Patent ID: 9640057
Date: 2017-05-02
CPC Classifications: G08B

Claim:
1. A computer-implemented method for detecting falling of a person during a physical activity, wherein the person is in communication with a wearable device having an accelerometer and a transmitter for transmitting data from the accelerometer, the method comprising: receiving, with a transceiver on a portable electronic device, data from the accelerometer in response to a movement of the wearable device; transitioning, with a processor on the portable electronic device, between operational states in a plurality of operational states based on the received data and time elapsed since a last state transition; detecting, with the processor, falling of the person based on a predefined sequence of state transitions including at least one transition to a falling state having the data being equivalent to zero, wherein the time elapsed at the falling state exceeds a predefined maximum time threshold; and transmitting a report of the falling of the person; wherein the predefined sequence includes transitions from a freefall state to the falling state via a landing state, wherein the freefall state has a data value being between zero and a minimum data threshold, and the landing state has a data value exceeding a predefined maximum data threshold.