Integrated Heart Rate Monitoring Garment with Embedded Electronics
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional heart rate monitors are uncomfortable, restrictive, and prone to slipping due to their design, which requires tight bands made of materials that trap moisture and necessitate additional equipment and maintenance.
Innovation Solution
A heart rate monitoring garment with an integrated transmitter, power source, and electrodes that can be worn, washed, and discarded as a single unit, providing a more comfortable and less obtrusive monitoring solution by embedding these components within the fabric.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a tight band is used to keep the transmitter in position, then the transmitter remains stable, but the garment becomes restrictive and uncomfortable
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates the transmitter, power source, and electrodes directly into the garment fabric itself, eliminating the need for a separate tight band. The garment structure combines multiple functional components into a unified wearable unit that maintains transmitter stability through integration rather than tight constriction.
Solution Approach 2:
The garment serves multiple functions simultaneously: it provides the transmitter housing, contains the power source, incorporates electrodes for heart rate detection, and acts as the wearable structure itself. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate components and tight bands.
2Adaptability or versatility
If elastic materials are used to provide stretch, then the band can accommodate different chest dimensions, but moisture from perspiration is trapped causing discomfort
Solution Approach 1:
The patent specifies using porous or mesh-like fabric materials that allow moisture vapor to pass through while maintaining structural integrity and stretch capability. This enables the garment to accommodate different chest dimensions without trapping perspiration against the skin.
Solution Approach 2:
The garment employs composite material construction combining elastic fibers for stretch with moisture-wicking or breathable materials that allow perspiration to escape, resolving the contradiction between adaptability and moisture management.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the band is made as a separate component, then it can be adjusted to fit, but additional steps for strapping, adjusting, and cleaning are required
Solution Approach 1:
The transmitter, power source, electrodes, and garment are merged into a single integrated unit. This eliminates separate strapping and adjusting steps, as the garment itself provides the structural framework and fit adjustment through its design, reducing overall setup and maintenance complexity.
4Ease of manufacture
If multiple separate components are used, then each can be optimized independently, but the quantity of equipment increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the transmitter, power source, electrodes, and garment into a single integrated unit, reducing the total quantity of equipment from multiple separate components to one unified wearable device, while maintaining the ability to optimize each functional element during the design and manufacturing process.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution reduces the quantity of equipment needed during exercise, enhances comfort, and prevents slipping, while allowing for easy washing and disposal, maintaining the components' functionality without requiring separate adjustments or cleaning.
Implementation Method 1
The electrodes 12 detect electrical signals generated by the heart
Implementation Method 2
The transmitter is adapted for providing information, such as a signal, representative of the user's heart rate
Data Source
AI summary
A garment adapted for monitoring a user's heart rate includes material, a transmitter, one or more electrodes, and a power source. The transmitter, electrodes, and power source are integrated with the material. The electrodes and power source are operatively coupled to the transmitter, and the electrodes are responsive to the user's heart rate. The garment is adapted for being worn, washed, and discarded with the electrodes, transmitter, and power source integrated therewith. A method of monitoring heart rate includes integrating a transmitter, electrodes, and power source with a garment, coupling the electrodes operatively to the transmitter, coupling the power source operatively to the transmitter, and adapting the garment for being worn, washed, and discarded with the transmitter, electrodes, and power source integrated therewith.