CONTACT LENS HAVING ENERGY HARVESTING PART

• US 20180136492A1
• Filed: 01/25/2016
• Published: 05/17/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 06/01/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: AN, Kwang-dek, KOH, Jun-ho, MOON, Bo-seok, PARK, Jae-hyun, LEE, Young-eun, HAN, Ji-yeon
• Granted Patent: US 11,119,341 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2560/0214 of power generation or supply
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1103 Detecting eye twinkling
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/145 Measuring characteristics of blood in vivo, e.g. gas concentration, pH value; Measuring characteristics of body fluids or tissues, e.g. interstitial fluid, cerebral tissuemeasuring of blood pressure or blood flow A61B5/02; non-radiation detecting or locating of foreign bodies in blood A61B5/06
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/14507 specially adapted for measuring characteristics of body fluids other than blood devices for taking samples of body liquids A61B10/0045
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/14532 for measuring glucose, e.g. by tissue impedance measurement
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1486 using enzyme electrodes, e.g. with immobilised oxidase
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6821 Eye
• CPC Class Codes: G02C 11/10 Electronic devices other than hearing aids
• CPC Class Codes: G02C 7/04 Contact lenses for the eyes disinfection or sterilisation of contact lenses A61L12/00
• CPC Class Codes: H02N 2/18 producing electrical output from mechanical input, e.g. generators for measurement devices G01
• CPC Class Codes: H10N 30/30 with mechanical input and electrical output, e.g. functioning as generators or sensors
• CPC Class Codes: H10N 30/871 Single-layered electrodes of multilayer piezoelectric or electrostrictive devices, e.g. internal electrodes

Abstract

A contact lens including an energy harvesting unit is provided. The contact lens includes a sensor that detects biometric information of a user, and a power that transforms a dynamic energy generated by a movement of an eye part of the user into electrical energy and provides the sensor with the electrical energy.

Claims

1. A contact lens comprising:

a lens portion placed on an eye of a user;

a sensor configured to detect biometric information of the user; and

a power configured to transform a dynamic movement generated by a movement of the eye part into electrical energy and provide the sensor with the electrical energy.

2. The contact lens of claim 1, wherein, when an electrical energy amount harvested by the power is equal to or greater than a sensing-enabling power amount, the sensor is driven to detect information of the user.

3. The contact lens of claim 1, further comprising a communicator configured to transmit information detected by the sensor to an external device, and a controller configured to control the sensor unit and the communicator.

4. The contact lens of claim 3, wherein, when an electrical energy amount harvested by the power is equal to or greater than a communication-enabling power amount, the controller drives the communicator to attempt to connect to the external device.

5. The contact lens of claim 3, wherein, when a number of eye blinks of the user is equal to or greater than a reference number, the controller drives the communicator to attempt to connect to the external device.

6. The contact lens of claim 3, wherein the information detected by the sensor is at least one of a number of eye blinks of the user, a duration of eye-closing of the user, a pattern of blinking of the user, an eyeball movement of the user, and information about a biomaterial included in tear of the user.

7. The contact lens of claim 1, further comprising a display configured to output information detected by the sensor or information received from an external electronic device.

8. The contact lens of claim 1, wherein the power comprises a first piezoelectric element, the first piezoelectric element comprising a first piezoelectric layer that is bent due to a movement of an eye part of the user, and first and second electrodes that contact the first piezoelectric layer and collect electrical energy generated due to deformation of the first piezoelectric layer.

9. The contact lens of claim 8, wherein the first and second electrodes are arranged apart from each other on a first surface of the first piezoelectric layer.

10. The contact lens of claim 8, wherein the first and second electrodes are respectively arranged on a first surface of the first piezoelectric layer and a second surface of the first piezoelectric layer opposite to the first surface.

11. The contact lens of claim 8, wherein the power further comprises a second piezoelectric element, the second piezoelectric element comprising a second piezoelectric layer and third and fourth electrodes that contact the second piezoelectric layer and collect electricity generated due to deformation of the second piezoelectric layer.

12. The contact lens of claim 8, wherein a layer equipped with the sensor and a layer equipped with the first piezoelectric element are different from each other.

13. The contact lens of claim 8, wherein the first piezoelectric element is provided on a center region of the lens portion, and the sensor is provided on an outer region of the lens portion.

14. The contact lens of claim 1, wherein the power further comprises a power storage.

15. The contact lens of claim 16, wherein the capacitor is provided on an outer circumference of the lens portion.

16. The contact lens of claim 14, wherein the power storage unit comprises a capacitor.

17. The contact lens of claim 9, wherein the first and second electrodes face each other and are arranged such as to elongate toward each other at a plurality of spots and alternate with each other.

18. The contact lens of claim 10, wherein each of the first and second electrodes is formed in a lattice pattern, a zigzag pattern, or a comb electrode pattern.

19. The contact lens of claim 8, wherein the sensor and the power unit are provided on the same layer.