KR102473330B1 - Ring-shaped wearable device for health monitoring - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided is a personalized ring-shaped wearable device which continuously collects information such as vital signs (blood pressure, heart rate, oxygen saturation, body temperature), the amount of exercise and the like during life to check a health condition and transfers this information to a smartphone through wireless communication so as to always recognize a change in the health condition.

Description

Ring-shaped wearable device for health monitoring {Ring-shaped wearable device for health monitoring}

The present invention relates to a ring-shaped wearable device for health status monitoring.

In general, a wearable device is a device that can be freely worn on the body, such as clothes, a watch, or glasses, and includes smart glasses, a smart watch, and a ring-shaped wearable device.

Among them, the ring-shaped wearable device is preferably manufactured in a size suitable for each user's finger because the thickness of each user's finger is different. However, in the case of a general ring, the size is divided into dozens of types (for example, Korea is divided into 27 levels and the United States is divided into 65 levels). Since each mechanism must be designed, there is a problem in that a lot of cost is consumed accordingly.

In addition, since the position of the sensor that detects the skin must be adjusted differently for each size of the ring-shaped wearable device, it is difficult to keep the distance between the skin and the sensor constant for all sizes, and it is difficult to obtain the same measurement signal for each size. There was a problem that was difficult to guarantee quality.

The above-described information disclosed in the background art of the present invention is only for improving the understanding of the background of the present invention, and thus may include information that does not constitute prior art.

The problem to be solved by the present invention is to continuously collect information such as biosignals (eg, blood pressure, heart rate, oxygen saturation, body temperature) and exercise amount for checking health status, and to collect this information through wireless communication. An object of the present invention is to provide a personalized ring-shaped wearable device that transmits information to a smartphone so that a change in health status can always be recognized.

A ring-shaped wearable device for monitoring health conditions according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes an outer ring portion, an inner ring portion spaced from the outer ring portion in an inward direction to have a circular inner space, the outer ring portion and the inner ring portion. A ring portion to which a finger is coupled consisting of a side ring portion blocking both sides of the ring portion; A flexible circuit board coupled to the circular inner space of the ring portion, and an optical sensor coupled to the flexible circuit board, a temperature sensor, an acceleration sensor, a worn sensor, a pressure sensor, a control unit, a memory, a wireless communication module, an antenna, and a battery. A sensing and wireless communication unit for wirelessly communicating by sensing blood pressure, heart rate, oxygen saturation, body temperature and momentum of a finger wearing the ring portion, whether or not the finger wearing the ring portion is worn, and wearing pressure; and an insert for variable inner diameter having a protrusion so as to be detachably coupled to an upper portion of the inner ring portion, wherein the inner ring portion includes an inner upper flat portion, an inner lower flat portion opposing the inner upper flat portion, and the inner upper flat portion. and an inner intermediate round portion connecting the inner lower flat portion, wherein the side ring portion includes a side upper flat portion connected to the inner upper flat portion and a lower side inclined portion connected to the inner lower flat portion, wherein the inner upper flat portion includes A battery installation space in which the battery is installed, a charging terminal hole for exposing a charging terminal through the side ring portion, and a magnetic body embedded hole in which a magnetic body attached to a magnet of a charger is embedded, and the inner round portion includes the insert for varying the inner diameter. It includes a protrusion hole to which the protrusion is coupled and a temperature sensor coupling hole to which the temperature sensor is coupled, and the inner lower flat part has an optical sensor mounting hole in which the optical sensor is mounted and exposed, and a pressure sensor is mounted in the lower portion of the optical sensor mounting hole. space, a skin-contacting flat portion around the optical sensor mounting hole, and a worn sensor terminal hole provided around the skin-contacting flat portion, wherein the inner diameter variable insert is in close contact with only the inner upper flat portion; A round surface facing the flat surface and in close contact with a finger, and an inclined surface provided between the flat surface and the round surface and having the protrusion coupled to the protrusion hole and in close contact with the inner intermediate round part, wherein the inner diameter is variable The inner lower flat part and the inner middle round part of the inner ring part are spaced apart and exposed from the insert, so that the finger can be directly in close contact with the round surface of the insert for variable inner diameter and the inner lower flat part and the inner middle round part of the inner ring part. .

In some examples, the flexible printed circuit board includes an inner upper coupling portion coupled to the inner upper flat portion, an inner lower coupling portion coupled to the inner lower flat portion, and an inner intermediate coupling portion coupled to the inner intermediate round portion, The temperature sensor, the acceleration sensor, the controller, the memory, the wireless communication module, and the battery are connected to the inner upper coupling part, and the light sensor, the worn sensor, and the pressure sensor are connected to the inner lower coupling portion. And, the antenna may be connected to the inner intermediate coupling part.

In some examples, the inner lower coupling part includes an upper flat region to which the optical sensor is coupled, a middle inclined region extending in an inclined downward and inward direction from both sides of the upper flat region, and a lower part extending flat from the intermediate inclined region. It may contain flat areas.

In some examples, the temperature sensor may include a conductive wire extending from the flexible printed circuit board, a temperature sensor element coupled to an end of the conductive wire, and a thermally conductive hemisphere surrounding the temperature sensor element.

In some examples, the controller may operate the optical sensor to receive the sensed value of the optical sensor when values sensed by the temperature sensor, the acceleration sensor, the worn sensor, and the pressure sensor are within a reference range.

In some examples, any one of a plurality of inserts having different thicknesses may be coupled to the inner ring portion.

In some examples, the insert for variable inner diameter includes a flat surface in close contact with the inner upper flat part, a round surface opposed to the flat surface and in close contact with a finger, and provided between the flat surface and the round surface, and the protrusion is coupled Can include slopes.

The present invention continuously collects information such as vital signs (e.g., blood pressure, heart rate, oxygen saturation, body temperature) and exercise amount for checking health status, and transmits this information to a smartphone through wireless communication. A personalized ring-shaped wearable device capable of recognizing changes in health status at all times may be provided.

1 is a perspective view, a front view, and a side view showing an external appearance of a ring-shaped wearable device for monitoring a health condition according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a partial cross-sectional view showing an external appearance of a ring-shaped wearable device for monitoring a health state according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a perspective view and a front view illustrating an exemplary flexible printed circuit board coupled to a ring-shaped wearable device for monitoring a health state according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a perspective view illustrating exemplary inserts for varying inner diameters of various sizes (thickness) coupled to a ring-shaped wearable device for monitoring a health state according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of a ring-shaped wearable device for monitoring a health condition according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The present invention is provided to more completely explain the present invention to those skilled in the art, and the following examples can be modified in many different forms, and the scope of the present invention is to the following examples It is not limited. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the spirit of the invention to those skilled in the art.

In addition, in the following drawings, the thickness or size of each layer is exaggerated for convenience and clarity of explanation, and the same reference numerals refer to the same elements in the drawings. As used herein, the term "and/or" includes any one and all combinations of one or more of the listed items. In addition, the meaning of "connected" in the present specification means not only when member A and member B are directly connected, but also when member A and member B are indirectly connected by interposing member C between member A and member B. do.

Terms used in this specification are used to describe specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present invention. As used herein, the singular form may include the plural form unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Also, when used herein, “comprise, include” and/or “comprising, including” refers to a referenced form, number, step, operation, member, element, and/or group thereof. presence, but does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other shapes, numbers, operations, elements, elements and/or groups.

In this specification, terms such as first and second are used to describe various members, components, regions, layers and/or portions, but these members, components, regions, layers and/or portions are limited by these terms. It is self-evident that These terms are only used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer or section from another region, layer or section. Thus, a first member, component, region, layer or section described in detail below may refer to a second member, component, region, layer or section without departing from the teachings of the present invention.

Space-related terms such as “beneath,” “below,” “lower,” “above,” and “upper” are associated with an element or feature shown in a drawing. It can be used for easy understanding of other elements or features. Terminology related to this space is for easy understanding of the present invention according to various process conditions or use conditions of the present invention, and is not intended to limit the present invention. For example, if an element or feature in a figure is turned over, an element or feature described as "lower" or "below" becomes "above" or "above." Accordingly, "below" is a concept encompassing "upper" or "below".

In addition, the control unit (controller) and/or other related devices or components according to the present invention may be implemented using any suitable hardware, firmware (eg, application specific semiconductor), software, or a suitable combination of software, firmware, and hardware. can For example, various components of a control unit (controller) and/or other related devices or parts according to the present invention may be formed on one integrated circuit chip or on separate integrated circuit chips. In addition, various components of the control unit (controller) may be implemented on a flexible printed circuit film, and may be formed on a tape carrier package, a printed circuit board, or the same substrate as the control unit (controller). In addition, various components of the control unit (controller) may be processes or threads executed in one or more processors in one or more computing devices, which execute computer program instructions to perform various functions mentioned below. and can interact with other components. Computer program instructions are stored in memory that can be executed in a computing device using standard memory devices, such as, for example, random access memory. Computer program instructions may also be stored on other non-transitory computer readable media, such as, for example, a CD-ROM, flash drive, or the like. In addition, those skilled in the art related to the present invention will understand that the functions of various computing devices can be combined with each other, integrated into one computing device, or the functions of a particular computing device can be incorporated into one or more other computing devices without departing from the exemplary embodiments of the present invention. It should be recognized that it can be dispersed in the field.

On the other hand, the interface technology of various additionally necessary sensors, including an optical sensor for measuring biosignals to obtain health information from the human body, and the implementation technology that enables them to operate stably and reliably with low power in a small wearable device, through this device Technology for transmitting and collecting obtained health information to a smartphone through wireless communication and managing wearable devices at the same time, and application technology for processing information collected by a smartphone to provide useful information to users. have.

In order to recognize an abnormal state of health as quickly as possible, it will be essential to automatically and continuously measure vital signals and related information in daily life, store them for a long period of time, and analyze and judge them. To do this, blood pressure, heart rate, oxygen saturation, body temperature, and/or amount of exercise, which are basically measured when you want to check your health, are measured for a long period of time so that not only individual changes in these factors but also their correlations can be analyzed together. A wearable type of personalized device that helps is needed.

In order to achieve this object, the present invention adopts a highly reliable method, such as an optical sensor and a temperature sensor for measuring biosignals, an acceleration sensor for measuring momentum and movement, and adds reliability maintenance and management functions during activities. It is possible to provide a ring-shaped device to which a pressure sensor and a worn sensor are applied, which will be described below.

1 is a perspective view, a front view, and a side view showing the appearance of a ring-shaped wearable device 100 for exemplary health status monitoring according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a ring-shaped wearable device for exemplary health status monitoring according to the present invention. It is a partial cross-sectional view showing the outer appearance of the wearable device 100, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an exemplary flexible printed circuit board 21 coupled to the ring-shaped wearable device 100 for exemplary health condition monitoring according to the present invention. and a front view, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing exemplary inserts 30 for variable inner diameter of various sizes (thickness) coupled to the ring-shaped wearable device 100 for exemplary health status monitoring according to the present invention, FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of a ring-shaped wearable device 100 for monitoring a health condition according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5 , the ring-shaped wearable device 100 for health status monitoring according to the present invention includes a ring portion 10, a sensing/wireless communication unit 20, and an insert 30 for variable inner diameter. can include

The ring portion 10 may include an outer ring portion 11, an inner ring portion 12, and a side ring portion 13, which may be worn by a user by being inserted into a finger.

In some examples, the ring portion 10 may be provided with various materials such as metal, plastic, and ceramic. The outer ring portion 11 connects the outer upper flat portion 111, the outer lower flat portion 112 opposite to the outer upper flat portion 111, and the outer upper flat portion 111 and the outer lower flat portion 112. It may include an outer middle round portion 113 to do.

The inner ring portion 12 includes an inner upper flat portion 121 spaced apart from the outer upper flat portion 111 by a predetermined distance, and an inner lower flat portion 122 spaced apart from the outer lower flat portion 112 by a predetermined distance. And it may include an inner middle round part 123 spaced apart from the outer middle round part 113 by a predetermined distance.

In some examples, a space is provided between the outer upper flat portion 111 and the inner upper flat portion 121, and a space is provided between the outer lower flat portion 112 and the inner lower flat portion 122, By providing a space between the outer middle round part 113 and the inner middle round part 123, a generally circular inner space 14 may be provided. The sensing/wireless communication unit 20 may be coupled to the circular inner space 14 .

The side ring portion 13 finishes both sides of the outer ring portion 11 and the inner ring portion 12, and, for example, the side surface connected to both sides of the outer upper flat portion 111 and the inner upper flat portion 121. The upper flat portion 131, the outer lower flat portion 112, and the inner lower flat portion 122 may include lower side inclined portions 132 connected to both sides.

The sensing/wireless communication unit 20 includes a flexible circuit board 21, an optical sensor 221, a temperature sensor 222, an acceleration sensor 223, a wear sensor 225, a pressure sensor 224, a control unit 23, It may include a memory 24, a wireless communication module 25, an antenna 27, and a battery 26 (see reference numerals in FIGS. 3 and 5). This sensing / wireless communication unit 20 senses the blood pressure, heart rate, oxygen saturation, body temperature and momentum of the finger wearing the ring portion 10, whether or not the finger wearing the ring portion 10 is worn, and wearing pressure, For example, it can communicate wirelessly with a smartphone. The flexible printed circuit board 21 may be coupled to the circular inner space 14 provided in the ring portion 10 .

Optical sensor 221, temperature sensor 222, acceleration sensor 223, worn sensor 225, pressure sensor 224, controller 23, memory 24, wireless communication module 25, antenna 27 ) and the battery 26 may be mounted on the flexible circuit board 21 or electrically connected. In some examples, the light sensor 221 , the temperature sensor 222 , the acceleration sensor 223 , the worn sensor 225 , and the pressure sensor 224 may be referred to as the sensing unit 22 .

The inner diameter variable insert 30 may be detachably coupled to an approximately upper portion of the inner ring portion 12 of the ring portion 10 . In some examples, any one of a plurality of variable inner diameter inserts 30 having different thicknesses may be coupled to the inner ring portion 12 . Accordingly, the ring-shaped wearable device 100 can be easily fitted to fingers of various thicknesses by selecting the insert 30 for variable inner diameter having an appropriate thickness. That is, one or several ring-shaped wearable devices 100 mass-produced in a standard form are provided, and by selecting/combining inserts 30 for variable inner diameter of various sizes in consideration of different finger thicknesses for each person, various A person may use one type of ring-shaped wearable device 100 . In some examples, the thickness of the variable inner diameter insert 30 may be divided into about 2 steps to about 70 steps. In other words, the insert 30 for variable inner diameter may be provided in 2 to 70 different thicknesses, which is optimized by selecting the insert 30 for variable inner diameter suitable for the user's finger when purchasing the product. You can have a ring fit.

In some examples, the insert 30 for varying the inner diameter may include a flat surface 31 , a round surface 32 , an inclined surface 33 and a protrusion 34 . The flat surface 31 is in close contact with the inner upper flat part 121 of the ring part 10, and the round surface 32 is provided to face the flat surface 31 and can be in close contact with the finger. The inclined surface 33 is provided between the flat surface 31 and the round surface 32, and is in close contact with the inner intermediate round portion 123. The protrusion 34 protrudes upward from the inclined surface 33 and may be coupled to the protrusion hole 1231 provided in the inner middle round portion 123 .

In some examples, on the inner upper flat portion 121, the battery installation space 1211 in which the battery 26 is installed, the charging terminal hole 1212 that exposes the charging terminal to the side ring portion 13, and the magnet of the charger It may include a magnetic body embedded hole 1213 in which a magnetic body to be attached is embedded.

In some examples, the inner middle round portion 123 includes a protrusion hole 1231 to which the protrusion 34 of the insert 30 for changing the inner diameter is coupled and a temperature sensor coupling hole 1232 to which the temperature sensor 222 is coupled. can do.

In some examples, the inner lower flat portion 122 includes an optical sensor mounting hole 1221 in which the optical sensor 221 is mounted and exposed, a pressure sensor mounting space 1223 under the optical sensor mounting hole 1221, and an optical sensor A skin-contacting flat portion 1222 around the mounting hole 1221 and a worn sensor terminal 1224 provided around the skin-contacting flat portion 1222 may be included.

In some examples, the flexible printed circuit board 21 may include an inner upper coupling portion 211 , an inner lower coupling portion 212 , and an inner intermediate coupling portion 213 . In some examples, the inner intermediate coupling portions 213 may be cut and separated from each other. The inner upper coupling portion 211 is coupled to the space provided on the inner upper flat portion 121 of the ring portion 10, and the inner lower coupling portion 212 is the inner lower flat portion of the ring portion 10 ( 122), and the inner intermediate coupling portion 213 may be coupled to the space provided on the inner intermediate round portion 123.

In some examples, a temperature sensor 222, an acceleration sensor 223, a control unit 23, a memory 24, a wireless communication module 25 and a battery ( 26) may be mounted or connected.

In some examples, the light sensor 221 , the worn sensor 225 , and the pressure sensor 224 may be mounted or connected to the inner lower coupling part 212 .

In some examples, the antenna 27 is connected to the inner intermediate coupler 213 so that the control unit 23 can communicate with a smartphone or the like through the wireless communication module 25 .

In some examples, the inner lower coupling portion 212 of the flexible printed circuit board 21 extends obliquely downward and inward from both sides of the upper flat region 2121 and the upper flat region 2121 to which the optical sensor 221 is coupled. A pair of middle slope regions 2122 that are formed, and a pair of lower flat regions 2123 flatly extending from the middle slope region 2122 . In this way, the inner lower coupling portion 212 generally allows the optical sensor 221 to be elastically adhered to the surface of the finger.

In some examples, the temperature sensor 222 may include a conductive wire extending from the flexible printed circuit board 21, a temperature sensor element coupled to an end of the conductive wire, and a thermally conductive hemisphere surrounding the temperature sensor element.

In some examples, the controller 23 operates the optical sensor 221 when the values sensed by the temperature sensor 222, the acceleration sensor 223, the worn sensor 225, and the pressure sensor 224 are within a reference range. By receiving the sensing value of the light sensor 221, power of the battery 26 can be saved. In some examples, the controller 23 may shut down the device when the values sensed by the temperature sensor 222, the acceleration sensor 223, the worn sensor 225, and the pressure sensor 224 are outside the reference range.

Additional advantages and functions of the present invention are described below.

[Reason for choosing ring type]

In general, light-based sensors that measure bio-signals through the flow of blood have their own compensation function to some extent due to light noise or condition fluctuations with the measured skin, but the range is not large and the current consumption is large LED ( Since it is executed through a light emitting diode), it may be a limitation in implementation in a device that operates with a small capacity such as a wearable. Depending on the purpose of use, the compensation capability of the sensor itself may be sufficient, but there is a limit in a small wearable device. In order to "measure bio signals continuously during life", which is the goal of the present invention, it is difficult to cope with various situations only with a compensation method through a sensor's own algorithm. The most efficient method for the present invention is to check and determine the best measurement conditions in which the sensor is tuned in the initialization process (calibration process), and in the subsequent full-scale measurement, ensure that the environmental conditions are maintained as much as possible and cannot be measured. The situation is to implement an additional function that increases the reliability of measurement information and reduces current waste by discriminating as much as possible before the sensor's measurement operation and not operating it. To this end, the first priority is to determine a place where there is little inconvenience in activities and where errors can be minimized by smooth measurement, in other words, a place where there is little movement of the device and smooth flow of blood. In the present invention, a finger was selected as the place of the human body, and a wearable device 100 in the form of a ring was invented accordingly.

[Type and inner diameter of device]

In order to reliably measure biosignals in a ring shape, the contact state between the finger and the device should be maintained as much as possible without fluctuation. To do this, first of all, the inner diameter of the device should match the thickness of the finger, and it is necessary to have a wide contact surface so that the device does not slip on the finger. The present invention provides a method of inserting a crescent-shaped assistant (for example, the insert 30 for varying the inner diameter) inside the upper end of the device in order to precisely match the inner diameter of the device. The aid is readily available in a variety of thicknesses, so users can easily adapt the device to the size of their fingers. In this process, the pressure sensor 224 built into the device helps to select the most appropriate thickness of the auxiliary material. While existing ring-shaped wearable devices provide rings for each size, the device of the present invention has the advantage of being able to use more detailed devices of various sizes by using auxiliary materials of various thicknesses even if only a few devices are provided for each size.

[Biosignal measurement structure]

No matter how well the device fits the thickness of the finger, a slight movement during activity or excessive contact pressure in special circumstances may cause measurement errors or make it impossible to measure at all. These circumstances will eventually result in a pressure change between the sensor and the contacting skin surface. The best situation is to ensure that the pressure is well distributed through as wide a contact surface as possible and that the contact pressure is maintained when it weakens. It is to increase the reliability of measurement and to eliminate the waste of current. The reason for distributing the contact pressure is to prevent clogging of the blood flow around the skin to be measured. In order to do this, in the present invention, the contact surface of the light sensor 221 and the finger skin is wide and an external shape is made so that it naturally fits well with the contact skin, and the light sensor 221 ) Provides a structure to have elasticity by using a circuit board (eg, flexible circuit board 21) at the lower end of the. In addition, a thin semiconductor-type pressure sensor 224 is mounted at the lower end of the optical sensor 221 to provide a function of immediately recognizing an excessive pressure change.

[Measured body tempreture]

The temperature sensor 222 adopts a more precise analog sensor for body temperature sensing as accurately as possible, and measures the sensor by positionally separating it from the flexible circuit board 21 composed of various parts and circuits so that only the temperature change of the contacted skin is measured as much as possible. this should be done At this time, the contact of the sensor with the skin is made by embedding a temperature sensor element inside a hemispherical part made of a metal material with high thermal conductivity, and making contact with the skin indirectly through this part. Although the temperature of the finger is measured lower than the core body temperature of the human body (eg, the body temperature of the armpit), this can be corrected in the use procedure. Body temperature correction is also a method that is similarly applied in many devices that measure body temperature.

[Momentum measurement]

The amount of exercise is an index that indirectly indicates a health state, and can be monitored along with other vital signs to produce meaningful analysis data. In the present invention, by adopting the acceleration sensor 223, basically all movements can be monitored to evaluate the relative amount of exercise, and application software can be used to monitor and analyze specific situations such as walking or sleeping.

[Send health status information]

In order to continuously monitor health conditions, it is necessary to be able to transmit measured data to a smartphone. To this end, in the present invention, a wireless communication module 25 between the device and the smartphone, for example, by adopting a standard wireless communication method, BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) communication method, primarily transmits measurement data through BLE advertising packets. and is simultaneously stored in the memory 24 (e.g., the flash memory 24) in the device. When the data cannot be collected from the smartphone, the measurement data stored inside the device can be transmitted again at the request of the smartphone.

[Health condition information security]

Since the provided device constantly monitors the user's health status and retains accumulated information of the result in the device, security is required to prevent leakage of information. To this end, the present invention provides methods for filtering by smartphone MAC address, user ID authentication, and information encryption. Since the MAC address is a unique value among all BLE devices, if it is limited to the initially connected smartphone, other smartphones cannot access the device. Since there may be cases in which similar apps other than official apps of the device are operated in the allowed user's smartphone, in order to prevent this, a user ID is initially registered so that it can be distinguished. In addition, in order to prevent health status information from being exposed during BLE communication, when a device and a smartphone connect, a randomly generated encryption key is received from the smartphone and encryption is performed by a simple private algorithm. This method can minimize the burden of encryption on the small wearable device 100 .

[Device Time Synchronization]

Monitoring and stored data can help health management only when status changes over time are displayed to the user through a smartphone. To this end, in the present invention, when storing information, the measurement time is also stored. However, since errors occur between the time of the smartphone and the device during operation, this should always be corrected. In the present invention, when the device transmits the BLE Advertising packet, the current time of the device is transmitted, and the smartphone receiving it transmits the current time of the device. If a difference occurs by comparing the time of the device with the time of the device, a method of resetting the time of the device to the time of the smartphone is provided. In particular, when the device is detached and put on again, the time of the device is stopped at the point of detachment, resulting in a large time difference. In this case, the device immediately notifies the stopped time through the BLE Advertising packet and resumes normal operation when the time is synchronized by the smartphone.

[Concurrent Possession of Ring and Smartphone]

For continuous monitoring, it is necessary to ensure that the device and the user's smartphone are always carried together. To this end, the present invention uses the function of the acceleration sensor 223 of the device and the acceleration sensor mounted on the smartphone to provide a function of generating an alarm to the user when motion of only one of the two devices is detected. When this is done, a loss prevention effect is obtained incidentally.

[Device Charging]

Since the operating current when the biosignal is measured by the optical sensor 221 is large, a secondary battery having a high discharge current is selected as the battery 26 to be applied to the device. Since the device of the present invention is based on continuous operation, it should be able to be charged even during operation, but since the device is small, there is concern about damage to the charging connector part due to external force during charging. In order to solve this problem, the present invention provides a method of contacting the charging connectors by magnetic force in a physically separated state. In this way, when an external force occurs, the device is simply separated without affecting the device, so damage to the device can be prevented. A typical example is charging while monitoring while sleeping. Since there is relatively little movement during sleep, it is a very good condition for measuring vital signs, but there is no situational awareness, so when an external force is applied to the charging connector by a specific movement, the provided contact connector is simply disconnected to prevent damage to the device.

[Current consumption control of the device]

Since the device of the present invention operates with a low-capacity battery 26, control of current consumption to maximize operating life is further required. The vital signal measurement by the optical sensor 221, which is the most important part, occupies most of the current consumption due to high current consumption and high operation time. For example, when blood pressure measurement starts during the periodic bio-signal measurement process, the light sensor 221 emits light for several tens of seconds and the measurement algorithm operates. occurs, resulting in a waste of current without obtaining a measured value. In addition, when an error occurs like this, operation time is prolonged due to delay in signal measurement, and waste is doubled in case of measurement failure. Therefore, the present invention provides a method of reducing current waste by omitting a corresponding cycle among consecutive measurement cycles when it is determined that the wearer is not in a normal wearing state through a plurality of sensors including the pressure sensor 224 before measuring the biosignal. In addition, depending on the wearing state of the device, it is necessary not only to omit the operation of the optical sensor 221, but also to minimize current consumption by completely shutting down the device or maintaining only the minimum operation. The criterion for normal wearing of the device is that the wearing is confirmed by the wearing sensor 225, the temperature sensor 222 confirms that it is within the human body temperature range, and the pressure sensor 224 determines the contact pressure to the light sensor 221. It can be defined as a situation in which it is confirmed that it is within an operable range of , and it is confirmed that there is no violent movement by the acceleration sensor 223 . The reason for using multiple sensors like this is that the device can be in various states. For example, when it is worn without close contact, the sensor part is held like pincers, the finger with the device is partially compressed, it is inserted into something other than the human body, or it is submerged in water. Because it is not judged by function. As an example, if the sensor is held like tongs and the gripped part is the position of the pressure sensor 224, it is not possible to know that the wearing condition is bad with only the pressure sensor 224, and the wearing sensor 225 or the temperature sensor 222, etc. will need your help. In summary, by applying a plurality of sensors, when the device is worn in a normal state, current is input to measure the biosignal, and when the device is not worn or worn in a poor state, the measurement is stopped to reduce the waste of current and maximize the operating lifespan. provides a way

What has been described above is only one embodiment for implementing the ring-shaped wearable device for exemplary health status monitoring according to the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and claims in the following claims As such, anyone skilled in the art in the field to which the present invention belongs without departing from the gist of the present invention will say that the technical spirit of the present invention exists to the extent that various changes can be made.

100; Ring-shaped wearable device for health status monitoring
10; half part 11; outer ring
111; outer upper flat portion 112; outer lower flat
113; outer middle round portion 12; inner half
121; inner upper flat portion 1211; battery footprint
1212; Charging terminal hole 1213; magnetic body hole
122; inner lower flat portion 1221; Light sensor mounting hole
1222; finger contact flat portion 1223; Pressure sensor mounting space
1224; wear sensor terminal 123; inner middle round
1231; projection hole 1232; Temperature sensor coupling hole
13; Side ring portion 131; flat top side
132; Lower side inclined portion 14; interior space
20; sensing/wireless communication unit 21; flexible circuit board
211; Inner upper coupling part 212; inner lower joint
2121; upper flat region 2122; medium slope area
2123; lower flat region 213; inner middle joint
22; sensing unit 221; light sensor
222; temperature sensor 223; accelerometer sensor
224; pressure sensor 225; wear sensor
23; control unit 24; Memory
25; wireless communication module 26; battery
27; antenna 30; Inserts for variable inner diameter
31; flat surface 32; round face
33; slope 34; spin

Claims (7)

An outer ring portion, an inner ring portion spaced from the outer ring portion in an inward direction to provide a circular inner space, and a side ring portion blocking both sides of the outer ring portion and the inner ring portion, and a ring portion to which a finger is coupled;
A flexible circuit board coupled to the circular inner space of the ring portion, and an optical sensor coupled to the flexible circuit board, a temperature sensor, an acceleration sensor, a worn sensor, a pressure sensor, a control unit, a memory, a wireless communication module, an antenna, and a battery. A sensing and wireless communication unit for wirelessly communicating by sensing blood pressure, heart rate, oxygen saturation, body temperature and momentum of a finger wearing the ring portion, whether or not the finger wearing the ring portion is worn, and wearing pressure; and
Including an insert for variable inner diameter having a protrusion so as to be detachably coupled to the upper portion of the inner ring,
The inner ring portion includes an inner upper flat portion, an inner lower flat portion opposing the inner upper flat portion, and an inner intermediate round portion connecting the inner upper flat portion and the inner lower flat portion, wherein the side ring portion includes the inner upper flat portion. a side upper flat part connected to the inner flat part and a lower side inclined part connected to the inner lower flat part, and the inner upper flat part includes a battery installation space in which the battery is installed, a charging terminal hole exposing a charging terminal through the side ring part, and A magnetic body embedded hole into which a magnetic body attached to a magnet of a charger is embedded, and the inner round portion includes a protrusion hole into which a protrusion of the insert for variable inner diameter is coupled and a temperature sensor coupling hole into which the temperature sensor is coupled, wherein the The inner lower flat portion is provided around an optical sensor mounting hole where the optical sensor is mounted and exposed, a pressure sensor mounting space under the optical sensor mounting hole, a skin contact flat portion around the optical sensor mounting hole, and a skin contact flat portion. Including a sensor terminal hole,
The insert for variable inner diameter is provided between a flat surface that is in close contact only with the inner upper flat part, a round surface that is in close contact with a finger opposite the flat surface, and between the flat surface and the round surface and is in close contact with the inner middle round part, It includes an inclined surface having the protrusion coupled to the protrusion hole, and the inner lower flat part and the inner middle round part of the inner ring part are spaced apart and exposed from the insert for variable inner diameter, so that the finger is separated from the round surface of the variable inner diameter insert and the round surface of the insert for variable inner diameter. A ring-shaped wearable device for monitoring health status that is directly attached to the inner lower flat part and the inner middle round part of the inner ring part. According to claim 1,
The flexible printed circuit board includes an inner upper coupling portion coupled to the inner upper flat portion, an inner lower coupling portion coupled to the inner lower flat portion, and an inner intermediate coupling portion coupled to the inner intermediate round portion;
The temperature sensor, the acceleration sensor, the control unit, the memory, the wireless communication module and the battery are connected to the inner upper coupling part,
The light sensor, the wearing sensor and the pressure sensor are connected to the inner lower coupling part,
A ring-shaped wearable device for monitoring a health condition, wherein the antenna is connected to the inner intermediate coupling part. According to claim 2,
The inner lower coupler includes an upper flat region to which the optical sensor is coupled, a middle slope region extending obliquely downward and inward from both sides of the upper flat region, and a lower flat region extending flat from the middle slope region. A ring-shaped wearable device for health status monitoring. According to claim 1,
The temperature sensor includes a conductive wire extending from the flexible circuit board, a temperature sensor element coupled to an end of the conductive wire, and a thermal conductive hemisphere surrounding the temperature sensor element, Ring-shaped wearable for monitoring health status Device. According to claim 1,
The control unit operates the light sensor to receive the sensed value of the light sensor when the sensed value by the temperature sensor, the acceleration sensor, the wear sensor, and the pressure sensor is within a reference range, a ring for health condition monitoring. type wearable device. According to claim 1,
The ring-shaped wearable device for monitoring health status, wherein any one of a plurality of inserts having different inner diameters is coupled to the inner ring portion.

delete

Images