The disclosure relates to a bedding device, and more particularly to a pillow and a method for adjusting a height and surface form of the bedding device.
When people sleep in different postures, the contact area between the head and the pillow or bed is varying, so a pillow with an adjustable height or a mattress with an adjustable surface form according to different sleep positions may improve the sleep comfort of people. Conventional bedding devices cannot accurately determine the sleep positions of the human, and thus fails to change the surface forms thereof to adapt to the sleep positions of people.
The disclosure provides a bedding device, for example, a pillow and/or a mattress, that accurately determines the sleep positions of a human and adjusts the surface form thereof according to the sleep positions.
The bedding device comprises:
When the bedding device comprises a plurality of adjusting units, the plurality of adjusting units is able to adjust the height of the bedding device independently. The plurality of adjusting units is arranged in an array. A support platform is arranged on the top of each adjusting unit. At least one support platform is disposed on the surface of the bedding device. A heating/cooling module able to change the temperature of the support platform is disposed on the support platform. Optionally, the cooling module is a semiconductor cooling module. A massage module in vibration and/or other forms is arranged on the support platform and/or the adjusting unit to massage the human.
Specifically, the bedding device comprises at least one human measurement module able to measure 3D surface morphology of the head, neck, trunk, limbs and/or a quilt covering the human to obtain a 3D point cloud. A 3D human model is built based on the point cloud. The spatial position and/or posture of the head, neck, trunk and limbs are determined based on the point cloud and/or the 3D human model.
The at least one sleep position determining module is able to determine the sleep position of the human based on the 3D spatial position and/or posture of the head, neck, trunk and limbs and figure out the morphology of the cervical spine, thoracic spine, lumbar spine, hip bones and limbs of the human.
The at least one form adjustment module is able to control the at least one adjusting unit to adjust the surface form of the bedding device based on the sleep position and/or the forms of the spine, hip bones and limbs, so as to enable people to sleep in a comfortable position.
The form adjustment module is able to control the adjusting units in an array to move according to a preset rule. The movement rule comprises information on the lifting height, speed, time and location of each adjusting unit. The adjusting unit array may undulate in a wave form. The adjusting units in contact with and adjacent to the human may move up and down to assist the human in turning over. The adjusting units selected may move up and down in cycles and/or the adjacent adjusting units may alternately move up and down in cycles to press/massage the human.
The human measurement module is able to detect whether the sleep position changes or not by making continuous measurement on the body form. When the human is changing its sleep position, the form adjustment module controls the adjusting units that will come into contact with the human in the turning over direction to move down, so as to reduce the resistance for turning over the human. For example, when the human turns over to the left side from a supine position, the adjusting units on the left side of the body which will come into contact with the body move down, so as to form a low-lying area for the body to turn over. When the sleep position is changed, the adjusting units in contact with the human adjust the body posture to the most comfortable state under the control of the form adjustment module. When the human remains motionless, the form adjustment module controls each adjusting unit to move up, so that the adjusting units that will not come into contact with the human are kept at their longest length, and those that will come into contact with the human are also kept at their longest length to keep the human in the most comfortable position, thus making it easier for the adjusting units to move down to assist in turning over.
The bedding device of the disclosure is initialized prior to use. During initialization, each adjusting unit is equal in height and remains unchanged. When the human is lying on the bedding device in the supine, lateral, prone and other positions, the human measurement module measures the human in different positions respectively to obtain the point clouds on the surface of the human in different positions, and to build a plurality of 3D human models in different positions. During initialization, the point cloud on the surface of the human in a standing position is measured to build a 3D model of the human in the standing position. The human measurement module calculates the dimensions of features comprising volume, length and perimeter of different parts of the human (such as shoulder width, waist circumference, arm length and leg length) based on the 3D human model.
When the bedding device is in use, the form adjustment module figures out the surface form of the bedding device based on the feature dimensions of the human to achieve the most comfortable state of the human in the current sleep position, calculate the height of each adjusting unit in contact with different parts of the human, and compare the calculated height with the real-time height of each adjusting unit to determine the direction and length of adjustment for each adjusting unit. In this way, the adjusting accuracy and speed of each adjusting unit is improved.
When the bedding device is in use, the human data obtained from initialization is compared with that measured in real time, comprising the comparison of the volume and circumference of each part of the human, so as to predict the surface form of the bedding device when the human is in the best sleep position, and to change the height of each adjusting unit accordingly.
When the bedding device is in use, the form adjustment module is able to control the adjusting units to keep the form of the trunk/spine/head/neck of the human closest to that in the standing position, especially to keep the form of the spine closest to that in the standing position.
The human measurement module is able to measure the surface form and/or position and/or posture of the human by 3D laser scanning and/or TOF and/or double-sided stereoscopic vision and/or structured light and/or ultrasonic measurement and/or other well-known methods to obtain 3D human data and build a 3D human model.
The bedding device of the disclosure overcomes the problem in the prior art that the supine and prone positions with the head tilting sideways cannot be determined, and can accurately determine the body posture and adjust its surface form accordingly, so that the human is always in a comfortable state.
To further illustrate, embodiments detailing a bedding device and a method for adjusting a height and surface form of the bedding device are described below. It should be noted that the following embodiments are intended to describe and not to limit the disclosure.
A bedding device of the disclosure comprises an adjusting unit as shown in
In
In
The measurement control module identifies the face, the lateral head and the posterior portion of the head according to the point cloud and/or model of the head, and determines the 3D spatial position and posture of the head based on the models of these parts and/or the head. The identification is achieved by identifying organs such as the nose, auricles, eyes and lips, and then determining the position and/or posture of the head. The identification is achieved by identifying the features of different curved surfaces of the point cloud and/or model, comprising but not limited to the size, curvature and shape. The identification is achieved by identifying the features of point distribution in the point cloud, comprising but not limited to the gradient, density and dispersion degree of the points. Because of the differences in the reflection of linear laser beam from skin and hairy parts, the different parts also have different distribution patterns of the point cloud. As the hair can absorb more laser beams, the point clouds at the hairy parts are sparse and discrete. According to the features of the point cloud, the hairy parts and skin are determined.
The measurement control module identifies the 3D form and/or position and/or posture of the trunk based on the point cloud and/or model of the trunk. The measurement control module identifies the position and posture of the shoulders and determines the position of the trunk based on the shoulders. When the human is covered with a quilt, the point cloud on the quilt surface at the trunk is obtained. Whether the trunk is in a supine/prone or lateral position is determined based on the form of the point cloud on the quilt surface. In the lateral position, the point cloud on the quilt surface, especially at the shoulders, is high in height and narrow in width, and the height is greater than the width. In the supine/prone position, the width of the point cloud on the quilt surface, especially at the shoulders, is greater than the height thereof, and the height is the vertical distance between the highest point of the point cloud and the bed surface. A curved surface model or a 3D model of the human/quilt surface is built based on the point clouds, and the posture of the trunk is determined based on the features of the curved surface or the 3D model.
The measurement control module identifies the 3D form and/or posture of the neck based on the point cloud and/or model of the neck, and determines the position and posture of the cervical spine. The measurement control module identifies the 3D form and/or position and/or posture of the limbs based on the point cloud and/or model of the limbs.
The bedding device comprises at least one sleep position determining module 15. The measurement control module transmits the 3D form, position and posture information of the human to the sleep position determining module. The sleep positions comprise the supine position with face up, the supine, lateral and prone positions with the head tilting sideways, and the prone position with face down. The sleep position determining module determines the sleep positions based on the positions of each part of the human. When the face/head is up, the body is in the supine position, as shown in
The form adjustment module 17 receives the body model, position, posture and sleep position information transmitted from the measurement control module and the sleep position determining module, and determines the spatial relationship between each part of the body and each adjusting unit according to the projection of each part of the human on the surface of the bedding device, i.e., determine which adjusting units to support a specific part of the body and the height of each adjusting unit. According to the correspondence, the form adjustment module controls the adjusting units to change their height, so as to adjust the position and posture of each part of the human and keep the human in the best position.
When the bedding device is in the form of a pillow, the form adjustment module controls the adjusting units constituting a pillow surface to change their height and then to change the height of the pillow surface and/or the spatial form and angle of inclination of the pillow surface, so as to adjust the head to the most comfortable position or a preset position, or to make the cervical spine in the most suitable position. In certain embodiments, the pillow surface is adjusted to a position which is the most adapted to the natural curvature of the human cervical spine. When the body is in the lateral position, the cervical spine is adjusted to be on the symmetrical plane of the longitudinal center of the human, i.e., the cervical spine coincides with the central line of the body when viewing right behind the human.
When the bedding device is in the form of a mattress, the form adjustment module controls the adjusting units in contact with the body to change their height and then to change the curved surface form and convex-concave state of the bed surface, so as to adjust the spatial position and posture of the head, neck, trunk and limbs to a comfortable position or a preset position, or to make the human spine in the most suitable position. In certain embodiments, when the body is in the supine or prone position, each part of the human is adjusted so that the spine is in a position which is the most adopted to the natural curvature of the human spine. In certain embodiments, when the body is in the lateral position, the spine is adjusted to be on the symmetrical plane of the longitudinal center of the human, i.e., the spine coincides with the central line of the body when viewing right behind the human.
The adjusting unit array of the bedding device comprises one or more areas, and each area works independently. In certain embodiments, a pillow area is divided from the mattress. In certain embodiments, a double bed is divided into two single areas which are controlled separately.
When in use, the human measurement module continuously detects any changes in the body form, and the sleep position determining module continuously monitors any changes in the sleep position and/or body posture. When the change in the body posture is detected, the form adjustment module adjusts the position and posture of each part of the human till the human is in a preset state or the most comfortable state.
In
In
In
A method for adjusting bedding device in
In certain embodiments, after a), the method further comprises building a 3D model of the human according to the 3D point cloud data, so that when performing b), being able to determine the spatial position and/or posture of each part of the human according to the 3D point cloud data and/or 3D model of the human.
As shown in
c1) if the face of the human faces up, showing that the human is in a supine position;
c2) if the face of the human faces down, showing that the human is in a prone position;
c3) if the face of the human faces side and the trunk lays on side, showing that the human is lying on side;
c4) if the face of the human faces side, the trunk does not lay on side, and the bulge area of the sternocleidomastoid in the neck is identified, showing that the human is in the supine position with the head tilting sideways; and
c5) if the face of the human faces side, the trunk does not lay on side, and the bulge area of the sternocleidomastoid in the neck is not able to be identified, showing that the human is in the prone position with the head tilting sideways.
The above process is repeated to make continuous adjustments to the bedding device.
In d), adjusting the device according to the sleep position and/or 3D posture of the human comprises:
determining a correspondence between each part of the body and each adjusting unit according to a projection of each part of the human on a surface of the bedding device; and
controlling the adjusting unit to change a height according to the correspondence, so as to adjust the position and posture of the human.
Specifically, the disclosure provides a pillow comprising:
at least one adjusting unit is able to adjust a height of the pillow;
at least one human measurement module is able to measure a three-dimensional surface morphology of a human and/or a quilt covering the human, is able to establish a three-dimensional model of the human, is able to recognize the head and/or neck and/or trunk of the human, and is able to judge a spatial position and/or posture of the head and/or neck and/or trunk of the human;
at least one sleep position determining module is able to determine a sleep position of the human based on the spatial position and/or posture of the head and/or neck and/or trunk of the human; and
at least one form adjustment module is able to control the at least one adjusting unit to adjust the height of the pillow, so as to change the posture of the head.
It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made, and therefore, the aim in the appended claims is to cover all such changes and modifications.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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201810247467.4 | Mar 2018 | CN | national |
This application is a continuation-in-part of International Patent Application No. PCT/CN2019/078407 with an international filing date of Mar. 16, 2019, designating the United States, now pending, and further claims foreign priority benefits to Chinese Patent Application No. 201810247467.4 filed Mar. 23, 2018. The contents of all of the aforementioned applications, including any intervening amendments thereto, are incorporated herein by reference. Inquiries from the public to applicants or assignees concerning this document or the related applications should be directed to: Matthias Scholl PC., Attn.: Dr. Matthias Scholl Esq., 245 First Street, 18th Floor, Cambridge, Mass. 02142.
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | PCT/CN2019/078407 | Mar 2019 | US |
Child | 17029096 | US |