EP-4736925-A1 - ELECTRONIC DEVICE AND METHOD FOR PROVIDING AUDITORY FEEDBACK FOR INDUCING SLEEP, AND STORAGE MEDIUM THEREOF

EP4736925A1EP 4736925 A1EP4736925 A1EP 4736925A1EP-4736925-A1

Abstract

According to an embodiment, a method for providing a sound for inducing sleep may comprise an operation of providing a first sound corresponding to a first user activity on the basis of detection of the first user activity associated with user recognition related to a period for inhalation of breathing of a user. The first user activity is not a user activity resulting from the inhalation of the breathing, but a user activity independent of the inhalation, and the timepoint at which the first sound begins to be provided may be substantially synchronized with the timepoint at which the first user activity is detected. The method may comprise an operation of providing a second sound corresponding to a second user activity on the basis of detection of the second user activity associated with user recognition related to a period for exhalation of breathing of the user. The second user activity is not a user activity caused by the exhalation of the breathing, but a user activity independent of the exhalation, and the timepoint at which the second sound begins to be provided may be substantially synchronized with the timepoint at which the second user activity is detected.

Inventors

PARK, JONGHWA
LEE, WONWOO
Lee, Jaeeun
HA, Jiyeon
YUM, Joongbae
KIM, BUMJOON

Assignees

Bell Therapeutics Inc.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260506
Application Date: 20240730

Claims (20)

A method for providing sound for inducing sleep, the method comprising: based on detecting a first user activity associated with user's cognition of a period for inhale of respiration of the user, providing a first sound corresponding to the first user activity, wherein the first user activity is not user activity which is caused from the inhale of respiration of the user, but user activity which is independent from the inhale, wherein a start time point of provision of the first sound is substantially synchronized with a time point of detection of the first user activity; and based on detecting a second user activity associated with user's cognition of a period for exhale of respiration of the user, providing a second sound corresponding to the second user activity, wherein the second user activity is not user activity which is caused from the exhale of respiration of the user, but user activity which is independent from the exhale, wherein a start time point of provision of the second sound is substantially synchronized with a time point of detection of the second user activity.
The method of claim 1, wherein an end time point of provision of the first sound is after an end time point of detection of the first user activity, and wherein an end time point of provision of the second sound is after an end time point of detection of the second user activity.
The method of claim 2, wherein the operation of providing the first sound comprises: providing a first portion of the first sound after detection of the first user activity and before detection of the second user activity; and providing at least a part of a remaining portion of the first sound, other than the first portion, with a termination effect after detection of the second user activity; and wherein the operation of providing the second sound comprises: providing a first portion of the second sound after detection of the second user activity and before detection of the first user activity; and providing at least a part of a remaining portion of the second sound, other than the first portion, with a termination effect after detection of the first user activity.
The method of claim 1, wherein an end time point of provision of the first sound is substantially synchronized with an end time point of detection of the first user activity, and wherein an end time point of provision of the second sound is substantially synchronized with an end time point of detection of the second user activity.
The method of claim 1, further comprising: providing first content that requests the user to perform the first user activity and/or to cognize the inhale of respiration; and providing second content that requests the user to perform the second user activity and/or to cognize the exhale of respiration.
The method of claim 1, further comprising: based on detection of the first user activity, providing third content, wherein at least one attribute of the third content changes based on maintaining detection of the first user activity; and providing fourth content based on detection of the second user activity, wherein at least one attribute of the fourth content changes based on maintaining detection of the second user activity.
The method of claim 1, wherein the first user activity causes tension in at least a portion of the user's muscles, and wherein the second user activity causes relaxation of tension in at least a portion of the user's muscles.
The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining at least one attribute of the first sound; and determining at least one attribute of the second sound.
The method of claim 1, wherein the provision of the first sound based on detection of the first user activity and the provision of the second sound based on detection of the second user activity are repeatedly performed based on a usage mode being a first mode.
The method of claim 9, further comprising: changing the usage mode from the first mode to a second mode based on identifying satisfaction of at least one condition for changing the usage mode from the first mode to the second mode; and alternately and repeatedly providing the first sound and the second sound independently of detection of the first user activity and the second user activity based on the usage mode being the second mode.
The method of claim 10, further comprising: determining durations corresponding to the first sound and the second sound in the second mode.
The method of claim 10, further comprising: determining a time required for sleep induction based on a period during which the first sound and the second sound were repeatedly provided prior to identifying satisfaction of the at least one condition.
The method of claim 9, wherein during at least part of the repeated provisions of the first sound and the second sound in the first mode, at least one attribute of the first sound and/or at least one attribute of the second sound changes.
The method of claim 9, wherein during at least part of the repeated provisions of the first sound and the second sound in the first mode, at least one attribute of the first sound and/or at least one attribute of the second sound remains unchanged.
The method of claim 10, wherein during at least part of the repeated provisions of the first sound and the second sound in the second mode, at least one attribute of the first sound and/or at least one attribute of the second sound changes.
The method of claim 10, wherein during at least part of the repeated provisions of the first sound and the second sound in the second mode, at least one attribute of the first sound and/or at least one attribute of the second sound remains unchanged.
The method of claim 1, wherein the first sound comprises a plurality of first sub-sounds, and wherein the second sound comprises a plurality of second sub-sounds.
A system for providing sound for inducing sleep, the system comprising: a server; and an electronic device including at least one processor; wherein the server is configured to provide instructions to the electronic device based on a connection to the server and/or a request to the server by the electronic device, wherein the instructions, when executed based on at least a portion of the at least one processor of the electronic device, cause the electronic device to perform at least one operation, wherein the at least one operation comprises: based on detecting a first user activity associated with user's cognition of a period for inhale of respiration of the user, providing a first sound corresponding to the first user activity, wherein the first user activity is not user activity which is caused from the inhale of respiration of the user, but user activity which is independent from the inhale, wherein a start time point of provision of the first sound is substantially synchronized with a time point of detection of the first user activity; and based on detecting a second user activity associated with user's cognition of a period for exhale of respiration of the user, providing a second sound corresponding to the second user activity, wherein the second user activity is not user activity which is caused from the exhale of respiration of the user, but user activity which is independent from the exhale, wherein a start time point of provision of the second sound is substantially synchronized with a time point of detection of the second user activity.
The system of claim 18, wherein an end time point of provision of the first sound is after an end time point of detection of the first user activity, and wherein an end time point of provision of the second sound is after an end time point of detection of the second user activity.
The system of claim 19, wherein the operation of providing the first sound comprises: providing a first portion of the first sound after detection of the first user activity and before detection of the second user activity; and providing at least a part of a remaining portion of the first sound, other than the first portion, with a termination effect after detection of the second user activity; and wherein the operation of providing the second sound comprises: providing a first portion of the second sound after detection of the second user activity and before detection of the first user activity; and providing at least a part of a remaining portion of the second sound, other than the first portion, with a termination effect after detection of the first user activity.

Description

[Technical Field] The present disclosure relates to an electronic device for providing auditory feedback for sleep induction, an operating method thereof, and a storage medium. [Background Art] The contents described below merely provide background information related to the present embodiment and do not constitute prior art. Insomnia refers to a condition in which a person cannot achieve normal sleep, spending most of the day in a state of wakefulness (sleeplessness), or experiencing significantly insufficient sleep even when they do sleep. Symptoms include being unable to fall asleep despite prolonged wakefulness and fatigue, or waking up soon after falling asleep. For the treatment of insomnia, conventional therapies have included first-generation treatments using low-molecular compounds (e.g., pills) and second-generation treatments using biologics (e.g., antibodies, proteins, cells, etc.). However, conventional treatments have also been associated with side effects resulting from drug intake. Meanwhile, content for sleep induction has recently been actively developed. For example, such content may include content for sleep induction or content effective for sleep induction (e.g., audio and/or graphics). For instance, U.S. Patent No. 10,576,355 B2 discloses a configuration that induces the durations of the user's respiratory phases (e.g., inhale/exhale, etc.) to achieve a desired duration ratio by providing stimuli that change over time. In other words, conventional methods for sleep induction provide stimuli (e.g., sound) that are set to reach specific goals (e.g., an ideal inhale/exhale duration ratio) determined by a system (or algorithm). Specific goals may represent experimentally determined states known to be effective for sleep induction. Users can experience the stimuli set for specific goals, thereby transitioning their physiological state toward the goal state intended by the system. [Detailed Description of the Invention] [Technical Problem] As described above, conventional methods for sleep induction have provided goal-oriented content that induces the user's physiological signals (e.g., ratios of inhale/exhale durations) to achieve specific targets (e.g., a desired duration ratio). Users can experience stimuli set by the system to achieve specific goals. However, conventional systems for sleep induction merely provide stimuli (e.g., sound) corresponding to states known to be effective for sleep induction and do not disclose or imply a method for identifying the periodicity of the user's physiological information and providing stimuli based on that periodicity. For example, there are various physiological signals with periodicity, such as respiration. Conventional systems for sleep induction do not disclose a method for recognizing the periodicity of physiological signals and providing stimuli (e.g., sound) with corresponding periodicity. Various embodiments of the present disclosure can provide an electronic device, an operating method thereof, and a storage medium capable of identifying the periodicity of the user's physiological signals (e.g., respiration) and providing sound corresponding to the periodicity of the physiological signals. The problems addressed by the present disclosure are not limited to those mentioned above, and other problems not explicitly mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the descriptions below. [Technical Solution] According to an embodiment, a method for providing sound for inducing sleep may include an operation of providing a first sound corresponding to a first user activity based on detecting the first user activity associated with the user's cognition of a period for inhale of respiration of the user. The first user activity is not a user activity caused from the inhale of respiration of the user but is a user activity independent from the inhale, and the start time point of provision of the first sound may be substantially synchronized with the time point of detection of the first user activity. The method may further include an operation of providing a second sound corresponding to a second user activity based on detecting the second user activity associated with the user's cognition of a period for exhale of respiration of the user. The second user activity is not a user activity caused from the exhale of respiration of the user but is a user activity independent from the exhale, and the start time point of provision of the second sound may be substantially synchronized with the time point of detection of the second user activity. According to an embodiment, a system for providing sound for inducing sleep may include a server and an electronic device including at least one processor. The server may be configured to provide instructions to the electronic device based on a connection to the server and/or a request to the server by the electronic device. The instructions, when executed based on at least a portion of the at l