Wearable device assembly having antenna

• US 10,264,970 B2
• Filed: 08/27/2015
• Issued: 04/23/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 01/19/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nike, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Nike, Inc.
• Inventors: Lowe, Jr., Edward S., Buxton, Bert
• Primary Examiner(s): Syed, Nabil H
• Assistant Examiner(s): Eustaquio, Cal J
• Application Number:
  US14/837,273
• Publication Number:
  US 20150359428A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,335 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/0219 Inertial sensors, e.g. accelerometers, gyroscopes, tilt switches
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/029 Humidity sensors
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/164 the sensor is mounted in or on a conformable substrate or carrier
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0022 Monitoring a patient using a global network, e.g. telephone networks, internet
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0024 for multiple sensor units attached to the patient, e.g. using a body or personal area network
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0059 using light, e.g. diagnosis by transillumination, diascopy, fluorescence A61B5/0093, A61B5/1455, A61B5/02416 and A61B5/0261 take precedence
• 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 5/02055 Simultaneously evaluating both cardiovascular condition and temperature
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/02438 with portable devices, e.g. worn by the patient
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0507 using microwaves or terahertz waves
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/11 Measuring movement of the entire body or parts thereof, e.g. head or hand tremor, mobility of a limb for measuring pulse A61B5/02 ;A61B5/1038 takes precedence; motion detection to correct for motion artifacts in physiological signals A61B5/721
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1112 Global tracking of patients, e.g. by using GPS
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1118 Determining activity level
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1123 Discriminating type of movement, e.g. walking or running A61B5/1116, A61B5/112 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4866 Evaluating metabolism A61B5/083 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/681 Wristwatch-type devices
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6824 Arm or wrist
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6829 Foot or ankle
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6831 Straps, bands or harnesses
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6897 Computer input devices, e.g. mice or keyboards
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6898 : Portable consumer electronic devices, e.g. music players, telephones, tablet computers
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7246 : using correlation, e.g. template matching or determination of similarity
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7264 : Classification of physiological signals or data, e.g. using neural networks, statistical classifiers, expert systems or fuzzy systems neural networks per se G06N3/00; expert systems per se G06N5/00
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2220/40 : Acceleration
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2220/836 : Sensors arranged on the body of the user
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2225/50 : Wireless data transmission, e.g. by radio transmitters or telemetry
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 24/0062 : Monitoring athletic performances, e.g. for determining the work of a user on an exercise apparatus, the completed jogging or cycling distance
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 19/16 : in which transmission is by pulses
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 : for remote operation
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/273 : Adaptation for carrying or wearing by persons or animals
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2209/30 : using a wired architecture
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2209/43 : using wireless personal area networks [WPAN], e.g. 802.15, 802.15.1, 802.15.4, Bluetooth or ZigBee
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2209/823 : where the data is sent when the measured values exceed a threshold, e.g. sending an alarm
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 9/00 : Arrangements in telecontrol or telemetry systems for selectively calling a substation from a main station, in which substation desired apparatus is selected for applying a control signal thereto or for obtaining measured values therefrom
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 1/0281 : Reinforcement details thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 1/189 : characterised by the use of a flexible or folded printed circuit H05K3/326 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 2201/10098 : Components for radio transmission, e.g. radio frequency identification [RFID] tag, printed or non-printed antennas
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 2201/10151 : Sensor
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 7/06 : on insulating boards , e.g. wiring harnesses for printed circuits H05K1/18, H05K3/30

Abstract

A wrist-worn device monitors movements of a user. A sensor assembly of the wrist-worn device is configured to detect movement of the user and generate sensor data based on the movement detected. A controller connected to the sensor assembly obtains movement data based on the sensor data. An antenna connected to the controller is configured to operate at a desired frequency when a wrist of the user is received by the device such that the movement data is wirelessly transmittable from the wrist-worn device to an electronic device. The antenna may exhibit a different design and configuration depending on the size of the wrist-worn device.

Claims

1. A device comprising:

one or more sensors configured to generate sensor data;

a controller configured to process the sensor data and generate processed sensor data;

an antenna configured to wirelessly transmit to an electronic device at least one of the sensor data or the processed sensor data; and

a body sized and shaped to wrap around a body part of an individual such that the device is wearable by the individual, wherein the body comprises an outer over-mold member, an inner over-mold member, a plurality of flex areas, an internal spine member extending through the body, and a flexible circuit member wrapped around and connected to the spine member;

wherein the internal spine member and the flexible circuit member are located between the outer over-mold member and the inner over-mold member such that the outer over-mold member and the inner over-mold member enclose the internal spine member and the flexible circuit member;

wherein the circuit member connects the one or more sensors to the controller and connects the controller to the antenna; and

wherein at least a portion of the antenna is located in one of the flex areas and the antenna is tuned such that the antenna operates at a peak resonant frequency when the body part is received by the device, the antenna operates at an off-peak resonant frequency relative to the peak resonant frequency when the body part is not received by the device, and the antenna produces a radiation pattern having relatively high gain areas that are directed away from the individual when wirelessly transmitting the processed sensor data, wherein the antenna is in resonance both when the body part is received by the device and when the body part is not received by the device.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein:

the body of the device is sized and shaped to wrap around one of i) a wrist of the individual, ii) an arm of the individual, or iii) an ankle of an individual.

3. The device of claim 1, wherein:

at least one of the one or more sensors is configured to detect movements of the individual; and

the sensor data comprises movement data corresponding to the movements of the individual.

4. The device of claim 3, wherein:

the controller is further configured to classify an activity performed by the individual based on the movement data; and

the processed sensor data comprises a classification of the activity.

5. The device of claim 4, wherein:

the controller is further configured to classify the activity performed by the individual by comparing the movement data to one or more activity templates and selecting one of the activity templates that best matches the movement data.

6. The device of claim 5, wherein:

the controller is further configured to create the one or more activity templates based on prior movement data corresponding to prior movements detected by at least one of the one or more sensors.

7. The device of claim 3, wherein:

the controller is further configured to calculate energy expenditure of the individual based on the movement data; and

the processed sensor data comprises energy expenditure data.

8. The device of claim 7, wherein:

the controller is further configured to calculate a number of points to award the individual based on the energy expenditure data; and

the processed sensor data further comprises the number of points.

9. The device of claim 8, wherein:

the controller is further configured to identify based on the movement data a period of inactivity of the individual, calculate based on the period of inactivity a second number of points, and deduct the second number of points from the number of points awarded to the individual.

10. The device of claim 9, wherein:

the second number of points deducted from the number of points awarded to the individual is based on one or more of i) a time of day, ii) a location of the individual, or iii) a physical position of the individual.

11. The device of claim 7, wherein:

the controller is further configured to identify based on the sensor data an activity performed by the individual and generate the energy expenditure data using an activity factor.

12. The device of claim 7, wherein:

the energy expenditure data comprises one or more of i) a heart rate of the individual, ii) a number of calories burned by the individual, or iii) an amount of oxygen consumed by the individual.

13. The device of claim 3, wherein:

the controller is further configured to calculate based on the movement data one or more metrics associated with the movements of the individual;

the one or more metrics comprise one or more of i) a speed of the individual, ii) a distance traveled by the individual, or iii) a number of steps taken by the individual; and

the processed sensor data comprises the one or more metrics.

14. The device of claim 1, wherein:

the one or more sensors comprises one or more of i) a location-determining sensor, ii) a body temperature sensor, iii) a heart rate monitor, iv) a moisture sensor, v) a light sensor, vi) a multi-axis accelerometer, or vii) a gyroscope.

15. The device of claim 1, wherein:

the electronic device is one of i) a personal computing device of the individual, ii) a computer server, or iii) a video game console.

16. The device of claim 1, wherein:

the controller is further configured to receive second sensor data from one or more second sensors located external to the device, process the second sensor data, and generate second processed sensor data.

17. The device of claim 16, wherein:

the processed sensor data comprises at least a portion of the second processed sensor data.

18. The device of claim 16, wherein:

at least one of the one or more second sensors is integrated into apparel worn by the individual.

19. The device of claim 16, wherein:

at least one of the one or more second sensors is attached to a second body part of the individual.

20. The device of claim 1, wherein:

the controller is further configured to generate the processed sensor data by combining first sensor data from a first one of the one or more sensors with second sensor data from a second one of the one or more sensors.