Wearable Fall Detection with Don/Doff Verification
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Solution Overview
Problem
Individuals who have fallen may be unable to call for help due to unconsciousness or inability to move or access a phone, necessitating a solution for automatic emergency message transmission.
Innovation Solution
A wearable electronic communication device equipped with an accelerometer, don/doff detector, and transmitter that determines falls and user wear status, prompting automatic message transmission to connected devices with optional severity and location information.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If automatic fall detection is implemented using accelerometer, then emergency message transmission is enabled, but false alarms from device drops increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a don/doff detector as an intermediary component that mediates between the accelerometer's fall detection and the alarm transmission. This detector verifies whether the device was actually being worn during the fall event, serving as a gatekeeper to distinguish between device drops and actual user falls, thereby eliminating false alarms while maintaining reliable emergency detection
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses the device's own sensors (accelerometer and don/doff detector) to automatically determine whether a fall occurred and whether the device was being worn, enabling self-verification without external intervention. This self-service mechanism allows the device to autonomously filter out false alarms from device drops while maintaining accurate fall detection
2Speed
If message transmission is fully automatic, then help can be summoned immediately when user is unconscious, but user cannot cancel false alarms
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a dynamic alarm system that adapts its behavior based on the severity of the detected fall. For severe falls, the system transmits alarms automatically without requiring user confirmation to ensure immediate help is summoned when the user is unconscious. For less severe falls, the system allows user cancellation, providing flexibility and preventing false alarms. This dynamic approach balances speed and user control
3Object-affected harmful factors
If device detects fall when not worn, then false emergency messages are transmitted, but adding wear detection increases system complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The don/doff detector serves multiple functions: it detects whether the device is being worn, verifies fall events, and prevents false alarms from device drops. By making this single component multi-functional, the patent reduces the need for additional separate sensors or systems, thereby limiting the increase in overall device complexity while effectively preventing false message transmission
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
Enables immediate and accurate emergency message transmission when a user has fallen, ensuring help can be summoned even if they are unable to do so themselves, with optional user confirmation and detailed information sharing.
Implementation Method 1
an accelerometer
Implementation Method 2
a don/doff detector
Data Source
AI summary
Wearable electronic communication devices having corresponding methods and computer-readable media comprise: an accelerometer; a don/doff detector; a transmitter; a processor configured to i) determine whether the wearable electronic communication device has experienced a fall based on information produced by the accelerometer, ii) determine whether the wearable electronic communication device was being worn during the fall based on information produced by the don/doff detector, and iii) cause the transmitter to transmit a message from the wearable electronic communication device responsive to the processor determining both i) the wearable electronic communication device has experienced a fall and ii) the wearable electronic communication device was being worn during the fall.