Alarm clock

Abstract

To provide an alarm clock ensuring waking and durable to practical use.SOLUTION: An alarm clock 1 comprises: a problem storage unit 221 that stores a problem presented to a user and a solution of the problem; an alarm time storage unit that stores alarm time; a limit time storage unit that stores limit time indicating time from presentation of the problem to the user to answering of the user; a current time acquisition unit that outputs current time; an input / output unit 23 that outputs the problem and receives input of the solution from the user to the problem; a voice output unit 24; and a control unit 21 that, when it is determined that the current time is the alarm time, reads the problem from the problem storage unit 221 to output the problem to the input / output unit 23, when the solution of the problem is input to the input / output unit 23 within the limit time from the time of outputting the problem to the input / output unit, stops the output of an alarm at this time, and when the solution is yet to be input even after lapse of the limit time, stops the alarm when the limit time passes.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an alarm clock. [Background technology]

[0002] When we need to wake up at a certain time after going to sleep, we often use alarm clocks. These alarm clocks usually emit a physical signal that can be perceived by humans, and transition a sleeping person who perceives the physical signal into an awakened state.

[0003] However, even if a person perceives a physical signal such as sound, vibration, or light, if they give an instruction to the alarm clock to stop the signal, the physical signal will stop being emitted, and the person may fall asleep again.

[0004] To solve this problem, alarm clocks have been proposed that, when the current time reaches a preset alarm time, sound an alarm and simultaneously display a question on the alarm clock's display device, and stop the alarm only if the user's answer to the question is correct (for example, Patent Documents 1 to 4).

[0005] However, if the problem is difficult for the user, he or she can wake up but cannot stop the alarm, which is not practical. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] People's Republic of China Publication No. CN112486011B [Patent Document 2] People's Republic of China Publication No. CN111124560A [Patent Document 3] United States of America Publication No. US2007 / 0285396Al [Patent Document 4] People's Republic of China Publication No. CN104079712A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide an alarm clock that can reliably wake a user up and is suitable for practical use. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The present invention provides an alarm clock comprising a question memory unit which stores a question to be presented to a user and a correct answer to the question; an alarm time memory unit which stores an alarm time, which is the time when an alarm will start to sound; a time limit memory unit which stores a time limit indicating the time within which the user has to answer the question after the question is presented to the user; a current time acquisition unit which outputs the current time; an input / output unit which outputs the question and accepts input of the user's answer to the question; an alarm output unit which outputs an alarm; and a control unit which, when it is determined that the current time has reached the alarm time, reads the question from the question memory unit and outputs it to the input / output unit, and if the correct answer to the question is input to the input / output unit within the time limit from the time the question was output to the input / output unit, stops outputting the alarm at that point, and if the correct answer to the question is not input after the time limit has elapsed, stops the alarm when the time limit has elapsed. Effect of the Invention

[0009] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an alarm clock that can reliably wake a user up and is suitable for practical use. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing the appearance of an alarm clock according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 2] 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an alarm clock system provided in the alarm clock. FIG. [Diagram 3] 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a user setting storage unit; FIG. [Figure 4]FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a setting screen. [Diagram 5] 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of a control unit of the alarm clock. [Figure 6] 13 is a diagram showing an example of a question presentation screen displayed on the input / output unit at an alarm time. FIG. [Figure 7] 13 is a diagram showing an example of a correct answer screen that is displayed when a user provides a correct answer on the question presentation screen. FIG. [Figure 8] 13 is a diagram showing an example of a "Disappointment" screen that is displayed when a user fails to provide a correct answer on a question presentation screen. FIG. [Figure 9] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a character collection screen. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] An alarm clock according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below. Fig. 1 is a diagram showing the external appearance of an alarm clock 1 according to this embodiment. Fig. 1(A) is a front view of the alarm clock 1, and Fig. 1(B) is a view of the alarm clock 1 in Fig. 1(A) as seen from the X arrow.

[0012] As shown in FIG. 1(A), the alarm clock 1 comprises a main body 10 that houses various devices that make up the alarm clock 1, and a touch panel 11 that displays various information and allows the user to input instructions.

[0013] Under normal operating conditions, the touch panel 11 displays a time section 111 that displays the current time, a date and day of the week display section 112 that displays the current date and day of the week, an alarm time display section 113 that displays the set alarm time, a stop button 114 that is used to stop the alarm when the alarm is sounding, a collection screen display button 115 that is used to display a character collection screen 90 that will be described later, and a setting screen 40 that will be described later.

[0014] As shown in Fig. 1(B), the alarm clock 1 is provided with a stand 101 that is installed on the back of the main body 10 so that it can be rotated and stored in the direction of the arrow Y. When the stand 101 is opened, it is possible to maintain the alarm clock 1 in an upright position.

[0015] Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an alarm clock system 20 provided in the alarm clock 1. As shown in Fig. 2, the alarm clock 1 comprises a control unit 21, a storage unit 22, an input / output unit 23 and an audio output unit 24.

[0016] The control unit 21 includes a calculation device such as a CPU (central processing unit). The control unit 21 reads out various information such as programs and setting information from the storage unit 22 described below, processes the information, controls the devices included in the alarm clock 1, and causes it to function as an alarm clock. The control unit 21 may also function as a current time acquisition unit that outputs the current time.

[0017] The storage unit 22 stores a question storage unit 221, a character master 222, a user setting storage unit 223, and a user performance storage unit 224.

[0018] The question storage unit 221 stores a question ID uniquely assigned to each question, an "age" indicating the level of the question corresponding to the user's age, the question, the answer choices for the question, the correct answer for the question, and a "question genre" indicating the subject name or area of ​​the question. In addition to text data, questions can be stored in association with image data, video data, audio data, and the like.

[0019] Character master 222 stores a character ID that is uniquely assigned to each character, a character group that indicates the group to which the character belongs, and image data of the character.

[0020] The character group may have multiple groups, for example, good characters, which are a first group of characters that children typically like or enjoy, and bad characters, which are a second group of characters that children typically dislike or hate.

[0021] The user setting storage unit 223 stores various information that is set by the user when using the alarm clock 1 .

[0022] The user achievement storage unit 224 stores the achievement of tokens given to the user for answers to questions. The user achievement storage unit 224 stores the accumulated number of good coins, which are the first tokens given when the user answers the questions correctly, the accumulated number of bad marks, which are the second tokens given when the user fails to answer the questions correctly, the character ID of a good character given by the user's selection every time the good coins reach a first threshold, and the character ID of a bad character given by the user's selection every time the bad marks reach a second threshold. The first threshold and the second threshold may be the same numerical value.

[0023] The input / output unit 23 includes an input / output device such as a touch panel 11 .

[0024] The audio output unit 24 is an example of an alarm output unit, and includes a speaker that outputs an alarm sound or a problem voice, and an amplifier for audio data.

[0025] Fig. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the user setting storage unit 223. As shown in Fig. 3, the user setting storage unit 223 stores an alarm time storage unit 223A, a time limit storage unit 223B, a genre / level storage unit 223C, an accumulated coin count storage unit 223D, and a collection storage unit 223E.

[0026] The alarm time storage unit 223A stores an alarm time that indicates the time at which an alarm is to sound.

[0027] The time limit storage unit 223B stores a time limit, which is the time given to the user from when the alarm starts to sound and the question is displayed on the input / output unit 23 until the user correctly answers the question.

[0028] The genre / level storage unit 223C stores the "question genre" of the question presented to the user and the "age" as a level indicating the difficulty of the question.

[0029] The accumulated coin number storage unit 223D stores the accumulated number of good coins and the accumulated number of bad marks acquired by the user.

[0030] The collection storage unit 223E stores the character IDs of the good characters and the character IDs of the bad characters acquired by the user.

[0031] Fig. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the setting screen 40. As shown in Fig. 4, the setting screen 40 includes a current time setting section 41 for setting the current time, an alarm time setting section 42 for setting the time when the alarm starts to sound, a time limit setting section 43 for setting the time limit, an age setting section 44 for setting the "age", a question genre setting section 45 for setting the "question genre", and a "close" button 46 for closing the setting screen 40.

[0032] Each piece of information is set by adjusting or selecting the information and then pressing the "Set" button located to the right of each setting section, which instructs the control unit 21 to store the set information, and the information is stored in the appropriate location in the user setting memory unit 223.

[0033] Fig. 5 is a flow chart showing the operation of the control unit 21 of the alarm clock 1. As shown in Fig. 5, in step 501, the control unit 21 compares the current time with the alarm time read out from the alarm time storage unit 223A, and judges whether the current time has reached the alarm time. If the control unit 21 judges that the current time has reached the alarm time (Y in step 501), it proceeds to step 502, and if it judges that the current time has not yet reached the alarm time (N in step 501), it returns to step 501.

[0034] In step 502, the control unit 21 starts sounding an alarm from the audio output unit 24.

[0035] In step 503, the control unit 21 reads out the user setting information from the user setting storage unit 223. The user setting information includes the time limit, "age", and "question genre".

[0036] In step 504, the control unit 21 randomly reads out relevant questions from the question memory unit 221 based on the “age” and “question genre” read out from the user setting memory unit 223, and causes the input / output unit 23 to display the question and the question options.

[0037] In step 505, the control unit 21 resets the timer and then starts measuring the elapsed time using the timer.

[0038] In step 506, the control unit 21 compares the elapsed time, which is the output of the timer, with the time limit read from the user setting storage unit 223 to determine whether the time limit has elapsed. If the control unit 21 determines that the elapsed time has reached or exceeded the time limit (Y in step 506), the process proceeds to step 511, and if the control unit 21 determines that the elapsed time has not yet reached the time limit (N in step 506), the process proceeds to step 507.

[0039] In step 507, control unit 21 compares the answer input by the user via input / output unit 23 with the correct answer to the question read from question storage unit 221, and determines whether the answer is correct. If control unit 21 determines that the answer matches the correct answer to the question (Y in step 507), it proceeds to step 508, and if control unit 21 does not determine that the answer matches the correct answer to the question (N in step 507), it returns to step 506.

[0040] In step 508, the control unit 21 stops the alarm.

[0041] In step 509, the control unit 21 awards good coins and causes the input / output unit 23 to display that fact.

[0042] In step 510, the control unit 21 judges whether the cumulative number of good coins has exceeded the first threshold value of "10" since the previous time. If the control unit 21 judges that the cumulative number of good coins has exceeded the first threshold value since the previous time, the control unit 21 displays the good characters read from the character master 222 on the input / output unit 23, stores the character ID of the good character selected by the user from among them in the collection storage unit 223E, and ends the process.

[0043] In step 511, the control unit 21 stops the alarm. The reason for this control is that if the question presented to the user by the alarm clock 1 is difficult for the user and the user is unable to input the correct answer to the input / output unit 23, continuing to ring the alarm will be a nuisance to other people, such as the user's housemates, and the alarm will also be so noisy that the user will no longer want to use the alarm clock. For this reason, if the time limit has elapsed, the alarm will be stopped even if the answer to the question is not correct.

[0044] In step 512, the control unit 21 gives a bad mark and causes the input / output unit 23 to display that fact.

[0045] In step 513, the control unit 21 determines whether the cumulative number of bad marks has exceeded the second threshold value of "10" since the previous time. If the control unit 21 determines that the cumulative number of bad marks has exceeded the second threshold value since the previous time, the control unit 21 displays the good characters read from the character master 222 on the input / output unit 23, stores the character ID of the bad character selected by the user from among them in the collection storage unit 223E, and ends the process.

[0046] Fig. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a question presentation screen 60 displayed on the input / output unit 23 at the alarm time. As shown in Fig. 6, the question presentation screen 60 includes a question option presentation section 61 that displays a question and options for the question, an "Answer" button 62 that instructs the control unit 21 to select the selected option as the answer, a remaining time indicator 63 that graphically shows the remaining time until the time limit, and a "Give Up" button 64 that instructs the control unit 21 to give up on the answer and accept the assignment of a bad mark.

[0047] Fig. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a correct answer screen 70 that is displayed when the user answers correctly on the question presentation screen 60. As shown in Fig. 7, the correct answer screen 70 includes a correct answer display screen 71 that displays a correct answer option 72 and indicates that the answer is correct, a good coin acquisition display section 73 that indicates that the user has acquired good coins, a "view character" button 74 that instructs the control unit 21 to display a character collection screen 90, and a "close" button 75 that instructs the control unit 21 to close the correct answer screen 70.

[0048] The good coin acquisition display unit 73 may include an accumulated number display unit that displays the accumulated number of good coins and the accumulated number of bad marks.

[0049] Fig. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a disappointment screen 80 that is displayed when the user fails to provide a correct answer on the question presentation screen 60. As shown in Fig. 8, the disappointment screen 80 includes a correct answer display screen 81 that displays the correct answer option 72 and displays the correct answer, a bad mark acquisition display section 82 that indicates that the user has acquired a bad mark, a "view characters" button 83 that instructs the control unit 21 to display a character collection screen 90, and a "close" button 84 that instructs the control unit 21 to close the disappointment screen 80.

[0050] The bad mark acquisition display unit 82 may include an accumulated number display unit that displays the accumulated number of good coins and the accumulated number of bad marks. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a character collection screen 90. As shown in FIG. 9, the character collection screen 90 displays characters that the user has already acquired.

[0051] The screen includes a character display unit 91 which reads out a character ID from a user achievement storage unit 224, reads out a character corresponding to the read out character ID from a character master 222, and displays the characters in order of good characters and bad characters, an accumulated number display unit 94 which displays the accumulated number of good coins and the accumulated number of bad marks, and a "close" button 95 which instructs the control unit 21 to close the character collection screen 90.

[0052] In FIG. 9, a cake 92 is shown as an example of a good character, and a ghost 93 is shown as an example of a bad character.

[0053] As described above, the alarm clock 1 of this embodiment comprises a question memory unit 221 which stores the questions to be presented to the user and the correct answers to the questions, an alarm time memory unit 223A which stores the alarm time, which is the time when the alarm will start to sound, a time limit memory unit 223B which stores the time limit indicating the time within which the user has to answer the question after it is presented to the user, a current time acquisition unit which outputs the current time, an input / output unit 23 which outputs questions and accepts input of the user's answers to the questions, an alarm output unit which outputs an alarm such as a voice output unit 24, and a control unit 21 which, when it is determined that the current time has reached the alarm time, reads a question from the question memory unit 221 and outputs it to the input / output unit 23, and if the correct answer to the question is input to the input / output unit 23 within the time limit from the time the question was output to the input / output unit 23, stops outputting the alarm at that point, and if the correct answer to the question is not input even after the time limit has elapsed, stops the alarm when the time limit has elapsed.

[0054] Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide an alarm clock that can reliably wake up a user and is suitable for practical use.

[0055] In this embodiment, an example has been shown in which the alarm clock 1 has the appearance of a clock, but the alarm clock 1 can also be implemented in a mobile terminal such as a smartphone or an information processing terminal such as a game console.

[0056] In addition, the alarm clock 1 further includes a communication unit having a communication device capable of communicating with a separately provided server and other alarm clocks 1, and the control unit 21 can be configured to download new characters from the server and exchange characters with other users. [Explanation of symbols]

[0057] 1. Alarm clock 10 Main body 11 Touch Panel 20 Clock System 21 Control section 22 Memory section 23 Input / output section 24 Audio output section 40 Setting screen 41 Current time setting section 42 Alarm time setting section 43 Time limit setting section 44 Age Setting Section 45 Question genre setting section 46 "Close" button 60 Question presentation screen 61 Question Choice Presentation Section 62 "Reply" button 63 Time Remaining Indicator 64 "Give Up" Button 70 Correct Answer Screen 71 Answer display screen 72 Correct Answers 73 Good Coin Earning Display 74 "View Character" Button 75 "Close" button 80 Disappointing Screen 81 Answer display screen 82 Bad Mark Acquisition Display 83 "View Character" button 84 "Close" button 90 Character Collection Screen 91 Character display section 92 Cake 93 Ghost 94 Cumulative number display section 95 "Close" button Stand 101 111 Time section 112 Date and day of the week display 113 Alarm time display section 114 Stop button 115 Collection screen display button 221 Problem storage section 222 Character Master 223 User setting storage unit 223A Alarm time memory section 223B Time limit memory section 223C Genre and Level Memory 223D Accumulated coin count memory section 223E Collection Storage Unit 224 User performance memory unit

Claims

1. a question storage unit for storing questions to be presented to a user and correct answers to the questions; an alarm time storage unit for storing an alarm time, which is the time when the alarm starts to sound; a time limit storage unit for storing a time limit indicating a time within which the user can answer the question after the question is presented to the user; a current time acquisition unit that outputs the current time; an input / output unit that outputs the questions and receives input of the user's answers to the questions; an alarm output unit that outputs an alarm; an alarm clock comprising: a control unit which, when it is determined that the current time has reached the alarm time, reads the question from the question memory unit and outputs it to the input / output unit; if the correct answer to the question is input to the input / output unit within the time limit from the time the question was output to the input / output unit, stops output of the alarm at that point; and if the correct answer to the question is not input even after the time limit has elapsed, stops the alarm when the time limit has elapsed.

2. A character master that stores characters; a user performance storage unit that stores the characters acquired by the user and a cumulative number of tokens acquired by the user by answering the questions; Further equipped with The control unit is The alarm clock of claim 1, wherein when it is determined that the cumulative number of tokens has exceeded a threshold value, the character selected by the user from among the characters stored in the character master is stored in the user achievement memory unit as the character acquired by the user.

3. The character master: further storing a character group to which the character belongs; The control unit is 3. The alarm clock of claim 2, wherein if a correct answer to the question is input to the input / output unit within the time limit from the time the question is output to the input / output unit, a first token is awarded to the user, and if it is determined that the cumulative number of the first tokens has exceeded a first threshold, the character selected by the user from a first character group is stored in the user achievement storage unit, and if a correct answer to the question is not input within the time limit, a second token is awarded to the user, and if it is determined that the cumulative number of the second tokens has exceeded a second threshold, the character selected by the user from a second character group is stored in the user achievement storage unit.

Images