WEARABLE SAFETY DEVICE

Abstract

The present invention relates to a wearable safety device 99 comprising: a device body 1 adapted to be secured to a user; a local alert system comprising at least one light source 65 and an audible alarm 35; an electronic control unit 51 comprising an alarm trigger and being configured to control the local alert system, wherein the electronic control unit is configured to continuously or repeatedly activate the light source to provide a visual alert, and wherein the electronic control unit is configured, upon actuation of the alarm trigger, to activate the audible alarm. The present invention also relates to a system comprising: a wearable safety device as aforementioned; and a software application for a user device, preferably a smartphone, wherein the software application is configured to broadcast an alert signal: based on a comparison between a planned route input by a user to the software application and data relating to the location of the user device; and/or upon actuation of the alarm trigger.

Claims

1. A wearable safety device comprising: a device body adapted to be secured to a user; a local alert system comprising at least one light source and an audible alarm; an electronic control unit comprising an alarm trigger and being configured to control the local alert system, wherein the electronic control unit is configured to continuously or repeatedly activate the light source to provide a visual alert, and wherein the electronic control unit is configured, upon actuation of the alarm trigger, to activate the audible alarm.

2. A wearable safety device according to claim 1, wherein the electronic control unit is further configured to broadcast an alert signal, preferably to predefined contacts, via transceiver means upon actuation of the alarm trigger.

3. A wearable safety device according to claim 1, wherein the electronic control unit is configured to transmit and receive global positioning location data to and from a remote receiver, the data relating to the location of the safety device.

4. A wearable safety device according to claim 3, wherein the electronic control unit is configured to compare the data relating to the location of the safety device to data relating to a planned route, and to broadcast an alert signal via transceiver means, and optionally to activate the audible alarm, based on the comparison.

5. A wearable safety device according to claim 1, wherein the alarm trigger comprises a vibration sensor.

6. A wearable safety device according to claim 5, wherein the vibration sensor is calibrated such that the alarm trigger is actuated when a detected vibration exceeds a threshold value.

7. A wearable safety device according to claim 5, wherein the vibration sensor extends along a length of the device body.

8. A wearable safety device according to claim 5, further comprising connections through the device body adapted to transmit vibrations to the vibration sensor.

9. A wearable safety device according to claim 1, comprising a diffuser panel, wherein the light source is configured to illuminate the diffuser panel from beside the diffuser panel, preferably wherein the diffuser panel is a silicone panel.

10. A wearable safety device according to claim 9, wherein the device body comprises an outer sleeve, and wherein the at least one light source and the diffuser panel are located within the outer sleeve so that the illuminated diffuser panel provides illumination through the outer sleeve, preferably wherein the outer sleeve comprises cut-out or transparent portions, optionally forming lettering, the at least one light source being adapted to back-light the cut-out or transparent portions.

11. A wearable safety device according to claim 1, wherein the at least one light source is adapted to illuminate a warning signal on the device body to provide the visual alert.

12. A wearable safety device according to claim 1, comprising a securement means for securing the device body to a user, the securement means comprising at least two cooperating securement parts adapted to be connected together.

13. A wearable safety device according to claim 12, wherein the electronic control unit is configured to detect disconnection of the at least two securement parts, and to broadcast an alert signal via transceiver means, and optionally to activate the audible alarm, upon detection of the disconnection.

14. A wearable safety device according to claim 12, wherein the electronic control unit is configured to detect connection of the at least two securement parts, and to activate the at least one light source upon detection of the connection.

15. A wearable safety device according to claim 12, wherein the securement means comprises an electrical contact between the at least two securement parts, and wherein the electronic control unit is configured to detect connection or disconnection of the at least two securement parts by monitoring the electrical contact.

16. A wearable safety device according to claim 12, wherein at least one of the cooperating securement parts extends along a length of the device body so that the securement parts can be secured together at a plurality of intermediate positions along the body.

17. A wearable safety device according to claim 12, wherein the at least two cooperating securement parts comprise: cooperating ferromagnetic plates; and/or cooperating hook and loop fasteners.

18. A wearable safety device according to claim 1, wherein the device body comprises a reflective material on its exterior surface, preferably wherein the device body comprises a trim of reflective material.

19. A wearable safety device according to claim 1, wherein the device body is an elongated band, preferably wherein the device is configured to be secured around a limb of a user's body, more preferably wherein the device is an armband.

20. A system comprising: a wearable safety device according to claim 1; and a software application for a user device, preferably a smartphone, wherein the software application is configured to broadcast an alert signal: based on a comparison between a planned route input by a user to the software application and data relating to the location of the user device; and/or upon actuation of the alarm trigger.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

[0060] FIG. 1 shows an isometric view of an embodiment of the armband according to the present invention in a secured position;

[0061] FIG. 2 shows a reverse isometric view of the embodiment of the armband as shown in FIG. 1;

[0062] FIG. 3 shows an isometric view of the embodiment of the armband shown in FIG. 1, in an unsecured position;

[0063] FIG. 4 shows a reverse isometric view of the embodiment of the armband as shown in FIG. 3;

[0064] FIG. 5 shows an isometric exploded view of the embodiment of the armband shown in FIG. 4;

[0065] FIG. 6 shows a reverse isometric exploded view of the embodiment of the armband shown in FIG. 3; and

[0066] FIGS. 7a and 7b show top and front views respectively of the embodiment of the armband as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4.

DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

[0067] With reference to FIGS. 1 to 4, there is shown an embodiment of the wearable safety device in the form of an armband. FIGS. 1 and 2 show the armband in a secured position, that is as it would be secured to a user's arm, and FIGS. 3 and 4 show the armband in an unsecured position.

[0068] The armband 99 comprises an elongate body 1 which extends between two ends 2, 3, and a securement means. The securement means comprises first and second cooperating securement parts 4, 14 located on opposing faces and near opposing ends of the body 1 such that, when the body 1 is wrapped around a user's arm, the securement parts 4, 14 are brought into contact to secure the armband to a user's arm. The first securement part 4 is elongate such that it extends along a portion of the body 1; in this example the first securement part 4 extends along approximately a third of the body 1. In this way, the second securement part 14 can be attached at a plurality of intermediate positions along the length of the first securement part 4 which enables a user to adjust the fit of the armband on their arm.

[0069] In this example, the securement parts 4, 14 are cooperating ferromagnetic pads, the first ferromagnetic pad 4 being located on the outer facing side of the armband near the first end 2, and the second ferromagnetic pad 14 being located on the inner facing side of the armband near the second end 3. When the armband is secured to a user's arm, the second ferromagnetic pad 4 secures the second end 3 to the outer face of the body 1. In other examples, the securement parts 4, 14 are cooperating hook and loop portions such as Velcro® pads. The armband also comprises a loop 6 fixed to the body 1 at the first end 2, through which the second end 3 of the body 1 can be threaded when the armband is secured to a user's arm. The loop 6 provides additional security by holding the first end 2 flat against the inner face of the body 1, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

[0070] The device body 1 comprises an electronic control unit 51, preferably located in or on the device body 1. The device body 1 also comprises a local alert system, which comprises a light source and an audible alarm, preferably also located in or on the device body 1. The electronic control unit 51 is configured to control the local alert system.

[0071] The securement means may comprise an electrical contact between the securement parts 4, 14. The electronic control unit 51 may be configured to detect connection or disconnection of the two securement parts 4, 14 by monitoring the electrical contact (for example monitoring a voltage across the contact). The electronic control means 51 may then control the light source 65 and the audible alarm speaker 35 (the light source and audible alarm, together, being the alarm system) on the basis of the connection between the securement parts 4, 14. In particular, the electronic control unit 51 may be configured to continuously or repeatedly activate the light source 65 while the securement parts 4, 14 are detected to be connected together, so that the warning signal is continually illuminated while the armband is in use. Furthermore, the electronic control unit 51 may be configured and to activate the audible alarm when it is detected that the securement parts 4, 14 have been disconnected by the device was not previous turned off; in this way a siren will be sounded by the speaker 35 in the event that the armband is removed by someone other than the user.

[0072] The armband body 1 comprises an enlarged section 8 which houses an electronic control unit (not shown) which is described below. The body 1, in particular the enlarged section 8, provides a waterproof housing for the electronic control unit in order to protect the control unit from the environment. An actuation button 5 is located on top of the enlarged section 8 of the body 1 and is connected to the electronic control unit located within the enlarged section 8. The actuation button 5 is used to operate the electronic control unit as is described below. A charging socket 15 for charging the control unit is located on the bottom of the enlarged section 8 of the body 1. The charging socket 15 has a silicone bung to cover the socket when it is not in use to protect the socket.

[0073] The body 1 of the armband has an illuminated warning signal ‘ALARM’ 7 written three times spaced along the length of the body 1 between the ends. In this example, the warning signal is illuminated by back-lighting of lettering in the body 1 as is described below. In other examples, the warning signal may be provided by LED strips, or similar, arranged to spell a warning pattern or a word such as ‘ALARM’. The warning signal provides a visual alert by would-be attackers that the user is carrying the safety device.

[0074] In this way, the visual alert provides a deterrent against attacks to improve the safety of the user. Additionally, the armband includes two illuminated or reflective strips 9 running around the border of the body 1 and running longitudinally along the length of the body 1. This reflective trim provides a further visual alert in use which acts as a further deterrent.

[0075] Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, there is shown exploded views of the armband 99 of FIGS. 1 to 4. The armband comprises a body 1 which can be secured to a user via securement means having first and second securement parts 4, 14 as described above. The body 1 has a loop 6 through which an end of the armband can be threaded when the armband is secured around a user's arm.

[0076] The body 1 of the armband comprises an outer sleeve 61 and an inner padding 62. The outer sleeve 61 in this example is formed of two parts attached together; in other embodiments the outer sleeve 61 is formed as a single piece. The inner padding 62 is adapted to fit within the outer sleeve 61 when the armband is assembled, therefore the inner padding 62 is sized and shaped to correspond to the size and shape of the outer sleeve 61. The outer sleeve 61 in this example is made from neoprene which is flexible to ensure that the armband is easy for a user to wrap around their arm and to ensure that all components within the outer sleeve 61 are held in place. The inner padding 62 in this example is made from polyurethane foam which increases comfort for the user. In other examples the inner padding 62 is transparent or translucent to allow illumination from a light source to pass through the inner padding 62.

[0077] The two parts of the outer sleeve 61 are joined by stitching 66 and adhesive bonding. The outer sleeve further includes a retroreflective strip 67 which is bonded to the sleeve's outer face. This strip provides a further visual deterrent.

[0078] The inner padding 62 has a rectangular cut-out portion 64 that forms a seat for a diffuser panel 63. The diffuser panel 63 in this example is a flexible silicone panel which is shaped to fit within the seat in the inner padding 62. The diffuser panel 63 extends along most of the length of the body 1 of the armband. The diffuser panel 63 is illuminated by a light source 65, which in this example is one or more light emitting diodes (LEDs). The light source 65 is disposed adjacent the diffuser panel 63 such that the diffuser panel 63 is side-illuminated by the light source 65, that is, light from the light source is directed into the diffuser panel 63 through the end of the diffuser panel 63 and along its length. The light diffuser panel 63 diffuses the light from the light source so that the diffuser panel 63 provides a substantially evenly illuminated panel. In this way, the diffuser panel carries light along the length of the armband without the need for an array of light sources distributed along the armband; instead, only a single light source 65 is required to illuminate the length of the armband.

[0079] The outer sleeve 61 comprises a warning signal which is illuminated by the light source 65 to provide the visual alert to acts as a deterrent against would-be attackers. In this example, warning signal is provided by cut-out or transparent portions in the outer sleeve 61 which forming lettering to spell ‘ALARM’. The light source 65, which illuminates the diffuser panel 63 that is located within the outer sleeve 61 and behind the lettering, provides back-lighting to illuminate the warning signal lettering. The back-lighting of the warning signal is evenly distributed across the warning signal by the diffuser panel 63.

[0080] A self-contained electronic control unit 51 is advantageously housed within an enlarged waterproof section 8 of the body 1. The electronic control unit 51 comprises a casing 52 having front and back parts which fit together to encase the other components of the electronic control unit 51. A printed circuit board (PCB) 53 and a battery 54 are provided within the casing 52 to respectively connect together and power the other components of the electronic control unit 51. The electronic control unit 51 comprises a charging socket 15 for charging the battery 54, and a silicone bung (not shown) for covering the socket when it is not in use to protect the socket.

[0081] The electronic control unit 51 comprises an alarm trigger, which in this example is a vibration or pressure sensor 55, and an audible alarm which is provided by a speaker 35. The electronic control unit 51 is configured, upon actuation of the alarm trigger, to activate the audible alarm. The alarm trigger is actuated with the vibration or pressure sensor 55 measures a vibration which exceeds a pre-set threshold level. The pre-set threshold level is calibrated such that the level will be exceeded when a user hits the armband but will not be exceeded in the course of a user running with the armband secured to their arm.

[0082] In this way, should a user feel threatened, the user may trigger an alarm by hitting the armband, or more particularly the unit, which will be detected by the vibration sensor 55 and actuate the alarm trigger. The electronic control unit 51 will then activate the speaker 35 so as to sound a loud siren through the speaker 35. In additional, the electronic control unit 51 may broadcast a remote alert to pre-set contacts, using a transceiver means, who are thereby made aware of the location of the armband and user, as well as their need for assistance. This mechanism for actuating the alarm is advantageous because it is easy for a user to actuate the alarm even if they are panicked, particularly as compared to existing alarms where a small button (which is hard to locate when panicked) must be pressed to activate an alarm.

[0083] In order to ensure that the alarm is triggered upon a hit from a user, the armband may also comprise connections (not shown) within the body 1 of the armband, for example within the inner padding 62 or within the outer sleeve 61, which transmit vibrations to the sensor. The connections preferably run longitudinally along the length of the body 1 to transmit vibrations along the length of the body 1 to the sensor 55. In this way, if a user hits a part of the armband away from the location of the sensor 55, the vibrations from the hit will be transmitted effectively via the connections within the body 1 to the sensor 55 to actuate the alarm trigger and activate the audible alarm. The connections may be formed of a malleable metal such as aluminium which transmits vibrations well and which will not prevent the armband from being secured around a user's arm. Alternatively, the sensor 55 may be chosen to extend along a substantial portion of the length of the body 1 such that a hit on any part of the armband will be detected by the sensor 55 and will actuate the alarm trigger which in turn will activate the audible alarm.

[0084] The electronic control unit 51 may be configured such that the alarm trigger is actuated only upon detection of two hits by a user. Similarly, the electronic control unit 51 may be configured with multiple actuation modes, such that a single hit is required to actuate a local alarm (i.e. to activate the speaker 35), and two such hits are required in order for a remote alert signal to be broadcast. In this way false (remote) alarms may be minimised.

[0085] The electronic control unit 51 may also be configured to control the light source differently before and after actuation of the alarm; for example, before actuation of the alarm the light source may be controlled to provide a constant low-level visual alert, but after the alarm is actuated the light source may be controlled to provide a maximum brightness flashing visual alert in order to draw further attention to the user. In this way, the visual alert can switch between two functions upon actuate of the alarm: firstly, as a deterrent before actuation of the alarm to warn potential attackers that the user is alarmed; and secondly, as a distress signal after actuation of the alarm, during an attack, to alert others nearby that the user is being attacked.

[0086] The electronic control unit 51 is also configured to activate the light source 65 continuously or repeatedly while the armband is in use in order to provide a continuous or repeating illumination of the warning signal. The provides an ongoing visual deterrent to would-be attacks who can see that the user is carrying the safety device. In particular, the electronic control unit 51 is provided with a range of lighting settings from which a user can chose to select the appropriate lighting. For example, the user can select a continuous illumination setting, where the light source 65 will continuously illuminate the warning signal, or a flash setting where the light source will flash frequently to repeatedly illuminate the warning signal. Furthermore, a user can select the brightness of the light to suit the ambient lighting conditions; for example, a bright light might be required during the day, but a dimmer light would be sufficient at night. The user can cycle through these lighting settings by clicking the actuation button 5.

[0087] The electronic control unit 51 comprises one or more transceiver means (not shown) adapted to receive global positioning locational data and transmit global positioning locational data to a remote receiver. The transceiver means may be a subscriber identification module (SIM) card to enable communication through a cellular network. Additionally, or alternatively, the electronic control unit may comprise a wireless interface for connecting to a user device, such as a smartphone, for example via Bluetooth™ to enable communication via the user device.

[0088] The global positioning locational data relates to a location of the armband. Prior to setting off, for example on a run, the user is enabled by a connected software application to input a route, for example on a connected smartphone or personal computing device, and the armband sends periodic geolocational notifications to a remote monitoring system. The location of the armband and user can therefore be compared to the selected route such that if the location of the armband and user deviates from that route by a predefined scale of distance or unacceptable level of deviation the application will alert pre-selected contacts. The application may also actuate the alarm trigger which will activate the local audible alarm. The user may control the time periods for notifications. The application may be envisaged to include information regarding the route, for example lighting and visibility information, so as to allow planning of a safe route initially. If unacceptable deviation occurs or a remote alert is triggered a geolocational pin will show on the application for the pre-selected contacts.

[0089] In use therefore the user will secure the armband around their arm and press and hold the actuation button 5 to turn the device on and press again to cycle through lighting settings, for example intermittency and/or brightness settings. Then if the user feels threatened while wearing the armband, they can slap the device to trigger an audible alarm to provide a local alert as well as a remote alert which notifies their contacts who will get an alert, with an exact geolocational pin.

ALTERNATIVES AND MODIFICATIONS

[0090] It should be understood what while the figures show an embodiment of the invention in the form of an armband that is wrapped around a user's arm, the invention could equally be embodied by a smaller wearable band adapted to fit around a user's wrist, or around another limb, such as around a user's ankle, or a larger band adapted to be worn around a user's torso. Furthermore, the invention could equally be embodied in the form of another wearable item other than a band, such as a vest.

[0091] The invention has been described by way of examples only and it will be appreciated that variation may be made to the above-mentioned embodiments without departing from the scope of invention as defined by the claims, in particular but not solely combination of features of described embodiments.