Vibrating pillow strip and operating methods

Abstract

Introduced are methods and systems for: gathering human biological signals, such as heart rate, respiration rate, or temperature; analyzing the gathered human biological signals; and controlling a vibrating pillow strip based on the analysis.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A system comprising:
 a vibrating unit disposed within a portion of a bed device; and   a controller operatively coupled to said vibrating unit, wherein said controller is configured to direct said vibrating unit to vibrate while a user is sleeping on top of at least said portion of said bed device, to wake up said user.   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein said controller is configured to direct said vibrating unit to turn off from vibrating based on a sensing data generated by (i) a user sensor disposed within said bed device, or (ii) an environmental sensor associated with said bed device. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein said user sensor is disposed within said portion of said bed device. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein said sensing data from said user sensor comprises a biological signal associated with said user, wherein said biological signal is selected from the group consisting of temperature, heart signal, breathing signal, motion, and presence. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein said sensing data from said environment sensor comprises an environmental signal associated with said bed device, wherein said environmental signal is selected from the group consisting of temperature, sound light, and humidity. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein said controller is configured to direct said vibrating unit to vibrate at a time that is from a wake-up time associated with said user to at most one hour before said wake-up time associated with said user. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 6 , wherein said controller is configured to determine said time based on (i) a user-specified wake-up time and (ii) a sleep phase associated with said user. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 7 , further comprising a sensor unit disposed within said bed device and configured to detect a biological signal of said user, wherein said controller is configured to determine said sleep phase based on said detected biological signal. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein said vibrating unit comprises a plurality of vibrating motors. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising an additional vibrating unit disposed within an additional portion of said bed device, wherein said controller is configured to direct said additional vibrating unit to vibrate while an additional user is sleeping on top of at least said additional portion of said bed device, and wherein said controller is configured to direct said vibrating unit and said additional vibrating unit to vibrate independently of each other. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein said bed device is a mattress or a mattress cover. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein said bed device is a pillow. 
     
     
         13 . A method comprising:
 (a) providing a vibrating unit disposed within a portion of a bed device; and   (b) directing said vibrating unit to vibrate while a user is sleeping on top of at least said portion of said bed device, to wake up said user.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , further comprising:
 (1) generating a sensing data by using (i) a sensor disposed within said bed device or (ii) an environmental sensor associated with said bed device; and   (2) directing said vibrating unit to turn off from vibrating based on said sensing data.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein said user sensor is disposed within said portion of said bed device. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein said sensing data from said user sensor comprises a biological signal associated with said user, wherein said biological signal is selected from the group consisting of temperature, heart signal, breathing signal, motion, and presence. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein said sensing data from said environment sensor comprises an environmental signal associated with said bed device, wherein said environmental signal is selected from the group consisting of temperature, sound light, and humidity. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 13 , further comprising directing said vibrating unit to vibrate at a time that is from a wake-up time associated with said user to at most one hour before said wake-up time associated with said user. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , further comprising determining said time based on (i) a user-specified wake-up time and (ii) a sleep phase associated with said user. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , further comprising:
 (1) detecting a biological signal of said user by using a sensor unit disposed within said bed device; and   (2) determining said sleep phase based on said detected biological signal.   
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein said vibrating unit comprises a plurality of vibrating motors. 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein said bed device further comprises an additional vibrating unit disposed within an additional portion of said bed device, and wherein the method further comprises directing said additional vibrating unit to vibrate (i) while an additional user is sleeping on top of at least said additional portion of said bed device and (ii) independently from said vibrating unit. 
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein said bed device is a mattress or a mattress cover. 
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein said bed device is a pillow.