Computer system for minimizing body dysfunctions induced by jet travel or shift work

Abstract

A computer system incorporates an expanded and integrated theory of Chronobiology and Circadian Regulatory Biology to provide consistent recommendations for the reduction of the effects of jet lag. The system provides consistent recommendations in response to a traveler's itinerary, meeting schedule, and personal preferences. The system can also be used to minimize the effects of changes in work and sleep schedules caused by shift work.

Claims

We claim:

1. A method of operating a general purpose computer to provide information to an individual to help the individual to reduce dysfunction caused by a particular trip across a plurality of time zones, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving itinerary data, the itinerary data including a trip departure time, a trip departure location, a trip destination location and a trip arrival time;

accessing a database of time zone information to determine the time zones of a plurality of locations in response to the trip departure location and the trip destination location;

calculating a phase change between the departure and destination locations in response to the accessed time zone information;

determining a time shift day in response to the itinerary data and phase change;

determining a reference point on the time shift day;

using the reference point to generate daily recommendations of activity responsive to the itinerary data and the calculated phase change in accordance with chronobiological rules, the recommendations including a schedule for the days surrounding the time shift day indicating sleep times, meal times, meal types, caffeine times, and a watch reset time; and

providing the daily recommendations of activity to the individual.

2. A method as in claim 1 wherein said step of calculating a phase change treats certain large phase advances as phase delays.

3. A method as in claim 1 further comprising the step of receiving input of key event data, the key event data including the location, date, time, and duration of key events, and wherein said step of determining a time shift day is further responsive to the key event data.

4. A method as in claim 3 further comprising the step of receiving individual preferences data and wherein said step of using the reference point to generate daily recommendations of activity is further responsive to the individual preferences data.

5. A method as in claim 4 wherein the step of receiving individual preferences data includes receiving data for preferred meeting times, preferred sleep times, and preferred meal times.

6. A method as in claim 4 wherein said step of using the reference point to generate daily recommendations of activity further comprises the step of determining a recommendation for times of activity and times of inactivity.

7. A method as in claim 1 further comprising the step of accessing a database of daylight savings time information responsive to a particular location, and wherein said step of calculating a phase change is responsive to the daylight saving information for each input location.

8. A method as in claim 1 wherein said step of using the reference point to generate daily recommendations of activity includes the step of identifying potentially dyschronogenic schedules.

9. The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of grouping legs of a trip in response to the time zones of destinations and recommending dates for phase shifts in response to times and locations of key events, lengths of stay at each destination, and magnitudes of phase shifts between groups.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the reference point determined is a time for a break-the-fast-breakfast meal.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein said step of using the reference point to generate daily recommendations of activity further comprises the step of determining a recommendation for times to adjust levels of light.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the steps of providing the daily recommendations of activity to the individual comprises the step of adjusting the lights, serving meals, and serving caffeinated drinks to a passenger on a flight in accordance with the daily recommendations.

13. A method of operating a general purpose computer to provide information to an individual to help the individual to reduce dysfunction caused by a particular trip across a plurality of time zones, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving individual traveler preferences data, the preferences data including data indicating preferred meeting times, preferred sleep times, and preferred meal times;

receiving key event data, the key event data including data indicating locations, dates, times and durations of key events;

receiving itinerary data, the itinerary data including data indicating a trip departure time, a trip departure location, a trip arrival time, and a trip arrival location;

accessing a database of time zone information to obtain the time zone of each key event from the key event data and the time zones of the trip departure location and the trip arrival location;

calculating a phase change between the trip departure and destination locations using the accessed time zone information;

converting the phase change to treat phase advances of eleven hours or greater as phase delays;

determining a time shift day in response to the key event data, itinerary data, and phase change;

determining a reference point on the time shift day;

using the reference point to determine daily recommendations responsive to the individual traveler preferences data, the key event data, the itinerary data, the time zone of each key event, and the converted phase change in accordance with chronobiological rules, the recommendations including recommendations for the times of selected zeitgebers on the days surrounding the time shift day; and

providing the daily recommendations to the individual.

14. A method as in claim 13 wherein the selected zeitgebers include fast/feast days, the time and date of a break-the-fast-breakfast, meal times, meal types, and caffeine times.

15. A method as in claim 14 adapted to permit the introduction of effective new zeitgebers as they are identified.

16. The method of claim 13 wherein the reference point determined is a time for a break-the-fast-breakfast meal.

17. A computer system for providing information to an individual to allow him to reduce the physical and mental dysfunction caused by a particular trip across a plurality of time zones, the system comprising:

means for receiving itinerary data including a trip departure time, a trip departure location, a trip arrival time, and a trip destination location;

means for accessing a database of time zone information to obtain the time zones of the trip departure location and the trip destination location in response to the itinerary data;

means for calculating the phase change between the departure and destination locations using the accessed time zone information;

means coupled to the data receiving means and to the phase change calculating means for determining a time shift day in response to the received itinerary data and the calculated phase change;

means for determining a reference point on the time shift day;

means for using the reference point to generate recommendations of daily activity, said recommendations responsive to the itinerary data and the calculated phase change in accordance with chronobiological rules, the recommendations including a schedule for the days surrounding the time shift day indicating sleep times, meals times, meal types, caffeine times, and a watch reset time; and

output means for providing the recommendations to the individual.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein the reference point determined is a time for a break-the-fast-breakfast meal.

19. A method of operating a general purpose computer to provide information to an individual to help the individual to reduce dysfunction caused by a particular trip across a plurality of time zones, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving itinerary data, the itinerary data including a trip departure time, a trip departure location, a trip destination location and a trip arrival time;

receiving input of key event data, the key event data including the location, date, time, and duration of key events;

accessing a database of time zone information to determine the time zones of a plurality of locations, including the trip departure location and the trip destination location;

calculating a phase change between the departure and destination locations in response to the accessed time zone information;

determining a time shift day in response to the trip departure time, the trip arrival time, the phase change and the key event data;

determining a time for a break-the-fast-breakfast meal on the time shift day;

using the time for the break-the-fast-breakfast meal as a reference point to generate a schedule of daily recommendations of activity for the days surrounding the time shift day in accordance with chronobiological rules; and

providing the recommendations to the individual.

20. The method of claim 19 wherein the step of using the time for the break-the-fast-breakfast meal as reference point to generate a schedule of daily recommendations activity includes generating a daily schedule indicating fast/feat days, meal times, meal types, caffeine times, and a watch reset time.

21. The method of claim 19 further comprising the steps of:

recommending changing the time for the break-the-fast-breakfast meal so that an event does not fall into a deep-rest-phase range of the destination or effective time zone; and

recommending no break-the-fast-breakfast meal for short trips and trips where key events can take place during a normal-efficient-active phase range of the individual.

22. The method of claim 19 further comprising the step of receiving individual preferences data and wherein said step of using the times for the break-the-fast-breakfast meal time to generate a schedule is responsive to the individual preferences data.

23. The method of claim 19 further comprising the steps of grouping legs of a trip in response to the time zones of destinations and recommending dates for phase shifts in response to times and locations of the key events, lengths of stay at each destination, and magnitudes of phase shifts between groups.

24. The method of claim 19 wherein said step of using the time for the break-the-fast-breakfast meal to generate a schedule of daily recommendations of activity comprises the steps of:

determining a time for a first sleep prior to the time for the break-the-fast breakfast meal;

determining a reset watch time in response to the time for the first sleep prior to the time for the break-the-fast-breakfast meal;

determining a time for a first sleep after the time for the break-the-fast-breakfast meal;

determining a time for a last breakfast on departure time prior to the time for the break-the-fast-breakfast meal; and

determining a time for a last sleep on departure time prior to the time for a last breakfast on departure time.

25. The method of claim 24 wherein said step of using the time for the break-the-fast-breakfast meal to generate a schedule of daily recommendations of activity further comprises the steps of:

determining meal times for the days surrounding the time shift day;

determining times for ingesting caffeine on the days surrounding the time shift day; and

determining when meals should be skipped on the days surrounding the time shift day.

26. The method of claim 19 wherein said step of providing the recommendations to the individual comprises the step of adjusting lights, serving meals, and serving caffeinated drinks to a passenger on a flight in accordance with the recommendations.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the fields of chronobiology, circadian regulatory biology, and computer systems, and, more specifically, to a computer system for reducing the effects of physical and mental dysfunction associated with phase changes caused by shift work or travel from one time zone to another, commonly known as "jet-lag".

The symptoms referred to as "jet lag" are due not to fatigue, as is commonly believed by laypersons, but to a lack of synchronization between certain organs acting as "body clocks" and external stimulus from the environment. Particularly, jet-lag symptoms can result from either shift work, where an individual is changing his normal working hours, or from travel from one time zone to another. The fields of Chronobiology and Circadian Regulatory Biology focus on the nature of "body clocks" and the biochemistry and anatomy of circadian clocks in higher organisms, including man. Learning how to "reset" these clocks has been a central aim of research in this field, as discussed in Overcoming Jet Lag, Ehret, C. F. and Scanlon, L. W., Berkley Publishing, New York, 1983; The Effects of Jet Lag on Sports Performance, Sasaki, Takashi, p.417-432 (Japanese/Soviet Volleyball Performance Study) in Chronobiology--Principals and Applications to Shifts in Schedules, Editors L. E. Scheving & F. Halberg, Sijthoff & Noordhoff, Alphen aan den Rijn, Netherlands, 1980; and "Recent Studies Relative to the Airlifting of Military Units Across Time Zones", Graeber, R. Curtis, (Rapid Deployment Force Jet Lag Study), p.353-370 in Chronobiology--Principals and Applications to Shifts in Schedules, Editors L. E. Scheving & F. Halberg, Sijthoff & Noordhoff, Alphen aan den Rijn, Netherlands, 1980.

This research relates to resetting the body's clocks with the help of several selected "zeitgebers" (from the German for `time givers`). These zeitgebers regulate or shift the phase of a circadian rhythm, and can, as their name implies, act as "time givers". For example, the application of the prescription drug alpha-methyl-para-tyrosine (A.M.T.) clearly and predictably resets the circadian systems. Numerous other zeitgebers have also been shown to affect circadian rhythms. These zeitgebers include, for example, light, exercise, food, and such commonly used non-prescription drugs as caffeine, theophylline, and theobromine (found in coffee, tea, and cocoa). The type of food and the times that these foods are ingested are critical in determining how to properly stimulate certain "body clocks". The proper introduction of external stimuli such as light, physical and mental activity, the ingestion of natural chemicals such as caffeine, and a feast-fast meal cycle, can be effectively used to correct the disturbance of body rhythms.

The techniques described in Overcoming Jet Lag require the use of multiple zeitgebers and take advantage of the naturally occurring "circadian oscillations in energy reserves". In the pre-flight days, the techniques focus on alternately building up and depleting glycogen energy reserves by the use of a special diet which prepares the body's clocks for resetting. During a four day pre-flight program, the traveler feasts one day, fasts the next day (indicated by day*), feasts again, and fasts again on the final day (indicated by day**) before phase shifting to a new time zone. The traveler then breaks the final fast with breakfast time at his destination (B.T.F.W.B.D.T.). In the unusual case of anticipated extraordinary caloric demands on either of these days (such as by an athlete during training on day*, or even more unlikely on day**), then the "fast day" may be designed to look almost like a "feast-day" for one not-in-training, since the aim at the end of each respective "fast day" is to nearly, but not completely, deplete the available glycogen reserves for that day, to be restored either with "Feast" after day*, or with B.T.F.W.B.D.T. after day**.

However, one difficulty with the practical application of present Chronobiology theory is that no integrated, reliable, and automatic mechanism has been developed for dealing with rule conflicts, compromises or impossibilities, such as when a recommended sleep phase is interrupted by a flight departure or arrival.

For an individual seeking a consistent and integrated schedule of activities for a particular trip, these prior art publications are usually not adequate. There is a practical limit to how many examples can be given in a book, understood by the reader, and extrapolated to other situations. Even when an example is pertinent, the recommendations are often ambiguous or even in conflict with the traveler's schedule or personal preferences. Most individuals have personal preferences for meeting times, meal times, and sleep times which are not addressed by the examples or the general techniques of the prior art.

One solution might be to consult with an expert. It is, however, costly and difficult, even for the chronobio-technically astute expert to rigorously apply the general and often complex theory to formulate and recommend a correct schedule of activity for a particular trip. This is especially true for multiple destination flights involving several stops through multiple time zones, flights that do not have the preferred departure and arrival times, or for travel across the International Date Line.

What is needed is a system for formulating, in response to any specific input of travel plans and personal preferences, a consistent and integrated schedule of activities and countermeasures applicable to the conditions of modern transmeridional jet travel to reduce the effects of jet lag. It is desirable that this system be compatible with an airline reservation system that is capable of recommending specific flights at the time of booking.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention incorporates an expanded and integrated theory of Chronobiology and Circadian Regulatory Biology into a rule-based computer system. The computer system provides consistent recommendations in response to a traveler's itinerary, work schedule, and personal preferences for sleep times and meal times, despite the interrupted environment of trans-time zone jet travel, with stops, layovers, plane changes, etc. The preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a programmed general purpose computer, an input keyboard, a cursor positioning input device, an output display terminal and printer, and databases of time zone, daylight savings information, and flight information. Although the preferred embodiment is adapted for providing recommendations for minimizing body dysfunctions induced by jet travel, the invention is also applicable to minimizing body dysfunctions induced by shift work.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1a, 1b, and 1c are illustrations of personal data input display screens generated by the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an illustration of an Event Codes input display screen generated by the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an illustration of an Itinerary input display screen generated by the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an illustration of a Travel Information input display screen generated by the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 illustrates a recommended Time Zone Shift Schedule output screen generated by the system.

FIG. 6 illustrates a Potential Scheduling Problems output display screen generated by the system in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 7A, 7B and 7C are an illustration of The Trip Calendar as output to printer or screen.

FIG. 8A and 8B are an illustration of the "Feast" and "Fast" sample menus as output to printer or screen.

FIG. 9a is an illustration of a Recommended Hours of Activity Display as output to printer or screen.

FIGS. 9B, 9C; and 9C;; illustrations of the Daily Agendas for the days before scheduled departure and for the day of departure as output to printer or screen.

FIGS. 10A and 10B are an illustration of Slide Rule as output to printer or screen.

FIG. 11 is an illustration of data type structures in the program.

FIGs. 12a and 12b are illustrations of variables used in the program.

FIG. 13 is a logic flow diagram for the Main routine.

FIG. 14 is a logic flow diagram for the subroutine SlideSetup.

FIG. 15 is a logic flow diagram for the subroutine Calc.

FIG. 16 is a logic flow diagram for the subroutine AllShifts.

FIG. 17 is a logic flow diagram for the subroutine SetTrip.

FIG. 18 is a logic flow diagram for the subroutine GivenShiftLoop.

FIG. 19 is a logic flow diagram for the subroutine Init.

FIG. 20 is a logic flow diagram for the subroutine FillCaff Caffeine Rules.

FIG. 21 is a logic flow diagram for the subroutine Caffeine Schedule.

FIG. 22 is a logic flow diagram for the subroutine FillLight Light Rules.

FIG. 23 is a logic flow diagram for the subroutine DrawSlide.

FIG. 24 is a logic flow diagram for the subroutine OutputLoop.

FIG. 26 is a logic flow diagram for the subroutine Rule5.

FIG. 27 illustrates the method for calculating B.T.F.W.B.D.T.

FIG. 28 is a logic flow diagram for the subroutine Trip Type - Phase Advance-East.

FIG. 29 is a logic flow diagram for the subroutine Trip Type - Phase Delay-West.

FIG. 30 is a logic flow diagram for the subroutine Worst Case Rules.

FIG. 32 illustrates the specific method for determining the appropriate date to phase shift.

FIG. 33 is a logic flow diagram for the subroutine NoEventsRule.

FIG. 34 is a logic flow diagram for the subroutine EventsRules.

FIG. 35 is a logic flow diagram for the subroutine Priority Rules.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The preferred embodiment of the present invention has been developed using the Pascal computer language on a system including a Macintosh computer, manufactured by Apple Computer, Inc., a hard disc drive for the storage of databases, a keyboard and mouse for input of personalized and trip specific data, and an output screen and printer for providing specific outputs describing recommendations for the traveler's activities.

Referring to FIGS. 1 thru 10 the major display screens of the preferred embodiment are shown and will now be described.

FIGS. 1a, 1b, and 1c are illustrations of personal data input display screens pages 1, 2, and 3, respectively, generated by the preferred embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1a, an operator is prompted to enter a passenger's name, company, address, and telephone number. This data is entered into name display area 105, company display area 110, street display area 115, city display area 120, state display area 125, zip code display area 130, country display area 135, and telephone display area 140. In response to clicking button 145 the system accepts changes and displays the second page of the personal data input display screen illustrated in FIG. 1b. Alternatively, the operator can accept changes and select page 3 with button 150, cancel any changes to this screen with button 155, or accept changes and return to the main program with button 160.

Referring to FIG. 1b, the operator is prompted to enter the traveler's preferences for bedtime, hours of sleep, earliest time for meetings, latest time for meetings, time for breakfast, time for lunch, and time for supper. The traveler's preference for bedtime is entered in display area 165, hours of sleep in display area 170, earliest time for meetings in display area 175, latest time for meetings in display area 180, time for breakfast in display area 185, time for lunch in display area 190, and time for supper in display area 195. In response to clicking button 196 the system accepts changes and displays the first page of the personal data input display screen illustrated in FIG. 1a. Alternatively, the operator can accept changes and select page 3 with button 197, cancel any changes to this screen with button 198, or accept changes and return to the main program with button 199.

Input of traveler preferences is optional. If no information is provided by the operator the program will use standard default values which are displayed when FIG. 1b is first called up for a new traveler. However, the provisions for adapting to personal preferences and characteristics is a major advantage of the present invention and the availability of these personal preferences, especially when they differ from standard default values, will affect the effectiveness of the personal recommendations for jet-lag countermeasures. In an alternative embodiment this personal preference data could be stored in a frequent flyer database under the traveler's name for use in future bookings.

Referring to FIG. 1c, the operator is prompted to enter optional information including but not limited to the traveler's passport number, person to notify in case of emergency, blood type, immunization, allergies and foods which the traveler is allergic to or can't take. The traveler's passport number is entered into display area 200, the person to notify in case of emergency is entered in display area 205, blood type is entered into display area 210, immunization is entered into display area 220, allergies are entered into display area 230, and foods which the traveler is allergic to or can't take are entered into display area 235. In response to clicking button 250 the system accepts changes and displays the first page of the personal data input display screen illustrated in FIG. 1a. Alternatively, the operator can accept changes and select page 2 with button 260, cancel any changes to this screen with button 270, or accept changes and return to the main program with button 280.

FIG. 2 is an illustration of an Event Code input display screen generated by the preferred embodiment of the present invention. In response to prompts, the operator enters the locations, times and duration of scheduled events. For example, an important five day meeting in Milan, Italy is scheduled to start April 6 at 9:00 A.M. This data is entered in an abbreviated form in display area 290. The location, (Milan, Italy), is illustrated in display area 291. The first and last dates of the event are illustrated in display area 292. Eight hours of meeting time ("H8") are required between the times of 9 am (0900) and 5 pm (1700), as illustrated in display area 293. The fact that the event is considered a key or special event is indicated by an "S" illustrated in display area 294. The "key event" designation indicates that this is an event that the traveler desires to be especially well prepared for (e.g., business meetings or sporting event). In response to this designation, the program will give priority to minimizing the effects of phase change for each key event.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, a second event is also scheduled in San Francisco for April 16 and the information for that event has been entered by the operator and is illustrated in display area 295.

A database of time zone information is referenced for each event location and provided by the system. For example, in Time Zone Display 296 the system has referenced the Time Zone Database and provided the designator "13", indicating the Standard Time Zone IDL of Milan and the designator "4" indicating the Standard Time Zone IDL of San Francisco. Standard Time Zones IDL reference the International Date Line ("IDL") and are numbered 1-24 west-to-east from the IDL.

FIG. 3 is an illustration of an Itinerary input display screen generated by the preferred embodiment of the present invention. In response to prompts, the operator defines the legs of the trip in an abbreviated form. Specifically, the departure location for the first leg of the trip, "SFO" has been entered by the operator in display area 300. The date of the flight "3APR" has been entered in display area 301. The recommended time of the flight "9A" (for 9 am) is calculated by the system and is illustrated in display area 302. (After specific flight information has been entered in Step 4, this will be changed to reflect the actual flight time.) The destination city "MIL" (the international airport code) is entered in display area 305. The program calculates the difference in time zones for each leg ("Time Change") and displays that information in display area 310. In the preferred embodiment, the time change information is corrected for any daylight savings scheduled at any arrival or departure location by referencing a database of daylight savings information indexed to both the location and the times and dates of arrival and departure. The number of nights at each intermediate destination is calculated from the actual flight data and displayed in display area 320. The operator enters "END" in the "Nights at Destination" box to indicate the last leg of the trip, as the operator has done in display area 330.

FIG. 4 is an illustration of a Travel Information input display screen. This screen is used for the input, modification and display of specific flight data. Choosing one trip leg at a time, the operator inputs the specific flight data consistent with the Itinerary using actual flight data from an OAG database. For example, in FIG. 4 the departure location (SFO) already provided by the operator in Step 2 is displayed in display area 400. The exact time of departure is entered in display area 405. The airline identification "UA" is entered in display area 410, the flight number "126" in display area 415, the destination "ORD" in display area 420, the date of departure is entered in display area 425, and the time of arrival "1459" in display area 430. Specific flight information for additional connecting flights are input in sequential display areas such as display area 435. All connecting flights are entered so that the system can account for interruptions in sleep, such as would be caused by the need to change flights. This information is provided manually in the preferred embodiment, however in an alternative embodiment the information could be provided electronically from an electronic database of flight information. In this alternative embodiment the system could be adapted so as to recommend specific available flights based on chronobiology rules and the key event data.

Once the operator and traveler are satisfied with the input data and proposed flight itinerary the flight data, event data, and personal preferences data are processed in accordance with the system databases and with the Chronobiology Rules defined below.

FIG. 5 illustrates a recommended Time Zone Shift Schedule display generated by the system in response to the input data provided in steps 1-4. Each leg of the trip is represented, and recommendations are given for the time zone that a traveler should live on while at each destination, the "Effective Time Zone orientation". In some circumstances, the system will recommend that the traveler "live" on a time zone other than the local time zone being visited. In such a case the number in display area 520 would correspond to the leg number whose destination reflects the effective time zone orientation. Referring to FIG. 5, the system recommends that the traveler live on CEDT Time while in Milan as shown in display area 510. The "1" in display area 520 refers to the time zone of the first destination (Milan, Italy). The traveler is recommended to change to PDT time while in San Francisco as indicated in display area 530. (The specific method for determining the appropriate date to phase shift is illustrated in FIGS. 32 to 35.) The time zone shift per leg is displayed in display area 540 and the total time zone shift is displayed in display area 555. The recommendations for 4 or 2 day diet is provided in display area 560. A traveler may override the recommendation, and choose, for example, a two day diet rather than a four day diet, if he desires.

FIG. 6 is the Potential Scheduling Problems display screen. This screen shows the event schedule and indicates if insufficient time has been allowed to overcome the phase change effects. For example, the system recommends that the traveler shift to the new time zone no later than three (3) days before the event in Milan as illustrated in display area 605. This corresponds to the date "4/03" illustrated in display area 610. This date is illustrated in bold to indicate that insufficient time has been scheduled to fully adapt to the shift in time zones prior to the event in Milan and the traveler should expect to experience some effects of jet lag at that event.

A number of specific output recommendations and output formats are provided by the system including a Trip Calendar, which indicates travel days, basic dietary recommendations, time zone shifts, and scheduled appointments; a Prime-Time Activity Chart for each leg of the trip; and Daily Agendas for the days surrounding the time shift for each trip leg requiring a time shift.

The Trip Calendar is illustrated in FIG. 7. The Trip Calendar provides specific information for scheduled trip events in a boxed calendar format. Specifically, the trip calendar illustrates each day in a box and indicates whether meals should comply with the "Feast" or the "Fast" menu illustrated in FIG. 8. For example, display area 700 corresponds to March 31 on the calendar, and is designated as a "FEAST" day. Accordingly, it is recommended that the traveler eat in accordance with the "Feast Day - Sample menu" on that day. The Trip Calendar also indicates travel days, such as designated by the names of the departure and destination cities in display areas 705 and 710. Time zone shifts are indicated, by "break the fast" breakfasts such as seen on dates 4/4 and 4/16 and illustrated in display areas 720 and 725. Scheduled appointments are also indicated as, for example, on date 4/6 in display area 730. A flight itinerary summary is also illustrated in display area 740.

A set of sample feast and fast meals is provided for the traveler as illustrated in FIG. 8. This recommends calories and proportions of protein, fat, and carbohydrates for the meals recommended by the method.

A Recommended Hours of Activity display is provided for the effective time zone of the trip as illustrated in FIG. 9a. This chart recommends periods of activity in each of the cities where a stopover occurs. The hours indicated in bold type, such as in area 900, are the times recommended for meetings, key events or other important activities at each location.

As illustrated in FIG. 9b and 9c, Daily Agendas for the days before scheduled departure, such as illustrated in display area 910, and for the day of departure are provided. The Daily Agendas specify the time and type of each meal, such as illustrated in display area 920, when coffee should be consumed, such as illustrated in display area 925, bedtime, such as illustrated in display area 930, the time to reset the traveler's wristwatch, such as illustrated in display area 935, times for inactivity, such as illustrated in display area 940, times for activity, such as illustrated in display area 945, departure and arrival times and locations, such as illustrated in display area 950, and times for bright and dim light, such as illustrated in display areas 955 and 960 respectively.

FIG. 10 is an illustration of the Slide Rule output display screen. This format provides a unique visualization of the interrelated factors present in a traveler's schedule in a time line format. The Slide Rule specifies the time and type of each meal, such as illustrated in display area 1000, when coffee should be consumed, such as illustrated in display area 1010, bedtime, such as illustrated in display area 1020, times for inactivity, such as illustrated in display area 1030, times for activity, such as illustrated in display area 1040, departure and arrival times, such as illustrated in display area 1050, and times for bright and dim light, such as illustrated in display areas 1060 and 1070 respectively. This format is particularly useful in the visualization of certain conflict situations, such as layover times conflicting with sleep, as illustrated in display area 1080, and conflicts between drinking coffee and sleep, such as illustrated in display area 1090.

Before describing the internal operation of the computer program of the preferred embodiment, some standard Pascal definitions will be given to explain the use of various constructs in the computer language and thus illuminate the discussion of data types and variables that follows. The following definitions are from the book Pascal User Manual and Report, by Kathleen Jensen and Nicklaus Wirth, 1974, published by Springer-Verlag, which is the standard definition of the language.

The order in which the compiler expects to find definitions will be used as a structure for description of the types and variables. A "constant definition" introduces an identifier as a synonym for a constant. The use of constant identifiers generally makes a program more readable and acts as a convenient documentation aid. A data type in Pascal may either be directly described in the variable declaration or referenced by a "type identifier". Several standard type identifiers are included, along with a mechanism, the "type definition", for creating new types. Every variable occurring in a statement must be declared in a "variable declaration" which must precede the use of the variable. A variable declaration associates an identifier and a data type with a new variable by simply listing the identifier followed by its type. A "record" is a structure consisting of a fixed number of components, called fields. Components need not be of identical types and cannot be directly indexed. A "type definition" specifies for each component its type and an identifier, the "field identifier", to denote it. The scope of a field identifier is the innermost record in which it is defined. A field may be defined as a previously defined record type. In the following descriptions, a definition of each data type or variable will be given followed by a description of the type or variable.

The important data structures developed for the program will now be described. These data structures allow the representation of the problem in a format solvable by a computer which is consequently accessible to a much larger range of people than would be possible by individual consultation with an expert. The data types allow the appropriate manipulation of information as found in a typical traveler's itinerary information relative to jet lag countermeasures.

An overview of the major data types groupings is shown in FIG. 11. The Time Types 1110 related to time and the Time Differential Factor (TDF), are used to relate the local time at one location to the local time at any other location in the world. Data type DayTimeRec 1130 will form the basis of pinning the location of events in a continual time line relative to any time zone in the world. The DST data types 1140 are used for accessing daylight savings time. Flight types 1150 are used to store a description of flight information types. Personal profile type 1170 expands upon the typical airline profile by keeping information on preferred sleeping, meal, and meeting times. Event/meeting type 1174 is used to store the information for important events or meetings. Output types 1180 are used for converting information into the daily agenda. Various intermediate calculation values are stored in intermediate types 1190.

The Time Type data structures include TDFRec, TimeRec, daterec, DayTimeRec, ChangeRec, and TimeZne, which will now be described.

    ______________________________________
              TDFRec = RECORD
               TDFHour: integer;
               TDFquarter: integer;
              END;
    ______________________________________

    ______________________________________
              TimeRec = RECORD
               Hour: integer;
               Minute: integer;
               TDF: TDFRec;
              END;
    ______________________________________

    ______________________________________
              daterec = RECORD
               day: integer;
               month: integer;
               year: integer;
               dateJulian: longint;
              END;
    ______________________________________

    ______________________________________
             DayTimeRec = RECORD
              time: TimeRec;
              JulianDate: LongInt;
             END;
    ______________________________________

    ______________________________________
    ChangeRec = RECORD
    ShiftOnLeg: BOOLEAN;
    LegShift: TDFRec;
    TargetLeg: integer;
    TargetShift: TDFRec;
    BaseLeg: integer;
    BaseShift: TDFRec;
    LongDiet: BOOLEAN;
    nites: integer;
    daysIn: integer;
    datepre3,datepre2,datepre1,dateleave,
           datearrive: daterec;
    END;
    ______________________________________

    ______________________________________
    TimeZne = RECORD
    ZnStdIDL: integer;
                      (*International Date
                      Line*)
    ZnStdGMT: integer;
                      (*Greenwich Mean
                      Time*)
    END;
    ______________________________________

    ______________________________________
    FFmealrec = RECORD
           fastfeast: integer;
           meal: ARRAY[1..3] OF Daytimerec;
    END;
    ______________________________________

    ______________________________________
             caffrec = RECORD
              hourstart: DayTimeRec;
              hourend: DayTimeRec;
             END;
    ______________________________________

    ______________________________________
             NSleeprec = RECORD
              hourstart: DayTimeRec;
              hourend: DayTimeRec;
             END;
    ______________________________________

    ______________________________________
    ArrayLayover = ARRAY[1..MAXCONNECT] OF
    NSleeprec;
    ______________________________________

    ______________________________________
            POINTERS = .uparw.AirportRec;
            AirportRec = record
             INFO: string40;
             AirCode: string04;
             ZoneNumber: integer;
             DSTNumber: integer;
             NEXT: POINTERS;
            END;
    ______________________________________

    ______________________________________
            DstPOINTERS = .uparw.DstRec;
            DstRec = record
             INFO: string40;
             ZoneNumber: integer;
             TDF: TDFRec;
             TDFdst: TDFRec;
             DSTStart: daterec;
             DSTEnd: daterec;
             count: integer;
             NEXT: DstPOINTERS;
            END;
    ______________________________________

    ______________________________________
            ConnectRec = RECORD
             NumOfConnection: integer;
             TotalConnection: integer;
            END;
    ______________________________________

    ______________________________________
    FlightRec = RECORD
           LocLeave,LocArrive: str40;
           AirCodeLeave,AirCodeArrive: str4;
           ZoneLeave,ZoneArrive: integer;
           dateleave,datearrive: daterec;
           TimeLeave,TimeArrive: TimeRec;
           FlyTime: integer; (* in minutes *)
           TimeChange: TDFRec;
           Airline: str40;
           AirlineCode,Airflight: str4;
           InfoConnect: ConnectRec;
    END;
    ______________________________________

    ______________________________________
    FlightGroup = ARRAY [1..MaxConnect] OF
    FlightRec;
    ______________________________________

    ______________________________________
    ItinRec = RECORD
           Connection: FlightGroup;
           NumOfConnect: integer;
           LocLeave,LocArrive: str40;
           AirCodeLeave,AirCodeArrive: str4;
           ZoneLeave,ZoneArrive: integer;
           FlyTime: integer; (* in minutes *)
           TimeChange: TDFRec;
           NitesAt: integer;
           Important: BOOLEAN;
    END;
    ______________________________________

    ______________________________________
    Fflightrec = RECORD
             codedepart : string04;
             timedepart : Daytimerec;
             codearrive : string04;
             timearrive : Daytimerec;
    END;
    ______________________________________

    ______________________________________
    sequenrec = RECORD
    flightname : string06;
    numofflights : integer;
    flightinfo : ARRAY[1..MAXFLIGHTS] OF
              Fflightrec;
    END;
    ______________________________________

    ______________________________________
    PersonRec = RECORD
             Name: string[40];
             Company: string[40];
             StAddress: string[40];
             City: string[40];
             State: string[20];
             ZIP: string[10];
             Country: string[20];
             Telephone: string[20];
             PrefBed: TimeRec;
             PrefSleep: TimeRec;
             PrefFstMeet: TimeRec;
             PrefLstMeet: TimeRec;
             PrefBreakfast: TimeRec;
             PrefLunch: TimeRec;
             PrefSupper: TimeRec;
             SocialSecurity: string[20];
             Passport: string[20];
             Visa No: string[20];
             NotifyPerson: string[40];
             BloodType: string[10];
             Immunization: string[50];
             Allergies: string[100];
             FoodAllergies: string[100];
    END;
    ______________________________________

    ______________________________________
    MeetRec = RECORD
           Location: str255;
           zone: integer;
           date: daterec;
           time: TimeRec; (*TimeOfDay;*)
           duration: integer; (* in days *)
           Important: BOOLEAN;
    END;
    ______________________________________

    ______________________________________
    MeetNewRec = RECORD
           daysIn: integer;
           leg: integer;
           FirstMeet,LastMeet,MeetDuration,
                NumOfDays: integer;
                END;
    ______________________________________

    ______________________________________
            JeventPtr = .uparw.Jeventrecord;
            Jeventrecord = RECORD
                 Start : DayTimeRec;
                 Finish : DayTimeRec;
                 TimeInt : integer;
                 DayNum : integer
                 IDLZone : integer
                 DstOn : integer
                 ActualTDF : TDFRec
                 Code : str4;
                 Airport : str4;
                 Last, Next : JEventPtr;
            END;
            Jeventonerecord = RECORD
                 Start : DayTimeRec;
                 Finish : DayTimeRec;
                 TimeInt : integer;
                 DayNum : integer
                 IDLZone : integer
                 DstOn : integer
                 ActualTDF : TDFRec
                 Code : str4;
                 Airport : str4;
            END;
    ______________________________________

    ______________________________________
    triprec = RECORD
              depart : DayTimeRec;
              arrive : DayTimeRec;
    END;
    ______________________________________

    ______________________________________
    shiftrec = RECORD
              TDF: TDFRec;
              nites: integer;
              daysIn: integer;
              Important: boolean;
    END;
    ______________________________________

    ______________________________________
    TripDyRec = RECORD
    preday3, preday2, preday1, leaveday,
               arriveday : longint;
    datepre3, datepre2, datepre1, dateleave,
               datearrive : daterec;
    Spreday3, Spreday2, Spreday1, Sleaveday,
               Sarriveday : str10;
    END;
    ______________________________________

    ______________________________________
    Mealrec = RECORD
    mealpre3, mealpre2, mealpre1, mealshift,
               mealpostshift: integer;
    END;
    ______________________________________

    ______________________________________
    ChangeShift: ARRAY [1..MAX LEGS] OF
    ChangeRec;
    ______________________________________

    ______________________________________
    Caffarray : ARRAY[1..NMAXDAYS] OF caffrec;
    sleeptime : ARRAY[1..NMAXDAYS] OF Nsleeprec;
    mealarray : ARRAY[1..NMAXDAYS] OF FFmealrec;
    ResetTime : DayTimeRec;
    BrightLight : Nsleeprec;
    DimLight : Nsleeprec;
    Exercise : Nsleeprec;
    NewFlight : ARRAY[1..NMAXDAYS] OF sequenrec;
    ______________________________________

    ______________________________________
    DaysWith, DaysWOut: ARRAY [0..MAX.sub.-- LEGS] OF
    integer;
    ______________________________________

    ______________________________________
    Phase Change        NitesCompare
    ______________________________________
    +0 to +4            4 (31/2) nights
     0 to -5            4 (31/2) nights
    +5 to +10           7 nights
    -6 to -13           7 nights
    ______________________________________

• Inventors
  Ehret, Charles F.; Ashton, Jr., William T.;
• Assignee
  Kinetic Software, Inc. (Woodside, CA)
• Published
  Apr-9-1991
• Current US Classes:
  705/1
  705/9
• Application #
  219590
• International Classes
  G06F 015/21; G06F 015/42
• Field of Search
  364/400 364/401 364/407 364/200 368/21 368/28 368/41 368/10
• Examiner
  Smith; Jerry
• Agent
  Townsend and Townsend
• US Patent References:
  4600723
  4665086
  4893291