Sensing circuit board communications module assembly

• US 8,120,480 B2
• Filed: 06/18/2008
• Issued: 02/21/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 06/18/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Best Buy Health Incorporated (Best Buy Co., Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Healthsense, Inc. (Best Buy Co., Inc.)
• Inventors: Anderson, Dean S., Vatland, Danny J., Bischoff, Brian J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Tai T
• Application Number:
  US12/141,531
• Publication Number:
  US 20090315701A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,343 Days
• Field of Search: 340/539.1, 340/539.23, 340/523, 340/529, 340/573.1, 340/573.4, 340/540, 340/541, 361/760, 361/761, 361/764, 361/752, 361/807
• US Class Current: 340/539.1
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/04 responsive to non-activity, e.g. of elderly persons G08B21/06 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0492 Sensor dual technology, i.e. two or more technologies collaborate to extract unsafe condition, e.g. video tracking and RFID tracking
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 1/0295 adapted for choosing between different types or different locations of mounted components
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 2201/09954 More mounting possibilities, e.g. on same place of PCB, or by using different sets of edge pads
• 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: Y10T 29/53174 Means to fasten electrical component to wiring board, base, or substrate

Abstract

Methods, devices, and systems for electronic wireless communication in circuits for monitoring one or more activities of an individual are disclosed. One circuit board assembly embodiment includes a carrier board portion having a module contact pattern to electrically connect a module, selected from a plurality of different module types each having a contact pattern that corresponds to the module contact pattern of the carrier board portion, to a number of electrical components attached to the carrier board portion; a sensor portion for sensing one or more activities of an individual, the sensor portion electrically connected to the carrier board portion; and a communications module portion selected from the plurality of different module types, wherein the module portion has a contact pattern that corresponds to the module contact pattern and wherein the communications module portion is electrically connected to the carrier board portion via the module contact pattern.

Claims

1. A circuit board assembly for sensing one or more activities of an individual, comprising:

a carrier board portion, wherein the carrier board portion has a module contact pattern to electrically connect a module to a number of electrical components attached to the carrier board portion and wherein the module is selected from a plurality of different module types each having a contact pattern that corresponds to the module contact pattern of the carrier board portion;

a sensor portion for sensing one or more activities of an individual, the sensor portion electrically connected to the carrier board portion; and

a communications module portion selected from the plurality of different module types, wherein the module portion has a contact pattern that corresponds to the module contact pattern, wherein the communications module portion is electrically connected to the carrier board portion via the module contact pattern, and wherein the communications module receives information about the one or more activities of the individual from the sensor portion and sends the information to a remote device.

2. The circuit board of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of different communications module types has a contact pattern to accommodate placement on the module contact pattern.

3. The circuit board of claim 2, wherein the module to be electrically connected to the number of electrical components is selected from a group of communications modules including:

WiFi, Bluetooth, Dust, and Zigbee 802.11/802.15.4 communications module types.

4. The circuit board of claim 1, wherein the contact pattern on the carrier board portion includes one or more contacts selected from a group of contact types including:

power, ground, digital communication, digital input, digital output, analog input, and analog output.

5. The circuit board of claim 1, wherein a number of contacts forming the contact pattern on the carrier board portion are leadless castellations.

6. The circuit board of claim 1, wherein the carrier board portion can accommodate a daughter board.

7. The circuit board of claim 6, wherein the daughter board has a number of inputs or outputs for digital sensors, analog sensors, or discrete sensors.

8. A method for configuring a circuit board for receiving sensing information from a sensing module for sensing an activity of an individual, comprising:

providing a carrier, wherein the carrier has a uniform contact pattern;

providing a communications module, wherein the uniform contact pattern of the carrier accommodates a contact pattern for the communications module;

placing the communications module, selected from a plurality of different module types each having a contact pattern that corresponds to the uniform contact pattern of the carrier, on the carrier over the uniform contact pattern of the carrier and affixing the communications module to the carrier; and

wherein sensing data is transmitted from a number of sensors that sense one or more activities of an individual to the communications module and wherein the sensing data is transmitted from the communications module to a remote device.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the communications module transmits data to and from the carrier.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the communications module is selected from a number of different communications modules that each transmit data from a number of sensors via a different type of communications module protocol.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the communications module is selected from modules transmitting data utilizing communications module protocols selected from a group including:

WiFi, Bluetooth, Dust, and Zigbee 802.11/802.15.4.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the circuit board has one or more inputs or outputs for a numbers of digital sensors, analog sensors, or discrete sensors.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the number of sensors communicate data relating to the monitoring of an individual'"'"'s daily living activities via the communications module.

14. A system for wireless communication, comprising:

a number of sensors for sensing one or more activities of an individual each having a wireless communications component, the component including;

a carrier board portion, wherein the carrier board portion has a module contact pattern to electrically connect a module selected from a plurality of different module types each having a contact pattern that corresponds to the module contact pattern of the carrier board portion to a number of electrical components attached to the carrier board portion;

a communications module portion, wherein the communications module portion has a contact pattern to accommodate the module contact pattern; and

a computing device that receives information about one or more activities of an individual transmitted from the communications module portion, which receives the information from the number of sensors.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the information is sensor data from one or more of the number of sensors.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the information is data about an activity of daily living based upon one or more activations of a sensor.

17. The system of claim 14, wherein the information is sensor performance data.

18. The system of claim 14, wherein the information is sensor status data.

19. A kit for assembling a circuit board for use in a system for monitoring one or more activities of an individual, comprising:

a carrier board portion, wherein the carrier board portion has a module contact pattern to electrically connect a module to a number of electrical components attached to the carrier board portion;

a sensor portion for sensing one or more activities of an individual and having an electrical contact pattern to electrically connect the sensor portion with the carrier board portion; and

a plurality of different module types each having a contact pattern that corresponds to the module contact pattern of the carrier board portion and wherein one of the modules is to be selected and attached to the module contact pattern, wherein sensing data is transmitted from the sensor portion to a selected module and the sensing data is transmitted from the selected module to a remote device.