DE102023110916A1 - Portable protective device - Google Patents

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to wearable protective devices. In particular, the present disclosure relates to determining a wearing state or position of a wearable protective device relative to the body of the wearer and generating a corresponding information signal. The present disclosure particularly relates to position- and/or wearing state-dependent activation of the wearable protective device. Accordingly, a wearable protective device (10) for protecting at least one body part of a wearer is provided, comprising an inflatable element (12), a sensor arrangement (32) and a processing element (36). The inflatable element can be inflated from a first, substantially uninflated state to a second, substantially inflated state by applying a releasable gas source to the inflatable element to at least partially fill the inflatable element with the gas. The inflatable element, when inflated to the second state, can assume a defined three-dimensional shape to be arranged adjacent to a body part to be protected. The sensor arrangement (32) can be configured to determine sensor data about the relative movement of the wearable protective device. The processing element (36) may be configured to determine from the sensor data whether the wearable protective device is correctly or incorrectly positioned relative to the wearer's body (20).

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to wearable protective devices. In particular, the present disclosure relates to determining a wearing state or a position of a wearable protective device relative to the body of the wearer and generating a corresponding information signal. In particular, the present disclosure relates to the position- and/or wearing state-dependent activation of the wearable protective device.

BACKGROUND

Wearable protective devices can be beneficial for people, such as the elderly, who are at increased risk of falling. Wearable protective devices can 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 piece of clothing and inflates on impact to protect the user from hitting the ground and potentially breaking bones. The user of such wearable protective devices may feel safer and more confident in their mobility when wearing the personal protective equipment. This can encourage them to be more active and independent, thus improving their overall physical health and quality of life. Inflatable personal protective equipment can be designed to be lightweight and unobtrusive so that it is not too heavy or too noticeable. This can be especially important for users who are insecure about their appearance. A wearable protective device can be easy to use because it activates automatically when a fall is detected. This means that users do not have to worry about activating the device themselves, which can be difficult for people with limited mobility or dexterity. Wearable guards can be a cost-effective way to prevent fall injuries. Compared to the medical and long-term care costs associated with fall injuries, the investment in a wearable guard can be worthwhile. Overall, wearable guards can be an effective way to prevent fall injuries and increase users' sense of security and independence.

Wearable protective devices can be divided into two categories with regard to their placement on the wearer's body. Wearable protective devices may fall into the first category, where there is essentially only one correct placement relative to the body. An inflatable element, for example in the form of a vest or jacket, may only be worn in the manner intended. A second category of wearable protective devices may be those devices that can be misplaced, for example by twisting or rotating around the wearer's body or by allowing the device to be attached to the wearer's body in a manner other than intended by the manufacturer. For example, if the wearable protective device is a belt-like protective device, the device may be upside down or rotate during wear if the wearable protective device does not include other means to fix the device in a particular position relative to the wearer's body.

In the case of a wearable protective device that does not have a single defined position or orientation relative to the wearer's body, such as the belt-type wearable protective device mentioned above, which falls into the second category, it is still important to ensure that the protective device is positioned and/or oriented as intended by the manufacturer. For example, a belt-type wearable protective device may include inflatable elements that have a specific inflation direction to protect specific parts of the wearer's body. For example, the inflatable elements may extend downwards from the belt-type wearable protective device to protect the hip and buttocks area of the wearer. If the belt-type wearable protective device is worn upside down, the inflatable elements would actually inflate upwards and thus not provide protection in the intended body area. If the belt-type wearable protective device is rotated around a wearer's body, the inflatable elements may not inflate at the intended rearward positions of the wearer, which in turn reduces a protective function normally provided by the wearable protective device.

For example, it may be necessary to determine whether a portable protective device is correctly positioned on the wearer's body.

Furthermore, it may be necessary to signal to a user or a third party whether the portable protective device is correctly positioned on the wearer's body.

In addition, it may be necessary to prevent activation if an incorrect positioning relative to the wearer's body is detected.

SUMMARY

At least one such need can be met by the subject matter of the independent claims. Preferred embodiments are specified in the dependent claims and are explained in more detail in the following description.

The present invention relates to wearable protective devices designed to detect or determine a position relative to the wearer's body.

According to a first aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a wearable protective device for protecting at least one body part of a wearer, comprising an inflatable member, a sensor assembly, and a processing element. The inflatable member can be inflated from a first, substantially uninflated state to a second, substantially inflated state by applying a releasable gas source to the inflatable member to at least partially fill the inflatable member with the gas. The inflatable member, when inflated to the second state, can assume a defined three-dimensional shape for placement adjacent to a body part to be protected. The sensor assembly can be configured to determine sensor data about relative movement of the wearable protective device. The processing element can be configured to determine from the sensor data whether the wearable protective device is correctly or incorrectly positioned relative to the wearer's body.

According to a second aspect of the disclosure, a method for protecting at least one body part of a wearer of a portable protective device is provided, comprising determining sensor data relating to the relative movement of the portable protective device and determining, depending on the sensor data, whether the portable protective device is correctly or incorrectly positioned relative to the wearer's body.

According to a third aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a computer-readable storage medium or a computer program product containing instructions that, when executed by a processing element, cause the processing element to perform the steps of the method according to the present disclosure.

According to the present disclosure, a wearable protective device is designed to determine an arrangement and/or orientation relative to the body of a wearer. Such a determination can, on the one hand, comprise a determination that the wearable protective device is attached to a body at all, in particular is firmly attached to a body, as opposed to not being worn at all. In addition, the wearable protective device can be designed to determine its correct arrangement and/or orientation relative to the body, i.e. the arrangement and/or orientation intended by the manufacturer. Only if a wearable protective device is arranged as intended can the user be guaranteed optimal protective functionality. For example, in the case of inflatable elements intended to protect a specific part of the body, for example by covering or enveloping this part of the body, optimal protective functionality can only be provided if the wearable protective device is arranged such that the inflatable elements are arranged as intended in the inflated state or during inflation.

For a simplified implementation of the determination of whether the wearable protective device is correctly arranged and/or aligned relative to the wearer's body, it may be advantageous to use a sensor arrangement already present in the wearable protective device, in particular a sensor arrangement is used to determine when the wearable protective device, e.g. inflatable elements of the wearable protective device, should be deployed. Typically, wearable protective devices are intended to mitigate injuries caused by a person falling. In order to detect such a deployment situation, a trip or a fall of the wearer of the wearable protective device, such devices regularly use acceleration sensors or accelerometers, which may be able to detect a relative movement of the wearable protective device and thus of the user in 3D space.

In other words: In a normal situation, the sensor arrangement detects a certain movement of the user, for example walking, with a defined activation pattern of the respective axes of the acceleration sensor. Walking, for example, provides signals from the acceleration sensor in a substantially two-dimensional plane without any movement in a direction perpendicular to this plane occurring or with very little movement. A fall event, in turn, can be indicated by a movement in a direction perpendicular to said plane. As soon as the sensor arrangement detects such an irregular movement, a processing element can analyze the sensor data in order to determine, based on the sensor data, whether the portable protective device should be deployed.

The present disclosure provides for using sensor signals to compare the sensor signals with expected sensor signals and, if it is determined that the received sensor signals deviate from the expected sensor signals to a certain degree, for example by exceeding a defined threshold value, to determine an incorrect arrangement of the wearable protective device relative to the wearer's body. In the case of a belt-type wearable protective device, the sensor arrangement may have a defined arrangement relative to the wearer's body. The sensor arrangement may, for example, be arranged to point in a forward walking direction. From the sensor signals, it can thus be determined whether the wearer is walking in a forward direction, turning or walking backwards. Considering the normal walking behavior of a human body, it can be assumed that the normal walking direction is the forward direction. If the wearer wanted to walk in a different direction, he would turn around, i.e. he would rotate around the body axis to walk in the new direction in which he wants to walk forward. Determining a direction of movement that deviates from the usual forward direction may result in an incorrect alignment. For example, if the wearable protective device detects a movement that would correspond to a constant movement of the person at a 30° angle to a certain side, the sensor arrangement or the wearable protective device may deduce from the usual behavior that the user is not actually moving at an angle to his usual forward body position, but that the wearable protective device is rather aligned at a 30° angle, i.e. rotated by 30° along the body's longitudinal axis.

If such rotation is detected, the wearable protective device can inform the wearer by signalling an incorrect positioning. If the sensor arrangement detects that gravity is acting in the opposite direction to the normal or expected direction, this can also be an indication that the wearable protective device is worn upside down. Once such a condition of the wearable protective device is detected (i.e. upside down or not properly around the body), the wearer is alerted so that he or she can reposition the wearable protective device so that it is worn correctly and as intended by the manufacturer to protect the wearer in the event of a fall. In other words, the wearable protective device contains inertial sensors, for example in an electronic control unit (ECU) connected to and designed to deploy inflatable elements. If the sensors are detected to be out of position, i.e. provide sensor signals that are out of position, it can be inferred that the wearable protective device is also out of position. The wearer is then informed that the wearable protective device should be placed in the correct position to maintain the performance of the fall detection algorithm, i.e. the protective function.

In the context of the present disclosure, two cases of position deviations are considered in particular and described below.

Case 1 - Upside Down: The sensor signals are analyzed to determine if gravity is acting on the sensor array in an unexpected manner. For example, if gravity is detected to be acting in the opposite direction to what is normally expected, the portable guard can detect that it is positioned upside down, subsequently inform the user of the situation, and disable deployment of the portable guard's protective function until correct positioning is restored.

Case 2 - Body Position Deviation: Detecting a body position deviation may require a two-step detection process. First, it is necessary to determine whether the user is active or inactive. This may mean detecting whether the user is stationary, for example standing still or sitting down, or whether the user is moving. Since position deviation detection requires detecting a direction of movement of the wearer and correlating the detected direction of movement with an expected, usual direction of movement, position deviation detection requires movement of the user. Second, the sensor array detects a direction of movement when it detects normal movement of the wearer and not an abnormal fall condition, and relates the detected direction of movement to an expected direction of movement, for example a direction of movement of the wearable protective device attached to the wearer's body, assuming that the wearer is moving forward. If a deviation between the actual direction of movement and the expected direction of movement is detected, the extent of the deviation can be evaluated and, if it is found that the deviation exceeds a certain threshold, it can be concluded that the wearable protective device is not correctly positioned around the wearer's body, i.e. rotated with respect to the wearer's longitudinal axis.

In order to correctly detect movement, in particular movement in the expected direction of movement, i.e. forward, a signal analysis and/or a machine learning algorithm may be used to analyze the sensor data obtained from the sensor array. The machine learning algorithm may then classify the sensor data as corresponding to a normal direction of movement or an abnormal direction of movement, and depending on this classification, the wearable protective device may infer a misalignment around the wearer's body, inform the wearer accordingly, and/or disable the deployment of the protective function of the wearable protective device until the correct position is restored.

In other words, to detect whether the portable protective device is not in the correct position, it is assumed that the user walks (straight) forward most of the time when moving normally. By analyzing the inertial signals of the sensor array, especially in a defined time window, it can be determined whether the main direction of movement matches the expected direction of movement with respect to the expected sensor signals or sensor axes. It can then be determined whether the portable protective device is not in the correct position or not.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the processing element may be configured to generate an indication whether the release of gas for inflating the inflatable element is enabled or disabled and/or whether the wearable protective device is correctly or incorrectly positioned relative to the wearer's body.

By informing the user of the status, particularly the positioning status, of the portable protective device, correction of incorrect positioning can be easily achieved. Without appropriate notification, a user may not recognize the incorrect position or rotation of a portable protective device over a long period of time. Should a fall occur during such a period when the portable protective device is incorrectly positioned, the portable protective device may fail to perform its protective function by either not inflating an inflatable element or inflating the inflatable element, in which case the inflatable element would only provide a reduced protective function. In the worst case, an incorrectly positioned protective device may even lead to more injuries.

According to a further embodiment of the present disclosure, the transmission of the indication may comprise at least one of the following possibilities: signaling the indication to the wearer as a visual indication, as an acoustic indication, as a tactile indication and as an electronic indication.

A visual indication of whether the wearable protective device is correctly positioned may require direct monitoring of the indicator device, and a user of the wearable protective device may not be inclined to regularly pay attention to such an indication. In contrast, an acoustic or tactile indication may stimulate the user's senses without requiring the user to directly monitor the wearable protective device. An electronic indication may in turn transmit a signal to an electronic device, for example a mobile device such as a smartwatch or a smartphone. This electronic device may in turn transmit the indication to the user or a third party using the same or similar indications as described for the wearable protective device itself. For example, the mobile device may signal the incorrect positioning of the wearable protective device to the user by means of a visual, acoustic or tactile indication.

According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, the wearable protective device may further comprise a communication/information element, wherein the communication/information element may be at least one element from the group consisting of an optical display device, a lighting element, an LED, an electromechanical transducer, a loudspeaker, a tactile transducer, an electromagnetic transmitter, an electronic communication element, and a wireless communication element, wherein the processing element may be configured to transmit the indication to the wearer and/or a third party using the communication/information element.

Using a communication or information element, the portable protective device can communicate the indication to the user. The element can be integrated into the portable protective device, thereby facilitating the transmission of the indication to the user. Similarly, an electronic communication element or transmitter can be in communicative connection with a mobile device and transmit a signal or information intended to communicate the indication to the mobile device.

According to a further embodiment of the present disclosure, the portable protection device may be configured to transmit the indication to an external device, in particular an external mobile computing device.

Because the portable protection device is in communicative connection with an external mobile computing device, it can facilitate the forwarding of the notification to the user or to a third party. The communication link can be a short or medium range communication link, such as Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, or a communication link using a cellular service and connecting the portable protection device to the mobile computing device directly or via a network, such as the Internet.

According to a further embodiment of the present disclosure, the processing element may be configured to receive the sensor data, the processing element may be configured to determine the position and/or orientation of the wearable protective device relative to the wearer's body, and the processing element may be configured to control the release of the gas depending on the determined position and/or orientation.

Controlling the gas release for inflating an inflatable element can prevent deployment of the portable protective device in a situation where the portable protective device is detected to be incorrectly positioned with respect to the wearer's body. By blocking the gas release, deployment can be effectively prevented. Such blocking can indeed increase the wearer's safety and protect him by avoiding deployment in a situation where the protective effect of the inflatable element is not defined.

According to a further embodiment of the present disclosure, the release of the gas for inflating the inflatable element can be enabled or disabled depending on the relative movement, in particular the release of the gas can be disabled if it is determined that the portable protective device, in particular the inflatable element, is incorrectly positioned, and/or the release of the gas can be enabled if it is determined that the portable protective device, in particular the inflatable element, is correctly positioned.

According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, the method may further comprise determining from the sensor data whether the wearable protective device is correctly or incorrectly positioned relative to the wearer's body, and may comprise blocking the release of the gas if it is determined that the wearable protective device, in particular an inflatable element of the wearable protective device, is incorrectly positioned and/or enabling the release of the gas if it is determined that the wearable protective device, in particular the inflatable element, is correctly positioned, and/or generating an indication of whether the release of the gas for inflating the inflatable element is enabled or blocked and/or whether the wearable protective device is correctly or incorrectly positioned relative to the wearer's body.

Locking the gas release in case of incorrect positioning can make it easier to ensure that the portable protective device, in particular an inflatable element of the portable protective device, is not deployed in case of incorrect positioning by locking the gas release and unintentional deployment can be avoided. Similarly, (actively) unlocking the gas release when a correct position has been detected, i.e. when the current position of the portable protective device has been actively detected as correct, can ensure that it is only deployed in a situation foreseen by the manufacturer.

According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, the sensor arrangement may be arranged with the portable protective device and have a defined position and orientation relative to the portable protective device.

If the sensor arrangement assumes a defined position relative to the portable protective device, a direct connection can be established between the movement detected by the sensor arrangement and the resulting movement of the portable protective device, so that the movement of the portable protective device can be detected easily and reliably.

According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, the processing element for determining whether the wearable protective device is correctly or incorrectly positioned relative to the wearer's body may be configured to correlate the received sensor data with expected motion data, determine a deviation between the detected motion data and the expected motion data, determine whether the deviation exceeds a defined threshold, and determine that the wearable protective device is incorrectly positioned relative to the wearer's body if the deviation exceeds the threshold.

The use of an appropriate threshold can extend the range in which the wearable protective device still fulfils its protective function, even though it has been determined that the wearable protective device is not 100% correctly positioned. For example, a belt-type wearable protective device may allow a small amount of rotation around the longitudinal axis while still largely or completely fulfilling the intended and designed protective function. For example, if the wearable protective device is rotated 5°, 10°, 15° or 20° around the longitudinal axis and is thus positioned slightly outside its optimal position relative to the wearer's body, such rotation may still be within the design parameters of the wearable protective device and thus be allowed. In other words, if the threshold is not exceeded, the wearable protective device can still be used.

According to a further embodiment of the present disclosure, the wearable protective device may be configured to adaptively deploy the inflatable element depending on the sensor data, in particular depending on the position and/or orientation of the wearable protective device relative to the wearer's body.

The active deployment of the portable protective device, the inflatable element, depending on the sensor data can ensure that the portable protective device is only deployed when it is correctly positioned. In other words: The active verification of the position and/or orientation

According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, the sensor arrangement may be an accelerometer, and in particular, the sensor arrangement may be configured to determine relative motion in 3 degrees of freedom or 6 degrees of freedom.

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. This can be used, for example, to determine whether there is an increase or decrease in speed. The accelerometer belongs to the group of inertial sensors. An accelerometer can provide a simplified method for determining the relative movement of the wearable protective device. From the detected sensor signals, an actual movement can be calculated, which can be compared with an expected movement. A deviation of the actual movement from the expected movement may indicate a misalignment of the wearable protective device on the wearer's body, for example due to an unintentional rotation or incorrect wearing orientation.

According to a further embodiment of the present disclosure, the processing element may be configured to determine from the sensor data a degree of correctness of the correct attachment of the portable protective device to the body of the wearer, and the release of the gas for inflating the inflatable element may be enabled or disabled depending on this degree, and/or the processing element may be configured to generate an indication for the wearer and/or a third party depending on this degree, and/or the processing element may be configured to signal this degree to the wearer and/or a third party.

According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, determining whether the wearable protective device is correctly or incorrectly positioned relative to the wearer's body may include correlating the received sensor data with expected motion data, may include determining a deviation between the received sensor data and the expected motion data, may include determining whether the deviation exceeds a defined threshold, and may include determining that the wearable protective device is incorrectly positioned relative to the wearer's body if the deviation exceeds the threshold.

The degree of correctness can indicate whether the actual positioning of the wearable protective device on the wearer's body is correct or incorrect without relying on a binary determination. In other words, the degree of correctness can be compared with a threshold, and if the degree of correctness is found to exceed a threshold, it can be determined whether a current position is still sufficiently correct not to affect the protective function of the wearable protective device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

• 1 eine Übersicht über eine Ausführungsform einer tragbaren Schutzvorrichtung gemäß der vorliegenden Offenbarung zeigt.
• 2 eine Funktionsübersicht über eine Ausführungsform einer tragbaren Schutzvorrichtung gemäß der vorliegenden Offenbarung zeigt.
• 3a,b eine erste Ausführungsform einer Positionserkennung gemäß der vorliegenden Offenbarung zeigen.
• 4 eine zweite Ausführungsform einer Positionserkennung gemäß der vorliegenden Offenbarung zeigt.
• 5 eine erste Ausführungsform eines Flussdiagramms der Funktionsweise zeigt, wenn die tragbare Schutzvorrichtung gemäß der vorliegenden Offenbarung korrekt positioniert ist.
• 6 eine zweite Ausführungsform eines Flussdiagramms der Funktionsweise zeigt, wenn die tragbare Schutzvorrichtung gemäß der vorliegenden Offenbarung falsch positioniert ist.
• 7 ein Ausführungsbeispiel der Signalisierung der erkannten Position/Ausrichtung der tragbaren Schutzvorrichtung gemäß der vorliegenden Offenbarung zeigt.

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

• 1 shows an overview of an embodiment of a portable protection device according to the present disclosure.
• 2 shows a functional overview of an embodiment of a portable protection device according to the present disclosure.
• 3a ,b show a first embodiment of a position detection according to the present disclosure.
• 4 shows a second embodiment of a position detection according to the present disclosure.
• 5 shows a first embodiment of a flow chart of operation when the portable protection device according to the present disclosure is correctly positioned.
• 6 shows a second embodiment of a flow chart of operation when the portable protection device according to the present disclosure is incorrectly positioned.
• 7 shows an embodiment of signaling the detected position/orientation of the portable protective device according to the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

It will be 1 which shows an overview of a portable protection device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

1 shows eight independent representations of an embodiment of the portable protective device 10. The four representations in the top row show the portable protective device 10 in the unfolded state, while the three representations in the bottom row from the left show the portable protective device 10 in the unfolded state. The representation in the bottom row on the right is a close-up of a part of an embodiment of the portable protective device 10, in particular the area of an inflatable element 12.

As can be seen in the four illustrations in the top row, the portable protective device 10 comprises, by way of example, two symmetrically aligned inflatable elements 12, which are arranged in the left and right hip areas around the body 20 of a wearer. The portable protective device 10 of 1 is an example of a belt-like wearable protective device 14 that is worn around the waist. Such a belt-like wearable protective device is regularly worn over clothing so that the inflatable elements 12 can position themselves when inflated around the outer body shape of the wearer to perform their protective function. In the embodiment of 1 the inflatable elements 12 are inflated so that they are arranged on the left and right sides of the wearer and cover the left and right outside of the thighs and partially also the back in the buttocks area.

The belt 14 of the portable protective device 10 comprises a 1 fastening mechanism 16 (not shown in detail) or a buckle 16 for closing the loop of the belt 14 around the waist of the wearer. Such a fastening mechanism 16 can be arranged together with a control unit 30 which comprises at least some of the elements required for the operation of the portable protective device 10, in particular for determining the time of inflation of the inflatable elements 12.

In particular, such a belt-like wearable protective device 10 may not be attached to any other part of the wearer's clothing, but may substantially rest on the clothing and rest on the wearer's protruding hips, thereby remaining in position. Since a wearable protective device 10 may be flexible to some extent, unintentional rotation about the longitudinal axis may occur without the wearer immediately noticing such misalignment. Since the wearable protective device 10 does not have a particular shape in the undeployed state, but may have a substantially uniform height and thickness, a wearer of the wearable protective device 10 may not immediately notice such rotation about the longitudinal axis. In the event that the inflatable elements 12 are deployed in an incorrect position, this could result in a situation in which the inflatable elements are inflated but are not in the intended position around the wearer's body. If the wearable protective device 10 is rotated, for example, by 90°, the inflatable elements 12 would be located substantially in the inflated state at the front and rear of the wearer, while the left and right sides are unprotected, i.e., exposed to an impact coming from the sides. Should the wearer now fall onto the left or right side, the inflatable elements 12 would not provide any protective function and the wearer could potentially be injured in the impact. For example, if the wearable protective device is not properly aligned, this could result in a hip fracture requiring hip surgery.

Likewise, the inflatable elements 12 would not fulfil their intended protective function if the belt-like 14, portable protective device 10 of 1 would be fitted upside down even if the position of the portable protective device 10 were correct, as they would at best inflate upwards towards the arm area and thus enclose the chest of the wearer, but not downwards as intended. Such incorrect alignment may also lead to a reduction in the protective function and thus injury to the wearer despite wearing the portable protective device 10.

It will be 2 which shows a functional overview of an embodiment of a control unit of a portable protection device according to the present disclosure.

The control unit 30 of 2 is only shown schematically. The control unit 30 comprises a processing element 38 which is in communicative connection with a sensor arrangement 32, an information element 36 and a communication element 34. Further electrical or mechanical components which are required for the deployment, ie the inflation of the inflatable elements 12, are shown in 2 not shown. 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 independently of the control unit 30 at a suitable position of the portable protective device 10.

The sensor arrangement 32 can be a sensor arrangement that is able to detect movements of itself and thus of the control unit 30. The sensor arrangement 32 can have a specific position and orientation relative to the control unit 30, so that the associated movement of the control unit 30 can be deduced from a detected direction of movement of the sensor arrangement 32. The sensor arrangement 32 can detect the movement of the control unit 30 in 3D space by detecting the movement of the sensor arrangement 32 in a three-axis coordinate system XYZ, with all three axes being orthogonal to one another. In addition, the sensor arrangement 32 can detect a rotational movement about the three axes, but in 2 is not shown. Such rotational movement may correspond to pitch, yaw and roll movements about the respective axes when viewed from the outside, from the perspective of the wearer of a portable protective device comprising such a sensor arrangement 32.

The processing element 38 receives information from the sensor arrangement 32 about the acquired sensor data, for example raw data for further processing or already pre-processed movement data, depending on the type of sensor arrangement 32. From the information provided, the processing element 38 can determine whether the user of the wearable protective device is moving or not. For example, if the sensor arrangement 32 detects no movement, this may mean that the wearer is sitting, lying or standing without moving. In particular, in a situation where the wearer is standing without moving, the sensor arrangement 32 can still detect micro-movements, for example the adjustment of the wearer's posture in space, and can deduce from this that the wearer is actually standing without moving and not sitting or lying down.

Even if the wearer does not move, the sensor arrangement 32 can detect a specific orientation of the three axes relative to the direction of gravity. As a result, an orientation of the sensor arrangement 32 and thus of the control unit 30 and also of the portable protective device 10 can be derived therefrom without any actual movement.

After the control unit 30 has determined whether the sensor arrangement 32 is correctly or incorrectly positioned with respect to either the direction of movement or the direction of gravity, it can be determined whether the portable protective device is correctly or incorrectly positioned and/or aligned. Such a determination can be signaled to the user by an information element 36 which is in 2 is shown as an optical signal by way of example. Alternatively or additionally, the information element 36 can be an acoustic or tactile information element 36, so that a direct optical inspection of the information element 36 by the wearer is not necessary. Such alternative modalities can warn the wearer without him having to directly or actively perceive the information element 36.

Furthermore, the determination can be signaled to a remote device or a remote entity by a communication element 34. The communication element 34 can be arranged such that it communicates, for example, with a mobile computing device such as a smartphone or a device of a third entity.

It will be 3a ,b, which show a first embodiment of a position detection according to the present disclosure.

In the 3a ,b shows the arrangement of a portable protective device 10 around a body 20 of a wearer, looking along the longitudinal axis of the body 20. The portable protective device 10 is a belt-like protective device 14 with a control unit 30, which arranged so that it normally assumes a position in the anterior direction of the body 20 along the sagittal axis 18. The portable protection device 10 comprises two inflatable elements 12 which are arranged laterally or symmetrically with respect to the sagittal axis 18 when correctly positioned, as in 3a The control unit 30 is directed directly in the front direction of the sagittal axis 18. Assuming a normal type of movement, ie a movement in the direction of travel, the sensor arrangement 32 would therefore detect a movement "straight ahead" and the control unit 30 can derive the correct position from this. In a position according to 3a the portable protective device 10 would fulfil its protective function, since deployment of the inflatable elements 12 would lead to asymmetric deployment on the sides of the body 20.

In contrast, 3b a situation in which the portable protective device 10 has been rotated about the longitudinal axis. The control unit 30 is rotated by an angle α + α1 with respect to the forward direction defined by the sagittal axis 18. As can be seen, the inflatable elements 12 are no longer arranged on the sides of the body 20, but essentially in the front and rear areas of the body 20. If the inflatable elements 12 were to be unfolded in such a position, they would no longer be able to fulfill their protective function.

In 3b two different angles α and α1 are shown. α1 can be a threshold value or threshold angle. As long as the rotation about the longitudinal axis is less than α1, it can be assumed that the position of the portable protective device 10 is still sufficiently close to the forward direction and thus sufficiently correct to enable deployment of the inflatable elements 12 without reducing their protective function. In other words: If the control unit 30 detects a misalignment that is less than α1, it can still be assumed that the positioning is correct and the portable protective device 10 can function as usual. In 3b the deployment of the inflatable elements 12 can be prevented because the control unit 30 is rotated by more than α1, namely by α + α1, and thus deviates too much from the correct, forward-facing position.

In the event that a misalignment is still smaller than α1 and thus an inflatable element 12 may still be deployed, it is conceivable that the wearer is nevertheless informed of this misalignment by the information element and/or the communication element.

It will be 4 which shows a second embodiment of a position detection according to the present disclosure.

In 4 An inverted view of the portable protective device is shown. In 4 the portable protective device 10 is rotated 180° about the sagittal axis 18. Depending on the fastening mechanism of the buckle 16, a wearer who puts on the portable protective device 10 may not be able to readily recognize that the portable protective device 10 is fitted upside down. If deployment of the inflatable element 12 were now initiated, it would not only not fulfill the intended protective function, but would also point upwards instead of downwards.

Recognition of the correct orientation can be carried out by the sensor arrangement 32 in the control unit 30 taking into account the direction of gravity. Depending on the normal orientation of the direction of gravity, if the sensor arrangement detects a reverse direction of gravity, it can be determined that the portable protective device 10 is oriented upside down. For example, a movement in the direction of the sagittal axis 18, ie to the right in 4 , while the direction of gravity is in 4 downwards. In an example, in the left representation of the three-axis reference system of the sensor arrangement in 4 Gravity acts in the positive Y-direction of the Y-axis. In contrast, gravity acts in the right-hand representation of the three-axis reference system of the sensor arrangement of 4 in the negative Y direction of the Y axis. By determining the direction in which gravity acts with respect to a particular axis of the sensor assembly's frame of reference and comparing this determination to the expected direction of gravity, the sensor assembly 32 and hence the controller 30 can determine whether the portable protective device 10 is properly or upside down oriented.

It will be 5 which shows a first embodiment of a flow chart of operation when the portable protection device according to the present disclosure is properly positioned.

5 shows an embodiment in which the portable protection device is positioned in both the correct position and the correct orientation. At the beginning, an input window of sensor measurements is read out, for example by input into the control unit of the portable protection device. An input window means that only a limited number of sensor measurements values at a certain point in time are processed in conjunction with each other so that a development of the sensor readings within the input window is determined. The input window can be, for example, one second, three seconds, 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 certain axis, here for example the Y-axis, can be determined. In other words, it can be determined whether the direction of the force of gravity matches the expected direction of the force of gravity, taking into account the orientation of the sensor arrangement. If the calculated average determined force direction matches the expected force direction, it can be concluded that the portable protective device is correctly aligned and not upside down. The calculated average value can be within a tolerance range, which means that a threshold is used that determines whether the calculated average value is sufficiently close to the expected value. In an example, the window duration can be about 15 seconds for determining the deviation from the position and about 1 second for determining the upside-down position. The determination algorithms can also be carried out at a higher frequency by slightly shifting the input window and overlapping successive input windows. In parallel or in succession, a further determination can be carried out to check whether the user is active or inactive based on the detection of fluctuations in the sensor signals. For example, in the case of a lying or sitting user, the deviation can be comparatively small, so that the control unit detects a non-movement or inactive situation. In the case of such an inactive situation, subsequent fall detection can be omitted, since it can be assumed that a non-moving wearer is less likely to suffer a fall. If movement or an active situation is detected, the control unit can determine the direction of movement and compare the direction of movement with the expected direction of movement, taking into account the orientation of the sensor arrangement relative to the wearable protective device and its normal position. If the control unit determines that the sensor arrangement and thus the control unit and subsequently the wearable protective device are correctly positioned on the wearer's body, a fall detection algorithm can be triggered.

Again, the sensor data from the sensor array is evaluated by the control unit to determine whether the wearer's movement is regular or irregular. An irregular movement may indicate a fall situation in which the control unit may deploy the inflatable elements. If regular movement is detected, the process can continue with determining the correct position and/or orientation of the wearable protective device.

Alternatively to the representation in 5 it is conceivable that not all determinations, the determination of the upside down position, the determination of the deviation from the position and the determination of the fall are always carried out in the same order and with the same frequency. For example, the buckle of the portable protective device can be designed to detect a closure of the buckle, i.e. a putting on of the portable protective device. The control unit can then initiate a check as to whether the portable protective device is correctly aligned. Once it has been determined that the portable protective device is actually correctly aligned, a further determination of the alignment may no longer be necessary until it is determined that the portable protective device has been removed from the wearer's body again, for example by opening the fastening mechanism. If it is determined that the alignment is upside down, a signal can be transmitted to the wearer, for example by the information element or the communication element, which signals this upside down state.

Then, after defined initial intervals, for example every 0.1, 1, 10 or 30 seconds, every minute, every five minutes, etc., it can be determined whether the portable protective device is in the correct position or whether it has rotated relative to the longitudinal axis. It can be assumed with some certainty that rotation of the portable protective device around the wearer's longitudinal axis does not occur instantaneously, but requires a certain amount of time and force. Likewise, position determination can be omitted as long as the sensor arrangement detects inactivity.

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 executing the fall detection algorithm and rarely execute the position detection algorithm and only execute the orientation detection algorithm when opening and closing the fastening mechanism. This reduces the computational effort for the control unit and enables a preferred fall detection because most of the processing power of the control unit can be used for the fall detection algorithm.

It will be 6 which shows a second embodiment of a flow chart of operation when the portable protection device according to the present disclosure is incorrectly positioned.

The flow chart of 6 essentially corresponds to the flow chart of 5 , however, the control unit detects an incorrect position and/or incorrect position of the portable protection device. In addition to what has been stated with regard to 5 As explained, depending on the number and frequency of determinations after detecting an incorrect position and/or a deviation from the position, the control unit may decide to first inform the wearer of the portable protective device of this condition. 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, for example whether the misalignment is within or outside a threshold range, the deployment of the inflatable elements may remain active or be deactivated.

Depending on whether the detected misalignment is an incorrect position or a deviation from the position, the control unit may continue to monitor the alignment, for example in the case of a deviation from the position that can be corrected by repositioning the portable protective device, or stop operation, for example in the case of an incorrect position that can only be corrected by removing and reattaching the portable protective device and then aligning it correctly. By stopping operation in this way, the operating time of a battery charge can be extended, since the control unit does not have to make a repeated alignment determination. However, it is conceivable that even in the case of an incorrect alignment, the determination is repeated after a defined time window, in order to avoid a single incorrect alignment detection resulting in the wearer having to remove and reattach the portable protective device even though the alignment was not actually incorrect.

It will be 7 , which shows an embodiment of signaling the detected position/orientation of the portable protective device according to the present disclosure.

The information element can be used to signal to the wearer himself a correct or incorrect position and/or orientation of the wearable protective device. In the case of an optical information element, for example, a green light can indicate the correct position and orientation. An orange light can signal a correct orientation but an incorrect position. Additionally or alternatively, a different color or a flashing light can signal that the position is not optimal but is still within a threshold range that still allows the inflatable elements to deploy. Furthermore, for example, a red light can indicate a wrong orientation, i.e. a condition in which the elements are fitted upside down, which would generally prevent deployment, regardless of the position around the wearer's waist. Other methods can apply a similar mechanism. For example, a low tone or no tone can signal a correct orientation and position, a higher tone can signal a correct orientation but an incorrect position. The degree of correctness of the position can be signaled by a higher or lower pitch. A significantly higher pitch can indicate a wrong orientation. For a tactile information element, no or low, intermittent vibration may indicate correct orientation and position. A stronger vibration may indicate correct orientation but incorrect position, in particular, a periodically occurring vibration may indicate correctness of position with respect to a threshold. The more frequently the vibration occurs in a given period, the more the position of the wearable protective device deviates from the optimal position around the wearer's body. A strong continuous vibration may indicate incorrect orientation.

The determination can also be signaled to a remote device 40 or a remote entity 40 via the communication element 34. The communication element 34 can be arranged to communicate, for example, with a mobile computing device 40 such as a smartphone or a third-party device. Such a smartphone can be in the possession of the wearer in order to record or track the correct or incorrect positioning of the portable protective device 10 over a longer period of time and thus create a log. In addition to or alternatively to the information element 36 of the control unit 30, the mobile computing device 40 can act as a (further) information element by receiving information about the correct wearing of the portable protective device 10 and in turn triggering an alarm to the wearer if an incorrect position and/or orientation of the portable protective device device 10 is detected. Furthermore, the remote device 40 or the mobile computing device 40 may belong to a third party, such as a caregiver or the like, who is informed of the wearing status of the portable protective device 10. This allows a caregiver to monitor whether the wearer is wearing the portable protective device 10 correctly and, if incorrect wearing is detected, can in turn warn the wearer, e.g. by calling or otherwise contacting him, to ensure that the portable protective device is worn correctly.

In addition, the wearing state can be transmitted to a computing device 40 that is completely separate from the wearer, for example to a computing system 40 in the cloud. Such a computing system 40 can belong to an insurance company, an authority or another authorized third party, which in turn receives information about the correct wearing of the portable protective device and can initiate appropriate measures if it is detected that it is being worn incorrectly.

Furthermore, it is also conceivable that the deployment of the portable protective device 10 is communicated via the communication element 34. For example, if the deployment of the portable protective device 10 coincides with a fall event, the emergency services can be notified by the control unit 30. A position of the control unit 30 and thus of the portable protective device 10 together with the wearer can be determined either by directly detecting the position of the portable protective device 10, for example by using a global location service or other means such as cell phone surveying, or by receiving global position information from a nearby mobile device 40, for example a smartphone belonging to the wearer and located in the vicinity of the portable protective device 10. Such a determination can be made if the communication connection between the portable protective device 10 and the mobile device 40 is a short-range communication connection such as Bluetooth or the like.

It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and that various changes and improvements may be made without departing from the concepts described herein. Each of the features described above and below may be used separately or in combination with 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.

Finally, it should be noted that the term "comprising" does not exclude other elements or steps, and that "a/an" does not exclude the plural. Elements described with respect to different types of embodiments may be combined. Reference signs in the claims are not to be understood as limiting the scope of a claim.

REFERENCE SYMBOL LIST

10

Portable protective device

12

Inflatable element

14

Belt

16

fastening mechanism/buckle

18

sagittal axis

20

Body

22

angle of rotation

24

threshold angle

30

control unit

32

sensor arrangement

34

communication element

36

information element

38

processing element

40

External device/remote device

Claims (15)

A wearable protective device (10) for protecting at least one body part of a wearer, comprising an inflatable element (12), a sensor arrangement (32), and a processing element (36), wherein the inflatable element (12) is inflatable from a first, substantially uninflated state to a second, substantially inflated state by attaching a releasable source of a gas to the inflatable element (12) to at least partially fill the inflatable element (12) with the gas, wherein the inflatable element (12), when inflated to the second state, assumes a defined three-dimensional shape to be arranged adjacent to a body part to be protected, wherein the sensor arrangement (32) is configured to determine sensor data relating to the relative movement of the wearable protective device (10), and wherein the processing element (36) is configured to is to determine from the sensor data whether the portable protective device (10) is correctly or incorrectly positioned relative to the body (20) of the wearer. A portable protective device (10) according to the preceding claim, wherein the processing element (36) is configured to generate an indication as to whether the release of gas for inflating the inflatable element (12) is enabled or disabled and/or whether the portable protective device (10) is correctly or incorrectly positioned relative to the body (20) of the wearer. A portable protective device (10) according to the preceding claim, wherein transmitting the indication comprises at least one of the following elements: signaling the indication to the wearer as a visual indication, as an acoustic indication, as a tactile indication or as an electronic indication. Portable protective device (10) according to at least one of the preceding Claims 2 or 3 , which further comprises a communication and/or information element (34, 36), wherein the communication and/or information element (34, 36) is at least one element from the group consisting of an optical display device, a lighting element, an LED, an electromechanical transducer, a loudspeaker, a tactile transducer, an electromagnetic transmitter, an electronic communication element and a wireless communication element, and wherein the processing element (36) is designed to transmit the indication to the wearer and/or a third party using the communication/information element. Portable protective device (10) according to at least one of the preceding Claims 2 until 4 , wherein the portable protection device (10) is designed to transmit the indication to an external device (40), in particular an external mobile computing device. Portable protective device (10) according to at least one of the preceding claims, wherein the processing element (36) is designed to receive the sensor data, wherein the processing element (36) is designed to determine the position and/or orientation of the portable protective device (10) relative to the body of the wearer, and wherein the processing element (36) is designed to control the release of the gas depending on the determined position and/or orientation. Portable protective device (10) according to at least one of the preceding claims, wherein the release of the gas for inflating the inflatable element (12) is enabled or disabled depending on the relative movement, in particular wherein the release of the gas is disabled if it is determined that the portable protective device (10), in particular the inflatable element (12), is incorrectly positioned, and/or wherein the release of the gas is enabled if it is determined that the portable protective device (10), in particular the inflatable element (12), is correctly positioned. Portable protective device (10) according to at least one of the preceding claims, wherein the sensor arrangement (32) is arranged with the portable protective device (10) and has a defined position and orientation relative to the portable protective device (10). Portable protective device (10) according to at least one of the preceding claims, wherein the processing element (36) for determining whether the portable protective device (10) is correctly or incorrectly positioned relative to the wearer's body is designed to correlate the received sensor data with expected motion data, determine a deviation between the detected motion data and the expected motion data, determine whether the deviation exceeds a defined threshold, and determine that the portable protective device (10) is incorrectly positioned relative to the wearer's body if the deviation exceeds the threshold. Portable protective device (10) according to at least one of the preceding claims, wherein the portable protective device (10) is designed to adaptively unfold the inflatable element (12) depending on the sensor data, in particular depending on the position and/or orientation of the portable protective device (10) relative to the body of the wearer. Portable protective device (10) according to at least one of the preceding claims, wherein the processing element (36) is designed to determine from the sensor data a degree of accuracy as to how correctly the portable protective device (10) is attached to the body of the wearer, and wherein the release of the gas for inflation the inflatable element (12) is released or blocked depending on the degree, and/or wherein the processing element (36) is designed to generate an indication for the wearer and/or a third party depending on the degree, and/or wherein the processing element (36) is designed to signal the degree to the wearer and/or a third party. A method for protecting at least one body part of a wearer of a portable protective device (10), comprising determining sensor data relating to the relative movement of the portable protective device (10) and determining, depending on the sensor data, whether the portable protective device (10) is correctly or incorrectly positioned relative to the wearer's body. Method according to the preceding claim, further comprising determining from the sensor data whether the portable protective device (10) is correctly or incorrectly positioned relative to the wearer's body, and blocking the release of gas if it is determined that the portable protective device (10), in particular an inflatable element (12) of the portable protective device (10), is incorrectly positioned and/or enabling the release of gas if it is determined that the portable protective device (10), in particular the inflatable element (12), is correctly positioned, and/or generating an indication whether the release of the gas for inflating the inflatable element (12) is enabled or blocked and/or whether the portable protective device (10) is correctly or incorrectly positioned relative to the wearer's body. A method according to the preceding claim, wherein determining whether the portable protective device (10) is correctly or incorrectly positioned relative to the wearer's body comprises correlating the received sensor data with expected motion data, determining a deviation between the received sensor data and the expected motion data, determining whether the deviation exceeds a defined threshold, and determining that the portable protective device (10) is incorrectly positioned relative to the wearer's body if the deviation exceeds the threshold. A computer-readable storage medium or computer program product comprising instructions which, when executed by a processing element (36), cause the processing element (36) to perform the steps of the method according to at least one of the preceding claims.

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