WO2021187654A1

WO2021187654A1 - Sleep-aid device for preventing snoring and sleep apnea

Info

Publication number: WO2021187654A1
Application number: PCT/KR2020/003992
Authority: WO
Inventors: 박정원
Original assignee: 메디코코(주)
Priority date: 2020-03-17
Filing date: 2020-03-24
Publication date: 2021-09-23
Also published as: KR102183601B1

Abstract

Provided is a sleep-aid device for preventing snoring and sleep apnea, the device inducing changes in a sleep posture in consideration of individual conditions so as to more effectively prevent snoring and sleep apnea. The device comprises: an actuator provided at a bed so as to adjust the inclination of the bed, thereby changing a sleep posture; a sound sensor provided at the bed so as to detect sound generated by the breathing of a user; and a control unit for recognizing the signs of user's snoring by comparing a breathing sound wave, which is acquired in real time by the sound sensor, and stored lookup sound waves.

Description

Sleeping device to prevent snoring and sleep apnea

The present invention relates to a sleep device for preventing snoring and sleep apnea, and more particularly, to a sleep device for preventing snoring and sleep apnea by using big data, oxygen supply, and the like in a complex way.

When snoring, the air passage is partially narrowed because the surrounding muscles that induce the position of the roof of the mouth, uvula, tonsils, and tongue are relaxed. Sleep apnea is a condition in which apnea for more than 10 seconds is performed 5 or more times per hour or 30 or more times during 7 hours of sleep, and air cannot pass through the lungs at all. If snoring and sleep apnea continue, fresh air cannot be obtained, so the brain that senses this wakes up the body and contracts the muscles to induce breathing to open the air passage again. Snoring and sleep apnea may cause fatigue, daytime sleepiness, personality changes, erectile dysfunction, and severe headache due to carbon dioxide accumulation. In particular, sleep apnea may exacerbate or cause cardiopulmonary diseases such as arrhythmias, hypertension, ischemic heart disease, left ventricular failure, and lung disease.

Korean Patent No. 10-2041451, Japanese Patent No. 3,715,900, 4,790,082, 5,314,802, etc. propose a bed that detects snoring and adjusts the inclination of the bed frame to change the sleeping posture. However, since the degree of snoring and sleep apnea varies from person to person, it cannot be solved by simply changing the sleeping position. Accordingly, in consideration of individual aspects, there is a need for a sleeping device that more effectively prevents snoring and sleep apnea.

An object of the present invention is to provide a sleeping device for preventing snoring and apnea that more effectively prevents snoring and sleep apnea by inducing a change in sleeping posture in consideration of individual aspects.

A sleeping device for preventing snoring and apnea for solving the problem of the present invention is installed in a bed and adjusting the inclination of the bed to change the sleeping posture, and installed in the bed to detect the sound generated from the user's breathing and a control unit for recognizing a sign of snoring of the user by comparing the sound sensor and the stored look-up sound wave with the breathing sound wave acquired in real time from the sound sensor.

In the apparatus of the present invention, at least one of a directivity controller and a noise canceller may be added to the acoustic sensor. The respiratory sound wave and the look-up sound wave are waveforms of current or voltage that change the electrical signal with time. The bed may include an oxygen supply for spraying oxygen or air containing oxygen toward the user. The oxygen supplier may include a temperature controller for controlling the temperature of the oxygen or air. The oxygen supplier may include a humidity controller for controlling the humidity of oxygen or air at all times.

In a preferred device of the present invention, the control unit is connected to a transmitter, and the transmitter can communicate with a terminal that checks the statistical information processed by the control unit. The terminal is connected to a server, and the server may use big data collected from a plurality of terminals to statistically process the information on the snoring and sleep apnea and visualize it graphically and transmit it to the terminal. The server may include a cloud platform connected to a related institution.

According to the sleep device for preventing snoring and sleep apnea of the present invention, by comparing the breathing sound wave and the look-up sound wave in real time to control the change in the sleeping posture, snoring and sleep apnea are effectively prevented. In addition, snoring can be prevented by supplying oxygen with an oxygenator before tilting the bed.

1 is a diagram schematically showing a sleeping device according to the present invention.

2 is a view for explaining a cloud platform in the sleeping device according to the present invention.

Figure 3 is a perspective view showing the bed of the sleeping device according to the present invention.

Figure 4 is a view schematically showing a horizontal state of the bed of Figure 3;

5 is a schematic view showing a state in which the bed of FIG. 3 is inclined.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The embodiments described below may be modified in various other forms, and the scope of the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described in detail below. The embodiments of the present invention are provided to more completely explain the present invention to those of ordinary skill in the art. On the other hand, terms indicating positions such as upper, lower, front, etc. are only related to those shown in the drawings. In fact, the sleeping device can be used in any optional orientation, and in actual use, the spatial orientation changes according to the orientation and rotation of the sleeping device.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a sleeping device that effectively prevents snoring and sleep apnea by controlling a change in sleeping posture based on a look-up sound wave. Compared to the look-up sound wave, a sleep device that controls changes in sleeping posture will be investigated in detail, and the process of preventing snoring and sleep apnea by changing the sleeping posture will be described in detail. In addition to changing sleeping posture, we present examples of more effective prevention of snoring and sleep apnea. Although the embodiment of the present invention does not fundamentally solve the symptoms of snoring and sleep apnea, it is to prevent snoring and sleep apnea by identifying the signs. Since a bed is a typical sleeping device, it will be mainly described here with the bed.

1 is a diagram schematically showing a sleeping device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. However, the drawings are not expressed in a strict sense, and there may be components not shown in the drawings for convenience of description.

Referring to FIG. 1 , the sleeping device 100 includes a bed 10 , an actuator 20 , an acoustic sensor 40 , and a control unit 50 . The actuator 20 changes the sleeping posture by adjusting the inclination of the bed 10 . The actuator 20 includes all known methods of detecting snoring and adjusting the inclination of the bed 10 to change the user's sleeping posture. For example, the actuator 20, as in Korean Patent Registration No. 10-2041451, rolls the bed 10 from side to side. If necessary, the bed 10 may be provided with an oxygen supply 30 . The oxygen supply 30 is installed as needed, and when a sign of snoring appears, it supplies oxygen to the inside of the bed 10 toward the user's respiratory tract. The supply of oxygen increases the user's oxygen respiration, which helps prevent snoring. Since sleep apnea is a premise of snoring, the sleep device 100 detects a sign of snoring. This will be described in detail later.

The acoustic sensor 40 detects a sound generated from the user's breathing. Specifically, if the user continues to breathe in a state in which the airway is blocked after entering a deep sleep, the respiratory resistance increases and the mucous membrane vibrates by friction to start snoring. The acoustic sensor 40 detects the volume and acoustic pattern generated by the user's breathing to recognize the sign of snoring. The acoustic sensor 40 may increase the sensing efficiency by adding at least one of the directivity controller 41 for increasing directivity or the noise canceling device 42 for removing noise. The volume and sound pattern acquired from the acoustic sensor 40 become factors controlling the operation of the actuator 20 and the oxygen supply 30 .

Sound is one of the waves, and in a fluid such as air, sound is a pressure wave, that is, a wave propagating as high and low pressure vibrates. In the air, sound appears in the form of repeating the dense and small regions of the air instantaneously. Physically, sound and sonic wave have the same meaning, but sound mainly refers to audible sound waves, meaning sound waves in gas or liquid. Also, while sound refers to sound waves that are physiologically heard or perceived, sound waves almost entirely mean physical mechanical waves that vibrate and propagate in a medium. Accordingly, the breathing sound wave and the look-up sound wave according to the embodiment of the present invention refer to physical waves. With these physical waves, volume and sound patterns can be identified.

The control unit 50 is connected to the actuator 20 , the oxygen supply unit 30 , and the acoustic sensor 40 , and controls the operations of the actuator 20 , the oxygen supply unit 30 , and the acoustic sensor 40 . Specifically, the control unit 50 controls the inclination of the bed 10 with the actuator 20 , controls the concentration of oxygen, the injection speed, the injection range, etc. with the oxygen supply 30 , and the volume with the acoustic sensor 40 . , to obtain an acoustic pattern and adjust the directivity and noise rejection. The control unit 50 is connected to a DSP (51, Digital Signal Processor), a display 60 and a transmitter 70 to process various information obtained from the actuator 20 , the oxygen supply 30 and the acoustic sensor 40 . has been In particular, the DSP 51 converts analog information by the acoustic sensor 40 into digital and processes it mechanically. The display 60 may display the state of the control unit 50 and input various commands through the touch screen.

The transmitter 70 may be connected to the router 71 serving to receive and share. The transmitter 70 and the router 71 may be connected wirelessly or by wire, and the figure shows a case where they are connected wirelessly. In the case of wireless, both proximity communication and long-distance communication are possible, and the proximity communication includes Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Lora, and the like, and the long-distance communication includes LTE, 5G, and the like. In some cases, it is possible to directly transmit to the terminal 80 using the transmitter 70 without the router 71 . The terminal 80 is installed with an application that can check the statistical information processed by the control unit 50 and the server 90 . The terminal 80 may utilize a mobile device, a desktop, or the like, and a mobile device is represented in the drawing.

The server 90 utilizes the big data collected from the terminals 80 of a plurality of users, statistically processes the big data related to snoring and sleep apnea, and visualizes it with graphics. The server 90 is equipped with an algorithm for storing, analyzing, and sharing the big data. The server 90 may include a cloud platform 91 for use by related organizations. The cloud platform 91 may serve as the server 90 for distribution, analysis, storage, and the like. The cloud platform 91 will be described in detail below. The relevant institutions include homes, hospitals, nursing homes, protective facilities, medical support teams, and the like.

2 is a view for explaining the cloud platform 91 in the sleeping device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this case, the sleeping device 100 will be referred to in FIG. 1 .

According to FIG. 2 , the cloud platform 91 includes a big data processing algorithm, and the big data processing algorithm includes an information collection unit, information classification big data processing, user/user authority and security, visualization engine, service-specific processor, warning/ It is linked to elements such as a situation propagation control unit, a server, a network, and various databases. In some cases, the server, network, and various databases may go through authentication and security. The elements constituting the cloud platform 91 are interconnected and interlocked like a mesh network.

The information collection unit collects IoT information related to the bed, external organization information, and user information. The IoT information includes analog snoring original information, digital snoring FFT analysis information, external environment information, external temperature and humidity information, bed movement information, bedtime analysis degree, and the like. The external organization information includes environmental information such as weather and other information. The user information includes user and service target information, and the use of an alternative key for hiding personal information. Of course, in addition to the information and functions listed above, various information and functions may be added within the scope of the present invention.

The visualization engine, service-specific processor, and warning/situation propagation control unit are interlocked with the user UI, dashboard, and SNS propagation unit. The user UI enhances access rights and information by use, comprehensively expresses and analyzes external information and bed information, and the dashboard displays various information, provides history and real-time information, provides order information for each related institution, and extracts information by authority and delivery. The SNS propagation can be quickly spread using SNS and messenger services, and a user group community can be created. Of course, in addition to the information and functions listed above, various information and functions may be added within the scope of the present invention.

Figure 3 is a perspective view showing the bed 10 of the sleeping device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 4 is a view schematically showing a horizontal state of the bed 10 of Figure 3, Figure 5 is It is a schematic diagram showing a state in which the bed 10 of 3 is inclined. At this time, a part of the sleeping device 100 is shown for convenience of explanation, and although the Korean Patent Registration No. 10-2041451 is taken as an example, it may be applied to other types of sleeping devices within the scope of the present invention.

3 and 4 , the bed 10 is in a horizontal state with respect to the floor B, and includes a frame 11 and a head 12 including a mattress. The upper surface 11a of the frame 11 is where the user is lying or sitting, and the bottom surface 11b faces the floor (B). A position sensor 34 for measuring the distance between the bottom surface 11b and the floor B is attached to the bottom surface 10b of the frame 11 . When the bed 10 is in a horizontal state, it indicates a horizontal distance D1 from the floor B measured by the position sensor 34 . The position sensor 34 measures the horizontal distance D1 using a reflected wave reflected from the floor B, such as a lidar, for example. The actuator 20 serves to tilt the bed 10 , and there may be a rotating rod 21 driven by the driving unit 22 as an example. The actuator 20 may be a mechanical type, a hydraulic type, or the like, and the actuator 20 is not limited to the illustrated method.

The bed head 12 is provided with an oxygen supply 30 , an acoustic sensor 40 and a control unit 50 . The oxygen supply 30 is interlocked with the control unit 50 to supply oxygen to the user when a sign of snoring is seen. Here, the supply of oxygen may take a first method of supplying oxygen itself, a second method of supplying a mixture of oxygen and air, and a third method of supplying oxygen by spraying air. The oxygen supply 30 may include all of the first to third modes, and may have any one or two of the first to third modes. That is, the oxygen of the oxygen supply unit 30 is supplied as oxygen itself or air containing oxygen. The oxygen supply 30 may be supplied by selecting any one method according to the sign of snoring.

Oxygen supply by the oxygen supplier 30 is made by interlocking the snoring sign with the control unit 50 . The sign of snoring is confirmed by comparing the breathing sound wave obtained in real time from the acoustic sensor 40 with the look-up sound wave stored in the control unit 50 . At this time, information such as volume and sound pattern is loaded in the breathing sound wave and the look-up sound wave. The lookup sound wave is a sound wave representing a typical snoring sign associated with a user, is stored in the control unit 50, and may be updated at regular intervals. For example, there is a difference in look-up sound waves when snoring and sleep apnea are severe and weak. That is, the look-up sound wave varies depending on the user. The control unit 50 includes a comparator 52 for comparing the breathing sound wave and the look-up sound wave with each other. The acoustic sensor 40 converts the breathing sound wave into an electrical signal, and the controller 50 records the electrical signal as a waveform of current or voltage. The waveform represents volume and acoustic patterns.

The oxygen supply 30 may include a temperature controller 31 for controlling the temperature of supplied oxygen or air. The temperature difference between the user's breathing air and body temperature has a great effect on sleep stability. Although there are individual differences, in general, it is difficult to get a good night's sleep when the body temperature is too high or low, and the deviation can be confirmed by the look-up sound wave corrected by big data. Big data is identified by considering the user's ambient temperature. If big data is utilized, oxygen or air supplied by the oxygen supply unit 30 can be supplied at the optimum temperature confirmed by the big data. That is, deep sleep can be induced by controlling the temperature of oxygen or air supplied to the oxygen supply unit 30 .

The oxygen supply 30 may be equipped with a humidity controller 32 for controlling the humidity of oxygen or air. The humidity of the oxygen or air the user breathes greatly affects sleep stability. Although there are individual deviations, in general, if the humidity is too high or low, it is difficult to get a good night's sleep, and the deviation can be confirmed by a lookup sound wave corrected by big data. Big data is identified by considering the user's ambient humidity. Accordingly, oxygen or air supplied by the oxygen supply unit 30 can be supplied at the optimum humidity confirmed by the big data. When the temperature controller 31 and the humidity controller 32 are provided, the oxygen supply 30 can be supplied by adjusting the injection amount, injection angle, temperature, humidity, etc. of oxygen or air injected by big data in consideration of the look-up sound wave. have.

The physical quantity sensor 33 measures a physical quantity such as temperature, humidity, etc. around the bed 10 . In order to get a good night's sleep and prevent snoring, physical quantities such as temperature and humidity around the bed 10 are important factors. Although not shown, if necessary, the bed 10 may be provided with a means for controlling the ambient temperature and humidity separately from the temperature controller 31 and the humidity controller 32 .

The meaning of big data considering look-up sound waves is that look-up sound waves are basically used and big data is used auxiliary. Specifically, the user's breathing sound wave sensed by the acoustic sensor 40 is compared in real time with the look-up sound wave stored in the control unit 50 . At this time, if the breathing sound wave is statistically consistent with the sign of snoring in the look-up sound wave, the bed 10 is tilted as shown in FIG. 4 . In this case, the look-up sound wave may have a different pattern depending on the severity of the user's symptoms. In some cases, the sleeping device 100 may supply oxygen to the oxygen supply 30 before tilting the bed 10 to prevent snoring in advance. If snoring continues even after oxygen is supplied, stop the supply of oxygen and tilt the bed 10 . The degree of tilting the bed 10 varies depending on the severity of the user's symptoms, and the look-up sound wave is stored in various forms according to the user.

The big data complements the process of recognizing signs of snoring by lookup sound waves. Big data corrects the look-up sound wave through information about surrounding temperature, humidity, bedtime, inclination of the bed 10, and the like. For example, if the lookup sound wave is stored at an ambient temperature of 25°C and a relative humidity of 50%, the big data readjusts the lookup sound wave when the ambient temperature and humidity are out of 25°C and 50%. By utilizing big data in this way, it is possible to more accurately identify signs of snoring, supply oxygen, and handle bed tilt.

It is possible to check the lookup sound wave according to time by using the big data. Specifically, if the sleeping device of the present invention is utilized, each user's snoring and sleep apnea are significantly reduced or eliminated over time. Here, the remarkably reduced means out of the extent of harming the user's health due to snoring and sleep apnea. The big data is a lookup sound wave is determined along with the optimal angle, tilt, tilt induction time and sleep location information of the bed 10 when snoring and sleep apnea are significantly reduced or resolved. By utilizing information and look-up sound waves that significantly reduce or eliminate snoring and sleep apnea, you can have a stable sleep regardless of the sleeping place.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 5 , if snoring does not stop despite supplying oxygen and controlling the temperature by the oxygenator 30 , the bed 10 may be tilted at a predetermined inclination. The inclination of the bed 10 may be determined by measuring the inclination distance D2 with the floor B with the position sensor 34 . The slope is determined in conjunction with the control unit 50 . The slope varies depending on the user's aspect, and there is a difference in slope between severe and weak snoring and sleep apnea. The slope is determined using lookup sound waves and big data as described above.

An embodiment of the present invention prevents the user from snoring by adjusting the oxygen supply along with a change in sleeping posture. Conventionally, if the noise acquired by the sound sensor 40 is simple, for example, 60 to 65 dB at a distance of 40 cm, the bed frame 11 is tilted to prevent snoring and sleep apnea. That is, it is difficult to effectively prevent the conventional method because there is no consideration of individual aspects. However, the sleeping device 100 of the present invention can prevent snoring and sleep apnea by changing the sleeping posture to match the individual aspect by utilizing the look-up sound wave and big data. In addition, it is possible to more effectively prevent snoring and sleep apnea by supplying oxygen based on lookup sound waves and big data.

Although not shown, when the bed 10 is tilted, the central portion of the pillow may be concave in order to prevent the user from being tilted in the tilting direction due to the tilting. If the center of the pillow is concave, even if the bed 10 is tilted, the user does not lean in the tilted direction and does not shake. In some cases, any one or all of the acoustic sensor 40 and the oxygen supply 30 may be installed on the pillow instead of the bed head 12 . Accordingly, the pillow can be said to be a part of the bed (10). In addition, the bed 10 may be made of a lightweight material and adopt a folding method to facilitate storage and transportation.

As mentioned above, although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to preferred embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications may be made by those skilled in the art within the scope of the technical spirit of the present invention. possible.

* Explanation of symbols

10; bed 11; bed frame

12; bed head 20; actuator

21; rotating rod 22; drive

30; oxygenator 31; thermostat

32; Humidifier 33; physical quantity sensor

34; position sensor 40; sound sensor

41; directivity controller 42; noise canceller

50; control unit 51; DSP

60; display 70; transmitter

71; router 80; terminal

90; server 91; cloud platform

Claims

an actuator installed on the bed to change the sleeping posture by adjusting the inclination of the bed;

an acoustic sensor installed on the bed to detect a sound generated from the user's breathing; and

A sleep device for preventing snoring and sleep apnea comprising a control unit that compares the respiration sound wave acquired in real time from the acoustic sensor and the stored look-up sound wave to detect a sign of a user's snoring.
[Claim 2] The sleeping device for preventing snoring and sleep apnea according to claim 1, wherein at least one of a directional controller and a noise canceller is added to the acoustic sensor.
The apparatus for preventing snoring and sleep apnea according to claim 1, wherein the respiration sound wave and the look-up sound wave are waveforms of current or voltage that change the electrical signal with time.
The sleeping device for preventing snoring and sleep apnea according to claim 1, wherein the bed includes an oxygen supply that injects oxygen or oxygen-containing air toward the user.
[Claim 5] The sleeping device for preventing snoring and sleep apnea according to claim 4, wherein the oxygen supply unit comprises a temperature controller for controlling the temperature of the oxygen or air.
[Claim 2] The sleeping device for preventing snoring and sleep apnea according to claim 1, wherein the oxygen supply unit comprises a humidity controller for controlling the humidity of oxygen or air at all times.
According to claim 1, wherein the control unit is connected to the transmitter, the transmitter is a sleep device for preventing snoring and sleep apnea, characterized in that the communication with a terminal for checking the statistical information processed by the control unit.
The method of claim 1, wherein the terminal is connected to a server, and the server uses big data collected from a plurality of terminals to statistically process the information on snoring and sleep apnea and visualize it graphically and transmit it to the terminal Sleep device for preventing snoring and sleep apnea, characterized in that.
The sleeping device for preventing snoring and sleep apnea according to claim 8, wherein the server includes a cloud platform connected to a related organ.