Wake-up device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9466200-B2
Application number	US-201314653426-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 18, 2013
Priority date	Dec 18, 2012
Publication date	Oct 11, 2016
Grant date	Oct 11, 2016

Abstract

A wake-up device ( 1 ) comprises clock means ( 2 ), wake-up timer means ( 3 ), controllable wake-up stimulus means ( 4 ), and a control device ( 5 ) for controlling the wake-up stimulus means ( 4 ). The wake-up stimulus means is capable of varying an intensity of the wake-up stimulus. The wake-up stimulus is started at a relatively low intensity at a predetermined advance time (t A ) before the intended time of waking up (t WU ), in such a manner that the intensity of the wake-up stimulus is gradually increased in accordance with a predefined wake-up program. The wake-up device further comprises sleep quality monitor means ( 10 ) for monitoring the quality of the sleep of a user, and for generating a sleep quality monitor signal (S) indicative of the quality of the sleep of the user. The control device is responsive to the sleep quality monitor signal (S) received from the sleep quality monitor means to amend the wake-up program.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. Wake-up device comprising:
clock means for generating an actual time signal corresponding to an actual time of day;
wake-up timer means for generating a wake-up time signal corresponding to an intended time of waking up;
controllable wake-up stimulus means for generating at least one wake-up stimulus for causing a user to wake up, the wake-up stimulus having at least one variable stimulus quantity, wherein a wake-up effectiveness of the wake-up stimulus depends on a value of the stimulus quantity;
a control device having inputs coupled to receive the actual time signal and the wake-up time signal and adapted to generate a control signal for controlling the wake-up stimulus means;
wherein the wake-up stimulus means is responsive to said control signal to vary the value of said stimulus quantity;
and wherein the control device is adapted to generate the control signal such that the wake-up stimulus is generated in accordance with a predefined wake-up program, the wake-up program including:
a) an initial value for the stimulus quantity of the wake-up stimulus, the initial value having a relatively low wake-up effectiveness;
b) an end value (I M ) for the stimulus quantity of the wake-up stimulus, the end value having a relatively high wake-up effectiveness;
c) a wake-up duration (t Δ ), defining an advance time (t A ) before the intended time of waking-up (t WU ) according to the formula t A =t WU −t Δ ;
d) wherein, at the advance time (t A ), the wake-up stimulus is started with the said stimulus quantity having said initial value;
e) wherein, in a time interval from the advance time (t A ) until the intended time of waking-up (t WU ), the value of said stimulus quantity is gradually varied from said initial value to said end value;
f) wherein, at the intended time of waking-up (t WU ), said stimulus quantity has said end value;
wherein the wake-up device further comprises sleep quality monitor means for monitoring a quality of the sleep of a user and for generating a sleep quality monitor signal (S) indicative of the momentary quality of sleep of the user;
and wherein the control device has an input to detect a go to sleep time of the user before the advance time, and in that the control device is responsive to the sleep quality monitor signal (S) received from the sleep quality monitor means to calculate an overall sleep quality parameter (SQ) of the user on the basis of a plurality of measurements of the sleep quality monitor signal performed at a respective plurality of times between the go to sleep time and the advance time, and to amend the wake-up program as a function of the overall sleep quality parameter (SQ).

2. Wake-up device according to claim 1 , further comprising a memory associated with the control device, which memory contains information defining at least one program parameter of the wake-up program, and wherein the control device is responsive to the sleep quality monitor signal (S) to amend the value of the program parameter as a function of the overall sleep quality parameter (SQ).

3. Wake-up device according to claim 2 , wherein the program parameter to be amended as a function of the overall sleep quality parameter (SQ) is said initial value and/or said end value and/or said wake-up duration.

4. Wake-up device according to claim 2 , wherein the memory contains a standard time value (t Δ0 ) for the wake-up duration (t Δ ), and wherein the control device is responsive to the sleep quality monitor signal (S) to increase the wake-up duration (t Δ ) to a value (t Δ1 ) higher than the standard time value (t Δ0 ) when the overall sleep quality parameter (SQ) corresponds to a bad night's sleep of the user.

5. Wake-up device according to claim 2 , wherein the memory contains a standard time value (t Δ0 ) for the wake-up duration (t Δ ), and wherein the control device is responsive to the sleep quality monitor signal (S) to reduce the wake-up duration (t Δ ) to a value (t Δ2 ) lower than the standard time value (t Δ0 ) when the overall sleep quality parameter (SQ) corresponds to a good night's sleep of the user.

6. Wake-up device according to claim 2 , wherein the memory contains a standard stimulus value (I M0 ) for the end value of said variable stimulus quantity of the wake-up stimulus, and wherein the control device is responsive to the sleep quality monitor signal (S) to reduce said end value to a value (I M1 ) lower than the standard stimulus value (I M0 ) when the overall sleep quality parameter (SQ) corresponds to a bad night's sleep of the user.

7. Wake-up device according to claim 2 , wherein the memory contains a standard stimulus value (I M0 ) for the end value of said variable stimulus quantity of the wake-up stimulus, and wherein the control device is responsive to the sleep quality monitor signal (S) to increase said end value to a value (I M2 ) higher than the standard stimulus value (I M0 ) when the overall sleep quality parameter (SQ) corresponds to a good night's sleep of the user.

8. Wake-up device according to claim 1 , wherein the wake-up stimulus is light.

9. Wake-up device according to claim 1 , wherein said variable stimulus quantity of the wake-up stimulus is a stimulus intensity.

10. Wake-up device according to claim 1 , wherein the sleep quality monitor means include a movement sensor for detecting-body movement of the user, and wherein the sleep quality monitor means are configured for generating the sleep quality monitor signal (S), based on the amount of body movement of the user.

11. Wake-up device according to claim 2 , wherein the memory contains information defining a weighting function (NSD(t)) as a function of time or as a function of epoch (E i ) during the night, the weighting function (NSD(t)) having higher weighting values in earlier stages of the night and lower weighting values in later stages of the night.

12. Wake-up device according to claim 2 , wherein the sleep quality monitor means include a movement sensor for detecting body movement of the user, and wherein the sleep quality monitor means are configured for generating the sleep quality monitor signal (S), based on the amount of body movement of the user;
wherein the control device is configured to divide a sleep time interval between an intended moment of going to sleep and an intended moment of waking up into a plurality (N) of epochs (E i );
wherein the memory contains information defining a weighting function (NSD(t i )) as a function of said epochs (E i ), the weighting function (NSD(t i )) having higher weighting values in earlier stages of the sleep time interval and lower weighting values in later stages of the sleep time interval;
wherein the control device is configured for each epoch (E i ) to calculate a weighted measurement sample (WS(t i )) according to the formula WS(t i )=(S(t i )·NSD(t i ))/N, wherein S(t i ) indicates the sampled value of the sleep quality monitor signal (S) in the epoch (E i );
and wherein the control device is configured to calculate the overall sleep quality parameter (SQ) as the running summation of the weighted measurement samples (WS(t i )) according to the formula

SQ
=

∑

i
=
1

N

⁢

WS
⁡

(

t

Assignees

• Koninklijke Philips Nv

Inventors

• Berezhnyy Igor
• Otermans Pauldy Cornelia Johanna
• Dimov Jonche
• Mahmoud-Naser Ibrahim

Classifications

• G04G13/023

  Adjusting the duration or amplitude of signals · CPC title

• G04G11/00 Primary

  Producing optical signals at preselected times · CPC title

• G08B21/18 Primary

  Status alarms (G08B21/02 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G04C21/38

  Adjusting the duration of signals · CPC title