GB2563289A

GB2563289A - Smart baby sleep

Info

Publication number: GB2563289A
Application number: GB1709268.5A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Anne Randle Jennie; Shaun Gilleran Christopher
Original assignee: M And M Licencing Ltd
Current assignee: M And M Licencing Ltd
Priority date: 2017-06-11
Filing date: 2017-06-11
Publication date: 2018-12-12
Also published as: GB201709268D0

Abstract

A system for calming an infant comprises a control unit 104 in communication with an infant motion detection sensor 102, a speaker 106, a memory 108 configured to store predetermined data, preferably a rhyme or song, and a wireless communication means 110 configured to connect with a user device. In use, the control unit 104 actuates the speaker 106 to output the predetermined data when infant motion is detected. When infant motion is detected for longer than a predetermined time period, an alert is provided to the user device via the wireless communication means 110. The user device provides data to the control unit 104, via the wireless communication means 110, which is recorded in the memory 108 and output by the speaker 106. The user device may be a mobile or tablet.

Description

A SYSTEM FOR CALMING AN INFANT

AND A METHODTHEREOF

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention relate to calming an infant and more particularly to a system for calming an infant/or settle it to sleep and a method thereof.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Taking care of infants is an exasperate task. Some infants do not sleep if they are away from their mother as the sound of her heartbeat and her voice makes them feel safe and drift off to sleep.

For instance, when an infant cries just after waking up and their parents are engaged in some other activities, during that time, the continuous crying of an infant creates a pressure that is not good for parents mental health and not good for infant also. A wide variety of toys and cradles are used to provide comfort to infants. Some systems have been developed that simulates the sound of human heartbeat that helps to relax the infant and are used to provide a better sleeping environment. US6004259A discloses a device that enables the mother to record her own heartbeat on a memory device which in turn played back activated by the crying of her baby, or by a noise loud enough to, awaken the newborn, which serves as a calmer and soother sound to sleep. US5357642A discloses a pillow which supports and maintains the torso of an infant generally stationary and primarily on its side while sleeping. The pillow also includes an audio or sound emitter specifically to comfort the infant and lure it to sleep. US4124022A discloses a heart novelty and relaxation device including a heart-shaped housing containing circuitry for producing a sound simulating that of the human heartbeat at a slow rate.

The aforesaid documents and other existing prior arts strive to provide solutions to the abovementioned problem. However, they still have number of shortcomings and limitations such as, but not limited to, not being portable, being difficult to use, having inadequate simulation and/or not being adaptable. Further, existing products are not automatically activated by the infants movement and crying to generate the user pre-recorded sound and/or heartbeat to calm down the crying infant.

Therefore, there is a need for an improved system and method which will address the aforementioned problems/shortcomings.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention aim to provide a system for calming an infant and a method thereof. The present invention automatically detects the motion of the infant and generates a pre-determined data to calm down the infant. Further, it enables monitoring duration of motion of the infant for a pre-determined period and alerting a user device via a wireless communication means, if movement of the infant continued for a time period more than a pre-determined period. The present invention further provides adequate simulation, easy to use and/or portable.

In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the system for calming the infant comprising a sensor configured to detect motion of the infant, a control unit configured to communicate with the sensor, a speaker configured to communicate with the control unit a memory configured to store the pre-determined data, a wireless communication means configured to connect with a user device and a recording module configured to communicate with the wireless communication means. The sensor is configured to trigger the control unit upon detecting motion of the infant and the control unit is configured to actuate the speaker once triggered by the sensor. Thereafter, the speaker is configured to fetch the pre-determined data from the memory and output the pre-determined data.

In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the control unit is further configured to monitor duration of motion of the infant for a pre-determined period and trigger the wireless communication means when the duration of motion of the infant is more than the pre-determined period. Further, the wireless communication means is configured to provide an alert to the user device and the user device is configured to provide a data to the control unit via the wireless communication means.

In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the control unit is further configured to process the data received from the user device and transfers the data to the recording module and the recording module is further configured to record the data in the memory and provide the data to the speaker. Further, the speaker is configured to output the data.

In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the system further comprises a rechargeable power source. Preferably, the rechargeable power source is, but not limited to, a battery.

In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the wireless communication means is selected from the group comprising, but not limited to, a Bluetooth, a Wi-Fi and a GS M (Global system for mobile communication).

In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the user device is, but not limited to, a mobile and a tablet.

In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the data is selected from the group comprising, but not limited to, a rhyme, a song and a musical tone.

In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the system further comprises a plurality of control buttons. The plurality of control buttons is selected from the group comprising, but not limited to, set volume, power button and manually connects to the wireless communication means.

In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the system further comprises a USB (Universal Serial Bus) port and the USB port is configured to recharge the battery.

In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the method for calming the infant comprising the steps of detecting motion of the infant by a sensor, triggering a control unit upon detecting motion of the infant, actuating a speaker once triggered by the sensor and fetching the pre-determined data from a memory and output a pre-determined data. Further, the method includes the steps of monitoring duration of motion of the infant for a pre-determined period.

In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the method further comprising the steps of triggering a wireless communication means when the duration of motion of the infant is more than the pre-determined period, alerting the user device via the wireless communication means, providing a data to the control unit via the wireless communication means, processing the data by the control unit received from the user device and transferring the data to the recording module. Thereafter, recording the data in the memory and providing the data to the speaker and outputting the data by the speaker.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS

The manner, in which the above-recited features of the present invention may be understood in detail, more particular description of the invention briefly summarized above, have been referred by the embodiments, some of which are illustrated in the appended drawings. It may, however, be noted, that the drawings appended herein illustrate only typical embodiments of this invention and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope, for the invention may admit to other equally effective embodiments.

These and other features, benefits and advantages of the present invention will become apparent by reference to the following text figure, with like reference numbers referring to like structures across the views, wherein:

Fig. 1A illustrates a system for calming an infant in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 1B illustrates an exploded view of the system for calming the infant in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 2 illustrates a method for calming the infant in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 3 illustrates the system for calming the infant in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 4 illustrates the system for calming the infant in accordance with yet another embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS

While the present invention is described herein by way of example using embodiments and illustrative drawings, those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention is not limited to the embodiments of drawing or drawings described, and are not intended to represent the scale of the various components. Further, some components that may form a part of the invention may not be illustrated in certain figures for ease of illustration, and such omissions do not limit the embodiments outlined in any way. It should be understood that the drawings and detailed description thereto are not intended to limit the invention to the particular form disclosed, but on the contrary, the invention is to coverall modifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within the scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claim. As used throughout this description, the word "may" is used in a permissive sense (i.e. meaning having the potential to), rather than the mandatory sense (i.e. meaning must). Further, the words "a" or "an" mean "at least one_ and the word 'plurality, means one or more, unless otherwise mentioned. Furthermore, the terminology and phraseology used herein is solely used for descriptive purposes and should not be construed as limiting in scope. Language such as "including," "comprising," "having," "containing," or "involving," and variations thereof, is intended to be broad and encompass the subject matter listed thereafter, equivalents, and additional subject matter not recited, and is not intended to exclude other additives, components, integers or steps. Likewise, the term "comprising" is considered synonymous with the terms "including" or "containing" for applicable legal purposes. Any discussion of documents, acts, materials, devices, articles and the like is included in the specification solely for the purpose of providing a context for the present invention. It is not suggested or represented that any or all of these matters form part of the prior art base or were common general knowledge in the field relevant to the present invention.

In this disclosure, whenever a composition or an element or a group of elements is preceded with the transitional phrase 'comprisingit is understood that we also contemplate the same composition, element or group of elements with transitional phrases 'consisting of_, 'consisting'selected from the group of consisting of, 'including,, or 'is_preceding the recitation of the composition, element or group of elements and vice versa.

The present invention is described hereinafter by various embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawing, wherein reference numerals used in the accompanying drawing correspond to the like elements throughout the description. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiment set forth herein. Rather, the embodiment is provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. In the following detailed description, numeric values and ranges are provided for various aspects of the implementations described. These values and ranges are to be treated as examples only, and are not intended to limit the scope of the claims. In addition, numbers of materials are identified as suitable for various facets of the implementations. These materials are to be treated as exemplary, and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.

Referring to the drawings, the invention will now be described in more detail. Figure 1A illustrates the system (100) for calming the infant in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 1A, the system (100) for calming the infant includes a wireless communication means (110), a speaker (106) and a plurality of control buttons (116,118,110). The wireless communication means (110) is configured to connect with a user device (not shown). Further, the speaker (106) is configured to communicate with the control unit (104) and to output a pre-determined data and a data received from a user device (not shown). Further, the plurality of control buttons (116,118,110) is configured to perform various operations and is selected from the group comprising a set volume (116), a power button (118) and manually connects to the wireless communication means (110).

The set volume (116) is used to control the volume of the system (100) and the power button (118) is used to turn on/offthe system (100) manually.

Figure 1B illustrates the exploded view of the system (100) for calming the infant in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 1B, the system (100) for calming the infant comprises a sensor (102), a control unit (104), the speaker (106), a memory (108), the wireless communication means (110) and a recording module (112). The sensor (102) is configured to detect motion of the infant and triggers the control unit (104) upon detecting motion of the infant.

Further, the control unit (104) is configured to communicate with the sensor (102) and is configured to actuate the speaker (106) once triggered by the sensor (102).The control unit (104) monitors duration of motion of the infant for a pre-determined period. Further, the control unit (104) triggers the wireless communication means (110) when the duration of motion is more than the pre-determined period. Also, the control unit (104) processes the data received from the user device and transfers the data to the speaker (106).

Further, the speaker (106) is configured to communicate with the control unit (104). The speaker (106) fetches the pre-determined data from the memory (108) and output the pre-determined data and the data received from the user device (not shown).

Further, the memory (108) is configured to store the pre-determined data and the data received from the user device (not shown).

Further, the wireless communication means (110) is configured to connect with the user device (not shown) and provide an alert to the user device (not shown). In accordance with an embodiment, the user device (not shown) is, but not limited to, a mobile and a tablet. The wireless communication means (110) is selected from the group comprising, but not limited to, a Bluetooth, a Wi-Fi and a GSM (Global system for mobile communication).

Further, the recording module (112) is configured to communicate with the wireless communication means (110). In accordance with an embodiment, the recording module (112) is configured to record the data in the memory (108) and provide the data to the speaker (106). In accordance with an embodiment the data is selected from the group consisting of, but not limited to, a rhyme, a song and a musical tone.

In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the system further includes a rechargeable power source (114). The rechargeable power source is, but not limited to, a battery.

In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the system further includes a USB (Universal Serial Bus) port (120). The USB port (120) is configured to recharge the battery.

Figure 2 illustrates the method (200) for calming the infant in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 2, the method (200) begins at the step 202 by, a sensor (102) detecting the motion of the infant. The motion is crying and/or movement of the infant. At step 204, the sensor (102) triggers a control unit (104) upon detecting motion of the infant. At step 206, the control unit (104) actuates a speaker (106) once triggered by the sensor (102). Further at step 208, the sensor (102) fetches a pre-determined data from a memory (108) and output the pre-determined data. The pre-determined data is, but not limited to, heartbeat and/or sound of mothers womb. The memory (108) used in the system is a non-volatile memory. The non-volatile is a computer memory that can retrieve stored information even after having been power cycled (turned off and back on).

At step 210, the control unit (104) monitors the duration of motion of the infant for a pre-determined period. The pre-determined period is 5 minutes. At step 212, if the infant cries and/or motion is detected for more than 5 minutes, the control unit (104) triggers the wireless communication means (110).

In one embodiment of the invention, the wireless communication means (110) is a Bluetooth.

In another embodiment the wireless communication means (110) is a Wi-Fi.

In yet another embodiment, the wireless communication means (110) is a GSM (Global system for mobile communication). At step 214, alert is provided to the user device (not shown) via the wireless communication means (110). The user device (not shown) is, but not limited to, a mobile and a tablet. At step 216, the user device (not shown) provides a data to the control unit (104) via the wireless communication means (110).

In one embodiment the data is a rhyme. In another embodiment, the data is a song. In yet another embodiment, the data is a musical tone. At step 218, the data is processed by the control unit (104) received from the user device (not shown) and transfers the data to the recording module (112). At step 220, the recording module (112) records the data and provides the data to the speaker (106). At step 222, the speaker (106) outputs the data to calm down the infant.

Figure 3 illustrates the system (100) for calming the infant, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 3, the system (100) is placed on a mattress (300) to calm down the infant so that he/she can sleep well. In other words, the system (100) is placed on the mattress (300) in order to settle the infant to sleep.

Figure 4 illustrates the system (100) for calming the infant in yet another embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 4, the system (100) is placed on a stroller (400) to calm down the infant so that he/she can sleep well. In other words, the system (100) is placed on the stroller (400) in order to settle the infant to sleep.

The embodiments of the present invention offer a number of advantages. The system can be placed anywhere on the cot mattress. The system is portable and can be carried along in car journeys, at park and can be placed on stroller. Also, the system as described above could be designed and fabricated in various other ways and could include various other materials and various other components, power devices, batteries etc.

Various modifications to these embodiments are apparent to those skilled in the art from the description and the accompanying drawings. The principles associated with the various embodiments described herein may be applied to other embodiments. Therefore, the description is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown along with the accompanying drawings but is to be providing broadest scope of consistent with the principles and the novel and inventive features disclosed or suggested herein. Accordingly, the invention is anticipated to hold on to all other such alternatives, modifications, and variations that fall within the scope of the present invention and appended claims.

Claims

Claims: The claims defining the invention are as follows:

1. A system (100) for calming an infant the system (100) comprising: a sensor (102) configured to detect motion of the infant; a control unit (104) configured to communicate with the sensor (102); a speaker (106) configured to communicate with the control unit (104); a memory (108) configured to store a pre-determined data; a wireless communication means (110) configured to connect with a user device; a recording module (112) configured to communicate with the wireless communication means (110); wherein the sensor (102) is configured to trigger the control unit (104) upon detecting motion of the infant; wherein the control unit (104) is configured to actuate the speaker (106) once triggered by the sensor (102); wherein the speaker (106) is configured to fetch the pre-determined data from the memory (108) and output the pre-determined data; wherein the control unit (104) is further configured to monitor duration of motion of the infant for a pre-determined period; wherein the control unit (104) is further configured to trigger the wireless communication means (110) when the duration of motion of the infant is more than the pre-determined period; wherein the wireless communication means (110) is configured to provide an alert to the user device; wherein the user device is configured to provide a data to the control unit (104) via wireless communication means (110); wherein the control unit (104) is further configured to process the data received from the user device and transfer the data to the recording module (112); wherein the recording module (112) is further configured to record the data in the memory (108) and provide the data to the speaker; wherein the speaker (106) is further configured to output the data.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising a rechargeable power source (114).

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the rechargeable power source (114) is a battery.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the wireless communication means (110) is selected from the group comprising a Bluetooth, a Wi-Fi and a GSM (Global system for mobile communication).

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the user device is a mobile and a tablet.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the data is selected from the group comprising a rhyme, a song and a musical tone.

7. The system of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of control buttons (116,118,110).

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the plurality of control buttons (116,118,110) is selected from the group comprising set volume (116), power button (118) and manually connects to the wireless communication means (110).

9. The system of claim 1, further comprising a USB (Universal Serial Bus) port (120).

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the USB port (120) is configured to recharge the battery.

11 .A method (200) for calming an infant, the method (200) comprising the steps of: detecting (202) motion of the infant by a sensor (102); triggering (204) a control unit (104) upon detecting motion of the infant; actuating (206) a speaker (106) once triggered by the sensor (102); fetching (208) the pre-determined data from a memory (108) and output a pre-determined data; monitoring (210) duration of motion of the infant for a pre-determined period; triggering (212) a wireless communication means (110) when the duration of motion of the infant is more than the pre-determined period; alerting (214) the user device via the wireless communication means (110); providing (216) a data to the control unit (104) via the wireless communication means (110); processing (218) of the data by the control unit (104) received from the user device and transferring the data to the recording module (112); recording (220) the data in the memory (108) and providing the data to the speaker (106); outputting (222) the data by the speaker (106).