Patent Application
20230240586
The present disclosure relates to the field of signal collection and processing, and in particular to a device and method for collecting and processing an electromyography (EMG) signal.
With peoples' attention toward sports scientifics and physical health, intelligent wearable apparatuses are developing tremendously. Guidance and monitoring of an intelligent wearable apparatus relies on a sensor and an electrode. At present, the intelligent wearable apparatus is facing a contradiction between comfort and signal quality (stability and signal to noise ratio). Commonly used methods to solve the contradiction include but are not limited to a use of a hydrogel electrode, a skin surface process, a dry electrode material and a gel material fixation, etc. These methods may help improve the quality of a collected signal, but have at least one of the problems of a poor comfort, a short service life, and a complicated operation. However, a direct use of a dry electrode (a metal fabric electrode, a conductive silicon electrode, etc.) may solve the above problems, but an electrode module and a human skin are unlikely to fit with each other, which may lead to an inability to collect the signal and may further increase a noise. In addition, when the human body moves, a contact position between the electrode and the human body may move relative to each other, and the movement of the electrode may result in a failure to collect the signal of a target position, which affects the signal quality and increases the noise, etc. Finally, the dry electrode has a great contact impedance with the human skin, which is more likely to cause a large fluctuation and affect the signal quality.
Therefore, the present disclosure provides a device for collecting and processing an electromyography (EMG) signal of a human body, which significantly improves the quality of the EMG signal collected by the electrode module at the human body skin under a premise of comfort.
One of the embodiments of the present disclosure provides a device for collecting and processing an electromyography (EMG) signal of a human body, including: an electrode module, configured to collect the EMG signal of the human body. The electrode module includes a base structure and at least two electrodes, the at least two electrodes being arranged at intervals on a surface of the base structure.
In some embodiments, the at least two electrodes include a first electrode and a second electrode arranged side by side on the surface of the base structure.
In some embodiments, the at least two electrodes further include a reference electrode, and the first electrode, the reference electrode and the second electrode are arranged side by side in sequence on the surface of the base structure.
In some embodiments, the at least two electrodes further include a third electrode and a fourth electrode arranged side by side on the surface of the base structure; and the first electrode is arranged side by side with the third electrode, and the second electrode is arranged side by side with the fourth electrode.
In some embodiments, the electrode module includes a plurality of protruding structures located on surfaces of the at least two electrodes or a surface of the base structure.
In some embodiments, the protruding structures are arranged in an array or randomly distributed on the surfaces of the at least two electrodes or the surface of the base structure.
In some embodiments, the protruding structures are hollow inside, and a hollow part of each of the protruding structures has a filler.
In some embodiments, a height of each of the protruding structures is in a range of 0.5 mm˜10 mm.
In some embodiments, the electrode module has a plurality of sucker structures located on the surfaces of the at least two electrodes or the surface of the base structure.
In some embodiments, the plurality of sucker structures are arranged in an array or randomly distributed on the surfaces of the at least two electrodes or on the surface of the base structure.
In some embodiments, the plurality of sucker structures are distributed on the surface of the base structure around the at least two electrodes.
In some embodiments, each of the sucker structures is a three-dimensional (3D) structure, and includes a hollow part, the hollow part having an opening used to contact a human skin at an end of the sucker structure.
In some embodiments, the sucker structure further includes a middle structure located in the hollow part of the sucker structure, wherein a part of the middle structure is connected to a side wall of the sucker structure where the hollow part is located.
In some embodiments, the middle structure divides the hollow part of the sucker structure into a plurality of interconnected spatial areas.
In some embodiments, the electrode module may further include a plurality of bump structures located on the surface of the base structure or the surfaces of the at least two electrodes.
In some embodiments, heights of the plurality of bump structures are in a range of 10 μm-80 μm.
In some embodiments, a distribution density of the plurality of bump structures may be in a range of 2 pieces/2.25 mm2˜10 pieces/2.25 mm2.
In some embodiments, the electrode module further includes a plurality of air holes located on the electrodes and/or the base structure.
The embodiments of the present disclosure provide a wearable apparatus, and the wearable apparatus includes an upper garment and pants, and the upper garment and the pants at least include an EMG signal module for collecting an EMG signal of a human body.
In some embodiments, the upper garment at least comprises: at least one upper garment sensor module configured to collect upper body moving data; at least one upper garment data processing module configured to receive and process the upper body moving data; and an upper garment base configured to carry the at least one upper garment sensor module and the at least one upper garment data processing module.
In some embodiments, the at least one upper garment sensor module at least includes a first upper garment sensor module and a second upper garment sensor module, the first upper garment sensor module is located on a left side of the upper garment base, and the second upper garment sensor module is located on a right side of the upper garment base.
In some embodiments, the first upper garment sensor module and the second upper garment sensor module at least include the EMG signal module, an electrocardiogram (ECG) sensor, a respiration sensor, a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, an inertial sensor, an acid-base sensor, and an acoustic wave transducer.
In some embodiments, the inertial sensor is located in the upper garment processing module.
In some embodiments, the at least one upper garment data processing module at least includes a first upper garment processing module and a second upper garment processing module; the first upper garment processing module is located at a left shoulder of the upper garment base, and is communicatively connected to the first upper garment sensor module; and the second upper garment processing module is located at a right shoulder of the upper garment base, and is communicatively connected with the second upper garment sensor module.
In some embodiments, the first upper garment processing module and the second garment processing module are in a subordination or in a parallel relationship.
In some embodiments, the pants at least includes: at least one pants sensor module configured to collect lower body moving data; at least one pants data processing module configured to receive and process the lower body moving data; and a pants base configured to carry the at least one pants sensor module and the at least one pants data processing module.
In some embodiments, the at least one pants sensor module at least includes a first pants sensor module and a second pants sensor module, the first pants sensor module is located on a left side of the pants base, and the second pants sensor module is located on a right side of the pants base.
In some embodiments, the first pants sensor module and the second pants sensor module at least include the EMG signal module, an ECG sensor, a respiration sensor, a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, an inertial sensor, an acid-base sensor, and an acoustic wave transducer.
In some embodiments, the at least one pants data processing module at least includes a first pants processing module and a second pants processing module; the first pants processing module is located on a left side of a left leg of the pants base, and is communicatively connected to the first pants sensor module; and the second pants processing module is located on a right side of a right leg of the pants base, and is communicatively connected to the second pants sensor module.
In some embodiments, the first pants processing module and the second pants processing module are in a subordination or in a parallel relationship.
The present disclosure is further described in terms of exemplary embodiments. These exemplary embodiments are described in detail with reference to the drawings. These embodiments are non-limiting exemplary embodiments, in which like reference numerals represent similar structures throughout the several views of the drawings, wherein:
In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions related to the embodiments of the present disclosure, a brief introduction of the drawings referred to the description of the embodiments is provided below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some examples or embodiments of the present disclosure. Those having ordinary skills in the art, without further creative efforts, may apply the present disclosure to other similar scenarios according to these drawings. Unless obviously obtained from the context or the context illustrates otherwise, the same numeral in the drawings refers to the same structure or operation.
It should be understood that “system”, “device”, “unit” and/or “module” as used herein is a mode for distinguishing different components, elements, parts, or assemblies of different levels. However, if other words may achieve the same purpose, the words may be replaced by other expressions.
As used in the disclosure and the appended claims, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural referents unless the content clearly dictates otherwise; the plural forms may be intended to include singular forms as well. In general, the terms “comprise,” “comprises,” and/or “comprising,” “include,” “includes,” and/or “including,” merely prompt to include operations and elements that have been clearly identified, and these operations and elements do not constitute an exclusive listing. The methods or devices may also include other operations or elements.
Flowcharts are used in this description to illustrate the operation implemented according to the system of the embodiments of the present disclosure. It should be understood that the previous or subsequent operations may not be accurately implemented in order. Conversely, the operations may be implemented in inverted order, or simultaneously. Meanwhile, other operations may further be added to these processes, or a certain operation or several operations may be removed from these processes.
With people's attention toward sports scientifics and physical health, an intelligent wearable apparatus is developing tremendously, and the intelligent wearable apparatus mainly relies on an electrode to collect a bioelectrical signal. Specifically, as a kind of the bioelectrical signal, an electromyography (EMG) signal is a source of the electrical signal that generates a muscle power. It is a superposition of action potentials of many motor units in the muscle in time and space, which largely reflects a moving state of a neural and a muscle. There are generally two methods for collecting the EMG signal. One is to collect the EMG signal by inserting a needle electrode into the muscle, that is, a needle EMG signal. It has advantages of little interference and easily identifiable, but it will cause harm to a human body. Another method is to collect the EMG signal on a human skin surface by sticking an electrode slice on the human skin, that is, a surface EMG (SEMG) signal. This method is generally used to collecting the SEMG signal when a human body is still. When the human body is moving, there is a relative movement between the electrode and the human body, making the collected EMG signal inaccurate. At present, commonly used methods include but are not limited to a use of a hydrogel electrode, a skin surface process, a dry electrode material and a gel material fixation, etc. These methods may help improve the quality of a collected signal, but have at least one of the problems of a poor comfort, a short service life, and a complicated operation.
An electrode module and the intelligent wearable apparatus (such as clothing, a wristband, a shoulder strap, etc.) described in the embodiments of the present disclosure mainly involves the collection of a skin surface EMG signal (hereinafter collectively referred to as an EMG signal). The EMG signal may be obtained from many parts of the human body, such as calves, thighs, a hip, a waist, a back, a chest, shoulders, a neck, etc., and the EMG signal obtained from different parts carries movement and function information of the corresponding parts. For example, the EMG signal on the leg reflects a posture and moving state of the leg, such as walking, running, squatting, etc. Therefore, it is possible to collect the EMG signal through the intelligent wearable apparatus to meet people's requirement for exercise and fitness guidance. To collect the EMG signal of a user's body from many aspects when the user is exercising, the intelligent wearable apparatus may be the clothing. Through setting electrode modules corresponding to various parts of the human body (e.g., the calves, the thighs, the hip, the waist, the back, the chest, the shoulders, and the neck, etc.), the EMG signals of the various parts of the user's body when exercising may be collected. Optionally, the intelligent wearable apparatus may directly analyze and process the collected EMG signals, or transmit the collected EMG signals to a processing terminal (e.g., a mobile terminal device, a cloud server) through wired or wireless means for analyzing and processing to determine whether the user's movement is correct, and then provide corresponding feedback to the user to correct the user's incorrect movement. Further, the intelligent wearable apparatus may further formulate a scientific personal exercise plan for the user based on the collected EMG signals, and guide the user to exercise. In addition, a very important value lies in applying the EMG signal to a study of a human moving state. For example, in a medical rehabilitation engineering, the EMG signal may be used for patient treatment. In bionics, the EMG signal may be used for research on artificial limbs.
When the clothing is used as an intelligent wearable apparatus to collect the EMG signal when the user exercises, the electrode module may not only collect the EMG signal with a better quality, but also have features including a softness, an ultra-thinness, a tolerance, a skin-friendly, etc., so as to avoid a discomfort brought by the electrode to the user when the user wears the clothing for exercise and fitness.
In some embodiments, an amplitude of an original EMG signal directly collected by the electrode is very small, and has a great noise, so processes including a filtering and a differential amplification, etc. are required before the subsequent analysis or processing on the EMG signal are performed.
In some embodiments, the noise in the original EMG signal mainly includes a common-mode (CM) noise, and the CM noise is mainly caused by a power-frequency CM signal. Therefore, to reduce the CM noise, the power-frequency CM signal may be effectively restrained through a differential circuit, a right leg drive circuit, a filter circuit, etc., thereby reducing or eliminating the CM noise. According to preference for example, the differential circuit and the right leg drive circuit may be used to effectively restrain the power frequency CM signal. In some embodiments, considering that the CM noise is mainly caused by the power frequency, the frequency of the CM noise is mainly concentrated around 50 Hz or 60 Hz (or its harmonics), and a frequency distribution of a main intensity of the EMG signal is 20˜140 Hz, so the CM noise may be filtered out by one or more filters or notch filters. For example, in some embodiments, a 50 Hz notch filter and a 140 Hz low pass filter may be used to filter out the CM noise. For another example, a 50 Hz notch filter, a 100 Hz notch filter, a 150 Hz notch filter, and a 240 Hz low pass filter may be used to filter out the CM noise. For another example, a 50 Hz notch filter, a 150 Hz notch filter, and a 230 Hz low-pass filter may be used to filter out the CM noise.
In some embodiments, the noise in the original EMG signal may also include a differential mode noise caused by a conversion of the CM signal into a differential mode signal. For example, when a differential circuit is used to restrain the CM noise, a fluctuation of a contact impedance between the electrodes and the skin may cause an inconsistency in the contact impedance between the two electrodes corresponding to the differential circuit and the human skin, thus making the CM signal converse into the differential signal and causing the differential mode noise. Especially, a differential amplifier circuit may amplify the differential mode signal. Therefore, an amount of conversion of the CM signal to the differential mode signal may be reduced by reducing or avoiding the contact impedance fluctuation. For example, a value of the contact impedance between the electrodes and the skin may be reduced so that the contact impedance has a smaller fluctuation range, thereby reducing the differential mode noise caused by the fluctuation of the contact impedance.
In some embodiments, the contact impedance the two electrodes corresponding to the differential circuit being inconsistent with the contact impedance of the skin caused by the contact impedance fluctuation may further cause a voltage division problem, so that an amplitude of the collected EMG signal may be small and does not have a sufficient strength. Therefore, the problem of voltage division can be solved by increasing the input impedance of the circuit connected to the electrodes (e.g., a differential circuit). When the difference between the input impedance and the contact impedance is large enough, the impact of the contact impedance fluctuation on the strength of the EMG signal can be reduced or avoided.
In some embodiments, the noise may be reduced by reducing the contact impedance, so as to improve a quality of the EMG signal. In some embodiments, the quality of the EMG signal may further be graded, so as to remove a poor-quality EMG signal and keep the high-quality EMG signal, or use an algorithm to process the poor-quality EMG signal into the high-quality EMG signal. Specifically, a contact impedance evaluation circuit may be designed to connect to the electrode, and the contact impedance evaluation circuit may be used to measure a size or an abnormality of the electrode contact impedance, which may directly affect the quality of the collected EMG signal. Therefore, a coefficient used to measure the contact impedance may be taken as an indicator of the quality of the collected EMG signal, and the indicator may be used to assign a weight to the EMG signal collected. The greater the weight is, the higher the quality of the EMG signal is.
In some embodiments, to more accurately measure the EMG signals of various parts of the human body, when collecting the EMG signals of the various parts of the human body, different numbers of electrodes may be arranged correspondingly in the various parts of the human body. For example, a plurality of electrodes for collecting the EMG signals of a certain part may be integrated into an electrode module, and the electrode module may be arranged at a muscle center area of the part and may include at least two electrodes, and the at least two electrodes may be arranged along a length direction of muscle fibers of the part in sequence
It should be noted that the above embodiments are only for illustration, and a number and distribution of the electrodes in the electrode module are not limited to those shown in
When at least two electrodes (e.g., the first electrode and the second electrode) of the electrode module are fitted to the skin to collect the EMG signal, a contact impedance may form when each electrode contacts the skin. There may be certain changes in a pressure, a position, etc. between the electrodes and the skin, which cause a fluctuation on the contact impedance, thereby affecting the accuracy of the EMG signals. In some embodiments, to reduce a differential mode signal noise caused by a great difference in contact impedance formed when the at least two electrodes (e.g., the first electrode and the second electrode) in the electrode module are fitted to the human skin, the contact impedance fluctuation may be reduced. Specifically, the contact impedance between the at least two electrodes and the skin may be reduced so that the contact impedance does not fluctuate in a greater range, and the difference of the contact impedance at both ends of the electrode may be small, or the contact impedance of the two ends of the electrode may be consistent with each other.
For the convenience of understanding and explanation, when the electrode is fitted to the skin for an EMG signal collection, the contact between the electrode and the skin may be equivalent to a parallel connection of a capacitor and a resistor, and the contact impedance may be calculated by a formula (1):
where, |z| indicates the contact impedance, S indicates a contact area between the electrode and the skin, d indicates a distance between the electrode and the skin, ρ and ε indicate an average resistivity and a capacitance dielectric coefficient between the electrode and the skin, respectively, ω=2π·f, f indicates an EMG signal frequency. From the formula (1), it may be concluded that the greater the electrode area is and the smaller the distance between the electrode and the skin is, the contact impedance between the electrode and the skin is.
Further, to make the contact impedance between the electrode and the skin smaller, the contact area between the electrode and the skin may be increased as much as possible, so a shape and a size of the surface where the electrode contacts the skin may be designed to ensure that the contact area between the electrode and the skin is greater. In some embodiments, the surface of the electrode in contact with the skin may be rectangular, and a length of the surface of the electrode in contact with the skin may be 1 cm to 10 cm, and a width may be 1 cm to 4 cm. For example, the size of the surface may be 4 cm×2 cm, 3 cm×1.5 cm, or 2 cm×1 cm. In some embodiments, the shape of the electrode may further be other regular or irregular shapes such as a circle, a triangle, a hexagon, etc. In a practical application, the shape of the electrode may depend on a muscle shape of the part where the EMG signal is to be collected.
It should be noted that the size of the surface of the electrode in contact with the skin is not limited to the above sizes, and may be greater or smaller, which may be determined according to the part measured. For example, the size and distribution of the electrode may be limited by muscle size and a crosstalk between the muscles. In some embodiments, the electrodes may be distributed in a center of the muscle to be measured but not beyond the range of the muscle. In some embodiments, when the electrodes is in a densely muscled area, the electrode may be located at the center of a target muscle and away from other muscles other than the target muscle. As an example only, when collecting the EMG signal from the muscles of different parts of the human body, the electrodes with different lengths may be selected according to the lengths of the muscle fibers in the length direction. For example, for upper body muscles, the electrodes with a length of 4 cm may be used to collect the EMG signal. For another example, for a part of the muscle with a large range, such as a latissimus dorsi muscle, the electrodes with a length of 10 cm may be used for the collection. For another example, when there is a reference electrode in the electrode module (e.g., the third electrode 204 in
In some embodiments, for the electrode module including at least two electrodes, the distance between two adjacent electrodes may affect an intensity of the measured EMG signal. Taking the electrode module including two electrodes (e.g., the first electrode 101 and the second electrode 102) shown in
Combined with
Combined with an actual EMG signal frequency collection range, in some embodiments, the center-to-center distance between the two electrodes may be less than 3 cm, so that the EMG signal within the EMG signal collection frequency range (e.g., within 133 Hz) may be fully reserved. In some embodiments, a greater center-to-center distance may be adopted. For example, when the center-to-center distance between two electrodes is 6 cm, more EMG signals within the EMG signal collection frequency range (e.g., within 66.5 Hz) may be reserved. In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the center-to-center distance between the two electrodes is a distance between the centers of the two electrodes, which may be expressed as a sum of one half of the width of one electrode, one half of the width of the other electrode, and the distance between adjacent edges of the two electrodes at the x direction. In some embodiments, the electrode width may range from 1 mm to 5 cm. According to preference for example, the electrode width may range from 0.5 cm to 3 cm. According to preference for example, the electrode width may be 1 cm, 1.5 cm or 2 cm.
When an electrode has a greater size, the electrode has a greater contact area with the skin, so that the contact impedance between the electrode and the skin may be effectively reduced. Further, when the electrode has a greater size, the electrode may not completely fall off the skin under various movements or wrinkles, so as to collect the EMG signal, and by the collected EMG signal, the effective EMG signal may be extracted through a back-end circuit and an algorithm, etc. In addition, when the electrode with a greater size and the electrode with a smaller size have the same wrinkle, the effect of the wrinkle on the electrode with a larger size may be relatively smaller.
In some embodiments, the contact impedance between the electrodes and the skin as well as the total impedance of the electrodes may be effectively reduced by using electrodes of appropriate materials and structures. In some embodiments, the electrodes may be composed of a single material, such as a metal fabric electrode, a conductive silicon electrode, a hydrogel electrode, a metal electrode, etc. In some embodiments, when the electrodes are used to be integrated on a clothing to fit the skin, according to preference for example, the electrodes may be composed of the metal fabric and the conductive silicon. According to preference for example, the electrode may be a metal fabric electrode, as the metal fabric electrode has a smaller resistivity, and its impedance and contact impedance with the skin are also smaller. The smaller a thickness of the metal fabric electrode is, the smaller its impedance and the contact impedance with the skin are. In some embodiments, when a metal fabric electrode is used to collect the EMG signal, according to preference for example, the thickness of the metal fabric electrode may be 10 μm˜5 mm, 100 μm˜3 mm, or 500 μm˜2 mm. In some embodiments, the electrodes may further be formed by stacking different materials, such as a metal fabric conductive silicon composite electrode (also referred to as composite electrode in brief) made of the metal fabric and the conductive silicon, which has a small contact impedance with the skin. Moreover, the conductive silicon in the material contacting the skin is skin-friendly and washable, so as to avoid the discomfort brought by the contact between the electrode and the skin.
In practical applications, the one end of the electrode connecting the skin may be regarded as a face, while the other end is connected to the wire and may only be regarded as a point. But in specific cases (e.g., when the electrode material has a good conductivity), the end connecting the wire may still be regarded as a face. Therefore, the contact between the electrode and the skin may generally be equivalent to an electrode impedance parallel model shown in
In
In some embodiments, the skin surface is a stratum corneum of the human skin, and the stratum corneum is relatively dry and has a relatively high resistivity. Therefore, the R3 has a relatively great value, so it may be regarded as an open circuit. Apart from that, because of a symmetry, conditions of the signal sources are basically the same, so only one EMG signal source may be considered.
In some embodiments, the electrode parallel impedance models corresponding to electrodes of different materials are different, and the parallel paths in the corresponding electrode impedance parallel models may be changed by changing the structure of the electrodes, so as to reduce a total electrode impedance and the contact impedance between the electrodes and the skin.
For example,
The relationship between the impedance value of the conductive silicon electrode and its thickness in
In some embodiments, electrodes of different materials may be combined to reduce the total impedance of the electrodes. As an illustration only, the metal fabric conductive silicon composite electrode is taken as an example for description.
In some embodiments, the size (e.g., the length and width) of the metal fabric electrode is greater than the size of the conductive silicon electrode, e.g., the width of the metal fabric electrode is 1 mm˜5 cm, and the width of the conductive silicon electrode is 0.8 cm˜4 cm. According to preference for example, the width of the metal fabric electrode is 0.5 cm˜3 cm or 1 cm˜2 cm, and the width of the conductive silicon electrode is 0.4 cm˜2.8 cm or 0.8 cm˜1.6 cm. In some embodiments, the length of the metal fabric electrode in the metal fabric conductive silicon composite electrode may be 1 cm˜10 cm. The length of the conductive silicon electrode in the metal fabric conductive silicon composite electrode may be 0.8 cm˜8 cm. It should be noted that the lengths of the conductive silicon electrode and the metal fabric electrode may be determined according to the part measured. For example, for the upper body muscles, a composite electrode with a length of 4 cm may be used to collect the EMG signal, and the length of the metal fabric electrode may be 4 cm, the length of the conductive silicon electrode may be 3.2 cm. For another example, for parts with a great range of muscles, such as the latissimus dorsi, a composite electrode with a length of 10 cm may be used for the collection, the length of the metal fabric electrode may be 10 cm, and the length of the conductive silicon electrode may be 8 cm.
The movement of the limbs may cause a certain displacement or a wrinkle of the electrode relative to the skin, or even make the electrode fall off the skin, resulting in a great fluctuation in the contact impedance and even a failure to collect the EMG signal. Moreover, the displacement of the electrode may further cause a change in the position where the EMG signal needs to be collected, making the EMG signal collected inaccurate. In some embodiments, a possibility of the electrode moving relative to the skin may be reduced by increasing a tightness between the electrode and the skin. Furthermore, a close contact between the electrode and the skin may further shorten the distance between the electrode and the skin. According to the formula (1), the contact impedance between the skin and the electrode may be reduced, which is conducive to reducing the contact impedance and reducing a fluctuation of the contact impedance.
In some embodiments, to make the electrode fit to the skin tightly and reliably, the electrode module may include several protruding structures located between the electrode and a base structure, and the protruding structures may make the surface of the electrode protrude outward. In some embodiments, the protruding structures may be arranged in an array on the surface of the electrode and/or the surface of the base structure, or may further be randomly distributed. Specifically, when a certain external pressure acts on the electrode module to make the electrode contact the human skin, the protruding structures may make the electrode fit to the human skin better. On the other hand, a pressure requirement on the body of the carrier (e.g., a clothing) where the electrode module is located may be reduced by setting the protruding structures. The electrode module with the protruding structures ensures that only the electrode part has a large pressure, and the carrier does not exert much pressure on other parts of the body. While ensuring the fit of the electrode to the skin well, the user may have a better sense of comfort. In some embodiments, the electrode may be a protruding structure. For example, a central area of the electrode may be higher than an edge area of the electrode. In some embodiments, the electrode may be a planar structure, and the electrode may protrude outward relative to the base structure of the electrode module to form a protruding structure of the electrode module. In some embodiments, a height of the protruding structure may be 1 mm˜10 mm. According to preference for example, the height of the protruding structure may be 2 mm˜8 mm or 2 mm˜4 mm. It should be noted that the center of the protruding structure may be the highest, and a periphery part of the protruding structure may be gradually lower, and the height of the protruding structure is the height of the highest position in the middle of the protruding structure. In some embodiments, the protruding structure may further be a structure where an end surface of the protruding structure in contact with the human body is approximately a planar, and the height of the protruding structure may be 0.5 mm˜5 mm. According to preference for example, the height of the protruding structure may be 1 mm˜4 mm or 1 mm˜2 mm. In some embodiments, the protruding structure may further be located on the other side of the base structure, that is, the protruding structure and the electrode are distributed on different surfaces of the base structure. In some embodiments, the protruding structure may be made of an elastic material, for example, the protruding structure may be made of a soft PVC, a resin, a silicone and other materials. In some embodiments, the protruding structure may be a hollow-carved structure including a filler, and the filler may be located in the hollow part of the protruding structure. The filler may be an elastic material with a certain conductivity. For example, the filler may be an absorbent sponge, a silica gel, etc. On the one hand, the filler may remove excess moisture on the skin surface and prevent a short circuit between the electrodes.
Considering that the pressure on the protruding structures at the two electrodes is different, a deformation of the protruding structures at the two electrodes is different, which makes the contact impedance between the two electrodes and the skin different, thus making an inconsistency between the two electrodes. As a result, the collected EMG signal may be affected by the noise. In some embodiments, the noise in the EMG signal may be reduced by reducing the contact impedance. In some embodiments, the contact impedance fluctuation range may further be controlled to reduce the noise in the EMG signal. In some embodiments, the contact impedance fluctuation may be within 1M ohm. According to preference for example, the contact impedance fluctuation may be within 100K ohm or 10K ohm. The controlling the contact impedance fluctuation range may be that making sure that the contact impedance range between the two electrodes and the skin is within a specific range (e.g., within the above-mentioned 1M ohm, within 100K ohm, or within 10K ohm), or fluctuation values of the contact impedances between the two electrodes and the skin are approximately the same. In some embodiments, the noise may further be reduced through the circuit connected to the electrodes. For example, the circuit connected to the electrodes may include a differential architecture, a notch filter, a threshold filter, a right leg driver, etc. In some embodiments, the problem of inconsistent contact impedance between the two electrodes and the skin may further be solved by adjusting the structure and the height of the protruding structure. For illustrative purposes only, for example, the protruding structure is a solid structure, and the end face of the protruding structure in contact with the skin is a plane. For another example, the height of the protruding structure is 1 mm.
In some embodiments, the electrode module may include a plurality of sucker structures, through which the electrodes may be more closely fitted to the skin, thereby preventing the electrodes from moving when collecting the EMG signal, and ensuring the accuracy of the collected EMG signal.
In some embodiments,
In some embodiments, the sucker structure may be arranged in an array on the electrodes, or may further be randomly distributed.
It should be noted that the sucker structure 1210 and the sucker structure 1310 may include the sucker structures shown in
In some embodiments, to further prevent a relative displacement of the electrodes on the skin, the electrode module may further include several bump structures (not shown in the figure), which may increase a friction between the electrode module or the electrodes and the skin, thereby increasing an anti-skid performance of the electrode module. The bump structure may be located on the base structure or on the face of the electrode contacting the human skin. The bump structure may be in any shape, and may be in array or randomly distributed on the electrode or the base structure of the electrode module. In some embodiments, the shape of the bump structure may include regular or irregular structures such as cones, cylinders, cuboids, and hemispheres. In some embodiments, to improve the anti-skid performance of the electrode module, a height of the bump structure may be 5 μm˜200 μm. According to preference for example, the height of the bump structure may be 10 μm˜100 μm, 20 μm˜80 μm, or 20 μm˜50 μm. In some embodiments, to improve the anti-skid performance of the electrode module, a size (e.g., a length, a width or a radius, etc.) of a connection surface between the bump structure and the electrode or the base structure may be 10 μm˜1000 μm. According to preference for example, the size of the connection surface between the bump structure and the electrode or the base structure may be 50 μm˜800 μm or 100 μm˜600 μm. In some embodiments, to improve the anti-skid performance of the electrode module, a distribution density of the bump structures may be 1 piece/2.25 mm2˜10 pieces/2.25 mm2. According to preference for example, the distribution density of the bump structures may be 3 pieces/2.25 mm2 to 8 pieces/2.25 mm2 or 5 pieces/2.25 mm2 to 6 pieces/2.25 mm2. As an example only, the bump structure may be randomly distributed on the conductive silicon electrode. The shape of the bump structure is conical with a height of 20˜5 μm and a bottom radius of 100˜600 μm, and the distribution density of the bump structure is 5 pieces/2.25 mm2. Such a conductive silicon electrode has a good anti-skid performance. In some embodiments, the bump structure may further be arranged between the electrodes, which may block body surface fluids such as sweat between the electrodes, and prevent a short circuit of the electrodes.
As the collection of the EMG signal is usually completed when the user is exercising, during the exercise, with a consumption of heat, the sweat from the human body accumulates between the electrodes and the skin. Due to a viscosity of the sweat and the skin of human body as well as the viscosity of the sweat and the electrode, the electrode and the skin may fit too tightly, causing the skin to be unable to breathe. In this case, bacteria are easily bred. In addition, the accumulation of sweat may further cause a problem of short circuit between the electrodes. To prevent the occurrence of the above problems, the electrode module may further include a number of air holes, which may be located on the base structure of the electrode module or on the electrode to make the electrode module have a certain air permeability, thereby promoting a ventilation between the skin and the external environment, and reduce the sweat accumulation between the electrode and the human skin. In some embodiments, a shape of the air hole may be a regular or irregular shape such as a circle, an ellipse, a rectangle, a square, or a hexagon. In some embodiments, several air holes may be arranged in an array. In some embodiments, a diameter of the air hole may range from 0.2 mm to 4 mm. According to preference for example, the diameter of the air hole may range from 0.5 mm to 3 mm or 1 mm to 2 mm. According to preference for example, the diameter of the air hole may be 1 mm, 1.5 mm or 2 mm. In some embodiments, a total area of the air holes may not exceed 90% of the electrode area. According to preference for example, the total area of the air holes does not exceed 50% or 20% of the electrode area. In some embodiments, the air holes may be made through a mechanical drilling.
The electrode module provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure may not only be integrated on the clothing or other wearable apparatuses to effectively collect the EMG signals of various parts of the user's body during exercise. It may further be configured in a medical rehabilitation engineering to collect the EMG signals of patients, so as to make corresponding diagnosis or treatment for the patients. Or in bionics, the electrode module may be configured to collect the EMG signal for research on artificial limbs.
In some embodiments, the first upper garment data processing module 14121 may be set at the left shoulder of the upper garment base 14110, and the first upper garment data processing module 14121 is configured to receive upper body moving data of a left sensor of the human body (e.g., an EMG signal sensor, an electrocardiographic sensor, a breathing sensor, etc.). The second upper garment data processing module 14122 may be set at the right shoulder of the upper garment base 14110, and the second upper garment data processing module 14122 is configured to receive upper body moving data of a right sensor of the human body (e.g., an EMG signal sensor, an electrocardiographic sensor, a breathing sensor, etc.). The aforementioned first upper garment data processing module 14121 at the left shoulder and the second upper garment data processing module 14122 at the right shoulder may be symmetrically distributed along the midline of the upper garment base 14110.
In some embodiments, the first upper garment data processing module 14121 at the left shoulder and the second upper garment data processing module 14122 at the right shoulder may be in a subordination. For example, the first upper garment data processing module 14121 is a master data processing module, and the second upper garment data processing module 14122 is a subordinate data processing module. At this time, the first upper garment data processing module 14121 and the second upper garment data processing module 14122 may be communicatively connected by the wired and the wireless modes. Specifically, the first upper garment data processing module 14121 receives the moving data of the left side of the human body, the second upper garment data processing module 14122 receives the moving data of the right side of the human body, and the second upper garment data processing module 14122 may transmit the received moving data of the right side of the human body to the first upper garment data processing module 14121 for processing. In some embodiments, the wiring mode between the first upper garment data processing module 14121 and the second upper garment data processing module 14122 may be a wire wired on the front of the wearable apparatus 1400 or on the back of the wearable apparatus 1400. In some embodiments, the first upper garment data processing module 14121 may further transmit the moving data of the left side of the human body received by itself and the right moving data of the human body received from the second upper garment data processing module 14122 to a peripheral terminal. The peripheral terminal performs a data processing on the received moving data.
In some embodiments, the first upper garment data processing module 14121 and the second upper garment data processing module 14122 may further be in a parallel. When the first upper garment data processing module 14121 and the second upper garment data processing module 14122 are in a parallel, the first upper garment data processing module 14121 and the second upper garment data processing module 14122 may be communicatively connected to the peripheral terminals respectively. Specifically, the first upper garment data processing module 14121 receives the moving data from the left side of the human body, and transmits the received moving data to the peripheral terminal, and the peripheral terminal processes the received moving data. The second upper garment data processing module 14122 receives the moving data from the right side of the human body, and transmits the received moving data to the peripheral terminal, and the peripheral terminal processes the received moving data.
In some embodiments, the moving data of the human body received by the upper garment data processing module 14120 may be processed by the upper garment data processing module 14120. For example, the moving data of the left side of the human body received by the first upper garment data processing module 14121 may be processed in the first upper garment data processing module 14121, and the first upper garment data processing module 14121 may transmit the processed moving data to the peripheral terminal. In some embodiments, the human body moving data received by the upper garment data processing module 14120 may further be processed in the peripheral terminal. For example, the second upper garment data processing module 14122 may directly transmit the received moving data of the right side of the human body to the peripheral terminal, and the peripheral terminal may process the received moving data of the right side of the human body. In some embodiments, the human body moving data received by the upper garment data processing module 14120 may further be processed partly in the upper garment data processing module 14120, and partly in the peripheral terminal. For example, the moving data on the left side of the human body received by the first upper garment data processing module 14121 may be partly processed in the first upper garment data processing module 14121, and the first upper garment data processing module 14121 transmits the partly processed moving data to the peripheral terminal. The peripheral terminal then performs processing on the other part of data which is not processed yet.
In some embodiments, there may be a mutual communication between the garment data processing module 14120 and the peripheral terminal. For example, the first upper garment data processing module 14121 (or the second upper garment data processing module 14122) may transmit the moving data to the peripheral terminal, and may further receive an instruction from the peripheral terminal. For example, the instruction may be an instruction to control an operation of the electrode module, or an instruction to perform a moving quality feedback according to the user's moving data.
Continuing to refer to
In some embodiments, the sensor module (e.g., the first upper garment sensor module 14131, the second upper garment sensor module 14132, the first pants sensor module 14231, the second pants sensor module 14232) may include, but are not limited to, an EMG signal sensor, an inertial sensor, an ECG sensor, a respiratory sensor, a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, an acid-base sensor, an acoustic transducer, etc.
In some embodiments, the EMG signal sensor (also referred to as the electrode module) may be set at the muscle position of the human body. The EMG signal sensor and the data processing modules (e.g., the first upper garment data processing module 14121, the second upper garment data processing module 14122, the first pants data processing module 14221, the second pants data processing module 14222) may communicate with each other. The muscle position corresponding to the upper garment human body may include but not limited to a biceps, a triceps, a wrist extensor, a wrist flexor, a deltoid (such as a front deltoid, a middle deltoid, and a back deltoid), a trapezius, latissimus dorsi, a pectoralis major, an external oblique, a rectus abdominis, etc. The muscle position corresponding to the pants may include but not limited to a gluteus maxim us, a vastus lateralis, a vastus medialis, a rectus femoris, a biceps femoris, tibialis anterior, a gastrocnemius, etc. In some embodiments, the EMG signal sensor may be configured to collect muscle information of the user during the moving, such as a moving range, a moving speed, a moving strength, etc. For example, when the user performs a barbell bench press, the EMG signal sensor set on the biceps (or the triceps, the deltoid, the pectoralis major, etc.) may collect muscle information (such as the moving range, the moving speed, the moving strength, etc.), and transmit the collected muscle information to the data processing module. The data processing module performs the data processing on the received muscle information (or the data processing module transmits the received muscle information to the peripheral terminal, and the peripheral terminal performs the data processing on the received muscle information), and determines whether the muscle data of the user in the barbell bench press process is within the determination standard, in response to the determination that the data exceeds the determination standard, the wearable apparatus may warn the user through a feedback module. The determination standard here may be obtained in advance through training the muscle data of professionals (e.g., athletes, coaches, etc.) and a large number of ordinary people in the processes of barbell bench press, which is recorded in the wearable apparatus. At the same time, the determination standard may be adjusted according to user information to achieve a better adaptability. According to the warning of the feedback module, the user may know in real time whether their barbell bench press muscle state (e.g., the moving range, the moving speed, the moving strength, etc.) is standardized, and adjust the moving posture in time.
In some embodiments, the inertial sensor may be integrated in the sensor module, in this case, the inertial sensor may be separated from the data processing module, thus causing practical problems. For example, a washing issue, a complexity issue (e.g., a separate fabrication, a disassembly, etc.), a power supply issue, a charging issue, etc. In some embodiments, the inertial sensor may further be set in a left data processing module and a right data processing module of the garment base, and the inertial sensor may be configured to monitor the user's moving parameters (such as a stride number, a stride length, a stride frequency, etc.). Specifically, the inertial sensor may be set in the left data processing module and the right data processing module of the garment base. On the one hand, the inertial sensor may monitor the user's moving parameters, such as the stride number, the stride length, and the stride frequency, etc. On the other hand, a problem of the inertial sensor separating from the data processing module (such as washing problems, power supply problems, etc.) may be effectively solved. Moreover, the inertial sensors respectively set in the first data processing module and the second data processing module may further monitor a moving coordination and a balance of the left and right sides of the user's body.
In some embodiments, more inertial sensors may be designed inside and/or outside the data processing module to realize more complex functions such as an action identification. For example, an acceleration sensor may be configured to collect an acceleration when the human body moves. Specifically, an acceleration measurement may be mainly used for a step count and a calorie calculation during the user's moving process, and may further be used to monitor the acceleration of the user's body in three axes of X, Y, and Z during the user's moving process.
In some embodiments, the ECG sensor may be configured to collect the ECG data during the user's moving. The ECG sensor and the data processing module (e.g., the first upper garment data processing module 14121 and the second upper garment data processing module 14122) may be communicatively connected. When a user is exercising, its heart rate may change. For example, when the user is doing an aerobic exercise or a strength training, a duration of the user's exercise and/or an intensity of the exercise may affect the user's heart rate. The ECG sensor may collect an ECG signal during the user's exercise, and transmit the collected ECG signal to the data processing module. The data processing module performs the data processing on the received ECG signal (or the data processing module transmits the received ECG signal to the peripheral terminal, and the peripheral terminal performs the data processing on the received ECG signal), and determines whether the user's heart rate is within the determination standard, in response to that the heart rate exceeds the determination standard, the wearable apparatus may warn the user through the feedback module. The determination standard here may be obtained in advance through training the ECG data of the professionals (e.g., athletes, coaches, etc.) and a large number of ordinary people in the processes of exercises, which is recorded into the wearable apparatus. At the same time, the determination standard may be adjusted according to user information to achieve a better adaptability. According to the warning of the feedback module, the user may know in real time whether their ECG state is normal, and adjust the exercise duration and/or the exercise intensity in time.
In some embodiments, the respiration sensor may be configured to collect a respiration signal during the user's exercise. The respiration sensor may be communicatively connected to the data processing module (e.g., the first upper garment data processing module 14121 and the second upper garment data processing module 1412). During the exercise, the user's respiration rate and respiration frequency may change. For example, when the user is running, the respiration rate may gradually increase with a lengthen of the user's running duration and/or an increase of a running speed, and the respiration frequency may increase with the lengthen of the user's running duration and/or the increase of the running speed. The respiration sensor collects the respiration signal (such as a respiration speed, a respiration frequency, etc.) of the user during the exercise, and transmits the collected respiration signal to the data processing module. The data processing module performs a data analysis on the received respiration signal (or the data processing module transmits the received respiration signal to the peripheral terminal, and the peripheral terminal performs the data processing on the received respiration signal), and determines whether the user's respiration data during the running process is within the determination standard, in response to a determination that the respiration data exceeds the determination standard, the wearable apparatus may warn the user through the feedback module. The determination standard here may be trained in advance through training the respiration data of the professionals (e.g., athletes, coaches, etc.) and a large number of ordinary people in the process of running, which is recorded into the wearable apparatus. At the same time, the determination standard may be adjusted according to the user's information to achieve a better adaptability. According to the warning of the feedback module, the user may know in real time whether their running state (e.g., a running speed, a running duration, etc.) is standardized, and adjust the running duration and/or the running speed in time.
In some embodiments, the temperature sensor may be configured to collect a temperature signal during the user's exercise. The temperature sensor may communicatively connect the data processing module (e.g., the first upper garment data processing module 14121, the second upper garment data processing module 14122, the first pants data processing module 14221, and the second pants data processing module 14222). During exercise, the user's body temperature may gradually increase. For example, when the user is doing the aerobic exercise or the strength training, the duration of the user's exercise and/or the intensity of the exercise may affect the user's body temperature. The temperature sensor may collect the temperature signal during the user's exercise, and transmit the collected temperature signal to the data processing module. The data processing module performs the data processing on the received temperature signal (or the data processing module transmits the received temperature signal to the peripheral terminal, and the peripheral terminal performs the data processing on the received temperature signal), and determines whether the user's body temperature is within the determination standard; in response to a determination that the body temperature exceeds the determination standard, the wearable apparatus may warn the user through the feedback module. The determination standard here may be trained in advance through training the temperature data of the professionals (e.g., athletes, coaches, etc.) and a large number of ordinary people in the process of exercising, which is recorded into the wearable apparatus. At the same time, the determination standard may be adjusted according to the user's information to achieve a better adaptability. According to the warning of the feedback module, the user may know in real time whether their temperature state is normal, and adjust the exercise duration and/or the exercise speed in time.
In some embodiments, the humidity sensor may be configured to collect a humidity signal during the user's exercise. The humidity sensor may communicatively connect the data processing module (e.g., the first upper garment data processing module 14121, the second upper garment data processing module 14122, the first pants data processing module 14221, and the second pants data processing module 14222). During the user's exercise, the humidity of its body may gradually increase. For example, when the user is doing the aerobic exercise or the strength training, the duration of the user's exercise and/or the intensity of the exercise may affect the user's body humidity. The humidity sensor may collect the humidity signal during the user's exercise, and transmit the collected humidity signal to the data processing module. The data processing module performs the data processing on the received humidity signal (or the data processing module transmits the received humidity signal to the peripheral terminal, and the peripheral terminal performs the data processing on the received humidity signal), and determines whether the user's body humidity is within the determination standard, in response to a determination that the body humidity exceeds the determination standard, the wearable apparatus may warn the user through the feedback module. The determination standard here may be trained in advance through training the humidity data of the professionals (e.g., athletes, coaches, etc.) and a large number of ordinary people in the process of exercising, which is recorded into the wearable apparatus. At the same time, the determination standard may be adjusted according to the user's information to achieve a better adaptability. According to the warning of the feedback module, the user may know in real time whether their humidity state is normal, and adjust the exercise duration and/or the exercise intensity in time.
In some embodiments, the first data processing module 1521 is set on the left shoulder of the upper wearable apparatus 1500, and the second data processing module 1522 is set on the right shoulder. The first data processing module 1521 and the second data processing module 1522 are respectively configured to receive moving data of the left and right sides of the user's body. On the one hand, such design may effectively share a wiring route and reasonably control a volume of a single data processing module (e.g., the first data processing module 1521 and a second data processing module 1522). On the other hand, the design of setting the data processing modules on the left and right sides of the upper garment wearable apparatus 1500 is symmetrical, which may effectively solve a problem of user safety brought by an asymmetrical design (e.g., a balance control of sports like squatting). On the other hand, the design of setting the data processing modules on the left and right sides of the upper garment wearable apparatus 1500 may effectively avoid an existence of electronic device including a circuit (e.g., a battery, a Bluetooth, an amplifier, etc.), which improves the user's wearing comfort. In some embodiments, the design of setting the data processing modules on the left and right sides of the upper garment wearable apparatus 1500 may reduce a design difficulty and a weight of each data processing module, and may further effectively collect a physiological signal near the chest (e.g., an ECG signal, an EMG signal of a pectoralis major, etc.).
In some embodiments, when there are many sensor modules on the upper garment wearable apparatus 1500, the above wiring mode may effectively separate a wiring layout on the one hand, thereby reducing a wiring difficulty, and increasing a design space. On the other hand, a large-angle wiring may be avoided. In some embodiments, a wiring length in the wearable apparatus may affect its SNR, specifically, the greater the wiring length is, the greater a noise interference introduced is. The wiring mode in
In some embodiments, during the user's exercise, most of the exercises (e.g., a barbell bench press, a dumbbell press, a running, a chest expansion, etc.) require a participation of human limbs, and the movement of the arms can drive the wearable apparatus to displace, so that the sensor module in the wearable apparatus may be displaced, and a quality of signal collection (e.g., the EMG signal at the pectoralis major muscle, the ECG signal, etc.) may be reduced.
In some embodiments, the elastic design may refer to a use of highly elastic and stretchable materials. The highly elastic stretchable material may include but not limited to an elastic fiber fabric material, a flexible polymer material, an elastic rubber ring, etc. In addition, the material used for the elastic design may be a single elastic material, or may be a combination of various elastic materials. For example, the garment base at the upper arm position of the wearable apparatus (e.g., the third elastic design 1621 in
In some embodiments, the elastic design may further refer to a structural design. Specifically, a wrinkled and undulating structure may be designed at the upper arm position of the wearable apparatus close to the shoulder of the human body (please refer to the third elastic design 1621 and the fourth elastic design 1622 in
In some embodiments, the elastic design can be made for the periphery of the electrode module according to an analysis of the pulling force near the electrode.
In some embodiments, the garment base of the wearable apparatus may be designed with an extra elasticity. The extra elastic design may be achieved through a 3D printing and other processes. It may be a strip of extra material attached to the garment base, or it may be a material splicing and/or the structural design of the garment base itself. For the related descriptions about the clothing materials and the structural design, please refer to
In some embodiments, external factors such as a human body surface and a human body movement may affect the electrode modules in the garment base. To effectively avoid the effect of operations such as a wire transfer, a soft to hard switch, etc. on the consistency of the electrodes, the embodiment provides a knife-shaped electrode.
In some embodiments, increasing a size of the electrode may effectively avoid the electrode from falling off due to a user's movement, and at the same time, ensure that a sensor can collect a signal as much as possible. For the material and size of the knife-shaped electrode, please refer to the descriptions elsewhere in the present disclosure (e.g.,
In some embodiments, the second electrode part 1920 in
In some embodiments, the electrodes can be designed to be non-slip. During the user's exercise, the electrode may move and/or fall off due to the pulling of the action, so the electrode needs to be fixed and anti-slip design. Referring to
It should be noted that the electrode modules in the above embodiments (e.g., the electrode module 100, the electrode module 200, the electrode module 300 and the EMG signal module in the wearable apparatus) can not only be applied to the collection of EMG signals, but also can release current stimulation Specific parts of the human body to achieve the corresponding reminder effect or massage relaxation effect. For example, when a user is exercising, the wearable apparatus may determine whether the user's fitness action is standardized based on body moving data, and may use the electrode module to release a current to remind the user of the exercise state.
It should be noted that different embodiments may have different beneficial effects. In different embodiments, the possible beneficial effects may be any one or combinations of the above, or any other possible beneficial effects.
The basic concept has been described above. Obviously, for those skilled in the art, the above detailed disclosure is only an example, and does not constitute a limitation to the present disclosure. Although not expressly stated here, various modifications, improvements and amendments to the present disclosure may be made by those skilled in the art. Such modifications, improvements, and amendments are suggested in the present disclosure, so such modifications, improvements, and amendments still belong to the spirit and scope of the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.
Moreover, certain terminology has been used to describe embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, “one embodiment”, “an embodiment”, and/or “some embodiments” refer to a certain feature, structure or characteristic related to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. Therefore, it should be emphasized and noted that two or more references to “an embodiment” or “one embodiment” or “an alternative embodiment” in different places in the present disclosure do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. In addition, certain features, structures or characteristics of one or more embodiments of the present disclosure may be properly combined.
In addition, unless explicitly stated in the claims, the order of processing elements and sequences described in the disclosure, the use of numbers and letters, or the use of other designations are not used to limit the order of the process and methods of the disclosure. While the foregoing disclosure has discussed by way of various examples some embodiments of the invention that are presently believed to be useful, it should be understood that such detail is for illustration only and that the appended claims are not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but rather, the claims are intended to cover all modifications and equivalent combinations that fall within the spirit and scope of the embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, although the system components described above may be implemented by hardware devices, they may also be implemented in a software-only solution, such as installing the described system on an existing server or a mobile device.
In the same way, it should be noted that in order to simplify the expression disclosed in the present disclosure and help the understanding of one or more embodiments thereof, in the foregoing description of the embodiments of the present disclosure, sometimes multiple features are combined into one embodiment, drawing or description thereof. This method of disclosure does not, however, imply that the subject matter of the disclosure requires more features than are recited in the claims. Rather, the claimed subject matter may lie in less than all features of a single foregoing disclosed embodiment.
In some embodiments, numbers describing the quantity of components and attributes are used. It should be understood that such numbers used in the description of the embodiments use the modifiers “about”, “approximately” or “substantially” in some examples. Unless otherwise stated, the “about”, “approximately” or “substantially” indicates that the stated figure allows for a variation of ±20%. Accordingly, in some embodiments, the numerical parameters used in the present disclosure and the claims are approximations that may vary depending upon the desired features of individual embodiments. In some embodiments, the numerical parameters should take into account the specified significant digits and use a general digit reservation method. Notwithstanding that the numerical fields and parameters used in some embodiments of the present disclosure to confirm the breadth of their ranges are approximations, in particular embodiments such numerical values are set as precisely as practicable.
Each patent, patent application, patent application publication, and other material, such as article, book, specification, publication, document, etc., cited in this application is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. Application history documents that are inconsistent with or conflict with the contents of the present disclosure are excluded, as are documents (currently or hereafter appended to the present disclosure) that limit the broadest scope of the claims of the present disclosure. It should be noted that, if there is any inconsistency or conflict between the descriptions, definitions and/or terms used in the attached materials of the present disclosure and the content of the present disclosure, the descriptions, definitions and/or terms used in the present disclosure shall prevail.
Finally, it should be understood that the embodiments described in the present disclosure are only used to illustrate the principles of the embodiments thereof. Other modifications are also possible within the scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, by way of example and not limitation, alternative configurations of the embodiments of the present disclosure may be considered consistent with the teachings of the present disclosure. Accordingly, the embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to the embodiments explicitly introduced and described in the present disclosure.
This application is a Continuation of International Patent Application No. PCT/CN2020/139651, filed on Dec. 25, 2020, the contents of which are entirely incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | PCT/CN2020/139651 | Dec 2020 | US |
| Child | 18192793 | US |
