WO2016120707A1

WO2016120707A1 - A surveillance system of a person wearing a shoe

Info

Publication number: WO2016120707A1
Application number: PCT/IB2016/000049
Authority: WO
Inventors: Massimiliano PAPARCONE
Original assignee: B810 Societa' A Responsabilita' Limitata
Priority date: 2015-01-30
Filing date: 2016-01-25
Publication date: 2016-08-04

Abstract

A system (100) for surveillance of a person wearing a shoe, comprising: a shoe (105) wearable by the person, an accelerometer (115) solidly associated to the shoe (105), and an electronic processing unit (120) configured such as to receive the signal generated by the accelerometer (115), recognise if the signal received indicates that the shoe (105) is in free fall, had an impact or is stationary in a vertical or nearly-vertical position with respect to the floor, indicating that the wearer is in a lying down position. Detection occurs by comparison of acceleration values to thresholds. An alarm signal is transmitted to a remote unit carried by a safety supervisor and can be relayed by an intermediate unit to the remote unit.

Description

A SURVEILLANCE SYSTEM OF A PERSON WEARING A SHOE

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a surveillance system of a person, in particular a system for enabling another person, for example a security manager, to understand whether a surveyed person has sustained an injury, also and especially when the two persons are distant from one another.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

Distance surveillance of a person is an activity which can be usefully applied in a vast range of sectors of technology and civil society.

For example, a surveillance of this type might be very useful for the care of elderly people, enabling them to receive swift help in a case where they have sustained a domestic injury.

A surveillance of this type might be equally useful in protecting the safety of workers sent to work in potentially dangerous locations, as can happen in the sectors of construction plant, logistics or telecommunications.

In a case where injury in the workplace takes place, these workers might in fact become unconscious and not be able to call for help, causing a dangerous delay in aid.

Naturally the above-described cases are only two examples of application, but it is clear that a surveillance method of a person as described above might be effectively used for many other purposes and aims too.

While systems at present available might enable carrying out this surveillance, they generally use complicated and expensive equipment, not always compatible with the uses delineated in the foregoing.

An aim of the present invention is therefore to provide a system which enables surveying a person in a way that is simple, rational and relatively inexpensive.

These and other aims are attained by the characteristics of the invention as reported in the independent claims. The dependent claims delineate preferred and/or particularly advantageous aspects of the invention. DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

An embodiment of the invention therefore discloses a surveillance system for a person, comprising:

a shoe wearable by the person,

an accelerometer solidly associated to the shoe, and

an electronic processing unit configured for:

- receiving the signal generated by the accelerometer,

- recognising if the signal received indicates that the shoe is in free fall, and

- generating a signal indicating the result of the recognition.

With this solution, if it is recognised that the shoe is recognised to be in free fall, the system can note that the person wearing the shoe is in a potentially dangerous condition, for example is falling from a ladder or a scaffold.

In this regard it is necessary to detect that any body in free fall has "lost" or "cannot feel" its own weight. More precisely, an inertial system solidly connected to a body in free fall is not aware of the force of gravity. Therefore, at least for brief falls without complex and/or rapid roto-translations, the module of acceleration detected by an accelerometer located on the body in free fall is close to zero.

In order to evaluate that the shoe is in free fall, the electronic processing unit can therefore be configured to acquire the acceleration detected by the accelerometer associated to the shoe and to identify the condition of free fall if, for a predetermined time lapse, the acceleration detected is close to zero. Naturally, with the expression "practically zero" it is not meant that the acceleration detected must be exactly zero (which is a condition that is practically impossible in reality), but it is sufficient for it to be less than a predetermined threshold value (for example close to zero), below which any residual accelerations detected are compatible only with a free fall.

In a further aspect of the invention, the electronic processing unit can be further configured for:

- recognising whether the received signal indicates that the shoe is stationary in a vertical or nearly-vertical position, and - generating a signal indicating the result of the recognition.

With this solution, if the shoe is recognised as stationary and in a vertical or nearly-vertical position, the system is able to detect a "man down on the ground" position, i.e. the person wearing the shoe is likely to be lying on the ground unconscious.

In this regard, it is specified that the position of the shoe is to be considered in reference to the ground or in any case to the rest surface: the shoe can in fact be defined as being in a horizontal position when the sole thereof is resting on the ground on a horizontal surface, as in the typical case in which the person wearing it is in an erect position, while it can be defined as being in a vertical position or nearly vertical when the sole is perpendicular or nearly-perpendicular to the horizontal surface of the ground, as in a case in which the person is stretched out on the ground.

Naturally the shoe can be vertical or nearly-vertical both in a case where the heel of the shoe is resting on the ground with the toe part facing upwards, and in an opposite case where the toe part is rested on the ground and the heel facing upwards, and where the sole rests on the ground along a flank of the shoe.

Further, it is specified that in the context of the present description, the definition of vertical or nearly-vertical is taken to mean any inclination of the rest plane of the sole comprised between 0° and 20° with respect to the vertical, i.e. the direction of the force of gravity.

In fact, when a person is lying on the ground unconscious, the inclination of the sole of the shoe might not be perfectly vertical but might be slightly inclined.

In order to evaluate whether the shoe is stationary, the electronic processing unit can be configured to evaluate the entity of acceleration detected by the accelerometer.

If the acceleration detected is constant or nearly-constant for a time lapse greater than a predetermined interval, the electronic processing unit can establish if the shoe is stationary.

In order to evaluate the inclination of the shoe, the electronic processing unit can be configured so as to determine the direction of the acceleration detected by the accelerometer with respect to a fixed system of coordinates connected to the shoe.

By knowing the position of this system of coordinates with respect to the rest surface of the sole, the electronic processing unit is therefore able to determine the inclination of the shoe.

By detecting the "man down" condition it is therefore possible to obtain greater information as to whether the "free fall" previously recorded has led (or not) to an injury.

If a "man down" condition is not recorded, the fall might be due to a voluntary behaviour of the person, or in any case might not have caused an injury. If a "man down" condition is recorded, there would be greater evidence of the fact that the fall has led to an injury.

- recognising if the signal received indicates that the shoe has been subject to an impact; and

- generating a signal indicating the result of the recognition.

With this specification too, it is advantageously possible to have greater information on the effects of the free fall determined in the foregoing.

If in fact the free fall event had not led to a strong impact, this event might have been innocuous.

If on the other hand the free fall event anticipated a strong impact, there would be greater evidence of the fact that the fall event has caused an injury. In order to evaluate whether the shoe has been subjected to an impact, the electronic processing unit can be configured to evaluate the variations of acceleration detected by the accelerometer.

If the variation in acceleration has at least a sharp peak of an entity greater than a predetermined threshold value, the electronic processing unit can recognise whether the shoe has been subject to an impact.

In particular, the electronic processing unit can be further configured for:

- ascertaining from the received signal the direction of the impact, and

- generating a signal indicating the recognition.

In this way, it is advantageously possible to recognise the direction of the impact or impacts to which the shoe is subjected, enabling reconstruction of the dynamics of the movement.

For example, if the impact is detected after ascertainment of a free fall event, the information relating to the direction of the impact enables understanding whether the person fell on his or her feet or in an unnatural manner.

In a further embodiment of the invention, the electronic processing unit can also be solidly associated to the shoe.

In this way the shoe is in fact equipped with an integrated device able to carry out both the detecting function and the processing function of the acceleration signal.

In an aspect of this embodiment, the electronic processing unit can be configured so as to transmit the signal/s generated to a remote device.

In this way, the signals are transmitted and immediately recognised by the person in possession of the remote device, for example a security manager located even at a considerable distance, who can swiftly alert the aid services.

In an aspect of the invention, the electronic processing unit can be in direct communication with the remote device via wireless communication means. In this way an effective remote communication is guaranteed between the electronic processing unit and the remote device.

In an aspect of the invention, the wireless communication means can be radio means, for example Bluetooth Low Energy or low-frequency (e.g. 169 MHz).

These radio systems have the advantage of requiring low-energy and easily- miniaturisable transmission and/or receiving infrastructures.

Alternatively in a different aspect of the invention, the electronic processing unit can be in communication with the remote device via a portable device, distinct and separate from the shoe, which comprises a further electronic processing unit configured for receiving the signal/s generated by the first electronic processing unit and retransmitting the signal/s to the remote device.

In this way, all the main functions of the monitoring system continue to be carried out by the first electronic processing unit, but the portable electronic device is effectively used as a sort of repeater which, possibly after a suitable recodification, re-transmits the signal to a remote device.

For this purpose, the portable device can comprise first wireless communication means with the device integrated in the shoe, such as for example Bluetooth, wi-fi, radio sub-GHz, NFC (Near Field Communication) and infrared, and second wireless communication means with the remote device, such as for example telephonic communication means, including GSM, GPRS, UMTS or others.

In this context, the signal sent to the remote device might be codified in a text message (for example an SMS text message or another) or in a vocal and/or acoustic message.

In this regard it is specified that the signal/s generated by the electronic processing unit might be complex signals or more simply by alarm signals simply indicating the event or the condition detected.

Lastly, a further embodiment of the invention discloses a functioning method of a control system for security of persons, wherein the system comprises:

- a shoe wearable by the person,

- an accelerometer solidly associated to the shoe, and

- an electronic processing unit,

wherein the functioning method of the system comprises:

- the accelerometer generating a signal indicating the accelerations to which the shoe is subjected, and

- the electronic processing unit receives the signal generated by the accelerometer, recognises if the shoe is in free fall, and generates a signal indicating the result of this recognition.

This embodiment of the invention obtains the same effects described in the foregoing, in particular the effect of identifying and signalling that the surveyed person has fallen. All the special aspects of the invention that have been previously described in the foregoing, with reference to the monitoring system, are understood to be obviously applicable to the corresponding method.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.

Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will emerge from a reading of the following description, provided by way of non-limiting example with the aid of the figures illustrated in the appended tables of drawings.

Figure 1 is a schematic representation of a surveillance system of a person according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a schematic representation of a surveillance system of a person according to a different embodiment of the present invention.

BEST WAY OF CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

With reference to figure 1 , reference numeral 100 denotes in its entirety a system for surveillance of a person, which comprises a shoe (105) wearable by the person to be surveyed.

The shoe 105 can be a shoe of any type, for example a sports shoe, a dress shoe, a gym shoe, a work shoe or a hard shoe, but might also be a boot, such as a mountain boot, a ski boot or in general any article of clothing able to be worn on the foot of the person under surveillance.

In all cases, the shoe 105 will comprise a rest surface 1 10, which is normally defined by the sole and represents the surface which will go into contact with the terrain or floor when the person wearing the shoe 105 is stationary in an erect position.

The surveillance system 100 further comprises an accelerometer 15, which is solidly associated to the shoe 105 so as to be able to rigidly follow all displacements.

In the illustrated example, the accelerometer 1 15 is directly incorporated in the shoe 105 but, in other embodiments, it might be integrated in other objects which are solidly fixed to the shoe 105 itself. For example, in a case in which the shoe 105 were a ski boot, the accelerometer 1 15 might be integrated in a ski or a snowboard engageable to the ski boot.

The accelerometer 1 15 can be a three-axis accelerometer, which is configured to detect the accelerations on three perpendicular axes X, Y and

Z of a system of Cartesian coordinates solidly associated to the shoe 105.

The axes X and Y can lie in a parallel plane to the rest surface 1 0 of the shoe 105, while axis Z can be perpendicular to the preceding axes, i.e. vertical when the shoe is normally rested on the ground.

The accelerometer 115 is connected with an electronic processing unit 120, for example based on a microprocessor and possible equipped with a memory unit 125, which can be solidly associated to the shoe 105, so as to form, with the accelerometer 115, a single integrated device 130.

The accelerometer 115, the electronic processing unit 120 and the memory unit 125 have preferably small dimensions, so that the integrated device 130 can be housed and constrained in the shoe 105, for example in a special compartment fashioned in the shoe 105, for example the sole of the shoe

105, or integrated in an insert sole located internally of the shoe 105.

The surveillance system 100 further comprises a remote device 135 that is distinct, separate and independent of the shoe 105, which can be used by a second person acting as controller, for example a security manager.

The remote device 135 is in direct communication with the electronic processing unit 120 of the integrated device 130 via a wireless connection system.

In practice, the electronic processing unit 120 can be provided with wireless communication means, schematically denoted by reference numeral 140, which are able to place it in wireless communication with corresponding communication means, denoted in their entirety by 145, which are directly associated to the remote device 135.

In this way, the wireless communication means 140 and 145 together realise a direct communication system between the electronic processing unit 120 and the remote device 135 which enables wireless exchange of signals and/or data.

This direct communication system can be a radio system, which uses a preexisting radio infrastructure, for example Bluetooth Beacon or Sub-GHz radio network. Beacon Bluetooth systems create a radio proximity infrastructure (with a range of a few metres) while a Radio Sub-Ghz network, such as a Semtech Lo-Ra is a low-potential radio infrastructure (and therefore energetically compatible with a device incorporable in a shoe) which enables transmission of signals even at distances of kilometres. These types of radio infrastructures also have the advantage of enabling, in some configurations, geographical localization of the radio emitter device 140, with no need to use an additional GPS system.

In the functioning of this surveillance system 100 the person to be monitored wears the shoe 105, possibly after having activated the integrated device 130. By doing this, the electronic processing unit 120 constantly receives from the accelerometer 115 a signal (electrical) representing the accelerations to which the shoe 105 is subjected in the three Cartesian axes X, Y and Z, during all the activities of the person, including naturally the acceleration of gravity.

By exploiting the signal generated by the accelerometer 15, the electronic processing unit 120 can also be configured to recognise whether the signal received indicates that the shoe 105 is in free fall, in order to generate a signal indicating this recognition (for example an alarm signal) and to transmit the signal generated to the remote device 135.

With this solution, if it is recognised that the shoe 105 has been in free fall, the person in possession of the remote device 135 is informed of the fact that the person wearing the shoe 105 is in a potentially dangerous condition, for example is falling from a ladder or a scaffold.

In order to evaluate that the shoe is in free fall, the electronic processing unit can be configured to acquire the acceleration detected by the accelerometer 115 and to identify the condition of free fall if, for a predetermined time lapse, for example two seconds, the acceleration detected is close to zero.

As explained in the foregoing, it is not meant that the acceleration detected must be exactly zero (which is a condition that is practically impossible in reality), but it is sufficient for it to be less than a predetermined threshold value (for example close to zero), below which any residual accelerations detected are compatible only with a free fall. By exploiting the signal, the electronic processing unit 120 can also be configured to recognise whether the signal received indicates that the shoe 105 is stationary in a vertical position or nearly-vertical position, so as to generate a corresponding signal indicating this recognition (for example an alarm signal) and to transmit the signal generated to the remote device 135. The fact that the shoe 105 is stationary in a vertical or nearly-vertical position can be taken as likely to mean that the person wearing it is lying on the ground unconscious.

Thanks to this recognition, the electronic processing unit 120 is therefore capable of distinguishing a "man down" condition, potentially dangerous, and inform the person in possession of the remote device 135 of this in good time, who can then swiftly alert the aid or assistance services.

Further, it is specified that the definition of vertical or nearly-vertical is taken herein to mean any inclination of the rest plane 1 10 of the shoe 105 comprised between 0° and 20° with respect to the vertical, i.e. the direction of the force of gravity.

In order to evaluate whether the shoe 105 is stationary, the electronic processing unit 120 can be configured to evaluate the entity of the acceleration detected by the accelerometer 1 15.

If the entity of the acceleration detected is substantially equal to the acceleration of gravity and remains constant or nearly-constant for a time lapse greater than a predetermined interval, the electronic processing unit 120 can establish if the shoe 105 is stationary.

In order to evaluate the inclination of the shoe 105, the electronic processing unit 120 can be configured so as to determine the direction of the acceleration detected by the accelerometer 105 with respect to a fixed system of coordinates X, Y and Z solidly connected to the shoe 105.

If the direction of acceleration lies in the X, Y plane (i.e. no component of the Z axis is present), this means that the rest plane of the shoe 105 is orientated perfectly vertically; otherwise it is however possible to determine the degree of inclination thereof.

If, after a free fall event, a "man down" condition were not recorded, the fall might be due to a voluntary behaviour of the person, or in any case might not have caused an injury.

If a "man down" condition is recorded, there would be greater evidence of the fact that the fall has led to an injury.

By exploiting the signal generated by the accelerometer 1 15, the electronic processing unit 120 can also be configured such as to recognise whether the shoe 105 has been subjected to an impact, so as to generate a corresponding signal indicating this recognition (for example an alarm signal) and to transmit the signal generated to the remote device 135.

Even the act that the shoe 105 has been subject (or not) to an impact enables the person in possession of the remote device 135 to have greater information on the effects of the free fall that previously occurred.

If in fact the free fall event did not lead to a strong impact, the event may have been innocuous.

If on the other hand the free fall were followed by a strong impact, there would be greater evidence of the fact that the event has caused an injury. In order to evaluate whether the shoe 105 has been subjected to an impact, the electronic processing unit 120 can be configured to evaluate the variations of acceleration detected by the accelerometer 1 15 in a determined time lapse, for example a predetermined time lapse following detection of the free fall.

If the variation in acceleration has at least a sharp peak of an entity greater than a predetermined threshold value, the electronic processing unit can recognise that the shoe has been subject to an impact.

Further, the electronic processing unit 120 can also be configured to ascertain the direction of the impact from the signal received so as to generate a signal indicating the direction, and to transmit this signal too to the remote device 135.

In this way, the person in possession of the remote device 135 is advantageously able to know the direction of the impact or impacts to which the shoe 105 has been subjected, enabling reconstruction of the dynamics of the movement.

For example, if the impact was detected after a free fall event, the information relating to the direction of the impact enables understanding whether the person fell on his or her feet (impact acceleration component only on the Z axis) or in an unnatural manner.

It is specified that although in the example the electronic processing unit 120 is associated to the shoe 105, in other embodiments the electronic processing unit 120 might belong to the remote device 135. In this case the remote device 135 would receive from the wireless connection system only the "raw" signal generated by the accelerometer 1 15, which would be analysed by the remote device 135 itself.

Figure 2 illustrates a further variant of the surveillance system 100, which differs from the preceding one in that it further comprises a portable device 150.

The portable device 150 is a device that can be carried by the person wearing the shoe 105, for example in a pocket or in a bag, but which is intrinsically distinct and separate from the shoe 105. The portable device 150 is preferably a smartphone, but it might also be a handheld computer, a laptop, a tablet computer, or any other device provided with an electronic processing unit 155, for example a processor or microprocessor and possible a memory unit 160.

The portable device 150 comprises wireless communication means, schematically denoted by 165, which are connected with the electronic unit 155 and are able to place it in wireless communication with the wireless communication means 140 of the device 130 integrated in the shoe 105. In this way, the wireless communication means 165 and 140 together realise a communication system between the integrated device 130 and the portable device 150 which enables wireless exchange of signals and/or data between the respective electronic processing means 120 and 155. The wireless communication means 165 and 140 can be of the Bluetooth, wi-fi, radio sub- GHz, NFC, infrared type or any other technology suitable for the purpose. The portable device 150 further comprises further wireless communication means, schematically denoted by 170, which are connected with the electronic unit 155 and are able to place them in wireless communication with the wireless communication means 145 of the remote device 135. In this way, the wireless communication means 170 and 145 together realise a communication system between the portable device 150 and the remote device 135 which enables transmission of appropriately-codified signals and/or data by the respective electronic processing means 155 towards the remote device 135. The further communication means 170 and 145 are preferably of a telephonic type, for example GSM, GPRS, UMTS or any other system enabling the above-described communication, directly or even via web connections based on telephonic systems, for example internet.

In this embodiment, the remote device 135 can therefore be a telephone, a mobile phone, another smart phone, an electric and/or electronic device (for example a computer, laptop, etc.) provided with a telephone card (meaning a card as a hardware element) or any other device which can receive signals and/or data from the portable device 150 via a telephone line, and which can explicitly communicate the data contents of the signals and/or data to a user via appropriate interfacing means or signalling means, for example loudspeakers, monitors or other systems.

The functioning of this embodiment is substantially alike to that of the first embodiment as described in the foregoing, with the only difference being that the signals generated by the electronic processing unit 120 are transmitted to the remote device 135 via the portable device 150, which substantially functions as a repeater.

The invention as it is conceived is susceptible to numerous modifications, all falling within the scope of the inventive concept. Further, all the details can be replaced with other technically-equivalent elements. In practice the materials used, as well as the contingent shapes and dimensions, can be any according to requirements, without forsaking the scope of protection of the following claims.

Claims

1. A system (100) for surveillance of a person, comprising:

a shoe (105) wearable by the person,

an accelerometer (1 15) solidly associated to the shoe (105), and an electronic processing unit (120) configured for:

- receiving the signal generated by the accelerometer (1 15),

- recognising if the signal received indicates that the shoe ( 05) is in free fall, and

- generating a signal indicating the result of the recognition.

2. The system (100) according to claim 1 , wherein the electronic processing unit (120) is further configured for:

- recognising whether the received signal indicates that the shoe ^ (105) is stationary in a vertical or nearly-vertical position, and

- generating a signal indicating the result of the recognition.

3. The system (100) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the electronic processing unit (120) is further configured for:

- recognising if the signal received indicates that the shoe (105) has been subject to an impact; and

- generating a signal indicating the result of the recognition.

4. The system (100) according to claim 3, wherein the electronic processing unit (120) is further configured for:

- ascertaining from the received signal the direction of the impact, and

- generating a signal indicating the recognition.

5. The system (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the electronic processing unit (120) is solidly associated to the shoe (105).

6. The system (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the electronic processing unit (120) is configured for transmitting the signal generated by a remote device (135).

7. The system (100) according to claim 6, wherein the electronic processing unit (120) is in direct communication with the remote device (135) via wireless communication means (140, 145).

8. The system (100) according to claim 7, wherein the wireless communication means (140, 145) are radio means.

9. The system (100) according to claim 6, wherein the electronic processing unit (120) is in communication with the remote device (135) by means of a portable device (150), distinct and separate from the shoe ( 05), which comprises a further electronic processing unit (155) configured for receiving the signal generated by the first electronic processing unit (120) and retransmitting the signal to the remote device (135).

10. A functioning method of a control system (100) for security of persons, wherein the system comprises:

a shoe (105) wearable by the person,

an accelerometer (1 15) solidly associated to the shoe (105), and an electronic processing unit (120):

wherein the functioning method of the system comprises:

the accelerometer (1 15) generating a signal indicating the accelerations to which the shoe (105) is subjected, and

the electronic processing unit (120) receiving the signal generated by the accelerometer (1 15), recognising if the signal received indicates that the shoe (105) is in free fall; and generating a signal indicating a result of this recognition.