1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a wake-up device and, in particular, to a wake-up device applied to a user in a nap or a short-term sleep.
2. Related Art
Sleeping is a very important behavior of humans. A good sleeping can help people to restore their energy, release their pressure, improve their memory ability, and thus make them healthier.
However, according to the change of life style of human beings, the quality and quantity of sleeping become worse than ever. If a person can not have enough sleep, he/she may show some bad responses. For example, this person may have good activity in the morning, but become sleepy in the afternoon. Besides, he/she may have unstable emotion, lose the ability of contingency, and lower the working performance.
It is known that a nap can help to recovery. After the hard work in the morning and the delicious lunch, people may feel a little tired. At this time, if a nap is available, people can become more active in the afternoon. However, a longer nap may cause a headache or dizzy and may affect the sleeping that night. On the contrary, a short nap can not achieve the desired recovery effect.
Therefore, it is an important subject of the present invention to provide a wake-up device that can awake the user at a proper timing so as to achieve the high performance nap or short-term sleep.
In view of the foregoing subject, an object of the present invention is to provide a wake-up device applied to a user in nap or a short-term sleep, which can awake the user at a specific time point after sleeping so as to achieve the high performance nap or short-term sleep.
Many researches support that a person can have the best situation after a nap or short-term sleep if he/she is awaked in the sleep stage 2. Accordingly, the present invention is designed to awake the user after the user enters the sleep stage 2.
To achieve the above object, the present invention discloses a wake-up device used for awaking a user in a nap or a short-term sleep. The wake-up device includes an electroencephalogram (EEG) sensor, a processing module and a wake-up module. The EEG sensor is disposed on the user's head for sensing an EEG signal from the user. The processing module is coupled with the EEG sensor, and receives and processes the EEG signal. If the user is determined in the sleep stage 2 according to the EEG signal, the processing module outputs a wake-up signal. The wake-up module is coupled to the processing module for receiving the wake-up signal, and awakes the user according to the wake-up signal.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the processing module further includes a filter-amplifying unit, an analog-to-digital conversion unit, an operation unit, and a timing unit. The filter-amplifying unit is coupled with the EEG sensor for filtering and amplifying the received EEG signal. The analog-to-digital conversion unit is coupled with the EEG sensor for performing an analog-to-digital conversion with the received EEG signal. The operation unit is coupled with the EEG sensor for analyzing the received EEG signal to judge whether the user is in the sleep stage 2 or not. The timing unit is coupled with the operation unit for counting a time period after the user enters the sleep stage 2.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the operation unit retrieves a frequency, a cycle, an amplitude, or a waveform of the EEG signal, and compares the retrieved frequency, cycle, amplitude, or waveform with a frequency, a cycle, an amplitude, or a waveform of a specific signal. Herein, the specific signal is a sleep spindle wave or a slow wave (a wave).
In one embodiment of the present invention, when the time period counted by the timing unit excesses a specific time period (e.g. 5 to 15 minutes), the operation unit outputs the wake-up signal.
To achieve the above object, the present invention also discloses a wake-up method applied to a user in a nap or a short-term sleep. The wake-up method includes the following steps of: sensing an electroencephalogram (EEG) signal from the user; judging whether the user is in a sleep stage 2 according to the EEG signal; and if the user is judged in the sleep stage 2, outputting a wake-up signal for awaking the user.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the wake-up method further includes the following steps of: retrieving a frequency, a cycle, an amplitude, or a waveform of the EEG signal; and comparing the retrieved frequency, cycle, amplitude, or waveform with a frequency, a cycle, an amplitude, or a waveform of a specific signal for judging whether the user is in the sleep stage 2. Herein, the specific signal is a sleep spindle wave or a slow wave.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the wake-up method further includes the following steps of: counting a time period after the user enters the sleep stage 2; and outputting the wake-up signal when the counted time period excesses a specific time period.
As mentioned above, the wake-up device of the present invention can sense an EEG signal from the user in a nap or a short-term sleep by an EEG sensor, and then analyze the EEG signal to judge whether the user is in a sleep stage 2 or not. If determining that the user is in the sleep stage 2, a wake-up signal is outputted for awaking the user. This feature allows the user to have a high performance nap or short-term sleep.
The invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description and accompanying drawings, which are given for illustration only, and thus are not limitative of the present invention, and wherein:
The present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein the same references relate to the same elements.
In addition, the step S22 includes the following detailed steps S31 to S35 as shown in
In summary, the wake-up device of the present invention can sense an EEG signal from the user in a nap or a short-term sleep by an EEG sensor, and then analyze the EEG signal to judge whether the user is in a sleep stage 2 or not. If determining that the user is in the sleep stage 2, a wake-up signal is outputted for awaking the user. This feature allows the user to have a high performance nap or short-term sleep.
Although the invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments, this description is not meant to be construed in a limiting sense. Various modifications of the disclosed embodiments, as well as alternative embodiments, will be apparent to persons skilled in the art. It is, therefore, contemplated that the appended claims will cover all modifications that fall within the true scope of the invention.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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099144589 | Dec 2010 | TW | national |
This Non-provisional application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(a) on patent application Ser. No(s). 099144589 filed in Taiwan, Republic of China on Dec. 17, 2010, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.