KR-20260064807-A - STICK FOR ELDERLY SAFETY

Abstract

The present invention relates to a safety guard stick for the elderly, which detects the occurrence of an emergency situation regarding the elderly by detecting specific actions of the elderly regarding the safety guard stick, arbitrary separation between the elderly and the stick, deterioration of the elderly's health condition, or a combination thereof; and when the occurrence of said emergency situation is detected, outputs an emergency situation alarm through a speaker and simultaneously transmits an emergency situation alarm message to a guardian, a care agency, or a combination thereof to ensure the safety of said elderly.

Inventors

• 김춘호

Assignees

• 남서울대학교 산학협력단

Dates

Publication Date

20260508

Application Date

20241029

Claims (6)

1. A vibration sensing unit that detects vibrations applied to a stick for elderly safety; A wrist fixing ring separation detection unit that detects whether a wrist fixing ring, which is inserted into a socket formed around the handle of the above-mentioned elderly safety watch stick and fixes the wrist of an elderly person gripping the handle, is separated; A biosignal measuring unit that measures the biosignal of the elderly person through a biosignal measuring sensor installed on the handle; and It includes an emergency situation detection unit that detects the occurrence of an emergency situation by detecting the vibration detected above, whether the wrist fixing ring is detached, a specific action of the elderly person regarding the elderly safety guard stick, an arbitrary separation between the elderly person and the elderly safety guard stick, a deterioration of the elderly person's health condition, or a combination thereof using the measured biosignal; A safety stick for the elderly characterized by outputting an emergency alarm through a speaker or transmitting an emergency alarm message to a guardian terminal, a care agency, or a combination thereof when the occurrence of the above-mentioned emergency situation is detected.
2. In claim 1, The above emergency situation detection unit is, An elderly safety watch stick characterized by detecting the occurrence of an emergency situation for the elderly by detecting that the elderly person has performed the specific action regarding the elderly safety watch stick when, as a result of detecting the above vibration, vibrations of a predetermined intensity or greater are detected continuously for a predetermined number of times or more during a predetermined period.
3. In claim 1, The above emergency situation detection unit is, An elderly safety watch stick characterized by detecting the occurrence of an emergency situation by detecting that the elderly safety watch stick has been arbitrarily separated from the elderly person when the wrist fixing ring is detected to be separated from the socket after being inserted into the socket, as a result of detecting whether the wrist fixing ring is separated.
4. In claim 1, The above wrist fixation ring is, A safety stick for the elderly characterized by being configured to be separated from the socket when a pulling force exceeding a predetermined force is generated after being inserted into the socket.
5. In claim 1, The above emergency situation detection unit is, A safety watch stick for the elderly characterized by detecting the occurrence of an emergency situation by detecting that the health condition of the elderly has deteriorated if the measured vital signs of the elderly are not within a predetermined normal range.
6. A vibration detection step for detecting vibrations applied to a stick for elderly safety; A wrist fixing ring separation detection step for detecting whether a wrist fixing ring, which is inserted into a socket formed around the handle of the above-mentioned elderly safety watch stick and fixes the wrist of an elderly person gripping the handle, is separated; A biosignal measurement step of measuring the biosignal of the elderly person through a biosignal measurement sensor installed on the handle; and The method includes an emergency situation detection step for detecting the occurrence of an emergency situation by detecting the vibration detected above, whether the wrist fixing ring is detached, a specific action of the elderly person regarding the elderly safety guard stick using the measured biosignal, an arbitrary separation between the elderly person and the elderly safety guard stick, a deterioration of the elderly person's health condition, or a combination thereof; A method of caring for the elderly using an elderly safety watch stick, characterized by outputting an emergency alarm through a speaker or transmitting an emergency alarm message to a guardian terminal, a care agency, or a combination thereof when the occurrence of the above-mentioned emergency situation is detected.

Description

STICK FOR ELDERLY SAFETY The present invention relates to a safety watch stick for the elderly, and more specifically, to a stick that detects the occurrence of an emergency situation regarding the elderly by detecting specific actions of the elderly regarding the safety watch stick, arbitrary separation between the elderly and the stick, deterioration of the elderly's health condition, or a combination thereof, and when the occurrence of said emergency situation is detected, outputs an emergency situation alarm through a speaker and simultaneously transmits an emergency situation alarm message to a guardian, a care agency, or a combination thereof to ensure the safety of said elderly. As the aging society accelerates, the need for safety and health management for the elderly is growing. In particular, elderly people who live alone or have difficulty moving are exposed to risks such as falls and cardiovascular diseases, and failure to respond promptly in such situations can lead to serious consequences. Therefore, if we can ensure the safety of the elderly during mobility and check their health by utilizing walking sticks (canes) that they frequently use, we will be able to care for them efficiently. Conventional walking sticks primarily provide only the function of assisting the user (the elderly) with mobility, but they have the problem of being unable to respond at all if an emergency occurs to the elderly while moving. Accordingly, the present invention proposes a safety guard stick for the elderly that enables efficient care by ensuring safety through prompt response to the user, by rapidly detecting the occurrence of an emergency situation involving the elderly and outputting an emergency alarm through a speaker or transmitting an emergency alarm message to a guardian or care agency. Furthermore, the present invention proposes a method for detecting the occurrence of an emergency situation by detecting the deterioration of a health condition of an elderly person, specific behavior of the elderly person regarding a stick, the stick being arbitrarily separated from the elderly person, or a combination thereof. Next, we will briefly explain the prior art existing in the technical field of the present invention, and then describe the technical details that the present invention aims to achieve differently from the said prior art. First, Korean Registered Patent No. 2024111 (September 24, 2019) relates to a smart cane for a person with mobility impairment using a microcomputer and an obstacle warning method of said smart cane. It concerns a smart cane for a person with mobility impairment using a microcomputer and an obstacle warning method of said smart cane that determines whether the person with mobility impairment has approached an obstacle by considering the distance from the obstacle in front and the size of the obstacle, and then provides an alarm to the person with mobility impairment via vibration indicating a collision risk. In other words, Korean Registered Patent No. 2024111 provides only functions related to mobility assistance, including outputting a collision risk when an obstacle appears in front. On the other hand, the present invention detects the occurrence of an emergency situation involving an elderly person using a stick through the stick and outputs an alarm externally or transmits an alarm message to a guardian or care agency to enable prompt action regarding the elderly person; Korean Registered Patent No. 2024111 does not describe, suggest, or imply any such technical features of the present invention. In addition, Korean Published Patent No. 2024-0078556 (June 4, 2024) relates to a heat-sensing cane, which is equipped with a GPS and a heat-sensing sensor inside the cane to output an alarm via vibration and determine the user's location when heat or danger is detected. In other words, Korean Published Patent No. 2024-0078556 merely provides an alarm to a user of a cane by detecting ambient heat or fire using a thermal sensor; it does not describe, suggest, or imply in any way the method proposed in the present invention of detecting the deterioration of a health condition of an elderly person using a stick, the stick being arbitrarily separated from the elderly person, specific actions by the elderly person regarding the stick, or a combination thereof to detect the occurrence of an emergency situation involving the elderly person. Therefore, there are significant differences between the two inventions in their technical configuration, purpose, and effect. FIG. 1 is a drawing illustrating a stick for protecting the safety of the elderly according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a drawing illustrating a method for detecting the occurrence of an emergency situation according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a drawing illustrating a method for detecting the occurrence of an emergency situation according to another embodiment of the present in