Equipment and methods used to induce lucid dreams in sleeping persons
US5507716A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Aug 21, 1991 |
| Grant date | Apr 16, 1996 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Aug 21, 2011 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC A)Human Necessities
- CPC primaryA61N2005/0648
- WIPO fieldMedical technology
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
Equipment and methods employed to assist people to achieve lucid dreams (dreams in which one is aware that one is dreaming) function by detecting and monitoring the eye and head movements of sleeping persons for the presence of sufficient eye movement activity in the absence of head movement to indicate the presence of REM sleep and then applying sensory stimuli to sleepers in REM sleep, which if incorporated into their dreams, can cue them that they are dreaming without producing awakening. With this equipment and methods, people are able to have more lucid dreams than they otherwise would. A preferred embodiment includes a face mask that contains two infrared emitter-detector pairs, one for sensing eye movements and one for sensing body movements, a state-test button, and components that produce low intensity sensory stimuli such as light and sound. A microprocessor monitors the fluctuating voltage from the infrared pairs for the occurrence of a predetermined sequence of voltages, adjustable in software, and when the correct sequence occurs, triggers the stimuli-producing components in the mask into activity, to cue the sleeper to become lucid. The methods include many procedures…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.