United States Patent |
5,159,703 |
Lowery |
October 27, 1992 |
Silent subliminal presentation system
Abstract
A silent communications system in which nonaural carriers, in the very low or
very high audio frequency range or in the adjacent ultrasonic frequency
spectrum, are amplitude or frequency modulated with the desired intelligence and
propagated acoustically or vibrationally, for inducement into the brain,
typically through the use of loudspeakers, earphones or piezoelectric
transducers. The modulated carriers may be transmitted directly in real time or
may be conveniently recorded and stored on mechanical, magnetic or optical media
for delayed or repeated transmission to the listener.
Inventors: |
Lowery; Oliver M. (5188 Falconwood Ct.,
Norcross, GA 30071) |
Appl. No.: |
458339 |
Filed: |
December 28, 1989 |
Current U.S. Class: |
455/42; 381/73.1; 455/46;
455/66; 607/56 |
Intern'l Class: |
H04B 007/00; H04R 025/00; H04R
003/02 |
Field of Search: |
455/46,47,66,109,110,42-43
381/73.1,105,124 358/141-143 600/28 128/420.5 380/38 |
References Cited
U.S. Patent Documents
3060795 |
Oct., 1962 |
Corrigan et al. |
352/131. |
3278676 |
Oct., 1966 |
Becker |
358/142. |
3393279 |
Jul., 1968 |
Flanagan |
128/420. |
3712292 |
Jan., 1973 |
Zentmeyer, Jr. |
600/28. |
4141344 |
Feb., 1979 |
Barbara |
600/28. |
4395600 |
Jul., 1983 |
Lundy et al. |
381/73. |
4463392 |
Jul., 1984 |
Fischer et al. |
360/30. |
4777529 |
Oct., 1988 |
Schultz et al. |
381/73. |
4834701 |
May., 1989 |
Masaki |
600/28. |
4877027 |
Oct., 1989 |
Brunkan |
128/420. |
Primary
Examiner: Eisenzopf; Reinhard J.
Assistant Examiner: Faile;
Andrew
Claims
What is claimed:
1. A silent communications system, comprising:
(a) amplitude modulated carrier means for generating signals located in
non-aural portions of the audio and in the lower portion of the ultrasonic
frequency spectrum said signals modulated with information to be perceived by a
listener's brain and,
(b) acoustic and ultrasonic transducer means for
propagating said signals, for inducement into the brain, of the listener, and,
(c) recording means for storing said modulated signals on mechanical,
magnetic and optical media for delayed or repeated transmissions to the
listener.
2. A silent communications system, comprising:
(a)
frequency modulated carrier means for generating signals located in non-aural
portions of the audio and in the lower portion of the ultrasonic frequency
spectrum, said signals modulated with information to be perceived by a
listener's brain, and;
(b) acoustic and ultrasonic transducer means for
propagating said signals, for inducement into the brain of the listener, and;
(c) recording means for storing said modulated signals on mechanical,
magnetic and optical media for delayed or repeated transmissions to the
listener.
3. A silent communications system, comprising:
(a) a
combination of amplitude and frequency modulated carrier means for generating
signals located in non-aural portions of the audio and in the lower portion of
the ultrasonic frequency spectrum, said signals modulated with information to be
perceived by a listener's brain, and
(b) acoustic and ultrasonic
transducer means for propagating said signals, for inducement into the brain of
the listener;
(c) recording means for storing said modulated signals on
mechanical, magnetic and optical media for delayed or repeated transmissions to
the listener.
Description
BACKGROUND--FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates in
general to electronic audio signal processing and, in particular, to subliminal
presentation techniques.
BACKGROUND--DESCRIPTION OF PRIOR ART
Subliminal learning enjoys wide use today and subliminal tapes are being
manufactured by a number of companies in the United States alone. Several
decades of scientific study indicate that subliminal messages can influence a
human's attitudes and behavior. Subliminal, in these discussions, can be defined
as "below the threshold of audibility to the conscious mind." To be effective
however, the subliminally transmitted information (called affirmations by those
in the profession) must be presented to the listener's ear in such a fashion
that they can be perceived and "decoded" by the listener's subconscious mind. We
are referring to audio information in this discussion, however, information
could be inputted into the subject's subconscious mind through any of the body's
sensors, such as touch, smell, sight or hearing. As an example, early
development work in the subliminal field utilized motion pictures and slide
projections as the medium. Early research into visual and auditory subliminal
stimulation effects is exemplified by U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,060,795 of Corrigan, et
al. and 3,278,676 of Becker. U.S. Pat. No. 4,395,600 of Lundy and Tyler is
representative of later developments in today's subliminal message techniques.
The majority of the audio subliminal tapes available today are prepared
using one basic technique. That is, the verbal affirmations are mixed with, and
recorded at a lower level than, a "foreground" of music or sounds of ocean surf
or a bubbling mountain brook or other similar "masking" sounds. The affirmations
are generally recorded 5 decibels (db) or so below the "foreground" programming
and regenerative automatic gain control is usually applied to permit the
affirmations to change their recorded amplitude in direct proportion to the
short term averaged amplitude of the continually varying "foreground" material.
In other words, the volume of the affirmations will follow or track the volume
changes of the "foreground" programming, but at a lower volume level. Circuit
provisions are also usually included to "gate" the affirmations off when the
music amplitude is low or zero. This insures that the affirmations cannot be
heard during quiet program periods. Thus, today's subliminal affirmations can be
characterized as being "masked" by music or other sounds, of constantly changing
amplitude and of being reduced or cut off entirely during periods of low or
quiet "foreground" programming.
One of the principal, and most widely
objected to, deficiencies in available subliminal tape presentation techniques
is that the presence of the "foreground" material is intrusive to both the
listener and to anyone else in the immediate area. No matter what "foreground"
material is chosen, the fact remains that this material can be heard by anyone
within its range and presents a definite distraction to other activities such as
conversation, thought, desire to listen to other programming such as radio or
television, need to concentrate, etc. Additionally, and because the tapes are
used repeatedly by the same listener, any "foreground" music or material
eventually becomes monotonously tiring to that listener.
It is the
purpose of the following described invention to eliminate or greatly reduce all
of the above deficiencies. Although its application to the magnetic tape medium
is described in the following discussion, the technique is equally applicable to
most other desired transmission mediums, such as Compact Disc, videocassettes,
digital tape recorders, Public Address (PA) systems, background music
installations, computer software programs, random access memory (RAM), read only
memory (ROM), "live", real time applications and other mediums now in existence
or to be developed in the future.
Implemented on tape cassettes, for
example, the subliminal presentation described here is inaudible i.e., high
audio or ultrasonic frequencies, the affirmations are presented at a constant,
high amplitude level, and they occupy their own "clear channel", non-masked
frequency allocations. If desired, the previously described "foreground" music
or other material can be added to the tape through use of an audio mixer. The
"silent" recordings are inaudible to the user or by others present and are
therefore very effective for use during periods of sleep or when in the presence
of others. Additionally, the basic requirements of subliminal stimulation are
met. That is, the affirmations are efficiently transmitted to the ear and, while
undetected by the conscious mind, are perceived by and efficiently decoded by
the subconscious mind.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly,
several objects and advantages of my invention are:
(a) to provide a
technique for producing a subliminal presentation which is inaudible to the
listeners(s), yet is perceived and demodulated (decoded) by the ear for use by
the subconscious mind.
(b) to provide a technique for transmitting
inaudible subliminal information to the listener(s) at a constant, high level of
signal strength and on a clear band of frequencies.
(c) to provide a
technique for producing inaudible subliminal presentations to which music or
other "foreground" programming may be added, if desired.
Still further
objects and advantages will become apparent from a consideration of the ensuing
description and drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In
the drawings, the first digit of each component number also refers to the figure
number where that component can be located.
FIG. 1 represents the block
diagram of a suitable system which will generate a frequency modulated (FM)
signal at 14,500 Hz.
FIG. 2 represents an approximation of the frequency
response curve of the human ear and the signal decoding process.
FIG. 3
represents the block diagram of a suitable system which will generate a single
sideband, suppressed carrier, amplitude modulated (AM) signal at 14,500 Hz.
______________________________________
REFERENCE NUMERALS IN DRAWINGS
______________________________________
11 microphone or other
14 low distortion
audio input signal
audio oscillator
12 audio preamplifier
15 high pass or band
if required pass audio filter
13 frequency modulation
16 output to tape
circuit recorder or other device
21 point on low freq end
25 midpoint on curve
response curve between points 23 and 24
22 point on low freq end
26 speaker output of FIG. 1 to
of ear response curve
ear
23 point on high freq end
27 demodulated subliminal
of ear response curve
audio inputted to ear
24 point on high freq end
31 microphone
of ear response curve
32 speech amplifier
33 balanced modulator
34 carrier oscillator
35 filter
(455 KHz)
36 mixer 37 heterodyne oscillator
(469.5 KHz)
38 bandpass filter
39 output signal
______________________________________
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Please
refer now to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, which are drawings of a preferred implementation
of the invention.
The principle of operation of the silent subliminal
presentation system is as follows:
An audio signal in the upper
frequency region of the audio spectrum (for example, 14,500 Hz) is modulated
with the desired information. The type of modulation may be any type suitable
for subliminal applications; frequency modulation (FM), phase modulation (PM),
upper single sideband with suppressed carrier, amplitude modulation (AM), tone
modulation, etc.
For broadest application, the high audio frequency
selected as the carrier frequency must meet two basic criteria:
(1) be
high enough in the audio spectrum that its presence to the human ear is
essentially unnoticed or undetectable (without the listener being informed that
the signal is actually present) and,
(2) be low enough in the audio
spectrum that it (and its modulation content) can produce a useful output power
from home entertainment type cassette or reel-to-reel magnetic recorders.
This would also include, of course, small portable and automobile tape
decks.
Alternatively, the output of the system can be fed directly into
an audio amplifier and its speaker/earphone system, Public Address system, etc.
FIG. 1 provides the block diagram of an example of a system capable of
generating the desired silent frequency modulated carrier.
The
modulation information is inputted into the microphone 11. Other suitable input
devices may be substituted for microphone 11, such as a tape recorder or a
radio. The microphone 11 is connected to the preamplifier 12 and should have
provisions for adjusting its gain in order that the optimum modulation index can
be set in the frequency modulator 13. The frequency modulator 13 modulates the
frequency of oscillator 14 which has been adjusted for an output of 14,500 Hz as
described above. The output of oscillator 14 is fed through a suitable bandpass
filter 15 into the tape recorder or directly into a suitable amplifier/speaker
system. It is the purpose of the bandpass filter to remove or attenuate audible
products of the modulation process in order to maintain as audibly silent an
output as practical.
On the receiving end, FIG. 2 represents an
approximate and idealized frequency response curve of the human ear. The
frequency modulated carrier (centered at 14,500 Hz), as generated above and
played through a tape recorder or amplifier/speaker system, is shown on FIG. 2
as speaker output 26, impinging upon the upper slope of the ear's response curve
at point 25. The frequency modulated excursions of the speaker output 26 swing
between points 23 and 24 on the ear's upper response curve. Because the response
curve between points 23 and 25 is relatively linear, this action results in a
relatively linear demodulation of the original modulation intelligence, which is
passed on subliminally to the inner ear. The amplitude of the demodulated output
is not high enough to be detected by the conscious mind but is sufficient in
amplitude to be detected by the subconscious mind. In the field of
communications engineering design, the above demodulation process in known as
slope detection and was used in early FM receiver design. In those receivers,
the response curve was formed by the action of a tuned (inductive/capacitance)
circuit. In our case, the response curve is formed by the natural response curve
of the human ear. The same slope detection technique can be performed at the low
frequency end of the human ear response curve. This region is indicated on FIG.
2 as between points 21 and 22. This region, however, has a much smaller
available bandwidth and is therefore more restricted as to the amount of
information that can be transmitted in an inaudible manner.
In practice,
the listener adjusts the volume control of the tape recorder or amplifier to a
level just below that at which the listener hears an audible sound or noise from
the speaker of the tape recorder. If the recording process is properly done, a
spectrum analyzer or a calibrated sound level meter will reveal a strong signal
emanating from the tape recorder speaker. A calibrated sound level meter, at a
distance of 1 meter (with C weighting and referenced to the standard of 0.0002
micro bar) will typically indicate a silent power output of from 60 to 70
decibels. This is equivalent to the audio power of a loud conversation, yet, in
the described system, is inaudible or unnoticed by the listener.
FIG. 3
illustrates a system which generates a suitable amplitude modulated (AM) signal,
instead of the frequency modulated (FM) system described above. The output is a
modulated, single sideband (SSB), suppressed carrier (AM) signal at 14,500 Hz.
The block diagram represents a common scheme for generating an SSB
signal and will be briefly described.
The desired subliminal information
is spoken into microphone 31. This signal is amplified by speech amplifier 32
and injected into one port of balanced modulator 33. A continuous wave signal of
455 KHz is generated by carrier oscillator 34 and is injected into the second
port of balanced modulator 33. The output of balanced modulator 33 is a double
sideband, suppressed carrier signal at 455 KHz. This signal is fed through
filter 35, causing one of the two sidebands to be removed. This signal is fed
into one port of mixer 36. A continuous wave signal at a frequency of 469.5 KHz
from hetrodyne oscillator 37 is fed into the other port of mixer 36, resulting
in an output of the original subliminal audio information but translated 14,500
Hz higher in frequency. The bandpass filter 38 attenuates signals and noise
outside of the frequencies of interest. The amplitude modulated audio output
signal is shown as output 39.
Thus, as stated earlier, my invention
provides a new system for subliminal presentations which is:
(a) silent,
(b) outputs a constant, high level modulated signal and,
(c)
occupies a band of clear channel frequencies.
The foregoing description
of the preferred embodiment of the invention has been presented for the purposes
of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit
the invention to the precise form disclosed. Many modifications and variations
are possible in light of the above discussions. It is intended that the scope of
the invention be limited not only by this detailed description, but rather by
the claims appended hereto.
* * * * *