Wearable Alert Device Using Color-Coded LEDs for Hearing-Impaired Users
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing alert systems for hearing-impaired individuals are inflexible, costly due to the need for a wearable unit with a screen, and do not utilize sound-detecting units beyond sound detection, lacking customization and efficient alert mechanisms.
Innovation Solution
A wearable unit with color-coded light emitting diodes (LEDs) and sound-detecting units that can be positioned and tracked, allowing customizable alerts and tracking of objects or people within a predefined perimeter, using wireless communication and adjustable sensitivity settings.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If a wearable unit with a screen is used to display icons for sound events, then the hearing-impaired person receives visual alerts, but the cost of the system increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the screen component from the wearable unit, eliminating the need for a display screen while maintaining visual alert functionality through alternative means (such as LED indicators or other low-cost visual signaling mechanisms). This removes the costly element while preserving the essential information delivery function.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the expensive screen with simpler, cheaper visual indication mechanisms that can provide sufficient alert information without requiring a full display screen. This substitution reduces manufacturing costs while maintaining the core functionality of providing visual alerts to hearing-impaired users.
2Adaptability or versatility
If sound-detecting units are designed to detect only sound events, then the system is simple, but the units cannot be used for tracking objects or people
Solution Approach 1:
The patent designs the sound-detecting units with multi-functionality, enabling them to serve both as sound detectors and as tracking devices for objects or people. By integrating additional sensors or capabilities into the same unit, the system achieves versatility without requiring separate dedicated devices for each function.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines sound detection functionality with object/person tracking functionality into a single integrated unit. This merging of functions allows the same hardware component to perform multiple tasks, increasing adaptability while managing complexity through unified design rather than multiple separate systems.
3Adaptability or versatility
If all sound-detecting units and icons are included in the system, then comprehensive coverage is provided, but units related to unused events become redundant
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a dynamic configuration system where the available icons and alert types can be customized based on the user's specific needs. Users can enable or disable specific alert types corresponding to their actual environment (e.g., enabling doorbell alerts but disabling fire alarm alerts if no fire alarm is present), allowing the system to adapt its component set rather than including all possible options by default.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent allows different configurations of sound-detecting units and icons to be tailored to specific users or locations. Each user can customize which alert types are relevant to their particular environment, ensuring that only necessary components are activated and displayed, thereby eliminating redundancy while maintaining comprehensive coverage where needed.
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
Provides a cost-effective, customizable, and efficient alert system that allows hearing-impaired individuals to identify sound sources and track objects or people through visual and vibrational alerts, reducing unnecessary notifications and leveraging sound-detecting units beyond basic sound detection.
Implementation Method 1
The wearable unit comprises a plurality of light sources, generally in the form of light emitting diodes (LED's)
Implementation Method 2
the built-in vibrator and the yellow LED 16.4 will be activated causing the vibrator to vibrate
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention relates to an alert device (10), system and method for alerting a hearing-impaired person through a sensory means of a sound event and the location of such sound event. The invention extends further to the tracking of an object within a predefined perimeter, outside of which an alert is triggerable. The alert device (10) includes a wearable unit (12) having a plurality of differently colored LEDs (16.1, 16.2, 16.3, 16.4, 16.5) and a plurality of differently colored sound-detecting units (20.1, 20.2, 20.3, 20.4, 20.5), with each of the differently colored sound-detecting units (20.1, 20.2, 20.3, 20.4, 20.5) corresponding to the same colored LED (16.1, 16.2, 16.3, 16.4, 16.5) on the wearable unit thereby to color code the wearable unit to the sound-detecting units (20.1, 20.2, 20.3, 20.4, 20.5). In use, and in the event of a sound detected by one or more of the sound-detecting units (20.1, 20.2, 20.3, 20.4, 20.5) being higher than a predetermined threshold sound, a sound event signal is triggered on the wearable unit (12) activating a vibration thereof and the blinking of the LED (16.1, 16.2, 16.3, 16.4, 16.5) corresponding with the respective sound- detecting unit (20.1, 20.2, 20.3, 20.4, 20.5), consequentially alerting a user of the location at which that sound-detecting unit (20.1, 20.2, 20.3, 20.4, 20.5) was previously positioned within an environment.