Flexible wearable device

• US 10,356,229 B2
• Filed: 12/31/2015
• Issued: 07/16/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 12/31/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Shenzhen Royole Technologies Co. Ltd
• Original Assignee: Shenzhen Royole Technologies Co. Ltd
• Inventors: Xia, Xinyuan, Yu, Linyu, Chen, Songya
• Primary Examiner(s): Milord, Marceau
• Application Number:
  US16/067,588
• Publication Number:
  US 20190158639A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,293 Days
• Field of Search: 4555562, 455 903, 4555751, 4555752, 4555756
• CPC Class Codes: A45F 2200/0516 Portable handheld communication devices, e.g. mobile phone, pager, beeper, PDA, smart phone
• CPC Class Codes: A45F 5/00 Holders or carriers for hand articles; Holders or carriers for use while travelling or camping
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/163 Wearable computers, e.g. on a belt
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1652 the display being flexible, e.g. mimicking a sheet of paper, or rollable
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1677 for detecting open or closed state or particular intermediate positions assumed by movable parts of the enclosure, e.g. detection of display lid position with respect to main body in a laptop, detection of opening of the cover of battery compartment
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/385 Transceivers carried on the body, e.g. in helmets
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 2001/3861 carried in a hand or on fingers
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/021 using combined folding and rotation motions combined with translation movement H04M1/0235
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0214 Foldable telephones, i.e. with body parts pivoting to an open position around an axis parallel to the plane they define in closed position combined with translation movement H04M1/0235
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0241 using relative motion of the body parts to change the operational status of the telephone set, e.g. switching on/off, answering incoming call
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0243 using the relative angle between housings
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/6041 Portable telephones adapted for handsfree use
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/605 involving control of the receiver volume to provide a dual operational mode at close or far distance from the user
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/02 Casings; Cabinets ; Supports therefor; Mountings therein H04R1/28 takes precedence ; attachments for microphones H04R1/08; mounting of transducers in earpieces H04R1/1075
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 1/028 Bending or folding regions of flexible printed circuits H05K1/0283 takes precedence

Abstract

A flexible wearable device includes a flexible body, a speaker, an earpiece, a sensor, and a control unit. The flexible body can be in a worn state in which a bending angle of the flexible body is not less than a predetermined angle, and in a flattened state in which the bending angle of the flexible body is less than the predetermined angle. When the sensor senses that the flexible body is in the worn state, the control unit controls the earpiece to be off and controls the speaker to be on or as a default sound generator, and when the sensor senses that the flexible body is in the flattened state, the control unit controls the earpiece to be on or as the default sound generator, and controls the speaker to be off.

Claims

1. A flexible wearable device, comprising:

a flexible body;

a speaker;

an earpieces;

a sensor; and

a control unit;

wherein, the flexible body is capable of being in a worn state in which a bending angle of the flexible body is not less than a predetermined angle, and in a flattened state in which the bending angle of the flexible body is less than the predetermined angle;

the sensor senses whether the flexible body is in one of the worn state and the flattened state;

when the sensor senses that the flexible body is in the worn state, the control unit controls the earpieces to be off and controls the speaker to be on or as a default sound generator; and

when the sensor senses that the flexible body is in the flattened state, the control unit controls the earpieces to be on or as the default sound generator, and controls the speaker to be off.

2. The flexible wearable device of claim 1, wherein the sensor comprises a heart rate sensor for sensing a user'"'"'s heart rate, when the heart rate sensor senses the user'"'"'s heart rate, the flexible body is in the worn state, and when the heart rate sensor senses no user'"'"'s heart rate, the flexible body is in the flattened state.

3. The flexible wearable device of claim 2, wherein the flexible body comprises a first surface and a second surface opposite to the first surface, when the flexible body is in the worn state, the first surface is an outer surface of the flexible body, the second surface is an inner surface of the flexible body, and the heart rate sensor is arranged on the second surface of the flexible body.

4. The flexible wearable device of claim 1, wherein the flexible body comprises a first surface and a second surface opposite to the first surface, when the flexible body is in the worn state, the first surface is an outer surface of the flexible body, the second surface is an inner surface of the flexible body;

the flexible body comprises a plurality of hinging bodies hinged with each other, and each of the hinging bodies comprises at least one inclined face facing an adjacent hinging body and adjacent to the second face.

5. The flexible wearable device of claim 4, wherein the sensor comprises a plurality of elastic bodies each arranged on the inclined face, each of the elastic bodies contacts an adjacent hinging body when the flexible body is in the worn state, and a space is defined between each of the elastic bodies and an adjacent hinging body when the flexible body is in the flattened state;

the sensor senses whether the flexible body is in one of the flattened state and the worn state through the elastic bodies.

6. The flexible wearable device of claim 1, wherein the sensor comprises a piezoelectric transducer, the piezoelectric transducer is arranged in the flexible body, when a pressure sensed by the piezoelectric transducer is greater than or equal to a predetermined pressure, the flexible body is in the worn state, and when the pressure sensed by the piezoelectric transducer is less than the predetermined pressure, the flexible body is in the flattened state.

7. The flexible wearable device of claim 6, wherein the piezoelectric transducer is arranged at a part of the flexible body that deforms when the worn state and the flattened state are changed.

8. The flexible wearable device of claim 1, wherein the sensor comprises a thin-film resistor arranged in the flexible body, when a change of a resistance value of the thin-film resistor is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold, the flexible body is in the worn state, and when the change of the resistance value of the thin-film resistor is less than the predetermined threshold, the flexible body is in the flattened state.

9. The flexible wearable device of claim 8, wherein the flexible body comprises a first surface and a second surface opposite to the first surface, when the flexible body is in the worn state, the first surface is an outer surface of the flexible body, and the second surface is an inner surface of the flexible body;

the thin-film resistor is arranged at a part of the first surface that deforms when the worn state and the flattened state are changed.

10. The flexible wearable device of claim 1, wherein the flexible body comprises a first surface and a second surface opposite to the first surface, when the flexible body is in the worn state, the first surface is an outer surface of the flexible body, the second surface is an inner surface of the flexible body;

the sensor comprises a displacement transducer to sense a displacement quantity of the first surface with respect to the second surface.

11. The flexible wearable device of claim 10, wherein the displacement transducer comprises a reel, a scaling portion, and a sensing portion, the reel is arranged at an end of the flexible body, the scaling portion has one part arranged on the first surface, and another part capable of being wound to the reel or expanded from the reel with the deformation of the flexible body;

the sensing portion senses a length of expansion of the scaling portion from the reel, and when the length is greater than or equal to a predetermined length, the flexible body is in the worn state, and when the length is less than the predetermined length, the flexible body is in the flattened state.

12. The flexible wearable device of claim 1, wherein the predetermined angle is an angle defined by a position of one end portion of the flexible body in the flattened state and the same position of the end portion in the worn state with respect to a middle of the flexible body, and the predetermined angle is larger than or equal to 30 degrees.

13. The flexible wearable device of claim 1, wherein the predetermined angle is an angle defined by two end portions of the flexible body with respect to a middle of the flexible body when the flexible body is in the worn state, and the predetermined angle is larger than or equal to 90 degrees.