CLOTHING ITEM

Abstract

A clothing item, in particular a belt, with at least two actuators for triggering tactile stimuli for a person wearing the clothing item, wherein the at least two actuators are or can be connected to a control unit for actuating the actuators, the control unit is formed to activate the at least two actuators within the scope of at least two activation patterns, and the at least two activation patterns are assigned to different action instructions for the person wearing the clothing item, which action instructions can be output to the person wearing the clothing item via the activation of the activation patterns, wherein the at least two activation patterns include the combined activation of the at least two actuators at different parts of the body that are distinguishable for the person wearing the clothing item.

Claims

1. Clothing item, in particular a belt, with at least two actuators for triggering tactile stimuli for a person wearing the clothing item, wherein the at least two actuators are or can be connected to a control unit for actuating the actuators, the control unit is formed to activate the at least two actuators within the scope of at least two activation patterns, and the at least two activation patterns are assigned to different action instructions for the person wearing the clothing item, which action instructions can be output to the person wearing the clothing item via the activation of the activation patterns, wherein the at least two activation patterns include the combined activation of the at least two actuators at different parts of the body that are distinguishable for the person wearing the clothing item.

2. The clothing item according to claim 1, wherein the control unit is formed to activate the at least two actuators within the scope of the activation patterns in a predetermined chronological sequence, in particular simultaneously or in a defined chronological series.

3. The clothing item according to claim 1, wherein the at least two activation patterns include the combined activation of a partial quantity of the at least two actuators at different parts of the body that are distinguishable for the person wearing the clothing item.

4. The clothing item according to claim 1, wherein there are more than two actuators, which are preferably activatable in groups, wherein one group preferably contains three actuators.

5. The clothing item according to claim 4, wherein the actuators that are assigned to a group are arranged on a common support element.

6. The clothing item according to claim 1, wherein the at least two actuators are in each case assigned to parts of the body, in particular muscle groups, in particular at least one of the following: abdomen, upper abdomen, lower abdomen, back, lower back, upper back, waist, left side of waist, right side of waist.

7. The clothing item according to claim 1, wherein the at least two actuators can be arranged at different locations on the clothing item, in particular in order to facilitate and/or improve an assignment between the at least two actuators and parts of the body of the person wearing the clothing item.

8. The clothing item according to claim 5, wherein the arrangement of the at least two actuators at different locations is possible via arrangement of the support element of the respective group.

9. The clothing item according to claim 1, wherein the control unit is or can be connected to at least one environment sensor for detecting the position of the person and/or for detecting positions of objects in an environment of the person, and in that the control unit is formed to output the action instructions to the person wearing the item of clothing via the activation of the activation patterns in response to environment sensor signals of the at least one environment sensor.

10. The clothing item according to claim 9, wherein the at least one environment sensor is arranged on the clothing item.

11. The clothing item according to claim 9, wherein the at least one environment sensor includes at least one of the following: satellite navigation device, camera, lidar, radar, ultrasonic transmitter/receiver combination, accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetic sensor.

12. The clothing item according to claim 1, wherein an urgency of an action instruction is coded by an intensity of the activation of the at least two actuators.

13. The clothing item according to claim 1, wherein the action instructions include at least one of the following: turn left, turn right, curve to the left, curve to the right, prepare for ascent or descent, prepare for a step up or down, stop, wherein the action instructions preferably additionally include the following action instructions: move straight on, faster, slower, change lanes, check device.

14. The clothing item according to claim 1, wherein the at least two actuators are arranged on an inner side of the clothing item.

15. The clothing item according to claim 1, wherein protrusions are formed in the region of the actuators.

16. A method for operating at least two actuators on a clothing item, in particular according to claim 1, wherein within the scope of at least two activation patterns, which are assigned to action instructions for the person wearing the clothing item, the at least two actuators are activated in a combined manner at different parts of the body that are distinguishable for the person wearing the clothing item and the action instructions are output to the person wearing the item of clothing via the activation of the activation patterns.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein the action instructions are output to the person via the activation of the activation patterns in response to environment sensor signals of at least one environment sensor for detecting the position of the person wearing the item of clothing and/or for detecting positions of objects in an environment of the person.

18. A computer program product for operating at least two actuators on a clothing item, in particular according to claim 1, having program commands which cause an executing computer to output actuator signals to the at least two actuators within the scope of at least two activation patterns in response to an input signal, with the result that the at least two actuators are activated in a combined manner at different parts of the body that are distinguishable for the person wearing the clothing item.

19. The computer program product according to claim 18, wherein the program commands cause the executing computer to receive environment sensor signals of an environment sensor for detecting the position of the person and/or for detecting positions of objects in an environment of the person and generate the input signal from the environment sensor signals or use the environment sensor signal as an input signal.

Description

[0062] Further advantages and details of the invention are discussed for various embodiment examples on the basis of the figures. There are shown in:

[0063] FIGS. 1a, 1b a front and rear view of a possible embodiment variant of the clothing item as a belt,

[0064] FIGS. 2a, 2b the arrangement of the environment sensor and the actuators on the clothing item,

[0065] FIG. 3 the arrangement of the actuators on the different parts of the body,

[0066] FIGS. 4a-4f different perspectives of a support element arranged on the clothing item,

[0067] FIG. 5 a perspective view of an embodiment of the clothing item,

[0068] FIGS. 6a, 6b a circuit diagram for the layout of the actuators,

[0069] FIGS. 7a, 7b the arrangement of the actuators on a support element in groups,

[0070] FIG. 8 an example of an activation pattern for cross-country skiing, and

[0071] FIGS. 9a-9e different activation patterns.

[0072] FIGS. 10a-10e different schematic representations of a protrusion in the region of the actuators.

[0073] FIG. 1a and, analogously thereto, FIG. 1b show an embodiment example of a clothing item 1 in the form of a belt which is to be worn on the torso of a person 5. An identifying symbol for the visually impaired is pictured on the front side and an environment sensor 9 for detecting the position of the person 5 and/or for detecting positions of objects in an environment of the person 5 is or can be connected on the rear side. The clothing item 1 comprises at least two actuators 2 for triggering tactile stimuli for a person 5 wearing the clothing item 1, wherein [0074] the at least two actuators 2 are or can be connected to a control unit 3 for actuating the actuators 2, [0075] the control unit 3 is formed to activate the at least two actuators 2 within the scope of at least two activation patterns 4, and [0076] the at least two activation patterns 4 are assigned to different action instructions for the person 5 wearing the clothing item 1, which action instructions can be output to the person 5 wearing the item of clothing 1 via the activation of the activation patterns 4,

[0077] FIG. 2a shows the arrangement of an environment sensor 9 and an actuator 2 on a clothing item 1.

[0078] FIG. 2b shows that the actuators 2 can be activated in groups 7 and that the actuators 2 of a group 7 are arranged on a common support element 8. The control unit 3 is formed to activate the different groups 7 within the scope of at least two activation patterns 4. Moreover, it can be seen that the groups 7 are arranged on the inner side of the clothing item 1. In the embodiment example shown, the support elements 8 are formed in part oval-shaped, although other shapes are also conceivable.

[0079] FIG. 3 shows several actuators 2 which are arranged on different parts of the body 6. The actuators 2 are assigned to different muscle groups, wherein the actuators 2 cover, for example, the muscle groups musculus rectus abdominis, musculus obliquus externus abdominis, musculus erector spinae, abdomen, upper abdomen, lower abdomen, back, lower back, upper back, waist, left side of waist and right side of waist.

[0080] FIGS. 4a to 4f show that the at least two actuators 2 can be arranged at different locations on the clothing item 1, in particular in order to facilitate and/or improve a precise assignment between the at least two actuators 2 and parts of the body 6 of the person 5 wearing the clothing item 1. It can be seen that the individual support elements 8 can be detached and pressed back on using a hook-and-loop fastener, and can thereby be moved. For this move, however, rails or the like could also be provided. Since the individual support elements 8 can be moved, the position can be adapted to the individual needs of the user.

[0081] FIG. 5 shows a perspective representation of the clothing item 1, wherein the clothing item 1 is formed as a corset. It can be seen from this that different forms of clothing from the clothing item 1 according to the invention are also possible.

[0082] FIGS. 6a and 6b show that more than two actuators 2 in a group 7 can be activated. It can be seen that a group 7 of actuators 2 is actuated via an electronic circuit. Power can be supplied via a battery, but of course other types of power supply, such as e.g. rechargeable batteries or storage batteries, are also conceivable.

[0083] FIG. 7a and, analogously thereto, FIG. 7b show the arrangement of several actuators 2 at different locations on the support element 8 of the respective group 7.

[0084] FIG. 8 shows an example or a set of activation patterns 4, with which a wide variety of action instructions can be coded.

[0085] It can be advantageous if there are no more than seven basic activation patterns, which are duplicated (left/right, forwards/backwards), since tests show that seven basic activation instructions can be remembered well in the short-term memory.

[0086] FIGS. 9a to 9e show some different activation patterns 4 from the table of FIG. 8 which are possible via the differing actuation of the actuators 2. This allows, in particular, the following action instructions to be presented: move straight on, turn left, turn right, curve to the left, curve to the right, prepare for ascent or descent, prepare for a step up or down, stop, faster, slower, change lanes or check device.

[0087] FIGS. 10a to 10e show different representations of protrusions 10 which are formed in the region of the actuators 2. Protrusions 10 on a support element 8 can be seen in FIGS. 10a and 10b. In FIG. 10c, it can be seen that the protrusions 10 are formed on the side of the support element 8 facing the part of the body 6. Different embodiments of the protrusion 10 can be seen in FIGS. 10d and 10e.

[0088] Although the invention has been described specifically on the basis of the embodiment example shown, it is self-evident that the subject-matter of the application is not limited to this embodiment example. Rather, it is self-evident that measures and modifications which serve to implement the inventive ideas are absolutely conceivable and desired. For example, the clothing item according to the invention could also be designed as a shoe, jacket, waistcoat, trousers, headband or consisting of several straps around arms and/or legs.

[0089] The embodiment example shown of a belt or a corset as well as the example described of a possible method for operating such a clothing item are of course not to be understood in a restrictive sense, but rather only as individual examples of numerous possibilities of realizing the inventive ideas of a clothing item with at least two actuators for triggering tactile stimuli.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

[0090] 1 Clothing item [0091] 2 Actuators [0092] 3 Control unit [0093] 4 Activation pattern [0094] 5 Person [0095] 6 Part of the body [0096] 7 Group [0097] 8 Support element [0098] 9 Environment sensor [0099] 10 Protrusion