METHOD FOR DETECTING AN EXTRAORDINARY SITUATION

• US 20120123277A1
• Filed: 02/23/2010
• Published: 05/17/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/02/2009
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Spantec GmbH
• Original Assignee: Spantec GmbH
• Inventors: Blaha, Armin, Preuschl, Emanuel, Kurschl, Werner, David, Christofer, Affenzeller, Michael
• Application Number:
  US13/254,665
• Publication Number:
  US 20120123277A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/476
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/1347 Preprocessing; Feature extraction

Abstract

A method for detecting an abnormal situation of a person, a contact measuring device which the person wears directly or indirectly on the body and which is a contact sensor and/or a pressure sensor and/or a photosensor and/or a distance measuring device being used to determine a contact state and/or the pressure exerted by a body part, such as a foot of a person, onto a reference surface, such as a floor, so that an abnormal situation can be detected among a plurality of situations.

Claims

1. A method for detecting an abnormal situation of a person, characterized in that a contact measuring device which the person wears directly or indirectly on the body and which is a contact sensor and/or a pressure sensor and/or a photosensor and/or a distance measuring device determine(s) a contact state and/or the pressure exerted by a body part of the person onto a reference surface, so that an abnormal situation can be detected among a plurality of situations based on a change of the contact state and/or of the pressure exerted by the body part of a person onto a reference surface.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that a physiological index of the person is determined and related to the contact state and/or the pressure value.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that an activity index of the person is determined and related to the contact state and/or the pressure value.

4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that a signal is generated when an abnormal situation is detected or to be expected.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that the generation of the signal is controlled by the person or another person.

6. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that the physiological index is determined based on physiological values, which are preferably averaged over a certain period of time and/or evaluated by means of an analysis method.

7. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that the physiological index is determined based on physiological values of a first body part in relation to the measured values of a second body part, said measured values being preferably averaged over a certain period of time and/or evaluated by means of an analysis method.

8. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that the activity index of the person is determined based on body activity values, such as acceleration, motion, position, etc, said values being preferably averaged over a certain period of time and/or evaluated by means of an analysis method.

9. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that the activity index of the person is determined based on activity values, such as acceleration, motion, position, etc, of a first body part in relation to the measured values, said values being preferably averaged over a certain period of time and/or evaluated by means of an analysis method.

10. A device for implementing the method according to claim 1, said device comprising a contact measuring device, such as a contact sensor and/or a pressure sensor and/or a photosensor, and/or a distance measuring device for determining a contact state or a pressure which is exerted by a body part on a reference surface, said device further comprising one of the following other devices:

a measuring device for determining the physiological index,

a measuring device for determining the activity index,

a device for generating signals,

a device for evaluating data,

a position measuring device.

11. The device according to claim 10, characterized in that the device consists of a first unit and optionally of a second unit, the first unit comprising at least one of the devices and the second device optionally comprising the same or at least one other device, the first unit and the second unit being in communication with each other.

12. The device according to claim 10, characterized in that the device comprises a position monitoring device, so that a signal is generated when the device or a unit of the device is removed from the person and/or the communication between the first unit and the second unit is interrupted.

13. The device according to claim 10, characterized in that the device or at least a unit of a device which is attached to the person is integrated.

14. The device according to claim 10, characterized in that the device is configured in a way that second and optionally further measured values are only collected and/or transmitted from the first unit to the second unit, if, based on at least one measured value, the occurrence of an abnormal situation is considered to be possible and/or established.