Patent ID: 6567785
Filing Date: 2003-05-20
Classification: G06Q

Abstract:
An interactive reminder system for use by an operator in changing deeply ingrained habits and behaviors that an operator has recognized as unwanted behavior and has a sincere desire to change, which during use provides a succession of prompting signals to the operator on a varied schedule depending upon previous operator input as to achievement in changing the unwanted behavior, to bring the operator successively closer to a targeted behavior modification result, and further which provides such prompting signals at the conclusion of time intervals calculated from information provided by the operator as to whether he or she was engaged in the unwanted behavior at the end of the most recent time interval, in combination with a succession of prior information provided by the operator as to whether he or she was engaged in the unwanted behavior at the end of the time intervals immediately prior to a predetermined number of previously generated prompting signals, said system comprising:microprocessor means adapted for recursive and iterative calculation of successive time intervals for future operator-prompting signals intended to bring the operator successively closer to a targeted behavior modification result, wherein each said time interval for a next operator-prompting signal is calculated from a succession of electronic operator-generated response signals that includes a predetermined number of previously entered ones of said response signals and also the most recently entered one of said response signals, said microprocessor means also being adapted for increasing a next time interval when the operator is not engaged in a recognized unwanted behavior targeted for improvement at the time of the most recent one of said prompting signals, decreasing a next time interval when the operator is engaged in the recognized unwanted behavior targeted for improvement at the time of the most recent one of said prompting signals, and letting said next time interval remain unchanged when one of said operator response signals is not received after the most recent one of said prompting signals; housing means adapted for support of said microprocessor means and which is also adapted for a primary functional purpose that is not related to behavioral modification purposes; signal generation means adapted for providing a prompting signal at the conclusion of each of said calculated time intervals; information display means connected through said housing; operator response means adapted for use by an operator to provide at least one electronic response signal to said microprocessor that is capable of being interpreted by said microprocessor for calculation of time intervals, said operator response means also being connected through said housing; power supply means adapted for providing electrical power to said microprocessor means, said signal generation means, said information display means, and said operator response means; and electrical connection means adapted for electrical communication between said power supply means, said microprocessor means, said signal generation means, said information display means, and said operator response means so that after prompting signal generation and operator engagement of said operator response means, at least one of said electronic response, at least one of said electronic response signals is created by said operator response means to indicate whether the operator was engaged in the recognized unwanted behavior targeted for improvement at the time of the last one of said operator-prompting signals, with each said operator generated electronic response signal being used for calculation of a time interval prior to a next operator-prompting signal, and further with said calculation of time intervals, said prompting signal generation, and operator engagement of said operator response means continuing until the operator determines that the targeted behavior modification result has been achieved.