WO2023129036A1

WO2023129036A1 - An adjustable wristband mechanism with positioning and alarm

Info

Publication number: WO2023129036A1
Application number: PCT/TR2022/051547
Authority: WO
Inventors: Talip Alp ULKU; Ilkcan HACIOGLU
Original assignee: Litum Bilgi Teknolojileri Sanayi Ve Dis Ticaret Anonim Sirketi
Priority date: 2021-12-28
Filing date: 2022-12-21
Publication date: 2023-07-06

Abstract

The invention relates to a wearable location tracking device worn on the wrist for use in newborn baby units, hospitals, elderly care centers, or mental-psychiatry clinics, which gives alarm information in case of unauthorized removal by the person or others, thus enabling immediate intervention, thus increasing the security in the environment, relates to a wristband mechanism that can be adjusted according to one's wrist.

Description

AN ADJUSTABLE WRISTBAND MECHANISM WITH POSITIONING AND ALARM

Technical Field

The invention relates to a wristband mechanism which adjustable to the person's wrist for use in newborn baby units, hospitals, elderly care centers or mental illness clinics, which gives alarm information in case of unauthorized removal of wearable location tracking devices by the person himself/herself or others, thus allowing instantly intervention and increasing the safety in the environment.

Prior Art

Nowadays, real-time location systems are frequently used in healthcare institutions, workplaces, or vehicles. With this technology, by detecting the locations of patients, babies, workplace personnel or vehicles; information, warning of dangers around, prevention of smuggling/stealing are provided. In particular, it is possible for the wearable real-time location tracking devices used in the health sector to interfere with these devices in an unauthorized manner (for example, moving away from the location tracking device by opening or cutting the strap). Therefore, the need has arisen to prevent the unauthorized removal or inactivation of the location tracking devices.

In the patent document CN204186164, a position tracking wristband that can be locked with a magnet is disclosed. In the solution set forth in the mentioned document, it is not possible to give alarm information in case of cutting, removing, etc. unauthorized removal of the strap of the wearable tracking device.

Objectives and Short Description of the Invention

An object of the invention is to allow instantly intervention by authorized persons by giving an alarm in cases where the person himself or third people remove the wristband with the wearable real-time location system without authorization or if the strap is tried to be made passive by cutting.

Another objective of the invention; is to prevent occurring electrostatic forces due to friction by placing the conductor in the wristband strap on the outer surface of the strap instead of placing it on the inner surface of the strap in contact with the skin.

Another objective of the invention is to prevent unauthorized tampering with the wristband with a system that consumes less energy without using any sensors. Another objective of the invention; the wristband strap is adjustable regardless of the thickness of the wrist and the necessary hygiene is provided with the interchangeable disposable feature.

The wristband mechanism with a location tracking device and an alarm feature, to enable the alarm to be activated in the event of an unauthorized removal, cutting, plucking, etc. of said wristband; it comprises;

- a body,

- at least one circuit board placed inside of said body,

- at least two pin holders made of conductive material located inside said body, each comprising at least one protrusion which configured to be in contact with said circuit board, and at least two slots,

- at least two pins made of conductive material located in two slot gaps on the outside of the body, which are inserted into said slots of the pin holder remaining in inner part of the body by means of spring bars made of conductive material, and

- at least one strap comprising a strap outer surface made of conductive material and a strap connection hole formed by folding both ends its backwards the said pin or a roll which are located in the two slot gaps.

Brief Description of the Figures

Figure-1 An exploded perspective view of a wristband mechanism which is the subject of the present invention is given.

Figure-2 A top view of the wristband mechanism which is the subject of the present invention is given.

Figure-3 A cross-sectional view of the wristband mechanism, which is the subject of the present invention, taken along the line A-A in the Figure-2 is given.

Figure-4 A cross-sectional view of the wristband mechanism, which is the subject of the present invention, taken along the line B-B in the Figure-2 is given.

Figure-5 A perspective bottom view of the wristband mechanism which is the subject of the present invention is given.

Figure-6 A perspective top view of the wristband mechanism which is the subject of the present invention is given.

Figure-7 A cross-sectional view of the wristband mechanism in alternative embodiment of the present invention, taken along the line A-A in the Figure-2 is given.

Figure-8 A perspective bottom view of the wristband mechanism in alternative embodiment of the present invention given. Reference Numbers

1 Wristband mechanism

2 Upper body

3 Lower body

3.1 Slot gap

4 Circuit board

4.1 Contact point

5 Pin

5.1 Spring bar

5.2 Roll

5.3 Roll tip

6 Pin holder

6.1 Protrusion

6.2 Slot

7 Strap

7.1 Strap inner surface

7.2 Strap outer surface

7.3 Strap connection hole

7.4 Strap tip

Detailed Description of the Invention

Present invention relates to a wristband mechanism (1 ), which is worn on the wrists of the person, especially for use in newborn baby units, hospitals, elderly care centers or mental-psychiatric clinics, allows intervention by providing alarm information in the event of unauthorized removal of wearable location tracking devices by the person himself or herself, and thus increases the safety in the environment, adjustable to the wrist of the person and workable stably without being affected by the conditions of use.

The wristband mechanism (1 ) which is subject of the present invention; comprises an upper body (2), a lower body (3) that is integrated with said upper body (2) together forming a body in a closed form, at least one circuit board (4) placed in the inner part of the body of said closed form, at least two pin holders (6) made of electrically conductive material, preferably with a U-shaped protrusion (6.1 ) in the middle part configured to be in contact with the said circuit board (4) and positioned steadily in the closed body, preferably at the edges, at least one strap (7) comprising a strap outer surface (7.2) made of electrically conductive material and a strap connection hole (7.3) formed by folding both ends its backwards from on itself, at least two pins (5) preferably made of electrically conductive material, which are inserted into slots (6.2) of the pin holder (6) remaining in inner part of the closed body by means of spring bars (5.1 ) made of conductive material and ensuring permanently/irreversibly contact the strap (7) with the lower body (3), at least two rolls (5.2) made of electrically conductive material, in order to further increase contact between the pin (5) and the strap outer surface (7.2) and to create a stable contact circuit, has a roll tip (5.3) made of electrically conductive material of a larger diameter as a continuation at the ends (two ends) through which the pin (5) passes through.

Said upper body (2) is made of non-conductive material and preferably in the form of a rectangular prism (it is also possible in other geometric forms, but due to the structure of the wrist and the nature of the present invention, the most appropriate form is the rectangular geometry) and intertwines with the lower body (3) and serves as a kind of cover to form the closed body. The lower body (3) is made of non-conductive material and preferably in the form of a rectangular (the upper body (2) and the lower body (3) are preferably both same geometries to be integrated with each other). In addition, said lower body (3) has at least one slot gap (3.1 ) on each the upper and lower (front and back) sides of the lower body (3), which are placed in these parts, where the pin (5) and the roll (5.2) in which the pin (5) is located. In the said roll (5.2) there is a gap through which the pin (5) passable and the said pin (5) is fixed by contacting the roll (5.2) through it with a tight passage (press-fit type). The ends (two ends) of the said strap (7) are folded backwards on itself by passing through the roll (5.2) (over the roll) which are in the said slot gap (3.1 ), and the said roll (5.2) remains in the said strap connection hole (7.3). (Here, the ends of the said strap (7) can also be folded by passing over only the pin (5) and the contact circuit creatable.) In this way, the required hygiene and practicality is provided by changing the said strap (7) without removing the said pin (5) and roll (5.2) elements or opening the lower body (3) and the upper body (2). As can be seen in Figure-8, in an embodiment of the wristband mechanism subject of the present invention, it is possible to use a thicker pin (5) in other words, a pin (5) with a larger diameter than the thickness of the strap (7) or the strap connection hole (7.3).

Said circuit board (4) is preferably rectangular prism-shaped, positioned on the inner surface of the lower body (3) and has electronic circuit elements on it. As extensions of the pin holders (6), spring bars (5.1 ) integrated on both sides of the pins (5) are placed in the slots (6.2) on the foot structures on both sides. As can be seen in Figure-3, the slot (6.2) is preferably configured as a c-shaped cavity or slit to ensure a precise fit from the bottom and top of the spring bars (5.1 ) and to form a stable electrically contact circuit. As can be seen in Figure-7, the said slot (6.2) in an embodiment of the invention can also be configured in the form of an inverse u-shaped. The pin (5) is made of electrically conductive material and preferably in cylinder geometry, with spring bar (5.1 ) connected at both ends. As the name suggests; there are springs that surround said spring bars (5.1 ) in the form of helical and these spring bars (5.1 ) backwards (to the space in the pin) during the placement of the spring bars (5.1 ) in the slots (6.2) on the foot of the pin holder (6), allowing for a connection with the pin holder (6) that cannot be retracted in one direction. Said pin holders (6) are placed on the inside of the lower body (3) in the form of an inverse U-shaped made of conductive material, in order to ensure that both the pin holder (6) and the circuit board (4) are connected within the body to form a contact circuit; there is a U-shaped (hook-shaped) protrusion (6.1 ) structure, which is configured as an extension of the pin holder (6), which preferably extends outward from the middle to the inner part of the closed body. Said strap (7) preferably has a rectangular geometry and comes into contact with the skin surrounding the person's wrist regardless of wrist thickness, it comprises at least two strap tips (7.4), preferably in a geometry that narrows towards its ends to ensure that the strap (7) ends are held over the roll (5.2) between the two roll tips (5.3) and easily held and passed through the strap connection hole (7.3) in the said slot gap (3.1 ). The strap inner surface (7.1 ) is the inner side of the strap (7) in contact with the skin and has non-conductive properties. Said strap outer surface (7.2) is the part of the strap (7) that is outward facing after mounting with the said body and is made of conductive material.

The internal mechanism of the wristband mechanism (1 ) which is subject to the invention in general, comprises the circuit board (4) and the pin holder (6), which are located inside the lower body (3) and upper body (2). Said circuit board (4) is positioned by seated in the gap located inside the lower body (3). Said pin holder (6) is made of a conductive material and is in contact with the pin (5), which is also made of conductive material. The electronic/electrically connection of said pin holder (6) to the circuit board (4) is carried out by preferably entering the hook-shaped protrusion (6.1 ) into a contact point (4.1 ) on the circuit board (4), preferably from the bottom of the circuit board (4), and the contact circuit is completed. In addition, the protrusions (6.1 ) of the pin holders (6), provide support for stay stable of the circuit board (4) inside of the body.

The subject of the invention is in the solution; after passing the pins (5) and/or rolls (5.2) through the said at least two slot gaps (3.1 ), the assembly of the wristband mechanism (1 ) is completed by placing the spring bars (5.1 ) integrated with the pins (5) into the slots (6.2) on the pin holder (6) foots remaining in the inner part of the closed body and by passing the ends of the strap (7) through the roll (5.2) in the said slot gap (3.1 ) and folding it backwards on itself, the contact of the strap (7) with the lower body (3) is ensured in a permanent/irreversible way and the electrical contact circuit of the wristband mechanism (1 ) mechanism is completed. The excess part of the strap (7), which adjustable regarding to the wrist thickness, is permanently connected to the strap outer surface (7.2) by a permanent adhesion to the strap outer surface (7.2), a snap-snap system that provides a one-way lock (with the logic of single-use plastic seal, cable connection), etc. In this way, the contact of the pin (5) or roll (5.2) with the strap outer surface (7.2) ensures the contact of all the conductive elements with each other and the electrical contact circuit is completed. The working principle of the wristband mechanism (1 ) subject to invention is made of conductive material and which are elements that form in contact with each other, respectively; strap outer surface (7.2), roll tip (5.3), roll (5.2), pin (5), spring bar (5.1 ), pin holder (6), protrusion (6.1 ) and contact point (4.1 ). In this way, it is possible to determine whether the contact circuit created by the said elements between the two contact points (4.1 ) on the circuit board (4) has been interrupted. A processor unit located on the circuit board (4) is configured to issue alarm instructions in the event of an interruption of the contact circuit between the strap outer surface (7.2) and the circuit board (4). In other words, thanks to the said processor unit; in the event that the conductive elements constituting the contact circuit in contact with the said intersections are eliminated in any way by unauthorized methods such as breakage, disconnection, etc., the circuit is interrupted (the signal is interrupted by the deterioration of the conductivity) and the alarm is activated, so that the authorized persons are immediately informed and timely intervention is ensured.

The subject of the present invention described and disclosed in the description is to provide an example of the use of the wristband mechanism in practice, to contribute that it is easy to understand, and it is clear to a person who is skilled in the art that it is not possible to limit present invention to this application alone. In addition, the terms "bottom", "top", "inside", "outside", "front" and "back" in the description are based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the figures and are for clarity and ease of explanation of the technical solution and therefore cannot be understood as a limitation of the current situation.

Claims

1. A wristband mechanism (1 ) with a location tracking device and an alarm feature characterized in that, to enable the alarm to be activated in the event of an unauthorized removal, cutting, plucking, etc. of said wristband mechanism (1 ); it comprises;

- a body,

- at least one circuit board (4) placed inside of said body,

- at least two pin holders (6) made of conductive material located inside said body, each comprising at least one protrusion (6.1 ) which configured to be in contact with said circuit board (4), and at least two slots (6.2),

- at least two pins (5) made of conductive material located in two slot gaps (3.1 ) on the outside of the body, which are inserted into said slots (6.2) of the pin holder (6) remaining in inner part of the body by means of spring bars (5.1 ) made of conductive material, and

- at least one strap (7) comprising a strap outer surface (7.2) made of conductive material and a strap connection hole (7.3) formed by folding both ends its backwards over said pin (5) or a roll (5.2) which are located in the two slot gaps (3.1 ).

2. The wristband mechanism (1 ) according to claim 1 characterized in that; it comprises a processor unit on the circuit board (4) which is configured to issue alarm instructions in the event of an interruption of contact circuit between the strap outer surface (7.2) and the circuit board (4).

3. The wristband mechanism (1 ) according to claim 1 characterized in that; the body comprises an upper body (2), and a lower body (3) which is together form a closed body by integrating with said upper body (2).

4. The wristband mechanism (1 ) according to claim 1 characterized in that; it comprises at least two rolls (5.2) made of conductive material with at least one roll tip (5.3) made of conductive material at the ends, through which pin (5) passes through to increase contact between pin (5) and the strap outer surface (7.2) and to create a stable contact circuit.

5. The wristband mechanism (1 ) according to claim 1 characterized in that; it comprises at least two strap tips (7.4) in a narrowing geometry towards the ends of the said strap (7) in order to form a strap connection hole (7.3) by easily grasping and passing it through the slot gap (3.1 ).

7 The wristband mechanism (1) according to claim 1 characterized in that; the circuit board (4) comprises at least two contact points (4.1 ) to enable the protrusion (6.1) of the pin holder (6) to make contact with the circuit board (4). The wristband mechanism (1) according to claim 1 characterized in that; the pin holder (6) comprises a U-shaped protrusion (6.1) in order to establish a contact circuit by connecting both the pin holder (6) and the circuit board (4) within the body.

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