Apparatus for soothing a baby

Abstract

An apparatus for soothing a baby on a mattress has a mattress support or base having weight detecting means for detecting weight of the baby on the mattress, cry detecting means for detecting baby cry, and vibration means for vibrating the mattress. The apparatus has control means configured to determine a center of gravity of the baby on the mattress and baby agitation in response to the weight detecting means. The control means control the vibration means to vibrate the mattress in a position different from the center of gravity of the baby on the mattress within and not beyond a maximum time in response to detection of the baby's cry and/or agitation.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An apparatus for soothing a baby on a mattress, said apparatus comprising a mattress support or base including:
 weight detecting means configured to detect weight of the baby on the mattress,   cry detecting means configured to detect baby cry, and   vibration means for vibrating the mattress, the apparatus further comprising a control means configured to determine a center of gravity of the baby on the mattress and baby agitation in response to said weight detecting means, said control means being configured to control said vibration means to vibrate the mattress in a position different from the center of gravity of the baby on the mattress within and not beyond a maximum time period in response to detection of at least one of the baby cry and the baby agitation.   
     
     
         2 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein said weight detecting means include a plurality of force sensors arranged according to a matrix scheme and at a certain distance one form the other on said mattress support or base, said control means being configured to process the center of gravity of the baby on the mattress from data detected by said plurality of force sensors. 
     
     
         3 . The apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein said control means are configured to determine the baby agitation by verifying a variation of the weight of the baby in two successive time instants in at least one force sensor of said plurality of force sensors. 
     
     
         4 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising means for detecting baby cry intensity, said means including a capacitor supplied by an electric signal generated by the cry detecting means, the baby cry intensity being the voltage across said capacitor. 
     
     
         5 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising means configured to detect a mattress humidity level and means configured to detect an urination level of a diaper of the baby as a function of a variation of the mattress humidity level and a variation of the weight of the baby in two successive time instants. 
     
     
         6 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising means configured to detect if the baby filled a diaper as a function of a variation of the center of gravity of the baby on the mattress and a variation of the weight of the baby in two successive time instants. 
     
     
         7 . The apparatus of  claim 3 , wherein said control means include an executive software and a memory in which said executive software is installed, said executive software operating according to a fuzzy logic wherein base rules are defined and membership functions for at least a first input signal and a second input signal of said control means are processed, wherein the first input signal is an electric signal of each force sensor of the plurality of force sensors and said second input signal is an audio signal relative to the baby cry, said control means being configured to process the membership functions relative to the baby agitation and the baby cry if the baby agitation and baby cry occur, intensity of a mattress vibration being determined as a function of weighting of the membership functions relative to at least one of the baby agitation and the baby cry. 
     
     
         8 . The apparatus of  claim 7 , wherein said control means receive a third input signal relative to baby cry intensity and a fourth input signal relative to mattress humidity, said control means being configured to process the membership functions relative to the third input signal and the fourth input signal if the baby cries and the mattress humidity is higher than a threshold value, the intensity of the mattress vibration being determined as a function of the weighting of the membership functions relative to the baby agitation, the baby cry, the baby cry intensity and the mattress humidity. 
     
     
         9 . The apparatus of  claim 8 , further comprising means configured to detect a mattress humidity level and means configured to detect an urination level of a diaper of the baby as a function of a variation of the mattress humidity level and a variation of the weight of the baby in two successive time instants, wherein said control means receive a fifth input signal relative to mattress temperature, said control means being configured to process the weight of the baby as a function of the electric signal of each force sensor of the plurality of force sensors and to process the urination level of the diaper of the baby, said control means being configured to process the membership functions relative to the weight of the baby, to the mattress temperature and to the urination level of the diaper of the baby if respectively a mattress temperature value is under a minimum value or over a maximum value and the baby got wet, the intensity of the mattress vibration being determined as a function of the weighting of the membership functions relative to the baby agitation, the baby cry, the baby cry intensity, the mattress humidity, the weight of the baby, the mattress temperature and the urination level of the diaper of the baby. 
     
     
         10 . The apparatus of  claim 9 , further comprising data on condition of the baby, wherein said data are inserted by a user and ace stored in said memory, said data being considered by said executive software as input signals, the membership functions relative to each one of said data by assuming a value  0  or  1  according to presence or absence of relative data, the intensity of the mattress vibration being determined as a function of the weighting of the membership functions relative to the baby agitation, the baby cry, the baby cry intensity, the mattress humidity, the weight of the baby, the mattress temperature and the urination level of the diaper of the baby and of the membership functions relative to said data. 
     
     
         11 . The apparatus of  claim 10 , wherein the membership functions relative to the baby agitation, the baby cry, the baby cry intensity, the mattress humidity, the weight of the baby, and the mattress temperature are determined as a function of the presence or absence of the baby cry and/or the baby agitation inside the maximum time period relative to a preceding operation executed by said apparatus. 
     
     
         12 . The apparatus of  claim 9 , wherein said maximum time period changes as a function of presence or absence of the baby cry and/or the baby agitation inside the maximum time period relative to a preceding operation executed by said apparatus.