referring to fig1 the apparatus will include a nostril adapter 11 . nostril adapter 11 is a commercially available product that has two nozzles , each of which fits within a nostril ( not shown ) of a user . adapter 11 connects to a flexible tube 13 that leads to a low pressure compressor 15 . adapter 11 and tube 13 make up an interface for supplying air pressure to the user . compressor 15 draws in ambient air and will compress it to a variable pressure which can be selected . increasing the pressure will increase the flow rate of the air through the tube 13 . a conventional pressure transducer 17 is connected by a pneumatic tube 19 to the tube 13 for sensing pressure in the tube 13 . pressure transducer 17 will monitor the dynamic pressure that exists in the interface comprising the tube 13 and adapter 11 . this pressure is substantially the same as in the upper airway passages of the user . the pressure within the tube 13 will depend not only on the compressor 15 , but also on the user &# 39 ; s breathing . the pressure transducer 17 will monitor all of the waveforms and convert these pressure changes into analog electrical signals . the signals from the pressure transducer 17 pass to an electronic amplifier and filter 21 of conventional design . after amplification , filter 21 will block frequencies received from the pressure transducer 17 that are not associated with snoring waveforms . laboratory tests have determined that the waveforms associated with snoring will have frequencies within the range of about 20 hz to 120 hz . these signals are passed and the rest blocked . fig2 illustrates a typical analog electrical signal 18 after passing through filter 21 that would indicate snoring . the frequencies within the waveforms of signal 18 are within 20 to 12 . 0 hz . the filtered signals 18 are rectified by a conventional rectifier 20 and passed to a conventional peak detector 22 . peak detector 22 will detect the contours of the waveforms of the signal 18 . the result is digitized by a conventional analog to digital converter 24 . fig3 illustrates the results , with waveform 27 being processed from the analog waveform 18 of fig2 . there are two large envelopes 28 and 30 and a smaller envelope 35 . the vertical lines within the envelopes 28 , 30 and 35 represent samples taken of the amplitudes at constant time intervals . preferably , there are 100 samples taken per second , with each sample having an amplitude that is proportional to a particular point on the envelopes 28 , 30 and 35 . a noise threshold 29 will be selected to eliminate signals having amplitudes below a selected level . the numerals 31 , 33 and 37 represent the durations in real time of the envelopes 28 , 30 and 35 . the durations 31 , 33 , 37 begin and end at the points where the envelopes 28 , 30 and 35 intersect the noise threshold line 29 . laboratory tests have determined that a typical waveform associated with a snore lasts about 0 . 4 seconds . the microprocessor 23 computes running averages of durations of past waveforms detected beginning with the particular session with that user . preferably , the microprocessor 23 will maintain values of the past ten durations , average the middle eight values , and multiply the average by a fraction to determine a threshold average , which is preferably 60 percent of the computed average . if the present duration exceeds the threshold average , it will be noted . if not , the microprocessor 23 will consider the present envelope to be other than associated with snoring . for example , the duration 31 likely might exceed 60 percent of the average . if duration 31 has a value within the middle eight of the last ten , a new average will be computed to compare with duration 37 . duration 37 will likely not meet the threshold test , therefore envelope 35 will not be counted as a snoring waveform . even if duration 37 does not fall within a middle eight values of the last ten durations , it will be considered when computing new threshold averages for subsequent envelopes . also , the energy level will be computed for each envelope 28 , 30 , 35 . the energy level is the area of each envelope 28 , 30 , 35 . the area is the summation of the amplitudes of the vertical sample lines within the durations 31 , 33 , 37 . similarly , the microprocessor 23 computes an area average based on the middle eight values of the last ten areas . the average threshold area is preferably 60 percent of this average . the present area is compared to the average threshold area . if the present envelope has an area that exceeds the average threshold area , and if the present envelope has a duration that exceeds the average threshold duration , the microprocessor 23 will enter a count . the present area will be considered when updating the average threshold area for subsequent envelopes , even if the present area did not exceed the average threshold . the threshold area and the threshold durations are reduced by 20 percent if no snoring waveforms are detected within a one minute period . the 20 percent reduction in threshold area and duration occurs each one minute period that is free of snoring waveforms until a selected minimum for each is reached . the envelopes 28 and 30 will likely result in a count for each . the small envelope 35 located between the two envelopes 28 , 30 will likely not be counted . the microprocessor 23 will continue to make counts when the areas and durations exceed the threshold values , with the threshold values continuously being updated . if the counts of envelopes that meet the threshold values reach a selected number within a certain time period , then the microprocessor 23 will recognize this as sleep disorder breathing snoring . in the preferred embodiment , there must be a snoring waveform that is counted within 30 seconds from the termination of the last snoring waveform counted . three of these counts must occur before the microprocessor 23 recognizes this as sleep disorder breathing snoring . for example , if envelopes 28 and 30 met the threshold area and duration values , but envelope 35 did not , then envelope 30 would need to commence within 30 seconds of the termination of envelope 28 . also , another envelope that met the threshold values would have to occur within 30 seconds of the termination of the envelope 30 . the termination and commencement points are the points where the envelopes pass the noise threshold line 29 . initially , the compressor 15 will be operating at a minimum pressure , for example 5 cm of water . if sleep disorder breathing snoring is detected , as described above , the microprocessor 23 will increase the pressure of compressor 15 by an increment . for example , initially the increase might be 2 cm of water . if after the initial increase of pressure , sleep disorder breathing snoring is still detected by three snoring envelope counts within 30 second time periods of each other , the microprocessor 23 will again increase the pressure by another 2 cm of water . this incremental increase can go on until a maximum pressure level has been reached . preferably the maximum level is about 15 cm of water . if the maximum level does not stop the snoring being detected , then an alarm 25 will be signaled to sound an alarm . if during a 20 minute interval , no more sleep disorder breathing snoring is detected by microprocessor 23 , the microprocessor 23 will direct the compressor 15 to decrease in a controlled manner . the compressor 15 will decrease in one embodiment about one cm of water pressure during every 20 minute interval in which no sleep disorder breathing snoring is detected . in operation , a user &# 39 ; s breathing will create a generally sinusoidal curve within interface 1 which includes adapter 11 and tube 13 that represents the intake and expelling of air . tests have determined that the pressure waveform will be modulated if a person begins to snore . snoring creates a wave pattern that has an identifiable frequency . snoring thus creates a waveform that can be distinguished from other fluctuations in the pressure which might be due to coughing , body movement and the like . laboratory tests have also determined that a positive flow of air into the user &# 39 ; s airway passages will in many cases cause the snoring to cease and also will avoid the occurrence of sleep disorder breathing such as apnea and hypopnea . compressor 15 will supply air pressure to the user through tube 13 at a selected minimum level . pressure transducer 17 will monitor the air pressure . filter 21 will amplify and pass only waveforms 18 having frequencies of interest , as illustrated in fig2 . the signals are conditioned by the rectifier 20 , peak detector 22 and a / d converter 24 to the form shown in fig3 . the durations 31 , 33 and 37 of envelopes 28 , 30 and 35 will be compared to a running average threshold value . the areas or energy levels of the envelopes 28 , 30 and 35 will be computed and compared to a running average threshold value . if the present values of the durations 31 , 33 , 37 and areas exceed the minimum threshold averages , then the envelopes 28 , 30 and 35 will be counted as waveforms associated with sleep disorder breathing . if a selected number of the waveforms associated with snoring are counted within a certain time period of each other , then the microprocessor will cause the compressor 15 to increase its pressure for a certain time period . if after a selected time , no further sleep disorder breathing snoring is detected , the microprocessor 23 will cause compressor 15 to decrease its pressure . if sleep disorder breathing snoring continues , the microprocessor 23 will cause the compressor 15 to further increase its pressure up to a maximum level . the invention has significant advantages . the low air pressure utilized while sleep disorder breathing is not occurring is much more comfortable to the user than the higher pressures required continuously during the prior art systems . if the system fails to stop the snoring , thereby indicating sleep disorder breathing , an alarm can be sounded to wake other people or the person to avoid a potentially dangerous situation . the system automatically adapts to the level of air flow required by the user during the night . while the invention has been shown in only one of its forms , it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that it is not so limited but is susceptible to various changes without departing from the scope of the invention . for example , humidity and temperature control devices may be incorporated to further the comfort to the user .
a method and device for controlling sleep disorder breathing utilizes variable pressure . the compressor supplies air at a relatively low pressure to the user &# 39 ; s air passages while the user is asleep . a pressure transducer will monitor the pressure and convert the pressure into an electrical signal . the electrical signal is filtered and processed to compare it to the characteristics of waveforms that exists during snoring . if the envelope of the waveform exceeds an average threshold value in duration and in area , then the microprocessor will consider the envelope possibly associated with a snore . if a selected number of envelopes of this nature occur within a selected time period , then the microprocessor considers snoring to exist and increases the pressure of the compressor . if snoring is not detected within a certain time period , then the microprocessor lowers the level gradually .