Wearable computing device

• US 10,126,779 B2
• Filed: 02/27/2017
• Issued: 11/13/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 11/29/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ouraring, Inc. (Oura Health Oy)
• Original Assignee: Motiv Inc.
• Inventors: von Badinski, Curt C., Strasser, Michael J., Twiss, Peter
• Primary Examiner(s): Hunnings, Travis
• Application Number:
  US15/444,227
• Publication Number:
  US 20170235333A1
• Time in Patent Office: 624 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2560/0214 of power generation or supply
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2560/0412 Low-profile patch shaped housings
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/146 for optical coupling
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/164 the sensor is mounted in or on a conformable substrate or carrier
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/166 the sensor is mounted on a specially adapted printed circuit board
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/01 Measuring temperature of body parts ; Diagnostic temperature sensing, e.g. for malignant or inflamed tissue clinical contact thermometers G01K13/20
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0205 Simultaneously evaluating both cardiovascular conditions and different types of body conditions, e.g. heart and respiratory condition
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/021 Measuring pressure in heart or blood vessels A61B5/0205 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/02416 using photoplethysmograph signals, e.g. generated by infrared radiation A61B5/14552 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1118 Determining activity level
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/14532 for measuring glucose, e.g. by tissue impedance measurement
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1455 using optical sensors, e.g. spectral photometrical oximeters
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/332 Portable devices specially adapted therefor
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/349 Detecting specific parameters of the electrocardiograph cycle
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/681 Wristwatch-type devices
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6826 Finger
• CPC Class Codes: G01P 15/00 Measuring acceleration; Measuring deceleration; Measuring shock, i.e. sudden change of acceleration
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 19/0042 for use with direct solar radiation
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 19/0052 the light source comprising a laser diode coupling into light guides using intermediate optical elements G02B6/4204; semiconductor lasers having optical devices external to the laser cavity H01S5/005
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 19/0061 the light source comprising a LED semiconductor devices with at least one potential-jump barrier or surface barrier specially adapted for light emission H01L33/00
• CPC Class Codes: G04G 21/02 : Detectors of external physical values, e.g. temperature
• CPC Class Codes: G04G 21/025 : for measuring physiological data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/163 : Wearable computers, e.g. on a belt
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1635 : Details related to the integration of battery packs and other power supplies such as fuel cells or integrated AC adapter
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/32 : using biometric data, e.g. fingerprints, iris scans or voiceprints
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/014 : Hand-worn input/output arrangements, e.g. data gloves
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/017 : Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/14 : Digital output to display device ; Cooperation and interconnection of the display device with other functional units
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/751 : Comparing pixel values or logical combinations thereof, or feature values having positional relevance, e.g. template matching
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/10 : Human or animal bodies, e.g. vehicle occupants or pedestrians; Body parts, e.g. hands
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/15 : Biometric patterns based on physiological signals, e.g. heartbeat, blood flow
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/70 : Multimodal biometrics, e.g. combining information from different biometric modalities
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/02 : Alarms for ensuring the safety of persons
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 5/36 : using visible light sources
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 17/02 : using a radio link
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 2201/30 : User interface
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0044 : specially adapted for holding portable devices containing batteries H02J7/0045 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/35 : with light sensitive cells
• CPC Class Codes: H02S 40/22 : Light-reflecting or light-concentrating means directly associated with the PV cell or integrated with the PV cell H01L31/054
• CPC Class Codes: H02S 99/00 : Subject matter not provided for in other groups of this subclass
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 10/52 : PV systems with concentrators

Abstract

The present disclosure describes a wearable computing device (WCD) in the form of a ring that can be worn on the finger of a human user.

Claims

1. A method of using an intelligent ring for navigating a rout of travel through space, the intelligent ring having an interior portion comprising a computing element and a sensor, the method comprising:

sensing, by the sensor of the intelligent ring, a gesture, the gesture comprising a movement in a first direction;

generating, by the computing element, a first vector, the first vector representing the first direction;

comparing, by the computing element, the first vector of the first direction to a predetermined second vector, the second vector representing a predetermined second direction to produce results data; and

determining, by the computing element, based on the results data, a direction pertaining to the navigating of a route of travel through space.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the gesture comprises moving a hand or pointing a finger and the first direction comprises a first heading.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the second direction comprises a set of predetermined second directions.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the sensor comprises one or more of an accelerometer, gyroscope, vibration sensor, a magnetometer, digital compass, gesture recognition sensor, a near-infrared sensor, and a GPS.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the sensor comprises one or more sensors that are configured for detecting movements in multiple axes.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the sensor comprises one or more sensors that are configured for measuring one or more forces of acceleration.

7. The method of claim 4, wherein the sensor comprises one or more sensors that are configured for tracking an activity level of a user.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the method further comprises communicating one or more sensed or determined data points with a remote computing device over a wireless communications network.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the remote computing device comprises one or more of a mobile device, a desktop computer, and a server.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the method further comprises generating, at a graphical display of one or more of the mobile device, desktop computer, and server, a map, the map providing directions based on the received data points from the intelligent ring.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the method further comprises providing feedback based on the comparing of the first direction to the second direction.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the method further comprises providing feedback, the feedback indicating one or more of a correct, incorrect, or a change in a direction of travel.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the feedback is provided by one or more actuators present within the intelligent ring.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the feedback comprises vibratory, haptic, or other physical feedback.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein the feedback is provided by one or more LED indicators, where the LED is configured to illuminate a first color when the route to be travelled is correct, and further configured to illuminate a second color when the route to be travelled is incorrect.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the feedback is provided by one or more LED indicators, where the LED is configured to illuminate a first color when the route to be travelled is correct, and further configured to illuminate a second color when the route to be travelled is incorrect.

17. A method of employing an intelligent ring for navigating, the intelligent ring having an interior portion comprising a computing element and a sensor, the method comprising:

donning the intelligent ring on a finger of a hand of a user;

gesturing, by a movement of the hand of the finger having donned the intelligent ring, in a first direction;

sensing, by the orientation sensor, the movement of the hand gesturing in the first direction to produce a first vector, the first vector representing the first direction;

gesturing, by a movement of the hand of the finger having donned the intelligent ring, in a second direction;

sensing, by the orientation sensor, the movement of the hand gesturing in the second direction to produce a second vector, the second vector representing the second direction;

comparing, by the computing element, the first vector of the first direction to a second vector representing a second direction to produce results data; and

determining, by the computing element, based on the results data, directions pertaining to navigating a route through space.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the sensor comprises one or more of an accelerometer, gyroscope, vibration sensor, a magnetometer, digital compass, gesture recognition sensor, near-infrared sensor, and a GPS, and the gesture comprises moving the hand and/or finger in the first or second direction.

19. A method of using an intelligent ring for navigating, the intelligent ring having an interior portion comprising a computing element and an orientation sensor, the method comprising:

donning, by a user, the intelligent ring on a finger of a hand of the user;

gesturing, by a movement of the hand having donned the intelligent ring, in a first and a second direction;

sensing, by the orientation sensor, the movements of the hand gesturing in the first and second directions;

comparing, by the computing element, the first direction to the second direction to produce a result, the result determining a direction of travel for the user of the intelligent ring; and

providing, by an indicating mechanism within the interior portion of the intelligent ring, feedback to the user, the feedback based on the comparing of the first direction to the second direction, and indicating one or more directions pertaining to navigating a route through space.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the sensor comprises one or more sensors, and the one or more sensors comprise one or more of an accelerometer, gyroscope, vibration sensor, a magnetometer, digital compass, gesture recognition sensor, near-infrared sensor, and a GPS, further wherein the one or more sensors are configured for tracking an activity of the user.