GB2604111A

GB2604111A - Electronics module and assembly comprising electronics module and fabric article

Info

Publication number: GB2604111A
Application number: GB2102546.5A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Riaz Naeem
Original assignee: Prevayl Innovations Ltd
Current assignee: Prevayl Innovations Ltd
Priority date: 2021-02-23
Filing date: 2021-02-23
Publication date: 2022-08-31
Also published as: GB202114341D0; GB202102546D0

Abstract

A wearable assembly comprises an electronics module 100. The module comprises main body 101 comprising a processor. A biosignal detection portion 103 is connected to the main body and comprises at least one sensing component 109, 111 for detecting a biosignal from a wearer. The sensing component is communicatively coupled to the processor. A wearable article 200 comprises a fabric layer 201 having an outer surface 202 and an inner surface 204. At least one opening 203, 205 extends through the fabric layer from the outer surface to the inner surface. At least part of the biological signal detection portion extends through the opening such that the sensing component is positioned on the inner surface of the fabric layer. The wearable article may be configured to apply compression, which may be by an elastic material, to the signal detection portion to urge the sensing component towards the skin of the wearer. At least part of the signal detection portion may be arranged to extend through the opening such that the sensing component is positioned on the inner surface and the main body is positioned on the outer surface.

Description

ELECTRONICS MODULE AND ASSEMBLY COMPRISING ELECTRONICS MODULE AND FABRIC ARTICLE

The present invention is directed towards a wearable assembly comprising an electronics module and a wearable article. The electronics module is arranged to be removably coupled to the wearable article and comprises sensing components for monitoring signals from a wearer of the wearable assembly.

Background

Wearable assemblies can be designed to interface with a wearer of the assembly, and to determine information such as the wearer's heart rate, rate of respiration, activity level, and body positioning. Such properties can be measured with a sensor assembly that includes a sensor for signal transduction and/or microprocessors for analysis. The wearable assemblies comprise wearable articles which may be garments. Such garments are commonly referred to as 'smart clothing' and may also be referred to as 'biosensing garments' if they measure biosignals.

Components of the sensor assembly such as electrodes may be provided in a fabric layer of the wearable article while a removable electronics module may be provided for processing and communication. Electrically conductive pathways provided with the fabric layer allow for signal transmission between an electronics module and sensing components of the article.

Providing sensing components in the wearable article can increase the cost and complexity of the wearable article as additional manufacturing and assembly steps are required. These steps may not normally be performed during traditional garment manufacture and so wearable articles with sensing components are challenging to integrate into established garment manufacturing processes. Moreover, it can be challenging to wash and maintain wearable articles that include sensing components as fabric conditioners, wash temperature and washing detergents can diminish the performance of sensing components incorporated into a wearable article US Patent No. 9,138,158 B2 discloses a heart rate measuring apparatus that can be attached to a person's chest to detect cardiac signals. The heart rate measuring apparatus comprises an apparatus main body and a pair of heart rate detecting parts that are integrally provided on both sides of the apparatus main body. The pair of heart rate detecting parts include electrodes provided on an external surface of the pair of heart rate detecting parts.

The apparatus main body and heart rate detecting parts are removably attached to a chest strap. The chest strap includes hooks that hook on to coupling members provided on the apparatus main body so as to form the removable attachment between the apparatus main body and the chest strap. The chest strap further includes free rings that form a press-fit with protrusions on the heart rate detecting parts so as to couple the heart rate detecting parts to the chest strap.

The approach disclosed in US Patent No. 9,138,158 B2 requires a complicated construction for the chest strap, apparatus main body, and heart rate detecting parts to provide the desired removable coupling. This approach requires hardware elements to be incorporated into the chest strap which can increase the cost of manufacture and decrease the comfort for the wearer. Moreover, the complicated fastening arrangement requires both coupling hooks to the main body and forming a press-fit between the heart rate detecting parts and the chest strap. This can be cumbersome for the wearer.

It is an object of the present disclosure to provide an improved mechanism for coupling an electronics module comprising sensing components to a wearable article.

Summary

According to the present disclosure there is provided a wearable assembly as set forth in the appended claims. Other features of the invention will be apparent from the dependent claims, and the description which follows.

According to a first aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a wearable assembly comprising an electronics module and a wearable article. The electronics module comprises a main body comprising a processor; a biological signal ("biosignal") detection portion connected to the main body, the biosignal detection portion comprising at least one sensing component for detecting a biosignal from a wearer of the wearable assembly, the at least one sensing component being communicatively coupled to the processor. The wearable article comprises a fabric layer having an outer surface and an inner surface; and at least one opening extending through the fabric layer from the outer surface to the inner surface. At least part of the biological signal detection portion is arranged to extend through the opening such that the at least one sensing component is positioned on the inner surface of the fabric layer.

Advantageously, the electronics module, which is arranged to be removably coupled to the wearable article, comprises the sensing components. This means that sensing components do not need to be integrated into the wearable article. This simplifies the cost and construction of the wearable article and enables the wearable article to be manufactured using established techniques used in garment manufacture. Moreover, the coupling between the electronics module and the wearable article is provided by openings formed in the wearable article. This avoids the need for complicated and costly hardware fastening members to be incorporated into the wearable article.

The wearable article may be configured to apply compression to the at least part of the biological signal detection portion so as to urge the at least one sensing component towards a skin surface of the wearer of the wearable assembly. In this way, compression provided by the wearable article enables a good and consistent signal coupling between the sensing component and the skin surface. Additional hardware elements are not required to provide the signal coupling.

The compression may be provided by an elastic material of the wearable article.

The fabric layer may comprise the elastic material.

The elastic material may comprise a stretch yarn that is knitted or woven with the fabric layer.

The fabric material defining the at least one opening may be arranged to urge against the biological signal detection portion so as to hold the electronics module in position relative to the wearable article. The fabric material defining the at least one opening may comprise the elastic material.

At least part of the biological signal detection portion may be arranged to extend through the opening such that the at least one sensing component is positioned on the inner surface of the fabric layer and the main body is positioned on the outer surface of the fabric layer.

The biological signal detection portion may comprise a first arm and a second arm positioned on opposing sides of the main body.

The at least one opening may comprises a first opening and a second opening.

At least part of the first arm may be arranged to extend through the first opening. At least part of the second arm may be arranged to extend through the second opening.

The at least one sensing component may comprise a plurality of sensing components. Each of the first arm and the second arm may comprise at least one of the sensing components.

The at least one sensing component may comprise an electrode.

The electrode may be provided on an inner surface of the biological signal detection portion.

The electrode may extends away from the inner surface of the biological signal detection portion. A three-dimensional electrode may provide for an enhanced signal coupling with the skin surface that is more robust against motion of the wearer.

The biosignal detection portion may be permanently coupled to the main body. The biosignal detection portion may be formed integrally with the main body.

The electronics module may further comprise a power source.

The electronics module may further comprise a communicator for wirelessly communicating with an external device, the communicator is communicatively coupled to the processor.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Examples of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figures 1 to 3 show top, side and bottom views of an example wearable assembly

according to aspects of the present disclosure;

Figures 4 to 6 show perspective, top and bottom views of an example electronics module

according to aspects of the present disclosure;

Figure 7 shows a schematic diagram for an example electronics module according to

aspects of the present disclosure.

Detailed Description

The following description with reference to the accompanying drawings is provided to assist in a comprehensive understanding of various embodiments of the disclosure as defined by the claims and their equivalents. It includes various specific details to assist in that understanding but these are to be regarded as merely exemplary. Accordingly, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that various changes and modifications of the various embodiments described herein can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the disclosure. In addition, descriptions of well-known functions and constructions may be omitted for clarity and conciseness.

The terms and words used in the following description and claims are not limited to the bibliographical meanings, but, are merely used by the inventor to enable a clear and consistent understanding of the disclosure. Accordingly, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the following description of various embodiments of the disclosure is provided for illustration purpose only and not for the purpose of limiting the disclosure as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

It is to be understood that the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

"Wearable article" as referred to throughout the present disclosure may refer to any form of article which may be wom by a user such as a smart watch, necklace, bracelet, headphones, in-ear headphones, or glasses. The wearable article may be a textile article. The wearable article may be a garment. The garment may refer to an item of clothing or apparel. The garment may be a top. The top may be a shirt, t-shirt, blouse, sweater, jacket/coat, or vest. The garment may be a dress, brassiere, shorts, pants, arm or leg sleeve, vest, jacket/coat, glove, armband, underwear, headband, hat/cap, collar, wristband, chestband, armband, stocking, sock, or shoe, athletic clothing, swimwear, personal protection equipment, wetsuit or drysuit.

The wearable article/garment may be constructed from a woven or a non-woven material. The wearable article/garment may be constructed from natural fibres, synthetic fibres, or a natural fibre blended with one or more other materials which can be natural or synthetic. The yam may be cotton. The cotton may be blended with polyester and/or viscose and/or polyamide according to the particular application. Silk may also be used as the natural fibre. Cellulose, wool, hemp and jute are also natural fibres that may be used in the wearable article/garment. Polyester, polycotton, nylon and viscose are synthetic fibres that may be used in the wearable article/garment.

The garment may be a tight-fitting garment. Beneficially, a tight-fitting garment helps ensure that the sensor devices of the garment are held in contact with or in the proximity of a skin surface of the wearer. The garment may be a compression garment. The garment may be an athletic garment such as an elastomeric athletic garment. The present disclosure is not limited to wearable articles for humans and includes wearable articles for animals such as animal collars, jackets and sleeves.

Referring to Figures 1 to 3, there is shown a wearable assembly 1 according to aspects of the

present disclosure.

The wearable assembly 1 comprises an electronics module 100. The electronics module 100 comprises a main body 101 and a biological signal detection portion 103. The biological signal detection portion 103 comprises a pair of arms 105, 107 that extend from the sides of the main body 101 in opposing directions.

The biological signal detection portion 103 in this example is formed integrally with the main body 101. This means that the biological signal detection portion 103 and the main body 101 form a unitary structure. The biological signal detection portion 103 is permanently coupled to the main body 101 and is not removable from the main body 101 in use.

The main body 101 has a housing that houses internal electronic components described below in relation to Figure 7. The internal electronic components include a processor. The main body 101 has an approximately cylindrical or disc shape in this example but is not limited to this shape and could, for example, have a rectangular or elliptical cross-section.

The electronics module 100 has an outer surface 102 and an inner surface 104. The biological signal detection portion 103 comprises sensing components 109, 111 that are operable to sense a biological signal from the inner surface 104 of the electronics module 100. In this example, the sensing components 109, 111 are electrodes 109, 111 provided on the inner surface 104 of the electronics module 100. The electrodes 109, 111 are positioned externally on the inner surface 104 of the electronics module 100. The electrodes 109, 111 are suitable for monitoring an electrical signal when placed close to or in contact with a skin surface S of a wearer of the assembly 1 as shown in Figure 2.

The inner surface 104 of the main body 101 and the inner surfaces 104 of the biological signal detection portion 103 may extend along substantially the same plane as shown in the Figures but this is not required in all examples. For example, the arms 105, 107 may slope downwardly from the inner surface 104 of the main body 101 such that the inner surface 104 of the arms 105, 107 is not aligned with the inner surface 104 of the main body 101.

The arms 105, 107 may be made of a flexible material such as an elastomeric material such that the arms 105, 107 are able to bend easily. This aids in inserting the arms 105, 107 through openings 203, 205 formed in the fabric layer 201 as described below. The arms 105, 107 may be flexible relative to the main body 101. The main body 101 may be constructed from a rigid polymeric material The electrodes 109, 111 are formed from a conductive material. The conductive material could be a metal, a polymer or a conductive elastomer amongst other examples. Conductive elastomers include an elastomeric base material which is made conductive by distributing a conductive material into the elastomeric material. Conductive particles such as carbon black and silica are commonly used to form conductive elastomeric materials, but the present disclosure is not limited to these examples. Example conductive elastomers include conductive silicon rubber containing carbon black (or other conductive material), conductive rubber containing carbon black (or other conductive material) and conductive polyurethane containing carbon black (or other conductive material).

The electrodes 109, 111 as shown in Figure 2 have a planar profile and are substantially flush with the inner surface 104 of the electronics module. In other examples, the electrodes 109, 111 may extend away from the inner surface 104 to form a raised, three-dimensional, profile.

The electrodes 109, 111 may be arranged to measure one or more biological signals ("biosignals") of a user wearing the wearable article 200. Here, "biosignal" may refer to any signal in a living being that can be measured and monitored. The electrodes 109, 111 are generally for performing bioelectric,a1 or bioimpedance measurements. Bioelectrical measurements include electrocardiograms (ECG), electrogastrograms (EGG), electroencephalograms (EEG), and electromyography (EMG). Bioimpedance measurements include plethysmography (e.g., for respiration), body composition (e.g., hydration, fat, etc.), and electroimpedance tomography (Eli). The electrodes 109, 111 may additionally or separately be used to apply an electrical signal to the wearer. This may be used in medical treatment or therapy applications.

The present disclosure is not limited to sensing components 109, 111 in the form of electrodes.

Other example sensing components 109, 111 include optical sensors, chemical sensors and temperature sensors.

The optical sensor may measure light in one or more of the infrareds, visible, and ultraviolet spectrums. The optical sensor may be a pulse oximeter. The optical sensor may be arranged to measure the oxygen saturation of the wearer. Oxygen saturation is the fraction of oxygen-saturated haemoglobin relative to total haemoglobin (unsaturated + saturated) in the blood. The optical sensor may be arranged to measure the capillary perfusion of the wearer. A pulse oximeter may be useable to measure the capillary perfusion using a double-wavelength method.

The capillary perfusion can be derived from a variation in the detected signal strength. The optical sensor may be arranged to measure the temperature of the wearer.

The temperature sensor may be an infrared temperature sensor arranged to measure the skin surface temperature of a user wearing the wearable article 200.

The chemical sensor may be arranged to measure the chemical properties of one or more analytes on or obtained from a skin surface of the wearer 200.

The biological signal detection portion 103 may additionally or separately comprise a biofeedback unit arranged to apply a stimulus to the wearer when worn. The stimulus may be a vibrational, electrical, optical or thermal stimulus. Preferred examples apply an electrical feedback to the user such as by applying a current to the skin surface. The biofeedback unit may be arranged to perform transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation.

B

The wearable assembly 1 comprises a wearable article 200. The wearable article 200 comprises a fabric layer 201 having an outer surface 202 (Figure 1) and an inner surface 204 (Figure 3) and a pair of openings 203, 205 that extend through the fabric layer 201 from the outer surface 202 to the inner surface 204. The inner surface 204 faces towards the skin surface S (Figure 2) of the wearer when the article 200 is worn. The outer surface 202 faces away from the wearer The fabric layer 201 is a non-conductive fabric layer. The fabric layer 201 may be knitted or woven from non-conductive yarn. The fabric layer 201 may incorporate a stretch yarn such as an elastomeric yarn.

The wearable article 200 in this example is part of a garment. The garment may for example be a strap such as a chest strap, a top (e.g., at-shirt, vest, or shirt) or a bra. Other example garments are described above.

The arms 105, 107 of the electronics module 100 are inserted through the openings 203, 205 such that part of the electronics module 100 is positioned below the inner surface 204 of the fabric layer 201 and part of the electronics module 100 is positioned above the outer surface 202 of the fabric layer 201. Feeding the arms 105, 107 through the openings 203, 205 couples the electronics module 100 to the wearable article 200. The coupling is removable as the arms 105, 107 can be pulled back through the openings 203, 205 to separate the electronics module 100 from the wearable article 200.

In this arrangement, the electronics module 100 is coupled to the wearable article 200 simply by feeding the arms 105, 107 through the openings 203, 205 formed in the fabric layer 201. This means that hardware elements such as hooks and other forms of fasteners are not required to be provided on the fabric layer 201 which simplifies the construction of the fabric layer 201 and increases the comfort of the assembly 1 when worn. Moreover, the assembly 1 is easier to use as multiple attachment steps are not required to couple the electronics module 100 to the wearable article 200.

At least part of the biological signal detection portion 103 is positioned below the inner surface 204 of the fabric layer 201 as result of the arms 105, 107 being inserted through the openings 203, 205. In this example a majority portion of the arms 105, 107 are positioned below the inner surface 204 of the fabric layer 201 as shown in Figure 2 such that sensing components 109, 111 face away from the inner surface 204 of the fabric layer 201 and towards the skin surface S. This enables the sensing components 109, 111 to monitor signals from the skin surface S when the wearable assembly 1 is worn.

The main body 101 of the electronics module 100 is positioned above the outer surface 202 of the fabric layer 201. The main body 101 is thus separated from the skin surface S by the fabric layer 201.

The fabric layer 201 comprises a first portion 207 that is positioned below the main body 201.

The first potion 207 is provided between the skin surface S and the main body 201. The fabric layer 201 comprises second portions 209, 211 which include the openings 203, 205 through which the arms 105, 107 extend. The fabric layer 201 comprises third portions 213,215 that are positioned above the arms 105, 107. The arms 105, 107 are provided between the skin surface S and the third portions 213, 215 of the fabric layer 201. The second portions 209, 211 connect the first portion 207 to the third portions 213, 215. The fabric portions 207, 209, 211, 213, 215 may be integrally formed together as a unitary fabric structure.

The first fabric portion 207 is not shown in Figure 3 in order for the main body 101 positioned above the first fabric portion 207 to be visible. The third fabric portions 213, 215 are not shown in Figure 1 in order for the arms 105, 107 positioned below the third fabric portions 213, 215 to be visible.

The wearable article 200 applies compression to the electronics module 100 so as to urge the sensing components 109, 111 into contact with or into close proximity with the skin surface S (Figure 2) when worn. The compression can be achieved by incorporating an elastic material into the wearable article 200. The elastic material may be provided in a separate elastic layer to the fabric layer 201 or may be incorporated into the fabric layer 201 itself For example, the fabric layer 201 may be knitted or woven with yarns that have elastic properties. Such yarns may be referred to as stretch yarns such as elastomeric yarns.

In preferred examples, the fabric layer 201 comprises the elastic material. The third portions 213, 215 of the fabric layer 201 apply compression to the arms 105, 107 so as to urge the sensing components 109, 111 towards the skin surface S. This helps ensure consistent signal coupling between the sensing components 109, 111 and the skin surface S even when the wearer is moving. The openings 203, 205 are sized to be smaller than the arms 105, 107 such that the openings 203, 205 expand as the arms 105, 107 are inserted through the openings 203, 205 and the elastic fabric material bounding the openings 203, 205 grip the arms 105, 107 to hold them in a fixed position relative to the wearable article 200. In this way hook fasteners, press-studs or other hardware elements are not required to form the temporary coupling between the electronics module 100 and the fabric article 200.

The openings 203, 205 may be in the form of slits/buttonholes. Other forms of opening 203, 205 are within the scope of the present disclosure.

The fabric layer 201 may form a band that extends around a circumference (for example, the chest, waist or wrist) of the wearer when worn. The fabric layer 201 may apply compression to the wearer which can help hold the sensing components close to or in contact with the skin surface S as described above. The fabric layer 201 may be held in place on the wearer just through the compression provided by the wearable article 200. This means that additional length adjuster elements such as sliders are not required to provide a good and reliable signal coupling between the sensing components 109, 111 and the skin surface S. The wearable article 200 is not required to have any electrical components such as sensing components as the required sensing functionality is provided by the removable electronics module 100. This simplifies the construction of the wearable article 200 and makes the wearable article 200 easier to maintain and clean.

The wearable article 200 may additionally comprise a pocket layer that covers the electronics module 100 when coupled to the fabric article 200. The pocket layer helps prevent the electronics module 100 from coming into contact with sources of moisture such as from rain or a shower. The pocket layer may be provided with a waterproof lining in order to prevent the electronic module 100 from coming into contact with moisture.

The electronics module 100 is not permanently attached to the wearable article 200 such as by an adhesive and is instead removably coupled and held in temporarily in place by the openings 203, 205 of the fabric layer 201.

In the above examples, two sensing components 109, 111 are provided. This is not required in all examples one or a plurality of sensing components 109, 111 may be provided. More than two sensing components 109, 111 may be provided. The sensing components 109, 111 may be provided on one or two arms 105, 107 or may be provided on more than two arms 105, 107. For example, a number N of sensing components may be provided on a corresponding number N of arms.

Figures 4 to 6 show the electronics module 100 of Figures 1 to 3 in isolation. Figure 7 shows a simplified schematic diagram for the electronics module 100.

The electronics module 100 comprises a processor 113. The processor 113 is communicatively coupled to the sensing components 109, 111. Communication pathways such as conductive traces extend from the sensing components 109, 111 to the processor 113. These communication pathways are preferably provided within the arms 105, 107/main body 101 rather than externally but may be provided externally if desired. The processor 113 is preferably housed in the main body 101 but may be located in one or both of the arms 105, 107 if desired.

The processor 113 is arranged to receive measurement signals from the sensing components 109, 111 and may also able to send signals to the sensing components 109, 111.

The processor 113 may be a component of a controller such as a microcontroller. The controller may have an integral communicator such as a Bluetooth (i!C) antenna. The controller may have an internal memory and may also be communicatively connected to an external memory of the electronics module such as a NAND Flash memory. The memory is used to for the storage of data when no wireless connection is available between the electronics module 100 and a mobile device.

In this example, the sensing components 109, 111 are electrodes 109, 111 that measure electrical signals from the skin surface. The processor 113 is connected to electrodes 109, 111 via an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) fronted end. The ADC fronted end converts the raw analog signal received from electrodes 109, 111 into a digital signal. The ADC frontend may also perform filtering operations on the received signals.

The electronics module 100 further comprises a power source 115, electronics component 117 and communicator 119. Not all of these components are required in all examples. Furthermore, other components may additionally or separately be included in the electronics module 100. These components are housed within the main body 101 in this example but could be located in other locations such as within the arms 105, 107 if desired.

The power source 115 is coupled to the processor 113 and is arranged to supply power to the processor 113. The power source 115 may comprise a plurality of power sources. The power source 115 may be a battery. The battery may be a rechargeable battery. The battery may be a rechargeable battery adapted to be charged wirelessly such as by inductive charging. The power source 115 may comprise an energy harvesting device. The energy harvesting device may be configured to generate electric power signals in response to kinetic events such as kinetic events performed by a wearer of the garment. The kinetic event could include walking, running, exercising or respiration of the wearer. The energy harvesting material may comprise a piezoelectric material which generates electricity in response to mechanical deformation of the converter. The energy harvesting device may harvest energy from body heat of a wearer of the wearable article 200. The energy harvesting device may be a thermoelectric energy harvesting device. The power source may be a super capacitor, or an energy cell.

The power source 115 in this example is a lithium polymer battery 115. The battery 115 is rechargeable and charged via a USB C input of the electronics module 100. Of course, the present disclosure is not limited to recharging via USB and instead other forms of charging such as inductive of far field wireless charging are within the scope of the present disclosure.

Additional battery management functionality is provided in terms of a charge controller, battery monitor and regulator. These components may be provided through use of a dedicated power management integrated circuit (PMIC). The processor 113 is communicatively connected to the battery monitor such that the processor 113 may obtain information about the state of charge of the battery 115.

The electronics component 117 is communicatively coupled to the processor 113. The electronics component 117 may comprise an output unit such as a light source or haptic feedback unit. The light source may be arranged to emit light to indicate a status of the electronics module 100 or a property of a user wearing the wearable article, for example. The electronics component 117 may comprise a sensor. The sensor may be arranged to monitor a property of the user. The sensor may be, for example, a temperature sensor arranged to monitor a core body temperature or skin-surface temperature of the user. The sensor may be, for example, a humidity sensor arranged to monitor a hydration or sweat level of the user. The sensor may be a temperature sensor arranged to measure the skin temperature of the user wearing the garment. The temperature sensor may be a contact temperature sensor or a non-contact temperature sensor such as an infrared thermometer. Example contact temperature sensors include thermocouples and thermistors. The sensor may comprise an altitude sensor, presence sensor, or air quality sensor. The presence sensor may for detecting a touch input from a user. The presence sensor may comprise one or more of a capacitive sensor, inductive sensor, and ultrasonic sensor.

The communicator 119 enables the electronics module 100 to wirelessly communicate with another device such as a mobile device. Various protocols enable wireless communication between the electronics module 200 and the mobile device. Example communication protocols include Bluetooth 0, Bluetooth 0 Low Energy, and near-field communication (NFC). In some examples, the electronics module 100 may communicate over a long-range wireless communication protocol.

The communicator 119 is communicatively coupled to the processor 113. The communicator 119 may be a mobile/cellular communicator operable to communicate the data wirelessly via one or more base stations. The communicator 119 may provide wireless communication capabilities for the electronics module 100 and enables the electronics module 100 to communicate via one or more wireless communication protocols such as used for communication over: a wireless wide area network (VAN), a wireless metroarea network (VVMAN), a wireless local area network (VVLAN), a wireless personal area network (VVPAN), Bluetooth 0 Low Energy, Bluetooth 0 Mesh, Bluetooth 0 5, Thread, Zigbee, IEEE 802.15.4, Ant, Ante, a near field communication (NFC), a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), a cellular communication network, or any other electromagnetic RF communication protocol. The cellular communication network may be a fourth generation (4G) LTE, LTE Advanced (LTE-A), LTE Cat-Ml, LTE Cat-M2, NB-loT, fifth generation (5G), sixth generation (6G), and/or any other present or future developed cellular wireless network. A plurality of communicators may be provided for communicating over a combination of different communication protocols.

The removable electronic module 100 may contain all of the components required for data transmission, processing and sensing such that the integration of electronic components such as sensing components into the wearable article 200 is not required. In this way, manufacture of the wearable article 200 may be simplified. In addition, it may be easier to clean and wash a wearable article 200 as no electronic components are required to be permanently attached thereto or incorporated therein. The electronics module 100 can simply be removed from the wearable article 200 prior to washing the wearable article 200. Furthermore, the removable electronic module 100 may be easier to maintain and/or troubleshoot than embedded electronics. The electronic module 100 may comprise flexible electronics such as a flexible printed circuit (FPC).

In the present disclosure, the electronics module may also be referred to as an electronics device or unit. These terms may be used interchangeably.

In summary, there is provided a wearable assembly (1) comprising an electronics module (100) and a wearable article (200). A main body (101) of the electronics module (100) comprising a processor. A biosignal detection portion (103) is connected to the main body (101). The biological signal detection portion (103) comprises at least one sensing component (109, 111) for detecting a biosignal from a wearer of the assembly (1). The sensing component (109, 111) is communicatively coupled to the processor. The wearable article (200) comprises a fabric layer (201) having an outer surface (202) and an inner surface (204). At least one opening (203, 205) extends through the fabric layer (201) from the outer surface (202) to the inner surface (204). At least part of the biological signal detection portion (103) extends through the opening (203, 205) such that the sensing component (109, 111) is positioned on the inner surface (204) of the fabric layer (201). The electronics module (100) is held to the wearable article (200) via the openings (203, 205).

At least some of the example embodiments described herein may be constructed, partially or wholly, using dedicated special-purpose hardware. Terms such as 'component', 'module' or 'unit' used herein may include, but are not limited to, a hardware device, such as circuitry in the form of discrete or integrated components, a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), programmable System on Chip (pSoC), or Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), which performs certain tasks or provides the associated functionality. In some embodiments, the described elements may be configured to reside on a tangible, persistent, addressable storage medium and may be configured to execute on one or more processors. These functional elements may in some embodiments include, by way of example, components, such as software components, object-oriented software components, class components and task components, processes, functions, attributes, procedures, subroutines, segments of program code, drivers, firmware, microcode, circuitry, data, databases, data structures, tables, arrays, and variables. Although the example embodiments have been described with reference to the components, modules and units discussed herein, such functional elements may be combined into fewer elements or separated into additional elements. Various combinations of optional features have been described herein, and it will be appreciated that described features may be combined in any suitable combination. In particular, the features of any one example embodiment may be combined with features of any other embodiment, as appropriate, except where such combinations are mutually exclusive.

Throughout this specification, the term "comprising" or "comprises" means including the component(s) specified but not to the exclusion of the presence of others.

All of the features disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), and/or all of the steps of any method or process so disclosed, may be combined in any combination, except combinations where at least some of such features and/or steps are mutually exclusive.

Each feature disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings) may be replaced by alternative features serving the same, equivalent or similar purpose, unless expressly stated otherwise. Thus, unless expressly stated otherwise, each feature disclosed is one example only of a generic series of equivalent or similar features.

The invention is not restricted to the details of the foregoing embodiment(s). The invention extends to any novel one, or any novel combination, of the features disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), or to any novel one, or any novel combination, of the steps of any method or process so disclosed.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A wearable assembly comprising: an electronics module comprising: a main body comprising a processor; a biosignal detection portion connected to the main body, the biosignal detection portion comprising at least one sensing component for detecting a biosignal from a wearer of the wearable assembly, the at least one sensing component being communicatively coupled to the processor; and a wearable article comprising: a fabric layer having an outer surface and an inner surface; and at least one opening extending through the fabric layer from the outer surface to the inner surface, and wherein at least part of the biological signal detection portion is arranged to extend through the opening such that the at least one sensing component is positioned on the inner surface of the fabric layer.
2. A wearable assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the wearable article is configured to apply compression to the at least part of the biological signal detection portion so as to urge the at least one sensing component towards a skin surface of the wearer of the wearable assembly.
3. A wearable assembly as claimed in claim 2, wherein the compression is provided by an elastic material of the wearable article.
4. A wearable assembly as claimed in claim 3, wherein the fabric layer comprises the elastic material.
5. A wearable assembly as claimed in claim 4, wherein the elastic material comprises a stretch yarn that is knitted or woven with the fabric layer.
6. A wearable assembly as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein fabric material defining the at least one opening is arranged to urge against the biological signal detection portion so as to hold the electronics module in position relative to the wearable article.
7. A wearable assembly as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein at least part of the biological signal detection portion is arranged to extend through the opening such that the at least one sensing component is positioned on the inner surface of the fabric layer and the main body is positioned on the outer surface of the fabric layer.
8. A wearable assembly as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the biological signal detection portion comprises a first arm and a second arm positioned on opposing sides of the main body.
9. A wearable assembly as claimed in claim 8, wherein the at least one opening comprises a first opening and a second opening
10. A wearable assembly as claimed in claim 9, wherein at least part of the first arm is arranged to extend through the first opening, and wherein at least part of the second arm is arranged to extend through the second opening.
11. A wearable assembly as claimed in any of claims 8 to 10, wherein the at least one sensing component comprises a plurality of sensing components, and wherein each of the first arm and the second arm comprise at least one of the sensing components.
12. A wearable assembly as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the at least one sensing component comprises an electrode.
13. A wearable assembly as claimed in claim 12, wherein the electrode is provided on an inner surface of the biological signal detection portion.
14. A wearable assembly as claimed in claim 13, wherein the electrode extends away from the inner surface of the biological signal detection portion.
15. A wearable assembly as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the biosignal detection portion is formed integrally with the main body.
16. A wearable assembly as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the electronics module further comprises a power source.
17. A wearable assembly as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the electronics module further comprises a communicator for wirelessly communicating with an external device, the communicator is communicatively coupled to the processor.