Furniture Leg Sensor Units for Senior Monitoring
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing monitoring systems for senior adults often report false positives and sensor failures, leading to unreliable data collection and increased costs due to frequent sensor replacements.
Innovation Solution
A monitoring system comprising sensor units placed under the legs or feet of furniture, which detect and measure the force applied, and a central control unit that calculates the estimated weight of the individual and wirelessly transmits data to a central server.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If bed sensors are used to monitor senior adults, then activity monitoring capability is provided, but false positives occur and reliability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The monitoring system is divided into multiple independent sensor units placed under different bed legs, each equipped with its own processor. This segmentation allows individual sensor failure or false positive detection without compromising the entire system, as other sensors can compensate and cross-validate readings.
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple sensor units are combined into a networked system that shares data through a communication bus. The central processor aggregates readings from all sensors and uses algorithms to distinguish true occupancy signals from false positives, improving overall reliability and accuracy.
2Productivity
If resistive pressure sensors are used, then binary occupancy detection is achieved, but sensor failures occur frequently requiring replacement
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary diagnostics on each sensor unit upon initialization and periodically during operation. When a sensor shows signs of degradation or failure, the system proactively alerts users for replacement before complete failure occurs, preventing data loss and maintaining continuous monitoring coverage.
Solution Approach 2:
Redundant sensor units are deployed so that if one sensor fails, others can compensate temporarily. The system design anticipates sensor failure and builds in redundancy to cushion against complete monitoring interruption, allowing graceful degradation rather than total system failure.
3Reliability
If full-time live-at-home nurse is employed, then comprehensive health monitoring is provided, but high cost increases financial burden
Solution Approach 1:
The monitoring system operates autonomously without requiring human intervention for data collection. Sensors automatically detect occupancy, weight, and activity patterns, and the system self-manages data processing and alert generation, providing comprehensive monitoring at a fraction of the cost of human nursing care.
Solution Approach 2:
Mechanical and human-based monitoring (nurses physically observing and recording) is replaced with electronic sensor systems that automatically measure and transmit health data. This substitution dramatically reduces resource consumption while maintaining or improving monitoring quality through continuous automated surveillance.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system provides reliable and accurate monitoring of an individual's weight and activity patterns, reducing false positives and sensor failures, and offering a cost-effective alternative to full-time nursing.
Implementation Method 1
sensor units that are configured to be placed under the legs or feet of a piece of furniture and detect and measure the force applied to the piece of furniture
Data Source
AI summary
In one embodiment, a sensor unit includes an outer housing including a top plate and a base member that together define an interior space, the top plate being configured to directly receive and support the leg of the piece of furniture, a load cell provided within the interior space configured to measure forces imposed by the leg on the top plate, the load cell including a planar metal plate having a deformable element to which the top plate is mounted and a sensor element mounted to the planar metal plate at a location at which the deformable element extends from the remainder of the planar metal plate, and an internal platform provided within the interior space and associated with the base member that supports the planar metal plate of the load cell in a manner in which the deformable element of the planar metal plate is free to deform when a force is imposed by the leg on the top plate.