KR101123131B1 - Abdominal breathing guidance apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

A device is disclosed for inducing a user to take a desired double breath. The abdominal breathing guidance device is positioned between a frame worn over the user's abdomen, the frame and the user's abdomen, and at least one fluid bag that is inflated and contracted by a fluid supplied from the fluid pump and the fluid in accordance with a predetermined breathing pattern. And a control unit for controlling the pump. The fluid bag induces exhalation by compressing the user's abdomen during inflation while inflating the user's abdomen from the compressed state during contraction. By the double breathing induction device, the user can easily learn the double breathing can improve the quality of breathing.

Double breathing, meditation, fluid bag

Description

Abdominal breathing guidance apparatus

The present invention relates to a device for inhalation breathing, and in particular to induce exhalation and inhalation by directly compressing and relaxing the user's abdomen according to the breathing pattern, thereby improving the health of the user by allowing the user to learn the desired breathing breathing It relates to a device for.

 Since modern people often live in front of computers, they have an absolute lack of exercise other than simple repetitive movements such as mouse and keyboard manipulation, so the health of modern people is serious. Also, with the rapid spread of the Internet, the time spent in front of computers of modern people is increasing. Therefore, various adult diseases caused by lack of exercise are threatening the health of modern people, raising awareness about this.

However, it is known that not only physical health but also mental health is very important for human health. Mental health refers to the degree of stress received by the user and the user's satisfaction with the current life. As materialism prevailed, there was a vague belief that more material would soon bring about the convenience of civilization, and that the convenience of civilization would soon lead to happiness. These trends have resulted in the production of newer and more convenient materials, and users have fallen in love with them. However, contrary to the original expectation, greed for material only proved to be greedy for a larger material, and proved to be not happy because the material was abundant. The happiness index of the people of developed countries is not necessarily proportional to the economic power of the country, but rather, there are countries among the poorest people who maintain the highest level of happiness.

Medication and surgeries are used to promote physical and mental health, but self-care is a very good way of managing your own health for your own health. desirable. Such self-management is widely used to control the weight through nutrition (nutrition), to improve health through fitness (fitness), and to improve mental health through meditation (meditation), etc. There is this.

In particular, the importance of breathing as a starting point for self-care has been increasingly emphasized. Because breathing is an automatic, unconscious act, most people are insensitive to their breathing. However, the state of breathing reflects feelings and the mind. In other words, people get shallow and fast breathing when they are anxious or afraid. This breathing makes the body very tired while deep and regular breathing stabilizes the autonomic nervous system. On the other hand, even and deep breathing stimulates the diaphragm and promotes parasympathetic activity. Parasympathetic nerves act to calm the activity of the sympathetic nerves that are excited when stressed. Therefore, it is important to train as long and naturally as possible to breathe.

The advantages of double breathing are widely known as preferred breathing methods. Double breathing, also called diaphragm breathing, refers to breathing in which the abdomen comes out and the abdomen comes in. In general, most people breathe in and out of breath and out of breath, but not from birth. Rather, in infancy, anyone can take a double breath, but since it is possible to walk together with double breathing and swelling breathing, while the rib cage develops and is stressed, breathing is completely changed and it is known to breathe thorax. If a person is uncomfortable or excited, his breathing will be quicker and shallower, but if he is calm and healthy, he will be deep and even. After all, a healthy person's breathing is deep, slow and even. It has been known that this mechanism is also reversed, so that deep, slow and even breathing through double breathing can improve health.

By the way, even though the advantages of double breathing is widely known, it is difficult for those who have already become accustomed to thorax breathing to learn double breathing again. Therefore, there is an urgent need for a device capable of inducing double breathing of a user to promote health.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a double breathing induction apparatus that can improve the quality of breathing and improve health by inducing people who are accustomed to thoracic breathing to easily learn double breathing.

Another object of the present invention is to calculate the respiratory pattern that is optimal for each user in consideration of the different maximum spirometry, etc. for each user, and the double breathing that can promote the health of the user by inducing the user's double breath based on the calculated breathing pattern It is to provide an induction device.

The present invention for achieving the above object is at least one fluid bag positioned between the frame, the frame and the abdomen of the user, which is worn to cover the user's abdomen, and is expanded and contracted by the fluid supplied from the fluid pump and A double breathing induction device comprising a control unit for controlling the fluid pump according to a predetermined breathing pattern. The fluid bag included in the abdominal breath inducing device induces exhalation by compressing the user's abdomen during inflation and inducing inhalation by allowing the user's abdomen to relax from the compressed state during contraction. In particular, the breathing apparatus for inhalation breathing is located between the frame and the user's abdomen, and further comprises a sensor for detecting the volume change of the abdomen, the control unit monitors the quality of the user's abdominal breathing using the sensor signal received from the sensor . In addition, the controller controls the fluid pump to quickly release the fluid from the fluid bag when it is determined that the abdomen is excessively compressed or an emergency stop signal is input from the outside as a result of analyzing the sensor signal. Further, the control unit analyzes the sensor signal to determine the maximum volume and the minimum volume of the user's abdomen, and determine the supply and discharge rates of the fluid according to the maximum and minimum optimality. Preferably, the sensor included in the abdominal breathing inducing apparatus is one of a pressure for detecting the pressure applied to the user's abdomen or a piezoelectric sensor and an impedance sensor whose impedance is changed according to a change in the surface area of the user's abdomen. Preferably, the abdominal breathing inducing device further comprises an ECG sensor located between the frame and the user's abdomen, the control unit monitors the health state of the user by analyzing the ECG signal received from the ECG sensor, based on the health state Providing at least one of a preferred exercise regimen and a nutritional regimen. Furthermore, the breathing apparatus for inhalation further comprises a heat source located between the frame and the user's abdomen.

According to the present invention, it is possible to improve the quality of breathing and health by inducing users to easily learn the double breathing.

In addition, according to the present invention by guiding a user-specific double breathing method using a breathing pattern that is optimal for each user, it is possible to maximize the various effects due to the double breathing.

In order to fully understand the present invention, the operational advantages of the present invention, and the objects achieved by the practice of the present invention, reference should be made to the accompanying drawings which illustrate preferred embodiments of the present invention and the contents described in the accompanying drawings.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. As those skilled in the art would realize, the described embodiments may be modified in various different ways, all without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention. In addition, in order to clearly describe the present invention, parts irrelevant to the description are omitted, and the same reference numerals in the drawings indicate the same members.

Throughout the specification, when a part is said to "include" a certain component, it means that it may further include other components, without excluding the other components unless otherwise stated. In addition, the terms "... unit", "... unit", "module", "block", etc. described in the specification mean a unit for processing at least one function or operation, which means hardware, software, or hardware. And software.

1 is a front view and a rear view of the various components are attached to the frame 120 of the double breathing apparatus according to the present invention. Figure 1 (a) is a rear surface (R) of the double breathing induction apparatus 100 shows a surface attached to the user's abdomen, Figure 1 (b) is a front surface (F) of the abdomen breathing apparatus 100 To show. The fluid bag 110, the fluid pump 150, the first and second attachment parts 180 and 190, and the first and second tubes 130 and 140 are disposed on the rear surface R of the frame 120. In addition, an input / output unit 170 is attached to the front surface F of the frame 120, and the input / output unit 170 includes a display 160 and operation buttons 161, 163, 165, 167, and 169.

First, the user wears the frame 120 to perform a double breath. At this time, the back (R) of the frame 120 is worn to be in close contact with the user's abdomen. The frame 120 may be interconnected behind the back by the first and second attachment parts 180 and 190. See FIG. 2 for a state in which the abdominal breathing inducing device 100 is worn around the user's abdomen.

When the double breathing induction device 100 is worn, the fluid pump 150 supplies fluid such as air to the fluid bag 110 or discharges it from the fluid bag 110 through the tubes 130 and 140. ) To change the volume. As can be seen in FIG. 2, since the abdominal breathing induction device 100 is worn to be in close contact with the abdomen of the user, the fluid bag 110 swells to compress the abdomen of the user. Then, the volume of the abdomen of the user is reduced to induce exhalation. On the other hand, when the volume of the fluid bag 110 is reduced by the fluid discharged from the fluid bag 110, the volume of the abdomen of the user is restored to its original state, and inhalation is induced in this process.

In order for the volume change of the fluid bag 110 to directly cause a volume change of the abdomen of the user, the frame 120 is preferably made of a material that can firmly support the fluid bag 110. In addition, the frame 120 of the double breathing apparatus 100 is not manufactured in the belt type as shown in Figure 1 (a), it may be worn in the form of a vest. In this regard, of course, various body assistive devices and body fixation devices known in the art of body care and medical aids may be used as the frame 120. In addition, the attachment portions 180 and 190 may be manufactured using a material that is easily removable, such as Velcro, or may be manufactured using various devices such as clips or buttons. Therefore, any device that can be secured so that the frame 120 can be securely wrapped around the user's abdomen can be used as the attachments 180, 190.

Referring to FIG. 1B, a double breathing pattern selected by a user is displayed on the display 160. In this case, the user may select a desired breathing pattern among various breathing patterns displayed on the display 160 using various input buttons. In addition, the actual breathing result of the user may be displayed on the display 160 while the double breathing is in progress. In addition, the emergency stop button 161 is a button for quickly discharging the fluid when the fluid is excessively injected into the fluid bag 110 to cause a dangerous situation. In order to detect a dangerous situation, the piezoelectric sensor 125 may measure and apply a pressure applied to the abdomen to a controller (not shown). In this case, when the pressure applied to the abdomen is 30 N / m ^{2 or} more, the controller may determine a dangerous situation and quickly release the fluid.

In FIG. 1A, the fluid pump 150 supplies fluid to the fluid bag 110 through the first tube 130 and withdraws fluid from the fluid bag 110 through the second tube 140. Alternatively, the second tube may not be connected to the fluid pump 150, and the fluid may be directly discharged from the fluid bag 110 without passing through the fluid pump 150. At this time, the fluid bag 110 may be attached to the discharge valve (not shown) for discharging the fluid. Then, the controller (not shown) can control the discharge amount by precisely controlling the aperture ratio of the discharge valve in a pulse width modulation (PWM) manner.

Monitoring the pressure applied to the piezoelectric sensor 125 may determine the quality of the double breath performed by the user. This process is explained as follows.

As described above, the abdominal breathing inducing device 100 applies a pressure directly to the abdomen of the user using the volume change of the fluid bag 110 to induce the abdominal breathing. At this time, if the user faithfully follows the provided breathing pattern, there will be little pressure applied to the piezoelectric sensor 125. On the other hand, if the fluid bag 110 is inflated while inducing exhalation while the user feels difficulty breathing, the user's abdomen also comes out while the fluid bag 110 is inflated to the piezoelectric sensor 125. Great pressure is applied. Accordingly, the controller may evaluate the quality of the breathing of how well the user is breathing by monitoring the sensor signal received from the piezoelectric sensor 125 while the breathing is in progress.

In addition, the piezoelectric sensor 125 may be attached to the chest in addition to the abdomen to monitor relative volume changes of the abdomen and the chest. As you practice double breathing, the volume of the chest remains unchanged, and the volume changes only in the abdomen. Therefore, if the frame 120 is formed to cover the chest and the second piezoelectric sensor is attached between the frame 120 and the user's chest, the volume change of the chest can be detected during the breathing process. You can judge the quality.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the sensor 125 may be an impedance sensor whose impedance such as inductance changes according to a change in length. An impedance sensor is attached to the user's abdomen surface to detect changes in the abdominal surface area. For example, an increase in abdominal surface area indicates that the user's abdominal volume increases and thus is an inhalation process. On the other hand, a decrease in abdominal surface area indicates exhalation process. Accordingly, the controller may monitor the sensor signal of the impedance sensor to evaluate the quality of the double breath.

Although sensor 125 is shown as being attached to fluid bag 110 in FIG. 1, it should be understood that the present invention is not limited to the number and location of sensors 125. Sensor 125 may be provided in a number suitable for a position suitable for evaluating the quality of breath according to the structure of the double breathing induction apparatus 100, of course. In addition, the fluid injected into the fluid bag 110 may be a gas such as air or a fluid such as oil.

In addition, the double breathing apparatus may further include an ECG sensor (not shown) located between the frame and the user's abdomen. The ECG sensor is preferably installed symmetrically on both sides of the frame, but the present invention is not limited thereto. Electrocardiogram is a curved record of the minute electrical changes that occur as a result of contraction of the heart or myocardium. It is used as an important basis for diagnosing the function, health and abnormality of the heart. For example, the controller may analyze coronary artery diseases such as myocardial infarction and angina, deep vein, cardiac hypertrophy, electrolyte imbalance such as calcium and potassium, and inflammatory diseases of the heart by analyzing signals received from the ECG sensor. Then, in the case of a user suspected of angina as a result of electrocardiography, it may be dangerous to abruptly perform the double breathing may change the double breathing pattern in consideration of this. In addition, various biofeedbacks are possible based on ECG signals. Biofeedback refers to an operation and a process of informing information about an autonomous response to a physiological function to change its state arbitrarily. In other words, the autonomic nervous system, such as the heart, vascular movements and central nervous system brain waves (腦波) occurring in the vascular system also refers to the process of controlling this by using the interaction directly with the external environment.

For example, if the heart rate variability indicating the amount of change in heart rate is obtained from the electrocardiogram signal, the state of the autonomic nervous system can be extracted therefrom. In addition, the control unit may obtain the current stress state of the user from the state of the autonomic nervous system, using the chart or numerical display that the user's stress is alleviated during the respiration training by biofeedback the current stress state to the user can do. In addition, the control unit may change the breathing pattern based on the current user's stress state. For example, if it is determined that the current sympathetic nerve is activated as a result of analyzing the heart rate signal, the controller may biofeed back the sympathetic nerve to be activated by prolonging the exhalation in the breathing pattern. Then, there is an effect that the stress state of the user can be quickly alleviated. On the contrary, if it is determined that the parasympathetic nerve is excessively activated as a result of analyzing the heart rate signal, the controller may enable the sympathetic nerve to be activated by changing the inhalation of the breathing pattern to be longer.

In addition, the controller may provide a customized exercise prescription and nutritional prescription based on a user's health state. The exercise prescription refers to a service that analyzes physical information such as an individual's health and fitness level, and determines and provides a type, intensity, time, and frequency of exercise suitable for an individual based on the analysis result. In addition, it means a scientific and systematic health promotion activity that properly controls the quality and quantity of exercise according to the progression of the exercise. Such exercise prescriptions are organized systematically on the athletic scientific basis with medical expertise. In addition, nutritional prescription means providing information on an individual's health condition and a customized diet or prohibited food according to a predetermined purpose. Obviously, normal and normal people need different nutritional prescriptions. In addition, the patient suffering from heart failure is lower in the body's immunity and activity, so it would be desirable to eat less calories in general than the nutrition required by normal people, but all essential nutrients should be consumed. As such, different nutritional prescriptions are provided depending on the individual's condition and goals.

Furthermore, the double breathing induction apparatus according to the present invention may include a heat source such as a hot plate. The heat source may be symmetrically arranged in the center of the abdomen or the top, bottom, left and right of the abdomen, and serves to maintain the warm heat of the abdomen. When the temperature of the abdomen rises, the effect of fumigation or moxibustion in one shot may occur, as well as to prevent constipation and promote digestion, and to prevent various female diseases. In the present invention, the number and position of the sensor 125, the fluid bag 110, the electrocardiogram sensor (not shown) and the heat source (not shown), etc. may be changed as the convenience of the process of the present invention. .

FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically illustrating a process of inducing double breathing using the double breathing inducing apparatus according to the present invention. For convenience of description, in FIG. 2, only the fluid bag 110 of the double breathing inducing apparatus 100 is simplified and displayed. The abdomen and head of the user are simplified and indicated by reference numerals 240 and 220, respectively.

FIG. 2 (a) shows the state where the user's abdomen is fully inflated (maximum inspiration), FIG. 2 (b) shows the process of inhaling the user, and FIG. 2 (c) shows the maximum breathing of the user. The exhaled state (maximum exhalation) is shown. For convenience of description, reference is made to FIG. 3.

3 is a graph showing an example of a breathing pattern for inducing double breathing in the double breathing induction apparatus according to the present invention. 3 represents the time and the vertical axis represents the volume change of the abdomen. Referring to FIG. 3, the volume of the abdomen at time A has a minimum value (V _A ), the volume of the abdomen at time C has a maximum value (V _C ), and at time B the median of two volumes (V _B ) is obtained. It can be seen that.

Referring again to FIG. 2, this state is shown in FIG. 2C because the user's abdomen is maximally relaxed at time C such that the volume of the abdomen has a maximum value V _C. In a similar manner, time points A and B correspond to Figs. 2 (a) and 2 (b), respectively.

Normally, the ribs go up and the diaphragm goes down during inhalation, which increases the volume of the chest. Thus, the pressure in the chest drops and air can be absorbed into the lungs. These processes occur at about the same time, and the opposite happens while exhaling. However, if you inhale deeply into the breathing breathing, the diaphragm is further lowered compared to thorax breathing, so the volume of the chest is increased, and the lungs are filled with oxygen and can swell as much as possible. This process is performed in the order of (c)-> (b)-> (a) in FIG. On the contrary, in the case of exhalation, the diaphragm ascends to the lung as much as possible, so that it can break down while releasing enough carbon dioxide. This process is performed in the order of (a)-> (b)-> (c) in FIG.

Referring to FIG. 3, a preferred breathing pattern may be determined using user specific biometric information such as heart rate variability and blood oxygen saturation (SPO2). Such biometric information may be input using input buttons (see 161 to 169 of FIG. 1) or measured using a sensor (not shown). Although only the preferred breathing pattern is shown in FIG. 3, the current breathing state may also be displayed when the breathing state of the user is measured, and the rate of change of the continuous breathing rate BR may be displayed. Furthermore, current breathing conditions may be provided with various colors and various sound effects. In addition, the rate of arrival of the current breathing state relative to the target breathing state of the user may be determined and provided. Reach rates can be provided visually in the form of scores, as well as using a variety of senses, such as hearing and touch. For example, when the arrival rate is less than 50%, a warning sound may be output and the arrival rate may be displayed in red, and when the arrival rate is 50% to 80%, the arrival rate may be displayed in yellow with a weak warning sound. If the user has a high arrival rate of 80% or higher, the arrival rate may be indicated in blue or green with a complimentary message.

Figure 4 is a block diagram conceptually showing an embodiment of a double breathing induction apparatus according to the present invention.

The abdomen breathing apparatus 400 includes a sensor 420, a display 460, an input button 470, a fluid pump 450 and a fluid bag 410. The sensor 420 may include the heart rate sensor, the SPO2 sensor, and the respiration / temperature sensor to collect and provide biometric information to the central controller 480 during respiratory training. In addition, the central controller 480 may measure the volume change of the abdomen according to the maximum inhalation state and the maximum exhalation state of the user using the impedance sensor 420. The central control unit 480 may then control the rate at which fluid is supplied and discharged from the fluid pump 450 to the fluid bag 410 using the measured maximum and minimum volumes.

As such, by measuring the maximum and minimum volume of the user's abdomen, it is possible to induce a more accurate breathing by reflecting personal body type information such as the amount of subcutaneous fat of the user. The central controller 480 may then display the determined breathing pattern on the display 460. The operation of display 460, input button 470, and fluid pump 450 are similar to the operation of corresponding components shown in FIG. 1, respectively. Therefore, duplicate description is omitted for simplicity of the specification.

In addition, a stimulation module (not shown) may be provided to provide various stimuli so that the user can concentrate on the breathing while the double breathing is performed. For example, by using a haptic module that can apply warm or cold air to a stimulus position of the user's body, the user's health may be further improved by stimulating the acupuncture points of the user.

The central controller 480 may determine a breathing pattern suitable for a user in various ways. For example, before performing the training in earnest, a preparation pattern in which the 3 seconds inhale-> 3 seconds exhale are repeated can be used to relax the mind and body. The preparation pattern may be used to have an effect such as stretching the body before performing a physical exercise such as weight training or running, and increase the efficiency of subsequent training motions. While the preparation pattern is provided, music or images may be provided to induce stretching or to make the user's mind comfortable.

In order to perform a full-scale double breathing training after the preparation pattern is finished, the central control unit 480 may use a main pattern configured to perform 12 double breaths per minute, for example. Alternatively, if the user is a person practicing yoga or Qigong, a more professional breathing pattern leading to 4 seconds inhale-> 4 seconds inhale-> 8 seconds exhale may be used as the main pattern. While training is being performed in earnest, the central controller 480 may display the current progress using a ball or the like that moves over time on the provided main pattern.

When the training is over, the central control unit 480 again provides a cleanup pattern consisting of three seconds of inspiration-> three seconds of exhalation, cooling again to perform a light stretch or return the breath to normal breathing as after performing physical exercise. Can have a cooling down effect.

In addition, the double breathing induction apparatus 400 shown in Figure 4 may further include an interface (not shown) that can be connected to a network, such as the Internet, and transmits the user's double breathing training history information through the interface, Exercise regimen desired.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the embodiments illustrated in the drawings, this is merely exemplary, and it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications and equivalent other embodiments are possible. For example, although the fluid pump 150 shown in FIG. 1 is shown to be attached to the rear surface R of the frame 120, the fluid pump may be disposed on the front surface F of the frame 120.

Therefore, the true technical protection scope of the present invention will be defined by the technical spirit of the appended claims.

The present invention can be applied to health promotion techniques that can promote the user's health by inducing the user to take a double breath.

1 is a view as viewed from the front and back of the double breathing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically illustrating a process of inducing double breathing using the double breathing inducing apparatus according to the present invention.

3 is a graph showing an example of a breathing pattern for inducing double breathing in the double breathing induction apparatus according to the present invention.

Figure 4 is a block diagram conceptually showing an embodiment of a double breathing induction apparatus according to the present invention.

Claims (7)

In the double breath induction apparatus, A frame worn to cover the abdomen of the user; At least one fluid bag positioned between the frame and the user's abdomen and expanded and contracted by a fluid supplied from a fluid pump; And A control unit for controlling the fluid pump according to a predetermined breathing pattern, The fluid bag induces inhalation by inducing exhalation by compressing the abdomen of the user during inflation and by allowing the user's abdomen to relax from the compressed state during contraction. guide. The method of claim 1, Located between the frame and the user's abdomen, further comprising a sensor for detecting a volume change of the abdomen, The control unit monitors the double breathing quality of the user using the sensor signal received from the sensor, characterized in that the double breathing induction apparatus. The method of claim 2, wherein the control unit, And analyzing the sensor signal and determining that the abdomen is excessively compressed or receiving an emergency stop signal from the outside, controlling the fluid pump to quickly discharge the fluid from the fluid bag. The method of claim 2, wherein the control unit, Analyzing the sensor signal to determine the maximum volume and minimum volume of the user's abdomen, And determine the supply rate and the release rate of the fluid in accordance with the maximum and minimum optimality. 3. The method of claim 2, Wherein the sensor is a pressure sensor for sensing the pressure applied to the user's abdomen, piezoelectric sensor, and the impedance sensor is characterized in that the impedance is changed according to the change in the surface area of the abdomen of the user. The method of claim 1, And an electrocardiogram sensor positioned between the frame and the abdomen of the user, The control unit is a double breathing induction apparatus, characterized in that for biofeedback of the stress state or autonomic nervous system state of the user by analyzing the ECG signal received from the ECG sensor. The method of claim 1, And a heat source positioned between the frame and the user's abdomen.

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