SYSTEMS, ARTICLES AND METHODS FOR WEARABLE ELECTRONIC DEVICES THAT ACCOMMODATE DIFFERENT USER FORMS

• US 20140334083A1
• Filed: 05/13/2014
• Published: 11/13/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 05/13/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: META Platforms Technologies LLC (Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.))
• Original Assignee: Thalmic Labs Inc.
• Inventors: Bailey, Matthew
• Granted Patent: US 10,152,082 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 361/679.03
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/163 Wearable computers, e.g. on a belt
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1656 Details related to functional adaptations of the enclosure, e.g. to provide protection against EMI, shock, water, or to host detachable peripherals like a mouse or removable expansions units like PCMCIA cards, or to provide access to internal components for maintenance or to removable storage supports like CDs or DVDs, or to mechanically mount accessories mounting of accessories to a computer display G06F1/1607; display hoods G06F1/1603; cooling arrangements for portable computers G06F1/203
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1692 the I/O peripheral being a secondary touch screen used as control interface, e.g. virtual buttons or sliders
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1694 the I/O peripheral being a single or a set of motion sensors for pointer control or gesture input obtained by sensing movements of the portable computer
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/015 Input arrangements based on nervous system activity detection, e.g. brain waves [EEG] detection, electromyograms [EMG] detection, electrodermal response detection

Abstract

Wearable electronic devices that provide robustness against variations in user form are described. The wearable electronic devices include a set of pod structures arranged in an annular configuration having a variable circumference, with adaptive physical coupling between adjacent pairs of pod structures. Adaptive physical coupling advantageously accommodates different user sizes, forms, and movements and enhances the overall ergonomics of the wearable electronic devices. Adaptive physical coupling also maintains substantially constant and/or equal angular spacing between components of the wearable electronic devices regardless of the form of the user.

Claims

1. An annular wearable electronic device having a variable circumference, the annular wearable electronic device comprising:

a first pod structure positioned at least approximately on the circumference, wherein the first pod structure includes a first sensor to detect an input from a user;

a second pod structure positioned at least approximately on the circumference, wherein the second pod structure includes a second sensor to detect an input from the user, and wherein the first and the second sensors are physically spaced apart from one another by a circumferential spacing C and by an angular spacing θ

; and

at least one adaptive coupler that physically couples the first pod structure and the second pod structure, wherein a length of the at least one adaptive coupler is variable and the circumferential spacing C between the first and second sensors is variable, and wherein the angular spacing θ

between the first and the second sensors is at least approximately constant regardless of the length of the at least one adaptive coupler.

2. The annular wearable electronic device of claim 1 wherein at least one of the first sensor and the second sensor is selected from the group consisting of:

an electromyography sensor;

a magnetomyography sensor;

a mechanomyography sensor;

a blood pressure sensor;

a heart rate sensor;

an accelerometer;

a gyroscope;

a compass; and

a thermometer.

3. The annular wearable electronic device of claim 1 wherein the first pod structure includes electrical circuitry and the second pod structure includes electrical circuitry, and wherein at least one of the first pod structure and the second pod structure includes at least one component selected from the group consisting of:

an amplification circuit, an analog-to-digital conversion circuit, a battery, a wireless transmitter, and a connector port.

4. The annular wearable electronic device of claim 3, further comprising:

at least one electrical coupling between the electrical circuitry of the first pod structure and the electrical circuitry of the second pod structure.

5. The annular wearable electronic device of claim 1 wherein the at least one adaptive coupler includes at least one elastic band.

6. The annular wearable electronic device of claim 1, further comprising:

a third pod structure positioned at least approximately on the circumference; and

at least one adaptive coupler that physically couples the second pod structure and the third pod structure, wherein the at least one adaptive coupler that physically couples the second pod structure and the third pod structure has a variable length.

7. The annular wearable electronic device of claim 6 wherein a single adaptive coupler provides physical adaptive coupling both between the first pod structure and the second pod structure and between the second pod structure and the third pod structure.

8. The annular wearable electronic device of claim 6 wherein a first adaptive coupler provides physical adaptive coupling between the first pod structure and the second pod structure and a second adaptive coupler provides physical adaptive coupling between the second pod structure and the third pod structure.

9. The annular wearable electronic device of claim 6 wherein the third pod structure includes a third sensor to detect an input from the user, the second and third sensors physically spaced apart from one another by the circumferential spacing C and by the angular spacing θ

, and wherein the circumferential spacing C between the second and the third sensors is variable and the angular spacing θ

between the second and the third sensors is at least approximately constant regardless of the length of the at least one adaptive coupler that physically couples the second pod structure and the third pod structure.

10. The annular wearable electronic device of claim 9 wherein the angular spacing θ

between the second and the third sensors is at least approximately equal to the angular spacing θ

between the first and the second sensors.

11. The annular wearable electronic device of claim 9, further comprising:

at least one additional pod structure positioned at least approximately on the circumference, wherein each one of the first pod structure, the second pod structure, the third pod structure, and the at least one additional pod structure is positioned adjacent two other ones of the first pod structure, the second pod structure, the third pod structure, and the at least one additional pod structure, and wherein at least one adaptive coupler provides a respective physical adaptive coupling between each pair of adjacent pod structures and the respective physical adaptive coupling between each pair of adjacent pod structures has a variable length.

12. The annular wearable electronic device of claim 11 wherein each additional pod structure includes a respective sensor to detect an input from the user, the respective sensors in each pair of adjacent pod structures physically spaced apart from one another by the circumferential spacing C and by the angular spacing θ

, and wherein the circumferential spacing C between the respective sensors in each pair of adjacent pod structures is variable and the angular spacing θ

between the respective sensors in each pair of adjacent pod structures is at least approximately constant regardless of the length of the at least one adaptive coupler providing physical adaptive coupling between each pair of adjacent pod structures.

13. The annular wearable electronic device of claim 12 wherein the angular spacing θ

between the respective sensors in each pair of adjacent pod structures is at least approximately equal.

14. A wearable electronic device comprising:

a set of pod structures arranged in an annular configuration having a variable circumference, wherein each pod structure in the set of pod structures is positioned adjacent two other pod structures in the set of pod structures at least approximately on the circumference, and wherein a first pod structure in the set of pod structures includes a first sensor to detect an input from a user and a second pod structure in the set of pod structures includes a second sensor to detect an input from the user, the first and the second sensors physically spaced apart from one another in the annular configuration by a circumferential spacing C and an angular spacing θ

; and

at least one adaptive coupler that physically couples each pod structure in the set of pod structures to two adjacent pod structures in the set of pod structures and physically binds the set of pod structures in the annular configuration, wherein a length of the at least one adaptive coupler is variable and the circumferential spacing C between the first and the second sensors is variable, and wherein the angular spacing θ

between the first and the second sensors is at least approximately constant regardless of the length of the at least one adaptive coupler.

15. The wearable electronic device of claim 14 wherein each pod structure in the set of pod structures includes a respective sensor to detect an input from the user.

16. The wearable electronic device of claim 15 wherein the circumferential spacing C is at least approximately equal between the respective sensors of each pair of adjacent pod structures.

17. The wearable electronic device of claim 15 wherein the angular spacing θ

is at least approximately equal between the respective sensors of each pair of adjacent pod structures, and wherein the angular spacing θ

between the respective sensors of each pair of adjacent pod structures is at least approximately constant regardless of the length of the at least one adaptive coupler.

18. The wearable electronic device of claim 14 wherein the set of pod structures includes at least two pod structures.

19. The wearable electronic device of claim 18 wherein the set of pod structures includes at least eight pod structures.

20. The wearable electronic device of claim 14 wherein at least one of the first sensor and the second sensor is selected from the group consisting of:

an electromyography sensor;

a magnetomyography sensor;

a mechanomyography sensor;

a blood pressure sensor;

a heart rate sensor;

an accelerometer;

a gyroscope;

a compass; and

a thermometer.

21. The wearable electronic device of claim 14 wherein each pod structure in the set of pod structures includes respective electrical circuitry, and wherein at least one pod structure in the set of pod structures includes a component selected from the group consisting of:

an amplification circuit, an analog-to-digital conversion circuit, a battery, a wireless transmitter, and a connector port.

22. The wearable electronic device of claim 21, further comprising:

at least one electrical coupling between the electrical circuitry of the first pod structure and the electrical circuitry of the second pod structure.

23. The wearable electronic device of claim 22, further comprising:

a respective electrical coupling between the respective electrical circuitries of each pair of adjacent pod structures in the set of pod structures.

24. The wearable electronic device of claim 14 wherein the at least one adaptive coupler includes at least one elastic band.

25. The wearable electronic device of claim 14 wherein the at least one adaptive coupler includes a single adaptive coupler that physically couples between each pair of adjacent pod structures in the set of pod structures.

26. The wearable electronic device of claim 14 wherein the at least one adaptive coupler includes a set of adaptive couplers, and wherein each adaptive coupler in the set of adaptive couplers physically adaptively couples between a respective pair of adjacent pod structures in the set of pod structures.