WO2020141219A1

WO2020141219A1 - Protective equipment comprising alert means, and system comprising such equipment

Info

Publication number: WO2020141219A1
Application number: PCT/EP2020/050087
Authority: WO
Inventors: Romain AFFLELOU
Original assignee: Cosmo Connected
Priority date: 2019-01-04
Filing date: 2020-01-03
Publication date: 2020-07-09
Also published as: FR3091470A1; EP3905913A1; FR3091470B1

Abstract

The present invention relates to an item of protective equipment, comprising radiocommunication means, light means (2) equipped with at least one light source (21), means (4) for capturing sound, means (31) for detecting an urgent situation, and control means, the control means being configured to control, in the event that an urgent situation is detected, an illumination of the light sources (21) in a predetermined configuration, a sound recording, and the sending of at least one message comprising a sound captured by the sound capturing means. The invention also relates to a system comprising such an item of equipment and a smartphone.

Description

Title: PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT INCLUDING ALERT MEANS, AND SYSTEM

INCLUDING SUCH EQUIPMENT

Field of the invention

The present invention relates to protective equipment, and more specifically protective equipment for the practice of skiing.

Prior art

The practice of skiing, particularly alpine skiing, can cause falls resulting in sometimes serious injuries to skiers. To limit these injuries, skiers are advised to wear protective equipment, including a protective helmet.

One of the major causes of skier accidents is poor visibility. Indeed, skiing is commonly practiced in snow and fog conditions, which prevent skiers from seeing the obstacles in front of them from afar. Thus, a large number of serious accidents are caused by a first skier who hits a second one, particularly when this second skier, having previously fallen, is less visible.

Finally, poor visibility conditions and the practice of off-piste skiing can cause skiers to get lost out of sight of marked trails. A skier who is the victim of a fall or an accident outside the marked trails may then be unable to reach the marked trails and report his accident. Even if he is able to call to alert the emergency services, it can be very difficult to locate him to rescue him. The time it takes for rescuers to be taken care of may then be lengthened, which can lead to a complication of their possible injuries and hypothermia.

Objectives of the invention

The present invention aims to overcome these drawbacks of the prior art.

In particular, the invention aims to improve the safety of skiers. [007] Thus, an objective of the invention, according to at least certain embodiments, is to reduce the risk of accidents for skiers.

Another objective of the invention, according to certain embodiments of the invention, is to limit the severity of these accidents.

In particular, according to at least some of its embodiments, the invention aims to allow an accidental skier to be rescued more quickly, even if he is outside the marked trails.

In general, the invention aims to allow skiing safely and without worry.

According to certain embodiments, the invention also aims to help the skier to orient himself when he practices skiing.

Statement of the invention

These objectives, as well as others which will appear more clearly below, are achieved with the aid of protective equipment, comprising according to the invention:

- radiocommunication means,

- light means equipped with at least one light source,

- means of sound capture,

- means of detecting an emergency situation,

- means of control,

said control means being configured to control, in the event of detection of an emergency situation:

- an ignition of the light source or sources in a predetermined configuration,

- A recording of the sound picked up by the sound pickup means, and - the sending of at least one message, by the radio communication means, at least one of these messages comprising a sound picked up by said sound pickup means.

Advantageously, the means for detecting an emergency situation comprise at least one button configured to inform the means for controlling an emergency situation, when it is actuated. Advantageously, the protective equipment consists of a protective helmet intended to be worn by a user.

Advantageously, the protective equipment comprises geolocation means, and the or one of the messages comprises geolocation information originating from these geolocation means.

According to an advantageous embodiment, the radiocommunication means are radiocommunication means according to a radiotelephony standard.

According to another advantageous embodiment, the radiocommunication means are short-range radiocommunication means.

Advantageously, the protective equipment comprises at least one button configured to control the ignition of the light source or sources.

Advantageously, the protective equipment comprises at least one light sensor, the control means being configured to adapt the lighting of said light source (s) to the brightness measured by the light sensor (s).

[020] According to one embodiment, the locations of the button or buttons are located on the earmuff part of the helmet.

[021] According to one embodiment, the locations of the button or buttons and light means are inter alia provided on the helmet, to the right and / or left or in front and / or behind the helmet, on certain garments, on skis .

[022] The invention also relates to a protection system, which comprises:

- a smart cell phone, and

- protective equipment as described above,

the telephone and the protective equipment being configured so that the protective equipment sends the message to the telephone, which completes the message with information from the telephone, then sends said completed message.

Advantageously, this information originating from the telephone includes geolocation information originating from the geolocation means of the telephone. List of Figures

The invention will be better understood on reading the following description of preferred embodiments, given by way of simple figurative and nonlimiting example, and accompanied by the figures among which:

[Fig. 1] is a schematic representation of a protective helmet intended for skiing, according to an embodiment of the invention;

[Fig. 2] is a diagram representing different electronic components constituting the alert means of the protective helmet of FIG. 1;

[Fig. B] is a diagram representing different electronic components constituting the alert means of a system associating a protective helmet according to an embodiment of the invention and a smart portable telephone.

Detailed description of embodiments of the invention

[025] Figure 1 shows, schematically, protective equipment for the practice of skiing, according to one embodiment of the invention. This equipment is a helmet 1 having a protective shell 11, an interior covering 12 and a chin strap 13, which may be identical to those of helmets known to those skilled in the art. According to the invention, this helmet is equipped with alert means making it possible to improve the safety of the skier.

[026] According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, this helmet 1 is thus equipped with at least one lighting equipment consisting of light means 2. These light means 2 are, in the embodiment shown, placed on the side of the helmet 1. However, in other embodiments, it can be placed in other positions, for example fixed on the headset or on the front or rear of the helmet. These light means 2 comprise one or more light sources 21, for example constituted by light-emitting diodes, which can be of several colors. In a preferred embodiment, these light means 2 thus comprise light-emitting diodes of white and red colors.

The light sources 21, as well as the optics directing the light emitted, can be chosen and configured to preferentially emit light towards the rear of the helmet 1, or towards the front. The helmet 1 is also equipped with buttons 31, 32, 33. Advantageously, these buttons are placed on the side of the shell 11 of the helmet, at the level of the ear of the user wearing this helmet 1. Preferably, these buttons are placed on the earmuff part of the helmet, or can also be placed, among other things, on the helmet, to the right and / or left or in front and / or behind the helmet. This position allows the user to easily find these buttons, although he cannot see them. Preferably, the position and the shape of each of these buttons are chosen so that the user can easily identify the button on which he presses, without seeing it. These buttons can be of all types, capacitive buttons, push buttons or others.

[029] Furthermore, the headset 1 is equipped with sound pickup means, constituted by a microphone 4. In the embodiment shown, this microphone 4 is placed in a portion of the interior covering 12 of the helmet forming a "cover" "ear", near the chin strap 13 of the helmet 1.

FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically representing the various electronic components integrated into the helmet 1, constituting the alert means of this helmet 1. We can see in this figure a control means, or control component 5, constituted by an electronic chip capable of controlling and operating the other electronic components. This control component 5 is advantageously placed between the shell 11 and the interior covering 12 of the helmet 1, in order to be protected from the outside environment and not to come into contact with the head of the user. It is connected with energy sources, not shown, such as batteries allowing the electrical supply of all the electronic components of the helmet 1.

[031] This control component 5 is connected, by wires flowing in the helmet

1, with the other electronic components. It is thus connected with the light sources 21 of the light means 2. Thus, this electronic control component 5 can control the ignition, permanent or intermittent, of each of the light-emitting diodes making up these light sources. It can also, in certain cases, impose the light intensity and / or the color of these light sources

21. The control component 5 is also connected with the microphone 4, so as to pick up and, if necessary, record the sounds coming from this microphone 4. It is also connected to the buttons 31, 32 and 33, so as to detect the pressures on them.

Furthermore, this control component 5 is also connected to a radiocommunication chip 51 forming a radiocommunication means, allowing for example a radiocommunication according to a radiotelephone communication standard, such as those known under the names "GSM", " 2G ”,“ 3G ”,“ 4G ”or“ 5G ”, and / or a short range radio communication, for example according to the standards known as“ Bluetooth ”or“ Wifi ”. In the embodiment represented by FIG. 2, this radiocommunication chip 51 allows telecommunications according to a radiotelephone communication standard. it is for example a chip of the type known under the name of “SIM card”.

[034] The control component 5 can also, in certain embodiments, be connected to a geolocation chip 52, constituting a geolocation means and allowing its geolocation by triangulation, for example with one of the systems among those known under the names "GPS", "Galileo", "GLONASS", "Beidou" or "IRNSS".

According to the invention, the control component 5 is configured to send instructions to the other electronic components of the helmet, according to the needs of the user which can be expressed by pressures exerted on the buttons of the helmet. It can thus send specific instructions in the event of an emergency situation being detected. Thus, one of the buttons on the helmet is an emergency button 31, intended to be actuated by the user only if the latter needs urgent assistance. This button thus constitutes a means of detecting an emergency situation.

The control component 5 is configured so that, in the event of an emergency situation being detected, and in particular when a pressure is detected on the emergency button 31, the following operations are controlled by the control component 5:

- An ignition of the light sources 21 of the light means 2, in a specific configuration corresponding to emergency situations. This configuration may for example be a rapid flashing of the light sources, at their maximum intensity.

a sound recording by the microphone 4, and a recording of this sound by the control component 5. This recording preferably has a limited duration, for example of 30 seconds.

the sending of one or more messages by the radiocommunication chip 51. This message can preferably include the following information: an identifier of the user, his geographic coordinates measured by the geolocation chip 52, and at least part of a sound picked up by the microphone 4.

[037] This message is preferably sent to several interlocutors, including the emergency services. They can thus identify the emergency need of the user of the helmet 1, know their position and, by recording the sound during the seconds following the pressing of the emergency button, have information on the nature of his need. This sound can in fact allow the emergency services to hear the reactions of the user and his possible explanations on his situation, which makes it possible to distinguish the situations requiring assistance.

If the radiocommunication chip 51 allows telephone radiocommunications, it can transmit these messages in the form of a text message and / or a telephone communication. It is also possible, in this case, for the control component 5 to establish a telephone conversation between the user and a correspondent, the microphone 4 then being used for this conversation. For the implementation of this embodiment, a loudspeaker can be adapted in the headset 1, near an ear of the user, to allow a telephone conversation.

[039] In an advantageous embodiment, the protective equipment can be integrated into an alert system 7 comprising the user's smart mobile phone 9.

[040] Figure 3 is a diagram which represents the various components of this system 7. Some of these components are integrated in a helmet 6 according to an embodiment of the invention, which can be similar to the helmet 1 described above . Other components are integrated into the smart cell phone 9. Thus, this smart cell phone 9 comprises, in a conventional manner, a short-range radiocommunication chip 91, a radiotelephone radiocommunication chip 92, a geolocation chip 93, and a control component 94.

[041] The helmet 6 shown diagrammatically by this diagram in FIG. 3 may have components which differ slightly from the helmet 1 described above. Thus, in this embodiment, the radio communication chip 53 is preferably configured for short-range radio communications, operating for example according to the "Bluetooth" or "Wifi" standards in order to communicate with the smart portable telephone 9 carried by the 'user. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the helmet 6 does not include a geolocation chip. The other components of this helmet 6 are similar to those described above for the helmet 1, and bear the same references.

[042] The control component 5 is configured so that, when a pressure is detected on the emergency button 31, the following operations are controlled by the control component 5:

- An ignition of the light sources 21 of the light means 2, in a configuration corresponding to emergency situations.

- A sound capture by the microphone 4, and a recording of this sound by the control component 5 for a limited time.

the sending of one or more messages by the radio communication chip 51. This message preferably comprises at least part of a sound picked up by the microphone 4.

[043] This message is sent to the user's smart cell phone 9, which receives it via his short-range radiocommunication chip 91. Advantageously, the control component 94 of this smart phone operates a specific software for managing the headset 6. This software allows the processing of the message sent by the headset 6. It then generates the sending, by the radiotelephone radio chip 92 of the telephone 9, of a message comprising at least some of the message information from headset 6, added geolocation information from the geolocation chip 93 of the smart phone.

Management of light resources 2

The helmet 1 or the helmet 6 described above may include a button 32 allowing the user to select the mode of ignition of the light sources 21 of the light means 2, when the helmet is not in a configuration emergency following a press on the emergency button 31. Thus, in a preferred embodiment, the light means 2 are, by default, off. Pressing the user on the button 32 allows him to turn on the light sources 21 permanently. A further press on this button 32 makes it possible to switch on the light sources 21 in a flashing manner. A third press switches off the light sources 21.

[045] The locations of the button or buttons can be located on the earmuff part of the helmet.

[046] The buttons and the light means can also be located, inter alia, on the helmet, on the right and / or on the left or in front and / or behind the helmet, on certain garments, on skis, etc.

[047] According to an advantageous embodiment, it is also possible that these light sources 21 can turn on automatically depending on the visibility, for example depending on the light conditions. For this, the helmet 1 or 6 may include one or more sensors allowing the determination, by the control module 5, of the visibility conditions in order to control the lighting of the light sources 21 of the light means 2 2 in the most suitable mode.

[048] According to an advantageous embodiment, the helmet 1 or 6 may have a third button 33 intended to record a geographical position. When the user presses this button 33, the control component 5 records the geolocation information coming from the geolocation chip 52, or transmits to the user's smart cell phone 9 the instruction to record the geolocation information coming a geolocation chip. The control component 5 can also associate this recording with geolocation information a recording of the sound picked up by the microphone 4, while the user presses the button 33.

[049] Thus, the user who presses this button 33 can very easily record a voice note, associated with the position at which it is located. This recorded information can later be viewed by the user. This one can thus, by the use of the button 33, note the interesting places which it traverses. For example, it can associate comments with a ski slope visited, an altitude restaurant, etc.

Furthermore, the geolocation sensor 52 included in the headset 1 or the geolocation sensor 52 included in the smart cell phone 9, associated with an adapted program operating on the control component 5 of the helmet 1 or on the component of control 94 of the smart mobile phone 9, can perform calculations and proposed itineraries, recommending to the skier the ski lifts used and the tracks to choose, for example taking into account the level of experience of the skier.

[051] This program can take into account the waiting times at each ski lift, obtained via the telephone radiocommunication chip 51 or 92. This program can allow the recording of journey histories and statistics, in order to share them with other users. It can also allow the skier to share his position, in real time, with other users, for example to let his relatives know his position.

[052] The information on the history of the journeys can, for example, subsequently make it possible to analyze data linked to the practice of skiing by the user, for example his average speed over a journey, the duration of the journey, the distance traveled, altitude difference traveled, etc. This information can be viewed directly on the smart mobile phone 9 associated with the headset. They can also, alternatively, be downloaded subsequently from the control chip 5, for example to a computer.

The program, operating on the control component 5 of the headset 1 or 6 or on the control component 94 of the smart cell phone 9, can also be configured to communicate with similar programs operating on alert means of the same type worn by other skiers. In this case, it is for example possible that this program regularly receives, by means of the telephone radiocommunication chip 51 or 92, the geographical coordinates of different members of a prerecorded group. It can thus generate alerts for example warning the user that one of the group members is moving away from him by a distance greater than a predetermined distance.

[054] In the preferred embodiments described above, the protective equipment according to the invention are protective helmets. It is however possible, in other embodiments, that the protective equipment is another equipment worn by the skier so that the light means can be visible. This equipment can for example be integrated into the user's clothing or ski but preferably will be placed in the headset.

Claims

1. Protective equipment, characterized in that it comprises:

- radiocommunication means (51, 53),

- light means (2) equipped with at least one light source (21),

- sound capture means (4),

- means of detecting an emergency situation,

- control means (5),

said control means (5) being configured to control, in the event of detection of an emergency situation:

- an ignition of said light source (s) (21) in a predetermined configuration,

- a recording of the sound picked up by said sound pickup means (4), and - the sending of at least one message, by said radiocommunication means (51, 53), at least one of said messages comprising a sound picked up by said sound capture means (4).

2. Protective equipment according to the preceding claim, characterized in that said means for detecting an emergency situation comprise at least one button (31) configured to inform said control means (5) of an emergency situation , when activated.

3. Protective equipment according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it consists of a protective helmet (1, 6) intended to be worn by a user.

4. Protective equipment according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises geolocation means (52), and in that said or one of said messages comprises geolocation information originating from said geolocation means (52).

5. Protective equipment according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said radiocommunication means are radiocommunication means according to a radiotelephony standard (51).

6. Protective equipment according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said radiocommunication means are short-range radiocommunication means (53).

7. Protective equipment according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises at least one button (32) configured to control the ignition of said one or more light sources (21).

8. Protective equipment according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises at least one light sensor, and in that said control means (5) are configured to adapt the ignition of said one or more light sources (21) at the brightness measured by said one or more light sensors.

9. Protective equipment according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the locations of the button or buttons are preferably located on the part forming an earmuff of the helmet.

10. Protective equipment according to one of claims 1 to 8, the locations of the button or buttons and of the light means can be provided, inter alia, on the helmet, to the right and / or to the left or in front and / or behind the helmet, on certain clothes, on skis.

11. Protection system, characterized in that it comprises:

- a smart cell phone (9), and

- protective equipment (6) according to any one of the preceding claims,

said telephone (9) and said protective equipment (6) being configured so that said protective equipment (6) sends said one or more messages to said telephone (9), which supplements said one or more messages with information coming from said telephone (9) , then sends said completed message (s).

12. Protection system according to the preceding claim, characterized in that said information originating from said telephone (9) comprises geolocation information originating from geolocation means (93) of said telephone.