Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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State of the ~rt
It is well-known that the psychologically favorable
effects or natural conditions on the human organism are
decisively influenced by the electrical conditions of the
atmosphere. In the open air, the living organism is constantl~
exposed to the electrical forces of a constant electrostatic
field as well as to the electrical oscillations of the atmos-
phere. During the entire evolution of organisms on the earth,
these atmospheric electrostatic conditions have exercised a
decisive influence on every living creature. The organism
has become accustomed to the natural atmospheric electricity
; and become adapted to it. Decreased intensity or complete
absence of these atmospheric influences therefore represents
a deficiency for every organism~
Living and working environments are more or less
screened from the constant and-alternating electrostatic fields
of the atmosphere depending on the physical characteristics of
thé building materials used in their construction. In most
cases working environments where individuals are required to
perform at a high level o~ activity are constructed of rein-
forced concrete which screens the persons working there from
the electrostatic fields of the atmosphere. In vehicles,
this screening effect is caused in many cases b,v the sheet
-~ steel construction of the driver's cab.
It is known that the bioelectrical climate outdoors
can be simulated in closed rooms by generating a constant
electrostatic field between an electrode placed in the room
and its walls and superposing on this field rectangular pulses
with a frequency of approximately 10 H~. This simulation of
natural atmospheric electrical conditions in closed rooms that
are completely or partially shielded from the environment by
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Faraday screen effects permits a stimulating effect on the
organism. This effect permanently and demonstrably influences
in a desirably positive direction motor activity, oxygen
intake and energy balance, cellular water and electrolyte
balance, lipoil metabolism, circulation and peripheral blood
supply, the immunobiological defensive system, reaction time,
concentration and efficiency as well as subjective well-
being. This favourable influencing action has been proved in
many group tests.
In these tests and generally also in the practical
application of devices producing constant electrostatic
fields and superposed pulse fields in rooms, it was repeatedly
observed that in addition to this positive, favourable influencing
of the organism, certain persons reacted less to these fields
than others. This fact was initially explained by the su~po-
sition that constitutional differences exist in the reactions
of those persons to atmospheric electrical fields. This
prompted the attempt to improve the atmospheric electrical
fields in such a manner that all persons exposed to them are
; 20 beneficially influenced by them to an equal degree.
Object of the Invention
The objective of this invention was therefore to
generate an appropriately modified atmospheric electrical
field which exercises an invigorating, stimulating and favour-
able influence on all living creatures and in particular on all
persons with respect to the factors mentioned above.
Description of the Invention
It was found that in a process for the generation of
- bioclimatically active atmospheric electricity in rooms for
which a periodically or an aperiodically alternating field
^ with voltage pulses in the range between approximately 0.1
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and 20 Hz in the correspondin~ room is generated, the problem
described in detail above can be resolved according to the
invention by selecting the span of one flank of each pulse
to be small enough that a biologically stimulating displacement
current is generated in a living organism in the room to be
climatized with atmospheric electricity only through the
momentary electrostatic change in this flank area, but not
in the area of the oppositel~ directed pulse flank, in which
the opposite electrostatic change is selected to be of relatively
long duration.
Consequently according to the invention, flank rise
and flank drop of each voltage pulse are selected with a time
difference between them in such a manner that only one voltaae
change causes a biologically stimulating displacement current
in the organism while the other voltage change proceeds so
slowly that it càuses only a small displacement current,
which is not biologically stimulating. This surprising result
can be explained by the relative difference of the oppositely
directed induction currents, whereby it is assumed that this
relative difference prevents a compensation of the effects in
both directions, and thus prevents it in particular if the
slower voltage change proceeds so slow~y that practically
no stimulating displacement currents occur in the organism.
According to the invention this is the case when the flank
span of the slower voltage change of each voltage pulse is
at least lO0 microseconds and preferably lO00 microseconds.
The biologically stimulating effect occurs with shorter voltage
changes.
It was found that upon maintenance of the afore-
mentioned minimum time for the slow voltage change best resultscan be obtained if the slow voltage change is approximately 500
times longer than the fast voltage changes. For example,
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the flank rise of a 10 Hz impulse with a span of 10 micro-
seconds as opposed to the flank drop of the pulse with 10
milliseconds in line with the above listed parameters has a
biologically strong stimulating effect on all persons.
It must be emphasized that this beneficial effect
cannot be realized if the volta~e pulses only have a sawtooth
form as is usual for such pulses, but rather that only the
above defined relative differences of the pulse flank spans
with maintenance of minimum values for the broader flank lead
to the desired result.` It was found that only in this case are
the stimulating effects of the voltage changes of each pulse
not able to neutralize each other. An accumulated stimulus
of the individual voltage pulses results in the organism which
are not compensated by opposite displacement currents due to
the fact that a biologically stimulating displacement current
is induced always in only one direction by the successive
voltage pulses.
It was further found~that the stimulating effect
through accumulating displacement currents does not depend on
~0 the direction of these currents so that either the rising or
the falling flank of each pulse can be selected as being of
shorter duration than the other flank.
.
It was further found tha-t optimal results are obtained
when the impulse field according to the invention is superposed
on a constant electrostatic field of approximately 50 to 500
volts/m. Surprisingly, however, it was ascertained that an
impulse field according to the definition of this invention
alone has positive stimulating effects on the organism, so
that if economic considerations have priority, the use of a
voltage pulse field alone according to the invention is
indicated.
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¦ The voltaye pulses are generated in known manner
with an impulse generator which has, for example, an RC element
for delaying the pulse rise or the pulse drop.
The invention is explained with the drawing.
Figures 1 and 2 show schematically a rectangular
voltage pu:Lse and its effect in the organism according to the
state of the art.
Figures 3 and 4 show a voltage pulse according to the
invention and its effect in the organism and
Figures 5 and 6 show preferred types of design of
voltage pulses which are used in impulse fields according to
the invention.
Figure 1 shows a rectangular pulse with two steep
flanks which cause oppositely directed voltage changes. The
ascending flank a generates a displacement current in a living
or~anism which has the effect of producing in the body cells
a charge impulse _ (Figure 2) with a specific polarity. Due
to the equally steep descending flank c of the rectangular
pulse according to Figure 1 a further displacement current
2~ is produeed and aceordingly also a eharge pulse d (Figure 2)
which is opposite to the charge pulse _ and can neutralize
its ef~ect. This is true also for the generally employed
sawtooth pulse form as long as a defined prolongation of the
span of one pulse flank is not effected according to the
invention. As explained at the beginning, bioclimatically
stimulating effects can therefore be realized only to a
limited degree with rectangular pulses.
''~
Figure 3 shows a pulse form according to the invention
with only one steep flank e. Flank f corresponding to the
oppositely directed voltage change is delayed and has a span
-- 5
corresponding to time interval T, which is at least ten
times, preferably five hundred times as long as the time
interval or span of the ascending flank _ of the pulse.
With such a pu1se form, the body cells of the treated
organism react with only one single charge pulse g (Figure 4),
which is followed in a pulse sequence of 10 Hz by effective
voltage changes with equal polarity only.
In Figures 1 and 3 pulses are shown which start from
a zero potential (state of rest).
10Figures 5 and 7 show pulse forms which are set up
on a positive or negative bias volta~e. The pulse forms
according to Figures 5 and 7 display variations compared to
those according to Figure 3 in that the maximal pulse voltage
between the two flanks is kept constant for a certain interval
of time. These pulse forms according to the invention produce
optimal biologically stimulating effects. The span of the
pulses is therefore preferably approximately twice as great
as the span of flank h, 1, k (Figures 5 to 7) causing the slow
or delayed voltage change.
20In case of a negative bias voltage according to
Figure 6, the impulse voltage has a negative polarity.
As a variation from Figure 5, Figure 7 showns a delay
` of the ascending flank.
The following examples explain the invention.
'~
25Example 1
In an almost square workroom having a floor space of
approximately ~00 sq. m. and a height of 3 m., sixteen equally
distributed positive electrodes are placed and between them and
the walls of the workroom a constant electrostatic field was
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maintained. On the avexage a field intensity of 170 volts/m.
was measured in the room.
An impulse field with a pulse frequency of 10 Hz was
superposed on this constant electrostatic field in such a
manner that the maximum impulse field voltage in the room
measured approximately 5 volts/m. on the averaae.
In an experiment A, rectangular voltage pulses with
a flank rise and a ~lank drop of 10 microseconds and a fre-
quency of 10 Hz initially were periodically superposed on
the constant electrostatic field.
In a further experiment B, the descending flank of
each pulse was then delayed so that it had a span of 50
milliseconds. Each pulse drop thus had approximately half the
span of the entire voltage pulse. Finally in an experiment C,
- 15 thè atmospheric electrical field in the roo~ was completely
disconnected so that the test persons were completely screened
from every atmospheric electrical influence by the shielding
action of the walls of the room that consisted of reinforced
concrete.
During the experiments, 28 test persons were in the
room, and they carried out for the most part sedentary
activities requiring medium concentration and reaction on the
- part of each individual person. It was ascertained that in
experiment A as compared to experiment C approximately 23
persons displayed a marked increased reaction and concentra-
tion ability of about 5% on the average, which was manifested
not only in decreased fatigue but also in an improvement of
the subjective well-being of these persons. Three persons
displayed only a minor reaction and two persons almost no
reaction at all to the atmospheric electrical stimuli.
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With experiment B it could be proved that all persons
without exception were positively influenced with respect to
their concentration and reactions by the atmospheric electrical
stimuli and displayed an increase in efficiency of approx-
imatelyfl2 to 15%.
Example 2
An impulse field system according to the invention was
installed in a vehicle drivina simulator for which the positive
electrode measuring lO x 30 cm. was placed above the driver's
seat. The applied constant voltage measured 180 volts and that
of the impulse field superposed on the constant field 20 volts.
The field intensity between electrode and carriage as measured
at head level at the driver's seat amounted to approximately
100 volts/m. in the constant field and to S volts/m. in the
impulse field. Twelve persons were tested here as in Example l
under conditions A, B and C with e~ual values for frequency
and flank span. Each of the drivers (test persons) was
subjected to 4 individual tests, 2 of each were conducted with
and 2 without the described electrical fields. With the field
action in experiment B, i.e. under the influence of an impulse
field corresponding to this invention, a more uniform and
stronger activation of the driver was occasioned by the atmos-
pheric electrical stimulus than in experiment A. In particular,
; measurements made in experiment B showed a 12% increase in
concentration, likewise a 12% increase in driving performance,
a reduction in reaction time of 5 to 20% and a significantly
more regular driving behavior in comparison with experiment C
(without field conditions). These results produce proof that
the measure according to the invention makes a considerable
3~ contribution to improving traffic safety.
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