Patent Application
20230405263
The present application claims the benefit of priority of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/950,987 filed Nov. 18, 2020, entitled “Sleep Tracking Method and Device,” which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety in the present application.
The present application claims the benefit of priority of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 29/796,124 filed Jun. 22, 2021, entitled “Holder for a Mobile Phone,” which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety in the present application.
Tracking sleep can provide a user with knowledge about sleep health and wellness, as well as provide insight into any underlying pathologies. For instance, it is beneficial for a user to determine quality of sleep, interruptions of sleep, an amount of time spent in various sleep stages (e.g., N1, N2, rapid eye movement (REM), etc.), cortical arousals during sleep, and cardiovascular irregularities. But tracking sleep using state of the art wearables, sound recorders, smart beds, and smart phones may provide invasive and inaccurate measurements (and corresponding assessments) and do not effectively improve sleep.
An understanding of embodiments described in this disclosure and many of the related advantages may be readily obtained by reference to the following detailed description when considered with the accompanying drawings, of which:
The following detailed description describes techniques (e.g. methods, processes, and systems) for measuring, tracking, and influencing (or conditioning/augmenting) sleep (including induction of valence state associations, deep sleep stimulation, lucid dreaming, snore prevention, sleep inertia mitigation, and cognitive behavioral therapy) with a device that is either integrated with or coupled (e.g., mechanically, electrically, wired or wirelessly) to furniture in a region proximate to where a user sleeps, otherwise referred to herein as a “nearable enhancement device”, a “nearable device”, or a “nearable system.” The nearable may connect (whether wirelessly or via a wired connection) to one or more sensors, such as wearable sensors, as well as may interact with a user's smart phone for additional sensors, processing, and/or communication protocols (audiovisual signals, tactile signals, wireless communication, etc.).
Throughout the disclosure, such devices that are close to the user, but not directly attached to the user, yet that can be coupled to or integrated with a piece of furniture, are referred to as, “nearables.” Specifically, a nearable device is any device that can measure the physiological state of the user, without being physically attached to the user. This term is in contrast to a wearable device, which is a device that is physically attached to the user. A smart phone, table computer, or other type of mobile device are examples of a nearable. Such nearables may be, in at least some examples, attached to furniture to turn it into “smart” furniture or otherwise furniture capable of being in the proximity of the user and therefore can perform sensor measurements and integrate with various devices that can actuate stimulation to a user (e.g., of speakers, vibrational elements, temperature control, a coffee maker, and the like). In various applications, such nearables may be oriented proximate a region where a user normally sleeps such as, but not limited to, a bed, a nightstand, a dresser, a headboard, a footboard, a lamp, a chair, a sofa, a couch, or the like. A “nearable enhancement device,” described herein, houses one or many nearable devices and augments them in such a way as to better measure and enhance sleep, the transitions between sleep and consciousness, and consciousness, (e.g., when the user is awake). Nearable enhancement devices are the mechanism that attaches the nearable device to furniture to turn the furniture into smart furniture and optimize the functions of the nearable for measurement and enhancement of sleep and wake.
As will be described in detail herein, such nearable enhancement devices may be integrally formed, or couplable (e.g., able to be mechanically and/or electrically coupled to) to existing furniture. In at least some examples, the nearable enhancement device may be configured to receive a user's smart phone. In such examples, the nearable enhancement device comprises a spring and/or locking mechanism in which the user secures the smart phone to the nearable enhancement device. Once secured, the smart phone may communicate with one or more processors on (or accessible to) the nearable enhancement device, receive data from the one or more sensors coupled to (or accessible to) the nearable enhancement device, and/or actuate one or more devices coupled to the nearable enhancement device, such as a wearable placed on the wrist, wring, chest, leg, torso, or scalp. Of course, though described herein with respect to the nearable enhancement device being coupled to a smart phone, the disclosure is not meant to be so limiting. In various examples, the nearable enhancement device can be coupled to other nearables, such as a tablet (such as an iPad™), a laptop, a smart device (e.g., a smart watch or small sensor apparatus), or otherwise.
Any one or more of the sensors coupled to the nearable enhancement device (whether contacting the user or remote from the user) may comprise, for example, one or more pressure sensors, temperature sensors, accelerometers, gyroscopes, magnetometers (or other means for inertial measurement), cameras, lidars, radars, ultrasonics, actigraphy sensors, barometric sensors, microphones, light sensors, infrared sensors, distance sensors, sensors for sensing the recoil movement of the body at each heartbeat (the cardioballistic effect) (e.g., force sensors for sensing small shifts of the center of gravity of a bed and/or a user), heart rate sensors, etc. In any example, the sensors may be embedded in the furniture and/or user's clothing. As several non-limiting examples, one or more pressure sensors, force sensors, capacitive sensors, inertial measurement units, or otherwise may be embedded into a user's bedframe or box spring/mattress for detecting a user presence, a user's pajamas may be embedded with a temperature dependent RFID for remotely monitoring a user's body temperature (or proxy thereof), and the like. Such sensors may be placed in locations for generating optimal sensor data and configured to send such sensor data to a central location of the nearable enhancement device either via wireless and/or wired communications.
In those examples in which the nearable enhancement device is coupled to a user's smart phone, the nearable enhancement device may further access sensors available on the smart phone and/or the phone may access the sensors coupled to (or otherwise accessible to) the nearable enhancement device. Such smart phone sensors may comprise, for example, one or more cameras, infrared sensors, accelerometers, gyroscopes, magnetometers, barometric sensors, temperature sensors, microphones, distance sensors, heart rate sensors, the ability to make a phone call to a healthcare provider, and the like. In addition to sensors available via the smart phone, the nearable enhancement device may also utilize one or more outputs of the smart phone (e.g., speakers, screens, wireless communication, near field communication (NFC) transmitters, Bluetooth™- and/or Zigbee™-enabled transmitters, or the like).
Such a nearable enhancement device may be coupled and/or integrally formed with a piece of furniture, as above. In some examples, the coupling may comprise a clamp, grip, vice, bolts, screws, glue, zip ties, hook-and-loop fasteners (e.g., Velcro™), or any other attachment mechanism (whether fixed or removable) to affix the nearable enhancement device to the furniture.
Regardless of whether the nearable enhancement device is coupled to or integrally formed with the furniture to which it is attached, the nearable enhancement device may comprise one or more pivot points and or mechanisms to allow the nearable enhancement device to change one or more of a position and/or orientation of itself and of the nearable such as, but not limited to, a flexible arm, swivel joints, ball joints, rotation points, and the like. In various examples, at least some such joints may be passive whereas in other examples such joints may be controlled using one or more of stepper motors, servos, and the like. Such motors may be controlled based on one or more processors located in the nearable enhancement device, smart phone, nearable, wearable or otherwise. As will be described in detail herein, the position and/or orientation of the nearable enhancement device and the nearable may be adjusted manually and/or as directed by control instructions over the course of a user's sleep in order to better track the user with the one or more sensors and/or to ensure an optimal deliver of the one or more signals (e.g., audiovisual signals) output by one or more of the nearable enhancement device or, in some examples, the coupled smart phone.
In some embodiments, a nearable enhancement device may be configured with appropriate pivot points to allow for a first position (e.g., for storage and/or when not in active use) and at least one second position wherein the nearable enhancement device is slid and/or swiveled out from nearby furniture, which may allow for more accurate detection by some types of sensors (e.g., microphones) and/or more optimal output by some types of devices (e.g., speakers, lights). In one example, in a manner similar to some types of under-the-desk keyboard trays, a nearable enhancement device may be configured to hold a smart phone at the end of a support that may be pulled and pushed along a track and/or may comprise a pivot for rotating the holder as desired.
In accordance with some embodiments, a nearable enhancement device that is movable, relocatable, and/or extendable in this manner may be configured, for example, with a longer, heavier, and/or wider base support that is inserted under a bed, to provide effective counterbalance to the device when the phone holding portion is extended away from the bed.
In various examples, the nearable enhancement device may electrically couple (whether wirelessly or via one or more wired connections) to one or more sensors and/or actuators proximate the nearable enhancement device. In at least some examples, the nearable enhancement device may have a power source associated therewith, either by battery and/or by connecting to an external power source (e.g., wall socket). The power source may provide power to any one or more processors associated with the nearable enhancement device, to any sensors and/or actuators associated therewith, any smart phone (or other external device) coupled thereto, or otherwise.
In various examples, when electronically coupled to the smart phone (e.g., using one or more of a wired, wireless, or contact coupling) for data and/or power, the nearable enhancement device may rely on connectivity of the smart phone (e.g., cellular (e.g., LTE), wireless (e.g., Wi-Fi™ communications), NFC, Bluetooth, etc.) to transmit and receive data from the one or more sensors and/or processors associated with the nearable enhancement device including, but not limited to, remote servers or the like.
In at least some examples, the nearable enhancement device may comprise a cavity, container, or other type of holder (e.g., a phone support as depicted in any of
In various examples, the nearable enhancement device may comprise mechanisms to allow the smart phone to be releasably coupled to the nearable enhancement device such as, for example, one or more spring loaded assemblies (such as, but not limited to, a spring clip) to apply pressure to the device once inserted, by being formed in a shape such that the nearable enhancement device is deformed to apply sufficient pressure to the smart phone to keep the smart phone immobilized within the cavity, and/or other mechanical, electrical, or other mechanisms (e.g., magnets on the nearable enhancement device and/or smart phone) for providing releasable coupling of the smart phone to the nearable enhancement device.
A holder for a smart phone may, in some examples, provide additional features to promote better sleeping conditions for the associated user. As non-limiting examples, walls forming a cavity or other holder may be formed with a metallic grid or mesh (including being fully metallic) to block electromagnetic radiation transmitted to and from the smart phone (whether emitted or received) as a Faraday cage. Such electromagnetic (EM) radiation may also comprise, for example, light emitted from a screen of the device. In such examples, blocking such electromagnetic radiation may improve the quality of sleep of a user by eliminating external sources of disturbances. In at least some such examples, however, the holder may provide for a region which does not block such EM signals to allow for transmission of data from the smart phone. In some such examples, covering all (or at least a portion) of the screen of the associated smart phone may reduce addictive tendencies of a user to use the smart phone prior to sleep or after awakening from sleep during the night, but still in bed, and to enhance the sleep experience. In still further examples, the holder may have a lock mechanism that provides an extra step to the user in being able to access the phone, which could further help reduce addictive tendencies associated with smart phone use, such as a user performing a small puzzle to open the phone from the holder or simply by a multi-action based unlocking mechanism.
In various examples, the cavity may serve to tailor an acoustic response from the one or more speakers associated with the smart phone or the nearable enhancement device. As a non-limiting example, the cavity may be shaped to one or more of amplify sound generated by the one or more speakers, direct sounds generated in a particular direction (e.g., to maximize the sounds for the user), and the like. In various examples, the acoustic amplification component may be coupled to a motor (or otherwise) to enable enhancing sound for a particular user based on a location of the user in a bed throughout the night. In yet another example, the amplification and direction of sound can be enhanced with a funnel that blows air in particular directions such that sound can be delivered precisely to a user, such as on the left versus the right side of the bed.
In at least some such examples (e.g., in those which are spring loaded), the nearable enhancement device may comprise one or more additional proximity sensors including, but not limited to, Hall effect sensors, touch sensors, pressure sensors, radio frequency distance sensors and the like for determining whether the smart phone is properly loaded and whether the user is going to bed and getting out of bed, since detecting a bedtime and wake time are important measures in evaluating a user's sleep. In further such examples, such a proximity sensor may be used (be either one or more of the nearable enhancement device or the smart phone) to act as a button. As a non-limiting example, the combination of the smart phone and the nearable enhancement device may act as an alarm, when triggered. In such an example, the proximity switch may be used to trigger a snooze and/or release of the alarm, although any other use of such a sensor is contemplated as an additional input for sleep monitoring, tracking, or conditioning.
In various examples, the nearable enhancement device may undergo a calibration procedure. Calibration is used in various examples to determine intrinsics (e.g., for intrinsics ambient temperature for temperature sensors, focal length and point, shutter speed, lens distortion parameters, etc. for cameras, a background noise level for microphones or ambient light sensors, and the like) and/or extrinsics (e.g., positions and/or orientations of one or more sensors relative to the device) of the one or more sensors accessible to the nearable enhancement device. In some examples, the nearable enhancement device may actuate a vibrational element during calibration for visual-inertial calibration, to calibrate one or more of the actigraphy sensors, accelerometers, gyroscopes, etc. Such calibration may further calibrate the position and/or orientation of the nearable enhancement device (and/or smart phone) relative to a room and/or bed of a user, motors for controlling the position and/or orientation of the nearable enhancement device, and any sensor of the nearable enhancement device, associated smart phone (if any), and any sensor or actuator accessible thereto. In some examples, calibration may further comprise determining an audible level for a user such that sounds from the device may be based on the audible threshold determined.
Regardless of calibration, the nearable enhancement device may determine one or more of an optimal position or orientation (together a pose) for the device as coupled to the smart phone. As a non-limiting example, sensor data from one or more of the sensors may be used to determine a location where the user is going to sleep. Such a position may be determined based on, for example, machine learned models using the camera data and sound recording data, input from a user indicating where on an image the user sleeps, or the like. Based on the location, the nearable enhancement device (or one or more devices accessible to the nearable enhancement device), may determine an optimal position and/or orientation for the nearable enhancement device to be in. Such optimal positions and/or orientations may be determined to, for example, minimize an amount of brightness of the smart phone to the user, ensure sensor data of a sensor (e.g., a camera on the smart phone) is optimized to capture user data (e.g., an image of a user takes up at least a threshold amount of an image generated by the camera), etc. In some examples, the nearable enhancement device may prompt (e.g., by causing a display screen of the smart phone) to display a message to optimize the location. As a non-limiting example, the nearable enhancement device may cause the screen to display arrows, or other indicia, such that a user can manually move the nearable enhancement device to an optimal position. In some example, one or more motors or other actuators may move the nearable enhancement device to be in the optimal position and/or orientation.
Once positioned and/or calibrated, the nearable enhancement device may be left in a fixed position such that the smart phone may be repeatedly placed and removed in the cavity as defined in detail above.
In accordance with one or more embodiments, once calibrated and/or positioned, the nearable enhancement device (which may act via the smart phone) may begin one or more actions (e.g., a preset sequence of actions), such as to monitor, track, and/or improve sleep based on an initialization procedure.
According to some embodiments, the nearable enhancement device may begin such processes on detection of, in response to, and/or when one or more types of triggering events are detected. According to some examples, a triggering event may comprise when the user's smart phone is inserted or otherwise retained by a holding mechanism, is detected to be at a predetermined angle or within a predetermined angle range (e.g., detected using the smart phone's gyroscope to be between 25-50 degrees from vertical) for at least a predetermined period of time and/or is being charged. Any one or more such triggering events may be detected, for example, by the Hall effect sensor, accelerometer, gyroscope, pressure sensor, and/or or other sensors that are in communication with the nearable enhancement devices processor and/or smart phone processor). In other examples, detection of a triggering event may comprise using natural language processing to recognize that the user is ready to begin sleep, or the like.
Various examples of actions or processes and how they may be initiated are discussed in this disclosure. According to some embodiments, the detection of a triggering event (e.g., detecting that a smart phone has been inserted or is at a preferred angle in a holder) may trigger one or more adjustments to functionality of the smart phone, such as, but not limited to, launching and/or closing one or more apps and/or services running on the smart phone, increasing the sampling mode of the smart phone and/or of connected devices (e.g., other wearables and/or nearables), turning off notifications completely, and/or turning off notifications except for certain contacts (e.g., family members).
According to some embodiments, inserting the phone in a cavity or other holding means simultaneously charges the nearable enhancement device or devices and actuates a sequence of events, such as via a speaker recording that is triggered when the nearable is detected in position, and that the user can set, such as to trigger a smart home interface set of interactions using a command like, “Hey Google, I'm Going to Bed,” whereby the user can record any message that they desire to be replayed by the device in order to trigger the events (e.g., “Play Dan's Bedtime Routine”).
According to some examples, a nearable enhancement device may be started by, for example, plugging in the nearable, having the user activate the nearable via their voice or touch, or by pressing a button on the nearable enhancement device that plays a sound configured to engage with the nearable by voice activation of the nearable.
According to some embodiments, the nearable and/or the nearable enhancement device may (e.g., in response to one or more triggering events) communicate with one or more actuators to provide an ideal sleep setting for the user including, but not limited to, dimming or shutting lights, lowering or closing blinds, lowering a temperature of an air conditioner, starting a fan, playing soothing music, releasing a soothing odor, or the like. Further, the one or more sensors accessible to the nearable or nearable enhancement device may begin collecting data to determine a stage and/or quality of sleep of the user.
Such sensors may be used to determine a quality of sleep. As a non-limiting example, any one or more of the IMUs (whether in the nearable, coupled to the furniture, or in the associated smart phone or device) may be used to determine actigraphy and/or physiological data associated with a user's sleep. For example, the nearable enhancement device may include a mechanism that attaches the cavity that houses the smart phone to a motion sensitive material, such as rubber and plastic underneath the bed, and can increase the sensitivity of detecting motion of the user, by differentially moving the nearable in the nearable enhancement device, when a user or multiple users move in the bed or sleep furniture.
The camera of a nearable may be used to determine the lighting state of the room (lights on, off, dim, sunrise, sunset, etc.), and may engage with a filter on the nearable enhancement device to block out any identifiable information, in order to ameliorate privacy concerns of the user, and in addition, be used for detecting the heart rate and/or respiration rate of the user, the pose (position and/or orientation) of the user throughout the sleep period, motion of the user, and the like. Microphones may be used to determine an ambient noise level, any snoring of the user, talking in a user's sleep, noise pollution, and the like. In those examples in which subsonic sounds are projected, responses from the subsonics received by the microphones may be used to determine a respiration rate or heart rate. The sensor data can also be enhanced by additional wearables that are relatively more invasive than a nearable, such as a wrist-based or headset based device that can more accurately measure valuable signals for measuring sleep and various cognitive states, for example, signals like heart rate, motion, pulse oximetry, and EEG.
Together, all such aggregated sensor data (and/or data derived therefrom) may be used to determine a sleep state of the user. Additional details for determining such a sleep state may be found in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 10,524,661 entitled “Sleep Monitoring and Stimulation” having a filing date of Jun. 6, 2014, the entirety of which is hereby incorporated. As an example, one or more machine learned models may be trained based at least in part on the sensor data (and/or data derived therefrom) to determine a user's sleep state. By receiving such additional sensor data (e.g., from an IMU coupled to a bed frame), it is possible to determine such sleep states from weaker signals than previously possible. In various examples, such determinations may be made by one or more processors of the nearable, of the coupled smart phone (if any), and/or of any server remote therefrom. In at least some such examples in which the smart phone is received in an EMF-blocking cavity, data may be stored at one or more of the nearable or smart phone for later transmission and processing.
As non-limiting examples, such sensor data may be used to determine a breathing rate of the user, a heart rate of the user, an amount of ambient light, an ambient temperature, a temperature of the user (e.g., as may be determined from remote RF or thermal imaging), a sound level in the environment, actigraphy data, and the like. In various examples, the stage and/or quality of sleep may be determined based on, for example, the techniques described in detail in U.S. Pat. No. 10,524,661 entitled “Sleep Monitoring and Stimulation” filed on Jun. 12, 2014, the entirety of which is hereby incorporated by reference. In at least some examples, sleep stage and/or quality may be determined based on machine learned models (receiving at least a portion of the sensor data as input), and the like. Such determinations may be made continuously and/or at a given frequency, which, in some examples, may be based at least in part on the frequency the sensor data is made available to the nearable or nearable enhancement device (though any other frequency is contemplated).
According to some embodiments, the sensitivity of an algorithm for detecting motion may be varied depending on the type of mattress of the bed (e.g., updated by a user updating stored settings via a user interface).
In one or more embodiments, multiple sensors may be implemented in a nearable system for triangulating signatures of various types of inputs from the sleeping environment. In one example, a first sensor on one side of a bed and a second sensor on another side of the bed may each send motion signature information for processing, allowing for the assessment algorithm to triangulate the signature and accurately detect information about the sleep session when both sleep partners move in the bed.
Based on the determinations made regarding the stage and/or quality of sleep, the nearable or nearable enhancement device may perform one or more additional actions including, but not limited to, determining one or more signals which are later transmitted to one or more actuators accessible to the system, to cause the one or more actuators to enhance a sleep quality of a user, alter a sleep stage of a user, stimulate the user to roll over and stop snoring, help the user fall asleep, keep the user asleep, wake up the user less fatigued, alert a doctor or loved one of a potential health condition, such as a cardiovascular event, or induce a valance association as described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/504,285 entitled “Valence State Memory Association” filed on Jul. 7, 2019, the entirety of which is hereby incorporated by reference. For example, an amount of light can be increased or decreased, the temperature of the room may be altered (up or down), vibrational elements associated with the sleep location (e.g., in a bed), or located on a wrist device, may be actuated, sounds may be played and/or associated volumes of sounds may be altered, transcranial electromagnetic stimulation may be applied (including transcranial direct current stimulation), scents may be altered, or otherwise. In various examples in which the nearable comprises one or more motors (or other mechanisms by which the nearable may reorient itself or portions thereof, such as gears or levers that the user can adjust to orient the nearable and nearable enhancement device), similar procedures as above may be used to reorient the nearable based on changes in the user's position to optimize, for example, the user in a field of view of one or more sensors. Additionally, the user may reorient the nearable to their liking, such that sound from the system is louder on the left versus the right side of the bed, i.e., the user can orient the nearable in the cavity of the nearable enhancement device such that the speaker is directed in different directions. The motor system can further move the device such that it is optimally directed at the user or users for both measuring and enhancing sleep. In at least some examples, a volume or quality of sound, light, or temperature stimulation, or the like that can be delivered may be altered based on actuating a motor coupled to the acoustic cavity of the device.
Similar processes and techniques to those described herein can be used for cognitive behavioral therapy. In some examples, in addition to measuring sleep, data collected via the nearable or nearable enhancement device may be used to categorize people into different phenotypes of insomnia, sleep apnea, or the like. As a non-limiting example of such, data available to the nearable or nearable enhancement device may be used to determine that an associated user is having trouble falling asleep and may deliver a stimulus (e.g., light, sound, temperature, etc.) to remediate the insomnia (e.g., relaxing music or otherwise). In those examples in which apnea is detected while sleeping, the device may deliver a stimulus to promote the user to roll over when an apnea instance. Such stimulations may be adjusted based on feedback from continued measurements until a successful intervention is determined.
As discussed above, a nearable system or nearable enhancement device may begin various types of processes in response to predetermined triggering events such as insertion of a smart phone in a holder or cavity. Alternatively, or in addition, in accordance with some embodiments the nearable enhancement device may initiate one or more types of processes on detection of, in response to, and/or when a mobile is removed from a holder and/or other indication of loss of proximity between a mobile device and a nearable enhancement device or other device in a nearable system. In one example, a loss of connection between a smart phone and an NFC tag (e.g., caused by removal of the smart phone from a holder to which the NFC tag is attached) and/or a may trigger one or more actions, such as, but not limited, turning lights on and/or off, playing an audio file, sending a text message, and/or changing a thermostat setting in a house. In another example, the gyroscope in the phone may detect a predetermined angled position (and/or a change in angled position) of the phone in order to detect the location of the phone and trigger a series of events.
In accordance with one or more embodiments, the nearable enhancement device (which may act via the smart phone) may begin one or more actions, such as to monitor, track, and/or improve sleep based on an initialization procedure.
According to some embodiments, the types of triggering events that will initiate a process and/or the actions that may be performed in response to a triggering event may depend on one or more predetermined rules and/or conditions. In one embodiment, detecting a triggering event and/or determining what action to take may be based on a user's schedule that they entered (e.g., via a user interface of a smart phone application) and/or based on one or more detected events. For example, a system and/or a user may establish that when an alarm clock is going off (or within some time period after the alarm clock has gone off) and/or during a predetermined period (e.g., 5 am to 10 am) the system will turn on one or more lights in response to detecting the smart phone has been removed from its holder. In another example, the user may establish that taking the smart phone out of its holder in the middle of the night (e.g., between 1 am to 5 am) will not turn on any lights.
These and other advances will be discussed in additional detail below with respect to the figures.
As illustrated in the example of
The coupling 108 may also comprise a portion which allows a change in one or more of an orientation or a position of the nearable device 104 relative to the position at which the coupling 108 attaches to the bed 106. This serves an important function for the user when the device, such as an iPhone, has speakers located on only one side of the device, meaning that by orienting the device, the speaker of the device can be appropriately directed at the user. As illustrated in
The smart phone 102 may be releasably coupled to the nearable device 104 via any one or more of springs, suction, magnets, friction pads, magnets, gravity via a shelf housing for the smart phone or nearable, or the like. A power line 112 may provide power to the nearable device 104 and/or to the smart phone 102 and can be oriented inside of the nearable enhancement device (not depicted in the figure), in order to hide the plug and make the device more aesthetically pleasing. Alternatively, a wireless phone charger can be oriented in the housing unit of the nearable, such that, for example, the wireless phone charger is place behind the phone so that the phone is automatically charged simply by placing the phone into the nearable enhancement device. In at least some examples, a Hall effect sensor (or other proximity type sensor, e.g., NFC, Bluetooth, etc., or gyroscope for detecting an angle of the smart phone) may be used to determine when the smart phone 102 has been inserted into the nearable 100.
Alternatively, and/or in addition to the Hall effect sensor, and as will be illustrated in additional figures, when the smart phone 102 is inserted, a spring may be compressed that is releasably held in place (e.g., locked) by the nearable device 104. In various examples, such a lock may be released by the nearable device 104 as part of an alarm, requiring a user to depress the smart phone 102 again in order to turn the alarm off. The ease of unlocking the phone may be made more or less difficult based on the user's level of fatigue or issues with responding to an alarm in the morning, where for example, if the user has a hard time waking up in the morning, decoupling the phone or nearable to turn it off could be made more difficult with the nearable enhancement device by making the unlocking more complicated. In at least some examples, depressing the nearable device 104 may further cause release, and initiate a bedtime process like falling asleep or snoozing the phone using, for example, the accelerometer within the phone or nearable in order to distinguish this particular motion of depressing the nearable device within the nearable enhancement device. In additional or alternative examples, depressing the nearable enhancement device 104 may trigger the release of a fragrance (e.g., lavender, etc.) stored in the nearable enhancement device 104 to aid in sleep promotion and seamlessly integrates into the bedtime routine because the fragrance can be triggered when the user charges their smart phone.
Although depicted in
By placing such sensors throughout the bed 106, weaker signals from the combination of sensors (whether in the smart phone 102, the nearable device 104, and/or the additional sensors 114) may provide a better indication of a stage or phase of sleep, a quality of sleep, or otherwise as will be described in detail herein. As used in this disclosure, a “phase” of sleep may comprise, for example, N1, N2, N3, N4, and/or REM sleep, but may also comprise general descriptions of user states such as being awake, transitional phases (e.g., based on percentages of alpha, beta, theta, gamma, and/or delta brainwaves), a relative amount of time associated with stages of sleep, microevents within a stage of sleep such as a cortical arousal, apneas (central and obstructive), hypopnea, k-complex, sleep spindles, indicators of bedwetting, a detected medical event and/or condition (e.g., a cardiovascular event like a heart attack), a nightmare, a state of insomnia and/or any other user state.
As discussed with respect to various embodiments in this disclosure, one or more actions may be performed based at least in part on a phase or stage of sleep, a desired valence association, user state, and/or a determined quality of sleep. Such actions may be determined to improve a quality of sleep, promote transitioning to a different phase of sleep, induce a valence association, contact a medical professional, reduce snoring, prevent bedwetting, or the like.
In at least some examples, actuation may be performed by one or more of the smart phone 102 or the nearable device 104 sending a signal over a wired or wireless communication protocol to one or more actuators. As illustrated in
As depicted in
In at least some such examples, sensor data may be used to determine a physical state of the user such as the user being in pain, onset of a medical condition (e.g., heart attack, trouble breathing, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), etc.), snoring, or the like and respond accordingly. As several non-limiting examples, the nearable enhancement device (or other device accessible thereto) may cause a vibration in response to snoring or detection of back pain (e.g., by detecting muscle contractions using electromyography, tracking user's position, and/or detecting the user's phase of sleep) in order to cause the user to roll over.
In one example, sensor data may be used to determine when a user is snoring based on breathing being detected and the sound being recorded, and they system may cause the phone to vibrate as a signal to the user through the nearable enhancement device to roll over. Thus, as a result of the detected snoring, the phone vibrates, sending signals through the metal and the mattress. The user has been instructed that when they feel those signals, they should try to roll over to mitigate the impact of snoring because rolling over can stop snoring. In another example, the signal to roll over may comprise a sound playing from the speaker of the device. In yet another example, both a vibration and a sound may be used together to signal the user.
In another example, a recorder may record sound and determining a physical state may including conducting a voice analysis to detected certain keywords such as “help” in order to call for assistance when someone falls out of bed.
In another example, in response to detecting that the user awakens during the night and gets out of bed, certain lights may be activated to reduce the likelihood of falls in the nighttime.
In response to more serious conditions, such as a heart attack, SIDS, seizure, or the like, the device (or device accessible thereto) may initiate a communication with first responders or others (e.g., by dialing 911, a relative or designated party, etc.) and provide an indication of the detected event, as well as attempt to engage with the user when disarray is detected. The communication may be kept persistent until help arrives.
In another example, in response to detecting that a user has stopped breathing and/or has stopped moving, an alert may be transmitted to one or more other devices (e.g., smart phones, personal assistant devices) to alert others. For example, if the system detects that a baby has stopped breathing or moving using a nearable or nearable enhancement device, the system may send a signal that is an alert to broadcast or set off an alarm on a parent's smart phone, flash lights off and on in the house, and the like.
According to some embodiments configured to identify a potential SIDS circumstance, a heart rate monitor monitoring vibration through a mattress and/or a microphone could be used to detect. A microphone may be in a better location for identifying breathing because it is close in proximity to the child. Meanwhile, a speaker that plays pink noise may also be integrated with the system and may play the noise away from the infant, so that the recorder is more accurate (e.g., recording toward the top of the device and playing sounds through the bottom of the device). The system may be configured to alert one or more devices (e.g., a parent's smart phone) if an issue is detected. In another embodiment, the system could be configured to send an alert when the baby is awake for a predetermined amount of time (e.g., 15 minutes). For example, the parent could set how many minutes the baby needs to be awake before they alerted to come and soothe them.
Similar processes and techniques to those described herein can be used for cognitive behavioral therapy. In some examples, in addition to measuring sleep, data collected via the nearable or nearable enhancement device may be used to categorize people into different types of sleepers, such as those who have insomnia, sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome, or the like. As a non-limiting example of such, data available to the nearable or nearable enhancement device may be used to determine that an associated user is having trouble falling asleep and may deliver a stimulus (e.g., light, sound, temperature, etc.) to remediate the insomnia (e.g., relaxing music or otherwise). In those examples in which apnea is detected while sleeping, the device may deliver a stimulus to promote the user to roll over when an apnea instance. Such stimulations may be adjusted based on feedback from continued measurements until a successful intervention is determined. In yet another example, micromotions from the mattress may be detected to determine restless leg syndrome and the bed may adjust to move the user's limbs and alleviate the symptoms of restless leg syndrome by automatically stretching the user.
Further, such sensors may be used to determine that nearable enhancement device 104 is optimally positioned to observe a user over the course of a sleeping session. For example, a camera system associated with the nearable enhancement device 104 (e.g., one coupled to the smart phone 102) may determine a position of the user in the bed 106 relative to a center of the camera. Based at least in part on the relative position, one or more motors (e.g., servos, stepper motors, etc.) may adjust one or more of a position or orientation of the nearable enhancement device 104 (and associated smart phone 102 of
As will be discussed with respect to one or more of the additional figures below, additional or alternate components may be coupled to the nearable device 104 to promote better sleep quality, as well as to enhance detection and determination of sleep phase, or otherwise induce a higher quality of sleep, different sleep phase, or valence state association.
As briefly mentioned above, at least some examples may further comprise a deformable membrane 130 attached to the bed and to the cradle 124. The deformable membrane 130 may be of an elastic material such that when a user lies in the bed, deformations in the deformable membrane 130 cause the cradle 124 to rotate about the leg 126. In such examples, motion of a user (either when getting into bed and/or during sleep) may mechanically cause the nearable device (e.g., the cradle 124 coupled with the smart phone 102) to orient in a direction optimal for delivering audiovisual signals. Though not depicted, any other sensor, actuator, data transfer, or power delivery mechanism is contemplated with respect to the example illustrated.
In those examples in which multiple persons are in a bed, or if animals are in the bed, the location where the device is coupled may provide information with respect to a relative position (or change of relative position) between the users and/or be positioned so as to determine the position or change of position of a single user. In various examples, changes in rotation, tension, or the like may be measured (e.g., based at least in part on a sensor, a measured rotation, pressure, or the like) to estimate a number of persons and/or animals in the bed and such data may be used in any example described herein.
A connector 210 may allow the smart phone inserted into housing 202 to receive power for charging and/or to transmit data to and from one or more additional processors and memory of the nearable device 200. Of course, in additional or alternate examples, one or more of power and/or data may be transmitted/received wirelessly (e.g., via wireless power transfer, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, NFC, etc.).
An aperture 212 may allow for a camera (or one or more additional sensors) of a smart phone inserted into housing 202 to continue to capture data of the environment despite the smart phone being placed into the housing 202. Additionally, the side of the nearable enhancement device that includes the aperture 212 may comprise a wireless charger so there is no need for a connector 210 that is designed to charge the phone to be included in the example, in additional to more universal charging of a smart phone.
As described in detail herein, the nearable device 200 may also comprise an acoustic amplification component 214. As illustrated in
The housing 202 may be suspended by one or more springs 216 above a base 222. The one or more springs 216 may provide a force to react to a user pressing down on the nearable device 200. In such an example, accelerometer sensors in the smart phone can be calibrated to specific actions with the user to form a type of motion communication language between the user and the nearable enhancement device (e.g., a firm push down motion on the device would snooze it for longer than a lighter push down of the device when an alarm clock sounds in the morning). Once pushed down sufficiently far, the housing 202 may lock into a portion of the base 222 via a releasable locking mechanism (e.g., a solenoid lock, clasp, or the like). A proximity sensor 218 may detect the housing 202 being proximate the base 222. In various examples, the proximity sensor 218 may comprise, for example, a Hall effect sensor, a contact sensor, or the like. In various examples, the springs 216 may form part of an alarm system whereby at a given time, the locking mechanism is released allowing the housing 202 to move away from the base 222. In such examples, the alarm may continue until a user depresses the housing 202 back into the locking mechanism.
In accordance with some embodiments, locking the phone in the mechanism may also signal to the phone a state of the user, such as that they are going to bed. In response to such a signal, the system may automatically activate do-not-disturb mode of the phone and, for example, block certain contacts from being able to reach the user, to ensure that sleep is not disrupted. In still other examples, locking the phone in the mechanism may make it more difficult to take the phone out and use the phone, in order to reduce use of the phone during the night-time, a behavior that can be unhealthy to sleep.
In various examples, the nearable device 200 may comprise a compartment for holding a fragrance. In at least some such examples, compressing the one or more springs 216 (e.g., by pushing down on the housing) may cause release of the fragrance (e.g., by discharging an atomizer, aerosolizer, or the like). Of course, in additional or alternative examples, fragrances may be released by one or more actuators controlled by the nearable device 200 throughout the course of a sleeping session to promote a stage of sleep, quality of sleep, or otherwise induce a valence association.
In at least some examples, a signal from the proximity sensor 218 may further be used to engage a sleep sequence (e.g., start a program to promote sleep) including a sequence of audio, visual, olfactory, or other signals from the nearable device 200 and/or associated sensors and actuators. Such a sequence is explained in further detail herein.
In various examples, the housing 202 may also be made of materials to reduce and/or eliminate an amount of electromagnetic fields proximate the nearable device 200. For example, the housing 202 and/or arm 204 may comprise a metallic mesh to reduce or eliminate electromagnetic fields of an inserted smart phone. Such reduction or elimination may promote/enhance a quality of sleep of a user.
In the example shown in
A cable 220 may connect to the nearable enhancement device and may provide one or more of data or power to components of the nearable device 200 from the base 222. In various examples, the cable 220, may terminate at connection 210, though any other combination of connections for data and/or power is contemplated.
In various examples, and as illustrated in
The base 222 may further comprise one or more processors (as described in detail herein), memory, speakers, screens (such as touch screens, LCDs, LEDs, or the like), sensors, and the like. In some examples, such as shown with respect to
The cover 302 may be formed of a material to block excess electromagnetic radiation from a smart phone placed within the nearable device 300, as in the example nearable device 200. The cover 302 may further operate to block excess light from the smart phone when placed inside (e.g., from a screen of the smart phone). Furthermore, it can be used to direct light or sound to different locations in the bedroom. Lastly, it can be made more or less difficult to open based on a user's preferences, level of fatigue, or issues with using their technology at night, when they should be sleeping. Removal of the excess light may, in various examples, promote sleep of a user by reducing distractions, as well as making it more difficult to access the smart phone which may, in those examples, reduce or negate addictive or habitual use of the smart phone and further promote rest and enhanced sleep. In various examples, such as the one shown in
As shown in
As described above, the second arm 404 may comprise an acoustic amplification component. In some examples, the acoustic amplification component may be active (e.g., having one or more amplifiers) and/or actively move via a device like a motor so as to best track a user during a sleeping session. However, as depicted with respect to
As in other examples described herein, a smart phone 406 may be placed onto a deck 414. In
Similar to other examples, such an example nearable device 400 may comprise one or more springs 418 which couple the deck 414 to a body of the nearable device 400. The springs 418 may resist a weight of the smart phone 406 and well as a force used to depress the smart phone 406 into the nearable device 400. A latching mechanism 420 may hold the smart phone 406 when depressed. Such a latching mechanism 420 may comprise one or more proximity sensors (not illustrated), such as Hall effect sensors, pressure sensors, etc., to determine when the deck 414 has been depressed. A signal of which may be indicative of the smart phone 406 being placed into the nearable device 400 and/or depressed to a maximum level. The latching mechanism 420 may keep the deck 414 in a locked position physically (e.g., a latch, clasp, etc.), electromagnetically (e.g., a solenoid, electromagnet, etc.), or the like. Such a latching mechanism 420 may be used to achieve the same or similar functions as described with respect to
As in other examples, the nearable device 400 may comprise one or more processors, memory, communication components, sensors, and/or actuators any one or more of which may be housed in housing 422. The sensors may comprise accelerometers, gyroscopes, proximity sensors, microphones, temperature sensors, light sensors, etc. as described herein. Actuators may comprise, for examples, vibrational elements, speakers, screens or displays, atomizers/aerosolizers for release of fragrances, the latching mechanism 420, or the like as otherwise described herein. Further, the nearable enhancement device may access one or more additional sensors and/or actuators remote therefrom via one or more wired and/or wireless communications (including those sensors and actuators associated with smart phone 406). Such a housing 422 may receive power and/or data via a cable 424. In some such examples, the nearable enhancement device 400 may provide at least a portion of power to the smart phone 406.
As shown in
As shown, the smart phone 506 may nestle into the base 504 of the nearable device 500 while leaving at least a portion of a screen of the smart phone 506 exposed, though any portion is contemplated (e.g., from no coverage to full coverage). In the example illustrated, the nearable enhancement device 500 may block at least a portion of the visible light from the screen to promote sleep while leaving a portion for displaying messages to a user or could alternatively have an adjustable cover to direct light that could be omitted from the nearable. As in other examples, such a nearable enhancement device 500 may be formed of material, or otherwise designed in such a way, to inhibit or reduce an amount of electromagnetic radiation of the smart phone 506 including materials such as plastics and the like impregnated with metallic meshes to create a Faraday's cage effect.
Though not illustrated in
As illustrated in
As in other examples, when the smart phone 506 is introduced into the base 504, a proximity sensor associated with the nearable device 500 may detect the presence of the smart phone 506 and initiate a calibration and/or sleep sequence as described in detail herein, especially with respect to
According to some embodiments, horizontal support 902 is configured to be inserted under a box spring, between a mattress and a box spring, and/or or under a mattress (e.g., if there is no box spring). So configured, the weight of the bed component on top of the horizontal support 902 is sufficient to secure the nearable enhancement device 900 in place. In this configuration, the vertical support 904 is substantially parallel to the outer, vertical edge of the mattress and/or box spring, providing a substantially vertical orientation for the device holder 906 (as shown in
According to some embodiments, the bottom of the device holder 906 may be substantially horizontal relative to the walls of the device holder 906 or may be angled so that when placed in the device holder 906 using the opening 910, a smart phone 908 is at an incline. Having a nearable device (e.g., smart phone 908) at an angle and/or at a certain distance from the bed may improve the accuracy or sensitivity of sensors of the nearable device and/or may improve the viewing for a user when the nearable device is held in the nearable enhancement device.
It will be readily understood that, in accordance with various embodiments of the present invention, the holder device 906 may differ from model to model of smart phone and/or be adaptable to hold a plurality of smart phones and other types of mobile devices.
It will be readily understood that, in accordance with various embodiments of the present invention, the dimensions of the components of example nearable enhancement device 1100 may differ as desired for implementation with various models of mobile devices. Accordingly, the relative angle of angled support 1106, and the length, width, height, and number of device support arms 1108 may vary in accordance with the desired implementation. While
In some embodiments, second opening 1212 may be configured of a size and shape to allow a charging cord to pass through angled support 1206 for connection to an installed smart phone and/or to an installed wireless battery charger. According to some embodiments, as depicted in
According to some embodiments, angled support 1206 may comprise a fixed and/or a removable wireless battery charger and may or may not comprise any openings described above with respect to nearable enhancement device 1200 of
In one embodiment, the nearable enhancement device and/or a wireless battery charger for use with the nearable enhancement device may comprise on or more magnets. Accordingly, a smart phone may be secured to the magnet of the nearable enhancement device in a desired position based on the position of the magnet (e.g., magnetically affixed to a magnet embedded in a wireless battery charger installed in support 1206).
According to one or more embodiments, any one or more of various sensors, receivers, and/or transmitters implemented in a nearable system may be embodied in any portion of a nearable enhancement device and/or mobile device holder. For example, one or more types of sensors, receivers, and/or transmitters, may be integrated in any of the supports (including vertical, horizontal, and/or angled supports) and/or support arms of the various types of nearable enhancement devices described in this disclosure. In one example, one or more devices such as an accelerometer and/or a wireless network devices (e.g., beacon devices running the iBeacon protocol developed by Apple Inc.) may be inserted in corresponding cavities, containers, or holders configured in a support (e.g., in a horizontal support of a nearable enhancement device that goes under a bed).
In accordance with some embodiments, as described with respect to
In one or more embodiments, the angle of a support may be adjustable (e.g., using a screw, hinge, or joint connection). The adjustable angle enables the nearable enhancement device to fit in different sized bedframes where the mattress syncs inside of the bedframe, thereby requiring an angle to fit the nearable enhancement device between the bedframe and the mattress. In one example, a tightened connection between support 1204 and support 1206 may be loosened by a user to allow for adjustment of the angle of the support 1206 to provide the desired angle from vertical for the phone when held by the support 1206, and then tightened again at the desired angle. In some embodiments, the angle at which a mobile device is held may be adjustable physically by a user and/or at direction of a processor activating stepper motors, etc., to make desired adjustments.
According to one embodiment, a support of a nearable enhancement device configured for sliding or otherwise inserting under a bed (e.g., horizontal support 902 of
According to another embodiment, one or more of the supports of a nearable enhancement device may comprise one or more hinges, joints, nesting or telescoping segments, and/or other types of movable, articulated connection between one or more portions of the support, to allow for expanding, retracting, folding and/or unfolding of the support to a desired length, width, and/or shape. In one example, a base support configured for inserting under a bed may be folded in half and/or in thirds, etc., depending on the number of portions, as desired for a particular use. In another example, portions of a base such as support 1202 may be configured with a set of telescoping segments, allowing the base to be extended or retracted to a desired length. In accordance with some embodiments, a base (e.g., support 1202) of a nearable enhancement device may comprise one or more hooks or other securing means allowing for it to be affixed to one or more edges of a bed to further secure the device. For example, a telescoping base may be attached to the far side of the bed using hooks to secure the base when extended.
According to another embodiment, a support configured for inserting under a bed may comprise one or more hinges, joints, and/or other types of movable, articulated connection between one or more portions of the support, to allow for folding and/or unfolding of the support to a desired length, width, and/or shape. In one example, a support in a fully unfolded configuration may be folded in half and/or in thirds, etc., depending on the number of portions, as desired for a particular use.
In another example, one of more of the supports for holding a smart phone (e.g., supports 1204, 1206 of
In some embodiments, foldable supports may be releasably lockable into a desired position (e.g., for storage, for use). For example, the support 1204 and support 1202 of example nearable enhancement device 1200 may be configured with appropriate hardware allowing for them to be releasably locked at a ninety-degree angle with each other for use and/or releasably locked in a folded configuration for travel.
In accordance with various embodiments described in this disclosure, a Hall effect sensor (or other proximity type sensor, e.g., NFC, Bluetooth, etc.) or the detected angle of the phone at a predefined time window such us the time when the person typically goes to bed, may be used to determine when a smart phone or other mobile device (e.g., the smart phone 102 and/or 908) has been inserted into a nearable device and/or nearable enhancement device (and/or to determine when a mobile device has been removed from or is no longer in proximity with a nearable device or nearable enhancement device). On, after, or in response to determining that a mobile device has been so inserted or removed, one or more processes may be initiated, including, but limited to: launching one or more apps and/or user interfaces on the mobile device (e.g., launching a sleep monitoring app), playing an audio file, displaying an image or video file, actuating a light of the mobile device, or the like.
In one example, when a user places a smart phone in a holder of a nearable enhancement device, the smart phone is then proximate to an NFC tag associated with a nearable system (e.g., an NFC tag located in a holder or angled support or otherwise near the nearable enhancement device). The proximity of the smart phone to the NFC tag energizes the NFC tag, which then transmits a signal to an NFC receiver of the smartphone or other device. The received signal indicating proximity of smart phone to the NFC tag is processed by a processor (e.g., of the smart phone) executing software configured to monitor and receive such detection signals. In response to receiving the detection signal, in accordance with software instructions the processor automatically launches an app for monitoring and tracking sleep (and/or controlling other networked devices). In yet another example, software constantly detects the angle and motion of the phone using a gyroscope sensor and/or accelerometer and when the phone is in a predetermined position that matches that of when the nearable enhancement device is placed in the phone for a period of time, the system then triggers a signal indicating the phone is in the nearable enhancement device and a series of actions ensues.
It will be readily understood in light of the present disclosure that placement of various types of sensors and other devices as part of a nearable enhancement device may vary as desired to accommodate different sizes and types of mobile devices. For example, the optimal position of an NFC sensor or other type of sensor in a nearable enhancement device may vary depending on device size and dimensions. In some embodiments a nearable enhancement device may be placed on multiple sides of the bed, and their signals from the multiple sensors triangulated, for the purpose of differentiating different movement from different people or pets sleeping in a bed, such that the movement of one individual is determined by the system instead of the other individual or pet that is present in the bed or sleep furniture.
Further, according to some alternative embodiments, a holding structure, such as holder 906 or support arm(s) 1108 and 1208, may be adjustable so that an inserted mobile device sits higher or lower in the nearable enhancement device. In this way, a holding structure may be adjusted (e.g., moved up or down) so that the mobile device is positioned where desired, such as to ensure proximity to an NFC tag placed on support 1206. For example, if an NFC tag (not shown) were fixed in place on support 1206, support arm(s) 1208 could be raised (e.g., by sliding in a track set in support 1206) for a smaller smart phone or lowered for a larger smart phone, as necessary, to ensure in either case that the smart phone is proximate the NFC tag.
According to some embodiments, a nearable enhancement device may comprise at least one light. In at least one embodiment, the nearable enhancement device is configured to use the light to signal one or more types of statuses. For example, a light of the nearable enhancement device may turn on, emit light in a pattern (e.g., flash), and/or emit a predetermined color when a smart phone is charging (e.g., a red light turns on to indicate charging has started when a phone is placed in a holder and then the light fades out).
In accordance with some embodiments, the system may be configured to shift the color of one or more lights in a nearable system based on one or more criteria. In one embodiment, the system may be configured with an algorithm for predicting the circadian rhythm and energy levels of a user throughout the day and may be further configured to adjust lighting based on this determination. The system may further be configured to determine if the user's circadian rhythm should be shifted and then to shift the color of the lights accordingly. For example, if the system detects the user would have more regular sleep patterns by going to bed a bit later every night, the lights may dim to a red hue at a time later on in the night than if were determined that they ought to have an earlier bedtime.
In one non-limiting example, the lights could be shifted from white, to yellow, to orange, to red at different times based on the ideal light schedule to shift a user's circadian rhythm based on a determined goal (e.g., in preparation for jetlag, or a change in sleep due to daylight savings time, change in work schedule, or the like). In another non-limiting example, the system could be configured to the inverse for a wake-up experience in which the lights would be shifted from red to orange to yellow to white. The shift, for example, could be based on an earlier or later time that factors in the individual's sleep need and when they ought to wake up based on shifting the rhythm in a goal-oriented direction either further or later.
In another embodiment, the lights may flash in order to further shift the circadian rhythm in light of previous research that has shown that flashing bright lights can further shift a circadian rhythm. The fact that a nearable enhancement device may house a controllable smart light means that light can be more directly delivered to the user when they are in their bed. In another embodiment in which a system has access to multiple lamps in the mechanism and/or elsewhere in the house, the lights could shift throughout the entire house. In still another embodiment, the smart bed mechanism may detect when the person gets out of bed and then in response to this determination turn on the bathroom light and/or hallway light (e.g., in order to reduce falls during the night).
In one or more embodiments, a tactile sensor/actuator may be placed under a bed. For example, a tactile actuator may be configured to vibrate under the bed to deliver vibration simulation (e.g., as directed by a processor of the computerized nearable system in accordance with executed software).
At 604, one or more actuators accessible to the nearable device may be actuated. As a non-limiting example, one or more vibrational elements, motors (e.g., servos, stepper motors, etc.), or the like may cause the nearable device to vibrate, rotate, and/or change position. In various other examples, any other actuator accessible to the nearable device may be actuated (e.g., lighting, HVAC units, fans, etc.). Such positional changes can be detected by the accelerometer processor of the smart phone in order to determine the precise location of the smart phone in the nearable enhancement device. In yet another example placing the smart phone in the sensor may initiate a sequence of sounds via a speaker on the sleep enhancement device in order to integrate with a smart assistant in the bedroom like Amazon's Alexa or to play sounds to again confirm that the device is in the appropriate position of the nearable enhancement device and the data collected across devices are synced. Such pre-recorded sounds in the sleep enhancement device could be adjusted and customized by the user and could express the command to the smart phone at a lower volume than if the user would to audibly speak the command into their smart phone. This is beneficial to reducing bedtime disturbances for the user's sleep partner.
At 606, one or more sensors accessible to the nearable device (whether coupled wired or wirelessly, proximate or remote therefrom, etc. including, but not limited to, sensors of a smart phone coupled to the nearable device, sensors remote from the nearable device or smart phone but accessible over one or more of a wired or wireless coupling, or the like) may generate sensor data and make such sensor data available to the nearable device. As non-limiting examples, such sensor data may include, but is not limited to, images from cameras (which may include one or more image fiducials (QR codes, Augmented Reality tags, image calibration sheets, etc.), measured temperatures, measured ambient light, accelerometer data, gyroscope data, Wi-Fi beacon data, and the like.
At 608, one or more processors accessible or proximate to the nearable device may receive such sensor data and calibrate one or more sensors accessible to the nearable device and/or the nearable device itself. As non-limiting examples, image data described in detail above may be used to determine one or more of extrinsics (e.g., position and/or orientation) and/or intrinsics (e.g., internal operating parameters) of a camera and, when coupled with accelerometer or gyroscopic data, may be used to provide visual-inertial calibration. This calibration step could also be enhanced by historical health data collected from a web or smart phone interface on the user, and which could also include personalized preferences of the user, such as ideal bedtime and wake up time. Such preferences could also be set by a third party, like the user's doctor or coach. Extrinsic calibration of the nearable device may further be used to calibrate one or more of the motors, HVAC controls, fan speed controls, and the like.
At 610, an audio and/or visual alert may be provided to a user to indicate that calibration is complete or to interface with a smart assistant in the bedroom, and any portion of such calibration data may be stored at one or more of the nearable device, the smart phone (if any), and/or a computer system remote therefrom.
At 704, in response to the signal, a sleep initiation sequence may be commenced. For example, one or more processors accessible to the nearable device, smart phone, or computerized system remote therefrom may actuate one or more actuators in attempts to promote sleep. As non-limiting examples, a temperature for the room may be set (e.g., by one or more of a fan or HVAC, etc.), lighting may be adjusted (dimming or shutting lights, closing blinds, and the like), fragrance(s) may be emitted from one or more atomizers or aerosolizers, music may be played, or the like. In additional or alternate examples, a screen (or the nearable device and/or smart phone) may display messages, cause soothing lights to be emitted, or the like. Similarly, a speaker accessible to the nearable device (of the nearable device, of the smart phone, or of an audio system) may play one or more guided messages to promote the user falling asleep. In at least some examples, in response to the signal, a sound may be played to cause a smart phone to perform one or more actions. As a non-limiting example, the signal may cause an audio signal to be played which produces the sound “Hey Siri, going to bed” which, in turn, may cause the smart phone to perform one or more preprogrammed nighttime sequences.
At 706, sensor data of one or more sensors (or data sources) accessible to the nearable and/or the smart phone may be received. In various examples, such sensors may be coupled to the nearable enhancement device (whether via a wired and/or wireless coupling), accessible or coupled to a smart phone (if any), and/or accessible to (or otherwise remote therefrom) either the nearable device or the smart phone (e.g., embedded within smart watches, part of devices having an internet-of-things connectivity, via one or more servers—such as weather services, sunrise/sunset data, etc.). Such sensors or sources may comprise, for example, accelerometers, gyroscopes, magnetometers, actigraphy sensors, cameras, microphones, heart rate sensors, blood pressure sensors, electroencephalographs, ballistocardiograms, electrocardiograms, infrared detectors, RFID temperature receivers, ambient light detectors, pressure sensors, temperature sensors, and the like. In one example, information may be received from a gyroscope of a smart phone that is inserted in a holder of a nearable enhancement device (e.g., information indicative of the angle at which the smart phone is positioned in the holder) that is useful for determining an exact location of the smart phone in the sleep environment (and, in some cases, triggering a set of actions).
At 708, one or more determinations may be made using the sensor data received at 706. As a non-limiting example, one or more of a phase of sleep (e.g., N1, N2, N3, REM, etc.), cortical arousal, hypopnea, k-complex, sleep spindle, a quality of sleep (e.g., whether sleep is consistent, interrupted, durations of the multiple phases, etc.), or any other sleep metric may be determined. Such determinations may be made in accordance with those techniques described in either U.S. Pat. No. 10,524,661 entitled “Sleep Monitoring and Stimulation” filed on Jun. 12, 2014, and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/504,285 entitled “Valence State Memory Association” filed on Jul. 7, 2019, the entire contents of both of which are hereby incorporated by reference. As a non-limiting example, sensor data may be input into a machine learned model trained to determine a phase of sleep, though any other technique is contemplated. As described herein, coupling the one or more sensors to a bedframe, under a sleeping position of a user, or otherwise may enhance a level of a detection relative to other techniques as weaker signals, signals with lower signal-to-noise ratios, or the like may be used to make such a determination. In some examples, wearable sensors that are included in the system (e.g., worn by a user) may provide more enhanced levels of detection when used in addition to, or alternatively to, a smart phone connected to the bedframe, headboard, or mattress. In any of the examples discussed herein, historical data associated with one or more sensors may be stored (either at the nearable device or otherwise accessible thereto) to improve the predictions of various sleep metrics (sleep phase, quality, etc.).
In some embodiments, determinations may be made based on the type of bed or mattress and/or physical information about the user. For example, different mattresses may have different motion sensitivities and therefore the same type of motion might move one type of mattress differently than another, and an algorithm could be configured to take the type of bed into account when taking sensed motion into account. Similarly, in one or more embodiments, determinations may be made using a user's weight, typical sleep posture, and/or the side of the bed that they typically sleep on, to provide more accurate assessments and/or provide optimized instructions/responses based on the assessments. In this way, the software for making determinations based on detected events may better identify the significance of detected movement of different mattresses that have different motion sensitivities and for different people who are different weights and therefore would move the mattress differently.
In accordance with some embodiments, determining may comprise establishing an historical baseline for detected events such as motion, noise, light, etc., in order to then adapt the algorithm to account for different types of beds and/or environments. For example, an algorithm may be configured for tweaking the signal of motion for different types of beds by analyzing the relative motion of a user in a given bed over an eight-hour period. Once a baseline for detected motion is determined for that bed, the response of the algorithm to sensed motion may be adjusted, for example, to respond to the significance of sensed motion relative to the established baseline for sensed motion (versus treating each detected motion on a sensitive mattress as more significant than it should be treated, or treating each detected motion on a less sensitive mattress as less significant than it should be treated).
In at least some examples, and as illustrated in
In various examples, such sensor signals may additionally or alternatively be used to control one or more of a position or orientation of the nearable device. As a non-limiting example, a position of a user while sleeping may be determined in image data such as, for example, by using machine vision techniques. In such examples, one or more motors (e.g., stepper motors, servos, or the like) may be used to adjust one or more of an orientation of the nearable device, a camera accessible to the nearable device, and/or an acoustic amplification component associated with the nearable device. In such examples, adjustments may be made to optimize one or more of a position of the user within sensor data, a quality or volume of sound played to the user, or the like.
Regardless of whether control signals are sent to one or more actuators, flow may proceed from either 708 or 710 back to 706. In various examples, such a process may continue to iterate until one or more of an amount of time has passed (e.g., 8 hours), a phase of sleep or a pattern of sleep phases is detected, a time of day is determined, or the like at which point flow proceeds to 712.
At 712, a wake sequence is initialized. The nearable enhancement device (and/or one or more processors or devices accessible or coupled thereto) may send one or more wake signals to one or more actuators to promote the user to naturally wake. In various examples, such a wake process may comprise slowly raising a level of lighting in the room, increasing the volume of one or more speakers, opening blinds, sending a command to other devices to begin a sequence (such as a coffee pot to begin brewing, a toaster to begin making toast, or the like). The coordination of these sensor outputs could be synchronized with the user's circadian rhythm in order to strengthen that rhythm and promote healthier sleep. Or, alternatively, if an intervention like sleep restriction is being employed by a clinician where specific bedtime or wake times are recommended based on the user's schedule and other factors, the wake up and wind down routine could be adjusted accordingly. In various examples, the user may be presented with a questionnaire or otherwise be prompted for input regarding, for example, a quality of sleep, alertness, or otherwise perform an alertness, vigilance, or cognitive test such that the input may be used to better calibrate or update any of the models or actions used by the nearable device to optimize the user's sleep, restfulness, alertness, etc. when using the nearable (e.g., by comparing the input to a sleep quality).
In at least some such examples, a spring-loaded latch associated with a smart phone coupled to the nearable device may be released. For example, an electromagnetic latch holding a smart phone down may be released. In such examples, an alarm signal (e.g., an audiovisual signal) may be played until the smart phone is depressed into the latching mechanism. An additional signal, such as an additional signal from the proximity sensor, may be used to determine whether such an alarm should be stopped, or the accelerometer sensor within a smart phone could be used. In one non-limiting example, the harder the user presses down on the nearable enhancement device, the longer the smart phone could be triggered to snooze for (e.g., the alarm will play again in 10 minutes versus 5 minutes).
The systems and methods described herein can be implemented using one or more computing devices/systems which may or may not be physically or logically separate from each other. The methods may be performed by components arranged as either on-premises hardware, on-premises virtual systems, or hosted-private instances. Additionally, various aspects of the methods described herein may be combined or merged into other functions.
The present invention (or any part(s) or function(s) thereof) may be implemented using hardware, software, firmware, or a combination thereof and may be implemented in one or more computer systems or other processing systems. As illustrated, portions of the techniques described herein may be performed by computerized system 800, whereas other portions may be performed by computerized system 816. In some examples, the illustrated system elements could be combined into a single hardware device or separated into multiple hardware devices. If multiple hardware devices are used, the hardware devices could be physically located proximate to or remotely from each other. The examples of the methods described and illustrated are intended to be illustrative and not to be limiting. For example, some or all of the steps of the methods can be combined, rearranged, and/or omitted in different examples.
Such computerized systems 800, 816 may be computers, smart phones, personal digital assistants, smart watches, cloud-based servers (e.g., computer systems accessible over a network programmed to perform particular tasks), and the like.
Memory 802 and memory 818 may comprise, for example, random access memory (RAM), and a secondary memory, etc. Any portions of memory 802 and 818 may comprise transitory and non-transitory computer readable media and/or permanent or rewritable memory, as well as may be volatile and/or non-volatile. Memory 802 and/or memory 818 may be removable or non-removable. Various examples of memory 802, 818 include, but are not limited to, RAM (such as SRAM, DRAM, etc.), ROM (PROM, EPROM, EEPROM), flash memory, hard drives (magnetic, solid state, or the like), floppy drives, optical storage (such as CD-ROMs, DVD-ROMs, etc.), etc.
As illustrated, a portion of memory 802 may comprise non-transitory computer readable media storing instructions thereon which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform any number of operations. As illustrated with respect to
Any one or more processors (not depicted) in either computerized system 400 and/or 414 may be capable of performing one or more operations based on one or more instructions, or otherwise. Such processors may comprise, for example, Central Processing Units (CPUs), Graphics Processing Units (GPUs), including, without limitation, when used for general purpose graphics programming (GPGPU), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), and/or any other hardware for performing any number of tasks which may be identified herein.
Any one or more of the computerized systems 800,818 may comprise any number of sensors 808,823 as described herein. As non-limiting examples, such sensors 808, 823 may include, but are not limited to, microphones, heart rate sensors, EEGs, EKGs, blood pressure sensors, temperature sensors (including remote user temperature monitoring sensors, such as RFID temperature tags), actigraphy sensors, electrodermal activity sensors, hydration sensors, accelerometers, gyroscopes, magnetometers, polysomnography sensors, image sensors (cameras, depth cameras, RGB cameras, intensity cameras), infrared sensors, SONAR, RADAR, etc. Any number (subset) of such sensors 808, 824 may be present on either computerized system 800 and/or computerized system 818. Such sensors 808, 824 may record one or more physiological parameters associated with a user for storage (e.g., in memory 802,818) and or transmission (e.g., over communication component 812, 828). In some embodiments, as discussed in this disclosure, recorded physiological parameters may be used to create a historical physiological profile of a user, which may further be used to adjust an algorithm for assessing sleep quality, potential medical issues, steep stages, and the like. In additional examples, as shown in
Any one or more of the computerized systems 800,816 may comprise any number of actuators 810, 826 as described herein. Such actuators 810,826 may comprise, for example, and combination of one or more of air conditioners, fans, lights (including infrared and visible), blind controls, motors (servos, stepper motors, etc.), displays (such as screens), speakers, ultrasonics, liquid atomizers or aerosolizers, haptic/vibrational feedback devices, electric shock discharge devices, transcranial stimulation, humidifiers, and the like. Either computerized system 800 or computerized system 816 may comprise different or similar (including the same) combinations of the one or more actuators 810, 826. Further, as illustrated an at least in some examples, additional actuators 832 may be remote from any one or more of the computerized systems and accessible to the computerized systems over one or more wired and/or wireless couplings, such as illustrated in
Either one or more of the computerized systems 800,816 may comprise one or more communication components 812,828. Such communication components 812,828 may enable either system to communicated with the other which, in some instances, may be over a network, such as network 814. In various examples, such communication components 812,828 may enable communication using wired and/or wireless communications. In any examples, such communication components 812,828 may use any combination of one or more of internet protocol, hypertext transfer protocol, file transfer protocol, address resolution protocol, internet control message protocol, transmission control protocol, user datagram protocol, and/or any other data communication protocol for transmission of data (token ring, ethernet, and the like).
When using a wireless transmission, such communication component 410,424 may comprise Bluetooth, BTLE, NFC, Wi-Fi, 802.11x, WiMAX, LTE, 3G, 4G, 5G, and/or various other wireless communication protocols, components, and/or devices.
The network 814 can include a private network, or a public network (for example the Internet, as described below), or a combination of both. The network includes hardware, software, or a combination of both. The network 814 may be LAN, WAN, or any combination thereof. The network 814 may comprise various nodes to perform various operations on the network, including, but not limited to, servers for routing requests and/or data, as well as cloud-based (remote) servers for data storage and/or manipulation. In at least some examples, such a network 814 may not be necessary. As a non-limiting example, either computerized system 800,816 may communicate directly with another computerized system using Bluetooth, NFC, ad-hoc Wi-Fi, or the like.
The systems, modules, and methods described herein can be implemented using any combination of software or hardware elements. The systems, modules, and methods described herein can be implemented using one or more virtual machines operating alone or in combination with one other. Any applicable virtualization solution can be used for encapsulating a physical computing machine platform into a virtual machine that is executed under the control of virtualization software running on a hardware computing platform or host. The virtual machine can have both virtual system hardware and guest operating system software.
One or more examples of the invention may be practiced with other computer system configurations, including hand-held devices, microprocessor systems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, minicomputers, mainframe computers, etc. The invention may also be practiced in distributed computing environments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a network.
Unless specifically stated otherwise, it may be appreciated that throughout the specification terms such as “processing,” “computing,” “calculating,” “determining,” or the like, refer to the action and/or processes of a computer or computing system, or similar electronic computing device, that manipulate and/or transform data represented as physical, such as electronic, quantities within the computing system's registers and/or memories into other data similarly represented as physical quantities within the computing system's memories, registers or other such information storage, transmission or display devices.
In a similar manner, the term “processor” may refer to any device or portion of a device that processes electronic data from registers and/or memory to transform that electronic data into other electronic data that may be stored in registers and/or memory. A “computing platform” may comprise one or more processors. As used herein, “software” processes may include, for example, software and/or hardware entities that perform work over time, such as tasks, threads, and intelligent agents. Also, each process may refer to multiple processes, for carrying out instructions in sequence or in parallel, continuously, or intermittently. The terms “system” and “method” are used herein interchangeably insofar as the system may embody one or more methods and the methods may be considered as a system.
Here multiple examples have been given to illustrate various features and are not intended to be so limiting. Any one or more of the features may not be limited to the particular examples presented herein, regardless of any order, combination, or connections described. In fact, it should be understood that any combination of the features and/or elements described by way of example above are contemplated, including any variation or modification which is not enumerated, but capable of achieving the same. Unless otherwise stated, any one or more of the features may be combined in any order.
As above, figures are presented herein for illustrative purposes and are not meant to impose any structural limitations, unless otherwise specified. Various modifications to any of the structures shown in the figures are contemplated to be within the scope of the invention presented herein. The invention is not intended to be limited to any scope of claim language.
Where “coupling” or “connection” is used, unless otherwise specified, no limitation is implied that the coupling or connection be restricted to a physical coupling or connection and, instead, should be read to include communicative couplings, including wireless transmissions and protocols.
Any block, step, module, or otherwise described herein may represent one or more instructions which can be stored on a non-transitory computer readable media as software and/or performed by hardware. Any such block, module, step, or otherwise can be performed by various software and/or hardware combinations in a manner which may be automated, including the use of specialized hardware designed to achieve such a purpose. As above, any number of blocks, steps, or modules may be performed in any order or not at all, including substantially simultaneously, e.g., within tolerances of the systems executing the block, step, or module.
Where conditional language is used, including, but not limited to, “can,” “could,” “may” or “might,” it should be understood that the associated features or elements are not required. As such, where conditional language is used, the elements and/or features should be understood as being optionally present in at least some examples, and not necessarily conditioned upon anything, unless otherwise specified.
Where lists are enumerated in the alternative or conjunctive (e.g., one or more of A, B, and/or C), unless stated otherwise, it is understood to include one or more of each element, including any one or more combinations of any number of the enumerated elements (e.g., A, AB, AB, ABC, ABB, etc.). When “and/or” is used, it should be understood that the elements may be joined in the alternative or conjunctive.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/US21/59978 | 11/18/2021 | WO |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 29796124 | Jun 2021 | US |
| Child | 18253331 | US | |
| Parent | 16950987 | Nov 2020 | US |
| Child | 29796124 | US |
