Shape sensing clothes to inform the wearer of a condition

• US 20100280416A1
• Filed: 02/26/2010
• Published: 11/04/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 04/30/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Enterprise Science Fund, LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Searete LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Ishikawa, Muriel Y., Wood, Lowell L. JR., Hyde, Roderick A., Kare, Jordin T., Wood, Victoria Y.H.
• Granted Patent: US 8,784,342 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/587
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/103 Detecting, measuring or recording devices for testing the shape, pattern, colour, size or movement of the body or parts thereof, for diagnostic purposes A61B5/08 takes precedence; measuring aids for tailors A41H1/00; measuring instruments specially adapted for dentistry A61C19/04
• 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 5/4528 Joints A61B5/4533, A61B5/4538 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6804 Garments; Clothes

Abstract

A garment may be configured with one or more sensors and circuitry to communicate information related to a physiological condition to the user.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

a first garment configured to be worn by a user and including;

a first fabric; and

a first set of one or more sensors, the one or more sensors in the first set of one or more sensors being arranged to detect a first shape-related parameter of the first fabric and responsive to the detected first shape-related parameter to produce a first signal; and

circuitry responsive to the first signal to determine a first shape of the first fabric and configured to compare the first shape of the first fabric to a reference shape of the first fabric, and to produce a second signal corresponding to a difference between the first shape of the first fabric and the reference shape of the first fabric, the second signal being indicative of a physiological condition of the user.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the circuitry is further responsive to a third signal, different from the first signal, and wherein the circuitry is further configured to produce the second signal in response to the third signal.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 further comprising a physiological sensor arranged to sense a physiological parameter of the user, wherein the physiological sensor is configured to produce the third signal.

10. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein the first shape-related parameter of the first fabric corresponds to a first region of the first fabric, and wherein a second set of one or more sensors is further arranged to detect a second shape-related parameter of the first fabric corresponding to a second region of the first fabric, different from the first region of first fabric, and wherein the one or more sensors is further responsive to the detected second shape-related parameter to produce the third signal.

12. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein the first shape-related parameter of the first fabric corresponds to a first time interval, and wherein the first set of one or more sensors is further arranged to detect a second shape-related parameter of the first fabric corresponding to a second time interval, different from the first time interval, and wherein the first set of one or more sensors is further responsive to the detected second shape-related parameter to produce the third signal.

15. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the circuitry is further responsive to stored information to determine the first shape of the first fabric.

23. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein at least one of the one or more sensors in the first set of one or more sensors is arranged to detect a change in electrical impedance in response to the detected first shape-related parameter.

25. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein at least one of the one or more sensors in the first set of one or more sensors is arranged to detect a change in mechanical impedance in response to the detected first shape-related parameter.

30. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the one or more sensors in the first set of one or more sensors are configured to provide one or more corresponding measurements, the one or more corresponding measurements being associated with one or more corresponding regions of the first fabric.

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55. A method comprising:

receiving a first signal corresponding to a first region of fabric worn by a user;

processing the first signal to produce a first set of fabric shape data; and

producing a second signal based on a difference between the first set of fabric shape data and a second set of fabric shape data, the second signal being indicative of a physiological condition of the user.

56. The method of claim 55 wherein processing the first signal to produce a first set of fabric shape data includes:

determining a first shape of a body part proximate to the first region of fabric based on the received first signal.

57. The method of claim 56 wherein the second set of fabric shape data corresponds to a target shape of the body part proximate to the first region of fabric, and wherein producing a second signal based on a difference between the first set of fabric shape data and a second set of fabric shape data includes:

determining a difference between the first shape of the body part proximate to the first region of fabric and the target shape of the body part proximate to the first region of fabric.

58. The method of claim 55 further comprising:

receiving a third signal corresponding to the first region;

processing the third signal to produce the second set of fabric shape data.

59. The method of claim 58 wherein the first signal corresponds to a first time, the third signal corresponds to a second time different from the first time, and further comprising:

determining a target time corresponding to a target set of fabric shape data based on the first and second sets of fabric shape data, the target set of fabric shape data, and the first and second times.

60. The method of claim 56 wherein determining a first shape of a body part proximate to the first region of fabric based on the received first signal includes:

using a computational model to determine the first shape of the body part according to the first set of fabric shape data.

66. The method of claim 55 wherein processing the first signal to produce a first set of fabric shape data includes:

determining a first shape of the first region of fabric based on the received first signal.

67. The method of claim 66 wherein the second set of fabric shape data corresponds to a target shape of the first region of fabric, and wherein producing a second signal based on a difference between the first set of fabric shape data and a second set of fabric shape data includes:

determining a difference between the first shape of the first region of fabric and the target shape of the first region of fabric.

69. The method of claim 66 wherein the second set of fabric shape data corresponds to a previously determined shape of the first region of fabric, and wherein producing a second signal based on a difference between the first set of fabric shape data and a second set of fabric shape data includes:

determining a difference between the first shape of the first region of fabric and the previously determined shape of the first region of fabric.

76. The method of claim 55 wherein the first region of fabric corresponds to at least a first portion of a garment.

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147. An apparatus comprising:

circuitry configured to receive a first signal corresponding to a first region of fabric worn by a user;

circuitry configured to process the first signal to produce a first set of fabric shape data; and

circuitry configured to produce a second signal based on a difference between the first set of fabric shape data and the second set of fabric shape data, the second signal being indicative of a physiological condition of a user.

148. The apparatus of claim 147 wherein the circuitry configured to process the first signal to produce a first set of fabric shape data includes:

circuitry configured to determine a first shape of a body part proximate to the first region of fabric based on the received first signal.

149. The apparatus of claim 148 wherein the second set of fabric shape data corresponds to a target shape of the body part proximate to the first region of fabric, and wherein the circuitry configured to produce a second signal based on a difference between the first set of fabric shape data and a second set of fabric shape data includes:

circuitry configured to determine a difference between the first shape of the body part proximate to the first region of fabric and the target shape of the body part proximate to the first region of fabric.

150. The apparatus of claim 147 further comprising:

circuitry configured to receive a third signal corresponding to the first region;

circuitry configured to process the third signal to produce the second set of fabric shape data.

152. The apparatus of claim 148 wherein the circuitry configured to determine a first shape of a body part proximate to the first region of fabric based on the received first signal includes:

circuitry configured to use a computational model to determine the first shape of the body part according to the first set of fabric shape data.

153. The apparatus of claim 148 wherein the second set of fabric shape data corresponds to a previously measured shape of the body part proximate to the first region of fabric, and wherein the circuitry configured to produce a second signal based on a difference between the first set of fabric shape data and a second set of fabric shape data includes:

circuitry configured to determine a difference between the first shape of the body part proximate to the first region of fabric and the previously measured shape of the body part proximate to the first region of fabric.

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