| 摘要 |
A device for stimulating a sleeper is disclosed. The device comprises a tactile electromechanical stimulator positioned against the sleeper's back proximate the sleeper's lower spine. The stimulator is actuated by a control circuit and powered by a power source. In one embodiment, the control circuit can be programmed to occasionally actuate the stimulator to promote more restful sleep. In one embodiment, the control circuit includes a receiver, and a transmitter is included that is adapted to transmit an actuation signal upon detection of excess noise or motion from the sleeper. The receiver, upon receiving the actuation signal, can actuate the stimulator for a randomized period of time via one or more randomized output pulses generated by a controller in communication with the receiver. |
| 主权项 |
1. A portable external electromechanical tactile stimulation device for regulating muscle tone, comprising:
a portable enclosure sized and configured to be placed against a subject's back at a location proximate the base of the person's spinal cord; two or more tactile stimulators disposed within the enclosure configured to provide mechanical stimulation to Meissner corpuscles and Merkels discs located near the base of the spinal cord; a controller disposed within the enclosure, wherein the controller is configured to actuate the two or more tactile stimulators to provide mechanical stimulation of Meissner corpuscles and Merkels discs located near the base of the spinal cord sufficient to cause signals to be transmitted to the reticular formation of the brain, wherein the controller comprises stored instructions that, upon being executed thereon, output sequences of output pulses having varying sequence durations and pause times between sequences, the output pulses configured to actuate the two or more tactile stimulators, and wherein the output pulses within the sequences have varying pulse widths and varying pulse rates, wherein the sequence durations, pause times between sequences, pulse widths, and pulse rates are programmed to sufficiently minimize accommodation of the reticular formation of the brain to the mechanical stimulation provided by the two or more tactile stimulators; a power supply disposed within the enclosure; and a power control circuit disposed within the enclosure configured to provide power from the power supply to the two or more tactile stimulators and the controller. |
