Methods and systems for monitoring posture with alerts and analytics generated by a smart seat cover
First Claim
1. A system for monitoring and correcting sitting posture of a user, and for discouraging sedentary behavior of the user, comprising:
- a processor operatively connected to a clock;
a portable seat cover comprising a backrest portion and a seat portion, adapted for attachment to a chair;
a plurality of sensors embedded in the portable seat cover and each operatively connected to the processor, including at least three pressure sensors embedded in the backrest portion for monitoring shoulder and lower back positions of the user, at least one angle sensor embedded in the backrest portion for monitoring an inclination of the backrest portion relative to the seat portion, and at least two pressure sensors embedded in the seat portion for monitoring leg positions of the user;
a notification device attached to the portable seat cover and operatively connected to the processor;
a non-transitory physical storage medium for storing program code and operatively connected to the processor, the program code when executed by the processor causes the processor to;
initiate an idleness timer to count how long the user has been sitting, wherein the idleness timer is activated when the user sits on the seat portion of the portable seat cover, and deactivated when the user stands up from sitting on the seat portion of the portable seat cover;
monitor the user'"'"'s sitting posture by receiving, at discrete intervals in real-time, a first plurality of sensor measurement values from the plurality of sensors;
identify a sitting posture of the user by applying a posture identification rule to the first plurality of sensor measurement values, wherein the posture identification rule is based on the user'"'"'s weight;
determine whether the sitting posture is ergonomically correct by identifying a category that the sitting posture belongs to;
in response to determining that the sitting posture is not ergonomically correct, generate a posture correction notification through the notification device to alert the user to correct the sitting posture;
determine whether a sedentary threshold has been reached by comparing the idleness timer to the sedentary threshold;
in response to determining that the sedentary threshold has been reached, generate a stand notification through the notification device to alert the user to stand up;
initiate a stand timer to count how long the user has been standing, wherein the stand timer is activated when the user stands up from sitting on the seat portion of the portable seat cover, and deactivated when the user sits on the seat portion of the portable seat cover;
determine whether the user has stood up in response to the stand notification;
in response to determining that the user has not stood up in response to the stand notification, reduce the idleness timer by a predetermined amount of time;
in response to determining that the user has stood up in response to the stand notification, pause the idleness timer until the user is seated again, increase the stand timer by the amount of time the user stood, and determine whether a standing time threshold has been reached by comparing the stand timer to the standing time threshold;
in response to determining that the standing time threshold has been reached, reset the idleness timer and the stand timer; and
in response to determining that the standing time threshold has not been reached, reduce the idleness timer by a predetermined amount of time and reset the stand timer.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Disclosed are methods and systems for monitoring and correcting sitting posture of a user and for discouraging sedentary behavior. The system comprises a processor, a portable seat cover with embedded pressure sensors and an angle sensor, a notification device, and a non-transitory storage medium for storing program code. The program code, when executed by the processor, causes the processor to initiate an idleness timer to count how long the user has been sitting, monitor the user'"'"'s sitting posture by receiving real-time sensor measurements; identify a sitting posture by applying a posture identification rule, generate a posture correction notification through the notification device if the identified sitting posture is not ergonomically correct, determine whether a sedentary threshold has been reached and generate a stand notification if the sedentary threshold has been reached. Embodiments of the present invention help improve sitting posture and reduce sedentary behavior to minimize associated adverse health effects.
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Citations
17 Claims
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1. A system for monitoring and correcting sitting posture of a user, and for discouraging sedentary behavior of the user, comprising:
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a processor operatively connected to a clock; a portable seat cover comprising a backrest portion and a seat portion, adapted for attachment to a chair; a plurality of sensors embedded in the portable seat cover and each operatively connected to the processor, including at least three pressure sensors embedded in the backrest portion for monitoring shoulder and lower back positions of the user, at least one angle sensor embedded in the backrest portion for monitoring an inclination of the backrest portion relative to the seat portion, and at least two pressure sensors embedded in the seat portion for monitoring leg positions of the user; a notification device attached to the portable seat cover and operatively connected to the processor; a non-transitory physical storage medium for storing program code and operatively connected to the processor, the program code when executed by the processor causes the processor to; initiate an idleness timer to count how long the user has been sitting, wherein the idleness timer is activated when the user sits on the seat portion of the portable seat cover, and deactivated when the user stands up from sitting on the seat portion of the portable seat cover; monitor the user'"'"'s sitting posture by receiving, at discrete intervals in real-time, a first plurality of sensor measurement values from the plurality of sensors; identify a sitting posture of the user by applying a posture identification rule to the first plurality of sensor measurement values, wherein the posture identification rule is based on the user'"'"'s weight; determine whether the sitting posture is ergonomically correct by identifying a category that the sitting posture belongs to; in response to determining that the sitting posture is not ergonomically correct, generate a posture correction notification through the notification device to alert the user to correct the sitting posture; determine whether a sedentary threshold has been reached by comparing the idleness timer to the sedentary threshold; in response to determining that the sedentary threshold has been reached, generate a stand notification through the notification device to alert the user to stand up; initiate a stand timer to count how long the user has been standing, wherein the stand timer is activated when the user stands up from sitting on the seat portion of the portable seat cover, and deactivated when the user sits on the seat portion of the portable seat cover; determine whether the user has stood up in response to the stand notification; in response to determining that the user has not stood up in response to the stand notification, reduce the idleness timer by a predetermined amount of time; in response to determining that the user has stood up in response to the stand notification, pause the idleness timer until the user is seated again, increase the stand timer by the amount of time the user stood, and determine whether a standing time threshold has been reached by comparing the stand timer to the standing time threshold; in response to determining that the standing time threshold has been reached, reset the idleness timer and the stand timer; and in response to determining that the standing time threshold has not been reached, reduce the idleness timer by a predetermined amount of time and reset the stand timer. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method for monitoring and correcting sitting posture of a user, and for discouraging sedentary behavior of the user, comprising:
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initiating an idleness timer to count how long the user has been sitting, wherein the idleness timer is activated when the user sits on a seat portion of a portable seat cover, and deactivated when the user stands up from sitting on the seat portion of the portable seat cover, wherein the portable seat cover comprises a backrest portion and a seat portion, adapted for attachment to a chair, wherein the portable seat cover comprises a plurality of embedded sensors each operatively connected to a processor, including at least three pressure sensors embedded in the backrest portion for monitoring shoulder and lower back positions of the user, at least one angle sensor embedded in the backrest portion for monitoring an inclination of the backrest portion relative to the seat portion, and at least two pressure sensors embedded in the seat portion for monitoring leg positions of the user; monitoring the user'"'"'s sitting posture by receiving, at discrete intervals in real-time, a first plurality of sensor measurement values from the plurality of sensors; identifying a sitting posture of the user by applying a posture identification rule to the first plurality of sensor measurement values, wherein the posture identification rule is based on the user'"'"'s weight; determining whether the sitting posture is ergonomically correct by identifying a category that the sitting posture belongs to; in response to determining that the sitting posture is not ergonomically correct, generating a posture correction notification through the notification device to alert the user to correct the sitting posture; determining whether a sedentary threshold has been reached by comparing the idleness timer to the sedentary threshold; in response to determining that the sedentary threshold has been reached, generating a stand notification through the notification device to alert the user to stand up; initiating a stand timer to count how long the user has been standing, wherein the stand timer is activated when the user stands up from sitting on the seat portion of the portable seat cover, and deactivated when the user sits on the seat portion of the portable seat cover; determining whether the user has stood up in response to the stand notification; in response to determining that the user has not stood up in response to the stand notification, reducing the idleness timer by a predetermined amount of time; in response to determining that the user has stood up in response to the stand notification, pausing the idleness timer until the user is seated again, increasing the stand timer by the amount of time the user stood, and determining whether a standing time threshold has been reached by comparing the stand timer to the standing time threshold; in response to determining that the standing time threshold has been reached, resetting the idleness timer and the stand timer; and in response to determining that the standing time threshold has not been reached, reducing the idleness timer by a predetermined amount of time and reset the stand timer. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium for monitoring and correcting sitting posture of a user, and for discouraging sedentary behavior of the user, the storage medium comprising program code stored thereon, that when executed by a processor, causes the processor to:
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initiate an idleness timer to count how long the user has been sitting, wherein the idleness timer is activated when the user sits on the seat portion of a portable seat cover, and deactivated when the user stands up from sitting on the seat portion of the portable seat cover, wherein the portable seat cover comprises a backrest portion and a seat portion, adapted for attachment to a chair, wherein the portable seat cover comprises a plurality of embedded sensors each having access to a processor, including at least three pressure sensors embedded in the backrest portion for monitoring shoulder and lower back positions of the user, at least one angle sensor embedded in the backrest portion for monitoring an inclination of the backrest portion relative to the seat portion, and at least two pressure sensors embedded in the seat portion for monitoring leg positions of the user; monitor the user'"'"'s sitting posture by receiving, at discrete intervals in real-time, a first plurality of sensor measurement values from the plurality of sensors; identify a sitting posture of the user by applying a posture identification rule to the first plurality of sensor measurement values, wherein the posture identification rule is based on the user'"'"'s weight; determine whether the sitting posture is ergonomically correct by identifying a category that the sitting posture belongs to; in response to determining that the sitting posture is not ergonomically correct, generate a posture correction notification through the notification device to alert the user to correct the sitting posture; determine whether a sedentary threshold has been reached by comparing the idleness timer to the sedentary threshold; in response to determining that the sedentary threshold has been reached, generate a stand notification through the notification device to alert the user to stand up; initiate a stand timer to count how long the user has been standing, wherein the stand timer is activated when the user stands up from sitting on the seat portion of the portable seat cover, and deactivated when the user sits on the seat portion of the portable seat cover; determine whether the user has stood up in response to the stand notification; in response to determining that the user has not stood up in response to the stand notification, reduce the idleness timer by a predetermined amount of time; in response to determining that the user has stood up in response to the stand notification, pause the idleness timer until the user is seated again, increase the stand timer by the amount of time the user stood, and determine whether a standing time threshold has been reached by comparing the stand timer to the standing time threshold; in response to determining that the standing time threshold has been reached, reset the idleness timer and the stand timer; in response to determining that the standing time threshold has not been reached, reduce the idleness timer by a predetermined amount of time and reset the stand timer; initiate a stand timer to count how long the user has been standing, wherein the stand timer is activated when the user stands up from sitting on the seat, and deactivated when the user sits on the seat; determine whether the user has stood up in response to the stand notification; in response to determining that the user has not stood up in response to the stand notification, reduce the idleness timer by a predetermined amount of time; in response to determining that the user has stood up in response to the stand notification, pause the idleness timer until the user is seated again, increase the stand timer by the amount of time the user stood, and determine whether a standing time threshold has been reached by comparing the stand timer to the standing time threshold; in response to determining that the standing time threshold has been reached, reset the idleness timer and the stand timer; and in response to determining that the standing time threshold has not been reached, reduce the idleness timer by a predetermined amount of time and reset the stand timer. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17)
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Specification