APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR PREVENTING ACCIDENT IN PORTABLE TERMINAL

• US 20140300466A1
• Filed: 03/13/2014
• Published: 10/09/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 04/04/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: PARK, Jeongmin, CHUN, Jaewoong
• Granted Patent: US 9,355,543 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/539.11
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 19/00 Alarms responsive to two or more different undesired or abnormal conditions, e.g. burglary and fire, abnormal temperature and abnormal rate of flow
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72454 according to context-related or environment-related conditions
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/12 including a sensor for measuring a physical value, e.g. temperature or motion
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/52 including functional features of a camera

Abstract

An apparatus and a method for preventing an accident in a portable terminal are provided. The method includes obtaining environmental situation information from a sensor, detecting a dangerous object by analyzing the environmental situation information, extracting at least one of a notice service mapped to the dangerous object and a control service mapped to the dangerous object, and executing the at least one of the extracted notice service and the extracted control service.

Claims

1. A method for preventing an accident in a portable terminal, the method comprising:

obtaining environmental situation information from a sensor;

detecting a dangerous object by analyzing the environmental situation information;

extracting at least one of a notice service mapped to the dangerous object and a control service mapped to the dangerous object; and

executing the at least one of the extracted notice service and the extracted control service.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the notice service mapped to the dangerous object is extracted from a notice service database storing information on mapping of at least one notice service to at least one dangerous object, and

wherein the control service mapped to the dangerous object is extracted from a control service database storing information on mapping of at least one control service to at least one dangerous object.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the obtaining of the environmental situation information using the sensor includes at least one of obtaining an image of an environmental situation using an image sensor, detecting a sound of the environmental situation using a voice input unit, detecting a motion of the portable terminal using a sensor, detecting a temperature of the environmental situation using a temperature sensor, detecting an approaching object using a proximity sensor, and detecting a noxious substance of the environmental situation using an environmental sensor.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the detecting of the approaching object further comprises determining whether stored environmental situation information matching the obtained environmental situation information exists.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the stored environmental situation information is stored in an environmental situation information database.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the detecting of the dangerous object by analyzing an environmental situation information is at least one of detecting a dangerous object by detecting at least one of a person and an object through an analysis of an image obtained from an image sensor and determining an approach of the at least one of the person and the object, detecting the dangerous object by analyzing a sound obtained from a sound detection sensor, detecting dangerous states of an impact, a collision, and a drop of the portable terminal by analyzing a movement of the portable terminal obtained from a motion sensor, detecting a dangerous state of surroundings of the portable terminal by analyzing a temperature value obtained from a temperature sensor, detecting an approach of the at least one of the person and the object in the surroundings of the portable terminal if the approach of the at least one of the person and the object is detected through a proximity sensor, and detecting a noxious substance in the surroundings of the portable terminal if a noxiousness is detected by an environmental sensor.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining a danger level of the detected dangerous object;

extracting a notice service mapped to the dangerous object if the danger level is lower than a level; and

extracting a control service mapped to the dangerous object if the danger level is higher than the level.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the determining of the danger level of the detected dangerous object determines that the environmental situation may inflict an injury on a user if an approach of at least one of a person and an object is identified to be higher than a another level by analyzing an image obtained from an image sensor, determines that an environmental situation may inflict an injury on the user if at least one of a movement, an impact, and a collision of the portable terminal detected by a motion sensor is identified to be higher than yet another level, determines that the environmental situation may inflict an injury on the user if a temperature value detected by a temperature sensor is identified to be higher than a temperature value, determines that the dangerous object having a higher possibility of colliding with the user approaches the user if the dangerous object detected by a proximity sensor is closer than a distance value, and determines that the environmental situation may inflict an injury to the user if a noxiousness detected by an environmental sensor is higher than a noxiousness value.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the control service is at least one of:

an execution of stopping an application operating in the portable terminal, an execution of terminating the application, an execution of switching off a screen, an execution of partially or fully covering the screen, and an execution of providing an alarm notice sound.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein the notice service is at least one of an execution of outputting metaphors including at least one of a text, a symbol, and an icon for notifying a dangerous state in a screen, image contents corresponding to the dangerous object, a silhouette corresponding to the dangerous object, and at least one of an image and a moving image contents corresponding to the dangerous object while operating an application in the portable terminal, an execution of reducing a brightness of the screen, an execution of outputting a separate warning sound through at least one of a speaker, an earphone, and a headset, an execution of vibrating an additional accessory, an execution of turning on a light provided in the portable terminal, and an execution of transmitting a danger signal to a wearable device connected with the portable terminal through at least one of a wireless communication unit and wired communication unit.

11. An apparatus for preventing an accident in a portable terminal, the apparatus comprising:

a sensor unit configured to obtain environmental situation information of the portable terminal;

a control unit configured to detect a dangerous object by analyzing the environmental situation information obtained from the sensor unit, to extract at least one of a notice service mapped to the dangerous object and a control service mapped to the dangerous object, and to execute the at least one of the extracted notice service and the control service; and

a storage unit configured to store environmental situation information for comparing with the at least one of the extracted notice service and the extracted control service.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the storage unit is configured to store a notice service database storing information on mapping of at least one notice service to at least one dangerous object,

wherein the storage unit is configured to store a control service database storing information on mapping of at least one control service to at least one dangerous object, and

wherein the storage unit is configured to store environmental situation information in an environmental situation information database.

13. The apparatus of claim 11, further comprising at least one of a speaker, a headset, and an earphone,

wherein the at least one of the speaker, the headset, and the earphone are configured to output an alarm notice sound according to the at least one of the notice service and the control service.

14. The apparatus of claim 11, further comprising an additional accessory configured to be connectable to the portable terminal through at least one of a wireless communication unit and a wired communication unit, and to execute at least one of a vibration and outputting of a sound according to the at least one of the notice service and the control service.

15. The apparatus of claim 11, further comprising a wearable device configured to be connectable to the portable terminal through at least one of a wireless communication unit and a wired communication unit, to receive a danger signal according to the at least one of the notice service and the control service,

wherein the wearable device is configured to include at least one of eyeglasses, a watch, clothes, and an object that may be disposed on a body of a user of the portable terminal.

16. The apparatus of claim 11, further comprising a wireless communication unit configured to automatically transmit information of the dangerous object determined by the control unit to a predetermined contact number,

wherein the contact number is at least one of a telephone number of a family member and a friend determined by at least one of a designer and a user, and telephone numbers of at least one of a fire station, a police station, and a police box.

17. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the control service is at least one of an execution of stopping an application operating in the portable terminal, an execution of terminating the application, an execution of switching off a screen, an execution of partially or fully covering the screen, and an execution of providing an alarm notice sound.

18. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the notice service is at least one of an execution of outputting metaphors including at least one of a text, a symbol, and an icon for notifying a dangerous state in a screen, image contents corresponding to the dangerous object, a silhouette corresponding to the dangerous object, and at least one of an image and a moving image contents corresponding to the dangerous object while operating an application in the portable terminal, an execution of reducing a brightness of the screen, an execution of outputting a separate warning sound through at least one of a speaker, an earphone, and a headset, an execution of vibrating an additional accessory, an execution of turning on a light provided in the portable terminal, and an execution of transmitting a danger signal to a wearable device connected with the portable terminal through at least one of a wireless communication unit and a wired communication unit.