EP-4740924-A1 - WEARABLE DEVICE FOR PERFORMING DIAGNOSTIC OPERATION, AND OPERATING METHOD THEREOF

EP4740924A1EP 4740924 A1EP4740924 A1EP 4740924A1EP-4740924-A1

Abstract

This wearable device can generate a second voltage on the basis of a first voltage used by a motor, consume, through a discharge circuit including one or more resistors, electromotive force generated by the motor if the second voltage is greater than or equal to a reference voltage, output a diagnostic voltage generated on the basis of the first voltage, the resistor in the discharge circuit, and one or more electrical elements, and determine whether the discharge circuit is in an abnormal state on the basis of at least one from among the voltage value of the second voltage or the voltage value of the diagnostic voltage.

Inventors

PARK, JiHye

Assignees

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260513
Application Date: 20240927

Claims (15)

A wearable apparatus (100, 500, 500-1, 700, 1700) comprising: a motor (718); a conversion circuit (710) configured to generate a second voltage based on a first voltage used by the motor; a discharging circuit (714) comprising one or more resistors and configured to consume an electromotive force generated by the motor through at least the one or more resistors when the second voltage is greater than or equal to a reference voltage; a diagnostic circuit (717) comprising one or more electrical circuit elements and configured to output a diagnostic voltage generated based on the first voltage, a resistor in the discharging circuit, and the one or more electrical circuit elements; and at least one processor, comprising processing circuitry, individually and/or collectively (512, 712, 1710) configured to receive the second voltage from the conversion circuit, receive the output diagnostic voltage from the diagnostic circuit, and determine whether the discharging circuit is in an abnormal state based on at least one of a voltage value of the second voltage or a voltage value of the received diagnostic voltage.
The wearable apparatus of claim 1, wherein the abnormal state corresponds to a first abnormal state comprising an electrical open state of the discharging circuit and a second abnormal state comprising an electrical short state of the discharging circuit, and wherein the one or more electrical circuit elements comprises a resistor.
The wearable apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is individually and/or collectively configured to determine whether the discharging circuit is in an abnormal state through at least an amount of change in the second voltage during a time interval from a first time point, at which the second voltage is greater than or equal to the reference voltage, to a second time point.
The wearable apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is individually and/or collectively configured to determine whether the discharging circuit is in an abnormal state based on a current value of a current flowing through at least the discharging circuit when the second voltage is greater than or equal to the reference voltage.
The wearable apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is individually and/or collectively configured to determine whether the discharging circuit is in an abnormal state based on a voltage value of the received diagnostic voltage when the second voltage is less than the reference voltage.
The wearable apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is individually and/or collectively configured to determine whether a voltage of the received diagnostic voltage corresponds to a first voltage value when a diagnostic request signal for the discharging circuit exists in a pre-exercise state or post-exercise state of a user wearing the wearable apparatus, determine whether the voltage value of the received diagnostic voltage is greater than the first voltage value or corresponds to a second voltage value when the voltage value of the received diagnostic voltage does not correspond to the first voltage value, determine that the discharging circuit is in a first abnormal state when the voltage value of the received diagnostic voltage corresponds to the second voltage value, and determine that the discharging circuit is in a second abnormal state when the voltage value of the received diagnostic voltage is greater than the first voltage value.
The wearable apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is individually and/or collectively configured to determine whether the discharging circuit is in an abnormal state through a change in the second voltage in an exercising state of a user wearing the wearable apparatus.
The wearable apparatus of claim 7, wherein the at least one processor is individually and/or collectively configured to obtain a voltage value of the second voltage at a first time point at which the second voltage is greater than or equal to the reference voltage, obtain the voltage value of the second voltage at a second time point after a predetermined time elapses from the first time point, determine that the discharging circuit is in a first abnormal state when the voltage value at the second time point is greater than the voltage value at the first time point, and determine that the discharging circuit is in a second abnormal state when the voltage value at the second time point is less than the voltage value at the first time point by more than a predetermined level.
The wearable apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is individually and/or collectively configured to enable a first switch circuit to be in a turned-on state such that the diagnostic circuit is electrically connected to the discharging circuit when the second voltage is less than the reference voltage at a time point at which a diagnostic request signal for the discharging circuit exists, determine whether the discharging circuit is in an abnormal state based on the voltage value of the received diagnostic voltage, enable the first switch circuit to be in a turned-off state when the second voltage is greater than or equal to the reference voltage at a time point at which a diagnostic request signal for the discharging circuit exists, and determine whether the discharging circuit is in an abnormal state based on the voltage value of the second voltage.
The wearable apparatus of claim 9, wherein the diagnostic request signal is based on the diagnostic request received from an electronic device that is in a wireless communication connection with the wearable apparatus and/or based on as a period of the diagnostic request signal is reached.
The wearable apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is individually and/or collectively configured to control a report, which indicates that the discharging circuit is in an abnormal state, to be transmitted to at least one of a cloud server and/or an electronic device of a user when it is determined that the discharging circuit is in an abnormal state.
The wearable apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is individually and/or collectively configured to control the motor to provide a torque to the user in an exercising state of the user wearing the wearable apparatus and control the motor to stop providing the torque to the user when it is determined that the discharging circuit is in an abnormal state in the exercising state.
The wearable apparatus of claim 1, comprising: one or more light-emitting diodes (LEDs) configured to output light corresponding to a state of the wearable apparatus, wherein the at least one processor is individually and/or collectively configured to control the one or more LEDs to use the electromotive force as a power source of the one or more LEDs.
The wearable apparatus of claim 1, further comprising: a first switch circuit located between at least the discharging circuit and the diagnostic circuit, and configured to connect the discharging circuit to the diagnostic circuit when the first switch circuit is in a turned-on state; a comparison circuit configured to compare the second voltage with the reference voltage; and a second switch circuit configured to be in a turned-on state and/or a turned-off state based on a result of the comparing of the comparison circuit, wherein the discharging circuit is configured to receive and consume the electromotive force when the second switch circuit is in the turned-on state..
An operating method of a wearable apparatus (100, 500, 500-1, 700, 1700), the operating method comprising: generating a second voltage based on a first voltage used by a motor of the wearable apparatus; consuming an electromotive force generated by the motor through at least a discharging circuit comprising one or more resistors when the second voltage is greater than or equal to a reference voltage; generating a diagnostic voltage based on the first voltage, a resistor in the discharging circuit, and one or more electrical circuit elements; and determining whether the discharging circuit is in an abnormal state based on at least one of a voltage value of the second voltage or a voltage value of the diagnostic voltage.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD Certain example embodiments relate to a wearable apparatus performing a diagnostic operation and/or an operating method of the wearable apparatus. BACKGROUND ART As society ages, more people are experiencing discomfort and pain while walking due to muscle weakness or joint issues caused by aging or the like. This has led to increased interest in walking assistance devices that may help elderly or other individuals with weakened muscles or patients with joint discomfort walk more smoothly and/or to exercise. DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION TECHNICAL GOALS According to an example embodiment, a wearable apparatus may include a motor, a conversion circuit configured to generate a second voltage based on a first voltage used by the motor, a discharging circuit including one or more resistors and configured to consume an electromotive force generated by the motor through the one or more resistors when the second voltage is greater than or equal to a reference voltage, a diagnostic circuit including one or more electrical circuit elements (e.g., resistor(s)) and configured to output a diagnostic voltage generated based on the first voltage, a resistor in the discharging circuit, and the one or more electrical elements, and at least one processor. The processor(s), comprising processing circuitry, may be individually and/or collectively configured to receive the second voltage from the conversion circuit and receive the output diagnostic voltage from the diagnostic circuit. The processor(s) may be configured to determine whether the discharging circuit is in an abnormal state based on at least one of a voltage value of the second voltage or a voltage value of the received diagnostic voltage. According to an example embodiment, a wearable apparatus may include a motor, a first circuit including one or more electrical circuit elements and configured to determine whether the motor is in an overvoltage state based on a first voltage used by the motor, a second circuit including one or more resistors and configured to consume an electromotive force generated by the motor through the one or more resistors, and at least one processor comprising processing circuitry. The first circuit may be configured to output a second voltage generated based on the first voltage to the processor and output a diagnostic voltage generated based on the first voltage, a resistor in the second circuit, and the one or more electrical elements to the processor. The processor(s) may be individually and/or collectively configured to determine whether the second circuit is in an abnormal state based on at least one of a voltage value of the second voltage or a voltage value of the diagnostic voltage. According to an example embodiment, an operating method of a wearable apparatus may include generating a second voltage based on a first voltage used by a motor of the wearable apparatus, consuming an electromotive force generated by the motor through a discharging circuit including one or more resistors when the second voltage is greater than or equal to a reference voltage, generating a diagnostic voltage based on the first voltage, a resistor in the discharging circuit, and one or more electrical elements, and determining whether the discharging circuit is in an abnormal state based on at least one of a voltage value of the second voltage or a voltage value of the diagnostic voltage. According to an example embodiment, when an excessive electromotive force is generated by a motor, a wearable apparatus may consume the excessive electromotive force as thermal energy through a discharging circuit (e.g., one or more resistors in the discharging circuit). According to an example embodiment, a wearable apparatus in a pre-exercise state, an exercising state, or a post-exercise state may diagnose or inspect a discharging circuit according to a user request or periodically. According to an example embodiment, a wearable apparatus may perform different diagnostic operations for a discharging circuit according to the amount of generated electromotive force of a motor, thereby reducing the amount of battery power that may be consumed when the discharging circuit is diagnosed. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS The above and other aspects, features, and advantages of certain example embodiments of the present disclosure will be more apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an overview of a wearable apparatus worn on a body of a user, according to an example embodiment.FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an exercise management system including a wearable apparatus and an electronic device, according to an example embodiment.FIG. 3 is a rear schematic view of a wearable apparatus according to an example embodiment.FIG. 4 is a left side view of a wearable apparatus according to an example embodiment.FIGS. 5A and 5B are diagrams illustrating a configuration