TWI893685B - Intelligent pressure-sensitive display system - Google Patents

Abstract

An intelligent pressure-sensitive display system includes a signal-connected pad device and a monitoring device. The pad device includes a pad mechanism, a controller, and multiple pressure sensors disposed in multiple protrusion structures of the pad mechanism. Each pressure sensor can sense the pressure exerted on the corresponding protrusion structure. The controller aggregates the pressure values measured by the pressure sensors to generate pad pressure distribution data. The monitoring device signal controls each pressure point of the displayed pressure distribution image to present a corresponding pressure indication message based on the pad pressure distribution data. Through the design of the cushion device and the monitoring device, the pressure conditions of the protruding structures of the cushion device can be monitored in real time, which helps to quickly determine whether the user has fallen and is unable to move.

Description

Intelligent pressure-sensitive display system

The present invention relates to a sensor, and more particularly to a pressure sensing imaging system.

Taiwan's population is aging, with an increasing number of elderly people living alone. Because older adults tend to have slower reactions and less physical strength, they are at greater risk of falls, especially in slippery bathrooms. It's common for elderly people to fall in the bathroom without being noticed, leading to delayed medical attention. Furthermore, elderly people are more likely to fall when getting out of bed due to postural hypotension or a weak leg that prevents them from standing firmly. Therefore, effectively reducing the risk of falls and promptly detecting and alerting emergency medical personnel when elderly people fall are pressing issues for home care and medical care providers.

Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide an intelligent pressure-sensitive developing system that can improve at least one disadvantage of the prior art.

Therefore, the present invention's intelligent pressure-sensitive display system includes a pad device and a monitoring device connected to the pad device via a signal. The pad device includes a pad mechanism, multiple pressure sensors mounted on the pad mechanism, and a controller. The pad mechanism includes a pad body having a first side and a second side, which are disposed in opposite directions, and multiple protrusions arranged on one of the first and second sides of the pad body.

The pressure sensors are respectively installed in the protrusion structures. Each pressure sensor senses the pressure exerted on the corresponding protrusion structure when it elastically deforms under pressure, generating a corresponding pressure sensing signal. The controller is connected to the pressure sensors and analyzes the pressure value represented by each pressure sensing signal. It then aggregates the pressure values from the pressure sensors to generate pad pressure distribution data.

The monitoring device is signal-connected to the controller and includes a monitoring module and a display module. The display module displays a pressure distribution image having a plurality of pressure points corresponding to the distribution locations of the protruding structures. Based on the pressure value of each pressure sensor in the pad pressure distribution data, the monitoring module controls the display module to display a pressure indication message representing the pressure value at the corresponding pressure point in the pressure distribution image.

The utility of the present invention lies in: through the structural design of the cushion device's cushion mechanism, the pressure sensors, and the controller, and the design of the monitoring device that displays a pressure indication message at each pressure point in the pressure distribution image, the pressure conditions of the raised structures of the cushion device can be monitored in real time, helping to quickly determine whether the user has fallen and is unable to move.

Referring to Figures 1, 2, and 3, an embodiment of the intelligent pressure-sensitive display system 200 of the present invention is adapted to communicate with a remote monitoring device (not shown). The remote monitoring device may be, for example, but not limited to, a server host in a medical institution or a telephone device in a community care unit.

The intelligent pressure-sensitive display system 200 includes a pad device 3 and a monitoring device 4 signal-connected to the pad device 3. In this embodiment, the pad device 3 and the monitoring device 4, as well as the monitoring device 4 and the remote monitoring device, are signal-connected via currently known wireless communication technologies. Such wireless communication technologies include, but are not limited to, Bluetooth communication technology, wireless network technology, and/or mobile communication network technology. However, in another embodiment of the present invention, the pad device 3 and the monitoring device 4, as well as the monitoring device 4 and the remote monitoring device, can also be signal-connected via wired communication. Since communication and data transmission between two electronic devices are existing technologies and there are many ways, they will not be described in detail.

The mat device 3 can be placed on the bathroom floor as an anti-slip mat, or can be laid on the indoor floor as a floor mat. The mat device 3 can be used to detect whether the user has fallen and to provide guidance for walking paths at night.

The pad device 3 includes a pad structure 31 for laying on the ground, and a plurality of LEDs 32 , a plurality of pressure sensors 33 , a light sensor 34 and a controller 35 disposed on the pad structure 31 .

The pad structure 31 includes a pad body 311 and a plurality of raised structures 314 made of an elastic, light-transmitting material disposed on the pad body 311. The pad body 311 has a first side 312 facing away from the ground and a second side 313 facing the ground. The raised structures 314 are disposed protruding from the first side 312 and arranged in a matrix pattern, and can be elastically deformed by being stepped on.

The LEDs 32 and pressure sensors 33 are respectively disposed within the protrusions 314. In other words, each protrusion 314 is provided with an LED 32 and a pressure sensor 33. Each LED 32 can be controlled to emit light, causing the corresponding protrusion 314 to illuminate. When the corresponding protrusion 314 is elastically squeezed downward and deformed, each pressure sensor 33 senses the pressure exerted on the protrusion 314 and generates a corresponding pressure sensing signal. The light sensor 34 is embedded in the first side surface 312 of the pad body 311 and is exposed to the surrounding light intensity, generating a corresponding light sensing signal. The pressure sensors 33 are, for example but not limited to, piezoelectric pressure sensors.

The controller 35 is signal-connected to the LEDs 32, the pressure sensors 33, and the light sensor 34. It has built-in positional parameters corresponding to the protrusions 314 and can receive and store guidance pattern data transmitted by the monitoring device 4. The guidance pattern data is composed of the positional parameters of the protrusions 314 arranged to form a specific guidance pattern 30. The guidance pattern 30 may be, for example, but not limited to, an arrow or bar extending in a specific direction, as shown in FIG4 .

The controller 35 includes a pressure analysis module 351 and a lighting control module 352. The pressure analysis module 351 analyzes and obtains the pressure value corresponding to the pressure sensing signal of each pressure sensor 33. The pressure analysis module 351 aggregates the pressure values of the pressure sensors 33 to generate pad pressure distribution data corresponding to the protrusion structures 314 of the pad mechanism 31.

The lighting control module 352 has a built-in lighting function that activates when the light intensity represented by the light sensing signal is determined to be below a predetermined value. When activating the lighting function, the lighting control module 352 analyzes the pad pressure distribution data and controls the LED 32 in the raised structure 314 where the pressure sensor 33 is located to illuminate if the pressure value of the pressure sensor 33 is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold.

In addition, when controlling one of the LEDs 32 to emit light, the lighting control module 352 controls the corresponding LEDs 32 in the protruding structures 314 to emit light according to the position parameters of the guide pattern data, so that the protruding structures 314 that transmit light cooperate to form the guide pattern 30, as shown in FIG4 .

The monitoring device 4 includes a display module 41, an alarm module 42, a notification module 43, an operation module 44, a guide image setting module 45, and a monitoring module 46. The monitoring module 46 displays a pressure distribution image 460 on the display module 41. The pressure distribution image 460 has a plurality of pressure points 461 and a plurality of position parameters corresponding to the distribution positions of the protruding structures 314.

In this embodiment, the operation module 44 is a touch input device that is integrated with the display module 41, but the embodiment is not limited thereto. The operation module 44 can be operated to select the pressure points 461 in the pressure distribution image 460 displayed by the display module 41.

The guidance pattern setting module 45 has a built-in pattern setting function. When the pattern setting function is activated, the guidance pattern setting module 45 aggregates the position parameters corresponding to the pressure points 461 selected by the operation module 44 to create the guidance pattern data, and transmits the guidance pattern data to the controller 35 of the pad device 3.

The monitoring module 46 can control the corresponding pressure point 461 in the pressure distribution image 460 to display a pressure indication message representing the pressure value based on the pressure value of each pressure sensor 33 in the pad pressure distribution data. The pressure indication message can be, for example, but not limited to, a numerical value of the pressure value, or a specific color or brightness used to display the pressure value.

When the intelligent pressure-sensitive display system 200 of the present invention is used, the pad device 3 can be laid on the ground to be used as an anti-slip pad or floor mat.

To enable the cushion device 3 to provide guidance for nighttime walking, the graphic setting function of the guidance graphic setting module 45 of the monitoring device 4 is activated. Then, the operation module 44 is operated to select a specific pressure point 461 in the pressure distribution image 460 displayed by the display module 41. The guidance graphic setting module 45 then creates the guidance graphic data based on the position parameters of the selected pressure point 461 and transmits the guidance graphic data to the cushion device 3.

When the pad device 3 is in use, the pressure analysis module 351 of the controller 35 continuously receives and analyzes the pressure value represented by the pressure sensing signal of each pressure sensor 33, thereby establishing the pad pressure distribution data and transmitting the pad pressure distribution data to the monitoring device 4.

When the lighting control module 352 of the controller 35 analyzes and determines that the light intensity represented by the light sensing signal is below a predetermined value, it activates the lighting function. Furthermore, when the pressure value of one of the pressure sensors 33 exceeds a predetermined threshold, it controls the corresponding LED 32 in the protrusion structure 314 to illuminate, thereby generating a floor lighting function. For example, the LEDs 32 in the protrusion structure 314 stepped on by the user are activated to illuminate the floor lighting function in the area where the user stepped. In practice, the lighting control module 352 can control the brightness of the corresponding LED 32 based on the pressure value.

When the controller 35 stores the guide pattern data, the lighting control module 352 controls one of the LEDs 32 to illuminate, and at the same time, controls the corresponding LEDs 32 in the raised structures 314 to illuminate according to the position parameters of the guide pattern data, so that the raised structures 314 that transmit light cooperate to form the guide pattern 30. In addition, the guide pattern 30 can be used to quickly guide the path to a specific location in a dim environment, for example, but not limited to, guiding the path from the bedside to the toilet at night.

During use of the cushion device 3, the monitoring module 46 continuously controls the display module 41 to display corresponding pressure indication messages at each pressure point 461 in the pressure distribution image 460 based on the cushion pressure distribution data transmitted by the cushion device 3. This allows the caregiver to understand the pressure conditions of each protrusion 314 of the cushion mechanism 31.

In addition, the monitoring module 46 has a built-in unit distribution area of each of the protruding structures 314, and performs calculations based on the number of pressure points 461 with current pressure values greater than zero and the unit distribution area, for example, multiplying the number of pressure points by the unit distribution area to obtain a contact pressure distribution area.

Assuming that the unit distribution area built into each protrusion structure 314 is 2 square centimeters, and based on the size of an average adult's foot, the area of the soles of both feet is approximately 300 to 500 square centimeters. When a person lies on the pad body 311, the area of the pad body 311 that the person contacts should exceed 1000 square centimeters. Therefore, the monitoring module 46 can control the warning module 42 to issue the warning message when analyzing and determining that the contact pressure distribution area is greater than a predetermined value, such as but not limited to greater than 1000 square centimeters, and maintains this value for more than a predetermined time, such as more than 10 minutes. This allows the on-site caregiver to know that a fall may occur, and the monitoring module 46 will synchronously control the notification module 43 to send the notification signal, so that the remote monitoring personnel can understand the situation in real time and arrange rescue measures as soon as possible.

In this embodiment, the protruding structures 314 are protruding from the first side surface 312 of the pad body 311 facing away from the ground. However, in another embodiment of the present invention, the protruding structures 314 may be changed to be provided on the second side surface 313 of the pad body 311 facing the ground.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the lighting control module 352 controls the corresponding LED 32 in the protruding structure 314 to illuminate only when the pressure value represented by the pressure sensing signal is determined to be greater than or equal to the predetermined threshold. However, in another embodiment of the present invention, the lighting control module 352 can also control the corresponding LED 32 to illuminate only when the pressure value is determined to be greater than 0. Furthermore, in yet another embodiment of the present invention, the pad mechanism 31 is not necessarily provided with the LEDs 32.

In summary, through the cushion mechanism 31 of the cushion device 3, the structural design of the pressure sensors 33 and the controller 35 disposed on the cushion mechanism 31, and the design in which the monitoring device 4 displays the pressure distribution image 460 and presents a corresponding pressure indication message at each pressure point 461 in the pressure distribution image 460, the pressure conditions of the protruding structures 314 of the cushion device 3 can be monitored in real time, helping to quickly determine whether the user has fallen and is unable to move. Furthermore, by arranging the LEDs 32 in the raised structures 314 of the pad mechanism 31 and controlling the LEDs 32 to emit light through the controller 35, the light-transmitting raised structures 314 cooperate with each other to form the guide pattern 30, thereby facilitating ground lighting and guiding walking paths in dim environments.

Therefore, the intelligent pressure-sensitive display system 200 of the present invention is indeed a very innovative and practical creation, and can indeed achieve the purpose of this invention.

However, the above description is merely an example of the present invention and should not be used to limit the scope of the present invention. All simple equivalent changes and modifications made according to the scope of the patent application and the content of the patent specification of the present invention are still within the scope of the present patent.

200: Intelligent Pressure-Sensitive Display System 3: Pad Device 30: Guide Pattern 31: Pad Mechanism 311: Pad Body 312: First Side 313: Second Side 314: Raised Structure 32: LED 33: Pressure Sensor 34: Light Sensor 35: Controller 351: Pressure Analysis Module 352: Lighting Control Module 4: Monitoring Device 41: Display Module 42: Alarm Module 43: Notification Module 44: Operation Module 45: Guide Pattern Setting Module 46: Monitoring Module 460: Pressure Distribution Image 461: Pressure Point

Other features and functions of the present invention are clearly illustrated in the accompanying drawings, including: Figure 1 is a fragmentary schematic perspective view illustrating an embodiment of the intelligent pressure-sensitive display system of the present invention; Figure 2 is a fragmentary, partially enlarged side sectional view illustrating the structure of a pad mechanism of the embodiment; Figure 3 is a functional block diagram illustrating the functional architecture of the embodiment; and Figure 4 is a fragmentary schematic top view illustrating the pad device displaying a guide pattern.

200: Intelligent pressure-sensitive display system

3: Pad device

31: Pad mechanism

311: Pad body

312: First side

313: Second side

314: Raised structure

34: Light sensor

35: Controller

4: Monitoring device

41: Display Module

42: Warning Module

44: Operation Module

460: Pressure distribution image

461: Pressure Point

Claims (7)

A smart pressure-sensitive display system comprises: A pad device including a pad mechanism, a plurality of pressure sensors disposed on the pad mechanism, and a controller. The pad mechanism comprises a pad body having a first side and a second side disposed opposite each other, a plurality of protrusion structures arranged and protruding from one of the first side and the second side of the pad body, and a plurality of LEDs respectively embedded in the protrusion structures and electrically connected to the controller. The protrusion structures are located on the first side of the pad body that is exposed upward and are made of a light-transmitting material. The pressure sensors are respectively disposed in the protrusion structures, and each pressure sensor can sense the pressure of the corresponding protrusion. The pressure exerted on the structure during elastic deformation generates a corresponding pressure sensing signal. The controller is signal-connected to the pressure sensors. The controller includes a pressure analysis module and a lighting control module. The pressure analysis module analyzes and obtains the pressure value represented by each pressure sensing signal and aggregates the pressure values of the pressure sensors to generate pad pressure distribution data. The lighting control module controls the LED in the protruding structure where the pressure sensor is located to illuminate when the pressure value of the pressure sensor is greater than zero based on the analysis of the pad pressure distribution data. A monitoring device is connected to the controller by signal, including a monitoring module, a display module and an alarm module. The display module displays a pressure distribution image. The pressure distribution image has a plurality of pressure points corresponding to the distribution positions of the protruding structures. The monitoring module can control the display module to display the corresponding pressure points of the pressure distribution image according to the pressure value of each pressure sensor in the pressure distribution data of the pad. The pressure point displays a pressure indicator message representing the pressure value. The monitoring module has a built-in unit distribution area for each of the protruding structures. The monitoring module calculates a pressure distribution area based on the number of pressure points with current pressure values greater than zero and the unit distribution area. If the pressure distribution area is determined to be greater than a predetermined value and maintained for a predetermined period, the monitoring module controls the warning module to issue a warning message. The intelligent pressure-sensitive display system as described in claim 1 is also suitable for communicating with a remote monitoring device, wherein the monitoring device further includes a communication module. The monitoring module controls the warning module to issue the warning message and also controls the communication module to wirelessly send a notification signal to the remote monitoring device. In the intelligent pressure-sensitive display system as described in claim 1, the lighting control module controls the corresponding LED to emit light only when it analyzes and determines that the pressure value of one of the pressure sensing signals is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold. As described in claim 1, the intelligent pressure-sensitive display system, wherein the pad device further includes a light sensor that can sense the ambient light intensity to obtain a light sensing signal, the controller is also signal-connected to the light sensor, and the lighting control module has a built-in lighting function. The lighting control module will activate the lighting function when the light intensity represented by the light sensing signal is analyzed to be lower than a predetermined value, and will control the LED in the protruding structure where the pressure sensor is located to emit light when the pressure value of the pressure sensing signal of one of the pressure sensors is analyzed to be greater than zero. As described in claim 4, the intelligent pressure-sensitive display system, wherein the controller stores a plurality of position parameters corresponding to the distribution positions of the plurality of protrusion structures, and stores a guide pattern data composed of the position parameters corresponding to the plurality of protrusion structures. When the lighting control module controls the lighting of one of the LEDs, it controls the lighting of the LEDs in the corresponding protrusion structures according to the position parameters of the guide pattern data, so that the protrusion structures that transmit light cooperate to form a guide pattern. As described in claim 5, the intelligent pressure-sensitive display system has a plurality of built-in position parameters corresponding to the pressure points, and the monitoring device further includes an operation module and a guide graphic setting module. The operation module can be operated to click on the pressure points in the pressure distribution image displayed by the display module. When the guide graphic setting module is operated to activate a graphic setting function, it will aggregate the position parameters corresponding to the pressure points clicked by the operation module to establish the guide graphic data, and transmit the guide graphic data to the controller of the pad device, and the controller will store the guide graphic data. The intelligent pressure-sensitive display system as described in claim 6, wherein the operation module is a touch input device stacked and integrated with the display module.