Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02496354 2005-02-04
SENSORY EXPERIENCE METHOD AND APPARATUS
This invention relates to both an apparatus in the one case and a medmd in the
other for effecl~ng a beneficial sensory experierx~e for a human partia~nt.
The problem to which this invention is directed relates to both a method and
apparatus for providing an o~actory and visual stimulation while redudng other
s stimulation so as to heighten the positive stimulatory effects.
It is known to provide relaxation by having a partidpant float within a body
of high-
density liquid such as a highly salted water bath.
While floating, the body is supported more or less unfformly so that the
effect of
gravity is distributed more uniformly so that individual muscle tensions to
say,
~ o support a limb, can be reduced and especially if the liquid is at about
body
temperature, then stimuli to the floating body requiring compensation causing
possible further tensions for heating or cooling of the body is reduced
allowing the
brain to focus on other inputs.
ft is however, difficult to know what further sfimulation might be most
appropriaba for
1 s any individual for instance in the form of visual or olfactory
stimulation.
AAy discovery is that k is feasible to provide over a flotation bath an
environment
which includes an atmosphere of fine water droplets which can be used for
intersecting and reflecting light, but also act as a carrier both to introduce
and then
assist in extraction of an essential oil.
2o The advantage of this is that, whereas essential oils once introduced into
an
enclosure would be expected to persist, 'rf they are carried within an
atmosphere of
one mist which is fine water droplets then the droplets themselves are more
able to
be directed and will then be appropriate to both carry in, hold in a dispersed
state
and then be reasonably effectively extracted by being carried with the water
2s droplets.
What this means then is that there can be an exd~ange over a relatively
smaller
period of time of an essential oil.
There can be also a relationship between other sensory inputs and~s9ential
oils.
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Such other in puts can include a colour or colour combination and in another
case it
can either be an audit~e sound or combination of sounds or of course such
sounds
in the form of music.
Accordingly, acxording to one form of this invention, there is then proposed a
5 method of stimulation of the senses for a human participant, the method
comprising
the steps of having the human participant being supported either directly or
indirectly by a body of liquid, and, while floating, having at least
stimulation
provided by an essential oil or oils combination, and as well, a visual
stimulation at
the same time, which is provided by a source or sources of light providing
light
1 o which is directed into an atmosphere of fine water droplets, where the
essential oil
or oils are carried and dispersed within the fine water droplets.
In preference, the method includes the further step while the human
participant
remains floating within the body of liquid, that a first essential oil or oil
combination is
introduced with or during introduction into an enclosure within which the
partiapant
15 eXIStS and at a selected time thereafter, there is extracted from the
enclosure at
least to a substantive extent the fine water droplets together with such
essential
oils that have been collected by such fine water droplets, and thereafter at a
further
selected time, introducing a further atmosphere of fine water droplets and a
further
essential oil or oils combination during or with at least this further fine
droplet
2o atmosphere.
In preference, during at least soma of the period during which a first of the
fine
droplets have been introduced and are left to remain within the enclosure,
there is
also provided an input of an audible sound.
in preference, the audible sound is in the form of music which has been
selected to
2s be appropriate to be with the essential oil or oils combination at the
time.
In preference, there is a source of light which is coloured so that the
coloured light is
directed to shine within the enclosure at the least while the fine water
droplets are
suspended in the atmosphere within the enclosure, and the colour or colours of
such light are selected to be appropriate to the essential oil or oils
combination
so within the enclosure at the time.
In preference, the pattern of introducing and extracting an atmosphere of fine
water
droplets and an accompanying essential oil or oils combination is repeated a
CA 02496354 2005-02-04
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plurality of times with a period between such different sets of atmosphere to
allow
for effective extrac4on and then further introduction of fresh fine water
droplets.
In a further form, the invention can be said to reside in an apparatus for
assisting in
providing beneficial stimulation comprising a body of water within an
enclosure,
s means to introduce into the enclosure a first injection of fine water
droplets, a means
to introduce into the enclosure at least at sometime during the injection of
the said
first fine water droplets an essential oil or oils combination, and means to
extract
from the enclosure to at least a substantive extent frne water droplets within
the
atmosphere of the enclosure, a means then to effect a further introduction of
fine
1 o water droplets into the atmosphere of the enclosure with a second
essential oii or
oils combination, after a selected period of time from the said first
extrac~iion of fine
water droplets from the enclosure.
In preference, there is provided a sequenced arrangement for introduction and
extraction of fine water droplets together with a sequence of irstroduction of
a
15 selected essential oil or oils combination with each furtl~r introduction
of fine water
droplets.
In preference, there are means to introduce the essential oil or oils into the
stream of
fine water particles as they are introduced into the enclosure so that at
least during
some of the time of such introduction, the essential oil or oils combination
will be
2o intimately mixed with such fine water particles or droplets.
In preference, there are means to effect a source of light which will effect a
lighting of
the atmosphere within the enclosure and there are means to effect a colouring
of
such light from its source which colour is selected for each of the introduced
essential
oils.
2s In other words, there wilt be a matching sequence of essential oii, colours
of lighting
and as welt a matching audio input.
In preference, there are means to effect a heating of the liquid within the
body of
water and means to maintain this at a selected temperature which can be at
about
body temperature.
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In preference, the body of liquid is a high salt content and in preference
such salt is
Epsom salts which is to an extent that a human body will float with a
substantive
proportion of the human body above a level of the liquid in the bath.
In preference, a person would use a flotation pillow for their head if desired
and
also would have closures for the ears such that liquid would not pass into the
ear
but such closures would be selected to allow for hearing of audible signals
and
music through these dosures.
In preference, there would be a sequence control which would allow for a
selected
time for introduction of water vapour with appropriate essential oil or oils
1 o combination, a period during which the fine water droplets would be
allowed then
to remain dormant while the colours are shone through the atmosphere of the
enclosure and the sound is played, and then there is a period for extract'ron
and
reinsertion of a fresh set of fine water droplets together with a different
set of
essen~al oil or oils combination and at the same time a change in the audible
l s sounds and also the colours and patterns selected for this particular
further essential
oil.
In preference there can be a sequence of these over a period which may be
typically a one-hour stretch and six full changes through such a period so
that each
cycle is through a period of ten minutes.
2o For a heifer understanding of this invention it will now be described with
reference
to a preferred embodiment which shall be described with the assistance of
drawings wherein,
Fig 1 is a schematic view showing an enclosure with a pool, a person shown
typically within the pool, aru! associated accessories relating to all of
these
2s according to the embodiment,
Fig 2 illustrates a program pattern of introduction of the s~muli according to
this
embodiment and according to a selected program.
Now referring to the drawings and in particular to Fig 1, there is an
arrangement 1
which indudes an enclosure 2 which is defined by four walls 3 and a ceiling 4
and of
so course a floor 5 with access thereto by a door 6.
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Within the enclosure thus defined there is a pool 7 which includes liquid 8
which in
this case is water with a high concentration of Epsom salts to the extent that
a
participant can float readily within the liquid without assistance and such
that a
substantive portion of the body is above the level of the liquid.
5 In our embodiment, additional buoyancy support can be provided for the head
of
the participant and it has advantage to provide closures against liquid egress
into
the ear canals, but selected so that sound can still pass generally through
such
closures. Such devices are commonly available.
There are means to both introduce and extract fine water droplets this being a
t o conduit where the conduit in this case is being shown at 9 and the inlets
and outlets
being shown at 10 and 11.
There are various ways that fine water droplets can be generated and one of
these
is to create steam and to allow some of this to condense which then provides a
fine
mist or fine water droplets whid~ generally then will suspend in conventional
~ s atmosphere.
There is also the additional advantage that the fine water droplets maintain a
temperature that is at least warm and this then provides an environment that
is
generally at about a body temperature.
By having fine water droplets in the atmosphere of the enclosure 2, this has
two
2o funcfions, one of which is to carry and distribute essenflal oils and then
secondly, to
facilitate the extraction of essential oils after a period of time so that a
replacement
essential oil without at least substantive contamination of the first
essential oil can be
achieved.
While reference is made to one essential oil it is possible to use a
combinat'ron of
2s essential oils at the same flme.
However, I have found that there is a beneficial combination of various
~ssentiat
oils and colours of light and in this embodiment then there is provided that
there are
means to effect a combination of an essential oil selection and a colour of
light
selection so that these are matched for any particular selected period.
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s
The provision of light is shown in our illustration by a light source 12 and
there are
means specifically within the light source 12 that control and effect a change
in
sequence with the selection of essential oils such that there is a matching
1'~ght for
each of the essen~al oils chosen.
s Such devices can be obtained from conventional commercial sources and are
typically used in theatrical productions and night dub environments.
In conjunc~on with the combinafion of essential oils and light colour, there
is also an
additional input namely, music which is also selected to match the colour and
essential oil in a particular phase of the stimulation period.
There can be either music chosen or a tone or tone combination in this
embodiment
and these are able to be selected prior to the participant being involved in
the
stimulatory program.
However, in a further embodiment, there are means for the participant to
effect a
further selectron and to interact or change as desired either the length of
the
15 stimulation, or a partia.ilar combination.
In this particular embodiment there can be means accessible by the participant
13.
There are a plurality of loud speakers at 14 which project sound into the
enclosure 2
either in mull-channel form or in mono oral form.
One of the difficulties with the arrangement described is that an essen~al oil
when
2o introduced into an enclosure will normally distribute over many of the
surfaces and
remain generally within the atmosphere of the enclosure over an extended
period
of time.
By ping a wet steam which produces fine droplehs and in this particular case
introduclng this so that an injected liquid namely a selected essential oil or
oils irtto
2s the wet steam, at least through only a portion of the period of
introduction of the
steam into the enclosure, a substantive portion of the essential oil wiH
remain with
the liquid and by extracting the wet steam from the enclosure 2, there can
then be
expected to be at least a substantive, if not total, removal of the phase
selected
essential oil.
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Not shown but included within the enclosure is also a fresh air in~t which can
also
include a means for heating such fresh air to maintain a body temperature of
the
environment within the enclosure and this can assist then in firstly providing
a
through flow for steam removal together with the accompanying .essential oil.
s Fig 2 illustrates in graphical form a program according to the embodiment in
which
there is provided over a 60 minute period, a sequence of in any ten minute
period,
a first supply of wet steam in, and during such supply of set steam in, a
smaller
period during which there is opened a valve into a supply of selected
essential oil
and by use of suction, a selected proportion of essential oil is thereby
pulled into
~ o and mixed up with and dissolved by the liquid within the wet steam.
At the same time through the selected phase, there is a coloured light which
is
arbitrarily shown as selection 1, and there is a sound choice also as
selection 1.
Each of the subsequent phases match the same pattern where there is a
selection
of essential oils, a colour or as preferred a light pattern with colour and a
selected
~ 5 music or sound.
The results in trials conducted so far have shown this method and apparatus to
be
very effective indeed and able to provide an improved experience for
beneficial
effect to a human.
