WO2023131888A1

WO2023131888A1 - Improvements in or relating to wearable devices

Info

Publication number: WO2023131888A1
Application number: PCT/IB2023/050075
Authority: WO
Inventors: Eszter OZSVALD; Stepan BOLTALIN
Original assignee: MITCHELL, Darren Andrew
Priority date: 2022-01-07
Filing date: 2023-01-05
Publication date: 2023-07-13

Abstract

In the field of wearable devices for activity and performance analysis there is a need for improvements. An article of clothing (10; 12) has at least one body-part specific RFID tag (18) integrated therewith. The or each body-part specific RFID tag (18) is pre-loaded with location data corresponding to a position of the said RFID tag (18) on a wearer's body when the article of clothing (10; 12) is worn. The location data is readable in-use by a wearable device (30) positioned near to the said RFID tag (18) whereby the wearable device (30) knows the location on a wearer's body where it is to operate.

Description

IMPROVEMENTS IN OR RELATING TO WEARABLE DEVICES This invention relates to an article of clothing, an activity tracker including such an item of clothing, and a method of using such an activity tracker. Wearable devices can be used by users to collect information on their activity and thereby allow their performance to be analysed, e.g. by software running on a remote server. Typically such devices require some sort of initial setup. According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided an article of clothing having at least one body-part specific RFID tag integrated therewith, the or each body-part specific RFID tag being pre-loaded with location data corresponding to a position of the said RFID tag on a wearer’s body when the article of clothing is worn, the location data being readable in-use by a wearable device positioned near to the said RFID tag whereby the wearable device knows the location on a wearer’s body where it is to operate. Pre-loading the or each body-part specific RFID tag with location data corresponding to a position of the said RFID tag on a wearer’s body when the article of clothing is worn, i.e. with location data associated with a particular body part, permits the use of one or more wearable devices, e.g. to analyse a person’s performance and activity and/or biometric information, without the need for any further, mandatory setup of the or each wearable device in order to correctly associate it with a particular body part. As a consequence setup of one or more such wearable devices is quicker and more straightforward for a user wishing to have their activity and/or biometric information analysed. Additionally, an article of clothing having multiple body-part specific RFID tags advantageously coordinates the subsequent placement of corresponding wearable devices in a manner which facilitates the aforementioned analysis, e.g. by permitting any associated analysis software to know which particular body part is moving and by how much. Preferably the RFID tag is or includes a NFC tag. NFC tags have a basic architecture that includes only a small amount of data storage and a radio chip attached to an antenna. They are therefore small enough and cheap enough to be integrated into all sorts of products, while nevertheless still being able to transfer data to an appropriate reader upon energisation by such a reader. In a preferred embodiment of the invention one or more tags is embedded into the article of clothing. One or more tags may be sewn into the article of clothing. Embedding one or more tags, e.g. within a pocket, or more particularly sewing one or more tags into the article of clothing, e.g. during manufacture of the article of clothing, desirably helps to prevent the or each such tag from becoming separated from the article of clothing, and/or from being dislodged from the correct pre-loaded body position corresponding to where it is located when the article of clothing is worn. In another preferred embodiment of the invention one or more tags is included in a console from which a wearable device can be suspended, the or each console being secured to the article of clothing. Including a respective tag within a console, i.e. a mount, from which a wearable device can be suspended, i.e. detachably secured, is advantageous because it provides both the simple and straightforward transfer of location data to the wearable device as well as assisting a user in fastening such devices to an article of clothing. According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided an activity tracker comprising: an article of clothing as described hereinabove; and one or more wearable devices attached to the article of clothing, the or each wearable device being associated with a respective body-part specific RFID tag integrated with the article of clothing from which the wearable device is able to read pre-loaded location data corresponding to the position of the said RFID tag on a wearer’s body when the article of clothing is worn. The activity tracker of the invention shares the benefits associated with the corresponding features of the article of clothing of the invention. Optionally the or each wearable device is configured to integrate collected information on a wearer’s activity with the location data and relay the integrated information to a server for analysis. Such a feature makes efficient use of the pre-loaded location data available on the or each tag in a seamless manner to permit detailed performance analysis of a user’s activity without the need for unwieldly or cumbersome setting up by the user. The or each wearable device may be configured to relay the integrated information to a server via one or more of a smart phone or an intermediary networking hub. Relaying the integrated information via one or other of such a device beneficially permits the inclusion of still further information, such as a user profile or usage history, with the integrated information for sending to the server for analysis. According to a third aspect of the invention there is provided a method of using an activity tracker comprising the steps of: (a) providing an article of clothing with at least one body-part specific RFID tag integrated therewith, the or each body-part specific RFID tag being pre-loaded with location data corresponding to a position of the said RFID tag on a wearer’s body when the article of clothing is worn; and (b) positioning a wearable device near to a respective RFID tag to read the location data pre-loaded thereon, whereby the wearable device knows the location on a wearer’s body where it is to operate. The method of the invention shares the benefits associated with the corresponding features of the article of clothing of the invention. The method may further include having the wearable device integrate collected information on a wearer’s activity with the location data and relay the integrated information to a server for analysis. Such a step makes efficient use of the pre-loaded location data available on the or each tag in a seamless manner to permit detailed performance analysis of a user’s activity without the need for unwieldly or cumbersome setting up by the user. It will be appreciated that the use of the terms “first” and “second”, and the like, in this patent specification is merely intended to help distinguish between similar features, and is not intended to indicate the relative importance of one feature over another feature, unless otherwise specified. Within the scope of this application it is expressly intended that the various aspects, embodiments, examples and alternatives set out in the preceding paragraphs, and the claims and/or the following description and drawings, and in particular the individual features thereof, may be taken independently or in any combination. That is, all embodiments and all features of any embodiment can be combined in any way and/or combination, unless such features are incompatible. The applicant reserves the right to change any originally filed claim or file any new claim accordingly, including the right to amend any originally filed claim to depend from and/or incorporate any feature of any other claim although not originally claimed in that manner. There now follows a brief description of preferred embodiments of the invention, by way of non-limiting example, with reference being made to the following figures in which: Figure 1 shows a schematic view of first and second articles of clothing according to respective embodiments of the invention; Figure 2 shows a schematic view of a NFC tag suitable for integration with an article of clothing according to the invention; Figure 3 shows an enlarged schematic view of a first way in which an NFC tag may be integrated into an article of clothing of the invention; Figure 4 shows an enlarged schematic view of a second way in which an NFC tag may be integrated into an article of clothing of the invention; and Figure 5 shows a schematic view of an activity tracker including the second article of clothing shown in Figure 2. Articles of clothing according to first and second embodiments of the invention are designated generally by reference numerals 10 and 12, as shown in Figure 1. The first article of clothing 10 is a T-shirt 14 and the second article of clothing 12 is a pair of shorts 16. Other articles of clothing, such as yoga or running pants for example, are also possible. The first article of clothing 10, i.e. the T-shirt 14, includes a single body-part specific Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag 18, and more particularly includes such a tag in the simpler form of a first near-field communication (NFC) tag 20, e.g. as shown schematically in Figure 2. The first NFC tag 20 is pre-loaded with location data corresponding to the position of the said NFC tag 20 on a wearer’s body when the T-short 14 is worn. In this particular instance the first NFC tag 20 is pre-loaded with location data corresponding to the chest of the wearer. Meanwhile, the second article of clothing 12, i.e. the shorts 16, includes three body- part specific RFID tags 18, and more particularly includes second, third and fourth NFC tags 22, 24, 26. The second NFC tag 22 is pre-loaded with location data corresponding to the wearer’s left thigh, the third NFC tag 24 is pre-loaded with location data corresponding to the wearer’s right thigh, and the fourth NFC tag 26 is pre-loaded with location data corresponding to the wearer’s hip. Each of the first, second, third and fourth NFC tags 20, 22, 24, 26 is embedded into the corresponding article of clothing 10; 12, and more particularly in the embodiments shown is sewn into the corresponding article of clothing 10; 12. More particularly still, as illustrated schematically in Figure 3, each of the first, second, third and fourth NFC tags 20, 22, 24, 26 is sewn into a corresponding pocket 28 within the given article of clothing 10; 12. Additionally, each pocket 28 is configured to receive a wearable device 32, although this need not necessarily be the case. Each wearable device 32 has an NFC reader 34 that is able to read the location data pre-loaded on a corresponding NFC tag 20, 22, 24, 26, when the wearable device 32 and associated NFC tag 20, 22, 24, 26 are placed close to one another. In other embodiments of the invention an RFID tag 18, e.g. a respective NFC tag 20, 22, 24, 26, may, as shown schematically in Figure 4, instead be included in a console 34 or mount, to which a wearable device 32 can be detachably secured. The console 34, i.e. mount, is then itself fixedly secured, e.g. sewn, to the corresponding article of clothing 10; 12. Figure 5 shows a schematic view of an activity tracker 50 according to a further embodiment of the invention. The activity tracker 50 includes the second article of clothing 12, i.e. the shorts 16, with each of the second, third, and fourth NFC tags 22, 24, 26 thereof having a corresponding wearable device 30 associated therewith. Each wearable device 30 is able to read, i.e. via its respective NFC reader 32 (not shown in Figure 5) the pre-loaded location data corresponding to the position of the respective NFC tag 22, 24, 26 on a wearer’s body when the second article of clothing 12 is worn. In other words, one wearable device 30 is able to read the left thigh position of the second NFC tag 22, another is able to read the right thigh position of the third NFC tag 24, and a further one is able to read the hip position of the fourth NFC tag 26. Moreover, each wearable device 30 is configured to integrate collected information on a wearer’s activity with the location data, i.e. the left and right thigh and hip positions, and to relay the integrated information to a server (not shown) for analysis. Each such wearable device 30 is configured to relay the integrated information directly to the server, e.g. via WiFi, or a 4G or 5G cellular data network. In other embodiments, however, one or more such wearable devices 30 may instead be configured to relay the integrated information to the server via one or more of a smart phone or an intermediary networking hub. Connection with such a smart phone or an intermediary networking hub may similarly be via Bluetooth, WiFi or cellular data network. It follows that, in use, the activity tracker 50 requires the positioning of a respective wearable device 30 near to each of the second, third and fourth NFC tags 22, 24, 26 to read the location data pre-loaded thereon, i.e. the corresponding left thigh, right thigh and hip location data, whereby each wearable device 30 knows the location on a wearer’s body where it is to operate, i.e. one of each of the wearer’s left thigh, right thigh and hip. Additionally, such use of the activity tracker 50 includes having each wearable device 30 integrate collected information on a wearer’s activity, e.g. performance or other biometric information, with the location data, i.e. the corresponding left thigh, right thigh and hip position information, and then relay the integrated information to a server for analysis.

Claims

CLAIMS: 1. An article of clothing having at least one body-part specific RFID tag integrated therewith, the or each body-part specific RFID tag being pre-loaded with location data corresponding to a position of the said RFID tag on a wearer’s body when the article of clothing is worn, the location data being readable in-use by a wearable device positioned near to the said RFID tag whereby the wearable device knows the location on a wearer’s body where it is to operate.

2. An article of clothing according to Claim 1 wherein the RFID tag is or includes a NFC tag.

3. An article of clothing according to Claim 1 or Claim 2 wherein one or more tags is embedded into the article of clothing.

4. An article of clothing according to Claim 3 wherein one or more tags is sewn into the article of clothing.

5. An article of clothing according to any preceding claim wherein one or more tags is included in a console from which a wearable device can be suspended, the or each console being secured to the article of clothing.

6. An activity tracker comprising: an article of clothing according to any preceding claim; and one or more wearable devices attached to the article of clothing, the or each wearable device being associated with a respective body-part specific RFID tag integrated with the article of clothing from which the wearable device is able to read pre-loaded location data corresponding to the position of the said RFID tag on a wearer’s body when the article of clothing is worn.

7. An activity tracker according to Claim 6 wherein the or each wearable device is configured to integrate collected information on a wearer’s activity with the location data and relay the integrated information to a server for analysis.

8. An activity tracker according to Claim 7 wherein the or each wearable device is configured to relay the integrated information to a server via one or more of a smart phone or an intermediary networking hub.

9. A method of using an activity tracker comprising the steps of: (a) providing an article of clothing with at least one body-part specific RFID tag integrated therewith, the or each body-part specific RFID tag being pre-loaded with location data corresponding to a position of the said RFID tag on a wearer’s body when the article of clothing is worn; and (b) positioning a wearable device near to a respective RFID tag to read the location data pre-loaded thereon, whereby the wearable device knows the location on a wearer’s body where it is to operate.

10. A method of using an activity tracker assembly according to Claim 9 further including having the wearable device integrate collected information on a wearer’s activity with the location data and relay the integrated information to a server for analysis.