Patent No. 5027208 Therapeutic subliminal imaging system

 

Patent No. 5027208

Therapeutic subliminal imaging system (Dwyer, Jr., et al., Jun 25, 1991)

ASSIGNEE: Sub-TV Limited Partnership, Newton Junction, NH

Abstract

A therapeutic subliminal imaging system wherein a selected subliminal message is synchronized with and added to an existing video signal containing a supraliminal message. A television receiver or video recorder can be used to provide the supraliminal message and a video processing circuit varies the intensity of that perceptible message to incorporate one or more subliminal images.

Notes:

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to portable systems for implementing behavior modification therapy wherein a subliminal message is added to a preexisting supraliminal message and the combined image is displayed on a video screen.

A television receiver or video recorder can be used to provide the supraliminal message. The desired subliminal message or image is provided by a preprogrammed chip that is inserted by the user into a compact video processing circuit that combines the two signals for viewing.

The video processing system of a preferred embodiment of the invention synchronizes the video signal containing the supraliminal message with a signal containing the desired subliminal message. The system then either lightens or darkens portions of the supraliminal message, in a manner that is not consciously perceptible to the viewer, to present the subliminal message. Thus an optical characteristic of a portion of the supraliminal message is altered slightly to incorporate the subliminal message.

This embodiment utilizes an analog oscillator in conjunction with a digital circuit to synchronize the subliminal message signal with the existing video signal. A video synchronization detector circuit receives the supraliminal video signal and generates digital outputs that mark the beginning of each vertical and horizontal line within the two dimensional image. These vertical and horizontal synchronization signals are used to instruct a microprocessor, which accesses a digital memory in which the subliminal message has been stored, to deliver the contents of each line of the subliminal message for addition to the appropriate line of the supraliminal image. An analog oscillator is used rather than a crystal clock because it can be stopped by a composite synchronization pulse and re-started, thereby starting each line at exactly the same time interval following the synchronization pulse. This results in improved stability of the subliminal message relative to the supraliminal message during one scan of the screen and between successive scans.

A monostable ("one shot") multivibrator is gated by the microprocessor to produce pulses so that only selected portions of each supraliminal image are altered to incorporate the subliminal message. The oscillator is controlled directly by the one-shot's output and is stopped only for the duration of the one-shot pulse.

A counter is used to control delivery of the subliminal message for each screen line. The counter does not depend on the stopping of the oscillator to control counting. Rather, the counter disables itself after counting the pixels on each line of the subliminal image and allows the oscillator to run. The one-shot is used to both stop the oscillator and zero the counter. This video mixer thus uses a simple control circuit to provide placement of the subliminal message anywhere on the supraliminal image. The system avoids the use of noisy analog differentiation circuits to provide pulse signals which control circuit operation.

The above, and other features of the invention, including various novel details of construction and combination of parts, will now be more particularly described with reference to the accompanying drawings and pointed out in the claims. It will be understood that the particular therapeutic subliminal imaging system embodying the invention is shown by way of illustration only and not as a limitation of the invention. The principle features of this invention may be employed in various embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention.

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Each line of each frame of the subliminal signal stored in the frame memory 24 is then added to each line of each frame of the supraliminal signal such that the intensity of a portion of the supraliminal signal is altered. The resulting image is then displayed on a television monitor for viewing by the person seeking treatment, behavior modification or performance enhancement.

A further method for presenting the subliminal message provides for the tachistoscopic addition of the subliminal message with the continuously presented supraliminal message. This differs from prior art methods of tachistoscopic presentation where the supraliminal message is interrupted during presentation of the subliminal message. The present method utilizes the periodic addition of the subliminal signal to the continuously presented supraliminal signal.

The above system provides a compact unit that is readily used with existing television equipment in both home and office environments. The user need only connect the output 40 to a television, select the cartridge containing the desired subliminal message and insert it into the unit.