The present disclosure relates to a device, a system and a method for rocking a baby in a spring-engaged sling, preferably provided with a computer program and a system for providing a controlled reciprocating vertical motion for rocking the baby.

Background

Special beds for a new-born baby have been used for many centuries. Among a variety of bed designs, cradles are in high-demand because rocking motion of cradles can soothe the baby and provide the baby a good rest and a good health.

The design and the comfort of such cradles have been advancing over many years based on the need of the market. While some cradles allow a side-to-side rocking motion, some cradles allow a forward rocking. Generally, cradles require a manual swinging facility by the parent and/or the caregiver, which makes things harder for both the caregiver and the baby.

Furthermore, babies have different sleeping pattern than adults. For example, babies can wake up in the middle of the night when the caregiver is in a deep sleep. Especially during the first couple of years after the birth, it is inevitable that babies will have an interrupted sleep. Thus, this different sleeping pattern of the babies affect also the caregivers. Apart from the responsibility of caring for the baby, caregivers often suffer from lack of sleep and restlessness. Consistently poor sleep and poor rest can put a strain on a daily life of caregivers and lead to serious health issues such as depression. It is therefore important to create a ritual by providing a similar and a smooth motion to help the baby to feel secure, rest and fall asleep more readily, which would also enhance the quality sleep of caregivers.

During recent years, technology has played an important role and has been used to help caregivers and babies for a better quality of life. Electronic devices invented to give automatic swinging facility to cradles have been designed. These simple motorised cradles has been a great support for providing the babies good resting conditions. However, the automation of cradles are limited to specific cradle designs and are limited in terms of motion adjustments. For examples, devices known from the prior art can be triggered manually to produce a rocking movement. Thus, the reciprocating motion of rocking is based on an initial oscillation pulse.

Furthermore, devices for rocking a baby comprises multiple support frames and parts, which results in non-mobile and heavy designs. Such devices are also associated with high purchase costs.

Another disadvantage of existing devices for rocking a baby is that they are limited to the technical features for initiating reciprocating movements. The effect of mechanical properties of the overall design on the reciprocating motion is not taken into account.

Additionally, it is a common practise to use several devices to monitor the baby so that caregivers can keep an eye on the baby. These devices however are usually constitute as external devices, leading to an increase in cost and limited flexibility in providing the baby a good rest and complicating the control of the cradle and external devices.

Thus, there is a need in the art to develop a device, which can automatically and smoothly adjust and control a rocking motion of a cradle and can provide information regarding the status of the baby and/or the environment of the baby.

Summary

Considering the prior art described above, it is purpose of the present disclosure to provide an improved device for rocking a baby carried by the device, i.e. an improved cradle bouncer.

It is a further purpose of the present disclosure to provide a device that is mobile I portable and can be used indoors and outdoors.

It is a further purpose of the present disclosure to provide a device that is easy to use and control remotely.

It is yet a further purpose of the present disclosure to improve a device such that rocking facility of a baby carried by the device can be provided automatically and efficiently. It is yet a further purpose of the present disclosure to provide a device for rocking a baby smoothly and controllably.

It is yet a further purpose of the present disclosure to provide a device for enabling a consistent reciprocating motion.

It is yet a further purpose of the present disclosure to provide a device for rocking a baby adjustable for each individual baby.

It is yet a further purpose of the present disclosure to provide a device such that the rocking of a baby can be automatically activated.

It is yet a further purpose of the present disclosure to provide a device for monitoring the baby and providing data related to the baby and/or the environment and/or the device.

In a first aspect, the present disclosure relates to a device for rocking a baby in a spring-engaged sling. The device comprises a housing body accommodating a motor comprising an output shaft, and a reciprocating assembly engaged with the output shaft. The device further comprises an attachment assembly for attaching the device between a support and a spring-engaged sling, and a pulling cable engaged with the reciprocating assembly and configured to be secured to the spring-engaged sling, such that the device preferably can be configured to generate a reciprocating motion of the spring-engaged sling. A spring is an elastic object that stores mechanical energy. A spring can have many forms, but the most common form of springs are made of spring steel. The term “spring-engaged” used herein refers to the functionality of the engagement, i.e. using an elastic object, such as a steel spring or an elastic band, that stores mechanical energy as the engagement between the sling and the presently disclosed device such that the reciprocating motion of the sling can be effected in accordance with Hooke’s law.

The device can be attached to a ceiling or any kind of support such that the spring- engaged sling carrying the baby can hang, preferably vertically, below the device and secured to the ceiling I support. The motor’s output torque rotates the output shaft in accordance to which the reciprocating assembly can rotate. The reciprocating assembly engages with a pulling cable, and when the reciprocating assembly rotates, the pulling cable is displaced. The pulling cable can be attached to the spring-engaged sling such that when reciprocating motion of the spring-engaged sling is generated by the motor, the baby carried in the spring-engaged sling can be provided with a vertical motion. The rocking motion, which is relaxing for the baby, is provided by the combination of the spring and the sling and the presently disclosed device counteracts the natural damping of the vertical movement. The present inventors have realised that up and down movements can have a particularly positive effect on restless babies. Rocking up and down may affect the archways in the inner ear, which can calm the nervous system of the baby.

The present disclosure provides a safe and compact device, which can provide an enhanced reciprocation motion. In an embodiment, the attachment assembly is configured to carry the total weight of the device, the baby and the sling, whereas the housing body only generates the reciprocating motion. When the weight of the baby is not carried by the housing body of the device but by the attachment assembly, the reciprocating motion can be controlled more efficiently. The reciprocating motion may be sensitive and can be affected by many factors such as deflection of the housing body which is accommodating the motor and drive shafts of the reciprocating assembly. As a result of undesired deflections, the parameters of the actual reciprocating motion may be different from the ones that were previously defined. When the weight of the baby and the spring-engaged sling are not carried by the housing body, the reliability of the device enhances. Furthermore, the housing body accommodating main components of the device can have a longer lifespan due to lower load that the housing body is subjected to. Vibration damping, e.g. in the form of at least one silicone ring, can advantageously be provided between the motor and housing body to reduce noise caused by vibration of the motor.

The present disclosure further relates to a computer-implemented method for communicating with the presently disclosed device. The method comprises the steps of receiving device data from the device, and/or visualising device data on a display, and transmitting control data to the device. Thus, a user of the device can have an access to the device data and can manipulate the device for controlling the device such that an optimum condition for the baby’s sleep can be provided. Advantageously, the presently disclosed device may be operated automatically and remotely. Preferably, the device can preferably be operated remotely by an external device, such as a smartphone, e.g. by the smartphone executing the presently disclosed method. This foresees that the device can be controlled not only manually but also automatically and remotely. For example, the device can be turned on and off remotely by the smartphone. Additionally, the parameters of the reciprocating motion, such as amplitude can be varied automatically and remotely. Thus, the presently disclosure relates from one aspect to a mobile device comprising a processor and a memory and being adapted to perform the presently disclosed method for communicating with the presently disclosed device.

The device may further comprise one or more sensors which can be part of the device and can receive data representing physical, thermal, and/or mechanical state of the device and/or the environment of the device. Automated control of the rocking of the baby can be coupled with received device data to improve the automation and provides a safer and reliable device. The device data can also represent data related to the baby. A great advantage of the data acquisition is monitoring the device, the surrounding, process conditions and the baby for evaluating a safe and pleasant environment for the baby’s sleep.

This implies that the device data can further be processed to calculate one or more parameters related the surrounding and or the baby, such as weight of the baby. The calculation of the weight of the baby instantaneously and continuously can guide the user of the device to access weight curve of the baby. As a result, the baby’s growth can be tracked. Additionally, the reciprocating motion can be controlled in accordance with the baby’s weight.

A further advantage of the presently disclosed device is that the device can be configured to automatically provide the reciprocating motion based on device data, such as data representing motion of the baby. The device may comprise a motion sensor, such as an accelerometer, for sensing motion of the baby. The motion sensor can measure the acceleration forces acting on an object that is provided in accordance with the motor, such as spring-engaged sling, the reciprocating assembly, the pulling cable. Advantageously, when the baby moves while the motor is in a stand still, the motion sensor can sense motion of the baby and the motor can be (re)activated. Thus, in an embodiment, the device can be configured such that the reciprocating motion can be (re)activated based on motion sensor data representing motion of the baby, for example if the baby wakes up from sleep.

The present disclosure further relates to a computer program having instructions which when executed by a computing device or system cause the computing device or system to carry out the steps of the presently disclosed method.

The present disclosure further relates to a system for providing a controlled reciprocating vertical motion for rocking a baby. The system comprises the presently disclosed device, a computer program having instructions, which when executed by a remote processing device, such as a smartphone, cause the processing device to carry out the steps of the presently disclosed method, e.g. receiving device data from the device, and/or visualising device data on a display, and transmitting control data to the device. The system can further comprise a spring engaged sling for attachment to the device.

Thus, by the presently disclosed device and system it is possible to acquire comprehensive device data for monitoring, investigating and understanding the sleep universe of a baby. The data can be of a guidance for solving possible sleep-related problems of the baby. Based on acquisition and/or visualisation of the device data and/or calculations based on device data, the physical device can further be configured such that optimum conditions for the sleep of the baby can be provided by means of the control data. Moreover, the device data can be of a guidance to monitor the service life of the motor and/or the device, power consumption, vibrations and noise - and to identify possible sources of error.

Description of the drawings

The invention will in the following be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 shows one embodiment of a device and a spring-engaged sling for rocking a baby in the sling.

Fig. 2 is one embodiment of the device for rocking a baby.

Fig. 3 shows one embodiment of a reciprocating assembly. Fig. 4 shows one embodiment of an assembly of an output gear, a tension element and a pulling cable.

Fig. 5 shows one embodiment of an output gear.

Fig. 6 shows one embodiment of the cross-sectional view of an output gear.

Fig. 7 shows an example of the elongated carrier in the form of a rope passing through the hollow passage of the body of one embodiment of the device.

Fig. 8 shows typical daily sleep pattern of an infant between 0 and 1 year, dark areas indicate sleep.

Detailed description

The present disclosure relates to a device for rocking a baby in a spring-engaged sling. The device can be attached to a support by means of an attachment assembly such that the device can be provided between the support and the spring-engaged sling.

The device comprises a housing body accommodating a motor. The housing body also accommodates an assembly that reciprocates due to reciprocating motion of an output shaft of the motor. The device further comprises a pulling cable, which engages with the reciprocating assembly and which can be secured to the spring-engaged sling. Thus, in an embodiment, the presently disclosed device is configured to generate a reciprocating motion of a spring-engaged sling, wherein the baby is carried, by means of a pulling cable. Preferably, the pulling cable can engage with the reciprocating assembly from one end, and with the spring-engaged sling from another end. Thus, when the reciprocating assembly reciprocates, the pulling cable can move the spring- engaged sling vertically.

Generally, the reciprocating assembly can reciprocate partly because of the torque applied by the output shaft of the motor. In an embodiment, the reciprocating assembly comprises a power-transmission module. The power transmission module can preferably comprise two gears; an input drive (input gear), engaging with the output shaft of the motor, and an output gear (a driven gear), which can be referred as an output drive of the power-transmission module. In an embodiment, the power transmission module, such as a gear module, engages with the output shaft, such that the power of the motor is transmitted to an output drive of the power-transmission module. The number of the gears and the gear ratio can be adjusted to optimize the power- and motion-transmission from the motor to the output drive. In an embodiment, the pulling cable engages with an output drive of the powertransmission module. Preferably, the pulling cable can be wound around the output drive. Thus, the pulling cable can rotate and wind in accordance with the rotational speed of the output drive when the motor is on. Alternatively, unwinding of the pulling cable can impose a rotation of the output drive. In a further embodiment, the reciprocating assembly comprises a tension element engaging with the pulling cable. The tension element may be provided in accordance with the output drive such that the pulling cable can be wound around the output drive in-tension.

Preferably, the pulling cable can extend outside of the housing for engaging the spring- engaged sling. Thus, the reciprocating motion of the pulling cable can move the spring- engaged sling up and down, assisting in (along with the spring) providing an oscillating vertical motion of the baby. In an embodiment, the pulling cable pulls the spring- engaged sling upwards with a predefined (vertical) amplitude, i.e. to maintain a constant rocking of the spring-engaged sling which will be naturally damped without the assistance from the device. Adjusting the amplitude of the vertical motion brings with a flexibility of using the device with desired parameters. In an embodiment, the device further comprises at least one amplitude regulation unit for adjusting the amplitude of the reciprocating motion. Advantageously, the amplitude can also be regulated remotely, e.g. by a smartphone, remote control, or other mobile device, connected to the device.

In an embodiment, the motor is configured to drive at least an upward motion of the sling. The downward motion of the sling can be driven by the gravitational force. This movement may also be referred as a 'drag and drop' movement. The pulling cable can pull up the spring-engaged sling, carrying the baby, in accordance with the rotational speed of the output drive and the predefined amplitude. When the desired amplitude is achieved, the downwards motion of the spring-engaged sling can take place. The downwards motion of the string-engaged spring may be guided by means of the baby’s weight. This implies that the pulling cable engaging with the spring-engaged sling can move downwards by gravity from the engagement end, while from the other end (engaging with the reciprocating assembly) the pulling cable unwinds and can rotate the output drive. Alternatively, both the downwards and the upwards movements can be driven by the motor. In an embodiment, the motor can be a DC motor. In an alternative embodiment, the motor may be a stepper motor. Preferably, the motor may be provided with an encoder mounted to the motor. An advantage of providing an encoder is that the number of rotations and/or the rotational speed of the motor can be measured.

Furthermore, in one advantageous embodiment, the device is configured to monitor winding and unwinding length of the pulling cable during the reciprocating motion. Specifically, the rotational speed of the output drive can be monitored from which winding and unwinding length of the pulling cable can be calculated. For such a calculation it may be desired to note and/or know the gear ratio of the powertransmission module.

In an embodiment, the housing body is provided with a hollow elongated passage, preferably a vertical hollow passage, for accommodating at least a part of the attachment assembly. In a further embodiment, the attachment assembly can comprise an elongated carrier, e.g. a rope, cord, cable, or wire or a built-in hanger, engaging with the hollow passage and extending longitudinally in the hollow passage, such that it can extend between a support, e.g. in a ceiling and the spring-engaged sling. The elongated carrier may be a carrier rope. This foresees that the elongated carrier carries the total weight of the device, the baby and the sling. I.e. the elongated carrier merely passes through the housing body via the hollow passage and the housing body is attached to the elongated carrier, e.g. by gripping around the elongated carrier. From a safety perspective this is an advantage because a rope, cord or a wire can be made very robust, also signalling to the caregiver that the device is robust. And even if the housing falls apart, the sling and the baby is still carried by the attachment assembly. Because the housing body of the device can be carried by the carrier rope, and because the housing body is not exposed to the weight of the baby, the housing body can be provided in various shapes, materials and compositions, thereby bringing a great flexibility during the development of such a device. Furthermore, the reciprocating motion can be controlled more precisely because the deflection of the device would not affect the motion.

The elongated carrier can be protected by a thimble in on or both ends of the elongated carrier. Thimbles, possibly in steel but preferably in plastic, are advantageously provided to protect eye(s) of ends of the elongated carrier from abrasion by providing a solid barrier between the possible fragile strands of the elongated carrier, and the connections to the support and the sling. The ceiling support above the cradle bouncer and the connection the cradle below the cradle bouncer are typically provided as metal fixtures and by providing the thimbles in plastics it is avoided that the metal of the fixtures interfaces with metal of the thimbles, because the metal-metal scratching can generate splinters that can harm the baby.

The elongated carrier can be a combination of materials, for example a rope with a metal core, such as steel core, for additional strength.

Furthermore, in a preferred embodiment, the attachment assembly comprises an upper connector and a lower connector provided at an upper end and a bottom end of said elongated carrier, respectively. Thus, the elongated carrier can be secured to a ceiling of a room or a frame in a garden by an upper connector, such as a hook, e.g. s snap hook. The elongated carrier can extend along the hollow passage of the housing and at the bottom end the carrier can connect with the lower connector, such as a hook. The bottom connector can be attached to the spring-engaged sling carrying the baby. This foresees that the elongated carrier can be made of any material, which can withstand the weight of the baby. It may be preferred to provide an elongated carrier made of metal or polymer or fibrous material.

In an embodiment, the device further comprises an electrical power supply for powering the drive motor. Alternatively, the device can comprise a battery for providing energy to the device and powering the drive motor.

Additionally, in an embodiment, the device comprises at least one time regulation unit for setting a run-time for the device to run. An advantage of this embodiment is that the desired time for rocking the baby can be set initially. Alternatively, the run-time of the device can be adjusted while the device is on. Setting a run-time can contribute saving energy and serves for improved convenience for the caregiver.

In an embodiment, the device further comprises at least one light indicator for indicating a mode of the device. For example, the mode of the device may be power mode, speed mode, amplitude mode and/or day-time mode. The light indicator may provide a red light when the power is off. The light indicator may also be configured such that the colour can indicate night and/or day-time. Thus, in an embodiment, the presently disclosed device can be configured for indicating and/or notifying a daytime. The device therefore can indicate the time of the day and can function as an alarm to notify a pre-set time of the day.

In a further embodiment the presently disclosed device for rocking a baby comprises an illumination unit for illuminating the sling below the device and/or the surroundings of the device. Such an illumination unit can in particular be useful to function as a night lamp. Some babies can be calmed down with dimmed light, preferably red-shifted light, during sleep and especially for the caregiver is would be an advantage that night light is available such that the caregiver can identify and see the device + sling if approaching the baby in the sling during the night, e.g. to monitor and watch the baby during the night, such that they don’t have to turn on light in the room. The illumination intensity of the illumination device is preferably adjustable, via a button on the device and/or via the externally connected device. Preferably also the spectrum of the illumination device is adjustable such that the light can be red-shifted during evening and night to avoid blue light, this spectral and/or intensity adjustment can be provided automatically based on the time of the day and the year I sunset & sunrise data. Spectrum control can be provided by an illumination device having one, two or more appropriately selected light emitting diodes (LEDs).

Sensors

In an embodiment, the device can further comprise at least one sensor. Said at least one sensor can be selected from a group of sensors, such as a temperature sensor, a smoke sensor, a light sensor, a humidity sensor, a gas sensor for measuring the levels of gas, an acoustic measurement unit for detecting noise (sound), a sensor for measuring the wind speed, a sensor for detecting airborne contaminants and irritants, such as animal dander, mold, toxins and pollen, a particle sensor for counting small and/or large particles. A combination of these sensors can measure and monitor the air quality to make life better for babies with for example allergies, asthmatic bronchitis, childhood eczema, e.g. warn the caregiver to increase air ventilation around the baby. Advantageously, sensors can acquire input data representing the surrounding conditions wherein the device is placed. The group of sensors can also comprise a weight sensor, a pressure sensor, an image sensor for monitoring the baby, a motion sensor for detecting the motion of the baby. This implies that the sensors can also acquire input data related to the baby. Additionally, the sensors may be provided as a part of the device and/or with the spring-engaged sling, such as in the sling.

In a further embodiment an imaging unit, such as a camera, is mounted in the device for rocking the baby and/or in the sling, the imaging unit(s) mounted such that a baby in the sling in inside the field of view of the camera, and such that images from the camera can be transmitted to the external device, such that the caregiver can monitor and image the baby remotely. Analysis of the images can provide for information of the eyes of the baby, e.g. open eyes: the baby is awake; closed calm eyes: the baby is sleeping; closed eyes with eye movements: baby is sleeping in specific sleep phase, e.g. dream sleep or light sleep phase. The image analysis can be provided centrally, e.g. in a cloud server, or on the wirelessly connected device, and functionalities like face recognition, eye analysis, eye movement analysis, etc. is known in the art.

The pressure sensor may preferably be provided for measuring pressure applied on the spring-engaged sling. Alternatively, the pressure sensor may have a direct relationship to force applied in the sling. This implies that the pressure sensor can be any sensor, which can detect changes within a mechanical stimulus such as force, pressure or weight and can produce an output that is comparative to the physical stimulus. The pressure sensor can be any sensor, which can convert an input mechanical stimulus into an electrical output signal. In other words, said sensors can convert force, pressure, tension, compression, torque, and weight into an electrical output signal in form of change in electrical resistance, voltage, current or frequency based on the load as well as used circuit. Said electrical output signal can be measured, converted and standardized.

In a preferred embodiment, the sensor configured for measuring the weight can be a weight sensor and/or a load cell. A weight sensor can advantageously provide an accurate and consistent measurement for delivering an exact weight of the baby. The device comprising the weight sensor and carrying the baby can therefore acquire the data representing weight of the baby as long as the baby is carried by the device.

The gas sensor can preferably measure the levels of gas where the device is located. This implies that the data representing gas content of the air can be acquired. The acquired data can be further analysed to determine the quality of the indoor air when the device is used indoors. In a preferred embodiment, the gas sensor can be CO2 sensor. In an embodiment, the device comprises a smoke sensor. The received data representing the smoke level can be analysed providing a safe environment.

The image sensor can preferably convert an optical image into an electronic signal that can be viewed and/or analysed and/or stored. For example, the device can comprise a digital camera having an image sensor for detecting and transmitting data for making an image of the baby and/or the environment around the baby.

In an embodiment, the device further comprises an electroacoustic transducer, such as a loudspeaker. The electroacoustic transducer can be activated and operated remotely for providing sound. The electroacoustic transducer therefore can be configured to talk to the baby, tell a story and/or provide music, alarm sound or provide any other sound such as white noise.

Furthermore, the device may comprise a decibel meter, which can measure the sound pressure level. The acoustic measurement unit can alternatively be a microphone, having a diaphragm moving according to the varying sound pressure around the acoustic measurement unit. Thus, the acoustic measurement unit can detect the sound of a baby for example when the baby cries or the sound around the environment of the baby. Advantageously, data related to the sound level around the baby and the sound of the baby can be acquired by means of the microphone.

In an embodiment, the device further comprises a controller board, such as a PCB. The controller board may be provided for controlling the drive motor. This implies that the PCB may sense the motion of the drive shaft. Furthermore, the controller board may comprise one or more sensors.

Communication with the device

In an embodiment, the device further comprises at least one power regulation unit for setting a power mode, e.g. turn-on, turn-off or pause the device. While the power regulation unit may be operated by means of engaging with and adjusting the power regulation unit, the power of the device can also be regulated remotely without the need of approaching to the device and to the regulation unit. The presently disclosed computer-implemented method for communicating with the device, comprises the steps of receiving device data from the device, and/or visualising device data on a display, and transmitting control data to the device. Control data may for example be an input data provided by the user of the device remotely by means of the external device, which communicates with the transceiver of the device.

This foresees that in a further embodiment, the method can comprise the step of controlling the power mode of the device remotely. As a result, the caregiver can turn on/off of the device by providing an input representing the desired power mode. Similarly, the caregiver can provide an input to the device to control and/or (de)activate one or more sensors of the device. Thus, in an embodiment, control data represents one or more of the following “power on” or “power off” the device, “sound on” or “sound off” the device, “visual recording on” or “visual recording off’, “timer on” or “timer off” the device. Thus, the caregiver can record the baby and/or the surrounding, take a picture, set an alarm remotely by transmission of control data to the device. Additionally, the control data can represent acoustic signal and/or lighting signal. Advantageously, providing white noise can help baby to fall asleep faster. The lighting of the device can also be changed by means of relevant control data transmitted to the device. Furthermore, control data may represent amplitude and/or frequency of the vertical movement. Thus, an optimum reciprocation motion for the baby’s sleep can be determined remotely. Input representing control data may be provided by pressing a button of the external device, entering a value and/or engaging with the external device or providing a voice signal to the external device.

In an embodiment device data represents one or more of the following: encoder data from the motor, temperature, CO2 level, noise level, visual recording, images, pressure, amplitude, power-mode, smoke level, humidity level, wind level, motion, light level. Thus, the device can be configured to provide data representing conditions of the surrounding such as temperature, humidity level, light level, smoke level, noise level of the surroundings. The device can be configured to acquire data related to baby such as temperature, weight, noise, motion of the baby. Furthermore, the device can be configured to provide data regarding motion of the device such as encoder data, amplitude, power-mode. This implies that the device data representing information related to baby’s, device- and surrounding- conditions can be transmitted to an external device and one or more of these device data can be controlled by a control data provided by means of the external device.

Device data can also be processed to calculate one or more parameters related to the baby, the device and/or surrounding around the device. For example, device data representing noise and/or sound can be processed further to provide level of the sound of the surrounding. In an embodiment therefore, the method comprises the step of calculating the noise level of the environment and/or temperature of the environment and/or CO2 level of the environment.

In a preferred embodiment, the method comprises the step of calculating the sleep pattern of the baby. Sleep patterns of the baby may be calculated based on device data representing one or more of the motion, visual recordings and noise. Alternatively, sleep pattern of the baby may be calculated based on motor’s operational period. The sleep pattern of the baby may indicate number of sleeping hours, nap time, sleep development over a defined time interval. Additionally, sleep curve may indicate the movement of the baby while sleeping. The method can further comprise calculating an average sleep pattern of the baby based a number of individual sleep patterns, and comparing an individual sleep pattern with the average sleep pattern. For example, the method can comprise the step of calculating average sleeping hours of the baby based on sleeping hours of the baby for plurality of days and comparing sleeping hours for a predefined day with the average sleeping hours of the baby per day.

A great advantage of the presently disclosed approach is that the device can be configured for calculating the weight of the baby. Thus, in an embodiment, the method comprises the step of calculating the weight of the baby. In a further preferred embodiment, the method comprises the step of providing a weight curve of the baby for a defined time interval. Preferably, calculating weight of the baby can be based on encoder data from the motor, an amplitude of the reciprocating motion and/or stiffness constant of the spring-engaged sling and/or power of the drive motor. Consequently, the weight of the baby can be tracked without the need of providing a weight and/or a pressure sensor.

A solution to calculate the weight of the baby can be based on a work-torque relation because the mass of the sling and the baby is proportional to the work needed to maintain the motion. The work can be calculated based on device data representing the torque that the motor is providing and the amplitude of the movement. The torque may for example be acquired from encoder data. When the weight of the baby increases, the force increases, as a result, the work can change while maintaining the amplitude of the motion. The change in the work can be calculated from the change of the torque and thereby the change in the weight can be assessed.

Alternatively, the weight of the baby can be calculated based on the bouncing (angular) frequency. Generally, the angular frequency of the mass-spring system can be independent from the amplitude of the motion. However, any mass-spring combination can give a unique bouncing frequency. Thus, the mass carried by the spring can be determined based on the angular frequency of the mass-spring system for a spring of a known spring constant. The weight of the baby carried by the spring therefore can be calculated from the angular frequency and the spring constant. Furthermore, in one embodiment of the presently disclosed invention, the method can comprise the step of calculating the oscillation of the spring-engaged sling.

The device can be further configured such that calculated data can be compared with a threshold value. For example, the calculated weight of the baby can be compared with a predefined threshold weight. Thus, in a preferred embodiment, the method further comprises the step of comparing calculated data with one or more threshold values for detecting when calculated data exceeds the respective threshold value. In a further embodiment, the method further comprises the step of providing a notice when calculated data is above the threshold value. An advantage of this feature may be to alarm the caregiver when an undesired condition takes place. For example, the device can be configured such that when the weight curve of the baby is above and/or below a predefined value and/or a range, then a notice of noise, sound, vibration or any other kind of notice can activate. The notice can also be provided by means of the external device. Furthermore, the device can be configured such that when the CO2 level, or smoke level or any other data regarding the device and/or the baby and/or the surroundings exceeds the respective predefined threshold level, a notice to the caregiver can be provided. This implies that the sound level around the baby and the sound of the baby can be notified to the caregiver. In a further embodiment the detection of one or more predefined sound patterns, e.g. in terms of frequency, time and/or sound level (in dB) can lead to activation of the reciprocating motion of the device. Such functionality is in particular advantageous when the baby is sleeping and there is no reciprocating motion of the device, and for example a loud sound above a predefined dB is detected, possibly also a sound having predefined minimum duration. The threshold dB level may be pre-set at around 80 dB or 85 dB or even 90 dB, but could also be selected by the user based on the environment and typical background noise and the noise sensitivity of the baby. This loud sound can have the consequence that the baby wakes up, and the presently disclosed device can therefore be configured such that the reciprocating motion, for example a predefined reciprocating motion, is activated following detection of a loud sound, in particular if the reciprocating motion is off before detection of the loud sound. By reactivating the reciprocating motion following detection of sound, the likelihood of wakening the baby by the sound can be mitigated. The sound data is preferably processed by the wirelessly connected external device.

In an embodiment, the memory can store data representing baby’s weight, birth date, age, and any data representing the baby and/or device and/or the environment. Data storage can also be provided in the cloud via the internet.

The present disclosure further relates to a mobile device comprising a processor and a memory and being adapted to perform the presently disclosed method for communicating with the presently disclosed device for rocking a baby in a spring- engaged sling. Furthermore, a computer program having instructions which when executed by a computing device or system can cause the computing device or system to carry out the steps of the presently disclosed method.

The present disclosure further relates to a system for providing a controlled reciprocating vertical motion for rocking a baby, comprising a device according to what was described above and a computer program having instructions, which when executed by a remote processing device, such as a smartphone, cause the processing device at least to receive device data from the device, and/or visualise device data on a display, and transmit control data to the device. The computer program such as a software application can be executable on the remote processing device having a display. The remote processing device may comprise a part of the sensors. The display may be an external display or a screen or can be a part of a tablet or a mobile phone. This implies that the remote processing device can be connected to an external screen. Alternatively, the remote processing device can comprise a display. Advantageously, a mobile phone or a tablet may comprise a display unit for displaying, and a processing device for executing a computer program. Hence, a part of the sensors arranged in accordance with the device and/or the baby and/or the surrounding, the remote processing unit, the smartphone, and the display unit may be one and the same unit can be easily operated by the caregiver. However, as also described in here, there may be several units. The sensors described herein may be located in the device and/or in the spring-engaged sling. Hence, in a one embodiment, the spring engaged sling or a sling carrying a baby comprises a weight sensor. In a further embodiment, the spring engaged sling or a sling carrying a baby comprises a temperature sensor. The spring engaged sling then becomes part of the presently disclosed system.

In an advantageous embodiment, the computer program having instructions, which, when executed by the remote processing device can cause the processing device to display instantaneous and/or accumulative calculated device data on a screen of the remote processing device. Advantageously, the computer program can be executed on the remote processing device, which may be merely wirelessly connected to the device, e.g. by Bluetooth, NFC and/or wifi, for rocking the baby in the spring-engaged sling.

Sleep tracking

The sleep cycles of infants are very different from the sleep cycles of adults because a typical infant sleep cycle only lasts for about 40-50 minutes and progresses typically as follows: The first 0-10 minutes the infant is drowsy and will start to fall asleep, 10-20 is the light sleep phase with rapid eye movement and irregular breathing, 20-30 minutes is the deep sleep phase where the infant is relaxed and still with deep breathing, 30-40 minutes is REM sleep with dreams where the infant moves and make noises and 40-50 minutes is the light sleep phase where sleeping is light and the baby wakes up easy. At this point the baby might wake up or start a new sleep cycle. This is summarized in table 1 below.

Table 1: Typical infant sleep cycle

As seen from table I each sleep phase has a unique combination of parameters characterizing the sleep phase and this makes it possible to detect and monitor the specific sleep phase of the baby, possibly in real time, by using data acquired from one or more sensors, e.g. microphone, accelerometer, camera, etc., as also disclosed herein. Detected movement of the baby can indicate different things based on the pattern of the movement, e.g. in terms of the frequency and intensity of the movement, in particular in combination with a sound pattern. I.e. movement in combination with loud sound or more than 75 dB indicates that the baby is awake and crying, whereas light movement and no sound can indicate the dream-sleep stage.

Table 2: Typical infant sleep pattern by age

In a further embodiment the presently disclosed device comprises automatic sleep tracking and/or sleep stage detection of the infant in the sling, preferably executed in a wirelessly connected external device as disclosed herein. As stated herein the device may be provided with various sensors, e.g. an acoustic sensor, e.g. a microphone, in order to detected noise and sound from the baby and the surroundings, and an accelerometer to detect motion of the infant in the sling. The collected data can be stored and/or analysed in the connected external device or in a central processing unit I cloud storage.

Hence, the presently disclosed approach of sleep tracking preferably includes receiving and analysing images of the baby, preferably thereby identifying a face and/or eyes of the baby in images of the baby, preferably in order to analysing eye status and/or eye movement in the images.

Automatic sleep tracking usually involves detecting and monitoring sleep phases of the baby. Sleep phases can be detected and monitored by detecting sound from the baby, movement of the baby, timing since activation of the reciprocating motion, eye status (open/closed) of the baby and/or eye movement of the baby. As stated above the sleep phases can be selected from the group of: drowsy, light 1, deep, dream, and light 2. The sleep phases may be detected by characterizing each sleep phase with one or more or all of the following sleep phase parameters: upper limit of sounds from the baby, upper limit of movement of the baby, eye status, upper and/or lower limit of eye movement, and timing since activation of reciprocating motion, for example the limits of table I above. I.e. the sleep phase parameters can be predefined for the typical baby in the typical environment. However, advantageously also with the option of adjusting the limits by the user, because there may be local conditions in the environments necessitating such adjustments and babies are different, and the caregiver will quickly find out which parameters and limits apply to the specific baby, to make the sleep phase detection even more precise.

Detection and monitoring of sleep phases of the baby makes determination of the baby’s sleep pattern quite straightforward, because it will then just be a matter of adding together the duration of the various sleep phases. The calculated sleep pattern of the baby can advantageously be compared to a typical sleep pattern of a typical baby of comparable age and/or to historic sleep patterns of the same baby and preferably visualized to the user, such that the caregiver can monitor the sleep of the baby and possibly be notified of for example soon-to-come sickness before the baby shows real symptoms.

In that regard abnormalities in the calculated sleep pattern are preferably automatically detected, for example by identifying and/or correlating, such as correlating in time, with abnormalities in sensor data. Short term sleep pattern abnormalities might be that the baby waking up too early, or impossible to fall asleep might be caused by a sound, vibration, movement, temperature, dust, draught, light, sunlight, wind, etc., or other abnormality in the surroundings that the caregiver did not notice or were not aware of, but knowledge thereof is valuable to the caregiver. Long terms sleep pattern might be an indication of sickness or misbehaviour of the baby and/or for example temperature, humidity, air quality, light, background noise, etc.

Detection of the various sleep stages of the infant in combination with measuring duration of the sleep stages provides total automatic sleep tracking, such that the infants overall sleep cycles can be monitored and tracked and preferably visualized to the caregiver, for example by comparing with typical sleep cycles of infants of the same age, e.g. based on one or more of the parameters listed in table 1. If one or more of the sleep parameters are outside the normal range, the constant monitoring via the presently disclosed device makes it possible to look for explanations, i.e. a short sleep cycle might be due to a loud noise waking up the baby, variations in temperature, humidity, lightning, air quality, etc. Such odd data I explanations are preferably automatically presented and visualized to the caregiver on the external device if it can be coupled to detection of atypical sleep cycles. Alternatively the caregiver can via the external device navigate through the various data monitored by the sensors of the device, in order to find an explanation of any atypical sleep cycles.

Detailed description of the drawings

The presently disclosed device and system will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying exemplary embodiments shown in the drawings, when applicable. However, it is to be noted that the invention may be embodied in various forms. The hereby provided embodiments are to guide a thorough and complete disclosure. Hence, embodiments set forth herein should not be interpreted as limiting but be construed as a tool for delivering the scope of the invention to those who are skilled in the art. The same reference numbers refer to the same element throughout the document.

Fig. 1 shows one embodiment of a device 1 and a spring-engaged sling 2 for rocking a baby within the sling 3. The device 1 comprises an attachment assembly 4 for attaching the device 1 between a support, such as a ceiling, and the spring-engaged sling 2 by means of an elongated carrier in the form of a rope 9. The carrier rope 9 is provided vertically and comprises an upper connector 4 at the upper end above the device 1 and a lower connector 5 at the bottom end below the device 1. The upper connector 4 is a snap hook and attached to a room ceiling, while the lower connector 5, a lower snap hook engages with the spring-engaged sling 2. Another example of using a rope 9 as the elongated carrier can be seen in fig. 9 where the rope 9 extending through the hollow passage 11 of the body.

Thimbles can advantageously then be provided in the two eyes formed by the looped rope 9, two protect the eyes of the rope 9. Plastic thimbles are preferably used to avoid metal-metal connection between fixtures. The hollow passage 11 is also visible in fig. 9 where part of the hollow passage is formed by a detachable cover 31. This detachable cover 31 is an example of a solution enabling attachment of the elongated carrier in the form of the rope 9 to the body of the device 1 , i.e. when attaching the cover 31 to the body of the device the cover engages with and tightens the rope 9 to the device body. In fig. 9 additional security is provided by letting the rope 9 pass out through the cover 31 and around a pin 32. The rope 9 can be spliced together (not shown) or a knot (not shown) can be provided near the pin 32 such that the rope thereby is better locked to the body of the device. In that way the elongated carrier 9 carries the weight of the baby and the sling and the device, whereas the cover 31 , the pin 32 and the engagement with the rope 9 and the device body only “carries” the weight of the device. In that way most of the parts of the presently disclosed device can be provided as injection moulded plastic parts providing a lightweight and cost-efficient solution.

The spring-engaged sling 2 comprises a spring 6 and a sling 3 and hangs from the lower connector 5. Specifically, the spring 6 is provided vertically and engages with the lower connector 5 at the upper end with the sling 3 and at the bottom end 7 of the spring 6. The sling 3, carrying the baby and attached to the spring 6, can therefore promote an oscillatory vertical motion due to a spring-mass system hanging vertically following Hooke’s law.

Fig. 2 shows a detailed view of an embodiment of the device 1 for rocking a baby. The housing body 10 of the device 1 is provided with a vertical hollow passage 11 such that the carrier rope (shown in Fig. 1) engages with the hollow passage and extends vertically in the hollow passage 11 along the direction of dashed lines. The length of the carrier rope 9 can be longer than the length of the hollow passage 11. For example, the length of the hollow passage can be approximately 200 mm while the length of the carrier rope can be approximately 300 mm.

The housing body 10 comprises a montage plate 13 for supporting a DC motor 12 and a reciprocating assembly 14 provided within the housing body 10. The reciprocating assembly 14 comprises an input gear (driving gear) 15, engaging with the motor 12, and an output gear (driven gear) 16. Vibration damping, e.g. in the form of at least one silicone ring, can advantageously be provided between the motor 12 and housing body 10 to reduce noise caused by vibration of the motor12. In this embodiment, the power of the motor 12 is transmitted to the output gear 16 with a gear ratio of approximately 82/17. The number of the gears and the gear ratio can be adjusted to optimize the power transmission from the motor 12 to the output gear 16. The device further comprises an electrical power supply 17 for power input and a controller board 18 for controlling the motor.

Fig. 3 is an embodiment of the reciprocating assembly 14. A pulling cable 20 is wound around the output gear 16 on a circumferential surface 25 of the output gear 16 such that when the output gear 16 reciprocates, so the pulling cable 20 can wind or unwind depending on the direction of rotation. The length of the pulling cable 20 is approximately 800 mm indicating that the pulling cable can lift the baby from about 800 mm away from the device.

The output gear 16 is provided with a circular cavity 24, having a diameter of around 34 mm, for accommodating a tension element 21. The tension element 21 is a spiral torsion spring with a width of approximately 10-12 mm and coiled (wound) around an axle 27. The axle 27 has a diameter of around 10-12 mm and is provided through a central hole of the output gear 16. The tension element 21 further engages with the pulling cable 20 through a slit 26 provided on the circumferential surface 25 of the output gear 16. An embodiment of an assembly of an output gear 16, a tension element 21 and a pulling cable 20 is also shown in Fig. 4. The outer edge 2T of the tension element 21 (shown in Fig. 3) extends outwards from the circumferential surface 25 of the output gear 16 thereby keeping the pulling cable 20 in tension during winding of the pulling cable 20 with reduced friction. Furthermore, the tension element 21 can promote an approximately constant torque during the operation of the device. The reciprocating assembly 14 further comprises a circular plate 22 having a central circular hole 22’ to cover the cavity 24 of the output gear 16 accommodating the tension element 21 , such that the central hole 22’ of the circular plate 22 engages with the axle 27. Additionally, a cover 23 shown in Fig. 3 can accommodate the circular plate 22, the tension element 21 , the front and side of the output and the input gear 16, 15 and can be assembled to the montage plate 13.

Fig 5 and Fig. 6 show embodiments of the output gear 16. The output gear 16 comprises an assembly hole 8 for assembling the pulling cable (not shown). The pulling cable can therefore be provided through the assembly hole 28 and wound around the side surface 25 of the output gear 16. A rear surface of the output gear 16, engaging with the montage plate as shown in Fig. 2 and Fig. 3, is provided with half cylindrical circular extensions 30 for optimizing the contact area.