WEARABLE DEVICE CAPABLE OF INDICATING DIRECTION AND METHOD FOR RECOGNIZING DIRECTION AND CONTROL METHOD THEREOF

• US 20170025042A1
• Filed: 07/20/2016
• Published: 01/26/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 07/22/2015
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: National Taiwan University (Government of The Republic of China)
• Original Assignee: National Taiwan University (Government of The Republic of China)
• Inventors: CHEN, Mei-Yung, CHEN, Jung-Cheng, LIU, Jen-Chih, HUANG, Hao-Ping, LIN, Wei-Zhi, HONG, Jon-Chao
• Application Number:
  US15/215,453
• Publication Number:
  US 20170025042A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 21/009 Teaching or communicating with deaf persons G09B21/04 takes precedence; deaf and dumb persons G09B21/00

Abstract

A wearable device capable of indicating direction is provided, including a wearable module, a plurality of acoustic wave sensors, a plurality of vibrators, and a control module. The wearable module is adapted to be worn on the user'"'"'s body, the acoustic wave sensors and the vibrators are disposed on the wearable module in different directions. The control module is electrically connected to the acoustic wave sensors and the vibrators. Each acoustic wave sensor is driven by a sound signal generated by an external object to generate a response signal, the control module receives and compares the response signals to recognize the direction of the external object, and controls the vibrator to generate the vibration signal.

Claims

1. A wearable device capable of indicating direction, comprising:

a wearable module adapted to be worn on a portion of the body of a user;

a plurality of acoustic wave sensors disposed on the wearable module in different directions;

a plurality of vibrators disposed on the wearable module in different directions; and

a control module disposed on the wearable module and electrically connected with the plurality of acoustic wave sensors and the plurality of vibrators;

wherein each acoustic wave sensor senses a sound signal generated by an external object and then is driven by the sound signal to generate a response signal, and the signal strength of the response signal generated by each acoustic wave sensor varies with the sound intensity of the sound signal; and

the response signal generated by each acoustic wave sensor is transmitted to the control module, and the control module compares the signal strength of the response signal generated by each acoustic wave sensor to recognize a direction from which the external object is approaching, and then controls the vibrator which corresponds to the direction from which the external is approaching to generate a vibration signal.

2. The wearable device capable of indicating direction according to claim 1, wherein the control module controls one or more vibrators which correspond to the direction from which the external object is approaching to generate the vibration signal when the direction from which the external object is approaching has been determined by the control module.

3. The wearable device capable of indicating direction according to claim 1, wherein the wearable module comprises a flexible strap on which the plurality of acoustic wave sensors and the plurality of vibrators are respectively disposed.

4. The wearable device capable of indicating direction according to claim 1, wherein the wearable module comprises a hat on which the plurality of acoustic wave sensors and the plurality of vibrators are respectively disposed.

5. The wearable device capable of indicating direction according to claim 1, wherein the wearable module further comprises a plurality of fastening bands on which the plurality of acoustic wave sensors and the plurality of vibrators are respectively disposed, and the plurality of fastening bands are detachably disposed on the hat.

6. The wearable device capable of indicating direction according to claim 1, wherein the control module further comprises at least one display interface and at least one input interface, wherein the display interface displays the signal strength of the response signal generated by each acoustic wave sensor and the input interface provides the user with a function of inputting and adjusting a signal strength value, and the control module determines whether or not to activate the vibrator to vibrate according to the signal strength value.

7. A method for recognizing direction and a control method adapted to a wearable device capable of indicating direction, comprising the following steps:

a plurality of acoustic wave sensors disposed on a wearable module in different directions sensing a sound signal generated by an external object, and each acoustic wave sensor driven by the sound signal to generate a response signal and then transmitting the response signal to a control module;

when receiving the response signal generated by each acoustic wave sensor, the control module comparing the signal strength of the response signal generated by each acoustic wave sensor to recognize the direction from which the external object is approaching according to the signal strength; and

the control module controlling one or more vibrators which correspond to the direction from which the external object is approaching to generate a vibration signal when the direction from which the external object is approaching has been determined by the control module.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein when one of the acoustic waves generates the response signal having a strong signal strength, the control module determines that the direction of the acoustic wave sensor which generates the response signal having the strong signal strength corresponds to the direction from which the external object is approaching;

and when two of the acoustic wave sensors respectively generate the response signal having the strong signal strength, the control module determines that the direction between the two acoustic wave sensors which generate the response signal having the strong signal strength corresponds to the direction from which the external object is approaching

9. The method according to claim 7, wherein each vibrator and each acoustic wave sensor are disposed correspondingly;

when the direction from which the external object is approaching has been determined by the control module, the control module controls one or more vibrators which correspond to one or more acoustic wave sensors that generate the response signal having the strong signal strength to generate the vibration signal.

10. The method according to claim 7, further comprising an input interface, wherein the input interface provides the user with a function of inputting and adjusting a signal strength value, and the control module determines whether or not to activate the vibrator to vibrate according to the signal strength value;

when the signal strength of the response signal is lower than the signal strength value, the control module does not control the vibrator to vibrate, and when the signal strength of the response signal is higher than the signal strength value, the control module controls the vibrator to the generate the vibration signal.