System and method for human body fall detection
First Claim
1. A system for determining if a body has fallen, the system comprising:
- a local monitoring unit, the local monitoring unit comprising;
a plurality of accelerometers configured to measure the acceleration of the body in a plurality of directions and produce a plurality of acceleration measurements; and
a processor configured to;
(i) receive the plurality of acceleration measurements, and (ii) emit a fall detection signal when the smoothness of the plurality of acceleration measurements to determine smoothness is within a specified range; and
a remote signal receiver configured to receive the fall detection signal.
23 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method is provided for detection of a human body fall event. The fall detection system (100, 200) includes a monitoring unit (102, 202), including a plurality of accelerometers (106, 206), a processor (108, 208) and a wireless transmitter (110, 210). The plurality of accelerometers (106, 206) provide acceleration measurements to the processor (108, 208), the measurements describing the current acceleration of the person wearing the monitoring unit (102, 202) in all directions. The processor (108, 208) receives the acceleration measurements and compares the acceleration measurements to a value range to determine if the wearer is currently experiencing a fall event. The processor (108, 208) generates a signal in response to the detection of a fall event and the transmitter (110, 210) transmits the signal to a remote signal receiver (104, 204). The system and method can further detect non-movement in the wearer of the monitoring unit (102, 202) subsequent to the fall event to detect an unconscious wearer.
53 Citations
16 Claims
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1. A system for determining if a body has fallen, the system comprising:
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a local monitoring unit, the local monitoring unit comprising; a plurality of accelerometers configured to measure the acceleration of the body in a plurality of directions and produce a plurality of acceleration measurements; and a processor configured to;
(i) receive the plurality of acceleration measurements, and (ii) emit a fall detection signal when the smoothness of the plurality of acceleration measurements to determine smoothness is within a specified range; anda remote signal receiver configured to receive the fall detection signal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A system for determining if a body is falling, the system comprising:
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a local monitoring unit, the local monitoring unit comprising; an accelerometer assembly attached to the body for generating signals representative of the body'"'"'s acceleration, the accelerometer assembly comprising at least one accelerometer measuring acceleration of a body in at least one direction, a processor configured to;
(i) determine an Sfactor value from the signals generated by the accelerometer assembly, the Sfactor value indicative of a smoothness of acceleration; and
(ii) emit a fall detection signal when the Sfactor value falls within a predetermined range; anda remote signal receiver comprising one of a central monitoring site or a portable electronic device, the remote signal receiver receiving the fall detection signal generated by the processor in response to the fall event. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9)
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10. A method for determining if a body wearing a monitoring unit is falling, the method comprising:
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measuring acceleration of the body in a plurality of directions and producing a plurality of acceleration measurements; determining an Sfactor value from the plurality of acceleration measurements, the Sfactor value indicative of a smoothness of the acceleration measurements; comparing the determined Sfactor value to a value range indicating a fall event has occurred; generating a signal when the determine Sfactor value falls within the value range; and transmitting the signal to a remote signal receiver. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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Specification