United States Patent |
5,450,859
|
Litovitz
|
September 19, 1995
|
Protection of living systems from adverse effects of electric, magnetic
and electromagnetic fields
Abstract
The disclosed embodiments of the inventions disclosed in this application
develop a `protection` electric, magnetic or electromagnetic field or
fields which are either superimposed upon an ambient field which is
detrimental to the health of living systems, or is incorporated into the
electrical circuit of the device which is generating the detrimental
field. Either arrangement is successful in `confusing` living cells, and
thereby reducing the harmful effects of the otherwise detrimental field.
Inventors:
|
Litovitz; Theodore A. (Annapolis, MD)
|
Assignee:
|
The Catholic University of America (Washington, DC)
|
Appl. No.:
|
088034 |
Filed:
|
July 6, 1993 |
Current U.S. Class: |
128/897; 600/9 |
Intern'l Class: |
A61B 019/00 |
Field of Search: |
600/9-15
128/897-899
|
Primary Examiner: Cohen; Lee S.
Assistant Examiner: Lacyk; John P.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Cushman Darby & Cushman
Parent Case Text
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application is a Continuation-In-Part of co-pending application Ser.
No. 07/642,417, filed Jan. 17, 1991, the subject matter of which is
incorporated herein.
Claims
I claim:
1. An apparatus for creating a bioprotective electromagnetic field
comprising the combination of:
an electrical coil for generating an electromagnetic field; and
an electrical power conversion device, having an input and an output, for
modulating within time intervals of less than 10 seconds one or more
fundamental properties of an electrical power source when said electrical
power source is applied to said input, said fundamental properties
including amplitude, period, phase, waveform and polarity, said output of
said electrical power conversion device being coupled to said coil for
driving said coil, whereby said coil generates a bioprotective
electromagnetic field.
2. An apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said time intervals are random
intervals, the largest of which is less than 10 seconds.
3. An apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said time intervals are 0.1 to
1 second.
4. An apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein said electrical power
conversion device modulates the amplitude of the electrical power source.
5. An apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein said electrical power
conversion device modulates the period of the electrical power source.
6. An apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein said electrical power
conversion device modulates the waveform of the electrical power source.
7. An apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein said electrical power
conversion device modulates polarity of the electrical power source.
8. An apparatus for creating a bioprotective electromagnetic field in a
hair dryer comprising the combination of:
a hair dryer having a heating coil;
an electrical coil for producing an electromagnetic field, said coil being
shaped and positioned so that it surrounds said heating coil of said hair
dryer; and
an electrical power conversion device, having an input and having an output
coupled to drive said coil, for changing within time intervals of less
than 10 seconds one or more fundamental properties of an electrical power
source when said electrical power source is applied to said input of said
electrical power conversion device, said fundamental properties including
amplitude, period, phase, waveform and polarity; whereby a bioprotective
electromagnetic field is produced from said coil.
9. An apparatus according to claim 8 wherein said time intervals are random
intervals, the largest of which is less than 10 seconds.
10. An apparatus according to claim 8 wherein said time intervals are 0.1
to 1 second.
11. An apparatus as in claim 8, wherein said heating coil and said
electrical coil are arranged so as to be parallel and have current flowing
in opposite directions, respectively.
12. An apparatus as in claim 8, wherein said hair dryer further comprises a
sensing device for sensing the bioprotective field.
13. An apparatus for creating a bioprotective electromagnetic field for a
computer comprising the combination of:
a computer having a keyboard;
an electrical coil for generating an electromagnetic field, said coil being
positioned inside said keyboard of said computer; and
an electrical power conversion device, having an input and an output
coupled to said coil, for modulating within time intervals of less than 10
seconds one or more fundamental properties of an electrical power source
when said electrical power source is applied to said input, said
fundamental properties including amplitude, period, phase, waveform and
polarity, said output of said electrical power conversion device driving
said coil, whereby said coil generates a bioprotective electromagnetic
field.
14. An apparatus according to claim 13 wherein said time intervals are
random intervals, the largest of which is less than 10 seconds.
15. An apparatus according to claim 13 wherein said time intervals are 0.1
to 1 second.
16. An apparatus as in claim 13, wherein said electrical power source is
contained within said computer.
17. An apparatus as in claim 13, further comprising a sensing device for
sensing the bioprotective field.
18. An apparatus for creating a bioprotective electromagnetic field in a
space occupied by humans or animals comprising the combination of:
a space to be protected;
an electrical coil for generating an electromagnetic field, said coil being
positioned adjacent a wall in said space; and
an electrical power conversion device, having an input and an output
coupled to drive said coil, for modulating within time intervals of less
than 10 seconds one or more fundamental properties of an electrical power
source when said electrical power source is applied to said input, said
fundamental properties including amplitude, period, phase, waveform and
polarity, whereby said coil generates a bioprotective electromagnetic
field.
19. An apparatus according to claim 18 wherein said time intervals are
random intervals, the largest of which is less than 10 seconds.
20. An apparatus according to claim 18 wherein said time intervals are 0.1
to 1 second.
21. An apparatus as in claim 18, further comprising a sensing device for
sensing the bioprotective field.
22. An apparatus for creating a bioprotective electromagnetic field
surrounding a building comprising the combination of:
a building;
an electrical coil for generating an electromagnetic field, said coil
surrounding said building; and
an electrical power conversion device, having an input and an output
coupled to said coil, for modulating within time intervals of less than 10
seconds one or more fundamental properties of an electrical power source
when said electrical power source is applied to said input, said
fundamental properties including amplitude, period, phase, waveform and
polarity, said output of said electrical power conversion device driving
said coil, whereby said coil generates a bioprotective electromagnetic
field.
23. An apparatus according to claim 22 wherein said time intervals are
random intervals, the largest of which is less than 10 seconds.
24. An apparatus according to claim 22 wherein said time intervals are 0.1
to 1 second.
25. An apparatus as in claim 22, further comprising a sensing device for
sensing the bioprotective field.
26. An apparatus for creating a bioprotective electromagnetic field
surrounding a cathode ray tube comprising the combination of:
a cathode ray tube having a screen;
an electrical coil for generating an electromagnetic field, said coil
surrounding said screen of said cathode ray tube; and
an electrical power conversion device, having an input and an output
coupled to said coil, for modulating within time intervals of less than 10
seconds one or more fundamental properties of an electrical power source
when said electrical power source is applied to said input, said
fundamental properties including amplitude, period, phase, waveform and
polarity, said output of said electrical power conversion device driving
said coil, whereby said coil generates a bioprotective electromagnetic
field.
27. An apparatus according to claim 26 wherein said time intervals are
random intervals, the largest of which is less than 10 seconds.
28. An apparatus according to claim 26 wherein said time intervals are 0.1
to 1 second.
29. An apparatus for creating a bioprotective electromagnetic field
surrounding a microwave oven comprising the combination of:
a microwave oven having an outer surface;
an electrical coil for generating an electromagnetic field, said coil
positioned adjacent to an outer surface of said microwave oven; and
an electrical power conversion device, having an input and an output
coupled to said coil, for modulating within time intervals of less than 10
seconds one or more fundamental property of an electrical power source
when said electrical power source is applied to said input, said
fundamental properties including amplitude, period, phase, waveform and
polarity, said output of said electrical power conversion device driving
said coil, whereby said coil generates a bioprotective electromagnetic
field.
30. An apparatus according to claim 29 wherein said time intervals are
random intervals, the largest of which is less than 10 seconds.
31. An apparatus according to claim 29 wherein said time intervals are 0.1
to 1 second.
32. An apparatus for creating a bioprotective electromagnetic field
surrounding a mattress comprising the combination of:
a mattress, having an inside;
an electrical coil for generating an electromagnetic field, said coil being
substantially the size of said mattress, said coil positioned in the
inside of said mattress; and
an electrical power conversion device, having an input and an output
coupled to said coil, for modulating within time intervals of less than 10
seconds one or more fundamental properties of an electrical power source
when said electrical power source is applied to said input, said
fundamental properties including amplitude, period, phase, waveform and
polarity, said output of said electrical power conversion device driving
said coil, whereby said coil generates a bioprotective electromagnetic
field.
33. An apparatus according to claim 32 wherein said time intervals are
random intervals, the largest of which is less than 10 seconds.
34. An apparatus according to claim 32 wherein said time intervals are 0.1
to 1 second.
35. An apparatus for creating a bioprotective electromagnetic field in an
electrical circuit comprising the combination of:
an electrical circuit;
a modulation device having an electrical input and an electrical output;
a modulation device driver coupled to said modulation device for
electrically driving said modulation device; and
a modulation generator coupled to said driver which controls said
modulation device driver within time intervals of less than 10 seconds,
said time intervals of control of said modulation device driver altering
at least one fundamental property of an electrical source applied to said
electrical input of said modulation device, said fundamental property
being any of amplitude, period, phase, waveform and polarity, said altered
electrical source being available at said output of said modulation
device, the use of said apparatus in said electrical circuit generating an
electromagnetic field which is modulated at said time intervals.
36. An apparatus according to claim 35 wherein said time intervals are
random intervals, the largest of which is less than 10 seconds.
37. An apparatus according to claim 35 wherein said time intervals are 0.1
to 1 second.
38. An apparatus as in claim 35, wherein said electrical output of said
modulation device is grounded.
39. An apparatus as in claim 35, wherein said apparatus includes a
thermostat.
40. An apparatus as in claim 35, wherein said apparatus includes a hair
dryer.
41. An apparatus for converting standard household electrical power into a
bioprotective power source comprising the combination of:
an electrical circuit for conveying electrical power;
a modulation device having an electrical power source and an electrical
power output;
a modulation device driver coupled to said modulation device for
electrically driving said modulation device; and
a modulation generator means coupled to said driver which controls said
modulation device driver within time intervals of less than 10 seconds,
said time intervals of control of said modulation device driver altering
at least one fundamental property of said electrical power source of said
modulation device, said fundamental property being any of amplitude,
period, phase, waveform and polarity, said altered electrical power source
of said modulation device being applied to said electrical power outlet of
said modulation device, the use of said apparatus in said electrical
circuit generating an electromagnetic field which is modulated at said
time intervals.
42. An apparatus according to claim 41 wherein said time intervals are
random intervals, the largest of which is less than 10 seconds.
43. An apparatus according to claim 41 wherein said time intervals are 0.1
to 1 second.
44. An apparatus for creating a bioprotective electromagnetic field in an
electrical circuit comprising the combination of:
an electrical circuit;
a modulating resistance connected in said circuit; and
a modulation control device for changing said modulating resistance into
different resistances, said changing into different resistances occurring
within time intervals of less than 10 seconds, wherein a bioprotective
electromagnetic field emanates from said electrical circuit.
45. An apparatus according to claim 44 wherein said time intervals are
random intervals, the largest of which is less than 10 seconds.
46. An apparatus according to claim 44 wherein said time intervals are 0.1
to 1 second.
47. An apparatus as in claim 44, wherein said apparatus includes an
electric blanket in which said electrical circuit is placed.
48. An apparatus for creating a bioprotective electromagnetic field
comprising the combination of:
an electrical wire for producing an electromagnetic field; and
an electrical power conversion device, having an input and an output
coupled to said wire, for modulating within time intervals of less than 10
seconds one or more fundamental properties of an electrical power source
when said electrical power source is applied to said input of said
electrical power conversion means, said fundamental properties including
amplitude, period, phase, waveform and polarity, whereby said wire
produces a bioprotective electromagnetic field.
49. An apparatus according to claim 48 wherein said time intervals are
random intervals, the largest of which is less than 10 seconds.
50. An apparatus according to claim 48 wherein said time intervals are 0.1
to 1 second.
51. An apparatus for bioprotecting a power transmission line comprising the
combination of:
a power transmission line;
a non-power carrying conductor placed so as to be parallel to said power
transmission line; and
current generating apparatus coupled to said conductor for causing a
current to flow in said conductor, the current being such that a magnetic
field induced thereby is equal to or larger than that from said
transmission line.
52. An apparatus according to claim 51 wherein said current causing means
comprises means for causing current to flow that is turned on for 0.1
seconds in one second intervals.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The inventions described herein relate in general to arrangements
(apparatus and methods) for protecting living systems from the adverse
effects upon them of electric fields, magnetic fields, and electromagnetic
fields. In some instances hereinafter, electric fields, magnetic fields,
and electromagnetic fields will all jointly be referred to simply as
fields.
More specifically, the inventions are directed to electrical, electronic,
electromechanical, and electromagnetic devices, systems, and installations
and the effect of their concomitant fields on people, animals, and other
living systems. The inventions a non-desired and potentially bioeffecting
ambient field into a harmless non-bioeffecting field by either
superimposing on the ambient field a `protection` field which sanitizes
the ambient field, or changing the electrical operation of the device
which is producing the ambient field so that its field emissions become
less harmful. Both arrangements are successful in `confusing` the living
cell or cells, thereby reducing the potentially harmful effects of the
ambient field.
This application incorporates the subject matter set forth in two
appendicies, filed herewith entitled: EVIDENCE THAT BIOEFFECTS CAN BE
CAUSED BY WEAK ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELDS and A SUMMARY OF DATA DEMONSTRATING
THE FACT THAT PROPERLY FLUCTUATING ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELDS CAN BLOCK THE
BIOEFFECT OF COHERENT STEADY STATE EM FIELDS. 2. Description of Related
Art
For some years there has been a growing recognition and concern that humans
are suffering adverse effects, notably cancers, from living and/or working
in ambient electromagnetic fields, particularly those fields which are
alternating or pulsating at extremely low frequencies, or being modulated
at extremely low frequencies. Extremely low frequencies, hereinafter
referred to as ELF, are frequencies of the order of 1000 Hz and below.
Ambient frequencies particularly identified with an enhanced risk of
cancer are power line frequencies, which are 60 Hz in the U.S. and 50 Hz
in the U.K., European Continental countries, and elsewhere.
Electromagnetic fields existing near devices using cathode ray tubes also
are implicated, due to fields generated by the magnetic electron beam
deflecting devices included in tube control apparatus.
Various articles have been published on the electromagnetic field problem.
Over the past 14 years a series of epidemiological studies have found that
low level electromagnetic fields [even as low as 1 .mu.T (1 micro Tesla)
produced by 60 Hz power lines can be correlated with increased incidence
of certain diseases. The correlation is strongest for those who have lived
or worked in this environment for many years. For example, an increased
risk of cancer has been found among children who lived for several years
close to power distribution lines [Wertheimer, N. and Leeper, E.
"Electrical Wiring Configurations and Childhood Cancer" AM J EPIDEMIOLOGY,
109, 273-284 (1979); also, Savits, D. A. et al., "Case Control Study of
Childhood Cancer and Exposure to 60-Hertz Magnetic Fields, " AM J
EPIDEMIOLOGY, 128, 10-20 (1988); also London, D. A. et al. "Exposure To
Electric and Magnetic Fields And Risk of Childhood Leukemia", AM. J.
EPIDEMIOLOGY, 135, 1069-1070 (1992); also, Milham, S. Jr., "Increased
Mortality in Amateur radio Operators Due to Lymphatic and Hematopoietic
Malignancies," AM. J. EPIDEMIOLOGY, 128, 1175-1176 (1988).
The research indicates that children from high electromagnetic field
exposure homes have a 50 percent greater risk of developing cancer,
particularly leukemia, lymphomas, and nervous system tumors. Other data
also show that men working in electrical jobs, such as electricians and
telephone lineman are at higher risk for brain tumors and other cancers.
In a recent study in the Los Angeles area, S. Preston-Martin and
collaborators at the University of Southern California found that men who
had worked for 10 Years or more in a variety of electrical occupations had
a ten times greater chance of getting brain tumors than men in the control
group. [Preston-Martin, S., and Mack, W. and Peters, Jr. "Astrocytoma Risk
Related to Job Exposure to Electric and Magnetic Fields," presented at DOE
contractors Annual Review, Denver Colorado, Nov. 5-8, 1990.]
A study performed by G. Matanoski of Johns Hopkins University found a dose
response relationship for cancers in male New York Telephone employees
from 1976 to 1980. [Matanoski, G., Elliot, E. and Breysse, P. Poster
presented at the annual DOE/EPRI Contractors Review of Biological Effects
from Electric and Magnetic Fields, November 1989, Portland, Ore.]
Matanoski measured the average magnetic field exposure among different
types of employees including installation and repair workers. A comparison
of the cancer rates among the various types of employees showed that cable
splicers were nearly twice as likely to develop cancer as those employees
who did not work on telephone lines. Among central office workers those
who were exposed to the fields of telephone switching equipment the rates
of occurrence of cancers were unusually high, although not as high as for
cable splicers. The central office workers were more than three times as
likely to get prostate cancer and more than twice as likely to get oral
cancer as co-workers who were less exposed. There were two cases of male
breast cancer, a disease so rare that no cases at all would be expected.
The 60 Hz electromagnetic fields found in residential settings can vary
from about 0.05 .mu.T to over 1000 .mu.T. In-vitro experiments have
definitely shown that changes in biological cell function can occur in
fields as low or lower than 1 .mu.T and as high as 500 .mu.T. R. Goodman
and collaborators [Goodman, R. and Henderson, A., "Sine Waves Enhance
Cellular transcription," BIOELECTROMAGNETICS, 7, 23-29, 1986)]have shown
that RNA levels can be increased by electromagnetic fields ranging in
frequency from 15 to 4400 Hz with amplitudes of 18 to 1150 .mu.T. They
have shown that the RNA levels can be enhanced by factors of ten or more.
Jutilainen and coworkers [Jutilainen, J., Laara, E. and Saali, K., INT>J.
RADIAT. BIOL., 52,787-793, (1987)] have shown that 1 .mu.T 50-Hertz
electromagnetic fields can induce abnormalities in chick embryos. Thus,
electromagnetic fields appear not only to be carcinogenic, but also
capable of inducing birth defects. Pollack and collaborators, C. T.
Brighton, E. O'Keefe, S. R. Pollack and C. C. Clark, J. ORTH. RES. (to be
published), have shown that electric fields as low as 0.1 mv/cm at 60 Khz
can stimulate growth of bone osteoblasts. McLeod and collaborators have
found that in the region between 1 Hz and 100 Hz, much lower fields are
needed to stimulate fibroblast growth than at frequencies above and below
this range [McLeod, K. J., Lee, R. and Ehrlich, H., "Frequency Dependence
of Electric Field Modulation of Fibroblast Protein Synthesis," SCIENCE,
250, 1465 (1987)].
Other than epidemiologic studies, whole body research on EMF exposure has
generally been limited to animals. Adverse effects from electromagnetic
field exposure have also been shown demonstrated in this case. For example
McLean et al. have presented a paper at the Thirteenth Annual Meeting of
the Electromagnetic Society, in June 1991 entitled "Tumor Co-promotion in
the mouse skin by 60-Hz Magnetic Fields". They have shown that the number
of tumors present is increased by the presence of the magnetic field.
Frolen et al. in a paper presented to the First European Congress on
Bioelectromagnetism in 1991 entitled "Effects of Pulsed Magnetic Fields on
the Developing Mouse Embryo". They show that mice exposed to magnetic
fields have significantly more fetal resorptions than those which are
unexposed. Since the present inventions negate all electromagnetic field
induced bioeffects, all living systems can benefit from its application.
One method typically employed in the prior art to protect living systems
from the detrimental effects of fields is to shield the field source. The
shielding collects the energy of the field, and then typically grounds it.
In practice shielding is impractical because it must completely cover a
field source in order to contain the field. The field will radiate through
any openings in the shield. In reality, devices cannot be entirely
shielded, therefore, while the shielding method can reduce the field it
does not entirely eliminate it or its potentially hazardous attributes.
Cathode ray tubes (CRT) are a source of electromagnetic fields to which
people are often exposed, for instance television sets and computer
screens. Attempts have been made by others in the art to shield the field
which emanates from CRT's. One type of shield has been devised to surround
the electromagnetic coils of the CRT. Another type of shield has been
designed to entirely enclose the CRT. The shields which surround the coils
do not, however, eliminate the field completely, nor do the shields which
entirely enclose the CRT. These methods are often prohibitively expensive
and often do not offer complete elimination of the detrimental effect of
the fields.
Another method typically used in the prior art to protect living systems
from electromagnetic fields is to balance the field from the source so
that the source effectively cancels its own field, thus ideally producing
no offending field. For instance, the AC power distribution to homes and
industries is typically carried over unshielded bare copper wires,
suspended in the air from towers. These lines are usually either two-phase
or three-phase. Theoretically these lines can be arranged physically and
by phase such that the EMF fields produced by the individual lines are
each canceled by the other power line(s). In practice, however, this power
cancellation is not complete and an ambient field still results. Also, the
costs involved to produce a power distribution system such as this is
prohibitively high.
The present inventions have many advantages over the methods employed thus
far in the art. Many of the embodiments of the inventions are very
inexpensive, they can provide positive protection for the individual, and
they can be provided at the control of the individual. There is no need to
wait until the power company changes the design of its power distribution
system, or wait until the television or computer manufacturer completely
shields the product. Some of the embodiments of the inventions enable
living systems to have individual protection from the detrimental effects
of ambient fields, if and when it is desired. Shielding is not always
practical, and even when it is practical it is not always complete.
Therefore the present inventions can also provide the user with personal
control over the detrimental effects of ambient fields.
To the best of my knowledge, to date no one has heretofore proposed my
inventions, although over 12 years have lapsed since the first recognition
of the dangers of chronic electromagnetic field exposures to humans. There
have been many teachings about the use of electromagnetic fields to treat
humans for pre-existing diseases or conditions. For example, U.S. Pat. No.
4,066,065 (Kraus 1978) describes a coil structure to create a magnetic
field for treatment of a hip joint. U.S. Pat. No. 4,105,017 (Ryaby 1978)
describes a surgically non-invasive method of an apparatus for altering
the growth, repair or maintenance behavior of living tissues by inducing
voltages and concomitant current pulses. U.K. Patent GB 2 188 238 A (Nenov
et al. 1986) describes an apparatus alleged to provide analgesic, trophic
and anti-inflammatory effects. Costa (1987) U.S. Pat. No. 4,665,898
describes a magnetic coil apparatus for treatment of malignant cells with
little damage to normal tissue. An apparatus for treatment of diseases of
the peripheral and autonomic nervous system as well as other diseases has
been described by Solov'eva et al. ("`Polyus-1` Apparatus for
Low-Frequency Magnetotherapy," G. Solor'eva, V. Eremin and R. Gorzon,
BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING (Trans. of: Med. Tekh, (USSR)), Vol. 7, No. 5, pp.
291-1 (1973).
The above procedures are usually referred to as "magnetotherapeutic"
procedures. My inventions focus instead on the prevention of disease
caused by long term exposure to ambient time varying electric, magnetic
and electromagnetic fields. To date, no other proposals have been
presented which utilize modifications of the time dependence of the
ambient fields to prevent adverse health effects of ambient
electromagnetic fields. Basic to all the patents and articles which
describe the treatment of pre-existing diseases by electromagnetic fields
(magnetic therapy) is the assumption that electric or magnetic fields
(often of large magnitude, e.g. 1 to 100 micro Tesla (Ryaby 1978), if
applied for some limited period of time, can beneficially alter the
functioning of the cells and tissues within living systems. Now it is
known that chronic, long term exposure to even very low level, time
varying fields (e.g., magnetic fields as low as 0.5 .mu.T) can cause some
of the very diseases which short term therapeutic doses of these fields
are used to treat. Methods of protection from the biological effects of
magnetic fields have been sorely needed. To find this protection it was
necessary for me to recognize that magnetic therapy is carried out by
affecting biologic cell function. It had to be realized that if magnetic
therapy does not affect the physiological functioning of the living system
then no therapeutic effect could result. What was needed, which the
present inventions provide, is a method of modifying the ambient fields in
which living systems exist in such a way that they have no effect on cell
function. This modified field has no utility in the treatment of any
disease or biologic malfunction. This modified field is not of any use in
magnetic therapy. However, this modified field (because it does not affect
the function of the cells and tissues of the living system) has no adverse
health effects. Thus, long term exposure to these modified fields will be
safe. These modified fields would not, for example, increase the risk of
developing cancer.
However, none of the above authors, or anyone else before me, had
discovered that periodically changing these very low ambient fields as
described elsewhere herein can prevent harmful effects of electromagnetic
fields.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
I have concluded that the aforesaid adverse health effects upon living
systems (including but not limited to single cells, tissues, animals and
humans) may be inhibited by changing in time one or more of the
characteristic parameters of the ambient time varying electric, magnetic
or electromagnetic field to which the living system is exposed. This may
be done in a number of ways, for example, by changes in one or more of
frequency (period), amplitude, phase, direction in space and wave form of
the field to which the living system is exposed. As for the time period
between changes, I have concluded that these time periods should be less
than approximately ten (10) seconds, and preferably should not exceed
approximately one (1) second. The changes may occur at regular or
irregular intervals. If the changes occur at regular intervals the
shortest time between changes should be one-tenth (0.1) second or greater.
If the changes occur at irregular random intervals the time between
changes can be shorter. These changes can be accomplished by superimposing
these special time-dependent fields upon the ambient field, or by changing
with time the characteristic parameters of the original fields.
The change or changes in the ambient field frequency should be about 10
percent or more of the related characteristic parameters of the field
before the change
My proposal to protect living systems from the adverse effects of electric,
magnetic or electromagnetic fields by creating special ambient fields as
aforesaid is based on my conclusion that something must be done to confuse
the biologic cell so that it can no longer respond to the usual fields
found in the home and work place. I have discovered that the fluctuating
fields mentioned above will prevent the adverse effects of the usual
environmental fields. As above stated, these fluctuations can occur either
in the amplitude, frequency (period), phase, wave form or
direction-in-space of the newly created "confusion" field.
To affect cell function some insult (e.g. drug, chemical, virus,
electromagnetic field, etc.) will cause a signal to be sent from receptors
(often at the cell membrane) into the biochemical pathways of the cell.
Although the exact receptor and signalling mechanism utilized by the cell
to recognize the fields is not known, I have discovered that the mechanism
of detection of electric, magnetic or electromagnetic fields can be
stopped by confusing the cell with fields that vary in time in the ways
specified herein.
For example, a 60 Hz electromagnetic field having a magnetic component of
10 .mu.T can cause a two fold enhancement of the enzyme ornithine
decarboxylase. If this field is abruptly changed in frequency, amplitude,
wave form, direction or phase at intervals of more than 10 seconds, the
two fold enhancement persists. If, however, the frequency, amplitude or
waveform parameters are changed at approximately 1 second intervals, the
electromagnetic field has no effect. The cell does not respond because it
has become confused. Similar electric fields in tissue with amplitudes
ranging from 0.1 to 50 .mu.v/cm. can be useful in protecting the living
system from adverse effects. To create these fields within a living system
at 60 Hz the field strength outside the living systems must be about one
million times larger (i.e. 0.1 to 50 v/cm.)
I consider that my inventions function best with ambient fields having an
electric component of 50 Kv/M or less and/or a magnetic component of 5000
.mu.T or less. As for lesser field strengths, electric components of 0.5
Kv/M and/or magnetic components of 5 .mu.T are exemplary. Good results are
obtained when the confusion field is generated by interruption of a
coherent signal (e.g. a 60 Hz sinusoidal wave) and the frequency of this
signal is similar (but not necessarily equal) to the fundamental frequency
of the ambient field. However, when protecting against the effects of
modulated RF or modulated microwave fields the confusion field can be
effective if it contains only frequency components similar (but not
necessarily equal) to those of the modulation. The rms amplitude of the
confusion field should preferably be approximately the same or larger than
that of the ambient field.
The time between changes in properties such as frequency, phase, direction,
waveform or amplitude should be less than 5 seconds for partial inhibition
of adverse effects but preferably between one tenth (0.1) second and one
(1) second for much more complete protection. When the time between
changes is irregular and random (e.g. a noise signal) the time between
changes can be less than one tenth (0.1) second. For example I have found
that complete inhibition can be achieved with a noise signal whose rms
value is set equal to the rms value of the ambient signal and whose
bandwidth extends from thirty (30) to ninety (90) hertz.
It is preferred to have the field to which the living system is exposed be
my confusion field for the duration of the exposure. However, benefit will
be achieved if my confusion field is in existence for only a major portion
of the total exposure time.
I have referred above to electric, magnetic and electromagnetic fields
because, insofar as they are distinct, ambient fields of each type are
capable of causing harm to living systems, but if changed according to my
inventions will inhibit the on-set of adverse effects.
I have confirmed the operability of my inventions by several observations
and procedures. One observation has been the effect of coherence time
(defined herein as the time interval between changes of the characteristic
parameters of the fields) of the applied field on bioelectromagnetic
enhancement of ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) specific activity. ODC has
been found to be intimately linked to the process of cell transformation
and tumor growth.
Specific activities of this highly inducible enzyme were examined following
mammalian cell culture exposure to electromagnetic fields. Monolayer
cultures of logarithmically growing L929 cells were exposed to fields
alternating between 55 and 65 Hz. The magnetic field strength was 1 .mu.T
peak. The cells were exposed to the fields for four hours. The time
intervals between frequency shifts varied from 1 to 50 seconds. See Table
1.
TABLE 1
______________________________________
Role of Time Intervals Between
Frequency Chances on the Effectiveness of
Electromagnetic Exposure in Modifying ODC Activity
Ratio of ODC activity in Exposed
Compared to unexposed cells
Time interval between
frequency changes (seconds)
0.1 1 5 10 50
______________________________________
ELF (55 to 65 Hz)
-- 1 1.4 1.9 2.3
Microwaves 1 1 1.5 2.1 2.1
(modulated
alternatively by
55 and 65 Hz)
______________________________________
It can be seen from Table 1, (1), that when the time intervals between
frequency shifts in the electromagnetic fields were 10 seconds or greater,
the electromagnetic field exposure resulted in a two-fold increase in ODC
activity. When the time intervals between frequency shifts (i.e. between
55 Hz and 65 Hz) were shortened to less than 10 seconds, the effectiveness
of these ELF (extremely low frequency) fields in increasing ODC activity
diminished. At 1 second and below the field has no effect at all (i.e.,
the activity of the exposed mammalian cells was the same as for unexposed
cells). Thus we see that introducing changes in parameters of the
electromagnetic field at short enough time intervals prevents any action
of the field on cell function.
This finding applies to electromagnetic frequencies as high as the
microwave region. Similar data were obtained using 0.9 GHz microwaves
modulated at frequencies changing between 55 and 65 Hz at intervals of
time ranging from 0.1 to 50 seconds. A 23 percent amplitude modulation was
used and the specific absorption rate was 3 mW/g. As can be seen in table
1, when the time interval was 10 seconds or greater, this microwave field
also caused a two-fold increase in ODC activity. At shorter time intervals
the effect of the field on ODC activity diminished. When the time
intervals between changes were one second or less, the field had no effect
on ODC activity.
To further demonstrate the protective effect of my confusion fields, I
studied the effects of modulation on the ability of exogenous
electromagnetic fields to act as a teratogen and cause abnormalities in
chick embryos. In experimental methods now described, I modulated the
amplitude of a 60 Hz electromagnetic field. Fertilized White Leghorn eggs
were obtained from Truslow Farms of Chestertown, Md. These were placed
between a set of Helmholtz coils inside an incubator kept at 37.5.degree.
C. During the first 48 hours of incubation one group of eggs was exposed
to a 60 Hz continuous wave (cw) sinusoidal electromagnetic field whose
amplitude was 1 .mu.T. Another group was exposed to a 60 Hz cw sinusoidal
electromagnetic field whose amplitude was 4 .mu.T. Another group of eggs
was exposed to a 60 Hz sinusoidal electromagnetic field whose amplitude
was varied from 1.5 to 2.5 .mu.T at 1 second intervals. Control eggs were
simply placed in the incubator and not exposed to an electromagnetic
field. After 48 hours of incubation the embryos were removed from their
shells and examined histologically. It was found that the control group
(not exposed to the 60 Hz magnetic field) exhibited about 8 percent
abnormalities. The embryo groups exposed to 1 .mu.T and 4 .mu.T fields had
a higher abnormality rate (14 percent) than the controls indicating that
these fields had indeed induced abnormalities. Those embryos exposed to
the fields modulated at 1 second intervals had an abnormality rate the
same as the unexposed eggs. Thus the 1 second modulation (or coherence
time) effectively eliminated the teratogenic effect of the magnetic field.
When an ambient field is present (such as 60 Hz field from a power line or
electrical appliance) which can not be directly modulated, a confusion
field must be superimposed upon the ambient field. I studied this
superposition effect in several different types of experiments.
As in the experiments above the ornithine decarboxylase levels were
measured in L929 cells which were exposed to a steady state 10 .mu.T, 60
Hz field. They displayed a doubling of ornithine decarboxylase activity
after 4 hours of exposure. The exposure was repeated with the simultaneous
application of a) a 10 .mu.T 60 Hz magnetic field and b) a random EM
(noise) magnetic field of bandwidth 30 to 90 Hz whose rms value was set
equal to that of the 60 Hz field and whose direction was the same as that
of the 60 Hz field. Under these conditions no statistically significant
enhancement of the ornithine decarboxylase activity was observed. As the
rms noise amplitude was lowered, increased values of EMF induced ornithine
decarboxylase activity were observed. This can be seen in Table 2.
TABLE 2
______________________________________
Effect of EM noise on 60 Hz EMF enhancement of
ODC activity in L929 murine cells
Percent of
Noise Amplitude
Signal/Noise 60 Hz Induced
rms (.mu.T) [signal = 60 Hz]
Enhancement
______________________________________
0 .infin. 100 .+-. 10
0.5 20 84 .+-. 12
1.0 10 50 .+-. 10
2.0 5 36 .+-. 7
5.0 2 8 .+-. 11
10.0 1 1 .+-. 8
______________________________________
It can be seen from Table 2 that when the noise is about equal to the
signal (the 60 Hz field) no biomagnetic effect occurs, but as the rms
noise amplitude is lowered less protection is afforded by the noise field.
To demonstrate that the confusion field can be perpendicular to the ambient
field and still offer protection the ODC experiment using L929 murine
cells was repeated again using 60 Hz, 10 .mu.T as the stimulating ambient
field, but this time the confusion field was generated by coils aligned
perpendicular to the coils generating the ambient magnetic field. The
confusion field this time was a 60 Hz field whose amplitude changed from 5
.mu.T to 15 .mu.T at 1 second intervals. No enhancement of the ODC
activity was observed under these conditions. The ratio of exposed ODC
activity to control ODC activity was found to be 1.03.+-.0.08. Thus even
when the confusion field is perpendicular to the ambient field full
protection against adverse effects can be achieved.
If one wishes to render harmless the magnetic fields of heating devices
such as electric blankets, heating pads, curling irons, or ceiling cable
heat sources for the home, the parameters of the current being delivered
to these devices should be changed at intervals less than 10 seconds, or
preferably at intervals less than 1 second. One method is to turn the
current on and off for consecutive 1 second intervals. However this would
render the heat source inefficient since it could only deliver half the
average power for which the device is designed. In order to improve the
efficiency I have shown that when a 60 Hz field is on for a time greater
than when it is off it can still confuse the cell and no bio-response will
occur. The on time should still be preferably on the order of 1 second.
However the off time should not be less than 0.1 seconds for full
protection. Listed in Table 3 are the results of ODC experiments using
L929 murine cells of the type described above. A 10 .mu.T 60 Hz field was
applied to the cells. The field was interrupted every second for varying
time durations. It can be seen that even with off times as short as 0.1
seconds the cell is confused and no enhancement of ODC activity occurs. As
the off time decreases below 0.1 seconds the cell begins to respond to the
magnetic field. For off times as low as 0.05 seconds about 70% of full
response occurs. It is clear that the preferable range for off times is
from about 0.1 to about 1.0 seconds.
TABLE 3
______________________________________
Effect of Interruption Time on 60 Hz EM Field
Enhancement of ODC Activity in L929 Murine Cells
Percent of
Off Time On Time 60 Hz Induced
(seconds) (seconds)
Enhancement
______________________________________
0.1 1 3 .+-. 9
0.05 0.95 33 .+-. 3
0.025 0.975 70 .+-. 17
______________________________________
From these experiments we see that a device which interrupts the current in
heating applications can be at least 90% efficient in terms of utilizing
the full capabilities of the heating system, while at the same time
providing a bioprotective confusion field.
As described above there is considerable epidemiological evidence that
children living near power lines have a significantly higher rate of
incidence of childhood leukemia. One method of rendering these fields
harmless is to create a fluctuating field by stringing on the poles a pair
of wires shorted at one end and connected to a low voltage current source
at the other end. The current should fluctuate at the proper intervals
(e.g. approximately one second intervals would be quite effective).
Because in this case one is often interested in using as little power as
possible short duty cycles would be an efficient power saving strategy.
For example we have shown that in the experiment described above and
reported in Table 3 the effect of 60 Hz exposure on the ODC activity in
L929 cells can be mitigated by superimposing a 60 Hz field of equal peak
value but which is on for 0.1 s and off for 0.9 s. Thus we save a factor
of ten in power in this application relative to the one second on, one
second off, regime.
According to my inventions, there are many different arrangements for
converting an otherwise harmful field into a non-harmful one. Some of
these are as follows:
One embodiment is to create a confusion field in a living space by placing
several time dependent grounding devices on metal plumbing pipes. These
devices cause fluctuating paths for electric current in plumbing pipe and
therefore fluctuating fields in any room in the house or other human or
animal-occupied structure.
Another embodiment is to change an otherwise harmful field into a
non-harmful one by inserting fluctuating resistance paths in series with
heating devices such as electric blankets.
Another embodiment is to create a confusion field by placing devices near
appliances which generate harmful field to create fluctuating
electromagnetic fields near the appliances. The confusion field is
superimposed onto the uncontrolled source of the original harmful field.
Another embodiment is to eliminate the hazards created by the field in the
region around electric devices by modulating the electric current flowing
or voltage across the device. The modulation can be controlled by means
which are external or internal to the device.
Another embodiment is to eliminate the hazards created by the field in the
region around electric devices, by modulating the electromagnetic field
around the device. This modulation can be caused by means which are
external or internal to the device.
Another embodiment is to eliminate the hazards created by the field in the
region surrounding electric heating devices, such as electric blankets,
heating pads, and electrically heated water beds, by modulating the
current and/or voltage in the device. This modulation can be caused by
means which are external or internal to the device.
Another embodiment is to eliminate the hazards created by the field in the
region around electric power distribution systems by superimposing a
modulated electromagnetic field in the region of space to be protected.
Another embodiment is to eliminate hazards created by the electromagnetic
fields in the region around the metallic plumbing used to ground
electrical lines by superimposing a modulated electromagnetic field in the
region of space to be protected. This can be done by passing modulated
currents through the plumbing itself or by passing modulated currents
through external circuits.
Another embodiment is to eliminate hazards created by the field around
cathode ray tube devices such as video display terminals and television
sets by superimposing a modulated electromagnetic field. The source of
this modulated electromagnetic field can be placed either inside or
outside the cathode ray tube device.
Another embodiment is to eliminate hazards created by the field in the
region around a microwave oven by superimposing a modulated
electromagnetic field in the region of space to be protected.
Another embodiment is to eliminate the hazards created by the field in the
region surrounding electrical power lines.
Clearly many of the above procedures may be adapted to protect
laboratories, industrial plants, etc., wherein cells not in humans or in
multi-cell living systems may exist.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
I will next describe various techniques and apparatus for carrying out my
invention. These descriptions will be aided by reference to the
accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a plot of amplitude vs. time of a sinusoidal function modulated
as to amplitude.
FIG. 2 is a plot of amplitude vs. time of a sinusoidal function modulated
as to frequency.
FIGS. 3a, 3b and 3c provide a representation of the effect of direct
modulation on a 60 Hz sine wave using square wave modulation. FIG. 3d is
an enlarged view of the signal of FIG. 3c at the point at which it is
switched.
FIGS. 4a, 4b, and 4c provide a representation of the effect of direct
modulation of a 60 Hz sine wave using DC biased square wave modulation.
FIG. 4d is an enlarged view of the signal of FIG. 4c at the point at which
it is switched.
FIGS. 5a, 5b, and 5c provide a representation of the effect of direct
modulation of a 60 Hz sine wave using a periodically changed waveform.
FIG. 5d is an enlarged view of the signal of FIG. 5c at the point at which
it is switched.
FIGS. 6a, 6b, and 6c provide a representation of the effect of
superimposing a band limited noise signal over a sinusoidal signal whose
frequency is within the bandwidth of the noise.
FIGS. 7a, 7b, and 7c provide a representation of the effect of
superimposing a band limited noise signal over a sawtooth signal whose
frequency is within the bandwidth of the noise.
FIGS. 8a and 8b provide a block diagram representation of the direct
modulation implementation of the bioprotection feature of the inventions.
FIG. 9 is a block diagram representation of the in-circuit modulator of the
direct modulation implementation of the bioprotection of the inventions.
FIG. 10 is a block diagram representation of the superposition modulation
implementation of the bioprotection feature of the inventions.
FIG. 11 is a block diagram representation of the in-circuit modulator of
the superposition modulation implementation of the bioprotection feature
of the inventions.
FIG. 12 is a diagram of a circuit for modulating electric current through a
plumbing pipe.
FIG. 13 is a diagram of a protective circuit for an electric blanket.
FIG. 14 is a diagram of a protective apparatus for use with a video display
terminal.
FIG. 15 is a diagram of another form of protective circuit for use with a
video display terminal.
FIG. 16 is a diagram of a protective system for use in a space occupied by
humans and/or animals.
FIG. 17 is a diagram of a mat for placement on or under a mattress used for
sleeping purposes.
FIG. 18 is a circuit diagram of a direct modulation bioprotective converter
box.
FIG. 19 is a circuit diagram of a direct modulation bioprotective
thermostat.
FIG. 20 is a circuit diagram of an implementation of a bioprotected hair
dryer.
FIG. 21 is a circuit diagram of a detection system to detect the presence
of a bioprotective field.
FIG. 22 is a heating coil configuration with low magnetic field emissions
for a bioprotected hair dryer.
FIG. 23 is a circuit diagram for control of the heating coil configuration
of FIG. 22.
FIG. 24 is bioprotection coil for a computer keyboard.
FIG. 25a is coil arrangement for a bioprotection system for a residence or
other building.
FIG. 25b is a circuit diagram of another possible implementation of a
bioprotection system for a residence or other building.
FIG. 26 is a circuit diagram for a bioprotection system for a residence or
other building.
FIG. 27 shows an embodiment of the invention implementing the superposition
technique to create a confusion field in the area surrounding a power
distribution line.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Any voltage, current, electric field, magnetic field, or electromagnetic
field which varies repetitively in time can be described by its waveform,
peak amplitude (A), frequency (period), direction and phase. Modulation of
the wave refers to the time dependent variation of any of these
parameters. For example, pulse modulation of the amplitude of any of the
parameters refers to a change in amplitude. Two examples of this
modulation are shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. In FIG. 1 the amplitude is
modulated by a pulse. Thus, for a period of time, T.sub.1, the amplitude
of the sinusoidally varying voltage is A.sub.1. For a second time period,
T.sub.2, the amplitude is A.sub.1. The values of T.sub.1 and T.sub.2 need
not be equal but they must each be about 1 second or less for best
results. Many variations in the modulation of a time varying voltage can
be used, such as a sinusoidal modulation of the original sine wave. Thus,
a 60 Hz sine voltage could be amplitude modulated by a 1 Hz sinusoidal
variation. Another possibility is a saw tooth variation in the amplitude
of a 60 Hz sine voltage. In all of the possible modulated fields, at least
one of the parameters, such as amplitude, waveform, phase, direction or
frequency must not be constant for a time duration of more than about 1
second.
Thus, for example, in FIGS. 1 and 2 the values of T.sub.1 and T.sub.2 must
not be longer than about 1 second. For best results, A.sub.1 should be
greater than 1.2A.sub.2, and preferably greater than 2A.sub.2.
Whenever a microwave field is being modulated at a frequency of 100,000 Hz
or less, steps should be taken to achieve protection according to my
inventions by periodic parameter changing as described herein.
Another method of modulating the detrimental field is by using square wave
modulation. That is, interrupt the power delivered at a regular interval.
The modulation frequency should be preferably of the order of one second,
as guided by the Litovitz invention. The interruption time should be
preferably between 0.1 and 0.9 seconds, corresponding to a duty cycle
between 10% and 90%. FIG. 3 depicts the method of square wave modulation
of a sinusoidal waveform.
Referring to FIG. 3a, a sinusoidal signal is depicted. FIG. 3b depicts the
controlling sequence to the sinusoidal signal of FIG. 3a using this
method, and FIG. 3c is the resulting bioprotected sinusoidal signal. FIG.
3d is an enlarged view of the signal of FIG. 3c at the point at which it
is switched.
Another method of modulating the detrimental field is by using DC biased
square wave modulation. That is, reduce the power delivered at a regular
interval. The modulation frequency and the interval for amplitude
reduction should vary in accordance with this specification. Power
reduction should be preferably of the order of 50%. FIG. 4 depicts the
method of modulation of a sinusoidal waveform by a DC biased square wave.
Referring to FIG. 4a, a sinusoidal signal is depicted. FIG. 4b depicts the
controlling sequence to the sinusoidal signal of FIG. 4a using this
method, and FIG. 4c is the resulting bioprotected sinusoidal signal. FIG.
4d is an enlarged view of the signal of FIG. 4c at the point at which it
is switched.
Another method of modulation of the detrimental field is by using frequency
modulation of a square wave periodic signal. That is, change the frequency
of the power delivered at a regular interval. The period and duty cycle
should be in accordance with this specification. The frequency change
should be preferably of the order of 20%.
Another method of modulation of the detrimental field is by using phase
modulation of a square wave periodic signal. That is, change the phase of
the power delivered at a regular interval. The period and duty cycle
should be in accordance with this specification. The phase change should
preferably be a multiple of 90 degrees.
Another method of modulation of the detrimental field is by periodically
changing the waveform of the detrimental field. The period and duty cycle
should be in accordance with this specification. The wave shape change can
be for example by full wave rectification. FIG. 5 shows the effect of
modulation by periodically changing the waveform by full wave
rectification of a sinusoidal waveform.
Referring to FIG. 5a, a sinusoidal signal is depicted. FIG. 5b depicts the
controlling sequence to the sinusoidal signal of FIG. 5a using this
method, and FIG. 5c is the resulting bioprotected sinusoidal signal. FIG.
5d is an enlarged view of the signal of FIG. 5c at the point at which it
is switched.
Another method of modulation of the detrimental field is by changing the
detrimental field according to the superposition of a band-limited noise
signal with a pass band preferably in the range below 1000 Hz.
When a superposition field source is used, the interference signal may be
produced by appropriate modulation of coherent AC signals, or by
generation of noise. FIG. 6 shows the effect of the modulation of a
sinusoidal waveform by superposition of a band-limited random noise
signal.
Referring to FIG. 6a, a sinusoidal signal is depicted. A superimposed
bioprotection field source which has an field in the shape of random noise
is depicted in FIG. 6b. FIG. 6c is the resulting bioprotected field
surrounding the living system because of the combination of the sinusoidal
signal of FIG. 6a and the bioprotecting field signal of FIG. 6b.
FIG. 7 shows the effect of the modulation of a sawtooth waveform by
superposition of a band-limited random noise signal. Referring to FIG. 7a,
a sawtooth signal is depicted. FIG. 7b depicts a superimposed
bioprotection field source which has an field in the shape of random
noise, and FIG. 7c is the resulting bioprotected field surrounding the
living system because of the combination of the sinusoidal signal of FIG.
7a and the bioprotecting field signal of FIG. 7b.
There are essentially two types of embodiments of this invention: (1)
direct modulation devices which are placed in the electrical circuit of
the source of the detrimental field; and (2) superposition devices which
are independent from the detrimental field source but create a confusion
field which is intended to be combined with the detrimental field,
creating a bioprotected field.
DIRECT MODULATION EMBODIMENTS
The direct modulation embodiments demonstrate the many possible methods of
directly modulating a regularly oscillating current to minimize its
bioeffecting properties. FIG. 8 is a block diagram which explains the
general scheme of the direct modulation technique of this invention.
Referring to FIG. 8a, a standard electrical device contains electrical
components which produce field 40 and those electrical components which do
not produce field 36. All electrical components require a power source 38
to operate. Therefore, as seen in FIG. 8b, one type of embodiment of the
inventions places an in-circuit modulator 42 between the power source 38
and the detrimental field producing components 40.
FIG. 9 is a block diagram which explains further the in-circuit modulator
42 of FIG. 8b. The in-circuit modulator 42 directly modulates the power
flowing into an electrical circuit so as to render its emanating field
harmless (bioprotected field). A power source 38 supplies power to the
field source components 40 and the circuitry of the in-circuit modulator
42. The in-circuit modulator comprises a modulation generator 44 which
creates a modulating waveform in accordance with this invention. The
Modulation device driver 46 powers the modulation device 48. The
modulation device directly modulates a fundamental property of the power
source 38, and then the resulting bioprotected power source powers the
field source components 40. Because the power source has a fundamental
property which is modulated according to this specification, the resulting
field from the field source components, which would otherwise be
detrimental, is then rendered bioprotected.
The DC power source 38a represents any DC source of electrical power, for
example a battery, an AC line transformer, and an AC line capacitively
coupled DC power supply. The transformer isolated supply can have large
field's in the vicinity of the transformer. However, these fields are
mostly localized. The AC line capacitor coupled DC power supplied can
become rather inefficient if the power requirement is large. An AC line
powered transformer isolated regulated DC power supply is easily
constructed using a suitably rated transformer, a half wave or full wave
rectifier, a charging capacitor, and a voltage regulator such as one of
the LM78XX line manufactured by National Semiconductor. An AC line powered
capacitor coupled regulated DC power supply is easily constructed using
for example a MAX610 or MAX611 AC to DC converter IC from Maxim
Electronics. One disadvantage of the capacitively coupled DC power supply
is that it is not isolated from the AC line.
The modulation generator 44 may be implemented as a timing circuit. There
are many possible implementations of a timing circuit. One alternative is
to use a crystal oscillator to generate a base clock frequency. The period
and duty cycle of the control signal may be set by using the appropriate
frequency dividers and combinatorial logic. Another alternative is to use
a monostable multivibrator circuit such as the one based on a 555 timer.
An implementation of this circuit is given in data books published by
National Semiconductor, and are well known in the art. The period and duty
cycle are easily changed in this circuit in the range 50-100%. The
complement of the output signal obtained by means of an inverter, such as
the 7404, can be used for values outside this range.
The timing circuit may also be implemented using a microprocessor.
Microprocessors and microcontrollers are digital devices which can perform
a multitude of arithmetic and logic operations under software control.
More complex timing schemes may be achieved using a microprocessor, for
instance, the duty cycle of the square wave may be randomly varied,
however, there is no inherent advantage in the use of these complex timing
sequences as far as the effectiveness of the bioprotecting action is
concerned.
The modulation device driver 46 constitutes the interface between the
modulation generator 44 and the modulation device 48. This component
should ideally provide line isolation to eliminate any possible feedback
from the load current to the control logic. A possible implementation is
an optoisolated triac/SCR driver such as the MOC3030 made by Motorola.
The modulation device 48 controls a fundamental property of the power
source through the load. The modulation device 48 may be a switching
device in the case of current modulation, but because of switch cycling
and overall operating lifetime requirements, this component must typically
have a life time of at least one billion switching cycles. Solid state
switches implemented with triacs or SCR's are ideally suited for this
application. An example of a suitable triac for 115 V operation is one of
the MAC3030 series made by Motorola.
SUPERPOSITION MODULATION EMBODIMENTS
Another technique and device for implementation of the inventions is to
superimpose a confusion field signal upon the detrimental field. The
source of the confusion field can be a coil driven, for instance, by
circuitry similar to that used for the direct modulation scheme. The
confusion field created by the coil or otherwise field producing device,
is used to superimpose an appropriate confusion field over the ambient
detrimental field. The general scheme of this technique is depicted in
FIG. 10. Referring to FIG. 10, a confusion field source 50, typically a
coil structure, is placed in proximity to the detrimental field and the
living system to be protected. The confusion field source 50 is then
powered by a current source 38b, with the current from source 38b
modulated by at least one fundamental property through an in-circuit
modulator 42 of the type described in this specification.
As previously noted, to be effective the amplitude of the bioprotection
signal must be at least as large as that of the detrimental field. One
approach to meet this requirement is to establish a signal level high
enough to cover the normally expected magnetic field fluctuations.
Alternatively, in cases where the ambient magnetic field is expected to
vary, the bioprotection signal level could be adjusted in response to
changes in the average magnetic field.
It has been experimentally shown that the bioprotection field need not be
continuously present to be effective. For instance, a bioprotection
periodic signal which is turned on and off in subsequent one second
intervals is still effective. This property is useful in implementing a
bioprotection scheme which is responsive to changes in the magnetic field
environment. During the signal off time the bioprotection coil may be used
to measure the prevailing magnetic field. A coil can accurately measure
only magnetic fields which are uniform across the area circumscribed by
the coil. If the bioprotection coil is large it would measure an average
magnetic field, that is, the effects of localized fields would, in
general, be averaged out. If the prevailing magnetic field environment is
in large part due to a source producing a wide range magnetic field, such
as a high tension power line, the coil measurement would be more
indicative of the actual conditions.
One embodiment of the superposition modulation technique uses the
embodiment of the direct modulation scheme, depicted in FIG. 10. In one
case the fundamental property of the current from the current source
chosen to be modulated would be amplitude, but it could be some other
fundamental property such as frequency. But modulated coherent signals,
other than line frequency signals, are more difficult to generate and
therefore are not a convenient choice.
Another technique of superposition modulation is depicted in FIG. 11. This
technique employs a noise generator 52 followed by a band pass filter 54
and power amplifier 56. These devices are powered by a power source 38,
and drive a confusion field source 50, e.g. a coil or similar field
radiating device. The components of this scheme are described in the
following paragraphs.
If the power requirements are low, the power source 38 may be implemented
using one of the methods described above. Standard methods described in
the literature (e.g., National Semiconductor Linear Applications Handbook)
may be used for applications with higher power requirements.
There are many techniques to generate noise signals for use as the Noise
Generator 52. The following methods are suitable for situations in which
the implementing circuit should not add significantly to the overall size
of the application.
A noise signal may be generated by amplifying shot noise from a solid state
device such as a zener diode. Electric current is defined as the flow of
discrete electric charges. Shot noise results from statistic fluctuations
of the current due to the finiteness of the charge quantum. The noise
generated in this case is white Gaussian noise. An alternative means to
produce noise is using digital techniques. A pseudo random digital
sequence may be generated using a bank of n shift registers in which the
output register is logically combined with one or more previous registers
and feedback to the input register. Long sequences which are apparently
random can be generated in this way. The sequence repeats itself after
2.sup.n - 1 shift cycles. It is easily seen that the shift register length
can be made large enough to make an essentially random bit generator over
the time of use of the sequencer. This circuit has been implemented in a
special purpose IC, the MM5437 from National Semiconductor, which can be
used as the noise generator for the application described herein.
The effectiveness of a confusion field is based on the premise that the
biosystem senses the changing characteristics of the bioprotection signal
and does not initiate a bioresponse. Based on experimental evidence,
supported by the dielectric properties of biological cells, biosystems are
more responsive to ELF fields. Therefore the bioprotection signal is
expected to be sensed more effectively when operating in the ELF frequency
range. Noise generation as described in the previous paragraph results in
a wide band signal which must be filtered to produce a signal in the ELF
range. Experimental evidence indicates that a noise signal with bandwidth
between 30 and 100 Hz can be effective in inhibiting the bio-response when
the rms amplitude of the noise is equal to or larger than the rms
amplitude of the coherent signal. A bandpass filter 54 may be implemented
either with a passive element network or with op-amp based circuits. The
op-amp implementation is simpler having less components for an equivalent
filter. There are various types of band-pass filter 54 implementations
using op-amps: amongst them Butterworth, Chebyshev and Bessel filters. The
sharpness of the response may be increased by increasing the number of
poles of the transfer function of the filter. A 2-pole low pass Chebyshev
filter designed to have a 0.5 Db ripple on the pass band was found to be
one possible adequate implementation for this application. In this
implementation the low frequency cut-off for the bandpass filter 54 at the
specified frequency of 30 Hz is set up by the natural response of the
circuit components.
Because of the ability to perform mathematical operations, a
microcontroller may be used as the modulation generator 44. Confusion
field signals designed to have amplitude or frequency changes or both over
specific ranges of each period may be easily generated under software
control. Likewise, a noise signal may be digitally generated with an
algorithm which mimics the shift register noise generating implementation
described earlier, or using other standard techniques. The bandpass filter
54 may also be performed digitally to reproduce the Chebyshev filter
hardware implementation previously described or any other suitable filter
implementation. In all these cases the output of the microprocessor
controlled modulation generator signal dictates the current signal which
is passed from the current source 38b to the confusion field source 50.
Amplification of the modulated signal may be achieved using an amplifier
module of the same type already described. A power amplifier 56 may be
necessary to power the confusion field source (i.e. a multiple turn wire
loop or coil). The output of the bandpass filter 54 is typically not
suited to drive a low impedance complex load such as a coil. A power
amplifier 56 is needed to allow adequate current flow through this load.
The power amplifier 56 design depends on the current requirements. Two
power amplifier IC's covering a wide power range are the 7 Watt LM383 and
the 140 Watt LM12, both made by National Semiconductor. Other standard
op-amp based amplifier circuits are available in the general literature.
The confusion field source 50 must be designed to induce the desired
confusion field within the region where the detrimental field is to be
bioprotected. It should be noted that experimental evidence shows that the
direction of the bioprotecting magnetic field is not important relative to
the bioeffecting field. This allows some freedom in the design of the
confusion field source 50. The selected configuration for a particular
application also depends on space constraints, for instance if the
confusion field source is to be incorporated as part of an existing
electrical device without changing its general external configuration. In
cases where bioprotection from a localized field arising from a small
electrical device is sought, the confusion field source 50 would, for
instance, be designed to surround the detrimental field source, or be
strategically located in the proximity of the detrimental field source.
Situations in which the range of the detrimental field is large, for
instance with the large heating coils in electrically heated homes, or
within power line fields, may require a much larger range of protection.
Large coils circumscribing the area to be protected would be adequate in
this case. Multiple coils would be necessary when the required range of
protection is large in all dimensions as would be the case in a
multi-story building.
Protection from leakage currents running through copper plumbing may
readily be achieved, as shown in FIG. 12. With reference to FIG. 12,
devices 10 are switches either electronically or mechanically controlled
which switch on and off at intervals of one second (e.g. one second on and
one second off). During the "on" intervals this will cause some of the
current flowing past point A and B in the copper pipe 12 to alternately
flow through ground rather than entirely through the pipe. Thus, the
current flow from A to B (which creates an electromagnetic field in the
working and living spaces of the structure) will be modulated (by
reduction in current) at intervals of no greater than one second. The
number of devices needed will depend on the complexity of the piping.
Protection from electric blankets is readily achieved. FIG. 13 shows the
heating circuit of the electric blanket. Device 14 (the protective
circuit) is a switch which turns the electric current through the blanket
16 on and off at intervals of one second. The device 14 need not switch
the current completely off. It could, for example, reduce the current by
50 percent, and then within one second return the current to its full
value. The device 18 is the usual thermostat supplied with electric
blankets. Neither the "on" nor the "off" interval should be greater than 5
seconds, and should be preferably one second.
Harmful effects of video display terminals may be avoided, as shown in FIG.
14. Referring to FIG. 14, the video display terminal 20 is protected by a
source 22 of electromagnetic field. B.sub.VDT and B.sub.PD are,
respectively, the magnetic fields of the video display terminal (VDT) and
the protective device (PD). The average amplitude of B.sub.PD at any point
in the region to be protected should be greater than 50 percent of the
amplitude of the field due to the VDT. Preferably, the average amplitude
B.sub.PD should be at least twice the amplitude of B.sub.VDT. If the
protective field of PD is in the same direction as the VDT field it will
be most effective. If the PD field is perpendicular to the VDT field, it
must be five times larger than the VDT field.
FIG. 15 shows a system similar to that shown in FIG. 14, however FIG. 15
shows the PD 24 as a coil mounted around the VTD 20.
The protective device can be any device which generates a time varying
modulated electromagnetic field. For example, if a coil with ten turns of
wire is to be used, it can be mounted either as in FIG. 14, or in FIG. 15.
In FIG. 14 the coil is placed on a surface near the VDT and oriented so
that its field intersects the field of the VDT. In FIG. 15 the coil is
placed around the outer edge of the front of the VDT. In a typical VDT the
coil could be a square about 40 cm on each side. The average current in
the coil should be adjusted so that the average field at the front and
center of the monitor due to the coil is preferably about equal to that
field at the same point due to the VDT. For example, if the average field
at the very front of the monitor is 10 .mu.T a 10 turn coil of wire 40 cm
on edge could have a 60 Hz cw current of approximately 0.35 amps flowing
through it. The current could be alternatively 0.5 amps for 1 second and
then 0.2 amps for 1 second.
It will be understood that a standard TV set (one case of VDT) can be
protected in the same manner as VDTs or "computers". Oscilloscopes may
similarly be protected.
Large areas may also be protected, as shown in FIG. 16. Referring to FIG.
16, large coils of wire 26, 28 (e.g. 7 ft high by 7 ft wide) are mounted
on or near opposite walls of a room, or on the floor and ceiling. The
latter configuration is more effective than the former when the ambient
fields are in a vertical direction. It is assumed that the room is exposed
to a cw electromagnetic field that is dangerous to living systems.
Modulated current (e.g., "on" and "off" at one second intervals) flows
through the coils. The current and the modulation in coil 26 is kept in
phase with the current and modulation in coil 28. The pair of coils act as
Helmholtz coils and tend to keep the field in the protected region more
uniform than if a single coil were used. The average amplitude of the
current in the coils should be such that the electromagnetic field
produced by the coils at every point in the region to be protected is at
least 50 percent of the ambient field and preferably 5 to 10 times the
ambient value.
A single coil can be used instead of the a pair of coils. The larger the
coil the better; a larger coil will provide a more uniform protected
region than a small one.
Special mats containing coils can be used in the home, laboratory, or other
living system inhabited place to provide general protection. For example,
a large percentage of the time spent at home is by a human sleeping on a
bed. Thus, it would be useful for those who live near power distribution
lines to use a device which puts the human in a protective "confusion"
field during the time during which he is lying on the bed. FIG. 17 shows
the use of a coil structure to produce a confusion field in a mattress.
As shown in FIG. 17, this can be done by embedding a many turn coil of wire
30 in a mat 32 and placing this mat either on or under the mattress 34,
but near the head of the bed for maximum protection of the vital organs.
The wire should be of low resistance, since it would be used year round
and should not have significant heating of the bed or its occupants. This
coil of wire would have the modulated current flowing through it during
all seasons. The modulated electromagnetic field would protect the
occupants of the bed from the ambient electromagnetic fields in the room.
For example for a queen size bed a square coil of wire with 10 turns
approximately 60 inches by 60 inches square and with 0.14 amperes of
current flowing will yield at the center of the coil a magnetic field in
the vertical direction of about 1 micro Tesla. If the bed is over 100 feet
away from a power line 20 feet in the air, the ambient magnetic field due
to the power line is also in the vertical direction. Thus, we have an
optimum alignment of the field of the coil and that of the power line. To
create a confusion field the current in the coil should vary from about
0.03 amperes to 0.07 amperes and back at least once every second yielding
a coil field at the center which fluctuates between 0.5 and 0.2 .mu.T.
Assuming that the power line is 1 .mu.T, the total field near the center
will (if the coil field is in phase with the power line field) change from
1.2 .mu.T to 1.5 .mu.T and back every second. If the fields are out of
phase the net field will vary from 0.5 to 0.75 .mu.T every second. Either
of these conditions would protect the occupants from exposure to the power
line field. The above coil could be combined within an electric blanket so
that the blanket would serve a dual purpose of heating and protecting.
Such mats also may be adapted for use with chairs, or placed on tables or
kitchen counters, or wherever humans or animals spend considerable time.
CONVERTER BOX EMBODIMENT
The converter box is an embodiment which employs the direct modulation
technique of this invention. Electrically powered devices operating at
power line frequencies and using resistive type elements to generate heat
are always surrounded by a magnetic field induced by the flow of electric
current through the heating element(s). The magnitude and range of the
magnetic field emissions are a function of the geometry of the heating
element(s) and the amplitude of the current passing through it. The
present embodiment makes use of the direct modulation technique in a
general purpose device which converts line power into a minimally
bioeffecting format. Because of its function the device is herein after
called the `converter box`. Its use is as an add-on bioprotection module
for standard resistive type heating devices.
FIG. 18 shows the circuit diagram for a converter unit which modulates the
fundamental property of amplitude of standard household electrical
current, for use by an external appliance. Referring to FIG. 18, the
converter box is designed for connection to a standard household power
line outlet, for instance a 120 V, 60 Hz outlet, either directly through
an integral plug or via a power cord 74. The line power is then modulated
within the converter box using one of the methods for direct modulation
previously described and made available in its modulated form through a
power outlet on the converter box. The electric and magnetic field
emissions from a resistive type heating device operating from the
modulated outlet of the converter box are similarly modulated and
therefore become negligible bioeffectors.
The converter box may be used, for example, with electric blankets,
electric heating pads, curling irons, and other low power resistive heat
devices. Use with devices incorporating fan motors or other inductive
loads is not recommended, because line power modulation may cause improper
operation of an inductive load. One possible circuit implementation of the
converter box is shown in FIG. 18. This implementation uses a 1 second
period and a 90% duty cycle. If no power loss is desired from the
bioprotection modulation the switching device may be implemented as a DPDT
switch connecting either to the line frequency or to a full wave rectified
line frequency signal.
The converter box is plugged into a power source 74, e.g. a household
circuit. The switching device 76 intercepts the hot line 80 of the power
source 74, while the neutral line 78 is jumpered directly between the
power source 74 and the bioprotected outlet 72. The switching device 76
resides between the hot line 80 of the power source 74 and the hot line 82
of the bioprotected outlet 72. The converter box implements a control
signal generator 68 and a switching device driver 70 in conformance with
the disclosure of direct modulation methods described herein.
BIOPROTECTED THERMOSTAT EMBODIMENT
In-line thermostats are devices used to control current flow in response to
changes in temperature relative to a set level. Although many circuit
designs are possible to implement the inventions described herein, one
will be described. The circuit for an embodiment of a thermostat is
depicted in FIG. 19. In this embodiment, current control is achieved by
means of a modulation device 92. Control of the modulation device 92 is
achieved through the use of a modulation device driver 90, along with a
temperature control circuit 84, and modulation generator 86. The
temperature control circuit 84 and the modulation generator 86 are NANDed
together and input to the modulation device driver 90. One possible
implementation of the modulation device driver 90 uses a triac, such as
the MAC3030 or MAC3031 made by Motorola or another suitably rated unit,
for the switching device. The modulation device driver 90 would be
controlled by logically NANDing a signal from a temperature control
circuit 84, (e.g. a circuit using an LM3911 temperature controller made by
National Semiconductor), and a signal from a modulation generator 86. The
modulation generator 86 may be implemented using a 555 timer connected as
a monostable multivibrator. The simplest method to implement the
bioprotection feature is by periodically switching off the field. A duty
cycle of 90% with a period of 1 second could be used to minimize the
effect of the modulation on the heating efficiency. If no heating loss is
desired from the modulation, the latter may be implemented by switching
between no rectification and full wave rectification. However, in this
case the modulation device 92 controlled by the temperature control
circuit 84 would be connected in series with the modulation device driver
90 and would operate independently from the latter. The lines 94 and 96
into the modulation device 92 complete the circuit to the load for which
thermostatic control is desired.
BIOPROTECTED HAIR DRYER
(Superposition Modulation Technique) Embodiments
Hair dryers, like other electrically powered devices operating at power
line frequencies and using resistive type elements to generate heat, cause
magnetic fields induced by the flow of electric current through the
heating element(s). Most hair dryers operate by blowing heated air through
a large nozzle. The air is heated as it passes through a set of heating
coils mounted within the nozzle. The primary sources of magnetic field
emissions are the heating coils, and the fan blower motor. In normal
operation the nozzle of the hair dryer is pointed towards the head.
Therefore, the magnetic field emissions from the heating coil at the head
of the user, are often larger in magnitude than those from the fan motor.
The magnetic field emissions from most standard hair dryers are of
relatively high amplitude and are therefore bioeffecting fields. The
embodiment described in this section incorporates the bioprotection
features of the inventions into a standard hair dryer. In addition, a
heating coil arrangement designed to have low magnetic field emissions is
described.
In the present application the bioprotected feature may be incorporated
either by direct modulation of the current that passes through the heating
coils or by superposition modulation. In the case of direct modulation,
the current passing through the heating coils can be modulated using one
of the methods described in the direct modulation section, or the method
described in the thermostat example above. In standard hair dryers, it is
common to use a low voltage DC motor to drive the fan. The current through
the motor is limited by a heating coil connected in series with it. When
direct modulation is employed, as prescribed in this invention, the design
of the hair dryer may require that the modulation be imposed in such a way
that it affects only the current passing through the heating coils which
are not connected in series with the motor.
A circuit similar to that of FIG. 19 would be appropriate, with a
modulation device driver 90 selected to handle the power requirements of
the hair dryer, e.g. incorporating the MAC3030-15 triac, manufactured by
Motorola.
When the superposition method is used, the confusion field may be imposed
using a confusion field source, in this case a coil structure, slipped
over the heating coil(s) located within the nozzle of the hair dryer. The
modulation device which drives the external coil may be modulated using
any of the methods described herein for superposition modulation. One
possible circuit implementation of the bioprotected hair dryer with
superposition modulation is shown in FIG. 20.
FIG. 20 depicts a noise generator 98, with its resulting signal fed through
a low pass filter 100, and then amplified enough by a power amplifier 102
to power the confusion field source 106 (in this case a coil structure).
A sensing circuit which detects, for indication to the user, that a
confusion field is present can be implemented in any of the embodiments
described herein. One possible circuit diagram for such a sensing circuit
is shown in FIG. 21.
Referring to FIG. 21, the sense input 108 is a signal received from the
confusion field source 50, such as the coil 106 in FIG. 20. In this
embodiment, the existence of the confusion field is indicated by an LED
112.
To reduce the power requirement to the confusion field source coil 106, it
is preferable to design the heating coils for low magnetic field
emissions. One possible configuration which achieves this goal is shown in
FIG. 22. FIG. 22 shows the coil structure formed around a structure 114
made of mica. The coil H3 runs anti-parallel to coil H2.
FIG. 23 shows a circuit for controlling the heating coils of FIG. 22. In
this configuration two heating coils, H2 and H3, are connected in parallel
in such a way that equal currents run in opposite directions in each coil.
This arrangement reduces the magnetic field emissions since magnetic
fields are induced in opposite directions thus partially canceling each
other. Coil H1 allows the use of a low voltage motor for the fan.
To most effectively inhibit the bioeffecting potential of the magnetic
field from the heating coil, the external coil should produce a magnetic
field oriented along the same direction as the heating coil field. This
may be accomplished by winding a solenoidal type coil over the reflector
shield which provides a thermal barrier between the heating coil and the
nozzle plastic body. For a fixed number of turns, the external coil
resistance may be adjusted by the choice of wire gauge. For instance, the
driving circuit of FIG. 20 can produce a suitable bioprotection field when
driving a 280 turn, 2 inch diameter, 14.5 .OMEGA. solenoidal coil made
with 28 gauge wire.
BIOPROTECTED KEYBOARD EMBODIMENT
Video display terminals use magnetic deflection coils to control the
vertical and horizontal scans. The magnetic field from the deflection
coils are typically sawtooth waves oscillating in the neighborhood of 60
Hz and 20 KHz. The lower frequency emissions produce magnetic fields of
the order of 10 .mu.T at the center of the display screen. These fields
are quickly attenuated with distance away from the screen. However, users
often sit within a foot or so of the face of the monitor where the
magnetic field can be in the range 0.4-2.4 .mu.T (Hietanen, M and Jokela,
K., "Measurements of ELF and RF Electromagnetic Emissions from Video
Display Units", Work with Display Units 89, Ed. Berlinguet L. and
Berthelette D., Elsevier Science Publishers, 1990). The higher frequency
emissions, which fall within the RF range, produce magnetic fields which
can be as large as 0.7 T at the center of the display screen. These fields
decay to around 10-1010 nT at 12 inches from the face of the monitor
(Hietanen '90). As previously noted, experimental evidence indicates that
the bio-effecting potential of electromagnetic fields is more significant
at lower frequencies. It has been shown that magnetic fields of the type
used for the vertical scan control in video display terminals can produce
biological effects even with levels as low as 0.5 .mu.T .
The embodiment described in this section makes use of the superimposition
principle delineated in the superposition modulation section to create a
device which provides the bioprotecting effect of a confusion field in the
region where a user would ordinarily be exposed to the magnetic field
emissions from a video display terminal or other sources in the vicinity
of the terminal. The device forms an integral part of a computer keyboard
and is consequently referred to as a bioprotected keyboard. The coil
structure for a keyboard of this embodiment is shown in FIG. 24.
Referring to FIG. 24, this device uses a coil 134 as its confusion field
source 50, installed within a computer keyboard 136 and operated by
circuitry integral to the circuitry of the keyboard. Power to operate the
coil is derived from the host computer via the standard keyboard interface
connection 138. The presence of the coil 134 does not interfere with any
of the operations of the keyboard 136 and is transparent to the user
except for an indicator LED 140 which advises the user of the proper
operation of the bioprotection feature. Electric current, modulated as per
the methods described herein, is passed through the coil 134 to induce a
confusion field designed to bioprotect the field emissions from the
monitor at the user location without interfering with the proper operation
of the monitor. The coil 134 is driven by a in-circuit modulator 42
designed to inject suitable power into the coil 134 using one of various
possible methods.
The range of protection of this device is ideally within approximately a
foot or so from the keyboard, therefore it is most effective when the
keyboard is held closest to the user. In some cases the detrimental field
emissions from the monitor may be too high to be adequately bioprotected
by a coil 134 powered from the standard keyboard power supply. In these
situations it may be advantageous to drive the coil with an external power
source. In the latter case the power driven through the coil can be made
as high as necessary to produce the required confusion field according to
this invention. A possible limitation to the power applied to the coil 134
is the possibility of jitter created on the screen display by the
proximity of the coil 134.
The confusion field source may be implemented as a coil 134 concealed
within the keyboard 136 as in FIG. 24, or it may be placed on top or near
an existing keyboard. In general it would be advantageous to make the coil
134 as large as possible as this would increase the range of the magnetic
field and decrease the power requirements. One possible means to increase
the size of the coil 134 is by fitting the keyboard 136 with a large base
to house the coil. In addition the coil resistance should be small enough
to allow sufficient current flow from the available power source. As an
example, a 6.5 inch by 17.25 inch 50 turn rectangular coil made with 28
gauge wire has a resistance of about 13.OMEGA.. This coil can be
satisfactorily driven with the circuit of FIG. 20.
HOME BIOPROTECTION SYSTEM EMBODIMENT
Another embodiment of the superposition modulation technique is the home
bioprotection system.
Most homes have numerous sources of field, including all electrically
operated devices. In addition, residences located in the proximity of high
voltage tension lines are also subjected to the field emissions from those
lines. These emissions can be significant in the vicinity of power lines
of high current carrying capacity. Another source of field results from
the flow of leakage current through ground paths. These leakage currents
can in some cases be relatively large when they are caused by current
imbalances created by unequal current usage between two phases of a
circuit. In general, the high and low leads of a circuit run parallel and
in close proximity to one another. This type of electric cable, e.g. Romex
cable, is most often used in residential installations. Current flow
through this type of cable induces magnetic fields of relatively short
range. The magnetic fields decrease with distance away from the conductors
as the inverse of the cube of half the distance between the leads. If the
hot and neutral leads of a circuit run separated from one another, the
flow of current through such a circuit can generate field which cover a
wider range. These field emissions are relatively uniform within the area
circumscribed by the wires and extend relatively unattenuated within a
distance equal to one third the loop radius above and below the plane of
the loop. The present embodiment describes a technique to negate the
detrimental nature of these field fields by providing a blanket type
protection covering the entire living area of a home.
The home/area bioprotection device consists of a large multiturn coil
positioned in the perimeter of a residence, playground or other area to be
protected. Two possible coil configurations for use in the protection of a
home or large area are shown in FIGS. 25a and 25b. FIG. 25a depicts an
underground coil structure 124 which surrounds the area desired to be
protected. The control unit 126 is typically placed inside the house, or
outside in a weatherproof container. The home bioprotection system coils
128 and 130 of FIG. 25b are of a helmholtz configuration, as described
earlier. One coil 128 is placed above the living area, while the other 130
is placed below it. The control unit 132 is similar to the control unit
126 of FIG. 25a, however it typically drives two coils instead of just
one.
Electric current, modulated as prescribed in this invention, is passed
through the coils 124, 128 and 130 to induce a bioprotection magnetic
field. The coils are driven by an in-circuit modulator 50 designed to
inject a suitable current into the confusion field source (in this case a
coil structure). The coil 124, 128 and 130 current may be generated using
any one of the methods described above. One possible circuit
implementation is shown in FIG. 26.
FIG. 26 depicts the circuit diagram for a superposition technique which
creates a confusion field to bioprotect an entire living area. The
modulation generator 116 implemented in this embodiment generates a random
noise signal. This signal is then passed through the low pass filter 118,
pre-amplifier 120 and power amplifier 122. The confusion field source
which is driven is a coil structure 150.
The range of protection of the home bioprotection system device depends on
the magnitude of the current passing through the coil and the radius of
the coil. The induced confusion field within the area circumscribed by the
coil at the plane of the coil is relatively uniform. The confusion field
decreases with distance along the coil axis, however, the attenuation is
not significant within a distance of the order of 1/2 the coil radius.
Therefore the protected area includes a cylindrical region circumscribing
the coil and extending a distance approximately equal to 1/2 the coil
radius above and below the plane of the coil. For a given current rating
and number of turns of the coil the confusion field at the plane of the
coil increases with decreasing radius. Therefore for larger areas a larger
current rating is required to maintain a confusion field with adequate
amplitude to afford bioprotection of the entire area. In general, the
device should be designed to produce a confusion field suitable for the
"average" regularly oscillating detrimental field measured within an area
to be protected. A confusion field of 1 .mu.T is suitable in most
situations. The detrimental field emissions in the proximity of devices
with motors can be much larger, but they generally drop off quickly away
from the source. When the time of exposure in the proximity of a
detrimental field source is large, a device affording localized protection
would be more suitable, e.g. the bioprotected keyboard, the bioprotected
hair dryer, and the converter box unit.
POWER DISTRIBUTION LINE BIOPROTECTION SCHEME EMBODIMENT
In a multi-user system, electric power from a central station is delivered
to each user via a network of distribution lines. Such a network might
consist of a series of primary trunks from which secondary lines branch
out in successive steps to the final distribution points. The flow of
current through each branch of the network depends on the power demands of
all users drawing current from that branch. It is easy to see that in
large power distribution systems the primary trunks must be capable of
handling very large power requirements. The voltage and the current in
these power transmission lines are the source of large electric and
magnetic fields. Since the voltage is referenced to ground level, the line
voltage establishes a large electric potential between it and ground. Line
voltages of 500 KV and 230 KV are typical for transmission lines leaving a
primary distribution station. A 500 KV line is typically hung 42 feet from
the ground therefore establishing an electric field of 39 KV/m beneath it.
Experimental evidence indicates that electric fields of this order of
magnitude can affect biological function [Freed, C. A., McCoy, S. L.,
Ogden, B. E., Hall, A. S., Lee, J., Hefeneider, S. H., "Exposure of Sheep
to Whole Body field Reduces In-Vitro Production of the Immunoregulatory
Cytokine Interleukin 1" Abstract Book, BEMS Fifteenth Annual Meeting,
1993].
The flow of current through a power transmission line causes the induction
of magnetic fields on planes perpendicular to the direction of current
flow. The magnetic field is oriented tangential to circular paths around
the conductor. At distances far removed from a single conductor, the
magnetic field decreases in proportion to the inverse of the distance. In
single phase circuits two transmission lines are required to deliver
power, one to carry the current to the load and another one to return the
current to the source and complete the circuit. If the two lines were
placed immediately next to each other, the magnetic field from the
transmission line pair would tend to cancel because induced by currents of
equal magnitude but opposite direction. In practice transmission lines
with high voltages must be separated by a minimum distance to prevent
dielectric breakdown of the air between the conductors. Consequently, the
magnetic fields do not cancel. For example, in the case of 50 KV lines
which are typically positioned 30 ft. apart, the magnetic field at the
edge of the right of way can be of the order of 3 .mu.T during peak power
consumption intervals when the current is of the order of 1000 Amperes.
The width of the right of way is usually 150 ft. so that the horizontal
distance from the edge to the nearest conductor is 60 ft. Residences
located at the edge of the right of way can be exposed to relatively high
magnetic fields. Experimental evidence previously referred to shows that
magnetic fields as low as 0.5 .mu.T can cause bioeffects.
The magnetic fields from transmission lines can be rendered harmless by
superimposing a bioprotection field. In one embodiment of this invention,
the bioprotection fields can be induced by current passing through one or
two additional conductors running parallel to the transmission line
conductors. The bioprotection current must be such that the magnitude of
the induced bioprotection magnetic field is equal to or larger than that
from the transmission lines. This can be achieved for example with a line
frequency signal (e.g. 60 Hz) which is turned on for 0.1 seconds in
subsequent one second intervals. The modulation would be imposed at the
power station or substations using a low voltage current source. The power
consumption of the bioprotection field is limited by the fact that this
field is on only ten percent of the time as well as by a lower voltage
rating for this line relative to the main high voltage transmission line.
Assuming that a current equivalent to that flowing in the transmission
line is required to produce the bioprotection field, and a 100 V line is
used for the protection circuit for a 500 KV line, the power consumption
of the bioprotection circuit would be fifty thousand times lower than that
of the main transmission line. FIG. 27 shows one implementation of the
superposition technique to create a confusion field in the area
surrounding a power distribution line.
Referring to FIG. 27, a power distribution line 154, 156 is strung
overground, through the use of electrical insulators 162 supported by
poles 168. A static wire 152 is seen as a protection from lightning. The
confusion field is generated by the bioprotection wires 158 and 160, which
form a single loop coil structure. The bioprotection wires 158 and 160 are
also hung from insulators 162. The bioprotection wires 158 and 160 are
hung below the static wire 152.
* * * * *