Environment sensing intelligent alarm clock and system

Abstract

The invention relates to the field of smart home, and discloses an environment sensing smart alarm clock and system, and the alarm clock comprises a main control unit, a circular touch display screen, a microphone, a loudspeaker, a passive infrared sensor, a temperature and humidity sensor, an ambient light sensor, an addressable RGBLED lamp strip, and a wireless communication module. The MCU controls each hardware to realize time management, environment information display and voice touch interaction; in combination with sensor data, an automatic night mode is realized, and a proximity sensing screen / night lamp is awakened; natural wake-up light is simulated through the RGBLED lamp strip; and based on a device state, environment data and user interaction, a personalized virtual image on a display screen is driven to perform dynamic feedback, and emotion accompanying is provided. The invention aims to provide a cost-controllable environment-sensing intelligent alarm clock solution which is high in function integration level, optimized in bedroom environment, natural in interaction and personalized in temperature.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of smart homes, and more particularly to an environmental sensing smart alarm clock and system. Background Technology

[0002] With technological advancements and consumers' increasing pursuit of quality of life, traditional alarm clocks can no longer meet the needs of modern bedrooms. While smartphones offer a wealth of features, their screen brightness and overly complex notification systems can disrupt sleep, and they lack the stability required for a consistent alarm clock. Smart speakers, while providing voice interaction and internet connectivity, typically have displays unsuitable for long-distance reading and lack in-depth optimization and personalized care for sleep aids and the bedroom environment. Some existing so-called "environmentally aware smart alarm clocks" on the market often only integrate partial smart functions, such as simple online timekeeping or weather displays, lacking comprehensive awareness of the bedroom environment, proactive intervention, and more emotionally connected personalized interaction. Existing smart speakers with screens typically employ generic screen interaction logic; when used at night, their default brightness, UI colors, and information density can disrupt sleep, and they lack the ability to proactively perceive and optimize the bedroom's micro-environment.

[0003] Especially in the cost-sensitive consumer electronics market, integrating diverse sensors, providing a comfortable visual and auditory experience, achieving smooth interaction logic, and creating unique personalized user experiences within a limited hardware budget presents a significant technical challenge. Existing low-cost solutions often have shortcomings in display quality, sensor richness, interaction smoothness, or personalization.

[0004] Therefore, there is an urgent need for an innovative environmentally-aware smart alarm clock that can effectively integrate multiple sensing and interaction technologies, be specifically optimized for the bedroom environment, provide reliable basic functions, enhance the user's sleep experience and emotional connection through environmental awareness and personalized interaction, and offer good cost performance.

[0005] Therefore, we propose an environmentally aware intelligent alarm clock and system to solve the above problems. Summary of the Invention

[0006] This invention provides an environmentally-aware smart alarm clock and system, which addresses the shortcomings of existing environmentally-aware smart alarm clocks in terms of functional integration, bedroom environment optimization, personalized interaction, and cost control, providing users with a practical, comfortable, and emotionally-warm smart bedroom companion.

[0007] The first aspect of the present invention provides an environmentally aware smart alarm clock, comprising: an MCU; a circular color touch display screen coupled to the MCU; at least one microphone coupled to the MCU; a speaker coupled to the MCU; a passive infrared sensor coupled to the MCU; an ambient light sensor coupled to the MCU; a temperature and humidity sensor coupled to the MCU; an addressable RGB LED light strip coupled to the MCU; and a wireless communication module coupled to the MCU.

[0008] Optionally, in a first implementation of the first aspect of the present invention, the circular color touch display screen has a resolution of at least 480x480 pixels, and the circular color touch display screen is an IPS or OLED panel; the MCU is equipped with PSRAM to support smooth display and animation rendering of complex user interfaces on the circular color touch display screen; the wireless communication module supports Wi-Fi connectivity and Bluetooth Low Energy connectivity; the addressable RGB LED light strip is controlled through the RMT interface of the MCU; and the circular color touch display screen is coupled to the MCU through a QSPI interface.

[0009] Optionally, in a second implementation of the first aspect of the present invention, a CO2 sensor coupled to the MCU is further included; a battery and a power management integrated circuit (PMIC) coupled to the MCU are also included.

[0010] Optionally, in a third implementation of the first aspect of the present invention, the MCU is configured to automatically adjust the brightness of the circular color touch screen based on the input of the ambient light sensor, and automatically enter a low-brightness night mode when the ambient brightness is lower than a preset threshold.

[0011] Optionally, in a fourth implementation of the first aspect of the present invention, the MCU is configured to wake up the circular color touch display to display information when the device is in low power or night mode, based on the input of the PIR sensor, or to trigger the addressable RGB LED strip to light up as a night light.

[0012] Optionally, in a fifth implementation of the first aspect of the present invention, the MCU is configured to drive the circular color touch screen to display environmental information based on the environmental data collected by the temperature and humidity sensor, and to issue prompts according to preset rules.

[0013] Optionally, in a sixth implementation of the first aspect of the present invention, the MCU is configured to control the brightness and color change of the addressable RGB LED strip gradually to simulate a sunrise effect during a period of time before the alarm is triggered.

[0014] Optionally, in a seventh implementation of the first aspect of the present invention, the MCU is configured to receive audio input from the microphone, perform local voice wake-up word detection, and upload voice data to a cloud service via the wireless communication module for speech recognition and natural language understanding.

[0015] Optionally, in an eighth implementation of the first aspect of the present invention, the MCU is configured to control the status, expression, animation and text feedback of the preset personalized virtual avatar displayed on the circular color touch screen based on the device status, the environmental sensor data, user interaction and the completion status of the time management function.

[0016] A second aspect of the present invention provides an environment-aware smart alarm clock system, including the aforementioned environment-aware smart alarm clock and a cloud service and / or a companion mobile application that communicates with the device via a network.

[0017] Beneficial Effects: By integrating and optimizing hardware such as a circular touchscreen display, multiple types of environmental sensors (especially PIR and light sensors), addressable RGB LEDs, and a voice interaction module on a resource-constrained microcontroller platform, and through coordinated control via software-level state machines, personalization engines, and reminder scheduling logic, an environmentally aware smart alarm clock integrating time display, sleep assistance, environmental perception, intelligent reminders, and emotionally personalized interaction has been achieved. This specific hardware combination and its unique set of supported functions, especially considering cost control, provide an innovative user experience that differs from existing products. The intelligent night mode and information quick view achieved by the linkage of PIR and ambient light sensors, and the natural wake-up light achieved by RGB LEDs and timer functions, all demonstrate deep optimization for the bedroom scene; while the personalized feedback of the "little elf" driven by sensor data and user behavior enhances the emotional attributes of the product. Attached Figure Description

[0018] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of an environmentally sensitive smart alarm clock according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 This is a block diagram of the environmentally aware smart alarm clock hardware system in an embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0019] This invention provides an environmentally aware smart alarm clock and system to address the shortcomings of existing environmentally aware smart alarm clocks in terms of functional integration, bedroom environment optimization, personalized interaction, and cost control. It provides users with a practical, comfortable, and emotionally resonant smart bedroom companion. The terms "first," "second," "third," "fourth," etc. (if present) in the specification, claims, and accompanying drawings are used to distinguish similar objects and are not necessarily used to describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that such data can be interchanged where appropriate so that the embodiments described herein can be implemented in orders other than those illustrated or described herein. Furthermore, the terms "comprising" or "having" and any variations thereof are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion; for example, a process, method, system, product, or device that includes a series of steps or units is not necessarily limited to those explicitly listed, but may include other steps or units not explicitly listed or inherent to such processes, methods, products, or devices.

[0020] Reference Figure 1 This invention provides an environmentally aware smart alarm clock designed to blend seamlessly into the aesthetics of a bedroom environment. The main body of the device includes a circular display screen surrounded by an RGB LED light strip at the bottom or side. A power interface is located at the bottom of the device, and there may be other buttons for auxiliary operation.

[0021] Specifically, it includes an MCU; a circular color touch display coupled to the MCU; at least one microphone coupled to the MCU; a speaker coupled to the MCU; a passive infrared sensor coupled to the MCU; an ambient light sensor coupled to the MCU; a temperature and humidity sensor coupled to the MCU; an addressable RGB LED light strip coupled to the MCU; and a wireless communication module coupled to the MCU.

[0022] The MCU is configured to drive a preset virtual image on a circular color touch screen to provide dynamic feedback based on data collected by at least one of the sensors (passive infrared sensor, temperature and humidity sensor, ambient light sensor); Dynamic feedback includes: based on the low temperature data displayed by temperature and humidity sensors, making the virtual avatar display cold-related animated expressions; Specifically, the circular color touch display has a resolution of at least 480x480 pixels and is an IPS or OLED panel; the MCU is equipped with PSRAM to support smooth display and animation rendering of complex user interfaces on the circular color touch display; the wireless communication module supports Wi-Fi and Bluetooth Low Energy connectivity; the addressable RGB LED strip is controlled via the MCU's RMT interface; and the circular color touch display is coupled to the MCU via a QSPI interface.

[0023] It should be noted that it also includes a CO2 sensor, coupled to the MCU; it also includes a battery and a power management integrated circuit (PMIC), coupled to the MCU.

[0024] Specifically, the MCU is configured to automatically adjust the brightness of the circular color touch screen based on the input of the ambient light sensor, and automatically enter a low-brightness night mode when the ambient brightness is below a preset threshold.

[0025] Specifically, the MCU is configured to wake up the circular color touchscreen to display information when the device is in low power or night mode, or to trigger an addressable RGB LED strip to light up as a night light, based on the input from the PIR sensor.

[0026] Specifically, the MCU is configured to drive a circular color touch screen to display environmental information based on environmental data collected by a temperature and humidity sensor, and to issue prompts according to preset rules.

[0027] Specifically, the MCU is configured to gradually increase the brightness and change the color of the addressable RGB LED strip during a period of time before the alarm is triggered, in order to simulate a sunrise effect.

[0028] Reference Figure 2 The hardware system block diagram of this embodiment illustrates the main components of the device. The main control unit (MCU) serves as the core. In this embodiment, the ESP32-S3 series chip is preferably used as the main control unit (MCU), but those skilled in the art will understand that any other microcontroller with similar processing capabilities, integrated Wi-Fi and Bluetooth functions, and rich peripheral interfaces is equally applicable. These integrate Wi-Fi and Bluetooth modules and possess sufficient processing power and rich peripheral interfaces.

[0029] The circular touchscreen display connects to the MCU via a high-speed interface (QSPI), and its touch controller connects via I2C. To achieve smooth circular UI animations and high-resolution display, the MCU needs sufficient on-chip SRAM, and the use of external PSRAM is strongly recommended. Flash memory is used to store code, data, and resources.

[0030] Audio input is via a microphone, preferably a digital MEMS microphone, connected via a PDM or I2S interface. Audio output is achieved through an I2S-connected DAC, amplifier, and speaker.

[0031] The environmental sensors include a PIR sensor (GPIO connection), a temperature and humidity sensor (I2C connection), and an ambient light sensor (I2C connection). An optional CO2 sensor (I2C connection) can also be integrated.

[0032] The RGB LED strip (WS2812B) is controlled via the MCU's RMT or precision GPIO. The power system is input via a USB Type-C interface and supplies power to each module through an LDO.

[0033] The battery is managed for charging and discharging via the PMIC. A built-in RTC provides timing functionality in low-power mode.

[0034] At the software level, the MCU runs an RTOS, whose architecture can be divided into a driver layer, a system layer, a middleware layer, and an application layer. The application layer is the user-facing logic layer, handling UI interaction, functional logic (alarm clock, timer, ambient display, personalization engine, etc.), and interaction with middleware services. The middleware layer provides standardized service interfaces, such as audio services, voice services, sensor services, storage services, connectivity services, and power management services. The driver layer is responsible for interacting with specific hardware peripherals.

[0035] It should be noted that the following methods are used to implement the functionality and improve the user experience using hardware: Optimized application of circular touchscreen displays: All UI elements are designed for circular screens, using large fonts and high contrast to ensure readability at long distances. The touch area is rationally designed for easy operation on small circular screens. UI smoothness and animation effects depend on the MCU's graphics processing capabilities and PSRAM support.

[0036] Sensor-driven intelligent scenarios: PIR sensor: Not only used to trigger night lights and wake the screen (associated with night mode), but also to briefly display the time or weather when someone approaches at night (information overview), and even trigger simple presence-sensing animations of the "Sprite" (e.g., looking up, blinking), with the Sprite reacting as the user approaches. Ambient light sensor: Used to automatically adjust screen brightness, ensuring clear visibility during the day and non-glaring visibility at night (the brightness adjustment interface can display the automatic adjustment status). It can also serve as an auxiliary input to trigger night mode or natural wake-up logic. Temperature and humidity sensor and optional CO2 sensor: Data is directly displayed on the UI (weather details can be expanded to include), and can be linked to intelligent reminder functions (new requirement) and the "Sprite's" status behavior (personalized anthropomorphism, such as displaying shivering when it's cold).

[0037] The versatility of RGB LED light strips: Beyond serving as nightlights or ambient lights, their key application lies in simulating natural wake-up lighting. The MCU precisely controls the brightness and color changes of the LEDs via RMT or other methods, gently waking the user before an alarm rings. They can also serve as visual notifications for specific events (such as the end of a Pomodoro session or a reminder).

[0038] Intelligent wake-up strategy (simulating sunrise lights, painless wake-up through sound and light coordination): The morning wake-up window (±30 minutes) intelligently selects the sleep cycle switching point as the best wake-up time within 30 minutes before or after the user's target time; The progressive light therapy gradually changes from 3000K (warm yellow) to 5000K (natural white), simulating the sunrise process, and the transition is completed within 20 minutes; Dynamic audio, smoothly transitioning from white noise to natural birdsong, with the volume gradually changing from 40dB to 50dB; The synergy of voice and personalized interaction: The microphone captures speech, and the local wake word (KWS) triggers the MCU to enter listening mode. Cloud-based voice services (ASR / NLU / TTS) process user commands, such as "Set an alarm for 7 AM tomorrow." After the MCU interprets the intent, a confirmation interface is displayed on the screen, and TTS generates voice feedback. This hybrid voice + touch interaction enhances usability. The personalized "little sprite's" status and behavior are linked to voice interaction, sensor data, and user behavior (task completion, etc.), increasing the product's companionship and fun. For example, when speaking to the sprite, its image may display animations of listening or thinking; upon completing a Pomodoro Technique, the sprite may jump for joy (arm animation, energy halo).

[0039] Wireless connectivity and system iteration: WiFi is used for NTP time synchronization, weather information acquisition, online audio sources, cloud voice services, and crucial OTA firmware upgrades. The OTA upgrade interface clearly displays the progress and provides security prompts. Bluetooth is used for convenient network pairing via a mobile app, which is also used for more complex settings and data viewing.

[0040] This invention provides an innovative and practical environmental-aware smart alarm clock solution through a specific combination of the aforementioned hardware components, a functional design tailored to the bedroom environment, and personalized software imbued with emotion, all while maintaining strict cost control. The circular touchscreen display serves as the core interactive interface, combining diverse environmental sensing capabilities with expressive RGB LEDs, speakers, and "sprite" animations to create a unique user experience that overcomes the shortcomings of existing low-cost environmental-aware smart alarm clock products.

[0041] The MCU is configured to run a real-time operating system (RTOS) and perform the following operations: a) Obtain the network time from the wireless communication module and drive the circular touch screen to display the current time with high precision; b) Receive and respond to touch input from the circular touch display or voice input from the microphone to set, manage and control multiple sets of environmentally aware smart alarm clocks, countdown timers, Pomodoro timers and other time management functions, and issue prompts through the speaker and / or the RGB LED strip when triggered; c) Based on the environmental data collected by the temperature and humidity sensor, the ambient light sensor (and optionally the CO2 sensor), drive the circular touch screen to display environmental information, and issue environmental care or reminders (such as ventilation reminders) through the speaker or display prompts according to preset rules or user settings. d) The brightness of the circular touch screen is automatically adjusted according to the input of the ambient light sensor, and the low-brightness night mode is automatically entered when the ambient brightness is lower than a preset threshold. e) Based on the input of the PIR sensor, when the device is in standby or night mode, wake up the circular touch screen to display a quick overview of information, or trigger the RGB LED strip to light up as a night light; f) Control the brightness (e.g., gradually increase) and color (e.g., transition from warm to cool tones or white) of the RGB LED strip for a period of time before the alarm is set to simulate the sunrise effect and achieve natural wake-up; Based on the user's interaction with the device, the completion status of the time management function, and the environmental sensor data, the status, expression, animation, and text feedback of the preset personalized virtual image ("Little Elf") displayed on the circular touch screen are controlled. For example, the image's performance can be adjusted according to weather changes, encouragement can be given when the user completes the Pomodoro task, or specific care animations can be triggered based on sensor input. The wireless communication module interfaces with cloud services to perform cloud-based speech recognition, natural language understanding, text-to-speech, weather information acquisition, online sleep aid sound playback, OTA firmware upgrades, and data synchronization and settings with the accompanying mobile application.

[0042] The present invention also provides an environment-aware smart alarm clock device, which includes a memory and a processor. The memory stores computer-readable instructions. When the computer-readable instructions are executed by the processor, the processor performs the steps of the environment-aware smart alarm clock method in the above embodiments.

[0043] The present invention also provides a computer-readable storage medium, which can be a non-volatile computer-readable storage medium or a volatile computer-readable storage medium, wherein the computer-readable storage medium stores instructions that, when the instructions are executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the steps of the environment-aware smart alarm clock method.

[0044] Those skilled in the art will clearly understand that, for the sake of convenience and brevity, the specific working processes of the systems, devices, and units described above can be referred to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0045] If the integrated unit is implemented as a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present invention, in essence, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or all or part of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. This computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions to cause a computer device (which may be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in the various embodiments of the present invention. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media capable of storing program code, such as USB flash drives, portable hard drives, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic disks, or optical disks.

[0046] The above-described embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, and are not intended to limit it. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that modifications can still be made to the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments, or equivalent substitutions can be made to some of the technical features. Such modifications or substitutions do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. An environmentally-sensing intelligent alarm clock, characterized in that, include: An MCU; The MCU includes a circular color touchscreen display, at least one microphone, a speaker, a passive infrared sensor, an ambient light sensor, a temperature and humidity sensor, an addressable RGB LED strip, and a wireless communication module. The MCU is configured to drive a preset virtual image on the circular color touchscreen display to provide dynamic feedback based on data collected by at least one of the sensors.

2. The environmental sensing intelligent alarm clock according to claim 1, characterized in that, The circular color touch display has a resolution of at least 480x480 pixels and is an IPS or OLED panel. The MCU is equipped with PSRAM to support the smooth display of complex user interfaces and animation rendering on the circular color touch screen; The wireless communication module supports Wi-Fi connectivity and Bluetooth Low Energy connectivity; The addressable RGB LED light strip is controlled via the RMT interface of the MCU; The circular color touch screen is coupled to the MCU via a QSPI interface.

3. The environmental sensing intelligent alarm clock according to claim 1, characterized in that, It also includes a CO2 sensor coupled to the MCU; It also includes a battery and a power management integrated circuit, coupled to the MCU.

4. The environmental sensing intelligent alarm clock according to claim 1, characterized in that, The MCU is configured to automatically adjust the brightness of the circular color touch screen based on the input of the ambient light sensor, and automatically enter a low-brightness night mode when the ambient brightness is lower than a preset threshold.

5. The environmental sensing intelligent alarm clock according to claim 1, characterized in that, The MCU is configured to, based on the input from the PIR sensor, wake up the circular color touch display to display information when the device is in low power or night mode, or trigger the addressable RGB LED strip to light up as a night light.

6. The environmental sensing intelligent alarm clock according to claim 1, characterized in that, The MCU is configured to drive the circular color touch screen to display environmental information based on the environmental data collected by the temperature and humidity sensor, and to issue prompts according to preset rules.

7. The environmental sensing intelligent alarm clock according to claim 1, characterized in that, The MCU is configured to control the brightness and color of the addressable RGB LED strip to gradually increase and change during a period of time before the alarm is triggered, in order to simulate a sunrise effect.

8. The environmental sensing intelligent alarm clock according to claim 1, characterized in that, The MCU is configured to receive audio input from the microphone, perform local voice wake-up word detection, and upload voice data to a cloud service via the wireless communication module for speech recognition and natural language understanding.

9. The environmental sensing intelligent alarm clock according to claim 1, characterized in that, The MCU is configured to control the status, expression, animation and text feedback of the preset personalized virtual avatar displayed on the circular color touch screen based on the device status, the environmental sensor data, user interaction and the completion status of the time management function; The dynamic feedback includes: based on the low temperature data displayed by the temperature and humidity sensor, making the virtual avatar display cold-related animated expressions.

10. An environmentally-aware intelligent alarm clock system, characterized in that, Includes the environmentally aware smart alarm clock according to any one of claims 1-9, and cloud services and / or accompanying mobile applications that communicate with the device via a network.

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