Soft Housing Sleep Aid with Active Noise Cancellation

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional noise cancellation devices are uncomfortable and restrictive, forcing users to sleep on their backs due to hard casings and external wires, which can cause discomfort and pose choking hazards, while also failing to effectively cancel ambient noises like snoring and traffic.

Innovation Solution

A sleep-aide device with a soft housing containing a microphone, suppression circuitry, and transducers that generate a cancellation signal to neutralize ambient sounds, eliminating the need for external wires and allowing comfortable side or stomach sleeping, using internal wiring and elastic materials to cushion the ears.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If hard plastic housing is used for noise cancellation device, then noise cancellation function is achieved, but user comfort deteriorates and sleeping position is restricted

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvenoise cancellation functionVSAvoiduser comfort and sleeping position freedom

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The patent replaces the hard plastic housing with a soft, flexible housing material that conforms to the user's head and ear shape. This flexible housing maintains the noise cancellation functionality while eliminating the discomfort and restriction caused by rigid structures, allowing users to sleep in any position without pressure points or choking hazards.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #30Flexible shells and thin films

Solution Approach 2:

The patent uses composite materials combining soft housing material with integrated transducers and microphones. The soft housing is embedded with acoustic transducers and microphones that maintain effective noise cancellation while the composite structure provides comfort and flexibility, resolving the contradiction between functional reliability and user comfort.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #40Composite materials

2Reliability

If external wires are used for connection, then device functionality is maintained, but safety deteriorates due to choking hazard

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedevice functionalityVSAvoidchoking hazard

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The patent merges the transducers, microphones, and electronics directly into the soft housing structure, eliminating the need for external wires. The integrated design maintains full device functionality for noise cancellation and audio playback while removing the choking hazard associated with external wiring, especially important for users who may roll onto the device during sleep.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

3Strength

If hard casing is used, then structural integrity is maintained, but adaptability deteriorates as user is forced to sleep on back

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvestructural integrityVSAvoidsleeping position flexibility

Core Design Contradiction:

StrengthVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The soft housing material provides sufficient structural integrity to house and protect the electronic components while being flexible enough to adapt to any sleeping position. The material can be compressed and deformed without damage, allowing users to sleep on their back, side, or stomach without compromising the device's structural integrity or functionality.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #30Flexible shells and thin films

Applied Scientific Principles

This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.

Function Achieved in This Case

Enables uninterrupted sleep by effectively canceling ambient noises without discomfort or choking hazards, allowing users to sleep in any position and listen to audio without external interference.

Implementation Method 1

a set of transducers, arranged in the soft housing, which receive the suppression sound signal. The suppression sound signal has a magnitude and phase to substantially cancel the ambient sound signal at the user's ear

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectSound wave generation and interference: Sound

Implementation Method 2

a microphone positioned on the housing to receive an ambient sound signal

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectSound wave detection: Sound

Data Source

PatentUS8559649B2Sleep-aide device

Publication Date: 2013.10.15 KURZWEIL TECHNOLOGIES INC

AI summary

In one aspect, the invention is a sleep device. The sleep-aide device includes a soft housing adapted to be disposed over a user's head, a microphone positioned on the housing to receive an ambient sound signal, a suppression circuit that receives the ambient sound signal and produces a suppression sound signal, and a set of transducers, arranged in the soft housing, which receive the suppression sound signal. The suppression sound signal has a magnitude and phase to substantially cancel the ambient sound signal at the user's ear.In another aspect, the sleep-aide device includes a microphone to receive an ambient sound signal, a suppression circuitry, which receives the ambient sound signal and transmits a suppression sound signal based on the ambient sound signal, and a transducer which receives the suppression sound signal, which has a magnitude and phase to substantially cancel the ambient sound signal at the user's ear. The sleep device also includes an earphone housing, which is attached to the ear when worn by a user, containing the microphone, the suppression circuitry and the transducer.