Sleep aid device for vehicle, system including sleep aid device, and method of sleep aid for vehicle

• US 10,004,873 B1
• Filed: 09/07/2017
• Issued: 06/26/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 03/13/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hyundai Motor Company (Hyundai Motor Group), Kia Motors Corporation (Kia Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Hyundai Motor Company (Hyundai Motor Group), Kia Motors Corporation (Kia Corp.)
• Inventors: Hur, Nam Woong, Kim, Eung Hwan, Jeon, Seul Ki
• Primary Examiner(s): Lau, Hoi
• Application Number:
  US15/697,820
• Time in Patent Office: 292 Days
• Field of Search: 340575, 340576, 340438
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/0247 Pressure sensors
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/046 in a matrix array
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/11 Measuring movement of the entire body or parts thereof, e.g. head or hand tremor, mobility of a limb for measuring pulse A61B5/02 ;A61B5/1038 takes precedence; motion detection to correct for motion artifacts in physiological signals A61B5/721
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/48 Other medical applications
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4812 Detecting sleep stages or cycles
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4815 Sleep quality
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6892 Mats
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6893 Cars
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2021/0016 by the smell sense
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2021/0022 by the tactile sense, e.g. vibrations
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2021/0027 by the hearing sense
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2021/0044 by the sight sense
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2021/0083 especially for waking up
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 21/02 for inducing sleep or relaxation, e.g. by direct nerve stimulation, hypnosis, analgesia for massage A61H; electrotherapy A61N, e.g. applying alternating or intermittent electric currents for producing anaesthesia A61N1/36021
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/505 Touch-screens; Virtual keyboard or keypads; Virtual buttons; Soft keys; Mouse touches
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2230/005 Parameter used as control input for the apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2230/06 Heartbeat rate only
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2230/62 Posture
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2230/63 Motion, e.g. physical activity
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/50 of positioning data, e.g. GPS [Global Positioning System] data
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 40/08 : related to drivers or passengers
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/14 : Means for informing the driver, warning the driver or prompting a driver intervention
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0274 : using mapping information stored in a memory device navigation using map-matching G01C21/30
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/06 : indicating a condition of sleep, e.g. anti-dozing alarms

Abstract

A sleep aid device for a vehicle includes a sleep information setting device for setting sleep information and a target sleep time of a user, a route establishing device for establishing a route to a destination and for calculating a time required to reach the destination, a sleep mode determining device for determining whether a current mode is a sleep mode and for determining a sleep-inducing start time using the sleep information and the time required to reach the destination, a sleep mode controller for controlling an intra-vehicle device in the sleep mode at the sleep-inducing start time, a wake-up mode determining device for determining a sleep state of the user and entering a wake-up mode when the user is in a light sleep state, and a wake-up mode controller for controlling the intra-vehicle device in the wake-up mode when the wake-up mode is entered.

Claims

1. A sleep aid device for a vehicle, the device comprising:

a sleep information setting device for setting sleep information and a target sleep time of a user;

a route establishing device for establishing a route to a destination and for calculating a time required to reach the destination;

a sleep mode determining device for determining whether a current mode is a sleep mode and for determining a sleep-inducing start time using the sleep information and the time required to reach the destination;

a sleep mode controller for controlling an intra-vehicle device in the sleep mode at the sleep-inducing start time;

a wake-up mode determining device for determining a sleep state of the user and entering a wake-up mode when the user is in a light sleep state; and

a wake-up mode controller for controlling the intra-vehicle device in the wake-up mode when the wake-up mode is entered.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the sleep information comprises one or more of an amount of sleep of the user, a quality of sleep of the user and schedule information of the user.

3. The device of claim 1, wherein the sleep information setting device receives the sleep information via one or more of a wearable device, a smart bed and a smartphone, or wherein the sleep information setting device directly receives the sleep information from the user in the vehicle.

4. The device of claim 1, wherein the sleep information setting device calculates the target sleep time using the sleep information.

5. The device of claim 1, wherein the sleep information setting device receives the target sleep time in advance from the user, or wherein the sleep information setting device sets the target sleep time to a previously stored recommendation value according to an age or gender of the user if the target sleep time is not received in advance.

6. The device of claim 1, wherein the sleep mode determining device determines whether the sleep mode is entered using one or more of a quality of sleep of the previous day of the user, a sleep time of the previous day, a sleep period of the previous day and a schedule of the previous day.

7. The device of claim 1, wherein the route establishing device establishes the route again to adjust the time required in response to the target sleep time if the target sleep time is shorter than the time required.

8. The device of claim 1, wherein the route establishing device establishes a shortest-distance or shortest-time route to the destination in the sleep mode, which is a route established by first searching for a road which facilitates cruise control.

9. The device of claim 1, wherein the intra-vehicle device comprises at least one of a seat, an air conditioning device, a diffuser device, a light device or a sound device.

10. The device of claim 9, wherein the sleep mode controller:

flattens the seat;

controls the air conditioning device to set an indoor temperature of the vehicle to a sleep temperature;

controls the diffuser device to generate a sleep-inducing scent;

turns off the light device to control the light device in a shade mode; and

/or

controls the sound device to output at least one of a white noise, a natural sound or a sleep-inducing beep sound.

11. The device of claim 1, wherein the wake-up mode determining device enters the wake-up mode if the vehicle will arrive at the destination within a time period and if the user is in the light sleep state.

12. The device of claim 9, wherein the wake-up mode controller:

turns on the light device;

controls the sound device to output an alarm sound or a natural sound;

operates a massage device of the seat;

controls the diffuser device to generate a wake-up scent;

and/or controls the air conditioning device to generate cold wind when the wake-up mode is entered.

13. A sleep aid system for a vehicle, the system comprising:

a communication device for receiving sleep information or a target sleep time from a user terminal;

an input device for receiving the target sleep time, the sleep information and a destination from a user;

a sleep aid device for establishing a route to the destination, for determining a sleep-inducing start time based on a time required to reach the destination and the target sleep time, for controlling an intra-vehicle device in a sleep mode at the sleep-inducing start time, for monitoring a sleep state of the user and a destination arrival time, and for controlling the intra-vehicle device in a wake-up mode if the vehicle will arrive at the destination within a time and if the user is in a light sleep state; and

a storage device for storing the target sleep time, the sleep information and information about the route to the destination.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the user terminal comprises one or more of a wearable device, a smartphone and a smart bed.

15. A sleep aid method for a vehicle, the method comprising:

setting sleep information and a target sleep time of a user;

establishing a route to a destination and calculating a time required to reach the destination;

determining whether a current mode is a sleep mode and determining a sleep-inducing start time using the sleep information and the time required;

controlling an intra-vehicle device in the sleep mode at the sleep-inducing start time;

entering a wake-up mode if the vehicle will arrive at the destination within a time period and if the user is in a light sleep state; and

controlling the intra-vehicle device in the wake-up mode when the wake-up mode is entered.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

receiving the sleep information or the target sleep time from a smart device of the user;

directly receiving the sleep information or the target sleep time from the user;

or

using a previously stored recommendation value according to an age or gender of the user as the target sleep time.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the step of determining whether the current mode is the sleep mode and the step of determining the sleep-inducing start time comprises:

determining whether the sleep mode is entered, using one or more of quality of a past sleep of the user, a past sleep time, a past sleep period and a past schedule.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein the step of establishing the route to the destination and the step of calculating the time required to reach the destination comprises:

establishing the route again to adjust the time required in response to the target sleep time if the target sleep time is shorter than the time required.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the step of establishing the route to the destination and the step of calculating the time required to reach the destination comprises:

establishing a shortest-distance or shortest-time route to the destination in the sleep mode established by first searching for a road which facilitates cruise control.

20. The method of claim 15, wherein the step of controlling the intra-vehicle device in the sleep mode comprises:

flattening a seat;

controlling an air conditioning device to set an indoor temperature of the vehicle to a sleep temperature;

controlling a diffuser device to generate a sleep-inducing scent; and

/or

turning off a light device to control the light device in a shade mode.