Wearable device for people in a hearing impaired environment and operating method thereof

Abstract

The method of operation of a wearable device according to the present invention comprises: a step in which a microphone array module acquires noise magnitude information and direction information; a step in which a wireless communication module transmits the noise magnitude information and direction information to an external cloud server via a user's smart device under the control of a processor; a step in which the wireless communication module receives noise source identification information and risk level information corresponding thereto from the external cloud server via the smart device under the control of a processor; a step in which the processor generates a control signal to provide at least one stimulus among vibration stimulation, electric stimulation, and visual stimulation by a light-emitting element to a user using at least one of the noise magnitude information, the noise direction information, the noise source identification information, and the risk level information corresponding thereto; and a step in which at least one of a vibration element, an electric stimulation array, and a light-emitting element operates to generate at least one stimulus according to the control signal.

Description

Technology Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a wearable device for people in a hearing-impaired environment who cannot perceive noise (sound). Background Technology

[0003] Recently, with the proliferation of smartphones, listening to music, searching for articles, and chatting on messengers while walking has become commonplace, especially among the younger generation. However, there is also a negative aspect in that this increases the risk of accidents by distracting pedestrians.

[0004] If you fail to recognize danger signals coming from a vehicle or are delayed in doing so, you may be unable to perform any danger avoidance actions at all, or the delay in doing so will inevitably increase the likelihood of an accident.

[0005] Meanwhile, since people with hearing impairments perceive sound visually by watching lip movements or through situations, facial expressions, and text, there is a problem in that they cannot determine the volume or direction of sounds or noises coming from unseen places.

[0006] Therefore, compared to hearing-impaired individuals, people with hearing impairments are unable to perceive danger through sound and are exposed to various accidents; thus, to address this, it is necessary to provide assistive devices for sound perception. The problem to be solved

[0008] The present invention aims to provide a wearable device that transmits the direction and magnitude of noise through vibration or electrical stimulation using a micro motor or electrical stimulation pad, based on environmental noise collected through a high-sensitivity microphone array, in order to prevent traffic accidents and daily life accidents caused by hearing impaired people, people with hearing loss, smartphone users, and earphone users being unable to perceive sound in their daily lives.

[0009] In addition, it provides a method to analyze sounds or noises acquired in conjunction with a smartphone and inform the wearer of the sound or noise information and risk level using colors.

[0010] The aforementioned objectives of the present invention, as well as other objectives, advantages, and features, and the methods for achieving them, will become clear from the embodiments described below in detail together with the accompanying drawings. means of solving the problem

[0012] A wearable device according to one aspect of the present invention for achieving the above objective comprises: a body having a horseshoe shape that wraps around a user's neck and has an upper surface and a bottom surface that contacts the skin; a microphone array module installed on the upper surface and acquiring sound information of a noise source; a processor that converts the sound information into vibration data and electrical stimulation data; and a vibration element and an electrical stimulation array installed on the bottom surface and applying vibration and electrical stimulation to the user's skin according to the converted vibration data and the electrical stimulation data. A wearable device according to another aspect of the present invention comprises: a body having a horseshoe shape that wraps around a user's neck and has a bottom surface that contacts the skin and an upper surface facing the bottom surface; a microphone array module installed on the upper surface and acquiring sound information of a noise source; a light-emitting diode module installed at the end of the upper surface; a vibration element and an electrical stimulation array installed on the bottom surface; and a wireless communication module that transmits the sound information to a cloud server via the user's smart device and receives risk information of the noise source according to the sound information from the cloud server via the smart device. and includes a processor installed on the floor surface and generating a control signal to provide at least one stimulus among vibration stimulus, electric stimulus, and visual stimulus to a user using at least one of the sound information and the risk level information, and the vibration element, the electric stimulus array, and the light-emitting diode module output the at least one stimulus according to the control signal. Effects of the invention

[0014] According to the present invention, a micro microphone array is installed in a wearable device to recognize the magnitude and direction of sound (noise), and the user can perceive external danger through vibration or electrical stimulation.

[0015] In addition, it can be utilized as a user protection service device that can be linked with emergency services to respond quickly in the event of an emergency regarding the user's personal safety or health. Brief explanation of the drawing

[0017] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of a wearable device for a person in a hearing-impaired environment according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIGS. 2 and 3 are drawings showing actual implementation examples of a wearable device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of the implementation of high-brightness light-emitting diodes installed in the wearable device illustrated in FIG. 2 and 3. FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an operation scenario of a wearable device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Specific details for implementing the invention

[0018] Embodiments of the present invention are provided to more fully explain the invention to those skilled in the art, and the following embodiments may be modified in various different forms, and the scope of the invention is not limited to the following embodiments. Rather, these embodiments are provided to make the disclosure more faithful and complete and to fully convey the spirit of the invention to those skilled in the art. Additionally, in the drawings below, each component is exaggerated for convenience and clarity of explanation, and like reference numerals in the drawings refer to like elements. As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any one of the listed items and all combinations of one or more thereof.

[0019] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of a wearable device for a person in a hearing-impaired environment according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0020] Referring to FIG. 1, a wearable device (100) according to an embodiment of the present invention detects sound and / or noise from 360 degrees in conjunction with a smartphone and provides customized services needed by the user based on the lifestyle of a person in a hearing-impaired environment (including normal people and people with hearing impairments).

[0021] To this end, the wearable device (100) may be configured to include, for example, a processor (110), a directional microphone array (120), a vibration element and an electric stimulation array (130), a button unit (140), a wireless communication module (150), a power supply unit (160), and a light-emitting diode module (170).

[0022] The processor (110) controls and manages the operation of peripheral components (120 to 170) to control and manage the overall operation of the wearable device (100), and has a computational function to process data (information or signal) input from at least one of the peripheral components (120 to 170) and to compute intermediate data (intermediate value) or / and result data (result value), and can transmit this to at least one of the peripheral components (120 to 170).

[0023] The microphone array module (120) receives sound (noise) generated around the wearable device (100) and calculates the magnitude information (amplitude, peak) and / or direction information (direction value).

[0024] In addition, the microphone array module (120) can further measure the waveform and frequency components of the sound (noise), and construct the waveform and frequency components in the frequency domain along with magnitude information (amplitude, peak) as sound (noise) information and transmit it to the processor (110).

[0025] The frequency components of the sound (noise) may be calculated by the processor (110). For example, the processor (110) can measure the frequency components of the sound (noise) by performing a Fourier transform on the sound (noise) signal received from the microphone array module (120).

[0026] The microphone array module (120) is preferably composed of, for example, a plurality of directional high-sensitivity microphones to measure direction information (direction value, direction data, etc.) of sound (noise), and may be further configured to include a direction sensor (acceleration sensor and / or magnetic field sensor), etc.

[0027] The microphone array module (120) may be configured to include a processing module having an internal computation processing function to calculate size information (size value) and / or direction information (direction value).

[0028] The processor (110) receives information on the magnitude and direction of sound (noise) from the microphone array module (120), converts this into data (vibration data (vibration value) and electrical stimulation data (electric stimulation value) that can be processed by the vibration element and electrical stimulation array (130), and then outputs this to the vibration element and electrical stimulation array (130).

[0029] The vibration element and electric stimulation array (130) apply vibration and electric stimulation to the skin of a user wearing a wearable device (100) according to data (vibration data (vibration value) and electric stimulation data (electric stimulation value) output from the processor (110).

[0030] The vibration element is configured to include, for example, a vibration motor (micro motor), and the electric stimulation array may be configured to include, for example, a plurality of electric stimulation pads. The electric stimulation pads may be, for example, piezoelectric elements.

[0031] The button portion (140) is installed at a specific location on the outer housing constituting the wearable device (100) and performs an interface function for setting user convenience, such as power, vibration size and electric stimulation size adjustment and external device linkage.

[0032] The button section (140) may be composed of a plurality of buttons, and each button may perform a power on / off function, a vibration size adjustment function, an electric stimulation size adjustment function, or an external device linkage function.

[0033] The wireless communication module (150) supports wireless communication between the wearable device (100) and a smart device possessed by a user wearing the wearable device (100). Here, the wireless communication may be short-range wireless communication, and the short-range wireless communication may be, for example, Wi-Fi communication, Bluetooth communication, etc.

[0034] This wireless communication module (150) may be configured to include a Wi-Fi communication module or / and Bluetooth communication internally to support Wi-Fi communication, Bluetooth communication, etc.

[0035] The wireless communication module (150) transmits sound (noise) information (data) (amplitude, peak, frequency component, waveform, direction, etc.) transmitted from the processor (110) to the smart device (200), and the smart device (200) can transmit the sound (noise) information received from the wireless communication module (150) to an external cloud server (300).

[0036] The external cloud server (300) analyzes sound (noise) information (data) received from the smart device (200) to identify the noise source (noise-generating object), calculates the risk level, and then transmits the result back to the wireless communication module (150), i.e., the wearable device (100), through the smart device (200).

[0037] The identification of the noise source (noise-generating object) and the risk assessment thereof can be predicted (inferred or estimated) through a noise analysis artificial intelligence platform, such as a deep learning neural network model built on an external cloud server (300).

[0038] The power supply unit (160) supplies power to each component (110, 120, 130, 150 and 170) in accordance with the power-on of the button unit (140), and each component (110, 120, 130, 150 and 170) starts its respective operation in accordance with the power supply.

[0039] The power supply unit (160) may be configured to include a rechargeable battery, a wireless charging coil, a wireless charger, a battery cell (e.g., a Li-Polymer Battery Cell), etc., internally so that wired and / or wireless charging is possible for the convenience of the user of the wearable device (100).

[0040] The light-emitting diode module (170) is composed of a plurality of high-brightness light-emitting diodes, and controls the blinking of the high-brightness light-emitting diodes when the magnitude of the sound (noise) measured by the microphone array module (120) is greater than a specific threshold.

[0041] For example, the processor (110) compares the magnitude of a sound (noise) measured by the microphone array module (120) with a specific threshold value, and if the magnitude of the measured sound (noise) is greater than or equal to the specific threshold value, transmits a control signal corresponding to the comparison result to the light-emitting diode module (170), and the light-emitting diode module (170) starts to emit light according to the control signal.

[0042] As another example, the processor (110) analyzes noise source identification information and / or risk level information received from an external cloud server (300) via a smart device (300), generates a control signal indicating a color combination and / or light emission cycle of a light-emitting diode corresponding to the analysis result, transmits this to a light-emitting diode module (170), and the light-emitting diode module (170) starts emitting light according to the light-emitting diode color and / or light emission cycle combined according to the control signal.

[0043] The color combination and / or light emission cycle of the light-emitting diode can be determined through a table agreed upon between the processor (110) and the external cloud server (300).

[0044] Here, the table may contain color combinations and / or emission cycles of light-emitting diodes that are pre-set according to noise source identification information and / or risk information.

[0045] The user can visually check the combination of emitted light-emitting diode colors and / or the emission cycle to recognize noise source identification information (information about the noise-generating object) and the associated risk level.

[0046] FIGS. 2 and 3 are drawings illustrating actual implementation examples of a wearable device according to an embodiment of the present invention, where FIG. 2 shows the top surface shape of the wearable device and FIG. 3 shows the bottom surface shape of the wearable device.

[0047] As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, a wearable device (100) according to an embodiment of the present invention has a horseshoe-shaped body (180) so that it can be easily worn around a user's neck.

[0048] A plurality of directional high-sensitivity microphones (120A) arranged in a 360-degree direction along the shape (horseshoe shape) of the body (180) as shown in FIG. 2 may be installed on the upper surface of the body (180).

[0049] A vibration motor (130A) and an electric stimulation pad (130B) may also be installed on the bottom surface of the body (180) in a 360-degree direction along the shape (horseshoe shape) of the body (180) as shown in FIG. 3. At this time, the vibration motor (130A) and the electric stimulation pad (130B) may be arranged alternately on the bottom surface of the body (180).

[0050] The arrangement direction and number of installations of the directional high-sensitivity microphone (120A), vibration motor (130A), and electric stimulation pad (130B) can be determined in various ways depending on the design (performance, size, and / or shape).

[0051] As the directional high-sensitivity microphones (120A) are arranged as shown in FIG. 2, loudness information and direction information of sound (noise) acquired from the outside can be obtained. For example, if a loudness of sound (noise) greater than a reference value is obtained from a specific directional high-sensitivity microphone (120B) among the directional high-sensitivity microphones, a predefined direction value (D3) for that specific directional high-sensitivity microphone (120B) is configured as direction information of the sound (noise) and transmitted to the processor (110).

[0052] The processor (110) receives sound (noise) magnitude information and direction information from a processing module built into a microphone array module (120) to manage a specific directional high-sensitivity microphone (120B) or directional high-sensitivity microphones.

[0053] The processor (110) controls the vibration motor and / or electric stimulation pad, which are arranged to be positioned close to the specific directional high-sensitivity microphone (120B) on the bottom surface of the body (180) according to the magnitude and direction information of the received sound (noise), to generate vibration stimulation and / or electric stimulation, respectively.

[0054] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of the implementation of high-brightness light-emitting diodes installed in the wearable device illustrated in FIG. 2 and 3.

[0055] As shown in FIG. 4, high-brightness light-emitting diodes (172) included in the light-emitting diode module (170) can be installed at the upper end of the horseshoe-shaped body (180) shown in FIG. 2 and 3 so that the user can visually confirm the blinking of the light-emitting diodes (172).

[0056] The processor (110) combines the light emission colors of high-brightness light-emitting diodes (172) or adjusts the light emission cycle according to the noise source (e.g., vehicle, etc.) and risk information regarding the noise source received from an external cloud server (300) via a smart device (200), thereby making the user aware of the dangerous situation.

[0057] The wearable device (100) according to the present invention may monitor the user's physical condition and collect information by linking with a smart device (200), and may also provide a situation support service by embedding micro-sensors such as a temperature sensor, a gyroscope sensor, and an accelerometer sensor in the wearable device to recognize information about an emergency situation or the user's location.

[0058] In addition, in the embodiments of the present invention, a horseshoe-shaped wearable device (100) is described as an example as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, but it can also be designed as a necklace type that wraps around the user's neck or a neck band type that completely wraps around the user's neck so as to be in close contact with it.

[0059] Additionally, a separate button may be designed on the wearable device (100) to provide control or linkage functions for an application installed on the smart device (200).

[0060] In addition, the wearable device (100) according to an embodiment of the present invention can also be used as a communication device capable of transmitting messages in the form of skin stimulation for limited purposes, such as fire sites, construction sites, and military operation situations where general communication devices and smart devices cannot be used.

[0061] FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an operation scenario of a wearable device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0062] Referring to FIG. 5, first, in step 510, the microphone array module (120) performs a process of acquiring noise magnitude information and direction information.

[0063] Next, in step 520, the wireless communication module (150), under the control of the processor (110), performs a process of transmitting the noise magnitude information and direction information to an external cloud server (300) via the user's smart device (200).

[0064] Next, in step 530, the wireless communication module (150), under the control of the processor (110), performs a process of receiving noise source identification information and risk level information based on the noise magnitude and direction information from the external cloud server (300) via the smart device (200).

[0065] Next, in step 540, the processor (110) performs a process of generating a control signal to provide at least one stimulus among vibration stimulus, electric stimulus, and visual stimulus by a light-emitting element to a user using at least one of the information among noise magnitude information, noise direction information, noise source identification information, and risk level information. Here, the control signal may include information that has been converted into data such as the occurrence period of the corresponding stimulus, the occurrence intensity (magnitude), the combination of the corresponding stimulus, and the combination of the light-emitting color by the light-emitting element.

[0066] Next, in step 550, a process is performed in which at least one of the vibration element, the electric stimulation array, and the light-emitting element operates to generate at least one stimulation according to the control signal.

[0067] The embodiments disclosed in this specification should be considered in an exemplary sense for the sake of illustration rather than in a limiting sense. The scope of the invention is defined by the claims, not by the foregoing description, and all variations within the scope of the claims should be interpreted as being included in the invention. Explanation of the symbols delete

Claims

Claim 1 delete Claim 2 delete Claim 3 delete Claim 4 delete Claim 5 delete Claim 6 A body formed in a horseshoe shape that wraps around the user's neck and having a bottom surface in contact with the skin and an top surface facing the bottom surface; a microphone array module installed on the top surface and acquiring sound information of a noise source; a light-emitting diode module installed at the end of the top surface; a vibration element and an electrical stimulation array installed on the bottom surface; and a wireless communication module that transmits the sound information to a cloud server via the user's smart device and receives risk level information of the noise source based on the sound information from the cloud server via the smart device. and includes a processor installed on the floor surface and generating a control signal to provide at least one stimulus among vibration stimulus, electric stimulus, and visual stimulus to a user using at least one of the sound information and the risk level information, wherein a vibration element, an electric stimulus array, and the light-emitting diode module output the at least one stimulus according to the control signal, and the processor determines the color combination and light-emitting period of the light-emitting diode corresponding to the risk level information of the noise source based on a table agreed upon with the cloud server, transmits the control signal indicating the determined color combination and light-emitting period of the light-emitting diode to the light-emitting diode module, and the light-emitting diode emits light according to the control signal, and the table records the color combination and light-emitting period of the light-emitting diode that are pre-set according to the risk level information of the noise source, and (a) the microphone array module includes a plurality of directional high-sensitivity microphones (120A) arranged in a 360-degree direction along the shape (horseshoe shape) of the body (180), and (b) on the floor surface, 360 degrees along the shape (horseshoe shape) of the body (180) A vibration motor (130A) and an electric stimulation pad (130B) arranged in a direction may be installed, and the vibration motor (130A) and the electric stimulation pad (130B) may be arranged alternately on the bottom surface of the body (180), and (c) the microphone array module,(d) When a sound (noise) magnitude greater than a reference value is obtained from a specific directional high-sensitivity microphone (120B) among the directional high-sensitivity microphones, a predefined direction value (D3) for the specific directional high-sensitivity microphone (120B) is configured as direction information of the sound (noise) and transmitted to the processor (110); (e) The processor controls the vibration motor and electric stimulation pad, which are arranged to be positioned close to the specific directional high-sensitivity microphone (120B) on the bottom surface of the body (180), to generate vibration stimulation and / or electric stimulation, respectively, according to the received sound (noise) magnitude information and direction information; (f) The processor performs a Fourier transform on the sound (noise) signal received from the microphone array module to measure the frequency component of the sound (noise); and the control signal is configured to include data information such as the generation period of the corresponding stimulation, generation intensity (magnitude), combination of the corresponding stimulation, and combination of light emission colors by the light-emitting element; (g) The light-emitting diode module is configured so that the user of the light-emitting diode (172) A wearable device characterized by being installed at the upper end so that blinking can be visually confirmed. Claim 7 delete Claim 8 delete Claim 9 delete

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