AU2021104787A4 - A Cycling Helmet for Hearing Impaired and Deaf People - Google Patents

A Cycling Helmet for Hearing Impaired and Deaf People Download PDF

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Publication number
AU2021104787A4
AU2021104787A4 AU2021104787A AU2021104787A AU2021104787A4 AU 2021104787 A4 AU2021104787 A4 AU 2021104787A4 AU 2021104787 A AU2021104787 A AU 2021104787A AU 2021104787 A AU2021104787 A AU 2021104787A AU 2021104787 A4 AU2021104787 A4 AU 2021104787A4
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Australia
Prior art keywords
helmet
sound
vibration
microphones
cycling
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AU2021104787A
Inventor
Ali Ghahraei
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Individual
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Individual
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Classifications

    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A42—HEADWEAR
    • A42B—HATS; HEAD COVERINGS
    • A42B3/00—Helmets; Helmet covers ; Other protective head coverings
    • A42B3/04—Parts, details or accessories of helmets
    • A42B3/0406—Accessories for helmets
    • A42B3/0433—Detecting, signalling or lighting devices
    • A42B3/046—Means for detecting hazards or accidents
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61F—FILTERS IMPLANTABLE INTO BLOOD VESSELS; PROSTHESES; DEVICES PROVIDING PATENCY TO, OR PREVENTING COLLAPSING OF, TUBULAR STRUCTURES OF THE BODY, e.g. STENTS; ORTHOPAEDIC, NURSING OR CONTRACEPTIVE DEVICES; FOMENTATION; TREATMENT OR PROTECTION OF EYES OR EARS; BANDAGES, DRESSINGS OR ABSORBENT PADS; FIRST-AID KITS
    • A61F11/00—Methods or devices for treatment of the ears or hearing sense; Non-electric hearing aids; Methods or devices for enabling ear patients to achieve auditory perception through physiological senses other than hearing sense; Protective devices for the ears, carried on the body or in the hand
    • A61F11/04—Methods or devices for enabling ear patients to achieve auditory perception through physiological senses other than hearing sense, e.g. through the touch sense
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60Q—ARRANGEMENT OF SIGNALLING OR LIGHTING DEVICES, THE MOUNTING OR SUPPORTING THEREOF OR CIRCUITS THEREFOR, FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60Q1/00—Arrangement of optical signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor
    • B60Q1/26—Arrangement of optical signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor the devices being primarily intended to indicate the vehicle, or parts thereof, or to give signals, to other traffic
    • B60Q1/2661—Arrangement of optical signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor the devices being primarily intended to indicate the vehicle, or parts thereof, or to give signals, to other traffic mounted on parts having other functions
    • B60Q1/2673—Arrangement of optical signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor the devices being primarily intended to indicate the vehicle, or parts thereof, or to give signals, to other traffic mounted on parts having other functions on parts worn by the driver, e.g. clothes, gloves or bags, specially adapted to provide auxiliary vehicle signalling
    • B60Q1/2676—Helmets
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04R—LOUDSPEAKERS, MICROPHONES, GRAMOPHONE PICK-UPS OR LIKE ACOUSTIC ELECTROMECHANICAL TRANSDUCERS; DEAF-AID SETS; PUBLIC ADDRESS SYSTEMS
    • H04R25/00—Deaf-aid sets, i.e. electro-acoustic or electro-mechanical hearing aids; Electric tinnitus maskers providing an auditory perception
    • H04R25/40—Arrangements for obtaining a desired directivity characteristic
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04R—LOUDSPEAKERS, MICROPHONES, GRAMOPHONE PICK-UPS OR LIKE ACOUSTIC ELECTROMECHANICAL TRANSDUCERS; DEAF-AID SETS; PUBLIC ADDRESS SYSTEMS
    • H04R25/00—Deaf-aid sets, i.e. electro-acoustic or electro-mechanical hearing aids; Electric tinnitus maskers providing an auditory perception
    • H04R25/40—Arrangements for obtaining a desired directivity characteristic
    • H04R25/405—Arrangements for obtaining a desired directivity characteristic by combining a plurality of transducers
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04R—LOUDSPEAKERS, MICROPHONES, GRAMOPHONE PICK-UPS OR LIKE ACOUSTIC ELECTROMECHANICAL TRANSDUCERS; DEAF-AID SETS; PUBLIC ADDRESS SYSTEMS
    • H04R25/00—Deaf-aid sets, i.e. electro-acoustic or electro-mechanical hearing aids; Electric tinnitus maskers providing an auditory perception
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04R—LOUDSPEAKERS, MICROPHONES, GRAMOPHONE PICK-UPS OR LIKE ACOUSTIC ELECTROMECHANICAL TRANSDUCERS; DEAF-AID SETS; PUBLIC ADDRESS SYSTEMS
    • H04R25/00—Deaf-aid sets, i.e. electro-acoustic or electro-mechanical hearing aids; Electric tinnitus maskers providing an auditory perception
    • H04R25/40—Arrangements for obtaining a desired directivity characteristic
    • H04R25/407—Circuits for combining signals of a plurality of transducers
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04R—LOUDSPEAKERS, MICROPHONES, GRAMOPHONE PICK-UPS OR LIKE ACOUSTIC ELECTROMECHANICAL TRANSDUCERS; DEAF-AID SETS; PUBLIC ADDRESS SYSTEMS
    • H04R25/00—Deaf-aid sets, i.e. electro-acoustic or electro-mechanical hearing aids; Electric tinnitus maskers providing an auditory perception
    • H04R25/60—Mounting or interconnection of hearing aid parts, e.g. inside tips, housings or to ossicles
    • H04R25/602—Mounting or interconnection of hearing aid parts, e.g. inside tips, housings or to ossicles of batteries
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04R—LOUDSPEAKERS, MICROPHONES, GRAMOPHONE PICK-UPS OR LIKE ACOUSTIC ELECTROMECHANICAL TRANSDUCERS; DEAF-AID SETS; PUBLIC ADDRESS SYSTEMS
    • H04R25/00—Deaf-aid sets, i.e. electro-acoustic or electro-mechanical hearing aids; Electric tinnitus maskers providing an auditory perception
    • H04R25/60—Mounting or interconnection of hearing aid parts, e.g. inside tips, housings or to ossicles
    • H04R25/604—Mounting or interconnection of hearing aid parts, e.g. inside tips, housings or to ossicles of acoustic or vibrational transducers

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  • Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • Otolaryngology (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Acoustics & Sound (AREA)
  • Neurosurgery (AREA)
  • Signal Processing (AREA)
  • Biomedical Technology (AREA)
  • Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
  • Physiology (AREA)
  • Neurology (AREA)
  • Biophysics (AREA)
  • Psychology (AREA)
  • Heart & Thoracic Surgery (AREA)
  • Vascular Medicine (AREA)
  • Animal Behavior & Ethology (AREA)
  • Public Health (AREA)
  • Veterinary Medicine (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Helmets And Other Head Coverings (AREA)

Abstract

The present invention is a smart cycling helmet to assist people with hearing disabilities sense and detect loud ambient sounds and their direction through vibration. The invention comprising a helmet as a frame, a series of microphones implemented on the outer surface of the helmet, a series of vibration actuators located inside the helmet contacted with the user's head and a motherboard with a processor, analog and digital circuits, a gyro sensor and a battery embedded inside the clamped space between the outer layer and inner layer of the helmet. When a sound wave sensed by each of the microphones passes a decibel level, the processor starts to record the signal captured by the microphones for a few milliseconds. After the recording, the obtained data passes the stages of pre-processing, signal processing, feature extraction and classification, and error correction, then the power, direction, and type of the sound are calculated. The obtained direction of the sound then is translated and transferred to the user's head by the vibration of the related vibration actuator(s). Additionally, the light-emitting portions which are embedded on the outer surface of the helmet start flashing to warn other vehicle drivers to keep their distance from the cycling user. 1/7 DRAWINGS 40 28 23 21 18 22 17 16 Figure 1

Description

1/7
DRAWINGS
40
28
23 21
18 22 17
16
Figure 1
A CYCLING HELMET FOR HEARING IMPAIRED AND DEAF PEOPLE TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention belongs to the technical field of cycling helmets and particularly relates to cycling helmets for hearing impaired and deaf people.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Cycling is healthy, fun, and a low-impact form of exercise but with deafness, it could be a dangerous challenge for the person. Individuals with hearing disabilities could not hear ambient sounds like car horns, braking, hitting, and loud human voices and determine potentially dangerous situations. This inability increases the risk of accidents and injuries for these people and therefore forces them to forget this physical activity.
[0003] Some designs have been suggested to assist people with hearing disabilities with cycling such as a helmet with a microphone for detecting loud ambient sounds and a vibrator to warn the person, or a helmet with radars and led indicators and a vibrator to warn both rider and car driver when a vehicle gets close to the bicycle. Although these technologies are somewhat effective for the person to avoid dangerous situations, they could not give the person a two-dimensional perception about the source of coming sounds which is, of course, beneficial for fast decision making and fast responding.
[0004] The purpose of the present invention is to reduce the risk of cycling for people with hearing disabilities and help them to sense and detect loud ambient sounds such as brake, horn, etc. and determine the direction of them and avoid potentially dangerous situations. This wearable easy-to use technology also brings immediate perception and decision capabilities for hearing impaired and deaf individuals.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] It is a primary objective of the present invention to present a cycling helmet for hearing impaired or deaf individuals to perceive the direction of a coming sound and to turn towards that direction. Also, the helmet warns vehicle drivers to be aware of the bicycle rider.
[0006] Therefore, the present invention comprises a cycling helmet as a mainframe, a series of microphones with pre-processing circuits implemented on the outer surface of the helmet, a series of resonant actuators attached inside the helmet and are contacted with the person's head, light emitting portions on right, left and rear sides of the helmet, and a mainboard with a processor, gyro sensor, analog and digital circuits, and a lithium polymer battery which all are embedded inside the helmet.
[0007] When a sound wave from a road traffic accident, car beeping, or braking spread out in the air and move to the helmet, embedded microphones are activated to record the signal. After passing the stages of pre-processing, signal processing, feature extraction and classification, and error correction, the type of sound, power, and direction of the sound will be calculated. In the next stage, the processor activates the related vibration actuators. Therefore the person senses the vibration from the side that the sound has been received. Depending on the power of the received sound, the central processor adjusts the strength and rhythm of the vibrations. Moreover, the light emitting portions on the helmet start flashing to warn the car drivers to keep their distance from the cyclist.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
[0008] Figure 1 is an isometric view of a device of a first embodiment;
[0009] Figure 2 is a top view of a device of a first embodiment;
[0010] Figure 3 is a bottom view of a device of a first embodiment;
[0011] Figure 4 is an exploded view of the device of the first embodiment;
[0012] Figure 5 is a perspective view of the device mounted on the head of a human user.
[0013] Figure 6 is aback view of the device mounted on the head of a human user.
[0014] Figure 7 shows the general operation flowchart of the device.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0015] Figures 1,2 and 3 are respectively a perspective view, a top view, and a bottom view of a cycling helmet for hearing impaired and deaf people according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the drawings, the invention comprising a conventional Polystyrene or Styrofoam bicycle helmet 40 as a mainframe, adjustable helmet straps 16-17, eight microphones 21-28 implemented on the outer surface of the helmet, three light-emitting portions on the right side 18, left side 19 and backside 20 of the helmet and seven vibration actuators 31-37 attached on the inner surface of the helmet. The front side of the helmet is shown in both figures 2 and 3 with the word "FRONT" in a rectangle.
[0016] Microphones 21-28 are implemented on the outer surface of the helmet 40 and cover all around the helmet. As shown in figure 2, these eight microphones are distributed with equal distances to each other in eight different directions of a two-dimensional space. Any hearable sound wave from any direction coming to the helmet will be sensed by more than a microphone, which is necessary for further process. The microphones are with pre-amp circuits and are embedded inside the foamy layer of the helmet and only the outer plate of the microphones (diaphragm side) are contacted with the air.
[0017] As described above, the invention comprises three light-emitting portions 18-20 which emit light from the right side, left side as well as backside of the helmet 40 to warn car drivers about the cycling user and prevent accidents. In this embodiment, the light-emitting portions are LED indicators.
[0018] Furthermore, seven vibrating actuators 31-37 are attached inside the inner surface of the helmet which is shown in figure 3 with their arrangement. The vibrator actuators are distributed in such a way to cover all directions. These vibrating actuators are contacted with the user's head and transfer the vibration feeling to the head of the user. In this embodiment, each of the vibrating actuators consists of a semi-hard silicone pad and a vibration motor implemented inside the pad.
By activating the vibration motor, the vibration is spread out to the whole of the silicon pad and skin of the user.
[0019] Further details of the invention are shown in figure 4, an exploded view of the device of the first embodiment. In the drawing, the outer layer of the helmet has been sliced into four parts 11-14 to show inner implemented parts while the Inner surface 15 of the helmet which is contacted with the user's head has remained unchanged. There is a space gap between the inner and outer surfaces of the helmet that is filled with shock-absorbing materials like Polystyrene foam or Styrofoam. As illustrated in the drawing, the microphones with pre-amp circuits 21-28, mainboard, and battery are embedded inside the shock-absorbing foam between the clamped space of the outer and inner surfaces of the helmet. It is to be mentioned that the helmet straps, shock-absorbing materials, and wires and cables between electronic components are not shown in figure 4.
[0020] The mainboard 30 manages the whole of the processing tasks. It receives analog signals from the microphones through pre-amp circuits and after implementation of signal processing, feature extraction and classification, and error correction functions, calculates the power, direction, and type of the received sound. Also, it activates vibration actuators and light-emitting indicators. It is to be mentioned that the rhythm and strength of the vibrations are set depending on the power and type of the received sound. This feature helps the user to distinguish between different received sounds (for instance between braking or hitting sounds) and also to perceive the distance to the sound source.
[0021] Additionally, the electrical power of the device is supplied by a battery 30, which is embedded inside the helmet and allows the user to use the device without being connected to a cabled power source. In this embodiment, a lithium polymer battery is used as the power source.
[0022] Figures 5 and 6 are respectively a perspective view and a top view of the helmet 40 mounted on the head of a human user 41. Like a conventional cycling helmet, the user can put off and put on the invention without any particular knowledge or assistance. The light-emitting indicator on the back of the helmet 20 is activated in detected dangerous situations and warns cars behind.
[0023] The general operation flow chart of the system is shown in figure 7. The main processor always listens to the signals obtained by each of the microphones 1 and processes them 2. These signals are analog signals that are received by analog to digital converter (ADC) pins of the processor and converted to digital signals. Once a signal coming from a microphone passes the decibel threshold 3, the processor starts to record all of the microphones signals for a few milliseconds. After the recording is done, the processor starts to process captured signals 5. Using signal processing techniques, the time delays of receiving the sound wave by each of the microphones are calculated 6. By analysis of the time delays of the microphone which first sensed the sound with its near microphones and with consideration of the angle of the user's head acquired by the gyro sensor, the direction of the coming sound will be obtained 6. After the calculations are done, the processor implements error detection 7 and error correction 8 functions to detect and correct any possible error in previous calculations and obtain the true direction of the sound. After passing the mentioned stages, the processor calculates the power and rhythm of the vibration and also determines which vibrator(s) must be activated 9. Then the commands to the vibrator(s) as well as the light-emitting indicators are sent 10. The result is, the user feels the vibration from the side that the sound has been received. Also, the led indicators on the helmet flash to warn the other drivers to watch out and keep their distance from the user.
[0024] The exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the present invention is not limited to the exemplary embodiments and may be variously modified and carried out within the scope of the technical spirit of the present invention as defined by the presented claims.

Claims (5)

1. A cycling helmet for hearing impaired and deaf people comprising: i) A helmet as a frame which all other parts are mounted on it; ii) At least two microphones which all are mounted on the outer surface of the helmet and arranged around the helmet to hear ambient sounds; iii) At least two vibration actuators attached to the inner surface of the helmet and transfer vibration feeling to the head of the human user; iv) At least one light-emitting portion on the outer surface of the helmet which emits light from at least one side of the helmet; v) Mainboard with at least one processor, gyro sensor, and analog and digital circuits that data obtained from each of microphones are transferred to it, and commands to vibration actuators and light-emitting portion(s) are sent from it; and vi) At least one battery as the electrical power supply of the device;
2. A cycling helmet for hearing impaired and deaf people as claimed in claim 1, wherein the direction of a received sound is obtained by calculation the time delays of receiving that sound wave by each of the microphones, and analysis of the time delays of the microphone which first sensed the sound with its left and right microphones, and with consideration of the angle of user's head acquired by the gyro sensor.
3. A cycling helmet for hearing impaired and deaf people as claimed in claim 1, wherein the calculated direction of a received sound is translated and transferred to the user's head by vibrating of the vibration actuator(s) located on the side of the helmet that the sound has been received.
4. A cycling helmet for hearing impaired and deaf people as claimed in claim 1, wherein the vibration rhythm and strength of vibration actuators vary depending on the power and type of the received sound.
5. A cycling helmet for hearing impaired and deaf people as claimed in claim 1, wherein light emitting portions begin to flash when the processor recognizes a potentially dangerous situation which is detected by the processing of sound signals received by the microphone(s).
AU2021104787A 2021-08-01 2021-08-01 A Cycling Helmet for Hearing Impaired and Deaf People Active AU2021104787A4 (en)

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