Abstract:
This invention provides an alarm system and method for adjusting the wake-up signals. The system includes a means for tracking the behavior of a person in a predetermined area under surveillance after the activation of an alarm clock, and a means for determining whether the person is motionless for a predetermined time period. Upon recognition that the observed behavior indicates the person is still sleeping, the wake-up signals are gradually increased. At the same time, the electrical power supplied to a plurality of electronic devices may be increased to assist the person to wake up.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0002]    The present invention relates to an alarm clock system and, more particularly, to a method and system for gradually increasing or decreasing the alarm clock signals based on whether the person is awake after the activation of the alarm clock.  
           [0003]    2. Description of the Related Art  
           [0004]    Numerous types of alarm clocks have been developed in the prior art. Although many prior art systems serve the general purpose of providing sound or light sensitive to the human body, they would not be as suitable for the purpose of the present invention as described hereinafter.  
           [0005]    Accordingly, the present invention provides an adaptive alarm system of automatically identifying a particular person after the alarm clock is activated, then making sure that the person awakes in a nonviolent manner.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0006]    The present invention is directed to a method and system for providing variations in wake-up signals and/or electrical power supplied to a plurality of electronic devices to assist a person in waking from sleep.  
           [0007]    One aspect of the present invention provides a method for adjusting alarm clock signals by tracking the behavior of a person in a predetermined area after the activation of an alarm clock; determining whether the person is motionless for a predetermined time period; and, if motionless, gradually increasing the alarm clock signals. Thereafter, it is determined again whether the person is motionless, and if not, the alarm clock signals are gradually increased further. Otherwise, the alarm clock signals are gradually decreased. Alternatively, the electrical power supplied to a plurality of electronic devices electrically coupled to the alarm clock may be gradually increased or decreased based on whether the person is motionless after the activation of the alarm clock.  
           [0008]    Another aspect of the present invention provides a method for adjusting the wake-up signals of an alarm clock system to assist in awaking a person. The method includes the steps of: setting a wake-up time in the alarm clock to activate the wake-up signals when the set time matches a current time; determining whether the person is motionless for a first predetermined time period after the activation of the alarm clock; if motionless, gradually increasing the wake-up signals of the alarm clock for a second predetermined time period; monitoring the behavior of the person for a third predetermined time period; and, if motionless, gradually increasing the wake-up signals of the alarm clock for a fourth predetermined time period.  
           [0009]    Another aspect of the present invention provides an alarm clock system for adjusting wake-up signals. The system includes a detecting means for observing the behavior of a person in a predetermined area under surveillance; an analyzing means for analyzing output data from the detection means to determine whether the person is motionless for a predetermined time period; a speaker coupled to the analyzing means for producing the wake-up signals; a control means for generating a control signal to gradually increase or decrease the wake-up signals based on whether the person is motionless. The system further includes an adjusting means for adjusting the electrical power supplied to a plurality of electronic devices electrically coupled to the alarm clock system to assist the person to awake from sleep. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0010]    A more complete understanding of the method and apparatus of the present invention is available by reference to the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 1 is a simplified diagram illustrating an exemplary room whereto embodiments of the present invention are to be applied;  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 2 is a simplified circuit block diagram showing an adaptive alarm system according to an embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the pattern recognition function in accordance with the present invention; and,  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating the operation steps of gradually increasing and decreasing the wake-up sound in response to the movement of an individual according to an embodiment of the present invention.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS  
       [0015]    In the following description, for purposes of explanation rather than limitation, specific details are set forth such as the particular architecture, interfaces, techniques, etc., in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. For purposes of simplicity and clarity, detailed descriptions of well-known devices, circuits, and methods are omitted so as not to obscure the description of the present invention with unnecessary detail.  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 1 is an illustrative diagram whereto embodiments of the present invention are to be applied. As shown in FIG. 1, the user is lying in bed with the alarm unit  10  positioned across the room from the bed. The alarm unit  10  may be located anywhere to keep a predetermined area or room under surveillance, such that if a person is still asleep after the activation of the alarm clock, the detection unit  10  generates a control signal to gradually increase the alarm signals, or activate other audio and visual signals via a number of electronic devices electronically coupled thereto, i.e., lamp, television set, stereo system, curtain or blinder opener/closer switch, etc. That is, a user may specifically pre-program the alarm unit  10  to selectively adjust the electrical power supplied to any one or a combination of the electronic devices coupled to the detection unit  10 . For example, a user may pre-program the lamp or stereo system to be activated if the person is still asleep after the alarm clock is triggered. The lamp will simulate a sunrise to wake up the user as he or she may be very sensitive to external environmental conditions. Any combination of sounds that will gradually increase in volume over a preset period of time may be used as ambient sounds to assist the person in awaking from sleep.  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 2 illustrates a simplified block diagram of the alarm unit  10  according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The detection unit  10  includes a detector  12 , a timer  14 , a snooze control circuit  16 , a control processor  18 , a power source  20 , a speaker  22 , an appliance interface circuit  24 , and a time display (not shown). The detector  12  may include a video camera, an optical sensor, an infrared sensor that can sense the body heat, or other tracking systems that are capable of observing the human body movement or sensing the sounds of human activity. Thus, any number of commercially or publicly available detection systems can be utilized in various implementations in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0018]    The snooze control circuit  16  may be coupled to a number of control buttons that are typically found in the conventional alarm clock for setting the time of day and alarm. Typical buttons may include an hour button for setting the hour on the time display, a minute button for setting the minutes of the time display, and an alarm button for setting the alarm time and for generating an alarm signal if the time of day matches the time to which the alarm is set. The power source  20  is provided to send power to the control unit  18 , which in turn distributes power to other components room, i.e., lamp, television set, stereo system, curtain or blinder opener/closer switch, etc. A memory (not shown) may also be provided to store various types of sounds that may be used as alternate wake-up signals.  
         [0019]    In operation, the detector  12  determines whether the person in a room is still sleeping after the activation of the alarm sound. If movement of the person is not detected within a predetermined time period, the control unit  18  generates a control signal to the speaker  22  and/or the appliance interface  24  to gradually increase the sound volume of the speaker or to activate other devices that may provide audio or visual signals to assist the person in waking up. For example, the user can pre-program the alarm unit  10  to ring starting at 7:00 a.m. Next, the user can select the alarm to prompt the alarm sound to increase every 5 minutes. The user may select to activate other electronic devices, such as a television set or lamp, along with the alarm sound gradually increasing in volume over a five minute cycle.  
         [0020]    Now, the process of identifying whether a person is still asleep after the activation of the initial alarm signal, according to the present invention, will be explained in a detailed description.  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 3 illustrates the technique of detecting the movement of a person in a room based on a series of frame data generated by the detector  12  of the inventive alarm unit  10 . Tracking the movement of a person in a particular area is well known in the art which can be performed in a variety of ways. See for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,249,207 and 6,095,989, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. When using a video camera, for example, the area under surveillance could be divided into an array of cells as shown in FIG. 3. The content of each cell is monitored between frames for any changes in the adjacent cells, and such indication can be used to indicate the movement or non-movement of a person. The movement of a person could be determined by dividing the aisle into an array of cells  30 . The array of cells could be further subdivided (shown by  32  and  34 ), for example, near the contour of the body region. The width of the subdivided cells also could be smaller, such that the movement of the person can be more easily identified. Accordingly, sub-divided cells could be used to detect a sleeping person by observing the person&#39;s motionless state. In the embodiment, if the detected person is motionless for a predetermined time period, it may indicate that the person is in a sleeping state.  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 4 illustrates a flow chart illustrating the operation steps of gradually increasing or decreasing the sound volume based on whether a person is still asleep in accordance with this invention. The rectangular elements indicate computer software instructions, whereas the diamond-shaped element represents computer software instructions that affect the execution of the computer software instructions represented by the rectangular blocks. Alternatively, the processing and decision blocks represent steps performed by functionally equivalent circuits such as a digital signal processor circuit or an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC).  
         [0023]    In step  100 , the user initially sets the alarm clock to activate at a particular time. When the current time matches the set alarm time, in step  110 , the alarm clock is activated to assist the user in waking up. Thereafter, the alarm unit  10  tracks down a person in a room and generates a series of video frames in step  120 . The movement of the person is monitored over a plurality of video frames to determine whether the person is moving within a predetermined time period in step  130 . If the person is motionless, the processor  14  generates a control signal to increase the power level to the speaker  22  of the alarm unit  10  in step  140 . Meanwhile, the electrical power supplied to any one of the electronic devices coupled to the alarm unit  10  can be activated to generate additional signals to assist the user in waking up. However, if the person is moving, the power level to the speaker  22  is gradually reduced in step  150 . Thereafter, in step  160 , if the person is determined to be awake, the power supplied to the electronic devices may be shut off or adjusted according to the default set by the user in step  170 . Finally, if the person is determined to be not awake in step  160 , step  140  is repeated.  
         [0024]    The previous description of the preferred embodiments is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the present invention. Various modifications to these embodiments, and other embodiments, will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art without the use of the inventive faculty. Thus, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.