Wearable Resistance Switch Assembly for Low-Power User Input
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional wearable electronic devices face limitations in performance and functionality due to their design, manufacturing, and packaging techniques, which result in issues such as high power consumption, mechanical complexity, and difficulty in providing humidity/water resistance, making them less robust and more expensive than desired.
Innovation Solution
The development of wearable electronic devices that incorporate a resistance switch with electrodes for user interaction, allowing low power consumption and robustness, along with substrate-less semiconductor package assemblies that can fit snugly into wearable support structures, enabling arbitrary shape factors and reducing costs by eliminating the need for additional support mechanisms.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional design and manufacturing techniques are used for wearable electronic devices, then devices can be produced using standard methods, but performance and capabilities are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The device is divided into separate functional modules: a wearable support structure (glasses frame, bracelet, or ring), electrodes integrated into the support structure, and a resistance switch component. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently while maintaining overall device performance and reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from conventional planar circuit board layouts to three-dimensional spatial arrangements of electrodes and circuit elements within the wearable support structure. This dimensional change enables more efficient use of space and improved device capabilities without increasing overall complexity.
2Reliability
If conventional switches are used in wearable devices, then switching functionality is provided, but power consumption increases and robustness decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces conventional mechanical switches with a resistance switch implemented through electrodes and body contact. This substitution eliminates mechanical moving parts, reducing power consumption and increasing device robustness while maintaining switching functionality through electrical resistance changes detected by the electrodes.
Solution Approach 2:
The resistance switch utilizes the user's body as part of the switching mechanism. The body's natural electrical properties serve the switching function, eliminating the need for separate power-consuming switching components and reducing overall device complexity.
3Reliability
If conventional packaging techniques are used, then devices can be manufactured with standard packaging, but humidity and water resistance are difficult to achieve
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs conformal coating techniques to apply protective thin film layers over the electrodes and circuit elements. These flexible protective layers provide effective barriers against humidity and water penetration while conforming to the three-dimensional geometry of the wearable device components, maintaining ease of manufacture through established coating processes.
4Ease of manufacture
If substrate-less semiconductor package assemblies are used, then arbitrary shape factors are enabled and costs are reduced, but additional support mechanisms are eliminated
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the traditional semiconductor substrate from the package assembly, extracting only the essential functional elements (electrodes and circuit components) and mounting them directly to the wearable support structure. This elimination of the substrate reduces manufacturing costs and simplifies the overall device architecture while maintaining structural integrity through direct integration.
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
This solution provides wearable electronic devices with low power consumption, robustness, and cost-effectiveness, while allowing for arbitrary shape factors and improved reliability, addressing the limitations of conventional technologies.
Implementation Method 1
a resistance switch having first and second input terminals coupled to the first and second electrodes, respectively
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments of wearable electronic devices, components thereof, and related systems and techniques are disclosed herein. For example, a wearable electronic device may include a wearable support structure having a first surface and a second surface; a first electrode located at the first surface, wherein, when the wearable electronic device is worn by a user on a portion of the user's body, the first electrode is arranged to contact the user's skin in the portion of the user's body; a second electrode located at the second surface, wherein, when the wearable electronic device is worn by a user on the portion of the user's body, the second electrode is arranged to not contact the user's skin in the portion of the user's body; and a resistance switch having first and second input terminals coupled to the first and second electrodes, respectively. Other embodiments may be disclosed and/or claimed.