Apparatus for soothing a baby

1 . An apparatus for soothing a baby on a mattress, said apparatus comprising a mattress support or base including:

a plurality of force sensors configured to detect forces exerted by the baby on the mattress,

a plurality of microphones configured to detect a cry of the baby, and

piezoelectric actuators for vibrating the mattress,

the apparatus further comprising a control unit configured to determine a center of gravity of the baby on the mattress and an agitation of the baby based on signals from said plurality of force sensors, wherein said control unit is configured to control said piezoelectric actuators 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 cry of the baby or the agitation of the baby.

2 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein said plurality of force sensors are arranged according to a matrix scheme and at a certain distance from one another on said mattress support or base, and wherein said control unit is configured to calculate 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 unit is configured to determine the agitation of the baby by verifying a variation of forces detected by at least one force sensor of said plurality of force sensors in two successive time instants.

4 . The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein said control unit includes 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 relating to at least a first input signal and a second input signal are processed, wherein the first input signal is a signal of each force sensor and said second input signal is an audio signal relating to the cry of the baby, wherein said control unit is configured to determine a membership function relating to the of the baby agitation and a membership function relating to the cry of the baby, and wherein an intensity of the vibration of the mattress is determined as a function of weighting of the membership functions relative to at least one of the agitation of the baby or the cry of the baby.

5 . The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein said control unit is configured to receive a third input signal relating to an intensity of the cry of the baby and a fourth input signal relating to a humidity level of the mattress, wherein said control unit is configured to determine membership functions relative to the third input signal and the fourth input signal if the baby cries and the humidity level of the mattress is higher than a threshold value, wherein the intensity of the vibration of the mattress is determined as a function of the weighting of the membership functions relative to the agitation of the baby, the cry of the baby, the intensity of the cry of the baby, and the humidity level of the mattress.

6 . The apparatus of claim 5 , further comprising a temperature sensor configured to detect a temperature of the mattress, wherein said control unit receives a fifth input signal relating to said temperature of the mattress, wherein said control unit is configured to determine the weight of the baby based on signals from said plurality of force sensors, and wherein said control unit is configured to determine the membership functions relating to said weight of the baby, said temperature of the mattress, and a urination level of a 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, wherein the intensity of the vibration of the mattress is determined as a function of the weighting of the membership functions relative to the agitation of the baby, the cry of the baby, the intensity of the cry of the baby, the humidity level of the mattress, the weight of the baby, the temperature of the mattress, and the urination level of the diaper of the baby.

7 . The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein said control unit is configured to receive data input by a user regarding a condition of the baby, said data being stored in said memory, wherein said control unit is configured to determine membership functions relating to said data, each membership function assuming a respective value according to a presence or absence of said data, and wherein the intensity of the vibration of the mattress is determined as a function of the weighting of the membership functions relative to the agitation of the baby, the cry of the baby, the intensity of the cry of the baby, the humidity level of the mattress, the weight of the baby, the temperature of the mattress, the urination level of the diaper of the baby, and said data.

8 . The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein said control unit is configured to adjust the membership functions relating to the agitation of the baby, the cry of the baby, the intensity of the cry of the baby, the humidity level of the mattress, the weight of the baby, and the temperature of the mattress based on the presence or absence of the cry of the baby and/or the agitation of the baby during a maximum time period relating to a preceding operation executed by said apparatus.

9 . The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein said control unit is configured to adjust a maximum time period relating to a preceding operation executed by said apparatus based on a presence or absence of the cry of the baby and/or the agitation of the baby during the maximum time period.

10 . The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a capacitor supplied with an electric signal generated by said plurality of microphones, wherein said control unit is configured to determine an intensity of the cry of the baby corresponding to a voltage across said capacitor.

11 . The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a humidity sensor configured to detect a humidity level of the mattress, wherein said control unit is configured to detect a urination level of a diaper of the baby as a function of a variation said humidity level and a variation of forces detected by said plurality of force sensors in two successive time instants.

12 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein said control unit is 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 forces detected by said plurality of force sensors in two successive time instants.