US20240008660A2 - Apparatus for soothing a baby - Google Patents

Apparatus for soothing a baby Download PDF

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US20240008660A2
US20240008660A2 US17/759,642 US202017759642A US2024008660A2 US 20240008660 A2 US20240008660 A2 US 20240008660A2 US 202017759642 A US202017759642 A US 202017759642A US 2024008660 A2 US2024008660 A2 US 2024008660A2
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baby
mattress
cry
max
intensity
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US20230099651A1 (en
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Matteo CRESCINI
Luca SIRONI
Sveva BELVISO
Michele GUARINO
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Assigned to 2B S.R.L. reassignment 2B S.R.L. ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: BELVISO, Sveva, CRESCINI, MATTEO, Guarino, Michele, SIRONI, Luca
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    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47D—FURNITURE SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR CHILDREN
    • A47D15/00—Accessories for children's furniture, e.g. safety belts or baby-bottle holders
    • A47D15/001—Mattresses
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61M—DEVICES FOR INTRODUCING MEDIA INTO, OR ONTO, THE BODY; DEVICES FOR TRANSDUCING BODY MEDIA OR FOR TAKING MEDIA FROM THE BODY; DEVICES FOR PRODUCING OR ENDING SLEEP OR STUPOR
    • A61M21/00—Other devices or methods to cause a change in the state of consciousness; Devices for producing or ending sleep by mechanical, optical, or acoustical means, e.g. for hypnosis
    • A61M21/02—Other devices or methods to cause a change in the state of consciousness; Devices for producing or ending sleep by mechanical, optical, or acoustical means, e.g. for hypnosis for inducing sleep or relaxation, e.g. by direct nerve stimulation, hypnosis, analgesia
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61M—DEVICES FOR INTRODUCING MEDIA INTO, OR ONTO, THE BODY; DEVICES FOR TRANSDUCING BODY MEDIA OR FOR TAKING MEDIA FROM THE BODY; DEVICES FOR PRODUCING OR ENDING SLEEP OR STUPOR
    • A61M21/00—Other devices or methods to cause a change in the state of consciousness; Devices for producing or ending sleep by mechanical, optical, or acoustical means, e.g. for hypnosis
    • A61M2021/0005—Other devices or methods to cause a change in the state of consciousness; Devices for producing or ending sleep by mechanical, optical, or acoustical means, e.g. for hypnosis by the use of a particular sense, or stimulus
    • A61M2021/0022—Other devices or methods to cause a change in the state of consciousness; Devices for producing or ending sleep by mechanical, optical, or acoustical means, e.g. for hypnosis by the use of a particular sense, or stimulus by the tactile sense, e.g. vibrations
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61M—DEVICES FOR INTRODUCING MEDIA INTO, OR ONTO, THE BODY; DEVICES FOR TRANSDUCING BODY MEDIA OR FOR TAKING MEDIA FROM THE BODY; DEVICES FOR PRODUCING OR ENDING SLEEP OR STUPOR
    • A61M2205/00—General characteristics of the apparatus
    • A61M2205/33—Controlling, regulating or measuring
    • A61M2205/332—Force measuring means
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61M—DEVICES FOR INTRODUCING MEDIA INTO, OR ONTO, THE BODY; DEVICES FOR TRANSDUCING BODY MEDIA OR FOR TAKING MEDIA FROM THE BODY; DEVICES FOR PRODUCING OR ENDING SLEEP OR STUPOR
    • A61M2205/00—General characteristics of the apparatus
    • A61M2205/33—Controlling, regulating or measuring
    • A61M2205/3375—Acoustical, e.g. ultrasonic, measuring means
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61M—DEVICES FOR INTRODUCING MEDIA INTO, OR ONTO, THE BODY; DEVICES FOR TRANSDUCING BODY MEDIA OR FOR TAKING MEDIA FROM THE BODY; DEVICES FOR PRODUCING OR ENDING SLEEP OR STUPOR
    • A61M2205/00—General characteristics of the apparatus
    • A61M2205/50—General characteristics of the apparatus with microprocessors or computers

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to an apparatus for soothing a baby.
  • this frequency is very close to that of “theta waves”, i.e., a type of brain waves connected with the entry into the state of sleep, which generate the “theta rhythm”, a neural oscillatory pattern which can be detected in the performance of an electroencephalogram (EEG).
  • EEG electroencephalogram
  • theta refers to frequency components in the range between 4 and 7 Hz, regardless of the source thereof. Cortical theta is frequently observed in young children, while in older children and adults it tends to appear during meditative, somnolent, hypnotic, or dormant states, and not during the deeper stages of sleep. Consequently, since in the literature EEGs show that when subjects fall asleep, theta wave activity increases.
  • the vibrations are “mechanical oscillations generated by pressure waves which are transmitted through elastic solid bodies, around a reference position”; if these occur with a frequency greater than 15-20 “repetitions per second” (abbreviated in “Hertz”), the vibration is acoustic, i.e., it produces an audible sound. If, on the other hand, the cadence is lower, the vibration can be called mechanical or vibration proper.
  • the vibrations are divided into 3 main frequency bands and low frequency oscillations are generated by transport means (land, air, sea). In addition to frequency, the vibrations are characterized by three other parameters which are closely related to each other
  • acceleration is the most important for evaluating the body's response to vibrations, as humans feel the variation of a stimulus more than the persistence thereof.
  • W02018075566A1 and W02013059625A1 describe apparatuses adapted to analyze a baby's cry and adapted to intervene by activating the vibration of a mattress on which the baby lies only when the audio signal indicative of the baby's cry exceeds a certain threshold.
  • US10238341B2 describes an apparatus capable of processing a baby's cry, determining the Fourier transform and the standard deviation of the Fourier transform.
  • the baby's state is determined based on this standard deviation, for example by comparing it with values entered in one or more data tables to verify if the standard deviation value corresponds to one of the sound values generated by a baby.
  • Action is taken, such as adjusting the vibration intensity, based on the baby's state.
  • an apparatus for soothing a baby arranged in a mattress comprising a mattress support or base comprising:
  • FIG. 1 shows an apparatus for soothing a baby in accordance with the present invention
  • FIG. 2 shows a mattress comprising the apparatus of FIG. 1 ;
  • FIGS. 3 and 4 schematically show the apparatus in accordance with the present invention arranged in the mattress base of FIG. 2 ;
  • FIG. 5 shows an embodiment of the apparatus in accordance with the invention on the mattress base
  • FIG. 6 shows the fuzzy logic of the control unit of the apparatus of FIG. 1 .
  • FIGS. 1 - 6 describe an apparatus 100 for soothing a baby, in particular a baby from 0 to 36 months, in accordance with the present invention.
  • the apparatus 100 seen in FIG. 1 , comprises an electronic control unit 1 which is electrically connected to a plurality of microphones MIC, to a plurality of temperature sensors T, to a plurality of speakers A, to a plurality of force sensors F and to a plurality of vibration generating means PVM, for example piezoelectric means, and a humidity sensor H.
  • the apparatus 100 is arranged on a base 101 of the baby's bed ( FIGS. 2 - 5 ), preferably a wooden and preferably rectangular base, above the upper face 102 of which a mattress 110 is arranged on which the baby is placed for sleep.
  • a padding 111 of the base 101 is preferably provided to protect the electronic devices installed in the base.
  • two microphones MIC are arranged adjacent to the short sides of the base 101 , two speakers A, a temperature sensor T, a plurality of force sensors F and a plurality of vibration means PVM.
  • the upper part 102 of the base 101 comprises the control unit 1 comprising an electronic board in which the microprocessor PIC is mounted, a removable memory card SD and preferably a module BT of radiofrequency data transmission/reception RF preferably of the wireless type, preferably compatible with the transmission/reception of data through the Bluetooth protocol.
  • the power supply of the apparatus 100 is external, preferably by means of a battery.
  • the base 101 has tracks for the electrical connection of the devices present on the upper part 102 with the unit 1 .
  • the control unit 1 is outside the base 101 ; the base always comprises a control unit which communicates wirelessly with the control unit 1 through the module RF.
  • the speakers A allow the broadcast of music or a message from the baby's mother which is contained in the memory SD of the unit 1 .
  • the temperature sensor T is adapted to detect the temperature inside the baby's bed and send it to the unit 1 for the comparison with predefined temperature thresholds.
  • the sensors of the plurality of force sensors F are arranged according to an axb matrix which allows to identify the baby's position on the mattress, i.e., the center of gravity S bar thereof and calculate the baby's weight.
  • the vibration means PVM are also arranged in accordance with a matrix.
  • the electronic board is also provided with a capacitor C which detects the intensity of the baby's cry; the capacitor C is powered by the electrical signal produced by the microphones MIC used to detect the baby's cry.
  • the control unit 1 is also adapted to detect the fundamental frequency of the baby's cry through the data detected by the microphones MIC and processed by the unit 1 .
  • the control unit 1 is also adapted to detect the humidity of the mattress through the data detected by the humidity sensor H.
  • the apparatus 100 is adapted to control the vibration of the actuators PVM to induce vibrations of the mattress and to soothe the baby.
  • the control unit 1 preferably comprises an executive software FL which operates according to a fuzzy logic implementing a fuzzy logic controller 200 shown in FIG. 6 .
  • the controller 200 comprises a fuzzification interface or fuzzifier 201 which distinctly transforms the measured data into suitable linguistic values, following a fuzzification procedure which transforms objective data into subjective data through a mapping of the inputs into labels of fuzzy sets in each specific reference universe, converting each input value x; into a single input value pair and membership function (x i , ⁇ i (x)) and for this the whole set is understood as the union of the single components thereof.
  • the base fuzzy control rules are characterized by a collection of fuzzy IF ⁇ THEN rules in which the preconditions (antecedents) and consequents involve variables, according to this form:
  • x, . . . , y and z are variables representing the process state variable and the control variable respectively and A i , . . . , B i , are the values of the variables x, . . . y and z.
  • the controller 200 comprises the inference motor 202 and a database comprises the base rules 203 .
  • the inference motor must calculate the membership functions and must process the system output as a function of the variables input by the fuzzifier 201 and as a function of the base rules 203 .
  • the controller 200 is of the closed-loop type since the membership functions are also calculated as a function of the results of the previous cases.
  • the data processing also occurs in a dedicated partition of a webserver, where the base rules and the inference motor integrated in each apparatus 100 are replicated and reside locally.
  • the system behaves like an indirect monitoring apparatus of the baby's state and the use of the controller 200 allows to manage this task and to characterize the type of crying; this occurs following a continuous acquisition process of the inputs and processing of the output, for all the apparatuses 100 connected to the network. Consequently, all the apparatuses 100 connected to the network can draw on these resources in the fuzzification and defuzzification process, by connecting to the aforementioned webserver, by means of a connection preferably of the HTTPS type.
  • each apparatus 100 feeds an existing database with the value updated at the last reading of each parameter which defines the individual rules, which are thus updated continuously and over time, for each apparatus 100 in the network.
  • the average of each parameter is calculated and such a value is made available for download, preferably of the HTTPS type, to each connected apparatus 100 in the network.
  • the aforementioned upload and/or download connection to the WEBServer is guaranteed by the use of a mobile gateway (to which the apparatus 100 connects wirelessly, Bluetooth compatible). Therefore, when installing each apparatus 100 , by connecting to such a WEB Server, this can download the values of the parameters of the updated rules, without starting from the initial value defined by the single rule.
  • the controller 200 also comprises a defuzzifier 204 adapted to convert the linguistic values output into data, in particular into voltage or current values for the vibration of the mattress.
  • the apparatus 100 provides that some input data are entered by a parent or the like; these data are the baby's age, weight and sex x s (male M or female F).
  • the sampling of the input signals to the controller 200 is performed by the software FL run by the microprocessor PIC with sampling times which vary as a function of the signal in input.
  • the sampling of the audio signal and of the pressure level occurs with a frequency of 1 s while the sampling of the temperature signal and of the humidity signal occurs with a frequency of 30 s.
  • the center of gravity S bar of the baby's body on the mattress is deduced from the reading value of the force or pressure sensor F positioned in the position (i; j) in the axb matrix of the force sensors F.
  • the system detects the pressure level s on the force sensor F, i.e., a voltage variation on the force sensor in the position (i; j) due to a pressure of the baby's body in that position; if such a pressure s is higher than a reference threshold indicated as sma, the system detects such a condition as confirmation that the baby is present in that position.
  • the position (i; j) may not be single; in this case the system checks that the two positions are adjacent.
  • the digital electrical value or signal x f is acquired in Volts for each force sensor F and said value is converted into grams obtaining the value s g .
  • the center of gravity of the pressure on the mattress is given by:
  • x i,j is the coordinate on the abscissa axis of the force sensor in the position i;j
  • y i,j is the coordinate on the ordinate axis of the force sensor in the position i;j
  • x bar and y bar are the coordinates on the abscissa and ordinate axes of the center of gravity s bar .
  • the reference system used, considering a rectangular shape of the mattress, is that seen in FIG. 5 , with the x-axis of the abscissa on the long side and the y-axis of the ordinate on the short side.
  • the audio signal is acquired by the microphones MIC as an analog value.
  • a Fourier transform is applied to this signal to identify the Fundamental Frequency of the audio signal x a .
  • the rule regarding the cry signal is as follows:
  • the membership function of the audio signal is calculated as a function of the fundamental frequency xa which is as follows:
  • ⁇ ⁇ ( x a ) exp ⁇ ( ( x a - m a ) 2 ( ⁇ a ) 2 )
  • m a is the center of the bell-shaped function and is calculated as follows:
  • ⁇ a is the width of the bell-shaped function, and is calculated as follows:
  • x t max z is the cry intensity at the time t max after a vibration of the mattress has already occurred for the time t max .
  • the width and center of the bell change as a function of the cry intensity value at the time t max.
  • the initial value of ma is 320 Hz for females and 370 Hz for males; if at tmax x t max x ⁇ 0 (i.e., the cry intensity is different from zero) it means that the baby has not been soothed and therefore ma is increased gradually by 5 Hz and ⁇ a by 50 Hz to contribute to a higher vibration intensity at the same frequency of the baby's cry.
  • the cry intensity is detected by the energy accumulated across the capacitor C and, after sampling, the related digital signal x z is obtained.
  • the fuzzy rule on cry intensity is as follows:
  • ⁇ ⁇ ( x z ) ⁇ 1 - ( Z ⁇ max - x z ) / ( Z ⁇ max - Z ⁇ min ) , for ⁇ Z ⁇ min ⁇ x z ⁇ Z ⁇ max 1 , for ⁇ x z > Z ⁇ max 0 , for ⁇ x z ⁇ Z ⁇ min
  • Z ⁇ max ⁇ 5 ⁇ V , inital ⁇ value Z ⁇ max - 0.1 V , if ⁇ x t max z ⁇ 0 Z ⁇ max + 0.1 V
  • ⁇ x t max z 0
  • Z ⁇ min ⁇ 1 ⁇ V
  • the mattress vibrates in a different position than the baby's center of gravity S bar for a time period which is at most t max .
  • Z min and Z max represent the minimum and maximum value of the baby's cry intensity which vary as a function of the value x t max z , which the value of the cry intensity at time t max of the previous operation carried out by the apparatus 100 when the baby cried or was agitated and after the vibration of the mattress occurred for the time period from O to t max .
  • the initial value of Z min is 1V, while the initial value of Z max is 5V. If at t max the cry intensity is different from zero, it means that the baby has not been soothed and therefore Z max is gradually reduced by 0.10 V to contribute to a higher vibration intensity for the same intensity value of the baby's cry.
  • another input of the controller 200 is the digital signal of the baby's agitation x g which is deduced from the processing of the analog signal x f which is the value in Volts for each force sensor F. It is weighted by an agitation index ⁇ , which has a value of 0 or 1. If x k+1 f ⁇ x k f , where k is the sampling time (1 s), then the agitation index ⁇ i is 1 , otherwise it is 0.
  • the baby's agitation is
  • the rule of the fuzzy check is:
  • ⁇ ⁇ ( x g ) ⁇ 1 - G max - x g G max - G min , for ⁇ G min ⁇ x 9 ⁇ G max 1 , for ⁇ x g > G max 0 , for ⁇ x g ⁇ G min
  • G max ⁇ 1
  • initial ⁇ value G max - 0.1 if ⁇ x t max g ⁇ 0 G max + 0.1
  • ⁇ x t max g 0
  • G min ⁇ 1
  • G min and G max represent the minimum and maximum values of the baby's agitation, which vary according to the value x t max g , i.e., the agitation intensity at the time t max after the vibration of the mattress for the time t max .
  • the initial value of G min is 0, while the initial value of G max is 1 . If at t max the agitation intensity is different from zero, it means that the baby has not been soothed and therefore G max is gradually reduced by 0.10 to contribute to a greater vibration intensity for the same agitation value of the baby.
  • another input of the controller 200 is the digital temperature signal x t of the mattress where the baby sleeps, which is deduced from the reading value of the temperature sensor T integrated in the mattress.
  • the system digitally detects the temperature value, in ° C. If the temperature value is lower than an indicated reference threshold T min (e.g., 15° C.), it detects such a condition as a confirmation that the temperature is too low. If the temperature value is higher than a reference threshold indicated as Tmax (e.g., 40° C.), the system detects such a condition as a confirmation that the temperature is too high.
  • T min e.g. 15° C.
  • Tmax e.g. 40° C.
  • Knowing that the temperature of the mattress is too low is useful because a mattress which is too cold creates discomfort for the baby and therefore negatively contributes to the soothing thereof.
  • Knowing that the temperature of the mattress is too high is useful because an overly hot mattress creates discomfort for the baby and therefore negatively contributes to the soothing thereof.
  • the temperature membership function x t is calculated, which is the following
  • ⁇ ⁇ ( x t ) ⁇ exp ⁇ ( ( x t - m t ⁇ 1 ) 2 ( ⁇ t ⁇ 1 ) 2 ) , x t ⁇ 20 ⁇ ° ⁇ C . exp ⁇ ( ( x t - m t ⁇ 2 ) 2 ( ⁇ t ⁇ 2 ) 2 ) , otherwise .
  • m t1 is the center of the bell-shaped function related to low temperatures and is calculated as follows:
  • ⁇ t1 is the width of the bell-shaped function related to low temperatures and is calculated as follows
  • ⁇ t2 is the width of the bell-shaped function related to high temperatures and is calculated as follows:
  • the width and center of the bell change as a function of the cry intensity value at the time t max .
  • the initial value of m t1 and m t2 are respectively 17.5° C. and 30° C.
  • the initial value of ⁇ t1 and ⁇ t2 are respectively 5° C. and 20° C.
  • x t max z ⁇ 0 i.e., the cry intensity is different from zero
  • x t max g ⁇ 0 i.e., the agitation intensity is different from 0
  • ⁇ t min is a dimensionless coefficient which follows the following trend:
  • ⁇ t max is a dimensionless coefficient which follows the following trend:
  • the dimensionless coefficients ⁇ t min and ⁇ t max represent a weight and have a value between 0 and 1, associated with excessively low (i.e., below Train) or excessively high temperatures (i.e., above T max ).
  • the initial value of ⁇ t min and ⁇ t max (equal to 0.5) is increased or decreased by 0 . 05 depending on the value t max , x t max z , x t max g , If they are different from zero and therefore the baby has not been soothed, the value of the dimensionless coefficient is increased by 0.05 and vice versa, decreased. This is to contribute to a higher (or lower in the opposite case) vibration intensity for the same mattress temperature.
  • another input of the controller 200 is the digital signal of the mattress humidity where the baby sleeps, which is deduced from the reading value of the humidity sensor H integrated in the mattress.
  • the system digitally detects a humidity value, as a percentage. If the relative humidity value is higher than a reference threshold indicated as H max (e.g., 60%), the system detects such a condition as a confirmation that the mattress humidity is too high.
  • H max e.g. 60%
  • ⁇ ⁇ ( x h ) exp ⁇ ( ( x h - m h ) 2 ( ⁇ h ) 2 )
  • ⁇ h is the width of the bell-shaped function, and is calculated as follows:
  • the width and center of the bell change as a function of the cry intensity value at the time t max.
  • the initial value of m h is 50% and the initial value of ⁇ h is 90%; if at t max, x t max z ⁇ 0 (i.e., the cry intensity is different from zero) and x t max g ⁇ 0 (i.e., the agitation intensity is different from 0), it means that the baby has not been soothed and therefore m h and ⁇ h are gradually increased by 1% to contribute to a higher vibration intensity for the same frequency of the baby's cry.
  • the cry intensity and the agitation intensity are equal to zero, it means that the baby has been soothed and therefore m h and ⁇ h are gradually decreased by 1% to contribute to a lower vibration intensity for the same mattress humidity.
  • membership function of x hmax is the following:
  • ⁇ h max is the dimensionless coefficient applied to the condition “the mattress humidity is too high”, which follows the following trend:
  • the dimensionless coefficient ⁇ h max represents a weight and has a value between 0 and 1, associated with excessively high humidity (i.e., above H max ).
  • the initial value of ⁇ h max (equal to 0.5) is increased or decreased by 0.05 as a function of the value at t max by x t max z . and x t max g . If at t max , x t max z ⁇ 0 (i.e., the cry intensity is different from zero) and x t max g ⁇ 0 (i.e., the agitation intensity is different from 0), it means that the baby has not been soothed, the value of the dimensionless coefficient is increased by 0.05 and vice versa, decreased. This is to contribute to a higher (or lower in the opposite case) vibration intensity for the same mattress humidity.
  • another input of the controller 200 is the urination level x m of the baby's diaper and is deduced from the value of the digital mattress humidity signal X h and from the digital signal of the baby's weight x pg . Two samples of these values measured at a given time t of 30 seconds are required to detect the urination level in the diaper.
  • the rule is as follows:
  • the baby is wet the membership function of the input x m is calculated, “the baby is wet”, which is the following:
  • x G 1 is the mother's indication that the diaper has been changed and ⁇ m is the dimensionless coefficient applied to the condition “the baby is wet”, which follows the following trend:
  • the dimensionless coefficient ⁇ m represents a weight and has a value between 0 and 1, associated with the condition that the baby is wet.
  • the initial value of y m (equal to 0.5) is increased or decreased by 0.05 as a function of the value at t max , by x t max z . and x t max g , If at t max , x t max z ⁇ 0 (i.e., the cry intensity is different from zero) and x t max g ⁇ 0 (i.e., the agitation intensity is different from 0), it means that the baby has not been soothed, the value of the dimensionless coefficient is increased by 0.05 and vice versa, decreased. This is to contribute to a higher (or lower in the opposite case) vibration intensity for the same urination of the baby's diaper.
  • the baby's parent can enter data on the baby's condition which can be considered as input variables which have a value of 0 or 1 respectively if they are not present or if they are present.
  • the data that the baby has eaten can be considered as a variable x F. which assumes the value 1 if the data that the baby has eaten has been entered, otherwise it assumes the value 0.
  • the data on the baby's weight can be considered as a variable x E which assumes the value 1 if the data on the baby's weight has been entered, otherwise it assumes the value 0.
  • the data that the baby is crying because the diaper is full can be considered as a variable x A which assumes the value 1 if the data that the baby is crying because the diaper is full has been entered, otherwise it assumes the value 0.
  • the membership function of the input x A “the baby's diaper is full”.
  • ⁇ ⁇ ( x A ) ⁇ 1 , if ⁇ the ⁇ affirmation ⁇ “ the ⁇ baby ’ ⁇ s ⁇ diaper ⁇ is ⁇ full ” is ⁇ true ⁇ 0 , otherwise
  • the data that the baby is crying for another reason can be considered as a variable x B which assumes the value 1 if the data that the baby is crying due to that reason has been entered, otherwise it assumes the value 0.
  • ⁇ ⁇ ( x B ) ⁇ 1 , if ⁇ the ⁇ affirmation ⁇ “ the ⁇ baby ⁇ is ⁇ crying ⁇ due ⁇ to ⁇ the ⁇ reason ⁇ B ” is ⁇ true ⁇ 0 , otherwise
  • Another input of the controller 200 is the digital signal related to the baby's weight x pg i.e., the baby's weight in grams.
  • the value s g is measured for each force sensor F. This value is then multiplied by the sensor area A s , (s g *A s ), for each sensor.
  • the weight is then calculated by performing the following operation:
  • the weight is recalculated.
  • t is the sampling time (for example 30 s).
  • the membership function of the input xPg is the following:
  • x E is the weight indicated by the parent and m pg is the center of the bell-shaped function and is calculated as follows.
  • the parent manually confirms the baby's Gender and Age, so that the system assigns a value to P from the following table.
  • the width and center of the bell change as a function of the cry intensity value at the time t max .
  • the initial value of m pg is defined by the table, while the initial value of ⁇ pg is equal to 2 Kg. If at t max , x t max z ⁇ 0 (i.e., the cry intensity is different from zero) and x t max g ⁇ 0 (i.e., the agitation intensity is different from 0), it means that the baby has not been soothed and therefore m pg is increased by 100 g, while ⁇ pg is increased by 0.05 g; this is to contribute to a higher vibration intensity for the same weight of the baby.
  • the cry intensity and the agitation intensity are equal to zero, it means that the baby has been soothed and therefore m pg is decreased by 100 g, while ⁇ pg is decreased by 0.05 g to contribute to a lower vibration intensity for the same weight of the baby.
  • the apparatus 100 operates in accordance with the following method.
  • the control unit 1 in the presence of the baby's cry and/or agitation, controls the mattress vibration means PVM in a position P different from the baby's center of gravity on the mattress and within and not beyond a maximum time period t max ; this is to prevent the vibration from occurring in the portions of the mattress where the baby's sensitive parts are found, such as the head.
  • control unit 1 controls the vibration of only one or more actuators PVM which are in a different position than the position of the baby's center of gravity.
  • the functions ⁇ (x) are weighted and the vibration of the mattress is determined as a function of the weighting thereof.
  • the y signal is output only if the analog signal on the cry intensity x z is different from zero and/or the digital signal related to agitation x g is different from zero.
  • the vibration is performed in the position P which is different from the baby's center of gravity on the mattress; preferably the position P, if the center of gravity does not coincide with the center thereof, is a position complementary to the baby's center of gravity with respect to the mattress length and width, i.e., considering the position of the center of gravity s bar of the baby given by the Cartesian coordinates Cbar, ybar, the position P is given by the difference between x max , which is the dimension in cm of the mattress along the axis x, and x bar and Ymax , which is the size in cm of the mattress along the y axis, and y bar :
  • position P a position around the center of the mattress is chosen as position P.
  • the vibration intensity Vibr can assume values between 0 and 1 and is calculated as follows:
  • Vibr 1 - ( ⁇ max - ⁇ ⁇ max
  • ⁇ is the sum of the membership functions ⁇ (x) related to said inputs, i.e., the sum of the values of the membership functions ⁇ (x pg ), ⁇ (x z ), ⁇ (x a ), ⁇ (x g ), ⁇ (x t ), ⁇ (x h ), ⁇ (x m ), ⁇ (x F ), ⁇ (x B ), ⁇ (x G ), ⁇ (x A ), or only some of them if not all the inputs are present but only some and ⁇ max is the value of the summations in which the membership functions are at the maximum value.
  • Vibr the vibration intensity
  • Vibr scale the approximate value of the brackets of the vibration intensity Vibr
  • Ivibr in milliamps mA
  • the vibration of the mattress is activated only if the digital signal on the cry intensity x z is different from zero and/or the digital signal related to the agitation x g is different from zero.
  • T ⁇ i ⁇ ( t ) ⁇ 1 , for ⁇ t ⁇ t min 1 - 2 ⁇ 2 * ( t - t min ) 2 , for ⁇ t min ⁇ t ⁇ t min + ⁇ 2 . 2 ⁇ 2 * ( t - t min + ⁇ ) 2 , for ⁇ t min + ⁇ 2 ⁇ t ⁇ t min + ⁇ . 0 , for ⁇ t > t min + ⁇ .
  • x t max z . and x t max g . are respectively the values of the cry intensity and of the agitation intensity at the time t max of the previous operation carried out by the apparatus 100 when the baby has cried or is agitated and after the vibration of the mattress has occurred for the time period from 0 to t max .
  • the baby soothing system in accordance with the present invention is a closed-loop system since the presence or absence of the baby's cry and/or agitation upon reaching the time t max is a value which is taken up in the determination of the various functions p(x) described above and is indicated x t max z . and x t max g .

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  • Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • Anesthesiology (AREA)
  • Pediatric Medicine (AREA)
  • Heart & Thoracic Surgery (AREA)
  • Hematology (AREA)
  • Acoustics & Sound (AREA)
  • Psychology (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Biomedical Technology (AREA)
  • Pain & Pain Management (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
  • Animal Behavior & Ethology (AREA)
  • Public Health (AREA)
  • Veterinary Medicine (AREA)
  • Measuring And Recording Apparatus For Diagnosis (AREA)
  • Mattresses And Other Support Structures For Chairs And Beds (AREA)
  • Measurement Of The Respiration, Hearing Ability, Form, And Blood Characteristics Of Living Organisms (AREA)
  • Bedding Items (AREA)
US17/759,642 2020-01-29 2020-12-10 Apparatus for soothing a baby Pending US20240008660A2 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
IT102020000001714A IT202000001714A1 (it) 2020-01-29 2020-01-29 Apparato per l’acquietamento di un bambino.
IT102020000001714 2020-01-29
PCT/IB2020/061753 WO2021152385A1 (en) 2020-01-29 2020-12-10 Apparatus for soothing a baby

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US20240008660A2 true US20240008660A2 (en) 2024-01-11

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CN (1) CN115023163A (it)
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US20230061572A1 (en) * 2021-08-28 2023-03-02 Mirza Faizan Automatic system to monitor health condition of an infant
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CA2852696A1 (en) 2011-10-20 2013-04-25 Unacuna, Llc Infant calming/sleep-aid device and method of use
US9510693B2 (en) * 2013-08-01 2016-12-06 Mattel, Inc. Bidirectional communication between an infant receiving system and a remote device
KR102280917B1 (ko) 2016-10-17 2021-07-22 에이치비 이노베이션스, 아이엔씨. 유아 진정/수면-보조 장치
KR101798498B1 (ko) * 2017-04-28 2017-11-16 주식회사 엠프로스 영유아 수면 감시용 생체정보 측정장치 및 시스템

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EP4096475B1 (en) 2024-02-14
WO2021152385A1 (en) 2021-08-05
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CN115023163A (zh) 2022-09-06
US20230099651A1 (en) 2023-03-30
EP4096475C0 (en) 2024-02-14

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