Smart ring for biosignal measurement

Abstract

A smart ring for biosignal measurement, according to an embodiment of the present invention, comprises: a housing having a ring shape to be worn on a finger of a wearer and having an inner circumferential surface that contacts the finger on which the housing is worn and an outer circumferential surface formed to be larger than the inner circumferential surface; a protrusion unit protruding from the inner circumferential surface of the housing; a sensor unit which is positioned on the inner circumferential surface of the housing and measures biosignals; a control unit that receives the measured biosignals from the sensor unit; and a battery unit which supplies power to the sensor unit and the control unit.

Description

Smart ring for measuring vital signs

[0001] The present invention relates to a smart ring for measuring biosignals.

[0002] The detection and measurement of human biosignals were initially studied and utilized primarily in the medical field. Specifically, detected or measured biosignals were used to assess or treat patients' health by measuring factors such as blood pressure and pulse.

[0003] Typically, a blood pressure monitor or blood pressure measuring device measures blood pressure by wrapping a cuff containing a blood pressure sensor around the arm. The cuff has an internal space for inflating air and can be connected to a small motor pump. The motor pump injects air into the cuff to approximately 180 mmHg, compressing the forearm. The air is then expelled to reduce the pressure, allowing the blood pressure sensor to measure systolic and diastolic blood pressure.

[0004] These blood pressure monitors can mostly be composed of a cuff that inflates air, an air motor pump that controls the pressure of the cuff, and a blood pressure measurement sensor. Therefore, each time blood pressure is measured, the cuff must be wrapped around the measurement site, air is injected, and the pressure of the inflated cuff compresses and then decompresses the body at the measurement site, resulting in a complex and cumbersome process for measuring blood pressure using the blood pressure measurement sensor.

[0005] Recent technological advancements have led to the development of wearable biosignal sensing devices for monitoring biosignals in everyday life. Examples include wrist-worn devices, patch-type devices attached to the skin, and ring-type devices worn on the finger.

[0006] However, there is a frequent problem that when a wearer wears a wearable device, the sensor part that measures biosignals is not in sufficient contact with the wearer's body, making measurement impossible.

[0007] To solve these problems, the present invention provides a smart ring for measuring biosignals, in which a sensor part is in close contact with an artery of a finger to accurately measure biosignals.

[0008] However, the technical tasks that this embodiment seeks to accomplish are not limited to the technical tasks described above, and other technical tasks may exist.

[0009] A smart ring for measuring a bio-signal according to one embodiment of the present invention has a ring shape to be worn on a user's finger, and includes a housing having an inner surface that comes into contact with a worn finger and an outer surface formed larger than the inner surface, a protrusion formed to protrude from the inner surface of the housing, a sensor unit located on the inner surface of the housing for measuring a bio-signal, a control unit for receiving the bio-signal measured from the sensor unit, and a battery unit for supplying power to the sensor unit and the control unit.

[0010] According to one embodiment of the present invention, a protrusion is formed on an opposite portion of the sensor portion so that the sensor portion can come into close contact with the artery of the finger, thereby having the effect of accurately measuring the wearer's bio-signals.

[0011] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a smart ring for measuring biosignals according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0012] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a smart ring for measuring biosignals according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0013] Figures 3 to 5 are drawings illustrating protrusions of various embodiments of the present invention.

[0014] Below, with reference to the attached drawings, embodiments of the present invention are described in detail to facilitate easy implementation by those skilled in the art. However, the present invention can be implemented in various different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein. In the drawings, irrelevant parts have been omitted for clarity, and similar reference numerals have been used throughout the specification to indicate similar elements.

[0015] Throughout this specification, when a part is said to be "connected" to another part, this includes not only the case where it is "directly connected" but also the case where it is "electrically connected" with another element in between. Furthermore, when a part is said to "include" a component, this should be understood to mean that, unless specifically stated to the contrary, it does not exclude other components but may include other components, and does not preclude the possibility of the presence or addition of one or more other features, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof.

[0016] The following examples are provided as detailed explanations to aid understanding of the present invention and do not limit the scope of the invention. Therefore, inventions with the same scope and function as the present invention are also within the scope of the present invention.

[0017] The present invention relates to a smart ring for measuring biosignals.

[0018] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a smart ring for measuring biosignals according to one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a smart ring for measuring biosignals according to one embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 3 to 5 are drawings illustrating protrusions of various embodiments of the present invention.

[0019] Hereinafter, with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5, a smart ring (100) for measuring biosignals according to one embodiment of the present invention (hereinafter referred to as “smart ring (100)”) will be described.

[0020] A smart ring (100) is a device manufactured in the form of a ring to be worn on the wearer's finger, and has a sensor unit (130) mounted thereon to measure the wearer's bio-signals through the sensor unit (130). The bio-signals described above may include, but are not limited to, blood pressure, oxygen saturation, pulse, body temperature, etc.

[0021] The external device (200) is a computing device that is connected to the smart ring (100) via wireless communication, and may be a smart terminal such as a smart phone or tablet PC, or any other computing device capable of wireless communication. The external device (200) can calculate various biosignal information based on the sensing information transmitted by the smart ring (100) and provide the information to the user.

[0022] Referring to FIG. 2, the smart ring (100) includes a housing (110), a protrusion (120), a sensor unit (130), a control unit (140), and a battery unit (150).

[0023] The housing (110) can be formed in a ring shape to be worn on the wearer's finger. In addition, the housing (110) has an inner surface (112) that comes into contact with the wearer's finger and an outer surface (114) that is formed larger than the inner surface (112).

[0024] The protrusion (120) can be formed by protruding from the inner surface (112) of the housing (110).

[0025] Hereinafter, with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5, a protrusion (120) according to various embodiments of the present invention will be described.

[0026] Referring to FIG. 3, the protrusion (120) may have a predetermined elastic coefficient so that when an external force is applied, the shape is deformed and when the force is removed, the protrusion (120) has a restoring force to return to its original shape. For example, the protrusion (120) may be formed of elastic rubber or sponge (121).

[0027] When a wearer wears a smart ring (100), the elastic rubber or sponge (121) is deformed according to the shape of the wearer's finger, and the part that comes into contact with the wearer's finger can be pressed by the restoring force.

[0028] In addition, referring to FIG. 4, the protrusion (120) may include a spring portion (123a) located inside the housing (110) and a pressure portion (123b) having one side in close contact with the wearer's finger and the other side in which pressure is applied by the spring portion (123a). In addition, the pressure portion (123b) may be made of a soft suede material or the like in the part in close contact with the finger, thereby providing the wearer with an excellent wearing comfort. In addition, the spring portion (123a) may be a coil spring as illustrated in FIG. 4, but is not limited thereto and may also be a spiral spring, a plate spring, or a circular spring.

[0029] When the wearer wears the smart ring (100), the spring part (123a) is compressed, and the part that comes into contact with the wearer's finger can be pressed by the elasticity of the spring part (123a).

[0030] Also, referring to FIG. 5, the protrusion (120) may be formed in a screw shape. Specifically, the protrusion (120) may include a screw portion (124a) that is screw-connected to the inside of the housing (110) and has threads formed on the outer circumference thereof, and a contact portion (124b) that has one side in close contact with the wearer's finger and the other side connected to the screw portion (124a). In addition, the wearer may adjust the degree of pressure according to the wearer by adjusting the distance at which the contact portion (124b) protrudes from the inner circumference (122) of the housing (110) by rotating the contact portion (124b). In addition, the contact portion (124b) may be formed to have a certain curvature so that one side thereof is in close contact with the wearer's finger, and the circumference may be formed to be curved, but is not limited thereto.

[0031] Referring again to FIG. 2, the sensor unit (130) is positioned on the inner surface (112) of the housing (110) and can measure a biosignal. In addition, the sensor unit (130) may be positioned on a portion facing the protrusion (120). In other words, as the protrusion (120) protrudes from the inner surface (112) of the housing (110) and presses against the wearer's finger, the sensor unit (130) positioned on the opposite side of the protrusion (120) can come into close contact with the wearer's finger.

[0032] In addition, the sensor unit (130) can measure a signal transmitted from the artery while one side is positioned on the artery of the finger and in close contact with the artery. For example, the sensor unit (130) can include at least one or more of a light sensor, a pressure sensor, a piezoelectric sensor, a PPG (PhotoPlethysmoGram) sensor, an oxygen saturation sensor, a body temperature sensor, and a current sensor.

[0033] The optical sensor may include a light source that generates light to detect a biological signal and a photodetector that monitors the intensity of the reflected light. For example, the light source may include a light emitting diode (LED) or a laser diode, and the photodetector may include a photodiode, a phototransistor (PTr), or a charge-coupled device (CCD). The photodetector senses optical signals scattered and reflected from a subject, and may detect laser speckle generated by the scattering phenomenon of laser light irradiated on the subject.

[0034] A pressure sensor can measure the pressure of the pulse.

[0035] The piezoelectric sensor can be formed in a thin film shape and placed adjacent to the artery of the finger to measure pulse and changes in arterial pressure.

[0036] The PPG (Photoplentysmograph) sensor is a sensor that monitors changes in the volume of blood vessels in the extremities of the body. It is a sensor that can measure changes in the volume of blood vessels by utilizing the characteristic that when the amount of blood in the blood vessels (blood flow) increases, more light is absorbed, and the amount of light transmitted or reflected decreases.

[0037] A body temperature sensor can measure the temperature of the surface of your finger.

[0038] An oxygen saturation sensor measures oxygen saturation through the wearer's vital signs via the finger, and may be, but is not limited to, an SpO2 sensor that measures blood oxygen saturation through the surface of the finger.

[0039] Current sensors can measure bioimpedance using electrodes.

[0040] The sensor unit (130) has been described as detecting a biosignal using a single sensor, but is not limited thereto. For example, the wearer's biosignal may be detected using two biosignal detection sensors, and the number or shape of the sensors may be changed or modified.

[0041] The control unit (140) receives the bio-signals measured by the sensor unit (130), converts the wearer's condition or physical activity, etc. into data, and analyzes the bio-signals or changes in the bio-signals according to physical activity. In addition, referring to FIG. 1, the control unit (140) can transmit the bio-signals and analyzed data received from the sensor unit (130) to an external device (200) via the communication module (160).

[0042] The communication module (160) can transmit and receive data with the outside. For example, the communication module (160) can transmit data to an external device (200). In addition, the communication module (160) can receive update information, such as a program related to blood pressure measurement, from the external device (200) and transmit the information to the control unit (140). For example, the communication module (160) can utilize communication technologies such as RFID (Radio Frequency Identification), UWB (Ultra Wide Band), Bluetooth, and wireless sensor networks to be suitable for data transmission and reception, but is not limited thereto.

[0043] Referring to FIG. 1, the smart ring (100) may further include a status display unit (170) that displays the status of the smart ring (100). For example, the status display unit (170) is positioned on the outer surface (114) of the housing (110) in the form of a display or LED, and may display information such as power status, battery charging status, and health status of the wearer, but is not limited thereto.

[0044] The above description of the present invention is for illustrative purposes only, and those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the present invention can be readily modified into other specific forms without altering the technical spirit or essential characteristics of the present invention. Therefore, the embodiments described above should be understood as illustrative in all respects and not restrictive. For example, each component described as a single entity may be implemented in a distributed manner, and similarly, components described as distributed may be implemented in a combined manner.

[0045] The scope of the present invention is indicated by the claims described below rather than the detailed description above, and all changes or modifications derived from the meaning and scope of the claims and their equivalent concepts should be interpreted as being included in the scope of the present invention.

[0046] [Explanation of symbols]

[0047] 100: Smart ring for measuring biosignals

[0048] 110: Housing 112: Inside

[0049] 114: Outer surface

[0050] 120: Protrusion

[0051] 121: Elastic rubber or sponge

[0052] 123a: Spring part 123b: Pressurized part

[0053] 124a: Screw part 124b: Seal part

[0054] 130: Sensor section

[0055] 140: Control unit

[0056] 150: Battery compartment

[0057] 160: Communication module

[0058] 170: Status display

[0059] 200: External device

Claims

1. In a smart ring for measuring bio-signals, A housing having a ring shape to be worn on a wearer's finger, an inner surface that comes into contact with the worn finger, and an outer surface formed larger than the inner surface; A protrusion formed by protruding from the inner surface of the housing; A sensor unit located on the inner surface of the housing and measuring a biosignal; and A smart ring comprising a control unit that receives a biosignal measured from the sensor unit.

2. In paragraph 1, A smart ring, wherein the sensor portion is located at a portion opposite the protrusion.

3. In paragraph 1 or 2, A smart ring, wherein the above protrusion is formed of elastic rubber or sponge having a predetermined elastic modulus.

4. In paragraph 1 or 2, The above protrusion a spring portion located inside the housing; and A smart ring, wherein one side is in close contact with the wearer's finger and the other side includes a pressurizing portion that is pressurized by the spring portion.

5. In paragraph 1 or 2, The above protrusion A screw portion that is screw-connected to the inner surface of the housing and has screw threads formed on the outer surface; and A smart ring, wherein one side is in contact with the wearer's finger and the other side includes a contact portion connected to the screw portion.

6. In paragraph 1 or 2, A smart ring, wherein the sensor unit includes at least one of a light sensor, a pressure sensor, a piezoelectric sensor, a PPG (PhotoPlethysmoGram) sensor, a body temperature sensor, an oxygen saturation sensor, and a current sensor.

7. In paragraph 1 or 2, A smart ring further comprising a communication module for transmitting and receiving data with the outside world.

8. In paragraph 1 or 2, A smart ring further comprising a status display unit that displays the status of the smart ring.

9. In paragraph 1 or 2, A smart ring further comprising a battery unit that supplies power to the sensor unit and control unit.

Images