Multipurpose contacts for delivering electro-haptic feedback to a wearer

• US 10,043,354 B2
• Filed: 11/01/2017
• Issued: 08/07/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 06/13/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Verily Life Sciences LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Verily Life Sciences LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Mirov, Russell Norman, Lapetina, John
• Primary Examiner(s): Lieu, Julie
• Application Number:
  US15/801,188
• Publication Number:
  US 20180075716A1
• Time in Patent Office: 279 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/016 Personal emergency signalling and security systems emergency non-personal manually actuated alarm activators G08B25/12
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 6/00 Tactile signalling systems, e.g. personal calling systems

Abstract

Wearable devices are described herein including a housing and a mount configured to mount the housing to an external surface of a wearer. The wearable devices further include first and second electrical contacts protruding from the housing and configured such that the electrical contacts can be used to measure a Galvanic skin resistance of skin proximate to the electrical contacts when the wearable device is mounted to the external surface of the wearer. The electrical contacts are additionally configured to deliver an electro-haptic stimulus to skin proximate to the electrical contacts when the wearable device is mounted to the external surface of the wearer. Electro-haptic stimulus could be delivered to a wearer to indicate information to the wearer, including information about a health or activity state of the wearer, about communications received by the wearable device, and about alerts generated by the wearable device.

Claims

1. A device comprising:

first and second electrical contacts configured to make electrical contact with a person when the device is coupled to the person;

at least one sensor electronically coupled to the first and second electrical contacts, wherein the at least one sensor is able to obtain a measurement relating to a health state of the person;

a controller configured to specify a plurality of characteristics of an electrical stimulation, wherein each specified characteristic of the electrical stimulation corresponds to a particular health state of the person, and wherein each specified characteristic includes one or more of an intensity, a frequency, a duration, or a pulse pattern of the electrical stimulation; and

an electro-haptic stimulator electronically coupled to the first and second electrical contacts, wherein the controller is configured to, based on the health state of the person, cause the electro-haptic stimulator to deliver, to the person through the first and second electrical contacts, the electrical stimulation with one of the specified characteristics, wherein delivering the electrical stimulation elicits an electro-haptic sensation at the person.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the device is a wearable device comprising a mount for mounting the device to an external body surface of the person.

3. The device of claim 2, wherein the at least one sensor comprises a Galvanic skin resistance (GSR) sensor, and wherein the GSR sensor comprises:

a reference voltage source that provides a reference voltage relative to the second electrical contact;

a resistor connected between the reference voltage source and the first electrical contact, wherein the resistor has a reference resistance; and

a voltage sensor coupled to the first electrical contact, wherein the voltage sensor is able to sense a voltage related to the reference voltage, the reference resistance, and a GSR of the person'"'"'s skin at the external body surface.

4. The device of claim 3, wherein the voltage sensed by the voltage sensor when the device is mounted on the external body surface is a fraction of the reference voltage, and wherein the fraction corresponds to the GSR of the skin divided by a sum of the GSR of the skin and the reference resistance.

5. The device of claim 1, wherein the at least one sensor comprises a Galvanic skin resistance (GSR) sensor, an electrocardiogram (ECG) sensor, a Galvanic skin potential (GSP) sensor, or an electromyogram (EMG) sensor.

6. The device of claim 1, wherein the electro-haptic stimulator comprises a boost converter.

7. The device of claim 1, wherein at least one of the specified characteristics of the electrical stimulation comprises a specified pulse amplitude between 30 volts and 100 volts.

8. The device of claim 1, wherein the first and second electrical contacts are separated by a distance of between 1 millimeter and 50 millimeters.

9. The device of claim 1, wherein the first and second electrical contacts are spring-loaded.

10. The device of claim 1, further comprising a water-proof housing, wherein the first and second electrical contacts protrude from the water-proof housing.

11. A method comprising:

storing, in a memory of a device, a plurality of characteristics of an electrical stimulation, wherein the device comprises first and second electrical contacts configured to make electrical contact with a person when the device is coupled to the person, wherein each characteristic of the electrical stimulation corresponds to a particular health state of the person, and wherein each characteristic of the electrical stimulation includes one or more of an intensity, a frequency, a duration, or a pulse pattern of the electrical stimulation;

obtaining, during a first period of time, a measurement using at least one sensor disposed in the device and electrically coupled to the first and second electrical contacts of the device;

determining a health state of the person based on the measurement obtained using the at least one sensor during the first period of time;

based on the determined health state of the person, selecting one of the stored characteristics of the electrical stimulation; and

delivering, during a second period of time, the electrical stimulation with the selected characteristic to the person through the first and second electrical contacts using an electro-haptic stimulator disposed in the device, wherein delivering the electrical stimulation elicits an electro-haptic sensation at the person.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the device is a wearable device comprising a mount for mounting the device to an external body surface of the person, and wherein the method further comprises mounting the device to the external body surface of the person.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the at least one sensor comprises a Galvanic skin resistance (GSR) sensor, an electrocardiogram (ECG) sensor, a Galvanic skin potential (GSP) sensor, or an electromyogram (EMG) sensor.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the at least one sensor comprises a Galvanic skin resistance (GSR) sensor comprising:

(i) a reference voltage that provides a reference voltage relative to the second electrical contact, (ii) a resistor having a reference resistance and connected between the reference voltage source and the first electrical contact, and (iii) a voltage sensor coupled to the first electrical contact;

wherein obtaining the measurement comprises measuring a voltage using the voltage sensor and determining a GSR of the person as a multiple of the reference resistance, wherein the multiple corresponds to the measured voltage divided by a difference, and wherein the difference corresponds to the measured voltage subtracted from the reference voltage.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising indicating the determined GSR using a display disposed in the device.

16. The method of claim 14, further comprising operating the device based on the determined GSR.

17. The method of claim 11, wherein at least one of the characteristics of the electrical stimulation comprises a specified amplitude between 30 volts and 100 volts.

18. A method comprising:

coupling a device to a person so that first and second electrical contacts of the device make electrical contact with the person, wherein the device comprises a memory having stored thereon a plurality of characteristics of an electrical stimulation, wherein each characteristic of the electrical stimulation corresponds to a particular health state of the person, and wherein each characteristic of the electrical stimulation includes one or more of an intensity, a frequency, a duration, or a pulse pattern of the electrical stimulation;

obtaining, during a first period of time, a measurement using at least one sensor disposed in the device and electrically coupled to the first and second electrical contacts of the device;

determining a health state of the person based on the measurement obtained using the at least one sensor during the first period of time;

based on the determined health state of the person, selecting one of the stored characteristics of the electrical stimulation; and

delivering, during a second period of time, the electrical stimulation with the selected characteristic to the person through the first and second electrical contacts using an electro-haptic stimulator disposed in the device, wherein delivering the electrical stimulation elicits an electro-haptic sensation at the person.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the device is a wearable device comprising a mount for mounting the device to an external body surface of the person, and wherein coupling the device to the person comprises mounting the device to the external body surface of the person.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the at least one sensor comprises a Galvanic skin resistance (GSR) sensor, and wherein obtaining the measurement comprises using the GSR sensor to measure a GSR of the person'"'"'s skin at the external body surface.