Wearable Devices

Abstract

The wearable device (100) includes a wearing body and at least one inductance sensor (120) including an inductance structure surrounded by a conductive wire, the at least one inductance sensor (120) being attached to a position on the wearing body corresponding to the joint site, and the inductance structure generating an inductance that changes with deformation of the joint site.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present specification relates to the field of wearable devices, and more particularly to wearable devices.

[0002] [Incorporated by reference] This application claims priority to Chinese Application No. 202210873140.4, filed on July 22, 2022, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. [Background technology]

[0003] With the continuous advancement of metaverse and VR technology, there is an ever-increasing demand for interaction forms between the real physical world and the virtual world of the metaverse. As the most agile and most important part of the human body, real-time capture and virtual mapping of hand motion is an essential part of improving the immersion and experience of the metaverse. However, traditional motion capture gloves have many problems. For example, the algorithm of motion capture gloves based on multi-axis inertial sensors is complex, the system is intrusive, the wearing comfort is low, and the cost is high. In addition, for example, motion capture gloves based on traditional resistive or capacitive bending sensors have low sensor reliability and integrity, are easily interfered with by various external factors such as temperature, sweat, and pressure, and their application scenarios are very limited and the cost is high. Summary of the Invention [Means for solving the problem]

[0004] Therefore, there is a need to design a motion capture glove that is easy to manufacture, low cost, comfortable to wear, has high anti-interference capability, and has high sensitivity and reliability.

[0005] A wearable device according to one embodiment of the present specification includes a wearing body that covers a joint of a user, and at least one inductance sensor including an inductance structure surrounded by a conductive wire, the at least one inductance sensor being attached to a position on the wearing body corresponding to the joint, and the inductance structure generating an inductance that changes in accordance with deformation of the joint.

[0006] In some embodiments, the wearing body includes a glove, and when a user wears the wearable device, at least a portion of the at least one inductance sensor is located at a joint of the user's hand to collect a motion signal of the user's hand. By using an inductance sensor to sense the motion of the user's hand, the device is less susceptible to interference from external factors such as temperature, humidity, pressure, and sweat.

[0007] In some embodiments, the conductive wire forms a spiral inductance pattern around the joint site, and the thickness of the conductive wire in a direction perpendicular to the surface of the inductance pattern is 3 mm or less. By setting the thickness of the conductive wire in a direction perpendicular to the surface of the inductance pattern within this range, it is possible to improve comfort when a user wears the wearable device and improve the sensitivity of the inductance sensor.

[0008] In some embodiments, the angle between the major axis direction of the spiral inductance pattern and the bending axis of the corresponding joint is within a range of 90 degrees ±20 degrees, and the angle between the minor axis direction of the spiral inductance pattern and the bending axis of the corresponding joint is within a range of ±20 degrees.

[0009] In some embodiments, the resistance of the inductance structure is less than 100 Ω, thereby improving the Q factor of the inductance and further improving the accuracy of the measurement.

[0010] In some embodiments, the at least one inductive sensor comprises two inductive structures, one each located on the medial and lateral sides of the joint.

[0011] In some embodiments, the inductance structure includes a spiral inductance coil having two or more coils of conductive wire.

[0012] In some embodiments, the conductive wire comprises a stretchable elastic conductive thread that is secured in place by a spun method.

[0013] In some embodiments, the conductive wires in the spiral inductor have a width of 2 mm or less and a gap between the conductive wires of 2 mm or less.

[0014] In some embodiments, the at least one inductance sensor further includes a substrate on which the spiral inductance coil is mounted, the substrate including a through hole for drawing out an inner layer coil of the spiral inductance coil to a first signal drawing terminal, and the first signal drawing terminal and a second signal drawing terminal connected to an outer layer coil of the spiral inductance coil are located on the same surface of the substrate.

[0015] In some embodiments, the at least one inductance sensor further includes a substrate on which the spiral inductance coil is mounted, the spiral inductance coil including at least a first layer of coils and a second layer of coils, the first layer of coils and the second layer of coils being stacked in a direction perpendicular to the substrate, and the current direction of the coils of the first layer and the current direction of the coils of the second layer being the same.

[0016] In some embodiments, the first layer coil and the second layer coil are disposed on opposite sides of the substrate.

[0017] In some embodiments, a through hole is formed in the substrate, and the coil of the first layer and the coil of the second layer are each formed by the same conductive line passing through the through hole.

[0018] In some embodiments, the at least one inductance sensor is placed on the back of the user's hand and further comprises a magnetically permeable thin film covering a side of the spiral inductance coil away from the user's hand.

[0019] In some embodiments, the at least one inductance sensor is placed on the palm of the user's hand and further comprises a magnetically permeable thin film covering a side of the spiral inductance coil adjacent to the user's hand.

[0020] In some embodiments, the magnetically permeable thin film has a thickness of 10 to 500 μm.

[0021] In some embodiments, the at least one inductance sensor further comprises a protective layer encapsulating the spiral inductance coil.

[0022] In some embodiments, the at least one inductance sensor includes a finger joint inductance sensor installed on the back or pad of a finger joint and measuring a flexion angle of the corresponding finger joint, a finger spacing inductance sensor installed at a connection position of two adjacent fingers and measuring an opening angle between the two adjacent fingers, or a wrist inductance sensor installed on the back, front or side of the wrist and measuring a flexion angle of the wrist.

[0023] In some embodiments, at least one of the finger joint inductance sensor and the wrist inductance sensor is symmetrical about the axis of rotation of its corresponding joint.

[0024] In some embodiments, a dimension of the spiral inductance coil in the finger joint inductance sensor along a direction parallel to a rotation axis of the corresponding joint is greater than 5 mm and smaller than 20 mm, and a ratio of a dimension of the spiral inductance coil along a direction perpendicular to the rotation axis of the corresponding joint to a dimension along a direction parallel to the rotation axis of the corresponding joint is greater than 0.5 and smaller than 10.

[0025] In some embodiments, at least one of the finger knuckle inductance sensor and the finger spacing inductance sensor includes at least a first sub-inductance coil and a second sub-inductance coil connected in series by a lead wire, and when a user wears the wearable device, the current direction of the first sub-inductance coil and the current direction of the second sub-inductance coil are the same.

[0026] In some embodiments, the first sub-inductor and the second sub-inductor are identical in configuration.

[0027] In some embodiments, a relative difference in dimensions between the first sub-inductor and the second sub-inductor is less than 50%, and the first sub-inductor and the second sub-inductor are arranged symmetrically with respect to the inter-finger rotation axis.

[0028] In some embodiments, the width of the area through which the lead passes is less than 2 mm and the length of the lead is greater than 1 cm.

[0029] In some examples, the wearable device further includes one or more reading units that read motion signals collected by the at least one inductance sensor, each of the reading units corresponding to at least one of the at least one inductance sensor.

[0030] In some embodiments, the wearable device further includes a processor located on the back of the glove that processes motion signals collected by the at least one inductance sensor.

[0031] In some embodiments, the wearable device further comprises a vibration feedback unit for providing a virtual tactile sensation to the user's hand.

[0032] In some embodiments, the wearable device further comprises a positioning unit for positioning spatial coordinates of the wearable device.

[0033] In some embodiments, the sensor is attached to the mounting body in a removably manner, and a size or shape of the inductance structure is adjustable.

[0034] In the embodiments herein, the integration of an inductance sensor into a wearable structure can improve the accuracy of motion identification during motion capture, and can also provide a comfortable wearing experience, improving the user experience, and the wearable device has a simple structure, low manufacturing cost, and improved usage reliability and recyclability.

[0035] The present specification will be further illustrated by exemplary embodiments, which are not limiting and in which like reference numerals indicate like structures, and will be described in detail with reference to the drawings, in which: [Brief description of the drawings]

[0036] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary wearable device in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 2A] FIG. 2 is a schematic top view of an exemplary inductance sensor according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 2B] 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an exemplary wearable device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 3A] 1 is a schematic diagram of an example inductance sensor in a natural state and its equivalent area, according to some embodiments herein. [Figure 3B] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary inductance sensor in a bent state, in accordance with certain embodiments herein. [Figure 3C] 1 is a schematic diagram of an example inductance sensor in a bent state and its equivalent area, according to some embodiments herein. [Figure 4A] 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an exemplary wearable device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 4B] FIG. 4B is a schematic top view of the wearable device in FIG. 4A. [Figure 4C] FIG. 4B is a simplified top perspective schematic diagram of the wearable device in FIG. 4A. [Diagram 5] 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an exemplary wearable device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 6A] FIG. 2 is a simplified schematic diagram of an example inductance sensor with a magnetically permeable thin film, in accordance with some embodiments herein. [Figure 6B] FIG. 2 is a simplified schematic diagram of an example inductance sensor with a magnetically permeable thin film, in accordance with some embodiments herein. [Figure 6C] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an example normalized inductance change curve in accordance with certain embodiments herein. [Figure 7A] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary wearable device in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 7B] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an example finger spacing inductance sensor in accordance with certain embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 7C] FIG. 7C is a schematic application diagram corresponding to the finger spacing inductance sensor shown in FIG. 7B. [Figure 8] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary wearable device in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 9]FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary reading unit according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 10] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an example inductance sensor in accordance with certain embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 11] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary wearable device worn by a user, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 12] 1 is a schematic diagram of a curve of inductance value of an exemplary inductance structure having a spiral inductance pattern that changes with the bending angle of the inductance structure in an unmounted state, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure; DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0037] In order to more clearly describe the technical means of the embodiments of the present application, the drawings necessary for the description of the embodiments are briefly described below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some examples or embodiments of the present application, and those skilled in the art can apply the present application to other similar scenarios based on these drawings without creative efforts. Unless otherwise clear from the language environment or specified, in the drawings, the same symbols represent the same structures or operations.

[0038] It should be understood that the terms "system," "apparatus," "unit," and / or "module" used herein are ways of distinguishing between different levels of assemblies, parts, components, portions, or structures, however, other terms may be used in place of the above terms if they accomplish the same purpose.

[0039] As used herein and in the claims, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise, terms such as "a," "one," "an," "a kind," and / or "the" do not specifically refer to the singular but may include the plural. In general, the terms "comprise" and "contain" are merely intended to indicate the inclusion of specifically identified steps and elements, and these steps and elements are not an exclusive listing, and the method or apparatus may include other steps or elements. The term "based on" means "based at least in part on." The term "one embodiment" refers to "at least one embodiment." The term "another embodiment" refers to "at least one other embodiment."

[0040] It should be noted that in the description of this specification, the terms "first", "second", "third", "fourth", etc. are for explanatory purposes only and should not be understood as indicating or suggesting the relative importance or the quantity of the technical features shown. Thus, a feature defined by "first", "second", "third", "fourth" may explicitly or implicitly indicate that it includes at least one of the feature. In the description of this specification, unless otherwise clearly and specifically limited, "plurality" means at least two, e.g., two, three, etc.

[0041] In this specification, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "connected", "fixed", etc. should be understood in a broad sense. For example, unless otherwise clearly limited, the term "connected" may be a fixed connection, a removable connection, or an integral connection, may be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection, may be a direct connection, may be an indirect connection via an intermediate medium, may be an internal communication between two elements, or may be an interactive relationship between two elements. A person skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this specification according to the specific situation.

[0042] An embodiment of the present specification provides a wearable device (which may be referred to as a wearable apparatus). The wearable device may include a glove and at least one inductance sensor fixed to the glove. When a user wears the wearable device, at least a part of the inductance sensor may be located at a joint of the user's hand so as to collect a motion signal of the user's hand. By measuring a change in the shape of the inductance sensor using a change in the inductance value of the inductance sensor, it is possible to capture the motion information of each finger and the change information of the relative position between the fingers in real time. The wearable device is less susceptible to interference from external factors such as temperature, humidity, pressure, and sweat, is simple to manufacture, has low cost, is comfortable to wear, and has high sensitivity and high reliability.

[0043] A wearable device according to an embodiment of the present specification will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

[0044] 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary wearable device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 1, a wearable device 100 may include a glove 110 and an inductance sensor 120.

[0045] The glove 110 can function as a carrier for the inductance sensor 120. In some embodiments, the glove 110 can be a demi-glove or a full-finger glove. In some embodiments, the glove 110 can include at least one fabric layer. For example, the glove 110 can include only a liner fabric. The liner fabric can be in direct contact with the skin of a person's hand, and the inductance sensor 120 can be installed (e.g., glued or sewn) on the surface of the liner fabric. Also, for example, the glove 110 can include a liner fabric and an outer layer fabric, or can include more layers of fabric. Exemplarily, the inductance sensor 120 can be installed between the liner fabric and the outer layer fabric of the glove 110 and completely enclosed by the liner fabric and the outer layer fabric of the glove 110. Note that the liner fabric and / or the outer layer fabric can be installed according to actual needs (e.g., comfort, aesthetics), and are not limited here.

[0046] The inductance sensor 120 may include a spiral inductance coil 121 and a substrate 122. In some embodiments, the spiral inductance coil 121 and the substrate 122 may also deform due to the deformation of the user's hand joint, and an electrical signal may be generated based on the deformation. Exemplary electrical signals may include inductance, circuit impedance, phase, resonant frequency, and the like, or any combination thereof. Exemplarily, the inductance sensor 120 may determine the motion status of the hand joint corresponding to the inductance sensor 120 by measuring the shape change of the inductance sensor 120 (or the spiral inductance coil 121) accompanying the movement of the hand joint of the human body using the change in inductance value of the spiral inductance coil 121. For example, when a user wears the wearable device 100, at least a portion of the inductance sensor 120 may be located at the hand joint of the user to collect the motion signal of the user's hand and determine the movement of the fingers of the hand. Specifically, when the hand joint of a user wearing the wearable device 100 performs a specific motion, this can cause a change in shape of the inductance sensor 120, and the inductance value of the spiral inductance coil 121 in the inductance sensor 120 changes accordingly. Furthermore, the change in inductance value can provide hand motion information of the user (e.g., the flexion angle of the joint, the flexion and extension status of the joint), thereby capturing the motion of the user's hand (or fingers).

[0047] The substrate 122 may have the spiral inductance coil 121 mounted thereon. In some embodiments, the material of the substrate 122 may include, but is not limited to, flexible organic thin film materials such as PI, PET, silica gel, and rubber. In some embodiments, the substrate 122 may use a flexible circuit board (FPC). In some embodiments, the substrate 122 may directly use a spun fabric so as to improve the comfort of the user when wearing the wearable device 100. The thickness of the substrate 122 needs to be determined in consideration of the comfort and practicality of the user. If the substrate 122 is too thick, the comfort felt by the user may be insufficient, and if the substrate 122 is too thin, wrinkles may occur in the substrate, which may affect the accuracy of reading the inductance value. In some embodiments, the thickness of the substrate 122 may be 1 um to 500 um.

[0048] In some embodiments, the spiral inductance coil 121 may include a single-layer coil. In this case, the number of coils of the conductor in the spiral inductance coil 121 may be two or more. In some embodiments, in order to increase the total inductance value of the inductance sensor 120, the spiral inductance coil 121 may include multiple layers of coils with the same current direction. The multiple layers of coils with the same current direction may be stacked in a direction perpendicular to the substrate 122. Preferably, the projections of the multiple layers of coils in a direction perpendicular to the substrate 122 may overlap partially or completely. Furthermore, by increasing the degree of overlap of the projections of the multiple layers of coils in a direction perpendicular to the substrate 122, the inductance value of the inductance sensor 120 can be increased, thereby improving the reliability of the inductance sensor 120. In some embodiments, the shape of the spiral inductance coil 121 (i.e., the overall shape of the pattern (or inductance pattern) formed by winding the conductor) may be a regular geometric shape such as a rectangle, a circle, an ellipse, or other irregular shape. Preferably, the shape of the spiral inductor 121 may be an axisymmetric geometric shape.

[0049] In some embodiments, the material of the conductor that is wound to form the spiral inductance coil 121 may be a metal / alloy, or may be a conductive material such as silver paste, carbon paste, ITO, liquid metal, etc. The spiral winding direction of the conductor may be clockwise or counterclockwise. For more information on the wearable device 100, please refer to other parts of this specification, such as Figures 2A and 2B, 4A-4C, 5, etc. and their descriptions.

[0050] The wearable device 100 according to some embodiments of the present specification uses the inductance sensor 120 to sense the motion of the user's hand, making it less susceptible to interference from external factors such as temperature, humidity, pressure, sweat, etc. In addition, the inductance sensor 120 can be manufactured by mounting the spiral inductance coil 121 on the substrate 122, which is simple to manufacture, has low cost, and is suitable for industrial production. In addition, the inductance of the inductance sensor 120 can be improved (higher inductance can be achieved with a small size) by increasing the number of coils in the spiral inductance coil 121, thereby improving the sensitivity of the sensor, meeting the application needs of a small sensor size, and simplifying the design of a subsequent reading system.

[0051] 2A and 2B are schematic top and cross-sectional views of an example inductance sensor and an example wearable device, respectively, in accordance with certain embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0052] As shown in FIG. 2A, the wearable device 100 may include an inductance sensor 120. The inductance sensor 120 may include a spiral inductance coil 121 and a substrate 122. The spiral inductance coil 121 may be attached (e.g., glued or sewn) to the substrate 122. Both ends of a conductor (which may be called an inductance conductor) wound to form the spiral inductance coil 121 may be connected to an external circuit (e.g., a reading unit) via a signal lead-out terminal 123 (e.g., a first signal lead-out terminal 1231 and a second signal lead-out terminal 1232). In some embodiments, by providing through-holes 1221 and 1222 in the substrate 122, both ends of the inductance conductor may be led out from the same side of the substrate 122 to facilitate circuit connection. For example, as shown in FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B, the first signal lead-out terminal 1231 and the second signal lead-out terminal 1232 may be located on the upper side of the substrate 122 at the same time. An outer terminal of the spiral inductance coil 121 may be directly led out to a second signal lead-out terminal 1232 located on the upper side of the substrate 122. An inner terminal of the spiral inductance coil 121 may be led out to the lower side of the substrate 122 via a through hole 1221, and further led out to the upper side of the substrate 122 via a through hole 1222, and also led out to the first signal lead-out terminal 1231, so that both ends of the inductance conductor are led out from the first signal lead-out terminal 1231 and the second signal lead-out terminal 1232, respectively.

[0053] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 2B, the thickness h of the inductance conductor may be in the range of 0.1 μm to 100 μm. In some embodiments, the width w of the inductance conductor may be 2 mm or less. The gap d of the inductance conductor may be 2 mm or less. Furthermore, the ratio w / d of the width w of the inductance conductor to the gap d of the inductance conductor may be in the range of 0.5 to 5, thereby improving the space utilization of the inductance sensor 120, allowing more coils to be formed, and furthermore, obtaining better sensitivity and inductance value. In this specification, the thickness h of the inductance conductor may be the dimension of the inductance conductor in a direction perpendicular to the up-down direction of the substrate 122. The width w of the inductance conductor may be the thickness dimension of the inductance conductor in the plane of the substrate 122. The gap d of the inductance conductor may be the distance between two adjacent inductance conductors in the plane of the substrate 122.

[0054] 2B , the wearable device 100 may further include a fabric layer 111, a fabric layer 112, and a protective layer 124. The protective layer 124 may be disposed in close contact with the outer surface of the spiral inductance coil 121 and / or the substrate 122. The fabric layer 111 and the fabric layer 112 may be disposed on both sides of the inductance sensor 120, respectively. The fabric layer 111 and the fabric layer 112 are part of the glove 110 of the wearable device 100.

[0055] The protective layer 124 can protect the inductance sensor (i.e., the spiral inductance coil 121 and the substrate 122), thereby fulfilling the role of waterproof protection, and preventing the inductance sensor from oxidation, corrosion, or wear, etc. In some embodiments, the protective layer 124 may include materials with stable properties, such as, but not limited to, PI resin, epoxy resin, triple-proof lacquer, silica gel, etc.

[0056] 3A, 3B, and 3C are schematic diagrams of an exemplary inductance sensor in a natural state and its equivalent area, according to some embodiments herein, and a schematic diagram of an exemplary inductance sensor in a bent state, according to some embodiments herein, and a schematic diagram of an exemplary inductance sensor in a bent state, according to some embodiments herein, and a schematic diagram of an exemplary inductance sensor in a bent state and its equivalent area, according to some embodiments herein.

[0057] As shown in FIG. 3A, when the inductance sensor 120 is in a natural state, the area surrounded by the circuit of the spiral inductance coil 121 in the inductance sensor 120 (also called the equivalent area) is the largest, and in this case, the equivalent area may be S0. When the inductance sensor 120 is placed in a certain joint (e.g., a finger joint), the shape of the inductance sensor 120 (or the spiral inductance coil 121) changes with the bending of the joint, which further changes the equivalent area of ​​the spiral inductance coil 121. As shown in FIG. 3B, as the bending degree of the inductance sensor 120 increases, the equivalent area of ​​the spiral inductance coil 121 gradually decreases.

[0058] According to electromagnetic theory, for the same inductance coil, its inductance is proportional to the area surrounded by the current circuit. Therefore, the magnitude of the inductance value of the inductance sensor 120 decreases approximately linearly with the decrease of the equivalent area of ​​the spiral inductance coil 121, and may be as shown in the following formula (1):

[0059]

number

[0060] In the formula, ΔL represents the change in inductance value of the inductance sensor 120, L0 represents the initial inductance value of the inductance sensor 120, ΔS represents the change in equivalent area of ​​the spiral inductance coil 121, and S0 represents the initial equivalent area of ​​the spiral inductance coil 121.

[0061] In some embodiments, the relationship between the magnitude of change in inductance value and the change in bending angle may not be strictly linear, but may be calibrated using an algorithm, an empirical mapping relationship, machine learning, or the like.

[0062] The relationship between the inductance value and the equivalent area described above may be correlated to the shape and dimensions of the inductance sensor 120. In some embodiments, to obtain optimal sensitivity, the inductance sensor 120 may be arranged symmetrically (or nearly symmetrically) with respect to the rotation axis of the corresponding joint when the user wears the wearable device 100. That is, the inductance sensor 120 may be symmetrically (or nearly symmetrically) with respect to the rotation axis of the corresponding joint.

[0063] In some embodiments, the inductance sensor 120 may have different dimensions for different joints. In some embodiments, the dimension of the inductance sensor 120 along a direction parallel to the rotation axis of the corresponding joint (direction Z shown in FIG. 3A) (which may be referred to as the width of the inductance sensor 120) may be greater than 1 mm and less than 20 mm, and the ratio of the dimension of the inductance sensor 120 along a direction perpendicular to the rotation axis of the corresponding joint (direction X shown in FIG. 3A) (which may be referred to as the length of the inductance sensor 120) to the width of the inductance sensor 120 may be greater than 0.5 and less than 20. In some embodiments, the shape of the spiral inductance coil 121 in the inductance sensor 120 (e.g., finger joint inductance sensor 721, finger spacing inductance sensor 722, etc. shown in FIG. 7A) may be elongated (e.g., rectangular, rounded rectangular) as shown in FIG. 3A. When the length and number of coils of the inductance sensor 120 are constant, the closer the aspect ratio of the elongated spiral inductance coil is to 1:1, the higher the sensitivity. However, due to limitations in the shape and width of a human hand, the length and width of the long spiral inductance coil are limited by the shape of its location. For example, if the inductance sensor 120 is a finger joint inductance sensor, the width a of the long spiral inductance coil in the finger joint inductance sensor may be greater than 5 mm and less than 20 mm, and the aspect ratio b / a of the long spiral inductance coil 121 in the finger joint inductance sensor may be greater than 0.5 and less than 10, in order to further improve the sensitivity of the inductance sensor 120.When the inductance sensor 120 is a finger spacing inductance sensor, it is placed between two fingers, so that compared with other inductance sensors, its bending angle is larger, its sensitivity is higher, and its dimensional restrictions are relaxed. In this case, the width a of the elongated spiral inductance coil in the finger spacing inductance sensor may be greater than 1 mm and smaller than 20 mm, and the aspect ratio b / a of the elongated spiral inductance coil 121 in the finger spacing inductance sensor may be greater than 0.5 and smaller than 20.

[0064] Wearable devices according to some embodiments of the present disclosure can obtain better sensitivity of the finger joint inductance sensor by configuring the position (and its relative position to a person's finger joint), shape and size of the sensor.

[0065] 4A is a schematic cross-sectional view of an example wearable device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure, FIG. 4B is a schematic top view of the wearable device in FIG. 4A, and FIG. 4C is a simplified top perspective schematic view of the wearable device in FIG. 4A.

[0066] As shown in FIG. 4A , in some embodiments, the glove 110 of the wearable device 100 includes a fabric layer 111 and a fabric layer 112. The inductance sensor 120 of the wearable device 100 may include a spiral inductance coil 121, a substrate 122, a signal lead terminal 123, and a protective layer 124. In some embodiments, the spiral inductance coil 121 may include multiple layers of coils to increase the total inductance of the inductance sensor 120 and further improve the sensitivity of the inductance sensor 120. For example, as shown in FIG. 4A , the spiral inductance coil 121 may include at least a first layer of coils 1211 and a second layer of coils 1212. Also, for example, the spiral inductance coil 121 may include three layers of inductance coils, four layers of inductance coils, or more layers of inductance coils.

[0067] For example, if the spiral inductance coil 121 only includes a first layer coil 1211 and a second layer coil 1212, the currents in the first layer coil 1211 and the second layer coil 1212 have the same current direction. Preferably, the projections of the area surrounded by the multiple layer coils in the direction perpendicular to the substrate 122 may overlap partially or completely. In some embodiments, the projections of the area surrounded by the multiple layer coils in the direction perpendicular to the substrate 122 may not overlap. When the currents flow in opposite directions, the inductances of the first layer coil 1211 and the second layer coil 1212 cancel each other out, and the total inductance value of the inductance sensor 120 decreases. When current flows in the same direction, the inductance of the coil 1211 in the first layer and the inductance of the coil 1212 in the second layer can ensure that the total inductance L of the inductance sensor 120 is the sum of the inductance L1 of the coil 1211 in the first layer, the inductance L2 of the coil 1212 in the second layer, and the mutual inductance value M of the coil 1211 in the first layer and the coil 1212 in the second layer, as shown in the following equation (2).

[0068] L = L1 + L2 + 2M. (2)

[0069] In some embodiments, in order to simplify the structure of the inductance sensor 120 and reduce the number of lead terminals of the inductance sensor 120 to reduce costs, the first layer coil 1211 and the second layer coil 1212 may be disposed on both sides of the substrate. For example, as shown in FIG. 4A, a through hole 1221 may be disposed in the substrate 122, and the first layer coil 1211 is connected to the second layer coil 1212 through the through hole 1221. That is, the first layer coil 1211 and the second layer coil 1212 may be formed by winding the same conductor that passes through the through hole 1221. For example, as shown in FIG. 4B, the first layer coil 1211 located on the upper side of the substrate 122 may be wound from the outside to the inside, and further led to the lower side of the substrate 122 through the through hole 1221. The second layer coil 1212 located on the underside of the substrate 122 may be wound from the inside to the outside, ultimately making the current direction of the first layer coil 1211 and the current direction of the second layer coil 1212 the same direction (e.g., clockwise or counterclockwise).

[0070] In some embodiments, the first layer coil 1211 and the second layer coil 1212 may each be formed by winding one conductor wire. The current direction of the two conductor wires wound to form the first layer coil 1211 and the second layer coil 1212 is the same (e.g., clockwise or counterclockwise). For example, the substrate 122 may not have the through hole 1221 shown in FIG. 4A. The substrate 122 may have four lead terminals. The coils of each layer may correspond to two lead terminals. The first layer coil 1211 located on the upper side of the substrate 122 may be wound from the outside to the inside starting from one corresponding lead terminal, and may be led from the inside through the coils of each layer to the other corresponding lead terminal of the first layer coil 1211. The coils 1212 of the second layer located on the lower side of the substrate 122 may also be wound starting from one corresponding lead terminal, from the outside to the inside, and then passed through the coils of each layer from the inside to the other corresponding lead terminal of the coils 1212 of the second layer. Alternatively, the coils 1212 of the second layer located on the lower side of the substrate 122 may also be led from one corresponding lead terminal to the inside of the coils 1212 of the second layer, and then wound from the inside to the outside to the other corresponding lead terminal of the coils 1212 of the second layer.

[0071] In some embodiments, signals at both ends of the same conductor that is wound to form the first layer coil 1211 and the second layer coil 1212 may be drawn out from both sides of the substrate 122. In some embodiments, in order to flexibly set the position of the drawing terminal of the inductance sensor 120, a through hole 1222 may be further provided in the substrate 122, and the through hole 1222 allows signals at both ends of the inductance conductor (the same conductor that is wound to form the first layer coil 1211 and the second layer coil 1212) to be drawn out from the same side of the substrate 122.

[0072] In some embodiments of the inductance sensor 120 of the present specification, by installing two or more layers of inductance on both the top and bottom of the substrate 122, the total inductance of the inductance sensor 120 can be increased, which is beneficial to the stability and accuracy of the subsequent reading system, and at the same time, the sensitivity of the inductance sensor 120 can be improved, and the process can be easily implemented.

[0073] FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an exemplary wearable device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0074] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 5, the wearable device 100 may further include a magnetically permeable thin film 125.

[0075] The magnetically permeable thin film 125 may be a thin film having high magnetic permeability. By placing the magnetically permeable thin film 125 (e.g., a magnetically permeable sheet) on the surface or inside of the inductance sensor 120, the magnetic flux in the inductance sensor 120 can be increased, and the inductance of the inductance sensor 120 can be further increased, thereby improving the sensitivity of the inductance sensor 120.

[0076] In some embodiments, the magnetically permeable thin film 125 may be fabricated by mixing soft magnetic powder with silica gel or resin. The soft magnetic powder may include, but is not limited to, sendust powder, ferrite powder, etc. In some embodiments, the relative permeability of the magnetically permeable thin film 125 may be 10 or greater.

[0077] If the magnetic permeable thin film 125 is too thin, the effect of increasing the magnetic flux in the inductance sensor 120 is reduced, and the sensitivity of the inductance sensor 120 cannot be improved well. If the magnetic permeable thin film 125 is too thick, it not only increases the overall thickness and weight of the wearable device 100, but also may cause the magnetic permeable thin film to crack during the movement of the user's hand, shortening the service life of the wearable device 100. Therefore, in some embodiments, the thickness of the magnetic permeable thin film 125 is 10 μm to 500 μm in order to balance the magnetic permeability effect of the magnetic permeable thin film, the comfort of the user, and the service life of the wearable device 100.

[0078] In some embodiments, the magnetic permeable thin film 125 may be directly attached to the surface or interior of the inductance sensor 120 using an adhesive, or may be applied to the surface or interior of the inductance sensor 120 by a coating method. For example, the magnetic permeable thin film 125 may be placed (or attached) on the surface of the inductance sensor 120, thereby increasing the effective magnetic permeability μ of the environmental space in which the inductance sensor 120 is located. When the inductance sensor 120 is bent, the effective magnetic permeability μ may change with the bending of the inductance sensor 120. Different positions of the magnetic permeable thin film 125 on the inductance sensor 120 have different effects on the inductance of the inductance sensor 120.

[0079] 6A and 6B are simplified schematic diagrams of an exemplary inductance sensor with a magnetically permeable thin film, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0080] In this specification, taking the inductance sensor 120 bending downward as an example, when the magnetically permeable thin film 125 is disposed above the spiral inductance coil 121 (for example, as shown in FIG. 6A, the magnetically permeable thin film 125 is disposed on the surface of the spiral inductance coil 121 on the upper side of the substrate 122), after the spiral inductance coil 121 is bent downward, the first connecting line (i.e., the dashed line in FIG. 6A) in the left-right direction between the corresponding conductors on both the left and right sides of the spiral inductance coil 121 does not pass through the magnetically permeable thin film 125, and the larger the bending angle, the further the first connecting line is from the magnetically permeable thin film 125, so that the effective magnetic permeability decreases, and further the inductance of the spiral inductance coil 121 decreases. The inductance change amount ΔL due to the magnetically permeable thin film 125 透磁率 and the inductance change amount ΔL due to the reduction in the equivalent area of ​​the plane surrounded by the current circuit of the spiral inductance coil 121. 面積 (see FIG. 3A and FIG. 3C) to obtain the total change in inductance of the inductance sensor 120, ΔL 屈曲 In this case, the total change in inductance ΔL 屈曲 may be as shown in the following formula (3):

[0081] ΔL 屈曲 =ΔL 面積 +ΔL 透磁率 (3)

[0082] Inductance change ΔL due to magnetic thin film 125 透磁率 and the inductance change amount ΔL due to the reduction in the equivalent area of ​​the plane surrounded by the current circuit of the spiral inductance coil 121. 面積 (see FIG. 3A and FIG. 3C) cancel each other out, so the total change in inductance of the inductance sensor 120, ΔL 屈曲 increases and then decreases as the bending angle increases. In this case, the total change in inductance ΔL 屈曲 may be as shown in the following formula (4):

[0083] ΔL 屈曲=ΔL 面積 -ΔL 透磁率 (4)

[0084] FIG. 6C is a schematic diagram of an example normalized inductance change curve in accordance with certain embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0085] As shown in FIG. 6C, curves 610, 620, and 630 respectively show the curves of the normalized inductance that changes with the bending angle of the inductance sensor 120 when the magnetic permeable thin film 125 is placed above the spiral inductance coil 121, when the magnetic permeable thin film 125 is not present, and when the magnetic permeable thin film 125 is placed below the spiral inductance coil 121. As can be seen from FIG. 6C, when the magnetic permeable thin film 125 is placed above the spiral inductance coil 121 (corresponding to curve 610), the sensitivity of the inductance sensor 120 in the bending direction N of the hand (e.g., finger) is not only increased, but also the inductance sensor 120 can have a certain directional selectivity. For example, when a user wears a wearable device including the inductance sensor shown in Fig. 6A, if bending the hand downward is defined as bending in the positive direction, the total decrease in inductance of the inductance sensor is as shown in formula (3). If the hand is slightly bent in the opposite direction, the total increase in inductance of the inductance sensor is as shown in formula (4). Since the total inductance is different when bending in the positive direction and when bending in the opposite direction, the inductance sensor 120 has a certain directional selectivity.

[0086] In some embodiments, the inductance sensor 120 may be placed on the palm side of the user's hand, and in this case, the magnetically permeable thin film 125 may cover the side of the spiral inductance coil 121 that is close to the user's hand to improve the sensitivity of the inductance sensor 120. In some embodiments, the inductance sensor 120 may be placed on the back of the user's hand to improve the user's wearing comfort. When a human finger makes a motion, it usually bends toward the palm, and in this case, the magnetically permeable thin film 125 may cover the side of the spiral inductance coil 121 that is away from the user's hand to improve the sensitivity of the inductance sensor 120. In some embodiments, the side of the spiral inductance coil 121 that is covered by the magnetically permeable thin film 125 and that is away from the user's hand may be the upward side as shown in FIG. 5. For example, the spiral inductance coil 121 may be on the upper surface of the substrate 122, and the magnetically permeable thin film 125 may be directly attached to the upper surface of the upper protective layer. Also, for example, the spiral inductance coil 121 may be on the lower surface of the substrate 122, and the magnetic permeable thin film 125 may be directly attached to the upper surface of the substrate 122. Also, for example, the spiral inductance coil 121 may be on the upper surface of the substrate 122, and the magnetic permeable thin film 125 may be directly installed on the upper surface of the spiral inductance coil 121, that is, the magnetic permeable thin film 125 may be installed between the spiral inductance coil 121 and the upper protective layer. Also, for example, the spiral inductance coil 121 may be on the upper surface of the substrate 122, and the magnetic permeable thin film 125 may directly replace the upper protective layer, in which case the magnetic permeable thin film 125 can not only perform a magnetic permeability function but also perform a protective function.

[0087] In some embodiments, the spiral inductance coil 121 coated with the magnetically permeable thin film 125 may be a spiral inductance coil including a single layer of coils placed on one side of the substrate 122, a spiral inductance coil including two layers of coils placed on both sides of the substrate 122, or a spiral inductance coil including two or more layers of coils.

[0088] In the wearable device 100 according to some embodiments of the present specification, the magnetically permeable thin film 125 is disposed on the upper or lower side of the substrate 122, thereby improving the absolute inductance value of the inductance sensor 120 and making the inductance sensor 120 more sensitive. At the same time, the distribution of the magnetic field lines of the inductance sensor 120 can be restricted, thereby shielding environmental interference such as external metal and improving the stability of the inductance sensor 120. In addition, the bending sensitivity of the inductance sensor 120 can be given directional selectivity.

[0089] FIG. 7A is a schematic diagram of an example wearable device in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0090] As shown in FIG. 7A, the wearable device 700 may include different inductance sensors for different joints of the hand. For example, the inductance sensors in the wearable device 700 may include a finger joint inductance sensor 721, a finger spacing inductance sensor 722, and a wrist inductance sensor 723. The finger joint inductance sensor 721 may be installed on the back and / or the abdomen of the finger joint to measure the bending angle of the corresponding finger joint. The finger spacing inductance sensor 722 may be installed at the connecting position of two adjacent fingers to measure the opening angle of the two adjacent fingers. The wrist inductance sensor 723 may be installed on the back, front, or side of the wrist to measure the bending angle of the wrist. Each inductance sensor may be connected to a reading unit via a conductor (or lead) to read the signal of the inductance sensor and facilitate subsequent processing. For more information on the reading unit and signal processing, please refer to FIG. 8 or FIG. 9 and their descriptions.

[0091] In some embodiments, the finger joint inductance sensor 721, the finger interval inductance sensor 722, and the wrist inductance sensor 723 included in the inductance sensor in the wearable device 700 may have differences. In addition, for only the finger joint inductance sensor 721, there may be differences between the finger joint inductance sensors 721 installed in the metacarpophalangeal joints and the interphalangeal joints (including the proximal interphalangeal joints and the distal interphalangeal joints). Specific differences may include one or more of the following: size difference, thickness difference, bending angle difference, sensitivity difference, etc. of the inductance sensor. For example, if the finger joint inductance sensor 721 installed in the metacarpophalangeal joint is too long or too short, it cannot cover the bending arc surface when bending, which greatly reduces the sensitivity. In addition, for example, compared with the finger joint inductance sensor installed at the metacarpophalangeal joint or the distal interphalangeal joint, the area that needs to be covered by the finger joint inductance sensor installed at the proximal interphalangeal joint when bending is small, so there is no need to increase the area of ​​the finger joint inductance sensor installed at the proximal interphalangeal joint, and there is no need to increase the length. If the length is too long, it may cause the gap between the finger joint inductance sensor installed at the distal interphalangeal joint and the finger joint inductance sensor installed at the metacarpophalangeal joint to be too small, which may cause the finger joint inductance sensor to be unable to be arranged sufficiently due to the limited finger length.

[0092] Compared with the finger joint inductance sensor 721 and the wrist inductance sensor 723, the finger spacing inductance sensor 722 has a larger bending angle. Therefore, the finger spacing inductance sensor 722 needs to be thinner and softer, for example, its thickness may be 2 μm to 20 μm, so that it can be bent relatively naturally and does not cause the finger spacing inductance sensor 722 to break and the discomfort between the fingers of the human body. In addition, the finger spacing inductance sensor 722 needs to have a higher sensitivity, which may be nonlinear (see FIG. 10 and its description for details), and increases as the bending angle of the finger spacing inductance sensor 722 increases. For more information on the finger spacing inductance sensor, please refer to FIG. 7B and FIG. 7C, and the description will be omitted here.

[0093] For the process, a thinner and softer inductance sensor can be obtained by reducing the thickness of the substrate of the inductance sensor, for example, the thickness of the substrate of the finger spacing inductance sensor 722 may be set to 100 μm or less (e.g., 10 μm, 30 μm, 50 μm, 80 μm, etc.).

[0094] In some embodiments, the finger knuckle inductance sensor 721 and the wrist inductance sensor 723 should not be too thin. If the finger knuckle inductance sensor 721 and the wrist inductance sensor 723 are too thin, wrinkles may occur in the finger knuckle inductance sensor 721 and / or the wrist inductance sensor 723 when the back of the human hand is stretched, which may further affect the consistency of the finger knuckle inductance sensor 721 and / or the wrist inductance sensor 723. For example, the thickness of the substrate of the finger knuckle inductance sensor 721 and the wrist inductance sensor 723 may be set to 200 μm or more (e.g., 250 μm, 300 μm, 350 μm, 400 μm, etc.).

[0095] In some embodiments, the inductance sensor in the wearable device 700 may include only some of the inductance sensors as shown in FIG. 7A according to actual needs (e.g., to reduce costs). For example, the finger joint inductance sensor 721 may include only finger joint inductance sensors installed at the metacarpophalangeal joint and the proximal interphalangeal joint. Furthermore, based on the motion signals of the finger joint inductance sensors installed at the metacarpophalangeal joint and the proximal interphalangeal joint, the motion signal of the distal interphalangeal joint can be estimated and determined by mapping.

[0096] In some embodiments of the wearable device of the present specification, by placing inductance sensors with different dimensions, thicknesses, bendable angles and inductances at different positions on a person's hand, the motion of the person's hand can be better measured and have better sensitivity.

[0097] 7B is a schematic diagram of an exemplary finger spacing inductance sensor according to some embodiments of the present disclosure, and FIG 7C is a corresponding application schematic diagram of the finger spacing inductance sensor shown in FIG 7B.

[0098] In some embodiments, the included angle between adjacent fingers is very small, so the installation of the finger spacing inductance sensor may inevitably cause wearing discomfort. Therefore, by dividing the finger spacing inductance sensor 722 into two sub-inductance coils L1 and L2, the two sub-inductance coils L1 and L2 can be connected in series by lead wires, thereby improving wearing comfort.

[0099] 7B and 7C, the finger spacing inductance sensor 722 may include a first sub-inductance coil 7221 and a second sub-inductance coil 7222 connected in series via a lead wire 7223. When a user wears the wearable device, the current direction of the first sub-inductance coil 7221 and the current direction of the second sub-inductance coil 7222 are the same (e.g., both clockwise or both counterclockwise).

[0100] When the inductance of the first sub-inductance coil 7221 and the inductance of the second sub-inductance coil 7222 flow in the same direction, it can be ensured that the total inductance L of the finger spacing inductance sensor 722 is the sum of the inductance L71 of the first sub-inductance coil 7221, the inductance L72 of the second sub-inductance coil 7222, and the mutual inductance value M of the first sub-inductance coil 7221 and the second sub-inductance coil 7222, as shown in the following equation (5).

[0101] L=L71+L72+2M. (5)

[0102] M changes with the change in the included angle (finger spacing), and the larger the included angle (finger spacing), the larger the absolute value of M, which changes the total inductance and further realizes the measurement of the included angle (or finger spacing).

[0103] In some embodiments, to increase the total inductance of the finger spacing inductance sensor 722, the first sub-inductance coil 7221 and / or the second sub-inductance coil 7222 may include multiple layers of coils.

[0104] In some embodiments, the shape of the first sub-inductance coil 7221 and the second sub-inductance coil 7222 may be a circle, a rectangle, a square, a regular polygon, etc. In some embodiments, the first sub-inductance coil 7221 and the second sub-inductance coil 7222 may have the same configuration (including shape, material, size, etc.) or may be different. For example, the first sub-inductance coil 7221 and the second sub-inductance coil 7222 may have the same shape and material, and may have different dimensions (e.g., dimensions along a direction parallel to the finger or perpendicular to the finger). Preferably, the first sub-inductance coil 7221 and the second sub-inductance coil 7222 may have the same shape and material, and may have the same dimensions. In some embodiments, if they must be different due to differences in finger sizes, the relative difference in dimensions (including dimensions along a direction parallel to the finger or perpendicular to the finger) between the first sub-inductance coil 7221 and the second sub-inductance coil 7222 should be less than 50%. In this case, in order to provide the finger interval inductance sensor with high sensitivity, the first sub-inductance coil 7221 and the second sub-inductance coil 7222 may be disposed symmetrically with respect to the apex of the angle between the fingers (which may be called the inter-finger rotation axis). Note that the apex of the angle between the fingers may be within a certain area range of the inter-finger connection position, and is not limited to a specific point.

[0105] In some embodiments, the width of the area through which the lead wire 7223 passes may be less than 2 mm to reduce interference with finger movement and improve the user's wearing comfort. Preferably, the width of the area through which the lead wire 7223 passes may be less than 1 mm.

[0106] The length of the lead depends on the finger size (including finger sizes of different users and different finger sizes of the same user). In some embodiments, the length of the lead 7223 may be greater than 1 cm.

[0107] In some embodiments, the lead 7223 may be any suitable lead, such as a straight line, an arc line, a bent line, a wavy line, a curved line, etc. In some embodiments, the lead 7223 may be located at the bottom edge of the inductor shown in Figure 7B or 7C. In some embodiments, the lead 7223 may be located at the top edge, middle, or other location of the inductor.

[0108] It should be noted that the above-mentioned separated inductance sensor can be applied to the finger joint inductance sensor 721. For example, the finger joint inductance sensor 721 may include two inductance coils connected in series via lead wires. The two inductance coils may be installed on both sides of the corresponding finger joints. The mutual inductance value between the fingers of the two inductance coils changes with the change of the finger bending angle, so that the total inductance changes, and further realizes the measurement of the finger bending angle.

[0109] In wearable devices according to some embodiments of the present specification, an inductance sensor placed on a user's knuckle or between adjacent fingers can be divided into two sub-inductance coils connected in series via a lead wire, thereby improving comfort for the user during use; by using thin lead wires and appropriately setting the width of the area through which the lead wires pass, interference with finger movement can be reduced and the user's wearing comfort can be further improved.

[0110] 8 is a block diagram of an example wearable device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 9 is a schematic block diagram of an example reading unit according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0111] 8, the wearable device 800 may include a wearing body 810, an inductance sensor 820, a reading unit 830, and a processor 840. In some embodiments, the wearable device 800 may be directly worn, suspended, or positioned on the human body, or may be a portable device built into a user's clothing or accessory.

[0112] The wearing body 810 may be an assembly for covering a specific part of the user (e.g., a joint part, an organ position, etc.). For example, the wearing body 810 may be a glove (e.g., glove 110) that fits closely to the user's body, sportswear, sports pants, a knee supporter, an arm supporter, an elbow supporter, an arm cover, etc. In this specification, the wearing body 810 is described as covering a joint part of the user, but it should be understood that the wearing body 810 can cover any position where the motion of the user can be captured. In some embodiments, the joint part of the user may be a hand joint (e.g., a finger joint, a wrist joint, etc.), a shoulder joint, an elbow joint, a hip joint, a knee joint, an ankle joint, etc. As a mere example, the joint part of the user is a joint of the user's hand.

[0113] In some embodiments, the wearing body 810 can mount other assemblies of the wearable device 800. For example, the wearing body 810 can be equipped with an inductance sensor (abbreviated as sensor) 820, a reading unit (may be referred to as a reading system) 830, and a processor (may be referred to as a processing circuit) 840. In some embodiments, the wearing body 810 can be made of a soft and fitting fabric to closely fit the user's joint. Exemplary fabrics can include pure silk material, cotton linen material, synthetic material, and the like. In some embodiments, the wearing body 810 can generate a corresponding deformation based on a change in the motion of the human body. For example, when a user squats, the wearing body 810 (e.g., the knee part of the sports pants) can generate a deformation that extends and bends along the outside of the knee joint and contracts and bends along the inside of the knee joint with the bending motion of the user.

[0114] The inductance sensor 820 is an assembly that can detect deformation of a specific part of the user and convert it into an electrical signal. In some embodiments, the inductance sensor 820 may be attached to a position corresponding to a joint in the wearing body 810. For example, the inductance sensor 820 may be attached to the inside and / or outside of the wearing body 810 that contacts the user's finger, wrist, knee, shoulder, elbow, etc. In some embodiments, the inductance sensor 820 may be fixed to a position corresponding to a joint in the wearing body 810 by a method such as sewing, spinning, crimping, gluing, buckling, etc.

[0115] In some embodiments, the inductance sensor 820 may include an inductance structure (e.g., including a spiral inductance coil 121 and a substrate 122) surrounded by a conductive wire (abbreviated as a conductor). In some embodiments, the inductance structure may also be deformed by deformation of a particular part (e.g., a joint part) of the user, and an electrical signal may be generated based on the deformation. Exemplary electrical signals may include inductance, circuit impedance, phase, resonant frequency, etc., or any combination thereof. For other specific descriptions of the inductance structure, reference may be made to other parts of this specification, such as FIGS. 2A and 2B, 4A to 4C, 5, etc., and their descriptions.

[0116] The reading unit 830 may be an assembly that outputs an electrical signal detected by the sensor. The reading unit 830 may read the motion signal collected by the inductance sensor 820 and transmit the read motion signal to the processor 840 (e.g., by a transmission unit) for analysis and processing. The processor 840 may analyze and process the change in the motion signal collected by the inductance sensor 820 and convert the motion signal collected by the inductance sensor 820 into information such as the posture / angle of a joint (e.g., a finger). In some embodiments, based on the type of electrical signal generated by the inductance sensor 820, the reading unit 830 may include any device or combination such as an inductance meter, a voltameter, an oscilloscope, a multimeter, etc. In some embodiments, the reading unit 830 may be connected to the inductance structure of the inductance sensor 820 via a reading lead. In some embodiments, when the wearing body 810 is a glove, the reading unit 830 and the processor 840 may be located on the back of the glove for the user's wearing comfort. In some embodiments, when the wearable device 800 includes multiple inductance sensors, the reading unit 830 may include one or more reading units. Each reading unit can read data of at least one inductance sensor. For example, each reading unit can read data of one inductance sensor. Also, for example, one reading unit can read data of multiple inductance sensors simultaneously.

[0117] In some embodiments, the reading unit 830 can use an impedance measurement method to read the inductance data of the inductance sensor 820. Specifically, the reading unit 830 may use an LCR bridge circuit or an impedance measurement circuit to directly measure the impedance value or inductance value of the inductance sensor 820. When the reading unit 830 uses the impedance measurement circuit to obtain the inductance data of the inductance sensor 820, it can measure the corresponding impedance change by an impedance analyzer, and further estimate the inductance value of the inductance sensor 820, and the measurement can avoid the influence of parasitic capacitance.

[0118] In some embodiments, the reading unit 830 can read the inductance data of the inductance sensor 820 using a resonance measurement method. The resonance measurement method is an indirect measurement method, in which a capacitor is connected in parallel with the inductance sensor 820 to form an LC resonant system, and then an excitation signal is sent to the LC resonant system to measure the resonant frequency of the LC resonant system, thereby estimating the inductance value of the inductance sensor 820. In some embodiments, the resonance frequency of the excitation signal and the LC resonant system may be the same or approximately the same. The closer the resonance frequency of the excitation signal and the LC resonant system are, the easier it is to read the value of the resonant frequency; for example, if the resonant frequency of the LC resonant system is 100 kHz, sending a 10 MHz excitation signal may cause the amplitude of the oscillation of the LC resonant system to be too small, because the difference between the resonance frequency and the frequency of the excitation signal is too large (e.g., more than one order of magnitude), and the resonant frequency of the LC resonant system cannot be stably and accurately measured.

[0119] In some embodiments, the capacitor connected in parallel to the inductance sensor 820 may be a capacitor with a large fixed value (e.g., larger than 50 pF) to reduce the effect of parasitic capacitance on the resonant frequency of the LC resonant system and improve the anti-interference ability. Just for example, as shown in FIG. 9, the reading unit 830 may include a reading chip (e.g., FDC2214 chip) and a capacitance C0. The reading chip can send an excitation signal to the LC resonant system, read the resonant frequency of the LC resonant system, and estimate the inductance value of the inductance sensor 820. The capacitor C0 is a capacitor connected in parallel to the inductance sensor 820 and has a large fixed value with a capacitance value of C0. In this case, the resonant frequency f0 of the LC resonant system may be as shown in the following equation (6):

[0120]

number

[0121] In the equation, Ls is the inductance of the inductance sensor 820 and Cs is the capacitance of the inductance sensor 820.

[0122] In addition, in the resonance measurement method, the parallel connection capacitance value and the Q value of the LC resonance system (which depends on the reading chip) need to be taken into consideration in order to improve the stability and accuracy of the results. The parallel connection capacitance value is inversely proportional to the Q value of the LC resonance system. The larger the parallel connection capacitance value, the smaller the external capacitive interference (e.g., parasitic capacitance caused by a human hand touching the inductance sensor) received by the LC resonance system, and the higher the reliability of the inductance sensor. However, the smaller the Q value, the lower the accuracy of the measured resonance frequency. In some embodiments, the parallel connection capacitance value may be in the range of 100 pF to 10 nF, and the corresponding Q value of the LC resonance system may be in the range of 2 to 100.

[0123] In some embodiments of the present specification, the wearable device can reduce the effect of the parasitic capacitance on the resonant frequency of the inductance sensor 820 and improve the anti-interference capability by connecting a capacitor with a large fixed value in parallel to the inductance sensor 820 and measuring the resonant frequency of the LC resonant system by a resonant measurement method, and can balance the anti-interference capability of the wearable device and the measurement accuracy of the resonant frequency by considering the parallel connection capacitance value and the Q value of the LC resonant system. In some embodiments, the processor 840 can receive and process the inductance value measured by the reading unit 830 or other parameters that can characterize the inductance change. For example, the processor 840 can be an assembly that converts the electrical signal generated by the inductance sensor 820 into a parameter reflecting the joint movement. In some embodiments, the parameter reflecting the joint movement can include a flexion angle of the joint, a flexion and extension state of the joint, etc. In the present specification, the flexion angle of the joint can be the included angle formed by the skin surfaces on both sides of the joint during the deformation process of the joint. In some embodiments, there may be a correspondence between the electrical signal generated by the inductance sensor 820 and the joint motion information, and the processor 840 may determine what motion has occurred at the corresponding joint site based on the change in the electrical signal generated by the inductance sensor 820. For a specific description of the correspondence between the electrical signal generated by the sensor and the joint motion information, reference may be made to FIG. 12 and its related description. In some embodiments, the processor 840 may be connected to a terminal device. For example, the processor 840 may be connected to the terminal device via a network, a data line (data interface), or the like. The processor 840 may process the electrical signal (e.g., an inductance value, a circuit impedance, or the like) generated by the inductance sensor 820 to generate a parameter reflecting the joint motion and send it to the terminal device. The terminal device may be a mobile phone, a computer, or other smart device.

[0124] In some embodiments, the wearable device 800 may further include a vibration feedback unit (not shown). The vibration feedback unit may provide a virtual tactile sensation to the user's hand. For example, the vibration feedback unit may receive a processing result of the processor 840 and provide a tactile sensation (e.g., vibration, pressure, etc.) to the user's hand based on the processing result. In some embodiments, the vibration feedback unit may be a vibration motor.

[0125] In some examples, the wearable device 800 may further include a positioning unit (not shown). The positioning unit may position spatial coordinates (e.g., position, tilt angle) of the entire wearable device 800 (e.g., glove) to facilitate access to the virtual space. In some examples, the positioning unit may include a multi-axis inertial sensor, a magnetic sensor, etc. Exemplary multi-axis inertial sensors may include a three-axis accelerometer, a three-axis gyroscope, a three-axis magnetic sensor, etc.

[0126] The wearable device 800 according to some embodiments of the present specification realizes interaction feedback between a person and the virtual world in the metaverse by using a vibration feedback unit and a positioning unit.

[0127] It should be noted that the above description of FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 is for the purpose of explanation only and is not intended to limit the scope of the present application. Those skilled in the art can make various changes and modifications based on the description of the present application. For example, in some embodiments, the wearable device 800 may further include a power supply module that provides the wearable device 800 with a voltage required for operation. Also, for example, the wearable device 800 may further include a wireless transmission unit. The wireless transmission unit realizes data interaction between the wearable device 800 and an external device (e.g., a computer, a mobile phone, and a device such as an AR / VR host or smart glasses). In some embodiments, the wireless transmission unit may include Bluetooth (registered trademark) communication, or may be other wireless communication methods such as wifi or 5G. These changes and modifications do not depart from the scope of the present application.

[0128] The wearable device 800 according to some embodiments of the present specification can convert the user's joint motion into a changing electrical signal, and generate parameters reflecting the joint motion to accurately capture the user's motion, and the inductance sensor 820 is directly integrated into the wearing body 810, so that the wearable device 800 is comfortable, breathable, and has low manufacturing costs. In addition, the inductance sensor 820, which is made of an inductance structure, responds only to changes in shape, making the motion capture process less susceptible to interference from factors such as temperature, pressure, and sweating, improving the accuracy and reliability of the motion capture and the recyclability of the wearable device 800.

[0129] 10 is a schematic diagram of an example inductance sensor according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 10, the inductance sensor 820 may include an inductance structure surrounded by a conductive line 1210, a first read lead 1225, and a second read lead 1227. In some embodiments, the inductance sensor 820 may be fixed to the mounting body 810 by sewing, spinning, crimping, gluing, buckling, or the like.

[0130] In some examples, the material of the conductive wire 1210 can undergo elastic or plastic deformation under small stresses to ensure that the conductive wire 1210 undergoes corresponding deformation with joint movement. Exemplary conductive wire 1210 materials may include silver, copper, aluminum, alloy materials, composite materials, etc., or any combination thereof.

[0131] In some embodiments, the conductive wire 1210 may include a stretchable elastic conductive thread fixed by a spinning method. For example, the conductive thread may be directly woven into the joint portion (e.g., the knuckle) of the wearing body. In some embodiments, the conductive thread may be woven inside and / or outside the joint portion of the wearing body. By spinning and fixing the stretchable elastic conductive thread, it is possible to reduce the foreign body sensation when worn by the user, improve the user experience, and improve the strength of the fixation to prevent the sensor from falling off. It should be understood that the inductance sensor 820 may be fixed to the wearing body by other methods such as sewing, crimping, adhesive, buckle, etc., and this specification is not limited thereto.

[0132] In some embodiments, the surface of the conductive wire 1210 can be coated with at least one layer of insulating material to prevent external short circuit of the conductive wire 1210 and to protect the conductive wire 1210. Exemplary insulating materials can include materials such as polyvinyl chloride, cross-linked polyethylene, ethylene propylene rubber, silicone rubber, fluoroplastic, insulating fabric, insulating colloid, etc. The insulating material can be coated on the conductive wire 1210 by adhesion, coating, etc., or in other ways.

[0133] In some examples, the conductive lines 1210 may form a spiral inductance pattern around the joint site. In some examples, the inductance pattern may be a planar spiral inductance pattern. For example, the shape of the inductance pattern may include, but is not limited to, a planar shape such as a square, a rectangle, a circle, a polygon, a semicircle, a circle, an ellipse, etc. The spiral winding direction may be clockwise or counterclockwise. In some examples, the inductance of the inductance structure may be calculated according to the following equation (7):

[0134]

number

[0135] In the formula, L is the inductance, φ is the magnetic flux, μ is the magnetic permeability, N is the number of coils (turns), S is the effective area through which the magnetic field lines pass in the inductance pattern, and l is the length of the coil. As can be seen from the above formula, when the joint is extended, the inductance pattern is in a fully deployed state (i.e., the inductance pattern is flatly spread on the wearing body), in which case the effective area S is the largest and the corresponding inductance L is also the largest. When the joint is bent, the inductance pattern is in a bent state (i.e., the inductance pattern is partially deformed), in which case the effective area S is reduced and the corresponding inductance L is also reduced. In some embodiments, when the inductance pattern is in a bent state, the inductor pattern may have partial overlaps, wrinkles, bulges, etc., so the change in the effective area is nonlinear. In addition, if the wearing body does not fit the user, it may change the effective area nonlinearly. Therefore, when the user's joint is bent and deformed, the inductance changes nonlinearly with the change in the effective area S.

[0136] In some embodiments, the spiral inductance pattern has a number of turns greater than 1. For example, the number of turns of the spiral inductance pattern may be 2 turns, 5 turns, 10 turns, 50 turns, etc. Preferably, the number of turns of the spiral inductance pattern is greater than 2 turns.

[0137] In some embodiments, the spiral inductance pattern may include a major axis and a minor axis. In this specification, for a symmetric spiral inductance pattern, the major axis may be the longest symmetric axis of the spiral inductance pattern, and for an asymmetric spiral inductance pattern, the major axis may be the connecting line between two points on the circumference of the spiral inductance pattern with the greatest distance. For a symmetric spiral inductance pattern, the minor axis may be the shortest symmetric axis of the spiral inductance pattern, and for an asymmetric spiral inductance pattern, the minor axis may be the connecting line between two points on the circumference of the spiral inductance pattern with the smallest distance. In some embodiments, the major axis direction may be perpendicular to the minor axis direction. In some embodiments, the major axis direction and the minor axis direction of the rectangular spiral inductance pattern in the inductance sensor 820 may be as shown in FIG. 10. In some embodiments, the included angle between the long axis direction of the spiral inductance pattern and the bending axis of the joint may be within a range of 90 degrees ±20 degrees, and the included angle between the short axis direction and the bending axis of the joint is within a range of ±20 degrees. For example, the included angle between the long axis direction of the spiral inductance pattern and the bending axis of the joint is within a range of 80 degrees to 100 degrees, and the included angle between the short axis direction and the bending axis of the joint is within a range of ±10 degrees. Also, for example, the included angle between the long axis direction of the spiral inductance pattern and the bending axis of the joint is within a range of 85 degrees to 95 degrees, and the included angle between the short axis direction and the bending axis of the joint is within a range of ±5 degrees. Also, for example, the long axis direction of the spiral inductance pattern is perpendicular to the bending axis of the joint, and the short axis direction is parallel to the bending axis of the joint. In some embodiments, the bending axis of the joint may be a straight line on which all fixed points are located during the process of deformation of the joint.

[0138] In some embodiments, the shape of the spiral inductance pattern can be designed to be symmetrical with respect to the major or minor axis in order to optimize the sensitivity of the inductance sensor 820. For example, the spiral inductance pattern can be rectangular, circular, elliptical, etc. with the major and minor axes as symmetrical axes.

[0139] In some embodiments, the greater the thickness of the conductive thread in the direction perpendicular to the surface of the inductance pattern, the stronger the foreign body sensation caused when worn by the user, and the greater the thickness, the greater the stress required for deformation of the conductive thread, and the less likely the conductive thread is to deform accordingly when the joint makes a small range of motion. In order to improve the comfort of the user when wearing the wearable device 800 and to improve the sensitivity of the inductance sensor 820, the thickness of the conductive thread in the direction perpendicular to the surface of the inductance pattern may be 3 mm or less. For example, the thickness of the conductive thread in the direction perpendicular to the surface of the inductance pattern may be 2.5 mm, 2 mm, 1.5 mm, 1 mm, etc. Preferably, the thickness of the conductive thread in the direction perpendicular to the surface of the inductance pattern may be 2 mm.

[0140] In some embodiments, the inner and outer circumferences of the spiral inductance pattern may be provided with read leads connecting the inductance structure to a read unit 830. The read unit 830 may measure the inductance value or calculate other parameters that may characterize the inductance change (e.g., circuit impedance, phase, resonant frequency, etc.). In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 10, the inner circumference of the spiral inductance pattern may be the portion of the conductive line connected to the second read lead 1227. The outer circumference of the spiral inductance pattern may be the portion of the conductive line connected to the first read lead 1225.

[0141] The read leads may be a portion of a conductive line (e.g., an end of the conductive line). As shown in FIG. 10, the read leads may include a first read lead 1225 and a second read lead 1227. In some embodiments, the read leads may be connected to a reading unit 830. For example, the read leads may be connected to the reading unit 830 via a data interface.

[0142] In some embodiments, to improve the Q factor of the inductance and thus improve the accuracy of the measurement, the resistance of the inductance structure may be less than 100 Ω. For example, the resistance of the inductance structure may be less than 80 Ω. For example, the resistance of the inductance structure may be less than 50 Ω. For example, the resistance of the inductance structure may be less than 30 Ω. For example, the resistance of the inductance structure may be less than 10 Ω.

[0143] 11 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary wearable device worn by a user according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 11, the inductance sensor 820 in the wearable device may be attached to the shoulder joint 310, the elbow joint 320, and the knee joint 330 of the wearing body.

[0144] In some embodiments, the inductance sensor 820 may be attached to the wearing body 810 in a removable manner. For example, the inductance sensor 820 may be attached to the wearing body 810 in other ways, such as by adhesion, binding, buckle, Velcro, etc. In some embodiments, the size or shape of the inductance structure is adjustable. For example, depending on the size of the user's joint part, such as the width of the arm, the width of the shoulder, and the width of the knee, the size of the inductance structure can be adaptively adjusted to cover all the movable positions of the joint part. In some embodiments, the size of the inductance structure may be slightly smaller than the size of the joint part to avoid an error in the change of inductance due to deformation of the excess inductance structure part by pressing, twisting, overlapping, etc.

[0145] In some embodiments, in the same joint, the inductance sensor 820 may include two inductance structures located on both the inside and outside of the joint. For example, for the elbow joint 320, the inductance sensor 820 may include an outer joint inductance structure attached to the outside of the elbow joint corresponding to the mounting body, and an inner joint inductance structure attached to the inside of the elbow joint corresponding to the mounting body. In some embodiments, the size of the inductance structure located on the outside of the same joint may be slightly larger than the size of the inductance structure located on the inside of the same joint to accommodate the movement deformation of the user's joint. In some embodiments, when at least two inductance structures measure the inductance value of the same joint, the final measurement result may be a calculated value (e.g., average value, weighted average value, etc.) based on the measurement results measured by the two inductance structures. For example, when the knee is bent once, the inductance structure on the outside of the knee measures the outer inductance value, and the inductance structure on the inside of the knee measures the inner inductance value, and the final measurement result may be the average value or weighted average value of the outer inductance value and the inner inductance value. In some embodiments, multiple inductance structures may be installed on the same joint to improve the accuracy of the measurement. When at least two inductance structures measure the inductance value of the same joint, the output multiple inductance values ​​can be processed by the reading unit 830 and the processor 840 to obtain multiple joint flexion degrees, and the average or weighted average value can be obtained for the multiple joint flexion degrees, and the average or weighted average value can be the final measurement result. In some embodiments, the inductance sensor 820 can be calibrated or tested by changing the size, shape, and contact position of the inductance structure to improve the accuracy of the measurement. For example, the same joint can be measured using an inductance structure with a rectangular spiral inductance pattern and an inductance structure with an elliptical spiral inductance pattern, and the measurement results can be calibrated at different joint flexion angles, respectively.

[0146] For ease of explanation, FIG. 11 is an exemplary schematic diagram of the wearing body 810 being sportswear and sports pants, and the wearing body 810 may also be other forms of assemblies such as gloves, arm supporters, elbow supporters, knee supporters, shoulder supporters, etc., whose functions and principles are similar to those of sportswear and sports pants. On the premise of understanding the solutions of the present specification, those skilled in the art can apply the solutions to any appropriate scenarios.

[0147] FIG. 12 is a curved schematic diagram of an inductance value of an exemplary inductance structure having a spiral inductance pattern that changes with the bending angle of the inductance structure in an unwrapped state, according to some embodiments herein. The bending angle of the inductance structure in FIG. 12 is an included angle formed by two surfaces of the inductance structure in the process of folding the inductance structure along the minor axis direction (e.g., the minor axis direction in FIG. 10) in an unwrapped state. As shown in FIG. 12, when a voltage of 1V is applied to the inductance structure and an AC current of 1kHz is passed through it, the inductance value of the inductance structure having the spiral inductance pattern increases nonlinearly with the bending angle of the inductance structure increasing. Furthermore, when the bending angle of the inductance structure is 30°, the inductance value is 3.99 μH. When the bending angle of the inductance structure is 60°, the inductance value is 4.52 μH. When the bending angle of the inductance structure is 90°, the inductance value is 4.79 μH. When the bending angle of the inductance structure is 120°, the inductance value is 4.94 μH. When the bending angle of the inductance structure is 150°, the inductance value is 5.02 μH. When the bending angle of the inductance structure is 180°, the inductance value is 5.05 μH. In some embodiments, the same inductance structure may be repeatedly measured multiple times (e.g., N times) to test the recyclability of the inductance structure. As shown in FIG. 12, as can be seen from the results of multiple measurements, the bending angle of the same inductance structure in different measurement processes corresponds to the same inductance value, and the relationship curve of the inductance value-bending angle after bending N times is always consistent. Therefore, the inductance value of the inductance structure does not shift due to factors such as multiple uses of the material or temperature, and has excellent recyclability.

[0148] In some embodiments, the inductance value of the inductance structure having the spiral inductance pattern has a one-to-one correspondence with the joint flexion angle in the worn state. For example, for elbow joint motion, when a sensor is used for the elbow, a voltage of 1V is applied to the inductance structure, and an AC current of 1kHz is applied, when the joint flexion angle is 180° (i.e., the hand is extended flat), the inductance value is 3.91μH. When the joint flexion angle is 90°, the inductance value is 2.91μH. When the joint flexion angle is 50-60°, the inductance value is 2.03μH.

[0149] In some embodiments, because the wearable device and the inductance pattern are deformed after wearing, the same bending angle (e.g., the bending angle of the inductance structure in the unworn state is equal to the joint bending angle in the worn state) may correspond to different inductance values ​​for the same inductance structure in the worn and unworn state. Therefore, in order to more accurately measure the motion state, the inductance structure may be calibrated first before the user measures the motion state to obtain a curve of change in the degree of joint bending and the inductance value corresponding to the user. For example, the user is made to bend the joint at different joint bending angles, the corresponding inductance values ​​are measured, and curve fitting is performed to obtain a curve of change in the degree of joint bending and the inductance value of the user. In some embodiments, because different users have different body types, when the same inductance structure is worn by different users, the same angle of joint bending may correspond to different inductance values. Therefore, in order to more accurately measure the motion state of different people, the inductance structure may be calibrated first before each user measures the motion state to obtain a curve of change in the degree of joint bending and the inductance value corresponding to each user. For example, each user is made to bend their joints at different joint bending angles, the corresponding inductance values ​​are measured, and curve fitting is performed to obtain the change curves of the joint bending degree and the inductance value of the user, and in the subsequent process of measuring the user's motion state, the movement state can be accurately measured based on the change curves of the joint bending degree and the inductance value.

[0150] In order to measure the motion states at different joints with differences, in some embodiments, the corresponding relationship (i.e., nonlinear change relationship) between the bending angle and the corresponding inductance value of the inductance structure at different joints may be different. For example, in order to more accurately measure the motion state of the knee joint, the inductance structure at the knee joint and the inductance structure at the elbow joint may have different winding numbers, effective areas, and / or coil lengths compared to the elbow joint, so that the inductance structure at the knee joint generates a larger inductance value at the same joint bending angle compared to the inductance structure at the elbow joint.

[0151] In some alternative embodiments, in order to facilitate processing and reduce the processing load of the processing circuit or processing device, the inductance structures at different joints can generate equal or nearly equal inductance values ​​at the same joint flexion angle. For example, the inductance structure at the knee joint can be designed to have a large effective area and a small number of turns, and the inductance structure at the elbow joint can be designed to have a small effective area and a large number of turns, so that the flexion angles and the corresponding inductance values ​​of the inductance structures at the knee joint and elbow joint can have the same or nearly the same nonlinear change relationship, which facilitates subsequent processing of the processing circuit or processing device.

[0152] Some embodiments of the present specification further disclose a sensing system including the wearable device 800 and a processing device. The processing device is wirelessly connected to the wearable device 800 and can generate a parameter reflecting a joint movement. In some embodiments, the processing device can further process the information read by the reading unit 830 in the wearable device 800. For example, the processing device calculates an average or weighted average of multiple inductance values ​​measured by the inductance sensor 820 measuring both the inside and outside of the same joint, and determines a parameter reflecting a joint movement, etc. based on the calculated inductance value. In some embodiments, the parameter reflecting a joint movement may include a flexion angle of the joint, a flexion / extension state of the joint, etc. In some embodiments, the process in which the processing device generates a parameter reflecting a joint movement may be similar to the process in which the processor 840 in the wearable device 800 generates a parameter reflecting a joint movement. In some embodiments, the processor 840 in the wearable device 800 can perform pre-processing on the information read by the reading unit 830 (e.g., determining the average or weighted average of inductance values ​​corresponding to identical correspondences) and then transmit the pre-processing results to the processing device to determine parameters reflecting joint movement.

[0153] Beneficial effects that may be achieved by the wearable device according to some embodiments of the present specification include, but are not limited to, the following: (1) The wearable device according to some embodiments of the present specification can convert the user's joint motion into a changing electrical signal, and further generate parameters reflecting the joint motion to accurately capture the user's motion. (2) The inductance sensor can be manufactured by forming a spiral inductance coil on a substrate, and the wearable device is easy to manufacture and has a low cost. (3) By using a flexible material, a thin-film flexible inductance sensor can be manufactured, and it is comfortable to wear. (4) Since the inductance sensor responds only to changes in shape (e.g., the detection result may be related only to its inductance value), it improves the wearable device's ability to resist interference from external factors such as temperature, humidity, pressure, and sweat, and improves the accuracy, reliability, and recyclability of the motion capture. (5) The sensitivity of the wearable device can be improved by adjusting the number of coils of the spiral inductance coil in the inductance sensor and the dimensions of the area surrounded by the spiral inductance coil, and adding a magnetically permeable thin film.

[0154] Although the basic concept has been described above, it is clear to those skilled in the art that the detailed disclosure above is merely provided as an example and does not limit the present application. Although not explicitly described herein, those skilled in the art can make various changes, improvements and modifications to the present application. These changes, improvements and modifications are intended to be suggested by the present application and therefore still fall within the spirit and scope of the exemplary embodiments of the present application. [Explanation of symbols]

[0155] 100 Wearable Devices 110 Gloves 120 Inductance Sensor 121 Spiral inductance coil 123 Signal lead-out terminal 1231 First signal output terminal 1232 Second signal output terminal 124 Protective layer 125 Magnetically permeable thin film

Claims

1. A wearing body that covers the user's joints; at least one inductance sensor including an inductance structure surrounded by a conductive wire, the at least one inductance sensor being attached to a position on the wearing body corresponding to the joint site, the inductance structure generating an inductance that changes in accordance with deformation of the joint site.

2. The wearable device of claim 1 , wherein the wearing body includes a glove, and when a user wears the wearable device, at least a portion of the at least one inductance sensor is located at a joint of the user's hand so as to collect a motion signal of the user's hand.

3. The wearable device of claim 2 , wherein the conductive wire forms a spiral inductance pattern around the joint site, and a thickness of the conductive wire in a direction perpendicular to a surface of the spiral inductance pattern is 3 mm or less.

4. The wearable device of claim 3, wherein an included angle between a major axis direction of the spiral inductance pattern and a bending axis of a corresponding joint is within a range of 90 degrees ±20 degrees, and an included angle between a minor axis direction of the spiral inductance pattern and a bending axis of a corresponding joint is within a range of ±20 degrees.

5. The wearable device of any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the resistance of the inductance structure is less than 100Ω.

6. The wearable device of any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the at least one inductance sensor includes two inductance structures located on both the inside and outside of the joint, respectively.

7. The inductance structure comprises: The wearable device of any one of claims 2 to 6, comprising a spiral inductance coil having two or more coils of conductive wire.

8. The wearable device of claim 7 , wherein the conductive wire in the spiral inductance coil comprises a stretchable elastic conductive thread fixed in a spinning manner.

9. 9. The wearable device according to claim 7, wherein the conductive line width of the conductive wire in the spiral inductance coil is 2 mm or less, and the conductive line gap of the conductive wire is 2 mm or less.

10. The wearable device of any one of claims 7 to 9, wherein the at least one inductance sensor further includes a substrate for mounting the spiral inductance coil, the substrate including a through hole for drawing out an inner layer coil of the spiral inductance coil to a first signal drawing terminal, and the first signal drawing terminal and a second signal drawing terminal connected to the outer layer coil of the spiral inductance coil are located on the same surface of the substrate.

11. The at least one inductance sensor further includes a substrate for mounting the spiral inductance coil, the spiral inductance coil including at least a first layer of coils and a second layer of coils; the first layer coil and the second layer coil are stacked in a direction perpendicular to the substrate, A wearable device according to any one of claims 7 to 10, wherein the current direction of the coils in the first layer and the current direction of the coils in the second layer are the same.

12. The wearable device of claim 11 , wherein the first layer of coils and the second layer of coils are respectively located on opposite sides of the substrate.

13. The wearable device of claim 12, wherein a through hole is formed in the substrate, and the first layer coil and the second layer coil are each formed by the same conductive wire passing through the through hole.

14. the at least one inductance sensor is located on a back of the user's hand; The wearable device of any one of claims 7 to 13, further comprising a magnetically permeable thin film covering the side of the spiral inductance coil away from the user's hand.

15. the at least one inductance sensor is located on a palm of the user's hand; The wearable device of any one of claims 7 to 14, further comprising a magnetically permeable thin film covering the side of the spiral inductance coil adjacent to the user's hand.

16. The wearable device according to claim 14 or 15, wherein the thickness of the magnetically permeable thin film is 10 to 500 μm.

17. The at least one inductance sensor comprises: The wearable device of any one of claims 7 to 16, further comprising a protective layer that encapsulates the spiral inductance coil.

18. The at least one inductance sensor comprises: A finger joint inductance sensor is installed on the back or the abdomen of the finger joint to measure the flexion angle of the corresponding finger joint; a finger spacing inductance sensor disposed at the contact point of two adjacent fingers to measure the spread angle of the two adjacent fingers; The wearable device according to any one of claims 2 to 17, comprising a wrist inductance sensor installed on the back, front or side of the wrist to measure the flexion angle of the wrist.

19. 20. The wearable device of claim 18, wherein at least one of the finger joint inductance sensor and the wrist inductance sensor is symmetric about its corresponding joint axis of rotation.

20. 20. The wearable device of claim 19, wherein a dimension of the spiral inductance coil in the finger joint inductance sensor along a direction parallel to a rotation axis of the corresponding joint is greater than 5 mm and less than 20 mm, and a ratio of a dimension of the spiral inductance coil along a direction perpendicular to the rotation axis of the corresponding joint to a dimension along a direction parallel to the rotation axis of the corresponding joint is greater than 0.5 and less than 10.

21. At least one of the finger joint inductance sensor and the finger spacing inductance sensor includes at least a first sub-inductance coil and a second sub-inductance coil connected in series by a lead wire; A wearable device as described in any one of claims 18 to 20, wherein when a user wears the wearable device, the current direction of the first sub-inductor and the current direction of the second sub-inductor are the same.

22. The wearable device of claim 21 , wherein the first sub-inductance coil and the second sub-inductance coil have the same configuration.

23. The wearable device of claim 21, wherein a relative difference in dimensions between the first sub-inductor and the second sub-inductor is less than 50%, and the first sub-inductor and the second sub-inductor are arranged symmetrically with respect to an inter-finger rotation axis.

24. A wearable device according to any one of claims 21 to 23, wherein the width of the area through which the lead wire passes is less than 2 mm and the length of the lead wire is greater than 1 cm.

25. The wearable device of any one of claims 2 to 24, further comprising one or more reading units for reading motion signals collected by the at least one inductance sensor, each reading unit corresponding to at least one of the at least one inductance sensor.

26. 26. The wearable device of claim 25, further comprising a processor located on a back of the glove that processes motion signals collected by the at least one inductance sensor.

27. 27. The wearable device of claim 26, further comprising a vibration feedback unit for providing a virtual tactile sensation to the user's hand.

28. The wearable device of claim 27 , further comprising a positioning unit for positioning spatial coordinates of the wearable device.

29. The wearable device of any one of claims 1 to 28, wherein the at least one inductance sensor is attached to the mounting body in a detachable manner, and the size or shape of the inductance structure is adjustable.

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