Wearable Motion Sensing Device

• US 20100245078A1
• Filed: 11/18/2009
• Published: 09/30/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/26/2009
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Wellcore Corporation
• Original Assignee: Wellcore Corporation
• Inventors: Nadkarni, Vijay, Jangle, Jeetendra
• Application Number:
  US12/621,099
• Publication Number:
  US 20100245078A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/539.110
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/043 detecting an emergency event, e.g. a fall
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0446 worn on the body to detect changes of posture, e.g. a fall, inclination, acceleration, gait

Abstract

A wearable motion sensing device is disclosed. One embodiment of the wearable motion sensing device includes a motion sensor, and a pendant that is attached to the wearable motion sensing device, wherein the pendant is attached to the wearable motion sensing device at a location of the wearable motion sensor relative to the motion sensor that when worn by a human being, a mass of the pendant urges the motion sensor towards the human being.

Claims

1. A wearable motion sensing device, comprising:

a motion sensor;

a pendant that is attached to the wearable motion sensing device, wherein the pendant is attached to the wearable motion sensing device at a location of the wearable motion sensing device relative to the motion sensor that when worn by a human being, a mass of the pendant urges the motion sensor towards the human being.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the wearable sensing device comprises a necklace.

3. The device of claim 2, wherein the motion sensor is attached to the necklace, and wherein the pendant is attached to the necklace at a location of the necklace that causes a gravitational force of the pendant to cause the motion sensor to be urged towards a back of a neck of the human being when the necklace is worn by the human being.

4. The device of claim 2, wherein the motion sensor is attached to the necklace at a diametrically opposed location of the necklace as to where the pendant is attached to the necklace.

5. The device of claim 2, wherein the pendant comprises a power supply.

6. The device of claim 2, wherein the pendant comprises a processor.

7. The device of claim 5, wherein the necklace further comprises insulated electrical conductors that electrically connect the motion sensor to the pendant, allowing the power supply of the pendant to provide electrical power to the motion sensor.

8. The device of claim 6, wherein the necklace further comprises insulated electrical conductors that electrically connect the motion sensor to the pendant, allowing the controller of the pendant to received sensed signals of the motion sensor.

9. The device of claim 1, wherein the pendant comprises at least one of a battery, a central processing unit, wireless communications circuitry, an audio beeper, a microphone.

10. The device of claim 1, wherein the motion sensor senses motion of the human being, and electrical circuitry of the pendant monitors the sensed motion.

11. The device of claim 10, wherein motion sensor comprises at least one accelerometer for generating an acceleration signature based on the sensed acceleration of the motion sensor, and wherein the pendant comprises:

means for matching the acceleration signature with at least one of a plurality of stored acceleration signatures, wherein each stored acceleration signatures corresponds with type of motion;

means for identifying the type of motion of the object based on the matching of the acceleration signature.

12. The device of claim 11, wherein the pendant is detachable from the wearable motion sensing device.

13. The device of claim 12, wherein the pendant comprises:

at least one accelerometer for generating an acceleration signature based on the sensed acceleration of the pendant;

means for detecting whether the pendant is attached to the wearable motion sensing device, and matching the acceleration signature generated by the motion sensor if the pendant is attached to the wearable motion sensor, and matching the acceleration signature generated by the pedant if the pendant is not attached to the wearable motion sensing device.

14. The device of claim 1, wherein the motion sensor further comprises a temperature sensor.

15. The device of claim 1, wherein the motion sensor further comprises a moisture sensor.

16. The device of claim 1, further comprising a first electrode and a second electrode, and the pendant further comprising electrocardiogram processing, the pendant receiving electrical signal coupled from the human being, through the first and second electrode, to the electrocardiogram processing of the pendant.

17. A wearable motion sensing device, comprising:

a motion sensor attached to the wearable motion sensing device at a first location;

a pendant attached to the wearable motion sensing device at a second location, the pendant comprising a processor for processing electronic signals received from the motion sensor, and a power supply.

18. A method of detecting motion of a human, comprising:

placing a wearable motion sensing device on the human, the wearable motion sensing device including a pendant that is attached to the wearable motion sensing device at a location of the wearable motion sensing device relative to a motion sensor of the wearable motion sensing device wherein a mass of the pendant urges the motion sensor towards the human being;

generating an acceleration signature based on sensed acceleration of the motion sensor.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

matching the acceleration signature with at least one of a plurality of stored acceleration signatures, wherein each stored acceleration signatures corresponds with type of motion;

identifying the type of motion of the human being based on matching of the acceleration signature.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein motion sensor includes accelerometers that detect motion of the motion sensor, and the pendant comprises processing circuitry for matching and identifying the type of motion.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the pendant comprises at least one accelerometer, and further comprising:

the pendant detecting whether it is attached to the wearable motion sensing device;

if the pendant is attached to the wearable motion sensing device, then the pendant matching and identifying motion of the motion sensor.

if the pendant is not attached to the wearable motion sensing device, then the pendant matching and identifying motion of the pendant.

22. The method of claim 20, further comprising:

the pendant of the wearable motion sensing device determining what network connections are available to the wearable motion sensing device;

the wearable motion sensing device distributing at least some of the acceleration signature matching processing if processing capability is available to the motion detection device though available network connections.

23. The method of claim 20, wherein the wearable motion sensing device distributes the acceleration signature matching processing if the processing capability is available to wearable motion sensing device through available network connections, and distributing the acceleration signature matching processing saves the wearable motion sensing device processing power.

24. The method of claim 20, wherein the wearable motion sensing device distributes the acceleration signature matching processing if the processing capability is available to the wearable motion sensing device through available network connections, and distributing the acceleration signature matching processing increases a speed of the processing of the wearable motion sensing device.