GB2246227A - Apparatus for generating aural and/or visual phenomena - Google Patents

Apparatus for generating aural and/or visual phenomena Download PDF

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Publication number
GB2246227A
GB2246227A GB9111733A GB9111733A GB2246227A GB 2246227 A GB2246227 A GB 2246227A GB 9111733 A GB9111733 A GB 9111733A GB 9111733 A GB9111733 A GB 9111733A GB 2246227 A GB2246227 A GB 2246227A
Authority
GB
United Kingdom
Prior art keywords
person
persons
veins
movement
space
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Granted
Application number
GB9111733A
Other versions
GB2246227B (en
GB9111733D0 (en
Inventor
Leo Rogers
Derick Last
Lyndon Baker
Ron Geesin
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
LEAPFROGS Ltd
Original Assignee
LEAPFROGS Ltd
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by LEAPFROGS Ltd filed Critical LEAPFROGS Ltd
Publication of GB9111733D0 publication Critical patent/GB9111733D0/en
Publication of GB2246227A publication Critical patent/GB2246227A/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of GB2246227B publication Critical patent/GB2246227B/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Fee Related legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • 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
    • A61M21/0094—Isolation chambers used therewith, i.e. for isolating individuals from external stimuli
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G10—MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS; ACOUSTICS
    • G10H—ELECTROPHONIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS; INSTRUMENTS IN WHICH THE TONES ARE GENERATED BY ELECTROMECHANICAL MEANS OR ELECTRONIC GENERATORS, OR IN WHICH THE TONES ARE SYNTHESISED FROM A DATA STORE
    • G10H1/00—Details of electrophonic musical instruments
    • 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
    • A61M2021/0016—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 smell 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
    • A61M2021/0027—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 hearing 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
    • A61M2021/0044—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
    • A61M2021/0044—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
    • A61M2021/005—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 images, e.g. video
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G10—MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS; ACOUSTICS
    • G10H—ELECTROPHONIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS; INSTRUMENTS IN WHICH THE TONES ARE GENERATED BY ELECTROMECHANICAL MEANS OR ELECTRONIC GENERATORS, OR IN WHICH THE TONES ARE SYNTHESISED FROM A DATA STORE
    • G10H2220/00—Input/output interfacing specifically adapted for electrophonic musical tools or instruments
    • G10H2220/155—User input interfaces for electrophonic musical instruments
    • G10H2220/351—Environmental parameters, e.g. temperature, ambient light, atmospheric pressure, humidity, used as input for musical purposes
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G10—MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS; ACOUSTICS
    • G10H—ELECTROPHONIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS; INSTRUMENTS IN WHICH THE TONES ARE GENERATED BY ELECTROMECHANICAL MEANS OR ELECTRONIC GENERATORS, OR IN WHICH THE TONES ARE SYNTHESISED FROM A DATA STORE
    • G10H2220/00—Input/output interfacing specifically adapted for electrophonic musical tools or instruments
    • G10H2220/155—User input interfaces for electrophonic musical instruments
    • G10H2220/405—Beam sensing or control, i.e. input interfaces involving substantially immaterial beams, radiation, or fields of any nature, used, e.g. as a switch as in a light barrier, or as a control device, e.g. using the theremin electric field sensing principle
    • G10H2220/411—Light beams
    • G10H2220/415—Infrared beams
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G10—MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS; ACOUSTICS
    • G10H—ELECTROPHONIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS; INSTRUMENTS IN WHICH THE TONES ARE GENERATED BY ELECTROMECHANICAL MEANS OR ELECTRONIC GENERATORS, OR IN WHICH THE TONES ARE SYNTHESISED FROM A DATA STORE
    • G10H2220/00—Input/output interfacing specifically adapted for electrophonic musical tools or instruments
    • G10H2220/155—User input interfaces for electrophonic musical instruments
    • G10H2220/405—Beam sensing or control, i.e. input interfaces involving substantially immaterial beams, radiation, or fields of any nature, used, e.g. as a switch as in a light barrier, or as a control device, e.g. using the theremin electric field sensing principle
    • G10H2220/435—Ultrasound, i.e. input or control device involving inaudible pressure waves, e.g. focused as a beam

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  • Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Acoustics & Sound (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Hematology (AREA)
  • Anesthesiology (AREA)
  • Biomedical Technology (AREA)
  • Heart & Thoracic Surgery (AREA)
  • Psychology (AREA)
  • Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
  • Animal Behavior & Ethology (AREA)
  • General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • Public Health (AREA)
  • Veterinary Medicine (AREA)
  • Multimedia (AREA)
  • Circuit Arrangement For Electric Light Sources In General (AREA)

Abstract

The apparatus is preferably in the form of a tube and includes sensor means responsive to the presence of, movement of and/or sounds emitted by, a person or persons. to generate a variety of external stimuli comprising aural and/or visual phenomena, the nature of some at least of the stimuli being adapted to be influenced by the behaviour of the person or persons. The tube is adapted to be entered by people and has an array of veins on its inner walls which carry lights. Also within the tube may be means for emitting sounds, or picture projection means. The outputs of the sensors are applied to a control system whose output controls the lights, sound and/or picture projection. <IMAGE>

Description

Environmental Control apparatus This invention relates to an environmental control apparatus and particularly but not exclusively to a system including an enclosure into which people can enter to be subjected to, and interactively influence, a wide variety of stimuli, including aural and visual stimuli.
It is known in burglar alrm technology to provide an alarm system which responds to the presence of an intruder by switching on a sound and/or light, but these systems are simply an on-off trigger used to set off the alarm. The present invention seeks to provide a system and apparatus in which there is interaction between the person and the apparatus.
According to the present invention there is provided a system and apparatus for generating an environment, including means responsive to the presence of, movement of and/or sounds emitted by, a person or persons, to generate a variety of external stimuli comprising aural and/or visual phenomena, the nature of some at least of the stimuli being adapted to be influenced by the behaviour of the person or persons.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the system comprises a room or partially enclosed space, such as a tunnel, through which people are able to pass or into which they can enter, having in the wall(s), floor and/or ceiling thereof a plurality of sensors responsive to the presence of or movement of or sound emitted by a person or persons in the space, the sensors being connected to means to generate the said stimuli.
An embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 shows an end view into a tunnel, Figures 2a-2e show details of the tunnel construction, and Figure 3 shows a plan view of the tunnel.
Referring now to the drawings, there is shown an embodiment of the invention in the form of a generally tubular tunnel made of glass fibre or similar material, which is 5 metres long and has a tube diameter of 2.5 metres. The inner wall of the tunnel carries an array of veins formed of transparent plastics material which extend over the wall in either a random way or in a carefully calculated manner designed to give predetermined results.
The veins are bonded to, or incorporated in the glass fibre so that certain, transparent parts of the veins are visible from outside the tube, which enables the provision of external stimuli to cause an interest in the tube from a distance. Parts of the tube may be coloured or translucent or completely opaque. The veins contain a plurality of lights, which may be of different colours. In a typical installation the lights may consist of 120 bulbs in up to 5 colours, spaced along the tubes in either a random or regular manner. Means, not shown, are also provided for emitting sounds at intervals along and/or around the walls of the tunnel.
Film, video, slides or any form of image copier or picture projection may also be included to project moving pictures on to the wall or floor of the tunnel.
Referring in particular to figures 2a to 2e and figure 3, the tunnel has an entrance and exit ramps with a smooth transition on to the floor of the tunnel which are designed to make it easy to walk into or push a wheelchair into and out of the tunnel.
A large number of sensors are disposed about the tunnel and these may extend to the approach and exit ramps. The sensors may comprise ultrasonic, infrared or other sensors which may be sensitive to colour, human movement, temperature, smell, presence, touch or sound, or changes in these when already present. The outputs of the sensors are transmitted to a control system and are used to generate a wide variety of responses using the lights, sound and/or films. Because of the variety of the sensors and their response to a number of inputs from a person in the tunnel, the tunnel becomes an interactive mechanism from which a person or persons in the tunnel can gain a great deal of individually generated response.The degree of feedback from actions or sounds of a person in the tube may be direct, delayed or modified in other ways by for example, pitch shifting, filtering, multi-tracking etc., and a larger number of sound channels, for example in excess of 20, may be provided.
The control system may include multi-channel digital samplers, controlled from the central computer by MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) or other control code, which stores many digitally encoded sounds which may be output direct, or from any hard disc sound storage and retrieval apparatus, or they may be loaded into EPROMS for predetermined variations to be constructed on the basic sound depending on signals from the sensors. Further Eproms may be programmed to generate special sounds or effects consisting of combined sound, light and smell, in response to particular signals or sequencebof signals from sensors.
Thus, the tube may be theme-programmed to provide a choice of particular environments such as underwater, outer space, tropical forests, the average kitchen, inside the human body. In this embodiment, it is preferred that the lighting acts as a counterpoint to the sound, unlike the known "disco" apparatus in which the lighting is varied in parallel to the sound of the music.
The shell or skin of the enclosed space or tunnel could be of a direct moving image emitting material which is able directly to emit a moving image over its entire surface.
Similarly, it could be of a sound-emitting material, in whole or part, so that a human presence at any point would elicit a very personal and localised response in air-borne sound and vibration from the system.
Although this embodiment is concerned with a system for pleasure, it is regarded as being particularly adaptable for educational and therapeutic purposes. Further, the system will assist in the rehabilitation of the mentally ill or physically handicapped, and the range of senses encompassed by it will enable communication, both metaphorical and actual, between human beings, and even between human beings and animals, with different types and extents of disability.

Claims (13)

1. Apparatus for generating an environment, including means responsive to the presence of, movement of and/or sounds emitted by, a person or persons, to generate a variety of external stimuli comprising aural and/or visual phenomena, the nature of some at least of the stimuli being adapted to be influenced by the behaviour of the person or persons.
2. Apparatus according to claim 1 including a room or partially enclosed space, through which people are able to pass or into which they can enter, having in the wall(s), floor and/or ceiling thereof a plurality of sensors responsive to the presence of or movement of or sound emitted by a person or persons in the space, the sensors being connected to means to generate the said stimuli.
3. Apparatus according to claim 2 wherein the aid space comprises a tunnel.
4. Apparatus according to any one of claims 1,2 or 3, wherein an array of at least partially translucent veins extends over a wall of the room or space.
5. Apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the veins are, at least in part visible from the exterior of the space or room.
6. Apparatus according to claim 4 or 5, wherein parts of the veins are coloured, transparent or opaque.
7. Apparatus according to claim 4, 5 or 6, wherein the veins contain a plurality of lights spaced along the veins.
8. Apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims wherein image means are provided for projecting images or moving pictures onto the surface of the room or space.
9. Apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said image means are responsive to the presence of, movement of and/or sounds emitted by, a person or persons.
10. Apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims wherein said means responsive to the presence of, movement of, and/or sounds emitted by, a person or persons comprise sensors responsive to colour, human presence, movement, temperature, smell, sound and/or touch.
11. Apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 10, including a control system for controlling environment generated and the response of the apparatus to the actions of the person or persons present to vary the response of the apparatus.
12. Apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the control system is theme programmed.
13. Apparatus for generating an environment substantially as described herein, with reference to, and as illustrated in, the accompanying drawings.
GB9111733A 1990-05-31 1991-05-31 Environmental control system Expired - Fee Related GB2246227B (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB909012116A GB9012116D0 (en) 1990-05-31 1990-05-31 Environmental control system

Publications (3)

Publication Number Publication Date
GB9111733D0 GB9111733D0 (en) 1991-07-24
GB2246227A true GB2246227A (en) 1992-01-22
GB2246227B GB2246227B (en) 1994-02-02

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GB909012116A Pending GB9012116D0 (en) 1990-05-31 1990-05-31 Environmental control system
GB9111733A Expired - Fee Related GB2246227B (en) 1990-05-31 1991-05-31 Environmental control system

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GB909012116A Pending GB9012116D0 (en) 1990-05-31 1990-05-31 Environmental control system

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Cited By (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO2000052678A2 (en) * 1999-03-02 2000-09-08 Moshe Klotz An attachment for a light unit
WO2001051158A1 (en) * 2000-01-10 2001-07-19 Ervand Iosifovich Tatevosyan Method for music recording playback with simultaneous co-ordinated aromatization of the environment and devices for the implementation thereof
ITGE20110081A1 (en) * 2011-07-27 2013-01-28 Biaso Francesco Di STATION EQUIPPED FOR THE PERSON'S WELFARE
CN110433378A (en) * 2019-07-23 2019-11-12 广西铭心心理学应用技术有限公司 Intelligent multidimensional, interactive catharsis instrument
CN111028479A (en) * 2019-12-06 2020-04-17 北京工业大学 Method for setting fatigue awakening section of super-long tunnel of expressway
RU2774556C1 (en) * 2021-12-21 2022-06-21 Анна Сергеевна Самойлова Method for aromatic and musical impact on human

Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB2106269A (en) * 1981-09-15 1983-04-07 Eda Sparkrite Ltd Apparatus for and method of controlling or modifying conditions in enclosed spaces
GB2183889A (en) * 1985-10-07 1987-06-10 Hagai Sigalov Producing control signals
US4917373A (en) * 1987-01-03 1990-04-17 Bourne Nicholas H Interactive system for self-accompaniment by mobile performers

Patent Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB2106269A (en) * 1981-09-15 1983-04-07 Eda Sparkrite Ltd Apparatus for and method of controlling or modifying conditions in enclosed spaces
GB2183889A (en) * 1985-10-07 1987-06-10 Hagai Sigalov Producing control signals
US4917373A (en) * 1987-01-03 1990-04-17 Bourne Nicholas H Interactive system for self-accompaniment by mobile performers

Cited By (8)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO2000052678A2 (en) * 1999-03-02 2000-09-08 Moshe Klotz An attachment for a light unit
WO2000052678A3 (en) * 1999-03-02 2002-05-10 Moshe Klotz An attachment for a light unit
US6657182B1 (en) 1999-03-02 2003-12-02 Moshe Klotz Attachment for a light unit having a light detector and adjustable attachment
WO2001051158A1 (en) * 2000-01-10 2001-07-19 Ervand Iosifovich Tatevosyan Method for music recording playback with simultaneous co-ordinated aromatization of the environment and devices for the implementation thereof
ITGE20110081A1 (en) * 2011-07-27 2013-01-28 Biaso Francesco Di STATION EQUIPPED FOR THE PERSON'S WELFARE
CN110433378A (en) * 2019-07-23 2019-11-12 广西铭心心理学应用技术有限公司 Intelligent multidimensional, interactive catharsis instrument
CN111028479A (en) * 2019-12-06 2020-04-17 北京工业大学 Method for setting fatigue awakening section of super-long tunnel of expressway
RU2774556C1 (en) * 2021-12-21 2022-06-21 Анна Сергеевна Самойлова Method for aromatic and musical impact on human

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
GB2246227B (en) 1994-02-02
GB9012116D0 (en) 1990-07-18
GB9111733D0 (en) 1991-07-24

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Date Code Title Description
PCNP Patent ceased through non-payment of renewal fee

Effective date: 19950531