eye”). It takes little imagination how he could have exemplified upon his marvelous story if he had had my invention to work with.
Additionally, my invention allows for monitoring an individual's emotional, mental, and physical states without any conscious response, or even knowledge that such monitoring is occurring.
My invention, thus becomes a total, and totally new and unique, method of communication, not only for communication in general, but to communicate the needs and desires, the physical and emotional state, and all other aspects of normal communication between one impaired and others. Importantly, it is not important that the communicator (the disabled, drowsy, semi-conscious, or otherwise totally, partially, voluntarily, involuntarily, or otherwise, incommunicative) even know he/she is communicating.
The normal eye blink lasts 0.1 to 0.2 second. The apparatus I have developed to perform this method of communication can be fine tuned to a natural, or an unnatural blinking cycle. Of course, as previously mentioned a long blink and a short blink can be consciously utilized to convey coded messages.
The method and apparatus of this invention operates by light emission and reflection, taking advantage of different reflectiveness of the eye lid, the eye globe, pupil, etc. Fortunately, what I have developed does not respond to skin color. Thus the racial background of the individual will not be any cause for concern in using this invention.
Furthermore, ambient lighting conditions do not affect the operation of this method and apparatus. Therefore, total absence of light, subdued or bright light, sunlight, flickering, etc. do not prevent the proper use of this invention. The light may be blocked by certain things such as mascara and may be intensified by such things as silver or the like.
Many states of physical and mental abnormality and the like can be monitored with this invention, as well as its use in communication (although, in effect, detecting the state of abnormality may be considered a form of communication). This invention can be used in connection with such conditions as epileptic seizures, drug side effects, sleep laboratory monitoring, monitoring the sleeping and waking states of children and others, demented persons of demented persons with Alzheimer's disease, patients intubated and on ventilators in hospital intensive care, prisoner state of consciousness, and the like. The eyelid communication system disclosed here can provide a steam of data about a person's state of wakefulness, sleepiness, and the like which can be integrated with data from sensors monitoring vehicles or machinery for safety purposes.
The motion of the eyelid as detected by my apparatus may be directed to computers which can convert the appropriate message and displ
Edwards, Jr. Timothy
Schulze Herbert C.
Zimmerman Brian
LandOfFree
Method and apparatus for voluntary communication does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Method and apparatus for voluntary communication, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Method and apparatus for voluntary communication will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2542276