Attachment device

Abstract

An attachment device according to the present invention provided with: a flexible substrate (101) that can be folded in two; an electronic component (102) mounted on the substrate (101); a magnet component (103) fixed to a first region 121, which is one the regions of the substrate (101) that face each other when the substrate is folded in two; a metal component (104) fixed to a second region 122, which is the other of the regions of the substrate (101) that face each other when the substrate is folded in two; a magnetic sensor (105) that is provided in the second region (122) of the substrate (101) and detects the magnetic field of the magnet component (103); and a switch circuit (106) that starts the operation of the electronic component (102) when the magnetic sensor (105) has detected the magnetic field of the magnet component (103).

Description

Wearing device

[0001] The present invention relates to a wearing device.

[0002] Currently, devices that fix by sandwiching clothes or the like to measure biological information or give a stimulus to the living body have been proposed (Non-Patent Document 1). When such a device is used by a user, first, it is necessary to clamp the target part, and then, it is necessary to perform a two-step operation of pressing the power button of the device to start the operation.

[0003] AMO Lab, "Amofit S", [Searched on November 20, 2024], (https: / / www.amo-lab.com / pages / product).

[0004] As described above, the conventional device requires two operations when used, and it is difficult to visually confirm that the power is correctly turned on. There are cases where the terminal does not operate because the power button is not correctly pressed or the power button is forgotten to be pressed in the first place.

[0005] The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object thereof is to ensure that the power can be turned on when wearing.

[0006] The wearing device according to the present invention includes a flexible substrate that can be folded in two, electronic components mounted on the substrate, a magnet component fixed to one first region facing each other in the two-fold state of the substrate, and a metal component fixed to a portion of the other second region facing each other in the two-fold state of the substrate that can be magnetically attached to the magnet component and can be magnetically attached to the magnet component, a magnetic sensor provided in the second region of the substrate for detecting the magnetic field of the magnet component, and a switch circuit for starting the operation of the electronic components when the magnetic sensor detects the magnetic field of the magnet component.

[0007] As described above, according to the present invention, a magnet component and a metal component are provided on the substrate that can be folded in two so as to face each other in the two-fold state, and further, a magnetic sensor for detecting the magnetic field of the magnet component in the two-fold state is provided. Therefore, the power can be surely turned on when wearing. According to the present invention, operation omissions such as forgetting to press the power button by the user can be reduced.

[0008] Figure 1 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a mounting device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 is a plan view showing a partial configuration of a mounting device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 3 is a plan view showing a partial configuration of a mounting device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 4 is a plan view showing a partial configuration of a mounting device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 5A is a cross-sectional view showing a partial configuration of a mounting device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 5B is an explanatory diagram for explaining the detection of the magnetic sensor 105 by the magnetic component 103. Figure 6A is an explanatory diagram showing an example of mounting of the mounting device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 6B is an explanatory diagram showing an example of mounting of the mounting device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 7A is an explanatory diagram showing an example of mounting of the mounting device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 7B is an explanatory diagram showing an example of mounting of the mounting device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 8 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of mounting of the mounting device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0009] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention, the mounting device 100, will be described with reference to Figures 1 and 2. The mounting device 100 is a so-called wearable device, and first comprises a flexible substrate 101 that can be folded in half, and electronic components 102 mounted on the substrate 101.

[0010] Furthermore, the mounting device 100 includes a magnetic component 103 fixed to one of the first regions 121 facing each other when the substrate 101 is folded in half, and a metal component 104 fixed to the other of the second regions 122 facing each other when the substrate 101 is folded in half. The metal component 104 is fixed to a location where it can be magnetically attached to the magnetic component 103 when the substrate is folded in half. Moreover, the metal component 104 is designed to be magnetically attached to the magnetic component 103.

[0011] Furthermore, the mounting device 100 includes a magnetic sensor 105 provided in the second region 122 of the substrate 101 for detecting the magnetic field of the magnetic component 103, and a switch circuit 106 that starts the operation of the electronic component 102 when the magnetic sensor 105 detects the magnetic field of the magnetic component 103.

[0012] Furthermore, the mounting device 100 may include a covering structure 107 made of a flexible material that covers at least a portion of the substrate 101, electronic components 102, magnetic components 103, metal components 104, magnetic sensor 105, and switch circuit 106. The covering structure 107 molds and protects each component mounted on the substrate 101. The covering structure 107 does not need to cover the entire substrate 101, but can be a structure that partially covers the area where the components are mounted.

[0013] The substrate 101 can preferably be a flexible substrate such as a flexible printed circuit board, a rigid-flexible substrate, or a multilayer flexible substrate made of polyimide. Furthermore, the areas on the substrate 101 where electronic components 102 are mounted can be made of a material with a higher Young's modulus than other areas.

[0014] The electronic component 102 can be, for example, a chip resistor, a chip capacitor, an MPU (Micro Processing Unit), a wireless communication module, a sensor module for measuring biological signals, or a stimulation module for providing vibration or electrical stimulation. The electronic component 102 can be mounted on the substrate 101 by well-known solder flow methods, solder reflow methods, etc.

[0015] The magnetic component 103 can be made from, for example, a rare-earth magnet such as a neodymium magnet or samarium-cobalt magnet, or a hard magnetic material such as a ferrite magnet or an alnico magnet. The metal component 104 can be made from a well-known magnetic material. The metal component 104 can also be a magnet.

[0016] The coating structure 107 can be made of, for example, an elastomer such as rubber or a silicone ladder polymer resin.

[0017] The mounting device 100 is folded in half, and a piece of cloth 110, such as clothing, is sandwiched between the magnetic component 103 and the metal component 104. The clamping force generated by the magnetic attraction between the magnetic component 103 and the metal component 104 secures the device to the cloth 110. In this folded state, the magnetic field of the magnetic component 103 becomes detectable by the magnetic sensor 105, the switch circuit 106 turns on, and the electronic component 102 starts operating.

[0018] In this way, by attaching the mounting device 100 to clothing or the like, the electronic component 102 is automatically activated and the mounting device 100 begins to operate, thus reducing the burden on the user and preventing them from forgetting to turn on the power.

[0019] As shown in Figure 2, the substrate 101 can be folded in half along its long side. When the substrate 101 is unfolded, the straight line 151 passing through the magnetic component 103 and the metal component 104 is approximately perpendicular to the bend line 152 between the first region 121 and the second region 122. The substrate 101 is folded in half along the bend line 152. It is preferable that the straight line 151 passes through the center of the substrate 101 in the short side direction. It is also preferable that the detection area 105a of the magnetic sensor 105 be positioned on the straight line 151.

[0020] In this example, when the substrate 101 is folded in half, it shifts forward and backward relative to the direction perpendicular to the bending line 152. Therefore, by aligning the straight line 151 on which the magnetic component 103 and the metal component 104 are positioned to pass through the center of the short side of the substrate 101, the magnetic component 103 can be brought close to the magnetic sensor 105 when folded in half, allowing the magnetic sensor 105 to detect the magnetic field of the magnetic component 103 effectively.

[0021] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 3, the substrate 101 can be folded in half along its shorter side. Note that folding it in half along its shorter side requires a greater force, so it is desirable to increase the magnetic force of the magnetic component 103. Alternatively, by making the metal component 104 a magnet, the magnetic attraction between the magnetic component 103 and the metal component 104 can be increased, thereby enabling folding in half along its shorter side.

[0022] When the substrate 101 is folded in half, the magnetic component 103 and the metal component 104 may not face each other with their centers aligned, but rather with their centers offset. In this case, even when the substrate 101 is folded in half, the magnetic sensor 105 may not be able to detect the magnetic field of the magnetic component 103. To address this, by using a magnetic component 103a with a larger surface area than the metal component 104, it becomes easier to position the magnetic sensor 105 so that it faces the magnetic component 103 when the substrate is folded in half (Figure 4).

[0023] Furthermore, when clamping an object with a thickness of several millimeters or more, it is desirable that the metal part 104 is also made of a hard magnetic material. However, since the magnetic sensor 105 is located nearby, there is a risk that it will always be in a detection state. In response to this, it is possible to suppress malfunctions by making the magnetic flux direction 131 detected by the magnetic sensor 105 horizontal (approximately parallel) to the plane of the substrate 101 (Figure 5A). Since the magnetic sensor 105 is located on the side of the metal part 104, the main magnetic flux of the metal part 104 passing through the magnetic sensor 105 is in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the substrate 101.

[0024] In contrast, the magnetic flux from the magnetic component 103, which is positioned opposite each other when the device is folded in half, includes a component in the direction horizontal to the plane of the substrate 101 because it loops around the magnetic component 103. Therefore, by limiting the magnetic detection direction of the magnetic sensor 105 to the horizontal direction, it is possible to detect only the magnetic flux from the magnetic component 103 positioned opposite each other. In this way, the electronic component 102 can be activated by the folding action. For example, an MR element is suitable as the magnetic sensor 105 because its magnetic detection direction is horizontal. Also, since reed switches generally have a horizontal magnetic detection direction, the magnetic sensor 105 and the switch circuit 106 can be configured using a reed switch.

[0025] Furthermore, the detection direction of the magnetic sensor 105 does not need to be strictly horizontal; it may include directional components other than horizontal, such as ±15 degrees horizontal or ±30 degrees horizontal. If there is a risk of detecting the magnetic flux of the metal component 104 by including a direction that is not horizontal to the plane of the substrate 101 as the detection direction, the distance between the metal component 104 and the magnetic sensor 105 can be increased to fall below the detection standard of the magnetic sensor 105, thereby enabling good detection of the magnetic flux of the magnet component 103.

[0026] Regarding false detection by the magnetic sensor 105 due to the magnetic component 103, as shown in Figure 5B, let h be the vertical distance between the center 121 of the magnetic component 103 and the center 122 of the magnetic detection area of ​​the magnetic sensor 105, and let w be the horizontal distance. The angle θ between them can be expressed as arctan(h / w). Since the magnetic sensor 105 and the magnetic component 103 are located in the same area, the magnetic sensor 105 is positioned on the side of the magnetic component 103. Therefore, the magnetic field vector H that the magnetic sensor 105 receives from the magnetic component 103 generally follows this θ, and its horizontal component can be approximated as Hsinθ. False detection by the magnetic sensor 105 can be prevented by setting the detection criterion of the magnetic sensor 105 to be greater than Hsinθ, or by changing the thickness or distance of the magnetic sensor 105 or the magnetic component 103.

[0027] The attachment device 100 according to this embodiment can be attached to clothing 201, for example, as illustrated in Figures 6A and 6B. Furthermore, as shown in Figures 7A and 7B, the attachment device 100 can be attached to underwear 202.

[0028] Furthermore, the attachment device 100 can be attached to an accessory 203 already being worn, such as a wristwatch, for applications such as measuring biosignals. For example, by attaching the attachment device 100, which is equipped with a Doppler sensor and a pressure sensor as electronic components 102, to a seat belt, it becomes possible to measure heart rate and respiration. Because the attachment device 100 can be attached to underwear or a seat belt, it can be closely fitted to the body without using adhesive materials, thereby realizing a biomonitor that reduces user discomfort.

[0029] Furthermore, the mounting device 100 can be attached to thin films such as paper or film sheets, plate-shaped members, rod-shaped objects such as cables or support columns, and can be used with any additional functions such as a light source, sensor, or actuator.

[0030] As described above, according to the embodiment of the present invention, a magnetic component and a metal component are provided on a foldable substrate so as to face each other when folded, and a magnetic sensor is provided to detect the magnetic field of the magnetic component when folded, so that the power can be reliably turned on when mounting. According to the present invention, operational errors such as the user forgetting to press the power button are reduced.

[0031] It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and it is clear that many modifications and combinations can be implemented within the technical concept of the present invention by those with ordinary skill in the art.

[0032] 100... Mounting device, 101... Substrate, 102... Electronic component, 103... Magnetic component, 104... Metal component, 105... Magnetic sensor, 106... Switch circuit, 107... Covering structure, 110... Fabric, 121... First region, 122... Second region.

Claims

1. A mounting device comprising: a flexible substrate that can be folded in half; an electronic component mounted on the substrate; a magnetic component fixed to one first region of the substrate facing each other when folded in half; a metal component fixed to a location in the other second region of the substrate facing each other when folded in half, at a location where it can be magnetically attached to the magnetic component when folded in half, and which can be magnetically attached to the magnetic component; a magnetic sensor provided in the second region of the substrate for detecting the magnetic field of the magnetic component; and a switch circuit that starts the operation of the electronic component when the magnetic sensor detects the magnetic field of the magnetic component.

2. The mounting device according to claim 1, wherein the metal part is a magnet.

3. The mounting device according to claim 2, wherein the magnetic sensor detects a magnetic field in a direction substantially parallel to the plane of the substrate.

4. The mounting device according to claim 1, wherein, with the substrate unfolded, the straight line passing through the magnetic component and the metal component is substantially perpendicular to the curved line between the first region and the second region, and the magnetic sensor is positioned on the straight line passing through the magnetic component and the metal component.

5. The mounting device according to claim 1, wherein the magnetic component has a larger surface area than the metal component.

6. A mounting device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, comprising a covering structure made of a flexible material formed to cover at least a portion of the substrate, the electronic component, the magnetic component, the metal component, the magnetic sensor, and the switch circuit.

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