Description:FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure relates to a wearable yoga assistance system, more specifically, the system helps in performing various breathing techniques of the ancient yogic practice of Pranayama, without involving the use of hands.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Ancient Vedic Yoga wisdom from India is now widely recognized and respected by modern science, as an effective, healthy and creative practice, based on a detailed scientific understanding of the human body and its systems. In yoga, our breath is the primary life force, and Pranayama - specific yogic breathing techniques, are considered foundational to this ancient wisdom. Of the various kinds of Pranayama, the Anulom Vilom Pranayama (AVP) breathing technique (alternate nostril breathing cycles) is the most basic and most important. After learning the technique, and following a few simple rules, just 10-15 minutes of AVP per day has huge beneficial effects on the practitioner's body and health-with the regular practice of AVP, a wide range of aliments, such as heart diseases, aches & pains, mental disorder, old age and stress related problems etc., start healing with no medicine or side effects. This has scientifically been proven by many studies and research projects. There are also various other techniques and practices under Pranayama, such as single nostril breathing or hyperventilation etc.

In the view of the forgoing discussion, it is clearly portrayed that there is a need to have a wearable yoga assistance system. The system is designed which can not only make the practice style of AVP very simple, more scientific & effective but will also contribute in popularizing Yoga and Pranayama, and facilitating standardized research in the impact of Pranayama on human health.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure seeks to provide a wearable yoga assistance system to contribute in popularizing Yoga and Pranayama, and facilitating standardized research in the impact of Pranayama on human health.

In an embodiment, a wearable yoga assistance system is disclosed. The system includes a wearable body worn on a user nose through one of a strap mechanism or a sticking mechanism. The system further includes a pair of flaps embedded inside the wearable body configured to fit on both of the wings of nose (alae). The system further includes a motor coupled to the pair of flaps through a gear assembly to control movement of the flaps. The system further includes a controlling unit engaged with the motor to control the motor shaft automatically according to an instructional input to exert pressure on the nostrils in programmable cycles and durations.

In another embodiment, the pair of flaps are coupled to a gear assembly such that the pair of flaps are driven in a controlled manner.

In another embodiment, the system comprises a graphical user interface coupled to the controlling unit through a user computing device to enter the instructional input.

In another embodiment, the instructional input is selected from the group of flapping patterns of the pair of flaps, duration of flapping, flapping pressure, flapping speed, and the angle of flapping of the pair of flaps.

In another embodiment, the flapping pattern is selected from synchronous flapping of the pair of flaps, and asynchronous flapping of the pair of flaps to promote pranayama selected from a group of anulom vilom, kapalbharti, Nadi Shodhana or Alternate Nostril Breathing, Ujjayi or Ocean’s Breath, Shiitali Kumbhaka or the cooling breath, Siitkari Kumbhaka or the hissing breath, Brahmari or the humming breath, Bhastrika or the bellows breath, Surya Bhedana or the solar breath, Chandra Bhedana or the lunar breath, Active Yogic Breathing and the like.

In another embodiment, the wearable body is cushioned from outside to promote comfort during yoga practice.

In another embodiment, the motor is controlled by a feedback signal generated by the controlling unit upon comparing output signal and a reference input signal, wherein the reference input signal is compared to the reference output signal and the third signal is produced by the feedback system such that the third signal acts as an input signal to the control the pair of flaps.

In another embodiment, a potentiometer is connected to the output shaft of the motor to calculate the angle and stop the motor on the required angle.

In another embodiment, the controlling unit is configured to remember the last instructional input to assist yoga practice until the user changes the instruction.

An object of the present disclosure is to provide routine of different Pranayama techniques including alternate nostril breathing or single nostril breathing.

Another object of the present disclosure is to perform various breathing techniques of the ancient yogic practice of Pranayama, without involving the use of hands.

Yet another object of the present invention is to deliver an expeditious and cost-effective wearable yoga assistance system.

To further clarify advantages and features of the present disclosure, a more particular description of the invention will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof, which is illustrated in the appended drawings. It is appreciated that these drawings depict only typical embodiments of the invention and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope. The invention will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES

These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present disclosure will become better understood when the following detailed description is read with reference to the accompanying drawings in which like characters represent like parts throughout the drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 illustrates a wearable yoga assistance system in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Further, skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the drawings are illustrated for simplicity and may not have necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the flow charts illustrate the method in terms of the most prominent steps involved to help to improve understanding of aspects of the present disclosure. Furthermore, in terms of the construction of the device, one or more components of the device may have been represented in the drawings by conventional symbols, and the drawings may show only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present disclosure so as not to obscure the drawings with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having benefit of the description herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION:

For the purpose of promoting an understanding of the principles of the invention, reference will now be made to the embodiment illustrated in the drawings and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended, such alterations and further modifications in the illustrated system, and such further applications of the principles of the invention as illustrated therein being contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the invention relates.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory of the invention and are not intended to be restrictive thereof.

Reference throughout this specification to “an aspect”, “another aspect” or similar language means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. Thus, appearances of the phrase “in an embodiment”, “in another embodiment” and similar language throughout this specification may, but do not necessarily, all refer to the same embodiment.

The terms "comprises", "comprising", or any other variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process or method that comprises a list of steps does not include only those steps but may include other steps not expressly listed or inherent to such process or method. Similarly, one or more devices or sub-systems or elements or structures or components proceeded by "comprises...a" does not, without more constraints, preclude the existence of other devices or other sub-systems or other elements or other structures or other components or additional devices or additional sub-systems or additional elements or additional structures or additional components.

Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. The system, methods, and examples provided herein are illustrative only and not intended to be limiting.

Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Referring to Figure 1, a block diagram of a wearable yoga assistance system in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. The system 100 includes a wearable body 102 worn on a user nose through one of a strap mechanism or a sticking mechanism.

In an embodiment, a pair of flaps 104 is embedded inside the wearable body 102 and configured to fit on both of the wings of nose (alae).

In an embodiment, a motor 106 is coupled to the pair of flaps 104 through a gear assembly 108 to control movement of the flaps 104.

In an embodiment, a controlling unit 110 is engaged with the motor 106 to control the motor shaft automatically according to an instructional input to exert pressure on the nostrils in programmable cycles and durations.

In another embodiment, the pair of flaps 104 are coupled to a gear assembly 108 such that the pair of flaps 104 are driven in a controlled manner.

In another embodiment, the system comprises a graphical user interface 112 coupled to the controlling unit 110 through a user computing device 114 to enter the instructional input.

In another embodiment, the instructional input is selected from the group of flapping patterns of the pair of flaps 104, duration of flapping, flapping pressure, flapping speed, and the angle of flapping of the pair of flaps 104.

In another embodiment, the flapping pattern is selected from synchronous flapping of the pair of flaps 104, and asynchronous flapping of the pair of flaps 104 to promote pranayama selected from a group of anulom vilom, kapalbharti, Nadi Shodhana or Alternate Nostril Breathing, Ujjayi or Ocean’s Breath, Shiitali Kumbhaka or the cooling breath, Siitkari Kumbhaka or the hissing breath, Brahmari or the humming breath, Bhastrika or the bellows breath, Surya Bhedana or the solar breath, Chandra Bhedana or the lunar breath, Active Yogic Breathing and the like.

In another embodiment, wearable body 102 is cushioned from outside to promote comfort during yoga practice.

In another embodiment, the motor 106 is controlled by a feedback signal generated by the controlling unit 110 upon comparing output signal and a reference input signal, wherein the reference input signal is compared to the reference output signal and the third signal is produced by the feedback system such that the third signal acts as an input signal to the control the pair of flaps 104.

In another embodiment, a potentiometer 116 is connected to the output shaft of the motor 106 to calculate the angle and stop the motor 106 on the required angle.

In another embodiment, the controlling unit 110 is configured to remember the last instructional input to assist yoga practice until the user changes the instruction.

Power USB Port
Arduino board can be powered by using the USB cable from the computer. There is need to do connect the USB cable to the USB connection.

Power Port
Arduino boards can be powered directly from the AC mains power supply by connecting it to the Barrel Jack.

Voltage Regulator
The function of the voltage regulator is to control the voltage given to the Arduino board and stabilize the DC voltages used by the processor and other elements.

Arduino Reset
Reset Arduino board, i.e., start program from the beginning. Reset the UNO board by using the reset button on the board.

Analog pins and GND pins
The Arduino UNO board has six analog input pins A0 through A5. These pins can read the signal from an analog sensor like the humidity sensor or temperature sensor and convert it into a digital value that can be read by the microprocessor. GND(Ground) - There are several GND pins on the Arduino, any of which can be used to ground circuit.

Main microcontroller
Each Arduino board has its own microcontroller. It can be assumed it as the brain of board. The main IC (integrated circuit) on the Arduino is slightly different from board to board. The microcontrollers are usually of the ATMEL Company. To know what IC board has before loading up a new program from the Arduino IDE.

Digital I/O
The Arduino UNO board has 14 digital I/O pins (of which 6 provide PWM (Pulse Width Modulation)) output. These pins can be configured to work as input digital pins to read logic values (0 or 1) or as digital output pins to drive different modules like LEDs, relays, etc.

Servo Motor
Servo motors are great devices that can turn to a specified position. Usually, they have a servo arm that can turn 180 degrees. Using the Arduino, tell a servo to go to a specified position and it will go there.
A servo motor is a type of motor that can rotate with great precision. Normally this type of motor consists of a control circuit that provides feedback on the current position of the motor shaft, this feedback allows the servo motors to rotate with great precision. Servo motor is used to rotate and object at some specific angle or distance. If motor is powered by a DC power supply, then it is called DC servo motor, and if it is AC-powered motor then it is called AC servo motor. Apart from these major classifications, there are many other types of servo motors based on the type of gear arrangement and operating characteristics. A servo motor usually comes with a gear arrangement that allows us to get a very high torque servo motor in small and lightweight packages.
Working mechanism of servo motor
It consists of three parts:
1. Controlled device
2. Output sensor
3. Feedback system
It is a closed-loop system where it uses a positive feedback system to control motion and the final position of the shaft. Here the device is controlled by a feedback signal generated by comparing output signal and reference input signal.
Here reference input signal is compared to the reference output signal and the third signal is produced by the feedback system. This third signal acts as an input signal to the control the device. This signal is present as long as the feedback signal is generated or there is a difference between the reference input signal and reference output signal. So, the main task of servomechanism is to maintain the output of a system at the desired value at presence of noises.
Controlling Motor
All motors have three wires coming out of them. Out of which two will be used for Supply (positive and negative) and one will be used for the signal that is to be sent from the MCU. Servo motor is controlled by PWM (Pulse with Modulation) which is provided by the control wires. There is a minimum pulse, a maximum pulse and a repetition rate. Servo motor can turn 90 degrees from either direction form its neutral position. The servo motor expects to see a pulse every 20 milliseconds (ms) and the length of the pulse will determine how far the motor turns. Servo motor works on PWM (Pulse width modulation) principle, means its angle of rotation is controlled by the duration of applied pulse to its Control PIN. Basically, servo motor is made up of DC motor which is controlled by a variable resistor (potentiometer 116) and some gears. High speed force of DC motor is converted into torque by Gears. WORK= FORCE X DISTANCE, in DC motor Force is less and distance (speed) is high and in Servo, force is High and distance is less. The potentiometer 116 is connected to the output shaft of the Servo, to calculate the angle and stop the DC motor on the required angle. Servo motor can be rotated from 0 to 180 degrees, but it can go up to 210 degrees, depending on the manufacturing. This degree of rotation can be controlled by applying the Electrical Pulse of proper width, to its Control pin. Servo checks the pulse in every 20 milliseconds. The pulse of 1 ms (1 millisecond) width can rotate the servo to 0 degrees, 1.5ms can rotate to 90 degrees (neutral position) and 2 ms pulse can rotate it to 180 degree. All servo motors work directly with your +5V supply rails but be careful about the amount of current the motor would consume if you are planning to use more than two servo motors a proper servo shield should be designed.
Arduino
Arduino is an open-source platform used for building electronics projects. Arduino consists of both a physical programmable circuit board (often referred to as a microcontroller) and a piece of Software, or IDE (Integrated Development Environment) that runs on computer, used to write and upload computer code to the physical board. The Arduino platform has become quite popular with people just starting out with electronics, and for good reason. Unlike most previous programmable circuit boards, the Arduino does not need a separate piece of hardware (called a programmer) in order to load new code onto the board -- simply use a USB cable. Additionally, the Arduino IDE uses a simplified version of C++, making it easier to learn to program. Finally, Arduino provides a standard form factor that breaks out the functions of the micro-controller into a more accessible package.
Hardware
Power (USB / Barrel)
Every Arduino board needs a way to be connected to a power source. The Arduino UNO can be powered from a USB cable coming from computer or a wall power supply that is terminated in a barrel jack. In the picture above the USB connection is labeled and the barrel jack is labeled. The USB connection is also load code onto Arduino board.
NOTE: DO NOT use a power supply greater than 20 Volts as overpower (and thereby destroy) Arduino. The recommended voltage for most Arduino models is between 6 and 12 Volts.
Pins (5V, 3.3V, GND, Analog, Digital, PWM, AREF)
The pins on Arduino are the places where connect wires to construct a circuit with a breadboard and some wire. They usually have black plastic ‘headers’ that allow to just plug a wire right into the board. The Arduino has several different kinds of pins, each of which is labeled on the board and used for different functions.
GND: Short for ‘Ground’. There are several GND pins on the Arduino, any of which can be used to ground your circuit.
5V & 3.3V: the 5V pin supplies 5 volts of power, and the 3.3V pin supplies 3.3 volts of power. Most of the simple components used with the Arduino run happily off of 5 or 3.3 volts.
Analog: The area of pins under the ‘Analog In’ label (A0 through A5 on the UNO) are Analog In pins. These pins can read the signal from an analog sensor
Digital: Across from the analog pins are the digital pins (0 through 13 on the UNO).
These pins can be used for both digital input (like telling if a button is pushed) and digital output (like powering an LED).
PWM: the tilde (~) next to some of the digital pins (3, 5, 6, 9, 10, and 11 on the UNO). These pins act as normal digital pins, but can also be used for something called Pulse-Width Modulation (PWM). think of these pins as being able to simulate analog output (like fading an LED in and out).
AREF: Stands for Analog Reference. Most of the time this pin can leave alone. It is sometimes used to set an external reference voltage (between 0 and 5 Volts) as the upper limit for the analog input pins.
Reset Button
Just like the original Nintendo, the Arduino has a reset button. Pushing it will temporarily connect the reset pin to ground and restart any code that is loaded on the Arduino. This can be very useful if code doesn’t repeat, but to test it multiple times. Unlike the original Nintendo however, blowing on the Arduino doesn't usually fix any problems.
Power LED Indicator
Just beneath and to the right of the word “UNO” on circuit board, there’s a tiny LED next to the word ‘ON’. This LED should light up whenever Arduino plugged into a power source. If this light doesn’t turn on, recheck the circuit.
TX RX LEDs
TX is short for transmit; RX is short for receive. These markings appear quite a bit in electronics to indicate the pins responsible for serial communication. In our case, there are two places on the Arduino UNO where TX and RX appear -- once by digital pins 0 and 1, and a second time next to the TX and RX indicator LEDs. These LEDs will give some nice visual indications whenever our Arduino is receiving or transmitting data.
Main IC
The black thing with all the metal legs is an IC, or Integrated Circuit. Think of it as the brains of our Arduino. The main IC on the Arduino is slightly different from board type to board type, but is usually from the AT mega line of ICs from the ATMEL company. This can be important, need to know the IC type (along with board type) before loading up a new program from the Arduino software. This information can usually be found in writing on the top side of the IC. To know more about the difference between various IC's, reading the datasheets is often a good idea.
Voltage Regulator
The voltage regulator is not actually something interact with on the Arduino. But it is potentially useful to know that it is there and what it’s for. The voltage regulator does exactly what it says -- it controls the amount of voltage that is let into the Arduino board. It will turn away an extra voltage that might harm the circuit. Of course, it has its limits, Arduino to anything greater than 20 volts.
Arduino Power Supply
The Arduino Uno needs a power source in order for it to operate and can be powered in a variety of ways. Do what most people do and connect the board directly to computer via a USB cable. If project is to be mobile, consider using a 9V battery pack to give it juice. The last method would be to use a 9V AC power supply. A program for Arduino hardware may be written in any programming language with compilers that produce binary machine code for the target processor. Atmel provides a development environment for their 8-bit AVR and 32-bit ARM Cortex-M based microcontrollers: AVR Studio (older) and Atmel Studio.
Applications of Arduino
Arduinome, a MIDI controller device that mimics the Monome. Ardupilot, drone software and hardware. ArduSat, a cubesat based on Arduino. C-STEM Studio, a platform for hands-on integrated learning of computing, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (C-STEM) with robotics. Data loggers for scientific research. OBDuino, a trip computer that uses the on-board diagnostics interface found in most modern cars. OpenEVSE an open-source electric vehicle charger. XOD, a visual programming language for Arduino. Tinkercad, an analog and digital simulator supporting Arduino Simulation.
The system further includes weighing machine, traffic Light Count, down timer, parking lot counter, embedded systems, home automation, medical instrument, emergency light for railways.
Advantages
The developed system 100 is helpful for especially abled person. This is much less awkward, not cumbersome and since the arm is at rest it is not tiring. All persons who earlier could not or found it difficult to practice Anulom vilom will have access to the practice and its health benefits. It can be definitely use it while doing our important work. The economy cost of this device is very low. This device is very light. This device will open up new areas of research in the science of Yoga. This device will also enhance the presence of country culture across the world by presenting ancient country wisdom with a unique modern and accessible interface of contemporary technology. The system discloser is about a battery pack-operated device, which helps in effective performance of yogic practice of certain techniques of Pranayama, which is based on breath control and its regulation in a precise manner. Most important feature of the device is that it rules out the role of hand/fingers in controlling/regulating human breathing. The device can be programmed according to requirements of yogic practice, so that it can effectively control and facilitate specific human breathing patterns. This device is a programmable device, which effectively helps in performing various breathing techniques of the ancient yogic practice of Pranayama, without involving the use of hands. The device straps on to the nose and users a battery pack operated mechanism to exert pressure on the nostrils in programmable cycles and durations. This facilitates a precise routine of different Pranayama techniques: alternate nostril breathing or single nostril breathing, following the technique of ancient yogic practice in the most precise style, but without the use of hands.
The drawings and the forgoing description give examples of embodiments. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that one or more of the described elements may well be combined into a single functional element. Alternatively, certain elements may be split into multiple functional elements. Elements from one embodiment may be added to another embodiment. For example, orders of processes described herein may be changed and are not limited to the manner described herein. Moreover, the actions of any flow diagram need not be implemented in the order shown; nor do all of the acts necessarily need to be performed. Also, those acts that are not dependent on other acts may be performed in parallel with the other acts. The scope of embodiments is by no means limited by these specific examples. Numerous variations, whether explicitly given in the specification or not, such as differences in structure, dimension, and use of material, are possible. The scope of embodiments is at least as broad as given by the following claims.

Benefits, other advantages, and solutions to problems have been described above with regard to specific embodiments. However, the benefits, advantages, solutions to problems, and any component(s) that may cause any benefit, advantage, or solution to occur or become more pronounced are not to be construed as a critical, required, or essential feature or component of any or all the claims. , Claims:CLAIMS

1. A wearable yoga assistance system, the system comprises:

a wearable body worn on a user nose through one of a strap mechanism or a sticking mechanism;
a pair of flaps embedded inside the wearable body configured to fit on both of the wings of nose (alae);
a motor coupled to the pair of flaps through a gear assembly to control movement of the flaps; and
a controlling unit engaged with the motor to control the motor shaft automatically according to an instructional input to exert pressure on the nostrils in programmable cycles and durations.

2. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the pair of flaps are coupled to the gear assembly such that the pair of flaps are driven in a controlled manner.

3. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said system comprises a graphical user interface coupled to the controlling unit through a user computing device to enter the instructional input.

4. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the instructional input is selected from the group of flapping pattern of the pair of flaps, duration of flapping, flapping pressure, flapping speed, and the angle of flapping of the pair of flaps.

5. The system as claimed in claim 4, wherein the flapping pattern is selected from synchronous flapping of the pair of flaps, and asynchronous flapping of the pair of flaps to promote pranayama selected from a group of anulom vilom, kapalbharti, Nadi Shodhana or Alternate Nostril Breathing, Ujjayi or Ocean’s Breath, Shiitali Kumbhaka or the cooling breath, Siitkari Kumbhaka or the hissing breath, Brahmari or the humming breath, Bhastrika or the bellows breath, Surya Bhedana or the solar breath, Chandra Bhedana or the lunar breath, Active Yogic Breathing and the like.

6. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the wearable body is cushioned from outside to promote comfort during yoga practice.

7. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the motor is controlled by a feedback signal generated by the controlling unit upon comparing output signal and a reference input signal, wherein the reference input signal is compared to the reference output signal and the third signal is produced by the feedback system such that the third signal acts as an input signal to the control the pair of flaps.

8. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein a potentiometer is connected to the output shaft of the motor to calculate the angle and stop the motor on the required angle.

9. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the controlling unit is configured to remember the last instructional input to assist yoga practice until the user changes the instruction.