JPH0535440B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

(Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to an electronic sound generating device, and particularly to an electronic sound generating device that changes the quality of the electronic sound generated to induce falling asleep or waking up. (Prior Art) Conventionally, as a device for inducing sleep or awakening, there is a device that decreases the volume of a melody sound over time, as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 59-30084, or a device that decreases the volume of a melody sound over time, or As described in Japanese Patent No. 126469, there is a known device that increases the volume of an electronic sound over time. According to the above-mentioned conventional technology, the stimulation given to the user is controlled by changing the volume of the generated electronic sound, and the change in stimulation relaxes or tenses the user's mental state. There is. If you relax your mental state, you can induce sleep, and if you make yourself tense, you can induce awakening. (Problem to be solved by the invention) However, as in the prior art, changing the volume of the electronic sound does not actually change the stimulation given to the user much due to problems such as the volume variable range not being very wide. Therefore, it was not very effective in inducing sleep or awakening. The present invention is intended to solve these problems, and its purpose is to provide a device that can sufficiently vary the stimulation given to the user. (Means for Solving the Problems) In order to achieve the above object, the present invention focuses on the fact that humans are more sensitive to changes in sound quality than changes in volume, and uses a filter circuit that passes low frequencies. ,
The present invention is characterized in that it is provided with a filter designation circuit that controls the cutoff frequency of the filter circuit according to the purpose of use of the generated electronic sound for falling asleep or waking up. (Embodiments) Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below based on the drawings. In FIG. 1, an oscillator 2, a frequency dividing circuit 4, a waveform shaping circuit 6, a motor 8, a wheel train 10, and a pointer display 1
2 constitutes a well-known analog electronic clock. The reference mechanism 14 is built into the wheel train 10, and has a switch mechanism that outputs an alarm start signal that remains "H" for about 20 minutes when the set time arrives. Then, when the above alarm start signal is output,
An audio frequency signal is generated from the audio frequency signal generation circuit 16, and this is transmitted to the amplifier 18 and the speaker 20.
The sound is converted into an audible sound by the sound generation circuit 22 consisting of the following. Furthermore, the output of the sleep switch 24 is also supplied to the audio frequency signal generating circuit 16, and the above-mentioned audible sound can also be generated by operating the switch 24. This audio frequency signal generation circuit 16 includes an AND gate 26 that generates an audio frequency, and a flip-flop (hereinafter referred to as FF) that opens and closes the AND gate 26.
28, an OR gate 30 and FF32 that set the FF 28, an OR gate 34 that resets the FF 28, and an OR gate 35 that resets the FF 32. and gate 2
6 are supplied with constant period signals φ ₁ (for example, 1 Hz) and φ ₂ (for example, 2048 Hz) from the frequency dividing circuit 4 and the output D of the FF 28 . Or gate 32 has a guideline mechanism 1
The output A of the OR gate 30 and the output B of the FF 32 are supplied, and the output C of the OR gate 30 is supplied to the clock input φ of the FF 28. The clock input φ of the FF 32 receives the output of the sleep switch 24, and the reset terminal R receives the output A of the reference mechanism 14 from the OR gate 35.
They are each supplied via . Furthermore FF2
The output F of the OR gate 34 is connected to the reset terminal R of 8.
is supplied, and one input terminal of the OR gate 34 is supplied with the output of the noise stop switch 36. A characteristic feature of the present invention is that specified harmonic components are removed from the frequency components of the audible sound, and for this purpose, a filter circuit 38 and a filter designation circuit 40 are provided. The filter circuit 38 consists of a low pass filter formed by a resistor 42 and capacitors 44, 46, and 48, and controls the increase and decrease of the capacitance by turning on and off analog switches 50, 52, and 54. These analog switches are turned on and off by designation signals G ₁ , G ₂ , and G ₃ output from the filter designation circuit 40. In this embodiment, the filter designation circuit 40 is
It is characterized by changing the designated signal at regular intervals, and the counters 56 and 58, the counter 58
The counter 56 includes a decoder 60 that converts the count value of 1 to a designated signal G ₁ to _{G 3} , and a switching circuit 62 that switches the clock signal supplied to the counter 56 . The switching circuit 62 receives a constant periodic signal φ ₃ (for example, 1
Hz) and φ ₄ (for example, 32 Hz) are supplied from the frequency divider circuit 4, and switching between these signals is performed by the output B of the FF 32. That is, if the output B is "H", the constant period signal φ ₃ is selected and output, and if the output B is "L", the constant period signal φ ₄ is selected and output. The counter 56 counts the constant periodic signal φ ₃ or φ ₄ output from the switching circuit 62, and outputs a carry signal to output H at regular intervals. Here, the counter 56 is composed of a 256-decimal counter, and if the clock signal is a constant period signal φ ₃ , a carry signal is counted every 4 minutes, and if the clock signal is a constant period signal φ ₄ , a carry signal is counted every 8 seconds. 5
Supply to 8. The counter 58 is composed of a quaternary counter, and has 2-bit count outputs I ₁ , I ₂
is supplied to the decoder 60. This decoder 6
0 becomes active when the output D of the FF 28 is in the "H" state, and the conversion operation is switched by the output B of the FF 32. The input/output status of the conversion operation is shown in the following table. Further, the output J from which the carry signal of the counter 58 is output is supplied to the other input terminal of the OR gates 34 and 35, and the output E of the FF 28 is further supplied to the reset terminal R of the counters 56 and 58.

[Table] This embodiment is constructed as described above, and the operation will be explained below based on the time chart of FIG. 2. First, by opening the ring stop switch 36, the reset of the FF 28 is released. time of day
When the sleep onset switch 24 is operated at t ₁ , output B
Then, the output C is inverted to "H", and the output D of the FF28, which has been released from reset, becomes "H".
Then, the output E is reversed to "L" and the sleep-inducing operation is started. Therefore, the AND gate 26 becomes open, and the aforementioned audible frequency signal is generated and converted into an audible sound by the sound generation circuit 22. On the other hand, in the filter designation circuit 40, the counter 5
6 and 58 are released, and the decoder 60
becomes active in operation B. The switching circuit 62 selects the constant periodic signal φ ₃ and supplies it to the counter 56.
As a result, a carry signal is outputted to the output H of the counter 56 approximately every four minutes. Therefore, at time _t1 , the count outputs _I1 and _I2 of the counter 58 are both "L", so the designated signal _G1
~ _G3 are all "L", analog switch 5
0, 52, and 54 are all turned off, and the audible sound is generated as it is. When a carry signal is output from the counter 56 at time _t2 , the count output _I1 of the counter 58 is "H" and the output _I2 is "L".
Therefore, the designated signal _G1 of the decoder 60 is "H"
becomes. Therefore, the analog switch 50 is turned on and the harmonics of the audible sound are removed based on the capacitance of the capacitor 44. At time _t3 , the analog switches 50 and 52 are turned on because the designated signals _G1 and _G2 become "H", and the harmonics of the audible sound are removed based on the combined capacitance of the capacitors 44 and 46, and at time _t4 Then, the designated signals _G1 to _G3 become "H", so the analog switches 50 to 54 are turned on, and the capacitors 44 to 4 are turned on.
The harmonics of the audible sound will be removed based on the combined capacity of 8. Then, at time _t5 , a carry signal is output from the counter 58, so that the FFs 28 and 32 are reset, and the sleep-starting operation is automatically canceled. Therefore, the generation of audible sound is stopped and the filter designation circuit 40 is also brought to its initial state. Next, at time _t6 , when the set time arrives, an alarm start signal is output to output A. Therefore, the output C is inverted to "H", and further the output D of FF28 is
is inverted to "H" and output E is inverted to "L". Therefore, a wake-up operation is started, and the sound generation circuit 22 generates an audible sound. On the other hand, the filter designation circuit 40 starts an operation similar to the sleep-starting operation, but since the output B is "L", the switching circuit 62 selects the constant period signal φ ₄ and the decoder 60 becomes active in operation A. Therefore, a carry signal is outputted to the output H of the counter 56 approximately every 8 seconds. Therefore, at time _t6 , both count outputs I ₁ and I ₂ of the counter 58 are "L", so the decoder 6
0 designation signals _G1 and _G2 become "H". Therefore, the analog switches 50 and 52 are turned on, and an audible sound with harmonics removed is generated based on the combined capacitance of the capacitors 44 and 46. When a carry signal is output from the counter 56 at time _t7 , the count output _I1 of the counter 58 becomes "H" and the output _I2 becomes "L", so the designation signal _G1 of the decoder 60 becomes "H". becomes. Therefore, only the analog switch 50 is turned on, and the capacitor 44
An audible sound with harmonics removed is generated based on the capacity of the . After time _t8 , all of the designated signals _G1 to _G3 become "L", so the analog switches 50 to 54
are all turned off, so the audible sound is generated as is. Then, at time _t10 , a carry signal is output from the counter 58, so the FF 28 is reset and the alarm operation is automatically canceled. Therefore, the generation of audible sound is stopped and the filter designation circuit 40 is also brought to its initial state. Note that by closing the ring stop switch 36 while the audible sound is being generated, the generation of the audible sound can be forcibly stopped, and if the set time arrives during the falling asleep operation, the FF 32 is reset, so the wake-up operation is stopped. It will be prioritized. As described above, according to this embodiment, the quality of the audible sound generated when the user performs the falling asleep action becomes softer as time passes, so that the stimulation given to the user can be reduced, and the wake-up action can also be performed. Conversely, when this is executed, the quality of the audible sound generated becomes harder, thereby increasing the stimulation given to the user. FIG. 3 is a block circuit diagram showing another embodiment of the filter designation circuit according to the present invention. A feature of this embodiment is that the designated signal is changed in accordance with the sleep state of the user. The brain wave signal detected by the brain wave detection unit 64 is sent to a β wave detection circuit 68 and an α wave detection circuit 7 via an amplifier 66.
0 and Θ wave detection circuit 72. These detection circuits 68 to 72 detect β-wave components and α-wave components based on brain wave signals.
The wave component and the Θ wave component are respectively detected, and the detection signals are supplied to hold circuits 74, 76 and 78. The hold circuits 74, 76, and 78 are circuits that hold the level value, for example, the voltage value, of the detection signal at regular intervals, and the constant cycle signal φ ₅ (1Hz) from the frequency divider circuit 4 is used as a sampling signal by the AND gate 80. Supplied via. The outputs of these hold circuits 74, 76 and 78 are connected to the comparator circuit 8.
2, 84, and 86, respectively, and are compared with reference voltages provided in each comparison circuit. If the output voltages from the hold circuits 74, 76 and 78 are higher than the reference voltage, the comparison circuits 82, 84 and 86 output the respective outputs K ₁ ,
Let K ₂ and K ₃ be "H". This output K ₁ , K ₂ and
K ₃ is provided to a decoder 88. The decoder 88 has the same function as the decoder 60 described in the first embodiment, and outputs designated signals L 1 to L ₃ based on the output states of the outputs K ₁ , K ₂ and K ₃ of the comparison circuits 82 , 84 and ₈₆ . The conversion operation is shown in the table below.

[Table] The output _L1 of the decoder 88 is sent to the analog switch 50, the output _L2 is sent to the analog switch 52,
The output _L3 is supplied to each analog switch 54 to control on/off of each analog switch. The NAND gate 90, the counter 92, and the OR gate 94 are configured to detect the sleep state of the user and automatically cancel the sleep onset operation when the sleep onset operation is executed, and the carry signal of the counter 92 is detected by the OR gate 34.
and 35. The operation of this embodiment will be explained below based on FIG. 4. At time t ₁₁ , when the sleep onset movement is started,
As mentioned above, output B becomes "H" and output D
and the output E is inverted. Therefore, an audible sound is generated from the sound generation circuit 22, the decoder 88 becomes active in operation D, and further the brain wave detection operation is started. In this state, only β waves are detected because the user is awake, so the output _K1 is "H".
becomes. Therefore, analog switches 50, 52, and 54 are all turned off, and the audible sound is generated as it is. Thereafter, at time _t12 , when the user enters a resting state, alpha waves are detected instead of beta waves,
Therefore, the output _K2 becomes "H". Therefore, since the designated signal _L1 becomes "H", the analog switch 50
is turned on, and the harmonics of the audible sound are transferred to the capacitor 44.
removed based on capacity. Below, when the user becomes absentminded (time t ₁₃ )
Since α waves and Θ waves are detected, output K ₂ and output
K ₃ becomes "H", and designated signals L ₁ and L ₂ become "H"
becomes. Therefore, analog switches 50 and 52 are turned on, and the harmonics of the audible sound are removed based on the combined capacitance of capacitors 44 and 46. Furthermore, when the user falls asleep (time t ₁₄ ), since only the Θ wave is detected, the output K ₃ becomes "H" and the designation signals L ₁ , L ₂ and L ₃ become "H". Therefore, analog switches 50, 52, and 54 are turned on, and the harmonics of the audible sound are removed based on the combined capacitance of capacitors 44, 46, and 48. At this time, the output M of the NAND gate 90 becomes "L", and the reset of the counter 92 is released. Therefore, the counting operation of the counter 92 is started, and when this state continues for a certain period of time, for example, one minute, a carry signal is output to the output O. This carry signal is then supplied to the OR gates 34 and 35, and the sleep-starting operation is canceled as described above. If an alpha wave is detected during the counting operation of the counter 92, the output M becomes "H" and the counter 92 is reset, and if the alpha wave is no longer detected thereafter, the counting operation is performed from the initial state. In other words, the device is configured to cancel the sleep onset operation only when the user has definitely entered the input sleep state. Next, at time _t16 , when the set time arrives, an alarm start signal is output to output A, and the sound generation circuit 22 generates an audible sound as described above. At the same time, the decoder 88 becomes active in operation C, and further electroencephalogram detection operation is started. In this state, the user is in a sleep state, so the Θ wave is detected, so the output _K3 becomes "H" and the designation signals _L1 and _L2 become "H". Therefore, analog switches 50 and 52 are turned on, and the harmonics of the audible sound are removed based on the combined capacitance of capacitors 44 and 46. Thereafter, at time _t17 , when the user enters a dazed state, α waves and Θ waves are detected, so output K ₂ and output K ₃ become "H", and the specified signal
_L1 becomes "H". Therefore analog switch 5
0 is turned on, and harmonics of the audible sound are removed based on the capacitance of the capacitor 44. Then, when the user is in a resting state (time t ₁₈ )
Since alpha waves are detected, the output _K2 becomes "H",
When the patient enters the awake state (at time _t19 ), the output _K1 becomes "H" because the beta wave is detected, and after time _t18 , all of the designated signals _L1 to _L3 become "L". Therefore, all of the analog switches 50 to 54 are turned off, so that the audible sound is generated as is. Then, at time t ₂₀ , the ring stop switch 3
6, the alarm operation is canceled and the generation of the audible sound is stopped. In this embodiment, since the output B is "L" while the alarm operation is being performed, the output M is always "H", so the counter 92 is reset, and therefore the alarm operation is automatic. It will not be canceled. In this way, in this embodiment, the quality of the audible sound generated when the user performs the sleep-inducing motion becomes softer as the user falls asleep, so that the stimulation given to the user can be appropriately reduced. Furthermore, since the quality of the audible sound generated when the wake-up operation is performed becomes harder in response to the user's awakening, the stimulation given to the user can be appropriately increased. (Effects of the Invention) As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to sufficiently change the stimulation given to the user when the user falls asleep and when the user wakes up, thereby helping the user fall asleep. and can reliably promote wakefulness.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block circuit diagram showing a preferred embodiment of an electronic sound generator according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a time chart showing the operation of FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a block circuit diagram showing another embodiment of the electronic sound generating device according to the present invention. FIG. 4 is a time chart showing the operation of FIG. 3. 16... Audio frequency signal generation circuit, 22... Sound generation circuit, 38... Filter circuit, 40... Filter designation circuit.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. An electronic sound generation device comprising: an audio frequency signal generation circuit that generates an audio frequency signal; and a sound generation circuit that converts the audio frequency signal into an audible sound, wherein the audio frequency signal generation circuit 1st or 2nd
a filter circuit that generates an audio frequency signal according to the first operation signal and changes the cutoff frequency of the audio frequency signal using a low-pass filter; and when the audio frequency signal is generated according to the first operation signal, the cutoff frequency is sequentially lowered , a filter designation circuit that outputs to the filter circuit a designation signal that sequentially increases the cutoff frequency when an audible frequency signal is generated by the second operation signal.