Wearable protection device

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to wearable protection devices. In particular, the present disclosure relates to determining a wear status or position of a wearable protection device relative to the body of the wearer and generating a related information signal. Further in particular, the present disclosure relates to the position and / or wear status dependent activation of the wearable protection device. Accordingly, there is provided a wearable protection device for protection of at least a body part of a wearer, comprising an inflatable element, a sensor arrangement, and processing element. The inflatable element may be inflated from a first, substantially uninflated condition to a second, substantially inflated condition, by application of a releasable source of a gas to the inflatable element, for at least partially filling of the inflatable element with said gas.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present disclosure relates to wearable protection devices. In particular, the present disclosure relates to determining a wear status or position of a wearable protection device relative to the body of the wearer and generating a related information signal. Further in particular, the present disclosure relates to the position and / or wear status dependent activation of the wearable protection device.BACKGROUND

[0002] Wearable protection devices can be beneficial for people, e.g., elderly people, who have an increased risk of falling. Wearable protection devices may cushion the impact of a fall, reducing the risk of injury. An inflatable element worn as a jacket or vest, for example, can be worn like a garment and inflates on impact to protect the user from hitting the ground and potentially breaking bones. A user of such wearable protection devices may feel safer and more confident in their mobility when wearing personal protection equipment. This may encourage them to be more active and independent, improving their overall physical health and quality of life. Inflatable personal protective equipment may be designed to be lightweight and unobtrusive so that it is not cumbersome or too noticeable. This may in particular be important for users who are self-conscious about their appearance. A wearable protection device may be easy to use as it may activate automatically when a fall is detected. This means users to not need to concern themselves about activating the device themselves, which may be difficult for those with limited mobility or dexterity anyway. Wearable protection devices may be a cost-effective way to prevent injuries from falls. Compared to the medical and long-term care costs associated with fall injuries, the investment in a wearable protection device may be worthwhile. Overall, wearable protection devices can be an effective way for users to prevent fall injuries and increase their sense of safety and independence.

[0003] Wearable protection devices may be distinguished in two categories regarding their positioning relative to the body of the wearer. Wearable protection devices may fall into a first category where there is essentially only one correct position relative to the body. E.g., in case of a vest type or jacket type inflatable element, such may only be worn in an intended manner. A second category of wearable protection devices may be such devices that may be positioned incorrectly, e.g., by turning or rotating around the body of the wearer or by allowing the device to be attached to the body of a wearer differently from what was intended by the manufacturer. For example, in case the wearable protection device is a belt like protection device, the device may be positioned upside down or may rotate during wearing in case the wearable protection device does not comprise further means to affix the device relative to the body of a wearer in a defined position.

[0004] In case of a wearable protection device that has not a single defined position or orientation relative to the body of a wearer, like the aforementioned belt type wearable protection device falling into the second category, it is still important to assure that the protection device is positioned and / or oriented as intended by the manufacturer. E.g., a belt type wearable protection device may comprise inflatable elements that have a defined inflation direction so to protect defined body parts of a wearer. E.g., inflatable elements may extend downwards from the belt type wearable protection device to protect the hip and buttock region of a wearer. In case the belt type wearable protection device is worn upside down, the inflatable elements would indeed inflate upwards and thus would not provide any protection in the intended body region. Likewise, in case the belt type wearable protection device is rotated around the body of a wearer, the inflatable elements may not inflate at the intended rearward positions of the wearer, thereby again reducing a protection function normally provided by the wearable protection device.

[0005] Thus, there may be a need for determining that a wearable protection device is positioned correctly relative to the body of the wearer.

[0006] Further, there may be a need for signalling a user or a third entity whether the wearable protection device is positioned correctly relative to the body of the wearer.

[0007] Still further, there may be a need for preventing activation in case an incorrect position relative to the body of the wearer is detected.SUMMARY

[0008] At least one such need may be met by the subject-matter of the independent claims. Preferred embodiments are provided in the dependent claims and are explained in detail in the following description.

[0009] The present invention relates to wearable protection devices arranged to detect or determine a relative position versus the body of the wearer.

[0010] According to a first aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a wearable protection device for protection of at least a body part of a wearer, comprising an inflatable element, a sensor arrangement, and processing element. The inflatable element may be inflated from a first, substantially uninflated condition to a second, substantially inflated condition, by application of a releasable source of a gas to the inflatable element, for at least partially filling the inflatable element with said gas. The inflatable element, when being inflated to the second condition, may assume a defined three-dimensional shape to be arranged adjacent to a body part to be protected. The sensor arrangement may be adapted to determine sensor data related to the relative movement of the wearable protection device. The processing element may be adapted to determine from the sensor data whether the wearable protection device is positioned correctly or incorrectly relative to the body of the wearer.

[0011] According to a second aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a method for protection of at least a body part of a wearer of a wearable protection device, comprising determining sensor data related to the relative movement of the wearable protection device, and determining, dependently on the sensor data, whether the wearable protection device is positioned correctly or incorrectly relative to the body of the wearer

[0012] According to a third aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a computer-readable storage medium or a computer program product comprising instructions which, when executed by a processing element, cause the processing element to carry out the steps of the method according to the present disclosure.

[0013] According to the present disclosure, a wearable protection device is arranged to determine a position and / or orientation relative to the body of a wearer. Such a determination may on the one hand comprise a determination that the wearable protection device is attached to a body at all, in particular firmly attached to a body, as opposed to not being worn at all. Further, the wearable protection device may be arranged to determine that its position and / or orientation relative to the body is correct, i.e., as intended by the manufacturer. Only when a wearable protection device is arranged as intended, optimal protection functionality may be provided to the user. E.g., in case of inflatable elements that are supposed to protect a certain body part, e.g., by covering or wrapping around said body part, optimal protection functionality may only be provided if the wearable protection device is arranged so that the inflatable elements are positioned as intended when in the inflated condition or in the process of being inflated.

[0014] For a simplified implementation of the determination whether the wearable protection device is positioned and / or oriented correctly relative to the body of the wearer, it may be beneficial to use a sensor arrangement already present in the wearable protection device, in particular a sensor arrangement is used to determine when to deploy the wearable protection device, e.g., inflatable elements of the wearable protection device. Regularly, wearable protection devices are intended to mitigate injuries occurring due to a fall of a person. To detect such a deployment situation, a wearer of the wearable protection device stumbling or falling, such devices regularly employ acceleration sensors or accelerometers that may be able to detect a relative movement of the wearable protection device and thus the user in 3D space.

[0015] In other words, during a normal situation, the sensor arrangement is detecting a certain movement of the user, e.g., walking, having a defined activation pattern of the respective axes of the acceleration sensor. Said walking for example provides signals from the acceleration sensor in an essentially two-dimensional plane without providing any or only very little movement in a direction perpendicular to said plane. A fall event in turn may be indicated by a movement in a direction perpendicular to said plane. Once the sensor arrangement is detecting such an irregular movement, a processing element may analyse the sensor data to determine based on said sensor data whether to deploy the wearable protection device.

[0016] The present disclosure proposes to use the sensor signals to compare the sensor signals with expected sensor signals and, when it is determined that the obtained sensor signals deviate from the expected sensor signals to a certain degree, e.g., by exceeding a defined threshold, thereby determining an improper positioning of the wearable protection device relative to the body of the wearer. E.g., in case of a belt type wearable protection device, the sensor arrangement may have a defined position relative to the body of the wearer. E.g., the sensor arrangement may be positioned so to face in a forward walking direction. From the sensor signals, it may thus be determined whether the wearer is walking in the forward direction, is rotating or walking backwards. Considering a normal walking behaviour of a human body, it is safe to assume that a normal walking direction is a forward walking direction. In case the wearer wants to walk in a different direction, they would turn, i.e., rotate around the body axis to face in the new direction they intend to walk forward. From determining a moving direction deviating relative to the usual forward direction, a wrong positioning may be deduced. E.g., in case the wearable protection device is detecting a movement which would correspond to the person moving constantly at a 30° angle to a particular side, the sensor arrangement or the wearable protection device may deduce from common behaviour that the user is indeed not moving at an angle to their usual forward body position but that the wearable protection device is rather arranged at a 30° angle, i.e., rotated around 30° along the longitudinal body axis.

[0017] Upon detection of such a rotation, the wearable protection device may inform the wearer by signalling an improper positioning. Likewise, in case the sensor arrangement detects that gravity is acting opposite to the normal or expected direction, such may be an indication that the wearable protection device is worn upside down. Once such a condition is detected (i.e., upside down or out of position around the body) of the wearable protection device, the wearer is alerted so that they may reposition the wearable protection device so that it is worn properly and as intended by the manufacturer so to keep the wearer protected in case of a fall. In other words, the wearable protection device contains inertial sensors, e.g., situated in an electronic control unit (ECU), which is connected to and arranged for deploying inflatable elements. If case it is detected that the sensors are out of position, i.e., delivering out of position sensor signals, it may be deduced that the wearable protection device is out of position as well. The wearer is then informed that the wearable protection device should be placed in the right position to maintain the performance of the fall detection algorithm, i.e., its protection function.

[0018] In the context of the present disclosure in particular two out of position cases are considered and described in the following.

[0019] Case 1—Upside down: The sensor signals are analysed to determine whether gravity is acting on the sensor arrangement in an unexpected manner. E.g., when it is determined that gravity is acting in an opposite direction as normally expected, the wearable protection device may determine that it is positioned upside down, may subsequently inform the user about the situation and may deactivate deployment of the protective function of the wearable protection device until correct positioning is re-established.

[0020] Case 2—Out of position around the body: detecting an out of position may require a two-step detection procedure. Firstly, detect whether the user is active or inactive. This may mean to detect whether the user is stationary, e.g., standing still or sitting down, or moving. Since the out of position detection requires the detection of a movement direction of the wearer and correlating the detected movement direction with an expected, usual moving direction, an out of position detection requires a movement of the user. Secondly, the sensor arrangement detects a movement direction, when detecting a normal movement of the wearer and not an abnormal fall condition and correlates the detected movement direction with an expected movement direction, e.g., a movement direction of the wearable protection device attached to the body of the wearer and assuming that the wearer is moving forward. In case a deviation between the actual movement direction and the expected movement direction is detected, the degree of deviation may be evaluated and, in case it is determined that the deviation exceeds a defined threshold value, it may be deduced that the wearable protection device is out of position around the body of the wearer, i.e., is rotated with regard to the longitudinal axis of the wearer.

[0021] In order to correctly detect movement, in particular, movement in the expected movement direction, i.e., forward, signal analysis and or a machine learning algorithm may be employed to analyse the sensor data obtained from the sensor arrangement. The machine learning algorithm may then classify the sensor data as conforming to a normal movement direction or to an abnormal movement direction and depending on said classification, the wearable protection device may deduce an out of position around the body of the wearer, may inform the wearer accordingly and / or may deactivate deployment of the protective function of the wearable protection device until correct positioning is re-established.

[0022] In other words, to detect if the wearable protection device is out of position the observation or assumption is employed that that users walk (straight) forward most of the time when moving in a regular manner. By analysing the inertial signals of the sensor arrangement, in particular in a defined time window, it may be determined whether the major movement direction coincides with the expected movement direction regarding the expected sensor signals or sensor axes. Subsequently, it may be concluded whether the wearable protection device is out of position or not.

[0023] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the processing element may be adapted to generate an indication whether release of the gas to inflate the inflatable element is enabled or disabled and / or whether the wearable protection device is positioned correctly or incorrectly relative to the body of the wearer.

[0024] By informing the user on the status, in particular the positioning status of the wearable protection device, a correction of the improper positioning may be easily achieved. Without an according indication, a user may not realize the incorrect position or rotation of a wearable protection device over an extended period of time. In case a fall would occur during such a time period where the wearable protection device is improperly arranged, the wearable protection device may not be able to provide its protection function, either by not inflating an inflatable element or inflating the inflatable element while the inflatable element would only provide a reduced protection function. In a worst-case scenario, a wrongly positioned protection device may even increase injuries.

[0025] According to a further embodiment of the present disclosure, communicating the indication may comprise at least one of signalling the indication to the wearer as a visual indication, as an acoustic indication, as a tactile indication and as an electronic indication.

[0026] A visual indication whether the wearable protection device is positioned correctly may require a direct monitoring of the indicator, and a user of the wearable protection device may not be inclined to regularly check for such an indication. Contrary hereto, an acoustic indication or a tactile indication may stimulate senses of the user without the user being required to directly monitor the wearable protection device. An electronic indication in turn may be providing a signal to an electronic device, e.g., a mobile device like a smart watch or smart phone. Said electronic device in turn may relay the indication to the user or a third-party using same or similar indications as described with regard to the wearable protection device itself. E.g., the mobile device may signal the improper positioning of the wearable protection device to the user by a visual indication, an acoustic indication or a tactile indication.

[0027] According to a further embodiment of the present disclosure, the wearable protection device may further comprise a communication / information element, wherein the communication / information element may be at least one element out of the group consisting of a visual indicator, an illumination element, an LED, an electromechanical transducer, a speaker, a tactile transducer, an electromagnetic transmitter, an electronic communication element and a wireless communication element, wherein the processing element may be adapted to communicate the indication using the communication / information element to the wearer and / or a third party.

[0028] By using a communication or information element, the wearable protection device may relay the indication to the user. The element may be integrated in the wearable protection device, thereby facilitating transmitting the indication to the user. Likewise, an electronic communication element or transmitter may be in communicative connection with a mobile device and may transmit a signal or information arranged to relay the indication to said mobile device.

[0029] According to a further embodiment of the present disclosure, the wearable protection device may be adapted to communicate the indication to an external device, in particular an external mobile computing device.

[0030] The wearable protection device being in communicative connection with an external mobile computing device may facilitate the relaying of the indication to the user or third parties. The communicative connection may be a short range or medium range communication connection, e.g., Bluetooth or Wi-Fi or may be a communication connection using a mobile cellular service and connecting the wearable protection device to the mobile computing device directly or via a network, e.g., the Internet.

[0031] According to a further embodiment of the present disclosure, the processing element may be adapted to receive the sensor data, the processing element may be adapted to determine the position and / or orientation of the wearable protection device relative to the body of the wearer, and the processing element may be adapted to control the release of the gas dependent on the determined position and / or orientation.

[0032] Controlling the release of the gas to inflate an inflatable element may avoid the deployment of the variable protection device in a situation where it is determined that the variable protection device is positioned incorrectly relative to the body of the wearer. By deactivating the gas release, the deployment can be effectively prohibited. Such a deactivation may indeed increase safety of the wearer and protect the wearer, by avoiding a deployment in a situation where the protection effect of the inflatable element is not defined.

[0033] According to a further embodiment of the present disclosure, release of the gas to inflate the inflatable element may be enabled or disabled dependent on the relative movement, in particular the release of the gas may be disabled if it is determined that the wearable protection device, in particular the inflatable element, is positioned incorrectly, and / or the release of the gas may be enabled if it is determined that the wearable protection device, in particular the inflatable element, is positioned correctly.

[0034] According to a further embodiment of the present disclosure, the method may further comprise determining from the sensor data whether the wearable protection device is positioned correctly or incorrectly relative to the body of the wearer, and may comprise disabling the release of the gas if it is determined that the wearable protection device, in particular an inflatable element of the wearable protection device, is positioned incorrectly and / or enabling the release of the gas if it is determined that the wearable protection device, in particular the inflatable element, is positioned correctly, and / or may comprise generating an indication whether release of the gas to inflate the inflatable element is enabled or disabled and / or whether the wearable protection device is positioned correctly or incorrectly relative to the body of the wearer.

[0035] Disabling the release of gas in case of an incorrect positioning may facilitate assuring that the wearable protection device, in particular an inflatable element of the wearable protection device, is not deployed when positioned incorrectly by disabling the gas release, and accidental deployment may be avoided. On the same token, (actively) enabling the gas release when a correct position has been determined, i.e., the current position of the wearable protection device has actively been determined to be correct, may assure deployment only in a situation as intended by the manufacturer.

[0036] According to a further embodiment of the present disclosure, the sensor arrangement may be arranged with the wearable protection device and may have a defined position and orientation relative to the wearable protection device.

[0037] When the sensor arrangement has a defined position relative to the wearable protection device, a direct relationship of the detected movement by the sensor arrangement and the consequential movement of the wearable protection device may be established and thus the movement of the wearable protection device may be detected easily and reliably.

[0038] According to a further embodiment of the present disclosure, the processing element, for determining whether the wearable protection device is positioned correctly or incorrectly relative to the body of the wearer, may be adapted to correlate the received sensor data with expected movement data, may determine a deviation between the acquired movement data and the expected movement data, may determine if the deviation exceeds a defined threshold value, and may determine that the wearable protection device is positioned incorrectly relative to the body of the wearer when the deviation exceeds the threshold value.

[0039] Employing a suitable threshold value may extend the range where the wearable protection device is still providing its protection function while it has been determined nonetheless that the wearable protection device is not positioned 100% correctly. E.g., in case of a belt type wearable protection device, a small rotation around the longitudinal axis may be allowable while still providing most of or all of the intended and designed protection function. E.g., in case the wearable protection device is rotated 5°, 10°, 15° or 20° around the longitudinal axis and thus is slightly positioned out of its optimal position relative to the body of the wearer, such a rotation may still be within the design parameters of the wearable protection device and thus may be allowable. In other words, in case the threshold value is not exceeded, deployment of the wearable protection device may be conducted regardless.

[0040] According to a further embodiment of the present disclosure, the wearable protection device may be adapted to adaptively deploy the inflatable element depending on the sensor data, in particular depending on the position and / or orientation of the wearable protection device relative to the body of the wearer.

[0041] Actively deploying the wearable protection device, the inflatable element depending on the sensor data may assure that the wearable protection device is only deployed when positioned correctly. In other words, actively verifying the position and / or orientation

[0042] According to a further embodiment of the present disclosure the sensor arrangement may be an accelerometer, and in particular the sensor arrangement may be arranged to determine relative movement in 3 degrees or 6 degrees of freedom.

[0043] An accelerometer (also, vibration transducer, accelerometer, B-meter or G-sensor, gyroscope with 3ax accelerometer+3ax gyroscope=6 degrees of freedom, IMU, inertial measurement unit) is a sensor that measures its acceleration. This is usually done by determining the inertial force acting on a test mass. Thus, for example, it can be determined whether an increase or decrease in velocity is taking place. The accelerometer belongs to the group of inertial sensors. An accelerometer may provide a simplified way of determining a relative movement of the wearable protection device. From the acquired sensor signals, an actual movement may be calculated, which may be compared to an anticipated or expected movement. A deviation of the actual movement from the expected movement may indicate a misalignment of the wearable protection device on the body of the wearer, e.g., due to accidental rotation or improper wearing orientation.

[0044] According to a further embodiment of the present disclosure, the processing element may be adapted to determine from the sensor data a degree of correctness of how correctly the wearable protection device is fastened to the body of the wearer, and release of the gas to inflate the inflatable element may be enabled or disabled dependent on said degree, and / or the processing element may be adapted to generate an indication to the wearer and / or a third-party dependent on said degree, and / or the processing element may be adapted to signal said degree to the wearer and / or a third party.

[0045] According to a further embodiment of the present disclosure, determining whether the wearable protection device is positioned correctly or incorrectly relative to the body of the wearer may comprise correlating the received sensor data with expected movement data, may comprise determining a deviation between the received sensor data and the expected movement data, may comprise determining if the deviation exceeds a defined threshold value, and may comprise determining that the wearable protection device is positioned incorrectly relative to the body of the wearer when the deviation exceeds the threshold value.

[0046] A degree of correctness may indicate whether the actual positioning of the wearable protection device on the body of the wearer is correct or incorrect without relying on a binary determination. In other words, the degree of correctness may be compared to a threshold value and when it is determined that the degree of correctness exceeds a threshold value, it may be determined whether a current position is still sufficiently correct to not negatively impact the protection function of the wearable protection device.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0047] The present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0048] FIG. 1 shows an overview of an embodiment of a wearable protection device according to the present disclosure.

[0049] FIG. 2 shows a functional overview of an embodiment of a wearable protection device according to the present disclosure.

[0050] FIG. 3a, b show a first embodiment of a position detection according to the present disclosure.

[0051] FIG. 4 shows a second embodiment of a position detection according to the present disclosure.

[0052] FIG. 5 shows a first embodiment of a flow chart of operation when the wearable protection device is positioned correctly according to the present disclosure.

[0053] FIG. 6 shows a second embodiment of a flow chart of operation when the wearable protection device is positioned incorrectly according to the present disclosure.

[0054] FIG. 7 shows an exemplary embodiment of signalling the detected position / orientation of the wearable protection device according to the present disclosure.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0055] Now referring to FIG. 1, showing an overview of a wearable protection device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0056] FIG. 1 shows eight independent representations of an embodiment of the wearable protection device 10. The four representations in the top row show the wearable protection device 10 in the deployed state while the three representations and the bottom row from the left show the wearable protection device 10 in the undeployed state. The representation in the bottom row to the right is a close up of a part of an exemplary embodiment of the wearable protection device 10, specifically, the area of one inflatable element 12.

[0057] As can be seen in the four representations in the top row, the wearable protection device 10 exemplarily comprises two symmetrically aligned inflatable elements 12 arranged in the respective left and right hip region around the body 20 of a wearer. The wearable protection device 10 of FIG. 1 is exemplarily a belt type 14 wearable protection device in that it is worn around the waist. Such a belt type wearable protection device is regularly worn on top of clothing so that the inflatable elements 12 may position themselves when being inflated around the outer body shape of the wearer to provide their protection function. In the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 1, the inflatable elements 12 inflate so that they are arranged to the left and right sides of the wearer, covering the left and right outer sides of the upper legs and also partly the backside in the buttock region.

[0058] The belt 14 of the wearable protection device 10 comprises a fastening mechanism 16 or a buckle 16, not further depicted in FIG. 1, for closing the loop of the belt 14 around the hips of the wearer. Such a fastening mechanism 16 may be arranged together with a control unit 30 that comprises at least some of the elements required for operating the wearable protection device 10, in particular determining when to inflate the inflatable elements 12.

[0059] Such a belt type 14 wearable protection device 10 may in particular not be fastened to any other part of the clothing of the wearer but may essentially rest on top of the clothing and resting on the protruding hips of the wearer, thereby staying in place. As such, since a wearable protection device 10 may be to some extent flexible, an unintended rotation around the longitudinal axis may occur without the wearer immediately noting such a misalignment. Since the wearable protection device 10 in the undeployed state does not exhibit any peculiar shape but may have a substantially uniform height and thickness, a wearer of the wearable protection device 10 may not immediately recognize such a rotation around the longitudinal axis. The case in which the inflatable elements 12 would be deployed while having an incorrect position could result in a situation where the inflatable elements are inflated but are not at the intended position around the body of the wearer. E.g., in case the wearable protection device 10 is rotated about 90°, the inflatable elements 12 would essentially be arranged in the inflated condition at the front side and the rear side of the wearer while the left and right sides are not protected, i.e., vulnerable to an impact coming from the sides. In case the wearer would now fall to a left or right side, the inflatable elements 12 would not provide any protection function and the wearer could potentially injure themselves in the fall impact. E.g. in case the wearable protection device is not properly orientated, such may result in a hip fracture, requiring hip surgery.

[0060] Likewise, in case the belt type 14 wearable protection device 10 of FIG. 1 would be attached upside down, even in case the position of the wearable protection device 10 would be correct, the inflatable elements 12 would not provide their intended protection function, as they would at best inflate up towards toward the arm region, thereby surrounding the chest of the wearer, but not downward as intended. Such a wrong orientation may also result in a reduction of the protection function and thus in injury to the wearer despite them wearing the wearable protection device 10.

[0061] Now referring to FIG. 2, showing a functional overview of an embodiment of a control unit of a wearable protection device according to the present disclosure.

[0062] Control unit 30 of FIG. 2 is only depicted schematically. Control unit 30 comprises a processing element 38 that is in communicative connection with a sensor arrangement 32, an information element 36 and a communication element 34. Further components, either electrical or mechanical, required for the deployment, i.e., the inflation, of the inflatable elements 12, are not depicted in FIG. 2. Such further components may be arranged as part of the control unit 30, may be arranged separately from the control unit 30 but adjacent thereto, or may be arranged substantially independent from control unit 30 at a suitable position of the wearable protection device 10.

[0063] Sensor arrangement 32 may be a sensor arrangement that is able to detect movement of itself and thus of the control unit 30. The sensor arrangement 32 may have a defined position and orientation with regard to the control unit 30 so that a detected direction of movement of the sensor arrangement 32 allows deducing the related movement of the control unit 30. The sensor arrangement 32 may detect movement of the control unit 30 in 3D space, by detecting movement of the sensor arrangement 32 in a three-axis coordinate system X-Y-Z, where all three axes are orthogonal to each other. Further, the sensor arrangement 32 may detect rotational movement around the three axes, which is however not depicted in FIG. 2. Such a rotational movement may correspond to a pitch, yaw and roll movement around the respective axes when seen from the outside, the view of the wearer of a wearable protection device comprising such a sensor arrangement 32.

[0064] The processing element 38 receives information on the acquired sensor data from the sensor arrangement 32, e.g., raw data for further processing or ready pre-processed movement data, depending on the type of sensor arrangement 32. From the provided information, the processing element 38 may determine whether the user of the wearable protection device is moving or not. E.g., when the sensor arrangement 32 detects no movement, this may correspond to the wearer sitting, laying down or standing without moving. In particular in a situation where the wearer is standing without moving, the sensor arrangement 32 may still detect micro movements, e.g., adjusting the wearer's posture in space, and may therefrom deduce that the wearer is indeed standing without moving and not sitting or lying down.

[0065] Even when the wearer is not moving, the sensor arrangement 32 may be able to detect a specific orientation of the three axes relative to the force direction of gravity. Thereby, an orientation of the sensor arrangement 32 and thus of the control unit 30 and further the wearable protection device 10 may be deduced therefrom, without actual movement.

[0066] Once the control unit 30 has determined whether the sensor arrangement 32 is positioned correctly or incorrectly with regard to either the direction of movement or with regard to the force direction of gravity, a determination can be made whether the wearable protection device is positioned and / or oriented correctly or incorrectly. Such a determination may be signalled to a user using an information element 36, in FIG. 2 exemplarily depicted as providing a visual signal. Alternatively, or additionally, the information element 36 may be an acoustic or tactile information element 36, thereby not requiring the direct visual inspection of the information element 36 by the wearer. Such alternative modalities may alert the wearer without the requirement of directly or actively observing the information element 36.

[0067] Further, the determination may be signalled to a remote device or remote entity by a communication element 34. The communication element 34 may be arranged to communicate with e.g., a mobile computing device like a smart phone or a device of a third entity.

[0068] Now referring to FIG. 3a,b, showing a first embodiment of a position detection according to the present disclosure.

[0069] In FIG. 3a,b, the arrangement of a wearable protection device 10 around a body 20 of a wearer is depicted looking along the longitudinal axis of the body 20. The wearable protection device 10 is a belt type 14 protection device having control unit 30 arranged so that it normally assumes a position in the front direction of the body 20 along the sagittal axis 18. The wearable protection device 10 comprises two inflatable elements 12 arranged to the sides or symmetrically with regard to the sagittal axis 18 when positioned correctly as depicted in FIG. 3a. Here, the control unit 30 is pointing directly to the front direction of the sagittal axis 18. Assuming a normal way of movement, i.e., a movement in the front facing direction, the sensor arrangement 32 would thus detect a movement “straight ahead, and the control unit 30 may thus deduce the correct positioning. If positioned in accordance with FIG. 3a, the wearable protection device 10 would provide its protection function since a deployment of the inflatable elements 12 would result in asymmetrical deployment at the sides of the body 20.

[0070] Contrary hereto, FIG. 3b shows a situation where the wearable protection device 10 has been rotated about the longitudinal axis. Here, the control unit 30 is rotated about an angle α+α1, relative to the front facing direction as defined by the sagittal axis 18. As can be seen, the inflatable elements 12 are no longer arranged to the sides of the body 20 but are essentially arranged in the front and back area of the body 20. Thus, in case the inflatable elements 12 would be deployed in such a position, they may not provide the protection function anymore.

[0071] FIG. 3b depicts two different angles α and α1. Here, α1 may be a threshold value or threshold angle. As long as the rotation about the longitudinal axis is smaller than α1, it may be assumed that the position of the wearable protection device 10 is still sufficiently close to the front facing direction and thus sufficiently correct to allow a deployment of the inflatable elements 12 without reducing their protection function. In other words, when the control unit 30 detects a misalignment that is smaller than α1, a correct positioning may still be assumed and the wearable protection device 10 may operate as normal. In FIG. 3b, since the control unit 30 is rotated about more than α1, precisely about α+α1, and thus is deviating too greatly from the correct front facing position, the deployment of the inflatable elements 12 may be prohibited.

[0072] In case a misalignment is still smaller than α1, and thus an inflatable element 12 may still be deployed, it may be conceivable that the wearer is nonetheless informed about this misalignment while the information element and / or the communication element.

[0073] Now referring to FIG. 4, showing a second embodiment of a position detection according to the present disclosure.

[0074] In FIG. 4, an upside-down scenario of the wearable protection device is depicted. In FIG. 4, the wearable protection device 10 is rotated at 180° around the sagittal axis 18. Potentially, depending on the fastening mechanism of the buckle 16, a wearer putting on the wearable protection device 10 may not readily realize that the wearable protection device 10 is upside down. In case a deployment of the inflatable element 12 would now be initiated, not only would it be not providing the intended protection function, but it would actually be pointing upwards rather than downwards.

[0075] A detection of correct orientation may be provided by the sensor arrangement 32 in the control unit 30 considering the force direction of gravity. Depending on the normal alignment of the force direction of gravity in case the sensor arrangement detects an inverse direction of gravity, such may allow the determination that the wearable protection device 10 is oriented upside down. E.g., a movement is performed in the direction of the sagittal axis 18, i.e., to the right of FIG. 4, while the force direction of gravity is acting downwards in FIG. 4. In one example, in the left depiction of the three axes reference frame of the sensor arrangement in FIG. 4, gravity is acting in the positive Y direction of the Y axis. Contrary thereto, in the right depiction of the three axes reference frame of the sensor arrangement of FIG. 4, gravity is acting in the negative Y direction of the Y axis. By determining the direction gravity is acting with regard to a specific axis of the reference frame of the sensor arrangement and comparing the determination with the expected force direction of gravity, the sensor arrangement 32 and thus the control unit 30 may determine whether the variable protection device 10 is oriented correctly or upside down.

[0076] Now referring to FIG. 5, showing a first embodiment of a flow chart of operation when the wearable protection device is positioned correctly according to the present disclosure.

[0077] FIG. 5 shows an embodiment where the wearable protection device is oriented both in the correct position and with the correct orientation. From the start, an input window of sensor readings is read, e.g., input into the control unit of the wearable protection device. An input window means that only a finite number of sensor readings are processed at a given time in conjunction with one another so that a trend of the sensor readings within the input window is determined. E.g., the input window may be one second, three seconds or five seconds, etc. From the read input data, in a first determination, the average acceleration in the window, i.e., the sensor readings within the window, in a particular axis, here exemplarily the Y axis, may be determined. In other words, it may be determined whether the force direction of gravity is corresponding to the expected force direction of gravity considering the orientation of the sensor arrangement. In case the calculated average determined force direction is coinciding with the expected force direction, it may be deduced that the wearable protection device is oriented correctly and not oriented upside down. The calculated average may be in a tolerated range, which signifies that a threshold is employed, determining whether the calculated average is sufficiently close to the expected value. In one example, the window length may be around 15 seconds for the out of position determination and around 1 sec the upside-down determination. The determination algorithms may be executed with a higher frequency also, by shifting the input window slightly and having overlapping consecutive input windows. Parallel or successively, a further determination may be performed to check whether the user is active or inactive based on determining variations in the sensor signals. E.g., in case the user is lying down or sitting, the variance may be comparably small so that the control unit detects a non-movement or inactive situation. In case of such an inactive situation, a subsequent fall detection may not be required since it is safe to assume that a non-moving wearer is less likely to experience a fall situation. In case a movement or active situation is determined, the control unit may determine the direction of movement and may compare the direction of movement with the expected direction of movement considering the alignment of the sensor arrangement relative to the wearable protection device and its normal position. In case the control unit determines that the sensor arrangement and thus the control unit and subsequently the wearable protection device is positioned correctly on the body of the wearer, a fall detection algorithm may be initiated.

[0078] Again, the sensor data of the sensor arrangement is evaluated by the control unit to determine whether the movement of the wearer is regular or irregular. An irregular movement may be indicative of a fall situation, in which the control unit may deploy the inflatable elements. In case a regular movement situation is determined, the loop may continue with determining the correct positioning and / or orientation of the wearable protection device.

[0079] Alternatively to what is depicted in FIG. 5, it may be conceivable that not all determinations, the upside-down determination, the out of position determination and the fall determination are constantly repeated in essentially the same order and the same frequency. E.g., the buckle of the wearable protection device may be arranged to detect a closing of the buckle, i.e., a putting on of the wearable protection device. Subsequently, the control unit may initiate a determination whether the wearable protection device is oriented correctly. Once it has been determined that the wearable protection device is indeed oriented correctly, a further determination of the orientation may not be required anymore, until it is determined that the wearable protection device has been removed from the body of the wearer again, e.g., by opening the fastening mechanism. In case it is determined that the orientation is upside down, a signal may be provided to the wearer, e.g., by the information element or the communication element, signalling this upside-down situation.

[0080] Subsequently, it may be determined after defined first intervals, e.g., every 0.1, 1, 10 or 30 seconds, every minutes, every five minutes etc. whether the wearable protection device is in the correct position or whether it has rotated relative to the longitudinal axis. Here, it may be reasonably safe to assume that a rotation of the wearable protection device around the longitudinal axis of the wearer does not occur instantaneously but requires a certain amount of time and force exposure. Likewise, as long as the sensor arrangement detects inactivity, a position determination may not be necessary.

[0081] The control unit may further execute a fall detection algorithm after defined second intervals, which may be significantly shorter than the first intervals, e.g., every millisecond, every 10 ms, 20 ms, 30 ms, 40 ms, 50 ms or the like. In other words, the control unit may focus on execution of the fall detection algorithm and may perform the position detection algorithm rarely and the orientation detection algorithm only upon opening and closing the fastening mechanism. This reduces the computational burden on the control unit and allows a preferred fall detection as the majority of the computational power of the control unit may be used for the fall detection algorithm.

[0082] Now referring to FIG. 6, showing a second embodiment of a flow chart of operation when the wearable protection device is positioned incorrectly according to the present disclosure.

[0083] The flowchart in FIG. 6 essentially corresponds to the flowchart of FIG. 5, however, the control unit is detecting an upside-down situation and / or an out of position situation of the wearable protection device. In addition to what has been said with regard to FIG. 5, on the number and frequency of the determinations, once an upside-down situation and / or an out of position situation is detected, the control unit may decide to initially alert the wearer of the wearable protection device about this situation. Consequently, the control unit may generate an indication to the wearer or a third-party via the information element and / or the communication element. Depending on the extent of the misalignment, e.g., whether the misalignment is within a threshold range or outside of a threshold range, the deployment of the inflatable elements may remain active or may be deactivated.

[0084] Depending on whether the detected misalignment situation is an upside-down situation or an out of position situation, the control unit may continue to monitor the alignment, e.g. in the case of an out of position situation which may be remedied by a repositioning of the wearable protection device or may cease operation, e.g. in case of an upside-down situation, which may only be resolved by removing and reattaching the wearable protection device to be then oriented correctly. Such a ceasing of the operation may allow extending the operational time of a battery charge, since the control unit need not perform a repeated alignment determination. However, it is still conceivable that even in the case of an upside-down situation, the determination is repeated after a defined time window to avoid a situation where a single faulty alignment detection requires the wearer to remove and reattach the wearable protection device while the alignment indeed was not faulty.

[0085] Now referring to FIG. 7, showing an exemplary embodiment of signalling the detected position / orientation of the wearable protection device according to the present disclosure.

[0086] The information element may be used to signal a correct or incorrect position and / or orientation of the wearable protection device to the wearer themselves. E.g., in case of a visual information element, a green light may indicate correct position and orientation. An orange light may indicate a correct orientation but an incorrect position. Additionally, or alternatively, a different colour or a blinking light may indicate that the position is not optimal but still within a threshold range, which would still allow the deployment of the inflatable elements. Still further, e.g., a red light may indicate an incorrect orientation, in other words, an upside-down situation, which would prohibit deployment generally, regardless of the position around the waist of the wearer. Other modalities may use a similar mechanism. E.g., low tone or no sound may indicate a correct orientation and position, a higher tone may indicate a correct orientation but an incorrect position. The degree of correctness of the position may be indicated by a higher or lower pitch. A significantly higher pitch may indicate an incorrect orientation. In case of a tactile information element, no, or a low, intermittent vibration may indicate a correct orientation and position. A stronger vibration may indicate a correct orientation but an incorrect position, in particular a periodically occurring vibration may indicate the correctness of the position with regard to a threshold value. The more often the vibration occurs in a given time period, the further off from the optimal position around the body of the wearer the wearable protection device may be positioned. A strong continuous vibration may indicate an incorrect orientation.

[0087] The determination may also be signalled to a remote device 40 or remote entity 40 by the communication element 34. The communication element 34 may be arranged to communicate with e.g., a mobile computing device 40 like a smart phone or a device of a third entity. Such a smart phone may be owned by the wearer themselves, to record or track the correct or incorrect positioning of the wearable protection device 10 over an extended period of time, thereby generating a history log. In addition to or alternative to the information element 36 of the control unit 30, the mobile computing device 40 may act as a (further) information element, by receiving information on the correct wearing of the wearable protection device 10 and may in turn initiate an alarm to the wearer in case an incorrect position and / or orientation of the wearable protection device 10 is determined. Still further, the remote device 40 or mobile computing device 40 may belong to a third entity, e.g., a caregiver or the like, who is informed about the wear status of the wearable protection device 10. Thereby, a caregiver may monitor whether the wearer correctly wears the wearable protection device 10 and in case an incorrect wearing is determined, they in turn may alert the wearer e.g., call them or otherwise get in contact with them, to assure correctly wearing the wearable protection device.

[0088] Further, the wear status may be communicated to a computing device 40 completely separate from the wearer, e.g., a computing system 40 in the cloud. Such a computing system 40 may belong to an insurance company, the authorities, or any other authorized third-party, which may in turn receive information about the correct wearing of the wearable protection device and may initiate appropriate measures in case an incorrect wearing is determined.

[0089] Still further, it is also conceivable that the deployment of the wearable protection device 10 is communicated via the communication element 34. E.g., assuming that the deployment of the wearable protection device 10 coincides with a fall incident, emergency medical services may be alerted by the control unit 30. A position of the control unit 30 and thus the wearable protection device 10 together with the wearer may be determined either by directly detecting the position of the wearable protection device 10, e.g., by using a global positioning service or other means like cell phone triangulation, or by receiving global position information from a nearby mobile device 40, e.g., a smart phone that belongs to the wearer, and which is determined to be in the vicinity of the wearable protection device 10. Such a determination may be provided if the communication connection between the wearable protection device 10 and the mobile device 40 is a short-range communication connection like e.g., Bluetooth or the like.

[0090] It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications and improvements may be made without deviating from the concepts described here. Any of the features described above and below may be used separately or in combination with any other features described herein, provided they are not mutually exclusive, and the disclosure extends to and includes all combinations and sub-combinations of one or more features described herein.

[0091] Finally, it should be noted that the term “comprising” does not exclude other elements or steps, and that “a” or “one” does not exclude the plural. Elements that are described in relation to different types of embodiments can be combined. Reference signs in the claims shall not be construed as limiting the scope of a claim.LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS10 wearable protection device

[0093] 12 inflatable element

[0094] 14 belt

[0095] 16 fastening mechanism / buckle

[0096] 18 sagittal axis

[0097] 20 body

[0098] 22 rotation angle

[0099] 24 threshold angle

[0100] 30 control unit

[0101] 32 sensor arrangement

[0102] 34 communication element

[0103] 36 information element

[0104] 38 processing element

[0105] 40 external / remote device

Examples

first embodiment

[0068]Now referring to FIG. 3a,b, showing a position detection according to the present disclosure.

[0069]In FIG. 3a,b, the arrangement of a wearable protection device 10 around a body 20 of a wearer is depicted looking along the longitudinal axis of the body 20. The wearable protection device 10 is a belt type 14 protection device having control unit 30 arranged so that it normally assumes a position in the front direction of the body 20 along the sagittal axis 18. The wearable protection device 10 comprises two inflatable elements 12 arranged to the sides or symmetrically with regard to the sagittal axis 18 when positioned correctly as depicted in FIG. 3a. Here, the control unit 30 is pointing directly to the front direction of the sagittal axis 18. Assuming a normal way of movement, i.e., a movement in the front facing direction, the sensor arrangement 32 would thus detect a movement “straight ahead, and the control unit 30 may thus deduce the correct positioning. If positioned in...

second embodiment

[0073]Now referring to FIG. 4, showing a position detection according to the present disclosure.

[0074]In FIG. 4, an upside-down scenario of the wearable protection device is depicted. In FIG. 4, the wearable protection device 10 is rotated at 180° around the sagittal axis 18. Potentially, depending on the fastening mechanism of the buckle 16, a wearer putting on the wearable protection device 10 may not readily realize that the wearable protection device 10 is upside down. In case a deployment of the inflatable element 12 would now be initiated, not only would it be not providing the intended protection function, but it would actually be pointing upwards rather than downwards.

[0075]A detection of correct orientation may be provided by the sensor arrangement 32 in the control unit 30 considering the force direction of gravity. Depending on the normal alignment of the force direction of gravity in case the sensor arrangement detects an inverse direction of gravity, such may allow the ...

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present disclosure relates to wearable protection devices. In particular, the present disclosure relates to determining a wear status or position of a wearable protection device relative to the body of the wearer and generating a related information signal. Further in particular, the present disclosure relates to the position and / or wear status dependent activation of the wearable protection device.BACKGROUND

[0002] Wearable protection devices can be beneficial for people, e.g., elderly people, who have an increased risk of falling. Wearable protection devices may cushion the impact of a fall, reducing the risk of injury. An inflatable element worn as a jacket or vest, for example, can be worn like a garment and inflates on impact to protect the user from hitting the ground and potentially breaking bones. A user of such wearable protection devices may feel safer and more confident in their mobility when wearing personal protection equipment. This may encourage them to be more active and independent, improving their overall physical health and quality of life. Inflatable personal protective equipment may be designed to be lightweight and unobtrusive so that it is not cumbersome or too noticeable. This may in particular be important for users who are self-conscious about their appearance. A wearable protection device may be easy to use as it may activate automatically when a fall is detected. This means users to not need to concern themselves about activating the device themselves, which may be difficult for those with limited mobility or dexterity anyway. Wearable protection devices may be a cost-effective way to prevent injuries from falls. Compared to the medical and long-term care costs associated with fall injuries, the investment in a wearable protection device may be worthwhile. Overall, wearable protection devices can be an effective way for users to prevent fall injuries and increase their sense of safety and independence.

[0003] Wearable protection devices may be distinguished in two categories regarding their positioning relative to the body of the wearer. Wearable protection devices may fall into a first category where there is essentially only one correct position relative to the body. E.g., in case of a vest type or jacket type inflatable element, such may only be worn in an intended manner. A second category of wearable protection devices may be such devices that may be positioned incorrectly, e.g., by turning or rotating around the body of the wearer or by allowing the device to be attached to the body of a wearer differently from what was intended by the manufacturer. For example, in case the wearable protection device is a belt like protection device, the device may be positioned upside down or may rotate during wearing in case the wearable protection device does not comprise further means to affix the device relative to the body of a wearer in a defined position.

[0004] In case of a wearable protection device that has not a single defined position or orientation relative to the body of a wearer, like the aforementioned belt type wearable protection device falling into the second category, it is still important to assure that the protection device is positioned and / or oriented as intended by the manufacturer. E.g., a belt type wearable protection device may comprise inflatable elements that have a defined inflation direction so to protect defined body parts of a wearer. E.g., inflatable elements may extend downwards from the belt type wearable protection device to protect the hip and buttock region of a wearer. In case the belt type wearable protection device is worn upside down, the inflatable elements would indeed inflate upwards and thus would not provide any protection in the intended body region. Likewise, in case the belt type wearable protection device is rotated around the body of a wearer, the inflatable elements may not inflate at the intended rearward positions of the wearer, thereby again reducing a protection function normally provided by the wearable protection device.

[0005] Thus, there may be a need for determining that a wearable protection device is positioned correctly relative to the body of the wearer.

[0006] Further, there may be a need for signalling a user or a third entity whether the wearable protection device is positioned correctly relative to the body of the wearer.

[0007] Still further, there may be a need for preventing activation in case an incorrect position relative to the body of the wearer is detected.SUMMARY

[0008] At least one such need may be met by the subject-matter of the independent claims. Preferred embodiments are provided in the dependent claims and are explained in detail in the following description.

[0009] The present invention relates to wearable protection devices arranged to detect or determine a relative position versus the body of the wearer.

[0010] According to a first aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a wearable protection device for protection of at least a body part of a wearer, comprising an inflatable element, a sensor arrangement, and processing element. The inflatable element may be inflated from a first, substantially uninflated condition to a second, substantially inflated condition, by application of a releasable source of a gas to the inflatable element, for at least partially filling the inflatable element with said gas. The inflatable element, when being inflated to the second condition, may assume a defined three-dimensional shape to be arranged adjacent to a body part to be protected. The sensor arrangement may be adapted to determine sensor data related to the relative movement of the wearable protection device. The processing element may be adapted to determine from the sensor data whether the wearable protection device is positioned correctly or incorrectly relative to the body of the wearer.

[0011] According to a second aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a method for protection of at least a body part of a wearer of a wearable protection device, comprising determining sensor data related to the relative movement of the wearable protection device, and determining, dependently on the sensor data, whether the wearable protection device is positioned correctly or incorrectly relative to the body of the wearer

[0012] According to a third aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a computer-readable storage medium or a computer program product comprising instructions which, when executed by a processing element, cause the processing element to carry out the steps of the method according to the present disclosure.

[0013] According to the present disclosure, a wearable protection device is arranged to determine a position and / or orientation relative to the body of a wearer. Such a determination may on the one hand comprise a determination that the wearable protection device is attached to a body at all, in particular firmly attached to a body, as opposed to not being worn at all. Further, the wearable protection device may be arranged to determine that its position and / or orientation relative to the body is correct, i.e., as intended by the manufacturer. Only when a wearable protection device is arranged as intended, optimal protection functionality may be provided to the user. E.g., in case of inflatable elements that are supposed to protect a certain body part, e.g., by covering or wrapping around said body part, optimal protection functionality may only be provided if the wearable protection device is arranged so that the inflatable elements are positioned as intended when in the inflated condition or in the process of being inflated.

[0014] For a simplified implementation of the determination whether the wearable protection device is positioned and / or oriented correctly relative to the body of the wearer, it may be beneficial to use a sensor arrangement already present in the wearable protection device, in particular a sensor arrangement is used to determine when to deploy the wearable protection device, e.g., inflatable elements of the wearable protection device. Regularly, wearable protection devices are intended to mitigate injuries occurring due to a fall of a person. To detect such a deployment situation, a wearer of the wearable protection device stumbling or falling, such devices regularly employ acceleration sensors or accelerometers that may be able to detect a relative movement of the wearable protection device and thus the user in 3D space.

[0015] In other words, during a normal situation, the sensor arrangement is detecting a certain movement of the user, e.g., walking, having a defined activation pattern of the respective axes of the acceleration sensor. Said walking for example provides signals from the acceleration sensor in an essentially two-dimensional plane without providing any or only very little movement in a direction perpendicular to said plane. A fall event in turn may be indicated by a movement in a direction perpendicular to said plane. Once the sensor arrangement is detecting such an irregular movement, a processing element may analyse the sensor data to determine based on said sensor data whether to deploy the wearable protection device.

[0016] The present disclosure proposes to use the sensor signals to compare the sensor signals with expected sensor signals and, when it is determined that the obtained sensor signals deviate from the expected sensor signals to a certain degree, e.g., by exceeding a defined threshold, thereby determining an improper positioning of the wearable protection device relative to the body of the wearer. E.g., in case of a belt type wearable protection device, the sensor arrangement may have a defined position relative to the body of the wearer. E.g., the sensor arrangement may be positioned so to face in a forward walking direction. From the sensor signals, it may thus be determined whether the wearer is walking in the forward direction, is rotating or walking backwards. Considering a normal walking behaviour of a human body, it is safe to assume that a normal walking direction is a forward walking direction. In case the wearer wants to walk in a different direction, they would turn, i.e., rotate around the body axis to face in the new direction they intend to walk forward. From determining a moving direction deviating relative to the usual forward direction, a wrong positioning may be deduced. E.g., in case the wearable protection device is detecting a movement which would correspond to the person moving constantly at a 30° angle to a particular side, the sensor arrangement or the wearable protection device may deduce from common behaviour that the user is indeed not moving at an angle to their usual forward body position but that the wearable protection device is rather arranged at a 30° angle, i.e., rotated around 30° along the longitudinal body axis.

[0017] Upon detection of such a rotation, the wearable protection device may inform the wearer by signalling an improper positioning. Likewise, in case the sensor arrangement detects that gravity is acting opposite to the normal or expected direction, such may be an indication that the wearable protection device is worn upside down. Once such a condition is detected (i.e., upside down or out of position around the body) of the wearable protection device, the wearer is alerted so that they may reposition the wearable protection device so that it is worn properly and as intended by the manufacturer so to keep the wearer protected in case of a fall. In other words, the wearable protection device contains inertial sensors, e.g., situated in an electronic control unit (ECU), which is connected to and arranged for deploying inflatable elements. If case it is detected that the sensors are out of position, i.e., delivering out of position sensor signals, it may be deduced that the wearable protection device is out of position as well. The wearer is then informed that the wearable protection device should be placed in the right position to maintain the performance of the fall detection algorithm, i.e., its protection function.

[0018] In the context of the present disclosure in particular two out of position cases are considered and described in the following.

[0019] Case 1—Upside down: The sensor signals are analysed to determine whether gravity is acting on the sensor arrangement in an unexpected manner. E.g., when it is determined that gravity is acting in an opposite direction as normally expected, the wearable protection device may determine that it is positioned upside down, may subsequently inform the user about the situation and may deactivate deployment of the protective function of the wearable protection device until correct positioning is re-established.

[0020] Case 2—Out of position around the body: detecting an out of position may require a two-step detection procedure. Firstly, detect whether the user is active or inactive. This may mean to detect whether the user is stationary, e.g., standing still or sitting down, or moving. Since the out of position detection requires the detection of a movement direction of the wearer and correlating the detected movement direction with an expected, usual moving direction, an out of position detection requires a movement of the user. Secondly, the sensor arrangement detects a movement direction, when detecting a normal movement of the wearer and not an abnormal fall condition and correlates the detected movement direction with an expected movement direction, e.g., a movement direction of the wearable protection device attached to the body of the wearer and assuming that the wearer is moving forward. In case a deviation between the actual movement direction and the expected movement direction is detected, the degree of deviation may be evaluated and, in case it is determined that the deviation exceeds a defined threshold value, it may be deduced that the wearable protection device is out of position around the body of the wearer, i.e., is rotated with regard to the longitudinal axis of the wearer.

[0021] In order to correctly detect movement, in particular, movement in the expected movement direction, i.e., forward, signal analysis and or a machine learning algorithm may be employed to analyse the sensor data obtained from the sensor arrangement. The machine learning algorithm may then classify the sensor data as conforming to a normal movement direction or to an abnormal movement direction and depending on said classification, the wearable protection device may deduce an out of position around the body of the wearer, may inform the wearer accordingly and / or may deactivate deployment of the protective function of the wearable protection device until correct positioning is re-established.

[0022] In other words, to detect if the wearable protection device is out of position the observation or assumption is employed that that users walk (straight) forward most of the time when moving in a regular manner. By analysing the inertial signals of the sensor arrangement, in particular in a defined time window, it may be determined whether the major movement direction coincides with the expected movement direction regarding the expected sensor signals or sensor axes. Subsequently, it may be concluded whether the wearable protection device is out of position or not.

[0023] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the processing element may be adapted to generate an indication whether release of the gas to inflate the inflatable element is enabled or disabled and / or whether the wearable protection device is positioned correctly or incorrectly relative to the body of the wearer.

[0024] By informing the user on the status, in particular the positioning status of the wearable protection device, a correction of the improper positioning may be easily achieved. Without an according indication, a user may not realize the incorrect position or rotation of a wearable protection device over an extended period of time. In case a fall would occur during such a time period where the wearable protection device is improperly arranged, the wearable protection device may not be able to provide its protection function, either by not inflating an inflatable element or inflating the inflatable element while the inflatable element would only provide a reduced protection function. In a worst-case scenario, a wrongly positioned protection device may even increase injuries.

[0025] According to a further embodiment of the present disclosure, communicating the indication may comprise at least one of signalling the indication to the wearer as a visual indication, as an acoustic indication, as a tactile indication and as an electronic indication.

[0026] A visual indication whether the wearable protection device is positioned correctly may require a direct monitoring of the indicator, and a user of the wearable protection device may not be inclined to regularly check for such an indication. Contrary hereto, an acoustic indication or a tactile indication may stimulate senses of the user without the user being required to directly monitor the wearable protection device. An electronic indication in turn may be providing a signal to an electronic device, e.g., a mobile device like a smart watch or smart phone. Said electronic device in turn may relay the indication to the user or a third-party using same or similar indications as described with regard to the wearable protection device itself. E.g., the mobile device may signal the improper positioning of the wearable protection device to the user by a visual indication, an acoustic indication or a tactile indication.

[0027] According to a further embodiment of the present disclosure, the wearable protection device may further comprise a communication / information element, wherein the communication / information element may be at least one element out of the group consisting of a visual indicator, an illumination element, an LED, an electromechanical transducer, a speaker, a tactile transducer, an electromagnetic transmitter, an electronic communication element and a wireless communication element, wherein the processing element may be adapted to communicate the indication using the communication / information element to the wearer and / or a third party.

[0028] By using a communication or information element, the wearable protection device may relay the indication to the user. The element may be integrated in the wearable protection device, thereby facilitating transmitting the indication to the user. Likewise, an electronic communication element or transmitter may be in communicative connection with a mobile device and may transmit a signal or information arranged to relay the indication to said mobile device.

[0029] According to a further embodiment of the present disclosure, the wearable protection device may be adapted to communicate the indication to an external device, in particular an external mobile computing device.

[0030] The wearable protection device being in communicative connection with an external mobile computing device may facilitate the relaying of the indication to the user or third parties. The communicative connection may be a short range or medium range communication connection, e.g., Bluetooth or Wi-Fi or may be a communication connection using a mobile cellular service and connecting the wearable protection device to the mobile computing device directly or via a network, e.g., the Internet.

[0031] According to a further embodiment of the present disclosure, the processing element may be adapted to receive the sensor data, the processing element may be adapted to determine the position and / or orientation of the wearable protection device relative to the body of the wearer, and the processing element may be adapted to control the release of the gas dependent on the determined position and / or orientation.

[0032] Controlling the release of the gas to inflate an inflatable element may avoid the deployment of the variable protection device in a situation where it is determined that the variable protection device is positioned incorrectly relative to the body of the wearer. By deactivating the gas release, the deployment can be effectively prohibited. Such a deactivation may indeed increase safety of the wearer and protect the wearer, by avoiding a deployment in a situation where the protection effect of the inflatable element is not defined.

[0033] According to a further embodiment of the present disclosure, release of the gas to inflate the inflatable element may be enabled or disabled dependent on the relative movement, in particular the release of the gas may be disabled if it is determined that the wearable protection device, in particular the inflatable element, is positioned incorrectly, and / or the release of the gas may be enabled if it is determined that the wearable protection device, in particular the inflatable element, is positioned correctly.

[0034] According to a further embodiment of the present disclosure, the method may further comprise determining from the sensor data whether the wearable protection device is positioned correctly or incorrectly relative to the body of the wearer, and may comprise disabling the release of the gas if it is determined that the wearable protection device, in particular an inflatable element of the wearable protection device, is positioned incorrectly and / or enabling the release of the gas if it is determined that the wearable protection device, in particular the inflatable element, is positioned correctly, and / or may comprise generating an indication whether release of the gas to inflate the inflatable element is enabled or disabled and / or whether the wearable protection device is positioned correctly or incorrectly relative to the body of the wearer.

[0035] Disabling the release of gas in case of an incorrect positioning may facilitate assuring that the wearable protection device, in particular an inflatable element of the wearable protection device, is not deployed when positioned incorrectly by disabling the gas release, and accidental deployment may be avoided. On the same token, (actively) enabling the gas release when a correct position has been determined, i.e., the current position of the wearable protection device has actively been determined to be correct, may assure deployment only in a situation as intended by the manufacturer.

[0036] According to a further embodiment of the present disclosure, the sensor arrangement may be arranged with the wearable protection device and may have a defined position and orientation relative to the wearable protection device.

[0037] When the sensor arrangement has a defined position relative to the wearable protection device, a direct relationship of the detected movement by the sensor arrangement and the consequential movement of the wearable protection device may be established and thus the movement of the wearable protection device may be detected easily and reliably.

[0038] According to a further embodiment of the present disclosure, the processing element, for determining whether the wearable protection device is positioned correctly or incorrectly relative to the body of the wearer, may be adapted to correlate the received sensor data with expected movement data, may determine a deviation between the acquired movement data and the expected movement data, may determine if the deviation exceeds a defined threshold value, and may determine that the wearable protection device is positioned incorrectly relative to the body of the wearer when the deviation exceeds the threshold value.

[0039] Employing a suitable threshold value may extend the range where the wearable protection device is still providing its protection function while it has been determined nonetheless that the wearable protection device is not positioned 100% correctly. E.g., in case of a belt type wearable protection device, a small rotation around the longitudinal axis may be allowable while still providing most of or all of the intended and designed protection function. E.g., in case the wearable protection device is rotated 5°, 10°, 15° or 20° around the longitudinal axis and thus is slightly positioned out of its optimal position relative to the body of the wearer, such a rotation may still be within the design parameters of the wearable protection device and thus may be allowable. In other words, in case the threshold value is not exceeded, deployment of the wearable protection device may be conducted regardless.

[0040] According to a further embodiment of the present disclosure, the wearable protection device may be adapted to adaptively deploy the inflatable element depending on the sensor data, in particular depending on the position and / or orientation of the wearable protection device relative to the body of the wearer.

[0041] Actively deploying the wearable protection device, the inflatable element depending on the sensor data may assure that the wearable protection device is only deployed when positioned correctly. In other words, actively verifying the position and / or orientation

[0042] According to a further embodiment of the present disclosure the sensor arrangement may be an accelerometer, and in particular the sensor arrangement may be arranged to determine relative movement in 3 degrees or 6 degrees of freedom.

[0043] An accelerometer (also, vibration transducer, accelerometer, B-meter or G-sensor, gyroscope with 3ax accelerometer+3ax gyroscope=6 degrees of freedom, IMU, inertial measurement unit) is a sensor that measures its acceleration. This is usually done by determining the inertial force acting on a test mass. Thus, for example, it can be determined whether an increase or decrease in velocity is taking place. The accelerometer belongs to the group of inertial sensors. An accelerometer may provide a simplified way of determining a relative movement of the wearable protection device. From the acquired sensor signals, an actual movement may be calculated, which may be compared to an anticipated or expected movement. A deviation of the actual movement from the expected movement may indicate a misalignment of the wearable protection device on the body of the wearer, e.g., due to accidental rotation or improper wearing orientation.

[0044] According to a further embodiment of the present disclosure, the processing element may be adapted to determine from the sensor data a degree of correctness of how correctly the wearable protection device is fastened to the body of the wearer, and release of the gas to inflate the inflatable element may be enabled or disabled dependent on said degree, and / or the processing element may be adapted to generate an indication to the wearer and / or a third-party dependent on said degree, and / or the processing element may be adapted to signal said degree to the wearer and / or a third party.

[0045] According to a further embodiment of the present disclosure, determining whether the wearable protection device is positioned correctly or incorrectly relative to the body of the wearer may comprise correlating the received sensor data with expected movement data, may comprise determining a deviation between the received sensor data and the expected movement data, may comprise determining if the deviation exceeds a defined threshold value, and may comprise determining that the wearable protection device is positioned incorrectly relative to the body of the wearer when the deviation exceeds the threshold value.

[0046] A degree of correctness may indicate whether the actual positioning of the wearable protection device on the body of the wearer is correct or incorrect without relying on a binary determination. In other words, the degree of correctness may be compared to a threshold value and when it is determined that the degree of correctness exceeds a threshold value, it may be determined whether a current position is still sufficiently correct to not negatively impact the protection function of the wearable protection device.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0047] The present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0048] FIG. 1 shows an overview of an embodiment of a wearable protection device according to the present disclosure.

[0049] FIG. 2 shows a functional overview of an embodiment of a wearable protection device according to the present disclosure.

[0050] FIG. 3a, b show a first embodiment of a position detection according to the present disclosure.

[0051] FIG. 4 shows a second embodiment of a position detection according to the present disclosure.

[0052] FIG. 5 shows a first embodiment of a flow chart of operation when the wearable protection device is positioned correctly according to the present disclosure.

[0053] FIG. 6 shows a second embodiment of a flow chart of operation when the wearable protection device is positioned incorrectly according to the present disclosure.

[0054] FIG. 7 shows an exemplary embodiment of signalling the detected position / orientation of the wearable protection device according to the present disclosure.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0055] Now referring to FIG. 1, showing an overview of a wearable protection device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0056] FIG. 1 shows eight independent representations of an embodiment of the wearable protection device 10. The four representations in the top row show the wearable protection device 10 in the deployed state while the three representations and the bottom row from the left show the wearable protection device 10 in the undeployed state. The representation in the bottom row to the right is a close up of a part of an exemplary embodiment of the wearable protection device 10, specifically, the area of one inflatable element 12.

[0057] As can be seen in the four representations in the top row, the wearable protection device 10 exemplarily comprises two symmetrically aligned inflatable elements 12 arranged in the respective left and right hip region around the body 20 of a wearer. The wearable protection device 10 of FIG. 1 is exemplarily a belt type 14 wearable protection device in that it is worn around the waist. Such a belt type wearable protection device is regularly worn on top of clothing so that the inflatable elements 12 may position themselves when being inflated around the outer body shape of the wearer to provide their protection function. In the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 1, the inflatable elements 12 inflate so that they are arranged to the left and right sides of the wearer, covering the left and right outer sides of the upper legs and also partly the backside in the buttock region.

[0058] The belt 14 of the wearable protection device 10 comprises a fastening mechanism 16 or a buckle 16, not further depicted in FIG. 1, for closing the loop of the belt 14 around the hips of the wearer. Such a fastening mechanism 16 may be arranged together with a control unit 30 that comprises at least some of the elements required for operating the wearable protection device 10, in particular determining when to inflate the inflatable elements 12.

[0059] Such a belt type 14 wearable protection device 10 may in particular not be fastened to any other part of the clothing of the wearer but may essentially rest on top of the clothing and resting on the protruding hips of the wearer, thereby staying in place. As such, since a wearable protection device 10 may be to some extent flexible, an unintended rotation around the longitudinal axis may occur without the wearer immediately noting such a misalignment. Since the wearable protection device 10 in the undeployed state does not exhibit any peculiar shape but may have a substantially uniform height and thickness, a wearer of the wearable protection device 10 may not immediately recognize such a rotation around the longitudinal axis. The case in which the inflatable elements 12 would be deployed while having an incorrect position could result in a situation where the inflatable elements are inflated but are not at the intended position around the body of the wearer. E.g., in case the wearable protection device 10 is rotated about 90°, the inflatable elements 12 would essentially be arranged in the inflated condition at the front side and the rear side of the wearer while the left and right sides are not protected, i.e., vulnerable to an impact coming from the sides. In case the wearer would now fall to a left or right side, the inflatable elements 12 would not provide any protection function and the wearer could potentially injure themselves in the fall impact. E.g. in case the wearable protection device is not properly orientated, such may result in a hip fracture, requiring hip surgery.

[0060] Likewise, in case the belt type 14 wearable protection device 10 of FIG. 1 would be attached upside down, even in case the position of the wearable protection device 10 would be correct, the inflatable elements 12 would not provide their intended protection function, as they would at best inflate up towards toward the arm region, thereby surrounding the chest of the wearer, but not downward as intended. Such a wrong orientation may also result in a reduction of the protection function and thus in injury to the wearer despite them wearing the wearable protection device 10.

[0061] Now referring to FIG. 2, showing a functional overview of an embodiment of a control unit of a wearable protection device according to the present disclosure.

[0062] Control unit 30 of FIG. 2 is only depicted schematically. Control unit 30 comprises a processing element 38 that is in communicative connection with a sensor arrangement 32, an information element 36 and a communication element 34. Further components, either electrical or mechanical, required for the deployment, i.e., the inflation, of the inflatable elements 12, are not depicted in FIG. 2. Such further components may be arranged as part of the control unit 30, may be arranged separately from the control unit 30 but adjacent thereto, or may be arranged substantially independent from control unit 30 at a suitable position of the wearable protection device 10.

[0063] Sensor arrangement 32 may be a sensor arrangement that is able to detect movement of itself and thus of the control unit 30. The sensor arrangement 32 may have a defined position and orientation with regard to the control unit 30 so that a detected direction of movement of the sensor arrangement 32 allows deducing the related movement of the control unit 30. The sensor arrangement 32 may detect movement of the control unit 30 in 3D space, by detecting movement of the sensor arrangement 32 in a three-axis coordinate system X-Y-Z, where all three axes are orthogonal to each other. Further, the sensor arrangement 32 may detect rotational movement around the three axes, which is however not depicted in FIG. 2. Such a rotational movement may correspond to a pitch, yaw and roll movement around the respective axes when seen from the outside, the view of the wearer of a wearable protection device comprising such a sensor arrangement 32.

[0064] The processing element 38 receives information on the acquired sensor data from the sensor arrangement 32, e.g., raw data for further processing or ready pre-processed movement data, depending on the type of sensor arrangement 32. From the provided information, the processing element 38 may determine whether the user of the wearable protection device is moving or not. E.g., when the sensor arrangement 32 detects no movement, this may correspond to the wearer sitting, laying down or standing without moving. In particular in a situation where the wearer is standing without moving, the sensor arrangement 32 may still detect micro movements, e.g., adjusting the wearer's posture in space, and may therefrom deduce that the wearer is indeed standing without moving and not sitting or lying down.

[0065] Even when the wearer is not moving, the sensor arrangement 32 may be able to detect a specific orientation of the three axes relative to the force direction of gravity. Thereby, an orientation of the sensor arrangement 32 and thus of the control unit 30 and further the wearable protection device 10 may be deduced therefrom, without actual movement.

[0066] Once the control unit 30 has determined whether the sensor arrangement 32 is positioned correctly or incorrectly with regard to either the direction of movement or with regard to the force direction of gravity, a determination can be made whether the wearable protection device is positioned and / or oriented correctly or incorrectly. Such a determination may be signalled to a user using an information element 36, in FIG. 2 exemplarily depicted as providing a visual signal. Alternatively, or additionally, the information element 36 may be an acoustic or tactile information element 36, thereby not requiring the direct visual inspection of the information element 36 by the wearer. Such alternative modalities may alert the wearer without the requirement of directly or actively observing the information element 36.

[0067] Further, the determination may be signalled to a remote device or remote entity by a communication element 34. The communication element 34 may be arranged to communicate with e.g., a mobile computing device like a smart phone or a device of a third entity.

[0068] Now referring to FIG. 3a,b, showing a first embodiment of a position detection according to the present disclosure.

[0069] In FIG. 3a,b, the arrangement of a wearable protection device 10 around a body 20 of a wearer is depicted looking along the longitudinal axis of the body 20. The wearable protection device 10 is a belt type 14 protection device having control unit 30 arranged so that it normally assumes a position in the front direction of the body 20 along the sagittal axis 18. The wearable protection device 10 comprises two inflatable elements 12 arranged to the sides or symmetrically with regard to the sagittal axis 18 when positioned correctly as depicted in FIG. 3a. Here, the control unit 30 is pointing directly to the front direction of the sagittal axis 18. Assuming a normal way of movement, i.e., a movement in the front facing direction, the sensor arrangement 32 would thus detect a movement “straight ahead, and the control unit 30 may thus deduce the correct positioning. If positioned in accordance with FIG. 3a, the wearable protection device 10 would provide its protection function since a deployment of the inflatable elements 12 would result in asymmetrical deployment at the sides of the body 20.

[0070] Contrary hereto, FIG. 3b shows a situation where the wearable protection device 10 has been rotated about the longitudinal axis. Here, the control unit 30 is rotated about an angle α+α1, relative to the front facing direction as defined by the sagittal axis 18. As can be seen, the inflatable elements 12 are no longer arranged to the sides of the body 20 but are essentially arranged in the front and back area of the body 20. Thus, in case the inflatable elements 12 would be deployed in such a position, they may not provide the protection function anymore.

[0071] FIG. 3b depicts two different angles α and α1. Here, α1 may be a threshold value or threshold angle. As long as the rotation about the longitudinal axis is smaller than α1, it may be assumed that the position of the wearable protection device 10 is still sufficiently close to the front facing direction and thus sufficiently correct to allow a deployment of the inflatable elements 12 without reducing their protection function. In other words, when the control unit 30 detects a misalignment that is smaller than α1, a correct positioning may still be assumed and the wearable protection device 10 may operate as normal. In FIG. 3b, since the control unit 30 is rotated about more than α1, precisely about α+α1, and thus is deviating too greatly from the correct front facing position, the deployment of the inflatable elements 12 may be prohibited.

[0072] In case a misalignment is still smaller than α1, and thus an inflatable element 12 may still be deployed, it may be conceivable that the wearer is nonetheless informed about this misalignment while the information element and / or the communication element.

[0073] Now referring to FIG. 4, showing a second embodiment of a position detection according to the present disclosure.

[0074] In FIG. 4, an upside-down scenario of the wearable protection device is depicted. In FIG. 4, the wearable protection device 10 is rotated at 180° around the sagittal axis 18. Potentially, depending on the fastening mechanism of the buckle 16, a wearer putting on the wearable protection device 10 may not readily realize that the wearable protection device 10 is upside down. In case a deployment of the inflatable element 12 would now be initiated, not only would it be not providing the intended protection function, but it would actually be pointing upwards rather than downwards.

[0075] A detection of correct orientation may be provided by the sensor arrangement 32 in the control unit 30 considering the force direction of gravity. Depending on the normal alignment of the force direction of gravity in case the sensor arrangement detects an inverse direction of gravity, such may allow the determination that the wearable protection device 10 is oriented upside down. E.g., a movement is performed in the direction of the sagittal axis 18, i.e., to the right of FIG. 4, while the force direction of gravity is acting downwards in FIG. 4. In one example, in the left depiction of the three axes reference frame of the sensor arrangement in FIG. 4, gravity is acting in the positive Y direction of the Y axis. Contrary thereto, in the right depiction of the three axes reference frame of the sensor arrangement of FIG. 4, gravity is acting in the negative Y direction of the Y axis. By determining the direction gravity is acting with regard to a specific axis of the reference frame of the sensor arrangement and comparing the determination with the expected force direction of gravity, the sensor arrangement 32 and thus the control unit 30 may determine whether the variable protection device 10 is oriented correctly or upside down.

[0076] Now referring to FIG. 5, showing a first embodiment of a flow chart of operation when the wearable protection device is positioned correctly according to the present disclosure.

[0077] FIG. 5 shows an embodiment where the wearable protection device is oriented both in the correct position and with the correct orientation. From the start, an input window of sensor readings is read, e.g., input into the control unit of the wearable protection device. An input window means that only a finite number of sensor readings are processed at a given time in conjunction with one another so that a trend of the sensor readings within the input window is determined. E.g., the input window may be one second, three seconds or five seconds, etc. From the read input data, in a first determination, the average acceleration in the window, i.e., the sensor readings within the window, in a particular axis, here exemplarily the Y axis, may be determined. In other words, it may be determined whether the force direction of gravity is corresponding to the expected force direction of gravity considering the orientation of the sensor arrangement. In case the calculated average determined force direction is coinciding with the expected force direction, it may be deduced that the wearable protection device is oriented correctly and not oriented upside down. The calculated average may be in a tolerated range, which signifies that a threshold is employed, determining whether the calculated average is sufficiently close to the expected value. In one example, the window length may be around 15 seconds for the out of position determination and around 1 sec the upside-down determination. The determination algorithms may be executed with a higher frequency also, by shifting the input window slightly and having overlapping consecutive input windows. Parallel or successively, a further determination may be performed to check whether the user is active or inactive based on determining variations in the sensor signals. E.g., in case the user is lying down or sitting, the variance may be comparably small so that the control unit detects a non-movement or inactive situation. In case of such an inactive situation, a subsequent fall detection may not be required since it is safe to assume that a non-moving wearer is less likely to experience a fall situation. In case a movement or active situation is determined, the control unit may determine the direction of movement and may compare the direction of movement with the expected direction of movement considering the alignment of the sensor arrangement relative to the wearable protection device and its normal position. In case the control unit determines that the sensor arrangement and thus the control unit and subsequently the wearable protection device is positioned correctly on the body of the wearer, a fall detection algorithm may be initiated.

[0078] Again, the sensor data of the sensor arrangement is evaluated by the control unit to determine whether the movement of the wearer is regular or irregular. An irregular movement may be indicative of a fall situation, in which the control unit may deploy the inflatable elements. In case a regular movement situation is determined, the loop may continue with determining the correct positioning and / or orientation of the wearable protection device.

[0079] Alternatively to what is depicted in FIG. 5, it may be conceivable that not all determinations, the upside-down determination, the out of position determination and the fall determination are constantly repeated in essentially the same order and the same frequency. E.g., the buckle of the wearable protection device may be arranged to detect a closing of the buckle, i.e., a putting on of the wearable protection device. Subsequently, the control unit may initiate a determination whether the wearable protection device is oriented correctly. Once it has been determined that the wearable protection device is indeed oriented correctly, a further determination of the orientation may not be required anymore, until it is determined that the wearable protection device has been removed from the body of the wearer again, e.g., by opening the fastening mechanism. In case it is determined that the orientation is upside down, a signal may be provided to the wearer, e.g., by the information element or the communication element, signalling this upside-down situation.

[0080] Subsequently, it may be determined after defined first intervals, e.g., every 0.1, 1, 10 or 30 seconds, every minutes, every five minutes etc. whether the wearable protection device is in the correct position or whether it has rotated relative to the longitudinal axis. Here, it may be reasonably safe to assume that a rotation of the wearable protection device around the longitudinal axis of the wearer does not occur instantaneously but requires a certain amount of time and force exposure. Likewise, as long as the sensor arrangement detects inactivity, a position determination may not be necessary.

[0081] The control unit may further execute a fall detection algorithm after defined second intervals, which may be significantly shorter than the first intervals, e.g., every millisecond, every 10 ms, 20 ms, 30 ms, 40 ms, 50 ms or the like. In other words, the control unit may focus on execution of the fall detection algorithm and may perform the position detection algorithm rarely and the orientation detection algorithm only upon opening and closing the fastening mechanism. This reduces the computational burden on the control unit and allows a preferred fall detection as the majority of the computational power of the control unit may be used for the fall detection algorithm.

[0082] Now referring to FIG. 6, showing a second embodiment of a flow chart of operation when the wearable protection device is positioned incorrectly according to the present disclosure.

[0083] The flowchart in FIG. 6 essentially corresponds to the flowchart of FIG. 5, however, the control unit is detecting an upside-down situation and / or an out of position situation of the wearable protection device. In addition to what has been said with regard to FIG. 5, on the number and frequency of the determinations, once an upside-down situation and / or an out of position situation is detected, the control unit may decide to initially alert the wearer of the wearable protection device about this situation. Consequently, the control unit may generate an indication to the wearer or a third-party via the information element and / or the communication element. Depending on the extent of the misalignment, e.g., whether the misalignment is within a threshold range or outside of a threshold range, the deployment of the inflatable elements may remain active or may be deactivated.

[0084] Depending on whether the detected misalignment situation is an upside-down situation or an out of position situation, the control unit may continue to monitor the alignment, e.g. in the case of an out of position situation which may be remedied by a repositioning of the wearable protection device or may cease operation, e.g. in case of an upside-down situation, which may only be resolved by removing and reattaching the wearable protection device to be then oriented correctly. Such a ceasing of the operation may allow extending the operational time of a battery charge, since the control unit need not perform a repeated alignment determination. However, it is still conceivable that even in the case of an upside-down situation, the determination is repeated after a defined time window to avoid a situation where a single faulty alignment detection requires the wearer to remove and reattach the wearable protection device while the alignment indeed was not faulty.

[0085] Now referring to FIG. 7, showing an exemplary embodiment of signalling the detected position / orientation of the wearable protection device according to the present disclosure.

[0086] The information element may be used to signal a correct or incorrect position and / or orientation of the wearable protection device to the wearer themselves. E.g., in case of a visual information element, a green light may indicate correct position and orientation. An orange light may indicate a correct orientation but an incorrect position. Additionally, or alternatively, a different colour or a blinking light may indicate that the position is not optimal but still within a threshold range, which would still allow the deployment of the inflatable elements. Still further, e.g., a red light may indicate an incorrect orientation, in other words, an upside-down situation, which would prohibit deployment generally, regardless of the position around the waist of the wearer. Other modalities may use a similar mechanism. E.g., low tone or no sound may indicate a correct orientation and position, a higher tone may indicate a correct orientation but an incorrect position. The degree of correctness of the position may be indicated by a higher or lower pitch. A significantly higher pitch may indicate an incorrect orientation. In case of a tactile information element, no, or a low, intermittent vibration may indicate a correct orientation and position. A stronger vibration may indicate a correct orientation but an incorrect position, in particular a periodically occurring vibration may indicate the correctness of the position with regard to a threshold value. The more often the vibration occurs in a given time period, the further off from the optimal position around the body of the wearer the wearable protection device may be positioned. A strong continuous vibration may indicate an incorrect orientation.

[0087] The determination may also be signalled to a remote device 40 or remote entity 40 by the communication element 34. The communication element 34 may be arranged to communicate with e.g., a mobile computing device 40 like a smart phone or a device of a third entity. Such a smart phone may be owned by the wearer themselves, to record or track the correct or incorrect positioning of the wearable protection device 10 over an extended period of time, thereby generating a history log. In addition to or alternative to the information element 36 of the control unit 30, the mobile computing device 40 may act as a (further) information element, by receiving information on the correct wearing of the wearable protection device 10 and may in turn initiate an alarm to the wearer in case an incorrect position and / or orientation of the wearable protection device 10 is determined. Still further, the remote device 40 or mobile computing device 40 may belong to a third entity, e.g., a caregiver or the like, who is informed about the wear status of the wearable protection device 10. Thereby, a caregiver may monitor whether the wearer correctly wears the wearable protection device 10 and in case an incorrect wearing is determined, they in turn may alert the wearer e.g., call them or otherwise get in contact with them, to assure correctly wearing the wearable protection device.

[0088] Further, the wear status may be communicated to a computing device 40 completely separate from the wearer, e.g., a computing system 40 in the cloud. Such a computing system 40 may belong to an insurance company, the authorities, or any other authorized third-party, which may in turn receive information about the correct wearing of the wearable protection device and may initiate appropriate measures in case an incorrect wearing is determined.

[0089] Still further, it is also conceivable that the deployment of the wearable protection device 10 is communicated via the communication element 34. E.g., assuming that the deployment of the wearable protection device 10 coincides with a fall incident, emergency medical services may be alerted by the control unit 30. A position of the control unit 30 and thus the wearable protection device 10 together with the wearer may be determined either by directly detecting the position of the wearable protection device 10, e.g., by using a global positioning service or other means like cell phone triangulation, or by receiving global position information from a nearby mobile device 40, e.g., a smart phone that belongs to the wearer, and which is determined to be in the vicinity of the wearable protection device 10. Such a determination may be provided if the communication connection between the wearable protection device 10 and the mobile device 40 is a short-range communication connection like e.g., Bluetooth or the like.

[0090] It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications and improvements may be made without deviating from the concepts described here. Any of the features described above and below may be used separately or in combination with any other features described herein, provided they are not mutually exclusive, and the disclosure extends to and includes all combinations and sub-combinations of one or more features described herein.

[0091] Finally, it should be noted that the term “comprising” does not exclude other elements or steps, and that “a” or “one” does not exclude the plural. Elements that are described in relation to different types of embodiments can be combined. Reference signs in the claims shall not be construed as limiting the scope of a claim.LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS10 wearable protection device

[0093] 12 inflatable element

[0094] 14 belt

[0095] 16 fastening mechanism / buckle

[0096] 18 sagittal axis

[0097] 20 body

[0098] 22 rotation angle

[0099] 24 threshold angle

[0100] 30 control unit

[0101] 32 sensor arrangement

[0102] 34 communication element

[0103] 36 information element

[0104] 38 processing element

[0105] 40 external / remote device

Examples

first embodiment

[0068]Now referring to FIG. 3a,b, showing a position detection according to the present disclosure.

[0069]In FIG. 3a,b, the arrangement of a wearable protection device 10 around a body 20 of a wearer is depicted looking along the longitudinal axis of the body 20. The wearable protection device 10 is a belt type 14 protection device having control unit 30 arranged so that it normally assumes a position in the front direction of the body 20 along the sagittal axis 18. The wearable protection device 10 comprises two inflatable elements 12 arranged to the sides or symmetrically with regard to the sagittal axis 18 when positioned correctly as depicted in FIG. 3a. Here, the control unit 30 is pointing directly to the front direction of the sagittal axis 18. Assuming a normal way of movement, i.e., a movement in the front facing direction, the sensor arrangement 32 would thus detect a movement “straight ahead, and the control unit 30 may thus deduce the correct positioning. If positioned in...

second embodiment

[0073]Now referring to FIG. 4, showing a position detection according to the present disclosure.

[0074]In FIG. 4, an upside-down scenario of the wearable protection device is depicted. In FIG. 4, the wearable protection device 10 is rotated at 180° around the sagittal axis 18. Potentially, depending on the fastening mechanism of the buckle 16, a wearer putting on the wearable protection device 10 may not readily realize that the wearable protection device 10 is upside down. In case a deployment of the inflatable element 12 would now be initiated, not only would it be not providing the intended protection function, but it would actually be pointing upwards rather than downwards.

[0075]A detection of correct orientation may be provided by the sensor arrangement 32 in the control unit 30 considering the force direction of gravity. Depending on the normal alignment of the force direction of gravity in case the sensor arrangement detects an inverse direction of gravity, such may allow the ...

Claims

1. A wearable protection device for protection of at least a body part of a wearer, comprisingan inflatable element,a sensor arrangement, andprocessing element,wherein the inflatable element is inflatable from a first, substantially uninflated condition to a second, substantially inflated condition, by application of a releasable source of a gas to the inflatable element, for at least partially filling of the inflatable element with said gas,wherein the inflatable element, when being inflated to the second condition, assumes a defined three-dimensional shape to be arranged adjacent to a body part to be protected,wherein the sensor arrangement is adapted to determine sensor data related to the relative movement of the wearable protection device, andwherein the processing element is adapted to determine from the sensor data whether the wearable protection device is positioned correctly or incorrectly relative to the body of the wearer.

2. The wearable protection device according claim 1,wherein the processing element is adapted to generate an indication whether release of the gas to inflate the inflatable element is enabled or disabled and / or whether the wearable protection device is positioned correctly or incorrectly relative to the body of the wearer.

3. The wearable protection device according to claim 2,wherein communicating the indication comprises at least one of signalling the indication to the wearer as a visual indication, as an acoustic indication, as a tactile indication and as an electronic indication.

4. The wearable protection device according to claim 2,further comprising a communication and / or information element,wherein the communication and / or information element is at least one element out of the group consisting of a visual indicator, an illumination element, an LED, an electromechanical transducer, a speaker, a tactile transducer, an electromagnetic transmitter, an electronic communication element and a wireless communication element, andwherein the processing element is adapted to communicate the indication using the communication / information element to the wearer and / or a third party.

5. The wearable protection device according to claim 2,wherein the wearable protection device is adapted to communicate the indication to an external device, in particular an external mobile computing device.

6. The wearable protection device according to claim 1,wherein the processing element is adapted to receive the sensor data,wherein the processing element is adapted to determine the position and / or orientation of the wearable protection device relative to the body of the wearer, andwherein the processing element is adapted to control the release of the gas dependent on the determined position and / or orientation.

7. The wearable protection device according to claim 1,wherein release of the gas to inflate the inflatable element is enabled or disabled dependent on the relative movement, in particularwherein the release of the gas is disabled if it is determined that the wearable protection device, in particular the inflatable element, is positioned incorrectly, and / orwherein the release of the gas is enabled if it is determined that the wearable protection device, in particular the inflatable element, is positioned correctly.

8. The wearable protection device according to claim 1,wherein the sensor arrangement is arranged with the wearable protection device and having a defined position and orientation relative to the wearable protection device.

9. The wearable protection device according to claim 1,wherein the processing element, for determining whether the wearable protection device is positioned correctly or incorrectly relative to the body of the wearer, is adapted tocorrelate the received sensor data with expected movement data,determine a deviation between the acquired movement data and the expected movement data,determine if the deviation exceeds a defined threshold value, anddetermine that the wearable protection device is positioned incorrectly relative to the body of the wearer when the deviation exceeds the threshold value.

10. The wearable protection device according to claim 1,wherein the wearable protection device is adapted to adaptively deploy the inflatable element depending on the sensor data, in particular depending on the position and / or orientation of the wearable protection device relative to the body of the wearer.

11. The wearable protection device according to claim 1,wherein the processing element is adapted to determine from the sensor data a degree of correctness of how correct the wearable protection device is fastened to the body of the wearer, andwherein release of the gas to inflate the inflatable element is enabled or disabled dependent on said degree, and / orwherein the processing element is adapted to generate an indication to the wearer and / or a third-party dependent on said degree, and / orwherein the processing element is adapted to signal said degree to the wearer and / or a third party.

12. A method for protection of at least a body part of a wearer of a wearable protection device, comprisingdetermining sensor data related to the relative movement of the wearable protection device, anddetermining, dependent on the sensor data, whether the wearable protection device is positioned correctly or incorrectly relative to the body of the wearer.

13. The method according to claim 12, further comprisingdetermining from the sensor data whether the wearable protection device is positioned correctly or incorrectly relative to the body of the wearer, anddisabling the release of the gas if it is determined that the wearable protection device, in particular an inflatable element of the wearable protection device, is positioned incorrectly and / orenabling the release of the gas if it is determined that the wearable protection device, in particular the inflatable element, is positioned correctly, and / orgenerating an indication whether release of the gas to inflate the inflatable element is enabled or disabled and / or whether the wearable protection device is positioned correctly or incorrectly relative to the body of the wearer.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein determining whether the wearable protection device is positioned correctly or incorrectly relative to the body of the wearer comprisescorrelating the received sensor data with expected movement data,determining a deviation between the received sensor data and the expected movement data,determining if the deviation exceeds a defined threshold value, anddetermining that the wearable protection device is positioned incorrectly relative to the body of the wearer when the deviation exceeds the threshold value.

15. A computer-readable storage medium or a computer program product comprising instructions which, when executed by a processing element, cause the processing element to carry out the steps of the method according to claim 12.

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