Method and apparatus for monitoring motion of a body
First Claim
1. A method for determining the sensitivity of a sensor located on a first rigid body to motion of the first rigid body, the method comprising:
- determining a motion vector of the first rigid body at a plurality of sample times using a plurality of reference sensors coupled to the rigid body;
measuring the response of the sensor at the plurality of sample times;
estimating calibration parameters that describe the sensitivity of the sensor to rigid body motion dependent upon the motion vector at the plurality of sample times and the response of the sensor at the plurality of sample times, andoutputting the estimated calibration parameters.
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Abstract
A method and apparatus for monitoring motion of a rigid body, such as a head, in which a plurality of reference sensors are attached to a calibration structure, such as a helmet, and a plurality of body-mountable sensors are adapted for mounting on the rigid body. Once mounted, the positions and orientations of the body-mountable sensors may be unknown. In operation, a processing unit receives signals from the reference sensors and the body-mountable sensors and determines calibration parameters for the body-mountable sensors. The calibration parameters depend upon the sensitivity of the body-mountable sensors to linear, rotational and centripetal motions. These sensitivities, in turn, are dependent upon the positions and orientations of the body-mountable sensors. Body motion is determined from the body-mountable sensors using the calibration parameters.
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Citations
27 Claims
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1. A method for determining the sensitivity of a sensor located on a first rigid body to motion of the first rigid body, the method comprising:
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determining a motion vector of the first rigid body at a plurality of sample times using a plurality of reference sensors coupled to the rigid body; measuring the response of the sensor at the plurality of sample times; estimating calibration parameters that describe the sensitivity of the sensor to rigid body motion dependent upon the motion vector at the plurality of sample times and the response of the sensor at the plurality of sample times, and outputting the estimated calibration parameters. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method for monitoring motion of a head comprising:
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attaching a plurality of sensors to the head; placing a helmet on the head; calibrating the plurality of sensors to determine calibration parameters relating to the sensitivities, positions and orientations of the plurality of sensors dependent upon measurements of the linear and rotational motion of the helmet and dependent upon signals from the plurality of sensors; and determining the head motion dependent upon the calibration parameters of the plurality of sensors and dependent upon the signals from the plurality of sensors.
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12. A system for monitoring motion of a body comprising:
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a substantially rigid calibration structure; a plurality of reference sensors attached to the substantially rigid calibration structure and responsive to motion of the substantially rigid calibration structure; a communication port operable to receive signals from a plurality of body-mountable sensors; a processing unit;
operable to receive signals from the plurality of reference sensors and to receive, via the communication port, the signals from the plurality of body-mountable sensors,wherein, in a first time interval, the processing unit is operable to determine the sensitivity of the plurality of body-mountable sensors to motion of the body, the sensitivity being dependent upon the signals from the plurality of reference sensors. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. An apparatus for sensing motion parameters of a selected location in a substantially rigid body, the apparatus comprising:
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a first plurality of motion sensors adapted to couple to the rigid body at positions displaced from the selected location and to produce a first plurality of sensed signals in response to motion of the substantially rigid body; a memory operable to store calibration parameters that relate the sensed signals and motion of the substantially rigid body; a processor operable to; receive the sensed signals; calculate each motion parameter dependent upon the calibration parameters and the first plurality of sensed signals, and provide the motion parameters as output; and an output port that communicates the motion parameters over an output channel, wherein the calibration parameters are dependent upon the relative orientations of the sensing axes of the first plurality of motion sensors and the positions of the first plurality of motion sensors relative to the selected location. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
wherein the processor is operable to determine the calibration parameters that relate the sensed signals and motion of the substantially rigid body and store them in the memory.
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27. An apparatus in accordance with claim 26, wherein the substantially rigid body comprises a human head and wherein the substantially rigid calibration structure comprises a helmet.
Specification