PIEZOELECTRIC HEART RATE SENSING FOR WEARABLE DEVICES OR MOBILE DEVICES
First Claim
1. An apparatus comprising:
- a skin surface microphone (“
SSM”
) comprising;
a piezoelectric sensor configured to receive acoustic signals and generate piezoelectric signals;
a wearable housing including the SSM, the wearable housing configured to position the SSM to receive an acoustic signal originating from human tissue; and
a physiological signal generator configured to receive a piezoelectric signal based on the acoustic signal, and the physiological signal generator being configured further to generate a physiological signal including data representing a heartbeat.
16 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Embodiments relate generally to electrical and electronic hardware, computer software, wired and wireless network communications, and wearable computing devices for sensing health and wellness-related information. More specifically, disclosed is a physiological sensor using, for example, acoustic signal energy to determine physiological characteristics, such as a heart rate, the physiological sensor being disposed in a wearable device (or carried device). In one embodiment, a physiological signal generator is disposed substantially in a wearable housing. At least a portion of a skin surface microphone (“SSM”) including a piezoelectric sensor is configured to receive acoustic signals. The wearable housing is configured to position the SSM to receive an acoustic signal originating from human tissue. The physiological signal generator is configured to receive a piezoelectric signal based on an acoustic signal, and to generate a physiological signal including data representing a heartbeat or heart rate.
15 Citations
20 Claims
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1. An apparatus comprising:
-
a skin surface microphone (“
SSM”
) comprising;a piezoelectric sensor configured to receive acoustic signals and generate piezoelectric signals; a wearable housing including the SSM, the wearable housing configured to position the SSM to receive an acoustic signal originating from human tissue; and a physiological signal generator configured to receive a piezoelectric signal based on the acoustic signal, and the physiological signal generator being configured further to generate a physiological signal including data representing a heartbeat. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method comprising:
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receiving an acoustic signal originating from human tissue, the acoustic signal associated with a physiological characteristic; generating a piezoelectric signal responsive to the acoustic signal; determining a portion of the piezoelectric signal associated with a heartbeat derived from the acoustic signal; identifying a heart rate at a processor based on the portion of the piezoelectric signal; and causing generation of data representing the heart rate for presentation. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18)
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19. A wearable device comprising:
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a skin surface physiological device comprising; a piezoelectric sensor configured to receive signals and generate piezoelectric signals; a housing including the skin surface physiological device, the housing configured to position the skin surface physiological device to receive a signal originating from human tissue; and a physiological signal generator configured to receive a piezoelectric signal based on the signal, and the physiological signal generator being configured further to generate a physiological signal including data representing a heartbeat. - View Dependent Claims (20)
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Specification