Computerized furniture-enabled monitoring and discouragement of sedentary behavior

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9824573-B1
Application number	US-201615266037-A
Country	US
Kind code	B1
Filing date	Sep 15, 2016
Priority date	Sep 15, 2016
Publication date	Nov 21, 2017
Grant date	Nov 21, 2017

Abstract

A method and associated systems for furniture-enabled monitoring and discouragement of sedentary behavior. One or more sensors embedded into a computer-monitored and computer-controlled piece of furniture determine that a user has sat or reclined on the piece of furniture for a predetermined period of time. In response, controllers embedded into the furniture are directed to make the furniture less comfortable in order to encourage the user to get up. In some cases, if the user does not get up, the controllers continue to make the furniture increasingly uncomfortable. Once the user does get up, the furniture is restored to its original comfortable condition after a specified period of time.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for furniture-enabled monitoring and discouragement of sedentary behavior, the method comprising:
receiving a first input from a sensor embedded into a piece of furniture, where the sensor is capable of indicating whether a user is sitting or reclining on the piece of furniture, where the first input indicates that a user has begun sitting or reclining on the piece of furniture, and where the user has indicated a sequence of increasingly uncomfortable comfort-altering actions capable of being performed by the piece of furniture;
determining that a first duration of time has elapsed since the user began sitting or reclining on the piece of furniture;
identifying whether the user has continuously sat or reclined on the piece of furniture during the first duration of time;
if, in response to the identifying, detecting that the user has continuously sat or reclined on the piece of furniture during the first duration of time, directing the piece of furniture to perform a first comfort-altering action of the sequence of actions, where the first comfort-altering action comprises a first alteration to a shape of the piece of furniture, and where the user has indicated that the first alteration is capable of making the piece of furniture feel less comfortable to the user;
further identifying whether the user has continuously sat or reclined on the piece of furniture for a second duration of time, where the second duration of time ended at a time later than did the first duration of time;
if, in response to the further identifying, verifying that the user has not continuously sat or reclined on the piece of furniture for a second duration of time, further directing the piece of furniture to restore the piece of furniture to its original state by undoing the first comfort-altering action; and
if, in response to the further identifying, ascertaining that the user has continuously sat or reclined on the piece of furniture during the second duration of time:
causing the piece of furniture to perform a second comfort-altering action of the sequence of actions, where the second comfort-altering action comprises a second alteration to the shape of the piece of furniture, where an effect of the first comfort-altering action is distinct from an effect of the second comfort-altering action, and where the user has indicated that the second alteration is capable of making the piece of furniture feel less comfortable to the user than did the first alteration;
further determining that the user has continuously sat or reclined on the piece of furniture during a third duration of time, where the third duration of time ended at a time later than did the second duration of time; and
further causing the piece of furniture to perform a third comfort-altering action of the sequence of actions, where the third comfort-altering action comprises a third alteration to the shape of the piece of furniture, where an effect of the third comfort-altering action is distinct from an effect of either the first comfort-altering action or the second comfort-altering action, and where the user has indicated that the third alteration is capable of making the piece of furniture feel less comfortable to the user than did the second alteration;
where the first alteration consists of changing a position of a component of the piece of furniture, the second alteration consists of changing a stiffness of a surface of the piece of furniture, and the third alteration consists of changing a degree of firmness of a component of the piece of furniture, and
where the first alteration, the second alteration, and the third alteration are performed in a sequence that has been indicated by the user as making the piece of furniture increasingly uncomfortable.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising providing at least one support service for at least one of creating, integrating, hosting, maintaining, and deploying computer-readable program code in the computer system, wherein the computer-readable program code in combination with the computer system is configured to implement the receiving, the determining, the identifying, the detecting, the further identifying, the verifying, the further directing, the ascertaining, the causing, the further determining, and the further causing.

3. A computerized furniture-monitoring system comprising a processor, a memory coupled to the processor, one or more sensors embedded into a piece of furniture, one or more controllers embedded into the piece of furniture, and a computer-readable hardware storage device coupled to the processor, the storage device containing program code configured to be run by the processor via the memory to implement a method for furniture-enabled monitoring and discouragement of sedentary behavior, the method comprising:
the system receiving a first input from a sensor embedded into a piece of furniture, where the sensor is capable of indicating whether a user is sitting or reclining on the piece of furniture, where the first input indicates that a user has begun sitting or reclining on the piece of furniture, and where the user has indicated a sequence of increasingly uncomfortable comfort-altering actions capable of being performed by the piece of furniture;
the system determining that a first duration of time has elapsed since the user began sitting or reclining on the piece of furniture;
the system identifying whether the user has continuously sat or reclined on the piece of furniture during the first duration of time;
the system, if identifying that the user has continuously sat or reclined on the piece of furniture during the first duration of time, directing the piece of furniture to perform a first comfort-altering action of the sequence of actions, where the first comfort-altering action comprises a first alteration to a shape of the piece of furniture, and where the user has indicated that the first alteration is capable of making the piece of furniture feel less comfortable to the user
if, in response to the identifying, detecting that the user has continuously sat or reclined on the piece of furniture during the first duration of time, the system directing the piece of furniture to perform a first comfort-altering action of the sequence of actions, where the first comfort-altering action comprises a first alteration to a shape of the piece of furniture, and where the user has indicated that the first alteration is capable of making the piece of furniture feel less comfortable to the user;
the system further identifying whether the user has continuously sat or reclined on the piece of furniture for a second duration of time, where the second duration of time ended at a time later than did the first duration of time;
if, in response to the further identifying, the system verifying that the user has not continuously sat or reclined on the piece of furniture for a second duration of time, the system further directing the piece of furniture to restore the piece of furniture to its original state by undoing the first comfort-altering action; and
if, in response to the further identifying, the system ascertaining that the user has continuously sat or reclined on the piece of furniture during the second duration of time:
the system causing the piece of furniture to perform a second comfort-altering action of the sequence of actions, where the second comfort-altering action comprises a second alteration to the shape of the piece of furniture, where an effect of the first comfort-altering action is distinct from an effect of the second comfort-altering action, and where the user has indicated that the second alteration is capable of making the piece of furniture feel less comfortable to the user than did the first alteration;
the system further determining that the user has continuously sat or reclined on the piec

Assignees

• IBM

Inventors

• Beres Tibor
• Boone Keith A
• Holt Matthew P
• Mohammed Wisam
• Pruitt Michael K

Classifications

• A47C1/02

  Reclining or easy chairs · CPC title

• G05B15/02

  electric · CPC title

• A47C7/02

  Seat parts · CPC title

• A47C7/725

  for illumination, e.g. lamps · CPC title

• G08B6/00

  Tactile signalling systems, e.g. tactile personal calling systems · CPC title