Claims:WE CLAIM:
1. A neck posture monitoring device (200) comprising:
a monitoring unit (100) comprising:
a memory (10) configured to store a set of predetermined rules and a threshold signal value;
a controller (12) configured to cooperate with the memory (10) to receive the pre-defined rules and further configured to generate processing commands;
a first sensor (20) configured to sense neck position and generate a first analog signal;
a second sensor (22) configured to sense back position and generate a second analog signal;
an analog to digital converter (30) configured to cooperate with the first sensor (20) and the second sensor (22) to receive the first analog signal and the second analog signal, respectively, and further configured to convert the first analog signal and the second analog signal to a first digital signal and a second digital signal, respectively;
a comparator (40) is configured to cooperate with the analog to digital converter (30) to receive the first digital signal and the second digital signal and further configured to compare the first digital signal with the second digital signal to generate a compared signal;
an analyzer (50) configured to cooperate with the memory (10) and the comparator (40) to receive the threshold signal value and the compared signal and further configured to analyze the compared signal with respect to the threshold signal value to generate an alert signal;
an alerting unit (60) configured to cooperate with the analyzer (50) to receive the alert signal and further configured to generate attention cues; and
a clamp (250) configured to securely connect said monitoring unit (100) to a chair, said clamp (250) comprising:
a base (210) configured to be attached with a chair;
a holder (220) extending from said base (210); and
a resting knob (230) connected to a free end of said holder (220) and configured to support said monitoring unit (100) there on.
2. The neck posture monitoring unit (100) as claimed in claim 1, includes a battery unit (70) configured to provide power to the device.
3. The neck posture monitoring unit (100) as claimed in claim 2, wherein the battery unit (70) is charged using a solar unit (75).
4. The neck posture monitoring unit (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first sensor (20) and the second sensor (22) are infrared sensors.
5. The neck posture monitoring unit (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the attention cues are in the form of vibrations, sounds and light.
6. The neck posture monitoring unit (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said controller (12) is selected from a group consisting of ASIC (application specific integrated circuit), a microcontroller, a Mega Arduino Micro-Controller, a FPGA and any combination thereof.
7. The neck posture monitoring unit (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said alerting unit (60) is LED, buzzer or vibration device.
8. The chair as claimed in claim 1, wherein the neck posture monitoring device (200) is removably attached to the chair.
9. The neck posture monitoring device (200) as claimed in claim 1, is retrofitted to a conventional chair.

10. A chair having a neck posture monitoring device (200) as claimed in claims 1-8, fitted thereto.
, Description:FIELD
The present disclosure relates to the field of posture monitoring.
DEFINITION
As used in the present disclosure, the following terms are generally intended to have the meaning as set forth below, except to the extent that the context in which they are used indicate otherwise.
The expression “chair” used hereinafter in this specification refers to, but is not limited to, a seat, especially for one person, usually having three or four legs for support and a rest for the back. The chair is selected from a group of, but is not limited to, wing chair, club chair, bachelors chair, bench, stool, beach chair, deck chair, car seat and the like.
These definitions are in addition to those expressed in the art.
BACKGROUND
Neck pain is a common condition that affects many people. The most common cause of neck pain is a wrong neck posture. Prolonged wrong posture of the neck may lead to severe complications, such as stiff neck, neck spondylitis, and neck strain. The prior art provides several devices which help an individual to maintain a right posture of the neck. However, these devices have to be attached to the body of the individual, and are generally bulky to carry. These devices usually have high power consumption rate, so they require frequent change of batteries.
There is, therefore, felt a need to provide a neck posture monitoring device that alleviates the above mentioned drawbacks.
OBJECTS
Some of the objects of the present claimed subject matter aimed to ameliorate one or more problems of the prior art or to at least provide a useful alternative are listed herein below.
An object of the present disclosure is to provide a neck posture monitoring device.
Another object of the present disclosure is to provide a neck posture monitoring device which detects alignment of a neck.
Other objects and advantages of the present disclosure will be more apparent from the following description when read in conjunction with the accompanying figures, which are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
SUMMARY
The present disclosure envisages a neck posture monitoring device comprising a monitoring unit and a clamp. The monitoring unit comprising a memory, a controller, a first sensor, a second sensor, an analog to digital converter, a comparator, an analyzer and an alerting unit.
The memory is configured to store a set of predetermined rules and a threshold signal value. The controller is configured to cooperate with the memory to receive the pre-defined rules and further configured to generate processing commands. The first sensor is configured to sense neck position and generate a first analog signal. The second sensor is configured to sense back position and generate a second analog signal. The analog to digital converter is configured to cooperate with the first sensor and the second sensor to receive the first analog signal and the second analog signal, respectively. The analog to digital converter is further to convert the first analog signal and the second analog signal to a first digital signal and a second digital signal, respectively. The comparator is configured to cooperate with the analog to digital converter to receive the first digital signal and the second digital signal and is further configured to compare the first digital signal with the second digital signal to generate a compared signal. The analyzer is configured to cooperate with the memory and the comparator to receive the threshold signal value and the compared signal and is further configured to analyze the compared signal with respect to the threshold signal value to generate an alert signal. The alerting unit is configured to cooperate with the analyzer to receive the alert signal and is further configured to generate attention cues. The clamp is configured to securely connect the monitoring device to a chair. The clamp includes a base, a holder and a resting knob. The base is configured to be attached with a chair. The holder is extending from the base. The resting knob is connected to a free end of the holder and is configured to support the monitoring unit there on.

In an embodiment, the neck posture monitoring unit includes a battery unit. The battery unit is configured to provide power to the device.
In an embodiment, the neck posture monitoring unit uses a solar unit to charge the battery unit.
In an embodiment, the first sensor and the second sensor are infrared sensors.
In an embodiment, the attention cues are in the form of vibrations, sounds and light.
In an embodiment, the controller is selected from a group consisting of ASIC (application specific integrated circuit), a microcontroller, a Mega Arduino Micro-Controller, a FPGA and any combination thereof.
In an embodiment, the alerting unit is LED, buzzer or vibration device.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWING
A neck posture monitoring device of the present disclosure will now be described with the help of the accompanying drawing, in which:
Figure 1 illustrates the schematic diagram of the neck posture monitoring device for a chair, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 2 illustrates a block diagram of a monitoring unit, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 3 illustrates a schematic diagram of a resting knob, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 4 illustrates a schematic diagram of a holder, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 5 illustrates a schematic diagram of a clamp, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; and
Figure 6 illustrates a back view of the neck posture monitoring device, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS
Reference numeral References
200 neck posture monitoring device
100 monitoring unit
10 memory
12 controller
20 first sensor
22 second sensor
30 analog to digital converter
40 comparator
50 analyzer
60 alerting unit
70 battery unit
75 solar unit
250 clamp
210 base
220 holder
230 resting knob

DETAILED DESCRIPTION
A neck posture monitoring device will now be described with reference to the embodiments shown in the accompanying drawing.
Figure 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of the neck posture monitoring device (200). The neck posture monitoring device (200) comprising a monitoring unit (100) and a clamp (250). Figure 2 illustrates a block diagram of the monitoring unit (100), according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In an embodiment, the neck posture monitoring device (200) can be fitted to any chair.
The monitoring unit (100) comprising a memory (10), a controller (12), a first sensor (20), a second sensor (22), an analog to digital converter (30), a comparator (40), an analyzer (50), an alerting unit (60) and a battery unit (70).
The memory (10) is configured to store a predetermined set of rules and a threshold signal value. The memory (10) may include any computer-readable medium known in the art including, for example, volatile memory, such as static random access memory (SRAM) and dynamic random access memory (DRAM), and/or a non-volatile memory, such as read only memory (ROM), erasable programmable ROM, flash memories, hard disks, optical disks, and magnetic tapes.
The controller (12) is configured to cooperate with the memory (10) to receive the predetermined set of rules and is further configured to generate processing commands. The controller (12) may be implemented as one or more microprocessors, microcomputers, digital signal processors, central processing units, state machines, logic circuitries, and/or any devices that manipulate signals based on operational instructions. Among other capabilities, the controller (12) is configured to fetch and execute the predetermined set of rules stored in the memory (10). In an embodiment, the memory (10), the analog to digital converter (30), the comparator (40) and the analyzer (50) are embedded in the controller (12). In an embodiment, the controller (12) is a Mega Arduino Micro-Controller.
The first sensor (20) is configured to sense neck position and generate a first analog signal. The second sensor (22) is configured to sense back position and generate a second analog signal. In an embodiment, the first sensor (20) and the second sensor (22) are selected from a group consisting of a position sensor, an optical sensor and an infrared sensor and the like.
The analog to digital converter (30) is configured to cooperate with the first sensor (20) and the second sensor (22) to receive the first analog signal and the second analog signal, respectively. The analog to digital converter (30) is further configured to convert the first analog signal and the second analog signal into a first digital signal and a second digital signal.
The comparator (40) is configured to cooperate with the analog to digital converter (30) to receive the first digital signal and the second digital signal. The comparator (40) is further configured to compare the first digital signal with the second digital signal to generate a compared signal.
The analyzer (50) is configured to cooperate with the memory (10) and the comparator (40) to receive the threshold signal value, and the compared signal. The analyzer (50) is further configured to analyze the compared signal with respect to the threshold signal value to generate an alert signal.
The alerting unit (60) is configured to cooperate with the analyzer (50) to receive the alert signal and is further configured to generate attention cues. In an embodiment, the attention cues are in the form of vibration, sound, light and the like. In an embodiment, the alerting unit (60) is a LED, buzzer or vibration device. In an embodiment, the alerting unit (60) is a separate unit in form of belt, bracelet, or device, in contact with a user’s body.
The battery unit (70) is configured to provide power to the neck posture monitoring unit (100). In another embodiment, the battery unit (70) includes rechargeable or non rechargeable batteries. In yet another embodiment, the batteries can be selected from the group of Alkaline Batteries, Zinc-Carbon Batteries, Lead-Acid Batteries, Mercury Batteries, Lithium and Silver Oxide Batteries, Nickel Cadmium, Nickel-Metal Hydride Batteries, Lithium Ion Polymer Batteries, and the like. In an embodiment, the battery unit (70) is charged using the solar powered unit (75).
The clamp (250) is configured to securely connect the monitoring unit (100) to the chair. The clamp (250) comprising a base (210), a holder (220) and a resting knob (230).
The base (210) is configured to be attached with a chair. Figure 5 illustrates a schematic diagram of a base (210), according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The base (210) serves the purpose of the holding the side of the chair and is also adjustable accordingly. It makes the neck posture monitoring unit (100) compatible with any type of chair.
The holder (220) is extending from the base (210). The holder (220) is adjustable by length and moldable according to the chair. Figure 4 illustrates a schematic diagram of a holder (220), according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
The resting knob (230) is connected to a free end of the holder (220) and is configured to support the monitoring unit (100) there on. Figure 3 illustrates a schematic diagram of a resting knob (230), according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The resting knob (230) has four ends fitted in to the neck posture monitoring unit (100). The back side of the monitoring unit (100) has four holes for receiving the ends of the resting knob (230). Figure 6 illustrates a back view of the monitoring unit (100), according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
TECHNICAL ADVANCEMENTS
The present disclosure described herein above has several technical advantages including, but not limited to, the realization of:
• a neck posture monitoring device; and
• a neck posture monitoring device which detects alignment of a neck.
The embodiments herein and the various features and advantageous details thereof are explained with reference to the non-limiting embodiments in the following description. Descriptions of well-known components and processing techniques are omitted so as to not unnecessarily obscure the embodiments herein. The examples used herein are intended merely to facilitate an understanding of ways in which the embodiments herein may be practiced and to further enable those of skill in the art to practice the embodiments herein. Accordingly, the examples should not be construed as limiting the scope of the embodiments herein
The foregoing description of the specific embodiments will so fully reveal the general nature of the embodiments herein that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily modify and/or adapt for various applications such specific embodiments without departing from the generic concept, and, therefore, such adaptations and modifications should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments. It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. Therefore, while the embodiments herein have been described in terms of preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments herein can be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of the embodiments as described herein.