Granted Patent B2

US 12,408,870 · App. 17/847,382 · Granted Sep 9, 2025

Inventors: Sooyong Park (Seoul, KR); Jinmoo Park (Seoul, KR); Seonghun Lee (Seoul, KR); Junchan Kwon (Seoul, KR); Minsoo Kim (Seoul, KR)

Assignee: LG ELECTRONICS INC.

A61B5/6843A61B5/6803A61B5/7264A61B5/741A61B5/746A62B18/025A61B2562/0247

Abstract

Claims (49)

1. A method for controlling a mask apparatus, the method comprising:

measuring a current pressure value with respect to a mask by using a pressure sensor;

comparing each of a preset atmospheric pressure maximum estimation and a preset atmospheric pressure minimum estimation to the current pressure value;

updating the atmospheric pressure maximum estimation and the atmospheric pressure minimum estimation according to the comparison result; and

controlling a voice output of a speaker based on a difference between the updated atmospheric pressure maximum estimation and the updated atmospheric pressure minimum estimation,

wherein the atmospheric pressure maximum estimation is changed or updated in real time according to a maximum pressure value among pressure values measured by the pressure sensor for a predetermined time, and

wherein the atmospheric pressure minimum estimation is changed or updated in real time according to a minimum pressure value among the pressure values measured by the pressure sensor for the predetermined time.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the controlling of the voice output of the speaker based on the difference between the updated atmospheric pressure maximum estimation and the updated atmospheric pressure minimum estimation comprises:

calculating a difference value between the updated atmospheric pressure maximum estimation and the updated atmospheric pressure minimum estimation;

comparing the difference value to a reference pressure value; and

controlling the voice output of the speaker according to the comparison result of the difference value and the reference pressure value.

3. The method according to claim 2 , wherein, when the difference value is less than the reference pressure value, a voice output function of the speaker is deactivated, or a voice is muted.

4. The method according to claim 2 , wherein, when the difference value is greater than the reference pressure value, a voice output function of the speaker is activated, or a mute state is released.

5. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising controlling an operation of a fan module based on a difference between the updated atmospheric pressure maximum estimation and the updated atmospheric pressure minimum estimation.

6. The method according to claim 1 ,

wherein the updating of the atmospheric pressure maximum estimation and the atmospheric pressure minimum estimation according to the comparison result comprises, when the preset atmospheric pressure maximum estimation is less than the current pressure value:

updating the preset atmospheric pressure maximum estimation to the current pressure value; and

updating the preset atmospheric pressure minimum estimation by reflecting a weight, and

wherein the weight is a reciprocal number of a value obtained by multiplying a person's “maximum breathing time (sec)” and “sensor update period (Hz)”.

7. The method according to claim 6 , wherein:

when the preset atmospheric pressure maximum estimation exceeds the current pressure value, the preset atmospheric pressure minimum estimation and the current pressure value are compared to each other, and

when the preset atmospheric pressure minimum estimation is equal to or greater than the current pressure value, the preset atmospheric pressure minimum estimation is updated to the current pressure value to update the preset atmospheric pressure maximum estimation by reflecting the weight.

8. The method according to claim 7 , wherein, when the preset atmospheric pressure maximum estimation exceeds the current pressure value, and the preset atmospheric pressure maximum estimation is less than the current pressure value, each of the preset atmospheric pressure maximum estimation and the preset atmospheric pressure maximum estimation is updated by reflecting the weight.

9. A mask apparatus comprising:

a mask body in which a microphone and a speaker are installed;

a face guard coupled to the mask body so as to be in close contact with a user's face and having a breathing space therein;

a pressure sensor installed in the mask body to measure a pressure of the breathing space; and

a controller configured to:

compare a preset atmospheric pressure maximum estimation and a preset atmospheric pressure minimum estimation to a current pressure value measured by the pressure sensor;

update the atmospheric pressure maximum estimation and the atmospheric pressure minimum estimation according to the comparison result; and

control a voice output of the speaker based on a difference between the updated atmospheric pressure maximum estimation and the updated atmospheric pressure minimum estimation,

wherein the atmospheric pressure maximum estimation is changed or updated in real time according to a maximum pressure value among pressure values measured by the pressure sensor for a predetermined time, and

wherein the atmospheric pressure minimum estimation is changed or updated in real time according to a minimum pressure value among the pressure values measured by the pressure sensor for the predetermined time.

10. The mask apparatus according to claim 9 , wherein the controller is configured to:

calculate a difference value between the updated atmospheric pressure maximum estimation and the updated atmospheric pressure minimum estimation; and

control the voice output of the speaker according to the comparison result of the difference value and a reference pressure value.

11. The mask apparatus according to claim 10 , wherein, when the difference value is less than the reference pressure value, the controller is configured to deactivate a voice output function of the speaker or mute a voice.

12. The mask apparatus according to claim 10 , wherein, when the difference value is greater than the reference pressure value, the controller is configured to activate a voice output function of the speaker or release a mute state.

13. The mask apparatus according to claim 9 , further comprising a fan module installed in the mask body,

wherein the controller is configured to control an operation of the fan module based on a difference between the updated atmospheric pressure maximum estimation and the updated atmospheric pressure minimum estimation.

14. The mask apparatus according to claim 9 ,

wherein, when the preset atmospheric pressure maximum estimation is less than the current pressure value, the controller is configured to:

update the preset atmospheric pressure maximum estimation to the current pressure value; and

update the preset atmospheric pressure minimum estimation by reflecting a weight, and

wherein the weight is a reciprocal number of a value obtained by multiplying a person's “maximum breathing time (sec)” and “sensor update period (Hz)”.

15. The mask apparatus according to claim 14 , wherein:

when the preset atmospheric pressure maximum estimation exceeds the current pressure value, the controller is configured to compare the preset atmospheric pressure minimum estimation to the current pressure value, and

when the preset atmospheric pressure minimum estimation is equal to or greater than the current pressure value, the controller is configured to: update the preset atmospheric pressure minimum estimation to the current pressure value; and update the preset atmospheric pressure maximum estimation by reflecting the weight.

16. The mask apparatus according to claim 15 , wherein, when the preset atmospheric pressure maximum estimation exceeds the current pressure value, and the preset atmospheric pressure maximum estimation is less than the current pressure value, the controller is configured to update each of the preset atmospheric pressure maximum estimation and the preset atmospheric pressure maximum estimation by reflecting the weight.

Assignments (1)

Priority Claims (1)

Continuity (1)

References Cited (20)