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Methods and apparatus for encouraging wakefulness of a driver using biometric parameters measured using a wearable monitor

  • US 10,080,518 B2
  • Filed: 08/24/2014
  • Issued: 09/25/2018
  • Est. Priority Date: 06/23/2006
  • Status: Active Grant
First Claim
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1. A method of maintaining wakefulness of a driver of a vehicle using a cellular telephone and a wrist-worn heart rate monitor, comprising:

  • providing a wrist-worn heart rate monitor having a wrist strap and a heart rate monitor including a sensor adapted to sense a heart rate of a user, and further including a transmitter adapted to wirelessly transmit a signal indicative of heart rate of the user;

    employing the wrist-worn heart rate monitor to measure a heart rate of a user while the user is driving a vehicle;

    communicating heart rate information from the wrist-worn heart rate monitor to the cellular telephone of the user while the user is driving the vehicle, the wrist-worn heart rate monitor and the cellular telephone paired to communicate and form a portable communicatively-coupled system that is at least configured to operate physically and electrically separate from the vehicle, and configured to monitor the wakefulness of the user while the user is driving the vehicle;

    employing the cellular telephone to determine when the user'"'"'s heart rate is within an acceptable range for the user while the user is driving the vehicle, the acceptable range being based on being above a level that would indicate the user is about to fall asleep;

    in response to the user'"'"'s heart rate being outside the acceptable range, employing the cellular telephone to attempt to alter the user'"'"'s heart rate while the user is driving by prompting the user to respond in a manner that indicates an alertness level of the user; and

    increasing a frequency of determining whether the user'"'"'s heart rate is within the acceptable range when the user'"'"'s heart rate is close to an end of the acceptable range.

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