POSTURE SENSING APPARATUS AND POSTURE SENSING METHOD

• US 20180160945A1
• Filed: 12/29/2016
• Published: 06/14/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 12/08/2016
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Industrial Technology Research Institute
• Original Assignee: Industrial Technology Research Institute
• Inventors: SHEU, Shyh-Shyuan, CHEN, Yu-Sheng, LIN, Chih-Sheng, LEE, Li-Heng, WU, Chien-Yu
• Application Number:
  US15/393,922
• Publication Number:
  US 20180160945A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2034/2051 Electromagnetic tracking systems
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0024 for multiple sensor units attached to the patient, e.g. using a body or personal area network
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1071 measuring angles, e.g. using goniometers A61B5/1123 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1072 measuring distances on the body, e.g. measuring length, height or thickness A61B5/1076 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1116 Determining posture transitions
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1117 Fall detection
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/112 Gait analysis
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1121 Determining geometric values, e.g. centre of rotation or angular range of movement
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4528 Joints A61B5/4533, A61B5/4538 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4561 Evaluating static posture, e.g. undesirable back curvature A61B5/1116 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6804 Garments; Clothes

Abstract

A posture sensing apparatus and posture sensing method are provided. The posture sensing apparatus includes a magnetic object and a first magnetic sensor. The magnetic object and the first magnetic sensor are disposed respectively at two different positions of a user or a wearing object that the user is wearing. The magnetic object emits a magnetic field. The first magnetic sensor senses the magnetic field emitted by the magnetic object to generate a first angle, so as to obtain a posture of the user based on the first angle.

Claims

1. A posture sensing apparatus, comprising:

a magnetic object configured for being disposed on a user or a wearing object that the user is wearing and emitting a magnetic field; and

a first magnetic sensor configured for being disposed on the user or the wearing object and sensing the magnetic field to generate a first angle, so as to obtain a posture of the user in accordance with the first angle,

wherein the magnetic object and the first magnetic sensor are provided at different locations of the user or the wearing object.

2. The posture sensing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the magnetic object is a loadstone, a magnet or an electromagnet.

3. The posture sensing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the user is a human or an animal, and the wearing object that the user is wearing is clothes, pants, a glove, a shoe, a sock, a hood, a necklace, a belt, a bracelet, a knee pad, a wrist pad, an ankle pad, a shoulder pads, a strap or any combination thereof.

4. The posture sensing apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a computing unit configured for calculating, based on the first angle and a known first distance between the magnetic object and the first magnetic sensor, a second distance between the magnetic object and the first magnetic sensor after the magnetic object has moved using a trigonometric function, so as to obtain the posture of the user based on the first angle and the second distance.

5. The posture sensing apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a second magnetic sensor, wherein the first magnetic sensor and the second magnetic sensor are respectively disposed at two different locations of the same horizontal plane or the same vertical plane on the user or the wearing object that the user is wearing, and the second magnetic sensor is configured for sensing the magnetic field emitted by the magnetic object to generate a second angle.

6. The posture sensing apparatus of claim 5, wherein at least one of the first magnetic sensor and the second magnetic sensor is a Hall sensor, a tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) sensor, a giant magnetoresistance (GMR) sensor, or an anisotropic magnetoresistance (AMR) sensor.

7. The posture sensing apparatus of claim 5, further comprising a computing unit for calculating, based on the first angle and a known first distance between the first magnetic sensor and the second magnetic sensor, a second distance between the magnetic object and the first magnetic sensor and a third distance between the magnetic object and the second magnetic sensor using a trigonometric function, so as to obtain the posture of the user based on the first angle, the second angle, the second distance and the third distance.

8. The posture sensing apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a transmitting unit configured for being disposed on the user or the wearing object that the user is wearing and transmitting the first angle to a computing unit.

9. The posture sensing apparatus of claim 8, further comprising a receiving unit configured for receiving the first angle transmitted by the transmitting unit and transmitting the first angle to the computing unit.

10. A posture sensing method, comprising:

providing a magnetic object and a first magnetic sensor at different locations of a user or a wearing object that the user is wearing;

emitting, by the magnetic object, a magnetic field; and

sensing, by the first magnetic sensor, the magnetic field emitted by the magnetic object to generate a first angle, so as to obtain a posture of the user based on the first angle.

11. The posture sensing method of claim 10, wherein the magnetic object is a loadstone, a magnet or an electromagnet.

12. The posture sensing method of claim 10, wherein the user is a human or an animal, and the wearing object that the user is wearing is clothes, pants, a glove, a shoe, a sock, a hood, a necklace, a belt, a bracelet, a knee pad, a wrist pad, an ankle pad, a shoulder pads, a strap or any combination thereof.

13. The posture sensing method of claim 10, further comprising calculating, by a computing unit, based on the first angle and a known first distance between the magnetic object and the first magnetic sensor, a second distance between the magnetic object and the first magnetic sensor after the magnetic object has moved using a trigonometric function, so as to obtain the posture of the user based on the first angle and the second distance.

14. The posture sensing method of claim 10, further comprising disposing the first magnetic sensor and a second magnetic sensor respectively at two different locations of the same horizontal plane or the same vertical plane on the user or the wearing object that the user is wearing, and sensing, by the second magnetic sensor, the magnetic field emitted by the magnetic object to generate a second angle.

15. The posture sensing method of claim 14, wherein at least one of the first magnetic sensor and the second magnetic sensor is a Hall sensor, a tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) sensor, a giant magnetoresistance (GMR) sensor, or an anisotropic magnetoresistance (AMR) sensor.

16. The posture sensing method of claim 14, further comprising calculating, by a computing unit, based on the first angle and a known first distance between the first magnetic sensor and the second magnetic sensor, a second distance between the magnetic object and the first magnetic sensor and a third distance between the magnetic object and the second magnetic sensor using a trigonometric function, so as to obtain the posture of the user based on the first angle, the second angle, the second distance and the third distance.

17. The posture sensing method of claim 10, further comprising disposing a transmitting unit on the user or the wearing object that the user is wearing, and transmitting, by the transmitting unit, the first angle to a computing unit.

18. The posture sensing method of claim 17, further comprising receiving, by a receiving unit, the first angle transmitted by the transmitting unit, and transmitting, by the transmitting unit, the first angle to the computing unit.