Flexible Finger Wearable Shell for Swelling Adaptation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Finger-worn health monitoring devices, such as smart rings, face challenges in fitting different finger sizes and accommodating temporary changes due to swelling, leading to difficulties in putting on and taking off, and inadequate adaptability.
Innovation Solution
A finger wearable device with a circular metal shell that includes opposing ends allowing flexibility, featuring a flexible circuit board and encapsulant for improved fit and signal consistency, enabling a tighter fit below the knuckle and better skin contact for sensors.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If smart rings are produced in different sizes to fit different finger sizes, then the device can accommodate various finger sizes, but the device becomes difficult to put on and take off and cannot adapt to temporary swelling
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the dynamics principle by making the ring structure flexible and adjustable rather than rigid and fixed. The ring includes a flexible band that can dynamically adapt its circumference to match finger size changes, allowing the same ring to fit different finger sizes and accommodate temporary swelling without requiring multiple fixed sizes.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies parameter changes by enabling the ring's physical parameters (circumference, flexibility) to change dynamically. The flexible band can alter its effective size parameter to match the user's finger size, transforming the ring from a static fixed-size design to a dynamic adaptive design that responds to finger dimensional changes.
2Reliability
If the ring is made tighter to fit below the knuckle, then the fit is more secure and skin contact is improved, but the ring becomes difficult to put on and take off
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible band allows the ring to dynamically adjust its tightness during use. It can be tightened sufficiently during wear to ensure secure fit and good skin contact for sensors, yet remain flexible enough during putting on and taking off to avoid excessive difficulty, resolving the contradiction between secure fit and ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses a flexible band (flexible shell) that can deform and conform to the finger shape while maintaining a secure fit. This flexible structure allows the ring to achieve tight enough contact for reliable sensor signals while still being manageable for putting on and taking off, unlike rigid rings that would be difficult to manipulate.
Data Source
AI summary
A finger wearable health monitoring device is disclosed. In an embodiment, a finger wearable health monitoring device includes a circular metal shell, the circular metal shell comprising a strip of metal that includes an outer surface and an inner surface and two opposing ends, sensor electronics adjacent the inner surface of the circular metal shell, and encapsulant formed over the sensor electronics and on the inner surface of the circular metal shell, and the sensor electronics includes a flexible portion of a circuit board that is opposite the two opposing ends of the circular metal shell.